The sound of Mechanical Magos Fila's mechanical body moving echoed through the metal corridor.
His gleaming mechanical feet clanked on the metal plates.
His servo-skull, connected by neural cables, hummed and floated in the air, moving with his actions. The priests of his faction followed behind him.
On both sides of the corridor, only the flames from the braziers on the statues provided illumination. The corridor appeared dim, shrouded in deep darkness.
Mechanical Magos Fila, however, paid no mind to it.
He had long ago abandoned his weak flesh-and-blood body. The metallic bionic eyes embedded in his metal eye sockets rotated in the darkness. Taking in everything in the corridor. The hissing of pistons, the roar of venting gases, and the relentless grinding of enormous mechanical gears emanated from behind the walls, echoing through the corridor. They eventually entered the Hall of the Omnissiah, where statues of the Emperor and the Emperor stood tall. The tremors from underground were as powerful and rhythmic as a heartbeat. The Hall of the Omnissiah was magnificent, with colossal statues towering high, surrounded by hundreds of winding pipes and cables. They clung to the massive machinery like vines in a forest, extending overhead.
"Praise the Omnissiah," Mechanical Magos Fila praised in standard binary language, "It is time for these great machines to operate. The will of the Emperor shall purify this world."
Many priests approached the control console and connected their neural cables to it. They began setting various parameters for the Dharma-Ending Device. This was the main control console; once the parameters were set, other Dharma-Ending Devices would be activated synchronously.
According to the principle design of this device, it would emit Gellar Resonance waves, continuously strengthening the veil between the Warp and the material universe.
A floating interface appeared before Fila.
He extended his slender, silver-white fingers, clicking on the glowing screen.
With the final confirmation, a massive tremor emanated from the core beneath their feet.
A rumbling sound approached, growing louder, like a colossal engine drawing near.
A tremor swept through the ship, growing stronger, shaking even the many priests and sages.
In the vast Outer Heaven, the suspended ring-shaped devices burst forth with intense light.
Strange fluctuations, joined by numerous rings, formed a resonance.
Continuously amplified, rippling outwards like waves.
Some captured Immortal Dao experts let out cries of agony. Their power rapidly waned, like deflating balloons. The cultivation they had painstakingly acquired over countless years now became a dream, a void. These once proud and world-overlooking powerhouses became the first victims. The lurking powerhouses in Outer Heaven were the second wave of victims. The Dharma-Ending Age arrived swiftly, like a storm, sweeping everything away.
A True Dragon at the Quasi-Immortal Emperor level leaped out of its cave, letting out an unwilling roar.
It also bore terrifying mutations.
Its scaled body was covered in heads and faces, and many areas were rotting. This True Dragon originally did not want to participate in the great war, only wishing to protect itself.
It possessed ancient secret techniques that could conceal all its aura, making it appear like a dead object.
No means could detect it.
It had originally hoped to survive the great tribulation by this means.
Fighting and killing were meaningless.
When the world was in turmoil, there were always protagonists leading the era.
It had long seen through everything; in the face of the long river of history, temporary glory was meaningless; only survival was the true path.
Now, it realized it had thought too simply. Those devils did not want to rule the Immortal Realm but to utterly destroy the path of cultivation.
It had evaded the detection of dozens of warships, yet it had not expected those devils to directly initiate the Dharma-Ending Age, seeking to cut off the path for all cultivators. The True Dragon was unwilling, wanting to make a last stand and escape this place.
Its terrifying power, in the past, could shake heaven and earth, obliterating the Great Dao.
Making countless beings kneel and submit.
Now, its might was weakened.
Its immortal body also showed signs of decay.
As soon as it appeared, it was targeted by the concentrated fire of those devils.
Within mere seconds, it perished in Outer Heaven.
Dragon blood splattered, and specks of light quickly vanished. The Dharma-Ending Device was located in Outer Heaven, making it the first place to be affected.
Immortal Qi receded with an unstoppable force. The myths created by the Immortals were also coming to an end. The dragon blood, which once contained endless power, no longer possessed its unique divine charm today, completely erased by those strange ripples.
Upon landing, it was absorbed by the earth, staining the ground. The extraordinary would decay from this day forward, and all divine wonders would completely disappear.
Some hidden powerhouses fled in terror.
Unfortunately, their strength had been greatly weakened. They hadn't fled far before they were locked onto.
Locked onto by the Imperial patrol forces and killed with powerful weapons. The vast Outer Heaven welcomed a great catastrophe.
Many hidden powerhouses were killed, and some great cities protected by powerful formations were incinerated.
Kael'thas' orders were clear: all non-human races were to be exterminated, with a few left alive to serve as food for the daemons. The continuous slaughter made the accompanying daemons ecstatic. They craved the despair and wails brought by each massacre to satisfy their hungry souls.
Clang.
Clang.
Clang. The Heavenly Bell of the Northern Cold Immortal Domain was struck.
Its resonant sound echoed throughout the four seas and eight wildernesses.
Causing countless beings to be astonished.
It was known that this Heavenly Bell had existed since the Northern Cold Immortal Domain was first established.
According to the records of some major powers, the Heavenly Bell had only rung three times.
Each time, it was because supreme powerhouses from other great realms had invaded, causing the Heavenly Bell to ring.
Now that the bell chimed, it likely signaled another bloody battle.
Many factions prepared themselves.
However, the situation was worse than any being had imagined. The fleeing Immortal Dao powerhouses returned.
Bringing with them terrifying news. The Northern Cold Heavenly Pass had fallen.
Several Quasi-Emperor level powerhouses guarding the Heavenly Pass had successively perished.
Immortal King level powerhouses who fought valiantly either returned as corpses or lay dead in Outer Heaven.
