Eternal Night

Chapter 753? ? ?

At this moment, an indescribable low pressure hangs over the New Era City, the headquarters of the World Government.

Six marshals of the army, navy, and air force, thirty-two generals of the army, navy, and air force from various headquarters, headquarters, and branches, plus at least several hundred major and lieutenant generals who possess Logia-type Devil Fruits, special Paramecia-type Devil Fruits, and special Zoan-type Devil Fruits.

At this moment, they were all gathered together. Whether they looked incredulous, disbelieving, or suspicious, the major generals, lieutenant generals, and senior generals in the hall all had serious expressions.

The six marshals of the army, navy, and air force who knew the truth all wore expressions of despair.

How could they not despair? Contrary to the dubious rumors known to these generals, they were agents who could directly contact the six national marshals, so how could they not know that the six national marshals of humanity had actually become five?

The phantom of the national marshal, Opas, has truly perished!
As the true protectors of humanity in this world, all six marshals are ascended beings. The oldest of them even comes from the end of the One Piece era. Fortunately, the phantom Opus that fell was not that one, otherwise the entire World Government would have truly collapsed.

"quiet!"

One of the six marshals seated at the head of the table was a muscular, white-haired old man. He tapped the table with a small wooden mallet, causing it to shatter, but he didn't care. He simply said, "Now, the World Government's Order No. 8261 is hereby promulgated: a full-scale retreat. All officers of colonel rank are to immediately proceed to their nearest inland military bases. The locations of the bases will be announced along with the order. All officers of general rank are to immediately proceed to their assigned Celestial Dragon noble and Celestial Dragon family defense forces to protect and accompany the Celestial Dragon nobles and families to their secret sanctuaries."

The moment the order was given, the entire meeting room erupted in uproar.

The lowest rank among those present is Major General, and any Major General is actually a powerful figure in the World Government of the Mountain and Sea Realm. They have their own bases, supported cities, sea areas, and even their own fleets. The difference between Major General, Vice Admiral, and Admiral is only in the scope of authority within the World Government system, the size of the real power territory allocated to them, their level of wealth, and so on.

This sudden, complete contraction is equivalent to a 21st-century sovereign state where the entire ruling class has simply gone into hiding, abandoning all responsibility. This includes the complete evacuation of the highest, middle, and upper echelons of the world government, which has essentially come to a standstill. Coupled with the complex situation in the Mountain and Sea Realm, the entire world government could potentially collapse immediately.

As expected, the major generals and lieutenant generals sitting below immediately began to argue their case, describing all sorts of reasons, justifications, and consequences. On the other hand, the thirty-two generals sat there without saying a word. Although their faces were also very grim, they maintained their composure.

The six marshals did not stop the major generals and lieutenant generals present from speaking. They simply listened silently to all the complaints. The grievances lasted for more than thirty minutes. Then one of the six marshals tapped the table lightly with his finger. The crisp sound rang in everyone's ears, which gradually silenced the complaints and grievances. The entire hall returned to silence once again.

"...Your reasons are indeed valid. Such a great foundation was built on the sacrifices of countless patriots. This massive retreat, while not completely abandoning this glory, has at least dealt it a heavy blow. It will probably take at least two generations to rebuild this land. I know your intentions are not simply for personal gain."

The marshal appeared gentle and spoke softly, but when he spoke, there was an unquestionable authority and confidence in him, which made everyone present, including the other five marshals, listen carefully.

Marshal Qingkong is the closest among the current six marshals to becoming a National Marshal. According to the public statements of the six National Marshals, he has a very high probability of becoming the seventh National Marshal in a thousand years. Therefore, his authority within the World Government is naturally different. Unlike the other five marshals who are merely representatives of the National Marshals, he has a great deal of autonomy and is equal to the six National Marshals to a certain extent.

Qingkong sighed and said, "I'll say it again: I know your intentions. This isn't just for your own selfish interests. Anyone with a bit of insight knows that this great retreat is more than just a crippling blow. Our entire World Government has lost its righteousness and legitimacy. Even if it happens again in the future, we will no longer be who we are now. With the people's hearts scattered, it will be difficult to lead the army. Fortunately, we still possess absolute power, so as long as we return, the cleansing and suppression of two generations can still erase all of this... We appreciate your intentions and thank you. However, the great retreat is imperative."

This was practically a final military order, leaving almost no room for leniency.

The expressions of the many generals and lieutenant generals changed drastically, but they eventually fell silent.

Even at the very end, a lieutenant general said in an almost desperate tone, "Marshal, do we really have to do this? Just an enemy? Just a suspect, someone who might be a traitor who has deceived the will of Heaven..."

"Yes, you are right."

Qingkong spoke in his usual gentle manner: "But this could be a criminal who has reached the level of the Ascended Body. You are also a high-ranking general. Do you know what this means?"

The lieutenant general nodded silently, finally letting out a reluctant sigh. The Heavenly Dao is the supreme deity in the Mountain and Sea Realm, almost universally acknowledged as omniscient and omnipotent. However, throughout countless years of history, it has not been without its errors, and this error stemmed from the absorption and devouring of other planes.

