Secret World: I Became a God Through Lies

Chapter 270 Apocalyptic Beginning: The Arrival of the Steel Hunters
"If fate refuses to surrender, then let steel overwhelm the stars."

boom--!
At the edge of the battlefield, the last horizon of the scorched earth fortress finally appeared amidst the afterimages of artillery fire and the intense heat waves.

The massive steel gate shattered, and light and fire broke through the suppression, as if the whole world was holding its breath in anticipation of the impending final battle.

Von Blanc, like a ruthless black chess player, poured all his defensive resources—mechanisms, secrets, flames, and heavy artillery—into the nine paths of advance in the most lethal way, using three rounds of deployment.

He spared no effort in planting death gears in every tactical deployment, each deployment being like a fatal move in a high-dimensional gamble.

Everyone held their breath in anticipation.

The system's highlighted area is displayed in red.

yellow.

red.

red.

yellow.

—Until the very end, a cold and detached judgment emerged.

All three deployments of troops were wrong.

Three times, the path chosen by the God of Fate was in an "empty zone".

None of the traps that von Blanc painstakingly set up went unpunished.

The assault team led by Si Ming advanced three times with effortless grace, cutting through tofu without sustaining any damage.

This is not luck.

This is humiliation.

This is fate itself, a mockery of ironclad logic.

“He’s looking down on you.” Zhuang Yege stood at the edge of the chaotic realm of death tide and said softly, the soul-summoning bell gently swaying at his fingertips, and the souls of the dead swirling around him like mist.

High in the air, von Blanc's face appeared on the combat projection screen.

His metal mask twisted and deformed in the high-temperature steam, his eyes turned red, and the gear structure vibrated to the point of making a piercing grinding sound, as if he himself was about to be melted by rage.

And what about the God of Fate?

He was standing at the entrance to the main building of the arsenal, his body still covered in dust from the demolition battle, his hair blowing in the flames.

He looked up, a frivolous smile playing on his lips, and whistled.

"Hey, it's a checkmate."

The sound wasn't loud, but it clearly reached every nerve in von Blanc's body.

"You—!" Von Blanc finally roared, his suppressed rage bursting forth like a dam breaking: "You will pay the price for this arrogance!!"

The main core of the arsenal vibrated, heavy gears clattered, iron walls flipped, and behind the tower, a battle armor platform several meters high rose from the ground, with steel flames converging on it.

Von Blanc's voice came from deep within the core of the Mystic Alloy, heavy as an iron bell, carrying the brutal will of a veteran of countless battles:
"War Cannon, Hunter Argos—Activate!!"

boom--! !

Hundreds of missiles ignited simultaneously!
At this moment, the battlefield seemed to be surrounded by a sky ablaze with light.

Siming's expression changed slightly. Instinctively, he pulled Selian and Lynn aside and leaped to the side, growling, "Natasha, back off!!"

Three seconds later——

It turned into a deep pit on the spot.

The roar of tens of tons of explosives tore through the air, with grenades, fragments, shock waves, and high-temperature flames overlapping, as if a steel beast had bared its fangs and was about to devour the platform where Si Ming stood.

Smoke filled the sky, flames roared like a raging sea swallowing the heavens, and dust and sand blotted out the sun.

For a moment, no one could see who was still standing.

But at that very moment, fate whispered.

"Upside-down angels - reversing fate."

Vera's voice was like a divine pronouncement, tearing reality apart!
The phantom of golden wings slowly unfolded behind her, and blazing light exploded as the Star of Reason ignited.

The angelic flame burned to its limit, completing its rotation the instant it was extinguished!
She gave a soft shout:
"All under protection, time rewind—now!"

Boom!

The flames of the explosion froze in mid-air!
The destructive tide, like the arrival of the apocalypse, was forcibly restrained and frozen in the last second by the power of "fate's reverse flow".

The grenade came to a stop less than a meter above everyone's heads. The fragments of the shell seemed to turn into dust, which exploded and were bounced off one by one by the impact of the inverted wings.

Before the smoke and dust had cleared, a gray shadow suddenly leaped up from the ground!
It's Nobuna.

She wore the robes of a Shinto priestess, held a demon in front of her left hand and a demon behind her right, and her eyes were cold and icy.

Two high-level life-type contracted evil spirits followed closely behind their master, their bodies wreathed in cursed flames, and their katana gathered a waterfall of slashing light.

