The Choice

Li Ze faced the massive Mechanical Legion alone, using immense Mental Power to wield the Enlightenment God Weapon in his hand.

The nine crimson phantom swords it manifested turned into streaks of Flowing Light, shooting through the air toward the Mechanical Puppets ahead at Extreme Speed.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of explosions rang out. In the blink of an eye, more than a hundred of the nearest Mechanical Puppets were blasted away, the tremendous impact sending them crashing into the puppets behind them.

Dozens of Mechanical Puppets had their internal components displaced and ruined by Li Ze's Enlightenment God Weapon. The other Mechanical Puppets that had been blasted back had also suffered varying degrees of damage.

Under the control of the many hidden Mechanical Race soldiers, the remaining Mechanical Puppets launched all manner of attacks at Li Ze.

Yet as Li Ze retreated and dodged, he evaded every single attack.

The nine crimson phantom swords under Li Ze's Control were as swift as lightning, flickering in and out of sight.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Mechanical Puppets forged from C-grade and D-grade metal could not hinder the phantom swords' speed at all.

With every attack, hundreds of Mechanical Puppets were blasted back...

Thus, under Li Ze's bizarre movement technique, the Mechanical Race's encirclement turned into a pursuit battle. Under the relentless bombardment of the Enlightenment God Weapon, one Mechanical Puppet after another was destroyed.

One, two, three.

One hundred, two hundred, three hundred.

One thousand, two thousand, three thousand.

Supported by his immense Mental Power, Li Ze was like a tireless machine, continuously attacking the Mechanical Puppet Legion.

Whenever his Mental Power diminished and he felt the slightest mental fatigue, threads of Chaos Aura would flow from the soul within his Origin Core, a soul transformed by the Chaos Bell.

Li Ze's Mental Power would immediately recover. He used it again and again, replenished it, used it again, replenished it again.

Gradually, Li Ze's Mental Power actually became stronger. It was not an increase in quantity like a breakthrough, but a transformation like iron repeatedly hammered into steel. His Mental Power became tougher and more resilient.

Li Ze's Control over the Enlightenment God Weapon also continued to grow. The power of its second form, Explosion Sword Style, steadily increased, and the number of Mechanical Puppets directly destroyed by each strike gradually rose as well.

Time passed bit by bit. The number of destroyed Mechanical Puppets continued to rise, while the pressure Li Ze faced steadily decreased.

"Lanmos, we need to change our strategy. We can't keep grinding it out like this. We only have a little over thirty thousand Mechanical Puppets, and we've already lost nearly ten thousand!"

Within the small virtual communications space of the Mechanical Race aboard the Space-time Fortress, a Mechanical Race squad captain controlling puppets in battle against Li Ze spoke to Lanmos, the commander.

Lanmos did not answer immediately after hearing the squad captain's words. His Intelligent Core was operating at high speed.

After a long while, Lanmos finally spoke.

"Everyone, according to calculations based on battlefield data, there are currently only three options for eliminating this Human Race member!"

Lanmos spoke in an emotionless metallic voice.

"Option one: all 190 of your remaining soldiers join the battle to increase the intensity of the attacks. Attempt to injure or even kill that Human Race member. Even if it is ineffective, it can slow the consumption of Mechanical Puppets and prolong the battle, allowing us to see whether we can exhaust that Human Race member's Mental Power. However, analysis of the battle data thus far indicates that this option has no more than a thirty percent chance of success."

"Option two: have the remaining Mechanical Puppets self-destruct on a massive scale. This option requires some of the 190 soldiers to personally attack, allowing that Human Race soldier to discover you and use warrior methods to kill you. As long as he enters a range close enough to the Mechanical Puppets, if more than five thousand Mechanical Puppets self-destruct simultaneously, there is over a ninety percent chance of killing him. However, the explosions caused by such large-scale self-destruction will also kill you."

"Option three: due to the earlier bombardment by the Space-time Spheres, our race has already obtained a large number of points. Our current score has surpassed that of the Human Race and Demon Race. You may now abandon the attack and retreat directly. As long as you contract your defenses and hold out until the Sacred Mountain Battle ends, our race will achieve victory. The premise is that the Human Race member does not pursue you."

"Everyone, which plan do you choose?" Lanmos stated his assessment of the current situation in a completely emotionless voice.

Although he had been appointed the temporary commander for the Mechanical Race in this Sacred Mountain Battle, the participating Mechanical Race members were not his servants. He had the authority to decide certain major operations, but for a choice involving the lives and deaths of so many Universe Level Generals, they had the right to choose whether to fight or stop.

Upon hearing Lanmos's three options, the many Mechanical Race soldiers silently calculated within their Intelligent Cores.

"I choose to retreat. If the Human Race pursues us, then we'll use the first method to wear him down. I don't believe a Universe level Human Race member can truly outlast Mechanical Puppets controlled by so many of our soldiers!" A Mechanical Race squad captain spoke directly.

"Agreed!" "Agreed!" "Agreed!" "Agreed!"

The many Mechanical Race squad captains currently engaged in battle voiced their support.

After becoming Intelligent Life, the Mechanical Race had clearly developed the emotions possessed by all living beings. They understood joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. If their master ordered them to self-destruct, these Mechanical Race members likely would not hesitate. But when they themselves could choose how to act, they would not accept the second option—mass self-destruction that would kill them as well.

