An emotionless mechanical voice rang out from within the mecha, coldly announcing the full activation of this behemoth of war, named "Star Jumper" , on the battlefield.
Its immense power instantly swept across the entire area.
"Time to get serious. Try not to die on me too easily, my dearest Durandal."
Vita's face broke into a confident and dangerous smile. She sharply swung down her raised right hand.
The colossal emerald-green mecha behind her, the "Star Jumper," had its gigantic right arm perfectly synchronized with her movement. It roared through the air with a furious gale and crackling high-voltage electricity, delivering an earth-shattering punch at Durandal, who was charging like a comet.
Before the massive metal fist even fully descended, the terrifying wind pressure had already carved a huge concave crater with a radius of several dozen meters into the ground below.
"Boom—!!!!!"
An ear-splitting, deafening roar swept out like a tangible sonic cannon.
A violent shockwave, mixed with pulverized rock and dust, shot into the sky, forming a gray-yellow curtain.
The ruins for miles around violently trembled and groaned under the force of this single strike.
The world-shattering commotion naturally drew the attention of Lu Jingming, who was currently suppressing the Titan Giant Ape.
When his gaze caught the emerald-green, streamlined mecha, filled with futuristic technology and mysterious beauty, his eyes instantly shone brightly. He was instinctively drawn to the "Star Jumper," staring at it intently.
From its perfect, peak industrial design to the dazzling light-wings formed by the twelve floating swords on its back, resembling a phoenix spreading its wings, every detail precisely matched his innermost desires for "Mecha Romance."
"Holy cow, that's incredibly cool!"
Lu Jingming couldn't help but let out a heartfelt exclamation, his breathing quickening slightly.
Even though he knew from memory that Vita possessed this incredibly cool mecha, seeing it descend onto the battlefield and deliver that shocking punch still left him utterly shaken by its display of absolute power and aesthetic design.
While the Sun Moon Empire had poured its national resources into developing its own so-called "mechas," those metallic lumps were simply like children's mud toys compared to the "Star Jumper" before him.
Whether it was the strength of the materials, the avant-garde beauty of its design, or the terrifying power contained within, the "Star Jumper" far surpassed the creations of this era.
The disparity was the chasm-like difference between the protagonist's specialized, legendary unit and the mass-produced grunt units in the Gundam series.
No man could refuse such a cool and powerful mecha.
Lu Jingming was no exception. His heart was now consumed by intense desire.
The powerful and beautiful figure of the Star Jumper had completely captured his attention. Even the thought of quickly killing the Titan Giant Ape beneath him was temporarily thrown to the back of his mind.
Of course, he wasn't so careless as to forget his current opponent.
The Wither Domain still tightly enveloped the Titan Giant Ape, whose aura was constantly weakening, like a gray halo of death.
At the same time, he plunged the Black Abyss White Flower into the ground behind him, activating the deeper, "Creation" aspect of the power contained within.
"Titan Giant Ape, your power is too dangerous. It's better for you to become completely quiet."
As his cold words fell, countless incredibly thick trees and vines, shimmering with vibrant green life-force, burst forth from the gray, desolate ground of the Wither Domain like living giant pythons.
They grew, entwined, braided, and combined at an astonishing speed.
Under the Titan Giant Ape's horrified gaze, these frenzied plants instantly coalesced into a colossal Giant Wooden Golem, hundreds of meters tall and reaching toward the heavens.
The giant's body was entirely constructed from incredibly tough, living wood. Its surface was even wrapped with several lifelike, roaring wooden dragons.
Every piece of wood grain flowed with vibrant green light, emitting an overwhelmingly suffocating vitality, yet also carrying a heavy sense of oppression.
Controlled by Lu Jingming's will, the massive Golem slowly raised its right arm—that gigantic, sky-covering hand, wrapped in wooden dragons, looked like an ancient deity. It made a humiliating gesture, a "Celestial's Pat on the Head," or perhaps just a 'pat-pat', toward the Titan Giant Ape, who was as insignificant as a child trapped within the domain.
"Roar—!!!"
The intense threat of death thoroughly ignited the deepest ferocity within the Titan Giant Ape's bloodline.
It frantically hammered its scorched chest with its fists, and an unprecedented, nearly solidified black light of gravity burst from its body.
Burning its life essence, it exhausted all its strength to raise its arms, which were capable of supporting mountains, trying desperately to hold up the descending, seemingly all-crushing giant palm.
The scene looked strikingly similar to the mythical legend of the unyielding Stone Monkey facing the Five-Finger Mountain that covered the universe, thrown down by the Western Buddha.
The small figure looked incredibly frail and desperate beneath the boundless giant palm, yet it carried a touch of moving, final struggle against fate.
Lu Jingming only diverted a thread of his attention to remotely control the wooden Golem suppressing the Titan. His primary gaze had already returned to the intensely fierce battlefield between Vita and Durandal.
However, compared to Vita's graceful and alluring figure, faintly glimpsed through semi-transparent black silk, the emerald-green "Star Jumper" mecha was clearly more captivating.
