The battle drew to a close in an absurd silence.
The deafening roars, the tearing of metal, the explosive blasts of energy—everything vanished. All that remained was the whimpering of the wind as it swept across the churned earth.
The beast horde that could have easily swallowed Dragon Bone Village was now reduced to scattered wreckage and gore across the ground.
Not a single breathing Pola Beast could be found on the battlefield.
*Clack—Hum—*
The cockpit door of the Emperor-class Titan opened amidst a burst of hissing steam, shattering the dead silence.
Xia Dou stood on the giant's shoulder, bathed in the orange-red sunset, her small face flushed with excitement. She spread her arms wide and waved vigorously at her petrified companions below.
"We won!"
Her voice echoed through the Titan's loudspeakers, sounding like a triumphant little general who had just single-handedly saved the world.
After a brief pause.
"Wooooooo—!"
The ecstasy of surviving a catastrophe made the survivors of Dragon Bone Village drop their weapons and embrace each other, letting out deafening cheers.
The people looked up in awe at the Titan standing tall like a mountain, and at those silent, powerful warriors.
Finally, everyone's gazes converged, turning toward the figure leisurely walking down from a distant peak.
Bai Yuekui deactivated her armor.
The light particles dissipated, revealing her sleek combat suit. She did not join in the revelry; instead, she slowly walked over to a deep crater stamped out by the Titan's massive foot.
At the bottom of the pit lay an indescribable sludge—a mixture of the Monarch-class Pola Beast and the earth itself.
Her gaze passed over the bloody mess and landed on the squad of blue Power Armor warriors standing solemnly in place. Then, she looked back at Meiduo beside her, whose power had skyrocketed and whose eyes reflected a complete rebirth.
An unprecedented surge of emotion welled up in her heart.
'This might actually be enough to rebuild civilization.'
This hope was so heavy it left her almost breathless.
Ian strolled over, passing through the cheering and worshipping crowd with his usual nonchalant expression. It was as if neither the apocalyptic disaster just moments ago nor this earth-shattering victory mattered to him at all.
"Mr. Ian!"
Shanda took the lead and rushed over. The tower-like man was currently flushed red with excitement. He wanted to say some words of gratitude, but was so overwhelmed that he babbled incoherently.
"Alright, alright," Ian waved his hand, interrupting him.
"It was nothing major. As long as everyone survived, it's fine."
His understated attitude only made the villagers revere him even more. In their eyes, this was exactly how a god should act.
Marc stood frozen in place, staring fixedly at the Astartes warriors.
One warrior was currently crushing the skull of a not-quite-dead Pola Beast beneath his power boot. The movement was precise, without a single ounce of wasted energy.
Marc's mind went completely blank.
He thought of the Hunters from the Lighthouse. He thought of every expedition, of his comrades who piled up their lives just to exchange them for insignificant victories.
He remembered how facing even a single high-level Pola Beast required the cost of several people being severely injured or killed.
Yet here, monsters of that caliber weren't even worthy of a second glance from these blue giants.
This gap was not something that could be bridged by mere effort.
It was a despair-inducing chasm.
Ran Bing noticed his unusual state and gently held his hand.
Marc's body was trembling slightly.
"What... what are we?" he muttered to himself, his voice filled with unprecedented confusion and self-doubt.
"Does anything we've done even matter?"
This power that had appeared out of nowhere didn't bring him hope; instead, it acted like a heavy sledgehammer, shattering all of his convictions.
"Boss Bai."
Ian's voice snapped Bai Yuekui out of her thoughts.
She turned around and met his gaze.
"Aren't you going to say something? Like, 'thank you'?" Ian's tone carried a hint of teasing.
Bai Yuekui remained silent and walked up to him.
She didn't thank him, nor did she echo the surrounding cheers. She merely asked a calm question.
"These warriors, this power... where did they come from?"
Ian raised an eyebrow. "An easter egg from a game. Didn't I already tell you?"
