Xyrin Empire-Chapter 705

Medical Soldiers from the Mother Ship descended in a frenzy, hefting medical equipment and methodically pumping stomachs or administering drugs to the gang of rash girls suffering from food poisoning. Along the Wise Man’s Path, a row of Medical Cabins was set up, where the biggest eaters among the demons were now lying down. Moriya, radiant with radioactive poisoning, and Ibuki Suika, green-horned from heavy metal poisoning after their customary overindulgence in alcohol and meat, were sound asleep inside the cabins. Yakumo Lan crawled into a Medical Cabin on her own accord, her numerous languid tails dragging on the ground, leaving behind a trail of fox fur within the short twenty-meter distance. Wenwen collapsed while still holding her camera, her suspicious notebook recording an earth-shattering collective poisoning incident. Youyouzi, incredibly, remained healthy as ever; after consuming hundreds of pounds of arsenic-laden barbecue, she didn’t even gasp for breath—since her respiratory system had long since ceased to function.

Yao Meng was one of the luckier ones among them, upholding the orthodox belief that a "Servant should only eat after their master has finished." This prim and proper youngster fortunately avoided the food poisoning fiasco and became one of the last third of Fantasy Country’s creatures who could still walk upright. Now she was assisting a Medical Soldier in administering drugs to Ling Meng, who, eyes rolling back, was determined to verify how much of the medicine could be reimbursed and declared that if it wasn’t, she might as well die.

In a corner of the square, a pair of unconventional characters sat; while most were ravaged by food poisoning, they fearlessly continued their barbecue, unadvised by anyone. The reason... well, Penglai Mountain Huiye and Fujimura no Mokou, these two with undying bodies, were now competing with each other—indulging in various overdose-toxic foods. Metal, radioactive, arsenical, acid, alkaline, sulfide, and cyanide poisoning reflected off each other, causing the enemy pair’s faces to constantly change color—now yellow, now green, even luminous at times. Despite the poisoning, these two couldn’t die, the only real trouble being that the two blooming young girls had tortured their complexions to resemble a platter of colorful mixed vegetables.

Aside from a few undead individuals, basically everyone who had eaten was clutching their stomach in pain. But after scanning the crowd, I discovered one miraculous little girl: Chiruno was not only bouncing around energetically, but hopping around asking what exactly had happened. At first, I thought it was the ice fairy’s special life form that had resisted the toxins, but the reality turned out to be this:

Remember how Chiruno grilled her food? First, she would cook it, then freeze it into a big ice ball, and finally sprinkle on the seasoning.

So, the problem was, this dimwit forgot to put the cooked meat into the ice ball.

After consuming more than half a pound of cumin-flavored ice cream, Chiruno declared that she was very healthy, but there was one thing she couldn’t figure out: why the Atlantian barbecue had no flavor at all...

So, low intelligence is a blessing indeed.

Looking over the pitiful chaos strewn across the square, even Yukari Yakumo had times when she was dumbfounded. The powerful demons could all succumb to collective food poisoning, a scenario beyond the understanding of Mother Zi, who had never studied the Imperial Military Academy’s poison courses. Now, the CEO of Fantasy Country deeply regretted trusting the dim-witted Armored Scorpions and Ravens devoid of biological knowledge. She finally remembered that the latter two didn’t even have a concept of "digestion"; they processed food using a reactor.

Thus, the eternal seventeen-year-old Yukari Yakumo was now feeling melancholic—though she was not poisoned.

And I was even more melancholic—though I also was not poisoned.

This group of carefree, overactive, and unruly demons with no organization or discipline, had arrived in high orbit exhausted as if on the brink of death. But to my surprise, in just a short while, they were hopping around, eagerly engaging small monsters. And that wouldn’t be so bad, except after blindly defeating two battalions of enhanced small monsters and messing up our established military deployment, they then audaciously used their foes’ bodies (albeit rights-deprived small monsters) to start a barbecue on the battlefield! To make matters worse, they ended up collectively poisoned by food! Now tell me, did they come down here to help or to wreak havoc?

