Chapter 142: Doomsday Proclamation

"174,987 dead, 110,695 transformed... From the perspective of a vanguard, this is a somewhat extravagant vanguard force. If it were to deal with a country, these troops would be enough to destroy an entire nation. But for dealing with me, it's still a bit lacking."

Not enough.

Far from enough.

Hatred, loathing, the resonance of Magic, the synchronization of thoughts—all of this was being absorbed into Li Ang's body from the golden curtain of the sky, just like flesh, blood, and breath.

The screams of those vanguard troops outside the realm, their hatred, and their thirst for destroying the enemy transformed into countless Magic that surged into the nearby Psionic Spire. And those towering spires then irrigated that massive Magic into Li Ang's body. Making everything begin to operate.

From this moment on, Li Ang was, in a certain sense, no longer much different from those Subspace creatures. He could now rely entirely on the emotions of others to resurrect, could spread his own thoughts like a plague, create demons according to his own philosophy, divide his own power, and forge a brand-new faith. But Li Ang felt that all of this was meaningless.

What joy could be gained from merely acting as a tyrant in a kindergarten? Floating in the Observatory, Li Ang felt the weightlessness brought by this treasure passed down from a prehistoric Starry Sky civilization, and closed his eyes with great peace of mind, as if touching the absolutely smooth shield covering the exterior of the planet.

Stroking that thin outer shell, one could even feel the deformation of the material. The interstellar civilization that manufactured this shield was a gentle civilization; they did not even wish for the victims who collided with it to suffer too much pain. The film on the planet exhibited unimaginable toughness, capable of being stretched to several or even dozens of times its original distance.

One must know, during the Ninth Impact, the continent on the other side of the planet could even see the terrifying sight of the planetary shield falling and scraping against the mountains. But so what? After the massive deformation, the planetary shield remained that same good-natured, rounded self.

And now, the Magic Li Ang absorbed every day was ten thousand times more than in the past, or even higher. But he still lacked the strength to deal with that massive film in the sky.

"... All systems, prepare for charging."

He closed his eyes, but countless eyes began to light up all over the world.

These Star-Bearers, whose autonomy had been taken over by Li Ang, began to act like machines. Li Ang's powerful Psychic Power even replaced their instincts, letting them manipulate the massive machinery to gradually begin operation.

Countless pipes and Runes began to shine, and the brilliant white-gold Veil in the sky began to release dazzling light. At the location originally called the World Scar, the Subspace rift now known as the Great Rift was frantically surging with near-infinite Magic, pouring it into the converter Li Ang had built with his own hands.

Even the Subspace, which claimed to be inexhaustible and the mirror of reality's Soul, began to experience violent fluctuations for the first time in history. The Magic that maintained the essence of demons and the Subspace was being frantically ground down and extracted, along with various substances from the real world. As the price of the ritual, the Isle of the Dead at the center of the Elf homeland, Ulthuan, began to gradually crumble and fade away.

As a seal, they could no longer satisfy Li Ang's ambition. That Magic, far more terrifying than during the demon tide, was surging wantonly into the pipeline hub centered on Stonehenge.

Transforming from formless Magic into solid energy, this pure energy, which was beginning to approach the concept of energy currency, was being extracted and gathered.

They would serve as the most powerful attack, releasing the most violent energy to launch an assault on the planet's umbrella.

"Adjust the Reality Index, irrigate the Subspace energy, and appropriately reduce the material existence characteristics."

But in truth, this was never what he wanted.

Li Ang looked at the massive generator spanning the Arctic continent, and he swore that he had never wanted any of this from the start. He had never thought he would reach this point.

The launch device before him could be called ugly and crude. Endless steel pipes forged by primitive factories and anti-Magic steel were inscribed with handwritten Runes, and then dark red pipelines were laid out on the ground. Looking down from the sky, it was as if countless blood vessels had extended from all directions to provide sustenance to this core.

Those dark red pipes were countless blood vessels and networks, deeply rooted in this planet. The Psionic Spire represented the terminal synapse, and this ugly, rugged network was like a parasitic tumor, draining the core nutrients of this world. The Subspace, as the mirror of reality, had even been drained to the point where its 'water level' began to drop. This massive extraction even caused the very essence of the Subspace to waver.

Another distortion of time and space, another change in the environment—in Li Ang's gaze, those four unoriginal figures appeared before him once again. And as for their intentions, Li Ang did not care at all.

It had already reached this point, so what was there to say? "... Let's talk."

"You've come again?"

Looking at the Chaos Gods who were once again attempting to communicate, Li Ang rubbed his brow, shrugged with some helplessness, and wore an expression of utter resignation on his face.

