Chapter 252: Golden Light

Swap into the powered armor.

Sui Bian shook his shoulders and arms to get used to the long‑missed sense of confinement.

In fact, before locating Hephestus, Wang Zhaofeng's Mother Nest team used A Ruisi's War God armor to forge a custom powered armor for him.

Only ten OriginalBody sons helped share the load, so he never got the chance to wear it.

After rescuing Hephestus, the master craftsman forged a brand‑new outer armor for him.

He dons the black‑gold armor today because Arcadia's situation requires Sui Bian to handle it personally.

While the technicians performed the final check and calibration of the powered armor, Sui Bian saw Lai Ang reach for the Cassius Gun attached to his back, then shook his head lightly, indicating he didn't need a gun.

Receiving the cue, Lai Ang halted the gun‑drawing motion and kept his hands crossed in a standing pose.

The owner of the Cassius Gun remains undecided; after all, with Hephestus present, every OriginalBody has received the most suitable weapon.

Thus this god‑slaying gun is listed among Sui Bian's collectibles, with Lai Ang serving as its bearer.

After the technicians finish the inspection and calibration.

Sui Bian, whose height exceeds two meters thanks to the powered armor, leaves the equipment room together with the Red and White Queens, Lai Ang, and Kelakesi.

They arrive at the nearby, now spacious hangar.

The Yuo and Cormorant series transports, as well as a large transport vessel, have already left the hangar, carrying UNSC Marines, Umbrella's auxiliary troops and technicians to the lower metropolis.

Only the ground crew still at work and a Thunder III transport with its nose hatch open and engines idling remain.

On both sides of the hatch stand ten members of the Honor Guard equipped with Terminator‑type powered armor.

The five on the left favor a Terminator style reminiscent of medieval heavy‑knight armor, each bearing a kinetic greatsword on their back.

With black and dark‑green paint and white cloaks, they indicate they belong to the Dark Angel Honor Guard, the "Holy Knights".

The five on the right are the Dark Crow Guard Honor Guard, the "Shadows".

The Shadows' Terminator‑type powered armor is painted black and white, with sharp, slender kinetic claws mounted on the outer plates of both arms.

The rear thrusters enable their heavy frames to execute faster assault maneuvers.

When Sui Bian and his party step into Thunder III's cabin, the Holy Knights and Shadows follow.

Close the hatch.

Guided by ground crew holding glow sticks, the pilot lifts Thunder III slowly and steers it out of the flagship through the air valve.

Outside, the sun shines brightly as Thunder III flies above the turquoise sea, soon skimming low over the metropolis's beach and outer districts.

The metropolis now hears no gunfire or explosions, yet also lacks yesterday's bustling clamor.

Marines and auxiliary troops work together to collect the corpses strewn across the beach and streets.

UNSC medical staff and medics, alongside technicians, carry out disinfection in the metropolis.

Residents and visitors from other star systems emerge from hiding buildings one by one, undergoing inspection and treatment by UNSC and Umbrella.

Soon after, Thunder III reaches above Zone 01 and heads straight for the central plaza where the camp commander slashed Fei Er Si.

The nose hatch opens.

Standing at the edge of the hatch, Sui Bian gazes down at Zone 01 with a solemn expression.

To the naked eye it is a scene of devastation; even though the surface rebellion has been cleared, the damage wrought by traitors and demons cannot be undone.

Possessing the strongest Spiritual Energy among humans, he can sense emotions and fluctuations invisible to the naked eye.

The survivors, grieving for lost loved ones, are in sorrow and pain, and their direct perception of demons and traitors leaves them in fear and confusion.

Sui Bian, feeling all this, sees sorrow fill his eyes, and he also senses the still‑present, nauseating chaos beneath the surface.

"Sir, I have completed the preliminary scan,"

The Red Queen standing behind him, though her tone remains cold, pauses noticeably before continuing her report:

"Death toll… at least ten million, projected twelve million dead, casualties still cannot be tallied for now,"

"Twelve million? Good, I understand," Sui Bian replies lightly, his brows furrowed.

Krig also hears the Red Queen's report, hesitates to speak, while Lai Ang lightly shakes his head with his eyes half‑closed.

In less than a day, millions of deaths can be caused.

This is still the result of Leon and Ai Da sabotaging Fei Er Si's Sa Mai Er Plan; had they succeeded, the entire Arcadia would have been sacrificed.

