Chapter 61: Pompeii the Destroyer

Both Bi Fang and the Pulsebearer were shielded by extraordinary powers, rendering Mass Control ineffective against them directly. However, while Mass Control could not restrain the enemy, it could still affect oneself.

Within five seconds, Arthur's mass exceeded twenty tons, causing Bi Fang to noticeably stagger under the weight.

After eight seconds, Arthur's mass soared past thirty tons.

By fifteen seconds, he had reached the fifty-ton limit.

Though the searing heat of over a thousand degrees had shriveled Arthur’s form, Bi Fang could no longer hold on. The flames beneath him sputtered in vain as, furious and powerless, he plummeted from the sky.

A freefall of fifty tons gouged a crater in the earth, its impact rivaling the explosion of an anti-tank mine. A residential building was blasted apart from top to bottom like a firecracker, while flames scattered uncontrollably in every direction.

“Damn…” Bi Fang struggled to prop himself up with shattered wings, electricity arcing from his body, gears twisting and deforming, occasionally snapping off with a clang.

Seven musclebound brutes, each clutching a large iron canister, surrounded him in silence, their eyes coldly fixed on the dying Bi Fang.

So grievous were Bi Fang’s injuries that even his voice seemed altered as he let out a malicious laugh. “Adonsa, this is but an avatar of mine. My true form still slumbers. I shall return for you, and when that time comes, the laws of the Mechanical Primeval Age will assimilate this world. The Fire of Bi Fang will consume this land, including you…”

Adonsa spoke through one of the muscular creatures, “I shall find you—across the sea—and devour you.”

Bi Fang gave a bitter laugh, his jaws widening to unleash a final torrent of flame.

Fire erupted, but in the next instant, seven canisters of liquid nitrogen cascaded down. The bone-shattering chill snuffed out the flames in a heartbeat, thick mists and frost spreading rapidly.

Bi Fang’s avatar was finally extinguished.

From beneath a pile of shattered stones not far away, Adonsa retrieved a lump of charcoal and swallowed it.

The charred exterior peeled away, revealing a delicate pink brain tissue—the last remnant of Arthur’s existence.

“You were too reckless. I had a better combat plan.”

“Haha, but that’s what a real man’s fight is all about!” Arthur bellowed with undiminished vigor.

Adonsa did not reply, but sent back a searing wave of pain as punishment.

Arthur’s injuries were grave—his body destroyed, nerves devastated, teetering on the edge of death. Recovery would not come easily, not for a long while.

A reborn form was unlike an ordinary split form; once the nerves were destroyed, there was a high chance the independent personality would be lost forever—a great pity for Adonsa, since he had not completed the replication of the psychic powers. Every sample was precious beyond measure.

Yet Adonsa could sense that, if he recovered, Arthur’s fighting prowess would reach new heights.

Clearly, battle was a powerful catalyst for evolution—this was why Adonsa had not outright prevented Arthur from fighting.

In the distance, a figure wearing an inverted triangle mask watched the fierce battle in silence before melting away into the shadows.

Adonsa did not look back, but his tense muscles relaxed ever so slightly.

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Within a secret military base of Amest, General Anxi strode angrily into the vast underground chamber, roaring, “Bi Fang, not only did you fail, you broke our agreement and exposed your existence! How will you compensate me for my ace pilot?”

In the shadows, a pair of scarlet searchlights flared, their cold gaze locking onto the human before them. “I have not violated our pact. These were sacrifices necessary for victory. The specimens of the Aberrant Units will be of immense value to our cause.”

General Anxi waved his hand fiercely. “This is my country, my army—everything here should be under my command!”

“Foolish human, you have no idea of the terror that is the Aberrant Unit. They are a calamity far more insurmountable than the Insect Swarm. Would you rather live a deformed existence, or fight valiantly for freedom? Is there really a choice to be made?”

From the darkness, gears groaned softly. The mechanical behemoth shifted into a new sleeping posture, resting its head upon its wings.

“I have already provided all that is useful. All you must do is help me create my kin. I shall endow them with new souls, awakening them. When that time comes, nothing in this world will stand in our way—and you shall have what you desire.”

General Anxi fell silent, then said, “I can consider your actions this time as mere recklessness. But if it happens again, I will stop at nothing to show you the true dignity of humanity.”

Metal clanged sharply, as if Bi Fang were replying in confusion. Iron eyelids lowered, and Bi Fang slipped once more into slumber.

Above him, the entire military base was abuzz with the production of vast quantities of living metal, assembling grotesque beasts that radiated both the chill and wildness unique to metal.

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Some pursue war, some despise it. Some yearn for war, some resist it.

But one truth stands unchallenged: the moment the first man raised a wooden club, the second had no choice but to accept war.

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A sound like tearing silk echoed through the dim, fleshly chamber. An ugly claw pierced the egg sac, shuddered on the ground for a moment, then grasped the warm, soft earth and crawled forth.

A fluid, identical in composition to amniotic fluid, gushed from the gash, trickling down onto the tiny creature’s body.

She was born frail beyond words, her appearance so twisted she resembled the lowest sort of demon.

Bladelike tendrils brushed against her unconscious body, then recoiled in a tremor.

But the weakness of birth quickly receded. The jet-black scales withdrew, sharp claws softened into two small hands, and the cloven, hoof-like lower limbs creaked and shifted, becoming tender, humanlike legs.

A young female child, no more than three years old, appeared, struggling within the clear amniotic fluid.

She opened her dark eyes, staggered upright, and gazed sorrowfully at her mother—the empty shell beside her, a body stripped of all but the barest functions.

Scooping up the scattered viscera and gentle head at the bottom of the ruptured sac, she gave a low, whimpering cry.

The fleshly ground rose up, forming a humanoid figure who approached her. “You are sad. Why?”

She shouted fiercely, “I am not crying! She was only a puppet for my birth—a tool, nothing more—”

But the fierceness on her face crumbled in an instant, giving way to sorrow. “She was the only one in this world who loved me.”

As if remembering something, she straightened abruptly, baring fangs that were more cute than menacing at Adonsa. “You—you can save her! I can sense the immense vitality within you. Save her, or I’ll kill you!”