[This is the last one.] 】

The Shadow Champion of the Second Legion shielded his breath and presence, merging everything with the deepest colors, his armor, his blades, even his motionless pupils and eyes, all of which were the purest black, a curtain that would make him disappear from the vision of any living being.

He lives in the shadows, he lurks in the shadows, he longs to be in the shadows, and wherever he goes, there are shadows.

Now, this is the last one.

Before the next breath could take, his figure had vanished into the mist.

The savage land of Tuckers V was as wild as its canopy, emitting a gray mist mixed with earthy yellow, and when the shadows of hundreds of warships swayed down from the sky, distorting the originally vicious daylight into a dappled intermingling of light and darkness, combined with the bloody breath in the air and the sand constantly raised by artillery fire and tracks, this already harsh and barren world was completely concealed in a disgusting filth.

This was the one hundred and eighty-sixth Terra standard at the beginning of the ground battle, every trace of air above the Tux Desert had been completely occupied by the smell of blood and iron filings, and every heavy breath had become a kind of torture no less than swallowing poisonous gas, and the breeze that shuttled between the ruins and the ruins did not bring refreshing clean air, only the viscous and painful moans of sweat in the distance, and the non-stop footsteps of Randan's army.

The outermost fortresses and trenches had fallen completely, and the blood of the aliens had soaked every inch of land, every brick, and every mass of iron filings, and the piles of corpses had accumulated into the high platform of the last charge, forcing the troops loyal to the emperor to withdraw from the ruins, which had no more strategic value.

And when the alien army broke through the outermost line of defense, they found that they were not so much facing a second line of defense, but rather a steel city that was purely made up of steel, bunkers, trenches, defensive fields, and dark firepower, and needed endless flesh and blood to fill it little by little.

The light of the giant Void Shield still flickered over most of the fortresses, and it seemed destined that the battle would not end in an overly easy way.

The city's lifeline is crisscrossed by trenches and underground transportation networks, and tens of millions of permanent fortifications and artillery fortifications are stationed to build it all by hand, and have been recuperating for months, and they and Randan's vanguard are constantly fighting for control of every street corner, every fortress, and even every low wall, and behind them, countless armor and artillery bunkers, as well as various artificial mountains, block the invaders' offensive routes with the purest heavy firepower. It ensures that every front can play the greatest value.

The commanders of Randan's army soon discovered that the seemingly weak outer defense line was actually a trap, a trap that made them mistakenly believe that they only needed to invest more troops to uproot all the resistant fortresses in turn, and the dark sky used no less than 200,000 blood to make the alien army break into the intricate killing city, like a giant in a deep quagmire, unable to move.

The alien army had to find more ways to seize the most important transportation hubs and strategic points with armor clusters and low-altitude superiority, but in every target chosen by Ran Dan, there stood a dark green figure, and when these powerful warriors from the nocturne pulled the trigger in their hands, it was the ultimate fate of every invader to turn into charred corpses in the endless flames.

Of course, not all places are guarded by salamanders: there are only a handful of guards in some of the most important or hidden corners, and when the Xenomorph vanguard rushes up in high spirits, they will notice the appearance of these opponents: clad in black armor, sword wings, and helmets largely hidden in hoods, only scarlet eyes can be seen, and the lead warrior is often wrapped in Iron Rider Terminator armor, wielding the Terra Greatsword and Plasma Projector.

After all the more advanced tactics failed, the invaders had to resort to the methods of the ancient wars, and the army was once again assembled and thrown into this endless meat grinder, and in the void that was already like purgatory, Randan's transport fleet withstood the terrible firepower of the Imperial fleet, and dropped countless heavy weapons on the surface of Tux V: every self-propelled gun or armored vehicle belonging to the Alien Empire was transported to the front line, More than five of the same equipment were torn to shreds in the void, along with the ships carrying them.

