Chapter 6: Fierce and Intense Battle: The Skyblade’s Strategic Shift
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He Feng straightened his posture, his left palm charred black, a sharp pain causing his brow to furrow slightly. Along his waist, the silver armor bore a deep white scorch mark left by intense heat, throbbing faintly. His gaze swept over five shredded corpses on the ground and one mistakenly slain comrade’s body; his eyes showed no flicker of emotion, only a deeper chill.
“Advance!” His voice came through the communication channel, steady yet tinged with a barely perceptible hoarseness and the weary scrape of metal.
But the Second Legion’s vanguard had struck an invisible wall of despair. Their advance, once a furious charge, had slowed to a grueling crawl. Every meter gained demanded more blood and time.
“The vanguard formation cannot be maintained! All ships report damage! Assault fleet losses exceed thirty percent! Battleship group’s firepower severely suppressed!” Rayne’s voice carried urgency.
He Feng’s eyes scanned the holographic star map. The signal cluster representing the Second Legion had its sharp spearhead utterly enveloped and drowned by countless white dots symbolizing the Seraphim. The entire formation was crushed into a massive, silver sphere relentlessly battered by enemy forces!
And the distance to the Celestial Blade was like a vast chasm.
“General! Too many enemies! We’re completely surrounded!” A bloodied sub-fleet commander screamed over the comms, explosions and agonized cries in the background.
He Feng looked at the golden dot representing the Celestial Blade, then at the compressed cluster of their own signals pressed to the limit, and finally at the still chaotic yet resisting signals of the Radiant Celestial Palace far off.
He took a deep breath and made a reluctant decision. His cold voice cut through all hesitation:
“Cease the attack! All units, heed command—reform the formation! ‘Immovable Mountain’! Hold the line and await reinforcements! Buy time for the Celestial Palace King!”
“Yes! Reform formation! ‘Immovable Mountain’!” The order spread swiftly.
The Second Legion soldiers, already barely holding under relentless assault, heard the command as if finding a steadfast anchor. The attacking spearhead instantly dissolved, replaced by an extreme contraction and defense.
The scattered fleet of warships recoiled like a retreating tide, converging and linking around the Brightness as their core!
Assault ships drew back to the perimeter, their heavy armor and remaining energy shields forming the first barrier;
Battleships fell back to inner layers, their gun barrels still vigilant, ready to clear overly dense enemy clusters with main batteries;
Displaced soldiers took cover among wreckage and allied armor, forming small defensive circles.
He Feng himself stood like a moving fortress at the heavily damaged bow of the Brightness—the fiercest point of the Seraphim’s attack!
The Sword of Dominion danced in his hands, no longer the sharp spearhead of charge but a deathly web impervious to breach.
Blocks, parries, countershocks, and precise ripostes! His swordsmanship instantly shifted from supreme offense to supreme defense!
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The metallic roar of collisions sounded like a sudden storm. Countless fiery swords aimed at vital ship points and attempting to flank were deftly parried and knocked away.
His figure moved swiftly within the cramped bow, leaving afterimages—it seemed as if several He Fengs wielded the sword at once!
Each block added fresh scorch marks or dents to his silver armor; the burning wound on his left palm continuously drained his strength.
The Seraphim warriors, maddened and heedless of casualties, surged wave after wave into this death zone guarded by He Feng.
They trampled over fallen comrades, snarling as they lunged forward, their fiery swords blazing like red death rays.
One Seraphim warrior’s fiery blade was parried by He Feng’s longsword, leaving her exposed. She did not retreat; instead, she spread her arms wide, grinning savagely as she charged, attempting to lock his arm with her body!
At the same time, she shrieked: “For Queen Kesha! Sisters! Kill him!”
He Feng’s eyes froze cold. Rather than retreat, he advanced, his shoulder crashing hard into her chest!
Crack!
A sickening sound of bone breaking rang out. The warrior’s breastplate caved instantly, blood gushing from her mouth!