After checking on the "reinforcements" from Fantasy Country who had collapsed from their medications, Yukari Yakumo sadly realized that the only creatures under her command that could still stand and walk numbered just over thirty. That count even included Chiruno, who was only a number in the headcount; the grand plan that was supposed to be full of sound and fury had miscarried within minutes.

I could only pat her on the shoulder comfortingly and said in a meaningful tone, "Ignorance really is scary."

The other party nodded, borrowed a "High School Chemistry" book from a passing raven, and hopped back into the Void to study on her own.

"Any demons who are in good condition and willing to continue fighting can follow me, but you must obey the Armored... Raven... okay, obey Leader Bee’s commands," I jumped onto the shell of a Scorpion Sister nearby with a leap and called out loudly. The thirty-or-so girls from Fantasy Country who hadn’t gotten their share of the meat finally nodded obediently, "Now let me highlight a few things: Yao Meng and Wenwen, stop rashly engaging monsters in close combat. That’s you, Shi Liu Ye, right? Keep a close eye on your Miss and Young Miss so that they don’t suck blood! Chiruno, your fighting really isn’t up to snuff, so just stay behind the troops and continue to provide ice cream for everyone, but no cumin flavor! Those two mixed-vegetable dishes over there! Yes, I’m talking about you! Huiye and Mei Hong, stop eating, your nails are all green, now listen to me; I need to bring you all back in one piece..."

After some dry-throated explanations, I managed to make these demon girls understand that this war was not a game. Though there was some grumbling about an "outsider" giving orders, at least this group should take it more seriously. After all, as Yukari Yakumo said, they were fighting their own enemies from Fantasy Country; it wouldn’t be appropriate to force them to stay on the Mother Ship.

A few ravens had some objections; when command was distributed earlier, I had overlooked them and the Armored Scorpions together, much to the dissatisfaction of these Magic Girls. But there was nothing I could do; scorpions think straightforwardly, barely managing to command themselves. Ravens are too erratic; following their way of fighting, probably no one from Fantasy Country would make it back. After such eliminations, only Leader Bee seemed reliable; at the very least, Ola’s tactics weren’t as disastrous as Vega’s "charge, hack them, and return" tactics.

At that moment, Sandora came to my side. She had just left on her own to deal with the enemies on the entire street of the Wise Man’s Path in another district; the nearly a thousand Mutant Monsters there had been brainwashed by the Queen. They were now wailing and frantically slaughtering the troops on the Heroic Path, their former comrades. Considering the reckless combat approach of the enemies controlled by Sandora’s Mind Control, we could assume that the Heroic Path had also fallen into the hands of the Imperial Army. Thus, in less than an hour since the Imperial Army’s landing, all gateways of Atlantis’s Central District had fallen into our hands.

Atlantis City had been designed from its inception to be as minimal and orderly as possible, thus it presented itself as a symmetric circular pie. Mount Olympus occupied about a forty-five-degree sector of this circle, and the rest of the city’s residential districts were divided from the inside out into three rings. The outermost Civilian Zone had always been under the control of the city guards and only required some medical support. The Central District was the main part of this ancient city, with most of the "Divine Servants" living there. A large number of self-recycling factories and city functional facilities were also spread out in the Central District. It was now the most fiercely contested battlefield. With the Elder, Wise, Sage, and Hero streets as the gateways of this battlefield, capturing them meant that we could quickly take back the surrounding War Factories and city defense systems: although there was some damage, most had only stopped operating due to Energy System failure; with emergency treatment, Atlantis’s Ghost Energy Purification System could work again. This would suppress the Star Ring Fragment deeply embedded in Mount Olympus and isolate it with a layer of Ghost Energy Pipelines.

Only by suppressing and isolating that thing could our troops safely remove it and then throw it into the Void for harmless disposal. Otherwise, the Star Ring Fragment’s Abyss Energy had almost fused with Atlantis, and if we carelessly sent a salvage ship to forcibly yank it out...

