Chapter 909: Simulated Universe·Unknowable Territory (15)

……

Edge Star Crostia

Xing opened her eyes to find herself dressed in rags, rummaging through trash in the garbage cans on either side of the street.

Intense hunger almost drained her; she was so hungry that even straightening her back took considerable effort. Her fingers probed between rotting vegetable leaves and rusted iron sheets, her nail grooves filled with black grime—some dirt, something else—she tried not to think about it.

In the reconstruction zone after the Imperial War, poverty and hunger were shackles binding everyone. The war had ended, yet the endless killing showed no sign of stopping.

Knowledge is fabricated lies; war is a game for seizing the right to speak.

A familiar voice came from the sky.

Xing lifted her head and saw a familiar face emerge in the clouds over the reconstruction zone—that of Iglae of the Relative Cognition School, who was now delivering an impassioned speech—this was not his first lecture, and his appearance had already gathered a large following of believers in this barren, backward land.

It was said that his lecture was broadcast simultaneously across 142 star domains. Xing had no concept of that number; under her intense hunger, her only thought was to find a few mouthfuls of food to feed her younger siblings.

In the distance, countless followers of Iglae gathered together, burning books en masse and distributing flyers bearing his likeness, which they jokingly called: admission tickets to the sect war.

——

Crimson Eye

How tragic……

Lao Berk shook his head, his voice low. These border-star cities, ravaged by the flames of the Imperial War, lay in ruins; the sight of refugees with empty bellies scavenging for scraps of food… he could not bear to look.

"Why… even though technology in the universe has clearly reached this level, why are there still starving refugees everywhere?"

Although the universe possesses scepter technology capable of annihilating a star system in a microsecond, the poor are no different from rural paupers, constantly rummaging through trash just for a morsel of food.

……This sense of division is nauseating.

"Nobles each have their splendor, but the masses are merely similarly poor. Technology merely raises the ceiling of living standards for the wealthy, but for the penniless poor, their lives are likely worth less than a screw on a private starship of a corporate executive." Najeta stubbed out her cigarette, then said, "…As for this scholar named Iglae, who is so loudly rallying the border‑star populace, could he truly be intending to start a war?"

"In the face of the Absolute Knowledge Society's overwhelming firepower disparity, numbers mean nothing." Leonei crossed his arms and said lightly, "He is dragging ordinary people into the sect war, which will likely cause innocent deaths. Or perhaps he seeks to expand his influence among the populace, then turn around to pressure the other high‑ranking members of the Absolute Knowledge Society."

Regardless, dragging the innocent populace of the border stars into the sect war is, in Leonei's view, utterly despicable. Perhaps the Absolute Knowledge Society is already full of corrupt and shameless individuals; the scepter system merely acts as a mirror that reveals their hypocrisy.

"But I think they're really strange." Tazmi lowered her head, speaking somewhat dejectedly.

"... Strange?"

"Well, the emergence of the scepter system should have helped the Absolute Knowledge Society's research advance to the next level, so why didn't it aid them but instead spawn the tragedy of the sect war? I don't understand…… Clearly the people in the Society possess profound knowledge; why can't they sit down and talk things out, more reasonably planning the allocation and use of the scepters?"

"Heh, Tazmi, your idea…… Well, if one day the revolution succeeds, the nation's reconstruction will certainly need someone like you." Najeta laughed and shook her head, "Civilization is merely a thin skin that can be torn apart by savagery at any moment. Everyone harbors a beast within, and the Absolute Knowledge Society's so‑called 'cultured people' are no exception; when given the chance to openly release their inner beast, they will not let it slip easily."

——

Xing took a flyer from their hands.

"Synesthesia beacons control everything we hear! The Absolute Knowledge Society is nothing but a bunch of liars!"

"This bunch of madmen claim they will never trust anyone again, for in their view, as long as there is profit to be made, the Absolute Knowledge Society can define red as blue and white as black. If that is the case, then everyone should have the right to define knowledge!"

"I have seen that the universe originally had no perfect scholars, or perhaps the streets are full of perfect scholars!"

Amid Iglae's earth‑shaking roar, the annihilation bombs blasted the outer walls of the Society's garrison; everyone surged forward, wanting them to also experience the suffering they deserved. Now, anyone can be a scholar of the Relative Cognition School.

""We will drive all the charlatans away!""

""The scholars are the root of the energy war; we've all been kept in the dark!""

Yet accompanying the lecture's voice as it spread across the star domains was the rumbling sound of warships descending.

The orange‑red sky was overlaid with a steel‑blue hue—one ship, two, ten—countless—warship after warship pierced the atmosphere amid sky‑shaking alarm cries, dragging long trails across the heavens like countless scars etched in the clouds.

The weapon bays in the ships' bellies flung open; countless black dots rained down like meteors, blasting deep craters into the ground—these are the Society's suppression machines used for reckoning; before the great sects annihilate each other, they must snuff out the sparks of the Relative Cognition School.

""……A bloody massacre has begun.""

The moment the machines touched down, they began firing indiscriminately at the crowd; anyone who had taken a flyer and considered themselves a member of the Relative Cognition School became a target. They advanced like a fast‑moving iron wall, mercilessly grinding over people, leaving only countless shattered ruins and a smear of blood‑soaked, charred flesh—what had once been human.

——

OVERLORD

(What astonishing killing efficiency.)

(At this rate, it would probably take only a few days to sweep through a human nation and kill 90% of its population. Speaking of slaughter…… compared to foreign invasion, the efficiency of internal human massacre seems even higher.)

Ainz solemnly observed the extermination machines carrying out the killing orders in the sky.

He had long noticed that if he mustered armies to invade or slaughter human nations, the likely outcome would be greater human unity and resistance; although some nations might submit to the power of the Nasàlìkè Underground Great Tomb, many human nations, still hoping for a lucky break, would choose to unite.