Chapter 397: Fear

Not only this garden world and its system, but if one could view the entire Devout Star Region from a bird's‑eye perspective, it would be easy to spot the blinding white‑light‑like cross‑phase pulse wave, expanding rapidly with Idilos at its center, thoroughly "cleansing" a four‑thousand‑light‑year stretch of starry cosmos.

Moreover, because the pulse wave warps the real universe, the star systems and planets within that range must endure a second shock.

The word "luck" simply does not apply before the pulse wave, for no living creature can survive.

Consequently, the Devout Star Region fell into absolute silence in an instant; the evil gods and demons dwelling in the other dimension could no longer hear the prayers of their devout followers, nor receive the emotional sustenance those followers provide.

And Shensheng Tala likewise found it hard to accept the total loss of contact with the Devout Star Region, unable to believe that the Word‑Keeper, the Death Guard, and nine hundred trillion people were wiped out in a heartbeat by the Prime Universe's Expeditionary Force.

How could that be possible?

Nine hundred trillion!

That is nine hundred trillion souls, annihilated in an instant by the Prime Universe Expeditionary Force—no matter how you think about it, it's impossible unless a super‑scale other‑dimensional spell was employed to achieve such an effect (in Warhammer 40k, the Empire's population is conservatively estimated at around forty trillion).

Yet when Shensheng Tala learned that Idilos had been ambushed and that the Devout Star Region fell silent, how long did the whole process take?

Among all known spells, only the birth of a deity or an other‑dimensional storm would compel the gods, willing to endure immense pain and cost, to step alone into the real universe and truly erase nine hundred trillion people.

However, all the higher‑ups, including Helusi Lupakal, and even the demons who borrow living bodies to walk freely in the real universe, detected no Spiritual Energy fluctuations at all.

In other words, the Prime Universe Expeditionary Force used some technology beyond their comprehension to cause the Devout Star Region's instantaneous collapse.

At first, Shensheng Tala refused to believe this conjecture.

But the Star Speaker and the demons could not establish communication with the Devout Star Region, nor detect any "living person", and were ultimately forced to accept the fact.

While Helusi and Shensheng Tala's senior officials were frazzled, deep within the core world of the Never‑Defeat, in the central control room…

"Chairman, Grand Device 001's cross‑phase pulse wave has achieved the expected effect; before it can be re‑activated, another 140 hours of charging are required.

Furthermore, my scans confirm that no life remains on Idilos's surface or underground, and the other‑dimensional corruption of Idilos has been reduced to an acceptable level; if an engineering team is dispatched for reconstruction, it should take less than two Earth months to purge the chaotic influence.

May I ask whether the Chairman wishes to commence a second release immediately? If so, I will command Grand Device 001 to devour Idilos's star, thereby accelerating the required charging time."

In the control room, everyone could hear Bai Hou's report clearly.

Upon hearing that.

Constantine, all the Guards, and the civilian Iron Fist operating Never‑Defeat remained calmly composed; only Rog, the tallest in the control room, gazed at the holographic star map's projected estimates and couldn't help but remark:

"Well, father, the Halo we built—did its lethality go a bit overboard? According to Bai Hou's statistics, we just wiped out nine hundred trillion degenerate scum in one fell swoop?"

"What, you think the scum are pitiful?" Sui Bian didn't rush to answer Bai Hou, but first turned the question on Rog.

"Not at all; no matter how many times the scum die, they aren't worthy of pity. If they leave corpses, I might even want to add a few more cuts," Rog shook his head repeatedly, then, with a slightly grim expression, explained:

"My thought is that now we have the Grand Device system, and with Feilusi urging the construction of the Ark, perhaps my brothers, along with Astate and the support troops, are no longer needed?"

Rog's worry was not without cause.

This expedition was personally overseen by Sui Bian, a truly unprecedented move; after all, in previous wars and battles, even when Sui Bian, the Human Lord, intervened, he only delivered the final killing blow, with minimal overall involvement.

Moreover, the OriginalBodies know the father is powerful, but exactly how powerful remains a complete mystery.

And when John, Kelakesi, Angelong, and Shengjilesi each led their own legions, with the assisting UNSC fleet playing to its strengths, slaughtering the treacherous scoundrels across the battlefield, only Rog and the Glorious Iron Fist were left feeling "suppressed" alongside their father…

Of course, fighting alongside their father is a tremendous honor for the OriginalBodies and Astate.

