Chapter 539 (2): Horseman of War, Do You Dream of Electric Sheep?

The Horseman of War encountered a temporary logical confusion, unable to give an exact answer now. His energy eyes flickered violently, as if his CPU were overclocking to list millions of responses in an instant. They were all judged as wrong answers because of logical inconsistencies.

He couldn’t answer. Though he wanted to argue, he didn’t know where to start.

It was all right, but also all wrong.

Bam!!

Smoke came out of the Horseman of War’s head.

If there were anyone else with War, they would realize that Wayne was pushing War’s CPU on purpose, using logical fallacies to bully the metalhead.

But there was no one around!

“Ahem!” Wayne coughed into his fist. “So, have you thought of a response?”

“Quiet. I’m thinking.”

“...”

You’re so serious! Good, let’s burn your CPU.

Wayne was silent for a moment. He gave the Horseman of War his spiritual support in independent thinking. It would be most ideal if War could find his true self and reject working for someone thoughtlessly, thus leading a new life as a slacker.

After half an hour, when the Horseman of War was sputtering sparks, he finally stopped thinking.

He shook his head at Wayne. “You’re right. We’re both Horsemen of War. They incited war to create me, so they can call themselves Horsemen of War, too. If I kill them, I’ll be killing myself.‘

Holy. You’ve finally made up your mind.

Wayne put down the juice and sat up on the beach lounger, adjusting the oversized sunglasses on his face. With a sigh, he said, “I’m sorry, buddy. That’s the meaning of your birth. Don’t worry, though. You have us. We’ll miss you.”

Then everyone in the city put their hands on their chests to see the Horseman of War off, waiting for him to kill himself.

The Horseman of War didn’t hesitate. He drew his energy greatsword and pointed it at his chest. Following a crunching noise, sparks splattered like lightning. The energy eyes flickered softly before dimming forever.

“Tsk, who says that bullying a pushover isn’t satisfying? That’s only if you’re bullying a pushover with no status. When it’s one of the Four Horsemen? It’s beyond satisfying.” Wayne rubbed his hands together as he went up to corrupt the Horseman of War. At the end of the day, knowledge wasn’t evil. If a civilized man like him had knowledge, the world would soon have peace.

Wing!!

The energy eyes lit up with red light. The Horseman of War restarted, drawing his greatsword from his chest to challenge Wayne to a duel.

“Hey, haven’t you died?”

“I have. The old me died. The new me isn’t one with the earlier Horseman of War.”

(ˉへ￣;)

What are you on about? Wayne thought. Did you hear yourself?

“You’ve stopped war, Wayne, but fighting you is war. I dislike a one-sided clash. Do your best—”

“Wait.” Wayne interrupted him with a gesture. “I have a question. Who are you?”

“I know what you’re saying. I’ve answered those questions earlier. Now, I need not think. If you have any other questions, you may think back to my earlier conversation with you.”

“What? Is the previous you not you?”

“Is it?”

“...”

Wayne fell silent. It was such a complicated question that he couldn’t answer.

Holy, am I losing to a metalhead in logic? What’s happened to the world?

Wayne took a deep breath and said seriously, “Last question: where is Elohim, how would destroying the world benefit him, and why would the Final Judgment make Him an ancient god?”

“That’s three questions. Also, I don’t have the answers.”

The Horseman of War’s eyes glinted coldly. The metal warhorse beneath him activated boosters and leaped into a portal, quickly reaching Wayne’s back. The boosters gave the Horseman of War an incredible starting speed. His energy greatsword cut open space and decapitated Wayne while streaking past him.

Before Wayne’s head hit the ground, the noises of metal grinding together resounded. A dense array of weaponry whirled to life on the knight and the horse, from energy cannons to missile launchers. They bombarded where Wayne’s body was.

The devastating power razed three streetblocks to the ground in an instant, creating a mushroom cloud for good measure. He collapsed space to erase Wayne’s existence completely.

“Your fire control system is so thick!”

Wayne walked out from a street corner and filled the collapsing space with spreading white foam to restore its shape. He transformed, his raised right arm turning mechanical. He took aim at the Horseman of War with his arm cannon and fired a missile to get gunpowder all over him.

“You’re indeed another Horseman of War.” The Horseman of War’s mechanical body regenerated rapidly. “But why is your manifestation identical to Pestilence’s?”

While he regenerated, his legs embedded into the horse below, and after a series of metallic clinks, he transformed into a five-meter-tall form in the sky.

He looked humanoid overall, with four limbs and a head. His mechanical body was done with a red finish, armed with adjustable boosters that made high-speed precision flying and braking possible. His energy sword was tucked into his arm, retractable. His body was a walking armory, allowing him to fire and attack from close, medium, and distant range.

Wayne narrowed his eyes. He remembered that the most formidable part of Mechanical Augmentation wasn’t its firepower, but its adaptability and self-evolution. He had tried and failed to corrupt the Horseman of War, which meant that War was able to evolve indefinitely, the process of which was impossible to interrupt.

