Chapter 716: Mechanical War Planet

Chapter 716: Mechanical War Planet

The Samsara Time Realm, once a proud trump card for Song Chi due to its golden sacred domain quality, had now been relegated to a second-rate technique.

However, as an eighth-rank ability, it still played a significant role in countering the several eighth-rank attacks hurtling from below. The tenfold maximum time flow effect was currently only slowing time by less than threefold, but this was enough to ensure that the final doomsday thunderbolt struck the city shield, which had already dimmed to its limit. <|im_end|>

After a deafening explosion, the city shield shattered, leaving Truth Holy City exposed to Song Chi's view.

However, before entering the city, he needed to deal with the three Eighth-Rank Truth Mechanical Behemoths within.

With the intention of making the most of his time, the Market of All Heavens Projection, Asura Emperor, Eighth-Rank Black Devourer Beast, and Skygale of Tianxu itself all acted in unison.

Despite the truth floating land's core will enhancing their power, the three Eighth-Rank Truth Mechanical Behemoths proved difficult to defeat, dragging the battle on for nearly two hours. During this time, Song Chi consumed three silver artifacts and summoned the Market of All Heavens Projection four times to finally eliminate all three behemoths.

The only good news was that the return of the Patriarch of Veritas was not imminent. By the time Song Chi had completely dealt with the Eighth-Rank Truth Mechanical Behemoths, the Skygale of Tianxu successfully entered Truth Holy City.

Unlike the southern 101 cities, Truth Holy City had only two Seventh-Rank Veritas Mechanical Behemoth Production Lines, which were located very close to the Veritas Treasury. This allowed Song Chi to focus on both targets simultaneously.

As the Skygale of Tianxu landed, the ship's doors opened, and the Sovereign-Class Abyss Devil, recalled through the Market of All Heavens, reappeared, leading hundreds of Raidstar Clan slaves towards one of the three Seventh-Rank Veritas Mechanical Behemoth Production Lines.

A Seventh-Rank production line produced far more mechanical constructs than a Sixth-Rank one. With the Patriarch of Veritas potentially returning at any moment, Song Chi needed to dismantle one complete Seventh-Rank production line as quickly as possible. If he had extra time, he could then consider the other two lines.

As for himself, he immediately focused on the Veritas Treasury.

As the nominal first treasure vault of a top-tier advanced civilization, its allure was undeniable.

However, entering the Veritas Treasury was not so simple. The vault was protected by a powerful energy shield. With "Starlight Flash Spirit Evasion" still on cooldown, the only way to enter was to shatter the shield with brute force.

Song Chi did not hesitate. He used another silver artifact to recharge his Market Projection Token and summoned the Market of All Heavens Projection once more.

After over eighty years of covert gathering, the number of silver artifacts in the Market Curio Exchange Shop had surged to over two hundred, leaving Song Chi with no qualms about using them.

No matter how strong the outer defense of the Veritas Treasury was, it could not match the city shield's resilience. Under the continuous attacks of the near-ninth-rank Market of All Heavens Projection, the shield lasted less than two minutes.

With the energy shield gone, the Skygale of Tianxu finally entered the Veritas Treasury.

Song Chi's eyes gleamed with excitement. Even after witnessing countless high-tier Star Sea artifacts and rare resources, the contents of the Veritas Treasury still gave him a great surprise.

Unlike the high-level mechanical cities and the vaults of the southern 101 cities, the items in the Veritas Treasury were meticulously organized. Whether it was Star Sea artifacts, various mineral resources, or Floating Continent spirit items, everything was neatly categorized and well-arranged.

Song Chi's first glance inside the secret vault captured the area where various rare spirit items were stored.

[Sacred Spirit Peach]

[Crimson Blood Ginseng]

[Chi Dragon Jili Wood]

[Ten-Million-Year Earth Marrow Crystal]

[Earth Mother Qi]

[Extreme Cold Water]

...

