"Humans are out of our league, but those two fools from the Monster Race are fair game."
The Beast Ancestor spoke slowly, a cruel glint in his eyes. "Pass down the order. Assemble every Universe Master in the alliance. The few thousand light-years we took last time were nowhere near enough. This time, I'm taking another half of the Monster Race's remaining territory."
"Alliance Leader, what about the Insect Race...?" Lord of Nightfall reminded him cautiously.
"The Zerg Queen isn't stupid." The Beast Ancestor sneered. "She must be planning the same thing. If the Insect Race sends troops too, then we'll each take what we can. Whoever grabs it gets it. The Monster Race is meat on a chopping board now. Humans have already carved off the biggest piece. The rest can be divided between us and the Insect Race."
His judgment was almost cruelly precise.
Three days later, two armies appeared almost simultaneously along the borders of the Monster Race's remaining territory.
The Zerg Queen sat in the Queen Palace, with more than sixty Universe Masters gathered beneath her command.
The ten Mother Emperors who were Universe Masters of the Insect Race each brought tens of billions of Zerg Warriors. There were countless Zerg Warriors at Peak World Lord Level, and the energy fluctuations from their synchronized formations made space tremble faintly for several light-years in every direction.
The Beast Ancestor stood at the very front of his army in person. The cold light of the Ice Wind Domain covered several light-years, and behind him, Lord Juefeng, Lord of Nightfall, Lord of Giant Rock, and sixty-nine other Universe Masters advanced toward Monster Race Territory in three formations, crushing forward in attack formation.
One army attacked from the west, the other from the north.
Demon Ancestor Secret Realm.
Dream Demon Ancestor's enormous silver serpentine body thrashed wildly inside the palace, sweeping dozens of stone pillars into dust with a single lash of her tail.
"The Insect Race! The Beast Ancestor! They must have planned this together!" Her voice was so shrill it seemed ready to tear space apart. "A bunch of vultures! They're swooping in together to rip us apart while we're weak! Have they no shame, even as the strongest beings in the universe?"
Tremor Demon Ancestor sat silently to one side. No emotion showed in his eyes beneath his jagged shell, but the slight tremor at the tip of his tail betrayed the turmoil within him.
"Zhen Jiao!" Dream Demon Ancestor turned to stare at him, her bloodshot, crimson eyes blazing. "Say something! What do we do now? We finally stabilized our position and brought all our affiliated races back into the fold. We managed to gather more than fifty Universe Masters. But now both of them are attacking at once, with more than a hundred Universe Masters between them! What are we supposed to use to stop them? Our lives?"
Tremor Demon Ancestor slowly raised his head, an unusual glint passing through his eyes.
"Our trump card."
"Trump card?" Dream Demon Ancestor froze. "What trump card do we have left? The Dream Scale Armor is gone, and the Gold-Shattering Spear is gone. All we have left in the way of supreme treasures are the Black Scale Armor you're wearing and the Domain Shattering Awl. How are those supposed to be trump cards?"
"Not a treasure." Tremor Demon Ancestor's voice was low and calm. "An ally."
"An ally?" Dream Demon Ancestor was even more confused. "The whole Primal Universe is eager to bite off a piece of us. Who would be our ally? Humans are out of the question. That Old Beast God would love to see us dead. True Void Demon God and Shihua Island Master keep to themselves; they wouldn't get involved."
"The Machine Race." Tremor Demon Ancestor said two words.
Dream Demon Ancestor opened her mouth, but for a moment, she couldn't react.
"The Machine Father God." Tremor Demon Ancestor repeated, his voice tinged with bitterness, but even more with the resolve of someone backed into a corner. "I've already contacted him in secret."
"Have you lost your mind?" Dream Demon Ancestor's pupils contracted sharply. "The Machine Race is our enemy, just like the Insect Race! You asked them to be our ally?"
"Not an ally." Tremor Demon Ancestor shook his head. "A deal."
He raised his hand, and a star map appeared in the air. It showed the Monster Race's remaining territory. The Desolate Dark Shattered Star Belt marked the boundary; the Insect Race and the Demon Beast Alliance were advancing from the west and north, while the humans' new territory lay to the east and the Monster Race's old heartland to the south.
"I promised him that if the Machine Race sent troops to help us hold back the Insect Race and the Demon Beast Alliance, then after the war, a quarter of the Monster Race's current territory would belong to the Machine Race."
The hall fell silent.
Dream Demon Ancestor stared at Tremor Demon Ancestor in disbelief, as if seeing the companion who had fought beside her for countless eras for the first time. She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out.
A quarter of their territory. It was the largest star region left in the Monster Race's remaining habitat. It included three resource-rich star belts and a vital wormhole passage. Ceding it to the Machine Race would squeeze the Monster Race's living space to the absolute limit.