Thinking of this, Sui Bian feels the cruise must not be delayed any further.

While pondering,

The pilot slows Thunder III, lowers the landing gear, and lands on the central plaza.

As soon as it steadies, Sui Bian and his group exit the cabin.

Krig and Lai Ang scan the surroundings, seeing numerous makeshift structures and medical tents.

Before the UNSC 3rd Fleet arrived, this was a temporary camp set up by the mixed unit led by An De Lie and Krig 087 Regiment for housing civilians and treating the wounded.

The rotting rebel corpses and mold‑infested armored vehicles had long ago been incinerated by the heavily‑armed Krig.

Now with UNSC and Umbrella support, the mixed unit can finally relax—sitting on the ground with eyes closed for a short rest, or lying in the shade for deep sleep.

The remaining Krig, however, continue patrolling and guarding tirelessly.

Later‑arriving Artemis and five Gray Knights are also within the camp.

They use the portable Crescent Water to perform a purification on everyone here.

The remaining Divine Servants and Gray Knights head to the metropolis's underground, attempting to cleanse all filth.

But the cleaning progress is slow; the underground network is intricate.

The unusually shaped, oversized Thunder III landing draws the camp's attention.

Seeing Sui Bian's party exit the cabin—especially the two OriginalBodies and the ten Holy Knights and Shadows—many civilians uncontrollably kneel in reverence.

Having endured the Fei Er Si‑sparked rebellion, demon rampage, and now the god‑like arrival of Gray Knights, people realize that this world may truly host deities.

Out of fear of the unknown and reverence for the divine, civilians kneel before Sui Bian and his group, seeking salvation.

"."

Seeing this scene, Sui Bian's mood was rather complex.

At this time.

The garrisoned 087th Regiment Battle Battalion commander, together with Artemis, Leon, Ada, and Andre, as well as technical personnel carrying various equipment boxes, approached his location.

Among them, Leon's condition was somewhat grim.

His forehead was wrapped with a white bandage stained red with blood, and his left forearm, due to a fracture, was fitted with a metal splint for fixation and treatment.

It appears that although Leon did not die from the Spiritual Energy attack that Phelps unleashed on the Mammoth, the violent tumbling and impact injured this legendary intelligence officer, plunging him into a prolonged coma from which he has only just recently awakened.

The crowd approached.

"Sir!"

The commander, similarly bound with bandages around his forehead and left eye, gave Sui Bian a military salute and reported, his emotions slightly excited:

"The Kriegers' 087th Regiment Battle Battalion successfully killed the traitor leader Phelps Doloroni and recovered the curved blade used by the traitor."

Having said that, the commander opened an equipment box placed beside him by the technicians and showed Sui Bian the lethally poisonous curved blade inside.

Next, the commander pointed to several other equipment boxes and continued: "Sir, these contain an unknown liquid (thick soup) that the rebels use to assimilate normal humans."

"!"

Listening to the commander's report, Andre, who was standing not far away, found himself in a state of extreme shock.

Because in this major's impression, the Kriegers have always been silent and taciturn, cold toward outsiders, and would never display an excited demeanor.

However, this also let Andre analyze that the "Sir" in powered armor before him seemed to be the true ruler of the human world.

And Sui Bian, who could sense everyone's emotions at the scene, paid no heed to Andre and the others likewise stunned.

He walked up to the commander, raised his hand and lightly patted his shoulder, sincerely saying: "You've worked hard, Captain."

Afterwards he scanned the crowd, raised his voice and said: "Arcadia has avoided a fallen fate thanks to your struggle; humanity will not forget your efforts."

"The Kriegers' duty is to fight for Sir, for the company and for humanity until the very last moment." the commander replied.

"Haha! Sir, you're being too polite!" Andre, now relieved, returned to his hearty laughter and said:

"I and my old comrades merely couldn't stand the traitor scum, and couldn't forget the duty of being a soldier."

"Boss." Artemis reminded Sui Bian: "The crisis in Arcadia has not yet been completely resolved."

"I know." Sui Bian said, spreading his arms and gazing up at the clear sky, replying to Artemis:

"Moreover, I have come precisely to thoroughly resolve all hidden dangers."

As soon as his words fell,

His eyes suddenly burst forth with golden-yellow light, and his black-gold armor also shot out blinding golden light.

