6:00 a.m.

Frontline.

"Squad Leader, is General Manager Chen really coming to the battlefield?" A young soldier lowered his voice, repeating the question for the umpteenth time.

"That's what the higher-ups said. Why do you all have so many questions?" The squad leader, annoyed by the repeated questioning, looked at the soldiers surrounding him with curious faces and scolded:

"If you have so much free time, why not clean your guns? More sweat in peacetime means less blood in wartime. When danger comes, the only thing you can rely on is your gun."

He glanced at the dark sky. Even though it was finally sunny today, the clouds still loomed overhead, and the weather was hot and humid. It was clear that it wouldn't be long before another thunderstorm hit.

This place is right on the equatorial line, entirely a tropical rainforest climate, hot and humid.

It either rains every day or is about to rain.

Fighting in this place is pure suffering; bodies are always sticky, and sometimes we get rained on, with clothes never having a chance to dry.

Plus, there's all sorts of malaria, parasites, and venomous insects, making it extremely dangerous. A significant portion of soldier casualties are due to these. If I had a choice, I'd rather fight in the dry desert than stay here.

"Oh, got it."

The soldiers replied listlessly and then sluggishly began disassembling their guns.

The squad leader shook his head at the sight. Most of them were new recruits and hadn't experienced the brutality of war firsthand.

"Boom... boom... boom..."

Suddenly, a dull noise echoed from afar, like muffled thunder on the horizon.

"What is that sound?"

All the soldiers immediately became vigilant, quickly standing up. They were positioned on a slope, originally a frontline sentry post with a commanding view.

However, upon seeing the scene, everyone was left dumbfounded, their bodies petrified, unable to move.

In the distance, a few kilometers away, a massive Giant was striding forward.

Above his head, the clouds churned, moving quickly as if stirred by a vast force, slowly dispersing.

The ground trembled slightly; gusts of wind rolled across the path, spawning vortices that were quickly upset by larger air currents.

"It's... it's... it's General Manager Chen!" The squad leader swallowed nervously, stammering. At this moment, he lost his previous composure, overwhelmed by a sense of awe.

So enormous!

...

In a city ten kilometers from the frontline.

A simple stone wall encircled the city. A group of priests, half-naked and wearing fearsome masks, marched quickly, inspecting the defenses. As they passed, countless soldiers prostrated themselves on the ground, faces full of reverence.

Orderly and solemn.

Since the last lesson, the strategy of the multinational forces in the war on Yan State had shifted to a full-scale advance.

Under tremendous pressure, the originally scattered cultist tribes and cities regrouped to strengthen their resistance.

This place lacked no weapons.

The area once controlled by the Pantheon was here.

As an organization with goals of becoming gods and attaining immortality, they never lacked covert supporters. In a few short years of rule, a basic military-industrial complex and a decent regular army were established here, and while they couldn't produce heavy weapons like artillery, they were not in short supply.

...

"The god is merciful and majestic. We must heed the holy teachings of the god. Under the divine power, those ignorant and sinful blasphemers are destined for destruction... He shall rule over humanity, and this holy war is our test.

He tells us to fight for the Lord, and the soul ascends to the Divine Country, enjoying eternal life. The cowardly who do not fight, their souls shall descend into Hell."

The leading High Priest, with a resonant and ethereal voice, loudly inspired the people, stirring everyone into fervent chanting, then into devout prayer.

"Boom... boom... boom..."

A dull sound echoed from afar.

Everyone was immersed in prayer, seemingly oblivious.

Until the sound grew louder and impossible to ignore, many couldn't help but stand and look up. In the next moment, the crowd fell into chaos. Screams arose one after another, shattering the originally solemn and sacred atmosphere.

"God, it's... it's the Giant!"

A massive Giant advanced with great strides, the ground shaking. From a distance, he looked like a moving hill, alarming the spirit.

Many started running around like headless chickens, some even collapsing in fear, losing control of their bowels.

The High Priest's expression changed drastically, shouting sharply, "Flee and perish! Souls descend into Hell! Quickly, kill him, open fire."

Under the threat, the panicked crowd was barely contained.

"Rat-a-tat-tat..."

In no time, bullets rained down like a storm, and the artillery positioned on the wall began to take aim.

Suddenly, the Giant's form blurred, a shockwave erupted centered on his body, countless small trees uprooted by the blast. Meanwhile, a blinding blue streak of light flashed over the top, disappearing out of sight.

"Boom!!!"

A thirty-meter-high Divine Statue in the city center exploded, debris flying as a massive solid lightning bolt penetrated the street, leaving a meter-wide crater. Countless electric sparks, like leaping dragons and snakes, flashed incessantly.

Chen Shouyi, with an emotionless face, stepped forward.

Countless bullets struck him and scattered away. He extended his hand, summoning the Lightning Spear, which swiftly flew into his grasp.

As he approached the city.

The attack intensified, shells constantly exploding around, scattering shrapnel.

"Whoosh!"

A shell whistled towards him. He reached out his large hand, catching it as easily as a thrown ping-pong ball.

"Boom!!!"

His hand quivered; fire erupted from the seams of his fingers.

He opened his hand.

It was charred black, then instantly cleared, revealing rough, sandpaper-like skin. Apart from a slight reddish tint, his hand was unscathed.

"Seems only a nuclear bomb can harm me," Chen Shouyi thought to himself.

This scene obliterated the morale of the cult resistance. Seeing the Giant approaching, only three or four hundred meters away, many soldiers abandoned their guns and began to flee.

During the war against the multinational forces, this strength was still something they could understand and maintain morale against. But facing this terrifying Giant, even the firmest belief evaporated like mist under the blazing sun.

"No one is allowed to flee, kill him now..." the High Priestess shrieked, her mask falling off her face, revealing a middle-aged Black woman.

But before she could finish.

Her body was lifted by an invisible force, rapidly flying towards the Giant.

"No..." she screamed.

The Giant rapidly expanded before her eyes.

A terrifying visage, arching electricity, a mountain-like oppressive aura.

An indescribable fear overwhelmed her, her mind blank, will utterly collapsed. She trembled and was scared to death.

"Oh, she's dead."

He grabbed the commanding Barbarian God Priest, and with a slight squeeze, crushed her into pulp.

Then, he looked towards the crowd again, and in the next instant, more priests and "Void Demons" among the soldiers floated into the air, defying gravity.

Although they were also human, even if they believed in a cult, he did not want excessive slaughter.

But not a single priest or "Void Demon," these cult leaders, would be spared.