C21 Fight!

Hundreds of skill attacks tore through the sky, hurtling toward the Combat Robots' Energy Shield with a howl. Alas, these untamed creatures lacked training, and their haphazard skill deployment led to numerous mid-air collisions and explosions, drastically reducing the number of attacks that actually reached the Combat Robots' Energy Shield by nearly half.

In the Lord Hall, Wang Changqing could barely contain his laughter as he observed the battle through a Nano Reconnaissance Robot. "Rafe, are they trying to be funny? Ahahaha..."

"Master," Rafe replied, devoid of amusement, "based on the Energy Shield's impact feedback and the Nano Reconnaissance Robot's intelligence analysis, there's a 70% chance that the third wave of attacks will breach the Defender's Energy Shield."

Rafe, the Mechanical Butler, was clearly not in the mood for banter with Wang Changqing, instead delivering some rather grim news. "Order the Defender's Combat Robots to hold against the second wave of attacks, then retreat to the second defensive position."

The clash raged on at the outskirts of Dawn Territory. The Combat Robots, retreating at full speed, had reached the second defensive line, where the Mechanical Legion's firepower once again peaked, stalling the beasts' charge.

As another group of Combat Robots fell back to the second line of defense, a Wild Beast at the vanguard managed to claw at the Defender's Energy Shield. Unfortunately for the beast, its strike was futile; it was promptly riddled with bullets from the Defenders' self-defense machine guns.

The beasts that followed slammed into the Energy Shield, sending waves rippling across its surface. The battle escalated to an intense fever pitch, with the Defender's Energy Shield enduring both the Wild Beasts' physical onslaught and the barrage of skills raining down from above.

As more Wild Beasts came within striking distance, the ferocity of their skill attacks grew. Despite many skills being neutralized by mid-air collisions, the sheer volume of attacks meant an increasing number were hitting their mark against the Energy Shield.

With the Defender's Energy Shield teetering on the brink of collapse, Rafe, acting on the prearranged tactics with Wang Changqing, issued a command. Upon receiving Rafe's directive, the Combat Robots swiftly divided into two groups: one remained to hold the line, while the other quickly deactivated the Energy Shield and retreated at top speed to the second defensive position.

Half of the Defender Combat Robots had withdrawn, causing the Energy Shield's strength to plummet. When the Defenders had covered a third of their retreat, the Energy Shield shattered under the relentless assault of the Wild Beasts, dissolving into a shower of light.

The Defenders, stripped of their protective shield, cranked their Power Furnaces to full throttle. Instead of falling back, they charged, scattering to mount a counteroffensive against the Wild Beasts. Yet, the Defender Combat Robots were not designed for close combat and were soon torn to shreds by the beasts.

But these robots were not living beings. When a Defender was trampled by a wild creature, a violent explosion erupted beneath the creature's feet, obliterating the unsuspecting Level-7 beast in an instant.

Explosions ripped through the ranks of the Wild Beasts continuously, some from the Destroyers' fragmentation missiles, others from the self-destructing Defenders.

The Defenders' countercharge only delayed a fraction of the Wild Beasts. The majority stormed past the former site of the Energy Shield and breached the Mechanical Legion's first line of defense.

As one-tenth of the Wild Beasts overran the first line, a massive explosion transformed the area into an inferno, severing the horde in two.

The vast firestorm halted the advance of the Wild Beasts. Some attempted to skirt the flames, but the fire's breadth was immense. It would take them at least two minutes to circumvent it, and in that time, the Destroyers could deplete several magazines, inflicting thousands of casualties.

By the time the sea of fire was quenched by the beasts' relentless skills, the decimated tenth that had crossed the first line lay in pieces under the Mechanical Legion's barrage.

"Roar!" The Level-10 Centaur Leader, unable to contain his fury any longer, hurled his spear made of an unknown material. It sliced through the two-kilometer distance and violently struck the Energy Shield that the Defenders had reactivated.

The shield held for a mere two breaths before the spear tore through it, impaling a Butcher Combat Robot that had been firing away, pinning it to the ground.

The spear hurled by the Level-10 Centaur Leader startled Wang Changqing, who was remotely observing the battle from the Lord Hall. It was his first encounter with the formidable strength of a Level-10 powerhouse.

But he quickly regained his composure, bolstered by the massive experience points he'd amassed from a succession of intense battles. His advancement to Level-9 was imminent, and with that milestone in sight, Level-10 didn't seem too far off.

"Rafe, stick to the plan!" he commanded.

The energy shield, breached by the Centaur Leader's spear, was swiftly restored thanks to the diligent efforts of the Defender. The conflict raged on, with the wild beasts paying dearly in blood for each step they took. Wang Changqing's engineering machinery fleet had been shuttling back and forth, delivering ammunition. Today's consumption was more than double the previous total, and the experience points he was racking up were just as plentiful.

Victory in this war promised a windfall of experience points, enough to catapult him to the mid-stage of Level-9. Dumping the entire haul of Advanced Beast Meat onto the trading market of the Lord of the Blue Planet could slash its price by half. And that didn't even account for the vast quantities of Soul Crystals and the veritable mountains of Advanced Magic Cores he would gain.

The mere thought of the substantial rewards from a successful campaign made Wang Changqing's grin uncontrollably wide. If a mirror were present, he'd fervently deny that the man grinning like a fool was him.

After a fierce skirmish, the beast horde closed in on the Mechanical Legion once more. This time, however, the Legion didn't leave any units behind; they opted for a full retreat, including the Defender and Combat Robots.

Despite being a Mechanical Legion, their firepower inevitably diminished during the withdrawal, allowing the beasts to accelerate their advance and narrow the gap with the retreating machines.