"Triple Slash - Break the Formation".

Boom! !

Nobuna stepped over the ruins and slashed heavily with her katana!

The first ghost roared, the second ghost whispered, the three spiritual beings resonated in rhythm, and their strikes were like a tidal wave!

The Iron Man armor was forced back three steps by a single blow, with consecutive hits to the central seam, disrupting the rhythm of the covering attack!
Amidst the dust, Siming struggled to his feet, patted the rubble off his body, and forced a smile.

"Thanks."

“I knew it. With you all here, misfortune would not befall me.”

“This is really…” Zhuang Yege approached, shaking the copper bell in his hand. The spirits of the dead swirled around him, like smoke and shadows. “The gambler’s luck is off the charts.”

Behind him, a deeper whisper arose.

"The Tide of Death and Chaos, Begins."

The edge of the entire battlefield surged like a tidal wave.

The whispers of the dead awaken from the ashes, and countless lost souls slowly rise, like stars igniting the night sky.
It transformed into a veil covering the entire landscape, much like death itself, spreading out across this scorched earth.

The curtain of death.

Fall.

This apocalyptic struggle is frozen at the cusp of despair and hope.

Von Blanc stared at the scene, remaining silent for three seconds before suddenly bursting into a furious, ironic laugh.

"very good."

"Excellent!! Just what I wanted!"

"Let me show you the true ultimate form of the Arsenal Zero."

His roar stirred the depths of the furnace.

The rock formation in the center of the battlefield shattered instantly!
A war behemoth, over twenty meters tall, rose from the earth's core. Its steel structure resembled a castle, its limbs were recast with armor, and its core chest cavity was burning with dozens of life-patterned furnace cores!
That was von Blanc's last piece of equipment, and also his mad declaration about the course of the war:

"Ultimate Form, Hunter Argos - Full Power Unleashed."

boom! ! !
Flames, steel, and roars tore through the earth's core, sweeping in from all directions.

The final battle has truly begun.

boom--!
The moment Von Blanc roared and proclaimed "Liberation of Argos," the towering alloy behemoth in the core area of ​​the arsenal suddenly collapsed, its steel frame breaking, its structure twisting, and it swirling and collapsing into a massive vortex-like metal opening.

Scorching steam and crimson flames surged forth, and a mechanical storm swept in all directions.

A war machine, completely detached from human form, shattered the ground and slowly rose from the heart of the scorched earth.

Argos—

It is no longer "armor", much less "machine body".

It is a personified arsenal itself, the ultimate fusion of von Blanc's will and the crucible of war, a core of the war domain that is fully capable of self-reconstruction, self-evolution, and self-tactical generation.

It stands nearly twenty meters tall, its entire body composed of an alloy of black and silver interwoven with semi-mechanical flesh, resembling a god forged from metal.

In the center of his chest cavity, a two-meter-diameter "psychic furnace" burned with deep red runic flames, pulsating like a heartbeat, transmitting heat and radiation throughout his body.

Its shoulders have twin cannons that continuously spew steam, while its back is connected to two semi-transparent pulse energy tubes.

It resonates with the main control core of the outer battlefield from afar—it doesn't just exist in battle, it resonates with the entire arsenal.

Where it stands, the ground cracks like a spider web, and scorching energy climbs along the cracks and surges into the earth's veins.

"This is—an autonomous attack domain." Duan Xingzhou's eyes widened, and his expression changed drastically. "It—is not a single-target BOSS!"

"It is a war machine... capable of generating its own battlefield!"

“It means…” Si Ming scanned the entire room, his hand already resting on the deck of cards.

Lynn added in a low voice, "We're not fighting one person right now."

"Instead, we are attacking an 'arsenal that will fight back'."

“To be precise,” Natasha said swiftly as she reloaded, gritting her teeth and smiling, “it’s a country that kills people.”

boom!
Argos took his first step, and a six-cell missile launcher immediately popped out from his footing!

Six lightning-fast projectiles shot out, their target being the assault team where Si Ming was located!
"Separate!" Celian moved with lightning speed, leaping forward and tackling Lynn to the ground. The next second—

boom! ! !
The missile exploded on the spot, creating a giant shock wave with a diameter of more than ten meters!
Debris and flames tore through the air, blasting a scorched crater into the ground!
Before the smoke and dust had cleared, amidst the flames of war, a metal claw blade covered in runes burst forth from the fog!

