During the violent explosion and collapse, I turned my morph-capable shield to the maximum, not forgetting to also extend it to Baobao, who was beside me. At that time, I found with astonishment that the wall we were on wasn't built completely of bricks. The inside was actually made of soil. Thus, we were mostly unharmed despite the broken chunks that rained down on us.

With my shield on, I was the first to rush out of the collapse. Roughly 10 meters ahead of me, a heavy tank was firing at the charging Wargod soldiers. Looking at the Wargod soldiers that were charging unhesitatingly before being blasted away, I did not waste any time. I rushed toward the tank before sending my shield crashing into it. The massive impact nearly sent me flying.

I turned my shield to the maximum before using my thrusters to push through the tank's shield. Then, I installed five timed cluster bombs between the turret and the tank's body before rolling away. A blinding explosion erupted. The sound of metal being torn apart could be heard as the turret was blasted into the air. Finally, the artillery suppression ended.

The morale of the Wargod soldiers rose as they used my position as the breakthrough point. Dozens of mechanical dogs charged in front of us and pounced at the firing clone soldiers. The Wargod soldiers behind the dogs did not hesitate to charge into the midst of the clone soldiers and start slashing away.

And due to the melee brawl between the two armies, the other heavy tanks and mounted guns could no longer help. The two transport ships immediately rose into the sky after feeling the threat.

At that point, the prowess of the Wargods in close combat was clearly showcased. A Wargod soldier could be seen brandishing a broadsword and madly slaughtering the clone soldiers around him. Although the clones also had Wargod genes, they had grown and trained differently. There was no comparing them and the veteran Wargod warriors. Thus, the clones eventually started fleeing in panic from the Wargod soldiers.

With the gap opened by the escaping clone soldiers, their formation sank into chaos. The battleship supporting them from the sky immediately aimed at the chasing Wargod soldiers and opened fire, helping the clone soldiers on the verge of collapse.

"Everyone, charge! Charge into them!" shouted Afanso.

At his command, the Wargod soldiers hurriedly ran into the midst of the brawl to avoid the bombardment. This rendered the enemy battleship incapable of doing anything, allowing the Wargod soldiers to battle in relative safety. But then, the battleship noticed Zhang Bao'er and the others who were still shooting from afar. It moved its turrets to face them.

"Bao'er, watch out! The Star-class battleship is aiming at you!" I roared at them.

Hearing my reminder, Zhang Bao'er and the others hurriedly ran in my direction. However, the battleship opened fire, creating a terrifying net of bullets in the path between me and Zhang Bao'er. The concentrated firepower forced Zhang Bao'er and the others to retreat instead, and the distance between us increased.

"Bao'er, watch out for the enemy ship's barrage. It has already locked onto you guys. Find a spot to conceal yourself," I said before firing my gun at the battleship, attempting to shift its attention.

However, my shots did nothing to the battleship. It continued raining destruction upon Zhang Bao'er and the others. The fort's hiding spots had mostly been destroyed during the initial bombardment launched by the enemy ship. Thus, there was really nowhere they could hide. The situation was turning critical.

When I turned to look at Afanso, I noted that the fellow had actually grown berserk from combat. There was no counting on him anymore. Even the rangers who were attacking from concealed positions were forced to draw their daggers and join the chaotic battle. There was simply no way of providing ranged support with how chaotic the battle was.

At that time, Zhang Bao'er and the others were already completely covered by the battleship's artillery barrage. I could see them turning their shields to the maximum. However, their energy levels were dropping rapidly, and they wouldn't be able to last more than a few minutes.

"Canyue, we can't last much longer!" Zhang Bao'er roared at me.

Looking at the furiously attacking battleship, I felt extremely helpless. We had experienced so many battles, and we had not expected that a small battleship like this would be the end of us. Zhang Bao'er, Old Du, and the baron were too important to me. I had to think of a way to save them. At that thought, I took out my nuclear warhead in preparation to attack.

Currently, the Star-class battleship was only 30 meters from the ground. If I attacked with the warhead, the many soldiers from both parties in the melee could very well all perish without the protection of proper shields.

