Facing a formidable enemy, the Hundred Spirits Auspicious Phoenix did not underestimate it or act rashly.
Before the battle commenced, Bai Ling calmly reported to the command center: "Report to the General Headquarters, Bai Ling has encountered the fifth-ranked mecha of Black Star forces: Star Spear. Preparing for combat."
After the transmission, the Hundred Spirits Auspicious Phoenix resumed its normal posture. A rhythmic clicking sound echoed from its joints as it returned to its standard size.
Despite the vast disparity in size between the colossal Hundred Spirits Auspicious Phoenix and the diminutive Star Spear, everyone held their breath for this confrontation due to the opponent's formidable strength.
During its dive, the Star Spear's rear thrusters suddenly transformed. As if the entire back had split open, the upper body divided into two halves.
From the massive fissure, four lances shot out.
Each nearly twenty-meter-long lance spewed faint trails of energy, following in the Star Spear's wake.
The Star Spear caught a lance with its free hand, and a fierce, dark blue energy aura erupted from the tip.
Without a word, it charged forward, lance raised.
The colossal Hundred Spirits Auspicious Phoenix extended its left arm, deploying a beam energy shield to block the Star Spear's initial attack. Just as the Star Spear prepared for close-quarters combat, the shoulder and leg armor of the Hundred Spirits Auspicious Phoenix suddenly detached.
The four detached armor pieces combined in pairs mid-air, forming two floating shield guardians that constantly flanked the Hundred Spirits Auspicious Phoenix.
The Star Spear once again raised its lance, targeting the Hundred Spirits Auspicious Phoenix's head, neck, and chest with a series of thrusts. After being parried by the Hundred Spirits Auspicious Phoenix's shields, it swiftly retreated, drawing its lance and thrusting downward from the air. Simultaneously, the remaining three lances from its back shot out in three different directions—left, right, and down—attempting to bypass the shields and strike the target.
The Hundred Spirits Auspicious Phoenix's two floating shield guardians retracted inward, swiftly blocking two of the lances. At the same time, its right arm deployed a beam energy shield, raising it overhead before the two shields merged, forming a thicker defensive barrier.
Facing the lance flying from below, the Hundred Spirits mecha bent its legs, its feet clamping down forcefully to stably capture the lance.
Suddenly, the captured lance exploded, creating a fissure between the Bai Ling mecha's feet. However, it could only separate its feet; the Bai Ling mecha remained unharmed at the explosion's epicenter.
After a brief exchange, the Star Spear somersaulted several times in the air, preparing to launch an assault on its opponent's rear.
Unexpectedly, the Hundred Spirits Auspicious Phoenix did not evade but boldly exposed its back.
Suddenly, its thick dorsal armor split into two seams, unleashing over a hundred smaller drones.
The floating shields flanking the Hundred Spirits mecha then split into four armor segments mid-air. These segments emitted faint energy trails and surged towards the Star Spear.
The backs of the four armor segments suddenly discharged powerful electrical currents, tens of thousands of currents crisscrossing the Star Spear mecha and connecting to the opposing armor segments.
The intense electrical surge caused the Star Spear to momentarily lose control. A hundred drones seized this opportunity, relentlessly bombarding the Star Spear.
Each drone carried a micro-plasma energy bomb. Under the continuous barrage, the Star Spear mecha could not possibly remain unscathed.
Just as Bai Ling believed the Star Spear was destroyed,
A faint cold glint appeared within the blast radius. Subsequently, several sharp crackling sounds echoed, and the four armor segments that had been spewing electricity around the Star Spear were instantly sliced into fragments.
The Star Spear, wielding its lances with both hands, burst forth from the center of the explosion. At such close range and with incredible speed, the massive Hundred Spirits Auspicious Phoenix had no chance to dodge.
A thrust!
The twenty-meter lance pierced through the armor fissure from which the Hundred Spirits Auspicious Phoenix had deployed its drones, penetrating the Hundred Spirits Auspicious Phoenix's body from top to bottom.
A dull "boom!" exploded as the lance detonated within the Hundred Spirits Auspicious Phoenix mecha.
Thick black smoke billowed from the Hundred Spirits Auspicious Phoenix's armor seams. Although the twenty-meter length was only a quarter of the Hundred Spirits Auspicious Phoenix's height, and its external armor was exceptionally thick, the internal explosion likely caused severe damage to its mechanical components.
The battle between the two colossal mechas lasted less than five minutes.
The Star Spear extended its hands, and the other two lances flying in the air swiftly and precisely returned to its grasp.
Just as the Star Spear prepared to repeat its maneuver, the Hundred Spirits Auspicious Phoenix's entire chassis suddenly sprang open.
Tens of thousands of armor pieces, emitting faint energy trails, floated in the air around the internal chassis.
Now exposed without its armor, the Hundred Spirits Auspicious Phoenix's internal mechanical structure in its back was visibly mangled.
The Hundred Spirits Auspicious Phoenix mecha began to tremble violently, shaking off its damaged mechanical components.
Suddenly, the female mecha pilot, Bai Ling, softly exclaimed, "Ultimate Skill: Rebirth."
The unarmored internal chassis of the Hundred Spirits Auspicious Phoenix emitted a cacophony of breaking sounds. All its tens of thousands of mechanical components disassembled under the coordination of optical signal communication.
Hundreds of thousands of mecha parts detached from its chassis, scattering like fallen feathers in the sunlight.
A small, dark mecha burst forth from the cluster of large mechanical parts that had yet to scatter and soared into the sky.
