Chapter 131: Looking Toward the Stars

"This really is... a cornered dog jumping over a wall."

Looking at the scene of infinite red on the map, Li Ang raised an eyebrow, feeling a rare trace of pressure.

It is very obvious that whether it is the Chaos Gods or something else, they do not wish for Li Ang to obtain the power to step out into the Starry Sky, nor do they wish for him to become a Planet of the Lord in the true sense.

He who controls space controls the world; although land is a very important domain, or rather the foundation of foundations, in a situation where the army has already achieved certain results, things like Orbital Strike can obviously crush those land units that lack fire coverage and can only rely on their own strength to resist.

And because Li Ang and the Star-Bearers themselves possess very proficient systems for all kinds of shuttling, positioning, and pinpoint strikes, it can be said there are absolutely no integration issues; as long as the shield is broken, this planet will sooner or later be theirs. No organization or force has studied this aspect as deeply as they have. And most importantly, Li Ang has absolute confidence in the numbers.

Countless demons surging over represent infinite technology points and infinite magic points; these things can all be used as the power of Li Ang's own Star-Bearers.

Rather than worrying about his own defensive lines, Li Ang himself is actually more worried about overeating.

This is every demon stirred up by the entire Subspace and Chaos Faction; if he could really consume them all, I fear even the information age could be surpassed. Or rather, he could now completely leap to the modern era himself, capable of executing operations he wouldn't have even thought of before.

For example, although he hopes to completely destroy the Planetary Shield, the curved surface inside the Planetary Shield—which has almost no friction but possesses a physical entity—could to some extent be borrowed to carry out tasks such as material transport, energy strikes, correcting geographical locations, and conducting surveys. A massive, near-zero-friction curved surface covering the sky; it would truly be a waste not to use it for transport.

"Look, this flower, it looks so beautiful. The sparks from all directions are burning continuously; no matter how many demons there are, no matter how they target it, this blazing flower will burn forever."

Facing the Giant Tower gradually rising on the land, projecting strategic materials and Orbital Strikes in all directions along the Planetary Shield, Li Ang sat in the Observatory, watching this scene and letting out a sigh from the bottom of his heart. It was an indescribable sense of satisfaction, a joy like seeing one's child grow up.

Groups of Star-Bearers were working in an orderly division of labor on the ground, sending materials and Runic warriors one by one into the Orbital Capsule. Those boxes full of Runes were also shipped from nearby factories.

With the Psionic Beacon as the axis, the entire Chaos Wasteland of the Arctic had been transformed into a massive arsenal.

The hexagonal plots were divided into various functional areas; hundreds of meters of soil and architecture above and below had been utilized, and an intricate, three-dimensional city supported tens of millions of Star-Bearers. A small portion of them were the soulless who had been reborn, while more were Elves born from the Cloning Vat.

Those of the older generation, and the army personally forged by Li Ang, were at the very end of the Chaos Wasteland, having already closed the out-of-control gate that was spraying the Chaos Wind. This Planet Wonder also brought Li Ang very generous returns. The existence that once stood in the deepest part of the Chaos Wasteland, forever spraying the Winds of Magic and bringing violent magic to the world, was also a creation of the Ancient Ones.

【You have obtained a mobile Planetary-level World Wonder!】

【You have obtained the Ancient Ones' Star Gate (Damaged)!】

【Introduction: The Ancient Ones once did not view this world as an object to be abandoned; they built here for a long time, created the Star Gate, and turned the creatures on this planet into their servants. They tried very hard to turn this gem of the universe into their own private property, but they failed.

In their haste, they used the Star Gate, intending to leave this place of sorrow. However, the bombardment from beyond the sky turned the Ancient Ones' final hope of escape into ashes; they could only face it, and had to face it.

Face the final war, and the initial war.】

【World Wonder Ability: Winds of Magic within the faction increased by 300%, Chaos corruption increased by 1000%. If the portal spell or technology is not unlocked, it will be unlocked. If already unlocked, the casting cost for all portal spells or technologies is reduced by 70%.

All population within the faction will gain the trait: Magic of Wind Adept. Magic value consumption reduced by 50%.

Repairing this planetary-level Wonder requires technology: Vacuum Zero-Point Energy, Void Energy, Zero-Degree Armor, Stability Sequence, etc.】

A very powerful gate, now sitting in the distance of Li Ang's line of sight.

That azure gate, filled with the Winds of Magic, now that its Runes had been modified, began to shine incessantly with various lights, allowing the footprints of the Star-Bearers to cover the entire Old World. He could certainly expand his territory further and obtain more and more land, but now all of this had lost its color.

The gate naturally could not have been brought by the Star-Bearers; it was Li Ang himself who, after lifting the entire landmass into the sky, moved it over directly. This kind of powerful force had already surpassed the limits of people's current understanding of power on the planet.

