865 Retribution came wearing slippers
The mech suddenly fell out of the sky and into the army of Void Dwellers. Mental exhaustion was setting in, so Z was slow to react, but fortunately, he managed to avoid getting hurt. He used his shield as cover as he slammed into one of the large Void Dwellers and stabbed his spear in its body and used it for support to slow down his descent.
Just as they had suspected, the strange robed figure teleported them to another battlefield just as they began to thin the first army. He did not even wait for the fight to finish. The moment the number of demons they were killing was reduced, he appeared again and teleported them to another monument, disappearing in the process.
The problem he was facing was not the long battles or the endless enemies. Instead, it was that the enemy seemed to be preparing his attacks specifically in the other battlegrounds. For example, this time around, the stronger demons all had armor specifically designed to stop the penetrating force of his spear and shields to block his energy attacks.
Even the attack patterns of the Marzu had been thoroughly studied and accounted for. Naturally, that did not mean that the mech and the formidable Marzu lost all battle capabilities, but that the impact of their attacks was drastically reduced. If previously the mech could continuously injure numerous giant demons and slowly tire them out, now it was a challenge to injure even one as they had adopted various defensive tactics.
In fact, they were not even trying to attack them nonstop, as they had previously been. Instead, they were just trying to tire them out, and it was working.
The mech took flight using his wings, trying to get some distance so that it could deploy some long range attacks. But the wings, which had been powered by an external source, suddenly disappeared, resulting in the mech from falling from midair as it did.
The moment the mech reached the ground, it withdrew the spear from the Void Dweller and used its body to attack all the enemies surrounding it. But Z's exhaustion began to reveal itself in small but significant ways.
He did not notice how the ground he landed on felt unusually light, so when it collapsed underfoot he was taken by surprise. Nonetheless, he had sufficient skill, so he was able to jam his spear on the side of the tunnel he was falling into, and immediately pulled himself out.
The action barely took a moment, but was enough to allow his enemies to surround him. A majority of them held up their shields, as if ready to deflect his attacks, while a couple of them attacked him with long-range weapons, safely nestled behind their partners defenses.
The mech, after a long time, was put into a passive position where it had to focus more on defending itself than attacking.
The Marzu were in a similar state. The demons had prepared special treasures that disrupted their magical incantations or interfered with the execution of their spells. All the Marzu, with great reluctance, were forced to use their immense physical strength to rip their enemies to shreds, rather than their magical powers. It was a great trial for them.
While the situation seemed tolerable for now, the longer this went on, the worse it got. With Z's deteriorating performance, the mech took repeated hits. Compared to its overwhelming attack, the defense of the mech was lacking, so the entire battalion had to tolerate the strain from that damage.
To make up for it, he had no choice but to use stronger attacks. He could no longer afford to be as precise, but that came with its own issues. Without Feyore's help, the mechs attacks constantly caused spatial ripples and waves. While those ripples dealt some damage to the demons, it did nothing to the Void Dwellers.
Looking at it from that point of view, the ripples could even be considered an asset for Z and the battalion, if it weren't for the fact that they too had to tolerate the effects of the ripple! Moreover, if he overdid it just a bit, and opened a tear, more Void Dwellers would pour out.
Bang!
Just as the mech was shooting out a beam of energy, a hidden attack struck it in the back! Z did hear nor sense the attack at all, but that did not change the fact that it was devastating. The mech fell forward with reeling from the attack, unable to react quick enough. As if long having been prepared for just that, more silent attacks struck the mech.
Even still, they could not identify where the attacks were coming from, or who was attacking them! Even disoriented, Z panicked, as he felt his control over the mech slipping. In desperation, he tried to use a powerful attack. Maybe that could disrupt the assassin!
But it was for naught! Before Z could retaliate, a final blow struck the mech's chest, finally breaking the integrity of the technique that held it together.
The mech disappeared and all 1000 members of the battalion were thrown onto the battleground floor!
But while Z was extremely mentally fatigued, the rest were not. Although they too bore the effects of prolonged usage of the mech, they were only physically tired. Immediately, as if they had rehearsed this exact moment hundreds of times, the battalion surrounded Z who could not completely recover.
At the same time, they unleashed their attacks without holding anything back. Although not as strong as the mech, they were not weaklings either. Their means and methods were more than enough to launch a wave of devastation around them. Moreover, the demons had not prepared for their individual means.
Their attacks were a lot more precise and swift than that of the mech, allowing them to more easily kill the very same enemies the mech had been struggling with.
At the same time, they could no longer be concerned about the dangers of Void tears. If they held back even a little, their own survival would be at risk. So, if there was risk either way, they chose the method that would devastate their enemies the most.
Pamela, the combat medic, focused completely on helping Z, leaving herself completely unprotected. It need not be said that the battalion trusted each other unequivocally.
"This is bad Luthor. Z has lost consciousness and isn't waking up. Forcefully disrupting his connection with the mech seems to have injured him gravely."
"Take all the time you need," Luthor said calmly, as if they were not surrounded by thousands of enemies. But confidence alone could not remedy the situation. Luthor took in a deep breath, preparing himself to push himself to his limits, and beyond. Z had done the best that he could, now it was his turn.
It was then that an unusually violet spatial wave went over the entire battleground, coming from up above. Wary of more enemies, Luthor looked up.
But instead of more enemies he saw fireworks. It was not just Luthor who looked up in confusion. Many demons, Void Dwellers and some of the other races who were hiding on that planet all looked up.
One after another, distant sparks lit up in the night sky, a few flaming streaks falling through the sky afterwards. It was only after a few of such 'fireworks' went off that Luthor realized what he was really looking at.
It was not fireworks, but exploding ships in space.
A thought suddenly struck Luthor, and he immediately used a spiritual technique to zoom in on the space above this accursed planet. He saw hundreds of ships flying and shooting at a black blur, chasing it down. Yet none could come close, and not a single one of their attacks hit.
Instead, it was a second, smaller blur, that zoomed through the vacuum of space and tore through the many ships. Recognizing a familiar suit, Luthor could not help but smile, and then burst out into laughter.
His purple flames enveloped him as he walked away from the battalion. The only thought on his mind was to give out a signal to let the reinforcements know where he was. Yet even as he walked into the madness of an army of demons and Void dwellers, the last sight he saw could not help but continue to make him laugh.
It was not just an oh so familiar suit that he saw. He saw the figure of a man, a devil's mask on his face, making him look like death incarnate amongst the debris of all the ships he destroyed. But the most significant thing he saw… was the man wearing bathroom slippers on his feet as he zoomed through space.
The flames around his body rose into the sky, the heat from the flames once again causing the air to move out rapidly. A tornado of purple flames was once again formed, marking where the battalion was on the planet.
