The red-haired girl dripped the solution in her hand into the test tube, and a wispy white substance quickly emerged in the azure liquid, then dissolved rapidly. The girl shook the test tube slightly, turned around, her back facing the camera in the corner of the laboratory, and slowly walked towards a nearby rack of test tubes. As she moved, the azure liquid in the test tube gradually turned milky white, and she held it close to her body. Soon, the girl arrived at the rack, raised her hand, her palm passing through the blind spot of the camera, reached inside her clothes, and switched the milky white test tube in her hand with another azure one prepared earlier, placing it on the rack. At this moment, there were already three azure test tubes on the rack. Then she turned back, as if nothing had happened, returned to the experiment table, and took out a new test tube. Just then, a loud mechanical roar came from outside the door. Outside this temporary structure, some machinery seemed to be starting up, and the troops previously stationed nearby were gathering. Hearing these sounds, the girl looked up at the door, then refocused and continued mixing the solution in her hands. Core Area of the Camp Standing under dense clouds and cold wind, the bearded man gazed at the elder in front of him and slowly smiled after a slight daze, "At this point, Linen, are you still trying to deceive me?" He took a deep breath and raised his tone, "Linen, I know you are adept at strategy, but do you really think you have any other way out? "You want to make me believe that you truly have a backup plan, that there’s a large army outside, eyeing us fiercely, ready to rescue you at any moment. "But Linen, I’ve said it before, I won’t make the same mistake twice. "When you drove the land fortress here, I had already dispatched sentries to scout all routes from Yilan City to here. "Any large army couldn’t pass through the wilderness without leaving a trace, and naturally, they would have left signs behind. "Clearly, on this vast wilderness, there are no traces of any army that could possibly come to rescue you." The bearded man gazed at the elder not far away, "Linen, you have no reinforcements left, that only capable mobile force that could have supported you, are now fleeing westward with the airship passengers. "Even if they could return now, I already have defenses prepared to counter them. "Linen, we both know, the greatest danger of such a fast-moving force is when it remains hidden, unknown to anyone, but once it’s revealed and understood, it loses all its deterrent power." The grand war machine formed a huge encirclement, dense Mechas forming an ancient amphitheater-like ring. Even the cold wind below couldn’t stir, blocked outside by the dense machinery of war. The bearded man raised the foil in his hand, looking towards He Ao, "Linen, tell me, how do you plan to turn the tables? "Do you think you are still in Yilan City? You are the nominal legal leader there, anytime anywhere you could find an army loyal to you, just by playing a king vs. king duel game, you could control the situation with your supporters. "Linen, look around you, do you really think you can command my soldiers?" The bearded man’s emotions finally seemed to stabilize, he gazed at the elderly man, his voice raspy as he chuckled, "Linen, we have encountered countless powerful exotic beasts and arrogant Transcendents in the wilderness, now, they either became materials for Secret Medicine or manipulated Transcendent Items." Wave after wave of mechanical operation noises rising under the surging clouds, countless dark, cold, or glowing cannon muzzles constantly adjusting, like sharp spikes extending under a gloomy sky, targeting the elder below. "I admit your individual combat strength is strong, but do you really think you can escape with your life under a powerful combined Mercenary Corps in the wilderness? Do you think you can escape from the siege of the most powerful war machines mankind has created?" He slightly raised his head, laughing in the almost ceased western wind, "Linen, I must say, you indeed stirred the entire Federation, and many years later, your story might even be turned into dramas and poetry, sung as the protagonist of those legendary tales," He paused slightly, his foil piercing the ground below, his smile growing richer, "It’s an honor, to be the person to close out your legendary life." He grasped the foil in his hand, a white sphere falling into his palm, his cheek filled with a smile as he stared intently at He Ao, "Linen, no one is coming to rescue you now, you have nowhere to escape." "Your analysis makes sense," He Ao calmly gazed at the bearded man in front of him, "But there is one small mistake." He slowly lifted the wine glass in his hand, under the dim sky, the crimson liquid resembled flowing blood. He brought the glass to his lips, then looked at the bearded man and sighed softly, "I don’t need saving, nor do I need to escape." The Elderly gazed at the now empty wine glass in his hand, flicked his finger, and the wobbling glass flew into the sky. In that instant, the bearded man seemed to realize something, and without hesitation, he raised his hand and shouted loudly. At the same time, he began to jump back, falling behind the oncoming Mecha. And the man in the gray suit just calmly watched this unfold, he raised the golden cane in his hand and slowly lifted his foot, taking a leap forward. In that instant, countless eager cannons burst forth with terrifying power, and the brilliant light once again illuminated the sky like a scorching sun. However, these surging glows simply shot straight through the sky, hitting nothing, not even touching the hem of the elderly figure’s clothes. A shattered