The eyes of the twelve powerhouses on the rooftop of Luo Feng’s home were all fixed on the black metal robot.
“Luo Feng, are you sure you want the robot to operate the B6 grade laser cannon?” Lei Shen could not help asking.
“If not the robot, then who? Which of us even knows how to use a B6 grade laser cannon?” Luo Feng replied with a smile.
Everyone laughed, but beneath their smiles lay a trace of tension. There was no helping it. The pressure on everyone’s mind was immense. If they failed, it would mean the end of humanity.
Luo Feng looked at the metal robot.
“Begin,” Luo Feng ordered.
Beep!
The red crystal eyes of the metal robot suddenly lit up brightly. It extended its steel arms, grabbed the enormous crystal like laser cannon, then shot into the sky.
As the sun set in the west, the black metal robot carried the crystal laser cannon and quickly disappeared beyond the horizon.
Luo Feng and the other eleven all looked up into the sky.
“Stop watching. Let’s get inside and monitor it through the satellite,” Hong called.
The others immediately hurried into the audiovisual room on the second floor of Luo Feng’s house.
Splash, splash.
The endless waters of the Pacific Ocean rose and fell gently.
It was just after five in the afternoon in China, but here it was already deep into the night.
The sky was pitch black, without a moon.
Whoosh!
High above the Pacific flew an enormous beast, black as ink, with golden secret patterns winding around its sharp horn. Every beat of its black scaled wings resembled a vast shadow sweeping through the sky.
It was the terrifying existence that filled all humanity with fear, the pinnacle bloodline among Devouring Star Beasts, the Golden Horned Beast.
As it flew, its dark golden eyes gazed down at the ocean below, filled only with coldness and brutality.
More than ten thousand kilometres away from the Golden Horned Beast, the sun had only just set, and darkness had not yet fully fallen.
A black metal robot, just over two metres tall, effortlessly carried the enormous crystal like laser cannon as it flew rapidly, leaving China’s airspace and entering the ocean. It was heading directly towards the Golden Horned Beast.
Yangzhou City, second floor audiovisual room of Luo Feng’s home.
The giant screen, which covered nearly an entire wall, showed two images.
On the left was the Devouring Beast flying through the night sky.
On the right was the metal robot carrying the crystal laser cannon through the air.
“The metal robot is flying at 2,109 metres per second,” an electronic voice echoed through the room. “The Devouring Beast is flying at 15,219 metres per second.”
The room was filled with the twelve strongest people on Earth.
“Luo Feng, the commentary is coming from an intelligent system,” Hong quietly explained.
“Everyone, I’ve already prepared the celebration wine for when we succeed.” Lei Shen took twelve glasses from the cabinet and poured wine into each one. “Let’s watch exactly how that Devouring Beast dies.”
“Haha, you’d better prepare a lot more wine than that.”
Luo Feng and the others all laughed.
Everyone was laughing.
Yet every single one of them remained tense. They were merely pretending to be relaxed. No one could truly calm themselves at a time like this.
Time passed second by second.
Although the robot and the Devouring Beast were still more than ten thousand kilometres apart, the beast covered more than ten kilometres every second.
Second after second passed.
The atmosphere in the audiovisual room became heavier and heavier, almost solidifying until it felt impossible to breathe.
“The distance between both sides is now 2,100 kilometres.”
“The metal robot has stopped.”
The electronic voice sounded again.
On the left side of the screen, the Devouring Beast continued flying directly towards mainland China.
On the right, the metal robot hovered motionless in the sky.
“The laser cannon is glowing.”
“It has been activated.”
Luo Feng and the others all held their breath.
The robot gripped the B6 grade laser cannon with one hand while skilfully operating it with the other. The enormous crystal like weapon gradually began to glow, and the light rapidly travelled along its engraved patterns towards the centre.
“The laser cannon requires fifty seconds to charge,” Luo Feng explained quietly.
“Mm.” Jia Yi nodded nervously. “The laser travels in a straight line. Earlier, the direct path between them passed through the Earth. They needed to get closer. Just over one thousand kilometres is perfect.”
Luo Feng nodded.
This was a weapon from the universe. Although the atmosphere contained air and dust that created resistance, it had almost no effect on the laser cannon.
Fifty seconds passed.
On the right side of the screen, the muzzle of the giant laser cannon emitted circles of white light that swirled around its rim, making the entire opening dazzlingly bright.
“It’s fully charged,” Luo Feng said softly. “It can fire at any moment.”
“It should fire now,” Lei Shen muttered.
“It’s fine. There’s enough time.” Jia Yi swallowed hard as he stared at the screen.
“Quick. Quick. Quick,” Mo Henderson murmured under his breath.
“Alright. It’s in range now,” Hong whispered.
…
Everyone was more nervous than ever before.
The twelve people present were Earth’s absolute elite, each possessing extraordinary mental strength.
Yet at this moment, none of them had ever experienced such overwhelming tension.
Even facing death had never made them one ten thousandth as nervous as this.
…
United States Central Command.
“God, please protect Your children.”
Sweat covered the forehead of the black president as he made the sign of the cross over his chest, never taking his eyes off the screen.
