Chapter 471 – Incoming

The howling whirlwind grew larger and eventually took on the scale of a Whirlwind, uprooting trees as thick as half a person or even a whole person.

The serene morning sky filled with blue fish-scale clouds over this area was disrupted.

Lu Yuan saw some people in miner uniforms from a distance, rushing out in panic, their faces filled with fear.

His eyes flickered briefly as he withdrew his Strength, and the remarkably large Whirlwind in the distance immediately lost control, howling away as it weakened.

“Not bad in power but requires some time to guide…”

Lu Yuan glanced towards the gathering miners, avoiding their gaze, and walked alone in another direction.

Lu Feng was very efficient; it took him less than two days to recruit all the necessary people again.

Lu Yuan strolled across the flower-filled meadow, his pant legs getting soaked with morning dew, which he didn’t mind.

Gradually, his speed began to increase.

Faster and faster.

Finally, he created trails of phantom shadows across the lawn.

The number of shadows increased, and when it reached twenty-three…

All the shadows shattered and dissipated like an illusion.

Lu Yuan’s true form appeared more than five meters above the ground.

Lu Yuan’s body stretched out.

“Buzz-“

A peculiar sound of air vibration arose.

In an instant, countless transparent, invisible ripples erupted from all over Lu Yuan’s body.

These ripples shot in all directions, cutting through the air and leaving traces as if blades had skimmed the water surface.

“Swish Swish Swish-“

The lawn beneath Lu Yuan silently split apart, revealing deep intersecting furrows.

In the distance, dozens of meters away, lush branches and leaves from ancient trees silently slipped down, their cut edges smooth as mirrors, as if sliced by a knife.

“Whew-“

Lu Yuan exhaled a breath of turbid air, his eyes bright as he descended from mid-air.

His medium-length hair danced on its own, giving him an ethereal sky-child-like presence.

“So strong… truly worthy of a legendary level professional panel…”

Lu Yuan was thrilled and very satisfied with the abilities brought by the [Wind Tamer (Legendary)] professional panel.

It balanced speed and destructive power.

Although, in a worldview dominated by Mecha, relying solely on this Strength to contend with the iron Mech ruling the stars might still seem somewhat insufficient.

But it did provide a strong force for self-protection.

Moreover, he had just unlocked the [Wind Tamer (Legendary)] professional panel, with Experience progress not even at one percent.

If he continued to improve, it was not out of the question that he could compete with them.

The most crucial point is that he could fully apply this Strength to his Mecha body.

“Wind Tamer + Demon God Mech… given time, I will be the king of the skies!”

Lu Yuan briefly imagined the future, feeling quite hopeful.

Even though creating the Breath of Evil: Wind-Eating Demon Mech was challenging, at this stage, this Strength could significantly enhance his combat power.

He hadn’t even unlocked the [Wind Tamer (Legendary)] killer move skill or super killer move yet.

Once he unlocked a super killer move skill and combined it with his Mecha body, his overall combat capabilities would undoubtedly see a massive leap.

Lu Yuan checked the skill points and attribute points at his disposal.

He had 3 points in each.

As he debated whether to spend them directly to increase his power, a figure quietly appeared beside him.

“Master.”

Lu Feng greeted Lu Yuan in a low voice.

Lu Yuan nodded slightly and listened to Lu Feng’s subsequent report.

Essentially, all the people he needed to recruit had been gathered, and the mining site had begun operations again.

The person from the Waste Ore Processing Company, which Dongmu had contacted, had already called to say that the first batch of waste ore would arrive today.

And there was a small incident…

“Wolf and his group are all dead?”

Lu Yuan was somewhat surprised to hear this news.

“Yes.”

Lu Feng nodded and replied, “They were attacked by cult terrorists on their way to Planet Exile. The entire ship was wiped out, as if they had been sacrificed as flesh and blood offerings…”

“Cult terrorists…”

Lu Yuan frowned slightly.

After arriving at Duoling, this was the second time he heard the term.

He had been quite curious about traces of the ancient evil deity in this Starry Sky on his last encounter.

Yet, his inquiries had yielded nothing.

Now, hearing news about the activities of followers of the evil deity sect again, he couldn’t help but feel a slight stir in his heart.

