The King of Black Fog

But no matter how fast, in the instant that the beam shot out, the {Knight} seemed to almost impossibly disappear, according to the common sense of this world.

It wasn't about negating the wavelength of visible light.

It was the speed being too fast, completely out of sight.

The Imperial Mecha breaking the sound barrier was just the basics; its maximum speed could reach over 30,000 kilometers per hour, nearly 30 times the speed of sound.

Before the value game began, Earth's fastest fighter jets were just Mach 3, three times the speed of sound.

But mechanics couldn't possibly battle at such speeds, and the Cangqiong Fragment, even with the Cangqiong Royal Family's appointment, wouldn't respond to any intelligent system; it had to be manually piloted or through neural link.

"Locked on"

"Locked on"

"Locked on"

Red alerts flashed crazily inside the {Red Lotus}'s cockpit.

"What's happening?!" Patino asked with a dark, puzzled expression.

"Patino!" came a desperate shout from the intercom inside {Judgement} that could shake one's eardrums.

Patino instinctively looked up, and as the optical display followed his gaze, right there on the face of {Red Lotus} was the {Knight}'s mech body, sparkling with golden eyes, right in front.

When?

Patino didn't even have the time to utter this question aloud, he only managed to conscientiously think it in his mind.

The next moment, the display went completely dark, and the familiar sound and sensation of the mecha ceasing to operate slowly came through.

The cockpit turned pitch black, engulfing Patino like a tide.

Li Changzhou held the "corpse" of {Red Lotus} in his left hand, and the Cangqiong Fragment of {Red Lotus} in his right, and with a bang, left behind ripples in the air like water, flying back to the Imperial Square.

Thump!

The corpse of {Red Lotus} was thrown at the spot where the {Knight} had first been displayed, striking deep into the hearts of all present.

The armor was torn open, the body was ripped apart, sparks flew from the wound, and the Cangqiong Fragment was gone.

The densely packed crowd at the Imperial Square silently stared at the remains of the mech.

They were not angry, only bewildered.

Impossible, absolutely impossible, how could an Imperial Mecha lose! How could someone snatch away the Cangqiong Fragment in one blow!

{Judgement}, {Moonlight}, the eyes of the two Imperial Mechas lit up simultaneously, on high alert.

To be able to burst to the mecha's top speed in an instant, to conduct accurate attacks at top speed, to come to a halt from top speed instantly...

All of these things, the Imperial Mecha could endure, and the power could support, but the mechanic sitting inside, and the mechanic's spirit, neither could achieve it.

Humans, whether in body or spirit, are too fragile when compared to mechas with hard armor but no thought.

Compared to the millions of people, the nearly 60 meters tall {Knight} was insignificant, but at that moment, everyone was daunted by it.

The next second, Margaret III reacted, ordering,

"Shoot!"

The Empire's drones, airships, stationary cannons, mechas, soldiers, including the three Imperial Mechas, all fired at the {Knight} in the air at the same time.

Smoke bombs, flash bombs, incendiary bombs, shock bombs, high-speed armor-piercing rounds...

Positron guns, particle cannons, ion cannons, plasma cannons...

Pulse lasers, pulse particle cannons, sound wave pulse resonance guns...

Artillery fire, lasers, charge weapons, covered the sky, and just the ammunition alone truly rained down like a downpour.

But then.

Li Changzhou's spirit, coupled with the high performance of the {Knight}, made the rain of light coming at him seem like leisurely floating paper airplanes.

Boom!

With the {Knight} as the intersection, artillery fire and charge weapons collided, causing a terrifying surge of light and explosions, with the violent shock waves rippling out in all directions.

The air seemed to collapse, and the astonishing shock wave hurled itself at everyone on the square.

Gusts of wind hit them like slaps to the face.

For those standing directly below the {Knight}, the shock waves made it impossible for them to even stand steady.

"Did it work?"

"Target… survives"

"Still alive!"

"Where did it go?!"

"Target found"

"Target found"

"Target spotted"

"Above us!"

Boom, all the mecha took to the sky, trailing streams of multicolored light.

