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Chapter 630: New Commander: The War God

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

This news had shocked the human world as much as the death of Lie Jintian did. After the death of Lie Jintian, Zambrotta was the only living Einherjar on Mars, and therefore, he had been tabled at the discussions as the top candidate as the leader. His personal units also further legitimized his claim.

Among the other factions leaders, there were as many strategists as fearsome warriors, but it was rare to find a person who excelled in both specialties.

When the new came to the faction leaders, it finally occurred to them that the War God should have been the leader of Mars. However so far, no one knew who this War God was.

By then, all the war-knights on Mars had weighed in their support for Zambrotta to become the next supreme commander of the martian force; they would unequivocally fight alongside the first dragoon regiment till the end of the war.

This development pushed Zambrotta's fame to a new height. Although he had no Einherjar under his command, he had the support of the invincible War god.

The real deal maker that solidified Zambrotta's position was Kaedeians' announcement that they, too, endorsed him.

Kaedeian urged the human resistance factions to unite together under one banner during such difficult times. They believed that no one would be a better leader than Zambrotta. Over the years, he had proven himself not only as a deadly warrior, but also an astute commander. His recent pledge of loyalty to the War god meant he had the backing of a formidable god-like warrior.

To be frank, Zambrotta was not nearly as powerful as Lie Jintian. Everyone knew that he was a level twenty-seven warrior; he might seem invincible among humans, but his power did not measure up to that of the dark lord by a long chalk. Everyone had endorsed him at the leader not because of his own strength, but because of the mighty War god behind him.

From bits and pieces of the video recordings, the people knew that the War God was the only person who could stand against the Dark Lord. Zambrotta's sworn allegiance also spoke loudly of his abilities. After all, not even Lie Jintian was able to persuade Zambrotta to join him.

Moye had been waiting to see the human world fall apart after the death of their leader; however, his plan backfired. Both House Lie and Kaedeians all listened to the orders of Zambrotta, making the human forces more united than they ever were.

It would take some time for the new alliances to adjust the chain of command. Under such perilous conditions, everyone was watchful for any actions that would erode the humans' solidarity.

Zachery had achieved what he wanted to achieve like he always did. Making his puppet a leader among the humans was like a stroll in the park. It had been easy to gain Zambrotta's allegiance; the fight between Zambrotta and Einherjar Wannabe had changed Zambrotta's life. Rumors had it that Zambrotta carried out a fight with the War God as well. But, after the fight, the War God was able to convince him of his godhood, and eventually brought him to his knees.

Kaedeians' support came from their faith in Wang Tong. They knew that the War God and the chosen one were connected, and therefore, they had supported the War God's spokesperson: Zambrotta.

The threat from their common enemy loomed ahead, and the alliances were formed quickly.

After order was restored to the Martian resistance forces, Zambrotta had the Kaedeians' support to the other factions gain more frequency and intensity compared to before. Meanwhile, the Knights kept a watchful eye on the battlefield, and they would send a stern warning to any faction that was not pulling its weight.

Zambrotta was aware that his army's strength came from discipline, and if he were not careful enough and let the Zergs find a weak link in the human resistance, they would lose everything that they had gained, along with countless lives.

Zambrotta's offensive approach had its anti. Many faction leaders believed that the human resistance needed to rest and recover. However, these voices of concern were turned down very quickly by others who agreed with his direction. Offense was the best defense; Zergs were still stunned by their defeats, and there wouldn't be a better time to lash out at them than now.

Although the death of Lie Jintian was a massive blow to the human resistance forces, the restructuring of the force and appointment of a new leader also presented new opportunists.

The existence of the War God should be enough to boost the soldiers' confidence, and as a leader, Zambrotta should take advantage of it.

However, Zambrotta had his own concerns. He reckoned that the Zergs would be much quicker at adjusting to new situations than humans. The promise of reinforcement from the immortals also hung above the human resistances' neck like a sharp knife. If that happened, the humans on Mars would be doomed.

Therefore, Zambrotta was determined to push the human force forward and finish the dark lord's forces as fast as possible. In order to garner more support for his offensive plan, he had declared his plan a divine will of the War God.

Hiding high up behind the clouds, Zachery heard Zambrotta proclaim war in front of the human resistance force. When he heard Zambrotta's false claim about his support for his plan, Zachery could help but laugh. He was pleased by the latter's wit, courage, as well as decision-making skills.

Although an offensive approach was a no-brainier for Zachery, he understood why ordinary people who lacked war experience could have failed to reach that conclusion.

Recuperation? Dream on! Once the human soldiers slowed down their advancement, contentment would creep into their hearts, and it would be too late to encourage them to fight for their lives again. It had taken Zachery a great measure of effort to inspire the human soldiers; the constant fighting was taxing on his system. However, the war had reached a critical moment. He could not let go of the gas pedal. Human soldiers looked up to him, so he had to keep on fighting and winning.

Once the Zergs' casualties reached a certain threshold, their entire war plan would fall apart quickly.

"Mr. Wannabe, you need to rest." Charcoal announced. Zachery waved a hand and Charcoal didn't bring this up again. Charcoal knew that although he has had an intelligent AI chip, he would never understand humans.

"After all, you have been up for two days. It's time to take a rest." Brenda urged Zambrotta. At the sight of his daughter, a smile broke over his knotted face. "Thank you, but I'm fine! Your dad is an Einherjar, remember?"

"Einherjars need to rest too! You are the chief commander now…You need to look after yourself."

Zambrotta stretched his body to prevent exhaustion claiming him, but his face seemed troubled. Although he had convinced the human resistance to continue the offense, casualties had spiked. Some leaders had openly accused him of sending their soldiers to a suicidal mission.

Zambrotta didn't mind the accusation; this was a war, not a child's game. However, he conceded that he would have to rein in the skyrocketing casualties. But despite the difficulties, he still firmly believed in his decision.

"Fine, fine! I will rest…I have heard that you have gotten a boyfriend, haven't you? Who is that boy?"

"Dad, don't listen to the rumors. I won't think about finding a boyfriend until the Zergs are off our planet."

"Very ambitious, good, good! But as your father, I have to lodge my complaint. I don't want to wait another eighteen years to see you get married." Zambrotta laughed.

"Dad, we are not each seeing each other yet!" Brenda blushed.

"Ok, ok! I will not ask you about it, haha!" His daughter's reaction amused Zambrotta.

"Dad, you look troubled. What is it that is bothering you?"

"What else could it be other than the accursed war?" Zambrotta cracked a pained smile.

"You are lying. Your nose just twitched…You always do that when you lie!" Brenda pointed out; she knew her father well.

"Can I have some privacy please?" Zambrotta feinted a frown.

"Is it about the War God?" Brenda kept prying.

Zambrotta gathered himself and asked, "What do you think of him?"

"Why don't you tell me more about him. Maybe I can give you my two cents." Brenda announced.

Zambrotta picked up a cigarette, then lit it and drew on it. "My leader status came too fast and too suddenly. I still can't believe that it has happened."

Chapter 631: Attack The Dark Castle

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

"Is he a man or a god?" Brenda replied to her father with a question. She had been very curious as to why his father had pledged loyalty to a mysterious warrior.

Zambrotta smiled wryly and answered, "I have no idea."

"Dad, do you believe in god?"

Zambrotta buffed a cloud of smoke. "Yes. When one finally reached enlightenment through cultivation, the cultivator is said to be beyond life and death…just like Li Feng."

"Then, do you think he has reached enlightenment?"

"Not really, but close…A demigod perhaps!"

"He seems to be fighting for the greater good, so why are you still so gloomy? If you can make a contribution to the greater good, you should do it regardless of the price."

"Hehe, little sh*t, trying to preach to your dad? It is not my personal loss or gain that I am worried about…it is him. There is something off about this War God. You might be wondering why I pledged allegiance to him. Tell you what, I have found out who he really is!" Zambrotta spoke under his breath.

"Who?" Brenda was gripped by curiosity.

"Einherjar Wannabe!" Zambrotta announced.

"Einherjar Wannabe?" Brenda's face was awash with surprise and shock.

"You heard it right. I knew it from the first time I saw him! I would never forget that unique feel of his power!" Five years ago, the two blows that Einherjar Wannabe had dealt Zambrotta had changed the latter's life. In some aspect, the mysterious PA fighter had helped him become an Einherjar.

"That's good news! At least he is not malevolent toward the humans. Ah-hold on! Let me think about it…" Brenda suddenly remembered some detail she had left at the back of her mind as she realized what her father's real concern was.

"Wang Tong!" Brenda exclaimed.

"You are my girl through and through! Haha! Yes. That's right. I had heard that before Kaedeians had endorsed me, their princess had already visited Wang Tong. I bet their endorsement of me had something to do with that little earthling prick!"

"Don't call him that! And I don't think you are right." Brenda said with a frown.

Zambrotta narrowed his eyes and asked, "How do you know? You know what is really concerning about this boy? It's his popularity, uncanny popularity! Whatever he does, he does it with the public's support. I had thought that he was gone from history after Patroclus defeated him, but he is back…better and stronger than he ever was! I have definitely underestimated him, and so have the Zergs. I think this war is soon going to become the war between Patroclus and Wang Tong." Zambrotta was taken over by a wave of poignant emotion. As he rose in the ranks of power, he had started to see the truth behind the scene. Therefore, he was convinced that the War God had something to do with Wang Tong.

