The Taotie's "Meteor Shower" was not simply a high-speed airdrop pod, but a specially reinforced assault ship. When it was hundreds of meters above the ground, it suddenly decelerated, its hull unfolded, revealing dense gun muzzles and honeycomb-like hatches, and it swooped down towards the Kunlun Snow Valley like a swarm of bees. Its numbers were so great that they almost blocked out half the sky.
"Establish a defensive line! Protect the giant gate and the research data!" Ge Xiaolun roared and was the first to rush out. Dark Energy shone from his black greatsword as he slashed at the foremost assault ship. The sword light collided with the assault ship's energy shield, erupting in blinding flames. The assault ship was forcefully deflected from its course, crashing into the mountainside and exploding with a deafening roar.
Rena raised her hands high, her whole body bursting with sun-like light. "Activate Stellar Drive, activate! Solar Flare Bombardment - Diffusion Mode!" Several huge orbs of light flew out from her hands, heading towards the dense assault ship group, detonating one after another in mid-air, forming a destructive sea of light covering an area of several thousand meters, instantly engulfing more than a dozen warships.
Qilin had long since disappeared into the rubble and snow on the flank. Every time her sniper rifle fired, a critical part of an assault ship (engine, energy core, command compartment) would inevitably explode in sparks, lose control, and crash. Her bullets had been specially modified, incorporating a special plant powder (provided by Usopp ) obtained from the Straw Hat Pirates that could interfere with energy shields, with remarkable effects.
Sanji moved like lightning, his Geppo leaving afterimages in the air. His Diable Jambe burned with scorching flames, each kick precisely striking the weak points or turrets of the assault ship. His leg strength was enough to tear through thick alloy armor. Jinbe, on the other hand, stood firmly on the ground, using Fish-Man Karate to manipulate the surrounding water vapor and snow, forming huge water tornadoes or ice walls to intercept low-flying artillery fire and small combat units.
Allen didn't immediately engage in aerial combat. He quickly deployed a small " Space: Folding " barrier around Robin and Du Qiangwei, deflecting most ranged attacks. Then he looked at Robin: " Robin, while they're tied down, quickly record the runes and star map information on the door! Qiangwei, assist her, use your equipment for a high-precision scan!"
"Understood!" Robin immediately got into the zone, her hands flying across the specially made recording board she had brought, drawing and taking pictures. Her "Hana Hana no Mi" (Flower-Flower Fruit ) ability also quietly activated, growing eyes and arms in high places and blind spots that were hard to reach through doors to observe and make rubbings. Meanwhile, Du Qiangwei used Wormhole technology to send miniature scanners to various angles to collect data from all directions.
The Taotie were clearly well-prepared. After the first wave of attacks was intercepted, the subsequent assault ships quickly changed tactics. They no longer attempted to land by force, but instead began to circle the valley at high speed, using dense artillery fire to cover the area. At the same time, a large number of small combat aircraft and landing craft carrying Taotie elite warriors were dropped like raindrops onto various parts of the valley.
"They're trying to divide and surround us!" Ge Xiaolun said, dodging the artillery fire while surveying the battlefield. Many Taotie warriors had already landed successfully, clad in heavy armor and wielding energy weapons, forming combat squads and beginning to advance towards the central giant gate area.
"We can't let them get close to the giant gate!" Rena conjured light spears in her hands and hurled them, blasting an approaching Taotie squad along with the rocks they were hiding behind.
The battle quickly intensified. Explosions, gunshots, and roars echoed throughout the valley. The snow melted, evaporated, and turned black, revealing the scorched earth and ancient ruins beneath. Violent energy surges continuously shook the surrounding mountains, triggering wave after wave of avalanches.
Although the members of the Super Soldier Company and the Straw Hat Pirates were strong, the number of Taotie was simply too great, and they were fearless and their attacks were relentless. Gradually, some Taotie warriors broke through the fire net and approached within a hundred meters of the giant gate.
