Looking at the text on the screen, Ron couldn't help but scratch his head.
"So fast... Why is Herta in such a rush?"
New Belobog had only just fought one war. The benefits of that war hadn't even been thoroughly collected and digested, yet Herta was still unsatisfied. She led the troops into the Star Sea again, and even took the field herself, directly killing Lord Ravager [Fenghuang]...
Although Fenghuang, this fellow who ran away the moment he invaded, was the closest, had the clearest intelligence, and was obviously in the worst condition among the Lord Ravagers, he was destined to die under the iron hooves of the Salvation Knights eventually—but it shouldn't have been now...
Marching on a Lord Ravager like Fenghuang right now is taking a risk.
New Belobog didn't need to take such a risk... Herta is truly too impatient.
Why is she so anxious?
Ron pondered for a long time but didn't find any reason for Herta to be pressed for time.
The Antimatter Legion's momentum would last for at least a few more Amber Eras... [The Destruction] Nanook's injuries are not that easy to heal. He was once cut with fine wounds on his body by [The Elation] Aha using a rapier. Those wounds never healed and still bleed ichor to this day.
He merely overcame the weakening caused by that injury; it doesn't mean He completely restored His condition—
And the new injuries on His body would make His condition even weaker than before, aggravating the existing wounds...
If Herta wanted to commit Deicide, there would be opportunities within five Amber Eras. There was absolutely no need to be this anxious.
What is she rushing for?
Harboring this doubt, Ron watched the text on the screen fade, and a new scene floated up on the display:
Standing thousands of kilometers away from the Pulsar, feeling the scorching heat of the star close at hand, the girl—who looked similar to Herta but was obviously much more mature and lacked puppet joints on her body—elegantly curtsied, lifting her skirt slightly towards the enemy not far away who was burning with Holy Light. It was a curtain call.
Holy white light radiated from the body of Lord Ravager [Fenghuang], who had been forced near the Pulsar. Even at such a close distance, the light flowing out from the countless cracks on his body was almost as dazzling as the light of the Pulsar itself.
Thinking back to what high spirits Fenghuang once had, igniting the stars of unknown numbers of star systems, letting those scorching celestial bodies explode into brilliant fireworks before thoroughly cooling down and falling into icy [Destruction].
But now, the person who held this treatment has become himself—
The Pulsar was close at hand, yet he was unable to ignite it... just like the Herta standing before him whom he was powerless to burn.
Herta watched silently as cracks appeared on Fenghuang's body like fragile porcelain. Dense fissures covered his torso. Dazzling light flowed out from within, strand by strand, and finally erupted completely, turning him into a ball of blazing white Holy Light. He fell powerlessly into the terrifying gravity of the Pulsar, swallowed by the flames, and was thoroughly devoured by the star.
At the moment Fenghuang completely died, Herta's consciousness suddenly ascended, arriving at another realm far removed from the mortal dust.
She stood upon the withered branch of the Path and once again saw the broken house.
The materials of the house were already damaged, but the broken walls had been filled with quite a few new bricks. Light seeped through from within, already much brighter than last time.
Through the breach in the house, Herta once again saw that shattered oil lamp. The flame under the lampshade flickered indistinctly, burning the red-gold candle oil, striving to strengthen its own body, hoping to burn this wisp of flame even more fiercely...
But then, flying from who knows where, came red-gold fragments. The fragments pieced together onto the broken oil lamp, once again patching a breach in the lamp—
The shattered lamp once again pieced together roughly one-seventh of its framework. Herta carefully analyzed it and found that with the existing broken framework plus the red-gold fragments obtained when killing Phantylia, it was now almost four-sevenths complete...
The flame in the lamp also became brighter. The lit candle oil burned much more fiercely, and a clearer red color emerged from within the original gold. The flame transmitted through the breach in the house also became more translucent—
Herta found that the withered Path branch beneath her feet had grown significantly. The road that was originally rugged and nearly broken had been repaired quite a bit.
She took a step forward, walking several steps, getting several points closer to that bright house.
Red-gold light flowed outward from the breach in the house. Herta bathed in this red-gold radiance, and the aura on her body climbed steadily—
Currently, although she is not an Aeon, and there is no Aeon existing on the [Salvation] Path who can grant her grace, her strength still increased by several degrees because of this.
After all, there is no other existence in this Star Sea competing for the position of [Salvation]. As the Envoy of [Salvation], Herta is naturally closer to this bright house.
Standing in this position now, she can already be counted as an existence surpassing ordinary Emanators—
Herta has already begun to stride towards the position of an Aeon.
She is about to become an existence situated in the gap between Aeon and Emanator...
Feeling the light bathing her body, Herta gradually came back to her senses. Her consciousness fell from that transcendent realm, returning to her own body.
She opened her eyes. Within her pupils, red-gold patterns were already revealed—red-gold lines surrounded her pupils like thorns, exuding an inexplicable aura of solemnity.
After swallowing the Path fragment of [The Destruction] this time, Herta obtained quite a few benefits...
The image on the screen faded, and new text floated up on the display:
[The Path of [Salvation] perfected itself by borrowing the Path fragment of [The Destruction], advancing one layer further towards the extreme tendency of the "Sword of Salvation"—]
[As the Envoy of [Salvation], Herta did her utmost to climb towards the end of the Path, obtaining a new Divine Authority: "Vow of Vengeance."]