This war appeared to be the conflict between the humans and the Zerg, but in reality, it was a gamble between Wang Tong and Patroclus.

Patroclus seemed to have the upper hand just a few months ago, but Wang Tong's intervention had completely changed the situation around.

"Regardless of who he was, I think that as a human, I should support Wang Tong. " Brenda managed a sentence.

Zambrotta cracked a smile, "Oh? Are you sure it's not because he is good looking? Haha! I have heard that he had visited you once. Come, tell me what happened! Fill me in. " Zambrotta smiled broadly.

Brenda blushed. "There is nothing! Anyway, it is getting late…Time for you to rest! Don't worry your ugly little head about it!" Brenda turned around and skittered away.

Zambrotta laughed and became lighthearted after the conversation. He knew that Brenda was right: as a human, he didn't have a choice but to support Wang Tong and War God, whoever he was.

His had designed the attack plans specifically to help Wang Tong's advancement at the heart of the Zerg territory. As the commander of the last remaining human resistance force, he knew that only Wang Tong could bring the humans their last hope.

Meanwhile, inside the Zerg territory, Wang Tong was preparing their attack on the dark castle. The dark castle was not built on a human city; it was built entirely by Zergs. It was a formidable fortress guarded by a great number of Zergs, and it also housed some of the most high profile queens.

However, since the dark lord was not inside the dark castle, Wang Tong was confident that Battle Wolf would be able to take it down with ease.

The news of Lie Jintian's death came right before they reached the outskirts of the castle. Lie Jian had kept calm, but when he was discussing the plan of attack with other leaders, everyone could feel the hot anger in his tone. The leaders of Battle Wolf were relieved when he heard that the new leader, Zambrotta, had decided to keep the pressure on the Zergs. If the humans slowed down their attack and gave the Zergs time to gather strength, all the previous efforts and sacrifices would be wasted. However, Wang Tong was not surprised by Zambrotta's decision. He knew Zambrotta was under Mr. Wannabe's spell, and no one was a better strategist than Mr. Wannabe.

After besieging the city for three days, the human warriors were still unable to breach the defense. They tried to infiltrate the city using the sewers, but they were surprised to find out that the Zerg city didn't have any sewer system at all.

These defending dark ones behaved more prudently than those in other cities. They hid behind the cover for three days, and never once did they come out to meet the human invaders in the open field. Battle Wolf had tried all methods to provoke or coax the dark ones out of their hiding, but all attempts had failed. What made the siege even more difficult was these dark ones' incredible defense against the mastery spells, so much so that they didn't even give Wang Tong any chances to release the forbidden power.

The battle quickly turned into a stalemate, and over two hundred warriors were already injured in the three days of the fruitless attack.

However, despite the setback, no one wavered. Everyone was ready to carry out the final showdown with the Zergs, except that the final showdown never came.

Moye should be back in a couple of days, and if Wang Tong still couldn't sack the city by then, they might as well pack up their camp and abandon the siege.

Inside the dark palace, all dark ones felt grateful for Harmon's brilliant leadership. They had quickly forgotten about his humiliating defeat because his defensive strategy had saved their lives.

When they first spotted Wang Tong near the dark castle, the dark ones thought that their days were numbers. They panicked and huddled godmother in fear. Dark Lord was not in the castle, so what could they do?

When a dark one finally reminded everyone that the dark lord had told them to consult immortals when in trouble, they went to the dungeon and consulted Harmon, who was kept there as a punishment for his cowardice.

Under Harmon's leadership, the dark castle had withstood the human devil's attack for three days and was still standing.

Fear toward Wang Tong was so entrenched in Harmon's memory that it sometimes felt as if it was going to drive him crazy. He used to be a confident and capable strategist, but now, he was a paranoid and bitter old man. Part of his success in saving the dark castle was exactly because of his paranoia. He had discouraged any direct confrontation with the human warriors and cautioned the dark ones to stay behind the cover as long as Wang Tong was out and about on the battlefield.

He was convinced that Wang Tong had held back his power all this while, and the best way to test his ability was to pit him against the dark lord. Therefore, he had to hold the castle until the dark lord returned.

He never thought that Moye would survive the fight with Wang Tong, but he should be able to reveal the full extent of the latter's ability nonetheless. Harmon had observed Patroclus carefully for a very long time, and he knew that even he was wary of Wang Tong's power. Lacking prowess on the battlefield, Harmon had to rely on ploy and ruse to demonstrate his value to the divine lord.

Chapter 632: An Old Trick

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Patroclus was a much more well-rounded leader. He not only sought talent in strength, but also in wits. Only someone as shrewd as Harmon would come up with this devious plan of pitting Moye against Wang Tong.

The thought of Patroclus' compliment brought a smile on to Harmon's face.

Meanwhile, Wang Tong was fumbling to find a solution before it was too late. They were racing against time; once the dark lord returned, they would not have another chance of sacking the castle.

However, the enemy had decided to turtle inside their castle and avoid any form of confrontation. Even after much deliberation with his men, Wang Tong was unable to reach a solution. They wagered that if the situation didn't turn around in a day, they would have to pull back.

If that happened, Wang Tong conceded that he would have to sneak into the dark palace alone to kill Moye. However, he was not sure if the dark lord would have the decency of having a one on one fight with him.

"Boss, good news! GOOD news! Out scout noticed a large number of dark ones moving toward us. I think they are going to wage a surprise attack at us." Tan Bu stormed in and shouted.

Everyone's gut feeling told them that this was a trap. They had tried all they could to coax the dark ones out, but failed. Why did they choose to come out of their hiding without any provocation?

Was it a psychological tactic?

"How many?"

"It's too darn dark, but based on the seismic reading, there have to a motherload of them. What's your call, boss?" Tan Bu's hands were curled into fists.

"Do you think it's a trap? Or maybe it is Moye arriving earlier than our estimate." Ye Zi asked grimly; something was not right.

Wang Tong kept his silence as he mauled over his options, trying to decipher the Zergs' real intention. Was it a trap? Absolutely! The dark ones had set this trap for him, but they didn't know they were the ones being trapped.

"Let's move!"

Wang Tong's decision was final, and everyone moved out without any doubt about his judgment.

Harmon stood on the top of the city wall as he was reflecting on his plan. He had got the report from the dark lord that they would be returning earlier than expected. He would be back in the dark city no later than tomorrow morning.

He had been dragging out the war for over three days, and finally, he would reach the finish line. When Moye came back, he would observe carefully and take notes about Wang Tong's real power, reporting it back to Patroclus.

It would not only be Wang Tong's power at display; Guan Dongyang and other legendary warriors would have their work cut out for them as well, since they would have to deal with the mighty purple guards.

Regardless of the outcome of the battle, the immortals would always be the winner.

That being said, the victory would be beneficial for the immortals if the humans were to be eliminated after this fight. In order to make sure of that, Harmon had decided to offer the dark ones a little help, and lure the humans to cast an exhausting spell on the cannon fodder. It would take them at least a week to fully recover from the spell; by then, Moye would have already swooped down on them.

"Mr. Harmon, do you think our surprise attack would work?" A level A dark one asked uncertainly.

"Hehe, of course! They had been at it for three days, and they must be tired. Don't you want to use their skulls as a gift for your dark lord when he returns? Your promotion is not that far away, my friend."

"Ha, yes, yes. Thank you for your guidance! I wager this is some kind of human battle tactics, isn't it?"

"Exactly! Your dark lord has taught you well. I have only offered my suggestions, but the victory that we will have soon will solely be because of your leadership. I have heard that the dark lord gives an extra reward to the dark ones who possess the mettle, so I would suggest you charge out of the castle to cut down a few humans when the battle is almost over. This way, you can prove that you had done it and you alone should take the reward."

"No, no. I would like to share with you, Mr. Harmon."

"Hehe, we are friends, and I don't ask payment for helping out a friend. I will just be waiting here for your return."

"Haha! Sounds good!" The dark place guard captain gathered his men and charged out of the castle the rest of the dark one army. Meanwhile, Harmon looked down at the guard captain from top of the gate and smiled

What a good lad!'

Then, he disappeared from the city wall as he retreated deeper into the castle. A good show was going to start right outside the dark castle.

The dark ones crept toward the humans and formed an encirclement, not revealing themselves until the circle was closed. Anyway, the sight of thousands of Zergs didn't scare the humans; this was exactly why they were here, to finish the Zergs once and for all.

Any other war band would have been too exhausted to fight this many Zergs, but the soldiers of Battle Wolf remained resolute and ready for battle. These soldiers were battle-hardened veterans, paragons of strength and mettle.

The promise of a battle exhilarated them, giving their body a second wind. Their eyes glinted in the darkness of the night. The mastery casters were already at their spells; they held back their power, biding their time for the Zergs to get closer.