What should he do? Did he compete with War on their evolution rate and see which of them would reach ultimate firepower first?

Wayne’s arms hung down, transforming into pale blades. In case the Horseman of War evolved too rapidly, he chose to fight with cold weapons.

Displeased, the Horseman of War adjusted his boosters and reached Wayne’s side in the blink of an eye. An energy shield blocked the perpendicular pale blades. War’s eyes shot crimson lasers straight at Wayne.

Boom!

Not one to be outdone, Wayne countered it with heat vision. Energy clashed with energy. Both seemed like they would never run out.

Despite the dramatic difference in their sizes, Wayne was faster and stronger. One exchange was all it took for the Horseman of War to be sent flying.

War extracted the weapon from his arm. The massive energy sword ended up blocked by Wayne’s pale blades. Then more and more weapon systems sprang to life from War’s chest and legs, unleashing wild firepower point-blank.

Orange fire burst out above Berlo, the heated shockwaves wiping the downtown area. Violent gales bore down upon the pale city, crushing it into its primitive form—the pale ocean.

Liquefied human forms scattered in the waves. Massive tentacles soared into the sky as another pale torrential rain poured down, plunging the battlefield into chaos.

The Horseman of War tried to open a portal, but the environment prevented precise locating. His system leveled up, and the information of Mechanical Augmentation updated automatically.

Sensing spatial disturbances behind him, the Horseman of War activated the weapon system behind his head without even turning around. Following a low growl, crimson rays shot out.

Compressed to the limit before release, the light triggered turbulent currents instantly, distorting the boiling space and forcing it through the rain. In an instant, it reached the city neighboring Berlo.

Wayne’s head had been disintegrated by the ray of light. Because it was a minor injury, his headless body continued to move agilely.

Pale blades swung toward the Horseman of War’s neck. Sparks sputtered, and a metal head fell.

It plunged from the sky, its weapon system still locked onto Wayne. Red rays swept upward and stirred up countless spatial waves. While evaporating rain, they tore the pale sky in half.

Wayne pushed his hand down. The liquefied pale space wrapped around War’s head before banishing it to the Astral Plane. Despite losing its head, the war machine continued to move freely. Solidifying the space around War, Wayne pushed him down toward the land.

Rumble!!

The entire Berlo City came alive at that moment. Boundless pale waves gathered from different directions, overwhelming Wayne and the Horseman of War. They were pulled and buried under the sea.

Dull, booming noises continued as the pale ocean fluctuated, forming white ranges one second and erupting pillars of flames and smoke like volcanoes the next second. During the chaotic fight, the Horseman of War’s firepower climbed ever higher. He could wipe out a city with a simple hit. If Wayne hadn’t been prepared, the death toll would have been devastating.

Even without Famine, Death, and Pestilence, the Horseman of War alone could destroy the world. With his incredible adaptability, it would only be a matter of time for him to kill the goddesses.

Boom!!!

White light tore the land apart. Infinite energy launched Berlo City and the mountain ranges around it into the sky. Pale waves melted under the intense heat, and the rain clouds covering the sky were half wiped out.

A new red mechanical form took flight, armed with hovering weapons. The sunlight hitting it from behind made it look like a mechanical angel descending to the mortal realm.

Wayne’s writhing white foam completed the transformation. His expression was troubled.

Just like with Elian, the Horseman of Death, Wayne could not corrupt the Horseman of War, nor could he erase him. They had come to an impasse; neither could take out the other.

However, the Horseman of War was adaptable by nature, becoming stronger every moment. To fight him, Wayne had no choice but to accelerate his corruption. He had already corrupted half of Franc in the west, making leaps and bounds toward making humanity into one pool of orange juice. If the battle continued, Windsor, on the other side of the sea, would need to activate the emergency defense system. Everyone would turn into white foam and become part of the pale ocean. Forced to turn his loved ones into his vassals to protect them...

That Wayne couldn’t tolerate!

Growling, he tore off his human skin. The Pale Knight’s chest split open to reveal a large eyeball. His powerful thoughts slammed into the Horseman of War, pulling him from the sky and tossing him into the pale ocean.

War could evolve, but he could, too. The metalhead couldn’t possibly resist his corruption forever.

“You like logic, don’t you? I’ll tell you my arguments. Let’s see how long you can take it...”

Rumble—

Paleness roiled. Looking at the Chosen Land from afar, one would see writhing tentacles skewering Prussia and a large landmass around it. A massive fiendish eye opened in the sky, unleashing corruption without reservation to push the pale waves toward all of the Chosen Land. The terrifying scene was clearly visible even from space.

Two figures hovered amid the stars, one riding on a white horse and the other riding on a black horse.

“Pestilence, War’s evolution has slowed,” Famine said, riding on a black horse.

“Evolution always comes with environmental stress. War is facing an ancient god’s vassal. It’s not strange that he can’t escape.”

“Aren’t we going to save him?”

“Not now. His fight with Wayne is escalating the war. He will become stronger for it, until all the requirements for the ritual are met...”