fragment hit the wine glass in the sky, reflecting a faint light under the brilliance, and instantly shattered into glowing fragments. Flames surged up in the night sky, two Blazing Angel Mechs with obvious modification marks carrying two large swords rushed out, without hesitation, slashing towards the elderly man in the air. Golden luminescence with two bursts of flame, flashed by. More and more war machines filled the sky, dense warplanes and Mechas piled up into vast mountains, covering the figure within. The bearded man had gradually retreated to the very back of the entire siege force. He lifted his head to look forward, the overlapping warplanes even blocked his field of view, preventing him from seeing the center of the battlefield. But he could vaguely catch glimpses of the exploding fire and the roar of exploding machines through the gaps between the warplanes. The fire and roars resounded intermittently like rapid drumbeats, as if swift footsteps. The encircled, the brilliance, and the center of the battlefield, were rapidly approaching his position. The bearded man looked at the Mechas drawing closer in the sky and retreated again, "Let’s see how many waves you can withstand." They had the most elite tactical teams, the most advanced weapons. The so-called B-level Transcendents are also human, they also have limits, at first, he might be able to dodge all attacks, even launch a counterattack against the army, and achieve brilliant combat results. But as time passed, his strength would gradually wane, his body would gradually weaken. When the first laser cannon hit him, then the second, the third, would follow in quick succession. Wounds and blood would cover his body, life would gradually seep out from the cracks opening on his skin. Until everything came to an end, death would descend upon this once unparalleled powerhouse. The bearded man was very clear about this process, as he had repeated countless similar events. And as he retreated, a squad entirely composed of officers quickly appeared behind him. Their speed was extreme, their bodies like illusions, even comparable to the surrounding newly launched warplanes. This was the high-tier Transcendent squad of the Kopes Mining Mercenary Corps, facing particularly strong Prey, when the machines wear down the Prey’s strength, this squad will join the bearded man in delivering the final blow in a bloodbath. Watching the squad rapidly approaching him from behind, the bearded man’s slightly hanging heart also let go a bit. "Captain, we can’t hold on much longer, this old guy is too strong, stronger than any Transcendent we’ve encountered before." And just as the bearded man was about to meet up with the Transcendent squad, a shout came through his radio. He recognized it, it was the voice of the officer in charge of defending his area. He shouted without hesitation, "Hold on, the forces on both sides of you are already coming to support you, trust your comrades!" There was no reply from the communicator, but the cluster of machines in front of him had clearly become much denser. Clearly, the supporting Mechas from both sides had arrived. Actually, the bearded man didn’t mind that the elderly mayor was charging in his direction. He had great faith in the capabilities of his subordinates; if that ’Linen’ charged at him crazily, he could easily predict his direction and then trap him in a deeper and stronger encirclement. Just like prey falling into a trap, no matter how much it struggles, it only sinks deeper. Now, he just needed to wait for this prey to exhaust itself. The thoughts in his mind didn’t disturb the actions of the bearded man; he continued to retreat rapidly. The approaching Transcendent squad from behind was getting closer and closer. The final ’hunt’ preparations were nearly complete. However, just as he was about to meet with the Transcendent squad behind him, accompanied by a booming sound, surging flames shot through the gaps of the stacked warplanes and Mechas in front of him. Along with a harsh rustling sound, a hoarse roar came through the intercom on the bearded man’s chest, "Captain, this old guy has been hiding his strength all along, we can’t support···" The words from the intercom were cut off before finishing. The bearded man didn’t ask what had happened on the other end because he had already seen the outcome. Not far in front of him, under the contiguous dark clouds of warplanes, fierce flames blossomed in front of him, and the burning Mecha shattered into countless splintering metal pieces. The elderly man holding a golden staff crossed the surging flames, appearing like a Divine Being returning from hell through the fire waves, emerging not far in front of the bearded man. The elderly man raised his head, glanced at him, and stepped forward; his step seemed incredibly slow but covered dozens of meters in an instant, halving the distance between them. Gazing at the elderly man raising his foot again, the bearded man took a deep breath and quickened his pace backward. At that moment, the Transcendent squad from behind instantly rushed forward, several people forming a formation, surrounding the elderly man in a grey suit. At the same time, they each took out Extraordinary Items and attacked the elderly man. The bearded man slightly relaxed. These Transcendents were all professionally trained, although only C-level, but blocking a B-level’s steps was still··· Blood along with broken corpses flew across the bearded man’s field of view, the elderly man with grey hair appeared almost without any pause, instantly appearing in front of him. The cold wind brushed past the chaotic battlefield, raindrops forged from blood dyed with various glows fell behind the elderly man. The golden staff was thrust