Countless Immortal Dao powerhouses were slain, with corpses piled high beneath the city walls.
In the Outer Heaven where the Heavenly Pass was located, corpses piled up like mountains, with dead bodies everywhere. Those devils were slaughtering indiscriminately.
Leading to a surge of malevolent energy, with countless unscattered souls wailing and screaming. This news shocked many top-tier major powers.
And plunged the Northern Cold Immortal Palace into chaos. The Palace Lord of the Immortal Palace fled back.
He immediately entered the forbidden area to meet with the old ancestors of the Northern Cold Immortal Palace, requesting them to come out and take charge of the situation. The ancestors of the Northern Cold Immortal Palace were all incredibly ancient. They were all living fossils who had been in seclusion in the forbidden area for an unknown number of years, seeking only breakthrough.
Upon learning that the Northern Cold Heavenly Pass had been breached by extraterrestrial devils and countless beings had tragically died. They emerged one after another. Their mere aura made countless beings tremble. The divine light emanating from them was enough to obliterate the Great Dao of heaven and earth, terrifying beyond compare.
Especially the ancestor who had reached the Great Perfection of the Immortal Emperor level; just standing there, the terrifying might he exuded made countless people tremble.
All these ancestors were shrouded in light.
Preventing other beings from prying.
Otherwise, the light containing the majesty of the Emperor Dao would burn out their eyes. The reason for this was that these powerhouses, who had already comprehended the laws of the Emperor Dao, had their flesh-and-blood bodies decaying. Terrible mutations had appeared on them, making their appearance indescribable.
No longer resembling the Ice Dragon clan of the Northern Cold Immortal Domain. The deeper one cultivated, the more severe this condition became.
But for power, for eternal immortal life. This price was deemed worthwhile in the eyes of many powerhouses.
Of course, they also needed to carefully conceal their bodies, otherwise, just their terrifying appearance alone would be enough to frighten many beings and harm their image.
Some beings had also witnessed the Palace Lord of the Northern Cold Immortal Palace shouting, leading to a great rout.
If it weren't for the Palace Lord's shout, the Heavenly Pass would not have fallen so quickly.
However, the appearance of one Immortal Emperor level peak Great Perfection being, two beings who had entered the early and middle stages of the Immortal Emperor level, and Quasi-Immortal Emperor level beings made these powerhouses who knew the truth decisively choose to remain silent.
Besides, even if they spoke, it would be useless.
In the Immortal Realm, whoever had the bigger fist, their words were the truth.
Otherwise, if someone slapped them, their entire lineage would be directly wiped out. The truth would naturally only be what the other party said. The strength of the Northern Cold Immortal Domain was not weak.
After all, this Immortal Domain had existed for an unknown number of years.
And Immortal Emperors were immortal and indestructible, difficult to bury for eons.
Even if advancement was difficult, under a large base, a few fortunate prodigies would still ascend. The Northern Cold Immortal Palace, along with other forces, could muster more than twenty Immortal Emperor level powerhouses. They usually did not move around, but were in seclusion comprehending the supreme Great Dao, seeking ultimate transcendence.
At their realm, many things no longer mattered.
Even the generations of their bloodline descendants were unknown, and they naturally had no affection for them.
Unless their own inherited lineage encountered a great disaster, or a major problem arose in the Immortal Realm, these ancient beings would come out to oversee the Immortal Realm and resolve the issues.
Now that the Northern Cold Heavenly Pass had been breached, if they stood by and did nothing, their luck would also be implicated. Thus, they came out of seclusion one after another. Twenty Immortal Emperors gathered in the Northern Cold Immortal Palace. Their mere aura was enough to shatter the void and make the Great Dao tremble, which speaks volumes about the terror of these ultimate beings. Those who could become Immortal Emperors, even if their bodies underwent mutations, possessed a vision and strategy unimaginable to ordinary beings. They rallied all immortal beings, gathering them together. They used all their resources to set up a grand formation in the Northern Cold Immortal Palace, concentrating the power of an entire domain to transform the Northern Cold Immortal Palace into a fortress.
Countless killing formations were embedded within every palace of the Northern Cold Immortal Palace.
Even Immortal Emperor-level powerhouses entering it would bleed, or even perish.
At the same time, they sent out pleas for help to various immortal domains. The breach of the Heavenly Pass was a great calamity for the entire Immortal Realm.
If not handled properly, it would affect the destiny of all strong individuals.
Especially Immortal Emperor-level beings, or even those above Immortal Emperor-level.
It would not be surprising for their cultivation realms to regress. They only needed to hold out for a period, and reinforcements from other immortal domains would arrive continuously.
However, the changing tide of war caught these Immortal Emperors off guard. They had never even imagined that the war would unfold in such a manner.
While the Northern Cold Immortal Domain was nervously preparing for battle, the Imperium directly activated the End of Days devices, making them resonate to strengthen the veil between reality and illusion, rendering the sub-space dead. The sub-space is the source of all transcendent power.
Any idealistic transcendent power is a different form of utilizing sub-space energy.
Even the orks' WAAAGH had to rely on the sub-space, even if they had a high degree of autonomy and were not interfered with by the Chaos Gods of the sub-space. The End of Days, which the beings of the Immortal Realm had never conceived of, arrived.
It swept across the entire Immortal Realm at an extremely rapid pace. The Northern Cold Immortal Domain bore the brunt of it. Their source of power—the Spirit Realm—became desolate, no longer stirred by ripples.
Large numbers of immortal powerhouses found their cultivation no longer progressing, and even beginning to regress. The mythical winter descended, and countless powerhouses witnessed the eternal night, only recorded in ancient historical texts.
It is said that the establishment of the myriad realms was to cope with the End of Days after the decline of spiritual energy.
