Chapter 473: The Sense of Security Brought by Captain Zhou

Clack, clack...

The heavy grinding of massive mechanical gears echoed from within the enormous palace.

Two intertwined divine auras erupted outward, their crushing pressure sweeping over them like a tangible tidal wave.

Everyone felt their chests tighten, as if an invisible hand were crushing their hearts, and their legs grew involuntarily weak.

In the face of divine might, even a Saint Grade expert felt as insignificant as an ant.

"Damn it, it found us!" the Lord of Dawn said, his expression hardening. Vibrant floral patterns suddenly surfaced on his pale, handsome face, spreading wildly from the corners of his eyes.

"Then we fight!" the Lord of Primal Desolation roared. Mechanical gears thundered inside his body, and jets of white steam vented from beneath his metallic skin.

"With the Divine Corpse right in front of us, there's no turning back! Success or failure all comes down to this!"

He bellowed boldly, swinging his four arms. "Everyone, charge!"

Everyone fell silent.

You shouted with such passionate urgency, just to make us charge in??

But this was exactly why they had been brought along. Faced with two fused Divine Corpses, the leaders naturally needed their subordinates to test the waters first.

Trembling with fear, the vanguard had no choice but to charge.

They rushed down the mountain toward the palace.

The grinding of gears inside the palace grew deafening. With a massive crash, the mechanical gates burst open, billowing thick clouds of white steam.

Through the swirling vapor emerged a horde of bronze Mechanical Arhats. They bore majestic expressions, their bodies a grotesque fusion of living flesh and cold machinery. Countless tiny bronze gears were embedded in their abdomens, and where their eyes should have been, vibrant, bewitching flowers bloomed instead.

They surged forward like lightning, instantly clashing with the vanguard.

A barrage of varied Transcendent abilities slammed into the Mechanical Arhats, constantly knocking them back and knocking them down...

Yet, bizarrely, even when half their bodies were blown away, their flesh and machinery would wriggle and surge together in the next moment, rapidly regenerating the missing parts.

Machinery regenerating like living flesh?

Taking in the grotesque sight, a faint smile tugged at the corners of Su Mu's lips. Granting machinery the properties of living tissue—was this the ability of a God? Interesting!

He joined the fray as well, though he didn't attack directly. Instead, he relied on his divine taboo objects.

If he unleashed his own power recklessly, the two Saint Lords would immediately sense something amiss and his cover would be blown, so he chose to use divine taboo objects.

Suddenly, a faint spark ignited within the Bronze Incense Burner. The sandalwood formed from the flesh and blood of Zhou Qiong and the others was lit, releasing curling green smoke. Within that smoke, the massive, spectral silhouette of the Carrion Buddha slowly solidified.

The Buddha opened its eyes, and the Carrion Buddha completely materialized. Stepping out of the green smoke, it crashed heavily onto the ground, making the entire earth tremble slightly.

At that moment, dozens of Mechanical Arhats violently flung their arms wide and their bodies locked rigid. The high-speed gears spinning in their abdomens instantly tore out of their bodies, hurtling toward the vanguard like rotating artillery shells.

The vanguard's expressions warped in horror. The kinetic energy carried by the spinning mechanical gears faintly distorted the surrounding void.

"Get behind me!"

Under Su Mu's control, the massive Carrion Buddha blocked the path in front of everyone.

Squelch...

The sound of gears biting into meat rang out continuously, the razor-sharp teeth sending the Carrion Buddha's flesh and blood spraying in all directions.

Looking up at the elderly figure standing tall on the Carrion Buddha's shoulder, the vanguard felt a look of profound gratitude surface in their eyes.

The Saint Lords they had served for years had ordered them to their deaths, yet Captain Zhou, a man they had only met once, stepped forward in a moment of danger and shielded them behind him. The difference in character was obvious at a glance!

Atop the Carrion Buddha's shoulder, Su Mu spread his hands, and a black umbrella and a bone fan materialized in his grasp. He opened the Dark Night Umbrella, and tangible darkness protected his entire body like a black veil.

