How should this door be described? It looked somewhat like a portal from a sci-fi creation, with an oval curtain of white light appearing in its center.
This bizarre sight stirred Xiang Yu's subordinates. They all stared in astonishment, though a few remained calm, as if they had seen such anomalies before.
At that moment, shadows appeared within the light curtain and gradually became clearer, as though someone inside was about to step out.
Then someone truly did emerge—a team of several dozen people.
The appearance of this team caused most of Xiang Yu's subordinates' expressions to change. They drew their weapons, ready to fight at any moment.
This team also left Brunhilde stunned.
Those black suits of armor made them look like soldiers from the Qin Dynasty?
Artificial Humans Appeared in This Era?
There was something very wrong with the armor worn by this black-clad team.
No matter how she looked at it, that armor did not seem like something this era's technology could forge.
Metal armor in this period was usually worn in the form of lamellar armor, with bronze or iron plates strung together piece by piece to form a suit of armor. Generally, only the chest and shoulders were protected.
Yet this black-clad team wore armor that nearly covered their entire bodies. Its polished surface was smooth and jet-black, and rather than being assembled from plates threaded together with cords, it consisted of large, streamlined pieces fitted closely to the body.
"That's—!"
Brunhilde recognized the material and could not help but be moved.
The smelting techniques of this era simply could not produce armor of this level. Even the smelting technology of a thousand years later might be needed to manufacture such metal armor.
Even a thousand years later, armor like this would not be something ordinary soldiers could wear. It would probably be standard equipment only for generals.
Yet every single person in this team wore such armor. It was obvious that this kind of armor had been mass-produced.
As for why she believed they were soldiers of the Qin Dynasty, it was because Brunhilde saw the markings on their armor. They bore the word Qin, as well as the insignia of the Qin army's battle banner.
Of course, what shocked Brunhilde the most was this strange portal.
It looked like something produced by what the West called magic and the East called immortal arts, yet it also carried a sense of technology. It was truly unsettling.
So what lay on the other side of that portal?
Was it some unknown place? Or was the other side another space, similar to the Different Dimension from King Solomon's era?
There was no way to know. Only by crossing this portal could they discover what lay on the other side.
Returning to the earlier question, was this unit truly the Qin army?
If they were Qin soldiers, why were these people saluting Xiang Yu? It seemed as though Xiang Yu was also their superior.
And what was inside the huge box they had carried out?
Then Xiang Yu walked toward the box and heavily slapped it.
With a loud bang, the wooden box shattered beneath that blow.
At that moment, what was inside was revealed. It was a person—a person wrapped in a black robe?
This person had been locked inside the box?
Dead? Brunhilde could not sense any sign of life.
The next second, red light lit up beneath the large hood. It was a pair of red lights, as though the eyes were glowing.
Then came a faint sound of machinery turning, followed by several cable-like tubes suddenly shooting out from the person's body. Their needle-like tips stabbed straight into Xiang Yu!
"Mm—!"
This sudden change made Lantigreese cover her little mouth.
Brunhilde's pupils contracted at the sight. It was too bizarre.
Looking at those cable-like things, were they extracting Xiang Yu's brain matter?
The cable-like things protruding from the body seemed to be accompanied by the sounds of machinery operating. The body itself gradually began to glow.
The glow did not cover the entire body. It was more like certain areas lighting up after a robot had been powered on.
Faced with this sudden turn of events, Xiang Yu's subordinates immediately rushed over to save their king, but the black-armored figures stopped them.
After the Cables embedded in Xiang Yu appeared to complete whatever they had been extracting, they detached from him.
At this point, Brunhilde could confirm that Xiang Yu's life had ended.
Though he was still standing and his eyes remained open, they had lost their color, and his heart had stopped beating.
She could not understand what was happening.
Why had Xiang Yu allowed that strange humanoid thing to take his life?
Brunhilde was certain Xiang Yu could have resisted, yet he did nothing at all and simply allowed that bizarre humanoid thing to take his life.
Was it because Xiang Yu knew he was powerless to turn the current situation around, so he had lost all hope and offered no resistance?
No. From beginning to end, Brunhilde had not seen even a trace of despair, dejection, or rage in the Hegemon King's eyes.
All she saw in the Hegemon King's eyes was confidence, the conviction that everything was under his control.
Clearly, there seemed to be no possibility of turning things around anymore, so she could not understand why he wore such a look.
The historical records were also nearing their conclusion.
"St—stop!"
A deep voice that did not sound human rang out, and it came from that humanoid thing.
The voice was halting, as if it were speaking and making sounds for the first time.
The humanoid thing finally began to move. Its actions felt mechanical, like a robot operating for the first time.
At that moment, the humanoid thing reached out, grabbed the black robe covering its body, and tore it away, revealing the appearance hidden beneath it.
At that instant, aside from the black-armored soldiers who remained relatively calm, everyone else stared in shock.
