"Clack-clack-clack—hiss!!"
Inside the spacious, climate-controlled underground storeroom, Luo Feng pressed both hands against a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Spirit radiating a dense black glow.
Beneath his feet, a gigantic, deep-blue alchemy array more than ten meters in diameter slowly rotated.
This was his special Martial Soul—[Fullmetal Alchemist].
With Dai Yun'er, the Star Luo Empire's first-in-line heir, granting him "unlimited authorization,"
Luo Feng's days had been like a mouse falling into a sack of flour. He was so delighted he'd forgotten what day it was.
The Star Luo Empire's royal treasury was sealed tight.
For three whole days and nights, nothing came from inside but the unnerving roar of surging energy.
And waves of dazzling, deep-blue electrical arcs that seeped out through the cracks around the door.
"Strip away the violent will, extract the pure dark and fire elements, begin recombination!"
Fine beads of sweat formed on Luo Feng's forehead as he jerked both hands upward.
Beneath the glow of the alchemy array, the once-restless Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Spirit
had its outer "shell"—the Soul Beast's resentment and impurities—instantly vaporized, dissipating into the air as black smoke.
Its innermost, purest energy, meanwhile, was refined into a mass of high-energy matter resembling molten lava.
"BT, open wide and catch!"
[Received, Pilot! Energy ingestion port is open!]
A muffled clatter of meshing gears came from the Vanguard Titan's enormous metal chest.
Its armor plates flipped open, and it swallowed the mass of pure energy in one gulp.
"Vmmmm!"
A streak of crimson light flashed across the Titan's body. Its heavy metal frame let out a contented hum.
[Energy conversion rate: 99.9%.]
[Weapon loading progress: The 96th [Level 9 Fixed Soul Guidance Cannon] has been generated and is standing by in the folded-space ammunition bay.]
"Phew..."
Luo Feng dropped onto the floor and panted heavily.
But as he looked at the increasingly ferocious steel behemoth before him, brimming with the brutal beauty of heavy industry, the corners of his mouth curled wildly upward.
Ninety-six!
A full ninety-six [Level 9 Fixed Soul Guidance Cannons]!
Everyone knew that in today's Douluo Continent, a single Level 9 Fixed Soul Guidance Cannon could destroy a small city.
It was a strategic weapon of deterrence.
And now, Luo Feng's Titan mecha was packed with nearly a hundred of them!
This wasn't a mecha anymore. It was a mobile doomsday nuclear arsenal, ready to move at any moment!
But Luo Feng's ambition clearly didn't end there.
"BT, ordinary Level 9 Soul Guidance Cannons may pack a punch, but if we run into a true Limit Douluo or a Four-Word Battle Armor Master, they probably won't be enough to kill them in one hit.
We need something nastier."
Luo Feng rose to his feet and fixed his gaze on the deepest part of the royal treasury. Three red spheres of light were sealed away there, each in a separate, top-grade explosion-proof liquid chamber.
They were the Star Luo Empire's trump card—[Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Spirits (Defective)].
They were defective, but their energy reserves were still on the Hundred-Thousand-Year level. They were so violently unstable that even ordinary Titled Douluo wouldn't dare approach them lightly.
"Pilot, are you planning to handcraft a [Level 10 Fixed Soul Guidance Cannon]?"
BT's electronic voice seemed to take on a hint of humanlike solemnity.
[System calculations indicate that forcibly fusing Hundred-Thousand-Year-level energy carries a 45% chance of overloading and melting down the reactor.]
"What's there to be afraid of? You're a Vanguard-class Titan, a pinnacle creation of the stars and seas!
How could the energy of some planet's natives possibly blow you up?"
The light in Luo Feng's eyes blazed with the madness of an alchemist.
"Besides, I've got the princess to bail me out. I'm practically her future consort. If I blow up this storeroom, at worst I'll repay her in kind!"
[...Your logic is irrefutable.
Pilot, prepare for an overloaded fusion.]
Luo Feng drew a deep breath and drove his Martial Soul to its limit. The Soul Power inside him burned like boiling water.
