—–

The entire army, including many Immortals, broke through thousands of robots and finally reached the Mechanical Tree. They tore their way forward with everything they had. They could never have advanced so quickly without the immense support and area-of-effect attacks from Anna’s Egos and the Primordial Beasts.

“We’re getting closer!” Sepa roared, staying right by Violet’s side. The two gigantic centipedes coiled around machines, crushed them, and fired beams from their jaws, obliterating anything in their path.

“The Venerables managed to slice it open, but it seems they quickly patched the ceiling! Where do we get in?!” Yin Sheng asked. “Do we attempt to break through the ceiling?” Even as he spoke, he kept destroying machines, leaping rapidly from one to another.

“It seems to be the best strategy, yeah!” Zero Two responded. “If the ceiling was made just recently, then it must be much weaker and frailer than the rest of the structure!”

“Indeed, I agree!” Zero One nodded. “We’re dive-bombing in then!”

“D-Dive bombing in? What does that even mean?” Zero Three asked.

Her question went unanswered. The gigantic mech surged downward. Machines trying to stop it were crushed beneath its massive body and powerful aura, generating countless explosions as it descended.

CRASH!

With all their force unleashed at once, the three sisters poured every bit of their power into the mech, overflowing it with electricity. They shattered the ceiling in a violent explosion that sent fragments flying everywhere.

RUMBLE!

The massive mech plunged into the Mechanical Tree’s interior—an area as vast as an island, completely different from the other Mechanical Trees whose insides were only the size of stadiums.

“We’re inside! Come inside! Quickly!”

Zero One called her friends. Violet and Sepa broke through hundreds of insectoid machines, devouring them and clearing a path with their gigantic bodies. Sara and Bastet, with their incredible speed, were the first to step inside. Yin Sheng and Wai Tian followed right behind, then Yu Mingzhu alongside Uroboros. Little Shiro stayed close to one of Anna’s Egos. Violet, Sepa, Snow, and the rest of the Undead, Machines, and Immortals formed a giant barricade with their barriers and auras, preventing the machines from outside from interrupting the raid.

“Wait, Sepa, you’re not coming?!” Bastet asked.

“Don’t worry about me, Bastet! I’m just one of Anna’s Egos. I can go with you later! I’ll hold on to Violet here! Let’s do it, little guy!”

“KRIEEEEHHH!”

Sepa swiftly merged into Violet’s body, transforming the centipede into a massive, one-kilometer-long divine cosmic serpent. His purple exoskeleton shifted to blue and gold, while his legs and jaws grew even larger and sharper. She had done something similar before, but after long training and growth, Violet had become a far better vessel. Her possession was now stronger than ever.

“Hey, this is wonderful! We’re like the perfect dream team!”

“SHYAAAH!”

Violet roared, opening his massive jaws and devouring hundreds of machines at once. He crushed them with his giant insect mandibles and pulverized them completely. Meanwhile, Snow pushed his gelid powers to their absolute limit, generating iceberg-sized walls of ice from the sea itself. He froze most of the surrounding ocean with his mighty howls.

“AWOOOOO!”

As he roared, one of Anna’s Egos sat atop his body, imitating Baihe’s form to an extent. Channeling the Ice Magic Anna had seen her use through Magic Abilities and Runic Hands, she created a custom-made Ice Ego. It strengthened Snow’s power by partially replacing her, elevating the Ice Wolf’s abilities to completely ridiculous levels.

The other Immortals, Machines, and Undead joined forces. The Undead held the front lines and took the heaviest hits. After Anna’s Specialization Evolution, they had evolved into even stronger draconic forms—gigantic in size and far more durable. Anna had prioritized their durability and health over attack power, using them as “unliving meat shields,” as she called them. They minimized damage to the other fighters and served as living walls. Their combined attacks still dealt solid chip damage that accumulated steadily, making it easier and faster to eliminate enemy machines.

“I guess they’re handling things on their own! We have to hurry!” Yin Sheng said. “Wai Tian! Let’s go, don’t lose focus.”

“A-Ah, right!” Wai Tian grew worried as she glanced back at the Immortals fighting. She could swear she saw a few Tigers resembling her clan among the large group. “I have to concentrate on what’s in front of me!”

Meanwhile, the two Primordial Beasts remained outside. They were too enormous to fit inside the Mechanical Tree, but they served as massive distractions, drawing the machines’ attention and wasting their strength. At the same time, their mere presence steadily strengthened the world of Bestia. The Heavens began to slowly reform, colorful clouds gathering into a gigantic ocean above the blue sky.

“ELIMINATE THEM!”

“DESTROY THE GIANT BEASTS.”

The robots relentlessly attacked the Primordial Beasts, but not even their largest Titan Chimera Machines could match them. They shattered the instant they faced the Primordial Beasts’ radiance. If the beasts attacked the Mechanical Tree directly, they could destroy large sections—but Zero One refused to allow that. She needed to speak with her Mother and confront her face-to-face.

“I can sense it. Mother’s Core is over there!” Zero One said. She moved her giant mech forward with her sisters while their team followed close behind. Their path wasn’t easy. Massive swarms of machines poured in from every direction, quickly surrounding them as they ran.

“Now what?! We’ve literally entered the nest itself! We’re going to get mauled to death, dammit!”

Uroboros was furious beyond words. He opened his jaws to devour machines in huge chunks, then released blazing breath once he swallowed them, turning their metals into fuel for his devastating attacks.

“There’s still hope; we’re so close! We have to keep pushing through!”

Yu Mingzhu refused to give up. She expanded golden barriers with her abilities and released beams of light from her hands, constantly blocking attacks and destroying several robots at once. She served as excellent support for the heavy hitters.

“She’s not wrong; we literally have no other choice now! It’s either that or we die!”

Wai Tian nodded. Her blazing claws rampaged through foes. She used her Charge Skill for short, explosive bursts of speed, blowing enemies away before they could react or retaliate.

“Zero One! You have to rush there with one of Anna’s Egos! We’re almost there!”

Yin Sheng called out, running as fast as he could to keep up. His Shadow Clones tore through the surroundings, leaving behind black flames that exploded like landmines when touched.

“He’s right! Please go ahead!”

Sara transformed into a ghostly specter, phasing through enemies’ physical forms and destroying them from the inside. As she moved through swarms, machines exploded one after another. She had nearly mastered her new ghostly powers by now.

“I’ll go with them then!”

Bastet dashed across the battlefield, leaping gracefully over robots. Her beautiful, brown-skinned body, golden fur around her legs and arms, cute cat-like ears, golden eyes, and long blonde hair flowed as she moved. Her metallic claws ripped foes apart. The red-colored mirror atop her head—an imitation of the original Ra’s Mirror—unleashed gigantic sunlight beams that tore through enemies.

FLUOSH!

She shifted into a giant golden cat, leaped onto Zero One’s robot, and fired sunlight beams to halt the swarming robots.

“B-But everyone…!” Zero One hesitated, but her sisters refused to let her waver.

“GO!”

“MOVE!”

Zero Two and Zero Three pushed the mech forward. The giant machine charged across a battlefield littered with constantly dying robots—a nightmare for the softhearted Zero One.

“This has to end now…! Mother! Why are you making our kind sacrifice themselves to this extent?! Do you relish the thought of seeing them die over and over again?! T-This has to end right now!”

Seeing the unrelenting willpower of her sisters reignited her resolve. Zero One spoke her heart aloud. The giant robot, with Bastet at its side, broke through the final line of defense and reached the massive hall where the Mechanical Tree’s Core resided.

CRAAASH!

“So you’ve made it here… Welcome back, Zero One.”

—–

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep