Xiao Feng paid no heed to the approaching Alliance forces. What weighed on his mind was bidding farewell to the mysterious emissary who had saved his life. He needed to leave a way to contact him—so that one day, he could seek him out again, and together, track down the remaining three individuals marked with the same tattooed arms.
To Xiao Feng, this mattered more than anything else.
Without hesitation, he dashed back into the temple.
Earth Dog shouted after him, "Xiao Feng! What are you doing? We're leaving—!"
Pandora cursed under her breath. "That lunatic... He's insane! We're out of time and he still won't go—what the hell is he waiting for?"
Earth Dog chuckled. "You're right. He's completely mad. But we can't just leave him here. We'll wait for him."
Pandora cast a glance at the aircraft parked in the square. With a flick of her wrist, a remote-like device appeared in her hand. At once, the aircraft lifted off, shimmered briefly, and vanished under the star-strewn sky.
It was their only way out. If it were damaged in the ensuing battle, they'd lose everything. So Pandora's first move was to conceal it.
She and Earth Dog, along with Rush, hurried back into the temple. Earth Dog dragged the unconscious Poseidon and Ares into the main hall. Hostages—possibly useful as bargaining chips when things turned grim.
K and Rush each picked up an assault rifle from the floor, chambered rounds, and found cover.
Pandora stood with Earth Dog at the heart of the grand hall. The two androids stood side by side like sentinels. Pandora glanced around and asked curiously,
"Do you think the Alliance will bomb this temple?"
Earth Dog smirked. "Doubtful. Took them long enough to build it."
"If they don't bomb it, they'll never catch us."
Earth Dog pulled down his visor and said solemnly,
"Don't be so sure. The Alliance controls the entire planet. Who knows what secret weapons they're hiding."
Pandora's voice was ice.
"Let them come. They're nothing but pathetic trash."
Outside the temple, a column of armored vehicles rolled to a halt. The arriving soldiers were few. The Alliance commanders must've realized that against beings with such overwhelming powers, conventional infantry were effectively useless.
Once the vehicles stopped, their rear hatches opened—not to release troops, but to unleash waves of mechanical spider-drones. These early-model combat bots from Victoria Corp. had six legs for agile movement, a flattened body, and dual-mounted heavy machine guns that made them lethal killing machines. One after another, they clattered out of the transports and surged toward the temple.
Dozens of them.
Meanwhile, from the helicopters, they deployed individual combat exosuits—primitive mechs. Bulky and slow, yes, but bristling with machine guns and grenade launchers. These suits gave lone soldiers firepower rivaling tanks or gunships.
It was clear: the Alliance had deployed overwhelming force to eliminate the intruders within the temple.
Zeus and Apollo had returned by vehicle. They had lost all contact with Poseidon, Ares, and Hades.
As Zeus watched the spider-drones flood into the temple, he entered a mobile command vehicle. Monitors inside displayed real-time feeds transmitted by the advancing bots.
"What's the situation?" Zeus asked grimly.
The commander replied, "The drones have just entered the interior. But things look grim. Look—"
He gestured toward the screen. The floor was littered with corpses—Alliance security, cut down.
Zeus scowled.
"Damn it... Who the hell did this?"
"Please remain calm, sir. We've received intel that Poseidon and Ares are still in enemy hands. Hades... has already been dismembered. We believe the enemies number four."
He brought up another display. Blurry footage showed four figures—K, Rush, Earth Dog, and Pandora.
"Recognize any of them?" the commander asked.
Zeus squinted. He could just make out Earth Dog's features. Fury surged through him.
"Those bastards... It's the X Legion. Kill every last one of them!"
"But sir, they have Poseidon and Ares—"
Zeus sneered.
"Have you forgotten my ability? I can resurrect them."
The commander's eyes widened in sudden realization.
"Understood. All units, orders are confirmed—eliminate the intruders!"
The mechanical spiders poured into the temple like a swarm.
Pandora and Earth Dog saw them first. Earth Dog growled,
"Look at all those spider-drones... I'll go take care of them."
Pandora seized him by the collar.
"Stay put. If you go out there, they'll reduce you to scrap metal."
"Hey, no need to insult me like that—"
"In my eyes, you and they are the same: useless trash. Now watch and learn what true combat power looks like."
Earth Dog blinked in surprise. He expected Pandora to leap in with blades drawn and tear through the bots. But instead, she sprang from behind the column, twisting midair, and landed squarely in the heart of the spider swarm.
The drones, momentarily caught off guard, began to reorient and aim their weapons—
—but it was already too late.
Kneeling low, Pandora triggered a sudden electromagnetic pulse. A luminous ripple flared out from her body with a deep hum. The pulse expanded outward in a flash, enveloping the entire drone force.
Within seconds, every spider-bot collapsed to the floor, their legs folding under them like puppets with cut strings.
Dead. All of them.
Earth Dog, watching from behind the massive stone pillar, exhaled in relief.
Thank god I stayed hidden. One step into that blast, and I'd be a pile of scrap too...
Inside the command vehicle, Zeus and the officers were glued to the feed. The moment Pandora leapt into the midst of the bots, they had been intrigued. But when that electromagnetic pulse ignited—
Zeus' expression changed.
"Electromagnetic ability..."
The moment the pulse wave expanded, the feed went dark. The monitors crackled, then cut out entirely.