659 - 668

Chapter 659: Encirclement

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

"Humans are going to pay dearly in the process, but they will prevail in the end. The current struggle will only bring the humans closer to each other, and you won't be able to prevent the inevitability. Stop now, and you can still save yourself and preserve the immortals. " Zhou Sisi pressed on. She was not hopeful that her words would change anything, but at least she tried.

"Hehe, how about making a deal? If you let me turn you into an immortal, I will leave the humans alone and travel with you outside the solar system away from the human world." Patroclus asked abruptly.

The question caught Zhou Sisi by surprise. She managed to gather herself and replied, "I don't think it matters to you. The moment I say yes, I will lose all of my purpose for you. I might as well be dead, so why should you care any longer? And you know what? It doesn't matter to me either way. Whether I agree or not, Wang Tong is going to bring you down. No matter what I become, I only belong to Wang Tong…so dream on! The reason that I am still wasting my energy with you is that I hope I can reduce the amount of pain you would cause to humanity. There you have my answer, and I hope you choke on it! "

"You won't be able to steal Wang Tong from Ma Xiaoru. Even Heidi had tried and failed, as well as the field medics who had lived and fought alongside him. Neither beauty nor intimacy could shake his fidelity. What makes you think that you are so special? Plus, you have been living in my quarters for five years…They might as well consider you a spy. After all, humans' paranoia is truly boundless." Patroclus shrewdly avoided touching on the glaring issue of conflicts between humans and the immortals by focusing on Zhou Sisi and Wang Tong's personal lives. Zhou Sisi had been living with the immortals ever since she was captured during the Battle of the Ark, and she had since lived as the only real human in Patroclus' private compound. No one, not even the immortals, knew the purpose of her existence and where her loyalty lied. Therefore, Patroclus' claim of humans' smear attacks on her innocence was not outlandish.

Patroclus' reply amused Zhou Sisi and she smiled broadly. "You don't get it, do you? I don't want anything from him, but I am willing to do anything for him, even if that means to be nailed on a cross." Determination and resolution glinted in Zhou Sisi's eyes as she spoke.

Patroclus kept his silence, but his hand was trembling with rage. He squeezed the teacup tightly to curb the fire inside him until the cup shattered into a few dozen sharp pieces.

…

On the sixth Christmas eve since the Zergs' invasion, the human resistance coalition organized a large scale uprising of the guerrilla attack on a few dozen immortal occupied territories.

Zhang Jin and Ma Xiaoru were the chief in command for this campaign of guerrilla warfare. Due to her unique, if not inconvenient, family background, Zhang Jin was barred from commanding any confederation troops; instead, she was responsible for coordinating all guerrilla factions.

Losing the public's support was more terrifying than losing territory; the death of Einherjar Li Zhedao was a devastating blow to the human force, but it also spurred the Earthlings to unite in solidarity. Although Li Zhedao was dead, the values he stood for lived in everyone's heart.

Patroclus was injured by Li Zhedao, so he had to take a break from the battlefield. This had given Zhang Jin and her guerrilla soldiers a golden opportunity to infiltrate further into the enemy territory. Slowly but surely, she changed the outlook of the war one step at a time. She couldn't have done it all by herself; behind her were millions of earthlings and House Ma's unequivocal financial support.

The Earth was human race's homeland where they had lived and died for tens of thousands of years. The Zergs weren't able to take it five hundred years ago, and neither would the immortals now.

"Uprisings are organized in fifteen cities simultaneously. They should catch the Immortals off guard." Zhang Jin said. She had been working round the clock to organize this campaign. Feeling exhaustion claiming her, she rubbed her forehead to stay awake.

"You should rest, sister Jin. You have been staying up for three nights in a row."

"It was nothing. I only hope that something would come out of this."

"Everything is being carried out according to the plan. The Immortals will not be able to take the Earth any time soon, and I have heard that the Martians have finally defeated the Dark Lord. Things are really looking up."

"Never underestimate our enemy, Sister Xiaoru. The immortals' presence on Earth remains powerful, and if Patroclus suddenly decides to pull the plug and attack us with full force, no one can save us then."

"Not even Wang Tong? I can feel his presence, and the signals are getting clearer and stronger lately. I think he is very close to us, and he is here to protect us."

"You sound like a psychic, haha… Well, if your psychic prediction is right, we might have a chance at surviving after all." Zhang Jin said with a weary smile. The sleepless nights had taken a toll on her vigor, and she found it hard to resist the temptation of laying on a sofa bed.

As she stood up and was ready to walk to her bed, a strange nagging sensation took her by surprise: something was not right! She furrowed her brows and murmured, "Strange…the immortals still haven't responded to the uprising yet…Sh*t! Ma Xiaoru, shut off the communication line!"

Despite Zhang Jin's vigilance, she had acted too late. While she waited for the Immortals' response to the uprising, the immortals had tapped into her communication line and traced the location of her underground office.

They had only a few minutes to get ready for the defense before hordes of Zergs rushed toward the underground command center. Ma Xiaoru had donned the METAL suit and joined the defense.

After a while, Ma Xiaoru and her soldiers were forced to pull back further into the building as the first line of defense was overwhelmed by the Zergs.

"We are surrounded by Zergs." Ma Xiaoru grinned wryly. All this while, she wondered how the Zergs managed to tap into their communication line?

"Captain, we are completely surrounded by Zergs. We need to break through the encirclement soon rather than later."

"There is a mole among us." Zhang Jin spoke with an edge in her voice. She had done all she could to prevent this, but somehow, the Immortals were still able to dig their claws into her men. She reflected briefly on what she had done wrong and reckoned that other than the few high-ranking officers, she practically knew nothing about her crew. She made a mental note to work on that aspect in the future…if she could get out of here alive, of course. The uprisings were already initiated, and it was too late to put a stop on it.

"Sister Jin, use the tunnel right now and I will cover your back." Ma Xiaoru announced with aplomb despite the urgency of the situation. Years of battle had hardened her into a resolute veteran warrior. "Don't waste time! You know that only one of us can make it out of here. I should be able to attract and slow them down. Hurry!"

"Be careful, and don't play heroine! I need you alive."

"Go, NOW!"

Ma Xiaoru stormed out of the room with her personal guards. She was racing against time; the traitor had likely cut off all the routes of retreat from inside, and therefore, Zhang Jin's only hope of escaping this disaster laid on her shoulders.

The enemies were near, so she charged up her GN force and picked up speed. She was no longer the princess of House Ma; chin up and chest out, she stood before the immortals like a formidable warrior.

"I am Ma Xiaoru, the heir of House Ma, sworn protector of the confederation! Cross me, and you are dead."

Ma Xiaoru didn't give the Zergs any time to react as she shot a dozen blade auras out. The streets were brimmed with Zergs since the Immortals had evacuated all the humans. They were in the city formerly known as Boston, and it was an Immortal occupied territory now. Ma Xiaoru and Zhang Jin had established a headquarter for the covert operation in this city right under the nose of the Immortals.

Hearing Ma Xiaoru's name, the immortals quickly focused their fire on her and encircled her. Outside of the ring of encirclement were many human spectators who prayed for her safety secretly.

"Oh my gosh, that really is Miss Ma! We have to do something."

"What can we do? We will be more a hindrance than a help."

A swell of concerned murmur rose from the crowd; they conceded that they couldn't do anything but hope that Ma Xiaoru could escape in the end.

Four Immortals wearing golden METAL suits stepped forward, and one of them greeted Ma Xiaoru. "Miss Ma Xiaoru, it is an honor to meet you." The four golden Immortals spoke casually and didn't seem to be worried that she would make a break.

"The four great generals of the Immortals…" Ma Xiaoru murmured. It occurred to her that the chances of breaking out of the encirclement were zero.

"It gives me the honor to hear our names from you. If you wait a minute or two, we will bring miss Zhang Jin out for you as well. By order of the divine lord, we are here to escort you and Zhang Jin to the moon."

Before long, the encirclement opened up, and a few immortals escorted Zhang Jin into the circle.

"Miss Ma, I wanted to see the tactics of the blade warrior, but the divine lord had given us the order not to harm you. What a pity! Please lower your weapons now…we mean you no harm." One of the divine generals said softly as he ran his finger through his tumble of blond hair. He was the most handsome one of the four, a typical Ivantian stud, and also a fanatic follower of Patroclus. He leered at Ma Xiaoru, his eyes brimming.

Chapter 660: I Am Back

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

The immortals—as their name obviously stated—were immortal, and had a nearly insatiable lust. Every time the immortals sacked a new human city, they would often browse the local market for some fresh meat. Although Gersar knew he would not be able to lay a finger on Ma Xiaoru, it wouldn't stop his perverse imaginations.

Ma Xiaoru cast Zhang Jin a knowing glance. If the Immortals expected her to surrender without putting up a fight, they might as well have the wrong person.

"Don't waste our time. Soldiers of House Ma never surrender! " Ma Xiaoru said thinly. Thousands of concerned human onlookers witnessed her courage and were deeply moved by her resolution to defend humanity. As Wang Tong's woman, Ma Xiaoru knew that she could not afford to cave in before humanity's greatest enemy. Blade Aura danced about her sword as she prepared herself for the battle.

"Anyone of you wants to play with her? I call the dibs…Haha." Gersar laughed lewdly.

