Chapter 16: New Wonders

Actually, if one possessed military talent, combined with a psionic telephone, the combat power of the Civilization System would see a qualitative leap.

Because within the exploration area, Li Ang's vision was all-encompassing, like a god's-eye view with cheats enabled. It was not even just a god's-eye view; he could simultaneously see minerals and ruins hidden deep beneath who knows how many kilometers of soil.

But it was a pity that Li Ang himself did not consider himself to have any military talent, nor could he make a psionic telephone that would advance a front line by five meters. All he could do was simply relay the intelligence gathered after clearing the fog of war to Wufuruike, and then wait for the good news from him.

In fact, Wufuruike truly did not disappoint Li Ang's expectations.

On the advance route of these Chaos Demons, these Norscans laid an ambush on the hillside, and then, taking advantage of the moment those demons were climbing the slope, they attacked down from the mountain by surprise.

A single simple charge instantly sent these scattered demon forces into disarray.

And Wufuruike himself, as the general, was like a god descending to earth; he instantly threw his hand-axe and short spear, splitting the skulls of two demons in the blink of an eye, then leaped up and chopped off the head of the tallest demon with one sword stroke.

The entire demon army was routed by Wufuruike just like that, without even uttering a coherent word.

The remaining demons had their limbs broken, were then tethered and dragged along the ground, heading toward the direction of Stonehenge.

They would be sent to Stonehenge to test whether they could be used as units for magic infusion. As for those demons that appeared too resilient during the charge, they were killed in the subsequent fighting and finishing blows.

And after the last demon feigning death had its limbs chopped off and heart pierced, the system's voice reached Li Ang's mind once again.

"Glorious victory!"

"A beautiful ambush; you used seventy Norscans to ambush sixty-four demons, successfully winning the victory at the cost of fourteen lightly wounded, two seriously wounded, and one dead!"

"You have obtained a clue to an anomalous technology!"

"Magic-type anomalous technology: 'Emotion is Void' has been added to the magic technology tree!"

"... This sounds a bit cool. Why would demons drop this kind of technology?"

Could it be that demons are actually my lucky stars? While Wufuruike was dragging those demons toward Stonehenge, Li Ang sat in the Observatory, lost in thought as he looked at the technology displaying a red danger warning.

Emotion is Void, an extremely dangerous magic technology. A red high-risk technology path independent of all other research. The description was also exceptionally terrifying.

"When emotion itself undergoes mutation, when thinking is no longer fixed, perhaps we will be able to realize the truth of the universe."

A line of blood-red high-risk text warned of its danger.

But for Li Ang, although the warning of dangerous technology was dangerous, the values provided by this technology were even more dangerous.

"This technology has subsequent branches."

"After research, all population under your territory will provide 0.01 magic per turn."

"After research, all action values of all population under your territory will increase by 20%."

"After research, all population under your territory has a probability of developing psionic traits."

"Warning: Someone is watching you."

"Researching dangerous technology requires 200 magic, no researchers needed."

"..."

No need for a research director, only 200 magic—where else could one find such a good deal?

If there were a requirement for a research director, to be honest, Li Ang might have just let it pass. After all, truthfully, it was difficult for Wufuruike to hold multiple positions, yet many things required him to do them.

But this required absolutely no research director. And as for it being called dangerous technology, for someone with a system, didn't danger represent opportunity? Without hesitation, Li Ang clicked on the 'Emotion is Void' magic technology and proceeded to channel the energy of Stonehenge into himself. That massive torrent of magic washed over the youth's body once again, providing guidance for the power within the void. Meanwhile, the captives brought by Wufuruike had already arrived at the edge of Stonehenge.

These demons had been cursing everything around them with foul language, but now, seeing the massive rift spanning the sky and that enormous psionic storm, these demons actually broke from their usual behavior and began to scream in terror.

"No! No! This is eternal destruction! What on earth are you doing!"

"The gods will absolutely not sit idly by! You are finished!"

"You lot, at least say what you are trying to do!"

"My god... it's the void..."

The chaotic words of the demons seemed to contain some truth, but neither Li Ang nor anyone else cared about them.

Dragging the markers of these demon captives toward the direction of Stonehenge in his mind, amidst the screams of all the demons, the dragged demons were as if grabbed by an invisible giant hand, howling as they were dragged into the vortex of Stonehenge.

Then, in the blink of an eye, they were crushed into countless fragments by the Stonehenge floating in the sky, dissolved and mixed into the torrent of magic, instantly vanishing without a trace.

Before the other demons could even grieve their fate, almost all the demon bodies became shattered in an instant.

The moment the concepts of enslavement and captivity occurred, the final fate of these demons was already sealed.

It was merely a choice of how to die.

"You have sacrificed the demon army and are about to obtain 216 points of magic."

"You have obtained some magic knowledge fragments."

"Eating so much at once, I feel a bit dizzy..."

Shaking his head, Li Ang reconnected the torrent of Stonehenge to the Experimental Zone, settling back into his chair to feel the new knowledge flowing through his mind.

It seemed his judgment was correct.

Demons could indeed become nourishment for Stonehenge.

But it was not the steady stream one might imagine; rather, they were filled in as a one-time torch.

Although he could not get a daily income of one point of magic, being able to research a dangerous technology in one go was acceptable.

Li Ang had no particular objections to this.

As the last trace of the demons' screams merged into the Brand on Stonehenge, the system's wonderful voice reached Li Ang's ears once again.

"Technology completed!"

"You have obtained inspiration for a Wonder!"

"After completing the anomalous technology 'Emotion is Void', you may choose one of the following four giant Wonders to construct!"

"Myriad Phenomena Labyrinth, Garden of Life, Hall of Joy, Fortress of Honor"

"Hint: Perhaps you can build conflicting Wonders in your own way... as long as you can accept the cost."

"Hint 2: The world of magic is complex and mysterious; any action may cause far-reaching consequences. Every choice you make may lead to a different ending, so please be careful!"

(End of chapter)