Using the momentum, He Feng spun aside two swords thrust from the flank; the Sword of Dominion followed through, slicing another would-be ambusher in half at the waist!
Before the corpse fell, three more Seraphim formed an assault formation, their three swords striking at He Feng’s upper, middle, and lower body like venomous snakes!
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He Feng’s footing faltered, his body twisting like a willow in the wind, narrowly evading two strikes. The third sword he struck with the spine of his blade, the immense force causing the Seraphim’s arm to tremble violently, nearly dropping her sword!
Just as He Feng prepared to counterattack, four Seraphim warriors dove down from above, their wings beating like four white meteors. Their fiery swords, heavy with downward force, came crashing down!
They blocked all his evasive paths!
“Get lost!” He Feng growled low and fierce, planting his feet firmly on the deck as if rooted. Gripping the Sword of Dominion with both hands, he slashed upward with a crescent-shaped reverse cut, channeling all his strength.
Clang—!!!
An ear-piercing clash of metal rang out as four fiery swords struck the broad blade of the Dominion simultaneously!
The terrifying force shot through the blade to He Feng’s feet, cracking and collapsing the silver deck beneath him.
He grunted, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth! The immense impact numbed his arms and fractured his palm!
But the four Seraphim attackers were worse off. They felt as if they had struck an immovable mountain forged from stellar core gold!
The violent recoil shattered their arm bones inch by inch; their fiery swords flew from their grasp!
The swords struck their own bodies, throwing them violently backward like rag dolls, blood spewing—clearly near death!
Force against force! He Feng withstood the combined assault of four elite warriors!
The price was internal injury and a shattered palm.
Leaning on his sword, He Feng gasped for breath.
Sweat mixed with enemy blood slid from his temple, dripping onto the charred deck and instantly evaporating.
His silver armor bore countless intersecting scorch marks and dents of varying depths; his left shoulder plate even showed a fine crack.
The burning wound in his left palm sent stabbing pain through him.
The invincible war god, under overwhelming numbers and relentless sacrifice, displayed signs of fatigue and wounds.
Yet he stood like an anchored pillar at the bow! His presence was the unshakable cornerstone of the Second Legion’s “Immovable Mountain” formation!
As long as he did not fall, the Seraphim would not easily tear through this steel defense line!
Around him, Second Legion soldiers relied on their ships and formation, erupting with astonishing defensive power.
They fought in trios, back to back—one blocking, one counterattacking, one covering. Silver swords met fiery blades in a furious clash, sparks flying.
Every block was searing hot; every counterstrike was a life-for-life determination.
Seraphim casualties soared exponentially! After the Second Legion’s contraction, their coordination tightened, offense and defense more focused.
Each Seraphim charge crashed like waves against a rocky cliff, shattering themselves while leaving only faint wet marks.
The battlefield had become a vast, bloody, and brutal meat grinder! The silver cliffs emerged and vanished in the white raging tide, each collision splashing towering waves of blood!
The shouts of war, metal clashes, explosions, and dying screams melded into a symphony of destruction, echoing endlessly across the icy starfield of the Furious Sea.
Celestial Blade Bridge
Deathly silence.
Only the faint hum of instruments and the brutal, constantly flashing casualty numbers on the holographic star map.
The signal representing He Feng’s besieged Second Legion had transformed into a silver cluster battered but still stubbornly flickering.
Meanwhile, the white dots signifying the Seraphim besiegers dimmed en masse at a visible pace, as if erased by an invisible eraser.
“Report... ‘Sacred Bulwark’ Third Squadron... formation shattered... commander deceased...”
“Seventh Squadron losses over half... requesting... requesting respite...”
“Fourth Squadron still pressing He Feng’s main position... casualties... severe...” The adjutant’s voice was dry as sandpaper—each grim report thickened the air aboard the bridge.
Queen Kesha sat unmoving on her throne, expressionless. Her icy azure eyes, like the finest scanners, absorbed every detail of the battlefield beneath her gaze.
