Chapter 1 Ancient City Ruins

Twilight Star, ancient city ruins in the southern territory.

The allied forces of various tribes gathered here: the Blue Shield Knights of the Vane Kingdom, three thousand strong; the Battle Howl barbarians, five thousand berserkers; the Geo Tribe, one thousand alchemical bombardiers; the Children of Listening, five hundred beast masters; and the ragtag armies of the southern city-states and duchies. In total, fifteen thousand people were stationed on the grassy fields outside the ancient city ruins, their colorful flags waving in the cold southern wind.

There were no clouds in the sky. The sky here had a twilight-like color, dyeing everything in deep hues. The sun hanging high in the sky seemed very small, very far from this planet.

Inside the command tent, the commanders of the various armies gathered, discussing fiercely. Only one tall man with light blue skin remained silent. He was Rex, commander of the Blue Shield Knights, a war hero of the Vane Kingdom. He had risen from a commoner to become the commander of the Vane Kingdom's ace army, and his deeds were sung by the people of Twilight Star.

When the others had said enough, Rex spoke in a deep voice. The commanders of the other tribes respected him greatly and stopped arguing to listen to him.

"Leizaler and his followers are hiding in the underground of the ruins, preparing a ritual to pollute the source water. We have about six jing shi (approximately two and a half hours) left. Sleeping in the ruins are the advanced magic golem colossi he spent twenty years creating, about eight hundred of them. He has set up a complex blockade array. Only by destroying all the golems will the passage to the ritual altar open. This means that we have to break through the golem blockade in a short time, find their location, and stop the ritual. Otherwise, most of the southern territory's source water will lose its vitality, and hundreds of thousands of people will die as a result!"

"The reconnaissance troops returned with news that each golem is more than seven meters tall, extremely hard, and blessed with prayers. Even a Leia steel sword will chip when hacking at them, only able to leave a white mark... This information cost us six elite soldiers. Moreover, Leizaler's cult has one hundred 'Polluters' who can corrode our weapons and bodies. Even the most elite warriors cannot withstand the corrosion technique. The situation is too difficult. It is difficult for our fifteen thousand people to rush in within a short time. Alas, Leizaler has been preparing secretly for twenty years. If we could have found out ten days earlier... no, even three days earlier, we wouldn't be so passive. Now we can only urgently gather so few of us," one commander sighed.

Rex said in a deep voice, "This concerns the purity of the source water and the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. We cannot fail. The National Guardian Magic Division has contacted the Ascendants of the upper realm, and the Ascendants have hired warriors of the upper realm to help us fight..."

Having said that, Rex looked at the corner of the tent. A human wearing a red tech combat suit was sitting there, completely out of sync with this group wearing armor. Hearing this, he stood up and said, "I am Hanjiao Mercenary Corps Leader Ling Ge. Your kinsmen have paid the reward, and we will do our best to help you."

Rex asked, "Leader Ling Ge, are you confident?"

Ling Ge shook his head and smiled bitterly, "To be honest, the situation here is much worse than the description when we accepted the mission. Our strength is limited, and we can't handle this level of mission. The specific situation has been notified to the employer, and the second batch of reinforcements is on the way. If they are fast, they should be able to arrive within two hours."

Rex's face darkened, and he frowned slightly. "The time is too urgent. Are the reinforcements reliable?"

"Don't worry, the second batch of mercenary corps is much stronger than us. As long as they can arrive in time, solving the accident here is just a piece of cake. Their stronghold is in this galaxy. If it weren't for this reason, they wouldn't bother to deal with such small incidents."

"Hopefully..."

Rex was worried, but Ling Ge seemed confident.

Twilight Star is located in the Gadon star system and belongs to Gedora's jurisdiction. This planet is very far from the star, and even during the day it is as dusk-like twilight, hence the name. There is no moon at night, and it is completely dark. There are no seasonal differences here, and it is cold every day. It stands to reason that this should be a frozen planet that cannot give birth to conventional life, and the vitality comes from the rivers that crisscross the surface and underground. Twilight Star's natural water contains magic energy and has warming properties, which resolves the cold of the entire planet and nurtures plants and creatures, and is also called "Source Water" by the races of Twilight Star. Source Water is the most important resource of the entire planet.