Just the dozen or so spirit items that Song Chi recognized were all treasures that could make even a Star Sea Overlord covet.

Take the [Sacred Spirit Peach], for example. It was a rare spirit fruit with effects a hundred times stronger than the [Crimson Blood Peach] cultivated in the Secret Realm by the Skygale of Tianxu. Even for his current Seventh-Rank Guidance Technique, it could provide significant assistance.

The [Crimson Blood Ginseng] was particularly effective for those who focused on enhancing their physical body and blood, as well as their perception of the Bloodline Law.

The [Ten-Million-Year Earth Marrow Crystal] was an excellent resource for promoting the evolution of a blood creature's life essence. The Song Family had once obtained one, and it was used when the Ancestral Guidance Technique broke through to the Seventh Rank.

The [Earth Mother Qi] greatly enhanced the understanding of the Earth Law, making it incredibly valuable.

The [Extreme Cold Water] was a heavenly spirit water. Blood creatures who perceived the Water Law could attempt to fuse with it. Once successful, each of their attacks would carry the extreme cold attribute, significantly boosting their combat power.

Song Chi valued the [Sacred Spirit Peach] the most. His Guidance Technique's progress had slowed, and although he had barely broken through to Level 73, the difficulty of advancing further was daunting. The [Sacred Spirit Peach] could be just what he needed.

He collected all twelve Sacred Spirit Peaches.

He didn't overlook the other rare spirit items, either, absorbing them all into his warship.

Next, he moved to the mineral resource storage area, where the most valuable item was over ten thousand tons of Truth Iii Alloy.

This super alloy was essential for manufacturing Eighth-Rank Truth Mechanical Behemoths, boasting the terrifying strength of the Eighth Rank and immense value.

Additionally, Song Chi discovered over a hundred tons of the higher-grade Truth IV Alloy, which he speculated was related to Ninth-Rank Truth Mechanical Behemoths, though the quantity was not significant.

After moving these two incredibly valuable super alloys to the Market of All Heavens, Song Chi's gaze continued to scan the vast mineral resource area.

At one moment, a glint of joy appeared in his eyes, even more intense than when he saw the [Sacred Spirit Peach].

"It's a piece of Dragon Blood Gold. This is one of the special resources required for the Annihilator Ship to advance to the Galactic Ship level."

Carefully storing the Dragon Blood Gold, Song Chi noticed that the original mineral storage area contained billions of tons of various high-quality ores, all of which were premium resources. However, he only released three void shadow assassin golems with brainwave imprints, each holding a [Market Projection Token] to transport these resources.

He then took control of the warship and headed to the Star Sea Oddities storage area.

The Veritas Treasury housed an enormous number of Star Sea Oddities, estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands, creating a colorful and dazzling display.

What was crucial was that there were no white-quality oddities; the lowest quality was blue, with blue, purple, and orange oddities totaling no less than thirty thousand. Silver-quality oddities numbered in the hundreds, and there were thirty-two gold-quality oddities, with six black-quality oddities as well.

Unfortunately, even in the [Patriarch of Veritas]'s stronghold, there were no Colored Myth Oddities.

However, the core of the Truth Floating Land beneath his feet might contain a Colored Myth Oddity.

However, the core was guarded by nearly a dozen Eighth-Rank Truth Mechanical Behemoths. Although Song Chi had intended to infiltrate and investigate, he never found the opportunity.

During the previous Black Tooth Clan Ancestral Land incident, they had not obtained the clan's foundational oddities. The Black Tooth Clan had already separated them before most of their Eighth-Rank Serpent Demon ancestors joined the front lines. So, if he had the chance, Song Chi would definitely explore the core to see if he could obtain another Colored Myth Oddity, which would greatly benefit the entire family.

Of course, now is far from the best time.

There are still countless treasures for him to plunder in this Truth Holy City, and the three Seventh-Rank Veritas Mechanical Behemoth Production Lines are far from fully dismantled...