Finally, when the blood had condensed into a gurgling stream, the ancient god of war once again began his roar, tens of thousands of artillery pieces were thrown into this war at one time, and the human empire was no less inferior to counterattack to start an unprecedented artillery battle, these heavy firepower that had appeared on the battlefield from hundreds of millennia ago was consumed like the most ordinary soldiers, under the unshakable will of the two empires, the huge fortress community was corroded by endless artillery fire, The vanguard that supported Ran Dan seized one piece after another of complete wreckage and ruins.

But even in the midst of the ruins, the human counterattack never stopped.

——————

The glimmer of sharpness reflected by the jet-black blade was the only light on his body that would illuminate the alien eyes.

It took the Shadow Champion less than a breath to float from the corner where he had been hiding all the way to the back of his last prey, and in the remaining breath, the blade in his right hand sliced through the aliens' sturdy neck armor, allowing their filthy blood to flow down the cracks in their own armor without dropping even a drop.

His blade pierced the alien's trachea and flesh, splitting the original wailing sound into a hissing current, and his other hand was not idle: his left hand was armed with a set of idiosyncratic claws, like a thin raindrop falling from the crack in the window to the floor of the room, his claws piercing through the tiniest crack in the armor, expanding the wound several times in an instant, and the sharp metal cut the alien's heart, lungs, intestines, and other organs— If these filthy things really could be called organs, they would all be twisted into a mess before they were completely stopped.

This is a strong Randan warrior whose face is covered in scars: only such a thorough attack can ensure that it is killed.

So, before his next breath arrived, the Shadow Champion's footsteps had already drifted to another place, a place that could not be tracked by any vision.

A precise, obscure and unremarkable hunt was completed in an instant, and not even the flickering daylight cast the shadow of the hunter, and even if an Astarte witnessed the whole hunt, he would only doubt his senses in astonishment.

Happiness did not spring up from the heart of the Shadow Champion, for he had already abandoned these emotions along with the desire for honor in a bloody night, and he embraced the most familiar shadows again, with only the timer and the symbol on the counter flashing in his helmet, reminding him of the progress of his mission.

This is the one hundred and eighty-sixth hour of the war, and the eleventh job cycle of the Shadow Champion: since he was sent to the ruins, he has been summing up his achievements and mistakes in every ten Terra standard hours.

In this reincarnation, he reaped a hundred results, no more, no less, compared to the first few times, the efficiency has dropped significantly: Ran Dan is the most terrifying opponent in the galaxy, their progress in the war is beyond imagination, when the reputation of the hunter rises in these ruins, it is rare to see groups of Ran Dan soldiers, more of a battle cluster with armored vehicles as the core, rampage through the ruins of gunfire.

Perhaps, it's time to go back.

It took a moment for the Shadow Champion to complete his thoughts, and then he disappeared into the wind once more, and he moved forward in a way that was almost [floating], in a corner that no one of the Randans could see, and the heavy armor did not splash a trace of dust, nor did it leave even the slightest footprint.

Before the next gust of wind blew, he had managed to float through three abandoned lines, and hordes of Randan's army and battle groups passed by his shadow, and he stared somewhat lazily at the advancing and bleeding opponents, recognizing some of them that he had never seen before:

Some of Randan's soldiers were so short that their exposed fangs didn't even grow, revealing a kind of immaturity that suited them to aliens, their scarlet eyes flickering and burning with fire.

Others, even on the ugly and distorted faces of the Milky Way, could clearly see the winding ravines, and the waists of these aliens were far less straight than those of the Randan warriors he had killed, and their gazes were either almost dead silent or trembling like their hands.

In the past, such a [warrior] would not have appeared in Ran Dan's military formation.

With this in mind, he crossed the front line of the battle between the two armies, and the sound of artillery fire was always with him, and the position from which he had set out had been abandoned, and thirty-two kilometers away he had found a new position, and the salamander who was responsible for guarding it.

"You're back just in time."

In charge of guarding the position was a typical son of Vulcan: a tall body, a fierce face, and a thick voice that gave everyone a natural sense of trust.

