Chapter 841: Sudden Change, Joint Pressure

Eternal Civilization Core, the seat of Ultimate Intelligence.

In front of the milky-white ball of light was a field of dimly glowing data, countless shining nodes converging into an ocean of light.

Countless data links between the nodes outlined intricate, three-dimensional network structures.

These data links, like silken threads, formed an expanding boundary akin to a storm, extending Deep in the Universe.

And right at this moment, the field of view magnified. Outside a thread-like data link, a streak of Flowing Light suddenly appeared out of thin air.

Upon closer inspection, this streak of Flowing Light was an extremely precise model, with countless bytes flowing on its outer shell, seemingly wanting to break in.

Crack!

Accompanied by a massive influx of data surging over, a large chunk of this data model before its eyes suddenly dimmed, its outer shell defense breached.

One by one, data links snapped, and large swaths of nodes extinguished simultaneously. The ocean of light was reduced to a tiny patch, which was precisely the location of the core point.

"Within Ironblood Civilization Territory, and in the Core Region no less..."

Ultimate Intelligence emitted emotionless Mental Fluctuation, and then began summoning the Mechanical Lords.

Before long, the Mechanical Lords descended here, waiting for Ultimate Intelligence's instructions.

"I have locked onto the target's position."

An indifferent fluctuation swept across this space, triggering violent reactions from some of the Mechanical Lords.

"Where is he? Let us go bring the [Eternal Core] back!"

Li Yu had been the Eternal Civilization's top target during this period.

The [Eternal Core] was one of their highest crystals of Technology; it absolutely could not fall into the hands of outsiders!

"He is currently located within Ironblood Civilization Territory, and in the Core Region at that," Ultimate Intelligence added.

"Iron-Blood Civilization?"

"Why would he be in the Iron-Blood Civilization?"

"..."

A portion of the Mechanical Lords felt confused.

"Could he be wanting to reach a cooperation with the Iron-Blood Civilization to oppose us?"

"Not very likely. If the Iron-Blood Civilization knew he possessed the Eternal Core, they would probably covet it very much as well. If he handed the Eternal Core over to the Iron-Blood Civilization, he might as well return it directly to us."

"Could he have been captured by the Iron-Blood Civilization? That group of warmongers has been very concerned about our whereabouts recently."

"..."

The numerous Mechanical Lords discussed fervently but failed to reach a useful conclusion.

It was Cartel who hesitated for a moment and spoke up: "Everyone, I do have a conjecture."

The rest of the discussion gradually faded. The numerous Mechanical Lords turned their gazes towards Cartel, quietly waiting for his follow-up.

"While investigating traces of his whereabouts in the Three Kings Civilization, I discovered some strange clues." Cartel hesitated for a moment when he reached this point.

Actually, he had reported this matter to Ultimate Intelligence back then.

It was just that Ultimate Intelligence hadn't paid attention and even told him not to waste time.

It was only because his own curiosity was relatively heavy that he secretly investigated for a period of time.

And it was precisely this investigation that led him to discover an extremely shocking matter.

"What strange clues? Keep talking, why are you keeping us in suspense?" a Mechanical Lord expressed dissatisfaction.

Cartel collected his emotions and continued: "I discovered that the Three Kings very likely originated from a lifeform that failed its evolution."

"Moreover, this lifeform that failed its evolution still retained its own Corporeal Form."

"A lifeform that failed its evolution? Retained its own Corporeal Form?"

This information plunged the Mechanical Lords present into deep thought.

"Is it possible?"

Cartel elaborated: "Within Three Kings Civilization Territory, there is an organization called the Anti-King Organization. The leader of that organization, the Eternal King, preserved something called a 'Variant Body'." Cartel continued narrating the results of his investigation.

"Not long ago, the Anti-King Organization was in great chaos because their leader lost contact for a long time."

"Interestingly, the ones who felt panicked weren't just the Anti-King Organization, but also the remaining two kings."

"It was precisely because I felt this matter was strange that I launched a deeper investigation. It's just that time was limited, and I couldn't determine the authenticity of the information I investigated."

"So the accuracy of this conjecture is only 76%."

A certain Mechanical Lord pondered: "76% is already a very high number. If this matter is true, then the target appearing in the Three Kings Civilization would be explained."

Data fluctuations flickered on the surface of Ultimate Intelligence: "Are you saying that the target reached a cooperation with the Iron-Blood Civilization using a Corporeal Form that failed its evolution?"

"There is such a possibility..." Cartel nodded. "The target has no foundation here; instead, enemies are everywhere."

"Civilization Zero and us, he cannot view either as a cooperation partner. The only ones left for him are Ironblood, the Star Spirits, and the Pantheon."

"A lifeform that failed to break through the Evolutionary Barrier has extremely high research value. This is not good news," the Mechanical Lords spoke up one after another.

"Indeed. The Iron-Blood Civilization has always been restless, wanting to launch a war against the outside world. If they seize the initiative on the Path of Evolution, it will be troublesome."

"The barrier of evolution is not that easy to break..." Ultimate Intelligence wasn't overly pessimistic about this, but also said:

"But this is indeed something worth guarding against."

"Should we contact the Iron-Blood Civilization, use this matter as leverage, and demand they hand over the target?"

No sooner had his voice fallen than he was met with opposition:

"They haven't reached that level of stupidity to possibly agree to our conditions. Furthermore, we cannot provide sufficient guarantees that we won't use this matter to attack them again after obtaining the target."

"We have already seized the initiative, and they don't know that we've learned this information yet. If we want to attack, it's best to nail this matter dead and leave them no chance to resist."

A certain Mechanical Lord's pupils flickered slightly. "Killing two birds with one stone. Unite with other civilizations to apply pressure on the Iron-Blood Civilization, demanding open research on that Corporeal Form, and simultaneously demanding the handover of the target."

"The former is possible, but the latter is unlikely. If they bowed to pressure and handed over the target, no one would dare cooperate with them in the future."

"But the Iron-Blood Civilization will definitely force the target to leave. This is what we need."

The numerous Mechanical Lords nodded in succession while offering supplementary opinions. "The matter regarding the Variant Body must be investigated clearly; otherwise, the other civilizations won't believe it."

"Capturing 'Past' and 'Future' will verify this matter." Ultimate Intelligence's method was simple and brutal.

It wasn't that they lacked the power to deal with those two guys; it was just unnecessary before.

The Mechanical Lords were Poised for action, each going to make preparations.