With his other hand, he swung the Netherbone Fan, and a bone-chilling nether wind suddenly ripped through the world. Carrying the agonizing wails of tormented ghosts, it howled toward the Mechanical Arhats.

With three divine taboo objects deployed at once, the crushing pressure on the group instantly eased.

Wielding three divine taboo objects, Su Mu had suddenly become the strongest combatant in their ranks!

High on the mountain peak, the two Saint Lords continued to observe. Even though they could have annihilated these Mechanical Arhats with a wave of their hands, they did not strike, because they knew the true master of the ruins had yet to appear.

Thus, they didn't want to waste a single ounce of their strength. When the decisive moment came, even a fraction of extra energy could become the key to victory.

Looking at "Zhou Qiong" sheltering the others behind him, a flicker of appreciation crossed the Lord of Dawn's eyes. He wasn't admiring Su Mu's actions, but rather his strength.

To be a Saint Grade expert capable of deploying three divine taboo objects simultaneously without fearing the backlash—this "Zhou Qiong" possessed an incredibly deep foundation even among his Saint Grade peers.

He felt it was an incredibly correct choice to let "Zhou Qiong" lead the vanguard. Experienced and possessing a deep foundation, he was more willing to exert himself at critical moments than his own subordinates. It seemed that aside from being a bit greedy, this man really had no major flaws.

Now that he thought about it, greed wasn't really a flaw at all. As a realm master, his greatest fear was a subordinate with no desires, not one with ambitions. After all, those with desires were easier to control.

If they successfully secured the Divine Corpse Puzzle of the Merciful Holy Mother of Myriad Blossoms, and if this Zhou Qiong also survived, he would be well worth nurturing, the Lord of Dawn mused silently.

Clack, clack...

The grinding of gears echoed from the palace once more, and more and more Mechanical Arhats poured out of the grand gates.

The pressure on everyone multiplied instantly, and casualties even began to mount. The first to die was naturally the weakest among them: Chu Ying.

"Ah!"

Covered in grime and blood, Chu Ying stumbled and collapsed in a sheer panic. A Mechanical Arhat raised its massive arm and brought it slamming down, reducing Chu Ying to a puddle of pulverized meat in an instant.

"Chu Ying!"

"Zhou Qiong" stared with eyes splitting with rage. He reached out a hand to protect her, but it ultimately fell limp. In the end, he could only vent his full grief and fury onto the Mechanical Arhats.

Meanwhile, in the Dream Space, Chu Ying embarrassedly covered her small face. The Captain's deeply emotional acting was a bit too difficult for her to look at directly.

More and more people were being injured. Even a Saint Grade expert like Yan Ming was struggling to fend off so many Mechanical Arhats.

Crash!

A flesh-covered mechanical arm slammed violently into his chest, sending him flying backward. His chest caved in drastically, and the blood he spewed was mixed with shattered organ fragments.

He didn't even have time to catch his breath, because the moment he hit the ground, two Mechanical Arhats had already reached his side, their thick mechanical arms swinging down toward his head.

A look of utter despair crossed Yan Ming's face. My life is over!

Right as his life was hanging by a thread, a black umbrella plummeted from the sky. Boom!!

It completely blocked the Mechanical Arhats' attacks.

Yan Ming stared blankly at the elderly back in front of him. His thin frame stood exceptionally straight as he held the black umbrella aloft with a single hand, standing before him like an impenetrable mountain.

Outside the umbrella, battle cries, agonizing screams, and the sounds of fighting rang out endlessly.

Beneath the umbrella was like another world entirely—quiet and peaceful—making an overwhelming sense of security uncontrollably swell up in the bottom of Yan Ming's heart.

"Zhou..." he rasped, opening his mouth to speak, but an elderly voice rang out.

"Chu Ying is dead. I failed to protect her. Now... I don't want anyone else dying in front of me," Su Mu said without looking back.