Starships Fall, Chaos Torrent and the Collapse of Order
The moment the Purification Beam tore through the clouds, the defensive array light barrier of Heaven Dou City erupted with dazzling light. The pale golden light barrier collided with the silver-white beam, producing a deafening roar. The light barrier dented violently, but it never broke—this was a brand-new defensive array that had been fused with Chaos Energy, specifically designed to counter the Mechanic Race's Order Energy.
"The first wave of attacks has been blocked!" The Soul Master on the city wall cheered, their Blade of Chaos flashing with seven-colored light, echoing the energy of the light barrier.
Tang San stood atop the tower, gazing at the densely packed metal warships in the starry sky, his heart not at ease. Tie Sen had told him that the main fleet's first wave of attacks was merely a probe; the real killing move was "Order Torrent"—a metal tide composed of millions of small warships that could instantly submerge vast areas, transforming everything it touched into metal.
"The Rebel Force are ready." Tie Sen's voice transmitted to Tang San's ears through energy. His flagship, the Freedom, " hovered to the left of Heaven Dou City, its cannons aimed at the main fleet's escort ships. "As planned, we'll hold off the six escort ships on the left flank, and the right flank is your magic array."
"Received," Tang San replied, simultaneously sending signals to the two magic arrays in the north and south, "Far North Ice Plains, Sunset Forest, activate ' Chaos Vortex '!"
In the Forgotten Ice Cave Far North Ice Plains, the energy of the Ice Plains Ancient Dragon merged with the power of the Blade of Chaos, forming a huge blue vortex. From the vortex spewed out streams of Chaos Energy mixed with ice crystals, heading straight for the escort ship on the right flank. Meanwhile, the southern magic array in Sunset Forest burst forth with green light, and vines and Chaos Energy intertwined into a net, Entanglement the approaching warships and rendering them unable to move.
"Now!" Tie Sen roared. The "Freedom" fired first, and the blue energy bullet, carrying chaotic properties, accurately struck the energy core of the left-wing frigate. The frigate's metal hull was instantly covered with cracks, and it crashed out of control into the warship next to it, triggering a series of explosions.
Inside the flagship of the main fleet, the "Order," the red core of the mainframe flickered violently. It clearly hadn't anticipated that the rebels would ally with humanity, much less that the application of Chaos Energy had reached such a level. Red commands flowed rapidly between the warships, and the previously uniform fleet suddenly changed formation. The escort ships on the left abandoned their attack and instead encircled the "Freedom," while the warships on the right accelerated towards the continent, attempting to break through the defenses of the north and south magic arrays.
"They want to destroy the magic array first!" Dai Mubai's Netherworld Thrust sliced through a small warship near the city wall, cleaving it in two. "There are too many of them; the Blade of Chaos's consumption can't keep up!"
Tang San immediately made adjustments. "Oscar, distribute ' Energy Endurance Sausage ' to all Soul Master! Tai Long, lead the Battle Soul Master to form a defensive line, don't let the warships get close to the city walls!"
Oscar's sausages rained down, and pale golden energy flowed into the Soul Master' bodies, causing the Blade of Chaos to shine brightly once more. Tai Long, in his transformed form as Great Strength Gorilla, led the melee Battle Soul Master, using their bodies to block the impact of the small warships, each collision causing the earth to tremble.
Xiao Wu used Teleportation to constantly traverse through the fleet of warships. Her ribbons, Entanglement with Chaos Energy, were specifically designed to attack the warships' weak points—data on the weaknesses of the Mechanic Race obtained from Blue Crystal. Wherever the ribbons passed, the energy cores of the warships exploded, losing power and plummeting to the ground.
"The pressure on the left flank is immense!" Tie Sen's voice was breathless. The hull of the "Freedom" was riddled with bullet holes, and its blue energy shield flickered. "The mainframe has deployed ' Order Guards,' whose cores have double protection. Our attacks are proving ineffective!"
Tang San looked to the left and saw dozens of massive metal guards tearing apart the rebels' formation. Their shells were covered with red Order Runes, and attacks from Chaos Energy only caused weak ripples when they landed on them.
"I'm here to support you!" Tang San roared, pouring all the power of the Chaos Azure Lotus into the Proof of Balance. The energy core at the top of the tower erupted with seven-colored light, and a huge Chaos Torrent rushed straight to the left. The torrent was mixed with countless tiny spatial rifts—this was a new move that incorporated the spatial power of the Star Silver Ore.
The Chaos Torrent collided with the Order Guards, the red runes instantly dimmed, and the guardians' outer shells began to twist irregularly, clearly due to spatial rifts disrupting their molecular structure. Tie Sen seized the opportunity, and the "Freedom's" main cannon opened fire at full power, the blue energy bullets accurately hitting the core of the guardians and completely destroying them.
"Great!" Tie Sen cheered. "Now's the time to concentrate fire on the left wing engine of the ' Order '!"
The Rebel Force, working in conjunction with Tang San's Chaos Torrent, swiftly broke through the left flank like a sharp pair of scissors, heading towards the engine of the "Order." The mainframe was clearly panicked, with countless small warships rushing towards them like moths to a flame, attempting to block the attack with self-destruction.
