Chapter 140: Disaster's Guidance

The Ranger General did not know what had happened. She did not even know what the situation was like in the outside world.

With her soul sealed by an unknown secret art, her head had become a unique artifact that carried a soul. Generally speaking, this technique was called something unimaginably evil; such Undead magic was a disaster for everyone, but at this moment, the Ranger General was incredibly grateful that the Phoenix King was a bastard.

Clearly, this madman, who bore an indelible responsibility for the rise of the Star-Bearers, was using his madness and the unpredictable nature of his Magic to help her escape her current predicament.

The Ranger General could not even think about all that had happened so suddenly, because everything had occurred too quickly.

The power possessed by the Star-Bearers had already exceeded the bounds of common sense; even for a demon to descend, it would require curses or some ritual to instantly destroy a squad, but for a Star-Bearer, a single snap of the fingers was enough to mobilize the power behind the entire Veil and instantly crush the Elf vanguard.

There was not even a chance to resist; let alone resist, they could not even realize where the attack had come from. They only felt a vague shaking, and then their lives came to an end.

She did not know how much time had passed, as if her life had completely fallen silent, when the Ranger General suddenly felt a strange sensation amidst the infinite cold and chaotic hues. She seemed to feel her body and limbs again, though they were somewhat stiff and awkward. There was also an inexplicable sense of confusion. It was as if, how should she put it, she had suddenly turned into a puppet, with a stiff feeling.

"You had better stay quiet for a moment. The power of the Star-Bearer Lord is extremely strong; when connecting to the Psychic Network, his attacks also lose a portion of their precision. You should have only had a few survivors, but he immediately sent people to clear the battlefield, and I could only save you alone."

Her vision became hazy and chaotic, and everything before her eyes seemed to gradually present a dizzying, overlapping appearance.

The Ranger General blinked, looking somewhat blankly at the figure before her who was fiddling with her face. It was a female Elf who looked calm, but that calm expression gave one a sense of coldness that felt familiar.

Before the Ranger General could express anything, the calm-looking female Elf nodded, then thrust her palm into the middle of her neck. In that instant, the Ranger General felt a tingling electric current run along her neck, piercing from her brain to all her limbs, making her tremble subconsciously.

Seeing this reaction, the cold-faced Elf nodded as well, appearing quite satisfied.

"Good, the sensory nerves are officially linked. You should be able to feel your limbs and other joints now; move them a little to let the nerves re-recognize your brain signals."

Slowly lifting her fingers, which were covered in blood and flocculent matter, the female Elf wiped her fingertips and said calmly: "In another ten minutes, you should be able to get used to this body. Having only a head left was a challenge for me. Fortunately, your will to survive is relatively strong, allowing me enough time to reattach your head to it. I do not wish to face a bunch of wretches seeking death again."

"This... is..."

"A unique fusion technique. When the individual differences between Elves are not particularly large, I can graft the head of one Elf onto the body of an Elf who has not yet died."

"... What?"

"I have not been exposed, my kin. I am the Silent King Orivien, so I possess a certain degree of authority."

Looking at the Ranger General before her, who had obvious suture marks on her neck and was adapting to her body, the Silent King Orivien sat on a chair, calmly watching the stunned stitched-together being.

"Because I am an ally of the Star-Bearers, I can naturally use my own rights to do some things. For example, killing a Star-Bearer Elf and then using her corpse to help you resurrect. This is an application of Magic, while also containing some scientific methods. But in any case, the effect is very good."

"..."

"The next thing you need to do is simple: pass on some information. This is some data I have found within the Star-Bearers during this time, as well as methods to curb their psychic coordinated combat."

Completely ignoring the Ranger General's near-despairing gaze, Orivien calmly pulled a scroll full of Runes from the void, stuffed it into a bag, and handed it to the Ranger General, who was in a state of mental chaos because she had become an Elf Undead. That plain face remained numb.

The Silent King Orivien had never possessed a concept of morality or ethics, at least that was how it appeared to outsiders.

A madman who could easily slaughter all the elderly Elves and then transform the entire Elf nation, it did not seem impossible for him to display such a manic appearance now.

However, to the Ranger General's meager brain, what was happening now was still too chaotic. Orivien, who should have been the Star-Bearers' best ally, was now appearing before her, saving her from a certain-death environment, and then giving her a pile of messages and such.

It was not that the Ranger General did not believe it; after all, these days even demons could become allies, so a defecting Silent King was not a problem. The main thing was, why on earth? According to the current situation, let alone the coalition forces breaking into the Old World and capturing the Star-Bearer Lord alive, the vanguard could not even open the realm gate. That was one of the most elite units in the border region, and they were all gone in an instant.

As for whether they could break in, the Ranger General estimated it was unlikely.

But you, an Elf Phoenix King, a monster who claimed to use any means necessary for the continuation of the race, why did you suddenly defect at this time?

"Do you not quite understand my choice? But in reality, it is simple: I am hedging my bets. Or rather, there is no such thing as betrayal or contingency plans in the minds of the Star-Bearers; their behavioral logic is not like biological beings, which is what gave me this possibility."

The Phoenix King, sitting on the chair, rubbed his smooth chin, his expression numb and plain.

"For me, there is only one thing I crave, and that is for the Elves to continue at any cost. I believe you Elves have long heard of my actions; I deeply loathe my identity as the Phoenix King, and I also hate the current Elf traditions, so I once chose to make a breakthrough from the Star-Bearers."

