Rhode couldn’t remember how he transmigrated to the Dragon Soul Continent back then. His vision had turned black and when he came around, he found himself lying on a floating boat. And now, he was fortunate that he had lost consciousness back then because this was the first time he experienced the incredible pressure of transmigration and how… unreasonable it was.
The instant he stepped into the crisscrossed, grid-like gate, he felt as though he were bound onto a roller coaster and forced to follow and move forward quickly. His vision turned blurry and dark. Apart from the occasional flashes of light, he couldn’t see anything as though his brain had stopped working. After an unknown period of time, he was tossed to the ground as though a monster had swallowed him and then threw up after feeling uncomfortable. Fortunately for him, his reflexes were quick. He somersaulted and landed on the surface steadily. But even so, he felt giddy and nauseous.
“Argh… this motion sickness is killing me, Big Sister…”
But the worse had yet to come.
The pale Mini Bubble Gum held her hand to the wall and retched constantly, while Canary smiled and patted her back gently. On the other hand, Lydia was the most relaxed among the four of them. Perhaps as an archangel, she was used to flying around and this wasn’t enough to make her feel miserable. At least on the surface, that was the case.
That’s right. This time Rhode brought along Mini Bubble Gum, Canary, and Lydia. The reason he brought Mini Bubble Gum and Canary was because their data was disrupted. Based on this fact, part of the data from the unknown world was also left over in their bodies. Therefore, if they were fortunate, the similar data in them might trigger a resonant response that could lead them to finding clues. As for Lydia, Rhode wasn’t willing to bring her along at all. Besides, he had also analyzed the situation to her that if there were any dangers, he could still return to the Dragon Soul Continent safely and had to abandon her. However, Lydia didn’t seem to take it to heart at all. She chuckled and told him that she would be leaving the Munn Kingdom in his care if that were to happen… when an archangel joined him on the journey shamelessly, there was no way he could reject her, right?
“Oh-no, this is a really strange place.”
Gazing at the scenery, Lydia widened her eyes curiously and couldn’t help but lament. Upon hearing her remark, the trio pulled themselves together from the giddiness and began to size up the place. Fortunately, they didn’t spot any fully-armored soldiers or monsters surrounding them. Instead, what presented itself before them was a clean, spacious area laid with various steel boxes. Handing on the ceiling were bright lamps emanating a dazzling radiance. At a glance, this seemed like an ordinary warehouse… hmm? Something seemed to be wrong.
Beep———! Beep———!
While Rhode knitted his brows and pondered, the sirens blared all of a sudden. Shortly after, emergency lights in a harsh tone of red flickered within the bright space. The tightly-sealed steel doors opened gradually and a dozen enormous steel machines entered the room. They were twice as tall as normal humans. Their massive steel bodies were in the shape of a sturdy rectangle. Their huge arms consisted of firearms, while their heads embedded on the large steel body of armor seemed strangely small. The propeller behind them spurted blazing flames and the four muscular feet moved swiftly like the legs of insects. They turned around and shone bright, white lights at Rhode’s group. Then, the color switched to a dangerous red.
“Warning. Unknown intruders discovered in the warehouse. Unable to read data. Warning. Put down your weapons and surrender immediately. You will be killed if you resist. Warning. This is a top confidential area. Unrelated personnel must not enter. Warning…”
“Oh-no-no, we’ve just arrived and we’re in trouble already.”
Unlike Rhode, Canary, and Mini Bubble Gum who stared blankly at the steel machines, Lydia was the first to react. Even though she couldn’t understand what the steel machines were blabbering on, it was apparent from their actions that they harbored ill intentions. The archangel wasn’t a kind Buddha either. She extended her arms and two swords glowing in a white radiance appeared in her hands. At the next moment, she flitted across the space, charging toward them.
—————!
The steel machines retaliated instantly. They raised their arms and spurted tongues of flames that merged to form an impenetrable blockade. Not only that, but they also fired the rifles at the same time. The powerful impact and firepower was enough to shatter everything before them.
But they were useless against Lydia.
“Hmph!”
The archangel flapped her wings lightly and a golden shield appeared before her to resist the seemingly infinite barrage of bullets. Then, she slashed two dazzling blade rays with her swords. Along with the violent gales, the blinding blade rays sliced the steel machines into four from the middle effortlessly, causing them to explode.
“What are you two still standing there for? Attack!”
The loud explosions instantly dragged Rhode’s group back to their senses. Even though they hadn’t figured out what exactly happened and were still full of doubts, since the battle had already begun, they were better off questioning later. Upon hearing Rhode’s order, Canary and Mini Bubble Gum got ready instantly, charging toward the steel machines before them.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The dazzling flares erupted, while grenades with electromagnetic explosions were thrown at them mercilessly. But they were useless against Rhode’s group. Mini Bubble Gum swung her arm and a string of golden runes expanded to form a transparent, sturdy shield that resisted the endless gunfire. It seemed like in the face of modern technological weapons, a spiritual defensive barrier still had its uses.
“————!”
Perhaps sensing the ineffectiveness of their attacks, the machines switched up their strategy. While they continued to blast flames and fire bullets rapidly, the rectangular slot on their shoulders opened up gradually like a devil revealing its menacing fangs. Perhaps Lydia wasn’t aware of what those were, the others instantly recognized it.
“Canary!”
“Got it, Rhode.”
Even without Rhode’s reminder, Canary knew what she had to do. She extended her hand and drew several mysterious runes in midair. Shortly after, hundreds of fire arrows appeared in the empty space before her. Under her guidance, the fire arrows whistled across the air at the enemies, striking the rectangular slots and causing a series of instant explosions. The blazing flames and powerful airflow engulfed the entire place. The sprinklers began to spray water upon detecting the blazing heat, attempting to extinguish the flames.
But this wasn’t enough to stop their battle. There were brainless steel machines on one side while the other party knew there was no room to redeem the situation. After Canary took down the machines in one attack, Rhode reappeared above the blazing wreckage like a stealthy ghost. He laid the white, dazzling twin daggers in a crisscrossed position in front of him, before bursting forward like a strike of thunder, aiming at the enormous machine in the middle. The heavy steel armor capable of resisting missile bombardment was as though thin paper in the face of this dazzling brilliance. In the blink of an eye, Rhode had penetrated the steel armor with his daggers, but he didn’t come to a halt. Instead, at the same time, he stretched out his left hand and a green card appeared in his hand. Then, as soon as the card disappeared, the illusory shadow of the Spirit Bird appeared behind his back.
Boom———!
Along in an earth-shattering and thunderous explosion, countless lightning bolts erupted from his sword and enveloped the entire space. At the next moment, everything turned pitch-black and silent. The machines stopped moving. The lighting device and sprinklers on the ceiling stopped working. The surroundings were in total darkness apart from the residual flames smearing a scarlet radiance. After a few moments, the emergency light lit up using the emergency power supply.
But this didn’t obstruct Rhode at all. After defeating all the steel machines in one attack, he half-knelt before the ones he defeated and scanned them carefully. At this moment, Lydia, Mini Bubble Gum, and Canary went up to him. However, unlike the curious Lydia, Mini Bubble Gum and Canary put up complicated expressions.
“Rhode?”
“Leader?”
Upon hearing their voices, Rhode lifted his head and gazed at them. Then, he picked up a nameplate from the machine and tossed it away, before letting out a subtle sigh.
“Looks like we’re home.”
