The Yanglu City was charging toward the ground at several Mach speeds, with a tremendous momentum, roaring like a tiger, unstoppable.
Zhan Jun's forehead was covered in cold sweat. He could hardly believe he was still in the city, standing with a madman inside the Forbidden City. Looking at the trajectory of Yanglu City, he knew that they were definitely going to be caught in the impact.
"Liu Bro, I trust you now. Let's get out of here."
"Since you trust me, why not stay and witness my strength?" Liu A'dou smiled. "You still don't believe me."
Zhan Jun felt like he was already dead. Liu A'dou's overwhelming confidence only made him more anxious. After all, Liu A'dou was still human, and how could a human face such a mechanical behemoth? It was suicide. What's worse was that his life was at stake, not just his.
"Ahhh!" The Yanglu City was getting closer. Liu A'dou finally prepared himself. Zhan Jun heard that phrase for the second time: "On the full moon night, at the top of the Forbidden City, a sword comes from the west, a fairy flying from the sky."
Liu A'dou was using the Sacred Sword Excalibur, the golden technique of Capricorn Shura, a sword that could split the stars.
Whoosh!
A sword appeared in Liu A'dou's right hand. Its glow changed the very color of the heavens, making the stars lose their shine. Zhan Jun's eyes widened, watching Liu A'dou's actions in disbelief. He finally began to believe that this person from another world might actually be able to create miracles.
At that moment, the Yanglu City was only about 7,000 meters from the ground, rapidly descending. Liu A'dou swung the Holy Sword, and the sword's aura illuminated the entire city.
The people who hadn't managed to evacuate or leave the city looked up, confused. "What is that light?"
"What is that light?" The owner of the Yanglu City yelled in shock.
But no one could answer, because they couldn't analyze it. It was a force beyond this world: "High-speed approach, all units prepare for collision defense."
Before Yanglu City even hit the ground, all Martians aboard had to adopt defensive positions.
"Aldnoah engine, full power, break that light," the noble shouted.
"Understood."
Whoosh!
A continuous golden light, like a crescent moon, slashed through the Yanglu City.
"Is that it? Just light?" someone asked in disbelief. "Report on the status of Yanglu City."
All departments reported, saying everything was fine.
Zhan Jun stood there, mouth agape. Was all this just for show? Wasn't Yanglu City still the same? "Liu Bro, what the heck is going on?"
Liu A'dou slowly turned his body, gathering the Holy Light in his hand. "Yanglu City has been destroyed by me."
"How...?" Zhan Jun's jaw dropped as he saw Yanglu City in the sky split into two halves.
The Martians, who had thought it was a false alarm, realized all their systems had lost control. The city beneath them split in two, falling in different directions, losing its balance.
Impossible? The noble couldn't believe his eyes. How could Earthlings have such a weapon? Yanglu City had been cut in half. This wasn't scientific.
But the chaos didn't end there. Liu A'dou made another move, and the falling Yanglu City suddenly stopped midair, as if it had been frozen.
"What are you really?" Zhan Jun was stunned as the two halves of Yanglu City hung in the sky, now part of Liu A'dou's backdrop. His expression was a mixture of disbelief and awe, as if looking at a rainbow. Not only had Liu A'dou cut through Yanglu City, something that terrified the whole Earth, but he was now controlling the ruins as though they were toys, trapped in an eternal limbo.
Zhan Jun didn't feel any sympathy for the Martians. With a single strike, he didn't even know how many Martians he had killed. The huge Yanglu City had been cut in half, revealing the complex inner structures.
"I think it's better to send them back to the universe," Liu A'dou said, giving a slight push. The ruins quickly returned along the same path they had come from. More Martians would die in the process. But Liu A'dou didn't feel anything. In the superhero world, he protected humans, but in this world, humans were also the enemies of humans. The Martians had left Earth to become the 'noble' Martians. If they were coming back to Earth, they should be ready to die.
Without Liu A'dou, this ancient city might have been destroyed in an instant.
A miracle. Zhan Jun was stunned.
"Alright, let's go back."
The Martians watched in disbelief as the Yanglu City, now cut in half like a melon, returned to space. Some Martians, still lingering in space, drifted aimlessly, adding to the terrifying scene, making it feel like something out of a horror movie.
"What exactly happened?" The other three Yanglu Cities, which had accurately hit their targets and caused countless casualties, were confused. Why did this Yanglu City, which was supposed to land in Beijing, end up like this? The other nobles who had lowered their altitude froze in place, afraid of following the same path.
It was terrifying. How could this be?
The countries of Earth, however, had no time to care about this. The Yanglu City that had landed almost immediately attacked the power cables and telecommunication stations, took down satellites, and blocked communications. It also released interference, leaving only laser communication between countries. The signals were poor, making it difficult to exchange information.
Once the war started, even cities that hadn't been hit by the initial attack began evacuations. They temporarily retreated from the Martians' advances, gathering their forces in preparation for a final showdown.
In the original animation, the first 12 episodes showed the Martians completely overpowering the Earth's military, but by the last 12 episodes, the Earth forces had managed to hold their ground against the Martians. This all took place in just 19 months, which meant the Earth military was rapidly leveling up.
From another perspective, the Earth military employed very familiar tactics: using space to buy time, giving up most of the land to preserve their main forces, and sending small units to slow the Martians' advance, hoping for a final thunderous strike. But the technological gap between Mars and Earth was undeniable, and the only way for Earth to win was to sacrifice lives.
The screeching of brakes interrupted Zhan Jun's thoughts as his third sister, a beautiful lieutenant of the United Government, rushed into the house. She had come from the school when she heard Zhan Jun hadn't arrived yet, so she immediately returned home. Seeing the lights on in the house, she knew her brother was there.
However, when she entered the yard and saw the military KG7, she froze. "Zhan Jun?"
"I'm here, sis." Zhan Jun, healthy and unharmed, called out.
"Little brother, you had us so worried! Why didn't you go to school?" She quickly spotted Liu A'dou, who was eating breakfast.
When Liu A'dou saw the beautiful girl, he couldn't help but think, 'Sure enough, there are many beautiful women in this world, even if it's not scientific.' He casually greeted, "Want to have breakfast with us?"
"You?" His third sister suddenly thought, "The KG7 in the yard is yours, right? How could you leave your post? Do you know how serious this is? Which unit are you from?"
Zhan Jun was about to explain, but Liu A'dou hadn't said anything yet. His third sister added, "Zhan Jun, you need to go to school now. And you, get in your mecha and return to your unit immediately." True to her military background, she was all business, issuing commands.
"I need to take care of my wife," Liu A'dou said.
"What?" His third sister, shocked, countered, "You're defying orders. I don't care who you need to take care of, you need to go back to your unit right now."
At that moment, Ada walked out of the room. She had already felt the baby growing restless inside her, and her walks were getting shorter every day.
"A'dou, who is this?" Ada asked.
Seeing that Liu A'dou's wife was pregnant, his third sister sympathized, but with the Martians already declaring war, she couldn't forgive a deserter: "I'll send your wife to the hospital, where someone will take care of her. You need to go back to your unit."
Liu A'dou wanted to say something, but Ada spoke first. "A'dou, just go back. I'll be fine." She even gave him a playful wink, her mischief shining through.
Liu A'dou understood that his wife was trying to look out for him, not wanting him to get bored while stuck at home with her.
Fearing he might refuse, Ada even pinched him, making him gasp in pain. She truly wanted him to go out and clear his mind. Not wanting to refuse her, he reluctantly agreed, "I understand. Ada, I'll be back with our daughter."
That phrase felt like he had just cursed himself, setting up a "death flag."