This unprecedented purple mist possessed an extraordinary power to interfere with magnetic fields, disrupt spatial orientation, and even distort battle stances themselves. Its effects were nothing short of terrifying. As it spread, it completely crippled the miniature drones, making it impossible for them to accurately detect direction or distance.
In such dire circumstances… There was no need for cautious deliberation. Countless scientists had already reached the same conclusion: all other detection devices were rendered utterly useless.
While the Astra Militarum was still urgently debating countermeasures, the dense purple fog on the opposing side had already begun to advance. Its progress was slow, almost leisurely, yet undeniably oppressive. Simultaneously, the Wild Giant Bears and Bear Warriors also started to move.
Despite the terrifying effects of the purple mist, Baroque, battle-hardened from countless wars, remained calm and vigilant. He carefully deployed his troops into a standard formation.
The Wild Giant Bears led the charge, forming the front line as living shields, while the Bear Warriors followed closely behind. Step by step, they advanced steadily and cautiously.
By this point, Baroque was in no rush. There was no time limit to this match. He knew well that once the purple mist fully infiltrated the Astra Militarum's formation and enveloped their entire position, that would be the moment for the Bear Warriors to unleash their brutal slaughter.
"If these musketeers are dragged into close combat, not to mention my Bear Warriors and the Wild Giant Bears… they won't even withstand the Purple Mist Beasts," Baroque thought coldly.
From his vantage point afar, as he observed the enemy's movements, such thoughts kept surfacing. Though smaller individually, the Purple Mist Beasts were far from weak. Their razor-sharp teeth alone were enough to tear through the thick hides of Wild Giant Bears, and their numbers were staggering.
"If we break their formation later, even the Bear Warriors probably won't need to move. These Purple Mist Beasts can drown them all once they swarm," Baroque mused with a confident smirk, already shifting his thoughts to the next match.
"If I reach the semifinals, I'll likely face either Iris or Jeffery… That could be tricky," he frowned slightly.
At that very moment, several strange figures emerged from the rear of the Astra Militarum's ranks. Their silhouettes resembled Flame Giants, twisted, warped, and grotesque.
These were Flame Giants captured during the conquest of the outer planets. The ones taken during examinations had long since perished; Flame Giants couldn't naturally live for so many years.
The current specimens were products of genetic research, developed in the laboratory. After Dr. Paul Hans-Günther's groundbreaking breakthroughs, research into the super zombie virus intensified. Though it had not been used in active combat for some time, progress continued. The latest iteration was known as the Super Virus.
However, as supernatural creatures grew stronger, the Super Virus's effectiveness waned. During the Glory Conquest, the Astra Militarum had never seriously considered deploying it against formidable beings like Black Flame Giants; its impact was limited at best.
What they overlooked was that they had unexpectedly encountered a weaker supernatural species, the Purple Mist Beasts. A biologist immediately thought of the Super Virus. If used specifically against such weaker beings…
Among all the Imperium's weapons, none were truly compatible with the Super Virus. Ultimately, they injected three Flame Giants with it. Their original strength was modest, placing them at the lower limit of the virus's effective range.
Within a minute, the virus took hold. The Flame Giants' demeanor twisted and distorted. Eerie hissing sounds escaped their mouths as they caught the scent of the Purple Mist Beasts ahead. Without hesitation, they surged forward, charging madly into the fray.
This was the primal instinct of zombies. Compared to ordinary humans and Astra Militarum guardsmen, zombie Flame Giants were far more attracted to supernatural creatures.
"Huh? What's that?" Baroque raised his brows in confusion as he watched the three Flame Giants rush forward in such a strange, unnatural manner. He couldn't quite decipher the enemy's tactic.
Suddenly, violent combat sounds erupted from within the purple mist. The Flame Giants were frantically attacking the surrounding Purple Mist Beasts.
"No way…" Baroque's expression shifted. "Has Sebastian lost his mind? He actually dares to send only three Flame Giants against my Purple Mist Beasts?"
In terms of individual strength, the Purple Mist Beasts were no match for Flame Giants. But their numbers were overwhelming. Even if they piled up and tore through the giants' bodies, they could still be overwhelmed.
"Purple Mist Beasts, eliminate these three Flame Giants," Baroque commanded immediately, showing no concern.
The Beasts responded by surging forward in dense swarms, baring razor-sharp teeth and ruthlessly lunging at the giants.
Their vicious bites landed heavily, but Baroque was stunned to see that, even as countless Purple Mist Beasts bit into them, the Flame Giants showed no pain. Instead, they tore into the surrounding Beasts with savage ferocity.
"Purple Mist Beasts, increase your strength! Attack with full force!" Baroque shouted again.
His command echoed across the battlefield. Instantly, even more Purple Mist Beasts flooded forward, leaping onto the giants' massive bodies; at least a hundred swarm onto each Flame Giant. The relentless gnawing and tearing echoed ceaselessly, ripping apart their thick hides to reveal raw flesh and flowing blood.