However, for Li Ang, it was not enough; he wanted more, he still wanted more.

"I know your fears and concerns, but what I want to say is that you actually don't need to worry at all. I just want to keep going, to go on forever. You can say I am ruled by desire, or say my brain has gone mad, whatever; I really don't care. I only hope I can keep going."

Looking at the glowing projection on the table, Li Ang snapped his fingers. Countless Star-Bearer warriors standing before the gate, ready for battle, vanished into the blue light, and then in the blink of an eye, countless warriors arrived at the critical battlefield.

Wearing bright silver Runic Armor, their helmets covered in whispers and inscriptions, the Knights, like towers of steel, crashed into the demons' positions everywhere accompanied by the flash of psionics. Those monsters covered in blood and filth were illuminated by the blazing light, like snow piles melted by the sun, collapsing and disintegrating in the blink of an eye. Countless brilliant streams of light were all collected into the Runes, becoming their power, and even more so, becoming Li Ang's power.

These Arbiters, who teleported everywhere on the planet and slaughtered monsters incessantly, did not care about their own casualties at all; they were the soulless forged by Li Ang, the Elf blades of atonement.

Only those most fallen, most unforgivable Elves could become the masters of this permanently sealed Silver Punitive Armor. Once these armors were put on, they could never be taken off; the Runes would link into a whole, and the silver warriors holding Psionic Spear, surrounded by magical spiritual light, had become the new symbol of victory.

【Look! It's the Star-Bearers! We're saved!】

A young boy with sharp horns on his head and filthy marks between his lips and teeth pulled his mother, who had become bloated and giant-sized, pointing at the warriors fighting bravely in the demon swarm, shouting excitedly.

Until a bright light appeared, and a silver figure with a strong smell of ionization appeared before the mother and son. Then, without hesitation, it swung the silver-bright blade in its hand, and in the blink of an eye, beheaded and incinerated these victims of Chaos corruption. They didn't even make a sound before turning into fly ash.

Although saved by these Star-Bearers, the people behind the defensive line also witnessed this cruel slaughter. The Star-Bearers' silver Knights crashed into the demon lines in an instant, burning those old, weak, women, and children—who were still in decent enough shape to be used to charge the walls and formations of the Order side—into countless human-shaped torches in an instant. The magic and light points forged in the raging fire drifted and flew toward the high sky, becoming a part of that Golden Curtain.

Li Ang could naturally see all of this, and could also savor all of this. He could even feel the flavors of shock, disbelief, and bitterness transmitted by everyone when such things happened.

"This is the taste of life. No matter how much pressure you apply, we will survive."

"……The pressure we applied? It is the pressure you applied!"

With only a thin membrane of separation, the God of War, who possessed great divine power, roared in anger, and overwhelming crimson fire surged out from the Curtain.

Then, as if there were a bad signal, around the Observatory, after those psionic flames flashed a few times, they disappeared as if they had never existed, not leaving even a trace. It was very obvious that in this Observatory, these tricks of the Chaos Gods could not reach Li Ang.

But such behavior made those Chaos Gods furious, even more furious. "This is your fault! It's all your fault!"

The red God of War roared, trying to project the responsibility onto Li Ang.

"You have no idea what happened back then! We are the beings that survived for the continuation of intelligent life! As you said, we could go to further places, but at the very beginning, we didn't erode the players at all! Because our original intention was never to let Chaos spread, but to let living beings suffer for longer!"

"We need change, but we don't need too much change. We need war and stimulation, but we don't need a war that reduces everything to zero, and the emptiness after the most cruel climax!"

"But all of this is what you pursue! You pursue the greatest quantity, you pursue the most intense extremism!"

"What you want is to turn everything in this world into tools for you to use, and then shoot these tools out, damn it, to break that layer of membrane, and then you will get unprecedented pleasure! Am I wrong! Isn't this what you want from the bottom of your heart!"

"……It's clearly a good thing to break the Planet's cocoon and let everyone see the truth, but the way you put it, it really becomes quite vulgar and violent. I don't think it's my problem; it's your problem."

Li Ang looked at the angry God of War, raised an eyebrow, and said indifferently:

"And don't say it's what I did; even if you really dragged everyone over and made them swear under the Antarctic Giant Tower, whatever I think, they would definitely think the same. So I represent their will, we all think this way. What right do you monsters have to lecture me?"

"You f***ing, you monster who modifies human hearts. We were only slightly tempting, you directly modified them, and you still tell us you think you're not wrong????"

"Stop, Li Ang."

Seeing the God of War, who was red with anger, the blue one who looked the wisest stood out and said in a low voice:

"Stop your steps. As long as you stop your steps, we can discuss anything."