The civilization of Twilight Star is built on Source Water. The historical changes of countries and wars are basically centered around Source Water. Creatures that drink Source Water for a long time have strong physiques. The Vane people with light blue skin are the main race, and the ancient Vane Kingdom is the most powerful country on this planet. The existence of Source Water determines that Twilight Star is a civilization mainly based on magic. Technological development is slow and stable, individual ability is valued, and the social structure has obvious characteristics of a magic civilization. For example, people who can freely manipulate magic have a higher social status.

Although this is a surface civilization, it has a high affinity because it is on the magic side like Gedora, and has a certain connection with the interstellar. Once a strong person reaches a certain level of power, they can apply for Gedora's help to enter the "Upper Realm" – that is, the interstellar space. Such strong people are called Ascendants. There have been hundreds of Ascendants in history, some of whom have disappeared, and some of whom occasionally return, leaving behind communicators. These are the "holy relics" guarded by the National Guardian Magic Division, used to contact the Ascendants.

Not long ago, the Vane Kingdom discovered the conspiracy of the notorious "Pollution Mage" Leizaler. He wanted to use some kind of large-scale magic ritual to draw the Source Water from most of the southern territory, so that he could obtain unparalleled vast magic power. Originally, the magic power of the Source Water is long-lasting. Even if there is some consumption, it will recover in the natural cycle. However, this ritual will plunder all the magic power of the Source Water in an area, and the Source Water that has lost all magic power will take at least hundreds of years to slowly recover. The magic power concentration of the Source Water of the entire planet will be diluted as a result, causing the planet's temperature to drop. Even if the Source Water can circulate, it will take time. This area will lose its blessing and will be covered by frost within a month, becoming a dead place, causing hundreds of thousands of people to become homeless or even die. In the "Ancient Era" a thousand years ago, someone performed the same ritual. This is the cause of Twilight Star's Arctic Wasteland, which has not yet completely thawed. At that time, all the tribes united, killed the culprit after a tragic war, and destroyed the knowledge of the inheritance of this ritual. However, a thousand years later, this ritual appeared again.

Therefore, the Vane Kingdom urgently summoned troops, contacted other countries, and formed an allied army, heading straight to the place where Leizaler held the ritual to prevent Twilight Star from repeating the same mistakes. Moreover, the southern land has fertile soil. If this place is also frozen, it will greatly reduce food production, and thousands more people will starve to death in the future.

Ling Ge's Hanjiao Mercenary Corps accepted the employment of the Ascendants of Twilight Star and came here a few days ago to solve the problem. However, the number of magic golems exceeded expectations, so they had to apply for foreign aid. To their surprise, an unexpectedly powerful mercenary corps was willing to help.

This mercenary corps is a well-known big shot in the industry with a deep background. Edge figures in the mercenary industry like Hanjiao usually have no chance to intersect with such big shots. Now Ling Ge was relieved - with them, this mission was stable.

Time was running out, so Rex did not delay any longer and ordered the allied forces of the various tribes to break camp and set off.

Rumble—

The sound of footsteps and the sound of beast hooves merged into a rolling torrent. The black mass of troops moved and quickly approached the ancient city ruins. From a distance, one could see the dense secret cyan magic colossi in the ruins. They had four arms, held giant axes, and shimmered with magic light. The texture was like rock and like metal, and just looking at them made them seem unshakable.

"Blue Shield Knights, flanking charge!"

Rex pulled down his visor, squeezed his legs, and his knight's mount, a creature called a Ben Beast – snake-necked and horse-bodied with four legs bent backward – roared and rushed out. Three thousand Blue Shield Knights followed closely behind. Facing the magic colossi three times their height, each knight's eyes were filled with fearlessness.

The golems, controlled by someone, quickly formed a formation and collided head-on with the charging knights!

Bang bang bang bang!!

Men were thrown off their mounts, beasts were overturned, and sparks flew everywhere. The scene suddenly became chaotic. Other tribes also joined the battlefield one after another. Knives, swords, and claws struck the golems, making a clanging sound. The roars were louder than alchemical explosive bombs!

Berserkers and knights were holding on in the front line. Warriors were having their bones broken by the golems' giant strength, screaming repeatedly, while the enemy "Polluters" hid behind the golems and released corrosion techniques on the warriors.