She saw He Feng’s demonic silhouette at the bow, his staggering stand against four elite diving attackers, the blood trickling from his mouth, and the growing tally of scars on his armor.
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She saw the Second Legion’s ironclad “Immovable Mountain” formation. Every Seraphim assault struck like waves crashing against a fortress forged from stellar core gold—shattering their own flesh and blood.
The casualty ratio, after He Feng’s formation shift, did not improve but worsened due to concentrated defense firepower and the dense enemy charges—sometimes reaching five to one, even seven to one.
Each fallen Seraphim warrior was like an icy needle piercing Kesha’s heart.
They were seeds of freedom, hopes for the future, now cheap fuel fed into the incinerator named He Feng, merely to drain his strength and add trivial scars.
Was it worth it?
A cold voice questioned in her heart.
To kill He Feng alone, such a heavy price? The blood of these sisters could have been shed in a more valuable endeavor—such as utterly ending this war’s core: Hua Ye!
Her gaze involuntarily shifted to the other side of the star map.
The signal cluster representing the forces of King Liang Bing Apocalypse devoured the outer defenses of the Radiant Celestial Palace like bloodthirsty wolves.
The palace’s bulky, golden hull trembled violently under concentrated energy beams; its gorgeous armor plates crumbled like fragile glass.
The remnants of the Summari First Legion, lost to unified command, were chaotic and scattered, picked apart by Liang Bing’s cunning tactics like a giant beast gnawed by ants, emitting silent wails.
White dots surrounding the palace (Seraphim) steadily advanced, while the red dots representing the male angel resistance dimmed and scattered faster.
The scales of victory were tipping toward capturing Hua Ye!
Just one more push! Just commit more forces to the siege on the Celestial Palace! Hua Ye’s fall was imminent! Once captured or slain, the core of the Celestial Order would collapse instantly.
Then the entire male angel army would lose all will to fight!
The Furious Sea battle would be over! The Seraphim would claim final, absolute victory!
And He Feng… no matter how strong, was still just one man, a lone force.
Without Hua Ye as the core, without the banner of Celestial Order, He Feng and his Second Legion, no matter how fierce, were merely trapped beasts doomed to annihilation—it was only a matter of time.
Morale might shatter with Hua Ye’s fall, and defeat would come without battle.
Kill He Feng? Or capture Hua Ye?
Kesha’s fingers tapped unconsciously on the armrest of her throne, producing a faint, cold “tap tap” sound.
All eyes on the bridge fixed upon the throne, awaiting the final decree from the King of Gods.
The air thickened like ancient ice, every heartbeat sounding like a war drum.
On the holographic map, one side was the stubborn silver glow of He Feng’s cluster, dimming steadily like a nebula consumed by a black hole, each second extinguishing countless stars.
On the other side, the shaky golden dot representing the Radiant Celestial Palace, surrounded by a tightening Seraphim net rushing to victory.
Time seemed to stretch.
The clamor and bloodshed of the Furious Sea battlefield pressed silently on every heart through the cold star map and data.
Kesha slowly closed those icy azure eyes, frozen for millennia. Her father Hoffman’s severed head, He Feng’s cold, merciless proclamation—“The king’s command is absolute, the soldiers must not fail.”
The faces of thousands of sisters fallen beneath the male angel’s blade over the millennia… and now, the rapidly blinking, heartbreaking casualty numbers of Seraphim warriors on the star map… flashed swiftly through her mind like a revolving lantern.
Hatred surged like magma beneath ice; reason was a cold steel rope tightening around her boiling desire for vengeance.
When she opened her eyes again, all fluctuation had vanished—only the absolute, icy rationality and decision belonging to the Celestial Blade King remained.
She raised her right hand clad in silver gauntlets, pointed at the star map’s side, her voice cold as from the depths of the cosmos, carrying the power to end all things:
“Issue the order...”