Chapter 71: Struggling in Desperation

Led by Bai Feiyu, the members of the Gui Xu Sect arrived at the gates of the grand palace. Liu Guang and his senior brothers stepped forward and, with a swift kick, shattered the doors to pieces. Everyone entered the great hall.

Inside, the sight that greeted them left them stunned. The hall was splendid, opulent beyond imagination; the walls gleamed with gold, radiating magnificence. Even the well-traveled disciples of the Gui Xu Sect couldn’t help but marvel—just how wealthy must one be to indulge in such extravagance?

Suddenly, a commotion echoed from above. Bai Feiyu and the others quickly looked up, and in the next moment, they saw more than a dozen battle automatons approaching from all sides, encircling them. Their numbers were not overwhelming, but their strength was formidable. The weakest possessed the power of the ninth tier of the Haoqi Realm, and the strongest had already reached the Shackles Realm. Together, these battle automatons exerted considerable pressure.

“Brothers, don’t panic. Just eliminate these battle automatons,” Liu Guang declared. “We absolutely mustn’t abandon whatever treasures lie within because of these machines.”

Having witnessed the lavishness inside, and knowing that battle automatons would relentlessly pursue their targets to the death, Liu Guang and his companions decided that retreat was not an option. There was no escaping anyway—why forsake the treasure before them? Besides, the number of automatons wasn’t overwhelming, and the Gui Xu Sect was more than capable of handling them.

Preparations for battle began. As the automatons descended, Bai Feiyu immediately wielded the Spear of the War God, aiming for an automaton at the ninth tier of the Haoqi Realm. Bai Feiyu did not wish to expose too much of his strength; he only needed to entangle one automaton, leaving the rest to his senior brothers.

This time, several disciples at the Shackles Realm had come, and those at the ninth tier of the Haoqi Realm were not few. There was little reason to fear these automatons.

With a resounding crash, Bai Feiyu thrust the Spear of the War God forward, but the automaton’s durability exceeded his expectations; the strike left not so much as a scratch. The automaton then raised its palm and struck at Bai Feiyu’s spear.

The blow sent a tremor through Bai Feiyu’s internal organs. Only then did he realize that, although these automatons could not wield the mystical arts of humans, their brute strength and defense were truly terrifying. Against humans at the ninth tier of the Haoqi Realm, Bai Feiyu could easily dominate; yet here, facing these machines, he found himself struggling. Worse still, though many disciples had come, fewer than twenty could truly match the automatons in battle. Against the formidable strength of the machines, the disciples began to retreat step by step. Those less powerful could only help by launching sneak attacks.

Now everyone realized the horror of these battle automatons—they were far more difficult to deal with. At the same level, the machines were clearly much stronger than humans.

“Damn it, why won’t these mechanical men break?” someone cursed.

“Blast it, how are they so tough? Why did the alien races create so many battle automatons?” The disciples of the Gui Xu Sect began to curse, finding the fight exhausting.

At that moment, Bai Feiyu thought of the other sects, like the Golden Light Sect. If they were forced into collective combat with these machines, they would likely suffer heavy losses. Once the battle began, there was no escape—the automatons would never relent. Even the Gui Xu Sect had underestimated the danger. Inside the palace, there was no way to retreat; the automatons clung to them fiercely, and the exit through the formation was so narrow that any attempt to escape would be blocked at once.

“Help!” A sharp scream rang out near Bai Feiyu. He saw Ziyan nearby, being attacked by one of the automatons. Ziyan, only at the eighth tier of the Haoqi Realm, stood no chance.

With a thunderous roar, Bai Feiyu rushed forward and kicked the automaton attacking Ziyan aside. “Are you all right? Get out of here, quickly!” In the chaos, Bai Feiyu had no time for comfort, throwing himself back into the fray.

These battle automatons were almost impossible to break. Unless destroyed to a certain degree, they would fight endlessly, never faltering, unlike humans. Ziyan, saved by Bai Feiyu, gazed in a daze at the figure fighting ahead.

She vividly recalled recruiting him when he first entered the inner sect; now, it was his turn to protect her. Ziyan couldn’t say what she felt inside. Remembering how forceful she had been in front of Bai Feiyu before, her cheeks flushed.

As Bai Feiyu battled, another automaton attempted a sneak attack. Bai Feiyu, with no other option, punched it hard. The automaton suffered some damage, but remained a formidable threat. Bai Feiyu’s fist throbbed with pain; he realized that without a weapon, fighting these machines was a significant disadvantage. More than half of the Gui Xu Sect disciples didn’t have weapons.

By now, several disciples had already been knocked down by the automatons. The rest continued their desperate struggle, stubbornly resisting, but defeat seemed certain. Even Liu Guang, a strong practitioner of the Shackles Realm, gained no advantage when matched against an automaton of equal level.

“Everyone, catch! I have plenty of weapons here!” Bai Feiyu roared, pulling numerous weapons from his storage pouch and tossing them to his fellow disciples.

He shouted, “We can’t keep fighting like this. If we do, we’ll be finished sooner or later—we need tactics!

“Listen to me. Split off some Haoqi Realm disciples, with help from Shackles Realm brothers, to hold off the Shackles Realm automatons. Then, once the Shackles Realm disciples are free, they must unleash a devastating assault on the Haoqi Realm automatons.

“We must reduce their numbers to survive. Otherwise, we’re all doomed!”

Although everyone had come seeking fortune prepared to die here, when faced with true death, all yearned to live.

Bai Feiyu didn’t want any mishaps among the disciples of the Gui Xu Sect, so he offered this strategy—a plan reminiscent of the ancient ‘horse race’ tactic, though Bai Feiyu had redefined the roles.

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