The Might of a Grandmaster

These few were the Legion Commanders who had taken part in the "Spirit Slaughter" operation. Every one of them was a true Grandmaster Realm Stronger.

"Finally... they're making their move?"

The surviving squad leaders gazed up at the figures in the sky, murmuring under their breath.

The outer support units, which had been preparing to withdraw, also stopped in their tracks when they saw these powerhouses appear.

Lu Feng, in the center of the 115th Legion, couldn't help looking up as well.

He saw that, apart from the Communicators in their ears, the Grandmasters were indeed wearing no protective gear at all.

At last, he was certain that Grandmasters really could move freely in extreme environments without relying on any technology.

But if they were so powerful, why hadn't they acted sooner?

Why wait until they had suffered such devastating losses before showing themselves?

At the center of the battlefield.

The berserk Drill Bull Lord seemed to sense the deadly threat as well.

It abandoned its pursuit of the ordinary Mechas and raised its mountain-sized head, its purple eyes fixed on the few tiny figures in the sky that radiated a terrifying aura.

"Everyone, let's finish this quickly and clean up."

The speaker was Zhang Zechuan, commander of the 115th Legion.

His voice was calm. He didn't use any amplification equipment, yet it carried clearly to every person on the battlefield, with an unquestionable authority.

Before his words had even faded, five or six figures suddenly spread out, turning into streaks of light in different colors as they charged into the beast swarm.

One streak of crimson light shot straight toward a Leader Level Drill Bull. The enormous Exotic Beast roared and charged to meet it, driving forward horns capable of tearing through alloy.

But the streak of light neither dodged nor retreated. It simply threw a punch.

There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a muffled splat.

Under the gaze of countless Mecha sensors and watching eyes, the Leader Level Drill Bull's head, harder than steel, burst apart like a watermelon crushed by an invisible force. Its enormous body stiffened for a moment, then crashed to the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.

The crimson streak didn't stop. It shot toward the next Leader Level beast...

This wasn't the only place it happened. Wherever the other Grandmasters went, it was nothing short of a one-sided slaughter.

Whether they faced ordinary Third Order beasts or Leader Level Fourth Order Drill Bulls, the Grandmasters killed them instantly!

That was the power of a Grandmaster!

Against Low-level Alien Beasts, they displayed absolute dominance. Like hot knives through butter, they wiped out the Beast Tide at a visible pace.

However, the true heart of the battlefield was the Lord Level Drill Bull.

At that moment, the three Grandmasters with the most imposing auras surrounded it in a triangle.

"ROAR—!"

The Drill Bull Lord let out an ear-splitting roar. The sound waves seemed almost tangible. Sensing a deadly threat, it struck first.

Its enormous body erupted into astonishing speed for its size. Like a charging mountain, it slammed into Zhang Zechuan directly in front of it!

"Hmph! For such an enormous herd of beasts to have only one Lord is pathetic."

Zhang Zechuan snorted. Qi Energy surged around him as he raised his hand and unleashed a powerful stream of True Qi.

"BOOM—!!!"

A terrifying impact rang out. The shock wave burst outward in a ring, hurling everything within a hundred meters into the air—beast corpses and Mecha wreckage alike.

The other two Grandmasters attacked at the same time, sending two mighty waves of True Qi slicing through the air.

The Drill Bull Lord hadn't yet regained its footing and could only take the blows head-on.

BOOM!

Violent Power sent the enormous beast flying backward, crashing heavily into the dense herd behind it.

The impact left a huge crater, and clouds of dust billowed into the sky.

When the dust had partly settled, the Lord slowly rose from the crater and shook the dirt from its body.

"Ganging up on me... You Alien Races are truly despicable!"

Through Luo Lin's translation, the furious growl rang out across the battlefield.

After speaking, the Lord leaped into the air, covering several miles in an instant as it fled into the distance.

"Not so fast!"

The Grandmasters weren't about to let it get away. They immediately turned into streaks of light and gave chase.

"ATTACK—!"

Just then, a deafening battle cry erupted across the All-Channel!

Tens of thousands of Legion Warriors from the other three planets who had taken part in the "Spirit Slaughter" operation surged forward as though they'd received the same order.

With the three Grandmasters still rampaging across the battlefield, the tide of battle had completely turned.

With the Drill Bull Lord fleeing, the beast swarm collapsed entirely.

Countless Drill Bulls fled in panic, only to be mercilessly hunted down by the human legions as they arrived.

An order from a Legion Commander came through the All-Channel: "All Tianlan Star units, rest where you are and stand by. You won't be needed in the next battle."

Hearing the order, Lu Feng felt a strange unease.

He switched his Mecha to standby mode, keeping only its life-support system running. As he digested the surging energy in his Mark, he spoke over the squad channel:

"Captain, why was it only our Tianlan Star legion fighting in the earlier battle? If the Grandmasters could've acted sooner, so many people wouldn't have died!"

He increasingly felt that the entire battle had been planned in advance.

The Tianlan Star troops seemed to have been used as bait from the very beginning, to lure out the Drill Bull Lord.

"Exactly!"

Yu Le from the Skyfire Club couldn't help chiming in. "Even if the Grandmasters didn't want to act too soon, there were dozens of legions and tens of thousands of soldiers from the other planets. If they'd come to help earlier, Tianlan Star wouldn't have paid such a terrible price."

Lu Feng's question left the channel silent for a moment.

At last, Gao Zhan spoke, his voice heavy.

"In the eyes of the Expeditionary Force's higher-ups, we really are just pawns. Their goal was never merely to clear out the Exotic Beasts. They also wanted to draw out and severely wound that Lord, so they could occupy the entire Sudali Plain and establish a Temporary Starry Sky Station."

"Establishing a Starry Sky Station is only the first step of this expedition. Once all the starships have landed and we have a secure base, we can gradually eliminate every Exotic Beast on Planet Caro 9. Only then can we officially begin prospecting for Star Source Ore—that's the true goal of this operation."

He paused, his voice carrying a restrained fury. "As for the number of casualties... on the scales of strategy, they've always been the least valued bargaining chip."

The squad channel fell silent.

Especially for the Warriors taking part in an Expedition for the first time, who had set out hoping to grow stronger through the experience. Only now did they realize that what awaited them was an abyss that could swallow their lives at any moment.

Lu Feng said nothing more.

He understood completely now. In the eyes of those powerhouses, ordinary Warriors like them were merely stepping-stones on the path to a higher realm.

If he wanted to change this fate, he had to grow stronger as quickly as possible along the Martial Path. Only with sufficient power could he truly take control of his own destiny.