Starforce Warriors-Chapter 582: Cut Down

Xiajing City was surrounded by an endless tide of beasts. As he looked toward the city from a hundred kilometers away, Li Xiaofei saw a chaotic, seething mass of creatures stretching as far as the eye could see. It was as though rivers of disorder had converged, with waves of different colors surging and clashing violently.

A two hundred strong flock of Golden-Crested Eagles, Grade Five flying star beasts, tore through the somber clouds ahead, heading straight for Li Xiaofei. A dreadful shadow of death descended upon him instantly.

Just like the high-grade Beast Kings outside Lanfu Base City, these Golden-Crested Eagles had been stripped of their intelligence, leaving behind only their primal instinct to kill. They moved like programmed machines as they charged toward Li Xiaofei without hesitation.

Controlled!

Li Xiaofei didn’t hesitate.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Sword qi ripped through the air. More than two hundred Grade Five Golden-Crested Eagles exploded mid-flight, turning into a rain of blood, scattered feathers, and falling shards of bone. They were completely annihilated within moments.

Reaching out, Li Xiaofei grabbed the spoils, hundreds of Inscribed Treasure Bones and star cores, and instantly stored them within the Secret Time Pavilion. He pressed on, his sword cleaving through the air. Along the way, countless high-grade star beasts fell to his blade.

"What’s that?"

In the middle of the beast tide, Li Xiaofei caught sight of a human military encampment. Yes, a military encampment. Steel walls formed a temporary fortified perimeter while aircraft took off and landed within its boundaries. Power armor soldiers and mechs patrolled the perimeter, their presence exuding vigilance and strength.

There was a tall flag inside the camp. Temporary structures, bristling with weapons, resembled metallic porcupines ready to fend off any attack.

"That’s the flag of the European Independent Nations Alliance," Li Xiaofei muttered, narrowing his eyes.

The nearest circular metal camp was over two kilometers in diameter. A flag fluttered proudly atop it: a blue rectangular banner with twelve golden five-pointed stars arranged in a circle. Li Xiaofei recalled from his cultural studies at Red Flag High School that this flag represented one of Earth’s major administrative powers, the European Independent Nations Alliance.

One of the planet’s four superpowers, the European Independent Nations Alliance audaciously claimed the word ‘independent’ in its name, though it was nothing more than a loyal vassal of the Yiggs.

For centuries, the alliance had unwaveringly served as the Yiggs' devoted follower and subordinate. Now, as the Yiggs launched their global war of conquest, the European Independent Nations Alliance had predictably joined their ranks, becoming a part of the invasion against Great Xia.

Li Xiaofei’s sharp gaze caught a peculiar detail. The wild and ferocious star beast hordes that had been rampaging uncontrollably would automatically avoid the alliance’s camp, veering away when they came within five hundred meters of it. Not a single beast showed any intent to attack.

Aircraft frequently took off from within the camp, their engines roaring as they soared into the sky. Escorted by flocks of flying star beasts, these aircraft headed straight for Xiajing City.

A grim expression crossed Li Xiaofei’s face.

This alliance camp isn’t merely a military outpost. It’s a staging ground for coordinated assaults.

Li Xiaofei’s instincts flared. He immediately shot forward to pursue the departing aircraft. But just as he was about to close the gap, an immensely powerful and terrifying energy erupted from within the European Independent Nations Alliance camp.

A wave of overwhelming mental energy radiated outward, locking onto him mid-air. Li Xiaofei glanced down, where he saw a tall, broad-shouldered man with messy blond hair standing atop a metallic tower in the center of the camp. The man was staring directly at him.

His eyes narrowed and opened rhythmically, and flashes of lightning sparked like miniature storms within his pupils.

Boom!

The heavens seemed to tremble as thunder rolled through the skies. Li Xiaofei looked up. Somehow, the black clouds above him had begun to churn and swirl into a massive vortex that resembled a black hole. Its gaping maw seemed to point directly at him.

Streaks of lightning flickered and danced within the vortex, illuminating the darkness in brief bursts. Suddenly, these scattered bolts coalesced into a single blinding sword of lightning.