But if they didn't...the Monster Race might not even be able to keep the remaining three quarters.
"Zhen Jiao..." Dream Demon Ancestor's voice suddenly turned hoarse. "When did you contact him?"
"The night humans forced us to cede half our territory." Tremor Demon Ancestor answered calmly. "At the time, I didn't know whether the Insect Race and the Demon Beast Alliance would take advantage of us too, but I had to prepare for the worst. As it turned out, my judgment was right."
Dream Demon Ancestor fell silent. After a long while, she finally spoke, her voice carrying a helplessness she had never shown before. "That Machine Race fellow...did he agree?"
"He did." Tremor Demon Ancestor nodded. "The Machine Father God is an intelligent life-form. He thinks differently from us. To him, territory isn't valuable because it can sustain offspring, but because of its resources and strategic depth. The quarter we're offering him is enough to build tens of thousands of War Factories. He won't lose on this deal."
"Isn't he afraid of offending the Insect Race and the Beast Ancestor?"
"What does he have to fear?" Tremor Demon Ancestor asked in return. "The Insect Race is naturally countered by the Machine Race. Soul Attacks don't work on intelligent life-forms. As for the Beast Ancestor...there's no irreconcilable enmity between the Demon Beast Alliance and the Machine Race. Besides, in the face of shared interests, there are no eternal friends and no eternal enemies."
Dream Demon Ancestor said nothing for a long time. The only sounds in the hall were her heavy breathing and the faint alerts of battle reports from far away.
The front lines were retreating. The combined assault of the Insect Race and the Demon Beast Alliance had torn through several defensive lines the Monster Race had set up along the border, and the Universe Masters of its affiliated races were suffering casualties.
"Then..." Dream Demon Ancestor finally closed her eyes, as if she had exhausted all her strength. "Then so be it."
Tremor Demon Ancestor nodded and said nothing more. He raised his hand, sending a thought across layers of space and time toward the Machine Race Divine Kingdom.
"Machine Father God, the Monster Race requests your aid. We'll proceed according to our agreement."
Deep within the Machine Race Divine Kingdom, an enormous Black Sphere pulsed with a cold sheen, brightening and dimming in a steady rhythm.
This was where the Machine Father God's true body resided.
Within his consciousness, billions of streams of data raced through calculations, strategic contests, and simulations.
Every possibility was analyzed, broken down, and recombined at a speed trillions of times faster than light.
The interests, limits, and potential actions of every faction—the Zerg Queen, the Beast Ancestor, Giant Axe of the human race, Starry Sky Progenitor...all were fed into the calculations and simulations.
"Probability that the Zerg Queen and the Beast Ancestor will simultaneously attack the Monster Race: 99.97%."
"Probability that the Monster Race will request aid from the Machine Race: 94.21%."
"Probability that the Monster Race will cede a quarter of its territory in exchange for aid: 87.65%."
While the Monster Race's two ancestors were still discussing whether to ask for help, the Machine Father God had already anticipated this outcome.
He had even begun mobilizing his robot legions and increasing the output of his War Factories, secretly preparing to send troops.
"Conclusion: intervene in this war to obtain the greatest benefit at the lowest cost."
"Reinforcements: 10,081 War Factories, two million battleship puppets, fifteen Universe Masters from the Machine Race, and thirty Universe Masters from affiliated races."
"Estimated gains: a quarter of the Monster Race's territory, including three star belts and a wormhole passage."
"Estimated losses: within acceptable limits."
"Optimal time to intervene: the third hour after the Insect Race and the Demon Beast Alliance engage the Monster Race in direct combat."
The Machine Father God's computational core reached its final conclusion.
One command after another crossed virtual space, traveling to every corner of Machine Race Territory.
Tens of thousands of War Factories roared to life. Huge formations of battleship puppets assembled along the Dark Universe routes, and the Machine Race's own Universe Masters and those of its affiliated races all received the same brief, irrevocable order:
"Mobilize immediately. Coordinates: 8479-3122-0018. Mission codename: Aid the Monster Race."
In an instant, the entire war machine of the Machine Race began to turn.
The Universe Masters of the affiliated races who received the order were utterly baffled.
Aid the Monster Race?
Weren't the Machine Race and the Monster Race sworn enemies?
Not long ago, during the scramble for the Sky Screen rewards, the Machine Father God had secretly sent someone to negotiate with the Monster Race over a Supreme Treasure, only for Dream Demon Ancestor to reject the offer outright. Why were they helping now?
But they had no right to question it.
Meanwhile, the Monster Race's resistance had entered its bloodiest stage.
On the northwestern front of the Monster Race's remaining territory, the armies of the Zerg Queen and the Beast Ancestor were advancing like a hot knife through butter.
Their combined assault of more than a hundred Universe Masters was somewhat suppressed by the Primal Universe, but its world-shattering force was still enough to make any peak race tremble in fear.