Gentlemen, you can imagine what it would be like to pull an arrow with seventy or eighty barbs out of flesh. Hiss, it hurts to even think about it.

Ola came to the square of this street district after dealing with the Mutant Monsters lurking in the corners of several streets. I waved her over to act as a temporary holographic projector, her almost invincible Crystal Wings formed a hexagonal ring, above which an accurate map of Atlantis materialized.

It was clear that the outer city was completely controlled in blue status; the Central District, including the four streets and a few small battlefields, was also blue, while the rest were red, denoting ongoing battles. Our ground troops and Atlantis city guards had formed a temporary alliance, vying for vital city structures in that area. More powerful Abyss Monsters, having the strength to match Xyrin Soldiers and a hodgepodge of attack Skills, were giving our Soldiers considerable trouble. However, as more Armored Scorpions and Ravens joined the battle, the scales of victory would sooner or later tip in our favor.

The situation in the Inner City was not so good. It bordered directly with Mount Olympus and was also right where the impact occurred, hitting the jackpot of this disaster. The black color marking the Inner City indicated that Abyss Energy still firmly occupied the core areas of the city. The most important temples (i.e., Atlantis control bases) were all concentrated there. With so much time passed, plus the Xyrin Host’s several failed calls to that area, it was safe to say that those control bases had fallen.

In the situation where we had not fully regained control of the city, neither Sandora nor I planned to rashly send soldiers into that cursed place.

After discovering that the Abyss Energy contained in the Star Ring Fragment was more severe than expected, I ordered the activation of two Angel Feathers, risking great danger, which had been placed near the impact site, to prevent the city from collapsing due to the surging Abyss Will. The Divine Energy from Alaya achieved the expected effect, causing the Star Ring Fragment to enter a dormant state temporarily. However, as the Abyssal Aura gradually intensified, the agents no longer had a chance to go in and place the feathers.

Moreover, Alaya might not allow me to pluck them, as not long ago Big Sister had made a pillow for Little Baobao, and Angel Sister still hadn’t recovered from that.

"Zeus is currently at this location," Sandora pointed to Mount Olympus on the holographic map, "After the impact occurred, he led his servants to hold the Main Temple at Olympus Peak, and has not retreated to this day—because he cannot come down. Abyss Power enveloped the entire Holy Mountain, especially cutting off aerial routes. Assault Ships are already on standby there, waiting for ground forces to advance to the Holy Mountain Barrier before launching a coordinated attack. Several instances of extremely intense lightning storms erupted from the top of the mountain, indicating at least Zeus is still in battle; his servants are another story."

"I hope he can hold out a little longer; after all, he’s the strongest warrior created by those scientists back then," I said. "Vega just proposed her attack plan in the command link. She wants to lead a group of Elite Armored Scorpions to storm up from the ’Dawn Terrace,’ cut across the ’Ancestor Corridor,’ and chop their way to the impact site. I find it a very direct route, and perhaps the Armored Scorpions, being good at assaults, can really do it."

Sandora looked at the map and shook her head decisively: "Absolutely not—she’s thinking too linearly, the shortest distance between two points. I cannot let her dismantle this precious Imperial Heritage just to save a couple of kilometers worth of fuel."

Suddenly, I completely agreed.

How should I put it, plans can never keep up with changes. Just as Sandora and I were earnestly discussing how to quickly take control of the Central District without triggering the Abyss Gate and preserving the city at the same time, a series of metallic friction noises interrupted our conversation. An Armored Scorpion, with stylish short hair, scuttling on its six legs, ran into the small square: "Report to the Commander! An unexpected incident occurred at the front! A high-level Atlantean Warrior has been controlled by the Abyss!"

Sandora and I exchanged glances: "Who?"

"Hades! Before this, he held his ground on Dawn Terrace for three days and three nights, surrounded by enemies. When we broke through the enemy encirclement, he had gone mad, now on the verge of complete contamination. Commander Vega hopes you can provide clear instructions: rescue or purification?"

