That Slash at the Zenith

"Here we go, General Ivan." The instant he spoke those words, the iron armor reached its zenith, hovering for a moment even slightly higher than where Daie stood... He was about to begin his descent. At the same time, the fiery glow of molten lava on the iron armor spread until it completely swallowed the blue-light column sword. Daie looked up at him. Han Qingyu looked back at Daie. Separated by roughly eight hundred meters, their line of sight was abruptly cut off as a Great Spike craft of peculiar shape barreled straight toward the burning iron armor. Red Shoulder. Craft with that distinct silhouette carried Red Shoulders. Everyone in Azure knew this by now. In midair, Han Qingyu raised the sword with both hands... Drip, drop. The column sword, now transformed into red molten lava, finally swept forward. With a tearing whoosh that split the heavens, it cleaved straight ahead. *Schwing!* An unexpectedly muted sound. The craft was cleaved in two. Not merely sliced down the middle, but split such that a whole section from nose to tail was suddenly missing. A full third of the Great Spike craft was instantly pulverized to dust under the strike of the molten lava column sword. Then, the mangled remains of the Red Shoulder inside plummeted. The iron-clad figure in midair surged upward once more. One slash, cleaving a craft, slaying a Red Shoulder. Tens of millions on the ground were stunned. Countless people before their television screens were struck dumb with awe, forgetting even to cheer. Yet it was not enough. Standing in midair beside its craft, Daie watched Han Qingyu with a posture that remained confident and composed. *This human cannot kill me.* *Then I shall kill it.* *Boom!* An explosive roar suddenly ripped through the sky. Daie held its column sword level in both hands, sweeping it from left to right... Its massive frame lunged forward, charging through the air to cleave the iron armor. At that moment, Han Qingyu was swinging backward and upward. Aside from Daie charging head-on, a squadron of nearly twenty shuttle craft behind him was swarming toward him in formation. There was nowhere to dodge. "Ah..." People before their televisions gasped involuntarily. Most of them did not understand the martial prowess of the source energy world, but this Daie had threatened and trampled upon this world and its people for far too long. Humanity had lived in perpetual fear, perpetual disappointment... until today, finally brought to the brink of despair. "Dodge, you fool! Run away if you have to!" Even though she had convinced herself he was a robot, Zhang Jiexia could not help worrying, shouting in anguish with reddened eyes. At the same time, the wife in the Kamakura household reached out to cover her daughter's eyes. "General!" the people of Xiongzhanli cried out. "The King!" In the distant Third Fixed Exploration Site, the ten thousand soldiers left behind by Stream Vanguard watched the screen, too tense to breathe. "Qingzi," Rusty Sister murmured, looking up. "Qingzi," Wen Jifei whispered. No one could blame them for worrying, for at this moment, even Chen Buer was anxious. After all, barely a few months ago, Han Qingyu had been gravely wounded by a single strike from Daie and cast into the sea. Even though he had repeatedly claimed recently that he might currently be at the martial peak of his life, there were still too many unknowns—and before him stood Daie! And the battlefield was in the sky. "Qingzi!" The cry rose in unison from countless throats. At that moment, toward the sea, a Swordfish-class and a Qing Spear-class human source energy craft banked sharply, slicing toward the battlefield at extreme speed. On the flanks of both craft were paintings of red moths plunging into flame. The craft bound for South America had finally arrived. The scene high in the sky far away was fully displayed before the eyes of Wu Xu, Milla, He Tangtang... every single one of them. "Charge in!" Wu Xu roared. This was the first time anyone in Stream Vanguard had ever seen Wu Xu in such a state. Then, "Charge in!" almost everyone aboard the two craft shouted. However, the two pilots glanced back at them... hesitating, wrestling with the decision, before finally gritting their teeth and saying, "No. Before leaving, Major Qing gave private orders... if you return and find the battlefield in jeopardy, you are forbidden to enter." "'Don't put all your eggs in one basket. That is a strict order,' he said," the other pilot added. "We have to obey." On the aerial battlefield where everything hung by a thread, the two human source energy craft sweeping in from the sea curved out to the left and right an instant before plunging into the fray with twin swooshes. Eerily, it was as if they were pulling open the curtain on a stage. High in the sky, trapped in a pincer attack, *Boom!* Another majestic eruption of source energy occurred. Leveraging the force, the iron armor twisted its burning body around and shot forth. He chose to turn back first, striking toward the swarm of craft. Between the two options, this indeed seemed the better choice. And so, in this moment, virtually no one realized that starting from this very second, the dividing line that truly severed two eras in humanity's century-long war against the Great Spike invasion... was officially being drawn. *Boom!* The foremost craft of the Great Spike swarm was struck head-on by the molten lava column sword. It did not shatter. It merely hurtled backward. In its violent retreat, *boom-boom-boom-boom-boom...