His figure stood about two stories tall, clad in silver-white metal armor streaked with bright blue lines.
It gave off an unmistakable sense of futuristic technology.
A pair of huge metal wings, matching his proportions, extended from his back.
Without even flapping them, he could hover effortlessly in the air.
He emerged from the dust.
The mech looked around like a newborn baby, taking in its surroundings.
Nearby, the people in the vehicles that had been forced to stop by his presence—
all rushed out of their cars.
Some began filming with their phones, while others made calls.
But this time, perhaps it was the instinctive way living creatures sensed danger.
Or perhaps it was because the giant mech had already drawn a metal greatsword several meters long.
This time, no one tried to get closer. As if by unspoken agreement, everyone backed away.
As far as the eye could see, Jing Lei saw the Shenhe Body life-forms who were tiny as ants in his eyes looking at him.
Some were afraid; others were curious.
The various analyzers installed inside him analyzed the surrounding data.
At the same time, they transmitted the information they collected to their flagship for analysis.
This was one of the reasons Jing Lei had come to this planet ahead of time.
He wanted to collect data on Earth's weapons in advance, to prepare for the invasion to come.
His other goal was to find out whether Earth had any so-called Super Soldiers who might inflict heavy losses on their invasion force.
If it did, they would have to devise a God Slaying Plan in advance!
Looking around at the fragile Shenhe Body life-forms who had retreated after he drew his greatsword,
Jing Lei began to formulate a plan.
Everyone here was apparently a civilian. Earth's defense forces probably hadn't arrived yet—or had yet to receive the news.
But Shenhe Body life-forms had always been naturally inclined to protect the weak. They believed the strong should protect the weak; this could also be called compassion.
If that was the case, then he would slaughter all the civilians here first.
It would be an offering of his faith to My God.
Their defense forces should arrive soon enough.
But why use a beast's blade to kill people?
There was no need for hand-to-hand combat against civilians.
Jing Lei put away his greatsword and extended his right hand. A scarlet laser gathered on his armor.
Just then, Jing Lei spotted a weak Shenhe Body life-form.
She was moving against the crowd, leaping across car roofs as she raced toward him.
Hm? A Super Soldier?
Or was she just looking to die?
The one approaching was, of course, Ashe.
Her purple hair, which had hung loose down her back, was already tied into a ponytail for battle.
Ashe had shed the languid air she'd had in the car.
Now her entire presence was like a drawn blade.
She seemed dangerous, unstoppable.
The distance between them wasn't great.
As Jing Lei wondered whether Ashe had come to die, his hand never stopped moving.
The laser that had been aimed at the crowd now locked precisely onto Ashe.
With a sharp whoosh, a scarlet beam shot toward her.
At the same time, Ashe had already summoned her Naginata.
She gripped it in reverse.
The instant the beam fired,
Ashe took aim at Jing Lei as well.
A flash of lightning seemed to pass through her deep violet eyes.
She swung her arm with all her strength. The Grasscutter in her hand shot out like a javelin, crackling with purple lightning.
The Naginata streaked like lightning and met the laser head-on.
The moment the two violent energies collided,
BOOM! A tremendous explosion sent thick clouds of dust billowing across the road.
Several nearby cars were caught in the blast and exploded.
Outside the dense cloud of dust, Rose and the others could no longer see what was happening inside.
As he ushered people to safety, Ajie kept glancing toward the dust cloud.
He had called for backup immediately.
But for now, they could only rely on Ashe.
Only Qilin silently continued to evacuate the crowd.
No matter how loud the sounds were, she never once looked toward the dust cloud.
Because before Ashe went to face the enemy, she had said:
"Trust me!"
Inside the cloud of smoke, Ashe and Jing Lei now stood facing each other.
Jing Lei, gripping his greatsword, stared at the Super Soldier before him.
By the standards of Shenhe Body life-forms, she was breathtakingly beautiful.
Neither of them spoke.
All that remained was the crackle of electricity, like machinery breaking down.
Jing Lei raised his left hand, the one he'd used to fire the laser.
A Naginata crackling with electricity was embedded in the spot where the laser weapon had been mounted.
He grabbed it, yanked it free, and tossed it far away.
Even though they were enemies, Jing Lei couldn't help but admire the power of her attack.
"That was a beautiful strike. If my hand armor hadn't been specially reinforced—"
"Your attack just now could have canceled out mine and severed my arm."
"But, Super Soldier of the Shenhe Body, you'll still pay for your lack of experience."