"Watch out! Don't get your little bird chopped off…Haha!" One of the golden immortals burst out laughing.

"Buzz off! I am not going be defeated by a woman." With that, Gersar threw himself at Ma Xiaoru, his golden METAL suit suffused with a shimmering GN force. The immortals' ability in using the energy crystals was far greater than that of the humans. Plus, the immortal armies were backed by the most advanced human technologies from the Ivantians; even Ma Xiaoru's super METAL suit paled under comparison with that of the immortals.

But still, Ma Xiaoru was unflinching while facing the deadly attack. She slashed at her opponent with the blade as she scanned her surroundings, looking for a weak link in the encirclement.

Her personal guards were also under fire from the Immortals. The primitive Zergs didn't involve themselves in the fight as they simply stood and watched. They were not worthy of fighting alongside the godly immortal generals.

After some observation, Ma Xiaoru conceded that the immortals had left no blind spots in their encirclement. The other three immortal generals seemed to be chatting casually, but Ma Xiaoru knew that they hadn't let their guards down and would act on the slightest provocation.

Ma Xiaoru's sword technique was well known for its unpredictability. However, Gersar's spear had a much longer reach, and therefore, had a natural advantage over her shorter weapon. Although Gersar was relatively unknown before he joined the immortals, his power had increased by leaps and bounds ever since Patroclus bestowed the gift of immortality on him. Gersar was at level twenty-four, one level ahead of Ma Xiaoru, and his spear techniques had the reminiscence of Patroclus' lance attack skills. Although Ma Xiaoru had honed her tactics of the Enchantress to near perfection, with the disadvantages in the level of soul energy and weapon's reach, she could not gain an edge during the fight.

"The Tactics of the Enchantress are impressive! One level behind and she can still measure up to Gersar!" Yagerli exclaimed. He was the head of the four generals and had studied the humans' five major tactics, particularly the Tactics of the Deva King.

Unlike the humans, the immortals shared all of their knowledge freely with each other. The five major tactics had long since been shared publicly among the immortals. Without their secret weapons, members of the major households were easily defeated.

This was where the immortal community outshone the humans. All members of the immortal family had unrestricted access to all of their collective knowledge, and the divine lord had spared no expenses at the training and improvement of his followers. Some of the Ivantians defected to the immortals solely because of the opportunity to educate and improve oneself.

Patroclus had also formulated a few unique tactics by combining all the known tactics in the human world. As more and more humans joined his ranks, more and more human tactics were being absorbed into the immortals' training. Their superior body also meant that they would never fall into derangement, which further facilitated their cultivation.

Ma Xiaoru didn't expect the fight to be so difficult, but she didn't waver.

Sensing that she was in trouble, her eighteen guards stepped forward together and blocked one of Gersar's attacks. They channeled out their GN force and linked them together, forming an impenetrable shield.

"Interesting! Isn't it the battle formation of Eighteen Arhats?" One of the four immortal generals called Molin, a hulking frame among the others, exclaimed out loud.

"Gersar, can you handle it? Why don't you let Molin give it a try?" The fourth golden immortal, Hewitt jested.

"Arhat my a*s! If they are the Arhat, I might as well be the Buddha. Boss, let me kill them all!"

"Don't underestimate the power of these eighteen gentlemen. We need to carry out the Divine Lord's order, and we can't afford to make a mistake. I will have to do it myself." Yageli announced as he pulled away from his red cape and closed in onto the eighteen guards.

"Boring!" Hewitt rolled his eyes at Yageli.

Ma Xiaoru's guards were all level twenty-one legendary warriors. The eighteen of them would be a formidable force anywhere they went. They were handpicked by the lord of House Ma and were entrusted with the duty of protecting Ma Xiaoru. The unique thing about this cohort of guardsmen was that their soul energies were on the exact same level, and therefore, could resonate with each other to form a force field of epic proportions.

On the other hand, their opponent was the leader of the mysterious four divine generals of the immortals. His advanced tactics and powerful soul energy meant that Yageli would be the most powerful opponent the guardsmen had ever faced.

"Miss Ma, if they can counter three of my attacks, I will let you go free. But, if they fail to do so, would you please come with me peacefully?"

Ma Xiaoru shot him a cold glance: "I don't make deals with monsters. "

"Fine. You just made it more difficult for yourself."

KOM!

Yageli flushed out his soul energy, and everyone was shocked by his power. Whatever hope they had mustered after seeing the power of the eighteen Arhats had evaporated into thin air.

Yageli was a level twenty-six Einherjar.

Even a level twenty-five Einherjar could be flawed in one way or another, but at level twenty-six, they were perfect.

The moment Yageli clenched his fist, he seemed to have squeezed the air out of everyone's lungs. The battlefield was filled with a suffocating pressure that seemingly came from nowhere.

KOM!

Yageli punched, and everyone felt a gale blasting at their face. Next, the air felt hot as if it was brought to a boil, finally followed by a deafening boom that left everyone's ears half deaf.

The eighteen Arhats' faces paled as they felt the overbearing pressure on their system. The two at the front coughed violently as blood spilled out of their mouths.

"My lady, leave us now! We can't take another hit."

Yageli didn't give Ma Xiaoru time to say the obvious answer as his second blow was already underway. Ma Xiaoru didn't hesitate as she linked her soul energy with that of the Arhats. The second blow came with more belligerence than the first one.

KOM!

The attack staggered the guards, but they didn't fall thanks to Ma Xiaoru's assistance. Suddenly, a swell of commotion could be heard outside the encirclement: the underground resistance had come to Ma Xiaoru's aid.

"Miss Ma, you won't like my thirst attack, I promise. Why don't you come with me in peace and make it easier for both of us? I don't want to hurt you." Seeing that Ma Xiaoru had ignored his final plea, Yageli initiated the third attack. But before he could reach his target, a powerful force came down on him, forcing him to halt his attack. Yageli scanned his surroundings and failed to find the source of the power. Then, he heard a voice calling him out.

"I will give you two options right now: you can end your life yourself, or I will do it for you!" The booming voice reverberated across the city, and the entire city fell to pin-drop silence. Disbelief came over Ma Xiaoru as she heard the familiar voice.

"Wang …Tong?"

"What the hell is wrong with Patroclus? He sent a few losers to go after my girl?" Wang Tong sneered at the four golden immortals, and then he turned around to look at Ma Xiaoru. When their eyes locked with each other, Ma Xiaoru felt her heart stop beating.

Before she knew it, Wang Tong was only a few inches away from her and had started to replenish her soul energy using his.

"We have lots to catch up after I am done with these losers."

"Be careful…" Ma Xiaoru couldn't even finish her words as she broke down in tears.

"You are courting death! How dare you call out our divine lord's name!"

A level twenty one immortal charged at Wang Tong while brandishing a giant blade. Wang Tong didn't even spare him a look as he casually lifted a finger and flicked it.

Chapter 661: Reunion

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Kaboom!

With that single movement, heads of a few dozen Immortals exploded.

"So, what will you choose? Are you going to kill yourself or you need my help?" Wang Tong's voice was cold. He was grateful for Charcoal's tip about the Immortals' operations. If he had come a little bit later, Ma Xiaoru's life could have been in danger.

"Kill him!" Yageli shouted and commanded the immortals to attack Wang Tong from all directions. Wang Tong threw his head back and looked into the sky above him as if searching for some invisible energy. Next, he spread his fingers out before suddenly clenching them.

BOOM!

The few dozen Immortals who charged at Wang Tong were stopped cold in their track, and then their heads exploded.

Meanwhile, the underground resistance force had made their way to the center of the encirclement, and everyone wondered if the warrior who came to Ma Xiaoru's rescue was Wang Tong. No one had seen him before, yet everyone felt that his face looked familiar.

Ever since Wang Tong was spotted on Mars, the humans on Earth had been yearning for his arrival…And there he was, standing right in front of them.

No other acts than the killing of the four Immortal generals could send a clearer message to the Immortals that he was here. The battle would not only be a show of resolution, but also a message to Patroclus that he had found a way to save the humans from his brutality.

In a blink, all the Immortals other than the four generals were dead. Their headless bodies slumped on the ground in death.

"Three strikes, wasn't it? I have a new proposal: if the four of you can withstand one punch from me, I will let you go. How does that sound?" Wang Tong held his hands behind back and scrutinized the expressions on the four immortals. His poised, overbearing and cold presence sent a chill down to the Immortals' spines.

"Wang Tong, don't let your conceit get the better of you. You…" Words got caught in Yalige's throat as he noticed Wang Tong's expression harden while his soul energy disappeared.

"You three head back now while you still can. I will handle him myself."

"Boss, why are you afraid of him?"

"Shut your trap! Do as you are told." Yageli refuted. He started to realize that Wang Tong was much more powerful than even the wildest rumors he had heard about him.

"Hehe, are you guys done talking? I am about to attack."

"Go!"

Yageli charged at Wang Tong, but his level twenty-six soul energy seemed much less impressive in front of the latter. Meanwhile, the other three immortals, Gersar, Molin, and Hewitt, darted in three different directions.

How could Wang Tong attack four of them at the same time while they were so far apart?

Wang Tong met Yageli's attack with a simple punch. Although the punch was directed toward Yageli, it was the other three immortals who fell to the ground before the fist punctured a large hole through Yageli's chest.

