Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 424 - 382: The Great Rescue

Chapter 424: Chapter 382: The Great Rescue

Only by defeating Yan Duo could they overcome the enormous crisis it posed to the Great Northern Region.

Grenades and guided weapons streaked across the sky, emitting shrill wails that would put any specter to shame. The beams released by energy weapons were even more dazzling with varying degrees of lethality and excellent armor-breaking effects.

"Yan Duo! Yan Duo..." It let out a mournful cry.

Shellfire and plasma jets exploded on Yan Duo’s carapace, subjecting it to a barrage of heavy-caliber artillery. Its agony was not solely due to the damage to its body’s surface, but also the moral dilemma tearing at its heart.

Should it retaliate against these petty humans’ armies?

Any decision seemed wrong. Its mere existence provoked human fear, yet it did not wish to die; Yan Duo carried many responsibilities, needing to help its good friend Farosa find the Forest Master and manage the sun’s course according to promises made thousands of years ago.

There were still so many wonderful things to do; it did not want to fall and not get up.

"Protect me, meow!" The white cat Cali clutched Yan Duo’s neck in a panic, noticing that humans were mobilizing even more strategic weapons. Yan Duo naturally wouldn’t be harmed by them, but Cali had already endured too many stray hits, causing unbearable suffering.

Northern Military Industry’s space mothership, "Watershed," flew 15 kilometers away, detected Yan Duo’s awakening, and immediately dispatched four squadrons of ground-attack aircraft.

They glided out from the underbelly runway of the space mothership, carrying with them weapons of destruction.

"Yan Duo!" Zenith turned around and took massive strides to avoid the attacking craft, each step triggering large-scale landslides and causing distant glaciers to crack in thunderous roars, bringing half-dormant volcanoes back into activity.

"Issue an evacuation notice, confirm its trajectory," the command center on Watershed ordered.

To weaken Yan Duo’s ability to move, a total of 24 "Black Hawk" class attack craft targeted its knee joints with a barrage of ground missiles. Hundreds of missiles rapidly scattered, accurately predicting Yan Duo’s movements and all guiding to impact; explosions surged at its legs.

It wasn’t a single, instantaneous explosion, but rather multiple attacks of significant yield. The distant soldiers saw the explosions on Yan Duo’s legs that never ceased, continuous bombings that lasted a whole five minutes—enough to flatten any military stronghold in the world.

It had no effect.

The rocky shell covering Yan Duo’s entire body was actually an externalization of its power; conventional weapons proved much too insignificant against Yan Duo’s vast and endless heat energy.

Facing such a colossal, insurmountable titan, those observing the scene could not help but feel a sense of despair.

—"We can’t stop it!" Desperate shouts came from the communication channel.

"Have the witch release a decoy," the command center ordered.

A green-golden Phantom Light flared up nearby, capturing Yan Duo’s interest.

Watching the beautiful radiance, which resembled the breath and cries for help of the Forest Master, prompted Yan Duo to move toward it.

If it went there...

"It’s a fake, meow!" Cali desperately banged on Yan Duo’s neck, but it took no notice.

It was only when a dragon’s call sounded that Yan Duo looked up to see an illusionary clone of "Moonfire" Mond emerge from the clouds, emitting a sonorous cry. With a flap of its wings and a change in direction, it guided Yan Duo on the right path. The white cat Cali finally sighed in relief. Mond’s avatar glided through the air, emitting shining moon-white flames to protect itself against the assault from various calibers of guns and missiles, yet this avatar’s protection was far less durable than Yan Duo’s and would soon be shot down.

But even this 30 minutes of bombardment had cost dearly, touching the red line of the security budget.

"The Sun God is closing in on the armored train," the scouts reported.

The command center on Watershed reported the message up the chain, eventually presenting it to Northern Military Industry’s decision-makers.

Now, they could only consider using Armageddon weapons or the witch.

Based on model predictions and weapon tests from the Godbinding Plan, a 10-megaton thermonuclear warhead could effectively delay Yan Duo’s advance. But at what cost? Using a strategic nuclear weapon within their own company’s jurisdiction would be a colossal loss for them.

As for the witch, Northern Military Industry’s strategic witch wielded a power called "Magnetic Field Manipulation," and was at Dominator Level, training to become a Supreme Witch—possibly the first within a corporate system... If she were injured in the battle against Yan Duo, the loss would be too great.

"Terminate the plan." The order was issued.

Now, Yan Duo’s path became clearer as the company’s forces gradually withdrew, unwilling to pour more resources into a bottomless pit.

Yan Duo walked for a day and a night until it saw an armored train stopped on the ice plain, dragging behind it a huge black box-like containment facility. Northern Military Industry had attempted to trade the Forest Master away, but considering Yan Duo’s presence, no company wanted to take over; they could only pull it across the snowfield, attracting Yan Duo to a completely uninhabited area to avoid further destruction.

"We’ve arrived, meow." The white cat Cali wiped the sweat from its body.

"Yan Duo!" Yan Duo leaped into the air, approaching the train. The black box seemed like a toy in front of it and was easily opened by Yan Duo.

The Forest Master was hidden inside, its body tightly bound with steel ropes, hooves bent, and it bore severe wounds like a rotting corpse, completely twisted and grotesquely misshapen, covered with ugly biological tissue. Before giving up on the Forest Master, humans had drained every last bit of its life essence; even if it wanted to recover, it would take decades, if not centuries. Luckily, as long as the concept of nature existed, the Forest Master, rooted in its natural position, was hard to completely die off.