Target: Lynn!
"Delusion!!"

Natasha brandished both guns, unleashing a burst of pink light!

"Crazy Girl Mode - Double the Passion!!" Bullets rained down on the metal claw joints, precisely severing its power transmission system and forcing it back half a step!

"Lynn! Don't stand still, back off!"

“…Hmm!” Lynn gritted his teeth, got up from the ground, and the card in his hand was already flashing with starlight.

【Life's Mysteries: The Gray Wolf of Mist Valley】

[Effect: Group protection]

Gray mist surged, and the wolf's shadow solidified. A half-solid gray wolf roared and leaped out in front of Lynn, blocking Argos's advance!
The battle has entered a truly frenzied rhythm!

Vera's wings unfurled once more, silvery holy flames encircling her Star of Reason, the remaining ashes on her wings swirling like star trails, reconnecting everyone to the chain of fate.

Zhuang Yege quickly occupied the left flank, and the copper bell suddenly rang, causing the undead to surge out like a tide, blocking the three "self-destructing secret skeleton puppets" released by Argos on the left!
"These are cannon fodder!" Zhuang Yege roared. "It will use sheer numbers and explosions to wear us down!"

"We can't hold out much longer!" Herman warned coldly as he mobilized the Blood Coffin Girls to provide shelter for the front lines.

"Then hurry up!" Siming threw out two playing cards!

Hearts—Burning!
Spades – Interference!
The two cards spun and crossed in the air, hitting the seam of Argos's shoulder cannon precisely!

"Lock it up for the next round of coverage fire!"

The gun barrel became unbalanced, forcing the second round of fire preparations to be halted!

Si Ming stared intently at the burning psionic core, his gaze as sharp as a hawk locking onto its prey.

"Its heart furnace."

"All the energy is concentrated there—we can only gamble once."

"Natasha! Prepare for simultaneous penetration!"

“Understood.” Natasha’s expression was grim as she reloaded her dual pistols and locked the thermal imaging cursor onto the center of the furnace.

"Target: The heart of military industry."

At the same time, Selene's red eyes suddenly lit up.

"Are you going to use that trick again?" she gritted her teeth. "You'll die."

Si Ming glanced sideways and smiled, his gaze as clear as the dawn.

"With you here—I won't die."

A gray star chart of fate appeared on the wrist of the God of Destiny.

It hangs in the air like a crown.

Starlight, like fine threads, spills into the palm of the God of Fate—fate begins to shift.

Luck was on their side from then on.

Blood is the spark of the oath.
The moon is a guide for the hunt.

When reason is extinguished, the true monster finally opens its eyes.

At that moment, the world seemed to have been muted.

The smoke of gunpowder lingered in the air, and the stench of blood and burning metal intertwined to create a symphony of purgatory. The wind seemed to stand still, and the cannon fire appeared to be holding its breath.

It was as if the battlefield itself was waiting for fate to reveal the next scene.

Then--

All the gods roared in unison.

Argos roared and rose higher, his chest pounding like thunder rolling across a mountain peak. Flames began to build again from the cannon muzzle on his shoulder, and the next wave of destruction was already upon him.

Si Ming has already embarked on the only path that fate has opened for him.

The gambler plays his card, the princess draws her sword, and in that instant, fate is torn open.

They want to uproot the heart of this war.

Under von Blank's control, the war factory roared and rebuilt in the distance, tracks tearing through scorched earth, gears snapping together like the fangs of a ferocious beast.

The ground trembled as if it were about to collapse into a volcano.

“Selian.” Si Ming spoke in a deep voice, his gaze falling on the elegant yet cruel red figure beside him.

The vampire girl turned her head, her red eyes slightly brightening, her fighting spirit rising like strong liquor.

"I know."

"Are you ready?" Siming asked.

“Of course.” She laughed, her smile filled with arrogance and a bloodthirsty sweetness. “If you want me to kill a god, I will tear His heart apart.”

The God of Fate raised his hand.

In his palm, the ninth Star of Reason slowly ignited!

Flame-shaped star patterns spread to the end of the life chart, the golden-red light like a final declaration.

He took a deep breath and sang softly:
"Echoes of the Contract - With the bond of blood and life, I awaken the slumbering shadows of the abyss."