Harmon scanned the battlefield from far away using a pair of binoculars. He knew that Wang Tong would fall for the trap, however obvious it was, because he had no other choice. The terrain was complex down there, and Harmon was curious to see the effect of the rolling hills on Wang Tong's spell.

Before the thousands of dark ones died, Harmon wanted them to do as much damage to the humans as they could. He had taught the dark ones charging formations, which placed the low level Zergs at the front to take the brunt of the spell.

Harmon was confident that the terrain and the cannon fodder should be able to absorb most of the damage from the forbidden power, and the rest of the high-level dark ones could then score one or two kills before they were also taken down by human METAL warriors.

Harmon watched the battle unfold expectantly. The thought of the fight between Wang Tong and the Divine Lord filled him with trepidation.

The dark ones were not complete idiots, and they wouldn't charge themselves toward Wang Tong without being convinced first. Harmon had analyzed the battle recordings and concluded that the power of Wang Tong's spell could reach no further than a kilometer. The further it went, the more potency it lost. Therefore, Harmon had persuaded the dark ones that if they stayed behind a swarm of cannon fodder, they should be safe during the raid.

When Harmon found out that Guan Dongyang and Michaux were already preparing the spell, he lamented over their inexperience. If he were them, he would maximize the spell's damage by ordering the METAL warriors to make contact with the Zergs, forcing their loose formation to tighten up.

Of course, Harmon knew it was a risky move as well. If the dark ones were able to get too close to Wang Tong, they could potentially interrupt the spell.

His terrifying experience itched at the base of his skull; Harmon made a mental note that he would include the spell's power in this report to the divine lord.

He couldn't help but marvel at Wang Tong's amazing ability to come up with such spell and train his casters so well. A normal unit of casters would have smitten with fear at the sight of so many Zergs, but Wang Tong's casters were unflinching before the danger. It was easy to train one or two capable casters, but training over a hundred of them was easier said than done.

Harmon reckoned that he had given Wang Tong quite a challenge this time. If the forbidden power were not able to wipe out all the enemies, the casters would fall under immediate danger. Even if he could win the battle, it would be a costly victory. Plus, he would have to face the dark lord very soon; draining all of his power would put his own life at risk. But, it was all for the better, Harmon thought; if Moye managed to kill Wang Tong, Patroclus would have one less enemy to worry about.

Before the sea of enemies, the human soldiers were unflinching. The direwolves haven't eaten for three days, so they raised their hackles and showed their teeth, but were as silent as death.

The METAL warriors surrounded the casters to form a wall while the latter prepared their spells. Guan Dongyang had evoked his most powerful spell: Inferno Hell. But, would that be enough? Despite its potency, the Inferno Hell was not nearly as destructive as the forbidden power.

Harmon watched the development from afar with surprise. If Wang Tong thought that he could get away with using only Inferno Hell, he would pay very dearly for his oversight.

Chapter 633: The Heart Of Fire

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Michaux had already led his casters to cast buffs on Guan Dongyang's spell. They couldn't leave everything to the Inferno Hell, since it would be inadequate to fend off the Zergs' attacks. These Zergs were powerful, and not even the forbidden power was capable of wiping them out, much less Guan Dongyang's spells.

After the Mastery casters had finished a group spell, all of them would be too exhausted to carry out any other tasks. Therefore, there would be no point in reserving their power right now.

The fire danced and sputtered on the battlefield, lighting up the moonless night sky. The Zergs seemed to have sensed the danger that was about to come, so they picked up speed as they charged at the human soldiers. The Zergs were much better than the humans in controlling their urge while on the battlefield. However, they were unable to follow their instructions and position while the situation threatened their lives.

What was Mastery? It was the art of balancing the forces of the world. There was no other race save for the humans who could comprehend the meaning behind it.

Guan Dongyang was brimming with powerful emotions as he reflected on how Wang Tong had changed his life completely. He had always been obsessed with the power of mastery, and Wang Tong had given him a key to unlock its secrets.

This was the life that Guan Dongyang always needed. The moment he met Wang Tong, he had made a decision to follow him for the rest of his life, a decision that had been proven to be right.

Lie Xuan loved it when his man took control of things. His focus and domination made him look so irresistibly charming; he was eager to enslave while she was willing to oblige.

Fire sputtered from Guan Dongyang's fingers and became alive. His power had surpassed the legendary level, and he had become the real Fire Lord.

The more Harmon saw, the greater uneasiness grew inside him. Guan Dongyang's power had well exceeded his expectations. To tap into the natural power was easier said than done; however, even from a great distance, Harmon could feel the fire elements in the air frolicking in excitement at the slightest hint of Guan Dongyang's soul energy.

This would never have happened to any ordinary casters.

By then, Guan Dongyang was fully engrossed in the spell; the world had ceased to exist for him, and so had his own self. The talented caster had reached a moment of epiphany about the truth of the world, leading to yet another improvement in his power. Everyone walked on a different path of cultivation: for Wang Tong, it was the soul essence, while Guan Dongyang, he had found his own way in the dancing flame. He was born with a natural affinity with the element: not only his tactics were fire, but her woman also had a knot of fire inside her. Therefore, he realized that in order to improve his power, he needed to become one with the fire.

This would bring him infrequently close to the element, exposing himself to the risk of the element damaging his sea of consciousness. However, Guan Dongyang was the only mastery caster who would not have to worry about it, since he had learned to accept the element rushing into his sea of consciousness. He always believed that the natural forces were sentient, and they also had their feelings and emotions.

For so many years, he never repelled any rogue energy that had leaked into his system; instead, he invited them in and listened to their stories. There and then, the fire answered Guan Dongyang as if he was one of them. He was the first person in human history to have grasped the heart of fire.

Wang Tong and Michaux could feel the glee in the fire element as well. They frolicked and pranced toward Guan Dongyang like children would around their parent.

The sudden increase in Guan Dongyang's power had caught Wang Tong and Michaux off guard as they hurried to make adjustments in their contribution to the spell, letting the former take the lead. If not for the experience and skills of Wang Tong and Michaux, this group mastery would have already fallen apart after Guan Dongyang's power deviated from the original plan.

By then, Guan Dongyang was taking full charge of the spell. After having adjusted his soul energy, Wang Tong channeled in his soul essence as it was a much more flexible medium to carry power. In addition, exposing Guan Dongyang's sea of consciousness would also help to speed up his improvement.

All the other casters followed the leaders and also adjusted their soul energy. The could feel the fire element transforming, transcending into a more powerful form of energy.

A spell that carried a terrifying power was being completed.

Wang Tong chanted the spell as the soul essence flowed slowly into the conglomeration of energy. Immediately, the soul essence boosted the spell power by a few times. However, just the fire damage was not enough; it needed some other elements to spice things up. After all, their enemy boasted powerful defense against mastery spells.

Suddenly, fiery clouds rolled over in the sky as Guan Dongyang summoned a different element. Wang Tong took up the cue and slowly fused clouds with his soul energy until it was seething with energy. The color of the cloud changed from red to dark purple, and then finally became inky black.

The black clouds somehow burned like flames. This form of a hybrid spell had been Wang Tong's plan; however, due to Guan Dongyang's sudden surge in power, he had delayed the release of this element. By then, the amount of energy in this spell had surpassed that of the forbidden power. Plus, it came with a surprising twist.

Wang Tong was lurking behind the dark clouds, looking like a devil all the more so. Harmon's face suddenly paled as he reckoned that it was about to come.

Black fire tumbled out of the inky clouds as if from the scorched lands in hell, the undying conflagration.

The dark fire fell to the ground like a heavy and velvet curtain. It didn't sputter or roar like a normal fire; it simply came and smothered everything.

In half a heartbeat, everything on the ground had changed.

The dark flames turned into a thousand scythes that harvested lives at an unimaginable speed.

The Forbidden Art—Black Scourge.

The METAL warriors quickly formed a GN shield around the casters and blocked the fire. However, even across the GN shield, the soldiers could still feel the immense heat of the silent and otherworldly flame. Meanwhile, on the other side of the shield, the dark fire had cleansed anything that had sinned.

It was a punishment from the god.

One dribble of this dark fire would set anything aflame until the life within was consumed. Its incredible speed of spreading was what set it apart from normal fires.

If not for the elemental void that Wang Tong and planted around where his men were stationed, even the human warriors would have been devoured by the deadly fire.

This was the devil's fire, a milder version of the Dawn Goddess' Absolution, and also the spell that Wang Tong had wanted to unleash. However, Guan Dongyang's sudden enlightenment had changed everything. It had leveled up the power of the spell above that of the forbidden power.

The black fire not only brought death to the Zergs, but also fear. The potency of the power had shaken the Zergs as fear and despair spread in their hearts while the dark flames swallowed more land. Not a single dark one entered the danger to save their own kind. They knew that those who got caught in the fire were hopeless.

Once the power of the mastery was let loose, not even the casters could stop its power from growing and spreading.

Everyone watched in amazement as the fire swallowed a swath of land; they reckoned that they had created a merciless monster. Wang Tong and the other mastery caster's hearts were gripped by one thought: they should never allow this spell to be used against a fellow human. Therefore, this might be the last time they would ever evoke it.