* it slammed consecutively into more than a dozen shuttle craft behind it. The craft crashed into a tangled heap. Yet the iron armor's strike was not over. High above, crimson luminescence blazed fiercely. The molten lava column sword continued its slash forward. The strength of both arms combined with the iron armor's entire body erupted in unison, cleaving from top to bottom—*Boom...* Many people in this world had seen a ship sink, but very few had ever witnessed an entire fleet sinking simultaneously in a single instant. At that moment, the dozen-odd shuttle craft tangled together high in the sky were like a fleet upon the ocean, all sinking at once, plummeting down toward the sea. At the same time, the iron armor raised the sword and kicked out. The kick collided head-on with another intact shuttle craft streaking in at an angle. *Bang!* Upon impact, the nose of the shuttle craft collapsed like a mound of dirt, shattering into fragments that flew backward. Under the recoil, the iron armor swung backward and upward once more. Then, his body snapped back around. *Whoosh!* A midair slash... The massive molten lava column sword left his grip, shooting violently toward the charging Daie. A smaller molten lava column sword trailed about half a second behind, concealed in the wake of the larger blade. There were no more column swords on the iron armor. He still had a saber on his back. His figure paused briefly in midair. It was merely a fleeting pause, so brief that no one in the world had time to muster any emotion, shared or otherwise. *Awooo!* A stirring roar suddenly echoed across the heavens. The molten lava flames surged upward, departing from the iron armor's body. *Boom...* The entire sky turned fiery red, and this redness had a form. "What... what is that?!" Countless voices asked at once. "A dragon!" Little Prince declared resolutely inside the Swordfish-class craft. This time, no one contradicted him. During Han Qingyu's death-defying bursts, a colossal phantom in the air had appeared twice before. Because it possessed the look and color of air, no one had ever truly seen it clearly. Debates had raged endlessly over what shape it actually took—whether a dragon, a serpent, or a worm. Now, however, it had color—the color of molten lava, crimson infused with blazing bright yellow, manifesting visibly in the sky. It was burning, moving. Its movement was a downward swoop. *Clang!* The iron armor drew a war saber from his back into his hands. He raised it with both hands. In the next instant, *Roar!* The colossal molten shadow pounced forth. The man lunged forth. This was the true ultimate state: life source energy and ultimate bone source energy, finally fused in battle with the ultimate trait energy left behind by General Ivan... climbing to the pinnacle. *Go back. Go home,* Han Qingyu told himself in his heart, and then he slashed. Burning everything. ... *Clang!* Across roughly four hundred meters, Daie swung its sword, cleaving aside the large molten lava column sword hurled head-on, and once more raised its blue-light column sword with both hands, charging toward Han Qingyu. At three hundred and fifty meters, the small column sword emerged. Daie chose to ignore it. It could indeed be ignored, for it could not even pierce armor. Yet— *Whoosh!* The iron armor arrived. The speed was so astonishing that people on the ground and viewers before their television screens alike could barely see anything at all. At the same time, molten lava filling the sky surged forth like a rushing river. The standard-issue Azure dead iron war saber was held high. Two hundred meters. One hundred meters... *Boom!* The war saber cleaved downward in the midst of his forward charge. In that sweeping descent, it pressed onward without hesitation, rushing toward Daie. What was unleashed in that strike was not merely a blade. There was also a river of molten lava. And a colossal beast-like shadow. At that moment, swarms of Great Spike craft still attempted to plunge into the battlefield. Han Qingyu paid them no heed, not sparing them so much as a glance... The Great Spike craft that rushed into the fray were swept into the flames... *Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!* The entire sky seemed to rupture, like a churning sea of fire. The blade cleaved out from within the churning sea of fire... stirring up a sky filled with crimson. "Kill!" In that instant, tens of millions on the ground—Azure soldiers and ordinary citizens alike—roared with one voice. "Kill!" The ten thousand stationed at the Third Fixed Exploration Site roared: "I will, I shall march with you; destiny and blade follow wherever you turn, until your banner stands forever above the zenith, or I scatter as ash into the wind!" "Kill!" At this moment, an entire world that had been steeped in despair roared together. "Kill!" Rusty Sister, Wen Jifei, He Tangtang, Wu Xu... Chen Buer. Directly below, a submarine suddenly breached the surface of the sea, and a figure leaped into the sky... Choked with sobs, she screamed, "Chop off Daie's fucking head!" "Kill..." *Clang!* The collision finally occurred. The sheer sound and the tempest of energy alone forced dozens of incoming Great Spike craft nearby into violent retreat. Daie held its sword horizontal, blocking the blade edge. Yet—*slash!* "..." Daie tilted its head. The red molten lava extending from the dead iron blade edge became a blade—a colossal blade that cleaved through iron armor from its left shoulder. Slicing into its body. Cleaving through everything. Finally sweeping diagonally across its entire chest... "Fear humanity." High in the sky, a voice slowly resonated. The iron armor stood there. On the screen, the colossal shadow in the sky and the river of red molten lava were slowly dissipating around him. Shards and wisps of crimson drifted... gradually fading away. The entire world fell silent.