The reason for feeling "suppressed" is that they fought under their father and had virtually no chance to see combat, making them feel utterly useless.

Moreover, with Grand Device 001's first activation at that moment, successfully eradicating nine hundred trillion scum, Rog felt…

The OriginalBodies and Astate seem to be becoming a thing of the past, perhaps?

Or perhaps future wars will no longer require these super‑human warriors?

Thinking of this gave Rog a slight… no, a strong sense of crisis.

"Ha ha~." Sensing Rog's agitation, Sui Bian shook his head and smiled.

In fact, during previous expeditions, he never took on a battlefield commander role because he was tied up, found it troublesome, and preferred the ease of being a hands‑off manager; moreover, one of the main reasons was that it would affect his sons' performance.

A father too strong creates an insurmountable pressure for his sons.

As for the other issue Rog worries about…

"Don't worry, kid." Sui Bian softened his smile and patiently told Rog, "Remember, we activated Grand Device 001 to make an example—kill the chickens to warn the monkeys—so that the various monsters of the 03 Universe know that humans of our Prime Universe are the galaxy's overlords.

Moreover, you know the Grand Device is positioned within the company specifically as a weapon against other‑dimensional incursions and troublesome insect hordes; endless wars await you and your brothers, as well as your legions."

"Yes…" Rog finally steadied his increasingly restless mind.

After calming his son, Sui Bian turned to Bai Hou and said, "No need to devour the star; I quite like this system as it is."

"Very well." Bai Hou nodded.

"…"

Meanwhile, during the Sui Bian family's conversation, Eilinmir, an outsider and a member of an alien race, was not in as good a mood as they were.

A cross‑phase pulse wave faster than light, capable of eradicating everything?

Not long ago, when Bai Hou had just activated Grand Device 001, she clearly heard in her report to Sui Bian that the pulse wave's radiation range was deliberately locked onto all living beings.

Range lock?

Then could she boldly infer that the Grand Device's pulse wave can also perform single‑target locking, or lock onto a specific area?

If that were indeed the case…

With the Grand Device, humanity holds the galaxy's life‑and‑death authority.

The fate of other races—life or death—depends entirely on humanity… or rather on Sui Bian's personal will.

Sensing that Eilinmir seemed to be in extreme terror, Sui Bian this time did not play the "riddle master" but glanced at her peripherally and explained:

"The Grand Device does indeed, as you suspect, lock onto specific races or species. But don't worry—though it is a galaxy‑wide, even intergalactic, extermination weapon, as long as you and your Mar Clan genuinely integrate into our human society like Sangheli, the Grand Device will never be used against your Mar Clan."

Hearing the explanation, Eilinmir no longer wore her usually inscrutable, composed smile; instead, she solemnly nodded and said, "Rest assured, esteemed Human Lord, my people and I are at your disposal."

"Hmm." Sui Bian likewise did not reject Eilinmir's strongly loyal statement, after all that was exactly the outcome he wanted.

With the Mar people's "example", even without activating Grand Device 002 and 003, the overwhelming majority of alien species in the 03 Universe—especially those that, when humanity fell into a dark age, seized the opportunity to oppress the weak human colonies—must now be sitting on pins and needles.

Rest assured.

After liberating the 03 Universe's humans from chaos, he will free up his energy to let the Expeditionary Force continue "dealing with" all the alien vermin.

Moreover, even though Helusi is chaos‑controlled, the New Human Empire he established actually treats alien species far more extremely than Umbrella, UEG, and UNSC.

Therefore, during the 240 years of Helusi's reign as the new emperor, he somehow essentially occupied the galaxy of the Zero Three Universe; alien scum were either exterminated or fled to the galaxy's edge, even to…

"Eye of Fear".

The so‑called Eye of Fear is actually a massive interdimensional rift where interdimensional space and the real world coexist, located at the core of the Phoenix Star Sector under Fugereimu and the Emperor's Son, corresponding to specific coordinates in the Prime Universe, roughly at the exact center of the Sagittarius Arm.

And the Sagittarius Arm of the Prime Universe is precisely the main territory of the waning Velyn Empire, which the evil god uses as "nutrient" to give birth to.

If given another millennium, the Devout Star Sector will become an interdimensional fissure even larger than the Eye of Fear.

As for the alien scum that fled to the Eye of Fear, they made the worst choice, because Chaos treats the New Human Empire as a new pet and will naturally help the New Human Empire deal with the aliens, either indirectly or directly.

