Chapter 3044: Captured Alive

Inside the mecha, the woman grew dizzy, which rendered her incapable of controlling the mecha. It fled into the distance on autopilot.

Suddenly, the mecha was struck by something, and the already cracked hull shattered at one point as cracks radiated out from that location.

At the spatial rift, Fei Su and others were alarmed. “This is bad! Save her.”

Before they could move, another mecha flew out, headed straight for the cyan mech.

This mecha was not as sleek and as brightly colored as the blue and cyan mechas. It was a dull, mottled gray-brown. It was rather inconspicuous, but when the mecha appeared, Yao Di felt a chill. His spiritual force erupted, but the gray-brown mecha raised a hand, instantly transforming the arm into a blade that sliced right through the spiritual force. The edge of the weapon was aimed straight at Yao Di.

Far away, Lu Yin arched a brow. This mecha had the strength of a Semi-Progenitor. The mechas that had taken action earlier had been nothing but children, but the adults were finally participating. Still, this was not enough.

The gray-brown mecha was strong enough to stand up to Yao Di. Given the strength of the Astral Beast Domain, it would be impossible for them to capture any of the mechas.

Lu Yin was done slowly probing the strength of the Infinity Empire. He casually ordered, “Go make your move, but be gentle. I want them captured alive.”

The jiao shot into the sky from where it had been resting on Lu Yin’s shoulder. Excitement filled the beast’s fierce eyes as it headed towards the Astral Beast Domain.

In the Astral Beast Domain, Yao Di was staring at the approaching gray-brown mecha. “Does your Infinity Empire truly intend to wage war against us?”

Inside the cyan mecha, the woman had finally recovered. She looked back, but was unconcerned.

The gray-brown mecha was blocking Yao Di. “Surrender or die.”

Blood still dripped from Yao Di’s wings. The Infinity Empire was truly powerful. The person who had moved to confront Yao Di did not appear to be anyone with true authority, but was more like a guardian for the elite youths.

This was a problem. If Yao Di failed to capture a mecha, the Dao Monarch would certainly be displeased.

“We have already surrendered. Have your commander speak with me,” Yao Di solemnly requested.

A cold voice spoke from the gray-brown mecha, “You are not qualified.”

“Then go ahead and see if you can conquer this universe!” Yao Di shouted.

The gray-brown mecha raised its blade. “Release them.”

Yao Di and the other astral beasts were confused, but the very next moment, the battleships surrounding the spatial rift released countless mechanical objects that resembled hummingbirds. The mechanical birds flew off in every direction, clearly to scout the universe for the Infinity Empire.

After scattering everywhere, the mechanical hummingbirds would transmit detailed information about the universe back to the Infinity Empire.

Lu Yin frowned.

Are they only really starting now? Then let’s put an end to this for a bit

.

“I’ll give you one month,” the gray-brown mecha announced as it turned to leave. “For one month, you can gather your full combat strength. After that, you can either surrender or let this entire universe bleed.”

The people in the more distant mechas all relaxed. They had witnessed this same scenario many times before.

“I really wanted to find an astral beast to serve as a mount.”

“These astral beasts are wild and difficult to tame. Taking back one of each species to study would be valuable, and their offspring could then be trained to serve as mounts.”

“My family does that for a living, so anyone who’s interested can come to me and we’ll give you a 10% discount,” another mentioned.

“I’ve claimed all the materials these beasts had, and my family’s already negotiated terms with the Marshal. Heh, these things are quite valuable,” another bragged.

“Hmph! If it weren’t for you people, we would have already conquered this universe.”

“So short-sighted. By giving them a bit of time, not only will we reduce the amount of time we need to search for, but this also allows everyone to negotiate for a better distribution of the profits, which is quite nice.”

“Excuse me for interrupting, but has anyone else noticed that it’s gotten darker?”

“Scoff—Brother, we’re in outer space. What do you mean by ‘darker’?”

“I also feel like it’s gotten much darker.” One female pilot looked up from inside her mecha and suddenly let out a sharp scream. “Mon- monster!”

All of the mechas looked up. At some point in time, a massive creature had appeared above them, and its form shadowed over all the mechas. The jiao had appeared.

Alarms rang out in all of the Infinity Empire’s battleships. Further away, the man inside the dull, mottled mecha stared on in awe. His eyes were locked onto the jiao, shock covering his face. “Ten rings? This universe actually has ten-ring creatures?”

The jiao raised its head and let out a roar. It brandished its teeth and claws as the nearby void trembled.

All of the astral beasts retreated, cowed into submission. Even Yao Di was shaking in fear.

Countless beams shot at the jiao.

All of the mechas had activated all of their defensive systems.

The man in the mottled mecha gritted his teeth and swung his sword at the jiao. It was clear that this was the strongest creature in this particular parallel universe.

The jiao’s claws slammed against the sword. There was a clang, and the sword broke as the mecha was sent flying.

The crowd of mechas raced for the spatial rift. The jiao demonstrated rather human-like behavior as it used its claws to scoop down and grab several of the mechas. It was very careful to avoid using too much strength, as it did not want to be punished by Lu Yin.

The jiao might not possess any intelligence, but its defenses were so robust that even Forgotten Ruins God had been impressed. It was incredibly durable, to the point where even Xia Shenji struggled to wound the creature. Its strength was equal to Progenitors, but its defenses meant that even sequence powerhouses would struggle to kill the jiao.

Not even the Semi-Progenitor tier mecha could do anything to the jiao.

The mottled mecha was smacked away with a single swipe from the jiao, and cracks appeared on its hull. It was clear that the beast that had appeared surpassed ten rings.