"But it is a pity that those who fight demons eventually become demons themselves. He... cannot be said to have fallen; he can only be said to have become purer than I imagined. In order to eliminate all demons and any possible acts of corruption, his final decision was to erase everything where corruption might appear. This includes, but is not limited to, sentient life itself, the Soul, the Subspace, and all matter and barriers."

"I have never regretted my investment, but now I intend to make two preparations. If he succeeds, then the Elves will continue to survive in the form of Star-Bearers. If he fails, you will inherit my legacy." "These are my tokens of allegiance, and the foreshadowing for you to become the leading race later."

The Phoenix King Orivien sat on the chair, saying this with a calm face.

The brilliant document shrank in the Ranger General's gaze, finally curling up into a small glass bottle, wrapped in curses and blessings inscribed in Elf script, limiting it so that only the Elf race could open it.

Clearly, what was recorded on it concerned the fatal weaknesses of the Star-Bearers. According to a certain degree of resonance and psychic interlacing, that originally perfect Star-Bearer Soul resonance, as well as the energy transmitted by the Star-Bearer Lord, would be interfered with. Because it was written into the underlying logic, such a weakness was almost impossible to correct.

"And it is not just the weaknesses of the Star-Bearers, but also some combinations of the Rune Magic they use, the technology they employ, and those countermeasures against Subspace creations. Without my help, you would be unable to break through the realm. The preparations and means made by the Star-Bearer Lord far exceed your imagination. If you do not interfere with their psychic link, you will not even be able to take a single step into the realm."

Watching the Ranger General's gradually healing neck and needle marks, the Phoenix King nodded calmly, stating with a cold face a future that the Elves would not dare to imagine.

If the Phoenix King had not been a double agent, and instead let the Star-Bearers hide and operate in the dark from the beginning, even without the assistance of the Elves, I fear it would have developed into what it is today. But now, with the help of the Phoenix King, they had found that one-in-ten-thousand possibility of being able to break the Star-Bearers.

"I am an opportunist. Fortunately, although the other party is the embodiment of destruction and despair, my opportunism is still of use. I have obtained many things, much data. These will all be transmitted via the psychic document. Only when the army of salvation appears at the Antarctic Giant Tower and launches an attack on that final fortress will I appear to deliver a fatal blow to the Star-Bearer Lord. Otherwise, all our efforts will be in vain."

"But... why..."

"I remember I said it, but seeing that you do not understand, I will continue to tell you. I am just an investor; what I invest in is the future of the Elves. I do not care who wins or loses; I only care about the continuation of the Elves."

Looking at the Ranger General, who seemed somewhat at a loss while holding the Elf bottle, Orivien said with a steady expression.

"I only want the Elves to exist. In any form."

"..."

And similar situations were not only happening before the headless Ranger General.

There were also Elf soldiers with severed arms, Elf adjutants who had lost their eyes, or Elf archers whose lower bodies had been crushed; situations of this kind were all appearing.

After all, this kind of thing was not just happening at this realm entrance.

Among the hundreds of attack arrows, there were over fifty that contained Elves. And the Phoenix King had staged such a scene in almost every Elf attack arrow. And simultaneously.

Even though this mysterious King was now showing only the tip of the iceberg of his abilities, to be honest, it made Li Ang feel somewhat baffled, completely unable to understand what was going on with this strange, and perhaps even the most bizarre and unsettling Phoenix King in history.

The Phoenix King's rescue operations continued in all directions; in fact, Li Ang was truly curious about what state of existence the Phoenix King was in. It might be somewhat close to his current state of having thousands of avatars where one person is a civilization, but it was definitely not the same thing. In the wars at the various realm barriers, the Phoenix King would always appear inexplicably, save people, and then begin to indicate in various ways, both openly and secretly, that he wanted to oppose Li Ang.

Of course, in reality, the Phoenix King Orivien truly wanted to rebel; Li Ang was very clear about this.

And Li Ang also knew that Orivien was very clear that he knew about this. The alliance between them was very subtle because Orivien only wanted the Elves to continue.

He could help with all his might when one was at their lowest, and could naturally walk away when one was at their peak; Li Ang was very clear that such a person acted according to his own inner standards. He was now hedging his bets through these means, and when the time came, he would truly launch a fatal attack on him from behind.

But for Li Ang, this was also a necessary thing. The current world was not boiling enough, and various emotions were not extreme enough. What Li Ang needed was true despair and fear from the heart, from the inside out; he did not need any cunning or treachery, nor did he need any indulgence or desire for life. What Li Ang required was only the deepest despair, only the blankness and pain that people manifested when facing danger that was absolutely impossible to defy.

For Li Ang, as long as he could collect this Magic, there would be no problem. He had deliberately left some survivors for Orivien and had sent some back, letting them spread fear and despair.

And the violently changing Subspace was even more like a tide of energy, transmitting infinite energy into Li Ang's Giant Tower.

Millions of units of Magic were pouring into Li Ang's body every day; that golden canopy was gradually eroding and covering the original appearance of the Subspace, making all sentient life feel the despair of the approaching doomsday. However, the more they felt despair and that destruction was imminent, the more powerful Li Ang's strength became. This was an unsolvable problem.

But it was not enough; to shatter that barrier in the sky, to completely destroy everyone, it was not enough.

There must be another heavy dose of news to get this group to unite.

Hmm, a manifesto should do the trick.

Li Ang felt the Star-Bearer legion that had expanded to the edge of the realm, and like painting on a canvas, he began to gradually reveal the appearance he truly craved.

I had clearly already come out, and then they called and told me to get back, arguing for the whole day; my mind is a mess, tossing and turning with my thoughts in a tangle. Just four thousand words for today, I am truly sorry to everyone...

(End of this chapter)