The numerous external armor pieces floating in the air all unleashed their energy trails and pursued the black, small mecha.
With a "clang!" one piece of armor attached itself to the small mecha's outer shell.
Following this, a cascade of "clang clang..." sounds followed as more armor pieces attached themselves to the small mecha.
Soon, tens of thousands of armor pieces were attached, and a thirty-meter-tall mecha reappeared in the sky.
The remaining unattached armor pieces lined up in a row, floating behind the mecha.
Viewed from below, the small Hundred Spirits Auspicious Phoenix resembled a giant bird soaring with outstretched wings, reborn from the old mecha!
Just as the new Hundred Spirits Auspicious Phoenix completed its rebirth, the Star Spear, lances in hand, charged in again! Dark blue light beam ripples, carrying fierce spear winds, rapidly stabbed, slashed, and parried. Each move was swift and decisive.
Behind the Hundred Spirits Auspicious Phoenix, its "wings" formed by tens of thousands of floating armor pieces flapped forward, precisely blocking every attack.
A more intense aerial battle erupted.
The remaining mecha formations scattered around them became entangled in combat once more.
However, the number of Xianxia defenders was clearly inferior to the enemy forces. Despite each individual fighting with all their might and bravery, they were gradually defeated under the relentless firepower of the enemy mechs. Countless mecha fragments rained down like fiery rain upon the scarred Xianxia City.
When the Hundred Spirits Auspicious Phoenix and the Star Spear separated again,
There were no longer any defending mechas surrounding the Hundred Spirits Auspicious Phoenix.
Alone, it floated in the midst of thousands of enemy mechs.
Moreover, the two rounds of massive explosions that had annihilated thousands of enemy mechs and heavily damaged the Star Spear had also exhausted its tens of thousands of drones.
At this moment, Bai Ling gazed at the vast sea of enemy mechs surrounding her, a faint smile gracing her face. It was a smile of facing certain death, a smile of brave resolve.
"Alas, I should have cooked my husband another meal before leaving. Without me, how will he eat..." Tears streamed from Bai Ling's eyes, yet a smile of regret played on her lips.
As soon as the words left her, Bai Ling's face contorted into a fierce expression, and she rapidly piloted her mecha to charge forward.
The majestic aura emanating from the Hundred Spirits Auspicious Phoenix's back seemed like the materialized essence of overwhelming killing intent. Tens of thousands of armor pieces in front and behind transformed into flying feather-like arrows, shooting out in all directions.
"Bai Ling's final battle will be displayed in my favorite way."
"Ultimate Skill: Myriad Spirits Facing the Sun!"
Bai Ling's mecha transformed into an intensely bright beam of light, charging directly at the Star Spear. Its extreme speed gave the Star Spear no time to react.
Instinctively, the Star Spear thrust its lances forward to meet the Hundred Spirits Auspicious Phoenix. To its surprise, the latter charged forward directly, disregarding the sharp spearheads!
The dual lances pierced directly through the Hundred Spirits Auspicious Phoenix's chassis.
The Hundred Spirits Auspicious Phoenix locked its limbs tightly, firmly restraining the Star Spear. Its immense aura seemed to be making a final effort!
Then, a deafening roar echoed from the sky! "Boom—!"
Immediately after, the ten thousand scattered armor pieces also detonated.
A terrifyingly bright, colossal white sphere of light, three kilometers in diameter, appeared in the sky.
The Hundred Spirits Auspicious Phoenix, through self-destruction, annihilated the Star Spear and thousands of mechs surrounding it.
...
In the underground observation room, the expressions of everyone present were like deflated balloons, their features contorted.
The Chief Commander gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, and stared at the energy sphere formed by the Hundred Spirits Auspicious Phoenix's self-destruction on the screen with tear-filled eyes. Grief rendered him speechless.
But such is war; sacrifice is inevitable to achieve victory.
"Prepare a mecha for me!" the Chief Commander slowly stood up, his eyes blazing and teeth clenched, saying with sorrowful resolve.
"Chief Commander..."
"Chief Commander, you cannot go!"
"Chief Commander! Madam has sacrificed herself for the nation; she is a hero of Xianxia! But the war is still ongoing; you must remain steady! Xianxia has a backbone only with you here!"
The Chief Commander knew as well as anyone that war meant sacrifice. His wife, the seventh-ranked War God of Xianxia, had stepped forward during the nation's crisis, annihilating thousands of enemy mechs and Black Star's fifth great general in the most tragic and heroic manner.
He was heartbroken, wishing he could personally suit up and avenge his wife.
However, he bore an even more arduous mission. The hopes of all Xianxia people rested upon his shoulders.
The Chief Commander sat down again, wiping away the tears from his eyes, his expression becoming even more resolute.
"Bai Ling, let your valiant spirit become Xianxia's guardian deity, blessing us to defeat the enemy. If Xianxia falls, I will personally pilot a mecha and follow you then."
...
The massive energy sphere appearing north of Xianxia City was visible to all the defending forces.
Everyone knew that it was the Chief Commander's wife sacrificing herself to defend Xianxia.
A pang of sorrow deepened in everyone's hearts, igniting a greater ambition, and they counterattacked the enemy mechs with ferocity.
During the battle, Gu Ya witnessed Bai Ling's entire engagement. It was the first time he had witnessed the fall of a War God.
Without much time for sentiment, his own battle continued.
Before him, thousands of enemy mechs were still wreaking havoc.
Grief transformed into strength. Gu Ya's eyes turned cold as he piloted the Dread Lord towards the enemy ranks.