Industrial Cthulhu doesn't believe in the end times.

Chapter 209 Return
The green signal flare was only confirmed at the start of the battle, and it's clear that only Su Xun or Tao Yue could have fired it from that direction.

They left together, and most likely they've returned together now!

At this moment, a nearly imperceptible afterimage flew up from that direction and streaked across the sky. Even with Xiao Zhenru's eyesight, she couldn't see what it was, only that it was a black object about the size of a fist.

The thing landed directly on one of the three heads of the three-headed rat in the sky. It was so small that it was like a speck of dust on the three-headed rat floating in the sky, almost imperceptible.

However, at that very moment, Xiao Zhenru's pupils shrank. He saw that a vortex seemed to have appeared where the thing had fallen. The three-headed rat's body, which could withstand ordinary artillery fire, seemed to have become liquid or a crumpled towel, and was instantly stirred into a mess by some powerful force!
Its head alone was over a hundred meters long! In an instant, the head was twisted into a mass of flesh and blood! The remaining two heads were also affected, with large pieces of flesh peeled off and drawn into the vortex of flesh and blood.

This turn of events was unexpected by everyone. The giant beast let out a mournful cry and fell from the sky. Seeing this, Xiao Zhenru quickly moved away.

Fortunately, she wasn't directly below the monster. The speed of a fourth-tier superhuman was enough for her to quickly reach a safe area. Before she could even turn around, she felt the ground shake violently, and many pieces of gravel and dust flew over her head. A gust of wind came from behind her.

This was the first time such a scene had appeared on the battlefield, and perhaps the first time humanity had witnessed a behemoth of this size fall from the sky.

Several mountain peaks collapsed under the weight. When the alien creature had no more energy to manipulate its spiritual power to support itself, gravity once again exerted its power. The giant beast's body bent noticeably, large pieces of flesh were torn apart, and some structures that looked like bones emerged from its body.

Its two remaining, mangled heads let out a few brief howls before falling silent.

As a sixth-tier mutant, it actually died on the spot!

And all of this was caused by a tiny object, about the size of a palm!

Xiao Zhenru was extremely curious, but she actually guessed what it might be.

The battlefield fell silent for a moment, and even the other sixth-tier strange bird paused for a moment. But the next moment, it charged towards the position even more frantically, and the sky full of artillery fire responded even more fiercely!

Yin Danyi's figure swept past the fallen giant beast's body and flew towards the direction where the signal flare had just risen in the distance. Soon, he and two other figures appeared in Xiao Zhenru's field of vision.

Clearly, the visitors were Su Xun and Tao Yue.

"You're finally back." Even though she knew there shouldn't be any problems, Xiao Zhenru still breathed a huge sigh of relief: "If we hadn't come back, Commander Cheng would have scolded us to death!"

"That's right, that's right!" Yin Danyi complained even more bitterly, "I was being insulted to my face, Principal, you have to stand up for me!"

Su Xun glanced at Yin Danyi's exaggerated expression and twitched his lips: "You're so unserious, it's no wonder you got scolded a couple of times."

"Go back first. Commander Qin and the others have been worried about you."

After all, this was a battlefield, with alien species constantly emerging behind them. This was hardly a good place for small talk. Xiao Zhenru activated her superpower, preparing to lift Tao Yue up again, but Tao Yue, as if she had foreseen it, moved a step to the side in advance, causing her mental power to miss.

"Huh? You..." Only then did she belatedly realize that Tao Yue's strength had changed drastically. "Hmph, didn't expect that, did you?" Tao Yue smiled mischievously, took two steps forward, and Xiao Zhen instinctively tried to dodge, but Tao Yue anticipated her movements, effortlessly wrapped her arms around her waist, and pinched it as if in retaliation.

"Let's see if you dare to bully me again."

Xiao Zhenru fell silent for a long while, then said quietly, "Ah, no wonder she can get close to the Commander-in-Chief. It's definitely more useful than sucking up to someone's leg."

"!" Tao Yue's expression changed. She looked up at Su Xun and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that he had no reaction. However, Xiao Zhenru's next words made her furious.

"Your rank has improved, but your strength is still the same. Little sister, you should go back and eat more."

Tao Yue's eyes widened: "Xiao Zhenru! I'm going to bite you to death!!!"

By this time, Xiao Zhenru had already run away, heading back towards the command post, with Tao Yue chasing after her at a much faster pace than when she arrived.

"Tsk tsk tsk, what fake besties."

Seeing the two of them blink, Yin Danyi shook her head: "But I was also startled by her. How did she suddenly reach the fourth level? What did you encounter in the secret realm?"

Su Xun said, "Let's go back first, and we'll talk about it in detail later."

That being said, they did not rush to the command post immediately, but instead went to the battlefield where they were besieging the giant bird. With the arrival of two fifth-tier warriors and the heavy firepower of the entire battlefield tilting towards this side, the battle here quickly came to an end.

Fifth-tier transcendents can fully utilize their talents, integrate their knowledge, and master an extraordinary ability. Most of these abilities have powerful and direct destructive force. For those with superpowers, this ability is often related to their superpowers.

Su Xun's elemental affinity has truly transformed into elemental control at this level, while Yin Danyi adds the ability of sharpness to the things she touches, which can then be used to condense a longsword made of spiritual energy.

His strength is worthy of his rather mysterious background. In terms of more direct offensive capabilities, he may even be slightly better than Su Xun. Given time, he has the ability to kill a sixth-tier alien species by himself.

With the cooperation of Su Xun and a group of fourth-tier superhumans, he severed the wings of the alien species one by one, exposing its body completely to the artillery fire from behind, where it ultimately met its demise.

Actually, it didn't die unjustly, since those who participated in its attack were arguably the most outstanding and talented people of this era.

Tao Yue's role in this battle impressed many superhumans. She was always able to anticipate the alien's attacks or quickly seize its weaknesses, giving timely reminders to her teammates.

In the battle to kill a sixth-tier mutant, Su Xun didn't even have to exert much effort. Most of the time, he just stood by and watched the two of them shine in the arena. He felt even more gratified and satisfied that they had improved their strength further than he had.

Finally, everyone returned to the command post, where they were greeted not only by Qin Chang and Cheng Rui, but also by the cheers of countless soldiers.

(End of this chapter)