Harmon had a good plan, but by then, it had already turned sour. The dark ones were done for, and it was only a matter of time before the humans took over Mars.

Harmon reckoned that if he were Wang Tong, he would simply kill all of the dark ones in the castle and wouldn't bother killing Moye. What would a dark lord do when there was nothing to lord over?

When the day broke, the dark flame was still burning. It had been at it for three hours, and there were no more Zergs left on the battleground. Only a handful of dark ones were able to escape their doom; the rest had all become fuel for the fire.

It wasn't until the fire finally died down that the warriors started up toward the dark castle. The victory was near, and no one could stop them. The mastery casters had contributed the most to the victory in the last battle, and therefore, the METAL warriors were eager to take center stage in the next battle. The spell had exhausted the casters as they slumped on their rides, trying to take a rest.

The direwolves were in no better state than the casters. The fire had burnt away any food they were hoping to get after the battle. By then, they were plagued by hunger.

When they finally arrived at the dark castle—the source of fear in all humans—Lie Jian shouted and punched at the heavy gate.

"Bang!"

The gate shattered into pieces instantly.

"Charge!"

Chapter 634: Enter The Dark Castle

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Anger had been building up inside Lie Jian, festering and gnawing at his pride. The soldiers followed Lie Jian and rushed through the threshold. There were still significant number of dark ones inside the castle; however, they were smitten by fear and defenseless. Plagued by hunger, the direwolves devoured the dark ones with great efficiency. They would quickly subdue their prey by piercing them using their giant horn and then gobbling up their life force within a second; they then found their next target, rinsing and repeating.

Bu Zhihuo and his team were in charge of protecting the casters. Despite the severe depletion of their sea of consciousness, Wang Tong, Guan Dongyang, and Michaux were still able to attack the dark ones with deadly force. However, it was the METAL warriors who were taking the brunt of the enemy force.

A group of legendary warriors stormed through the city gate and started to rain death onto the dark ones.

Kaedeians controlled the sky with their airborne units, not giving the dark ones any advantage in the air; the battle quickly turned into a slaughter. It wasn't long before the captain of the castle guards abandoned the castle and fled, leaving only the primitive Zergs to slow down the humans.

Lie Jian's pained face was awash with anguish. He hit the Zergs with as much force as he could muster; each strike was a carrier of not only death, but also punishment. Over the last few days, his House had lost its prestige, and he had lost his father. It was a miracle that Lie Jian could have kept calm in the previous few days.

After Lie Jian had vented his fury on the Zergs, he finally gathered himself and realized that things were on the right track overall. Lie Jian knew that his next task was to reclaim what he had lost to the Zergs. Zambrotta might be the leader of Mars now, but once he was back with his household, he would restore the order. He didn't design to undermine Zambrotta's authority once he was back; instead, he would work his way up and prove his ability as the leader of Mars.

He had been planning and calculating the steps to rebuild his household, and those thoughts in part had prevented him from falling into a fit of rage and remorse.

He had made up his mind to kill the dark lord with his own hands and prove it to the world that House Lie still had it!

A swell of cheers broke Lie Jian's train of thoughts. He looked to Wang Tong and saw a gleeful smile had broken over the earthling's face.

The soldiers had found a hive hidden deep inside the dark castle.

"Boss, we have found twenty-three queens. One of them is big like nothing you have ever seen! There were also many eggs, huge ones…I bet those were the eggs that hatched baby queens. " Tan Bu pulled up his direwolf in front of Wang Tong.

Wang Tong nodded in response. "Excellent! Haul them all out!"

The air was awash with excitement as everyone wagered that the queens inside the castle were some of the most high profile masterminds.

"These fat worms thought they could writhe away. The wolves had sniffed them out miles away. Haha"

The soldiers gathered the queens at the plaza; they were too huge to be spread out on the plaza, so the soldiers piled them on top of each other until a small mountain of meat and blubber was formed.

The dark ones and Zergs that had scattered during the attack sensed the queens' anguished keening and turned around instinctively to save them. However, they were quickly laid low by the METAL warriors.

The scent of the queens made the direwolves prick their ears, more of them becoming restless by the second.

Wang Tong nodded and willed the soldiers to unleashed their wolves, which instantly swarmed at their meat. The queens shrieked again, summoning another round of mindless attacks of the dark ones against their wills. One of the largest queens held Wang Tong's gaze as if she was plotting another sinister plan.

Wang Tong channeled out his soul energy to embrace the giant Queen. Deep Blue raised his hackle at the looming energy, seemingly unimpressed by it; not ever his brothers were allowed to touch his meat.

Wang Tong scratched Deep Blue under his ear and willed it to be patient. Before Deep Blue satisfied his appetite, Wang Tong needed to find out the secrets hiding inside this queen.

Wang Tong reached out to the queen as the latter pulled back a little while quivering. Wang Tong quickly learned that the Queens were the most skittish and fearful lot among the Zerg race. However, it was these coward meatballs that had pulled the strings behind the scene and commanded every action of the deadly race.

Much against their wills, the dark ones threw themselves at the human warriors with abandon. The METAL warrior had formed an impenetrable line around the plaza, so none of the Zergs could get through. Standing right beside the giant queen, Michaux, Heidi, and Guan Dongyang could also feel that there was something different about this Queen compared to the others.

Wang Tong closed his eyes and tapped deeper into the mind of the queen, searching for the source of Zerg's power. He had searched the minds of all the queens he had captured. However, only in the large queen did he find what he was looking for. To his surprise, he had found out that the Queen was able to absorb the energy of any planet.

"Do you know what is its purpose among the Zergs?" Guan Dongyang asked. He hoped that this large blob of fat was the ultimate commander of the Zergs.

Wang Tong shook his head and patted Deep Blue on the back, who then closed in on the queen and started eating it alive. This queen, along with the rest the queens, were reduced to bones in mere minutes. The direwolves' scales started to shimmer as soon as they finished eating the meal of their lifetime. Suddenly, all of them collapsed to the ground, laying on their backs motionlessly. Their scales kept gleaming with the blue light, making them look like ice sculptures.

This turn of events worried the soldiers. They had developed a deep bond with their mounts, and therefore, they hoped that the direwolves were not poisoned after eating the morbid queens.

"They are not poisoned. They just need time to digest, Haha! These queens are hard to come by, and they contained immense powers. Give our wolf pups a little time." Wang Tong laughed. The creator of the direwolves would have never thought that the humans would use their perfect creations like that.

These direwolves might not be as powerful as they were then when they were first born, but after a few months of evolution, they were capable of directly absorbing the life forces of all living things.

It took the direwolves a while to completely digest the queen Zergs. As Wang Tong linked his soul energy with the beast's, flashes of memories that Deep Blue had absorbed came up in his mind.

Most images were vague and hard to make out the story they told exactly, but there was one among the others that depicted a dark mass in an even darker background. Wang Tong knew right away that this was the main force of the Zerg race that the humans had been trying to locate over the five centuries after the great war.

Although the picture didn't reveal any telltale sign of its location, it was the first time a human had ever laid eyes on it.

Wang Tong went through these images many times but failed to find any definitive information on the Zergs' evolution. That being said, the fragment of the memory pertinent to the main force was a huge breakthrough. Wang Tong nodded to Deep Blue, and the beast finally lowered his head and went to sleep.

After the battle, when Battle Wolf warriors were finally gathered together, the human warriors looked around the huge castle and still found it hard to believe what they had achieved. They had created a new legend; bards would sing songs about their victory for generations to remember.

Wang Tong smiled broadly and said, "Well, let's prepare a surprise party for Moye's return!" The soldiers raised the Martian front's flag high up over the city wall. Someone took a photo of their victory and uploaded it to the skynet. In the human cities, people rushed to the streets and celebrated this great news. The news also boosted the human soldiers' confidence.

It was a much-needed victory, particularly after the catastrophic defeat that they had just suffered. The human force bounced back from where it had fallen down and started fighting back again.

Chapter 635: Waiting For The Dark Lord

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. Moye had raided the humans' command center, and in return, Wang Tong had captured his castle. This was the most severe response that the humans could ever give, and it had hit where it hurt the most.

After such elating news, Zambrotta seized the opportunity and ordered his forces to march out and attack the Zerg cities. After his forces sacked a city, he would copy Wang Tong's method and raise the flag of the Martian front, and then upload the pictures to the skynet. These pictures had proven that the humans were not helpless before the Zergs, and they could defeat the dark ones as long as everyone united together.

All factions followed Zambrotta's lead and attacked the Zergs with abandon, swiftly liberating many Zerg occupied cities. The Zergs were caught off guarded by humans' sudden comeback.

Every soldier mustered their strength and charged at the Zergs as soon as they were given the order. The GN gun units had started to play an increasingly important role in the attacks. As they gained more experience, they became more resilient to the Zergs' attacks, particularly of the primitive Zergs.

The addition of the GN gunners meant that the Zergs had suddenly lost their advantage in numbers. Therefore, the humans were able to push them back quickly.

Despite the rosy situation, Zambrotta and his officers seemed troubled. They knew that the battle had just started, and sooner or later, the Zergs would adapt to the humans' new method of war and fight back more effectively.

