But their eyes remained as firm as iron.
Their Will, in this endless, high-intensity battle, was repeatedly tempered and polished, becoming increasingly tough, increasingly pure.
They were already beginning to show the early signs of becoming Interstellar Warriors.
In the midst of such frenzied battle, time was completely forgotten.
In the blink of an eye, more than a month had passed.
They had penetrated deep into the core region of this massive hive, destroyed countless Green-skin workshops and barracks, and slain tens of thousands of Green-skins.
But it seemed as if there was no end to them.
...
「Three months later.」
In a massive city plaza that had been converted into a weapons testing ground, the four had just finished a brutal battle.
They stood back-to-back, panting heavily, seizing this rare moment to replenish their power armor’s energy while injecting high-energy nutrient paste into their bodies.
Just then, piercing red alarms flashed simultaneously on the HUDs of all four power armors.
This was the highest-level alert issued by their Intelligent Assistants after analyzing data transmitted from detectors on the edge of the battlefield.
On their tactical maps, countless red dots representing Green-skin units were pulling back from the distant main front at an incredible speed. Like a tide, they surged madly toward the very hive the squad was in!
"Captain! Something’s happened to the Star Realm Army! The main Green-skinned Army is coming back!"
Zheng Dong’s voice was the first to ring out on the comms channel, filled with shock and disbelief.
Mike exclaimed in shock, "How is that possible?! Was the Star Realm Army defeated? Or..."
He didn’t voice the most terrifying possibility.
’...Is the Planet Governor screwing us over?’
None of them had time to dwell on the reasons why.
The red dots swarming in from all directions already foretold their fate: they were about to be completely surrounded and overwhelmed by an enraged, million-strong Green-skinned Army!
Yet at this moment, the voice of their captain, Wan Shuang, was terrifyingly calm.
"It wasn’t a defeat."
Her voice carried a trace of bone-chilling cold. "The Planet Governor backstabbed us."
"Why?!"
Mike, Zheng Dong, and even Qin Feng were all incomprehensibly shocked.
Colluding with Chaos was something they could understand. Chaos could grant power and eternal life, allowing a Martial Artist with mediocre aptitude to become a peerless prodigy in a single leap.
Just like Shi Dang. After he began to worship Chaos, his strength grew several times faster!
If he could even satisfy Khorne and offer a worthy sacrifice, Khorne could directly bless him, elevating him to a Planet-level Life Form.
Such were the rewards for believing in an Evil God and colluding with Chaos.
But colluding with the Green-skins?
What good could these barbaric creatures, who knew nothing but War and destruction, possibly offer an Imperial Planet Governor?
The next moment, they understood.
"BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! WARNING! EXTREMELY HIGH INTENSITY WAAAGH! FIELD DETECTED! FIELD STRENGTH INCREASING EXPONENTIALLY! WARNING! SUBSPACE CHANNEL FORCIBLY LOCKED! TELEPORTATION IMPOSSIBLE!"
The sensors inside the power armor shrieked an alarm more piercing than any before.
An invisible field, filled with a raging and chaotic Will, instantly enveloped the sky and land like a giant dome.
The WAAAGH! field!
It was a terrifying creation, a fusion of Mental Power and Spiritual Ability, forged from the collective Combat Will of all Green-skins.
Within a sufficiently powerful WAAAGH! field, all conventional Subspace Teleportation was completely blocked!
"The Green-skins’ War Lord withdrew his forces deliberately. He knew we were here all along."
The corner of Wan Shuang’s mouth curved into a cold, self-mocking sneer.
"That damned Planet Governor sold us out. I suspect he coveted our power armor, as well as the ’Acupoints’ we’ve condensed as Martial Artists who practice a ’Top-grade Acupoint Opening Technique.’"
"He used us as a peace offering to the Green Skin Lord, all to secure some laughable, temporary ’peace’ with the Green-skins."
In the history of the Empire, such incidents were not uncommon.
Especially in these remote Star Zones, far from the heart of the Empire, some arrogant Planet Governors would always foolishly believe that the Green-skins were simple-minded barbarians who could be easily tricked and manipulated.
But they always forgot: the Green-skins are cunningly cruel, and cruelly cunning.
Anyone who attempted to fool the Green-skins would, in the end, have the tables turned on them in the most brutal and bloody fashion.
"We... can’t retreat now."
Wan Shuang’s voice was perfectly calm, without a ripple of emotion. "Everyone, immediately send a highest-level distress signal with our coordinates to the Imperial mission board, the school’s private network, and the tournament organizers. From this moment on, our objective changes to ’Survival’."
She took a deep breath and issued her final commands.
"Effective immediately, change combat patterns. Abandon offensive maneuvers. Focus on hiding and evasion. Conserve stamina and ammunition at all costs."
"Our job is to stay alive. Stay alive... until the moment rescue arrives."
A brief silence fell over the comms channel.
A moment later, Qin Feng’s steady voice broke the silence.
"Distress coordinates sent."
"Heh, good."
Mike’s signature, hearty laugh rang out again, but this time, it held a certain carefree acceptance of his fate. "Live or die, it’s up to the heavens now! Dying with you lot? I’ve got no complaints!"
"This Planet Governor is so dead!"
Zheng Dong spat viciously. He deactivated his helmet, revealing a face twisted with rage. Baring his teeth, he snarled, "Even if I become a ghost, I will never let that animal get away with this!"
Faced with this sudden and almost certainly fatal predicament, not a single trace of fear or panic arose in their hearts.
They were the most elite of Warriors, forged step-by-step through countless trials of blood and fire to reach this day.
Even in the final second before death’s descent, the only thing they possessed was an absolute, ironclad calm.