Chapter 485 – Amber Wings

“These Source Ores are toxic!”

“What kind of toxin can incinerate even those at level 7? It must be some sort of radiation!”

The astonished and chaotic voices of the space pirates rang in his ears, filled with heated discussions.

Lu Yuan clasped in his hand the Abyss Fallen Demon Coin he had obtained through [Extraordinary Contact] as a sacrifice, brushing his fingers over its rough texture. He watched with a solemn expression as the bizarre chain incineration unfolded below.

It’s neither poison nor radiation. If he isn’t mistaken…

This should be a… curse!

A curse stemming from the system of the Abyss evil deity.

Lu Yuan’s gaze landed on the Gem Lord. He never imagined that this seemingly harmless fat man could be somehow connected to an Abyss evil deity.

His understanding of the Abyss evil deity was limited to just a single coin.

“Damn it, these Source Ores are untouchable now…”

The space pirates gritted their teeth, and some began to focus their attention on the Gem Lord.

Others, with changing expressions, began weighing their options for retreat.

But regardless of their plans, executing them was not easy at this moment.

They were surrounded by dozens of crimson gold mechas, facing relentless attacks from all directions almost every second.

“Damn!”

Lu Yuan heard a low curse from the “red-bearded man,” who, wielding dual blades, fiercely cut through the attacks of two crimson gold mechas as he moved closer, seemingly intending to make contact with Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan ignored him, defending against the surrounding assaults while his attention remained below.

He noticed that the black ash formed by the star pirates incinerated by the bright yellow flames was silently seeping into the ground, as if it were being discreetly absorbed by something.

There seemed to be an indescribably eerie atmosphere swirling and converging in the air.

A feeling of unease gradually rose in Lu Yuan’s heart.

“Boom!”

At that moment, a powerful energy fluctuation suddenly erupted in the scene.

Dazzling bright light accompanied by a terrifying white shockwave nearly scattered both the space pirates and the crimson gold mecha battle group.

Everyone looked up in shock, only to find that the two level 8 mechas that had been entangled in battle from the start had finally decided the victor.

In the consciousness power-pervaded sky, under the cover of the blood-red wolf’s head, the air rippled with faintly translucent waves.

Blood-red energy radiance flowed along the elongated arc-shaped blade; a twelve-meter-tall black giant mecha hovered in mid-air, its arms naturally hanging down, overlooking the kneeling silver mecha below.

The voice belonging to Sea Wolf emanated from the black mecha, carrying an icy and authoritative tone.

“Level 8 Spirit Court Guard… your strength is quite average…”

The silver mecha, at a disadvantage, hung its head low without speaking.

The space pirates first appeared stunned but quickly transformed into a state of elation.

Sea Wolf!

In the high-stakes level 8 powerhouse contest determining the overall outcome of this battle, the result was Sea Wolf’s victory.

No one had expected this.

Lu Yuan was similarly taken aback, filled with surprise.

He knew Sea Wolf was powerful, but he hadn’t thought Sea Wolf’s strength was formidable enough to suppress an Empire-trained Spirit Court Guard pilot within the same level.

The result was astonishing to him.

He couldn’t tell if Sea Wolf’s strength was excessively superior or if the duke’s son named Helier was merely a facade.

Glancing at the nearby Gem Lord’s expression, Lu Yuan noticed that the fat man showed no change in expression after witnessing Helier’s defeat, seemingly unconcerned about a potential reversal of the situation.

“Five times…”

At this moment, the silver mecha, kneeling on the ground, slowly raised its head to look at Sea Wolf, breaking the silence.

“Your strength has surged five times in succession…”

Helier rose slowly from the ground, and despite being a mecha, his noble elegance and composure were evident.

“I suppose, even if all five of your Fixed Resonance slots are equipped with the same secret technique, by now… you must be at your limit.”

“You can try.”

Sea Wolf’s tone was calm as he slowly raised his lowered arms and said, “To be honest, I’ve never had the opportunity to personally kill an elite high-level talent like you from the Empire.”

Helier remained silent, and the form of his silver mecha blurred for a moment.

With a dull “boom,” it left behind a cracked indentation in the ground and disappeared from sight.

A powerful energy fluctuation spread from the high-altitude skirmish as the silver and black mechas were once again locked in combat.

In this battle, however, Helier was clearly at a disadvantage, continually suppressed by Sea Wolf.

Encouraged by Sea Wolf, the pirate group’s spirits were lifted, and their mood became exhilarated.

