The lingering power of the dwarves' "explosive rune" that shook the mountains was still present, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of gunpowder, molten metal, and burnt blood.
The steel wave of the Oc vanguard crashed into an invisible reef, leaving behind twisted, dark red armor fragments, burning steam tank wreckage, and scattered, torn-to-the-bone "Obsidian" soldier remains.
However, this horrific scene was merely a brief and insignificant opening to the steel torrent.
As the dust settled, the massive Orc main force, like a silent, endless steel forest, slowly rolled forward.
The roar of the steam boilers merged into a deep tsunami, and the tracks grinding over the wreckage of their companions produced a teeth-grinding screeching sound.
In the sky, the massive airship fleet resembled a floating steel mountain range, the eerie light of the main cannons charging shining brightly once more, carrying an even colder killing intent.
The air was heavy inside the command center of the Rock Fortress.
The dwarven rune explosion's brilliant results seemed like a drop in the ocean compared to the overwhelming disparity in troop strength.
"My lord, the main force of the Oak is intact. After the vanguard suffered a setback, the formation has contracted, but the speed of advance has not decreased! The main guns of the airship fleet have exceeded the critical charging point!"
Astaire's voice was as heavy as a rock.
Linde stood before the enormous screen, his deep purple eyes reflecting the surging red tide on it. There was no defeat on his face, only an icy calm, and a cold glint in the depths of his eyes that seemed to say, "The stage is set."
"The performance is about to begin."
His voice was soft, yet it resonated clearly in the command room.
He stopped looking at the screen and turned to walk towards the warp device in the center of the command room, which was shimmering with a dark blue light.
This creation, which once aweed the Dwarf King and connected the Iron Star with the ruins of Bokou, now emits a deep hum, its core energy vortex rotating steadily, awaiting instructions.
Linde reached out, his fingertips not touching the cold metal casing, but hovering over it. A vast torrent of mental energy instantly flowed into the core of the warp device!
Buzz—!
The device erupted with unprecedented brilliance, a deep blue beam of light shooting into the sky, instantly tearing apart the solid alloy dome of the command room and piercing the heavens! The light did not spread outward, but was highly concentrated, like a bridge of light leading to an unknown land.
The next moment, directly above the Orc army, in the leaden gray sky shrouded in the shadow of the airship, space silently twisted and tore apart!
A pale blue vortex, only a few meters in diameter, appeared out of thin air. At the center of the vortex, instead of a massive steel structure, was a... humanoid silhouette.
Its entire body is covered in streamlined, dark blue armor that looks like solidified liquid stars. The lines are extremely simple, yet they contain an indescribable sense of precision and power.
There are no obvious joint gaps, no exposed weapon mounts, only pure geometric beauty and cold metallic luster.
On its smooth head, two deep red lights suddenly ignited, like two cold stars, looking down at the ant-like Orc army below.
This is precisely the "spiritual power testing vehicle" that Linde painstakingly created—the "Starry Sky Apostle".
It perfectly blends the Zedo civilization's pinnacle understanding of the materialization of energy with Lind's own [Deconstruction Halo] absolute control over the microscopic world, representing the purest and most powerful extension of his spiritual will in the material world!
Linde's mental power flowed like mercury, instantly merging perfectly with the core of the "Starry Sky Apostle"! Countless fine energy patterns, like the veins of stars, lit up on the surface of that dark blue armor, emitting a soft yet heart-stopping glow.
It hovered silently in the sky, and its invisible spiritual pressure descended like a tangible tsunami!
The entire noisy battlefield seemed to have been muted.
The roar of the steam boiler, the friction of the tracks, the shouts of the soldiers... all sounds were instantly suppressed by a grander and colder presence!
The Orc soldiers below, whether they were ordinary "Obsidian" infantry or mass-produced "Crimson Bulwark", all felt a tremendous fear and oppression from the depths of their souls!
As if an invisible giant hand had gripped their throats, even breathing became difficult. They involuntarily raised their heads and looked at the ghostly blue figure floating in the air, their eyes filled with bewilderment and shock as if facing a god.
The airship fleet commander looked through the reinforced glass porthole at the entity that had appeared out of nowhere, his face turning ashen, his hand holding the communicator trembling slightly.
He recognized the eerie blue outline and the deep red "gaze"—this was the nightmarish presence from the "Explorer" report! It had actually... descended directly into the heart of the battlefield!
Linde's voice did not travel through physical sound waves, but rather directly through the powerful mental field of the "Starry Sky Apostle," like a cold declaration, clearly imprinted into the depths of the consciousness of every living being in the sky above the battlefield:
"The Principality of Oak".
The voice was calm, yet carried an aura of timeless majesty; each word was like a cold star falling.
"My name is Lind Truk, Lord of Blackrock, and the wielder of the Iron Sky."
"Your greedy touch reaches for the legacy of the stars, attempting to taint the glory of creation with your filthy alchemy. Your ambitions have long since crossed my bottom line."
"Today, I hereby declare: the defensive war against the Principality of Oak begins!"
The announcement, like rolling thunder, resounded in the hearts of every Ork soldier and commander!
"This battle is not for territory, nor for resources. This battle is to utterly annihilate your hopes!"
"I will use the power of the stars to crush your proud 'alchemical crystals,' and let you witness firsthand what true...destruction is!"
The battle was declared over, and the battlefield fell into a deathly silence.
After a brief silence, a chaotic uproar erupted within the Orc army, a cacophony of fear and stubbornness!
"Arrogant! Who does he think he is?!"
"A human target! Playing tricks!"
"Fire! Shoot him down! Use the resonant pin!"
"For the Grand Duke! For the Alchemist's Radiance! Fire!"
The arrogance and fear that fueled their self-proclaimed status as the strongest army of mankind instantly overwhelmed their reason.
On the ground, the turrets of several steam tanks at the edge of firing range suddenly spun, their thick resonant spikes emitting a piercing shriek, locking onto the tiny, dark blue figure high in the sky!
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
Several "resonance nails" flashing with ominous purple light burst forth from the sky, accompanied by a shrill whistling sound that tore through the air, like deadly venomous snakes, heading straight for the "Starry Sky Apostle" suspended in the sky!
Faced with an attack powerful enough to tear apart the armor of a steel behemoth, the "Starry Sky Apostle" didn't even make a move to evade.
It simply floated silently, its dark blue armor surface shimmering with an almost imperceptible arc of energy patterns resembling the veins of stars.
In the instant those resonant pins are about to strike—
Buzz!
A thin, almost transparent ripple of pure spiritual energy spread silently from the "Starry Sky Apostle".
There was no earth-shattering collision, no explosive burst of energy.
Those spikes, imbued with terrifying resonant energy, seemed to have struck an absolutely smooth and dense wall of sighs!
They suddenly stopped in mid-air, less than a foot from the surface of the armor!
The purple light flashed wildly, trying to find a resonant frequency, but all it returned was a void, incomprehensible, and "smooth" surface, like the deep space of the universe!
Then, under the gaze of countless horrified eyes, these powerful resonant nails were squeezed and kneaded as if by an invisible force!
Click! Sizzle—!
The sturdy metal shell was cracked like fragile glass, and the precise resonant core inside was instantly overloaded and melted, turning into wisps of smoke and a few twisted pieces of scrap iron, which fell helplessly to the ground.
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