Only by destroying all the golems could the blockade array be opened. It often cost thirteen to eighteen elite warriors to destroy one golem by using human lives to fight the golems head-on. Even with the Hanjiao Mercenary Corps using guns and abilities to help, the speed of killing the golems was not fast enough.

The number of golems was more than the estimated eight hundred, simply a wall of despair.

Scarlet blood gradually spread on the green plain, and the twilight sky witnessed this bloody battle.

"Keep charging, don't stop!"

The knights led by Rex had already been reduced by a quarter, and they had also killed the most golems. He had a firm look on his face, went around the battlefield, and charged back again.

A spear pierced the golem's leg, and the exploding enchantment on the tip of the spear burst out, shattering a small piece of the golem's body. One golem could flatten a force of hundreds of ordinary people. The Blue Shield Knights were the elite troops of the Vane Kingdom, and each knight was a warrior with magic, with strength far exceeding ordinary people. Such heavy battle damage was already a great loss of vitality.

At the same time, in an artificially excavated space underground in the ancient city ruins, there was a huge altar with a strange shape. Countless black-clothed cultists were praying in low voices, pouring magic power into the altar's magic array.

In the middle of the altar was an elderly Vane person wearing a bright red gorgeous robe. This person was Leizaler. A golden-framed mirror floated beside him, applying the [Clairvoyance Technique]. The mirror displayed the war overhead from a bird's-eye view.

"These idiots, they really fell for your trick. Those golems are specially used to consume them. Our magic array is hidden in the ground of the plain, and the blood is introduced here. Only enough blood as fuel can activate the ritual. Hehe, you tied the blockade array to the golems. It's really a wonderful idea, forcing them to fight the golems head-on."

A high-level cultist said flatteringly below the altar.

Leizaler nodded and asked lightly, "How much blood is still needed?"

"If we fight for another hour, there will be enough fuel to start the altar. You will become the master of magic, the strongest mage in history!" The senior cultist had a fanatical look on his face.

"The strongest, hehe..." Leizaler looked at him with pity, shook his head, and muttered to himself, "Twenty years of preparation, it's finally going to succeed. I've been stuck at this level for so many years. This is the limit of my talent. As long as I cross this step, I can go to the Upper Realm..."

……

The ground battle lasted for almost an hour. In order to save time, the army almost abandoned defense. Under their crazy attacks, half of the golems were blown up, and all the enemy Polluters were killed in battle, but the warriors also suffered heavy casualties, and blood flowed like a river. The remaining people were exhausted, and the battle damage soared at an alarming rate.

"Hold on, at this rate, we can stop the ritual in time!" Rex shouted loudly, boosting morale.

At this moment, his head felt a chill, and a golem approached him, its giant axe chopping down.

Boom!

Rex hurriedly pounced out, and the Ben Beast in its original place was split in half by an axe. The axe blade was embedded in the ground, and the Ben Beast's blood and internal organs flowed all over the ground. If he hadn't dodged, that would have been his fate.

Before he could feel afraid, the golem strode over with its axe, and its shadow enveloped Rex's head. The axe was raised high.

Rex felt a sharp pain in his leg. He had been swept just now. His face was covered with sweat, and he tried his best to stand up.

At the critical moment, he suddenly noticed that the shadow under his feet seemed to be expanding, followed by an increasingly loud scream.

Bang!!

An alloy orbital drop pod crashed down, just next to the golem, and the air wave swept the golem and Rex away.

Dong dong dong...

Then there was a series of landing sounds, and several drop pods of the same style landed around.

Chih—

The hatch opened, and a group of warriors wearing heavy steel armor filed out. The leader was a human man in a black trench coat, wearing many spherical ornaments, curiously looking around.

"Are these people perhaps the new reinforcements from the upper realm?" Even though Rex had a calm personality, his eyes could not help but flicker with surprise.

At this moment, the golem ran towards the human man, and the axe suddenly chopped down. Rex subconsciously wanted to shout a reminder, but the next scene made him swallow his words.

The man raised his hand, his wrist sank slightly, and he easily grasped the axe that could split a Ben Beast in half, and raised an eyebrow.

"Whoa, this planet is welcoming guests in a very enthusiastic way... We're here just in time. Don't just stand there, get to work."

Ling Ge, who was fighting hard, looked over and immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"They're finally here, the Black Star Mercenary Corps."