"You and I both know full well that this isn't a game," Bai Yuekui's tone was flat, yet it carried a sharp edge. "Power of this magnitude, an organized military force like this, and even that... giant robot? This cannot be Earth's technology."
"And so?" Ian's smile deepened.
"So, what is the price?" Bai Yuekui asked, enunciating every word.
She didn't believe in unearned gifts. Especially not military might capable of altering the world's balance of power.
Having struggled in the apocalypse for so many years, she knew better than anyone that all of fate's gifts had their prices secretly marked.
"The price?" Ian paused, momentarily stunned.
He held up a single finger and wagged it gently.
"There is no price."
He surveyed the devastated battlefield before his gaze finally settled back on Bai Yuekui's face.
"If you absolutely must have one, then the price is..."
"Purging the heretics!" Ian suddenly raised his voice as he said this.
Every Astartes monk who heard Ian's voice simultaneously removed their helmets, turned toward him, dropped to one knee, and slammed a fist against their chests, shouting in unison.
"For the Emperor! For Humanity! Purge the heretics!"
"Loyalty!"
"Loyalty!"
"Loyalty!"
Bai Yuekui's breath hitched.
"You are their Emperor? They are your subjects? Are you... aliens?" As a scientist, these cutting-edge technologies and the possibility of real extraterrestrials made it impossible for Bai Yuekui to maintain her aloof persona.
"I suppose you could call me their Emperor! Though I generally don't manage things," Ian chuckled.
"But we aren't aliens. We are humans!"
Only then did Bai Yuekui recall the other part of the Astartes' battle cry—For Humanity!
'This is actually human technology? What organization possesses such advancements? With technology like this, are the Pola Beasts even a threat anymore?'
She wanted to ask more, but Ian had already turned around and was walking toward the despondent Marc.
"Hey, Ol' Marc."
Ian stopped in front of Marc and nudged him with the tip of his shoe.
Marc slowly raised his head, his numb face devoid of any expression.
"What, feeling demoralized?" Ian observed him with great interest. "Do you feel like all your desperate struggles in the past make you look like a clown?"
Those words were like a needle, piercing precisely into Marc's most painful spot.
His fists clenched tightly, his knuckles turning white.
"What do you know!" Ran Bing couldn't help but step forward, shielding Marc. "We were still somewhat useful back then!"
"Of course I don't know," Ian spread his hands. "I wasn't the one up on the Lighthouse being ordered around like a dog by a bunch of old geezers."
"You..." Ran Bing didn't know how to respond, because after learning the truth, she knew Ian was right.
Ian ignored her and shifted his gaze back to Marc. He reached out and heavily patted Marc's broad, trembling shoulder.
"Alright, Ol' Marc, stop being so emo." His voice wasn't loud, but it transmitted clearly into Marc's ears. "Saving the world is exhausting and thankless work. It doesn't suit an honest guy like you."
He jutted his chin in Ran Bing's direction.
"Look at this. You have such a great girl right beside you, yet instead of cherishing her, you spend all day worrying about pointless things. Why?"
At Ian's words, Ran Bing's previously puffed-up cheeks instantly flushed beet red.
She subconsciously glanced at Marc, then quickly averted her eyes as if she had been electrocuted. Her lips parted a few times, but she couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal.
Marc stared blankly at Ian, then turned to look at Ran Bing beside him, whose cheeks were flushed and eyes downcast. That overwhelming sense of confusion and self-doubt was unexpectedly replaced by a flustered sense of embarrassment.
Seeing them like this, Ian smiled in satisfaction.
"From now on, your only responsibility is to live a quiet life with Ran Bing."
"Farm the land, grow some flowers, have some kids. If you get bored, go chop up a couple of Pola Beasts. Living a good life together is more important than anything else."
"I... we..." Marc opened his mouth, his tongue tied in knots. He held it in for a long time but couldn't squeeze out a single sentence, his face flushing a deep crimson.