Xyrin Empire-Chapter 712: The Final Battle

Little Baobao finally found her dad and was now hanging off me like an octopus, filled with joy. The strength of this little girl was truly befitting of the Xyrin Apostle race. Once she latched onto my neck, her stability was extraordinarily unwavering; I exerted a lot of effort but couldn’t get her off me, so I just let her be.

Jier Jiamishi, who was diligently trying to get her two errant hairs back to one, trudged along beside us, face contorted with silent rage. Just minutes ago, this unfortunate soul had come to a sad realization that her meals for the coming week might truly be reduced to salted vegetables and pancakes, a dire prospect for someone accustomed to the luxuries of ancient queens. At home, she was treated just the same as Little Baobao, even though Lilina mockingly called her a "pet that naturally eats what its owner does." But that couldn’t deny the fact that Sister Jier lived the most lavish lifestyle of all the Heroic Spirits to date. Now, having slaved away as a nanny, it felt like she was thrown back to the ancient times overnight.

I couldn’t help but suppress a chuckle at her puffed-up indignation. I really didn’t know what to make of Sister Jier’s intelligence. When I claimed to dock her meal money, she actually took me seriously... And even more absurd was the once invincible Golden Shining, who after a few months of tutelage from a mere three-year-old, had become like this. The combat power of the Xyrin Apostles really was extraordinary, even in a toddler.

Actually, upon reflection, Sister Jier’s actions had surpassed my expectations. When everyone else couldn’t pin down Little Baobao’s patterns, she somehow managed to sync up with the little tyke in a way that defied scientific explanation. After a bit of probing, I discovered why Jier ended up in this world with Little Baobao. The little one had been dragged by her irresponsible mother to play games, but due to a lack of interest, she casually strolled out of the Mother Nest, bypassed the heavily guarded twelve checkpoints, meandered into the Time-Space Administration’s highest-security dispatch center, slipped through several guards to an in-test dimensional gate, and issued the command "Find Daddy" to it. Sister Jier happened to instinctively run to the Time-Space Administration at that very moment, and when she heard the guards frantically shouting that the Little Princess had gone missing, she darted through the nearest dimensional gate without a greeting, her subconscious destination set to Atlantis.

And more miraculously, after a nearly random warp, she appeared less than two meters away from Little Baobao—casually stepping on a Mutant Monster intending to ambush the little girl, providing a swift end to what would have been a much more troublesome assailant for the poor saps electrocuted from behind. Using Lin Banxian’s mystical mumblings as an explanation, a miraculous tacit understanding and mysterious bond had taken root and sprouted between Jier Jiamishi and Little Baobao. Despite the former always insisting she was coerced by violence into becoming a glorified babysitter, it was undeniable that her care for the little girl, who bullied her daily and used her as a glowing pillow, was no less than any one of us.

Even during an attack, her first instinct was to protect the little one.

Damn it, she’s even better than Little Baobao’s own mother!

Since I wanted to get Little Baobao over as soon as possible, I teleported here alone. The four Divine Race jokers and other warriors were still standing by in the Daylight Temple. However, with the convenience of space jumps, we quickly regrouped. A bunch of Atlantis Warriors and creatures from Fantasy Country eyed my two companions with curiosity, particularly focusing on the "octopus" hanging from my neck. Chiruno hopped over, shouting excitedly, "Wow! What’s this? What did you bring?"

I elbowed her away: "Stop talking nonsense! This is my daughter!"

Youyouzi, on the other hand, appeared utterly shocked, scrutinizing Little Baobao as she murmured, "Ah, could it be that Wenwen wasn’t spouting nonsense this time? There really is a child?"

Yao Meng’s question was even more direct, bowing politely before asking, "May I ask if Lady Ling Meng is the child’s mother?"

Me: "..."

Youyouzi: "This kid doesn’t take after her mom—nor does she resemble you."

Me: "..."

