Chapter 24: A Solo Dance Before the Front Lines: The Invincible God of War

Hefeng’s declaration echoed through the Eternal Canyon like a peal of thunder, met only by the surging tide of female angels charging forward, fueled by hatred and resolve.

The chaotic veil at the entrance to the Boundary Sea, which devoured everything it touched, loomed ahead. Less than three standard hours remained before the Ark Fleet could fully retreat into that unknowable sanctuary. Behind them lay a white torrent of death, formed by a million female angels.

The narrow, twisted channel of the Eternal Canyon had become the throat of a bloody meat grinder. The "flesh barriers" on either side, pulsing with eerie colors, seemed to come alive, greedily sucking in the thickening scent of blood and the dissipating energy.

The suicide squad’s defensive line, anchored by the wreckage of massive transport ships and makeshift energy shields, stood like iron reefs, stubbornly pinned against the surging crimson tide. Sixty thousand veterans of the Second Legion stood silent as mountains. Their夙-silver combat swords were unsheathed, the cold light dancing along the blades reflecting the bone-deep exhaustion and even deeper resolve on their faces. There were no shouts, no roars; only heavy breathing echoed within their sealed armor.

They knew their mission: to trade their lives for those final three hours, to build a final Wall of Sighs with their own flesh and blood for the hope that lay behind them.

Hefeng served as the sharpest, most unshakeable cornerstone of this Wall of Sighs. He stood alone, sword in hand, at the very front of the defensive line, a mere hundred paces from the first rank of the suicide squad. His Heavenly King Armor—interwoven with platinum and flowing star patterns—radiated a heart-stopping majesty in the dim, dark-red light. The Royal Sword at his waist was not yet fully drawn, but the immense, invisible pressure of his sword intent was already causing the female angels in the fan-shaped zone ahead to feel a suffocation of the soul.

The first to charge were hundreds of the new generation of second-generation super-soldiers. They were young, filled with the reckless edge of those who know no fear, their fighting spirits ignited by Liang Bing’s roars and the stigma of being labeled "Heavenly Scum." In their eyes burned a thirst to prove themselves and a disdain for the "remnants of the old era." They saw Hefeng—the greatest obstacle standing in the path of their "justice."

"Die, Heavenly Scum!" a short-haired angel shrieked, pushing her speed to the limit. The Flame Sword in her hand traced a blinding arc of light, aimed straight at Hefeng’s throat! Her companions followed close behind, weaving dozens of flame-blade beams into a web of destruction, swearing to tear this so-called "God of War" into pieces!

Hefeng moved.

There were no earth-shattering energy explosions, no dazzling light effects. His movements were absolute in their speed, their purity, and their terror. The instant the tip of the short-haired angel’s sword was three inches from his throat, a golden radiance—faster than lightning, colder than ice—suddenly ignited!

*Clang—!*

The Royal Sword was unsheathed!

With no superfluous motion, Hefeng gave his wrist the slightest flick. The sword tip, like a viper striking, landed with pinpoint precision on the most vulnerable joint of the Flame Sword’s spine.

*Puchi!*

A soft sound followed, like a hot knife through butter. That Flame Sword, forged with the peak technology of the angels and capable of severing common alloys, was as fragile as paper before the Royal Sword! From tip to hilt, it was instantly pierced and torn asunder by a golden line of impossible smoothness. The angel wielding it felt a terrifying, irresistible force surge through the broken blade; her web of the hand burst open, and the bones of her arm groaned in agony.

Yet, there was no time for shock to register on her face. The golden light did not pause; while tearing through the Flame Sword, it had already ghosted forward another six inches.

*Puff!*

A duller sound followed—the sound of flesh being pierced. The Royal Sword, forged from star-core gold and edged with dark 夙-silver, pierced through the 夙-mark light armor on the angel’s chest without resistance, sinking precisely into her heart. The terrifying power contained within the blade erupted instantly, shattering her powerful, second-generation heart into a mass of blurred gore!

The fanaticism, the edge, and the thirst to prove herself in her eyes were instantly replaced by an incredulous bewilderment and the hollow void of rapidly fading life. Her body tilted forward from the momentum of the charge, only for Hefeng to flick his wrist, tossing her aside as casually as brushing dust off a sheath. She slammed heavily into another charging angel, bringing down a whole row behind her.

The entire process took less than a tenth of a second. A second-generation super-soldier, a promising squad leader in the angel legion, had her young life ended as carelessly as a bug being crushed underfoot.

Hefeng’s face remained devoid of emotional fluctuation, as if he had merely brushed away a speck of dust.

"Kill him!"
"Avenge our sisters!"

Hefeng’s "invincibility" did not deter the subsequent angels; instead, it ignited the bloodlust and camaraderie in their bones. Witnessing the gruesome death of their comrade, overwhelming rage eclipsed their fear. More angels, eyes bloodshot, abandoned all flashy technique, pouring all their power and speed into their Flame Swords. Like moths to a flame, they charged toward that platinum figure from all sides, fearless of death!

Hefeng moved.

This time, it was not a precision strike. His figure suddenly blurred, appearing to leave an afterimage in place. The Royal Sword seemed to gain a life of its own in his hand, transforming into a golden storm! There were no wide-sweeping slashes, only the most concise, efficient, and lethal trajectories.

