……
“A big group of enemies is coming from the east, goo! Princess Anna, how is it going on your side, goo?”
Maisie's voice came again from the Listening Sigil – although she didn't use any words with a sense of urgency, Anna still felt the urgency of the situation.
As time passed, the Tianhai Realm forces invested in the battlefield were constantly increasing. They swam from all directions, then climbed onto Mist Isle, rushing towards the First Army soldiers one after another, completely ignoring the corpses of their kind already covering the ground. The previously lush grassland was gone, replaced by scorched earth emitting a pungent smoke. In the lower-lying areas, flowing blue-black blood had gathered into small puddles.
The battle situation had changed from the initial ease to the current stalemate.
Faced with such a fierce and reckless siege, the First Army inevitably suffered casualties. Even with the support of Eleanor and the Sky Knights overhead, it was impossible to guarantee that no monsters would slip through.
The Blade Beasts, having lost their ability to become invisible, were still difficult enemies for ordinary soldiers to deal with, not to mention the mutated Nest Mothers that could spray acid over long distances and corrode steel, and the Mountain Devouring Beasts that were like small mountains.
Now the army could still maintain the line of defense, keeping the Tianhai Realm out of the Heavenly Pit, but the risks were accumulating at a visible rate. No one knew how many of their subsequent troops were hidden in the sea. Once a breach appeared somewhere, it would likely trigger a collapse. Maisie was reminding her that she had to hurry.
However, Anna and her party still hadn't seen the Guardian's figure.
“No results in the inner circle,” she exhaled softly, keeping her voice as calm as possible, “We are exploring further afield.”
“Understood, good luck, goo.”
“I think it's time to retreat,” Hexode suddenly said, “Little girl, the performance of you and your clan has indeed surprised me. Being able to persevere to this point by fighting alone deep in enemy territory is enough to be called a successful campaign. But persistence doesn't necessarily bring rewards. The Guardian hasn't appeared until now, which can only mean that it is no longer here.”
“It's also possible that it just doesn't want to be affected by the artillery fire, so it found a place to hide,” Nightingale retorted, “If we give up now, everything will be set in stone.”
“Let me make it clear, although I agreed to cooperate with you, I don't intend to die here,” the Lord of the Sky bluntly said, “If the situation is irreversible, I will leave first. At that time, these soldiers will have nowhere to retreat. Are you sure you want to do this?” Looking at Anna's gaze, it couldn't help but add, “Of course... I will only do so as a last resort.”
“I won't force you to stay, nor do I have the power to force you,” Anna said frankly, “But I hope you can understand one thing, the failure of the plan means there is no future. It may take a long time for the Tianhai Realm to engulf the entire world, and most of the humans here will not see that day. But for you who have extremely long lifespans, it is a fate you must face – do you want to live in such a world?”
“……” Hexode was momentarily speechless.
“It's not the limit yet,” the Disaster of Silence suddenly said.
“What?”
“I have fought against humans, and this is far from their limit. If it is that unit, they should be able to last longer,” it reached out and pulled out the Black Stone Sword from its back, “Besides, I haven't made a move yet.”
“Attention, Princess Anna! A group of Tianhai Realm monsters is approaching in front of you,” Almost at the same time, Sylvie's warning sounded in the sigil, “I have notified the nearest two armored squads, but they are engaged with the enemy, and reinforcements may be delayed!”
“Let them take care of themselves,” Nightingale stepped forward, “Leave this to us.”
“That's right, I don't want to lose to the devils in this kind of thing,” the God's Punishment Witches also raised their shotguns.
Soon, a mixed force consisting of Blade Beasts and Nest Mothers appeared in front of everyone, followed by two huge Mountain Devouring Beasts.
The Disaster of Silence took the lead and rushed into the enemy formation.
Under its summons, patches of dark clouds gathered in the sky, golden streamers flashed and converged continuously, and finally turned into lightning that pierced the sky, scattered around it!
This one blow turned dozens of monsters into ashes.
Nightingale followed closely behind, using the changing lines to leap nearly a hundred meters in one step, directly appearing behind the front-row Blade Beasts. By the time the opponents reacted and pounced back, they were greeted by several bullets fired from the chamber.
And she didn't even look at the result, turned around and continued to stride forward – maybe it was an illusion, but the Misty World seemed to have become much friendlier, always sending the appropriate outline lines when she needed them. In just a few blinks, she arrived in front of the Nest Mother.
This was also the goal Nightingale had set from the beginning.
Unlike the Blade Beasts, a low-level species, the Nest Mothers can continuously hatch Blade and Foot, and are the backbone of the Tianhai Realm. Each kill will effectively weaken the enemy's strength.
Moreover, this was not the first Nest Mother she had encountered.
Most people would feel at a loss when facing similar behemoths, but not her.
Nightingale expertly "passed through" the surface layer composed of ribs and flesh membranes, then the intestines and lungs, and finally reached the enemy's core area – the eyes. Although it was slightly different from the Nest Mother that swallowed the Thousand-Eyed Demon, they were still of the same origin in structure. For these monsters, the huge eyeball hidden in the body was equivalent to their brain.
She stuck the barrel straight into the opponent's eyeball and pulled the trigger!
The latter didn't even have time to drive her away with its tentacles before its brain was blown out. The Nest Mother, having lost its control function, could no longer drive its magic power, and the huge body that relied on magic power to support it also collapsed.
……
Anna stood in place, unable to resist clenching her fists slightly.
She wasn't as calm as everyone thought. Five years ago, she was just an ordinary girl from a border town. How could she be calm and composed in the face of anything? She also wanted to retreat countless times, but when she thought that Roland might sleep forever, she suppressed this fear and gritted her teeth to persevere.
But now, Anna found that the fear in her heart had been reduced a lot.
The figures of everyone fighting gradually blurred her vision. This was not just her persistence alone – there were many people standing beside her, fighting alongside her, moving towards the same goal.
She once again realized the meaning of the Battle of Destiny.
The destined path is a kind of fate.
And rising up to resist and breaking free from shackles is also another kind of fate.
The difference is that the latter's fate will be written by oneself.
At this moment, a very bright light burst out on the sea tens of kilometers to the north – it quickly expanded, reflecting the gray sea and sky into a shimmering, faint blue!
That was the Kunpeng performing an interception mission.
This Glory of the Sun, which was rushed out in a month and a half, was planned to be used to separate the reinforcements of the Tianhai Realm. Its detonation meant that a large number of enemies were pouring in from the far sea, and the situation was undoubtedly extremely critical.
Anna, however, no longer had the unease she had at the beginning.
She faced the coming roar without taking a step back.
Suddenly, a woman's figure appeared in front of Anna out of thin air – she was wearing a white dress, her long hair was blown up by the air waves, blocking the dazzling light of the explosion behind her.
“Go back, this is not a place for you to come,” the woman said softly.