"Silence, you impolite lot!" Sister Jil was more anxious than I was, and immediately shouted to stop the demons’ unreliable assumptions, "This child has nothing to do with those commoners secretly scraping gold off my chair! As for you, not knowing to kneel before me, do you think you stand a chance against me..."

I thumped her on the head, "If you keep blabbering, you’ll get no pickles next week."

Sister Jil’s ahoge stood straight up in anger, "Commoner!! I have put up with you for too long!"

Little Baobao: "Goo-ah!"

Sister Jil: "...so I suppose putting up with you a little longer shouldn’t be an issue."

"I’m saying, who is this self-important guy anyway?" Chiruno, not quite satisfied with the elbow shove from earlier, inexplicably transferred her grudge to Jil, "Hey! I’m talking to you, I’m Chiruno, the strongest in Fantasy Country. What’s your name?"

Sister Jil looked down on Chiruno with disregard, her icy wings slightly piquing her curiosity: "Strange thing. I am the oldest and greatest king of humans, what right does something like you, not even a human, have to know my name?"

"This kid’s name is Gilgamesh!" Dingdang popped out from who knows where, circling in the air to make introductions, "Jil, this is Dingdang’s new friend, Chiruno!"

Little Baobao immediately started babbling and reached out to grab the flying Dingdang. I hurriedly stuffed a lollipop into her mouth: as long as Little Baobao had something to eat, Dingdang could be at peace.

Sister Jil froze, then frowned and sized up Chiruno, "A friend of the goddess? Tch, another weird one. Don’t expect any kindness from me."

Dingdang was absolutely Jil’s superior, and even if the latter was rebellious against organizational transfers and disliked being ordered around, she had to admit there was one person she had to obey unconditionally, even if that person was yet shorter than two lollipops. When Chiruno was acknowledged as a new friend by Dingdang herself, Sister Jil, with a fool’s instinct, sensed the biggest crisis of her life imminent, but she still didn’t know what that sense of crisis entailed.

The Avalon Heroic Spirits from Avalon also were not always idle; they often received commands from the temple or even directly from Dingdang to execute various odd missions. The more normal ones involved ensuring world peace on behalf of the Goddess Sect, the less normal involved organizing cultural performances to promote goddess’s love in some world as per Lilina’s command, and the most abnormal involved learning advanced candy production technology from the thorn bear monsters in Azeroth as per Dingdang’s command. All these missions made up the fulfilling yet tough daily life of the Avalon Heroic Spirits, allowing those hapless kids to enjoy a long-missed joyous life while enduring huge torment in their worldview. However, Sister Jil was an exception, her usual role was Little Baobao’s nanny, an identity that rarely involved her in the collective tasks of other heroic spirits. In other words—she wasn’t worked hard enough by the shameless religious group led by the Life Goddess and, as common sense tells us, those without experience are in for big trouble.

Sister Jier, with no experience in dealing with such situations, immediately sensed danger when she saw Dingdang’s gaze shifting repeatedly between her and that strange creature named Chiruno. Still, she failed to make a quick escape and, as a result...

"Let’s go play together!"

Our Lady Goddess commanded with great enthusiasm.

Chiruno immediately jumped up with excitement, "Ah, okay okay! We haven’t finished the WAAAAAGH game from last time! This time I want to be on the same team with this airhead; we’re definitely going to win!"

"WAAAAAGH?" Jil was dumbfounded. "Wait! Goddess! Although it’s your command, your majesty has official duties..."

Little Baobao, hanging contently on her father, didn’t even turn back to wave at Sister Jier, signaling that she no longer had any duties to attend to.

Just like the first time in Fantasy Country, Dingdang and Chiruno promptly forgot their important tasks and joyfully ran off to find a deserted place to play their game, now joined by Sister Jier, whose intelligence was not very high either. Watching the trio disappear from sight, even Youyouzi couldn’t help but wonder aloud, "What is their purpose in being here?"