[Trigger side mission: Unmatched]

[Mission details: Crush the Empire! The more unbeatable you appear, the richer the reward!]

[Note: You, piloting the {Knight}, are undoubtedly unbeatable. Now, tell the world how strong you've become on the path of evolution as a 'rule-breaking player'—(PS: The mission is way too easy, so don't expect the rewards to be that great.)]

"Enemy units detected: Designated as B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, B7, B8, B9, B10, B11, B12, B13, B14, B15, B16, B17, B18, B19, B20, B21, B22, B23, B24..."

"Total enemy units: 10,000"

Li Changzhou glanced at the numbers on the detector.

The power furnace revved to its limit, becoming a blaze of light.

The {Knight} stumbled in the air, flipping head down, rotating, and beginning to dive.

The wind and shock grew stronger, and the black mecha turned into a black stream of light. Within the black stream, golden eyes and silver energy slots drew out thin strands of gold and silver light.

Trailing a mix of black, gold, and silver light, the {Knight} spiraled through the air like a galactic beam.

Full-force charge, meteor-like speed, and destructive power akin to a plummeting meteorite, all revolving like a spiral.

Coming close, he raised his fist, unleashing a punch with sky-shattering strength in a spiral force.

The armor twisted and dented inward, with the fist punching through from the back.

The first mecha exploded.

Another punch with the sound and destructive power of a meteorite easily pierced through the body of another mecha.

The second mecha exploded.

A spinning kick sent out an overwhelming shockwave, striking a thirty-meter class mecha.

The next instant, the upper half of the third mecha burst open.

The fourth, the fifth...

The majestic black stream of light struck each successive mecha that tried to attack or flee with pinpoint accuracy.

These mecha were as fragile as sheets of paper, shattering clean and exploding upon contact with the black tornado stream of light, turning into a burst of fireworks.

The flames from the explosions unfolded like fireworks in the sky.

The black tornado stream of light was like a brush illustrating explosions across the sky, connecting one mecha to the next in a line.

Then, as if following or chasing the black stream of light, one mecha after another exploded.

With each explosion, flaming debris fell from the sky like a torrential downpour of pear blossoms, tossed far away by the blast waves.

The square plunged into chaos, as debris from the sky crashed down like artillery shells.

The debris, engulfed in flames, fell into residential areas, commercial districts, some smashing into living rooms or breaking down corners of walls.

Plenty of glass shards and fragments scattered, buildings burst into fierce flames.

"Total enemy units: 3"

Only the {Judgement}, the {Moonlight}, and the {Burning} remained.

"How is this possible..."

Everyone stared at the {Knight} amidst the fiery meteor shower in the sky.

Even the Imperial Mecha couldn't possibly destroy nearly ten thousand mecha in one strike!

These mecha weren't idiots to line up neatly, waiting to be strafed by the 'gifts' of the Imperial Mecha.

"What exactly happened?" On the balcony, Di'en also couldn't control his inner panic.

Not just him, Margaret III, all the subjects of the Empire, no, the entire world was in panic.

The image of the invincible Imperial Mecha was deep-rooted in people's hearts, but this was not the Imperial Mecha at all!

More than destroying tens of thousands of mecha in one strike, what mattered more to the people of this world was—this mecha, with the Cangqiong Fragment on board, had surpassed the Imperial Mecha!

This was impossible! And absolutely unacceptable!

Beia Triss was shackled at the wrists, her head bowed under the weight of a princess crown, her body bound by a bridal gown, but her spirit had never been as free as it was now.

She was not surprised by the scene before her.

Beia believed that as long as humans dared to dream and act, they could unleash even greater strength.

Didn't the ancestors of the Cangqiong Royal Family dream of leaving this world, only to learn of the Cangqiong later? And even when blocked, they didn't give up and eventually obtained the Cangqiong Fragment, right?

But he still resigned to his fate, believing this to be the limit of humanity, and in the end, chose to sign a contract with the heavens.

Beia Triss was convinced that even the heavens could be shattered by humanity someday, fulfilling the ancient dream of reaching the moon!

"It's not over yet." Amidst the blazing inferno, the shadowy figure of the {Knight}, shimmering in pitch black, raised its right hand.