Chapter 251 - 213: The War Begins

Chapter 251: Chapter 213: The War Begins

A simple send-off ceremony was held.

Zhang Ji didn’t waste words. He briefly stated their objective, then immediately led the fleet to depart.

The Ship of Hope formed the core of the formation, flanked by *World One* through *World Three*, as well as the Starship, *Celestial Essence*, piloted by Dugu Yunfeng. The five trans-dimensional battleships departed simultaneously for Lan’er World.

The passage between worlds was completely silent. As of yet, not a single power in Lan’er World had received any word.

This war would be so swift it would upend their common sense.

-----------------

「Lan’er World.」

Lately, the Lord of Entropy had been feeling lost.

The three subordinates he had dispatched had met with disaster. To be on the safe side, he stopped sending his top experts to their deaths and switched to a different method of investigation instead.

But the results of his probing were discouraging. Many of the scouts he sent out would either vanish mysteriously en route or run into members of other factions, leading to friction and open conflict.

The matter with the Saint King Council remained unresolved, the reparations hadn’t even been fully gathered, and now he had somehow provoked a host of new enemies.

It was a classic case of "when it rains, it pours."

But his string of bad luck didn’t end there.

The Machine Heart Empire’s demand for Magic Crystals began to decrease, and large numbers of miners lost their jobs.

This profession was the primary source of his unending stream of faith, and now, he was set to lose a great many followers.

He had thought this would be a gradual process. But then the Alchemist Guild announced the creation of a Magic Potion that could cure crystallized lung disease. Not only was it cheap to produce—at one point, even cheaper than purified water—but it also eradicated the disease completely.

’As if they really think I can’t cure that disease. Treating it with a Divine Skill would be all too easy. But what I need is a constant supply of faith. How could I ever truly heal them?’

’Shouldn’t I drag it out for another three to five years, squeeze them until there’s nothing left, and then take that final bite?’

Of course, even with the disease cured, people always have other needs, so the Lord of Entropy didn’t pay it too much mind.

But the Saint King Council had also sent people into the Saint Silver Church Country to set up training classes, helping the laid-off miners find new employment.

And the first requirement for these new jobs was to be a non-believer.

The combination of high pay and the pressure to survive forced vast numbers of workers to abandon their faith.

Even so, with the foundation of the Church of Light, the Rusted Moon Monastery still had a massive number of believers.

This wellspring of believers wouldn’t run dry anytime soon.

Nevertheless, the Lord of Entropy was displeased. ’My very foundation is being shaken. Who could stand for that?’

That’s what he thought, but he endured it all the same.

’This is the critical moment for my ascension to the Divine Tier. I can’t let a single shred of information leak. I’ll just have to pull back and wait. As a nearly immortal being, I can afford to play the long game.’

Therefore, he repeatedly contracted his sphere of influence. He refrained from actively interfering with external developments, doing his utmost to avoid conflict with the Saint King Council and other factions. His actions grew increasingly cautious.

’Endure a moment of adversity to gain a lifetime of prosperity.’

So he thought.

’A few minor setbacks are to be expected when you’re plotting to take over a world.’

...

Four Starships, along with the Ship of Hope, had now arrived in the skies above the Saint Silver Church Country.

From within the five massive battleships, dense swarms of shuttles and various types of drones poured out, heading straight for the Rusted Moon Monasteries scattered throughout the Saint Silver Church Country.

Their first priority was to seize control of these locations and cut off the believers’ prayers. This would prevent a scenario where, in the middle of the final battle, everyone would raise their hands to the sky and channel their energy to the Lord of Entropy.

"A damn Spirit Bomb! If they’re going to share anything, it should be their light!" Giles quipped.

"The Lord of Entropy is Gatandjei; he doesn’t absorb light. The Supreme One should be Ultraman Tiga," one of Giles’s subordinates reminded him.

"With his methods, he can only be considered Dark Tiga, the traitor who destroyed the ultra-ancient civilization thirty million years ago," Giles replied.

Zhang Ji almost lost his composure. He himself would occasionally make odd remarks, and while the other Saint Kings were generally uninterested, Giles always loved to pry into their meaning. He had explained it to Giles just once, and the guy had actually memorized it.

Memorizing it was one thing, but he was also enthusiastic about spreading the knowledge.

His subordinates, eager to curry favor, could now recite the lore by heart.

It didn’t matter if others heard it and didn’t understand, but Zhang Ji himself knew what it all meant.

’How should I put it?’

He felt like he had used a tired meme in a serious meeting and was now being teased by his colleagues.

But clearly, Giles was just an oddball and had no self-awareness that he was running the joke into the ground.

"Stop the idle chatter. Get going. There’s a Legendary over here waiting for you!"

Zhang Ji, in retaliation, kicked Giles out of the cabin door and felt much better.

....

Information really didn’t travel fast in Lan’er World.

Only now did the Arcane Federation and the Machine Heart Empire formally receive notice that the Saint King Council had declared war on the Saint Silver Church Country.

Although Zhang Ji had initially spoken of uniting with the other powers, he had never actually factored them into his battle plans.

It was partly a matter of trust, but mainly, he simply didn’t need their military strength.

Notifying them now was simply a courtesy, fulfilling his obligation as a supposed partner.

If they were willing to help, fine. If not, they had better not send anyone to interfere.

