Chapter 23: The Eternal Canyon: The Final Stand
At this moment, the Eternal Canyon.
It is not a canyon in the traditional sense, but a gargantuan, narrow "scar" on a cosmic scale, composed of violent gravity, warped space, and solidified dark matter. On both sides rise churning, bizarrely colored energy barriers, resembling walls of boiling flesh that radiate a soul-chilling pressure.
The relatively "calm" navigation channel within the canyon is narrow and tortuous. Light here is swallowed and distorted, presenting a disquieting blend of dim yellow and dark red.
Hefeng’s massive "Seed" fleet is currently moving forward through this cosmic throat like a scarred yet resolute iron dragon, advancing with difficulty yet in perfect order. The bloated hulls of the colossal transport ships almost fill the narrow channel, their engine lights forming a faint yet steadfast galaxy in the gloom.
On the bridge of the *Radiance*, Hefeng stands like an immovable pillar of strength before the massive observation window, clad in Heaven King armor—a weave of platinum and flowing starlight—with the Sword of Sovereignty, forged from star-core gold and dark-silver, hanging at his waist.
His gaze pierces through the distorted light, locked firmly on the front of the fleet—there, at the end of the Eternal Canyon, a deeper, more chaotic "curtain" that seems capable of swallowing all light and perception is slowly unfolding.
The Boundary Sea!
The absolute frontier explored by the Angel civilization, the Wall of Sighs that separates the known from the unknown.
As long as they cross this narrow exit and enter that strange and kaleidoscopic Boundary Sea, guided by his foster father’s star charts and the Final Pointer, they will completely shake off their pursuers and embrace a true horizon of freedom.
The bizarre rules within the Boundary Sea—where communication is severed beyond a thousand meters, where vision is deceived, and perception is disordered—will be their perfect talisman.
Never mind Liangbing’s 1.2 million troops; even if Keisha were to lead an army of a hundred million in pursuit, she would lose her way in that chaotic labyrinth, unable to advance an inch.
The dawn of victory is only three standard hours away!
"Report, General!" Ren’s voice carries irrepressible excitement. "The vanguard, the *Pathfinder* transport group, has arrived at the exit coordinates! Final environmental calibration before entering the Boundary Sea is underway! Subsequent ships are following in stable sequence! It is estimated that in two hours and fifty-seven minutes, the entire fleet will complete the crossing!"
Hefeng’s fingers, tightly gripping the hilt of the Sword of Sovereignty, loosen slightly. A hint of relief appears at the corner of his determined mouth. Finally… they are almost there.
Finally, it is coming to an end…
The bloody battles of the Wrathful Sea, the plundering of the Heavenly City, the harrowing escapes from the vortex of death… all the sacrifices and efforts will receive their final reward the moment they step into the Boundary Sea.
The hope of a new beginning lies beyond that chaos!
He even subconsciously whispered a prayer in his heart, a rarity for a warrior who has lived for ten thousand years and seen through the vanity of gods: "May the Angel Goddess protect us…" This was not faith, but an instinctive call and a sense of gratitude born from the depths of his bloodline in the face of despair, a plea to the mysterious forces of the civilization's origin.
However, at the very moment when hope was within reach—
Hum—!!!
An unprecedented, soul-trembling surge of terrifying energy, like the throbbing before a supernova, suddenly erupted from the entrance of the Eternal Canyon!
Immediately after, a beam of dark purple energy, unimaginably thick and condensed with destructive power, struck into the Eternal Canyon like a spear of judgment tearing through the universe, ignoring the vast distance and warped space!
Its target: the most densely packed middle section of the "Seed" fleet!
"Enemy attack!!!" The shrill alarm sounded across every ship! The bridge was instantly bathed in blinding red light!
Hefeng’s pupils contracted to pinpricks! His heart felt as though it had been fiercely gripped by a cold, giant hand!
Liangbing?! How could she be here so soon?! How could she pinpoint this location so precisely and launch such a terrifying over-the-horizon strike?!
"Evasive maneuvers!! Shields to maximum!!" Ren’s roar cracked with tension. The energy shields of every warship were instantly pushed to their limit, forming layers of interlaced light screens.
Hefeng’s eyes were bloodshot; he could almost foresee the tragic scene of the destructive beam falling and instantly vaporizing several, if not dozens, of transport ships packed with civilians and resources!
The final hope was about to vanish before his eyes!
But!
A sudden change occurred!
The terrifying torrent of energy, capable of piercing a planet, underwent an incredible transformation as it shot into the core area of the Eternal Canyon, near the churning "walls of flesh" on either side!