into the soft mud, a cold breeze brushed past the blood-stained grey hair strands. The bearded man had imagined countless ways the elderly might break through the encirclement, but he had never envisioned the scene before him—crushing the strongest and most elite corps in the encirclement with absolute, undeniable violence, clearing the encirclement the hardest way possible, and crushing all enemies to emerge in front of him. The elderly man lowered his head, gazing at the bearded man in front of him, his tone calm and hoarse, "Ordinary soldiers of Kopes Mercenary Corps can surrender, accept the protection of Yilan City, the officers and everyone involved in this airship incident must face trial." "Trial who? Trial me?" The bearded man gazed deeply at He Ao, "Linen, you just caught me by surprise; I hadn’t anticipated you hiding so much strength, but even so, you are not enough to withstand the power of Kopes Mercenary Corps, it’s only because I haven’t gathered my people yet." He looked at the elderly man who was just a step away from him, with a slightly mocking smile, "Do you really think you can defeat the Kopes Mercenary Corps by yourself? Even if you kill me, a deputy will immediately take over my command, nothing will end, and you’ll ultimately die here, becoming one of the corpses beneath these dark clouds." He clutched the white ball in his hand, gazing at He Ao, "I am also B-level, you might not be able to kill me." He raised his hand, about to throw the white ball in an instant. "Decree: Prohibition of Biochemical Weapons." The elderly man just calmly watched him, observing all his moves. Almost the moment those hoarse, old words were uttered, they became the law in the cold wind, becoming the rule that binds all life. The bearded man wanted to throw the white ball in his hand, but his body seemed to have its own will, stopping his action. At this moment, the Elderly had already reached out his hand and took the white ball from him. "Linen, you are still arrogant," The bearded man looked at the Elderly who was close at hand, raising the soft sword in his hand, "You might think I am a commanding type Transcendent like Scott, but unfortunately, I am a combat type." The sharp soft sword swept through the dim air, dancing in the air like a gliding snake, with a sudden sonic boom, stabbing towards the Elderly’s heart. He Ao calmly gazed at the bearded man’s movements, watching the man swing his soft sword. He faintly sensed a familiar aura between the bearded man’s movements, the aura of a Martial Master. The Talent Sequences of the bearded man, perhaps, were the subsequent Talent Sequences of a Martial Master. But honestly speaking, from He Ao’s perspective, although this snake-like soft sword had fancy movements, the technique was not very strong, and the strength increase was not significant, only about 3%. Although, relative to an ordinary combat Transcendent, this Martial Techniques was quite remarkable, when compared to the terrifying Martial Arts insights bonus pathway of a Martial Master, the bearded man was like a supercomputer calculating for a long time, only to end up with one plus one equals two. Of course, perhaps because of the insight bonus, or perhaps because of being truly steeped in Martial Arts, broadening his thought process. This Martial Techniques did have some referential value, although it was not enough to become a new Martial Techniques, but it could be merged into old Martial Techniques to amplify them. He Ao sighed softly, took a step forward, dodging the soft sword while thrusting his cane forward in one motion. There were no fancy movements, just a plain and ordinary lifting of the cane, swinging it forward, thrusting it. Heavy Strike! Power increase 20%. Discarding those fancy movements, the Heavy Strike Martial Techniques that incorporated the bearded man’s thought process increased from the original 15% to 20%, much more than the bearded man’s fancy flurry. The golden cane pierced through the bearded man’s heart, the only energy convergence point. He widened his eyes, looking at He Ao, looking at the cane in He Ao’s hands. Clearly, he saw the power circuit contained in He Ao’s ’ordinary’ attack just now, even recognizing the essence of his just-used Martial Techniques that He Ao had integrated. Seeing how He Ao refined his Martial Techniques, eliminating unnecessary elements, he even got closer. He opened his mouth, blood spilling out, seemingly confused or bewildered. He struggled, lifting the soft sword, trying to strike at He Ao again, but he no longer had the strength, letting the sharp soft sword slacken like his body. "Don’t worry, it will be over soon," He Ao gently held his head and said hoarsely, "One last question, where is the girl you brought into the camp now?" The bearded man’s eyes widened suddenly, seemingly not understanding why He Ao would ask this question, nor why He Ao would know about that girl. His mouth opened, blood spilling out, "I won’t tell···" "Okay, I understand," He Ao gently patted his head, slowly pulling out the cane, "Thank you." The bearded man’s eyes widened, his body fell to the ground. In the last moment, he seemed to understand something, yet perhaps understood nothing. Eventually, he eyed the soft sword that fell beside him, sighing deeply. Completely devoid of life. He Ao crouched down, covering his eyelids. The true path suitable for Martial Masters was actually the endless exploration of Martial Arts. When he chose the path of the Commander, he had actually already made a mistake. He probably already knew, but couldn’t let go of power and desire. The white-haired Elderly walked past the blood-soaked corpse, leaning on the golden cane, heading towards the cold and desolate depths of the streaming wind.