[Bloodthirsty Wild Hunt - Princess Form] - Unsealed!
Seri exploded into a crimson blood mist!
The black skirt was torn apart by scorching flames, tumbling in the air before rapidly reforming into armor. The armor appeared to be forged from blood and bone, both alluring and sharp.

Her long hair transformed into scarlet flames, dancing wildly in the wind, and sharp claws that reflected the moonlight split from her fingertips.

Click, click, click!

Her vertebrae vibrated in a series of shocks as if unlocked, and a pair of jet-black blood wings emerged from her shoulder blades, swirling up a hurricane-like flow of blood.

She slowly opened her mouth, revealing fangs, and licked her lips with the tip of her tongue, as if choosing how to tear her enemy apart.

"Finally, we're back to this state..."

She chuckled softly, her voice hoarse yet alluring, "Truly, a pleasurable pain."

"It's not over yet."

She took out a card with a faint silver glow from the mysterious chain hanging on her chest.

【No. 47 World-type - Mid-tier】

Real name: Moonlit Flute Player

Domain Name: Moonlit Fanlou

She flicked her finger, and the card leaped into the air.

The card slowly unfolded in the sky, revealing a purple moon and silver runes spreading like ripples on water—a fictional Moonlight Tavern appeared out of thin air.

[Expanding the Domain: Yuehua Fanlou]

The moon sets, mist rises, and the realm descends!

The entire battlefield was instantly shrouded in thick fog, with moonlight spilling through it like a curtain.

The silvery moonlight shone on our allies, and the wounds on everyone's bodies began to heal at an extremely slow pace.

But to the enemy—an illusion has descended!
Fire, ice, drowning, falling off cliffs... each enemy soldier's vision presents its own unique nightmare.

Each tremor was accompanied by a heart-wrenching pain.

Zhuang Yege exclaimed softly, "This is her... secret world?"

Lynn was stunned for a moment, staring at the pavilion projection descending from the night sky. The flute music was like a dream, and the misty light was like silk. It was as if he had suddenly stepped into a stage with flowing light and echoing in the midst of the clamor of war.

And in the center of that stage, the only leading lady was—Selene, who had already become a mad hunter.

She suddenly flapped her wings and took flight, the wind scattering the moon mist!
Swish-!
A single claw tore through the defensive shield in front of Von Blanc!

As the flute blared, she charged straight at the heart of the battlefield like a ravenous beast!

“Damn it—!” von Blank roared, “You think this will work—”

boom! ! !
The ground trembles!

Siming's heart suddenly tightened!
Within the core of the distant arsenal, crimson energy began to surge!
Kakakaka——!
The spiral-shaped lifting platform on the ground ejected from the rupture in von Blanc's chest cavity, emitting a metallic shriek!
Immediately, the ground cracked open, and a giant honeycomb-like structure rose up, densely packed with metal slots and incubation chambers!
Von Blanc - High-Level Mystic Activation:

[Life System - Mysterious - Iron Ant Nest - Hatching!]

"What the hell is this..." Natasha cursed under her breath. She had just finished counting the ammunition when she suddenly raised her gun and retreated.

The ground looked as if it had been torn open like a ripped cloth!

The metal floor collapsed like a tide, and swarms of metal ants emerged!

They are terrifying in appearance, half mechanical and half flesh and blood, with forelimbs resembling sharp saws and mouthparts covered with serrated edges.
Its claws can cut through steel bars, and its tail spews out a toxic stream of acid and flame!

"Are they planning to drown us alive in this sea of ​​ants?!"

Zhuang Yege gritted his teeth and suddenly shook the copper bell in his hand, summoning the undead to fight off the ant swarm!
"These iron ants aren't the killing blow, they're the whetstone!" he growled. "They're going to use sheer numbers and fear to cripple our sanity!"

Herman summoned the Blood Coffin Girl at the front lines, and a blood mist enveloped the healing front: "We can't hold out much longer!"

Si Ming stood still, gazing at the torrent of iron ants surging forth like a steel hell, his expression suddenly turning cold and somber.

Playing cards appeared one by one between his fingers, light and fire intertwining, reflecting the indomitable light in his eyes.

It seems the real end is yet to come—

just began.

"When the last gear turned, the mechanical god opened its eyes."

And will you be able to finish counting the dice of fate before the first ant egg hatches?

(End of this chapter)