Chapter 640: Ice-cold Dead Silence 'Double Standard

Observing the Leonidas from several hundred li away.

One can clearly see the land, oceans, and forests on the surface, as well as the multipurpose bases for habitation, training, and production; despite the fierce fighting outside, the surface remains unaffected.

At that very moment, a huge figure flashed across the surface, breaking free of the Leonidas's gravity at extreme speed and shooting out of the atmosphere…

Until it burst out beyond the energy shield.

Only after this giant figure had put sufficient distance from the homeworld did it slightly reduce speed, allowing friendly units to observe it visually.

In fact, this is the DivineBody wielding the Spear of Fear and clad in war god armor.

Although John is not skilled in Spiritual Energy, that is only "not skilled" compared to Shengjilesi and Magnus; moreover, after neural linking with the DivineBody, even with necromantic Spiritual Energy suppression, it still causes his cloak to blaze with fierce fire in the icy, dark five-dimensional space.

After issuing orders to all battalion commanders via communications, John then controlled the DivineBody, beginning to do his utmost to resolve the immediate obstacle,

One sees the DivineBody first make a throwing motion toward the World Engine, then pause for several seconds; when enough carrier aircraft and pyramids converge on his position, he immediately heaves his right hand with great force.

Rou~——!!!!!!

Silent rupture of air, a dark red afterimage.

The Spear of Fear slices through five-dimensional space at a speed infinitesimally close to the speed of light.

Boom——!! Boom——!!

Everything in the spear's straight trajectory is pierced, triggering violent explosions that turn into fireballs illuminating the dark space.

Hum——!!!

Yet the spear is still blocked by the World Engine's protective field.

However, the violent reaction erupting from the spear tip upon contact with the field, and the resulting lotus‑shaped ripple, become even more pronounced; the protective field begins to flicker frequently, and even a planet‑sized World Engine is forced to shift backward by this strike.

Seeing this, John extends the DivineBody's left hand, opens his five fingers, and recalls the Spear of Fear.

As for the DivineBody's right arm, it looks slightly swollen compared to the left? Moreover, fine reddish "droplets" seep from the armor's seams.

It seems that the mighty heave just now inflicted a strong backlash on the DivineBody, possibly because Spiritual Energy weakened and lost its protection, or perhaps John tested the protective field's strength by exerting far beyond his previous limits.

Regardless, once the Spear of Fear returned to the DivineBody's left hand, John maintained a steady forward motion.

Meanwhile, the plasma cannon mounted on the DivineBody's back, under his control, is extended, bent, and folded by the mechanical arms, aiming the muzzle forward and moving the barrel to John's right armpit.

At the same time, the rear mechanical arms also transport two smaller‑caliber laser cannons onto the DivineBody's shoulders.

Next, he continues to use his right hand, gripping the plasma cannon's handle, and at the moment his index finger pulls the trigger…

Whoosh~——!!

The plasma cannon fires a massive projectile emitting a purplish glow, like a comet trailing a tail flame slamming into a planet, directly destroying a necron pyramid.

Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!

The laser cannons on the shoulders fire a continuous series of high‑energy beams, constantly clearing obstacles ahead.

Next.

Thousands of assault craft, transport vessels, and the escorting carrier aircraft and mechs gradually close in behind the DivineBody.

Once everything is ready.

John has the DivineBody free its right hand and extend five fingers forward.

In an instant, the DivineBody generates a shield ahead composed of countless diamond‑shaped energy blocks; protecting itself is secondary, mainly to ensure the formation behind is shielded from harassment, especially bombardment from the World Engine.

Hum! Hum!

And at the moment the shield wall is generated, the World Engine unleashes another barrage, yet it has no effect on the DivineBody.

The assault continues.

Next, with the DivineBody's assistance as a tactical‑level weapon in the cosmos, the assault craft flotilla loses only about one‑fifth of its craft.

Although casualties appear severe, the attack comes not only from the World Engine but also from necron vessels and carrier craft from all directions; reaching the periphery of the World Engine's protective field means this boarding operation is already half‑successful.

What remains is to see whether they can successfully breach the protective field.

