Chapter 617: Chapter 53: Beyond Outer Heaven
In the nearby canal, the reflections of the explosive lights filled the sky, with waves shining like blood, flashing the colors of death. From time to time, smoke mixed with dust swept in like a sandstorm, within the steaming heat mixed with glittering metal fragments, which were torn into tiny pieces by shockwaves like shreds of paper flying in the sky, exploding violently several miles away like stars falling to the ground, emitting the burnt smell of gunpowder.
And in that chaos-filled battlefield charged with flames, metal, and smoke, there were occasionally giant steel birds shrieking as they skimmed close to the ground, with blue and white flames jetting from their tails, slicing through the night sky like meteors. They rolled and spiraled, with some giant birds occasionally skimming low over the canal, spewing hot globes of light from their bellies, which in a blink plunged into the jungle of steel and concrete, erupting into glaring orange-red fireballs upon impact, melting distant crystal towers as tall as giant woods into molten iron, turning into powder.
Then an earth-shattering roar exploded forth, with heavens and earth collapsing, sands and stones cracking, as a colossal mushroom cloud slowly rose from the horizon, crimson clouds swirling, with spreading arcs of electricity roaring and dancing like thunder dragons within the cloud mass.
Soon after, a swarm of glimmering golden bees were startled from the steel hive, covering the sky densely like a locust tide, buzzing to the skies. These steel creations, smaller than flying birds, sparkled with cold red-and-blue lights, shooting dim blue beams from their tails; where the beams touched, whether alloy walls or floating platforms, they vaporized or shattered instantly.
Huangfu Yi watched as that group of alloy bees pursued the giant steel birds, beams like rain. The giant bird emitted electrical sparks, tilted and crashed into the canal, blasting a hundred-meter-tall water column as debris pelted the riverbank like iron hail, making harsh clashing sounds.
And this scene played out every hour and every moment, across rivers and plains. The explosions in the sky were like a doomsday feast, magnificent yet deadly, with white light, purple flames, and crimson clouds intertwining, every flash stabbing his eyes and pressing against his chest.
Mushroom clouds bloomed one after another, like a poisonous fungus, dyed red, unleashing firelight across the horizon. One such cloud erupted not far from Huangfu Yi, exceptionally enormous; its edge rolled with electromagnetic storms, as if devouring the entire sky. The shockwave swept forth, sending giant towers, resembling gravestones, trembling at their foundations; dust whistling in, instantly blotting out the heavens and earth, nearly blowing the young man into a deep pit.
"Why are you standing there dumbstruck! Start firing already!"
The sergeant’s voice came from beside his ear, but in the sandstorm of gunpowder smoke where he couldn’t see his hand reaching out, Huangfu Yi could barely make out the dim flashes of thunder and lightning.
Following the Thunder Light, he saw only a mechanized ocean, a slaughterhouse of steel.
In the concrete streets and steel jungle, every hive-like building was filled with bloodthirsty combat, with steel beasts raging and roaring wildly.
Spider-like demons with eight legs, both large and small, some thunderously rolling over the ruins, others crawling up the towers with a clicking sound. Giant turtle-like beasts screeched in the beast tide, carrying rotating turrets on their backs. The turret mouths spewed hot energy waves, exploding into plasma fireballs at a distance, shockwaves flipping over floating road signs, scattering crystal shards like a rain of knives that fell across the sky.
Four-legged Iron Beasts formed packs like rabid dogs, moving swiftly, their blue eyes flashing, claws shooting arcs of lightning. As they ran as quick as the wind, they effortlessly cut through the alloy deck. As an Iron Wolf leaped onto a collapsed building, its claws flashing with arcs, half of the walls crumbled and disintegrated, with dust crashing in like a tsunami, once more covering the helmet’s display.
And amid this endless tide of machinery, there were numerous Iron Armor Divine Soldiers just like Huangfu Yi and the sergeant. Humanoid soldiers in combat armor darted through the ruins, clad in shimmering armor. The Iron Rod Divine Weapon they wielded emitted pulse waves, and from the rod ends, Light Arrows with purple flames shot out, blasting Iron Spiders, giant turtles, and wolf packs into pieces.
Suddenly, a streak of white light flashed across the sky as a giant crystal pillar fell from the heavens, like a spear thrown by a Heavenly God, whistling over Huangfu Yi’s head, smashing into the steel jungle behind him.
Then a booming roar erupted, shaking the ground and mountains, as an unprecedented mushroom cloud soared into the heavens, with purple-red clouds engulfing the sky. Electromagnetic storms swept the entire city, and tombstone-like tall buildings beside it collapsed completely, broken down in the shockwave, crumbling towards Huangfu Yi!
"Ping!"
The sergeant kicked him aside just in time, narrowly preventing the boy from being buried under the wreckage. Struggling to crawl out of the dust, in his blurred vision, he could only see flames flowing between heaven and earth. Crystal-glazed high towers collapsed amid the roaring, with countless scattered crystal grid fragments crashing into the river, splashing water up to the sky. In the sky, steel giants and alloy bee swarms were locked in combat, falling like rain, with debris descending like black snow from above. The continuous explosions of light, mushroom clouds like a demon’s crown, offered a grand ritual of flames for the world’s end.
Firelight reflected on the dust-covered mirror, captured in the boy’s pupils, magnificent and terrifying, like an eternal painting of the apocalypse never to fade.
"This, this is the Outer Heaven..."
The sergeant yanked him up, firing wildly with his raised hand, sending out a barrage of Thunder Light.
"Rookie! Keep up or I’ll shoot you dead and send you back to Taiji!"
Huangfu Yi took a deep breath, clenched his teeth to stop trembling all over, grabbed his gun, and got up, following the sergeant’s pace, charging into the battlefield.