The long cry of Avant Heim echoed across the sky. For the first time in its countless years of existence, this floating fortress felt a genuine threat as attacks from all directions converged on it like a rising tide.
Even as a Phantasm, facing such a concentrated onslaught was unsettling. It instinctively activated its defensive capabilities to begin intercepting the attacks of the allied forces.
Inside Avant Heim, the Flügel were already becoming restless. Azrael, the head of the Flügel, shouted with excitement, "Lord Artosh, please allow us to go out and fight, miau!"
Across the vast horizon, the pressure from the alliance's front lines began to mount as the sky turned a dark, bruised shade of purple.
That group of ants actually dared to provoke the majesty of the Flügel — it was nothing short of a death wish. She couldn't wait to charge down immediately and tear those fools to pieces.
On his throne, Artosh slowly opened his eyes. His gaze pierced through Avant Heim and the sky full of artillery fire, landing on the advancing races. Finally, his eyes settled on a certain individual observing from the sidelines.
"He has finally arrived. Go. It is time for us to take the stage in this grand drama!" Artosh waved his hand, signaling the Flügel to move. Was his opponent finally making his debut? This was getting interesting!
He would see for himself if the other party was capable of reaching him. If they couldn't even handle his children, he would be very disappointed.
With the order issued, Azrael was instantly invigorated. She stood up and bowed without another word, her figure vanishing on the spot. A command was transmitted clearly into the ears of every Flügel.
In that moment, the prepared Flügel revealed cruel smiles. Like unsheathed swords, they charged outward — they had finally received the order they were waiting for!
The Flügel ignored the allied attacks hitting Avant Heim. Such paltry strikes couldn't harm the fortress; it could defend itself. No one understood Avant Heim's defensive power better than they did.
After all, even when the Flügel used [Heaven's Strike] casually on its back, it remained unscathed, let alone the attacks from these rabble!
"They're coming! Everyone, get ready!" Riku shouted as he saw the Flügel charging out. He remained alert, transmitting his voice through the Ex-Machina network to all the allied forces.
The moment the Flügel emerged, the slaughter began. Their combat power erupted in full force; they were like heartless killing machines as they launched themselves at the nearest enemies.
Boom! Boom! Boom! The Dwarven battleships were the first to suffer. The Flügel charged in and delivered a brutal hammering. With flashes of black light, entire battleships were sliced in half on the spot.
Cruel laughter echoed over the battlefield. They appeared like ghosts in every corner, ruthlessly tearing through the alliance's offensives.
The alliance's vanguard was quickly shattered. When this scene was relayed to the rear, many leaders looked grim. The Dwarven leader's heart bled as he watched his fleet being easily torn apart.
Those were his treasures, yet they were being lost to the Flügel in an instant, with countless clansmen dying. However, he knew this was all part of the plan — sacrifices were unavoidable.
Though it pained him, there was no turning back now. He could only steel himself and fight to the end. Retreating meant death anyway; the Flügel would never let them go. Fighting on was their only hope for survival.
"Charge! Push them back!!" The Dwarf leader issued the attack order without hesitation. In an instant, the battleships in the rear opened fire, aiming their cannons to suppress the Flügel.
Riku watched the scene expressionlessly. He spoke softly to Schwi, "Schwi, it's time for the Ex-Machina to enter the fray. We can't let them continue like this!"
Hearing Riku's words, Schwi didn't speak but silently relayed the order. The Ex-Machina moved immediately. Space in the void opened up as thousands of Ex-Machina slowly emerged from the rifts.
The appearance of the Ex-Machina in the center of the battlefield instantly boosted morale. At the same time, the Flügel noticed these pieces of 'scrap metal.'
Without needing words, the Ex-Machina attacked the Flügel. War machines even more terrifying than the Flügel appeared. Without central command, every Ex-Machina was able to precisely identify its own opponent.
The moment they appeared, countless [Heaven's Strike] blasts followed. This was the Pseudo-Scripture the Ex-Machina excelled at — attacks copied from the Flügel and now turned back against them!
The appearance of these [Heaven's Strike] blasts immediately halted the Flügel's slaughter. It forced them to abandon the alliance fodder to focus on these scrap piles. After all, this was far too provocative!
Using their own signature attacks against them? It was a slap in the face. How could the hot-tempered Flügel tolerate such a thing? Without a second thought, they shifted targets and began a localized encirclement of the Ex-Machina!!
"Damn it! I'm going to dismantle you today, miau!!" Azrael cursed while attacking the nearest Ex-Machina. The wings on her back flapped as she turned into a bolt of black lightning and charged.