Since this world transitioned from the Primordial Realm to the Mountain and Sea Realm, the process of absorbing other worlds has changed. Instead of resorting to brutal attacks by the armed forces of this world to tear apart the outer planes and then absorbing the remaining fragments, it has become a process of collective armed conquest or cultural assimilation conquest, which makes the outer planes more similar to this world and then gradually and thoroughly absorbs them into the Mountain and Sea Realm.

This also led to the local natives of these worlds entering the Mountain and Sea Realm and becoming its inhabitants.

The inhabitants of these outer dimensions were all conquered natives. Their status was extremely low, and they were generally slaves of the Celestial Dragons and the World Government. Only after they entered this world and were reborn three generations later could they barely be considered residents of this world.

This assimilation and absorption can bring tremendous improvement to the Mountain and Sea Realm, and can also allow human civilization to receive the overall favor of the Heavenly Dao of this world. This is also the reason why the Primordial Realm became the Mountain and Sea Realm. However, in the process of assimilation over countless millennia, a very small number of outer planes have given birth to a vague unified general consciousness. It is not even a true unified general consciousness, but a kind of collective subconsciousness. The Heavenly Dao especially likes this kind of "food". Each time, it can allow humanity to obtain a larger share and the origin of the world, give birth to more powerful beings, and obtain more special Devil Fruits.

However, when the Heavenly Dao devours this special food, it often falls into a very short period of "disorder," which, for humans, is measured in years. In this state, the natives of the special outer dimension that were devoured are regarded by the Heavenly Dao as humans from this world who have been favored. Among them, one or more particularly special individuals are regarded by the Heavenly Dao as those favored by Heaven.

According to the research of many sacrificial masters, these individuals were the "protagonists" of their original world, the children of destiny, the children of the times, etc. They were favored by the vague collective consciousness of their original world. After arriving in the Mountain and Sea Realm, due to the confusion of the Heavenly Dao, they also became the favored ones of the Mountain and Sea Realm for a time.

Originally, according to the people of the Mountain and Sea Realm, these people had hit the jackpot. Heaven is impartial, and even if they were given the status of Heaven's Favored Ones due to confusion, as long as they worked hard to get closer to this world, made achievements, and implemented the rules of Heaven during this period, then Heaven would not revoke their status as Heaven's Favored Ones when it came to its senses. As long as they worked hard, they were the most likely foreign human race to become Celestial Dragons.

Unfortunately, these people are often obsessed with national and personal grievances. They will not tolerate seeing their people become slaves or be slaughtered. Instead, they take advantage of their status as chosen ones to start breaking the natural order of this world.

When the Heavenly Way is confused, no matter how great their sins are, as long as they do not directly defy or confront the Heavenly Way, their status as favored by Heaven will remain. This is exactly the same as Wu Pifu's current situation. However, once the Heavenly Way is restored, they will be immediately thrown into the abyss. Not only will they be stripped of their status as favored by Heaven, but they will also be burdened with sins, and Heavenly punishment will come immediately. In the end, they will be unable to live or die, and will never be able to be reborn!
This is an existence known only to the highest levels of the World Government: the Exterminator!
Wu Bifu is currently considered a condemned by the World Government. Of course, that's just their opinion. The other two surviving ascended beings who witnessed Wu Bifu's battle know that Wu Bifu is a worthless condemned. He practically slapped the Heavenly Dao in the face, and the Heavenly Dao didn't even send down a single bolt of lightning to kill him. What kind of condemned is that? Of course, they wouldn't tell these things to the World Government.

At this moment, Qingkong solemnly said again, "I repeat myself, this time the condemned one is completely different from the past. In the past, any condemned one was usually very weak, so they couldn't cause much trouble. Even after we learned of their existence, we had a whole set of procedures to deal with them: imprisonment, offering them good food and meat, supervising them, and corrupting them with beautiful women and wealth... But this Wu Pifu is different. He has the combat power of the sublimated body level. We cannot, and cannot, restrict any of his actions. Do you understand?"

"Ants cannot possibly restrain dragons and gods!"

After Qingkong waited for everyone to accept the information, he said, "Alright, everyone can begin now. The official order will be issued within a day, and then we will..."

Just then, a group of people in long robes rushed in from outside the meeting room, disregarding the proceedings. Everyone instinctively looked at them.

The leader, a man in a long robe, shouted, "The sacrifice has yielded results! We have communicated with the powerful beings of the heavens and earth, and finally obtained the answer: his purpose is known!!"

Everyone's faces lit up with excitement, and Qingkong, his face flushed, immediately asked excitedly, "Speak! What is his purpose? Is it the liberation of his people? Revenge? Or does he want wealth and glory? Immortality? Absolute power? Whatever he wants, we can talk!!"

The leader, a man in a long robe, continued to shout, "No, no, he doesn't want these. He only has one purpose!"

"A Devil Fruit! A specially designated Devil Fruit! The Human-Human Fruit - Pureblood Human Form! This is why he killed the Marshal of the Nation and wanted to destroy the order of this world!!"

"???"

For a moment, a question mark appeared on the foreheads of everyone present.

They were all completely baffled.

(End of this chapter)