The Darkness Sword's Retreat
The outer legions of the Darkness Sword Organization soon discovered that they were not waiting for any more reinforcements.
Several positions that were still requesting assistance received evacuation orders. Facilities that could be taken away were to be dismantled as soon as possible; those parts still connected to the vast expanse of starry sky were to be abandoned immediately.
Some dominant players don't even have the opportunity to bring all the assets they've built up over the years into the Transport Platform.
In the distance, the Destruction Angel has already caught up!
Dense bursts of black and red flames exploded one after another in the still-unfinished cosmos. The Darkness Legion, responsible for providing cover, could only fight back while continuing to retreat.
Outside one of the key strongholds, Locke's own gunshot pierced through the newly deployed defenses from the center.
Ebony unleashed a Darkness Edge from afar, finally allowing one group of legions to leave the Jieyin Zone.
But he did not rush back to Locke.
The lingering Destruction Flames on his shoulder served as a constant reminder of the price he would pay for continuing a direct confrontation.
Locke then ordered the legion to turn to the other side.
Those resource areas that had lost their full garrison quickly fell into the hands of the Destruction Divine Kingdom.
Taking over a position doesn't mean burning everything to Ash all at once.
The first engineering teams to enter began connecting the still-usable facilities. Several legions of the Destruction Angel Legion responsible for holding down the perimeter remained stationary in the still-unstable starry sky to prevent the remaining defenders from returning.
There is a storage area where the Dark Being that were originally in charge of managing it have not yet left.
What they encountered was not a high-ranking expert continuing the pursuit of Ebony, but a garrison that had already received orders to take over.
Dense Destruction Firelight surrounded the entrance, and resources that had not yet been sent out were also brought out in batches.
Among them were Dark Attribute materials accumulated over a long period of time, as well as large quantities of supplies transported from various parts of Yuanyu.
After checking the total amount, Locke instructed the personnel responsible for follow-up matters to continue the count.
Some Source Star that could still resume production were not directly destroyed. The mid- and low-level organisms needed to maintain mining were also left in place.
The garrison needs them to keep working.
The original markings of the Darkness Sword Organization were gradually erased.
A group of Homeland Being trapped inside the position were subsequently brought outside.
Some of them were responsible for resource sorting, while others had been maintaining Transport Facilities. Now that the garrison had changed, the tasks they previously handled were re-registered.
The people who Destruction Divine Kingdom selected the still usable parts and left several teams to remain in the rear.
The resources these creatures have accumulated are no match for the Darkness Sword Organization's large storage areas. Staying here means waiting for the next round of specific arrangements.
When the several passageways that had long been under their control were reopened, patrol forces tasked with the Destruction Divine Kingdom had appeared on the outside.
The Native Fleet, which had previously dared not approach, slowly sailed into the area only after receiving permission.
When Hemon received news of the changes in these places, the first thing he inquired about was the two transport routes still in use by the Vast Peaks Civilization.
One of them was that they no longer had to bypass the Darkness Sword Organization's strongholds.
The other one still needs to wait for the engineering team to complete a new round of repairs.
He instructed the personnel in charge of the delivery to immediately prepare for the next batch of shipments, but he did not directly mark the newly conquered starry sky as the territory of his own civilization.
Locke made no promise to give them these spoils of war for free.
The most important locations remain under the control of the Destruction Divine Kingdom. Nearby Homeland Civilization wishing to use the facilities or participate in the management of certain resource-producing areas will need to renegotiate their plans.
The allies involved in the Jieyin and transportation received their respective shares based on their assigned tasks.
The Mechanical Civilization gained more than just materials salvaged from the battlefield.
A new transit area connecting to the original base has been designated. When transporting Engineering Fleet in the future, it will no longer be necessary to detour through the routes of other civilizations.
Saine entrusted some of the tasks to Wojin's men, while he went to check on the Crystal Tide Wrath Beast that had just retreated to the rear.
The massive, dark golden beast's body was not as intact as it had been when it entered the battlefield.
A thick crystalline armor on his shoulder had been partially severed by the Darkedge Sword Lord. There were also several gaps on his chest that had not yet been repaired, from which darkness still lingered.
Saine did not unleash the God of Machines, but instead used a few streaks of Ash Fire to suppress the remnants that were penetrating deeper.
When the Crystal Tide Wrath Beast sensed the flames, it visibly shrank back.
But when it saw Locke approaching, it stopped in its tracks.
"Don't move," Locke said.
The creature slowly lowered its head, finally managing not to smash the mechanical arm that was near the crystal armor.