Although Wang Tong's victory was good news, he didn't eliminate the dark lord. Once the dark lord returned to the castle and drove out the human soldiers, he would be able to establish himself in his old home quickly.

Meanwhile, Wang Tong had sent a message to Zambrotta and other leaders, reinstating his determination of killing the dark lord at the dark castle when he returned.

In the streets, the public cheered for the end of the war; they raised their cups in Wang Tong's name. Inside Zambrotta's office, however, everyone held a grim look in their eyes as they calculated the odds of Wang Tong's victory.

If Wang Tong succeeded, he would completely dismantle the Zergs' efforts of taking over Mars. After that, it would only be a matter of time before the Martian front drove the rest of the dark ones out of the red planet and re-established communication with the Earth and the moon.

However, if Wang Tong failed, so would the rest of the Martian resistance. Wang Tong was the mastermind behind the humans' miraculous comeback, and despite Zambrotta's title, people had long since considered him the real leader of Mars.

"General! Admiral Samantha wishes to speak to you."

"Bring her live."

With that, Samantha's image flickered onto the giant monitor screen.

"Good day, General Zambrotta! On behalf of my fleet, I congratulate you on your success."

"Thank you, Admiral! This honor belongs to every human soldier. One of our heroes has just taken over the dark lord's home base, the dark castle!"

"I have already been briefed on that. This is elating news for all human soldiers, so I have transmitted the news back to the Earth and moon." Samantha said with a serious face. The news had taken her aback, as she had never thought that Wang Tong would be able to pull off his suicidal mission. Pride aside, Samantha also lamented on how little she knew about Wang Tong after having not seen him for five years. After she had received the news, the thought of Martian soldiers coming to the Earthlings and the Ivantians' rescue was no longer a dream.

"I am sure you know that Moye was not in the castle when Wang Tong attacked. I wager that he should be there any time now. Wang Tong had stated that he wanted to fight against the dark lord at the dark castle. In light of that information, I have ordered my soldiers to attack the Zergs from all fronts, trying to divert as much attention from Moye as possible." Concern flickered in Zambrotta's eyes. He knew that this was a life or death moment; one simple mistake could lead to the destruction of the human race.

Samantha nodded. "I hope to have a copy of the recording after the battle. Please rest assured that as long as you have Wang Tong with you, you and your Martian warriors will achieve the final victory."

"Yes, Admiral. I have faith in him." Zambrotta nodded, but his trembling hands had betrayed his doubts. Without knowing Wang Tong's exact power, he could only assert his assumptions.

Moye had defeated even the most powerful Einherjar, so how could a fledgling like Wang Tong have any chance of surviving the fight? If Moye killed Wang Tong, his team members would die as well, many of whom were amazing talents in mastery. Without them, the dark lord would easily wipe out the remaining humans in a single broad stroke. Plus, he knew that the situation on Mars had attracted Patroclus' attention. Once the immortals sided with the dark ones, humans on Mars would never see the daylight ever again.

Wang Tong's folly would sacrifice all the young talents on Mars; the stakes were too high for the Martian resistance, and Zambrotta's assumptions simply couldn't allow him to keep his hope up.

If he were Wang Tong, he would have retreated from the dark castle. What they had achieved was already a significant victory; without the queens, the Zergs' production abilities would take a toll. There was no need to butt heads against the dark lord and continue such a high stake game.

Little did the young warriors know that they were not only the heroes of Mars, but also the beacon of hope for the entire humanity.

Everyone could feel the final battle coming.

…

On the spaceship, the officers gathered around and exchanged their opinions. They all agreed that the fight between Wang Tong and the dark lord would determine the course of history. Some officers were Wang Tong's close friends, while the others were strangers to him. However, even those who had never heard of his name had noticed that all the situations and new developments seemed to always revolve around this Earthling boy.

Someone was born to watch the events of the world unfold around them, and some were born to be always at the center of the changes.

Samantha shared Zambrotta's concerns to some degree. She knew that if it were anyone else under that situation, he or she would have already pulled out of the dark castle to safety. But knowing Wong Tong well, Samantha didn't expect any less from him. She knew that he would not back away from any form of danger if he had the nerve to flirt—very successfully while at it— with a principal.

Samantha thought that she could forget about Wang Tong by distancing herself away from him; however, as fate would have it, she found her heart fall victim to him once again after so many years.

Knowing that she couldn't do anything for Wang Tong, she only prayed.

"Reports have suggested that Moye has reached at least level thirty. When he was at his full strength, he had killed Einherjar Lie with ease."

"Fret not. There will be many legendary warriors and casters around Wang Tong. I bet Wang Tong has already laid a trap for the dark lord. "

"Very likely…Maybe a surprise attack using the forbidden power. Even if it would not outright kill Moye, it could at least injure him gravely."

"Are you thick? It took a long time to prepare the forbidden power. How would Moye walk into the trap without sensing it? Moye is way too much for Wang Tong to handle. This is a foolish move, and they should pull back right now!" Someone protested.

"I agree! Their young minds are too easily swayed by the victories. Five years ago he was barely a legendary warrior, so how much more powerful do you think he could get in five short years? Level twenty-seven? Or eight? How does that measure up to Moye? Mind you, that the dark lord is not alone…He also has his purple guards, whose power needs no introduction. Wang Tong is going to doom us all!"

After much deliberation, the officers failed to reach a consensus on the issue. There were as many supporters as there were naysayers; those who didn't express their opinion looked gloomy and grim nonetheless.

From a purely strategic point of view, retreat from the dark castle would be the safest, but not the wisest option. However, no one would be able to convince Wang Tong to take the safe route. After all, he was the savior of the world, not anyone else.

It was beyond doubt that Moye had been gathering forces around the dark castle. If the massive army were led by Moye himself, Wang Tong would not have a chance of releasing the deadly mass destruction spells.

Wang Tong sat in his room quietly while Deep Blue lay on its belly by his heel. Michaux and the others had just finished cleaning the battlefield. It didn't take them long since there was not much to clear to start with. He had also ordered the soldiers to plant a few nukes at the four corners of the castle. He would detonate these explosives should the battle go astray.

Lie Jian also sat in his room and started cultivating his tactics quietly. The thought of avenging his father made his blood boil. He tried to contain that rage using cultivation; it was not a good time to let his emotions get the better of him.

Chapter 636: Fighting Moye

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

"It's kind of weird to think that we are finally going to fight the dark lord, won't you say?" Xiao Libie exclaimed. He felt grateful to be a part of this historical event. Regardless of the outcome, he could finally say that he had lived to the fullest.

"I think the final liberation of humanity is very near. We can start the counter-offense here on Mars, which soon will spread like wildfire to the other planets." Tan Bu mused. The liberation of Mars could be a break in humanity's fall. Not only does it represent the break of Zergs' chain of offense, but it would also allow the humans to spread the GN gun technology to the rest of the universe. With it, the space fleets would advance their technology significantly.

However, those should be the topics for the future, and humans' current priority should be the Dark Lord Moye.

So far, two of the most powerful human warriors had failed to overcome him. Were Wang Tong and his men really capable of finishing their task?

One thing was clear, that the forbidden power was useless in this case, since it was only meant to kill off a large number of weaker enemies. A horde of primitive Zergs was one thing, but Moye and his purple guards were another.

Kaedeians were a very unique unit in that they were all women. After the few days of fighting alongside the humans, they had gained confidence in their ability; however, that didn't amount to their confidence in their mission.

As a matter of fact, no one on Battle Wolf was certain that they would prevail as they did in the last battle. This was a high stake gamble; their only hope lay in the fact that Moye would not have fully recovered from his battle with Lie Jintian.

This attack seemed like a right move strategically, but seemed so wrong from a tactical point of view.

Heidi recited the creed of the Kaedeians as she prepared herself mentally for the fight. This was going to be her last fight; she would either die on the battlefield, or live the rest of her life peacefully.

The scouts came back with news of the Zergs' movements. Their number was not great, but all of them were dark ones. It was evident that the dark lord was running out of patience and had forsaken the idea of surrounding Wang Tong with a massive amount of Zergs.

"How much time do we have?"

"At most twenty minutes. There were about three hundred of them, all elite dark ones."

"Good! I am tired of waiting. Let's cut them down!"

Other than Deep Blue, the rest of the direwolves had awakened. Although their appearance didn't change much after they had devoured the queens, their power had improved by leaps and bounds. Wang Tong had assigned the direwolves to mastery casters to increase their defense.

This battle would be a small scale but intense one between elite soldiers, and the chances of using the group spell were almost none. However, the mastery casters could still partake in the fight using personal spells to help the METAL warriors.

Lie Jian opened his eyes and saw that Wang Tong was still cultivating. "Moye is here." He announced quietly.

"My lord, there is still some time. " Lie Shan spoke under his breath. He could feel the power inside Lie Jian; he was no longer the callow and vacuous boy he used to be. He had grown up into an experienced veteran.