Just as Song Chi was rapidly collecting the hundreds of thousands of strange artifacts before him, he suddenly heard the call of the Abyssal Demon.

This time, the Abyssal Demon's call was extremely urgent, the first time it had shown such distress since ascending to the seventh rank. Understanding that something important must have happened, Song Chi did not hesitate. After collecting all the artifacts, he immediately turned the Skygale of Tianxu and headed back toward the secret vault.

He did not recall the Void Shadow Assassin Golems, allowing them to continue leading some of the enslaved creatures to gather the mineral resources.

Following the Abyssal Demon's guidance, the Skygale of Tianxu rushed into one of the three large mechanical manufacturing and assembly bases.

As he had guessed, these three large bases housed the three complete Seventh-Rank Veritas Mechanical Behemoth Production Lines.

However, what had caused the Abyssal Demon's urgent summons was not these production lines. When he reached deep into the alloy base, Song Chi saw the Abyssal Demon standing guard at the entrance to a giant, dark tunnel.

The tunnel sloped downward, leading to beneath the Truth Holy City. The Sovereign-Class Abyss Devil pointed straight into the dark tunnel, indicating the reason for his urgent call to Song Chi.

Or rather, the secret hidden deep within the tunnel.

According to the Abyssal Demon, it had already dispatched two sixth-rank Raizan Clan members into the tunnel, but both soon lost contact. Based on the intermittent messages from one of the sixth-rank Raizan Clan members, there was an Eighth-Rank Truth Mechanical Behemoth deep within the tunnel.

Song Chi did not summon the Asura Emperor or the Shadow Devourer King. Instead, he once again summoned the Market of All Heavens Projection.

Under the cover of Purple Mist Energy, the Skygale of Tianxu slowly moved deeper into the dark tunnel.

While the Asura Emperor and the Eighth-Rank Black Devourer Beast were powerful, they still fell short compared to the Market of All Heavens projection. In the face of the unknown dangers deep in the tunnel, Song Chi was not about to hesitate to use a silver artifact.

The tunnel was filled with strong interference waves, even affecting the Heavenly Eye's detection capabilities, making it difficult to gather much useful information.

This was one of the main reasons Song Chi had directly summoned the Market of All Heavens projection. The intense interference waves, combined with the information from the Raizan Clan member about the Eighth-Rank Truth Mechanical Behemoth, made Song Chi instinctively feel that a great secret lay deep within the tunnel.

Time passed, and the Skygale of Tianxu continued to descend.

Although he encountered no immediate danger, Song Chi never stopped summoning the Market of All Heavens projection. Each time a Market Projection Token was about to expire, he would activate another one. After activating the projection five times in succession, the Skygale of Tianxu finally reached the deepest part of the tunnel.

In stark contrast to the dark tunnel, the moment the Skygale of Tianxu emerged, it found itself in a vast, brightly lit underground factory.

Song Chi had initially thought this might be the only production line capable of mass-producing Eighth-Rank mechanical behemoths. However, as his gaze swept across the area, his heart pounded.

Unlike the Eighth-Rank Truth Mechanical Behemoth he had expected, deep within the underground factory, numerous mechanical beings were working to dismantle a massive, metallic, spherical construct.

The size of this mechanical sphere was staggering, with a diameter that exceeded the million-kilometer length of an Eighth-Rank Star Beast by several dozen times.

Imagine a spherical mechanical fortress with a diameter of several million kilometers, entirely made of super alloys. The sheer impact of such a sight was overwhelming!

Moreover, when Song Chi turned his attention back to the spherical mechanical fortress, no matter from what angle he observed it, it increasingly resembled the Ember Human Civilization's mobile battle stars. However, it far surpassed them in terms of size, defensive capabilities, and the sense of overwhelming presence.

At the thought, a sudden notion sprang into Song Chi's mind.