[Vow of Vengeance: As one advances on the Path and perfects it, a vow of divinity surges in Herta's heart—]
[Seek strong enemies without distraction; show absolutely no mercy to evil; use any means necessary for victory; do your utmost to remedy encounters with evil.]
[Preferring to sacrifice one's own fairness, those bound by this Divine Authority must bring the criminals defined as evil to justice...]
[Using this Divine Authority, the holder can designate a faction as an Evil Enemy. Afterward, when she and the army she leads march against them, the damage received by the enemy is fixed to increase by 300%.]
[This Divine Authority can designate an unlimited number of enemies, but the enemy designated by the vow must be thoroughly exterminated. If they are given a way out, violating the Vow of Vengeance, one will be bound by the Path and rejected by the Path.]
Looking at the text on the screen, Ron couldn't help but be dumbfounded.
The intensity of this Divine Authority has already reached an abstract level... This is pure numerical crushing. All damage received by the designated enemy increases by 300%. Aside from the price that a designated enemy must be killed, there is no cost at all. It belongs to a perfect Support Authority.
The only restriction is that the designated enemy needs to be from an Evil Faction, which counts as a not-small limitation...
But New Belobog wouldn't go so far as to strike out heavily against good factions. Just villains like the Antimatter Legion and the Denizens of Abundance are numerous enough that they can't ever be fully killed. This restriction simply doesn't restrict the current New Belobog.
The price of mandatory killing can't really be counted as a price either... They are already enemies; if you don't kill them thoroughly, are you going to keep them for the New Year?
The [Salvation] Path is a Path carved out to save the world. Saving the world always requires bloodshed. It isn't some Holy Mother Path... It wouldn't go so far as to want to spare the enemy's little life.
However, why does it feel that after absorbing the Path fragments of [The Destruction], the extreme tendency of this Path has become even more extreme...
Evolving from the Sword of Salvation to the Vow of Vengeance, the murderous intent is getting heavier. Could it be that after thoroughly absorbing the [Destruction] Path, the completed [Salvation] Path will be affected by the deeper levels of the [Destruction] Path, becoming even more radical?
Ron looked at the screen in front of him with some hesitation. There was a faint uneasiness in his heart. He felt that the ending in this simulation might not be too good.
But regardless, the ending in this simulation must be the best ending among these several simulations...
Because even if the ending in this simulation isn't great, it's just a problem of the route taken after winning everything, unlike the previous simulations where he didn't even win and lost thoroughly.
Let's just see what it turns into in the end... Herta is inexplicably anxious, and she obtained such a powerful Divine Authority. This simulation is estimated to be ending soon.
Ron thought silently in his heart, watching the text on the screen gradually fade. New subtitles jumped out on the display:
[The solemn promise carrying the power of divinity poured into Herta's body. She understood the power of the vow, but also received the vow's binding.]
[On the road advancing to the end of the Path, although Herta is far from becoming an Aeon, she has already been bound by the Path...]
[Although the binding of the Vow of Vengeance is not harsh, this is only the beginning—]
[If one walks farther and farther on the Path, truly wearing the crown belonging to the Aeon, then inevitably, one will eventually be completely bound by the Path.]
[But Herta clearly has no fear of this... The binding of the Path is severe, but it is not something she, who has not yet become an Aeon, needs to consider.]
[The battle to hunt Fenghuang wasn't just profitable for Herta. The Salvation Knights following her similarly took a step forward on the Path, obtaining power that was even more refined than before.]
[Herta led the army back to the city. New Belobog once again swallowed countless starships. The next time the port opens wide, who knows when it will be...]
...
[Just at this moment.]
[The bell of the Round Table Hall rang once again. The port of New Belobog opened once more—]
[The Star Port spat out starships. The fleet swarmed out like a bee colony, marching toward another star system under Herta's command...]
[There, a ravaging Legion existed, as well as a chess piece of [The Destruction]—a calm and self-possessed Lord Ravager who liked to watch the Legion march in neat order, eating away at the world little by little.]
[Among the Antimatter Legions that once invaded New Belobog, he was the leader who led the army to light the beacon fires...]
[Enemies are exceptionally jealous when they meet. The Vow of Vengeance marked all enemies in this star system. Brilliant Holy Light erupted and flashed—]
[Another Lord Ravager fell. The Salvation Knights returned in total victory.]
[Herta celebrated the victory of this war with great fanfare, praising the heroic bravery of the Salvation Knights. Several star systems were incorporated into the New Belobog map, and countless civilizations entered under New Belobog's rule.]
[But the war did not end. Before the Salvation Knights' starships had even docked, they set sail once again...]
...
[Amber Era 2199, June 1st, 8:53 AM. The "Beast of Devouring Sun" was besieged and killed by the Salvation Knights.]
...
[Amber Era 2199, June 7th, 4:27 PM. An unnamed Lord Ravager intending to flee, his body emitting dazzling antimatter radiance, was found by Herta alone and extinguished into "Fireworks of Destruction" under the Holy Light.]
[Now, the Seven Envoys of [The Destruction] Nanook are thoroughly dead. The [Salvation] Path has absorbed the fragments of [The Destruction], but there is still a massive gap.]
[Now, it only lacks the final puzzle piece—]
[It only lacks the [Destruction] Path itself represented by [The Destruction] Nanook.]
...