980. Shirou's War on Mars / 981. Shirou's Power of Fire

"You've spent so much time in the library, and this is still the result you've come to?" Shirou asked the old man.

"Ah, there's no other way. This is the method that will cause the least damage to Mars," the Old Man Haiyan said in a low voice, shaking his head.

"Is that so! I'll pass on that same message to you too! I hope you can all..." Shirou swung his sword again, aiming at the old man.

The old man flicked his long sleeves, blocking Shirou's sword, then pulled Shana and β into his robe before turning and leaving.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the beluga whale opened a spatial portal, led its crew through it, and escaped.

"I have to return those words to you!" Shirou stared silently at the vanishing void. He knew it was a power that allowed him to teleport to any location within Mars. There were no restrictions as long as the destination made the necessary preparations.

Even knowing this, he couldn't catch up. The rescue attempt failed.

Shirou picked up the two unconscious children and carried them toward the orphanage.

The next day

"Xiao Na!!!" The two boys woke up with a start. But they found themselves lying in a hospital bed, and there was no one else in sight.

"Shirou- nii! We have to go too! We have to go and rescue her!"

"Yes! It's all our fault for taking her to the abandoned factory, which led Xiao Na to meet Shuk Beta. We never expected her to be a traitor, and now she's controlling humans and being used."

"I've packed your luggage, let's go together," Shirou said to the two of them.

"Yes!" The chubby boy and Haotian quickly jumped up and followed.

Shirou, Gil, Xiao Mei, along with the chubby boy and Haotian, officially headed towards the place designated by the old man of the Beast God. They had to bring their important relatives home.

The light illuminated the withered yellow grass. Stepping on the yellow earth, a canyon lay ahead, its two rock walls deep and seemingly endless. From within came continuous chanting, the echoes never ceasing, as if welcoming Shirou and his companions.

Upon reaching the entrance to the canyon, the group tensed up, their impatient steps echoing softly on the damp, glistening earth, like the Grim Reaper chanting a hymn to the dead.

The road ahead is called "Death." The long canyon unfolds beneath the boy's feet. Walking in the canyon, looking at the patterns carved on the rock walls, it's as if they are telling the story of a new species' birth and rise. It's as if you can find Mars here, a myth in its dawn, the answer to the mystery of nature's riddle.

After climbing for a while, another continuous mountain range came into view above the canyon. The mountains were shrouded in mist, looking mysterious and beautiful. After another short break, the scenery in my eyes changed greatly. Looking at the mountain, the fog gradually receded, and a mountain that resembled the word "mountain" appeared clearly and truly in front of me. At this time, I felt that the distance between man and nature was closer. Unfortunately, although human beings are still human beings, the land is no longer the mother's land.

Even so, people still have to marvel at the wonders of nature; everything is perfectly formed, and everything is the true beauty presented by nature.

"Hehehe, humans! You didn't even go here! If you tried to climb over, you'd be struck by lightning and turned into charred remains. Hehehe!!!" The monster guarding the perimeter chuckled, covering its mouth.

"I'll go try it first! Everyone stop! Wait for me to return!" Shirou put down his backpack, handed it to Xiao Mei beside him, and turned to the others to say.

"Shirou, don't go! It's too dangerous," Xiao Mei said, looking at Shirou with concern.

"No, that's why I need to go," Shirou agreed matter-of-factly, and then walked towards the thunderstorm area.

The dark clouds gathering in the sky were now flashing with light, as if sensing Shirou's presence, and began to gather power. When he fell, it would surely be a lightning strike of immense power.

Chapter 980 Shirou's Mars War

Rumble!!!

A bolt of lightning, as thick as a pillar, struck Shirou from above, threatening to engulf him. The intense heat of the lightning might vaporize Shirou's boyish body.

Shirou was instantly Projection back, and the enormous pillar of light was absorbed into it the instant it touched the blade Shirou raised, leaving Shirou unharmed.

The group of people shouted excitedly.

"Shirou- kun! So strong!"

"Hurry up! Be careful at the exit." Shirou used his sword to absorb the lightning, reminding the others to go first.

"We understand." The chubby boy and Haotian ran inside.

At that moment, a claw crackling with fire slammed down from above.

The chubby boy rolled on the ground, narrowly avoiding the downward-pressing claw.

"You little brat, you've finally arrived! This time I'm going to devour you!" The red dragon roared as it descended from the sky. This time it was in its complete form, a colossal creature tens of meters tall.

"Don't even think about leaving, kid! Haiyan is always thinking about redemption and all that, but I'm different. Humans were destined for extinction, and now they've come to Mars to disrupt order, destroy the original environment, and then suffer nature's revenge. So I'm going to eat you all! And then become the strongest on the planet."

The unicorn whale also emerged at this moment, and it directly spewed out a stream of White Flowing Light, switching places with Shirou and Haotian.

Shirou appeared in front, while Haotian was caught in the thunderstorm.

Just as the lightning was about to strike Haotian's head, it was a hair's breadth away.

At that moment, a barrier of water appeared in the air, and as pure water is non-conductive, it blocked the fatal blow for the boy.