I answered expressionlessly, "To form a trio of ’Three Stooges Cold Relief’, saving the world."

Everyone: "..."

The city defense system of Atlantis City was fully operational. The gloom and mist that had shrouded the city for days were dissipating at a visible rate. The mutant monsters that had lingered in the city suffered heavy casualties and were on the verge of annihilation under the joint suppression of the Guard Towers and Wave Energy Towers reactivating. Arcane Stone Demons, though they lacked intelligence, were exceptionally sturdy and now patrolled the streets to ensure the restoration of order. The civilians of Atlantis began to move onto the streets purified of any contamination, starting the collection of anything still usable. Meanwhile, small units made up of the Armored Scorpion Unit and Technical Soldiers entered the city’s underbelly to repair parts of the Ghost Energy Pipeline that had fallen into disuse. As they proceeded, the city’s range of energy supply gradually expanded. The special wavelength of the purification-effect Ghost Energy Radiation steadily increased in the air too, almost entirely eradicating the Abyssal Aura from this ancient city. Sandora was already leading part of the surface forces, gathering at the foot of Mount Olympus in preparation for a total assault on the Holy Mountain, which was the first impact site of the Fragment and the last to remain infected by the Abyss. Vega’s forces were setting up Energy Coils near the Star Ring Fragment, and after continuous weakening, the Abyss reaction of the Fragment had reduced to the vicinity of the safety line — "safety line" meant that a Xyrin Apostle could directly touch the contaminated without being polluted. The Fragment was still a terrifying entity capable of causing racial extinction to ordinary life forms. Therefore, they were preparing for the upcoming "extraction" of the Fragment. The latest generation of Ghost Energy Shock Coils, generously offered by Taville, could effectively suppress any Abyss Infection under the safety line without triggering any rebound, allowing them to endure direct contact and spatial turbulence during transportation without the risk of leakage. Our serious and dedicated Scientist made sure to add one last warning line in the instruction manual for the new generation of coils:

"Theoretically, that is."

Thus, Vega believed it was necessary to pile these theoretically effective coils all around the base of Mount Olympus, and now the Scorpions were busy running around at the foot of the mountain, carrying boxes of equipment, doing just that.

After joining up with Sandora, I came across another team.

Led by Boli Lingmeng and Moriya, the young girls of Fantasy Country, who had just crawled out of the Medical Cabin after suffering from food poisoning early in the battle, thus sorrowfully withdrawing. However, thanks to the caring attention of the Empire’s advanced technology and stomach medicine, these warriors who had fallen first were now back on their feet. As my forces joined with Sandora’s at the base camp, this unique unit appeared in our line of sight. Although they were a group of girls, they now carried an astonishing aura, as if the food poisoning from the early stages of the battle had become a motivation driving them forward. Despite suffering from gastrointestinal ulcers, they stood resolute before their comrades. Some leaned on crutches, some had IV drips, some wore breathing apparatus, some continuously poured stomach medicine down their throats as they walked, and there were a few who supported each other... Such a team, simply by standing there, was enough to spark criticism about the Empire’s healthcare system and civil policies. Their presence in front of the frontline Soldiers was an even more tremendous shock. Moved to tears, I couldn’t help but think: They’re in such a state and still affecting the morale of others; are these people Abyss undercover agents?

"It’s okay, we’re fine," Boli Lingmeng propped up Moriya’s shoulder with a resolute expression, making such a promise to the vast array of soldiers, then leaned in and whispered to me, "I heard there’s a big bonus for going into battle today, is that true?"

I really wanted to tell her straight that she’d be much more valuable if she would just go back and recuperate instead of worrying everyone here...

"Forget it, since you’re here, just stay back and watch." Knowing this bunch would never understand the bigger picture or follow any military strategy, I could only tolerate their antics and then turned to Sandora, "How’s the situation on the mountain?"

