618 Gather Forces

They had missed the best opportunity to get out of here alive; Lie Jian wondered how long they could last here without Wang Tong's help.

Looking over at the distance, Michaux saw the land covered with Zergs; the thought of death had brought him relief. He didn't need to worry or struggle before his time came; he would only need to focus on the fight.

Lie Jian was at a loss. Did he overestimate Wang Tong's moral standards? The Wang Tong he knew would never sit around and let his fellow human warriors die. Wang Tong always looked at things from a humane perspective. Lie Jian was very certain of it, almost as certain as he believed in Li Shiming's selfishness.

In addition, Lie Jian believed that Wang Tong would come and help him because he knew the earthling never wanted to lord over him. However, if he were right about Wang Tong, why didn't he show up?

Suddenly, it occurred to Lie Jian that he had overlooked one key play: the dark ones. If he knew that Wang Tong would come to his rescue, so would the dark ones. 

Perhaps the encirclement was never meant to kill them, but to lure Wang Tong out of his hiding. 

Lie Jian was hit by a moment of epiphany, and he smacked his thigh and shouted, "Sh*t! It's a trap!"

Michaux gave Lie Jian a knowing glance; he had also figured out the Zergs' real intent. They had both thought that the Zergs wanted to capture them alive, but the reality seemed to suggest that there were more than what met the eyes. The Zergs were playing their little tricks to kill two birds with one stone.

"I hope Wang Tong is smart enough to realize that the other cities are all empty right now." Lie Jian's mind raced, and he reckoned that if all the Zergs of the region were being assigned to trap them in the building, Wang Tong should be able to take down many Zerg cities while they were undefended.

Michaux shook his head and favored Lie Jian a rueful smile. "I don't think Wang Tong would do that."

Lie Jian paused and then said: "You two are the same! Slow as a pig!"

Michaux gave him a massive shrug and then said, "OK, now let's focus on our problem, smarta*s."

"Very well! I am curious what had given these Zergs the confidence to stand before me! Everyone! Get up and listen! You are not allowed to die out there, and this is an order! You guys are all the toughest SOBs I have ever met…I order you to live the rest of your life as a hero once we get out of here!" Lie Jian shouted. 

It was time to show the Zergs what they were made of!

KOM!

The Zergs started their attack while the determination in the soldiers' eyes gleamed with more intensity. 

Meanwhile, Harmon and a group of dark ones were on their way to Antonio. Even though the group had been marching at an incredible speed, the long distance between the two cities meant that they wouldn't reach their destination in a day. The dark lord had ordered all the cities in the vicinity to reinforce the siege inside of Antonio and make sure Lie Jian and Michaux were contained within the building. As a former human, Harmon knew Wang Tong better than the dark ones: he was the exemplar of altruism and self-sacrifice for the greater good. 

Even though Wang Tong knew that the rest of the cities were defenseless and ripe for plunder, he would not veer off his course and delay the rescue. Harmon marveled at the former's noble quality as much as he lamented over his predictability.

The report that came from the scouts claimed that Wang Tong had already risen to the bait. 

If the Zergs were able to kill Wang Tong, Michaux, and Lie Jian in one decisive stroke, the rest of the human resistance would fall apart in a matter of days. The thought of change elated Harmon as he wondered what would it be like when the Zergs replaced the humans.

Based on his observation of the dark ones, he was certain that the world would be a much better place under the leadership of Patroclus and the immortals. The spread of immortals would not just stop within the human world. Jumping on the bandwagon of the space-faring Zergs, Patroclus could sow the seed of immortals far and wide across the universe and beyond.

Harmon knew deep down that Patroclus not only wanted to establish the immortal race, but also control the host race fully. It was impossible to completely eradicate the Zerg race just like one could not walk under the sun without a shadow. Even the gods like Blade warrior could not completely cleanse the world of Zergs. However, Patroclus had come up with an ingenious solution: if the Zergs could not be eradicated, then why not control them. 

However, this was easier said than done.

Blade warrior was only one god-like entity, but Patroclus had striven to create an entire race that was the god's equal.

As everyone had expected, Wang Tong was on his way to rescue Lie Jian. Only after they had joined forces would they have enough strength to rival the dark lord in his own territory. Plus, Wang Tong wagered that Mars would need a strong leader after they had done away with Moye, and no one would be a better candidate than Michaux.

On their way to Antonio, they met many Zerg resistances. The dark ones had completely abandoned their cities in order to waylay Wang Tong and his entourage. Wang Tong was not tempted by the thoughts of taking those empty cities and kill the queen, since saving Lie Jian was his top priority right then.

Despite it being a trap, Wang Tong plunged right into Antonio with abandon. The effectiveness of the trap was yet to be seen.

The direwolves led the charge as they tore the Zergs into pieces while storming into their ranks. One second they were in the middle of the Zerg formation, and in the next, they were already a hundred meters away from the Zergs' flank, ready to charge the Zergs again.

Deep Blue was at the forefront of the pack, his deep, ocean-like eyes shooting out blue energy beams and slicing the dark ones in half. The magnificent beast had evolved significantly after devouring countless dark ones. The same thing was happening to all the other direwolves, albeit to a smaller degree.

These creatures were the results of the century-long breeding program, a perfect weapon that was supposed to bring destruction to the human world. As fate would have it, they were now the most loyal companions of human riders. 

Not only were their offensive skills improving, so were their defensive abilities. Their icy blue scales had thickened significantly compared to when they were first born. It covered the length of the beasts like a thick caparison decorated with rich sapphires.

The Zergs' plan to waylay Wang Tong had worked to some degree as it forced him to take some detours to avoid unnecessary casualties. There was still a hard battle ahead of them, and they could not waste their energy on too many battles before they got to Lie Jian. 

Wang Tong, Lie Jian, and Michaux had significantly staggered Moye's assault at the frontline. As more and more resources and attention got poured into the development at home, the Zergs' front line faltered. 

The Zergs inside of Antonio had been at Lie Jian ever since daybreak. Meanwhile, Wang Tong led his soldiers to storm across the land to Lie Jian's rescue. He knew that the risk to those lives inside Antonio was increasing by the second.

On the front lines, Einherjar Lie Jintian had taken full advantage of the GN energy gun units and freed up elite METAL warriors to wager effective counterattacks at Zergs' war camp.

Although the move was risky, Lie Jintian was emboldened by the development in the Zerg homeland. There might not be a better time to strike back than now.

Lie Jintian knew that the human would only unleash their full potential under extreme circumstances, and circumstances would never get more extreme than this. It was time to strike back. 

Lie Jintian's daring strategy could lead to a total collapse of the human defense line once the Zergs gathered strength again. However, this was a gamble that he willing to partake; this was the humans' last ditch effort in saving humanity. 

The GN gun units were weak soldiers with very little soul energy, and their combat skills were practically non-existent. However, once they were given the gun and a direction to shoot, they could be deadlier than a group of Einherjars. 

Standing on its last leg, humanity fought back with abandon.