—–

After battling hordes of robots and gigantic titan machines assembled from hundreds of smaller ones, Zero One’s team watched as the Mechanical Tree was not only blown apart and sliced in two but also released the Demon King—whom Anna and her parents had fought and sealed until Song’s resurrection. Naturally, they wanted nothing more than to join Anna’s group amid everything unfolding, and they would have—if not for the endless armies of robots that kept pouring in.

Indeed, even as the Mechanical Tree was torn apart, her group and the rest of the Immortals and Allied Machines had to keep fighting the relentless waves of robots. They were the ones shielding the Venerable and Anna, holding the line against both machines and Demons.

Even now, the battle raged on. The severed Mechanical Tree refused to yield. Machine production, which they had thought was slowing, suddenly surged tenfold. Stranger, larger, and more vicious machines emerged one after another.

The gigantic Artificial Eyes peering through the cracks in the world’s Dimensional Membrane wielded a special power—perhaps an Authority beyond anything Zero One had witnessed—to strengthen all allied machines. Alongside them stood some of Anna’s Egos and the Will of the Heavenly Empress, now given physical form and life as Yu Mingzhu, an embodiment of a Record Fragment herself. All of them had joined after emerging from the mountain.

The two Divine Beasts, in their evolved states and growing stronger with every passing second, had become their most powerful fighters. Zero One and her Sisters, fused into a single machine, ranked as the third strongest. The mysterious woman Anna’s Egos and Yu had found had vanished the moment they stepped out of the mountain.

She offered no help. After what she did for the two Primordial Beasts, she simply disappeared—though they were certain she was watching from somewhere. Unlike the Venerables, who cared deeply for the world, she remained utterly indifferent. She acted only when something amused her or felt entertaining enough.

In the end, despite her overwhelming power, this enigmatic woman was completely unreliable. Anna chose not to include her in any plans, which had to shift rapidly as events unfolded simultaneously. Anna and her family moved to repel the invading Demons, while Zero One and the Primordial Beasts led the rest of their army against the Berserk Machines—now being produced by the hundreds every second.

Whatever factory the Mechanical Tree possessed operated through supernatural means or abilities; the assembly rate was absurdly fast. Through her many Egos, Anna suspected the Mechanical Tree—and the Supercomputer within it, which Zero One called “Mother”—might have become the Void Ruler’s Apostle, much like Blednica had for the Bleeding Scream.

Void Rulers could not grant Avatars or Protegees the way Constellations did, largely because their power was so overwhelming. Any fragment bestowed upon a mortal or even a Venerable would cause the recipient to explode and perish. Instead, they selected “Apostles” and occasionally “Priests” who served them, spreading the Void Rulers’ “teachings” across the Cosmos and the countless worlds they touched. The Death Apostles bore the name but had no true affiliation with any Void Ruler; their organization’s title was more a deliberate mockery of the Void Rulers’ Apostles.

“Ugh, these bastards never stop coming! I’m getting pissed off!” Wai Tian roared furiously, abandoning her meditative state as she fully embraced wrath. Her beautiful form shifted into a larger, bestial appearance with her Transformation Skill. With Anna’s Egos present, healing was handled seamlessly. They not only mended wounds but could even ease exhaustion to a degree. This came not from simple magic or techniques, but through an extension of Anna’s Myriad Self Arts—sharing her own Spiritual Vitality with allies, boosting their stats and regenerating wounds over time.

Thanks to that, Wai Tian could push far beyond her limits. She felt her Physique and Spirit Body constantly evolving as she tore through hundreds of robots with her claws.

“{Claws of the Fiery Tigress}!”

Dozens of giant wasp- and dragon-shaped machines surged toward her. She activated the Skill again. Her claws grew five times larger than before—previously limited to twice their size—and were wreathed in white flames. She slashed through the machines, igniting blazing explosions as they shattered apart.

CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!

“Wai Tian, don’t overdo it! Stay close to us!” Yin Sheng called from the opposite side of the sky, rushing forward as a huge blur of black light. His body constantly split into Shadow Clones. His original small, cute form had transformed into a massive, beastly nine-tailed black fox. His giant claws ripped through enemies while his shadows devastated everything nearby, covering a wide area. His clones also supported his allies, serving as extra defenses or taking fatal blows in their place. With that, the rest of the Immortals—alongside Sara, Anna’s friend from Earth who had grown close to everyone during her time in this world—fought on.

“ELIMINATE.”

However, specialized machines began appearing as Yin Sheng spread his Shadow Clones further. These units wielded powerful supernatural abilities and used specialized cores to absorb his shadows, destroying his clones outright before they could even retaliate.

“T-That’s…! Are they adapting to our abilities?!” Yin Sheng quickly drew all his daggers and fired them at the machines as he pursued, eliminating them one by one. Though they excelled at countering elemental constructs, they were poorly equipped for direct combat and fell quickly.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

“Everyone! Be careful! The Mechanical Tree is producing machines specialized in countering our abilities!” As Yin Sheng shouted the warning, the group quickly drew closer together. Even the raging, berserk Wai Tian regained some clarity as Anna’s Egos soothed her mind.

“You don’t say! These guys were definitely designed to fight me!” Sara, too, found herself swarmed by hundreds of machines tailored to counter her ghostly powers. Armed with Holy Light Laser Beams, they constantly disrupted her Phantasmal Techniques, negating most of her attacks and preventing her from phasing through their bodies to destroy them from within—a method she had used to dismantle dozens of robots effortlessly.

“ELIMINATE.”

“EXTERMINATE THREAT.”

“DESTROY. DESTROY. DESTROY.”

The robots had not only begun adapting to their abilities; the power of the watching Void Ruler was making them stronger. They moved faster, processed quicker, and countered techniques and stances with terrifying precision while commanding thousands of allied forces. Sara parried their blows with her two black swords—crafted by Anna using her original dagger weapons fused with materials harvested from this world.

CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!

As she fended off the constant assault, several of Yin Sheng’s shadows rushed to her aid—only to be swiftly absorbed by nearby spider-shaped Shadow-Eating machines, ruining his strategy.

“Ah! Dammit!”

Yet a larger shadow loomed above Sara. A giant machine piloted by three Androids swung its metallic hands down, smashing dozens of robots in an instant!

CRAAASH!

The machine’s chest glowed brightly and unleashed a massive cannon of blue electromagnetic energy. It obliterated the remaining machines around them before sweeping across the battlefield, disintegrating hundreds more as the Immortals cleared the path.

BOOOMMM!!!

“Zero One! And her sisters…! Thank you… You saved my skin.” Sara said gratefully, though she looked slightly exhausted. Anna quickly fed her Souls from her Urn, revitalizing her even as a half-ghost entity.

“We’re almost there. Don’t lose focus, Sara. I’ll cover your back,” one of Anna’s Egos said. It was Bastet herself. As one of Anna’s Egos, she shared part of her memories and knowledge, knew Sara well, and could even speak for Anna.

“Alright, Bastet. I’m counting on you,” Sara nodded and charged forward while Zero One and her sisters surged to the frontlines.

—–

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep