Chapter 139: Total Annihilation?

"Are we really going to take action against our former allies? Boss?"

"The things about the Star-Bearers shouldn't be true; they have always been fighting against demons. How could people who fight demons as purely as they do be bad guys? There must be something wrong somewhere!"

"We cannot be deceived by the flowery words of those demons; we have long known about their cursed rhetoric and grotesque behavior, haven't we! We have long been clear that those monsters are liars! They once deceived us, deceived those noble crowds; our ancestors and fathers were all framed by them, and now they want to frame our allies, our troops—they are unforgivable!"

"No matter how submissive or friendly the demons appear, they are demons after all; these monsters are monsters after all! We cannot be deceived by their temporary friendliness, we cannot just go and attack our allies like this! Those players weren't good things to begin with, have you forgotten!"

"A player who steals and causes trouble for our people, a demon who is a mess and just hopes to destroy the world—they suddenly accuse another team that has been killing demons of being the ones who will destroy the world; don't you think something is wrong here!"

"……"

Arguments, endless arguments spread throughout the ranks.

As a Ranger General, an Elf who walked out of the forest, listening to the boundless arguing of their own attendants and officers was already enough to make their head ache; one could imagine what kind of catastrophic scenes those powerhouses who actually made the decisions were facing.

Because this matter was truly too bizarre, so much so that although it was said they were to attack the Star-Bearers, in reality, they were there to investigate the situation. To determine exactly what kind of problem had occurred with the Star-Bearers.

In fact, countries around the world actually had quite a good impression of the organization known as the Star-Bearers.

After all, it was an organization that was, in the true sense, a nation in arms; they didn't want anything, they were born just to kill demons. No matter where they were, no matter what background they had, as long as it was a demon, they killed it. And they seemed to possess a very effective method that could very efficiently stop demons from being reborn and resurrected. These people truly hoped that those monsters would completely dissipate in the universe, and also hoped that people would head toward the Starry Sky.

So when the news arrived, those members who truly knew some inside information could be said to be in an uproar; almost no one believed what their ears were hearing. The vast majority began to choose to dispatch the nearest troops, or directly warp over to ask clearly what exactly these golden Elves were thinking.

And as the region next to the Old World, the former Forest Elf Ranger General was now looking at the burning Realm Ice Wall with a complex expression, listening to the noisy sounds behind them, their heart also in a state of chaos.

Their parents both died in the war against demons; for those immortal monsters that would never die, they held a hatred and hostility carved into their marrow. It could be said that from the moment the Ranger General first became a soldier, it was to take revenge on the demons. As a result, now that they hadn't killed many demons, they were instead going to be stained with the blood of their own kin—this was something no one could accept, right? So as long as the Star-Bearers explained clearly, as long as they said this was all a demon conspiracy, then the Ranger General had already made up their mind. No matter what happened, no matter what kind of rhetoric those monsters had, or what evidence those player freaks brought out, they would turn around and go back to kill those demons until they were wiped out.

Fighting alongside demons, fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with demons—such a thing was still a bit too advanced for the Elves. For them, they would rather die than stand together with demons.

Looking at the figure on the Realm Ice Wall, the Ranger General had a complex expression and did not actually follow orders to directly attack the Star-Bearers' wall, but instead walked out slowly under the gaze of everyone, took off their hood, and looked up at the Star-Bearer realm that was drifting smoke into the sky, not knowing what had happened. The secret arts of the Forest Elf allowed their voice to spread to an extremely distant place.

"Star-Bearers! We have heard the news! You seem to have become more terrifying than demons; you seem to want to kill all intelligent beings and turn the world into a silent territory! You want to make this world turn according to your ideas! Is this the truth! Answer me! Star-Bearers!"

The Forest Elf's voice spread very far across the snow-covered Realm Ice Wall, but there was no great reaction from the ice wall that was drifting with red light and wolf smoke.

It wasn't until several tens of minutes had passed, making people wait until they were somewhat impatient, that a figure stood on the Realm Ice Wall. It was a Star-Bearer Elf who looked very disheveled; a huge gash from the left side to the right side had almost severed their silver armor, leaving their body exposed to the air. But this Star-Bearer Elf seemed not to care about all this, and instead picked up a horn to transmit their voice back.

"This is complete nonsense! We Star-Bearers have not become more terrifying than demons at all! We also have no intention of killing all intelligent beings and turning the world into a silent place! We even less want to make the world turn according to our ideas, because the turning of the world has to do with the world itself, and has nothing to do with us!"

"——"

Sure enough, it was the instigation of those demons.

Looking at that disheveled Star-Bearer Elf, the Ranger General thought without hesitation.

Those demons were using a strategy of alienation; those monsters were planning to use their information gap and discord to pin the sharpest sword among them to the ground. Fortunately, they had asked a question in advance; otherwise, something terrible might have happened.

However, just as the Ranger General was thinking this, a flash of golden light also appeared in the depths of the Star-Bearer Elf's eyes. These Star-Bearers were clearly connecting to that vast, omnipresent Star-Bearer Lord network, and finally reached a conclusion. That Elf, glowing with golden light, looked at the Ranger General below and revealed a smile.

"Hmm, we indeed have no intention of destroying the world."

The pale golden Elf was all smiles and, as if very enthusiastically, reached out and snapped their fingers.

That massive Realm Ice Wall slowly split apart toward both sides. As a barrier for the world, this place had long been divided by ancient travelers and the Empire into important passes, and only when facing an enemy attack would the ice wall be sealed again to prevent enemy intrusion.

And now, this ice wall opened to the left and right once more, revealing the contents inside. And looking at the contents inside the huge ice wall, the Ranger General's pupils suddenly contracted.

Fire.

Spears.

Corpses.