This match would determine the fate of House Lie; truth be told, Lie Shan didn't want to see Lie Jian getting involved in this fight. He was a grizzled old man, and he had lived long enough to know that nothing was a greater victory than being alive. However, Lie Jian being how he was, he would never back down at his moment. Hadn't he grown older and wiser? Yes. But he was a member of the House Lie, and House Lie was not cravens. If he chose to abandon the fight, he would have forsaken the honor and tradition that House Lie had upheld for generations.

"Let me deal with Moye; you can take care of the rest. " Lie Jian said quietly but firmly. Lie Jian had thought a lot about this decision. He knew that Wang Tong was stronger than him, and therefore, it made sense for Wang Tong to deal with Moye. However, Wang Tong had just unleashed the forbidden power, and therefore, still needed time to recover. Lie Jian hoped that he could last long enough for Wang Tong to recover. He would give all he could, but the rest was in the hands of the gods.

As the battle drew near, the warriors became reticent and waited for the moment to come in a calm state.

When Moye and his purple guards arrived at the Dark Castle, he almost couldn't believe his eyes as he watched the banner of Battle Wolf whipping back and forth in the wind.

Moye had left some of the smartest dark ones in the city, yet, it was still not enough. He made a mental note to severely punish the idiot that caused such defeat after he was done with these humans.

The human warriors felt Moye's power when he was one kilometer away.

The next thing they knew, he had already appeared on top of their castle, looking down contemptuously at his enemies; his purple guards appeared next to him only a heartbeat later.

Neither side had drawn a weapon yet.

Moye's lips hardened into a curve, and then he said, "Human, who is your leader?"

Li Jian stepped forward and announced: "Lie Jian of House Lie! Remember my name!"

"Lie Jian? Hmm…never heard of it before. Where is Wang Tong?" Moye didn't even spare Lie Jian a glance as he talked absently. "Ah-ha! I remember that I had eaten a human called Lie Jintian. Are you related to him? If so, then you must be as much a coward as he was! Haha! "

The insult made the soldiers from House Lie want to ripe the dark lord apart. Lie Jian waved a hand, willing his soldiers to be calm. "Are you trying to play mind tricks with me? Your brain is smaller than a peanut! Don't pretend Moye…I know you are afraid of us!" Lie Jian voice held an unswerving determination, which encouraged the soldiers around him. People had always thought Lie Jian was a dumb brute; little did they know that he possessed superb control over his emotions, and was not easily provoked.

"Moye, DIE!"

Moye's smile was colder than ice. He waved a command as the purple guards swooped down on the human.

Lie Jian's fist whizzed past Moye's body as the latter disappeared the moment before it landed on him. Moye reappeared behind Lie Jian and then said, "Very well! You are better than you looked. Your father was level twenty-eight, but you are only level twenty-four. I wonder what has made you so confident."

Lie Jian didn't pause to answer, connecting his first attack with an elbow strike. Although Lie Jian's soul energy was less than that of his father, his tactics of the Blaze were one of a kind even in House Lie. Therefore, Lie Jian's attack was no less fatal than his father's.

However, Moye could easily evade Lie Jian's strike with ease. His movements were almost lazy.

Deep Blue sat on its hunches quietly; beside him, Wang Tong was still cultivating and replenishing his energy.

Wang Tong's absence made Moye wary. He knew that the human was a devious being, and could have hidden somewhere, biding his time to deliver a deadly strike at him. Therefore, Moye could not fully commit himself to the fight with Lie Jian. Even if he got a chance to strike a hard blow, he would think better of it fearing Wang Tong's surprise attack.

Not far from the castle, a small spacecraft landed on top of a hill. Harmon sat in the pilot seat and was watching the fight down below with a satisfied smirk. Things were developing according to his plan; once this fight was over, he would bug out of this planet and present the divine lord the precious information he had gathered. His mission on Mars had three folds: getting rid of some questionable immortals, weakening the dark ones, and gathering information on Wang Tong.

Not all immortals were loyal to the divine lord; Patroclus allowed them to exist as a necessity. However, when their usage had passed their life, Patroclus would send them to the front line as cannon fodder.

Chapter 637: Gloves Are Off

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Patroclus planned to eliminate all the dark ones and let his immortals become the master race of both the Zergs and the Humans. This was indeed an ambitious plan, as it was designed to subdue the two most powerful races in the known universe. When the Immortals looked back in history, they would say that their reign started today.

In a fit of excitement, Harmon decided to let the world witness this battle: the immortals' first step in claiming the universe. As a former elite among the humans, Harmon was well versed in human tech. Therefore, he easily hacked into the skynet and hijacked the line.

Inside the human command office, the officers were watching the fight on a big screen, their hearts caught in their throats. Suddenly, an alarm went off and wrenched their attention away from the screen.

"General! Out signal was hijacked, and the fight is being broadcast across Mars." An officer reported.

"Cut it off! Right now!" Zambrotta shouted. This fight meant too much to the humans; if the public saw their last hope fail, there would be riots and chaos everywhere.

"The hacker has the highest clearance level. It would take us at least half an hour…"

Meanwhile, Harmon regraded his work satisfyingly. Half an hour was more than enough to send a clear message to the human world. If Wang Tong's failure were put on public display, the human world would fall apart very quickly.

Now, it was the time to watch the show.

Lie Jian attacked persistently, using all of his might in every blow with complete disregard for defense. He didn't want to go back alive as a failure anyway. At first, Moye didn't want to commit fully into this fight against Lie Jian, fearing Wang Tong would attack him with surprise. However, he quickly realized that Lie Jian was not to be trifled with. Lie Jian's attack came with splash damage that was unavoidable. Once the fire grazed Moye, he couldn't heal the wound like he normally would. This had greatly annoyed the dark lord.

"Moye, is this all you got? I have heard you can shapeshift. Why don't you entertain me?" Lie Jian taunted Moye with a contemptuous tone. Despite his cocky look, he had suffered much worse injuries than his opponent. But, he was unwavering, and his voice was filled with the fragile edge of calm that threatened to explode.

The dark lord was capable of healing much deeper cuts than the superficial wounds he had sustained, yet, the double GN fire had somehow hindered the dark one's innate healing ability.

Moye's patience was wearing thin. If Lie Jian posed a serious threat, he might as well do away with him there and then. Thinking up to this point, he summoned extra soul energy and disappeared.

Lie Jian knew this trick: Moye would flash out of view and reappear behind him to deliver a blow. However, he didn't turn around to position himself for the incoming blow; instead, he punched right at the spot where Moye had been standing. It worked, and Moye's move was interrupted.

Lie Jian threw his head back a snarled; despite the injury, he had finally revealed his real power as a level twenty-five Einherjar!

The moment Lie Jian reached the Einherjar level, the blue flame appeared and danced about the new Einherjar. Blue flame was the highest level in terms of dishing out flame damage, and Lie Jian was the first person in House Lie to have achieved that.

Once he reached the Einherjar Level, many abilities would improve along with his overall power. He knew he was ready to level up a long time ago, but had been hiding his real power until the final battle.

However, despite his leveling up, Lie Jian conceded that Moye still held an absolute advantage in terms of power. However, he was not afraid, and his new found power had strengthened his resolution.

Moye regarded Lie Jian with interest and curiosity. He could see Lie Jian's firepower more clearly now after he had reached level twenty-five.

"Marvelous! You have summoned the power from an alternate dimension! Humans never cease to surprise me!" Moye exclaimed as he looked at Lie Jian.

Lie Jian was proud of his advancement. He knew he was ready a long time ago; otherwise, he would not volunteer to fight against the dark lord. Although level twenty-five was still not enough to defeat Moye if one only considered the magnitude of power, Lie Jian had another trick up his sleeve: the flames of the Phoenix.

Once Lie Jian had revealed his real strength, he held a calmer countenance as unswerving faith gleamed in his eyes.

"You are right. This is the blue flame from the alternate universe. You should be proud of yourself to be the first one to have seen it." Lie Jian smirked.

Moye shook his head disapprovingly. "You talk as if you know what you are talking about. Anyhow, as a token of appreciation for your candidness, I would stop fooling around with you."

Before Moye finished his sentence, he threw himself at Lie Jian and punched at him. Lie Jian realized that it was a move that the Martians often used, so he marveled at the dark one's abilities to learn and copy other races' abilities.

Despite his contemptuous smirk, Lie Jian didn't let his guard down.

He channeled out some soul energy and summoned a few wisps of blue flames. With only the slightest hesitation, Lie Jian charged out to meet his attacker.

KOM!

Success! Lie Jian had blocked the attack.

After that, Lie Jian bit down his teeth and snarled as blue flames tumbled out of his sea of consciousness. Compared to the intensity in Lie Jian's attack, Moye's movements seemed almost lazy. He danced around and avoided Lie Jian's attacks with ease. Meanwhile, his eyes never left the blue flames. It was from a dimension of higher order, and rarely could one summon it into the mortal world against its will. Lie Jian was the first person to have done it. Due to the nature of its higher dimension, these otherworldly dancing flames were a few magnitudes more powerful than their normal counterparts.

Despite Lie Jian's belligerent attacks, he was not able to land a solid blow on his opponent. Instead, he was dealt a few more blows while he had ignored his defense. However, he seemed unaffected by these blows as his strikes gained more frequency and intensity.