" Three-Sword Style: Black Rope: Great Tornado!" Zoro's voice suddenly came through the communicator! It turned out that Luffy and the others who stayed behind on Newborn Island discovered the emergency through remote monitoring. After obtaining Du Kao's consent, they immediately used the short-range space jump of the Ark Maxim (which consumes a lot of resources and cannot be used frequently) to urgently transport Zoro and Franky (piloting the General) over!
Zoro appeared like a whirlwind, cutting into the battlefield and clearing out an area of Taotie with his massive tornado blades. General Franky, on the other hand, was like an iron fortress, his shoulder cannons and laser beams firing wildly, temporarily stabilizing the flank.
" Allen! We're under a lot of pressure here too!" Nami's voice came through the comms, filled with anxiety. "A large number of Triangle Bodies advance units have appeared in the waters near Newborn Island! They seem to be trying to approach the Deep Sea Ruins! Usopp and Chopper are using plants and medicine to stall them, and Brook's Soul Music seems to be having some effect on them, but there are just too many of them!"
The Triangle Bodies are here too? And they're heading straight for the deep-sea ruins? Allen's heart sank. This was no coincidence. The Taotie and the Triangle Bodies were acting simultaneously, their targets clearly set on two ancient ruins... There must be an invisible hand manipulating things behind the scenes.
"There's a massive energy fluctuation at the Death Song Academy!" Lian Feng's emergency communication also chimed in, " Karl... might be about to make a move! He's very likely deployed some kind of 'experimental subject' or 'weapon' to Earth! The coordinates are unknown, but the energy signature points to... the Void!"
Creation from Void?!
The situation deteriorated rapidly. The Kunlun battlefield was deadlocked, Newborn Island was in dire straits, and Karl's backup plan could come at any moment!
"We must end this battle as soon as possible!" A fierce glint flashed in Allen's eyes. He could no longer hold back his strength.
He stepped out of the spatial barrier and hovered in mid-air. He slowly raised his hands, and a pure " Light of Purification " appeared in his left palm, while a profound " Breath of Dark Corrosion " that seemed capable of devouring everything condensed in his right palm—his control over "darkness" after the Devil Fruit Awakening the Torch Dragon Fruit.
" Torch Dragon - Tide Light and Darkness!"
With Allen's low shout, pure light and absolute darkness spread outwards from him like a tidal wave! Where the light passed, the Taotie's energy shield melted away like bubbles, and its armor was burned and purified; where the darkness swept by, the material structure was eroded and decomposed, and even light was swallowed up!
Light and darkness were not in conflict, but rather flowed harmoniously like the yin and yang of the Chinese zodiac, forming a vast domain that covered half the valley! Within this domain, the Taotie's warships, aircraft, and warriors were sluggish, as if trapped in a quagmire, and were then rapidly worn down and disintegrated by the constantly alternating forces of light and darkness!
In just a dozen seconds, the sky above the valley was cleared! More than a third of the Taotie assault force was annihilated by Allen's attack!
"What... what kind of power is this?!" Even Rena and Ge Xiaolun, who were used to seeing Allen's attacks, were shocked once again. This was no longer a simple energy attack, but a near-domain-level control of laws!
The remaining Taotie troops seemed to have received some kind of instruction; their offensive suddenly slowed, and they began to retreat in an orderly manner. However, they did not completely leave but continued to circle in the distance, as if waiting for something.
"What are they waiting for?" Sanji kicked away the last approaching Taotie warrior and landed next to Allen.
Allen did not answer; his Eye of the Torch Dragon were fixed on the higher sky, where above the clouds, an energy fluctuation that he found extremely repulsive and alarming was rapidly rising!
That was neither Taotie nor a demon.
That was... a distorted Void!
"They're here!" Allen growled.