"You shouldn't have made this choice."

"The value of life should not be trampled upon like this!"

"What have you done to get to this point?!"

"Ah, I know my actions. I am despicable, vicious, deceitful, lying; I used unimaginable lies and destruction to weave a perfect Curtain for my people. I deceived them into thinking our cause was correct, but in reality, I discovered that I am no different from you in essence."

Looking at those monsters talking one after another, Li Ang shrugged.

"You want to say that? But, there is still a little difference. You are satisfied with fiddling within this world, just like an adult who has walked into a child's sandbox, destroying everything of theirs and laughing out loud watching them cry."

"As for me, I intend to lead them out of the sandbox, to let them see true pain and despair."

"Do you know? I can actually feel what everyone feels. Their pain, their sorrow, and all those various emotions, I can feel them all. At the very beginning, I would still feel sadness and anger, and I would still want to kill you all completely, but now my thoughts have changed."

"There is no need for death. Because as long as life is still alive and suffering, you will appear. As long as there are various emotions and the psychology of comparison in people's hearts, you will cling on like bone-deep gangrene. Just like now, even when I only wanted to break the Planetary Shield, you went crazy and let these monsters emerge, trying to kill us all, to completely cover up the little secrets in your hearts."

"But I still hope you can survive. After I strip away your essence, after I ravage your Soul, and after I take off all those overlapping shells of yours, I will keep the most essential part of your kindness separately. I am not very good at managing such things myself, but I hope you can assist me. After all, besides the ugly side, the Subspace is also a mirror; it will of course reflect the kind side. I know you still have room, you still want to struggle. Then come."

Looking at the massive hexagonal factory world before him, Li Ang floated in the Observatory, and the spire that pressed against the Planetary Shield lit up once again with an unimaginably huge radiance.

Under the foundation of Magic load-bearing materials that reached thirty thousand meters—which could not and would not exist in the real world—the Wonder that Li Ang personally built inside the Arctic Wasteland, which should be called the Jesus Christ Statue Magic Version, had been modified beyond recognition. This heaven-reaching tower symbolized rebellion against the gods, as well as their hatred and anger toward the current world, and those blazing sparks gushed out from the interior of the tower in the blink of an eye.

The thirty-thousand-section ring belt, the power brought about by the resonance of countless Psionic Spires across the world—the moment that resonant power gushed out, it even pushed the height of the entire Planetary Shield up by another thousand meters or so.

It was as if a giant torch had been lit within the scope of the world; beneath the towering pillar of light, demons screamed, destroyed into ashes by the aftermath of the released radiance.

Just this one strike, and the emerging demons and power filled seven percent of the consumed energy.

"Let's continue. Let us see how much ability we each still have. Whether I break the Planetary Shield and walk into the Starry Sky first, or you trash press me back to the ground, let's see whose speed is faster. By the way, this is my eighth bombardment. There are five more."

"When the Thirteenth Impact arrives, I will extract everything in this world, literally everything, to release it against the Planetary Shield in the firmament. By then, even if you want to live, I will not allow it. Now, let our war begin, a war in which you have absolutely no chance of winning."

Watching those figures frantically shouting and clamoring behind the Veil, Li Ang smiled and flew about in the Observatory, looking at the Star-Bearer towers and colonies that had expanded by another circle, lost in a beautiful fantasy about the future.

He had figured it out. Since it had already reached this point, there was no need to continue maintaining his "nice guy" persona.

As long as he displayed violence, as long as he displayed his own ability, then everything would go smoothly.

Blast open the Planetary Shield, and everything would have a result.

But if he failed to blast open the Planetary Shield, what would it matter even if he occupied the whole world? The energy and Magic that the world could provide were fixed; he could now use current technology to forcibly requisition the Magic of the entire world, so what was the point of caring about so much real land occupation? As long as he poured everyone into the Psionic Cannon and fired a shot at the sky, the shackles of this world would be broken. Only then did Li Ang feel that he had truly stepped into this world. Just living on a planet, with the meaning of civilization's existence being to fight each other on a planet—didn't that feel too small?

Even if the planet were destroyed the moment the Planetary Shield was blasted open, it would still be meaningful. At the very least, it would confirm that there were enemies outside the realm; by then, he could use the players' planets to slowly plot against them. As long as there was an answer, everything could be accepted. The only thing that could not be accepted was having no answer.

"Let us continue. How much Magic can your demons still provide? I only have three more circles of occupation range left before I can start extracting the Magic of the whole world, and you?"

Watching the Star-Bearers on the map begin to accept orders and launch attacks on various places once again, Li Ang said with a smile.

Under revision; five thousand today, back to normal tomorrow. I guarantee that the protagonist and normal descriptions will increase.

(End of this chapter)