Ninth-Rank Combat Unit —— Mechanical Fortress / Mechanical Warstar

No matter how one looked at it, it was hard to equate this super mechanical fortress or warstar with Eighth-Rank combat power. Its diameter stretched to nearly ten million kilometers, and the surface of the warstar shone with the luster of Truth IV alloy. The massive cannon, deliberately left in place and already partially installed at the front of the warstar, all seemed to silently convey to Song Chi that this was a genuine Ninth-Rank combat unit, not an Eighth-Rank one.

A myriad of thoughts raced through Song Chi's mind.

Ultimately, he became increasingly certain of his idea.

Based on the information he had about Veritas Mechanica, it had been two hundred thousand years since the [Patriarch of Veritas] created the three Ninth-Rank Truth Mechanical Behemoths: Dominating Sky, World Destroyer, and Chi Tiger. Although the Civilization War with the Stellar Giant Ape Civilization had lasted over a hundred thousand years, consuming a vast amount of Veritas Mechanica's resources and energy, the fact that the [Patriarch of Veritas] had secretly manufactured a fourth Ninth-Rank Combat Unit over two hundred thousand years was not entirely implausible.

With this in mind, Song Chi felt more and more confident that his thoughts were correct.

Despite the myriad of thoughts swirling in his head, it all happened in an instant. In the blink of an eye, Song Chi had already reacted.

【Neutron Star Core Armor】· "High-Energy Particle Storm"!

As this characteristic ability activated, an infinite stream of high-energy particles erupted from the Skygale of Tianxu and rapidly spread throughout the entire underground space. These high-energy particles carried a significant amount of Rage energy and were accompanied by a high-energy particle magnetic field, making them the ultimate bane for the silicon-based mechanical life forms.

In a short time, the mechanical beings, which had been rapidly dismantling the mechanical warstar due to the external invasion, seemed to enter a state of silence, each one oddly frozen in place.

Seizing this opportunity, Song Chi released all the enslaved creatures that had not yet been summoned from the warship. He then summoned the Abyssal Demon to bring over all the Raidstar Clan members who were dismantling the Seventh-Rank Truth Mechanical Behemoth production line.

A Ninth-Rank Mechanical Warstar, with its construction nearing 80% completion, was worth far more than the combined value of three Seventh-Rank Truth Mechanical Behemoth production lines. Moreover, during the past period, thousands of Raidstar Clan slaves had been working at full speed to dismantle and transport the first Seventh-Rank Truth Mechanical Behemoth production line, which had already been fully disassembled and delivered to the Pantheon Market.

Under Song Chi's command, the continuously arriving enslaved creatures began to clear out the mechanical beings whose bodies were now uncontrollable. The duration of the "High-Energy Particle Storm" was not infinite, and to ensure a thorough dismantling of the mechanical warstar, it was best to clear out all the mechanical beings first.

Thanks to the large number and powerful strength of Song Chi's enslaved creatures, as well as the assistance of two Eighth-Rank enslaved beings, the tens of thousands of mechanical beings in the underground space, including the Eighth-Rank Truth Mechanical Behemoth, were almost entirely eliminated before the "High-Energy Particle Storm" dissipated.

With this step completed, the enslaved creatures began to dismantle the partially constructed mechanical warstar at full speed.

Interestingly, Song Chi did not have the Asura Emperor and the Eighth-Rank Black Devourer Beast join in the dismantling. Instead, he recalled them to the Skygale of Tianxu immediately after the "High-Energy Particle Storm" ended.

'If my guess is correct, and this suspected mechanical warstar is indeed the fourth Ninth-Rank Combat Unit created by the [Patriarch of Veritas], he will undoubtedly do everything to return as quickly as possible...'

'As the final trump card against the Stellar Giant Ape Civilization, the importance of this mechanical warstar likely surpasses even the entire Truth Floating Land...'

As these thoughts raced through his mind, Song Chi closed his eyes to rest. If his suspicions were true, the final battle was not far off. Before then, both the Skygale of Tianxu and his own mental state needed to be restored to their peak.