Yet, Baroque was utterly shocked to see that even at this point, the Flame Giants showed no sign of weakening. Their attacks continued unabated, their movements relentless, as if pain no longer mattered.
In fact, the giants grew frenzied, attacking the Purple Mist Beasts beside them with even greater savagery. They were scratched, gnawed, and swarmed, yet they kept slaughtering, undeterred by injuries. The number of attackers only increased.
A gnawing sense of unease crept into Baroque's mind, but he couldn't pinpoint what was wrong.
After a moment's hesitation, he barked, "Bear Warriors, speed up! Finish off those three Flame Giants!"
He had misjudged everything. The problem wasn't just the Purple Mist Beasts' strength; it was something far more terrifying.
Before the Bear Warriors could reach the battlefield, the wounded Purple Mist Beasts began to emit strange, distorted sounds. One by one, their bodies twisted and darkened further, and the purple-black hues deepened.
Suddenly, they froze, then lunged at their unmutated companions, jaws wide open, biting mercilessly.
1.
2.
3.
100.
1,000.
More and more Purple Mist Beasts mutated into zombie-like monsters. They turned on their own kind, attacking the unmutated beasts with frantic ferocity.
Simultaneously, the zombified beasts' agility and strength surged explosively. Their resistance was terrifying, so long as their brains remained intact, ordinary attacks proved almost useless.
The unprepared Purple Mist Beasts, several thousand, fell instantly, and chaos erupted across the battlefield.
Three Flame Giants, alongside tens of thousands of mutated Purple Mist Beasts, unleashed a berserk, simultaneous assault. Any beast bitten or scratched would, after some time, succumb to mutation. The zombie Purple Mist Beasts' numbers swelled rapidly.
This horrifying spectacle left Baroque stunned. Even with his battlefield experience, he had never witnessed anything this bizarre. Why were his Purple Mist Beasts betraying their own? Why were they fighting alongside the enemy to slaughter their own?
But as a veteran commander, he swiftly shouted, "Bear Warriors! Charge with full force! Destroy those three Flame Giants and eliminate these unruly Purple Mist Beasts!"
The Bear Warriors stormed into the purple mist, moving at full speed. One swung a massive paw, knocking a Flame Giant into the air. In individual combat, the giants weren't a match for the bears.
Yet, what terrified them was that the Flame Giants, after falling, immediately stood again as if nothing had happened. The Bear Warriors continued their savage assault, bones shattered, limbs twisted, yet had no effect.
Other Bear Warriors turned to face the mutated Purple Mist Beasts, but their numbers were overwhelming. The zombified Purple Mist Beasts now exceeded ten thousand.
Realizing they couldn't face them head-on, they shifted their focus to the unmutated Beasts instead. What followed was a surreal, horrifying scene.
The Bear Warriors chased and slaughtered the mutated Beasts, but no matter how many they killed, they couldn't wipe them all out. Meanwhile, the mutated Purple Mist Beasts hunted the remaining normal ones relentlessly.
Time dragged on. Some mutated Beasts' heads were smashed, and they died instantly, but far more remained unharmed, infected, and transformed further.
After ten minutes, the thick purple fog finally dispersed. Baroque's expression changed dramatically. Only then did he grasp the true severity of the situation.
His gaze swept wildly across the battlefield, then suddenly fixed on something. His face twisted in fury as he roared, "Bear Warriors! Attack those unruly Purple Mist Beasts' heads!"
His instincts told him the zombies' weakness. But he had overlooked something even deadlier lurking on this battlefield: the Astra Militarum.
As the fog receded, Cyrus issued his command without hesitation.
Spike bullets tore through the air, sweeping toward the Bear Warriors and Purple Mist Beasts less than three kilometers away, in a broad saturation attack. To the Astra Militarum, these mutated Beasts were insignificant. The giant Bear Warriors, however, were prime targets.
A spike bullet pierced through a Bear Warrior lunging at a mutated Purple Mist Beast, shattering through fur, flesh, muscle, and bone with brutal precision.
Bear Warriors weren't like Wild Giant Bears; their defenses were limited. They couldn't withstand such gunfire. Fully engaged against the traitorous Beasts, they were defenseless. Within moments, over a thousand collapsed, some killed instantly, others critically wounded.
Finally, Baroque reacted in horror. He had forgotten the firepower of the Astra Militarum.
"Retreat!" he bellowed. "No matter what, retreat now! If we don't fall back, the Bear Warriors will be slaughtered!"
But the mutated Purple Mist Beasts, sensing their prey's retreat, swarmed forward. They bit and clawed with reckless abandon. Though each bite was not fatal alone, repeated bites were deadly. The Bear Warriors could only fight the mutated Beasts on one side while trying to escape, their retreat slow.