However, the Zero Three Universe undoubtedly harbors many "scabies‑like ailments", which is indisputable, and Rog happened to complain to him about having nothing to do, so after Sui Bian and others dealt with Helusi, they let their sons continue the expedition, while he stayed at Shensheng Tala to handle internal affairs.

He ended his contemplation and silence.

Sui Bian said to Bai Hou, "Help me contact Robert."

"Alright, Chairman." Bai Hou nodded.

A moment later, beside the central console, a holographic image of Robert in a custom uniform with a slicked‑back hairstyle materialized.

Without waiting for his eldest son to ask, Sui Bian immediately ordered, "Robert, I need you to prepare within fifteen days thirty‑six hundred billion doses of vaccine, five hundred ninety planetary terraforming devices, and the corresponding technology, engineering, management, and security personnel. Oh, and don't forget to mobilize the appropriate reserves."

"Understood." Robert replied without any hesitation.

Thirty‑six hundred billion doses and five hundred ninety‑something devices sound enormous, and fifteen days is clearly insufficient, as if the father were deliberately giving the eldest son a hard time, but in reality, for the Zero Two Universe's productivity, it's a "matter of minutes".

"May I ask if there is anything else, Father?" Robert asked again.

"Nothing for now; just keep the logistics line with Rus stable. Go handle your tasks first."

"Understood."

"…" At this moment, Rog saw his elder brother's hologram dissipate, and the father stared again at the holographic star map, falling into thought, then proactively suggested, "Father, John and the others each have rebel OriginalBodies and star sectors to deal with. Now, aside from the New Human Empire's core Shensheng Tala and its surrounding sectors, only…"

Speaking, Rog also kept his gaze on the holographic star map, raised his hand and pointed to the left, continuing, "The Scholar Star Sector controlled by Shu Daizi's Isotopic Body."

The Shu Daizi Rog mentioned is his ninth younger brother, and the Isotopic Body is Magnus of the Zero Three Universe, whose body is possessed by a demon and whose soul is imprisoned.

At this moment, one‑third of the holographic star map is colored green, indicating those green territories have already been incorporated into the Prime Universe's human rule, while the remaining yellow and red each occupy half.

Yellow shows the expeditionary force is engaged with local traitors; OriginalBody, the legions, and UNSC are methodically besieging and pillaging, while red marks areas the expeditionary force has not yet reached.

Since the expeditionary force exited the vortex Space Gate, only a month and a half has passed to achieve such results, due to Sui Bian's demand for efficiency.

The Prime Universe is the foundation, so he chose a steady, cautious advance, but expeditions demand efficiency; in this regard, Sui Bian still strongly agrees with the Human Emperor's approach.

Listening to his son's suggestion, Sui Bian also focused on the "Scholar Star Sector", thought briefly, and agreed, "Alright, after Robert delivers the supplies and personnel, we'll make detailed plans; Shensheng Tala can also be left until the end if needed."

"Understood!" Rog was already eager to try.

———————

…

The "upper right‑diagonal" of the vortex Space Gate is still a fairly vast territory, second only to the Phoenix Star Sector of the Dark Star Sector.

The phoenix, originally the legendary king of a hundred birds and often used to describe something beautiful and graceful, is in stark contrast to the Phoenix Star Sector, which is the opposite of the Dark Star Sector.

If observed from outside the galaxy, one would easily notice this region radiating pink and purple light, filled with numerous dazzling nebulae, and its core bears a "gorgeous" and "chaotic" fissure—

"Eye of Fear."

The OriginalBody and legions stationed in the Phoenix Star Sector are Fugereimu, whose body and soul have both been ravaged and imprisoned by a demon, and the Third Legion, which still bears the title "Emperor's Son".

However, the entire Phoenix Star Sector suffers from "warfire" incursions, because John, who is tasked with attacking this area, does not follow his father's orders to decapitate and capture the Chaos OriginalBody; instead, he disperses his legions and UNSC fleet to seize the Phoenix Star Sector as quickly and efficiently as possible.

John's actions are not arrogance but absolute confidence, since Sparta, one of Umbrella's ten legions, excels in both offense and defense, with coordinated teamwork and exceptionally strong individual soldiers.

To put it bluntly, Sparta, with only a single battalion and local garrison, managed to hold off the Chaos army led by Abaddon.

(End of Chapter)