"Space warp!"

"Because of your courage, I will give you a quick death." Wang Tong said coldly, and all four immortal generals were dead before his voice faded away. In a blink of an eye, Wang Tong had turned the tables around and saved everyone. More and more human citizens gathered on the street to look at Wang Tong, their faces a mixture of confusion and hope.

"Citizens of Boston, you are free!" Wang Tong's voice boomed, echoing across the quiet city.

Dealing with the immortals stationed in the city was a piece of cake for Wang Tong, most of them getting killed and after this battle. Those who got away fled the city in panic.

Ma Xiaoru rushed toward Wang Tong and collapsed into his arms as she broke down in tears. This was the moment she had dreamed of every night, and it finally was no longer a dream.

Her tears and breakdown surprised even herself; she was not as strong as she had pretended to be.

Wang Tong hugged Ma Xiaoru tightly, and then both of them flashed out of view.

Zhang Jin smiled knowingly; nothing was sweeter than love redeemed. Judging by Wang Tong's display, Zhang Jin knew that the humans' fate was in his hands.

Zhang Jin couldn't help but feel slightly bitter for not being noticed by Wang Tong; nonetheless, she was happy for Ma Xiaoru. She had a heart of gold, pure and innocent; but when she was under stress, she had never complained even once.

The most terrible thing was not death; it was waiting for true love and not knowing if that true love would even show up or not.

…

Looking at Ma Xiaoru's face, Wang Tong felt words simply evaporate from his mouth. He had expected Ma Xiaoru to complain to him about the loneliness and stress he had put her under, but she didn't, simply watching his face with all the love she could muster.

They stood in each other's embrace on top of a skyscraper. Wang Tong held Ma Xiaoru's beautiful face with both hands and whispered, "I am sorry."

"Say no more. I want you to have me." Ma Xiaoru murmured.

Wang Tong could no longer hold back the desire inside of him. With a wave of a hand, he cast a privacy screen spell around them. Knowing they were nearly invisible, Ma Xiaoru let go of the hold on the knot of fire that had been burning inside her for five years. She ripped Wang Tong's clothes off and then pulled his pants down to his knees. They pressed their bodies close to each other and enjoyed the burning sensation from the touch of each and every inch of their naked skin. In this magical realm of sex and emotions, reality ebbed away, and in place of it was pure magic.

After everything was done, Ma Xiaoru lay inside Wang Tong's arms and slowly fell asleep. Wang Tong ran his fingers through her silken hair and tried to imagine the prison-like life she had to endure over the five years.

They said that time was relative, and it was the slowest when she was by herself. He reflected on his own life in the last five years and how big of a challenge that had been to improve his power to be at par with Patroclus.

It was the most intense training a human body could ever undergo. However, Wang Tong knew that he would appreciate it when he had to face Patroclus. Not only was Patroclus a much more talented warrior than Wang Tong, but he had also gained a huge advantage after being an immortal. Plus, Wang Tong doubted that the Ivantian prince would have stopped seeking new power during the five years.

Having fought Patroclus once, Wang Tong knew that when the time came, he would have to stand up against the only warrior who was perfect in each and every aspect.

The challenge justified Wang Tong's sadistic training routines during the five years. He couldn't afford to expose himself before he felt he was ready to face Patroclus, but he was also racing against time. Humanity was suffering, and their only salvation was him.

Even then, the thought of the training during those five long years gave Wang Tong the chills. He took Ma Xiaoru's hand and squeezed it gently; as long as he could protect his loved ones, any sacrifice or hellish training was worth it.

Before Wang Tong arrived on Earth, he was still unsure about the specific steps that needed to be taken to counter Patroclus. But by then, he had seen and heard enough for a detailed plan to start surfacing in his mind.

The first thing Ma Xiaoru saw the next morning was Wang Tong's face. She shook her head to make sure she was not dreaming. Still unsure, she jumped at him and squeezed his nose hard. Wang Tong winced, which finally convinced Ma Xiaoru that this was not a dream. She wrapped her arms around Wang Tong neck and shouted, "It's not a dream. Not a dream! Haha!"

Despite Ma Xiaoru's choking hold on his neck, Wang Tong smiled contentedly. The few fragile moments of epiphany he had tasted in his five years—tasted, but always lost—were redeemed here.

"Are you hungry? Let's have breakfast."

"Ok, but where are we?" Ma Xiaoru looked around her and asked.

"We are still inside the privacy spell. Someone just couldn't wait last night." Wang Tong answered. "Put some clothes on, will you?"

"Hey, my shirt is all ripped! You need to buy me new ones." Ma Xiaoru complained while wearing a mischievous smirk on her face.

"I have no money. Maybe you can just take my body instead."

"Why will I do that? Your body is stinky."

"Yet, you licked it like an ice cream last night." Wang Tong winked at Ma Xiaoru.

When Wang Tong and Ma Xiaoru got off their love nest on the rooftop, they were greeted by soldiers from the resistance force and House Ma. Behind them were thousands of citizens who showered the couple with cheers and flowers. Wang Tong held Ma Xiaoru by the waist and smiled broadly at the public. The news of his return and the killing of the four immortal generals spread quickly across the earth.

The savior had returned, and Patroclus' days were numbered!

Chapter 662: Call Under The Banner

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Many heroes had tried to rise against Patroclus, but they all failed.

Although the human world still had capable warriors such as Li Shiming and Li Ruoer, their power fell short before Patroclus.

Patroclus' existence was a sharp knife that hung above the neck of humanity and constantly reminded the humans of their inevitable annihilation. However, with Wang Tong's return, the humans started to see hope once again. Wang Tong was the only person who had defeated Patroclus in the past, and he was humanity's last and only hope. The humans' belief in Wang Tong's special power was also shared among the Immortals. No Immortal would feel ashamed for fleeing from a battle against Wang Tong. Therefore, all the Immortals inside Boston had fled the city right after the four generals' defeat.

Wang Tong's presence had ensured the security of Boston. In the days that followed, he pushed away other appointments and spent most of his time with Ma Xiaoru.

"Welcome back, young master! The elders of the court are eager to see you." A Templar said to Wang Tong.

"Is the grand master still alive?" Wang Tong asked with a smirk.

"The grand master is alive and healthy. He had told us that you are still alive when you were missing, and he said you would be back to lead the Templars and destroy the Immortals."

"What is your name?" Wang Tong asked.

"Zhang Taihang, my lord!"

Wang Tong patted Zhang Taihang's shoulder and asked, "The Immortals' days are numbered. Are you willing to follow me and destroy them once and for all?"

"Yes, young master! I will follow you even through the gates of hell! My life is yours!"

"I don't want you to die. I want you to live, so that you can fight the Immortals and liberate our homeland."

"Kill the Zergs, retake homeland!"

"Kill the Zergs, retake homeland!"

"Kill the Zergs, retake homeland!"

The soldiers' shout echoed throughout the city. The human race had survived the test of time and would continue to do so. Be it the Zergs or Immortals, no one could bring down humanity as long as Wang Tong was still alive.

The savior had returned home after turning the situation around on Mars and liberating millions of souls in a triumphant victory against the dark ones.

Wang Tong could not have done it all by himself; he reckoned that the hope of saving the humanity lied in not just one or two people, but in the human race itself. There was a power hidden inside every human that only Wang Tong knew how to draw out. The source of the power, as Wang Tong deduced, was the evolutionary pressure; in other words, the fear of extinction while facing a near-invincible enemy. It was this fear that had fueled the warriors to risk their lives on the battlefield, because they knew that Patroclus had no intention of coexisting with the human race as he designed to replace it with Immortals outright.

Although the Immortals had Patroclus, the humans had Patroclus' equal: Wang Tong. Wang Tong was an exemplar of valor and wisdom, and was destined to steer the ship that was the human race to the safe shore from the current violent storm.

Ever since the age of space exploration, the human race had divided into many sub-branches, among which, the humans from their homeland Earth were the most stubborn and hopelessly bound by their sense of honor. They were fierce protectors of the old ways, and were able to resist various temptations and distractions of the modern world. The old way was the honorable way, and honor was in the blood of every Earthling.

This unique character of the earthlings explained why the Ivantians had given in to the Immortals occupation so easily while the resistance sentiment on Earth remained strong.

Patroclus was able to do as he please on the Moon but not so much on Earth. He found himself hemmed in by resistance from not only military, but all other aspects of the society as well. There were many theories that attempted to explain the unyielding character of earthlings, and a simple explanation was that the earthlings shared a much stronger affinity with planet Earth than any other human groups. To the earthlings, Earth was a sacred land, and they would resist any invaders with a religious zeal.

After the Immortals had fled Boston, they didn't attempt to retake the city, which took the human residence by surprise as it was against their normal retaliatory behavior. There could only be one explanation: the immortals were afraid of Wang Tong.

Wang Tong could provide more security to a city than an entire army.

What Wang Tong had achieved on Mars was unimaginable. If the killing of Moye had placed him on the throne above all other human warriors, his ability to evoke the asteroid storm would have earned him a place among the gods.

Zhang Jin took advantage of the brief peace and quickly established communication with all resistance forces across the globe. The time for a full-fledged counterattack was near.