Although the lightning explosion shattered part of the water-escape technique, the electric current posed no threat to Haotian.

"Hehehe, burnt to a crisp." The evil dragon stared at Haotian with malicious intent and laughed.

Haotian looked at the dark clouds that were still gathering energy and broke out in a cold sweat.

"Next!!!" Shirou's voice rang out.

Then a knife crackling with lightning was thrown toward the boy.

Haotian merely opened his mouth slightly, and the Thunder Blade landed perfectly in his hand.

"I'll do it! Watch this, lightning rod!" Haotian struck a pose, and his comical gesture actually blocked the lightning strike from the sky.

Haotian rushed out, formed a triangle with his hands, and raised them above his head, standing on one leg like a golden rooster.

The lightning descended from the sky, but instead of striking the ice shield, it was drawn to Haotian. The current flowed along Haotian's body and dissipated into the ground, leaving no one injured.

"How is that possible? Let's try again!"

"Hateful."

"I'll lead it!"

"Hateful!!!"

"I'll draw it again."

Haotian then used his Thunder Blade to suppress the evil dragon and unleashed a thunderous attack in that direction.

"I'll keep going! Hahaha!!" Haotian burst into laughter.

When the Old Man Haiyan set the trap, he never imagined that lightning could be used in this way, let alone that he would encounter such a bizarre nemesis here. Although he wanted to use his power, he was powerless to solve the problem.

The beluga whale looked at the fat man and Gil, then waved its hand without saying a word.

"A meteorite fell from the sky."

A huge meteorite appeared high in the sky, about three or four meters high, and hurtled straight down towards the fat man.

"What do we do? What do we do?" The chubby boy looked at Gil in terror.

At that moment, Gil took a bottle of potion from the Gate of Babylon and poured it into the little fat boy's mouth.

In an instant, the chubby boy grew up, especially his big mouth, which revealed huge teeth. In a flash, it transformed into the maw of a whale-like beast and swallowed the meteorite.

"Burp!" The fat man exhaled a puff of green smoke. Under the amplification of Haotian's power, he felt like he could eat anything.

"What! It actually swallowed a meteorite!" someone exclaimed in surprise.

"Hehe, how about that! My belly has a huge capacity!" the chubby boy said proudly.

"A meteorite fell from the sky!"

"I'll eat it!"

"A meteorite fell from the sky!"

"I'll eat it!"

"Humans always like to divide other races into camps as if they were God, one side being pests, the other beneficial insects, one side poisonous creatures, the other beneficial birds, and then take their lives as if they were God. If I were to make the division, then humans would be the worst pests in the world! Meteorite explosion!!! This time you can't stop it." Old Man Haiyan was tired of the trick of throwing and eating, and raised his hands high. The meteorite was spinning in the sky, and as it fell, it exploded.

Because of gravity, meteorites falling straight down unleash even greater power upon explosion. The small fragments that shatter and fly out become like burning bullets, possessing immense destructive force. If they only break some things, that's one thing, but if they ignite flammable materials or crash into a car's fuel tank, the consequences would be unimaginable.

The chubby boy's mouth swelled up, and his whole body swelled too. He opened his arms and jumped up, but he still couldn't eat many of the fragments.

However, the whale was bigger than him, and when he bit down, it quickly pried open the little fat man's mouth, and its teeth were able to inflict effective damage on him.

The chubby boy changed from swallowing to gnawing, and used both hands to forcefully peel off a layer of the beluga whale's skin.

"Damn it! Aaaaaah!!! Let go!" the beluga whale screamed in pain.

For the first time, the high and mighty Beast God felt fear towards the insignificant humans. He couldn't understand why such small creatures could be so tenacious.

"Shirou! Run!" Xiao Mei shouted.

"Shirou- kun! Leave this to us!" the chubby boy shouted.

"Don't even think about it!" The red dragon charged forward, trying to block Shirou.

Fortunately, Haotian arrived just then, and Xiao Mei created a large water wall, but it still couldn't cover such a wide area.

"Hold on! I'm making it!" Shirou ran quickly outside.

As Shirou sprinted forward, he saw a building behind him completely destroyed by meteorite fragments. But it wasn't anything important, so Shirou continued running.

Ahead, earthen walls rose from the ground, blocking some of the impact of the rocks, but it was still not enough.

The surrounding trees grew rapidly, enveloping the houses. Their branches became thicker, their leaves denser, and vines grew up, covering the branches and forming a plant fortress.

Such ability is actually close to that of a deity.

While possessing power, the Old Man Haiyan was also trying to bring civilization to the new species. That's terrifying.

Even so, several attacks still managed to bypass Haotian and the chubby boy's interception and crash into a building somewhere. Fortunately, that location wasn't important.

At this moment, on the cliff by the sea, Shirou finally encountered the "Old Man Haiyan". The two did not immediately engage in battle, but stared at each other in a tense standoff.

Chapter 981 Shirou's Flame Power

"King of the Dragon Vein, the new species on Mars are equal to humans. You must admit that humanity has already failed once and is not suitable to be the rulers of Mars again."