"Remember this: A warrior should never let go of their weapon. Now I'll send you to meet My God Karl."
As he spoke, he immediately launched his attack.
Jing Lei raised his greatsword and swung it down. He saw Ashe extend her hand, then sweep it sideways.
The next moment, Jing Lei felt his vision suddenly shift.
Ashe, who had clearly been standing upright before him, suddenly seemed to tilt.
He instinctively looked down.
The last thing Jing Lei saw was the Naginata he'd tossed aside, now streaking like lightning and slicing through his lower body.
"Elite enemy mission complete. Your reward of 2,000 Nurturing Points has been credited."
With a flick of her hand, Grasscutter's Light flew straight back into her grasp.
Ashe glanced at Jing Lei, who was still sparking.
She really wanted to ask Carl:
Everyone said villains died from talking too much.
When he trained his subordinates,
did he specifically teach them to talk more?
"So long-winded!"
Ashe turned to leave, unaware that an alien in silver armor was watching her from ten thousand meters overhead.
"Everything I just told you is top secret!"
"Only the Central Command knows about it besides us."
"At 8:45 yesterday morning, an alien in silver armor—"
"broke into the Angel International Building in Tianhe City."
"After investigation, we confirmed that she was an alien woman from the Angel Nebula."
"According to Super Seminary records, they call themselves the Angel Civilization, and refer to themselves as angels."
"For the past thirty thousand years, the Angel Civilization has consisted entirely of beautiful female angels."
"It has been 1,392 years since their last recorded arrival on Earth."
Inside a dimly lit conference room,
a blonde woman in a red military uniform slowly briefed everyone on the information they had.
"We know very little about the Angel Civilization. What we do know is—"
"they consider themselves the King of the Gods."
"To translate that, they consider themselves the highest civilization in the universe."
"The Angel Civilization pursues what they consider justice."
"And, as I recall, there have been many wars between angels and demons."
"We don't know why they came to Earth this time."
"But if possible, we should still try to build a good relationship with them."
"Of course, the angels aren't our top priority."
"No matter what their purpose is, we must first deal with the other problem facing us: the Taotie!"
The blonde woman changed the subject and tapped the big screen twice.
The image changed. It showed the scene on Airport Road last night,
along with the damaged Taotie Mech.
"At 9:21 last night, a Taotie Mech made entirely of mechanical components appeared out of nowhere on Airport Road in Feiliu District, Juxia City."
"According to global intelligence reports, around three mechs appeared around the world at the same time."
"Apart from ours, the other two landed in North America and Europe."
"After causing extensive damage, the mechs in North America and Europe withdrew about two hours later. We don't know where they went."
"As for the mech here, it landed near some of our people."
"That allowed it to be dealt with quickly. Aside from causing public panic, road damage, and economic losses—"
"there were no casualties. A few people suffered minor injuries because they didn't evacuate properly."
"It was a blessing in disguise."
"Of course, I don't know the specific details, so Ajie, who was there, will explain them."
She gestured for Ajie to take over. After he nodded, the blonde woman played some of the footage from the previous night.
Then she quietly stepped aside.
Without his sunglasses, Ajie's sharp little eyes gleamed. His foppish air had faded considerably.
He looked much more serious now.
"Last night, after Rose and I completed the recruitment mission, we were escorting Ashe, the recruit, back when—"
"we encountered the Taotie invasion."
"Rose and I called for backup immediately and decided to prioritize evacuating people."
"Ashe, however, decided to confront the enemy first."
"At the time, we didn't know what was going on, and I was worried about her safety. But it turned out—my concern was unnecessary."
The footage on the screen changed at the same time.
It showed Ashe fighting Jing Lei.
The footage was surprisingly clear, only losing clarity later when the smoke grew too thick.
"From the moment she attacked to the moment she defeated the enemy, Ashe took only five minutes. That includes the time she spent closing the distance."
"She probably took less than two minutes to actually defeat it."
"From the moment she threw her weapon to the moment the lightning flashed inside the cloud of smoke."
"Afterward, our analysis of the mech showed that if Ashe hadn't stepped in—"
"our conventional weapons, like bullets and small rockets, wouldn't have been able to damage it at all."
"To deal with that mech, we would have had no choice but to use weapons of mass destruction, send in the military, or have Lena take action."
"And in the process, we would inevitably have suffered heavy casualties."
"Ashe? I read the report. She isn't on our list."
Sitting beside Dukao on the other side was a stern-looking old man whose presence was unlike that of an ordinary person.
He asked in a low voice.
Before you continue