KOM. KOM. KOM!

The battle at other parts of the battlefield was intense as well. The purple guards were all well versed in the humans' tactics. Not only did they possess better skills, but they also had a stronger body than human warriors. However, there was one crucial skill that they had failed to copy: teamwork.

Despite the purple guards' decisive advantage in power, they were helpless against the direwolves' harassment. The purple guards' powerful soul energy meant that they were more susceptible to the direwolves' interference ability. Once they were staggered by the sudden interference in energy flow inside them, they had to deal with the deadly attacks from the casters mounted on top of those fearsome creatures.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, Lie Jian had started losing his steam. In just three minutes, he had switched role from the aggressor to the defender. His METAL suit was in tatters after having received too many deadly blows.

This heart-wrenching scene was broadcasted all over Mars. The citizens stopped what they were doing and watch the battle in silence. Everyone's hearts were caught in their throats as the dark lord beat up Lie Jian like a punching bag. Lie Jian was the crown jewel of Mars, the most talented soldier the planet had ever seen. Yet, he was helpless before the brutality of the dark lord.

KOM!

Lie Jian blocked a punch, but he didn't see the kick coming at his belly. Moye flapped his wings in satisfaction. "Kiddo, I have to thank you for bringing us the blue fire. We had been looking for it for centuries. We had destroyed dozens of civilizations more advanced than humans in the past…They had looked for the power from the higher order dimension, yet failed. You might be wielding the power right now, but you know nothing about it. Why don't you hand it over to me and let me enjoy it? Oh, wait. I already have it. Haha!"

Dark Lord was the proud of mother supreme, not because of his power, but because of his ability to copy any ability once he had seen it.

KOM!

Suddenly, the dark lord turned into a conflagration of blue flame that was more intense than Lie Jian's. He punched in the air, sending a blue fireball at Lie Jian. There was no time to dodge, so Lie Jian gritted his teeth and blocked the attack with both hands.

KOM!

The impact sent Lie Jian reeling backward. The pain in his arms was beyond description.

KOM!

Another fireball swooped down on him from above. When it hit the ground, it created a large crater, splattering deadly blue flames in all directions. Lie Jian's blue flame had protected him from some of its damage; otherwise, he would have already been dead.

Seeing Lie Jian's contorted face, Moye smiled satisfyingly. Another fireball landed on Lie Jian, and by then, the human warrior was engulfed by the flames completely.

Sensing Lie Jian's life was in danger; Lie Shan charged out to help.

"Stay away!" Lie Jian shouted. He knew that without the protection of the blue flame, Lie Shan would die in an instant.

Chapter 638: Beaten Up

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Lie Shan knotted his pained face and backed down. It was as if the fire was burning his body instead of Lie Jian.

"Moye, go to hell!" Lie Shan couldn't hold back his anger any longer, so he charged up his GN force, lit himself aflame, and charged at the dark lord.

Moye didn't even spare him a glance as he cast a blue fireball at Lie Shan. The attack hit home, and Lie Shan collapsed to the ground.

Lie Shan's failure amused Moye. Although they claimed to have reached enlightenment during cultivation, they sometimes possessed half the intelligence of a primitive Zerg. That being said, he felt grateful for Lie Jian; otherwise, he would never be able to use the power from a higher dimension.

Lie Shan dragged himself up and tried to put out the blue flame. However, Moye didn't give him a chance as he shot out two bone spears, one at Lie Shan and the other at Lie Jian.

There was no time for them to evade; but just as the audiences thought the two warriors' fates were sealed, a dark shadow flickered across the battleground and intercepted the bone spears. Moye narrowed his eyes as he realized that his real opponent had finally shown up.

Wang Tong patted Deep Blue's shoulder and the beast charged at Lie Jian while snarling with a wide open, bloody mouth. When he was close enough, he started to devour the blue flames as if it were some kind of delicacy.

"That's enough! Stop nibbling at me! Go and help Lie Shan!" Lie Jian pushed the beast away and sent a burst of soul energy out to put out the remaining fire.

"Wang Tong, you are an a*shole! What took you so long?" Lie Jian shouted, and then collapsed back to the ground out of exhaustion. Lie Jian had reached his limit; he was the only one who could stand up against Moye, and therefore, he needed to drag out the fight as long as possible in order to buy time for Wang Tong to get ready.

Deep Blue had quickly licked away the fire on Lie Shan as well; afterward, he turned to Moye and glared at the dark lord with two wild, glinting eyes that whined like flashlights. Wang Tong gave the beast a light pat and then said, "Leave this eyesore to me, and finish off the rest."

Deep Blue snarled and then launched himself at Moye's minions. With a single sweep of his paw, he had smashed half a dozen dark ones' heads.

Deep Blue's appearance had excited the other direwolves. Deep Blue was as important to the direwolves as Wang Tong was to Battle Wolf.

"Hehe…Wang Tong, I have been looking for you all over the place. Finally, you have come to me instead." Moye locked his gaze on Wang Tong and said with excitement and a hint of trepidation. This human boy held the key to the ultimate secret of the universe. He lamented that he should have chosen Wang Tong instead of Patroclus five years ago.

Wang Tong smiled thinly. "Why are you so eager to find me? Looking forward to courting death, I wager?"

"Haha! Well, well, tough guy…Who do you think you are? The entire human race was nothing but lab mice to us dark ones."

"Is Patroclus also your lab mice? Then why is it that the immortals are so much smarter than dark ones?"

Moye's lips twitched a little. "All humans will die in the end, including the half breeds."

"Blah, blah… Tell you the truth, you are not my real opponent. "

"Nonsense! If it is not me, who is it then?"

"Who do you think it is?" Wang Tong said as if the answer was self-evident.

It was an insult on Moye's old wounds. Spurred by anger, Moye contorted his face into an angry knot. He was one who had created the immortals, but he had made the mistake of choosing Patroclus as the experimental subject. He had loaded a gun and ended up shooting himself in the foot. After Patroclus gained the invincible body, he swooped down on Moye and robbed him of his authority and power among the Zergs. As Patroclus' power grew, the dark ones were becoming obsolete in the course of the Zergs' evolution. Patroclus could have killed Moye and claimed victory, but he didn't, and Moye loathed him for that. Patroclus let Moye live to see his power being taken over and to live in the shame for his failure.

Wang Tong's words had cut deep, and Moye could no longer hold his temper. Gleaming with blue lights, the dark lord threw himself at the former.

Wang Tong took a deep breath and then punched while taking a step forward. It was the most standard military training move.

KOM!

The punch landed on its target and Moye's angry expression froze upon contact. The impact made him lose his balance as he staggered back a few feet.

A pin drop quietness fell onto the battlefield, and on the other side, Harmon couldn't believe his eyes. He had never underestimated Wang Tong, however, never had he expected the other's strength to exceed Moye's. Or, did he overestimate Moye's power?

The dark lord was shocked by Wang Tong's power, even more so when he realized that the impact had fractured one of the bones in his right arm.

Moye struggled to his feet as his arm was twisted in the most inconceivable fashion. Anyway, in a matter of minutes, his fractured bone was reconnected and all broken tissues and sinews were healed. However, Moye's quick recovery couldn't hide the fact that Wang Tong had overcome him with ease during the last exchange of attacks.

Wang Tong dusted his shirt and said, "I have heard about your shape shifting ability…You better use it now while you still can."

Lie Jian had been carried to safety. He had woken up to see Wang Tong's last move, pouting and remarking in a sour tone, "F*ck off, he is cockier than me! That was my line!"

The soldiers on both side slowly stop engaging each other without even realizing. Their attention was gripped by the fight between Wang Tong and the dark lord.

Moye didn't hold back his power as he did while fighting Lie Jian. One punch was enough to tell him that if he didn't give all he had in this fight, he would perish very quickly.

The blue flame slowly faded away from Moye's body and the energy crystal started to glow brighter by the second. In a few seconds, his body had grown to an epic proportion. A few purple guards flew to Moye with a blank face, allowing the Dark Lord to snap their heads off and suck on their brains. After each brain Moye devoured, his power grew by a few times.

"If I were boss, I would charge at him and kill him there and then!" Duo Lun piped up.

On the other side, Wang Tong didn't watch quietly until Moye had finally finished his transformation. "Hehe…Is this the shape-shifting ability? How pathetic! No wonder Patroclus didn't even consider you a worthy opponent."

The giant monster snarled and was about to attack Wang Tong, but he suddenly lost his target as the latter flashed out of view. Wang Tong then reappeared right beside Moye and asked, "Are you looking for me?"

Without the slightest hesitation, Moye attacked Wang Tong with a flat backhand sweep. The attack carried enough power to erase a small mountain from the surface of Mars. However, Wang Tong didn't evade; instead, he raised his left arm and in an attempt to block.

KOM!

Moye's strike was sure, and it landed squarely on Wang Tong's arm. However, the latter was unwavering, and as the energy in the blow shot through his body, it was somehow absorbed into his system.

People finally realized that Wang Tong's hair had turned blonde, and they were even glowing.