Who would have thought that the End of Days would be initiated by those detestable extraterrestrial daemons?
An era that brought despair and sorrow to all cultivators had arrived.
Even the strongest immortal beings were like ants before the torrent of history, crushed to dust. The arrival of the End of Days thwarted the plans of the Immortal Emperors.
Large numbers of immortal powerhouses suffered a regression in their cultivation realms, losing their extraordinary power. They would not be able to defend the Northern Cold Immortal Palace. The methods of the extraterrestrial daemons struck fear into these ancient beings.
"All saints shall die, and the myriad realms shall be silent; I am unwilling!" an immortal powerhouse, who had entered the Dao through the sword, stood on a magnificent palace in the Northern Cold Immortal Palace, roaring in despair.
His body was strong and majestic, emitting billions of strands of sword qi, capable of destroying everything in the world.
He possessed an indomitable fighting spirit.
If given some time, he would undoubtedly stand out among the crowd, become an immortal existence, and create a legend in the Immortal Realm.
But facing the End of Days, he despaired.
No matter how firm his will, his cultivation was rapidly regressing.
Soon, he would lose everything and become a mortal being. Ten thousand years of cultivation, now like a punctured balloon, a dream.
How sorrowful it was. The sorrow of this immortal powerhouse was just the tip of the iceberg in the End of Days.
Many powerhouses despaired. They had expected a grand and tragic battle with the enemy, but never thought it would end like this. The opponent's methods were too clever, too powerful.
With the Heavenly Pass breached, the defeat of the Immortal Realm was sealed.
Under the tide of the End of Days, the path of cultivation ceased to exist. The many Immortal Emperors gathered in the Northern Cold Immortal Palace were enveloped in radiance.
In the face of such a historical torrent, these incomparably graceful and world-shaking beings were helpless.
"The Northern Cold Immortal Domain is finished," an Immortal Emperor spoke, the divine radiance behind him slowly dimming. The End of Days had originally been prevented by the creators of the Immortal Realm. The Immortal Realm was eternally indestructible, unaffected by the fluctuations of mythical tides, and could endure forever.
What an extraordinary method it was, resisting the cosmic trend.
Now, it had been destroyed. They themselves had not realized that the Heavenly Pass was not only a wall to block foreign enemies but also an important barrier against the End of Days. The reason the enemy wanted to break into the Heavenly Pass was that it blocked that strange fluctuation.
Now that the Heavenly Pass was breached, that strange ripple spread throughout the Immortal Realm. The cultivation system began to collapse, with immortal beings being the first to suffer.
Mortal beings who had not entered the Dao realm could not access the Spirit Realm, relying on the spiritual energy transformed from the core of the Immortal Realm, so the problem was not significant yet.
If one could enter the Immortal Emperor realm and comprehend one's own Dao and methods, being deeply rooted in the Spirit Realm, they could hold on for a bit longer. Those immortal beings who had stepped into the Dao realm but had not ascended to Immortal Emperor, having no Dao of their own and merely following the paths of their predecessors, now found themselves without a path as mythology became silent and the paths became indistinct.
On the contrary, they would decline.
But even Immortal Emperor-level beings could only hold on. Their connection with the Spirit Realm was being weakened. They only had one final path: either directly enter the Spirit Realm, or they too would embark on the path of decline.
Entering the Spirit Realm was fraught with danger; a slight misstep could lead to losing oneself. The path of cultivation was extremely perilous; after entering the Immortal Emperor realm, they had a premonition of great terror. The mutations in their bodies were only the beginning; if they continued, they might become indescribable beings, existing only as extreme emotions.
Just like beings who attained the Dao through killing would crave endless slaughter and lose their true nature.
When their divine consciousness roamed the Spirit Realm, they would also discover such beings. They were eternally hungry, greedily wanting to seize flesh and souls.
What terrified these Immortal Emperor-level powerhouses was that those beings were likely remnants of cultivators like themselves.
After entering the Spirit Realm, they were eroded by long stretches of time, lost themselves, and became those insane things.
If they were to enter the Spirit Realm, they were very likely to follow that path as well.
Losing themselves and eventually becoming those hungry beings.
"Let's leave the Northern Cold Immortal Domain and head to other great realms; there might be a glimmer of hope," another Immortal Emperor said bluntly.
At their realm, their hearts were already like stone, solely focused on seeking the Dao.
Establishing orthodoxies and leaving descendants was merely for the sake of destiny.
Destiny was profound and mysterious, yet incredibly useful, capable of helping them break through their realms.
But if orthodoxies and descendants became obstacles on their path forward, they would abandon them without hesitation. The other Immortal Emperors remained silent.
But sometimes, silence already represented the answer.
"The era of doom created by the daemons will surely last for a long time. Even if we are immortal and indestructible, it's hard to guarantee that we won't perish. Only sufficient souls and life essence can help us survive these long and arduous dark years."
An Immortal Emperor's words were indifferent, yet they revealed endless murderous intent.
Not only were they to leave, but they were also to harvest this domain, preserving provisions for the winter.
When the Imperium's vanguard entered the Northern Cold Immortal Domain.
What they saw was not an allied army of aliens united against a common enemy, defending their homeland.
Instead, it was an endless expanse of scorched earth.
One giant city after another was destroyed, reduced to rubble, broken walls, and utter desolation. The dead were countless, shattered bodies were everywhere, blood turned black, and bones were fragmented. The surviving beings wandered through the ruins like walking corpses.
Mountains and rivers were shattered, everything had been destroyed. The air was filled with psyker readings exceeding standard levels.
It was clear that a massacre had erupted here before the Imperium arrived. This infuriated many Imperial generals who craved battle. These damned cowards didn't even have the courage to face them head-on.