Dark red blood, like stagnant tide water, rushed out from the inside after the pass opened. The blood plasma, which had already coagulated quite a bit, was even slowly wriggling on the ground like wronged ghosts, leaving winding traces on the rugged road.

Those golden Elves were still in that exquisite and beautiful appearance, calmly using various instruments to cut apart the corpses on the ground. Whether it was a Knight wearing gorgeous armor, or a barbarian in simple attire, or a monk wearing robes, or a mage in mysterious clothing, all had their bodies pierced by countless weapons, leaving behind this corridor passage full of blood and filth.

These enemies of the Star-Bearers were not demons. Clearly, they were all vanguard troops who had come to knock on the gate to inquire about the situation. The Ranger General's gaze even saw a touch of azure blue among the corpses.

That was a Human friend they knew, a rare female general.

They had similar hobbies, shared dreams, and even a hint of unspeakable affection between them. Because the surrounding world did not have blue long hair, the female general had promised to have a head of blue long hair, which would allow them to find her at the first moment in any situation. But now, they somewhat hated their own Elf race's keen eyesight. They saw clearly the head of the girl they liked most pierced by several spears, her body nailed to the ice wall by countless spears.

Her final action was to struggle forward, not knowing what exactly she was trying to pounce on.

But now she only had half a body. Disgusting viscera and contents were covered in a layer of frost in the cold ice wall, and there was no color left in her frozen single eyeball. Indifferent death had descended before them without any warning, making the Ranger General let out a sharp scream and instantly draw their bow and arrow, aiming at the departing Star-Bearer Elf.

"Why! Why do this! Star-Bearers! Even if you defeated the demons, your reputation alone would be enough to rule this world! Why do you have to go to this extent! Why do you have to kill those innocent people! Answer me! Star-Bearers!"

"……Because there is not enough time. My friend. I have never had any malice toward you, but there is not enough time. Moreover, they are not innocent people either. Because they were deluded by demons and intended to attack me."

"What——"

"Technology is blocked, the population is increasing, the mentality is becoming more and more stable, and the magic power brought is becoming less and less. In a situation where technology is stagnant and demons appear, even if one can suppress demons, the knowledge that can be obtained is a drop in the bucket, not to mention that demons will not appear at all when they are at a disadvantage."

The golden Elf, above the realm, looked at the furious Elf and explained very seriously. Words that did not belong to any race became vocabulary that the Ranger General could fully understand.

"I am the same toward you; I love you. If I could, I would not want you to suffer any harm. But unfortunately, the words you heard distorted your thoughts. The flowery words of the demons still caused damage to your minds. Just like these people, they were deceived by the demons, came to the front of my camp, and forced me to have no choice but to make such a decision."

"Rather, I am the one who is truly heartbroken. No one loves you more than I do. Every life is unique; if I had other choices, I would not harm you even a little bit. Please believe me, everything I say is a fact, and there is not the slightest falsehood in these words."

"……"

Deceived?

Were they also deceived? If they were deceived, then what should they do? What exactly was the real situation? What was fake? The words of demons were certainly not worth believing, but what was the situation with this Star-Bearer Elf in front of them? Who should they believe?

"However, there is actually one thing that is indeed true."

Facing the confused Ranger General, the golden-eyed Elf said very seriously: "I do indeed intend to turn everyone into the Soulless. I also indeed intend to modify everyone's mind. After all, we are not united now, and we are full of design flaws. Only the Soulless and a unified thought can save this world. Don't you think so?"

"……"

There was no longer any need for conversation.

Looking at the sincere-looking Star-Bearer Elf on the city wall, the Ranger General was almost angered to the point of laughter. They turned around without hesitation and raised their palm toward the army following them.

"Everyone! Prepare to attack!"

"Sigh... have you also been bewitched by demons? What a pity, then let's end it here. I will give a small punishment as a warning first; I hope you take care of yourselves."

Looking at the roaring Ranger General, the golden-eyed Elf on the wall sighed and snapped their fingers at the golden sky.

Then the golden light dissipated, the light in the depths of the Elf's eyes receded, and as if nothing had happened, the pretty and cute Elf naturally walked toward the back. Leaving behind the terrifying scene in front of the pass.

And in front, countless Light Spears were like real light, falling from the sky the moment the snap occurred, silently pinning the dozens of Elves in the front to the ground, turning them into horrifying corpses in the blink of an eye. Even though they had instinctively dodged at the moment they raised their hand, the Ranger General also looked at the huge light spear in their chest and blinked their eyes somewhat numbly.

"Am I... going to die..."

Watching the figure on the ice wall, who looked calm and seemed to regret the accuracy of their aim, depart, the Ranger General, pinned to the ground by a spear condensed from light, felt something important flowing away from within her body.

Some darkness, some warm things were wrapping around her Soul. She could feel that as her consciousness diffused, something terrifying was surrounding her in this world. The god representing the concepts of destruction and despair was completely annihilating all Souls and hope in the vicinity. She had no way to escape this absolute destruction either.

However, just as her consciousness was about to fall into total termination, she suddenly felt her brain go blank.

Subsequently, the world before her eyes became hazy and strange, as if it had been covered up. She felt as though everything in her body had lost sensation, with only her consciousness stuffed into a small jar.

In the final hazy moments, a calm voice came from above.

"I can only protect your head, so please do not make any sound. I am currently disguising myself as a Star-Bearer Elf to clean up the battlefield. That monster cannot maintain the Psychic Network permanently; because of his carelessness, I can still save you now."

"..."

"Do not be surprised; I can certainly do such a thing. Because I am the Phoenix King of the Elves. I am the Silent One Olivien."

Amidst the haze and the threat of death, she heard that calm voice say so.

Attempting three or four chapters tonight, will see if I can manage five tomorrow...

(End of this chapter)