At this moment, under John's control, the DivineBody reduces its flight speed, keeping the right hand motion unchanged so the shield continues to generate, while the left hand gripping the Spear of Fear swings back and the legs assume a bow stance.

Then, just as it is about to collide with the World Engine's protective field,

Rou~——— Boom!!!!!!

The Spear of Fear, swung with all the DivineBody's strength, becomes a dark‑red afterimage that thrusts forward.

Hum!!!!!!

The spear tip and the field again erupt in violent clash.

Boom! Boom! Boom!!

But this time, John disregards the DivineBody's left‑arm "durability" and the muscular‑skeletal tearing pain from the neural link, continuing to wield the Spear of Fear in thrusts against the protective field.

Boom! Boom. Boom. Crack. Clatter!!!

The protective field under the DivineBody's furious assault can no longer hold, and is pierced as if shattering glass.

Splash. Splash.

The faintly glowing green fragments of the field drift outward, then dissipate one by one.

However, the field in other regions remains intact, appearing ready to reseal the breached weak point.

But before the protective field can heal, the DivineBody and the assault craft flotilla seize the opportunity and successfully breach the field.

Thus, the boarding operation has come infinitesimally close to "mission accomplished."

After all, any enemy ship that suffers an Astate and auxiliary forces boarding will, before the last super‑warrior falls, rush madly toward the enemy ship's engine room and bridge, even if it is a planet‑sized vessel.

And after the thousands of assault craft enter the protective field's interior, they immediately organize by battalion into twenty flotillas, launching low‑altitude breakthroughs toward the World Engine's north and south poles and equatorial region.

Numerous anti‑air defenses still dot the metal surface, but compared to the specialized anti‑air guns guarding the field's exterior, they are mere trifles—utterly incomparable.

As for the DivineBody that smashed the field and led the charge onto the World Engine's surface, it heads straight low‑altitude toward the equator, accompanied by more than ten assault craft carrying OriginalBody‑attached units.

Thanks to the DivineBody's protection, this assault craft flotilla suffers no losses and reaches the vicinity of the equator unimpeded.

At this point, the DivineBody and the flotilla gradually slow until nearly hovering, maintaining a distance of about three kilometers from the metal surface.

John, sharing vision with the DivineBody, is using ultra‑long‑range sight to observe.

Only a tangled, complex array of metal landmarks covered with various unknown patterns is seen, dotted with numerous prism‑shaped pillars, ultra‑retro low‑rise buildings and houses, and even a memorial plaza bearing upright humanoid statues.

It is as if the chief designer of this world engine added many selfish touches, insisting the surface be shaped into an Anhao Extended Magazine Extended Magazine Extended Magazine‑like perfection, leaving almost no pyramid tombs.

Unfortunately, the surface of this world engine is a dead silence; even between streets and patterns one can see countless Space Death Spirit skeletons wandering, most of them wielding Gauss rays, attacking the DivineBody and the assault‑boat formation, underscoring that this is indeed a land of death.

Thus it seems that Farah Xun·Barachel truly longs for his former life, seeking everywhere the look and feel of the time of the feared dead, yet lacking a soul, his subjects have no autonomous consciousness and even no voice, so everything is ultimately futile.

Of course, John's focus is not on learning the "local customs" but on observing a suspected tunnel entrance ahead that may reach straight to the crust, even the core, with a radius of about ten kilometers.

Moreover, this tunnel entrance is "spraying" an eerie green glow outward.

After hovering for a moment, the DivineBody, under John's control, continues forward, and the assault‑boat formation follows suit.

Ignoring the scattered Gauss rays, it skirts a plaza, then proceeds straight to the tunnel entrance and looks down.

It is as if the abyss at the bottom cannot be discerned.

But the group shows no hesitation and continues the plunge downward.

The deeper they go, the greener light becomes more dazzling, until the assault‑boat pilots can no longer see ahead and must rely on the data and information displayed on their consoles for "blind" navigation.

However, this visual trick is ineffective against the DivineBody, so John shares the forward situation with all pilots, ensuring they and the cabin passengers avoid accidents caused by the flight.

Soon, the DivineBody and the formation successfully pass through the nether abyss.