The shock and panic caused by the Life Source Ore’s curse were swept away.

For those capable of leading a pirate group, managing numerous level 7 space pirates, none was an easy adversary.

At this moment, they unleashed their full strength, showcasing bizarre tactics, ferocious styles, and audacious postures, gradually turning the tide despite being outnumbered more than two-to-one by the crimson gold mecha.

Lu Yuan continued to “muddle along” within the battle group.

He alerted Sonis through consciousness, and as Sonis fired a long-range energy cannon that exploded at the foot of the Life Source Ore pile, quickly changing his position.

Without drawing attention, he discreetly pocketed a piece of the ore blasted into the air.

[Devour] skill, activate!

As soon as the Life Source Ore, about the size of half a human head, made contact with Lu Yuan’s body, it was directly absorbed.

Transformed into an exceptionally pure form of Life Energy, it quickly integrated into his body.

“There is indeed a trace of the power of the evil deity attached…”

After devouring the Life Source Ore, Lu Yuan immediately assessed the mysterious curse power seeped within the ore.

This power lurked within the ore, attempting to infiltrate his mental power the moment it appeared.

Lu Yuan sensed a slight tremor in his [Spirit Devouring: God and Demon Species (Transcendent Mythical)] professional panel. But before it could respond, this power was domineeringly absorbed by the [seed of misfortune] within him.

“Whew-“

Lu Yuan breathed a slight sigh of relief.

He ventured to devour the Life Source Ore as an experiment to see whether the eerie curse power that could cause level 7 pilots to self-destruct would have any effect on him.

As it turned out, the abilities of the Spirit Devourer Clan were indeed domineering.

This amount of power of the evil deity hardly posed any threat to him.

“Even if I devour more and the curse power accumulates in my body, [seed of misfortune] might not be able to contain it… but I still have the professional panel as a backup…”

To be precise, the professional panel was Lu Yuan’s greatest assurance.

Back when “Anders” attempted to devour him, it was forcibly absorbed as advancement material by the professional panel.

As for the mere curse power, unless it instantly put him in a life-threatening situation, it would most likely just unlock or open a new professional panel for him in the end.

With confidence in his heart, Lu Yuan began to ponder how to achieve his mission and obtain as much Life Source Ore as possible.

As he was thinking, a strong wave of consciousness suddenly emanated from above.

Instinctively, Lu Yuan looked up and heard a cold, ominous voice echoing around him.

“It’s over.”

It was Sea Wolf.

“Buzz-“

An immense surge of mental power erupted. In the high sky, the massive black mecha, as brave and powerful as a war god, seemed to collide visually once again.

The blood-red phantom of the wolf’s head instantly increased in size, becoming more solid.

The fierce and domineering Blood Wolf appeared to raise its head in a long howl.

Under this terrifying and supreme force, Sea Wolf raised his arms high, the elongated blood-red energy blades on his arms surged like a tidal wave, forming a gigantic scarlet cross, slashing diagonally at the silver mecha before him.

“The sixth [Blood Cry]…”

Lu Yuan murmured softly.

Sea Wolf had activated all five of his Fixed Resonance Techniques in previous battles. Now, with his strength escalating again, he was approaching level 9 strength.

It was obvious that this time, the [Blood Cry] Resonance Technique came from within himself.

The sixth time.

And the final time.

It seemed he truly intended to end the battle once and for all.

With the sixth [Blood Cry] layered, Sea Wolf’s power expanded to an unprecedented height.

The intense mental power intertwined with the mecha energy, forming an invisible storm in the void, forcing the mecha on the scene to descend, barely able to catch their breath.

“Damn it!”

A robust brass-colored mecha charged over to Lu Yuan’s side, the red-bearded man shouting angrily at him.

“Did you give him the dose or not? Why does this guy seem even fiercer than before?!”

Lu Yuan ignored him, keeping his eyes locked on Helier’s direction.

His instincts told him that this battle wasn’t going to end so easily.

Sure enough.

Facing Sea Wolf’s unparalleled strike, Helier controlled the silver mecha to retreat continuously.

When he retreated to a certain position, he suddenly stopped, and then…

“Boom!”

A brilliant silver light erupted from Helier.

In the intense light that nearly transformed into silver flames, the silver mecha of the Spirit Court Guard began to crumble inch by inch.

Following this… a pale-golden radiance burst forth from within.

“Boom!”