After some thought, the fact that Vega sent a messenger to report the situation instead of directly asking for orders in the command link indicated that she actually hoped to save the warrior. Scorpion Sister treasures brave soldiers highly. And Hades—being one of the strongest and most prestigious of the Atlantean Artificial Gods, one could not just stand by and watch him be sacrificed.

This time, before I could speak, Sandora decisively said: "Take us there; let’s hope that Hades can still be saved."

After speaking, Her Majesty the Queen, with her decisiveness, pulled me up onto the back of the Armored Scorpion. As a result, I almost slipped and flew off sideways.

"How come your back is so slippery?" I managed to steady myself and curiously asked. Upon a closer look, I noticed something else—although there was a scent of blood from recent fights on it, there was not a single drop of blood on the shell of the Armored Scorpion!

The short-haired Armored Scorpion girl, upon hearing this, immediately showed a shy smile and scratched her cheek awkwardly as she said, "I just had it waxed at the 4S shop before we left..."

This time, I actually did slide off.

Because they always act like such above-it-all steel warriors, the leisure activities of the Imperial Soldiers have always been something of a mystery to me. What do Armored Scorpions do when they’re not on missions? What hobbies do Ravens like? Do Xyrin Soldiers have any personal interests? These are things I’ve been curious about. Over time, I’ve come to learn quite a bit about the soldiers’ hobbies. For example, production model Xyrin Hosts might sneak out to buy some candy, and many Imperial Soldiers have thrown themselves into the encirclement and counter-encirclement activities between Sicaro and the city management. Now, I’ve made a new discovery: some Armored Scorpions wax their shells when they’re idle.

No wonder there suddenly sprang up so many 4S shops in Shadow City lately—I realize they’re a beautification department specially serving Scorpion Soldiers. Do Armored Scorpions consider polishing and waxing their carapaces a form of makeup?

With these jumbled thoughts swirling in my head, we soon arrived at the front line near Dawn Terrace. Vega had just finished a crackdown in this area, and now the Armored Scorpions had formed an arc-shaped defense line along the ancient stone streets. They used their tail-mounted laser guns to inflict non-lethal (only non-lethal to the Atlantian Super Soldiers, do not believe that there’s such a thing as non-lethal weaponry on an Armored Scorpion) low-power suppressive shooting on the enemy. A group of Ravens flitted around midair, raining down Arcane Arrows with wild abandon, driving back the monsters coming from the opposite end of Dawn Terrace. Leader Bee was busy with the resurrection of soldiers—during the sudden skirmish just now, several soldiers had unfortunately fallen, but fortunately, with the Bees around, they were about to be resurrected on the spot, although not in full condition.

The other defenders on the line were Atlantian Warriors. These super variants had erupted in astonishing combat power once they started fighting alongside the "gods" once more—even Vega couldn’t stop praising them. There were still many strange energy reactions in the surrounding air, which probably were the after-effects of their battles, belonging neither to Ghost Energy nor Magic.

"Ha-ha—"

Amidst the low-powered continuous shooting from the Scorpions, the enemies on Dawn Terrace let out an angry howl. Both Sandora and I were shaken by the immense sound until our ears buzzed, inevitably turning to look in that direction, and I was suddenly stunned.

"...Good lord, do Atlantians rank their artificial gods by how tall they are?"

Just one glance, and I exclaimed in shock.

Dawn Terrace is a circular platform paved with sturdy synthetic "rock," surrounded by numerous columns and circular mirrors, suggesting that it was a place for religious ceremonies. It rises several meters above the ground, with a thickness of only half a meter, and is suspended in midair supported only by staircases at each end. Underneath it is a pit slightly larger in diameter than the terrace, which should accommodate energy maintenance pipes since the sign next to it read "No Access for Non-Maintenance Personnel." At one end of the terrace is our conquered Heroic Path, while the other end is still riddled with rampaging monsters. The infamous "Death God, Lord of the Underworld, Netherworld Sovereign" Hades was stationed at this critical passage—he was a cloaked figure with wild black hair, wielding a scythe, and more importantly, a super giant who would stand at least ten meters tall when fully erect.(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote and support it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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