When all pilots regain vision, they discover everything is upside down, just like the first entry into the Leonida's core world, with the sky "below" the surface and everything seemingly reversed.

However, in the core world of the world engine there are no white clouds, oceans, forests, or land; it remains a desolate, dead silence, and opposite the artificial star's core lies a green light sphere about four hundred kilometers in diameter.

When the fleet first encountered the world engine, they saw green light leaking from the gaps between metal plates, its source coming from here.

Moreover, the outer wall of this light sphere behaves like a lake surface disturbed by children skipping stones, breaking the calm and creating rippling waves.

Most importantly, unlike the warm glow of the artificial star, the eerie green light emitted by this sphere feels not hot but like falling into an icy cellar.

Green light, cold, dead silence.

Even though there are no pyramid tombs here, this core world is essentially a tomb for all the Sparta.

And the group also sees a structure that looks like the corresponding control‑room building.

In their "diagonal" front lies a massive plaza covering roughly 200,000 to 220,000 square kilometers, with a palace complex at its center.

Seeing this, John pilots the DivineBody straight toward that plaza.

The assault‑boat formation follows closely.

But just as they are about to reach the plaza's edge, they hear:

"Human. Human, why, why do you fight recklessly? Why break the peace? Is it only to satisfy your selfish ambition to dominate the galaxy?"

The entire core world reverberates with Xun·Barachel's metallic‑toned confusion and questioning.

Clearly, this Farah was shocked by Sparta's reckless, even self‑destructive, desire to stall their frenzied combat style.

It cannot comprehend.

Humans clearly possess vibrant life and a soul they have long lost and still seek.

According to their Space Death Spirits, or according to it and its Opalata dynasty, if they truly regained flesh and soul they would cherish it immensely; they would not be as "carefree" as humans.

"Bored."

However, the only response to Xun·Barachel's answer was John's "mockery", and this OriginalBody added: "The Empire never makes pointless sacrifices; everything is currency, including me. As for you, ha, I didn't expect that losing soul and flesh still can't change double standards."

Clearly, John still remembers Xun·Barachel, who previously invaded the Leonida's control room via Tarasin, shouting harsh words like "Give me a reason not to annihilate you."

"Immortal NM!"

John is relatively cold, and has a good reputation among the Empire's populace; he can be counted among the "honest", "simple‑spoken" OriginalBodies, but that does not make him the kind of "great benevolent" who, when insulted by enemies, restrains his anger and bears no grudges.

Conversely, senior OriginalBodies who know John say this war‑god brother is extremely "moody", and will repay any grievance, treating men and women alike.

Now is the time to let Farah see what happens when an OriginalBody is angered…

Ri~ swish!!

John's DivineBody suddenly accelerates; even under Spiritual Energy suppression it turns into a dark‑red afterimage that instantly "flashes" to the palace complex.

"Boom! Boom!"

The moment its feet touch the ground, the metal floor tiles and structures are "blasted" apart.

The metal plates begin visibly twisting and deforming, centered on the DivineBody's feet, like a tsunami surging against the entire core world.

Where it reaches, everything cracks and is flung up; low‑level units like Space Death Spirit warriors would instantly fall apart, while higher‑level destroyer platforms can temporarily teleport to evade.

The metal "tsunami" washed over the core world several times in a brief instant before gradually subsiding; the landing apparently caused an earthquake comparable to a magnitude‑10 quake.

"Aaaah!!!"

At that moment, accompanied by a sharp, roaring sound, a massive creature at least three hundred meters tall with three pairs of mechanical giant legs—a super‑large metal spider—emerged from the palace ruins.

Then the metal spider rushed toward the DivineBody at an extremely fast speed, even turning into an afterimage itself.

Meanwhile, the assault‑boat formation that had followed the OriginalBody here, seeing the "earthquake" cease, began landing one by one on the severely damaged ground, deploying elite veterans to search for any possible core and attempt to occupy or destroy it.

"As for assisting the OriginalBody?"

The veterans didn't even think about it; they're just glad not to cause more trouble—combat at the OriginalBody level is beyond their capacity.

(End of Chapter)