Even now, Zhang Jin was not certain as to how effective the human resistance groups' combined strength would be during a counterattack. She was not surprised by the Ivantians' quick capitulation; although they lauded themselves for their "perfect" genes, they were the weakest in their wills. While they surrendered to the invaders, the humans on Earth devoted themselves to the heroic act of resistance.

Zhang Jin didn't have to wait long before she received responses from all corners of Earth. She was pleasantly surprised by the unprecedented enthusiasm; the mentioning of Wang Tong's name was enough to heighten everyone's spirits.

"Wang Tong, we were able to gain the support of thirty-seven underground factions, and they are all willing to fight for you." Zhang Jin said joyfully.

"Thank you for organizing everything. I am nothing special." Wang Tong said timidly and scratched his head. They met at the Templar's court, where he was about to meet the core members of the court.

"I had never thought that you could be so modest!" Zhang Jin exclaimed with a broad smile. She had been in a good mood ever since she survived the Immortals' sudden raid.

"Sister Jin, don't praise him like that. He needs your advice and guidance." Ma Xiaoru said gently.

"Forget it! I am not going to guide him." Zhang Jin shrugged and answered readily.

"Sister Jin, based on the information I have gathered, it occurred to me that the power of the resistance force on Earth is still intact."

"You are right. The morale on Earth is much better than that on the moon and Mars. By far, Patroclus' aggression had been mild. I wager that his ultimate goal is not to destroy Earth, but to transform it into another one of his bases like the moon. This gave the resistance a lot of room to grow. Plus, the sentiment among the public also favored continuing resistance instead of capitulation, particularly after the death of Einherjar Li Zhedao. Perhaps losing him was a blessing in disguise. In addition, the number of elite Immortals was very limited for some unknown reason."

"Do you think it was because Patroclus had restricted the reproduction capability of the queens?"

"That is likely the case, but no one knows for sure. There were still some human soldiers that were coerced to fight for the Immortals, but I bet we could win them over with a few words from you. All in all, our biggest threat is not the immortals, but only one individual: Patroclus."

Wang Tong nodded as he knew that Zhang Jin's words had hit the mark. The resistance forces on Earth had viewed Wang Tong's presence a counterweight against the heavy clout of Patroclus.

"Once you think you are ready, both the earthling and the Martian forces will be under your command." Zhang Jin announced expectantly.

Fearing the call of duty would take Wang Tong away from her again, Ma Xiaoru reached out to hold his hand before the latter could offer an answer.

Zhang Jin studied Wang Tong's face attentively, trying to catch traces of his thoughts. Wang Tong would play a key role, and therefore, it was important to get him on board with the plan as soon as possible.

"How confident are you that anything positive is going to come out of this?" Wang Tong asked candidly.

Zhang Jin was taken aback by the question. She paused to think for a second and then replied, "It's difficult to say… There are just too many variables. Regardless of the outcome, humans will pay a heavy price, and we are ready. This war is inevitable."

Wang Tong nodded, "I know. "

"Well, on that note, I have a similar question for you: how confident are you in the fight against Patroclus?"

Chapter 663: The Forgotten Ark

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

As one of the core leaders of the human resistance, she knew clearer than most people about the implication of the fight between Wang Tong and Patroclus.

"All I can say is that I believe that I will win, but I am not a fortune teller either. The quickest way to end this war is a fight between Patroclus and me. However, I doubt he is ready to fight me yet." Wang Tong replied, hearing which, Zhang Jin nodded in agreement. She knew that the showdown between the Wang Tong and Patroclus was only a matter of time. If Wang Tong was able to somehow make the fight happen sooner, the war could be avoided completely.

However, just as Wang Tong had pointed out, the Immortals had the decisive upper hand right now, so it was not likely that Patroclus would take the risk and fight Wang Tong in person.

Wang Tong was much more powerful than Li Zhedao, and even Patroclus could not be 100% sure that he would emerge victorious.

Although the powers of the two warriors were at par with each other, the powers of the factions they represented did not. If Patroclus approached the situation with a rational mindset, he would reach only one conclusion: avoid fighting Wang Tong.

"Can I…say something?" Sensing that the two's arguments were getting nowhere, Ma Xiaoru asked timidly. Neither Wang Tong nor Zhang Jin wanted the war to drag on. The human race had suffered enough in the six years, and the sooner the war could end, the better. The conflict between Wang Tong and Patroclus was the only solution to end the war without having it drag on. On the other hand, the more Wang Tong fought on the battlefield, the more he would expose his power to Patroclus. With his sharp mind, Patroclus, might be able to catch Wang Tong's flaws that even the latter himself wasn't aware of.

"What do you think ?"

"If we were to locate the mother supreme and kill it, what would the Zergs do? "

Zhang Jin and Wang Tong were taken aback by Ma Xiaoru's question. They stared at each other in surprised silence.

"Did I say anything wrong?" Ma Xiaoru asked sheepishly. Wang Tong turned and hugged Ma Xiaoru as he pressed a kiss on her cheek. "No, you are a genius!"

Zhang Jin burst out laughing. "How could we have forgotten about the queen? She is the source of the immortals' strength. If we manage to get rid of her, the immortals would lose their hold on the billions of Zergs."

"If the queen and Patroclus don't get along, I doubt Patroclus would be able to keep his immortality. But, how are we going to find the mother supreme?"

Zhang Jin's eyes glinted with hope as she said, "It used to be a million dollar question, but not anymore. We just have to think like Patroclus. Now, if I were Patroclus, where would I hide her?"

Wang Tong laughed. "No one knows Patroclus better than you, Zhang Jin."

"So…did I just save the humanity?" Ma Xiaoru asked mischievously.

"Almost, my dear! You can count on me to find out where the queen is located. Without the mother supreme, the Immortal army would lose all of their edges against us."

"Indeed, the queen is Patroclus' Achille's heel." Wang Tong said hopefully. They had finally found a plausible solution to force Patroclus to fight him as soon as possible.

Patroclus knew the queen was the key to control the Zergs, and therefore, he would have placed her in the most secure place. But, where would it be?

The three of them mulled over the question for a while but were not able to find an answer. "Sh*t! I should have thought about it earlier so that we could have had more information to work with."

Wang Tong nodded. "As long as you can point a direction for me, I can handle the rest. However, we have only one shot at this. Once Patroclus is aware of our intention, our chance of success is zero."

"Someone must know something about the queen's whereabouts."

"Agreed! Let's focus on the Moon, Earth, and Mars first."

"She is not very likely on Mars, so we can exclude it from the list for now. It's too risky and too far from the Moon."

"It's not very likely that she is on Earth either. Even the Immortal occupied areas were filled with our covert agents, much less our territories." Ma Xiaoru said.

"That leaves only the Moon and space."

"Yes. Those are the safest places where Patroclus could exert his influences on."

"Sister Jin, if you were Patroclus, where would you hide the queen?" Wang Tong asked.

"It's hard to say. I would have placed her in either places. If I were worried about her safety, I would have placed her on the moon. But, I have no idea what the relationship was like between Patroclus and the Queen, so I really have no clue."

"What about you, Xiaoru?" Wang Tong asked.

"Eeww… I wouldn't want to even get close to her. The queens are gross."

"Hmmm… I can think of at least one place where Patroclus could have hidden her." Wang Tong said and let the suspense hang in the air. In many ways, Wang Tong, was very similar to Patroclus, and therefore, he had some measure of confidence in his guess.

"Spit it out!" Ma Xiaoru urged.

"The Ark!"

Wang Tong's answer caught the two girls off guard. They had almost forgotten that formidable ship and what had happened on it.

…

On the fifth day of Boston's liberation, the masters of the court finally arrived. When Old Fart saw Wang Tong for the first time in nearly a decade, he simply smiled at him approvingly. Only with the slightest hesitation, Wang Tong closed in and embraced Old Fart.

Of all the masters of the court, only four had survived the war. The Templar had been at the forefront of the Confederation Army when the Zergs invaded, and had taken the brunt of the enemy force. They were able to push back the Zergs' initial charge, but their success cost them dearly. Nonetheless, the Templar's court persevered and continued fighting the Zergs even till this day.

Much like the Divine Mastery Sect on Mars, the Templars had become the symbol of humans' resistance. While House Li fought the Zergs on the open field, Templars and House Ma organized covert operations to dismantle the Immortals' rule over the Earth from inside the cities.

"Your hair have grayed, old man!" Wang Tong said wistfully. He knew Old Fart had been under an unimaginable amount of stress.

"Haha, you have grown up…You have done well!" Old Fart said with a broad smile as tears of joy welled in his eyes.

Chapter 664: Alive Like A Tiger

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Ma Xiaoru was affected by the touching scene as well. "Grandmaster reassured that Wang Tong will lead us to victory."

"Haha, of course! He is going to be the new grand master of the Templars. All eyes are on you now, kiddo!" Wang Buting had never admitted defeated even once in his life. But after six years of struggle against Patroclus, he was tired, and hopelessness had started to creep in. Overall, the situation on Earth was much better than what those who didn't live there would think, all thanks to the Templar and the Confederation's perseverance.

"Grandmaster, Wang Tong has already come up with a solution, and we are currently working on it. " Ma Xiaoru went on to explain their plan of capturing the queen. Old Fart nodded from time to time, and after she had finished, his face was lit up with glee. "Excellent plan! But, how confident are you in defeating Patroclus?"