His eyes shone with undisguised fervor and desire, like a dragon who had discovered an unparalleled treasure. He muttered to himself, "Such a fine mecha is wasted in her hands... Maybe I should find a way to take it?"
Evidently, Lu Jingming was contemplating some acts that were decidedly unfriendly, even outright thuggish, toward Vita.
Although the tide of battle had instantly reversed with the appearance of the Star Jumper mecha, with Vita now holding the absolute initiative and launching a fierce offensive against Durandal, Lu Jingming wasn't worried that Durandal would lose.
He had absolute confidence in the strength of the strongest Valkyrie.
In this Holy Grail War, only a handful of monstrous existences whose true bodies were Heralds would truly have the ability and qualification to defeat Durandal.
Vita was certainly immensely powerful, having almost completely inherited all the abilities and authorities of "Sa," but Durandal was by no means an easy opponent.
As the undisputed strongest Valkyrie of Schicksal and even the entire Honkai world, Durandal had tempered her will to be as tough as steel and honed her crushing combat ability through countless world-bubbles and countless life-or-death struggles against the Honkai and even more terrifying beings.
She was absolutely not someone Vita could easily defeat.
Lu Jingming stood motionless atop the broad shoulder of the Giant Golem, his gaze sweeping slowly over the chaotic and fierce battleground like a hawk overlooking the battlefield.
With his current life status, which transcended the mortal, his vision had already broken through the limits of human sight. Even the subtle energy flows and the shifting of techniques in another battle several kilometers away were clearly and meticulously reflected in his eyes, as if they were right in front of him, with everything under control.
The battlefield of Wang Qiu'er and Tang Wutong was isolated by the deliberate clearings made by Firefly and Castorice, creating an absolute domain where no one could interfere.
Any short-sighted Anti-Matter Legion Trampler that attempted to approach would be quickly eliminated and evaporated by Firefly's high-temperature flames, capable of melting steel, and Castorice's life-draining power of death, ensuring that this duel concerning 'completeness' remained free from external interference.
From the current battle situation, with golden light and blue-gold light fiercely clashing, it appeared that the two were evenly matched and locked in a stalemate.
But Lu Jingming's heart was crystal clear—the decisive factor that would tip the scales had been subtly planted long ago.
Having been personally mentored and put through rigorous combat training by powerhouses like Durandal, Jingliu, and more at St. Freya Academy, Wang Qiu'er's meticulously refined combat techniques, sense of timing, and mental resilience in crucial moments were far superior to Tang Wutong's, who had grown up in the greenhouse of the God Realm and lacked sufficient life-or-death tempering.
Defeating Tang Wutong was merely a matter of time for her.
Tang Wutong's foundation was undoubtedly top-tier. The God-King bloodline granted her terrifying potential and deep reserves far beyond ordinary people, but she ultimately lacked the necessary extensive and brutal real-world combat experience to fully convert that potential into immediate fighting power.
More crucially, although she nominally inherited everything belonging to Wang Dong'er, a subtle sense of rejection persisted deep within her soul.
She was psychologically unable to truly embrace the past and emotions that belonged to "Wang Dong'er." It was as if she was always separated by an invisible, intangible, yet real, thin layer of paper, preventing her from fully integrating and accepting Wang Dong'er's combat memories and experience.
She had never truly acknowledged herself as Wang Dong'er deep inside. This spiritual and cognitive split had already planted a fatal hidden danger in high-intensity, high-pressure, life-or-death combat.
Therefore, Lu Jingming needed to focus his vigilance not on Tang Wutong herself, but on the final safeguard that might be hidden in her mind, belonging to the Sea God, Tang San—the God-King's Divine Sense.
Once that fragment of the God-King's divine sense was drawn out by Tang Wutong's life-and-death crisis, he would only need to help Wang Qiu'er completely eradicate it. Then, Wang Qiu'er would be able to kill Tang Wutong without obstruction, reclaim all her soul fragments and power, and truly become a complete and independent individual.
"Roar—!"
A slight tremor passed through the shoulder of the wooden Golem beneath him. The Titan Giant Ape, pressed firmly to the ground by the giant palm, let out its final, unwilling but powerless roar.
Lu Jingming looked down indifferently at the figure struggling beneath the Golem's palm, his eyes devoid of emotion, as if watching a trapped insect.
The vast majority of his attention remained fixed on the fated battlefield of Wang Qiu'er and Tang Wutong.
The light from the clashing blue-gold Radiant Goddess Butterfly wings and the brilliant Golden Dragon Spear was dazzling. It was the duel belonging to Wang Qiu'er and Tang Wutong, and the inevitable final conclusion that had been destined since their very inception.
The tragic ending was orchestrated by the Sea God Tang San, but the ultimate result might not be what the deeply calculating God-King desired...
After all, the "victor" he and Lu Jingming favored in their hearts were completely different candidates.
-----------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------
I handpick only the finest and most captivating novels for you. Don't forget to check out my other novels!
p@treon HongMengZi