Sss—!!!
There was no earth-shattering explosion, no devastating shockwave.
The dark purple destructive beam seemed to have struck an invisible, greedy maw.
The violent energy was frantically torn, absorbed, and devoured by the bizarre energy barriers on both sides!
The beam thinned, twisted, and faded at a speed visible to the naked eye, finally dissipating into nothingness less than a hundred kilometers away from the nearest transport ship!
It left only a few spatial ripples in the void, resembling wounds that flickered briefly before being smoothed over by the chaos of the canyon itself.
Silence!
A deathly silence enveloped the Seed fleet!
The relief of surviving a catastrophe and a sense of profound absurdity struck everyone who witnessed the scene.
Hefeng’s tensed body suddenly relaxed, and a cold sweat broke out on the palm gripping the Sword of Sovereignty.
The next second, an indescribable ecstasy and a sense of immense irony welled up in his heart!
"Heh, haha… hahaha!" Hefeng could not help but let out a low laugh, which grew louder and louder, filled with the exhilaration of surviving against the odds and the ultimate mockery of his enemy’s futile efforts!
"Good! What an Eternal Canyon! What a cosmic wasteland!"
He mentioned the name again, this time with a tone full of banter and genuine relief. This godforsaken place was indeed their blessed land!
Almost at the same time the energy beam dissipated, in the gloom toward the entrance of the Eternal Canyon, the dense, menacing silhouettes of warships emerged like a swarm of demons crawling out of the abyss of hell!
The pursuit army of the Heaven-Opening King, Liangbing, had arrived!
The massive and hideous hull of the *Apocalypse* acted like a lead shark, slowly approaching the edge of the energy barrier at the canyon entrance, unable to delve deeper. The muzzle of the massive main cannon at the bow still held the lingering dark purple embers of the shot, like the eyes of a beast waiting to devour its prey.
A voice, amplified by powerful energy and filled with fury, spite, and a touch of exasperation, exploded like thunder, forcibly piercing through the Eternal Canyon’s interference with conventional communications. It echoed clearly over the Seed fleet and rang in Hefeng’s ears:
"Hefeng—!!! You coward! You stinking dog! You low-life bastard!! Did you think you could hide in the ass of the universe and I wouldn't be able to catch you?!!"
Liangbing’s cursing lacked any queenly decorum, filled with the venom and mania of a market shrew: "You blow up star gates! You destroy wormholes! You spread rumors! And now you’ve crawled into this godforsaken shithole—what kind of God of War are you?! You’re a beast among beasts!"
"What the hell can you do besides run and pull dirty tricks?! If you’ve got guts, come out here and fight me properly!"
"Let’s see if I don’t smash that turtle shell of yours and your pathetic little 'seed' into cosmic dust!"
Hefeng’s smile vanished instantly, replaced by a cold, serene stillness like ten-thousand-year-old glacial ice.
He signaled Ren to open a fleet-wide broadcast. The power of a third-generation super-warrior made his voice resonate like a great bell, carrying absolute composure and undisguised contempt as he struck back clearly:
"Liangbing, it’s been thousands of years, and you are still so noisy, so foul-mouthed, so impatient, so easily rattled, and so… stupid."
His voice was not loud, but carried a power that could pierce the heart: "Fight properly? The Battle of the Wrathful Sea, an encirclement of ten million, traps of dark energy disruption—is this what you call 'fighting properly'?"
"Now, I lead the seeds of my civilization, seeking a path of survival, and you chase after us like a mad dog with a million-strong army—what kind of 'proper fighting' is that?"
Hefeng stepped forward, his Heaven King armor flowing with majestic starlight in the gloom, his fingers gently stroking the hilt of the Sword of Sovereignty.
"You say I’m running? That’s right! I am running! But I run for the sake of these three million lives behind me who yearn to live and rebuild their home!"
"I run so that the hope of the Angel civilization will not be extinguished, so that it will not be completely wiped out by the 'New Order' of yours and Keisha’s—that binary, scorched-earth policy!"
His voice suddenly rose, carrying an ironclad determination and an air of high-handed judgment: "And what about you, Liangbing? What are you chasing for?"
"Is it because you, the bratty little sister, want the praise of your sister Keisha? For your pathetic and ridiculous vanity?"
"Or is it to satisfy your twisted, perverse desire that finds joy in destruction and torture?!"
"Look at this Eternal Canyon!" Hefeng spread his arms, pointing to the bizarre barriers that had swallowed the destructive beam. "Even the universe itself is obstructing your senseless slaughter!"