"Hehe, I don't remember you ever taught me how to fail, so I won't." Wang Tong said airily. Wang Buting locked his eyes onto his face and saw through his nonchalant mask right away. Wang Tong's resolution was unswerving. With his current level of power, it was not impossible to get rid of Patroclus by paying the ultimate sacrifice.

"Kiddo, I know a person who might be able to help us. But I am not sure how long it will take us to find him."

"Who is that?"

"You know him too." Old Fart said knowingly.

"Sisi?" Wang Tong gasped.

"That's right. Over the years, she had been helping the Templars secretly, and without her, I might have already been dead." Wang Buting heaved a sigh.

"How come? I had tried to contact her, but… I thought she was dead." Ma Xiaoru was surprised by the revelation.

"A strong soul, that one. I knew she was to play a big role in human history the moment she was chosen to enter Valhalla, although I admit that I have no clue what exactly that entails, and neither does she. Therefore, I have left her with an encrypted communication device, and we have stayed in touch ever since. I have not told anyone about his for obvious reasons."

"No wonder that we could always get the alert of Immortals' attack just in time. I thought that the information was provided by the underground agents." Ma Xiaoru exclaimed as realization dawned upon her. Although she and Zhang Jin had their suspicions on the source of the precise intel they had been getting, neither of them delved into it.

"She is the only person who has access to Patroclus, and therefore, only she will know where the Queen is. Even a general direction would be of great help."

"Is she in danger?" Wang Tong asked concernedly. "We need to get her out of there."

"You think I didn't try? I have asked her many times, but somehow, she refused to be rescued. Maybe she wanted to stay close to Patroclus to protect us. She had saved so many lives. Without her, I wouldn't even be here talking to you. The only way to get her back is to kill the queen and end the war" Wang Butting said. He was grateful for Zhou Sisi's secret protection over the years.

"That's fine, Old Fart. I have been to the moon, and I couldn't find Zhou Sisi. But, if you know her whereabouts, I can figure it out myself." Wang Tong said firmly and then looked at Ma Xiaoru beside him. She appreciated the sacrifice that Zhou Sisi had made for her man, and therefore, despite her obvious crush on Wang Tong, she didn't protest his plan of rescuing her personally.

"I agree with Wang Tong. If Patroclus isn't aware of Zhou Sisi's communication device, he is not likely to expect Wang Tong to show up either. We suspect that the queen is on the Ark, and we will locate her sooner or later. It is about time for Zhou Sisi to come home."

"You guys are too young and too simple, sometimes even naive!"

"Shut up, Old Fart! Tell me where she is, and I will bring her back."

Wang Tong had always been mindful not to owe anyone anything. Zhou Sisi was the only person he genuinely felt indebted to. Not only had she sacrificed her own chance of escaping to save Wang Tong during the tragedy on the Ark, but she had also endured the slandering and smear attacks in order to protect the safety of the Templars. She was a true heroine.

"Don't be so hasty! Let's think this through!"

"I believe in Wang Tong, and I hope you do too." Ma Xiaoru put in.

"You two are…" Old Fart sighted heavily and then said, "How about both of you take a good rest tonight, and we will talk tomorrow. If you still insist on going, I will make the arrangements for you. But, I am not sure if she will come with you or not even if you can get to her." Years of experience told Wang Buting that Wang Tong's action was too brash.

When the rest of the Templars saw Wang Tong, their hearts were filled with excitement and trepidation. Not only did he look different than he did six years ago, he also had become a legend and the beacon of hope among the Templars.

The Templars didn't leave Wang Tong's residence until late that night as they exchanged tales of the battlefield with the young master. The Templars had proven their abilities during the test of war. It wasn't until the war broke out that the world finally saw the full strength of the court. Millions of secret followers revealed their identity as inner court Templars and picked up their weapons to fight. Of the hundreds of thousands of inner court Templars, half of them were METAL warriors and the other half weren't, as they were comprised of elites from other professions. Their offspring would inherit their title as the inner court disciples as they did from the generation before them.

The Templar's court had kept most of their inner court disciples undercover during the peaceful times, and only enlisted their services during a crisis.

There were only a handful of Templars on the Moon and Mars, but all of them were elites in their own rights. Yin Tianzong was a good example of those Templars who operated covertly. Even now, there were secret agents working against Patroclus right under his nose on the Moon. Even House Zhang that was well known for their espionage capabilities could not match the Templar's large covert network. All of House Zhang's agents were picked off one after another by Immortals due to Patroclus's familiarity with House Zhang.

Wang Tong tucked Ma Xiaoru's shoulder under his arm. Without the war, this could be their life forever. The thought of a happy and peaceful life as one family spurred him to continue fighting.

"Wang Tong, you need to get her out of there. She must be suffering." Ma Xiaoru murmured.

Wang Tong was touched by Ma Xiaoru's understanding. To save Zhou Sisi meant that she would have to leave Ma Xiaoru again. Although Ma Xiaoru had the protection of her guards, leaving her worried Wang Tong. However, compared to her, Zhou Sisi's situation was much worse, and Wang Tong still cared about Zhou Sisi a great deal.

"Xiaoru, I…"

"You don't have to explain. I know you care about her and I can't mind…But only her, no one else, however pretty they are." Ma Xiaoru half-joked and half warned Wang Tong.

"Who are you talking about? You are the prettiest!"

"Really? Prettier than Princess Heidi?"

"Of course!" Wang Tong squeezed Ma Xiaoru's butt and said.

"Well, you better save your energy for me then." Ma Xiaoru pressed her firm butt deeper into Wang Tong's palm and winked at Wang Tong.

The next morning, Wang Tong left the earth for the moon to save Zhou Sisi.

While Wang Tong was gone, the human fleet didn't rush to the Moon as the Immortals had expected; instead, they had secured Mars' space and cut off the Immortals' communication with the remaining Zergs outside of the Earth-Moon system.

Mars was situated at a strategic location since it was the gateway between the solar system and colonies that were in other galaxies.

Chapter 665: Human Armada

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Under the leadership of Samantha and many other capable leaders, the Martian crew gained more experience by the day. After every victory, the crew's confidence increased as much as their skills improved.

Karl and Flash had affected the soldiers around them with their phenomenal skills and charismatic personality. After the major victory against the dark ones, Li Hong and Xiao Se were completely captivated by Samantha's leadership skills. As the three leaders worked together, the Armada started to unleash its full combat potential.

The Armada were divvied into three columns: the center column commanded by Samantha herself, and the left and the right columns being under the command of Karl and Flash respectively. Both Karl and Flash were promoted to the rank of generals; Karl was nicknamed the Tiger General, and Flash was nicknamed General Perfection.

As the human armada made significant progress around Mars, the immortal fleets were forced to respond. However, as soon as the vanguard of the fleet reached Mars' outer space, they were greeted by a wave of onslaught led by Karl.

Karl was well known for his decisive and swift maneuvers, able to surprise the enemy with risky moves. As soon as Karl delivered a blow to the Immortal fleet, he turned on his heels and disappeared in the vast space. The Immortals were not only caught off guard by the abruptness of the attack, but they were also ill-prepared for the advanced weaponry on the human ships.

That being said, Karl's small victory did not amount to the total victory of humans in space, as the main force of the Immortals' fleet pressed on and soon reached Mars' space territory. The Divine Lord had given the Martians his ultimatum; the final space battle between the Immortals and the humans was about to draw back its curtain.

The number of ships in the immortal Armada outnumbered that of the human fleet fifty to one. With such a decisive advantage, Immortals were confident that they could defeat the humans in one fell swoop.

Despite their disadvantage, the humans didn't waver, particularly those from Mars. If they were able to endure the dark ones' brutality and savagery for six years and emerge victorious in the end, they had nothing to be afraid of in the world.

The immortals had dumped all of their battle cruisers into this mission, and therefore, the checkpoints between earth and the moon were barely guarded.

Despite the tailwinds, the human armada had sailed into previously, their final test had arrived with the Immortal armada. The Martian coalition on the ground had also geared up to embrace themselves for the incoming attack from the space. Despite everyone's heightened spirit, how to defeat the huge armada remained a burning question.

"Wang Tong should do something on the Earth while we fight back, trapping the Immortals in our pincer."

Although the vanguard of the Immortal armada had sustained heavy casualties, the main fleets of the Armand had made it to Mars safe and sound. The human resistance force tried to harass the battlecruisers, but to no avail due to their sheer size.

Dimalis stared into the vast space as he lamented on his miscalculation about Wang Tong's plan. Unlike he had previously thought, Wang Tong didn't lead the Martian armada straight to the Moon; instead, he had gone to the Earth by himself while the Armada focused on strengthening their control around Mars.

Although Dimalis knew that the Immortals' real enemy was Wang Tong, he didn't have to worry about how to deal with that Earthling teenager. His order was simple: to eliminate the Human armada and recapture Mars.

Dimalis reckoned how easy this mission was since Wang Tong was out of the picture. The thought of fighting the latter was tempting to him, but with such great responsibility on his shoulder, the Immortal Admiral knew he should think better of it.