Their [Spatial Transfer] was locked down the moment the Ex-Machina appeared. The enemy knew their abilities perfectly, which was incredibly restrictive. It was an infuriating feeling.
All the Ex-Machina present on the battlefield were those born specifically for war. Meanwhile, countless Analysis Units appeared on the periphery, scanning the area and integrating massive amounts of data.
Whether it was from the alliance or the Flügel, all attack data and magic were recorded and replicated, eventually converging onto Ren Isana's location!
Currently, every Ex-Machina served as Ren Isana's eyes. The magic they recorded was being frantically absorbed and learned by him. Simultaneously, under Ren Isana's suggestion, an incredibly terrifying magic was slowly being deduced.
"Refreshing!!" Ren Isana felt fantastic. His previously stagnated strength was now rising continuously. He was learning the magic and combat techniques of every race, and his power was climbing steadily.
No one was paying attention to him right now, except for Artosh sitting high on his throne. Artosh could clearly feel Ren Isana's strength growing. That state of frantic learning and self-improvement filled Artosh with interest.
"Interesting, truly interesting. Humans really are incredible!" Artosh's mood became increasingly high-spirited. If there were any Flügel here right now, they would be shocked.
After all, their God rarely showed such emotion. Since becoming the strongest in the world and finding no more opponents, the God of War had fallen into a state of profound loneliness.
The God of War didn't need to act personally for most things; the Flügel could resolve everything for him. Because of this, he had essentially become a 'salted fish' god, but now, he was finally 'turning over'!!
He felt his opponent growing stronger at a rapid pace. Upon realizing the situation, Artosh did not stop him. Instead, he stood up and issued a new order to the Flügel.
"Clear the battlefield!" The majestic voice boomed in the minds of the Flügel. Hearing this, a surge of pitch-black energy erupted from Azrael, surging toward the sky from her position.
Azrael quickly broke away from her Ex-Machina pursuers and flew into the air. The Magic Power within her was released frantically as she received energy from the other Flügel. A massive, pitch-black Magic Circle appeared in the sky!
This power was so great it distorted the void itself. The entire world felt as if doomsday had arrived, plunged into an unprecedented crisis by this looming energy.
"Oh man, the big one is coming!!" Ren Isana realized what was happening the moment he saw it. He quickly relayed the warning to the Ex-Machina, and his words reached everyone's ears.
The leaders of the various races turned pale. Without hesitation, they activated their strongest trump cards. Think Nirvalen, stationed elsewhere, was the first to react, saying, "[Kūkuu Dai-Zero Kago・Void 0th Protection], full formula deployment!"
She activated the pre-prepared spell formula. The white Magic Circle came to life, eventually turning into a pillar of green light that shot into the sky toward the Flügel's position.
The Dwarf leader also shouted orders to his fleet: "[Marrow Blast], fire all batteries! Block it!!"
"[God's Strike]!!" Azrael's cold voice rang in everyone's ears. This combined attack from all the Flügel was launched. Pitch-black power descended from above, beginning an indiscriminate assault on everyone in the battlefield.
In the hearts of the Flügel, the God of War's order to 'clear the battlefield' meant killing everyone. Thus, the battlefield would be perfectly clean. They contributed all their strength without hesitation to launch their ultimate strike!
Ren Isana could no longer afford to just watch. If this continued, his allies would be wiped out. He went into full output, gathering golden light into the form of a holy spear.
"[Anchor of the Holy Spear]!!" Ren Isana contributed his own power to block the attack. The Ex-Machina were frantically recording everything; with the appearance of [God's Strike], even more massive amounts of data were gathered and processed!
An incredibly powerful magic began to be deduced, and this magic was related to Ren Isana — especially now that he had released the data for the [Holy Spear]!!
The trump cards of every major race were revealed at this moment. The entire world was plunged into darkness. The weak races not participating in the war could only huddle together and tremble.
Just a single glance at the scenery outside would terrify anyone to tears. In the dim world, only the strongest attacks of each race remained as they launched themselves at the [God's Strike] in the sky.
Golden pillars of light, crimson beams, forest-green rays, and purple light shot out from all directions, colliding with the [God's Strike] overhead.
After releasing the full power of the [Holy Spear], Ren Isana hurriedly spoke to the Ex-Machina, "You guys retreat first! There's no need to take losses here!!"
He wasn't joking. If the Ex-Machina suffered massive casualties here, how would they deal with the God of War later? The Star Breaker wasn't finished yet, and this attack was only the combined effort of the Flügel. The God of War hadn't even stepped in yet!