This is an undeniable fact. However, people like to distinguish between natural disasters and man-made calamities. If a tsunami caused by an earthquake is a natural disaster, then isn't it human fault? What about the Fukushima nuclear power plant leak?

Humans themselves are also promoting the 'greenhouse effect,' and a country can produce millions of college students, yet they don't even understand the basic principles of 'protecting the environment is everyone's responsibility' and 'a thousand-mile dike can be breached by an ant hole.'

In the end, conferences held between countries are nothing more than a means to seek benefits and shirk responsibility. They close themselves off from common sense, deny the contributions of others, pretend to be compassionate, but in reality, they are extravagant and wasteful.

"Humans! King of the Dragon Vein! I think that no matter what disaster strikes, humanity is always on the wrong side. The so-called man-made disaster doesn't refer to the bad deeds of any one person or group. It's all of humanity that's wrong, so it needs to be punished. I am Thunder Punishment, upholding justice." The Old Man Haiyan Omega, had white light emanating from his eyes. Then, dark clouds gathered in the sky, and a rain of purple and white lightning arcs began to fall.

The dark clouds formed a circle around the unconscious Shana, creating a forbidden zone of thunderstorms. Lightning bolts struck incessantly from there, and there was no way to bypass or penetrate it.

"The lightning will keep moving closer to the center of gravity. In three minutes, this human girl will perish in the thunderstorm. So, what will you choose to do?" Old Man Haiyan asked Shirou.

Undeniably, the old man's words were true. Shirou and Shana were at a significant disadvantage here.

Time was of the essence, but the other party seemed completely absorbed in meditation.

The old man 'Haiyan', who was well-versed in the knowledge of the human world and was proficient in Buddhism, had long since seen through the illusions of the mortal world and become a saint without desires or wants—a saint among the monsters of a new species.

His mind and body had been tempered into an indestructible rock. Even Shirou's abilities could not find any flaws in him, and he could only rely on magical enhancements and sword skills to fight against 'Haiyan'.

For Shirou, this opponent was extremely difficult. 'Haiyan' possessed the experience and composure of an old man, and no amount of words, gestures, or voice could hinder him. Yet, his agile movements were unlike those of an old man, and his unpredictable wind blades could easily be fatal. Shirou had to counterattack the instant he dodged these attacks, or he would be completely overwhelmed by the enemy.

Just like a game of chess, the final outcome isn't determined by a single good move, but by who makes the first wrong move. Shirou is now the player who is being watched closely, facing the possibility of losing the entire game with a single wrong move, while his opponent remains unfazed.

In the end, they were still one step behind.

"Don't Run!!!" Shirou rushed forward anxiously. He had to defeat the Old Man Haiyan, before the thunderstorm hit Shana.

"It's no use! You can't keep up with my speed at all."

Haiyan dodged Shirou's slash, but instead seized on Shirou's opening, waving his hand to unleash a powerful gust of wind that blasted Shirou away like an air compression cannon.

Shirou was swept away and completed a backflip in mid-air.

Dozens of wind blades collided with the flying sword, canceling each other out. It dodged Shirou's attack and flew to the side.

"Damn it." There's no time left. The thunderstorm is about to hit the girl, Shirou can't just stand by and watch her be pierced by it.

Shirou unleashed several flying swords, entangled the Old Man Haiyan, and charged towards the center of the thunderstorm.

"Hmph! So he went to rescue her after all. What a pity." Haiyan didn't stop Shirou, but just watched quietly. In fact, this was the most efficient way. After all, Shirou was very strong. Even though he had lost the energy supply from the white god, he still forged his own path to becoming a strongman.

Even Haiyan Omega, who is a level above the other two Beast God, wouldn't dare guarantee that he could defeat Shirou; on the contrary, he's more likely to be defeated.

That's why Haiyan Omega sought out two other Beast God to cooperate in dealing with Shirou.

"King of the Dragon Vein, you are a noble being. Even the other Beast God acknowledge your strength. King of the Dragon Vein, please surrender. Then come with me to terraform Mars. Although we cannot allow humanity to multiply unchecked, as a harmless race numbering no more than 100,000, we can accept you. If you assist us in terraforming Mars and guarantee that humanity will never research technology again, I can reserve a piece of land for humanity. You can choose a portion of humanity to survive."

"Unfortunately, humans are very greedy. Once they live a good life, they can never go back to their original impoverished life. Humans instinctively yearn for a better new life, so stagnation or regression is unacceptable." Shirou smiled and resolutely walked into the thunderstorm area.

"Is that so? If you don't agree, then I'll have no choice but to destroy this place now."

"No! I'll stop you! I won't let you hurt anyone! Ughhhhh!!!" Shirou walked towards Shana in the center, letting out a scream, but still tried his best to move forward. The thunderstorm, like a rainstorm, hit his body, and even with the magic, it still burned his skin little by little until it turned blackish-brown.

"Shirou- nii! Are you... are you alright?" Shana, who had just woken up, burst into tears when she saw Shirou's appearance.