Seeing the Imperium approach, they simply fled, slaughtering those beings and collecting life essence and souls as reserves.
"What a pathetic bunch of aliens," Commissar Collins of the Krieg 103rd Regiment remarked with a mocking tone, looking at the desolate land.
He had also expected an opportunity to earn merits.
If they could take down a few fortresses, it would have been a worthwhile trip. The Krieg soldiers behind him were utterly cold, standing silently, listening to their officer's words. They offered no response.
Even though Collins had served as their commissar for over a hundred years. These soldiers had not formed any friendships with him. They would die according to Collins' orders; as long as it was in the name of the Holy Emperor, even if it meant plugging a gun barrel, it was a simple matter of a word.
Collins had long been accustomed to this.
He did not expect any answers.
"You once had the chance to offer your lives for the Holy Emperor, but it seems that is no longer the case. The enemy has chickened out." Collins turned to look at the guards behind him. They wore full gray combat uniforms.
Wearing helmets and masks.
"You can only go and kill those aliens who have no power to resist. Go and convey my order: kill all the aliens on the ground, and if you see any humans, gather them together."
"I witnessed the emperors slaughtering what they had once sworn to protect. In the face of death, those so-called immortals revealed their most hideous forms."
Roger, who would later become a legendary chronicler of the Imperium, venturing through countless universes to record hidden stories, carefully evaded hungry alien races in the ruins. They lurked in every dark corner like predatory beasts.
A slight misstep would turn one into their meal.
At this time, he was only eight years old.
Not long ago, he had witnessed a terrifying catastrophe.
A colossal hand, obscuring the sky and emanating a dreadful aura, enveloped the firmament.
Countless beings, from mortals to True Immortals, trembled. Their forms and souls shattered by the hand's aura, they were all harvested. Thousands of miles of mountains and rivers turned to scorched earth.
His parents and grandfather had perished in that catastrophe.
It was an Immortal Emperor-level being acting, harvesting all life.
Its mere aura was enough to slay all living beings in the world. This was an unparalleled Immortal Emperor.
Wherever its palm covered, all things withered.
Just its released aura was enough to destroy a domain.
Countless beings died tragically on the spot, blood mist permeated, turning the sky crimson.
Hundreds of millions of miles of mountains and rivers shattered, countless vitalities plundered. The air was filled with wails. That was because the souls of the dead, unwilling to dissipate, were screaming.
Shadowy figures, death qi soaring, like a Shura purgatory.
If not for the arrival of the Age of Dharma Decline, which greatly weakened the power of Immortal Emperors,
It was feared that under the harvest of more than twenty Immortal Emperors, the Northern Cold Immortal Domain would have no survivors, completely annihilated, becoming a dead land.
Roger, being young, received protection from his family elders.
Moreover, his location was at the edge of the giant hand, which emanated a strange and ominous aura, allowing him to narrowly survive.
Life in the ruins was not easy. That giant palm had annihilated many living beings, even the life essence of most flowers and trees was plundered.
Only a few plants and living beings survived. The surviving beings, under the interference of the Age of Dharma Decline, quickly lost their power and became mortals. They could no longer abstain from food and water; they had to eat to survive.
Stored food was quickly depleted.
Coupled with the decomposition of corpses and the permeation of death qi,
Many foods that could have been preserved were also contaminated.
When the surviving beings ran out of food, they resorted to eating corpses.
Even Roger was forced to eat human flesh.
He was too hungry, and there was nothing else to eat. To survive, he could only eat any corpses he found. The taste was disgusting, but he had no choice but to eat.
Under such circumstances, corpses couldn't be preserved for long either.
Survivors soon ran out of even corpses to eat.
Without protective measures, those corpses would stink and rot within a few days.
Eating rotten corpses would likely mean becoming fresh ingredients for others within two days.
Survivors, their eyes glowing green with hunger, began to prey on other living beings.
Humans were in a weak position among the myriad races.
Soon, like other weak races, they became food for the stronger ones.
A few days ago, Roger personally witnessed a woman being captured by several alien creatures. They had two pairs of cicada wings on their backs and faces resembling locusts. Their large, crystal-like eyes, coupled with their wriggling mouths, looked extremely bizarre.
Roger had heard the name of this alien race from his family elders. The Sky Locust Clan. This clan flowed with the bloodline of ancient fierce beasts; once they embarked on the path of cultivation, they would advance rapidly, continuously transforming into top-tier fierce beasts. They were a terrifying and powerful race, dominating a region.
Unfortunately, the Age of Dharma Decline had also forced them down.
Making them lose their divine abilities and power. They could only forage in the ruins, searching for survivors as food. They pierced that poor woman with long spears. The woman screamed like that.
It took seven or eight minutes for her to finally take her last breath.
After being disemboweled, she was roasted over a bonfire until both sides were golden brown, then shared among them.
Roger witnessed the entire process of that woman's death. To be honest, that terrifying scene scared him badly. This world had turned into a terrifying hell.
If he had any other choice, he would definitely hide in his small den and never run around again.
But his growling stomach made him unable to resist, forcing him to leave his hiding place.
A foul stench permeated the ruins.
Uncollected rotting corpses lay there, emitting a pungent odor.
Flies swarmed around the maggot-infested remains and shattered bodies, buzzing and flying up when any living creature approached.
Roger moved cautiously in the shadows of the ruins.
Logically, it should be safer to come out at night.
But those alien creatures had much better night vision than humans.
Before, when there was extraordinary power, this small difference was not obvious.
After the baptism of spiritual energy, human physical qualities would also be greatly enhanced, allowing them to see at night as well.
But now it was the Age of Dharma Decline, and all living beings could only rely on their innate conditions.
Being able to see at night was a huge advantage. They didn't need torches or lighting to easily see everything.