Click--
The sound of shattering glass echoed throughout the heavens and earth. A huge, irregular black crack suddenly appeared in the sky directly above Kunlun Snow Valley! Strange purple light flowed along the edges of the crack, and its interior was bottomless darkness, exuding a terrifying aura that devoured and negated everything.
" Void rift! Karl really opened Void passage!" Du Qiangwei's voice was filled with shock.
From the crack, something indescribable slowly descended.
It had no fixed form, resembling a constantly writhing, shifting mass of dark purple gel, its surface covered with ever-opening eyes and twisting mouths. Its enormous size nearly filled half the space above the valley. It exuded a nauseating "presence," as if its very existence was a "contamination" and "negation" of the real world. The intense pressure of the Void pressed down as if it were a tangible force, causing even Ge Xiaolun and Rena to feel their Dark Energy stagnate, triggering an overload warning from their Gene Engine.
" Void... creation..." Ge Xiaolun gritted his teeth, Resistance the discomfort, "This is Karl's research result?!"
"High-dimensional information erosion detected! All personnel, take precautions!" Lian Feng's warning came through.
The Void creation seemed to lack clear intelligence, merely following some kind of instinct. Its countless eyes simultaneously turned, locking onto the massive black gate below, radiating ancient energy fluctuations, and... Allen standing before the gate.
It sensed the aura of the " Star Core Mark," a pure force of "order" and "existence" that was completely opposite to its own twisted nature.
"Ugh--!!!"
An indescribable shriek, seemingly a mixture of the dying cries of billions of living beings, erupted from the Void creation! An invisible spiritual shock swept down like a tsunami!
"Ugh!" Qilin was the first to groan, falling from her hiding place and clutching her head in agony. Her Super Gene made her relatively less resistant to mental attacks.
Du Qiangwei and Robin were also pale and swaying. Sanji, Jinbe, Zoro, Franky, and the others also felt a splitting headache and were losing consciousness.
"Activate Anti-Void! Definition: Mental attacks are ineffective!" Ge Xiaolun shouted, enduring the discomfort. An invisible ripple spread from his body, slightly relieving the pressure on his companions, but his Anti-Void Domain seemed powerless against the enormous Void creation.
Rena attempted to attack with stellar energy, but her orb of light struck the Void construct like a stone thrown into the ocean, only causing it to writhe more violently.
The Void creation extended several tentacles made of twisted matter, covered with suckers and sharp teeth, reaching towards the black gate and Allen! Wherever the tentacles passed, even space itself was left with black marks that seemed to have been "gnawed" on, marks that could not heal for a long time!
"Get out of here!"
Allen roared, no longer holding back. His eyes transformed into dark golden vertical pupils, and his body erupted with dazzling starlight, as he fully activated the Power of the Stars and the Power of Zhulong! Behind him, a faint phantom of a silver dragon stretching across the Void even appeared, the dragon raising its head and letting out a silent roar.
" Star Domain - Open!"
" Torch Dragon - Time Freeze!"
The two domains overlapped and unfolded! Centered on Allen, within a radius of one kilometer, the flow of time was forcibly slowed down, and the absolute domain formed by the Power of the Stars repelled all external distortions and contamination!
The tentacles of the Void creation seemed to have crashed into an invisible, spiked wall, slowing down abruptly, and their surface began to show signs of being "purified" and "dissolved".
" Light of Purification - Maximum Output!"
Allen clasped his hands together and raised them above his head. A dazzling pure white ball of light, like a miniature sun, condensed in his palms and then transformed into a beam of light that reached the heavens and the earth, shooting straight towards the Void creation in the sky!
This time, the Light of Purification is no longer a gentle erasure, but carries the will of judgment and destruction, determined to completely wipe this twisted thing from the world!
The beam of light struck the core of the Void creation precisely!
"Ughh...
An unprecedentedly shrill scream erupted! The Void creations twisted and expanded wildly, trying to Resistance the light that could purify all "impure" things. The dark purple gelatinous substance rapidly evaporated and dissolved in the pure white light, and those eyes and mouths exploded and went out one by one.