However, Zhang Bao'er and the others were being subjected to an intense bombardment, to the point they couldn't even raise their guns. The situation was urgent. To save Zhang Bao'er and the others, I couldn't afford to think too much. I didn't even need to ask for their opinion. 

'I shall be the one to shoulder the morality of this action.' At that thought, I reached for the nuclear warhead's activation trigger.

Suddenly, a loud whistling sound came from the sky. I lifted my head and looked at the source of the sound. Above Gero City, about a dozen imperial battleships had surrounded the divine bird.

The sound was so loud that the battleships at different positions in the sky all stopped attacking. The sound seemed to be some sort of an emergency signal. A second whistle sounded. At that point, all the enemy battleships flew toward the divine bird.

'Shit. The enemy ships are starting to attack the divine bird,' I thought worriedly.

Nevertheless, one good thing did come out of that. The attacks on Zhang Bao'er and the others had stopped.

"My god. A single battleship is actually so fierce. I nearly lost my life here," cursed Zhang Bao'er, cutting quite the sorry figure.

"You were becoming too cocky earlier," I teased with the passing of the danger.

At that point, the soldiers of both sides were still engaged in the chaotic melee. Old Du immediately incapacitated two clone soldiers, who were about to attack us. After getting out of the danger, we were ready to join the chaotic melee. But then, a third whistle sounded. This time, it felt completely different than before, as it sounded much more urgent.

Following the urgent whistle, all the other enemy battleships made the same whistling sound, filling the sky above us with noise. Then, the clone soldiers started pulling out of the battle rapidly, as though they had received an order to retreat.

Suddenly, an odd stuttering sounded. It was shrill and ear-piercing. The Wargod soldiers who were about to give chase immediately stopped and looked up in unison.

That was because they knew that the stuttering was made by their divine bird. In the sky, a massive net had formed around the divine bird flying in circles. All the enemy battleships had formed an encirclement around the bird.

"Shit! The enemy is going to attack their divine bird! Will the bird's defeat cause our defeat?" asked Zhang Bao'er anxiously.

"Don't worry. We must trust the divine bird's strength," said Afanso confidently. We had not noticed him appear behind us.

We were still doubtful as we looked up into the sky. The Sacred Wing race's battleships seemed to have finished their preparations. One ship, that seemed to be the leader, started flashing with some sort of light signal. Then, all the battleships gathered energy while electrical currents rippled around their weapons. They were ready to launch a fatal strike at the divine bird.

Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original.

"This doesn't look good at all. Afanso, are you sure your bird can take this joint attack? The Sacred Wing race is clearly planning to destroy the bird in one fell swoop," said Zhang Bao'er.

"This should be fine, I think. After all, Gero City will also cease to exist if the divine bird dies," said Afanso, less confident than before.

An odd scene appeared on the battlefield. All the soldiers had stopped fighting. Instead of fighting, everyone was waiting silently for the exchange in the sky. The result of the exchange would determine the result of this battle. There was no need for there to be more deaths on the ground.

The energy gathered by the battleships appeared to become more and more intense. A minute later, the moment everyone was waiting for finally arrived. A deafening sound erupted as the over 1,000 cannons on the leading battleship unleashed countless laser beams, rays, shockwaves, and artillery shells toward the divine bird.

Then, the other battleships followed suit. Intense explosions filled the sky, turning the area around the divine bird into a flaming ball. The surface of the flaming ball roiled intensely, with the divine bird completely covered.

"Shit. Just like that, the bird was decimated," muttered Old Du.

"Looks like this will be the end of this battle. Let's go back and focus on our operation. We can return with our army in the future to help," said Zhang Bao'er.

"What are you saying? Would the warriors of the Wargod race need outside help?" said Afanso furiously.

"But your divine bird is dead. According to your own prophecy, this should be the end of the war for you," said Zhang Bao'er.

"Who told you the bird was dead? If it is dead, the center of Gero City will also collapse. That clearly hasn't happened," said Afanso loudly.

His words stunned us as we hurriedly shifted our gazes to the flaming ball in the sky.