If Roger came out at night, it would truly be a death wish.
He might not even know he had walked right in front of someone. The stench of corpses in the ruins grew thicker, and even with his clothes covering his mouth and nose, Roger felt a nauseating urge to vomit bile.
Roger came out to look for a usable vine root.
A few days ago, he had seen those vines in this area.
Most of the vines' life essence had been plundered by that giant hand in the past, leaving them withered.
But Roger believed that if so many living beings could survive, these vines could too.
If he could dig up some, he could last a while longer.
Heaven had not abandoned this poor child.
He saw a hint of green among the withered vines.
Looking around, finding no living creatures.
Roger took out a small knife and began to dig the soil.
He dug up three to four catties of moist, edible roots.
"I can have a full meal tonight." Roger looked at the dug-up roots and muttered to himself.
"Indeed, you can have a full meal."
A voice sounded behind Roger.
Making the eight-year-old child's face turn pale.
He held the small knife, trembling all over, and slowly turned around.
He discovered several alien creatures with tusks. Their eyes gleamed with the joy and savagery of seeing food. They were robust, covered in thick, foul-smelling hair.
Logically, he should have fled the moment he smelled them.
Dizzy with hunger, he had been too engrossed in digging after seeing the food, failing to notice the arrival of these alien creatures.
"Roast them together, and we'll have a full meal."
One alien creature extended a giant, hairy hand, attempting to seize Roger, who was frozen in fear like a small chick.
Roger, whose mind had stopped working from fright, instinctively thrust the small knife in his hand towards the other's hand, then turned and fled amidst the other's screams. There was no more extraordinary power in this world. The most ordinary sharp tool could easily pierce the body of an alien creature. The few alien creatures hadn't expected a scrawny human child to dare resist. They roared and gave chase.
Roger specifically squeezed into small gaps.
He could get through, but those strong alien creatures couldn't.
But no matter how clever and resourceful a child he was, how could he escape these strong alien creatures?
After running for a while, he was caught by them.
Out of revenge, they cruelly broke his hands and feet, gouged out one of his eyeballs, and ate it raw.
Finally, they tied him to a spear and took him back. The reason they didn't kill him was simply because they were far from the camp.
If they killed him now, the meat wouldn't be fresh by the time they returned to the camp.
Roger, tied to the spear like a little piglet, thought of the woman he had seen earlier, and then imagined the inhumane treatment he might soon face.
He couldn't help but cry.
Blood and tears streamed down his tender, dust-covered face.
Leaving streaks of tears on his face.
He was about to be eaten by these guys.
A roaring sound came from the sky.
A massive, oddly shaped object made of steel moved at extreme speed.
Moments ago, it was just an inconspicuous black dot in the distant sky.
A moment later, it rushed closer.
Several soldiers clad in full protective armor jumped down from it.
"Alien target detected. Execute according to Order 01."
A voice echoed in the air.
Light blades sprang from their wrists, and they charged towards the alien creatures. The alien creatures tried to resist. They roared like wild beasts, swinging their spears.
But soon, they were killed. Their bodies were severed by the light swords, and the wounds emitted a burnt smell, which was very disgusting.
Roger thought he would die too.
But those people didn't kill him.
A armored being walked up to him, and a device on its shoulder emitted green light beams. Those beams scanned Roger, who was trembling, his hands and feet bound. The light sword was only a dozen centimeters from him, and he could feel the deadly heat emanating from its blade. The fine hairs on his face curled slightly from the high temperature, emitting a burnt smell.
"Scan results analysis: Target is standard human genetic sequence. Please assist him to the human gathering place."
Roger didn't understand that voice.
He stared at the helmet's faceplate, trying his best not to be so scared.
Even though he was close to wetting himself at that moment.
He still pretended not to be afraid.
"I'm not afraid of you." He said in a trembling voice. The other party did not speak, only took out a syringe from the backpack on its back.
Roger's hands and feet were already broken.
He couldn't do anything.
He could only watch helplessly as the other party plunged the syringe into his arm and injected the liquid.
He cried continuously out of fear.
His body was trembling.
He didn't know what these guys were doing.
Were they going to kill him?
Or were they injecting him with toxins, like the snake-like alien creatures, to facilitate absorption?
None of his worries came to pass.
A warm current flowed through his broken hands and feet, erasing his pain.
Clicking sounds echoed within his body.
His broken hands and feet were rapidly recovering.
After confirming Roger's condition, the soldier stood up.
Another middle-aged man jumped down from the hovering airship.
He wasn't wearing armor, just a uniform.
On his chest was a golden double-headed eagle. This was the most striking feature on him.
Roger watched as the soldiers who had easily killed the alien creatures made way for the middle-aged man, allowing him to approach.
"A little brat." The middle-aged man reached out and pulled Roger up. He spoke in a language familiar to Roger: "My name is Collins, political commissar of the Krieg 103rd Regiment. I thought there were no survivors here."
"What's your name, little brat?"
"Roger."
"That's a good name. Let's go. This place is about to be purged; staying here would mean death."
Collins looked at the silent Krieg soldiers.
"Go and kill the other aliens, and see if there are any other survivors."
The Krieg soldiers, clad in exoskeletons, formed a combat formation and walked into the distance.
Collins took Roger back to the airship, throwing him some compressed food and water, telling him to replenish his nutrition.
Screams came from afar.
Mixed with shrieks and pleas for mercy. The alien creatures who had hunted humans were found one by one by the silent Krieg soldiers and executed.
Roger silently looked at the human man in front of him.
His face showed the marks of time, looking very weathered.
Roger felt no trace of cultivation from him.
He cautiously asked, "Are you the extraterrestrial daemons that those creatures spoke of? Why did you save me?"