The Astra Militarum wouldn't miss this chance. Electromagnetic rifles and fighter missiles rained down in a barrage, bombarding the fleeing bears.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
PUFF! PUFF! PUFF!
Loud explosions and tearing bullets claimed many lives. The retreat became a nightmare, an enemy slaughterhouse.
"How could this happen…?" Baroque clenched his fists, teeth grinding in rage and despair. He had spent years building this force, and now they were being slaughtered like livestock.
Just ten minutes ago, everything was under his control. The situation was overwhelmingly in his favor. Victory seemed assured.
But when the enemy dispatched only three average-strength Flame Giants, everything was overturned. That single miscalculation shattered his confidence. The match… was lost in an instant. Too absurd, too unbelievable.
Baroque had suffered defeats before, but never like this, so baffling, so suffocating. He lost without resistance, without clarity, without even understanding how.
Missile volleys and electromagnetic strikes continued for a minute longer before Baroque finally conceded defeat. The battle was over.
Sebastian's victory, his first in the semifinals, came swiftly, smoothly, and without suspense. No one had anticipated his method, yet he advanced unchallenged.
The spectators outside the battlefield were stunned.
Everyone had expected Sebastian to struggle against the purple mist, barely surviving. Instead, three Flame Giants had turned the tide, transforming a certain defeat into a swift, decisive victory.
"This little guy…" Bru could hardly hide his surprise. "What tactic did he use?"
Svananóg frowned, puzzled himself. The Super Virus, after several generations of improvement, was no longer the early zombie virus. Its effects were subtle, concealed, and hard to detect; daring to think of it was almost unthinkable.
Later, after leaving the star battlefield, Sebastian suddenly felt a piercing gaze fixed on him. He turned his head and saw Baroque staring directly at him. The same Baroque who had just been defeated.
"Damn it… I lost to a rookie who probably hasn't even seen real combat," Baroque muttered, his heart full of unwillingness. But the cruel truth was undeniable. A loss was a loss. If you were weaker, you lost. Resentment couldn't change that. With a bitter swallow, he held his silence.
"This guy probably isn't convinced by you at all," Huo Kong said as he approached.
Sebastian only smiled faintly but didn't dwell on it.
"By the way, Sebastian," Huo Kong asked quietly, "what kind of weapon was that just now? If it's a secret, just say so."
"It's not really a secret," Sebastian replied with a smile. "Just a special poison that can manipulate the opponent's race."
"Manipulate an entire race!?" Huo Kong was stunned.
"But its effect is limited," Sebastian added calmly. "It only works on relatively weak races. Against stronger ones, it's ineffective."
"So that's how it is…" Huo Kong finally exhaled in relief. "You had me worried for a moment."
If such a toxin truly worked without limits, there'd be no need for a competition at all. They might as well hand Sebastian the championship now.
Besides Sebastian's duel with Baroque, the other three Top 8 matches remained fiercely contested. The clashes were explosive, and the crowd's attention was glued to the projections, especially the battles between the favorites.
Augustus versus Eira.
Iris versus Jeffery.
These duels were still deadlocked, with no one holding back, revealing all their trump cards.
The arena crackled with energy. Sebastian couldn't help but glance back and forth as the battles unfolded simultaneously, each one more spectacular than the last.
Everyone was engrossed, watching one fight then shifting to the next. The atmosphere was electric.
"This is truly thrilling," Huo Kong kept repeating, unable to hide his excitement.
After about thirty minutes, one match finally concluded: Sergey versus Aya.
Despite Aya's powerful High Elf civilization, famous for its terrifying trump cards like the Elven King Bow, Sergey's creation, the Wine Panda, proved unstoppable.
The more wine it drank, the more destructive it became. It shattered the Battle Treant with a single wine-soaked punch, leaving a massive hole. The elves inside the Treant were battered and battered again.
Their losses were catastrophic. If this had been a regular match, Aya would have surrendered long ago. But in the Group Star Competition, the stakes and rewards for Top 4 and Top 8 were worlds apart.
"I've lost… There's no way around it," Bru admitted helplessly. "He's simply too strong."
Most spectators had expected this outcome. Both sides fought valiantly, but victory always belonged to the stronger.
Soon after, Aya conceded defeat, and only two duels remained.
"Augustus and Eira… Augustus seems to have a slight edge," Huo Kong observed. "But this Iris versus Jeffery match is brutal; anyone could win."
He then asked, "Sebastian, who would you prefer to face?"
Because the next match would determine Sebastian's opponent, either Iris or Jeffery.
"Either is fine," Sebastian replied calmly. "Neither has a race that directly counters me."
"True," Huo Kong nodded. At this stage, the concept of counters had diminished; only raw strength mattered.
Another half hour passed. The last two matches concluded in a fierce, intense struggle. Sebastian's next opponent was revealed, likely the strongest yet.
This would be the most formidable, the most terrifying, and the most decisive battle so far.