The scarlet diagonal cross blade slashed fiercely at the center of the silver light spheres, unleashing terrifying power.

Instead of dimming, the pale-golden light within the spheres grew even more intense and flowed out.

The aftermath of the entangled forces whipped up an invisible storm within the vast cavern space, causing everyone to squint and retreat.

As the shockwave subsided and the blinding light faded, a different confrontation scene unfolded before them.

Sea Wolf remained unchanged, but standing before him, the silver mecha that once belonged to Helier had been replaced by another mecha.

Words couldn’t capture the precision and beauty of this new mecha.

Towering nearly fifteen meters high, it was entirely pale-golden, without a trace of metal casting.

It seemed like a natural, unified body.

A solid block of amber.

A… priceless top-tier masterpiece.

Even Sea Wolf was silent, confronted by the new mecha summoned by Helier’s Spirit Court Guard mecha.

After a moment, watching the wings behind Helier sway silently like flowing flames, Sea Wolf spoke in a low voice.

“Amber Wings?”

Helier’s emotionless voice emanated from the amber Mecha, “It seems you have some insight.”

Helier’s pale-golden amber Mecha gracefully stretched its form, confidently approaching Sea Wolf step by step. The indifferent voice, accompanied by a faint engine hum, echoed in the cavern.

“Then…”

“Are you ready…”

“To meet your end?”

The twelve-meter-tall black Mecha raised its arms, with blood-red energy flowing along the dual blades on either side.

Assuming a combat stance, Sea Wolf spoke coldly.

“Let me see if you truly have the right to say such things. The gap in strength isn’t something that can be entirely bridged by Mecha…”

“Hmph!”

With a soft snort from Helier, the fifteen-meter-tall amber body vanished in an instant.

Sea Wolf, too, became a fleeting silhouette, as the massive black and golden figures tore through the void and clashed with unprecedented force in less than a millisecond.

Once again, the straightforward battle turned complicated.

“Damn, these two are getting fiercer! Are they still level 8?!”

The red-bearded man grumbled noisily in Lu Yuan’s ear.

Lu Yuan withdrew his gaze from the battle between Sea Wolf and Helier, focusing instead on the mountain of Life Source Ore below. Suddenly, he spoke up, cutting off the red-bearded man’s chatter.

“Join me. Let’s find an opportunity to capture Gem Lord!”

“Uh?!”

The red-bearded man was momentarily stunned by Lu Yuan’s sudden suggestion.

Before he could react, he noticed two figures breaking away from their battle group, heading swiftly towards where Gem Lord was positioned.

At the same time, the familiar voice of Alfonso crackled through the channel of his personal terminal.

“Everyone… find a chance to capture Gem Lord! If we seize him, this operation won’t be a failure!”

The level 7 space pirates each reacted differently to Lu Yuan’s “command.”

Some frowned in contemplation, some sneered dismissively, and others simply ignored it.

But within just a few breaths, they were forced to acknowledge a reality-

At this point, apart from following in Lu Yuan’s footsteps, it seemed there were no other options left.

This group had originally banded together temporarily to fend off the attacks from Gem Lord’s crimson gold mecha bodyguard squad.

Everyone was already under considerable pressure.

With the departure of both Lu Yuan and Sonis, each level 7, the pressure on everyone else instantly increased.

Moreover, since they couldn’t take away the existing Life Source Ore, kidnapping Gem Lord seemed to be their only way to cut losses.

Initially, it was Lu Yuan and Sonis who had rallied them together.

Now, the dispersion was also being led by Lu Yuan.

Looking back, this group had been led by the nose by Lu Yuan from start to finish.

Many among them grumbled about how Iron Rose Sonis always followed Alfonso’s directives. Could it be that Alfonso, with his less-than-appealing appearance, had some unique “charms”?

Half reluctantly, they followed the path of Lu Yuan and Sonis straight towards Gem Lord.

The space pirates’ intentions were crystal clear, prompting the crimson gold mecha forces to pull back and defend.

The battle lines grew taut and stretched, the conflict plunging into chaos.

Amidst the frenetic chase and chaotic skirmishes between the two sides, the space pirates suddenly noticed something.

The cool-headed “Alfonso,” who had just been directing them to collectively target Gem Lord…

Mid-charge, seemed unable to resist the allure of the shimmering green Life Source Ore below. He abruptly dove down, plummeting headfirst into the pile of Life Source Ore with his mecha.

“Damn it!”