340: Chapter 340 A Close Call

"Boom!"

A force that seemed capable of destroying the world slammed violently against the world barrier.

In an instant, the entire world shattered like a glass box struck by a giant hammer.

Countless cracks spread through space.

"Transfer."

A calm voice sounded simultaneously.

The bodies of over a hundred soldiers who had merged into the void suddenly exploded into mists of blood.

The tottering world instantly returned to its original state.

"A mantis trying to stop a chariot."

A low voice, one that seemed to resonate directly from the bottom of the heart, descended.

The next moment, the entire world seemed to suffer immense compression, and the Scavenger Legion soldiers who had merged into the world exploded one after another without warning.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Blood mist filled the sky.

The lead captain looked up and could vaguely see five enormous shadows looming outside the void, as if...

A hand covering the sky was grasping the entire world, crushing it like a toy.

Every one of these Sixth Realm experts, who would be capable of founding a prosperous civilization outside the Association, was now falling in droves in an instant.

The world barrier became uneven under the pressure of the immense force.

9000... 8000...

Every time a crack appeared, a large group of soldiers would explode, filling the gaps with their lives to barely hold on.

"Headquarters, this is the captain of the Scavenger Third Elite Squad. We are expected to be completely wiped out in 32 hours, 17 minutes, and 52 seconds."

"This is 3 hours, 21 minutes, and 06 seconds shorter than the original mission objective. Emergency contingency measures are required."

The lead captain took out a communicator and reported this with an expressionless face, his voice flat, as if he were talking about something unrelated to himself.

"Your hard work is appreciated, Captain 3. Scholar Zhang Huaiyuan is an important talent that the Association cannot afford to lose. Please do your utmost to stall..."

"I understand."

The captain known as Number 3 nodded and hung up the communication.

Then, with an expressionless face, he cut open his body and, after activating several dark gold spheres, attached them to his bones.

These were specially made weapons.

They were immensely powerful, but their only drawback was that they were extremely fragile; they would often be destroyed before even getting close to the target.

His final task was to carry these weapons with his own body when the entire unit was wiped out, serving as a final act of delaying the enemy.

...

On the other side, Zhang Huaiyuan had successfully passed through two hundred world layers.

"Only 100 layers left. I wonder how the soldiers who stayed behind to cover the retreat are doing."

Zhang Huaiyuan sighed. Although it was the Association's arrangement, seeing so many soldiers sacrifice their lives with his own eyes made him feel a bit guilty.

Fortunately, the Association should be able to resurrect them afterwards.

"Junior Martial Brother, the Scavenger elite squad was completely wiped out thirty seconds ago. The Association doesn't have time to mobilize more personnel to intercept. The nearest Holy Spirit City transit station refused to send troops out of the city to support us. We can only deploy trigger-based weapons temporarily, but the effect will be minimal."

"First Senior Brother and Second Senior Brother are rushing over with all their might. Before they arrive, you must rely on yourself."

Before he could finish his lament, the Association's communicator suddenly flashed violently, and the voice of Third Senior Brother came through.

"I understand."

Zhang Huaiyuan's expression changed.

Ten thousand Sixth Realm experts, and they were definitely elites among the Sixth Realm, were wiped out in such a short time!

This strength was simply unimaginable.

As for Holy Spirit City refusing to leave the transit station to support him, he wasn't surprised.

Inside the transit station, they could still rely on the formations built over endless years to maneuver. If they came out, it would be equivalent to facing a terrifying Eighth Realm existence head-on.

He wasn't from Holy Spirit City, so they really had no reason to pay such a high price for him.

"Fortunately, I haven't delayed. I don't know if I'll make it in time."

Zhang Huaiyuan looked back, and while hurrying on his way, he ordered:

"Statue of Liberty, from now on, plant a trigger device every time we pass through a world. I need to know its exact location."

"Understood, Your Excellency."

"Let's go."

Zhang Huaiyuan dared not stop and drove his power armor to move forward at full speed.

90... 80... 70...

As he entered the 49th world layer, a red light on the detector suddenly lit up.

The trigger device he left behind had been activated; that Eighth Realm enemy had already pursued him to the 100th layer!

Almost without delay, the devices at 99, 98, and 97 were also triggered simultaneously.

"So fast!"

Zhang Huaiyuan's pupils shrank slightly.

He carefully took out a box, opened it, and scattered a sealed flame.

A spark of World Fire.

It was a reward obtained from ruins long ago, capable of folding thousands of dimensions and burning everything to ashes.

After it fell, the entire world instantly plunged into a void of fire.

"I hope this can stall them for a moment."

After placing it, Zhang Huaiyuan didn't hesitate to activate the cross-boundary Warp Device he had kept earlier.

45... 40... 30...

Bang!

When he reached the 27th layer, the entire device, due to continuous operation, finally couldn't hold on and suddenly exploded.

By this time, the detector's indicator light was already flashing at the 49th layer, where the World Fire was.

This treasure rewarded from the ruins was naturally far superior to ordinary technological weapons, and the powerful enemy's unstoppable advance was forcibly halted.

Zhang Huaiyuan took the opportunity to continue his retreat toward the transit station.

20... 15... 10...

Even when he reached the final eighth layer, the indicator was still stuck at the 49th layer.

"It seems it won't be able to catch up in time... What!"

Before Zhang Huaiyuan could breathe a sigh of relief, he suddenly felt a terrifying force surge, even across more than 40 world layers.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A scene he would never forget unfolded before his eyes.

He saw the world layers in the distant void tearing apart layer by layer, like a receding curtain, as a boundless palm suppressed everything against the void turbulence.

It punched through forty world layers in a single strike!

"Is this the power of an Eighth Realm cultivator..."

Zhang Huaiyuan opened his mouth, unable to help but smile bitterly; it had already exceeded the scope of his understanding.

"It looks like I can't escape. Statue of Liberty, he should be after me. It isn't easy to build your body, so take the things on me and run quickly. I have uploaded a portion of my consciousness to the Virtual Tower, so even if I die, I can be resurrected."

Knowing he was doomed, Zhang Huaiyuan actually calmed down. He took off the storage device from his body and handed it to the Statue of Liberty.

This was the way to minimize losses.

"Your Excellency, actually..."

The Statue of Liberty's true form quietly appeared, took a step forward to stand in front of Zhang Huaiyuan, and just as she was about to say something, her eyes suddenly flashed. She looked at the world layers in front of them and fell silent.

Now was not the best time to act.

A boundless golden light spread over, transforming into the phantom of a six-winged angel, which fiercely raised its sword to strike at the devastating palm.

"A six-winged angel?"

Zhang Huaiyuan was naturally no stranger to this existence that had saved his life before.

He turned his head and was shocked to see, at the entrance to the seventh layer, a woman wearing a pale gold divine official's robe and holding a skull-headed staff stepping through the void.

"Miss Saintess Jiang Nian, why are you here!"

Zhang Huaiyuan couldn't help but be stunned.

He remembered Third Senior Brother saying that Holy Spirit City refused to leave the transit station to provide support.

"Naturally, I came to save you."

Saintess Jiang Nian carelessly took out a new scroll from her storage bracelet and threw it out.

A brand new phantom of a six-winged angel immediately soared into the sky, taking over for the scroll that had already dimmed.

Then, she said with a smile:

"It wasn't at the Association's request, but rather a unilateral decision by Holy Spirit City."