The Engineering Legion had prepared a new batch of components. After Saine removed several inactive crystal layers from the beast's body, the outer Stabilization Device once again caught the fluctuating force.
"It's about time to put it back," he said.
Locke glanced at the connection between the Crystal Tide Wrath Beast and the passage behind him, and nodded slightly.
Being able to continue participating in the battle in Yuanyu this time is a significant step forward compared to simply passing through the Bronze Gate at the beginning.
However, leaving it here long-term still requires a significant amount of support. Especially after the frontal damage, these costs have clearly increased.
Locke did not insist on keeping him.
When Balhaine arrived, the Crystal Tide Wrath Beast was preparing to turn towards the evacuation route.
She folded her dragon wings, pushing aside the still-churning Destruction Storm along her path. On the other side, Karuman had also cleared the starry sky where she had been standing, making enough space for the enormous beast's body.
The Crystal Tide Wrath Beast let out a low growl upon seeing them.
This time, Locke didn't need to suppress it first, and the intertwined origins between the two didn't clash violently.
Balhaine approached its shoulder, examined the several patches of crystal armor that had not yet recovered, and then pushed a piece of Destruction Crystals in front of it.
The Crystal Tide Wrath Beast didn't swallow it immediately, but instead looked at Locke beside it.
"Take it," Locke said.
The dark golden light slowly enveloped the crystal.
In the passage that opened shortly afterward, the Paradise Lost Origin had already arrived. The Time Anchor Point left by the Alarm Clock Girl in the Jieyin Zone also lit up one after another, with the cooperation of the Mechanical Engineering Legion.
The Crystal Tide Wrath Beast finally turned its head and, following Locke's guidance, entered the return route.
It did not suddenly change direction because there were still signs of war in the distance.
The Destruction Mark remained, but many instinctive agitations that had previously had to be repeatedly suppressed no longer needed to be dealt with by Locke one by one.
Saine preserved the entire evacuation process within the Magic Cube.
After the Crystal Tide Wrath Beast returned to the Destruction Time-Space via the Paradise Lost, the primordial energy from the original Star Sector quickly converged upon it.
The damaged crystalline armor gradually reformed.
The Zerg Swarm under Kerrygan's command, still guarding the node, were not subjected to its instinctive attacks. The massive beast even deliberately avoided a Mechanical Platform that was having its components replaced.
After the relevant information was transmitted back to the Primordial Universe Time-Space, Locke retrieved a portion of the support.
Locke is still at the front.
Balhaine and Karuman also remained with the army Saine's side and did not return with them.
Further away, several remnant legions of the Darkness Sword Organization had already concentrated on the core positions that had not yet fallen.
Ebony preserved some areas, but could no longer maintain the frontier starry sky as a vast, interconnected region as it had before the war.
His Mother Time-Space and foundation still exist, of course.
Locke doesn't currently view Yuanyu's attack as a war to conquer the entire Mother Time-Space across dimensions.
But the remaining strongholds are still under attack from the Destruction Divine Kingdom.
When Ebony contacted the World-Realm Emperor Monarch again, the conditions he offered were different from the initial ones.
The resources that were originally planned to be paid in installments were reorganized into a single record. Several other more important places were also added.
If the Source-Devouring Legion is willing to provide actual support, it can obtain longer-term stay and facility usage conditions.
One of the pathways connecting to other Dimensional Plane even made the World-Realm Emperor Monarch pause for a moment.
"Can you decide which places to go?" he asked.
"Yes," Ebony replied.
The World-Realm Emperor Monarch then combined it with the latest battlefield situation.
Two of these locations are very close to Locke's army. Even if Ebony is willing to offer it now, whether it can be completely defended afterward is not solely determined by this promise.
He did not turn these conditions directly into Spoils of War that he had already received.
Ebony waited for a while, but still did not receive a reply that troops would be dispatched immediately.
"We'll take another look," said the World-Realm Emperor Monarch.
The darkness beside Ebony suddenly deepened.
That's utterly shameless!
When he initially invited the Source-Devouring Legion, he hoped to use them to change his situation in Yuanyu. But now that he truly needed their help, it was no longer up to him to decide.
Locke didn't wait for the plea for help; he slowly arrived at a conclusion.
The situation at another dark location was soon brought to him.
Balhaine had already led his legion to block one side. The Destruction Angel who were coming from the rear were being directed to move to another passage that was not yet closed.
Locke surveyed several facilities that were still operational, then slowly gripped the God Slaying Spear.
"The next batch will go in from here."
New orders were sent to the front lines, and the Transport Platform, which had just stopped, moved forward again.