"Good! Then prepare to retreat. Once the retreat is complete, all Mechanical Race squads within the Space-time Fortress will switch to defensive mode. Minimize the chances of being discovered and killed!" Upon hearing the decision of the Mechanical Race members, Lanmos immediately issued his orders.

Outside the Space-time Fortress, the Immortals of the Three Races were constantly watching this decisive battle.

Just as the Immortals of every race had predicted before the war began, during the first half of this decisive battle, the Demon Race squads had suffered Will Impacts under the effects of the Will Crystals. Only a dozen or so Demon Race members retained any combat capability.

Not long afterward, the members of the Demon Race Royal Clan and Royal Clan teams were killed one by one by the Human Race. Even the captain of the Royal Clan Team, a descendant of the Dream Demon Ancestor, was killed by Li Ze.

At the location where the Demon Race Immortals were gathered.

"We've failed! Our Demon Race's Sacred Mountain Battle is completely over! Damned Human Race!" A King-level Immortal of the Demon Race, sitting upright with countless tentacles covering its body, dragging a long tail and somewhat resembling a scorpion, roared with a vicious expression.

The many other King-level Immortals also freely released their dissatisfied auras.

The Demon Race had been fully confident in this Sacred Mountain Battle because they had prepared in advance, even proposing to increase the number of gambling slots for the Qishen Treasure Vault.

Yet they had become the first of the Three Races to be eliminated. This Sacred Mountain Battle would undoubtedly become a laughingstock among the universe's major races for many years to come. The Demon Race King-level Immortals who had participated in this Sacred Mountain Battle would also lose all face before the other Demon Race King-level Immortals because of it.

Furthermore, the plans of the many King-level Immortals to obtain more entry slots for the Qishen Treasure Vault through this Sacred Mountain Battle had all come to nothing. Their chances of obtaining slots would be greatly reduced.

Having lost both face and benefits, these beings who had lived for countless years were consumed by rage.

Leaving aside the Demon Race Immortals venting their fury.

On the Human Race side, the many top Human Race teams that had defeated the Demon Race were caught in the Mechanical Race's sudden attack, and many died in the ambush.

Afterward, Li Ze alone began his battle against the Mechanical Race's massive Mechanical Puppet Legion.

Many Immortals frowned as they watched Li Ze battle on the screen.

They could only see footage transmitted by the surveillance systems inside the Space-time Fortress. They could not determine the state of Li Ze's Original Force energy or Mental Power, and they worried that he might suddenly run out of strength.

After all, Li Ze was now their only hope of defeating the Mechanical Race Legion.

"Li Ze shouldn't keep entangling himself with the Mechanical Race Puppet Legion. He should break free first, wait for the injured members of the other top Human Race teams to recover, then look for another opportunity. Perhaps we can still win this Sacred Mountain Battle!" An Immortal Legion Commander seated atop a metal platform said as he watched the screen.

"Not necessarily. That little fellow looks very calm. He should be confident in his condition. He has fought for so long, yet the strength of his attacks has not weakened. On the contrary, the power of the Enlightenment God Weapon is gradually increasing!" A Giant Tiger Race Immortal Legion Commander beside the one who had just spoken replied directly.

The other Human Race Immortals also discussed the battle unfolding on the screen.

"Look, the Mechanical Race is retreating!"

After Li Ze successfully killed more than ten thousand Mechanical Puppets, the Mechanical Race Legion stopped pursuing him and directly retreated.

"What's going on? That kid Li Ze is actually chasing after the Mechanical Race. He wants to keep them here!" The purple-haired female Immortal Legion Commander beside Xizes was directly stunned by Li Ze's actions on the screen.

"Does he really still have that much Mental Power?" Someone spoke in disbelief.

"How can a Universe level little fellow do this? Among those of the same rank, the Mechanical Race has so many Mechanical Puppets that they fear prolonged battles the least." The purple-haired female Immortal Legion Commander looked at Xizes beside her with a face full of questions.

Xizes stared intently at the image of Li Ze pursuing the Mechanical Race on the screen and did not answer the female Immortal Legion Commander.

"Hahaha! This Li Ze truly deserves to be my future disciple. He has my style!" King Yuchi, the King-level Immortal clad in Red Battle Armor and resembling an Earth Human, laughed loudly as he watched Li Ze pursue the Mechanical Race.

"Yu Chi, your skin is really thick! Since when did Li Ze become your disciple?" The King-level Immortal beside him, who came from the Virtual Universe Company, said with open disdain as he looked at the laughing King Yuchi.

"Zhu Tian, why can't Li Ze be my disciple? After this Sacred Mountain Battle, even if I have to pay a price, I'll take him as my disciple. His personality is far too suited to becoming my disciple." King Yuchi smiled at King Zhutian beside him.

The two had spent more than a million years together on the Fourth Outer Domain Battlefield and had experienced countless battles side by side. They had long become Good Friends who had faced life and death together, so they held nothing back in their conversations. King Yuchi directly expressed his determination to accept Li Ze as a disciple.

Hearing the resolve in King Yuchi's words, King Zhutian helplessly shook his head.

Although this Good Friend of his had already lived for countless years, he had never taken another disciple after his first disciple had failed to break through to Immortal and died. He had not expected him to develop the desire to take a disciple during this Sacred Mountain Battle.

To be continued.

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