"Your artillery fire is nothing but a futile joke on this road to salvation!"
"As for the Boundary Sea…" Hefeng’s gaze turned toward the deep chaos at the end of the canyon, a cold, triumphant arc forming on his lips, "It is right before us. Can your million-strong army get in?"
"Even if you could enter, in that chaotic labyrinth where even perception is stripped away, what can you do?"
"Wander like a group of headless flies, waiting to be devoured by the oddities of the Boundary Sea itself?"
"Save your energy, Liangbing." Hefeng’s voice carried a final, unquestionable ultimatum. "Turn back, and tell Keisha that the Heavenly Palace of the old era is dead, but the flame of the Angel civilization will never be extinguished!"
"We will build a future on the other side of the Boundary Sea that truly belongs to all angels! And your pathetic hunt… ends here!"
Liangbing’s flagship fell into a brief, deathly silence, as if choked by Hefeng’s mockery and declaration, which had pierced straight to the essence of things.
Following this, an even more violent, hysterical surge of energy erupted from the *Apocalypse*! The dark purple energy around the hull surged like boiling magma!
"Bullshit!!" Liangbing’s shriek almost tore through the communication channel. "You want to run?! Not a chance! Artillery doesn't work, huh?"
"Fine! I’ll come down there and play with you myself!"
"Warriors of the Apocalypse Legion!!"
Her voice was full of bloodthirsty madness. "Target—inside the canyon! Land the assault!"
"Tear these 'Heavenly Scum' to pieces! Rip Hefeng’s head off for me to kick around like a ball! And then castrate him!"
"Kill them all!!"
Following her frantic command, the *Apocalypse* and the countless assault ships and troop transports of the Apocalypse Legion surged forward like dumplings into a pot, smashing through the energy membrane at the entrance of the Eternal Canyon (enduring immense pressure) and forcing their way into the relatively stable navigation channels within!
Dense landing pods were ejected from the motherships like venomous wasps leaving their nests, pouncing toward the rear and middle sections of the Seed fleet where the transport ships were most vulnerable!
Close-quarters combat! It was inevitable!
The last trace of ease in Hefeng’s eyes vanished completely, and icy killing intent permeated his entire being!
"Ren!" Hefeng’s voice was like a sword drawn from its scabbard, cutting through all hesitation. "Execute the 'Severed Tail' protocol! Death-Defying Corps! Form up immediately!"
"Target—the enemy landing cluster! At all costs! Buy the fleet three final hours to cross!"
"Yes, General!" Ren roared in acknowledgment, his eyes burning with a desperate fighting spirit. The order spread through the fleet instantly.
The sixty thousand veterans of the Second Legion, who had been waiting in the rear transport ships, best equipped and most resolute—those bestowed with the name "Death-Defying"—poured out of the exit hatches of the ships like a black iron torrent!
In the narrow canyon channel, relying on the hulls of the massive transport ships and temporarily deployed energy barriers, they quickly constructed several defensive lines made of flesh and steel!
The clanging of dark-silver swords being drawn merged into a storm of metallic death!
Hefeng’s gaze swept over the quickly forming, tragic yet solid defensive line, and finally fell upon the chaotic Boundary Sea at the end of the canyon, which was drawing ever closer. Time was life!
He pulled the Sword of Sovereignty from his waist!
Clang—!!!
The clear, dragon-like ringing of the sword instantly overpowered all alarms and clamor!
The blade, forged from star-core gold and dark-silver, erupted with a brilliant and majestic golden light in the gloom, and vast energy fluctuations spread out like a tangible force!
Hefeng, covered in his Heaven King armor, stood like a god of war descending. He stepped out of the bridge of the *Radiance*, his snow-white wings unfurling behind him!
Hefeng stood alone a hundred meters in front of the formation.
One man, one sword, facing an army of a million.
"Brothers! Your families are watching you! The 'Seed' is watching us! Our parents, wives, and children are in the fleet behind us!"
"Beneath our feet is the defensive line! Behind us is the future!"
"Today! We are the sin! We are the punishment! We are—the Wall of Sighs!"
"For the Seed! Fight to the death—never retreat!!!"
"Fight to the death—never retreat!!!" The clanging of sixty thousand blades being drawn merged into a war cry that tore through the void!
"Death-Defying Corps! Follow me—engage the enemy!!"
His cold, majestic voice, accompanied by the edge of the Sword of Sovereignty, transformed into a streak of light that tore through the gloom, charging headlong toward the front of the Apocalypse Legion’s landing cluster as it surged forward like a tide!
The final bloody battle erupted before the gates of the Boundary Sea!