“What is the official response to this incident?” Lu Yuan asked Lu Feng.

Lu Feng replied, “Attacks by cult terrorists on prisoner escort spaceships are nothing new. Just on Planet Lirva alone, there have been many such incidents over the years…

They probably won’t investigate further.

As long as they don’t openly attack residential planets and massacre Empire citizens, those in power have always paid little attention to this…”

Lu Yuan nodded.

He understood that while Duoling seemed strong, its rapid rise meant it lacked depth, and there were many issues within the vast Empire.

The external pressures were even more significant.

From what he knew, Duoling had been in constant friction with surrounding powers over the years, and there were already rumors of a large-scale war soon to erupt.

Compared to these problems, the disturbances caused by a few cult terrorists indeed did not warrant much attention from the authorities.

Perhaps only when Duoling’s internal and external situations were fully stabilized would there be an opportunity to suppress these individuals.

“It was just bad luck for Wolf and his group…”

Lu Yuan remarked casually, not giving the matter much thought.

Honestly, he couldn’t care less about the fate of Wolf and his group.

Even if they were released as innocent, as long as they weren’t foolish enough to come bothering him again… Lu Yuan wouldn’t bother with them.

He had too much to do now to worry about such matters.

…

Five hours later.

Lu Yuan stood on the top floor of a small white building, squinting through the window at the distant sky, which was as blue as a washed canvas.

Directly below him, in the open space, about two-thirds of the thirty-plus newly recruited miners were gathered there, seemingly waiting for something just like he was.

“Didn’t they say 12 o’clock?”

Lu Yuan glanced at the time displayed on his personal terminal and asked Lu Feng beside him, “It’s almost 1:00 PM now. Why hasn’t the Transport Ship arrived yet?”

Lu Feng frowned, operated his terminal briefly, and quickly replied, “I’m not sure what’s causing the delay. I’ve been urging them repeatedly for the past half hour, and they keep saying they’re on the way, on the way…”

Lu Yuan turned casually and strolled over to a table by the window, sitting down.

This building used to serve as the Lounge for the mine manager and deputy mine manager when Wolf and his team were around. It was now vacated and simply refurbished to serve as Lu Yuan’s office as the mine owner.

“Is your Mecha repaired?” Lu Yuan asked Lu Feng as he poured two cups of hot tea.

Lu Feng accepted the tea from Lu Yuan with both hands, thanked him respectfully, took a sip, and then replied, “Not yet. However, I have a spare, which arrived yesterday. A situation like last time won’t happen again…”

“That’s good,” Lu Yuan nodded.

Restoring Lu Feng’s combat power was quite crucial. It wasn’t that Lu Yuan expected significant support from Lu Feng in battles; he just didn’t want him to die too easily.

He still had a new [seed of misfortune], but subordinates like Lu Feng, with considerable Strength and outstanding capability, were hard to come by.

From “Anders’s” memories, it was clear that once the Spirit Devourer Clan reached a certain level of Strength, they often focused on cultivating their misfortune servants.

Having a few capable misfortune servants could often mean many tasks didn’t require personal involvement; a single word could resolve them.

It’s said that some powerful, well-capitalized Spirit Devourer Clan powerhouses even equipped their misfortune servants with Demon God Mechs.

In some cases, these misfortune servants possessed such potential that their combat power nearly matched their own.

When fighting, it was like having several additional Experts of the same level alongside them, which was quite formidable.

As Lu Yuan entertained these idle thoughts, Lu Feng suddenly showed a reaction, quickly walked to the window, and said, “Master, the ship is here.”

“Oh?!”

Lu Yuan’s eyes brightened slightly as he stood up from his chair.

He walked to the window and looked up at the sky.

Two medium-sized Transport Ships in a light gray color appeared in view, rapidly flying toward them.

From a distance, Lu Yuan compared the trademark patterns on the ships with what was previously agreed and found them to be a perfect match.

“Have the miners get ready to work,” Lu Yuan casually instructed.

Lu Feng nodded and was about to issue instructions to the miners below via his terminal.

Just then, a small humanoid figure suddenly appeared beneath the approaching Transport Ships.

As soon as the figure emerged, it burst forth with a dazzling red light.

Within a second, the red light expanded rapidly and then vanished…

The moment the humanoid figure appeared, Lu Feng’s expression changed swiftly.