"Too many sacrifices..." Tang San looked at the continuously falling Rebel warships, his heart filled with mixed emotions. These blue-eyed Mechanic Race had paid no less price than humans in order to break the absolute order.
He took a deep breath and made a risky decision. "Everyone back off! I'm going to use ' Chaos Singularity '!"
"No! That will drain your life force!" Xiao Wu's voice was choked with sobs. She knew the power of this move and its price—it would compress the Chaos Azure Lotus's primordial power to its limit, forming a miniature black hole that could devour all surrounding energy, but the user would instantly age ten years.
"There's no time!" Tang San's voice was unusually firm. "Only this way can we destroy the engine and buy us a chance!"
Without further hesitation, he formed a hand seal, and the light of the Chaos Azure Lotus gathered wildly within his body. The seven-colored light grew brighter and brighter, eventually forming a constantly rotating black dot in his palm— the Chaos Singularity.
"Go!"
The singularity was hurled out, rapidly expanding in the air to form a black hole that devoured everything. Small warships that approached were instantly torn apart, their energy streams absorbed by the singularity. The singularity crashed into the left engine of the "Order," tearing the engine's metal casing apart like paper. The red Order Energy was swallowed by the singularity, emitting a shrill scream.
"We did it!" Tie Sen shouted excitedly.
But Tang San's body swayed, his hair instantly turned white, and his face was covered with fine wrinkles. The backlash from the Chaos Singularity caused his life force to drain rapidly, making it difficult for him to even stand.
"Tang San!" Xiao Wu instantly Teleportation to his side, supporting his swaying body, tears streaming down her face.
"Don't worry... I'm fine..." Tang San smiled weakly, "The main fleet has lost its left wing engine, so its movement will be slower... We still have a chance..."
Just then, a blinding red light suddenly burst forth from the right wing of the "Order. The mainframe had activated the backup plan—concentrating the energy of all the escort ships to form a super-large Purification Beam, aimed directly at the defensive array of Heaven Dou City!
"Not good!" Lin Ye unleashed his Golden Crow Fire at full power, merging with the energy of the defensive array. "It's going to perish together with us!"
A massive Purification Beam descended, instantly turning the defensive array's light barrier red, cracks spreading like a spiderweb. The Soul Master on the city wall poured all their Soul Power into it, but could only watch helplessly as the light barrier crumbled bit by bit.
"Rebel Force, ram them!" Tie Sen's voice was resolute. The "Freedom" turned and flew towards the Purification Beam, followed by all the surviving rebel warships.
"No!" Tang San tried to stop him, but he didn't even have the strength to raise his hand.
The blue warships, like moths drawn to a flame, disintegrated under the Purification Beam, transforming into streams of blue energy that merged into the defensive array's light barrier. A miracle occurred—the previously collapsed light barrier lit up again, with blue and gold intertwining to form a new barrier that forcefully blocked the massive Purification Beam!
"This is... the life energy of the rebels..." Tie Sen's voice came from the energy flow, carrying a final sense of relief, "Tell the mastermind... that order... can never... defeat... freedom..."
As the sound faded, the Purification Beam of the "Order" also ran out of energy and gradually went out. Having lost all its escort ships, the "Order" was like a giant bird with broken wings, beginning to fall out of control and eventually crashing into the nebula, causing a massive explosion.
The metal warships in space lost control of the mainframe and ceased their attacks; some crashed, while others drifted aimlessly. The war ended in a brutal manner.
The defensive array of Heaven Dou City slowly dissipated. The surviving Soul Master and Mechanic Race rebels stood on the ruins, watching the fireworks blooming in the starry sky (the light of the exploding warships), and remained silent for Jiujiu.
Tang San leaned against Xiao Wu's chest, feeling his life force slowly recovering—the essence of the Chaos Azure Lotus was still there, it just needed time to heal. He looked at the blue-eyed Mechanic Race, who were collecting the corpses of their comrades, their eyes filled with determination, not sorrow.
"It's over..." Xiao Wu said softly.
"No, it's a new beginning," Tang San corrected. "Our alliance with the rebels, the coexistence of chaos and order, has only just begun."
Sunlight pierced through the clouds, illuminating the ravaged land and the blue-eyed Mechanic Race. They sheathed their weapons and extended their metal hands to the human Soul Master, their palms glowing with a faint blue light—the light of the fusion of Chaos Energy and Order Energy.
Tang San grasped Blue Crystal's hand, feeling the two energies merging in his palm, and his heart was filled with an unprecedented peace.
Balance is not an immutable dogma, but rather finding coexistence amidst conflict and building alliances amidst differences. Just like humans and the Mechanic Race rebels, just like chaos and order, seemingly opposed, they can become the most steadfast partners in their belief in safeguarding freedom and balance.
The path of protection has no end, but as long as the belief in our hearts remains unbroken, and as long as we are willing to reach out and embrace differences, the light of balance will forever shine upon this continent.
And those fallen starship wrecks will eventually grow new life under the nourishment of time, witnessing the birth of a new era.