Chapter 580 - 269: Deterrence, Retreat, Ion Laser Cannon Upgrade

Chapter 580: Chapter 269: Deterrence, Retreat, Ion Laser Cannon Upgrade

The Ion Laser Cannon on the Reproductive Armor Mecha’s left arm fired off rapid bursts from its Light Cannon...

Pillars of laser, each carrying a thousand points of Damage, slammed into the Mother Empress Zerg Head one after another. After shattering its crystalline eyeballs, the beams bored deeper, boiling and carbonizing its brain tissue.

In just a few seconds, its entire head was heated to over a thousand degrees.

’To avoid damaging the Golden Plate Bone and the core Mother Empress Brain Marrow it protected, I shouldn’t use the Power Storage Light Cannon.’ Instead, Lin Feng opted for rapid, successive strikes.

This entire scene played out before the eyes of the Southern Mother Empress, who was roaring as she dragged her bloated, gargantuan body toward them from not far away...

It was, without a doubt, a profound taunt.

But that was precisely the effect Lin Feng was aiming for.

’Only by enraging my opponent and making it lose all reason...’

’...can I draw all its fire onto myself.’

In reality, aside from the Prototype Machine Reproductive Armor Mecha, the No. 2 Machine known as the *Mother Empress*, and Shen Jie—who had reached Tier Three and mastered the Slaughter Realm—no one else present could withstand a full-power Spiritual Attack from the level thirty-six, Mid-stage Perfection Mother Empress.

This was especially true for the thirty members of the Guard Battle Group, who were currently locked in combat with Samurai Hunter Zergs nearby.

After all, Jiang Yun’er had yet to truly master the Infinite Reproduction Realm or reach Tier Three. Even piloting the powerfully-specced *Mother Empress*’s Reproductive Armor, the Spiritual Shield she could provide for the others was extremely limited.

At best, she could nullify the ambient influence of the Mother Empress’s Mental Realm. To actually resist a direct Spiritual Attack from a Mid-stage Perfection Mother Empress, Ling Yi would have to be the one piloting.

After all, only those of the same race and tier can truly understand each other’s methods of attack.

The sixty percent grasp of Realm Power at the Middle Stage was on a completely different level from the thirty percent grasp at the Early Stage.

Ling Yi had repeatedly reminded Lin Feng of this when he first proposed killing a Mid-stage Mother Empress. They had warned that Lin Feng would need a deeper mastery of Realm Power to withstand the spiritual influence of Infinite Reproduction.

As it stood, even his level thirty-three Reproductive Armor Mecha could only endure three Spiritual Attacks under the protection of its Mass-Energy Shield Attribute.

Therefore, to prevent casualties among his subordinates, Lin Feng had to draw the Southern Mother Empress’s hatred, creating an opportunity for everyone to make a clean retreat.

And by the time Lin Feng finished absorbing the immense Life Energy from the Mother Empress at his feet and collected the final Upgrade Point needed for his Lv30 Ion Laser Cannon...

...the Southern Mother Empress’s second Spiritual Spike attack was fully charged.

Within the dim, chaotic tunnels of the Underground Hive, a Spiritual Spike materialized. As if it were a physical object, it blasted away the dust and smoke, surging with immense energy as it shot toward the Reproductive Armor Mecha that was still swinging its Chainsaw Sword atop the dead Mother Empress’s head!

It was so fast that the moment the Reproductive Armor Mecha’s crystalline eyes registered the Spiritual Spike’s formation and release, a dull THUD echoed from its faceplate.

Lin Feng, who was neurally linked with the Biological Reproductive Armor, felt it as if he’d been struck over the head with a heavy club. His vision swam, and the world spun.

To stop the Reproductive Armor Mecha from stealing the core Brain Marrow from the Mother Empress’s Corpse, the Southern Mother Empress had timed her heavy blow to strike the Mecha’s head.

Fortunately, when Ling Yi had first designed the Biological Reproductive Armor, they had installed the implanted Mother Empress Brain Marrow in the neck and back to protect it from heavy blows to the vulnerable head.

The attack only caused a chain reaction from the shock to his Brain Domain without hitting any vital parts. The Reproductive Armor Mecha recovered almost immediately from the minor damage.

Lin Feng, too, came to his senses a moment later.

However, he had no time to worry about his blurred vision. He quickly plunged the Hunter Emperor’s Chainsaw Sword, gripped tightly in the Mecha’s right arm, into the shattered Mother Empress head beneath his feet.

With a great heave, he pried out a massive golden sphere over four meters in diameter.

The surface of the irregular sphere was still connected to countless nerves and blood vessels, and was covered in scorched, yellowish flecks of flesh.

His vision was still blurry after the powerful Spiritual Spike attack damaged the Mecha’s crystalline eyes. Lin Feng didn’t have time to collect the remaining fragments of the Neck Guard from the dead Mother Empress’s neck. He simply grabbed the Plate Bone Sphere with the Mecha’s left arm and, with the core Brain Marrow secured, rapidly distanced himself from the Mother Empress’s Corpse.

As he retreated, he roared a command to the others who were still providing cover and holding back the enemy:

"Go!"

While falling back, he holstered the Hunter Emperor’s Chainsaw Sword from his right arm at the Mecha’s waist. He then transferred the Plate Bone Sphere from his left arm to his right, freeing up his left.

He then used the Ion Laser Cannon on his left arm to provide long-range support for the others as they retreated.

Any target locked by the Ion Laser Cannon would feel an intense sense of crisis. The rapid heating of their carapace would instill a palpable, heart-stopping terror.

The other five Mother Empresses were now aware that Lin Feng had slain their kin. The most direct evidence of this was the laser strike, as bright as day.

They were all well aware that the Zerg Race’s greatest fear was long-range attacks. And of all long-range methods, light-based energy strikes were the most indefensible due to their sheer speed.

Now, Lin Feng didn’t even need to charge a shot. Any High-tier Mother Empress illuminated by the thousands of degrees of heat from the Ion Laser Cannon’s muzzle would instinctively twist its body to evade. At the same time, it would command nearby Samurai Hunter Zergs to act as living shields, preventing the terrifying laser from striking its more vulnerable areas.

To provide comprehensive covering fire, Lin Feng switched to the rapid-fire mode—a thousand Damage per second. Within the confined space of the Hive tunnels, he unleashed a frantic barrage, strafing the Samurai Hunter Zergs that were pursuing the retreating Battle Group.