"We found a severely wounded Poseidon at the foot of the mountain and sent him for treatment, but we still can’t make contact with Zeus. The energy on the mountain is too chaotic; even the spatial devices can’t be safely activated. However, we can confirm that Zeus is still fighting and the temple at the summit has not yet fallen. The forest on the mid-mountain is full of mutant monsters, harpies, Fenrir, nightmares, and Medusa—nothing to do with Rider—created through genetic engineering and crystal technology. A snake-like fierce beast whose powerful radiation attack can instantly turn inanimate objects into fragile crystalline structures and has an extremely lethal effect on living beings. These monsters are the closest to the Star Ring Fragment and were the first to be mutated by the radiation. Their combat strength is extraordinarily powerful, and many that were originally Ordinary Level monsters can even fight against our Heroic Combat Soldiers."

"But they’re already at the end of their rope," I looked back at the Scorpion Soldiers who were ready for battle, "These soldiers are born for this kind of fight."

Since Mount Olympus is the most critical place for the Energy Furnace of Atlantis’s Floating Island, we couldn’t use heavy saturation bombing to clear the area. Therefore, the Armored Scorpions once again found the stage where they could fight to their heart’s content. Watching a group of eager Armored Scorpions clumsily scratching their mechanical limbs, making squeaky strange noises, Sandora smiled slightly: "Attack at will!"

Instantly, the Armored Scorpions, like the unrestrained thoughts of Qianqian, swarmed everywhere, rushing into the forests and mountain paths of Mount Olympus in the blink of an eye. The sounds of explosions, weapon collisions, and monstrous roars being vanquished echoed from deep within the woods.

We all knew that Armored Scorpions had six legs, which endowed them with unmatched agility and speed. Moreover, their combat capabilities in complex terrains were multiplied; they could charge at incredible angles on the narrowest cliffs, dance wildly on nearly perpendicular slopes, and move nimble as the wind on completely foothold-less battlefields, with their anti-gravity flight devices—thus, chaos ensued on Mount Olympus.

"After the fight, we’ll probably need to reforest this place," I looked up, the Armored Scorpions never chose paths, whether they took the mountain paths or moved through the thick forest was random, depending on where they could find something to hack at. Hence, several places in the forest of Mount Olympus had already ignited into raging wildfires, some due to the magic released by fighting monsters and some caused by the laser guns on the tails of Armored Scorpions, "Second echelon, follow me!"

Immediately, there was an uplifted spirit: "What’s the second echelon?"

I almost collapsed: "Isn’t it more imposing to say it like that—the rest of you, follow!"

Then Sandora collapsed.

It was a not-so-difficult fight, even though the enemy was the most severely polluted and ferocious lot from Atlantis. Still, the ground forces led by two Emperors from the Imperial Elite were definitely the most brutal combat power in the Multi-universe. Sandora and I didn’t even need to fight personally; watching the regular soldiers clear the doomed monsters was sufficient. The Armored Scorpion Unit led the way; small creatures that blocked the path, regardless of age, sex, belief, were all to be taken down. Long-range monsters were dealt with by Magic Girl Ravens and Atlantis Divine Servants. Even the Leader Bees shone brightly in such battles: their crystallized wings and the sharp edges and powerful beam cannons were lethal weapons in close to medium-range fights; the mirror images, refraction, and other effects that followed the attacks made the already complex jungle warfare even more chaotic. Many monsters underwent a mixed execution under the effect of Crystal Power, for instance, dying simultaneously by blade, fire, drowning, electric shock, poisoning, cardiac arrest, and their own weapons. At first, I knew how the Leader Bees’ Floating Blade Cannons killed the enemy, but later, even Sandora didn’t know how they died.

Comparing the outcomes of the three types of Heroic Combat Soldiers, we can summarize the following pattern: the monsters killed by Armored Scorpions were slashed to death, those killed by Ravens were burned to death, and those killed by Leader Bees—died embarrassingly from an arrow to the knee. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it with a recommendation ticket or monthly ticket on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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