Boom———!

Then a Spiritual Shock of flashing golden light, centered on Sui Bian, rapidly enveloped the entire central plaza.

!!

Civilians who witnessed this, as well as the mixed units and UNSC soldiers, fell into a panic, fearing the golden light shock would kill them.

But once enveloped by Sui Bian's Spiritual Energy, they instead felt an extremely comforting warmth; fear and panic dissipated, as if their bodies and minds had been purified.

"A miracle. It's a miracle."

"So warm."

Upon realizing that Sui Bian's golden light shock was harmless to them and actually beneficial, more and more people began to kneel before Sui Bian, Leon, and Kelakesi.

Looking down from above.

The golden light shock radiated outward in all directions, quickly "devouring" District 01 and even the entire metropolitan area.

Leaving the atmosphere.

In outer space tens of thousands of kilometers away, one can clearly see the golden light like a vast net, about to envelop the entirety of Arcadia.

At this moment, beneath Metropolitan District 04.

Inside the circulation factory that Leon and Ada had inspected, which had ceased operation and was specially responsible for sewage treatment.

Beside the reservoir holding the "thick soup," more than a dozen UNSC Army rebels with rotting skin had gathered.

"Gurgle-gurgle!"

One could see a rebel tormented by thirst, lying at the edge of the reservoir, directly burying his head in the thick soup and gulping it down.

The remaining rebels sat slumped around.

A few, seemingly feeling hungry, chose to break off fungus covered in worm eggs and shoved it into their mouths to chew without hesitation.

"Sigh."

A rebel who had swallowed the fungus showed a dazed expression on his mutated face and couldn't help but sigh.

"Burp~!"

The rebel who had quenched his thirst lifted his head from the viscous thick soup, let out a loud belch, and said to his companions:

"Although my lord has vanished, the Blessing's effect remains; hurry and drink."

"Even if the Blessing's effect remains, we've still been abandoned; if we really can't, we might as well turn to other gods, at least to gain protection."

"Shut up!" the rebel sergeant shouted upon hearing someone want to change faith.

"What do you mean 'other gods'?! Apart from my lord Samuel, all those fellows are false gods! They're fake!"

"But Sergeant, without our lord's protection, how can we be a match for those... false gods?" a rebel puzzled.

Upon hearing this, the sergeant stood up, faced the reservoir, and said: "Since our lord has disappeared, we should bear the burden of missionary work; with the ambrosia our lord bestowed, Arcadia will sooner or later become our holy land!"

"Exactly, as long as we have the ambrosia, we can recruit companions!"

"Right, there's still hope."

The rebels echoed in agreement.

Boom—!

But these rebels had just regained confidence, and the sparkling golden‑light Spiritual Shock reached this cyclic factory.

The golden light enveloped them, passed through their bodies, and surged onward toward deeper regions.

In the blink of an eye.

The murky thick broth in the reservoir, the rotting fungi growing at its edge, and the wildly fluttering flies and insects

All the filth related to Samair and the Otherworld—everything—was wiped out by the golden light as if with a single click; it either evaporated or burned to ash.

The filth also included these UNSC rebels.

"Ah!"

"No, I don't want to die!"

"My lord!"

Accompanied by wailing cries, the rebels' skin was blown apart by the golden light, and orange‑red flames instantly scorched their bodies and souls.

In the end, the golden light completed the one‑click purge, leaving only ash covering the ground.

Sui Bian personally set foot on the surface in order to release his Spiritual Energy, sever the link between Arcadia and the Otherworld, and fully eradicate the demon's remnants.

This method will enormously drain Sui Bian's Spiritual Energy, which is why he chose to don black‑gold armor.

———————

More than ten minutes later.

Standing in the central plaza, Sui Bian's expression was no longer the usual calm, but showed a hint of pain.

Only after he sensed that Arcadia was completely free of any filth did he cease releasing Spiritual Energy.

The golden light faded.

His eyes returned to normal, and cold sweat seeped from his forehead; his breathing became somewhat irregular.

Seeing this, the two OriginalBodies hurried forward, and Kelakesi anxiously said:

"Father, are you alright?"

"Of course I'm fine, don't worry. Continue commanding your legion and help Arcadia return to regular status," Sui Bian said with a light laugh.

(End of chapter)