Humans struggled on the path of cultivation, unable to ascend beyond True Immortals.
But there were still some forces. They were not entirely ignorant of the arrival of the extraterrestrial daemons.
Collins was amused by the child.
He had been with the Kriegers for so long that he had almost forgotten how to smile.
Krieg was different from other regiments. They never spoke, except for very necessary matters, or the officers in command positions.
But even those officers would only give brief orders. They wouldn't discuss other things with him.
"Extraterrestrial daemons? Is that what those aliens call us?" Collins wasn't angered by Roger's words; instead, he felt like teasing him a bit.
Roger nodded.
"They said you are extraterrestrial daemons, evil beings that destroy this world."
"We are not daemons. We are the expeditionary force of the Imperium, responsible for eradicating all forces and civilizations that dare to oppose the Imperium," Collins said.
"What is the Imperium?" Roger's small mind clearly couldn't comprehend Collins' words.
"It's a nation where all humans unite under the Emperor, established with human interests as the top priority," Collins explained.
"So, is the Emperor the legendary Human Emperor?" Roger scratched his head. "I heard from my ancestors that in the past, the human race had a Human Emperor, and when faced with crises, the Human Emperor would act to protect the safety of the human race. But later, the Human Emperor disappeared, and those powerful figures also vanished. Our human race was bullied by other strong races, and no one came to help."
Collins stroked his chin, "It's pretty much the same meaning."
Roger wanted to ask more about the Imperium.
But the armored soldiers flew back, bringing with them a group of ragged men and women.
Collins went to arrange for those men and women, leaving Roger no chance to ask questions.
Roger could only sit there blankly.
He wanted to talk to the armored soldiers.
But they were very cold; no matter what he said, there would be no response.
Not long after, he, like the others, was sent to a newly built giant city.
Many colossal sculptures stood there.
Some people who had arrived before him pointed to the most magnificent sculpture and told him. That was the sculpture of the Emperor.
"Is that what the Human Emperor looks like?" Roger said, looking at the sculpture.
Numerous heroic sculptures of the Imperium stood tall in the Sacred Plaza. The most striking was the Holy Emperor, surrounded by many sculptures.
He was clad in heavy armor, his hands tightly gripping two swords, and the sun-iron halo behind him highlighted his extraordinary nature.
Standing there, he offered protection and direction to the lost. This was a colossal city built by him, specifically to accommodate displaced refugees. The extraterrestrial races were slain. The surviving humans were brought here.
In the dark turmoil, countless died; the entire land was covered in corpses and ruins.
Its former glory gone, the living and the ghosts alike barely survived in that hellish world.
Were it not for the Imperium's existence, those people would likely have slowly perished, becoming food or ignorant savages.
Out of gratitude, countless people came daily to gaze upon the Holy Emperor's sculpture.
Priests roared loudly, and automatic evangelizing machines also recited the scriptures of the state religion.
From the fervent eyes of those people, one could see that if an order were given, they would undoubtedly die in the name of this never-before-seen ruler. This dark turmoil caused too many deaths.
Every human brought to this giant city had relatives who died in that dark turmoil. The whole world mourned, shedding too much blood and tears.
Faith in the Holy Emperor was not only to alleviate pain but also to hope to prevent such events from happening again.
Pain and hatred are the most primal forces. They gave them unwavering conviction to fight against the Immortal Emperors they once considered invincible. The Imperium made no secret of its radical Claims of human supremacy.
Most of the extraterrestrial races, regardless of their attitude towards humans, were executed.
Golden double-headed eagles, representing destruction and aggression, were ubiquitous. They were embedded in the city walls.
On houses, and on the spires, arched doorways, and stone carvings at the entrances of cathedrals.
Roger, amidst the bustling crowd, gazed upon the Holy Emperor's sculpture.
It was hard to imagine what kind of wisdom and power it took to establish such a vast empire.
One that could make Immortal Kings and Immortal Emperors flee in disarray, living in constant fear.
One that could unite so many powerful warriors and make them fight to the death for him.
A glimpse could be seen from the people beside him. Those people carried too much hatred. The Imperium was their only path to revenge.
Roger turned and left the Sacred Plaza.
Floating vehicles glided through the air.
Various devices projected holograms in the air. This city had no supernatural power.
Yet it possessed all sorts of incredible things. The Imperium had taken a path completely different from the Immortal Realm.
Eight-year-old Roger was sent to school.
He had to learn the Imperium's language and cultural ideology, and in addition, listen to the teachings of the state religion's priests. The architectural style of the Imperium's cities was completely different from the cities Roger had lived in.
Various towering buildings were ubiquitous.
Giant arches large enough for massive savage beasts to pass through.
Platforms high in the sky were incredibly spacious, even built into parks.
He was like a tiny ant living in a land of giants.
Quite insignificant.
Many refugees like him were sent here for schooling.
Most professions in the Imperium required screening and examinations. Those with outstanding financial talent and business intuition would become merchants. Those naturally possessing charisma, capable of leading and resolving conflicts properly, would become bureaucrats.
Some, after mastering skills, would be sent elsewhere to become workers.
Some would be selected as soldiers to continue participating in the Great Expedition.
And some secret positions had the priority right to select imperial citizens. There was no control or monopoly.
Everyone's promotion and career choices were confirmed through the Imperial system.
Anyone who dared to tamper with examination results often faced severe consequences.
Corrupt acts that threatened the overall interests of humanity would result in their souls and flesh becoming food for the soulless. The entire society was orderly.
"Everyone must dedicate everything to the Holy Emperor's great undertaking."
These words spanned across the towering walls.
Each character was about ten meters high, made of metal, and very shiny. They were clearly just installed.
Such propaganda slogans were ubiquitous.