The weapon pulsed with destructive energy, its radiant edge aimed squarely at Li Xiaofei. The pressure from above was suffocating. Li Xiaofei’s expression turned cold, and his grip on his sword tightened as the thunderous threat loomed closer.

Crack!

The lightning sword descended upon Li Xiaofei with world-ending force. It was a Saint-level energy attack, carrying an aura of utter annihilation.

Standing on his sword mid-air, Li Xiaofei let a faint smirk curl the corner of his lips. He raised his fist. He threw a single fist at the heavens.

Boom!

The force of his punch surged upward like a towering column, shattering the lightning sword into countless fragments. The terrifying power of his fist carried the roar of a dragon, ripping apart the vortex of storm clouds above. All the dark clouds within a kilometer-wide radius completely evaporated, leaving behind a massive, circular hole in the sky.

The sky above the clouds was a bright, serene blue. Sunlight poured through this enormous gap, illuminating the earth below. The sudden burst of light and energy terrified the surrounding star beast hordes, sending them into a frenzied retreat. Below, the soldiers and personnel of the European Independent Nations Alliance were equally shaken, their camp thrown into a state of alarm.

The blond, lightning-eyed man standing atop the metal tower froze in shock.

His astonishment was written all over his face as he muttered, "You... Great Xia..."

Before he could finish...

Swish!

A streak of sword light flashed. The man’s body stiffened abruptly as his head rolled off his shoulders. It turned into a burst of fiery light, dispersing into the air before it hit the ground.

The headless corpse emitted a freezing chill, as it was instantly covered in a layer of silver-black ice. There was now an ice sculpture atop the tower.

"Foolish foreign clown, ignorant of your own death," Li Xiaofei sneered coldly.

In the next moment, several overwhelming auras surged awake around him like unparalleled ferocious beasts awakening from the abyss. Saint-level! Great Saint-level! All of them were peak martial powerhouses.

As expected. Indeed, apex foreign powerhouses had invaded Great Xia. Li Xiaofei’s eyes flickered with killing intent. However, he had to remain focused on the safety of Xiajing City, the young lady, and his friends, so he didn’t linger.

Spatial Point Theft.

Swish!

Light flickers as Li Xiaofei vanished. An instant later, a yellow-and-white-haired elder clad in feudal European-style armor appeared above the European Independent Nations Alliance camp, his single eye blazing.

"Son..." His voice trembled as he looked at the headless, ice-encased corpse.

This was the son he loved the most and had placed the greatest hope upon among his one hundred and eighteen children. But now, his son had suffered a tragic death.

The elder’s body radiated a Great Saint-level aura as his face twisted with hatred. He glared in the direction of Xiajing City with unyielding fury.

"I will have my revenge!"

***

Xiajing City was now under martial law. The once-bustling streets were now sparsely populated, and those who remained moved with haste and purpose.

The advertisement boards lining the commercial streets, along with the holographic projection screens on high-rise buildings, no longer displayed the usual luxury brand ads. Instead, they showed recruitment notices, announcements about food and water distribution points, traffic control advisories, and job postings for military factories.

Li Xiaofei appeared directly within the Tan family manor. He could still use Spatial Point Theft within a hundred and fifty kilometers of Xiajing City. The most familiar anchor point for Li Xiaofei was the Tan family, specifically the young lady’s bedroom.

It was the place he missed most, since it held the person he yearned for the most. But to his surprise, the young lady wasn’t at the Tan family manor. The decor and arrangement of her bedroom were exactly as he remembered. But it seemed as though no one had lived there for a long time. The young lady was nowhere to be found.

Li Xiaofei thought briefly before concealing his presence and quietly stepping outside. He discovered that the ancestral manor of the Tan family had very few people. Only a handful of family members and a few servants remained. There wasn’t a single martial expert in sight.

What is going on? Did they all go to support the battle at the city walls?

Li Xiaofei had originally planned to reunite Old Tan with the young lady in the hopes that the emotional connection might help restore Old Tan’s memory. But now it was clear that this wasn’t possible. If the young lady wasn’t present, releasing Old Tan would serve little purpose.

"Forget it, I’ll go check out the academy instead," he murmured to himself.

