18: The Awakening of the Ruins and the Three-Way Battle

An Anomaly in the Ruins?!

Sun Zheng's heart sank. Talk about driving a wolf from the front door only to let a tiger in at the back! The Scrin threat wasn't even fully dealt with, and now this mysterious ancient ruins had to make a move at this very moment?

He quickly pulled up the live feed from the surveillance squad watching the ruins. The previously lifeless dome-shaped structure now had its ancient surface patterns flowing with unprecedented brightness, emitting a soft yet powerful white light. The fissure previously touched by the Military Dog was especially glaring, as if something was about to break free.

What made Sun Zheng's heart race even more was that the Combat Laboratory detected the energy waves emanating from the ruins were somehow strangely interfering with and attracting the Scrin's spatial fold waves and the resonance waves of the 'glimmer keystone'!

The entire battlefield's energy environment was thrown into complete chaos.

At that moment, the sole surviving, battered enhanced 'devourer' tank seemed to sense the ruins' energy waves. It abandoned its attack on the base defenses, its massive frame actually turning around. Its compound eye sensors locked onto the ancient ruins, emitting a low hum mixed with vigilance, greed, and a hint of... fear!

"It... it's reacting to the ruins?" Sun Zheng instantly understood! The Scrin's target might never have been just his small base! They were likely here for the ancient relics on the Moon! His base was merely in the way, or an obstacle to be cleared along the path!

This discovery sent a chill down Sun Zheng's spine. If the Scrin were after the ruins, then their forces were probably far more than just these two waves!

Just as his mind raced, another anomaly occurred!

Suddenly, a pure white beam of light shot from the top of the ancient ruins' largest dome, piercing the sky! The beam wasn't offensive; instead, it spread out high in the air, forming a thin, filmy energy layer covering the entire battlefield.

The moment this layer appeared, Sun Zheng clearly felt the energy glow on the Scrin 'devourer' tank dim slightly, and its movements became somewhat sluggish. Meanwhile, the base's power systems ran more stably, and the prism towers' light seemed to brighten a bit.

"This film... is suppressing Scrin energy? While enhancing ours?" Sun Zheng was both shocked and elated. Was this ancient ruins secretly helping?

The 'devourer' tank was clearly enraged, or perhaps felt a great threat. It ignored the base, charged its main cannon, and fired a thick purple phase ray straight at the ancient ruins!

"No!" Sun Zheng exclaimed instinctively. Although the ruins' intentions were unclear, the enemy of my enemy is a friend. For now, the ruins seemed friendly, not hostile!

However, that phase ray, powerful enough to cripple a prism tower, struck the seemingly fragile white light film surrounding the ruins and vanished like a clay ox entering the sea, only stirring a ripple without causing any damage to the ruins!

The ruins' defensive capabilities were beyond imagination!

Failing its attack, the 'devourer' tank grew even more frenzied. It began moving its heavy frame towards the ruins, seemingly intending to attack at close range.

The battlefield situation instantly turned bizarre: originally, the Scrin were attacking the human base. Now, Scrin units wanted to attack the ancient ruins, while the energy field released by the ancient ruins was helping humanity suppress the Scrin.

Sun Zheng made a decisive decision: "All operational units! Attack the 'devourer'! Don't let it get near the ruins!"

Although the ruins' ultimate purpose was unclear, preserving this 'ally' that could suppress the Scrin aligned with his interests at this stage!

The remaining prism tanks, multifunction infantry vehicles, Rocket Troopers, and re-gathered infantry immediately turned their firepower towards the moving 'devourer' tank. Under the suppression of the white energy film, the 'devourer's' armor seemed less resilient, allowing prism beams and missiles to inflict more effective damage.

Caught between two fronts, the 'devourer' had to fend off the human base's firepower while contending with the ruins' intangible suppression, making its movements extremely difficult. It roared in anger but couldn't quickly break through the barrage.

Sun Zheng nervously observed the battle while closely monitoring changes in the ruins. The white beam continued uninterrupted, and the energy film remained stable. More complex structures inside the ruins seemed to be activating.

Suddenly, the fissure on the side of the ruins widened again. This time, it wasn't just light; something slowly drove out... a unit!

It was a sleek, streamlined silver platform only about the size of a grizzly tank. It had no obvious weapons, just a small crystal emitting blue light on top.

This silver platform silently rose and floated towards the center of the battlefield—right where the 'devourer' tank was.

"The ruins... sent out a unit?" Sun Zheng held his breath. What was this thing now?

As the silver platform approached the 'devourer', the blue crystal on top shot out a thin, almost invisible beam of light, shining on the 'devourer' tank's armor.

The next second, something astonishing happened!

The armor of the 'devourer' tank at the point of irradiation began to... decompose at a visible rate! Not an explosion, not melting, but silently disintegrating like sand!

"This... this is a Disintegration Ray?!" Sun Zheng gasped. The technology of this ancient civilization was too bizarre and powerful!

Under the combined pressure of human firepower and the strange attacks from the ruins unit, the enhanced 'devourer' tank finally met its end. Its massive frame collapsed with a crash under the sustained irradiation from the silver platform and concentrated fire, eventually turning into a pile of scrap metal.

The battle seemed to be over.

The battlefield was left with only the ruins of the human base, the scattered wreckage of Scrin units, and that ancient ruins unit quietly hovering in the air, emanating a mysterious aura.

The silver platform slowly turned towards the base direction. The blue crystal on top flickered a few times, as if... observing?

Sun Zheng's heart leaped into his throat again. What would this 'ally' that had just provided great help do next?