"Boom!"
The Zerg Queen unleashed a peak sixth-order Soul Attack from the Queen Palace, sweeping across a weak point in the Monster Race's defenses.
More than ten Universe Masters on the Monster Race's side screamed and fell back, leaving a brief gap in the line.
Immediately afterward, tens of millions of World Lord-level Zerg Warriors poured out of the Queen Palace. They split apart and reassembled into a razor-sharp streak of blade light, tearing the gap to pieces.
At the same time, the Beast Ancestor's Ice Wind Domain covered several light-years. Each strike of the Starfall Blade drove several Universe Masters back, while the combined attack of the seventy-two Universe Masters behind him was like a landslide, shattering the Monster Race's hastily assembled defensive lines one after another.
"They can't hold out much longer." Excitement flashed in the Beast Ancestor's eyes. He slashed away a Universe Master on the Monster Race's side, whose entire body was wreathed in flames, and roared, "Press forward! Don't give them a chance to catch their breath!"
The Zerg Queen smiled faintly. A torrent of Zerg Warriors poured out of the Queen Palace once more, transforming into tens of thousands of streaks of light as they charged at the Monster Race's forces.
She had been a little worried that the Demon Beast Alliance might stab her in the back, but so far, the Beast Ancestor's goal was clear: take as much territory as possible as quickly as possible, not compete with her over who came out on top.
Once the Monster Race's defenses completely collapsed, the remaining territory would be fat for the taking.
But just as the Monster Race's forces were on the verge of total defeat—
In the south of the battlefield, space rippled, and fleet after fleet of silver-white ships shot out of it.
Dense formations of ships poured out of the Dark Universe, blotting out the sky and covering the stars.
The flagship was a spherical vessel more than ten thousand kilometers in diameter, its surface shimmering with a precise, icy blue light.
They were the Machine Race's signature warships!
At the front of the fleet, five enormous War Factories entered combat mode simultaneously, instantly expanding to the size of small asteroids.
Billions of war puppets surged from the factories' exits.
There were low-level suicide drones, high-level formation puppets, and even dozens of colossal Titan Mechas powerful enough to face Universe Masters head-on.
"The Machine Race?!"
The Beast Ancestor's pupils contracted sharply.
He instinctively tightened his grip on the Starfall Blade and retreated tens of thousands of kilometers alongside the Universe Masters of the Insect Race. The next moment, the Machine Race's puppet army surged into the battlefield like a tide, yet, strangely, it parted around the Monster Race's defensive line and poured all its firepower into the Insect Race's vanguard.
"Machine Race—you've lost your minds!" The Zerg Queen's face turned icy as the Eternal Pearl suddenly blazed with a brilliance it had never shown before. An invisible Soul Attack crossed the starry sea and struck straight at the flagship in the center of the Machine Race's formation.
The Soul Attack pierced the flagship's hull, its energy shields, and layer upon layer of alloy. Then nothing happened.
"Your Majesty, Soul Attacks have no effect on the Machine Race." The Machine Father God's cold voice echoed through the void, devoid of emotion. "My race has no souls and is unaffected by illusions. No matter how powerful your Eternal Pearl is, attacking me with it is futile."
The Zerg Queen's face turned livid.
Of course she knew the Machine Race was immune to Soul Attacks. But she had never expected them to show up at a moment like this and side with the Monster Race!
"Machine Race!" The Beast Ancestor's roar shook the starry sky. The cold light of the Ice Wind Domain contracted wildly and then flared beneath him, as if answering the fury in his heart. "Aren't you enemies of the Monster Race? Why are you helping them?"
"There are no eternal enemies, and no eternal friends." The Machine Father God's even voice came from the flagship. All 10,081 puppets equipped with Peak Supreme Treasures detached from the war platforms at once, hovering in the starry sky as they formed an attack formation. "The Monster Race has ceded a quarter of its territory to the Machine Race. I consider this a worthwhile deal."
"What?!"
The Beast Ancestor and the Zerg Queen paled at the same time.
"Tremor Demon Ancestor has gone mad!" The Beast Ancestor ground his teeth, his crimson eyes filled with resentment and fury. "He'd rather give territory to a hunk of scrap metal than let us have it?"
"Give it to you?" Dream Demon Ancestor's enormous serpentine body appeared behind the battle line. Her silver scales were covered in the marks of battle, but the despair had vanished from her voice, replaced by a cold edge. "If we gave it to you, would you stop attacking us? If we gave it to the Insect Race, would she stop coming after us?"
"We owe you nothing." Tremor Demon Ancestor appeared at Dream Demon Ancestor's side. His voice was low, but it carried the resolve of someone driven to the brink. "If you want to fight, then fight. Now it's three against two. Let's see if you can still swagger around like you did before."
The Zerg Queen's face darkened completely.
Before you continue