He side-stepped to the right, avoiding three sword beams, while simultaneously withdrawing the Royal Sword from the corpse he had just slain. The blade trailed a string of blood droplets, carving a beautiful, mournful arc through the air. Following the momentum of the withdrawal, he twisted his waist and whipped his arm out like a lash! A crescent-like arc of golden sword-light swept horizontally across his front!

*Sshhh—!*

A series of teeth-grinding cutting sounds rang out! The three angels in the lead froze instantly. One was sliced cleanly from the hip, her upper body flying forward from inertia, spraying a fountain of blood as she collided with those behind her. Another was cut in two at the waist, her entrails spilling into the void along with her blood. The last attempted to raise her sword to block, but was cleaved diagonally from left shoulder to right rib—sword and body alike! Her Flame Sword shattered like rotten wood before the Royal Sword, offering no resistance at all!

One strike! A single, seemingly casual horizontal slash! Three mangled corpses were swept away like broken sacks by the sword-wind, paving a bloody path for those charging behind.

"No!!!" the angels behind cried out in grief and fury.

Hefeng’s figure did not pause, slicing into the next gap like a phantom. Every movement he made was precisely calculated to exploit the gaps and blind spots in the angels' attacks, and every swing of his sword claimed at least one living soul. In his hands, the Royal Sword was no longer a weapon, but the scythe of death, the physical manifestation of cosmic law. Flame Swords shattered on contact, light armor disintegrated, and flesh and blood perished instantly!

A veteran angel, eyes flashing with the light of a suicide mission, abandoned attacking Hefeng’s body and dove, stabbing her Flame Sword viciously toward the unprotected ankle joint of his boot! It was a lethal blow, condensed from a lifetime of combat experience!

Hefeng did not even look down. His left foot, as if by premonition, lifted and retreated half a step at a speed invisible to the naked eye. The sword tip, carrying all the veteran’s power, missed, brushing against the edge of his boot, the wind of its passage merely fluttering the star-patterned tassels on his Heavenly King Armor. Almost exactly as the sword missed, Hefeng’s right foot stomped down like lightning!

*Crack!*

A bone-chilling sound of snapping bone echoed! The foot clad in the Heavenly King boot, heavy as a ten-thousand-pound hammer, landed precisely on the veteran’s wrist! The immense force instantly shattered her wrist and forearm bones! The Flame Sword flew from her hand.

The veteran let out a shrill scream, the agony nearly causing her to black out. Yet, her scream lasted only half a second. A golden light descended like divine judgment!

*Puff!*

The tip of the Royal Sword pierced through her throat—which was arched back in agony—and emerged from the back of her neck! She was pinned dead in the cold void! Her pupils dilated instantly, filled with complex emotions of resentment and release as the light of life rapidly extinguished.

Hefeng flicked his wrist, a slight tremor of the blade shaking the corpse away. His gaze was already locked onto the next target—an assault angel attempting to bypass him and charge the suicide squad’s defensive line behind. As if teleporting, he appeared before the assailant. In her eyes, filled with horrific terror, the Royal Sword brought a cold light that tore through space, piercing her left temple and exiting the right!

Cold! Efficient! Precise! Ruthless!

Hefeng was like a pre-programmed killing machine, surging upstream against the tide of the female angel charge. Where he passed, only severed limbs and sprays of blood mist remained. His Heavenly King Armor was occasionally struck by the shockwaves of Flame Swords or dark-energy arrows from god-slaying weapons, emitting dull clanging sounds; but aside from leaving insignificant white marks or causing him to sway slightly, they had no effect. Those god-slaying weapons, capable of piercing the bodies of third-generation super-soldiers, appeared so pale and powerless before this armor, which fused the highest forging techniques and rarest materials of the Angel Civilization.

On the bridge of the *Tianqi*, Liang Bing gripped the edge of the command console so hard her knuckles turned white, emitting a creaking sound. Her beautiful face was twisted by extreme rage and a sense of helplessness; those soul-stealing eyes were now burning with raging flames, nearly spewing fire. On the screen, Hefeng’s figure, like a demon god, was sweeping through the siege of the female angels; every swing of his sword was like a loud slap across her face. The elites she had sent, the young geniuses she had pinned her hopes on, were being harvested like wheat before that damned golden sword!

"Trash! A bunch of trash!!" Liang Bing’s roar exploded on the bridge, silencing the surrounding officers. "So many of you! You can’t even entangle one man! You can’t even scratch his skin?! Am I feeding you for nothing?!!"

She slammed her fist onto the control console, the hard alloy panel instantly denting inward, sparks flying.

"Queen... the canyon environment is too harsh; our numerical superiority cannot be deployed! We can only send them in waves... that Hefeng... he is too strong, our weapons... they cannot break his defense..." a general responsible for front-line coordination reported, his voice trembling.

"Shut up!!" Liang Bing turned suddenly, her crimson eyes locked onto him. The violence in her gaze made the general feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. "Weapons can't break through? Then use your lives to fill the gap! Use your corpses to pile up! Drown him in a sea of people! Tell them! Bypass that monster! Charge the defensive line behind him! Tear open a hole! As long as you latch onto their transport ships, no matter how strong Hefeng is, he will have to come back to save them! Move!!!"