“Master, watch out!”

Lu Feng called out, quickly moving to shield Lu Yuan.

Then…

“Boom!”

An enormous energy light pillar, several meters in diameter, struck the small square of the mining site like the Sword of Judgement from the heavens.

The dozens of miners waiting to work had no time to react and were engulfed by the pillar of light.

Immediately afterward, a violent rumble of the earth and explosion erupted.

Terrifying flames and heat waves, mixed with rolling debris and dust, spread outward like an ever-expanding black-red mushroom…

“Boom, boom-“

The ensuing series of explosions directly drowned out the rumbling operation of the nearby mining machines.

The entire mining base turned into a sea of fire in an instant.

Amid this catastrophic scene, the two gray Transport Ships came to a halt.

Above them, a streak of red light shot into the sky and then blossomed like fireworks, forming a giant, ethereal blue rose that lingered for a long time.

“Crackle, crackle-“

Amid the crackling from the burning flames, a large amount of debris rolled down.

Within the billowing black smoke, a black Mecha with Dual Swords mounted on its back emerged from the ruins of the collapsed white building.

The black Mecha was half-kneeling on the ground, embracing downward as if protectively shielding something beneath it.

Around the half-kneeling Mecha, one humanoid Mecha after another appeared from the air, quickly closing in and surrounding it, coldly watching.

An intense killing intent spread throughout the smoky battlefield.

“Take action,” commanded the leading Mecha, deep Purple in color and elegantly designed, as it raised its arm. Instantly, all the Mechas in the air moved, diving rapidly towards that solitary, half-kneeling Mecha below.

Almost simultaneously, a calm yet slightly resigned voice wafted up from beneath the black Mecha’s protective stance.

“This was supposed to be a leisurely and pleasant afternoon…”

As the voice spoke, the black Mecha, which had been in a protective stance, gently released its encircling metal arms.

Beneath it stood a slender, handsome young man, quietly and elegantly poised.

Dressed in luxurious attire, he exuded an air of nobility.

He looked up calmly at the sky, surrounded by invisible swirling currents that isolated the black smoke, flames, and heat waves.

Remarkably, the ground beneath him remained untouched, smooth and spotless, without a speck of dust or dirt.

“It’s him!”

Upon the young man’s appearance, the eye area of the leading Purple Mecha in the sky gleamed brightly, and a cold female voice issued from it.

“Capture him alive.”

In an instant, the diving Mechas slightly adjusted their aim, shifting their locked targets from the black Mecha to the young man.

With over ten Mechas focusing their mental power on him, the air around the young man seemed to compress inward.

The combined pressure of all the Mechas was like a tsunami crashing down from the sky, forcing the black smoke, flames, and rubble in the ruins below to scatter and roll away.

Yet, facing the joint assault of these intermediate Mechas, the young man’s expression remained calm.

He even lifted a hand and casually snapped his fingers.

“Snap!”

Amid the cacophony of the battlefield, the sound of the snap echoed with surprising clarity.

With the snap, the air surrounding the young man-filled with black smoke, roaring flames, and swirling heat waves-seemed to freeze.

The next moment…

“Boom!”

Everything that had been frozen shattered violently.

The black smoke dispersed, and the flames roared fiercely.

From the young man’s position, an invisible shockwave, visible to the naked eye, surged upward like a signal flare.

“Boom!”

The ground trembled violently, sending waves of dirt and stone rolling outward.

In the midst of the white shockwave and exploding orange flames, a massive dark blue Mecha soared into the sky like a dragon.

In an instant, it faced two nearby Mechas.

Compared to the two slightly modified level four Skull Crusher Mechas, this suddenly emerged dark blue Mecha towered over them by a full head.

The speed of the dark blue Mecha’s approach was so swift that the pilots inside the Skull Crushers couldn’t even react.

With one swift move…

“Boom! Boom!”

The chests of the two level five Mechas were pierced through by a grotesquely thick giant arm, not at all resembling normal alloy.

The Mechas were then violently hurled downward like meteors from the sky.

“Thud-“

The impact of their crash landing sounded like an invisible giant slamming a massive hammer onto the ground.

The vast expanse of the ruined battlefield seemed to visually quake.