"A team of chasseurs from the Second Legion has just arrived at my position, where they are putting the finishing touches on their journey, and they are about to make their way through the ruins ahead on a mission."

The Shadow Champion was silent for a moment.

Just once.

Then he spoke, and the sound was unimaginable for an Astarte warrior, like fine paper gently rubbing against the snow-white sand.

"Where are they?"

——————

"At the very edge of the A-13 area, there is a giant Void Shield engine, which is directly connected to other engines in several large surrounding areas."

"In the previous battle, the A-13 area was systematically abandoned, but now there is intelligence that this engine was not completely destroyed during the retreat, and Randan's army is trying to repair it again, and through it it will put electronic scrap code into other running engines, which will greatly damage this void shield above our heads, so their actions must be stopped."

The Shadow Champion looked at the slightly rough tactical projection in front of him, and then at the battle brother who was explaining to him: he had heard of him, of this legion star named Hecht, known for his great physical fitness and incredible growth rate.

He remembered his team, and if it weren't for that subspace storm, he wouldn't be alone.

The Shadow Champion spoke.

"Only your team was sent to complete this mission?"

Hector shook his head.

"There are more than twenty squads that will work together on this mission in different directions, and our team has another mission to work on at the same time: we will pass through the J-47 area, where there is still a fortress that has not fallen, and we will go there to pick up the survivors and complete this mission together."

The Shadow Champion thought for a moment, then nodded, under normal circumstances, he was a man who cherished words like gold.

"Count me."

"Absolutely."

Hector smiled, and just then, Chiron walked into the room, having just counted the last batch of supplies.

The ancient warrior of the Legion patted the dust off his armor, his gaze focused on the Shadow Champion almost immediately, he was silent, his gaze back and forth between the black armor and the unique simple patterns, and when he spoke, he said an affirmative word.

"Ezio."

Shadow Champion: Ezio, he nodded before saluting the old man of the Legion.

The ancient warrior of the Legion returned the salute and moved his nose as if sniffing something, and then, he frowned.

"How many Ezio are you?"

The Shadow Champion raised three fingers, which made Chiron stunned for a moment, and his voice became a little lonely.

"Where's the last one?"

"Ruthmul, Greenskin."

The hoarse voice of the Shadow Champion echoed through the room, causing the ancient warrior of the Legion to fall into a brief moment of sadness, but after a few breaths he recovered, urging them to hurry up and begin their mission.

When the Second Legion, which had become five members, said goodbye to the salamanders guarding the place, and disappeared into the rubble amid the sound of friendly artillery fire, Hector seized a gap and asked his teacher on his private contact channel.

"What is Ezio?"

"One title, one inheritance."

The sound of the wind slapped on the faces of everyone in the squad, bringing with it the continuous artillery fire and the smell of fresh flesh and blood in the distance.

The Shadow Champion didn't act with them, he was a few positions ahead, allowing his remnant to lead the Chasseur squad.

"The legacy of the Fourth Fleet? It's also part of the cause in the shadows. ”

"Sort of, the faction that plows the darkness has been in the Legion for more than a century, and their own system is very well-established: there are five Lords of Shadows, each of whom symbolizes a direction, and the five directions add up to the Cause of the Shadows, and the strongest Lord of Shadows will have a seat in the council and rule the Ring of the Moon."

"And those who are only slightly lower than the Lord of Shadows are the Champion of Shadows, each of whom has a unique title, and when the successor inherits the position of Champion, he inherits this title, and if there is no suitable successor, the position of Champion remains vacant until someone is recognized and appreciated by more than half of the Lord of Shadows."

"Ezio, one of them."

"Shadow Champion ......"

Hecht's eyes flickered, and he whispered the title, he was the only person in the entire squad who could clearly see the remnants of the Shadow Champion, so he rushed to the front as always, leading his battle brothers.

"Are they always alone like this?"

The laughter of the ancient warriors came to my ears.

"Other Shadow Champions may not be like that, but Ezio, it's true that he is always alone, he has this kind of strength, this kind of character."

"Such a fate."

(End of chapter)