Holographic projections outlined by light showed robed priests roaring maniacally.
"Who guides us in the darkness, who allows us to escape endless exploitation and suffering, who allows us to rest in peace after death?"
"It is the Holy Emperor, my compatriots, my brothers and sisters, praise His wisdom and achievements. We need Him more than He needs us."
Roger boarded a maglev public bus, part of the public transportation system.
Humans are highly adaptable creatures.
Many, like Roger, had previously lived in worlds with many cultivators.
But once they encountered the Imperium, they quickly adapted to the world of technology.
Although they didn't understand the principles of the technology, it didn't prevent them from using the tools. There were several people on the bus, both men and women.
Some of them looked very tired.
"Last night, I was searching for that escaped alien all night; I'm so tired I feel sore just moving a finger."
"I'm the one who should be complaining. It's cleaning corpses every day. Now, seeing meat makes me want to vomit."
"For a few imperial credits, I feel like I'm not even myself anymore."
the Imperium was responsible for the Great Expedition, and the manpower to maintain this city was insufficient.
Many jobs were given to the local natives to complete.
"A new wet market opened in the East District. Listen to me, why don't we go check it out and get a stall? Then, we two can join forces, grow bigger and stronger, and create new glory."
"Did you see Bagul today? He used to be a good young master from a prominent family, but now he's swinging a hammer in the factory."
"That guy is really persistent. It's obvious they're treating him like a lapdog, yet he's still eager to be deceived. After all this time, he hasn't even touched a hand."
"Seriously, when I get back, I'm going to steam the Golden Lotus Fish and have a couple of drinks. You still think that thing is some kind of spiritual fish? Haven't you seen the fire oxen with Qilin bloodlines being slaughtered for meat? Now there are no spirit beasts, so eat when you can. Keeping them won't fetch a good price either."
A warm feeling surged in Roger's heart.
People were softly discussing various daily trivialities.
It was much like before.
At most, the content had changed. The smiles on their faces also became more frequent. Their suffering seemed to have ceased abruptly after the Imperium arrived, and they began to live a peaceful yet troubled life.
But recalling his tragically deceased family and friends, Roger's tender face lost its smile again.
He had to grow up quickly.
Find a way to join the Imperium's expeditionary force to seek revenge.
So what if they were Immortal Emperors? Those damned beasts would die too. The Macragge's Glory.
"They have fled," a military commander said, sliding the holographic projection sphere floating before him. The Immortal Realm was vast, home to countless mountains and rivers. The existence of such a colossal world did not conform to the laws of the physical world.
Gravity would tear such a world apart, rather than allowing it to operate stably and exist for such a long time.
However, considering the use of sub-space power by the beings in this world, such a thing was not impossible. The power of sub-space had always been subjective, and it did not follow the laws of reality.
"If they are all cowards, then this war will be very simple for us," Calgar whispered.
Legate Rivv remained silent as always. The only difference from usual was the appearance of several terrible sword marks on his golden mica armor. These were frightful scars left during the pursuit of a quasi-Immortal Emperor-level alien. The opponent, in a desperate, dying struggle, unleashed all its power, leaving marks on his golden armor. The tech-priest responsible for repairing the armor conducted an inspection and found that a strong sub-space power remained on it, making repairs very troublesome.
He could only wear it for now, waiting for the repair team to be ready before proceeding with the repairs.
"They had to flee. The End-of-Magic device restricted their supernatural powers. Staying would only make them souls beneath the Imperium's blade," the eldar Seer Anvil pointed out the crux of the problem. The main reason those aliens fled was the End-of-Magic device; losing their power was the most fatal blow to them. This universe relied on sub-space even more than the eldar. The eldar merely regarded psyker power as a tool, as advanced productivity. The beings of this universe regarded psyker power as everything. Those beings would even determine who became the leader based on who could control more psyker power.
In such circumstances, if they could win the civilization war, that would truly be a miracle.
Having lost their psyker power, their fragile coalition naturally collapsed. They couldn't even put up a decent resistance.
"Send out our vanguard to scout more areas and see if those damned bastards are all fleeing," Calgar said. "Also, send someone to contact Magos Regula and see how his experiment is going. Tell him to hurry over."
Several communication officers noted Calgar's words and would contact Magos Regula after the meeting.
"Our current troop strength is relatively sufficient, but I suggest immediately imprinting and training the local natives," a burly man from Catachan proposed. "We cannot solely rely on support from the Imperial homeland. Sustaining the war through war is the best approach."
"The enemy is fleeing rapidly, abandoning large areas for us to occupy. But this is not a good thing. Their living forces have not been weakened or destroyed. Yet, we have to divert a large number of troops to maintain order and production in the occupied territories. That would greatly disperse our forces. If the enemy finds a way to counter the End of Days device, we will be caught off guard due to our overly dispersed forces."
"This world's scientific research capabilities are poor. Those native xenos cannot possibly have a way to counter the End of Days device," Archmagos Fila retorted. "Such a hypothesis does not exist."
"Nothing is impossible, Archmagos," the Catachan man said. "Never underestimate the enemy. This universe holds too many secrets; it belongs to a lost ancient civilization. Look at the land beneath our feet—how weak could a civilization that created this world be? Even if those natives can't research it, who knows if they might dig something up?!"
"My suggestion is that there's no need to give the local natives high-intensity training or advanced weapons. Just train them to use laser guns and understand simple commands. Let them maintain local order and deal with the xenos who have lost their extraordinary powers."
"That's a good suggestion," Calgar nodded. "We do need sufficient native forces to maintain order. Let's conscript them. Conscript all men and women from those worlds, except for workers and merchants needed for essential production, into the army and let them participate in the fight to liberate their compatriots."