"I think I have already shown enough hostility. We have nothing to talk about, Chaos Gods. Furthermore, the posture you are displaying now is merely the big data instinct mapped within your logic programs; you don't even know what fear and destruction mean, do you?"

"We are here to negotiate with you on behalf of the life and all Souls of this world, Li Ang."

"Represent? Can you spiritual entities represent anything at all?"

"Of course. We are the essence of this world; we are the true meaning of their Souls. Under the current circumstances, we can naturally communicate and negotiate, Li Ang."

The atmosphere of playing god was gone; those diffused Magic had long since been scraped clean by this terrifying parasite. These Chaos Gods clearly presented the image of their avatar—Li Ang himself—and then solemnly put forward a request that seemed to be for the good of everyone.

"Abandon your actions now, Li Ang. What you are doing will destroy this world. We invite you to become the God of Gods, as long as you give up destroying this world."

"I have never thought about destroying this world, Chaos Gods."

Looking at his own body, Li Ang sighed.

"To reiterate, I have never thought about launching an attack on the entire world. None of this is what I wanted. But it is you who caused this result. All of this is what you did."

When he first landed in the Arctic, he was still a pure flesh-and-blood body, still prone to hunger and thirst, still worried about his own life safety. But as his morality began to slide, as he gradually accepted his identity and the system, and began to truly embrace the power of this world and the source of destruction, Li Ang realized.

A person's behavior is related to their own power. When you possess power and ability, your own thoughts become completely different from when you were weak. People with high incomes do not care about minor expenses, and they do not care at all about small problems that do not concern their interests. Although there are occasionally people who are unworthy of their position and inexplicably obsessed with the past, the vast majority of people will quickly adapt to their identity.

It was not that Li Ang had not tried to adapt, nor was it that he had not tried to integrate into this world. But the problem was that the Chaos Gods never gave him a choice, but instead gradually forced him to this point.

"You never gave me a choice."

Watching the gradually burning world and the vast Psychic Power spreading out, Li Ang said softly: "If you had been willing to ignore my existence, ignore the players' existence, I would have slowly grown and gradually matured on this long Arctic ice sheet, and then reconciled with the forces of the entire world."

"I would have acted like a normal faction leader, starting to plot schemes. I would even have groveled to Bretonnia, asking the Empire to acknowledge my Human identity. I would even have played noble games with them for a long time, until I might not have been able to leave this cold world for years. But why did I become like this?"

"I am just an ordinary person, from beginning to end. I was forced by your amusement, and now I have reached this point. Don't you love controlling the fates of others? Then now, I am the feedback of that anger. Either I break through the blockade of this planet and see the scenery of the universe, or you use all your strength to crush me, and then watch as I am reborn somewhere else to repeat this cycle."

"..."

The Chaos Gods did not speak.

It was not that they did not want to refute, but that the massive Psionic Spire's extraction power had reached a higher level, beginning to freeze their thoughts and avatars in place, gradually becoming fragmented and decomposed as they were sucked into the spire. "Even if what I see after crushing the planetary shield is a giant mouth devouring the planet, that is something I saw with my own eyes. Not through your retelling, intimidation, and your flowery words. Now that you are scared and saying we can talk, it has already reached this point, what is there to talk about?"

"Every second, hundreds or thousands of people die or are injured, and my power is growing day by day. The world has begun to feel fear, and people have begun to realize that destruction is coming."

"All thoughts related to death and destruction will resonate with me; the more one resists, the more prominent it becomes."

"I don't like to define myself with anything, but I have no choice."

"You occupy everything beautiful in life, so how am I to resist you?"

"Only through death."

"Only death can divide everything."

Watching the increasingly shining Great Rift on the snowfield, Li Ang sighed softly.

"The days of playing on the planet have reached their end, you ghosts who have entrenched yourselves in this world for who knows how many years. You are afraid to step out of the cradle, afraid to face the truth, but I cannot endure it for even a minute."

"I hereby announce the end of the old era."

Watching the snow-flurried, gradually shining spire, Li Ang reached out his palm and, under the gaze of the Chaos Gods, squeezed it gently into the air.

In that instant, his will covered every corner of the entire planet. Through the Subspace's characteristic as a mirror of reality, every corner of the world, every intelligent creature, and every individual began to hear the voice from the depths of Li Ang's Soul as the Subspace and Magic spread.

They should not have been able to understand it; the thinking logic and actions of each race destined that every individual was relatively independent. They could not even understand the minds of their own brothers, because no two Souls had the exact same frequency. But now, with the progress of Li Ang's language-mastery talent, all individuals with Souls could fully understand what Li Ang was expressing. Regardless of where this meaning came from, or whether it was described in sound.