The generals and cabinet ministers beside him all held their breath.
…
China Central Command in Beijing.
Leader Zhou stood perfectly straight, staring at the screen before him.
None of the other leaders beside him uttered a single word.
…
The European Union, India, Russia, the HR Alliance, and all twenty three base cities.
Leaders across the Earth watched in complete silence.
An unprecedented pressure weighed upon all humanity.
Would they survive?
Or would they perish?
Everything would soon be revealed.
The distance between the metal robot and the Devouring Beast shrank to 1,200 kilometres, then 1,150, then 1,100.
Everyone on Earth watching this scene grew increasingly tense.
The black metal robot, however, remained expressionless.
Its red crystal eyes suddenly shone brilliantly.
A signal was instantly transmitted into the laser cannon.
Immediately.
A dazzling, magnificent white beam erupted from the five metre wide barrel of the laser cannon, stretching across the skies above the Pacific Ocean.
In a single instant.
The beautiful white beam that captivated all humanity reached its target 1,082 kilometres away.
The Devouring Star Beast, the Golden Horned Beast.
High above the Pacific in the darkness, the Golden Horned Beast’s wings were slightly raised as its dark golden eyes looked down upon the sea.
At that exact moment.
Time seemed to freeze.
Sizzle!
Like the brief sound of hair being singed by fire, the brilliant white beam pierced straight through the Golden Horned Beast’s head.
The entire upper half of its head, including the edge of its slightly raised left wing, simply disappeared as the beam passed through.
It happened almost silently.
Only that fleeting sizzling sound remained.
Nothingness.
In an instant, all that remained of the Golden Horned Beast’s head was its terrifying lower jaw and mouth.
Everything above its nose had vanished.
Its skull had been completely erased from existence.
The dazzling white beam continued forward in a perfectly straight line after passing through the Golden Horned Beast, flew through the atmosphere, pierced into outer space, and disappeared among the countless stars.
…
Time seemed frozen.
Inside the audiovisual room.
The left side of the screen showed the Devouring Beast still in its flying posture, but only its mouth remained.
Above that, there was absolutely nothing.
The right side showed the brilliant beam continuing into outer space.
The twelve people in the room stared with wide eyes.
Then every one of them erupted.
“Haha! We did it! We succeeded!” Jia Yi, the number one figure in China’s military, leapt into the air in excitement and punched his fist.
“Ga ha ha! Oh! Oh!” Mo Henderson proudly danced while shaking his hips.
“Haha! We did it! We really did it!” Luo Feng shouted excitedly.
“Come on, everyone. Drinks! Let’s celebrate!” Lei Shen yelled as he grabbed a wine glass.
“Wonderful!” Hong’s face was filled with excitement.
Inside Luo Feng’s sea of consciousness, Babata also shouted excitedly.
“Luo Feng, wasn’t I amazing? I told you before. This laser cannon can kill a sixth level stellar warrior. One blast and it was over. It never stood a chance. Wahaha!”
Babata was immensely pleased with himself.
Across the entire Earth, every nation erupted into celebration.
Everyone was overwhelmed with excitement.
…
“We finally did it. This disaster is finally over.”
Luo Feng excitedly walked towards Lei Shen.
“Hm?”
Luo Feng suddenly froze.
The audiovisual room, which had been filled with cheers only moments earlier, suddenly fell silent.
Even Councillor Zhu Xi, who had been shouting excitedly, stopped.
Luo Feng’s heart trembled.
He turned to look at the screen.
On the screen.
The left image still showed the Devouring Beast with only its mouth remaining.
But strangely, it was still floating in the air.
Its two horns, one long and one short, also floated beside it.
The golden secret patterns on the two horns suddenly burst into brilliant golden light.
Roar!
Golden secret patterns across the beast’s neck and back also lit up.
The golden light rapidly flowed through the patterns into its enormous wings.
For a moment, the wings seemed to grow slightly larger, their shape subtly changing.
Whoosh!
Like a streak of golden light.
The Devouring Beast, whose head consisted of nothing but a mouth, suddenly dived into the sea.
Boom!
The ocean exploded.
“We failed?”
Hong’s face instantly turned pale.
His body trembled.
Jia Yi stared at the screen in horror, continuously shaking his head.
Again and again.
Silent tears streamed down his face.
Lei Shen, still holding several glasses ready for the celebration, stared blankly at the screen.
The wine glasses slipped unconsciously from his hands.
Crash! Crash! Crash!
The glasses shattered.
Fragments flew everywhere.
The sound struck every person’s heart like a sharp sword.
Luo Feng stood motionless, staring blankly at the screen.
His face showed no expression at all.
Despair?
A heart dead with grief?
At this moment.
It felt as though the heart of the entire Earth had stopped beating.
All humanity had fallen into despair.
At this moment.
It was as though they had witnessed the extinction of mankind.
“The Devouring Beast is travelling rapidly beneath the sea at 36,062 metres per second, 2.37 times its previous speed.”
The emotionless electronic voice calmly reported the data.
Inside the audiovisual room, however, no one reacted.
Everyone stood in complete silence, like statues, like the dead.