"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Dense skills exploded against the Formation barrier.

It was like a grand and lethal fireworks display.

The intense light of the explosions illuminated the entire sea as bright as day before instantly plunging it back into darkness.

Inside the command center, piercing alarms blared continuously.

More than half of the dozens of monitoring screens embedded in the walls flashed a dangerous red, showing that the energy barrier was being depleted at an alarming rate.

"What's the situation? How much longer can the energy barrier hold?"

Matsushita Ichiro, the head of the outpost base, stared at the declining energy bar on the main screen, his forehead covered in a cold sweat.

A soldier in charge of monitoring tapped furiously on the console, reporting loudly with a pale face.

"Report, Commander! The attack frequency is too high! The energy consumption rate is thirty times higher than usual!"

"At most... at most, it can only hold for another ten minutes!"

Matsushita Ichiro's heart sank instantly.

Ten minutes?

You must be joking!

This outpost's defensive Formation was supposedly of the highest specification, capable of withstanding continuous attacks from SS-Rank Experts for a full hour!

Now, it couldn't even hold for ten minutes?

Just how many people did the Great Xia Nation send this time?

He did not dare to hesitate for another second and roared hoarsely at the communications officer.

"Contact Nagasaki Headquarters immediately! The outpost base is under heavy attack by the main force of the Great Xia Nation! Request reinforcement! Right now! Immediately!"

"Yes, sir!"

The communications officer's fingers clattered across the keyboard, but a few seconds later, a look of despair appeared on his face.

"Commander! The communications are heavily jammed! We... we can't contact headquarters!"

"Nani?!"

Matsushita Ichiro felt a chill rush from the soles of his feet straight to the crown of his head.

Being unable to contact headquarters meant they had become an isolated island.

An island... waiting to be destroyed.

Right at that moment, a vibration heavier and more violent than any previous explosion suddenly came from beneath their feet.

"Thud!!!"

It felt more like a giant hammer from ancient times smashing ruthlessly into the island's foundation.

The entire command center jolted violently upward, the light fixtures on the ceiling flickering madly as countless specks of dust rained down.

Matsushita Ichiro instantly had an extremely bad premonition.

He abruptly raised his head and looked toward the main screen.

On the screen, the thick fog shrouding the island had been pushed aside in one area by an invisible force at some point.

Because of this, he finally saw the source of that heavy impact clearly.

Outside the Formation barrier, a colossal beast that seemed to reach the heavens had appeared at some point.

It was a giant beast standing a full ten meters tall.

It had a silhouette resembling a panda, and its entire body was covered in thick white fur.

However, its limbs, back, and head were covered in layers of menacing, thick armor like obsidian, gleaming with a cold metallic luster.

Most terrifying of all were its eyes—a pair of crimson light globes burning with raging fury, filled with a will of brutality and destruction.

An Iron-Eating Beast!

The name, which had only appeared in ancient texts, instantly flashed through Matsushita Ichiro's mind.

At this moment, this ancient Ferocious Beast was hunching its body, smashing its iron fists, which were larger than cars, ruthlessly against the pale gold Formation barrier again and again.

"Thud!"

"Thud!"

"Thud!"

Every punch that landed was accompanied by a deafening boom.

The sound seemed to possess a magic that could penetrate anything, ignoring the barrier of the building to strike directly at the heart of every soldier in the command center, making them turn pale and struggle to breathe.

"Baka! What kind of monster is that?!"

"It's at least Hell-grade!"

Panicked screams erupted inside the command center.

"Shut up, all of you!"

Matsushita Ichiro roared.

He forced himself to remain calm.

"What are you panicking for! It's just a beast!"

"All Magical Cannons! Abandon free-firing! Lock onto that monster! Focus your fire!"

"Fire!!"

The order was quickly passed down.

Buzz—

The barrels of the dozens of Magical Cannons deployed across the island turned in unison, making a harsh metallic grinding sound.

High-intensity energy gathered rapidly at the muzzles, emitting a low hum.

The next second.

Dozens of thick energy beams tore through the thick fog and darkness, like lances of judgment, striking the Iron-Eating Beast with absolute precision.

However, the moment those energy beams contacted the Iron-Eating Beast's black armor, they were like water splashing onto red-hot iron, merely kicking up a splash of brilliant energy ripples before instantly vanishing.

It was completely unharmed!

The Iron-Eating Beast didn't even sway.

"Roar!!!"

A low roar rumbled from deep within the Iron-Eating Beast's throat.

It seemed completely infuriated by these tickle-like attacks.

It no longer held back, and its attack frequency suddenly accelerated!

"Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!"

Even more violent and dense fists fell like raindrops on the exact same spot of the energy barrier.

"Crack..."

Matsushita Ichiro abruptly raised his head.

On the main screen, a tiny crack quietly emerged in the area repeatedly struck by the Iron-Eating Beast.

Immediately after, the crack spread outward like a burning spiderweb, expanding wildly at a speed visible to the naked eye.

It's over.

Only these two words remained in Matsushita Ichiro's mind.

His legs went weak, and he slumped limply into the command chair behind him, his eyes vacant.

Outside the Formation barrier.

The Iron-Eating Beast also seemed to sense the weakening of the barrier.

It let out a final roar and abruptly pulled back its right fist.

The dark red patterns on the surface of the black armor covering its right arm suddenly lit up, bursting with a blinding light as billowing heatwaves swept outward.

Terrifying energy gathered rapidly in the center of its fist.

The next second.

A punch charged to its limit, carrying a world-destroying power, smashed down with a crash!

"Bang!!!!!"

An unprecedentedly loud explosion erupted.

Under the desperate gazes of Matsushita Ichiro and all the island-defending soldiers.

The Formation barrier shattered with a bang!

Countless golden specks of light, like fireflies dancing in the sky, slowly drifted away in the night air before finally vanishing into nothingness.

The Iron-Eating Beast slowly withdrew its fist and took heavy steps into the shattered area.

Right at that moment.

The thick fog churning behind the Iron-Eating Beast slowly receded to both sides like a curtain torn open by a pair of invisible hands.

Countless silent figures swarmed out from the thick fog.

They wore identical black combat uniforms, with subtle emerald bamboo green patterns adorning their arms and chests.

On their faces were menacing panda-shaped masks, revealing only pairs of cold eyes.

"Stop them! Stop them!"

A Sakura Country officer roared, just about to unleash a skill.

A dark shadow appeared by his side like a ghost.

A cold blade silently swept across his throat.

The skill in his hands came to an abrupt halt.

This seemed to be a signal.

In the next second, thousands of Classer from the Sichuan Capital Military Department rushed into the panicked defenders like tigers into a flock of sheep.

This was a slaughter with no suspense.

More accurately, it was an efficient and cold-blooded "cleanup."