And every living creature in the world heard the announcement of the Doomsday coming from the depths of their own Sea of Souls.

"Intelligent beings living on this planet, greetings. I am the Star-Bearer Lord, Li Ang. I have merely come to your world to announce an objective fact. This may hurt your feelings, but this is the truth."

"You are incompetent and bloated trash, and within your base souls, the unclean things called demons were born."

The Sea of Souls was shaking violently; at the very moment he spoke, Li Ang could feel his power growing at a terrifying speed. Countless malicious intents, desires for destruction, and intentions of death directed at him were all fueling his evolution.

Feeling the energy transmitted from all over the world, the Great Rift in the sky shone with brilliant light, even more dazzling and resplendent than the sun simulated by the Planetary Shield.

Those powers were not just irrigated into Li Ang's body; more of them entered the interior of that huge, bloated machine.

The machine aimed at the firmament emitted a miserable wail, and brilliant radiance gradually condensed at the muzzle.

And Li Ang's voice still resonated within everyone's soul, speaking of the sin of possessing a soul that had existed since the birth of all sentient beings, as well as his final choice.

"Opposing demons by killing alone is no longer enough; demons are immortal and born based on the desires of living beings. Only when this world reaches a Great Unity, when all desires and ambitions are satisfied, can the Sea of Souls be satisfied, and the blockade of demons and technology will disappear."

"Unfortunately, I cannot do that. I cannot accomplish such a great thing. To satisfy everyone, such a vast and great undertaking can only be achieved by a saint. I once thought I was such a person; I once thought I would build this world into the utopia of my dreams through hard work and struggle. But all of this failed, and I was mocked by the Chaos Gods."

"Because the power of the Chaos Gods is too great, and the damage and pain they have caused are too long-lasting, I no longer have any other choice. I can only do what I should do and what I can do to the best of my ability."

"So, curse me, for I will destroy your souls and turn your souls and the Subspace into fuel to strike at the shield on this planet."

"And then look up, for this is a great undertaking you will never be able to reach."

"This time, no matter which corner of the planet you are in, you will be able to witness the miracle of life."

The screams of collapsing faith, the wails of countless living things, the shock at the hidden abilities of their own souls, and the desperate curses—the tremors born from countless living things that were hearing the voice of the world for the first time but had been sentenced to death were violently shaking the entire Subspace.

The Chaos Gods could not even resist this terrifying tide. This was not the belief of a single family or household, but a landslide and tsunami brought about by all living things on the entire planet. All of this pointed to a result of destruction.

And this also meant that Li Ang's plan would accelerate to its end at a terrifying speed.

Parasitizing the Arctic land, the huge machine like a tumor trembled, its muzzle shining with brilliant light, and substantial energy spread from the core, gradually filling toward the end of the 30,000-meter-high sky. This huge, bloated tumor pressed against the edge of the Planetary Shield, and the white light of destruction gradually spread across the machine. And Li Ang's voice also spread to every corner of the world at this moment.

"Our path is by no means just the planet beneath our feet. If this shield dictates that we must perish on this planet, then let it perish. All matter and spirit must extend; intelligent life has the obligation to pass its civilization into the deep space of the universe. No matter what this requires sacrificing... no matter what the cost is."

"Undeniably, I am the only master who can truly lead you out of this planet. And I can feel that what you are transmitting from your souls is not just insults and hatred. You are also transmitting something different to me. For example, longing; for example, love and respect."

"Many of you have long been tired of this world and want to see that great product appear; you hope that your death and sacrifice have some kind of value."

"I have come to bestow value upon your lives."

"You will never sleep in a thin world in boredom, and you will never rot in eternal work in numbness. I grant you the right to choose glory; you will die on the eternal great battlefield. Whether in victory or defeat, you will all enjoy this supreme glory."

"Fight with me and witness the greatest battle in the history of this planet. Your time is running out; the power I possess is growing every moment, while the abilities you possess are dimming every moment."

"When the Thirteenth Impact begins, you will completely lose all opportunities. You still have two chances now."

"Because the Tenth Impact begins now."

Watching the release of that behemoth in the sky, the terrifying light of destruction instantly blasted an extremely terrifying protrusion into the entire Planetary Shield.

The instantly shattered gale roared and swept across the entire Old World, drowning the incarnations of the Chaos Gods in the storm of this era in the blink of an eye. They had clearly understood one fact: if they did not do something, this planet would truly be completely finished.

Five thousand words first; after finishing the matters and clarifying things, I was suddenly physically and mentally exhausted. I rested and it was already four o'clock in the morning when I woke up... I am truly sorry. Five thousand words first, and then I will make up for it in the afternoon.

(End of this chapter)