"Wh-what is going on, Sister?!"
Lantigreese's face was filled with agitation as she stared incredulously at the figure no longer concealed by the black robe.
"I don't know either!"
Brunhilde's voice was dazed as well. The figure revealed beneath the black robe was none other than the Western Chu Hegemon King, Xiang Yu.
What was going on? Twin brothers?
How could that be possible!
What was especially strange was that Brunhilde could not sense a heartbeat from this Xiang Yu. He was like an icy mechanical person.
Wait, a mechanical person?
There were mechanical sounds coming from inside this Xiang Yu's body, the sounds of gears turning.
"C-could it be!!!"
Brunhilde's voice trembled as an absurd possibility surfaced in her mind.
Hehehe!
Brunhilde could not help but tremble.
She had thought the third person would be an ordinary human, yet she had encountered such an abnormal scene.
Another person hiding an unknown secret.
So what was this supposed possibility?
The answer was that this "living" Xiang Yu before them was, in the terms of this era, a Mechanical Puppet.
In modern terms, he was an artificial human.
He had just directly uploaded the consciousness of his original body—his soul—into this body!
This should be the truth, a truth so shocking that it left one's mind in chaos.
Something that should have existed in the sci-fi future had actually appeared in this era!!!
The Other Side of the Portal—The Qin Empire?
Xiang Yu had abandoned his fleshly body and implanted his soul into a Mechanical Body.
What was his purpose in doing this?
Was it because his original body was afflicted with some illness and had nearly reached its limit?
But it did not seem that way at all.
Was it to gain greater power and a longer lifespan?
Just like humans of the future, who also sought to break through the lifespan limits of being short-lived species. One method was to implant their consciousness—their souls—into machines and thereby obtain immortality.
Upon closer observation, Brunhilde felt that this mechanical body was not purely a product of technology, nor was it purely a product of magic—immortal power. Had it been created by combining the two?
Then who had built this mechanical body for Xiang Yu? How had he learned such technology? Had he received technical support from Eastern Immortal Gods?
"Sister, over there—!"
Lantigreese pointed out something unusual in the river beside them.
Looking at the flowing river, and at the distant end of its surface, the water there was churning violently as it spread toward them.
It was as though something in the water was surging toward them.
"That is—!"
Ordinary humans likely would not be able to see anything from this distance, but Brunhilde made something out and was slightly startled.
There really was something rushing through the river, and it was enormous.
In the West, such things were called Demon Beasts, while in the East, they were called yao.
It appeared to be a huge Water Serpent, churning the river's surface and forming massive waves as it charged toward them.
If they did not leave, the oncoming waves would definitely sweep all several hundred of them into the river.
Had that thing set its sights on these people, intending to devour them?
Judging by its frantic advance, it was extremely impatient.
Brunhilde's gaze returned to Xiang Yu, and he had likewise sensed the malice approaching him.
He raised his long halberd over his head and half-turned his body.
Simply put, Xiang Yu assumed the stance of throwing the halberd in his hand.
The next second, the air exploded, and a great amount of white mist appeared around Xiang Yu.
The mist was created because his throwing motion was so violent that it compressed the air, producing water vapor.
The halberd Xiang Yu had been holding had already left his hand.
Its excessive speed tore through the air, producing a sharp howl.
Its excessive speed caused it to turn red-hot from friction with the air, leaving behind an orange-red trail of light.
Its excessive speed skimmed across the river's surface, and the highly compressed airflow generated by the halberd sliced the river open, parting the water.
This rift in the river's surface extended all the way toward the charging Giant Serpent.
Thus, the Giant Serpent that had been churning the river a second earlier was struck by the halberd before it could react. Its body was shredded into countless pieces, and a vast mist of blood burst outward.
Was this the power Xiang Yu possessed after obtaining a mechanical body? That strike alone was enough to let Xiang Yu rival an ordinary demigod.
However, merely rivaling a demigod would not be enough to defeat the gods. But Brunhilde believed this was not all of Xiang Yu's current strength.
Xiang Yu had only just obtained this body and was still unfamiliar with it. That move had probably only been a small test of his strength.
Her pupils contracted as Brunhilde discovered that it was not only the Water Serpent that had come rushing over. There were even more Demon Beasts. These Demon Beasts swiftly devoured the Water Serpent's corpse before continuing their savage charge toward Xiang Yu.
This scene left Brunhilde somewhat confused.
Looking at the eyes of these Demon Beasts, every one of them was crazed, as though Xiang Yu possessed some miraculous immortal pill, and they were desperately rushing over to seize it.
An immortal pill? There was probably some special divine object within Xiang Yu's body that had attracted those Demon Beasts.
Then, under Xiang Yu's command, everyone entered the portal while he remained standing at the riverbank, preparing to face the attacking Demon Beasts alone.
Before you continue