"Admiral, the human fleet is out greatly outnumbered, and we already have victory in the bag. If we were to catch that pestering Karl, I would like to skin him alive!"

The immortals had given Karl a unique nickname: Karl the pest, in honor of his unscrupulous combat strategies. Like a rat with lightning speed and a thousand filed teeth, Karl and his captains would attack the Immortal armada when it was the least prepared, and disappear when the Immortal pilots would still be putting on their pilot suits. It nibbled at the enormous fleet, one morsel at a time.

Dimalis knew that his priority was not Karl, and therefore, he didn't let the harassment slow down the main fleet's pace. Once Mars was within their bombardment range, the human armada would have no option but to come out of hiding. This operation was so unchanging that it almost felt boring to Dimalis. He would rather be fighting against a powerful foe such as Wang Tong than squashing some defenseless humans.

"Sir, our ship will enter hyperspace. Please advise!"

"The third and fifth fleet will take the lead, and we will bring up the rear. Tell them to prepare for an ambush on the other side. They have my permission to at fire at will. Teach those SOBs a lesson!"

"Yes, sir!"

"The eleventh and the twelve will follow them in about ten minutes. "

"Yes, sir!"

The five gigantic fleets slowly detached from the main formation and prepared for the hyperjump.

"Admiral, when are we going to enter the warp?" An immortal general asked curiously.

"We will not take the warp. We fly there."

"That is going to take a long time… Plus the insistent harassment from Karl…"

Dimalis waved in dismissal at the general, and then he rubbed his forehead, his face looking troubled. "I have a bad feeling about the warp, so better safe than sorry."

"Hehe, you are too circumspect. Anyways, those five fleets should be enough to handle the entirety of the human fleet. Perhaps when we get there, there would be nothing left for us to kill. Haha!"

The Immortal laughed with the general who had spoken. Their advantage was too great for the humans to handle, and the best that the latter could achieve was delay their inevitable defeat.

The first five fleets had come out of the warp space and landed inside the Padlock quarter. The commanders of the fleet had calculated that they would encounter the heavy presence of the human armada here. However, when they got there, they saw only one ship. Did the human armada give up Mars for their lives? What about the people on Mars?

Although the single ship was a Zeus class battle cruiser—a hulking Bethlehem by itself— it looked tiny before the massive Immortal fleets.

Inside the battleship, groups of soldiers were already in their space METAL. However, none of them carried a weapon or a gun.

The leader of the group was Guan Dongyang and Michaux. Guan Dongyang tuned to Michaux and nodded. "The Immortals main force has entered subspace. We have about ten minutes. "

Michaux nodded back, "Let's start."

Michaux and Guan Dongyang jumped out of the loading bay, with the rest of the soldiers trailing behind. When they got outside the ship, they didn't stray far from it; instead, they linked their hands and formed a pentagon.

The soldiers included not only Michaux and Guan Dongyang, but also Xiao Yuyu and many other powerful mastery casters. The entire team was comprised of three thousand, five hundred and eighty-nine mastery casters. They had been practicing this spell ever since Wang Tong had left for earth. The mastery casters knew that the Immortal fleet would come sooner or later, and they had even plotted the Immortals' course and concluded that the Padlock quarter was the best place to deliver a blow. This was their only chance at stopping the massive Immoral armada, and they had chosen to use Mastery as their weapon.

Although the combined might of Michaux and Guan Dongyang were less than a fraction of Wang Tong's, their understanding and skills in mastery were at par. Both of them had achieved enlightenment after the asteroid storm, thanks to Wang Tong.

That being said, the two of them would not be able to stop the Immortals without help from mastery casters all over the Mars.

Among the three thousand or so casters, Michaux saw many familiar faces; nearly all the casters on Mars had gathered under his banner. Michaux slowly turned on his sea of consciousness and connected it with the primordial forces around him. Without Wang Tong to lead the spell, the felt an overwhelming dread and loneliness once he opened up to the boundless sea of energy. He swallowed down his fear and despair and pressed on.

"Now!"

Guan Dongyang, Xiao Yuyu, and Ye Zi followed suit and channeled their soul energy to follow Michaux. The infusion of the other casters soul energy gave him comfort, so he picked up speed.

The rest of the casters joined the spell one after another based on their level. Every single one of them had to face and overcome their fear. Fortunately for those who had not reached the legendary level, the insensitivity of their sea of consciousness became an advantage as it helped to alleviate the fear. All they had to do was to follow Michaux's lead.

As the Immortal fleet approached their exit, the space-time continuum started to become unstable. The vacuum in space gained a liquid-like texture with ripples that expanded in all directions. Then, a singularity appeared at the center of the ripples, reaching the size of a city in a blink. Just like that, the giant hole disemboweled the five fleets, each consisting of thousands of ships, in mere seconds.

"Let the stupid Zergs go ahead first. We will stay behind."

"All hand on deck, ready for battle!"

"Long live the Immortals!"

Fifty space hives were the first that started attacking the only human ship in space; they were the cannon fodders. Michaux had teleported near the warp in the space and coaxed the energy of the portal under his command by synchronizing his energy with that of the portal.

No human technology known to the Immortals was able to alter the frequency of the portal; it was as stable and absolute as time itself. However, with enough skills, a mastery caster could change the frequencies with a snap of a finger.

Chapter 666: The Victory Day

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

The slightest change in the frequency of the portal would significantly destabilize it. Under the most severe circumstances, the ships that were inside the warp space would even get trapped.

An intense light gleamed at the center of the portal, sending waves of silvery, mercury-like ripples outward. A strong force suddenly took hold of the space-time continuum and shook it violently while a hyperspace storm was gathering inside the portal. Without any warning, the portal disappeared, but the dot of intense light remained and gained intensity with lightning speed until its substance could no longer hold the energy as it erupted into a perfect storm of primordial forces. The shockwave engulfed the space hives as the desert storm would to ants.

The bulk of the immortals' fleets were trapped inside the portal, and no one knew what was going on. Wild ionic storms hammered the sides of the ships and blew them left and right like a piece of driftwood in the rapids. Then there was a bright light, and it quickly engulfed everything in silence. When it finally faded away, the five fleets of the Immortal Armada were gone.

Michaux was lifted back to the ship; he fell unconscious as soon as he had finished the spell. Xiao Se looked at his pale face and then looked out of the window at where the portal used to be. The victory came so quickly that Xiao Se was still trying to grasp the reality. This mission was risky as no one knew if the mastery casters' plan would work or not. Even as a veteran space marine, Xiao Se could not stop fear from creeping into his mind as he prepared for the mission. Samantha was supposed to be the leader, but Xiao Se insisted on him to come in her stead. As the admiral of the Armada, Samantha's life was too precious to be wasted on a risky mission such as this.

The mastery casters were carried back to the ship one after another. Xiao Se looked up toward where the portal used to be to make sure it had not opened again. Without these mastery casters, the Immortals' fleets could easily annihilate the human ship.

"General, General Karl wish to speak to you."

"Connect!"

"Just a brief for you, sir. I have just raided the Immortals main column, and from the disarray and slow response of enemy ships, I can say for sure that the trap has worked. We have destroyed five immortal fleets." Karl announced the news excitedly and loudly.

"Excellent! Continue your duty and report back to me if you find anything else."

"Yes, sir!"

A swell of cheers erupted in the command center; it was a miraculous victory!

"It's not the time for celebration yet. Send a message to Admiral; we are turning around and heading toward Mars."

"Yes, sir!"

Xiao Se reached into his pocket for a cigar as he marveled at the victory. Without firing a single shot, a group of mastery casters had finished off well over a few thousand ships. Suddenly, Xiao Se felt that he was getting old, and he was fine with that.

The sudden setback had halted the Immortals' advancement, and Dimalis found it hard to come to terms with what had happened. Entire five fleets had disappeared just like that, without a single distress call or trace. It was as if they were wiped out of existence by the god.

How could that be?

It was evident to the Immortals that Wang Tong and his human allies had gained certain technology that was unknown to the immortals. It was very likely that the source of this technology was the Blade Warrior. Tales of the Blade Warrior commanding a black hole to devour an entire Zerg fleet struck a resemblance with recent development.

The thought of Blade Warrior rendered Dimalis at a loss. He wondered how he would be able to counter humans' incredible new abilities. After much deliberation, he and the other Immortal captains had decided that it was unwise to strike at the humans without knowing the full extent of their newly acquired ability. As Dimalis issued the order to halt the march, distant shots could be heard as Karl started to harass and flank the formation.

The ordinary immortal soldiers were not aware that they had already lost five fleets, so they were perplexed by Dimalis' order. What was worse, Dimalis didn't even order a counterattack when the Armada was being assaulted by Karl the pest.

Dimalis was not in the mood to care about Karl's harassment as a much bigger problem presented itself. What did the humans know that the Immortals didn't?

Suddenly, a sense of fear came over Dimalis as a strange thought came to his mind: despite its glorious might and overwhelming numbers, the Immortals' armada was in fact extremely weak and vulnerable.

Just as Dimalis had expected, Karl turned on his heels after having stolen a few shots at the Immortals ships. He would be greatly outnumbered if he were to engage the immortals' fleets to head on. Dimalis didn't order his ships to chase after Karl; Karl was nothing but a distraction, and the priority right now was to report the situation back to Patroclus while waiting for his instructions. He had lost five fleets in a matter of hours; it was the greatest defeat in the history of the immortal space force.