However, the vitality of the Void creation (if it can be called vitality) was terrifyingly tenacious. Although it was severely damaged and shrunk to nearly half its original size, it was not completely destroyed. The remaining part contracted violently and then exploded!
It wasn't an explosion, it was a "release"!
Countless tiny, almost invisible purple "spores," like the deadliest plague, spread with the shockwave of the explosion towards the entire Mount Kunlun Range and even further beyond!
"Be careful! These are Void Contamination Spores!" Allen's expression changed drastically. He could sense that those "spores" contained trace amounts of extremely stubborn Void Contamination properties. Once attached to a living organism or matter, they would slowly erode and transform it!
He immediately spread the Light of Purification into a screen of light, attempting to intercept and purify the spores. However, there were too many spores and the spread was too wide, so his screen of light could only cover the core area.
Some of the spores fell onto the snow, which quickly turned black and melted, revealing the eroded, pitted rocks beneath.
Some of the spores drifted toward the distant Taotie fleet and the scattered Taotie warriors. The armor of those units that were attached to the spores corroded rapidly, and inhuman screams came from inside. In just a few seconds, they turned into a writhing pool of purplish-black viscous substance mixed with metal and flesh!
Most dangerously, some spores are drifting towards the immovable black gate below, and towards Robin and Du Qiangwei, who are making their final data entries in front of the gate!
" Robin! Qiangwei!" Allen's eyes widened in horror, but he was focused on maintaining his domain and purifying light barrier, and couldn't teleport there instantly!
At this critical moment—
A golden sword light, like dawn piercing the night, slashed in from the side at a speed Transcendence of sight!
The sword light was not intense, but it carried a chilling will to cut through everything and judge all things!
Where the sword light swept past, the Void spores that were drifting towards the giant gate and Robin were instantly annihilated, like snowflakes thrown into a raging fire, leaving not a trace.
A clear, cool, and authoritative female voice resounded in everyone's ears:
"In the name of Holy Kesha, judgment descends."
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound.
Suddenly, a dozen figures with pure white wings and wearing silver armor appeared in mid-air.
The leader, with long, flowing blonde hair and an exquisitely beautiful yet icy demeanor, wielded Flame Sword engulfed in holy flames; it was she who had unleashed that strike just now.
He is the successor to the Angel Queen— Holy Kesha, and the current acting commander of the Angel Legion, the Thunder God of War—
Angel Yan.
Behind her, besides Angel Zhui, there were also a group of high-ranking guardian angels such as Angel Leng and Angel Lingxi.
An angel has finally descended upon Kunlun!
Moreover, judging from their posture and the sword strike just now, they were clearly not there to watch the show.
Angel Yan's gaze swept over the ravaged battlefield below, the remaining Void artifacts, and the massive black gate radiating ancient energy, finally settling on Allen, who exuded starlight and dragon might.
A flicker of surprise crossed her eyes, which quickly turned into a deeper scrutiny.
"A traveler from another world, an awakener of ancient ruins, and... a fighter against the corruption of the Void."
Angel Yan's voice echoed in the air, carrying an undeniable majesty:
"You need to give the angels an explanation."
"About your existence, about the secrets of these ruins, and..."
She slowly raised her Flame Sword, its tip pointing towards the remaining Void creatures in the sky that still exuded a dangerous aura, and further away, the mutated remains of the Taotie that had been infected by spores.
"Regarding this... 'Cataclysm of the Void,' which could potentially jeopardize the balance of the entire known universe."
The battle situation in Kunlun has become more complex and delicate due to the sudden intervention of the angels.
Thus, a three-way standoff was formed between the Straw Hat / Super Soldier Company, the Taotie / Void Creation, and the Angels.
And the Death God Karl, who is hiding behind all of this, seems to be only just beginning to reveal his purpose.