He activated two remnants of Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Spirits at once. Wild crimson light instantly bathed the entire storeroom in the glow of an Asura hell.
"Transmute!!"
Luo Feng roared himself hoarse.
The two mutually repulsive streams of Hundred-Thousand-Year energy were forcibly kneaded together by the laws of [Fullmetal Alchemist].
Their last traces of impurity were stripped away, leaving two blindingly pure white spheres of light.
BT's mechanical arms clamped around them, then shoved them into the core reactor!
"Rumble!!"
The entire underground of the Star Luo Imperial Palace shook violently.
The Vanguard Titan's armor glowed red from the extreme heat, and jets of azure plasma flame several meters long blasted from its exhaust ports.
Three minutes later, everything fell silent.
[Warning cleared.]
[System reset complete... Core energy capacity successfully expanded.]
[Congratulations, Pilot. A quantitative change has sparked a qualitative one. We have successfully condensed two [Level 10 Fixed Soul Guidance Cannons: Titan's Divine Punishment]!]
[Note: This weapon's power is excessive. It is recommended for use only in the outer reaches of a star system or when a continent's tectonic plates must be completely erased.]
"It worked..."
Luo Feng leaned against the Titan's leg, utterly spent, and laughed uproariously.
But before he could finish imagining his glorious future, driving across the continent in his mecha with the princess,
a sudden flurry of panicked footsteps came from outside the storeroom.
It was the little princess, Dai Yun'er.
She looked completely different from how she had a couple of days ago. Terror was written across her face.
"Darling, come with me to the underground shelter!"
Just moments ago,
the stunning Holy Spirit Douluo, who had previously left, had hurried back from the sea.
She had brought the Star Luo Empire a terrifying piece of news.
The Federation's three main fleets had all set out, and were crossing the sea to attack the Star Luo Empire.
The combat strength of those three fleets was far beyond anything the Star Luo Empire could withstand.
Even with the Holy Spirit Douluo and those people from the Tang Sect on their side,
they still wouldn't be able to stop the enemy.
"They're finally here!"
When Luo Feng heard the news,
he was a little surprised at first.
But more than anything, he was excited.
Whether because he was an Imperial soldier or because he was playing the part of the future consort,
retreating when the Star Luo Empire faced a life-or-death battle would make him a coward.
"Yun'er, I've received so much from the Star Luo Empire these past few days. Now's the time for me to step up!"
"And I want to show His Majesty what I can do, to prove I'm worthy of being your man!"
With that,
Luo Feng pulled the princess into his arms.
He pecked her cherry-red lips,
then patted her head as if soothing a child.
"Be good and wait here. I'll go see what these guys are made of!"
"But, A-Feng..."
Just as the princess was about to keep trying to talk him out of it,
the Vanguard Titan's cockpit beside them opened.
[Pilot, target acquired. Let's give them everything we've got!]
Luo Feng had been in Douluo Continent for some time.
Though he had earned a place in the First Imperial Armored Corps through his own strength,
he had never experienced a real battle.
It had been a bit of a disappointment!
And today, he had plenty of targets lining up to come to him.
This was the perfect chance to make a name for himself.
What was more, BT had already locked onto the enemy's coordinates using the small satellite probe it had launched earlier.
As Luo Feng piloted the Vanguard Titan and bade Dai Yun'er farewell, he had already set his sights on the enemy's flagship.
"BT, fly to the coast at top speed. Let's greet them with a Level 10 Soul Guidance Cannon!"
[Affirmative, Pilot!]
[Target locked. However, it appears we have also detected a Tang Sect submarine. Should we avoid it?]
"Avoid it for what?"
"Tang Wulin is a descendant of the Sea God. He can't be blown to pieces!"
"As long as the city won't be affected, open fire at once!"
[Affirmative, Pilot!]
[Level 10 Fixed Soul Guidance Cannon loaded!]
[Strike radius: 49 nautical miles. Capable of covering the vanguard vessels of all three fleets!]
[Final calibration complete!]