“Retreat! All units-”

After grabbing a few mechas, the jiao did not chase after the rest of the Infinity Empire’s forces. Instead, it turned and flew back to the border of the Erudite Flowzone. It had been told to capture some mechas for Lu Yin.

A smile appeared on Lu Yin’s face in the distance. The jiao might not be very bright, but it was becoming more and more obedient.

Of course, things would be even better if the beast did not run away any time it encountered a more powerful opponent.

The person within the mottled mecha was stunned. Despite the beast’s overwhelming strength, it had not attacked the Infinity Empire’s forces, and it had instead fled after grabbing a few of the mechas. What did this mean?

He turned to look at Yao Di.

Yao Di was speechless, as he was unable to wrap his mind around the jiao’s thoughts, despite the Celestial Demon not being an idiot.

“Release them now! Even if that is a ten-ring beast, it’s nothing but an ant in the eyes of our Infinity Empire! If you don’t want to be slaughtered, listen to me!” the man in the mottled mecha ordered in an urgent tone. Among the captured mechas were the blue and cyan ones, and their pilots were vitally important.

Yao Di retorted in a cold voice, “You intend to slaughter my universe, so what difference will releasing them make?”

“I warn you, do not harm those who were captured. You will regret it if you do. There are many ways to die, and we can make you beg for death,” the mecha pilot threatened. After speaking, he turned and raced for the spatial rift, leaving to call for reinforcements.

A great deal of time had passed since the Infinity Empire’s last attack on the newly discovered parallel universe, and that was because they had been testing the waters and had not been fully prepared for a large-scale invasion. They had not anticipated that a ten-ring creature would suddenly appear. If they had suspected such a beast to be here, they would not have been so careless.

The mechanical hummingbirds that had been released had all been crushed by the jiao’s natural pressure, which meant that it was impossible for the Infinity Empire’s scouts to learn more about the universe.

Unless the empire retreated entirely, which would leave Lu Yin and many other powerhouses completely unknown, the initiative had already shifted.

The side with more information about their opponent always held the advantage.

Lu Yin did not underestimate the Infinity Empire, but he did not believe that the empire possessed the strength to defeat the Heavens Sect. Even if a civilization conquered countless parallel universes, a civilization’s development was limited. The Heavens Sect had reached that limit in the past, but Lu Yin had never seen any other civilization accomplish the same thing.

The jiao quickly arrived, and it smashed the mechas it was carrying down onto a planet.

The impact produced several loud booms, which drew the attention of many cultivators who were at the border of the Erudite Flowzone. However, when they glanced over and recognized the jiao, they looked away again.

The jiao was too well-known throughout the Fifth Mainland. It was one of the guardian beasts of the Heavens Sect.

The jiao had managed to capture four mechas, including the blue and cyan mechas, which were significantly stronger than the others. Both of them were capable of challenging opponents with a higher power level than themselves, and they could even face off against a Semi-Progenitor. This was despite the fact that both mechas’ power levels were around a million, which approached the level of a peak Envoy.

Dust filled the air above the ground as the mechas rose to their feet from the ruins. Their pilots were still dazed.

Inside the cyan mecha, a woman rubbed her head. She had first been struck by Yao Di’s spiritual force, and then smashed to the ground after the jiao breached the mecha’s shield. If not for the durable hull, the woman might have already died.

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

She finally regained her composure, and she looked around. She saw the blue mecha unsteadily rising to its feet as well, but the other two mechas failed to stand.

“Fei Su, how are you?” she asked.

“I’m fine. Where’s that ten-ring creature?”

The woman looked around but saw no sign of the beast. However, she did make out some defensive structures in the distance. “Where are we?”

At that moment, an alarm went off inside both of the mechas, which indicated that a creature was approaching them.

The woman looked in the direction indicated by the alarm, and she saw a small figure walking across the ground towards the mechas. The display zoomed in, enlarging the figure.

Eh? Is that a person?

Fei Su and the pilots of the other two mechas also noticed the person’s arrival.

“Someone’s coming,” Fei Su called out.

The woman carefully observed the approaching figure. “Be careful. This person might not be simple. Wait, look at his shoulder!”

The other pilots immediately focused on the approaching figure’s shoulder, and they saw a miniature jiao.

Their expressions changed drastically. How was that even possible?

Was a ten-ring beast perching on a human’s shoulder? It almost looked like a pet.

Fei Su’s expression turned grim. “This is a problem, a big one.”

Driven by their need for more and more resources, the Infinity Empire had aggressively expanded and invaded multiple parallel universes. They had instigated countless wars and conquered many civilizations. Because of their aggressive policies, they had created a categorization system for the conflicts that they instigated.

Originally, the Astral Beast Domain had been classified as a level three threat. That had not changed even after Yao Di appeared. However, the appearance of the jiao had elevated the threat of the universe to level two, or maybe even level one, but the person the pilots were currently looking at had completely transformed what they knew about this universe.

For someone to have a ten-ring creature as a pet, this universe was undoubtedly a priority level threat, regardless of the human’s own power level. The fact that a ten-ring creature was a pet was simply too abnormal.

It should be impossible for anyone to make a ten-ring creature a pet. Such a thing had never happened even within the Infinity Empire.

The woman and Fei Su cautiously stared at the newcomer.

Lu Yin was indeed approaching the enormous mechas, slowly strolling across the ground. Despite the mechas’ impressive size that rose high into the clouds, in Lu Yin’s eyes, these machines were still nothing more than ants.

"I am also from this universe. Why don’t you see if you can conquer me?" Lu Yin challenged the pilots. He stared at the four giant mechas with his hands clasped behind his back.