As the admiral, Dimalis had to be responsible for the countless lives that boarded his ships. Therefore, he halted the armada's advancement.

Dimalis' every move was under Karl's watchful eyes, who kept the command center on Mars posted about the situation in the space. After Xiao Se had returned to Mars, he had ordered a thorough scan of the outer space and found no trace of the five disappeared Immortal fleets. Then and only then had he officially announced that the mission was a success. Everyone on Mars cheered for the victory; although they were not able to eliminate all of the Immortal ships, it was a devastating blow nonetheless.

Plus, the miraculous victory clearly had sacred their enemy since Dimalis had completely halted his advancement. Dimalis' hesitation had given the Martians more time to ready themselves for the war.

Little did Dimalis know that if he had pressed on and marched straight toward Mars, he would have been able to take Mars with great ease, since nearly all the powerful warriors were exhausted after the spell; their recovery would take at least weeks.

The battle was later remembered as the Glory Day of Mastery. On this day, the Divine Master Michaux and the Fire Lord Guan Dongyang had led three thousand and five hundred mastery warriors and cast the largest spell in human history. The warriors had altered the frequency of a warp portal and trapped one-third of the Immortal armada inside the hyperspace.

This spell played a role in human history that was as significant as the Saturn's asteroid storm. It led to a re-evaluation of mastery's power and its contribution to humanity's final liberation.

People no longer saw them as an auxiliary force that was at best a supplementary element to aid the METAL warriors. Instead, they had started to take center stage and proved themselves as equals of the METAL warriors, if not superior.

Michaux had invented the spell on a whim. He admitted right away that it was risky and potentially catastrophic, but what other choices did they have? They could not rely on Wang Tong for everything, particularly now when his hands were tied by more urgent matters. Although Michaux was usually quiet and reserved, he didn't hesitate for even a second when he decided to take on the heavy responsibility.

While Martians celebrated their victory, Wang Tong had also successfully arrived on the Moon.

…

"Miss Zhou, the banquet is in two hours. You should get ready." An immortal servant spoke to Zhou Sisi circumspectly. All of Zhou Sisi's servants were immortals, and she was required to attend most of the public affairs with Patroclus. A human face beside the Divine Lord was a powerful tool to placate the human subjects. In addition, it was a loud and clear message to the human resistance that Zhou Sisi belonged to the Immortals.

Many immortals didn't understand Zhou Sisi as she had refused to become one of them despite the royal treatment. Some even considered her ungrateful.

Zhou Sisi nodded. She had already gotten used to these acts of shows. Her sole purpose of living was to collect as much information about Patroclus' operations as she could in order to help the human resistance. She knew that with Wang Tong's appearance on the Earth, the immortals were about to take action. She should be extra mindful of any potential clues.

The high-rank immortals had long since suspected Zhou Sisi's connection with the resistance, and therefore, her maids and servants not only helped her with daily errands, but also kept a close eye on her activities. Zhou Sisi was a smart girl, and she knew better to trust her immortal servants. All communications with the resistance were done under the uttermost secrecy even when she was in her room.

Justine, the immortal maid, waited patiently as Zhou Sisi put on her makeup. She felt jealous of the latter for the amount of attention the Divine Lord had given her. To many Immortal girls, Zhou Sisi was living their dreams.

Chapter 667: Come With Me

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Although Zhou Sisi was attractive, there were many immortal girls who were much more attractive than her. None of those girls won so much attention of the Divine Lord as Zhou Sisi enjoyed. In the six years, the Divine Lord had spent most of his time either by himself or by the side of Zhou Sisi. On the other hand, Zhou Sisi was very snappy toward Divine Lord, but he didn't seem to mind.

The Divine Lord was perfect and immaculate; Justine would give up her life for him. Every encounter with the Divine Lord was a miracle worth commemoration. So far, she had seen Divine Lord's face twelve times, and they had spoken eighty-six words. Justine knew that she was lucky among the immortal girls for she had the opportunity to look at Divine Lord's face.

The Divine Lord was destined to lord over not only the human world, but the entire universe.

After Zhou Sisi had changed into a nightgown, she was escorted by a group of Immortal guards, including Justine. Justine was not only a beautiful woman, but also a deadly level twenty-one warrior.

Patroclus had spared no expenses in ensuring Zhou Sisi's safety against assassins sent by radical human groups. Knowing that it was impossible to kill Patroclus, Zhou Sisi had become the human radical groups' top target. Her very existence was a disgrace to the human world.

But, despite the misunderstanding, Zhou Sisi never seemed to be upset by the assassination attempts.

A Maglev limo had been waiting for Zhou Sisi and her bodyguards. The guards scanned the surrounding nervously and didn't let their guard down for even a fraction of a second. The consequences of Zhou Sisi's death under their watch would be grave. The previous guard captain, after failing to prevent Zhou Sisi from getting injured by an attacker, was executed by Patroclus himself and died in excruciating pain.

Not all immortals were happy with Patroclus' mild approach toward Zhou Sisi. If he really wanted her so bad, why wouldn't he force-convert her into an Immortal? Despite the resentment, no one dared to speak their minds on the sensitive issue in front of the Divine Lord.

They traveled during rush hour, but upon seeing the Divine Lord's banner, all vehicles veered to the side and made way for the divine convoy.

"Are you ready?"

"Don't worry! We will blow up this b*tch!"

"Very well! Remember, she is not innocent. It is us freedom fighters' duty to do away with the traitor. We can't let her continue to dishonor the human race!"

"The convoy will arrive at Victory Avenue, so be ready."

"Do everything as you're told. This is a critical moment in our revolution, comrades. Death of this traitor will be a decisive blow to our enemy."

"Don't waste your time with the guards. Go straight for the woman!"

Zhou Sisi looked out of the car window at the blur of neon signs and passing pedestrians as she fell into the reverie of her past.

Would Wang Tong still remember her after so many years?

What if he had already forgotten her? If that were the case, maybe Patroclus was right: she meant nothing to Wang Tong.

She felt less resolute in her course of actions as she got closer to reuniting with Wang Tong.

"My lady, what are you thinking about?" Justine asked. She had been living with Zhou Sisi for many years and had established a certain measure of trust with her.

"It's nothing. I'm sentimental, you know."

"Are you thinking about Wang Tong?" Justine asked.

Zhou Sisi didn't deny it; she heaved a sigh and closed her eyes. Wang Tong's face was still clear in her memory, but she wondered how much that image had changed.

She had learned that Wang Tong had already made his way back to earth and reunited with Ma Xiaoru. She felt genuinely happy for Ma Xiaoru; the latter had been through a lot over the years, but in the end, her efforts had led her to where she wanted to be.

"My Lady, just between you and me, I think you deserve better than Wang Tong. I have heard that he had surrounded himself with lots of beautiful faces while he was on Mars. A man like that cannot be trusted. The Divine Lord, on the other hand, had always been faithful to you even when you tried to distance yourself from him. He might be a demon in most humans' eyes, but he has always been caring for you."

"Justine, if everything was what it seemed on the surface, there would be no war in this world."

"I don't overthink things like you, and I'm simply speaking out whatever is on my mind. If you decided to become an immortal and accept Divine Lord's affection, I would be the first one to support you. You might even be able to end the war by doing that. Bonded by marriage, the humans and the Immortals might be able to learn to coexist in the future."

Zhou Sisi gave Justine a wry smile. She didn't want to live as a pawn of politics. So, she would never subject herself to a marriage she never wanted in exchange for a perfunctory promise of peace.

"Call me silly, but I am just an average human woman. I don't want to be the queen of your Divine Lord. Justine, thank you for looking after me all these years." Zhou Sisi said wistfully. Justine had saved her numerous times, and without her protection, she would have been killed many years ago. To her, Justine was not an Immortal, but a human. But after all, what was the difference between Immortals and human?

Zhou Sisi mulled the question, but the more she thought of it, the more blurred the line became.

KOM!

An explosion erupted at that moment, and the panicked crowd could be heard running past the limo. Justine charged up her soul energy and reached out a restraining hand toward Zhou Sisi. "Wait here, my lady! I will be back!"

Justine cracked open the car door, and Zhou Sisi saw that her escort convoy had already formed a protective barricade using their cars around her.

A group of freedom fighters bombarded the convey with their laser blasters.

The Immortal guards cracked up their GN force to form a shield over Zhou Sisi's limo; they had to protect her at all costs. The laser bounced off of the GN shield, but the attackers kept at it nonetheless.

Suddenly, a missile whistled across the sky toward Zhou Sisi from the rear of the defensive line where there was no GN shield coverage. The ballistic missile would do little to no harm to the immortals, but it could be deadly to Zhou Sisi. The captain of the guards, Jin Qianzheng, was a level twenty-four warrior, and he had sworn an oath to protect Zhou Sisi with his life. Sensing that she was in danger, Captain Jin turned and took off toward the incoming missile. He detonated a missile in the air, causing a huge blast; anyway, Jin Qianzheng was unharmed, and so was Zhou Sisi.

"Kill every single one of them!" Jin Qianzheng shouted at his soldiers. News of this attack was bound to spoil Divine Lord's mood, and only the death of these insidious humans could quell his wrath. Justine didn't partake in the defense as she stayed close to Zhou Sisi. She was the last line of defense if everyone else failed.