Moye was taken aback by Wang Tong's power once again. After the transformation, Moye's power had increased to level thirty, and he didn't expect anyone to be able to block his attack at full force.

KOM!

Moye attacked again, but the second attack was blocked by Wang Tong as easily as the first one.

"Should it be my turn?" Wang Tong's lips hardened into a thin line. The power emanated from him caught Moye by surprise; he wasn't surprised by the amount of power in Wang Tong, but the lack of it.

The soldiers watched the battle in astonishment and admiration. They had always thought that Wang Tong's strong suit was in mastery; little did they know that he was even better at METAL combat.

"Haha, I think the boss is going to go commando again! I know that look on his face. I have seen it before." On the spaceship, Karl flailed his arms in the air in elation. "Kiss his A*S!" He shouted.

The audiences were gripped by the sudden turn of the events; no one had expected Wang Tong to be so powerful. His opponent was none other than the Dark Lord, the most fearsome opponent of the human race who had killed a level twenty-eight Einherjar with ease.

Wang Tong's face remained calm, but deep down, he felt the anger roiling inside him and ready to burst out.

KOM!

In the next moment, Wang Tong attacked. He didn't use the GN force or soul energy, but when Moye felt the power, a rush of overwhelming foreboding came over him. Moye's face paled; the power brought out memory that he had tried hard to forget.

Wang Tong moved at lightning speed, and before Moye gathered himself, the former's fists had already started to rain on the Dark Lord like a sudden downpour. Moye managed to block the first three punches, and then he lost control of his body completely.

Harmon could only stare ahead. Stunned by what he saw, he started to wonder if Wang Tong was really punching Moye, or was that just one of the dark lord's doubles?

Moye swallowed the pain and gathered his last strength as he attacked the other with his tail. Wang Tong saw the attack coming, but he didn't dodge.

KOM!

Wang Tong snatched Moye's tail and flew up to the sky with Moye dangling on his tail. Next, he dove down to the ground as fast as he had flown up. Grabbing the dark one's tail, he slammed Moye hard onto the ground.

KOM!

The ground cracked open at the impact. Wang Tong didn't let go of the tail as he continued to slam Moye left and right as if the dark lord was a ragdoll.

The human audiences boiled over at this dramatic development. They cheered at the top of their lungs, shouting Wang Tong's name in a frenzy. The thuds and thumps of Moye's body on the ground sounded like a symphony of rejoice and sweet revenge. At the behest of the music, old memories flowed back into Martians' minds, of their loved ones and their home. As they welcomed those memories with tears, remorse and anger robbed their voices from the throats.

They were born and grew up under the daylight but were forced to live under the shadows for the last five years. At last, they had finally found their savior. Wang Tong would make Moye pay the ultimate price for the crimes he had committed. But before that, a public humiliation was in store for the dark lord.

Moye eventually gathered himself from the humiliating display; he seized an opportunity and freed his tail out of Wang Tong's hold with a sudden spin.

As soon as Moye was free, he turned around and opened his wide mouth to bite onto Wang Tong. However, the other didn't give him a chance even to get close to him as he punched at Moye's ugly face and pushed him away.

KOM!

Moye let out a painful howl as his tusks were shattered by the punch. Wang Tong then spun around and jumped onto the back of the hulking frame while punching. Moye suddenly collapsed to the ground, spreading on all fours. Yet, Wang Tong didn't stop as he kept on raining his punishment onto the dark lord while pressing the latter's head into the ground. Everyone was shocked by the lack of technical finesse, as they had been expecting the two combatants to use high skill level abilities.

Lie Jian spat and cursed, "Freak!"

Knowing Lie Jian was referring to Wang Tong, Michaux shook his head and smiled wryly. He knew that every dark one in the dark palace was under Wang Tong's wicked spell. Without freeing himself from the effect of Wang Tong's spell, Moye would never be able to win the fight.

By then, Moye's hulking body was battered by Wang Tong's unforgiving punishment. He looked nothing like an almighty Zerg Lord, but a large glob of Zerg meat slumped half in death.

Suddenly, Wang Tong jumped up, away from Moye. Although the latter had sustained severe injuries, he registered that his power didn't recede, and the dark lord was gathering strength as if he were going to retaliate at any moment.

At the slightest whiff of danger, Wang Tong pulled back immediately. In less than half a heartbeat, Moye shot out a thousand bloodstained pins from his skin. Something writhed under Moye skin as if underneath it were crawling worms. The skin around the open wounds twitched and turned inside out. The sight was gut-churning even for the most battle-hardened warriors.

A thousand pins flew back and wrapped around the dark lord's body until Moye was cocooned in an egg-shaped meat sack. The cocoon started to spin and was gaining speed by the second.

Wang Tong hovered above the cocoon and watched it spinning. The cocoon had formed a force field around it so that not even he could get near.

Wang Tong probed the egg-shaped sack with an energy ball, but the energy was quickly swallowed by the force field. These egg shape sack reminded Wang Tong of the egg that Deep Blue was hatched from. Whatever strike landed on the egg's surface, its energy would be absorbed completely.

The remaining purple guards threw themselves at the cocoon as the latter sucked their life force dry, reducing them to mere husks; it was a frightening scene.

It wasn't long before the human warriors started to feel the pull as the force field and the egg grew in size.

"Everybody! Pull back!" Wang Tong shouted at his team as the human soldiers pulled back to safety.

"Am I really seeing this? Moye is going to evolve! " Tan Bu cursed.

"Don't worry! Boss will handle it. " Duo Lun said confidently.

Harmon watched the development on the screen with a newfound interest. He had made himself a cup of coffee and typed a few words to the computer. "Note to self: the Zerg's ability is amazing. Divine Lord used to say that Moye is in his second form, and no one had ever seen his third and the ultimate form yet. I wager I will be the first immortal to witness this."

Harmon picked up the steaming cup of coffee and sniffed it, then took a sip and smiled satisfiedly. Watching this battle had brought him much more joy than he had expected.

Harmon was an immortal, and therefore, he could practically live forever. Having tasted immortality, any material enjoyment seemed bland. The real thrill of life then came only physiologically. The thought of obtaining new knowledge as well as the thought that there was still so much to learn both brought Harmon enjoyment.

The Zergs had remained an enigma to Harmon. They had subjugated countless civilizations, and therefore, they had many opportunities to become the perfect beings in the universe. Yet, the Zergs seemed to have completely ignored that and were content with their hideous and primitive forms. Perhaps their impeccable ability to conquer new worlds as a group had made them forget about the power of an individual? This mindset didn't change until they had met the humans.

But, despite the setback in the Zergs' plan of conquering the universe, they really should be feeling grateful for encountering the Blade Warrior. Without him, neither the immortals nor the dark ones would have been born.

Harmon had always been fascinated by the Blade Warrior, which didn't fade even after he became an immortal. However, as he took on the problem from a new perspective, he had started to realize just how powerful the Blade Warrior really was.

There could only be one conclusion: the Blade Warrior was not an ordinary man in mortal coil.

Harmon didn't fully understand the results, and neither did he find it convincing despite the finality of it. To finally put the query to rest, Harmon needed to search inside Wang Tong.

By then, the spinning cocoon had lost all of its colors, and the earth underneath was also robbed of life and nutrients as it cracked like a turtle's shell.

The cocoon finally slowed down, and the shell shattered into pieces. From within, a brand new Dark Lord emerged, and he looked like a…human; a very handsome one at that. His tenacious body was fully naked, and his hard face had a pained smile that looked like it was chiseled into the smoothest stones.

Moye stretched his arm and yawned. His purple hair tumbled down all the way to his heels. He had held back the final transformation for a long while, bidding his time to capture Wang Tong so he could tap into the latter's power.

Rays of purple lights shot out of the Dark Lord's body as an armor appeared on his body piece by piece. The METAL suit was exquisitely designed and with elegant decorations. The helmet and the chest piece each had an energy crystal set in it. Moye stretched again, and this time, he spread out his wings. And what a magnificent pair of wings those were! They were no longer the batwings, but a pair of half translucent purple flower petals. The title of Dark Lord was no longer a befitting name; instead, he should be called the purple fairy instead.

Despite the change in the appearances, Moye didn't change a wee bit inside.

He raised his body into the air without using his wings. He looked no different from a human, except for the wings.

"My final stage combined strength and beauty, making me the perfect being in the universe. Patroclus is only the perfect human, and all humans have flaws. But, I am not a human…I am the real paragon of perfection."

Moye said in an airy tone, his voice no longer hoarse.

Wang Tong was unfazed by Moye's impressive display as he shrugged. "You look like a girl. Come on, don't act like one too! Hurry up and let's get it over with!"

"You are courting death!" Moye shouted as a purple blade appeared in his hand. With a swift flapping of his wings, Moye flew to Wang Tong at lightning speed, tracing a smear of purple across the battlefield.

After the final transformation, Moye's soul energy remained unchanged; however, his skills had improved by leaps and bounds.

The dark lord attacked and a purple blade aura lanced into the sky, threatening to pierce the clouds. Three of his blows landed on the ground near the human warriors. Tan Bu jumped out of harm's way as the strike left three huge craters on the ground.