Yan Duo’s heart brimmed with sympathy as he lifted it from the black box. The ten-meter long Forest Master seemed incredibly small in Yan Duo’s hands, like a delicate young animal.

"At last..." the Forest Master uttered a series of low moans, "At last..."

Yan Duo looked around. There were still several drones circling in the distance, monitoring its every move.

It looked up, beyond the sky where reconnaissance satellites continuously captured its images.

"Yan Duo..." It sounded very dejected.

"Your brothers need you," said the white cat Cali. "You must return to your brothers so that you all can go back to the stars."

"Yan Duo? Yan Duo." Yan Duo was happy; he also wanted to meet his brothers whom he hadn’t seen in a long time, but first he had to take the Forest Master back to Farosa. It was his promise.

"..." Cali looked up, seeing Mond’s incarnate drifting among the clouds and knew that Mond, too, wanted to win over Yan Duo. Every side needed its combat power, but Cali believed that ultimately, Yan Duo would definitely return to his brothers.

Yan Duo stepped into the clouds, slowly turning back towards the Northern Archipelago.

As a Mystic who possessed the Sun God’s power, when Yan Duo took to the sky, he unconsciously spread a halo-like influence. As Yan Duo moved across the horizon, all the snowstorms in the Great Northern Region disappeared, replaced by miles of cloudless skies and significantly warmer temperatures. The extremely harsh climate of previous years had become unusually warm at this moment.

At that time, the guerrillas trekking towards the Great Northern Region were enduring the blizzard.

After a painful night, they buried their frozen comrades. Then they noticed the entire sky had become clear and blue; a boundless warmth spread across the land. Looking up, they almost saw two suns moving, a complete miracle.

Selita took a deep breath. The sunshine on her shoulders was warm and comforting, like drinking alcohol, reminding her again of the humid heat of White Elephant Continent, where things had already changed drastically, as the cruel rule of the ancient empire was being rebuilt.

She had led her people hundreds of miles, making a long trek through uninhabited areas—a terrifying prospect. The guerrillas were on the verge of collapse amid the severe cold of the Great Northern Region, at any time they could be buried by the blizzard.

This unusual warming gave them the chance to keep going.

Selita pointed towards the snow-capped mountains ahead.

Passing the snow mountains, they would officially enter the vast and substantial land of the Great Northern Region. In the deserted and barren plains, the guerrillas could establish new bases and find new allies.

From the uprising at White Elephant Continent, steadfastly resisting until today, the guerrillas still had six thousand fighters left. After so many trials of iron and blood, even though they were aware of the faint hopes, they no longer wavered. Their morale was even higher than before, pursuing nothing but ultimate victory.

"Move on!" Selita commanded, stepping forward.

"Move on—" the people turned their heads, one after another.

"Move on..."

"Move on!" The calls were incessant.

Behind her, the team formed a line with their flags, resembling a red dragon.

...

Elsewhere, Farosa was still flipping through ancient tomes in a secret chamber.

Having not sensed Yan Duo’s activities for a long time, she thought he might have been completely lost in the northern snowstorms and contemplated future remedies. But after Yan Duo rescued the Forest Master, he tried to contact Farosa again to convey the joy of victory.

This creature made it. Farosa thought to herself. It wasn’t in vain that she still held certain expectations for it. So when it brings the Forest Master, they really could establish the Transcendent Alliance and secure a footing in the increasingly chaotic world.

With so many powerful forces on the same side, their combined strength would make anyone reconsider, greatly reducing the risk of random attacks.

And most importantly, she could finally distribute the Fragments of the Throne of God. With them personally arriving, she could entrust the fragments to their care. Mond had already taken two pieces; the solar decay event triggered by Yan Duo had heavily impacted several corporations, and he could obtain five pieces. With his nature, he also wouldn’t understand the risks behind holding the fragments; Frost Elride, who had defeated Thousand Lakes Electronics, would get one piece. Although she wasn’t familiar with that guy, she could entrust it to Yan Duo for transfer. Lastly, one piece for the Forest Master, who hadn’t done anything, but since it was freed thanks to Farosa’s great kindness, it too must bear risks for Farosa.

In this way, she would have distributed nine of the Throne of God’s Fragments, leaving herself with only eleven. The rest were scattered among different holders, greatly decreasing the risk Farosa had to shoulder.

It also meant more time to cultivate Divine Power, continue forging items, practicing Magic Power. She was still a true Empress-level Witch, and to advance to Empress Witch, she had to keep experimenting. Empress-level Magic Power often undergoes a qualitative change, and the mechanisms of Slaughter and Recovery Law might change as well. There’s also the training on the path of the gods, to further increase her powers as the Witch Goddess...

All kinds of wonderful flavors and fantasies swirled in her mind, making Farosa eager to share the good news with Xu Yang.

With an indifferent smile on her face, she left the secret chamber and headed to the top floor office to find Xu Yang, but he was nowhere to be found; in his private room? Also not there. She sent people to check Suzuki Springs, Nestor Industrial Park, all to no avail.

"Have you seen him?" Farosa asked, glancing at the Little Fool sitting dazedly on top of the cabinet.

Little Fool looked back at Farosa with a compassionate and pitying gaze, a look that always made Farosa feel minuscule and powerless.

"..." Farosa walked to the edge of the building, her hand pressed against the glass, her gaze turned towards the prosperous and noisy Anjiu City district.

Anyway, he would surely come back. Farosa thought to herself, in self-deception.