"This is a crusade. Everyone is destined to be involved. Sacrificing everything for the Imperium is not just a slogan."
Desolate, silent. The entire world had been destroyed. The sky was covered in dark, thick fog and dust.
It should have been midday, but not a single ray of sunlight pierced through the scarred world.
Between heaven and earth, it was a gray expanse, devoid of hope.
"Kill!" a roar came from the sky.
An Amon-Ra flew at extreme speed, shouting, "Myriad Swords Return to Origin."
The longsword in his hand reflected countless rays of light, transforming into an infinite number of longswords, falling like raindrops.
Peng Ye also roared skyward, unleashing the Chaos daemonic God's Heaven-Slaying Art. The entire Amon-Ra world had been destroyed. The Extremity daemon Lord had poisoned the entire world, leading to rampant plagues and countless deaths. Those Heavenly Chosen were all insane, slaughtering massive cities and utterly annihilating their own compatriots.
Peng Ye was one of them.
He couldn't understand how this could have happened!!
Those Heavenly Chosen grew at an astonishing rate; logically, they should have ushered in an unprecedented glorious era.
But instead, it turned out like this. The entire world was annihilated, with only a few of the strongest Heavenly Chosen left alive.
It was as if an invisible force was pushing these Heavenly Chosen to kill each other.
Like raising venomous insects, to cultivate the strongest Gu King.
Myriad Swords Return to Origin and the Chaos daemonic God's Heaven-Slaying Art both brought terrifying phenomena.
Once they clashed, it would surely shake the heavens and earth.
But in the next second, two rays of light enveloped the two Amon-Ra, whisking them away instantly. The two world-destroying forces, deprived of support, slowly dissipated. The one who acted was indeed Archmagos Regula.
He was currently standing on the platform of the giant biological laboratory.
At a glance, there were more than twenty Amon-Ra Heavenly Chosen trapped by the spatiotemporal stasis field.
Of the three thousand Heavenly Chosen, only these remained.
Regula still had great use for them. That Amon-Ra named Peng Ye was a transmigrator and had been sent for dissection and scanning. They were preparing to find the coordinates of that universe from his soul consciousness.
Once Universe 04 was dealt with, they would launch a full-scale invasion.
After this period of refinement, the End of Days device had been implanted with advanced modules such as a fate manipulation module, proton detectors, and fate observation devices.
It could calculate a living being's destiny trajectory and interfere with and alter it through various means.
Making it proceed according to the desired outcome. This was not a simple matter.
Just as the sun, moon, and stars already had their own orbits. Those living beings were in fact merely traces left behind by a previous, annihilated universe. They followed the trajectory of fate, living and dying. They were merely a byproduct of cosmic evolution.
Disturbing the fate of one being also disturbed the fate of other beings.
Powerful inertia would constantly try to repair a deviated fate.
Just like nature.
When one species goes extinct, another species takes its place.
Fate is also like this.
A change at one point affects other nodes.
But the inertia of other nodes will also erase the changes brought by the altered node, returning it to its original state.
A vast society will not change because of the death of one being.
Unless it is where fate nodes converge.
Destroying it would lead to the collapse of the entire system.
Such beings have another name. That is, the Protagonist of Destiny. Through various "cheats," protagonists are artificially created, and then by manipulating these protagonists, the fate of the entire world is changed.
Regula decided to call this theory the "Protagonist Theory."
This theory would be an important application of cosmic evolution theory.
Not only could it be used on the battlefield to induce these so-called protagonists to lead their entire world to destruction.
It could also be applied to human worlds that are extremely xenophobic and do not understand the Imperium's good intentions, by selecting beings of good character, granting them great influence, and then gradually introducing Imperial ideology and culture through them.
In this way, many worlds could be brought into the Imperium.
More importantly, these protagonists could be judged by the divine brain core built into the End of Days device.
One day, the Imperium would only need to release these perfected End of Days devices to guide humans in the multiverse to join the Imperium and fight against the Chaos Gods of the Warp, without the need for armies to personally go there.
"Such a device, let alone the Imperium, even the multiverse will tremble," Archmagos Regula's eyes gleamed with triumph.
Once the war in Universe 04 ended.
He would return to Terra and propose his plan to the Emperor. The multiverse Fate Manipulation Plan.
It was too slow for the Imperium to conquer those universes one by one; instead, let those universes join the Imperium one by one.
Let all humans in the myriad worlds know of the Imperium, a paradise-like existence.
"Die!!"
With a twisted smile and a crazed expression, the Laughing Bat held a short sword covered in strange patterns and plunged it into the body of a high-ranking Monitor responsible for parallel universes. The Dark Knights' many dark heroes launched attacks on the soldiers of the Monitor Corps.
"No one can underestimate Bruce Wayne," the Laughing Bat said, a cruel smile on his face, as he watched the fallen Monitor high-ranking official turn to dust and ash.
Monitors are silicon-based lifeforms. They are the pawns of the Most High God, responsible for monitoring and guarding various parallel universes, maintaining their output. The Laughing Bat, however, had found a way to counter these beings. The Most High God is indeed powerful, omniscient and omnipotent.
But he is not without opponents. Things exist in this universe that can fight against the Most High God.
It's just that they lost this great game, leading to the entire universe becoming the Most High God's pasture.
And they were marginalized, excluded from this universe. The appearance of the Laughing Bat gave those beings hope again of intervening in this universe. They wove destiny, betting on the Laughing Bat.
Hoping that this individual, who once prided himself on justice but was now more evil than a daemon, would bring them a surprise.
With the help of those beings, the Laughing Bat, along with the Dark Knights and Barbatos, launched an attack on a parallel universe, eliminating the local Monitors. The plan was to transform it into a cruel, dark Laughing Universe.