Any attempt to intervene would be treated as a hostile act, and he would declare war on them as well.

He wouldn’t even rule out destroying the entire world.

.....

「Machine Heart Empire.」

Yuriel’s expression was grim.

War had started, but he hadn’t started it. In fact, he had only just received the notification.

He had received the information via a Spiritual Communication Device.

Without any warning, the Saint King Council had suddenly declared war on the entire Saint Silver Church Country.

And the given reason? Someone from the Saint Silver Church Country had offended one of their Saint Kings.

Their attitude was like that of someone who, annoyed by a bug on the roadside, decides to destroy not only the bug but its entire nest as well.

’Cooperation?’

’They’ve never seen us as partners, have they?’

This arrogant attitude made a nameless rage well up inside Yuriel.

’But what can I do?’

’Mobilize my forces to help them?’

’And mobilize them with what?’

’My airships that take days just to reach the border?’

’Or my Demon Energy Battleships that crawl across the sea like turtles?’

Calling it a turtle’s crawl was perhaps an exaggeration, but compared to the Saint King Council’s supersonic shuttles and their Starship Battleships that could literally teleport across space, it was like they were clubbing cavemen.

Technological superiority was one thing, but the top-tier experts were another matter entirely.

A Legendary-rank expert transcends the secular world.

Yuriel wanted to know how the Saint King Council planned to deal with those experts.

.......

「Arcane Federation.」

Celestia and the others received the news relatively early.

After a long silence, they could only wait and see how things would unfold.

Dugu Yunfeng alone was likely capable of soloing their Seven Saints.

And that wasn’t even considering the other Saint Kings, or Zhang Ji himself.

In the eyes of the Saint King Council, their so-called "Seven Saints" were probably a complete joke.

...

...

The war was already underway.

Martial artists clad in Thorncleaver battle armor easily uprooted the Churches of Light throughout the entire country.

The clergy who stood in their way were, for the most part, killed on the spot.

They were brainwashed to the point of fanaticism, making them impossible to persuade quickly and extremely difficult to control. Thus, even if they had never committed any truly evil acts, defying the interests of the Saint King Council was a death sentence.

In a war of opposing factions, there is no room for mercy.

In the basement of a Rusted Moon Monastery, rows of corpses were laid out.

Their organs had been harvested for research. Many of their faces were frozen in the expressions they held at the moment of death—none of them pleasant.

They had clearly endured considerable torture before death.

"Rather backward research. Inefficient, and not very civilized or moral."

This was Zhuge Mingyuan’s judgment.

"Then what counts as advanced? I would like to ask you, sir."

A slender woman wearing full-body Demon Pattern Battle Armor strode out.

Tenth Seat of the Crown of Sinful Thorns, the Rusted Moon Tailor, Erin.

Before Zhuge Mingyuan and his team arrived, Erin had already sensed their approach.

Unfortunately, her subordinates were no match for them and were all dispatched with ease.

’They’re only consumables, but finding replacements is still a hassle.’

"The definition of ’advanced’ is relative. Based on your current level of research, you are far behind the Saint King Council," Zhuge Mingyuan said.

"Is that so? Then if I were to acquire your knowledge, I suppose I too could achieve a relatively advanced level of research," Erin said.

"Perhaps," Zhuge Mingyuan replied. "But your research environment is not suitable..."

The attack came before Zhuge Mingyuan could finish speaking.

Blood transformed into sharp blades, attempting to pierce Zhuge Mingyuan’s neck.

However, it was blocked midway by an invisible Spiritual Defense Barrier.

A massive amount of data flooded into Zhuge Mingyuan’s modified Spiritual Prosthetic Eye for analysis. He had seen through Erin’s attack completely before she even made a move.

In the next instant, a torrent of blood-blades formed, and she unleashed a barrage of Demon Energy Weapons resembling embroidery needles. But every attack was blocked with perfect precision.

Even the shockwaves barely spread.

Suddenly, Zhuge Mingyuan made his move.

He channeled Spiritual Power into a ruler and slapped it against her Demon Pattern Battle Armor.

And then it disintegrated.

Every critical connecting node was dismantled and the Demon Pattern Circuits were directly severed. This battle armor, which should have been able to withstand attacks from a fellow Legendary-rank expert, was utterly useless against Zhuge Mingyuan.

The now-exposed Erin was already grievously wounded, her internal energy completely sealed. Her body was a patchwork of different Demonal Beasts stitched together, interspersed with human organs. The surgical technique was barbaric and inefficient, but her innate talent had compensated for its shortcomings, allowing her to reach the Legendary rank.

But before Zhuge Mingyuan, she had no chance to display her power.

Zhuge Mingyuan put away his Celestial Craft Ruler and said, "Next, I will show you what ’advanced’ means... and... ’efficient.’"

An expert comparable to the Divinity Transformation realm—Zhuge Mingyuan had no intention of just killing her. Instead, he was going to perform surgery, implant a small chip, and transform her into usable labor.

This surgery wasn’t too much trouble. Compared to his array bodies, it was a ten-minute job. It was just that without auxiliary equipment, and with the neural modifications involved, there might be some slight discomfort.

As the "surgery" began, terror filled Erin’s eyes.

It was the same look of utter despair she had seen on the faces of all the people she had experimented on.