...

At the same time, deep within a crater on the Truth Floating Land.

In the space containing the Floating Continent's core, deep within the earth's core, a massive light orb, as large as an Annihilator Ship, emitted a tri-color glow.

More than a dozen Eighth-Rank Truth Mechanical Behemoths stood guard here, ensuring the Core Space was defended without a single leak.

At one moment, a tricolor radiance surged from the Floating Continent's core, followed by intense spatial fluctuations within the Core Space.

Upon seeing this, the dozen Eighth-Rank Truth Mechanical Behemoths scattered, and soon a towering mechanical figure, over ten million kilometers tall, emerged from the center of the space.

"True Father!"

As the dozen Eighth-Rank Truth Mechanical Behemoths chorused their mechanical reverence, the majestic figure merely nodded gently.

However, a red beam soon shot from His head, and a cold, mechanical voice echoed throughout the Core Space.

"All sins shall be judged by the truth. Follow me back to the Holy City to end the malicious invaders!"

"As you command, True Father!"

...

Rumbling!

In the subterranean world, Song Chi, aboard the Skygale of Tianxu, which was quietly suspended, suddenly opened his eyes.

The distant rumbling above and the messages from his puppet soldiers in the outside world confirmed that the Patriarch of Veritas had officially returned.

With no intention of hiding, the Skygale of Tianxu's engines roared, and it sped through the tunnel back to the outside world.

By the time it burst out of the Seventh-Rank Truth Mechanical Behemoth production facility, Song Chi saw a dozen colossal figures blocking the sky above.

He ignored the thirteen Eighth-Rank Mechanical Behemoths and fixed his gaze on the central super mechanical giant.

Ding ding ding!

Before he could say anything, the skybrain alerted him to an incoming communication request.

However, Song Chi did not choose to answer.

He had not forgotten his primary purpose for coming to Veritas Mechanica.

A high-tier detection artifact of the chromatic level, though he did not yet have a clear understanding of the chromatic high-tier Eye of Veritas, he was well aware of the immense power of the chronal chessboard aboard his ship.

If he were to connect the communication, even with the Flame-Ember Starship's absolute isolation, Song Chi feared that the Eye of Veritas' powerful detection capabilities might pierce through all the information of the Skygale of Tianxu.

He did not hesitate to treat such a high-tier detection artifact with the utmost caution.

One must not forget that Veritas Mechanica had been in an absolute disadvantage for tens of thousands of years. What had allowed Veritas Mechanica to persist until now?

As a top-tier advanced civilization, the Stellar Giant Ape Civilization surely knew the principle of pressing an advantage. The only plausible explanation was that the Patriarch of Veritas, with the aid of the Eye of Veritas, had consistently detected and thwarted every move of the Stellar Giant Ape Civilization, enabling Veritas Mechanica to hold on.

Even if this were not the case, the importance of the Eye of Veritas was undoubtedly significant. In such a situation, Song Chi would not give the other side any opportunity.

Although he did not connect the communication, the Patriarch of Veritas did not give up.

He did not send another communication request but instead spoke directly, his familiar mechanical voice echoing over the Truth Holy City.

"Captain of the Annihilator Ship from the Ember Human Civilization..."

The first words out of the other party's mouth sent a slight shock through Song Chi's mind.

From the other's words, it was clear that the Patriarch of Veritas was no stranger to the Ember Human Civilization. He not only recognized the origin of the Skygale of Tianxu but also knew its designation as an Annihilator Ship within the Flame-Ember Starship system.

However, this shock did not last long, and Song Chi quickly regained his composure.

The Ember Human Civilization was never an obscure entity. Though both it and Veritas Mechanica were top-tier advanced civilizations, the Ember Human Civilization was widely recognized by countless civilizations in the fractured Star Sea as a Quasi-Sovereign Civilization, just a step away from becoming a Sovereign Civilization, far surpassing Veritas Mechanica.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end