He silently left the Tan family manor. Moments later, Li Xiaofei appeared outside the gates of White Deer Academy. As a small, obscure school in the outskirts, White Deer Academy’s presence was already negligible during normal times. Now, with the city under martial law, the area around the academy was even more deserted.

Li Xiaofei entered the campus.

"Huh? It’s you—you’re that, uh, that..."

A tall, beautiful girl holding a stack of books stepped out of the main teaching building. When she saw Li Xiaofei, her eyes widened in surprise.

"Senior Sister Ding," Li Xiaofei greeted with a nod.

The girl was Ding Rong, one of White Deer Academy’s famous Seven Sisters. She had previously been obsessed with Li Junjie, the Red Pole enforcer of the Cloudy Sky Gang. Toward Li Xiaofei. However, she had always been critical of him as she nitpicked everything.

"Your illness is cured?" Ding Rong asked.

Li Xiaofei instantly understood. It seemed that White Deer Academy had announced his absence as a medical leave.

"I’m better now, so I’ve returned," Li Xiaofei replied casually. Then he asked, "Where’s Li Junjie?"

"He... went to the city walls to fight," Ding Rong hesitated before continuing. "Many students from the academy have enlisted and gone to defend the city. Some of the seniors and older classmates... they’ve already sacrificed themselves. The cemetery in the back hills has seen many new graves."

Ding Rong would never have said so much to Li Xiaofei in the past. But she had changed. Li Xiaofei noticed something peculiar. Her cultivation was completely gone. Her inner qi had disappeared.

"What happened to you?" He couldn’t help but ask.

A faint look of sadness crossed Ding Rong’s face, but she answered calmly, "I went to the walls to fight and was severely injured. My cultivation was destroyed. Now, I’m just a cripple, staying at the academy to handle teaching and clerical work."

Li Xiaofei felt a surge of respect for her. If he remembered correctly, Ding Rong came from a Saint family in Xiajing City. If she had chosen to, she could have easily avoided going to the battlefield. But she had gone anyway.

"What about the others?" Li Xiaofei asked again. "Is the principal doing well?"

Ding Rong replied, "The principal also went to the city walls. Many of the academy’s teachers and senior students have enlisted. Song Lingge fell in battle three days ago... we couldn’t retrieve her body."

Her voice quivered, and tears welled in her eyes, though they didn’t fall.

She lifted her head and forced a gentle smile. "Junior Brother Li, your timing isn’t ideal. Most of the academy’s classes have been suspended. There’s no one left to teach. However, many teachers left recorded lessons before heading to the walls. They’ve made them freely available for download. If you need them, you can come to me. I’ve backed them all up."

"Thank you," Li Xiaofei replied with a slight nod.

Life had a way of maturing people. The once-spoiled and headstrong princess had become strong and pragmatic.

After a pause, he couldn’t help but ask, "Is the battle to defend the city that dire?"

The fact that even students were fighting... Song Lingge, a member of a Saint family and a woman of noble birth, had fallen in battle without having her body recovered.

Ding Rong looked at him with surprise, as if puzzled by his apparent ignorance. How could someone on medical leave be so cut off from the outside world that he didn’t even know these basic updates?

"The Yiggs have driven over ten million star beasts to attack Xiajing City," she began, her tone heavy. "Beyond that, the three major administrative powers, the European Independent Nations Alliance, the Africa Alliance, and the Bayer Federation, have launched full-scale invasions. Global martial superpowers like Steel Wings, Alloy Heart, War God Hall, and Blood Dawn have also joined in the frenzy."

“Six of the top ten Great Saints are now gathered outside the city. The foreign armies outside Xiajing City number more than two million, and when combined with the tens of thousands of star beast hordes, they’re over a billion. This isn’t something a single city can withstand. Everyone inside the city has joined the fight. But the situation is still deteriorating rapidly. Every day, countless people fall in battle. Great Xia has already lost eleven Saints."

"If not for the appearance of a godlike figure from the Tan family, Xiajing City would have already fallen."

Ding Rong spoke rapidly, pouring out a torrent of information.

Hmm?

Li Xiaofei’s mind stirred.

A godlike figure from the Tan family? Who is it?