Zhou Sisi looked up through the panorama window above at the blue sky as she was gripped by a sudden epiphany. What was so terrible about death if she had no desire?

Kaboom!

Jin Qianzheng's face paled as he noticed a heavy METAL in the distance. It fired rows of rockets and laser blasts toward the GN shield protecting Ma Xiaoru. As the guards focused on strengthening the GN shield, a dozen or so METAL warriors appeared out of nowhere and charged toward the convoy.

Sensing the danger, Justine hopped into the limo and took off with Zhou Sisi; however, it was already too late. A few dark shadows followed the Limo, at least two of whom were level twenty-one assassins.

Zhou Sisi closed her eyes; despite the urgency of the situation, she felt calm and had no resentments.

Justine's face hardened as she registered the assassins' determination. All these men would be killed without a doubt, but they might be able to hurt or kill Zhou Sisi in the process.

Suddenly, a golden light flashed in the sky, and the world became quiet. All METAL soldiers, human, and Immortals, felt unable to use their GN force as if the golden light had locked them away. Machines stopped, and the lights in the streets went out. In a blink, the city had fallen pin-drop silent.

A man walked freely in the street under everyone's watch. A few immortals tried to stop him but found that they were unable to move a muscle.

Zhou Sisi looked at the man and felt she was dreaming: his face hasn't changed at all!

Wang Tong closed in onto Zhou Sisi and touched her cheeks gently. "Follow me." He whispered, and so she did.

As the two of them disappeared at the end of the Victory Avenue, the city also came back alive. That man was Wang Tong, the heir of the Blade Warrior!

"Pull back!" The captain of the freedom fighters announced. Meanwhile, Zhou Sisi was huddled inside of Wang Tong's arm and felt content for the first time in many years.

Chapter 668: Let It Go

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

The news of Wang Tong's appearance on the Moon and his 'kidnapping' of Zhou Sisi had gone viral on the Moon. So insolent was the Earthling boy that he had stolen the young lover of Divine Lord. He had carried the mission with such levity that it was as if he had picked up a girl during his stroll in a park.

The ease with which Wang Tong had succeeded in his mission spoke loudly of his abilities. However powerful Jin Qianzheng was, he was rendered motionless by the energy projected from Wang Tong. Most immortals had seen the recording of the fight between Wang Tong and Moye; however, watching an opponent on the screen was a very different experience than fighting one in real life.

The incident stirred the Immortals and made them restless for revenge. Zhou Sisi was considered as Patroclus' mistress by the immortal public, and Wang Tong's action was a brazen provocation. Meanwhile, the public on the moon turned their attention to Patroclus as they waited for his response. As the leader of hundreds of thousands of immortals, Patroclus could not appear to be weak.

But contrary to the public's expectation, Patroclus didn't lose his marbles when he heard the news. He had felt Wang Tong's presence ever since he landed on the moon, and guessed out the latter's plan right away. Knowing that Patroclus would risk his overall plan by confronting him, Wang Tong didn't attempt to mask his soul energy. Neither Wang Tong nor Patroclus wanted to involve Zhou Sisi in their final showdown.

With the last connection with the human world gone, Patroclus could finally double down on his plan of subjugating the human race. He wished Zhou Sisi good luck and felt happy for her to finally be with the person she so madly loved—the person he would kill very soon to commemorate his ascension to godhood.

Patroclus had spent the night by himself inside the giant empty hall of the Divine Lord, thinking and reflecting on his past for the last time. With the sunlight of the morning, he lit up a fire in his mind and burned his old memories away: a new era was about to begin.

The Immortal force searched for Wang Tong on the moon. They secretly wished, but were not hopeful, that they would find the heir of the Blade Warrior. Even if they did, they would have no idea how to deal with him. To the Immortals, Wang Tong was as much an impossible target as Patroclus were to the humans six years ago. Wang Tong had turned the tables around using not only his one on one combat skills, but also mass destruction mastery spells. He could have demolished an entire regiment with a snap of the finger.

The immortals were not that different from the humans, particularly in their ability to exaggerate things. It wasn't long before high tales about Wang Tong's power being circulated among the immortals as well as the humans. Despite the tales' detachment from reality, they had strengthened the humans' confidence in their victory. The more confidence they had, the more clearly they realized that the final showdown against the Immortals was inevitable.

If the Martians were able to liberate themselves from the rule of an alien race, so could the other humans; the key to their success was Wang Tong.

Not only was Wang Tong a powerful warrior in his own right, but he was also exceptionally good at bringing out his soldiers' full potential.

As Patroclus planned a measured response to Wang Tong's act of 'kidnapping', Wang Tong and Zhou Sisi had returned to Earth safe and sound. Wang Tong's had redeemed Zhou Sisi's reputation by saving her personally, and it was finally revealed to the public that the mysterious agent zero was the purposed traitor, Zhou Sisi.

Zhou Sisi didn't care a wee bit about the public's opinion, for she felt that she was living in her dreams when Wang Tong descended from the sky to save her. When she lay inside Wang Tong's arms, she hoped that the time would stop so that she could live in this moment forever.

Unprepared for such a huge change in her life, Zhou Sisi remained dazed by the sudden turn of events. Her mind was filled with images of Wang Tong; the incident played over and over again in her mind and never got old.

She didn't recover from her daydreaming until she saw Ma Xiaoru.

"Welcome back, Zhou Sisi!"

Unsure what to say, Zhou Sisi blushed. Ma Xiaoru turned around and cast Wang Tong a searing glance.

"I need to speak with Zhou Sisi in private, so would you please excuse us?" Ma Xiaoru asked.

"What are you going to say behind my back?" Wang Tong asked nervously.

"Private stuff." Ma Xiaoru replied firmly. Wang Tong conceded defeat unwillingly as he backed out of the room. Outside, he met Zhang Jin, who gave him a thumbs up. Wang Tong scratched his head as he tried to grasp what Zhang Jin was saying. Failing that, he asked, "Are you laughing at me?"

"I am giving you a compliment. Not every man can have two women."

"I only asked for one." Wang Tong murmured.

Zhang Jin shook her head as she lamented on his innocence. If he were able to defeat Patroclus, he would be the most powerful man on Earth. By then, all factions would beg or even coerce him to marry their daughters. In the political world, love was a luxury and marriage was never a personal business.

"Whatever! Most people would die to live your life right now. On a more serious note, did Zhou Sisi mention anything about the queen?"

"She said that she agreed with our guess. The Queen had to be on the ark, which is neither close to earth nor parked anywhere in space."

"It's in the hyperspace?"

"Bingo!"

"It wasn't that difficult to guess. Patroclus had been working on a device to extract a section of the hyperspace five years ago, and it seems like he has succeeded."

"It is an ingenious idea, I have to give him that!"

"It would require a tremendous amount of energy to stabilize the hyperspace once it is extracted. It should be too big to miss."

"You have forgotten one key feature of the Ark: its new battery. Those batteries alone should be able to supply most of the energy required to sustain the hyperspace in our dimension." Wang Tong's words had hit the mark and revealed a dead end in their search.

The door was suddenly thrown open as the two were deep in their thoughts about their problem.

"Wang Tong!" The voice startled Wang Tong and sent a chill down his spine. He looked up at the visitor and knew why. Before he could utter a word, a sumptuous girl threw herself at Wang Tong and hugged him tightly. Perfume filled Wang Tong's nostrils, and his face was assailed by hot kisses.

Li Shiming stood far away from his sister, seemingly wanting nothing to do with her outburst of affection.

Wang Tong wasn't sure where to put his hands, so he waited for Li Ruoer to let go of him, but she didn't. Wang Tong gingerly dodged a kiss and gave Zhang Jin an imploring glance; to his dismay, the latter just ignored him.

That was not where Wang Tong's misfortune ended on that day, far from it, in fact. He had heard doom's beckoning when he caught the glance of Ma Xiaoru and Zhou Sisi walking out of the room while Li Ruoer's lips were firmly pressed on his. Overtaken by fear, Wang Tong grabbed hold of Li Ruoer's shoulder and pushed her away.

As Li Ruoer furthered her tactics of the Enchantress, she had become an increasingly intensifying headache for Li Shiming. After discovering that he had arranged a meeting with Wang Tong, Li Ruoer insisted on tagging along. Ever since the death of Li Zhedao, the influence of House Li had eroded significantly on the Earth as the Templars had quickly risen to become the leaders of the human world, the former role of House Li.

However, Li Shiming knew that the era of house Li had ended with the life of his father. Not only the humans looked up to Wang Tong as their savior instead of Li Shiming, but the war itself had more and more resembled a personal feud between Wang Tong and Patroclus. In other words, House Li had become increasingly irrelevant. However bitter the reality was, Li Shiming had accepted it without rancor. Wang Tong had proved his power and earned his trust.

Not until Li Ruoer saw Ma Xiaoru and Zhou Sisi did she realize that she had gone overboard. Despite having to catch Li Ruoer red-handed, the two girls rushed to her and hugged her like old friends.

Seeing the crisis get averted, Wang Tong heaved a sigh of relief. Zhang Jin cracked a smile and said, "Old friends are the best, aren't they?"