Forge a path to success.

Chapter 412 The Final Battle

"Love is the highest point."

Nothing can come above love.

Chu Hengkong fell into the bottomless abyss, listening indifferently to the voices from long ago.

The reason it is described as indifferent is because there is no emotion in the abyss. Memories, feelings, personality, and other elements belonging to the self are stripped away during the sinking, turning into one suspended bubble after another.

He had experienced something similar before, when he fell into the sea of ​​illusions. A life that falls into the third abyss becomes a fantasy, while a life that falls into the first abyss is lost in the past.

This is actually the rebirth process of every fallen person. Memories are purified, thoughts leave the body, and one sinks into the happiest and most painful times, gradually stripping away the self. Until at the deepest bottom of the abyss, something about the essence of life is suddenly twisted.

Then, everything that had been stripped away will be reclaimed. Those unchanged personalities and memories will be accommodated, and the new fallen will be complete. Even the elements that constitute the self are the same; the only difference is that something within has changed, transforming from a person into something else entirely.

The king altered the reincarnation ritual, casting others into his own abyss, thus transforming the fall of self-transformation into a fall of imprisonment. In this process, the self does not detach; he merely floats in an emotionless state, endlessly sinking into the memories of others.

Driven by memories. Suppressed by pain. Torn apart by struggle.

Unable to open eyes.

It's hard to breathe.

--No.

If there is anything powerful and insurmountable, it is the suffering of others. And when suffering becomes entangled with one's own past, the past becomes a vast quagmire. Knowing the situation, yet powerless to change it. Understanding the truth, yet unable to reverse it.

Unwilling to face the status quo, because looking at it won't change anything. Unwilling to move forward, because the future only leads to ruin. Mistakes pile up into more mistakes, there's no achievement in the spiral of self-denial, and a sense of powerlessness drives one to look back.

Thus, thoughts endlessly sink into the past, grasping at the few glimmers of light in memory as mere sparks of nothingness.

--wrong.

However, perhaps it is because men are inherently empty beings.

His indifferent state failed to affect his thinking. Emotions swirled within his empty heart, carrying regret, contradictions, and...

anger.

If you make a mistake, you must make amends. Ignoring it won't change anything. What good will running away do in the end?

—In the end, why didn't you tell me these things when you had so many opportunities?

Anger surged with his heartbeat, causing him to clench his cold fists. His blood raced, a fire burning somewhere within him; he struggled, trying to break free and fight back. He had experienced this countless times before, and he knew exactly how to act in moments like this.

Don't think about anything.

Driven by pure emotion.

Crossing the sea of ​​memories, swimming upstream. An empty body devoid of thought is not bound by gravity. Chu Hengkong's speed increased, he approached the surface, and saw Wang Quan's bewildered face on the other side.

The sea surface was instantly frozen by the black blood; the viscous, muddy flesh buried any possibility of exerting force. Chu Hengkong bit his fingertip, then threw a punch upwards. Time and again, he used his life force to shake the filthy seal. The black blood was burned by his burning blood, and a momentary gap appeared on the sea surface. Pale blue specks of light seized the opportunity to fall, bringing with them a familiar voice.

"—Ah Kong!"

"I'm here!"

He grasped the radiance, grasped the staff of spiritual power. And so the tainted gravity receded, the world expanded in an instant, and he left the sea and soared into the sky!

His spirit returned to his body, a suffocating pain mingling with his suffering. The murky sky, the demonic laughter, the pervasive stench of filth, and the stench of flesh and blood carried on the howling wind awakened memories from not long ago. He remembered: the king's trump card, the army of the fallen, the desperate front line about to be swallowed up—he was now within the gaping maw of the Black Moon!

Chu Hengkong sat up abruptly, meeting a pair of deep blue eyes. Violet knelt beside him, staring intently at him, her anxiety still lingering in her eyes.

“You’ve made me worry,” she said.

"Sorry, the enemy's methods are too insidious. You know I'm not good at dealing with dirty tricks." Chu Hengkong scratched his head. "Now... what's the situation?"

He thought he was doomed, after all, falling into such a godforsaken place surrounded by a bunch of high-quality demons and monsters, he'd be lucky to even have a whole corpse. But it turns out he not only survived but was also rescued by the boss, who judged from the surroundings that they were still in the abyss's maw. Forget surviving, the fact that the boss could find him was already unbelievable.

Vilbert pulled a small white flower from her shirt pocket, its petals emitting a soft glow. He suddenly remembered and pulled out an identical flower as well. It was the medal they had been given when they first met Old Thorn.

Chu Hengkong reacted and looked down. They were sitting on the steel deck, the sharply shaped warship resembling a javelin, bathed in the protective glow of green light. A giant hand pierced through the tunnel, like a colossal pillar reaching into the deep sea, firmly gripping the steel ship.

Those are the palms of the Divine Tree of Unity. The tree spreads its wings and flies into the sky, carving out a path of hope for them!

"Our city-state will not forget its heroes." Old Jing Sha's hearty laughter rang out. "So, children? Will you return to the city-state, or continue onward!"

Chu Hengkong and Violet exchanged a glance and smiled at each other.

"I'm sorry, this is a personal matter between us."

"We don't have the habit of giving up halfway!"

Old Thorn Sha mustered its strength and hurled the ship towards the abyss. Its blessing mingled with the green light: "Then set sail! To the final battlefield!"

The warships accelerated with divine power, like gleaming javelins thrown at the black moon. Chu Hengkong moved his body vigorously, stimulating his spine with his back muscles. They all felt the gaze from behind; the deity about to enter the battlefield was turning around.

“That’s how self-righteous old people are, spoiling their children and allowing mistakes to happen,” Yu Yin Nu said coldly. “This operation cannot afford to fail. Karatifor, you go yourself.”

"Okay, Mom!"

The abyssal worm responded gleefully, its massive body slithering toward the warship. That was a genuine deity, an ancient being born of the Black Moon; the methods of the Second Abyss were utterly meaningless to it. In an instant, the two felt a chilling cold. Whatever the future held, before this deity, they now faced only death.

Therefore, they resorted to their last resort.

A red light flashed in Chu Hengkong's eyes. Before the abyss worms moved, at the moment he stretched his back, a distress signal had been launched through the gap created by the thorns. The signal drifted across the chaotic battlefield, and was picked up by the prepared machinery due to the similarity of the information. It easily identified the source of the signal: an imperial soldier who should have died not long ago.

"Commander, we have received a distress signal from Immortal S-987572. A large number of Fallen units have been detected. The exact coordinates of the Black Moon Warp Portal have been provided."

"Move out as planned," Zhan Shuai said.

Its orders were instantly transmitted to every unit under its command, and all the real machines completed their preparations as planned. The anti-contamination barrier was activated, the anti-gravity armor was armed, and the mental coordinates of the entire force were integrated and transmitted upwards, handed over by the adjutant to the supreme leader of the Eastern Theater Command.

It departed the celestial sphere, cleaving space, and disparate coordinates converged under the divine power. Then, pure white lightning flashed from the abyss's gaping maw, opening a warp portal, and the steel giant descended amidst the lightning!
It was the culmination of power and rationality, a flawless and invincible perfect machine. Its body was pure white, its super-strong armor forming a majestic torso, its furnace-shaped perpetual motion machines forming solid shoulders, and its autonomous floating cannons arranged like wings behind its shoulder armor, each hand having a cannon muzzle emitting a dazzling light. Its face was completely covered by armor, with only the monitors appearing as deep sea blue due to its mental power.

That was the only anomaly among the true machines; its appearance heralded destruction and death. The Abyss Worm's laughter vanished instantly, its voice trembling with fear: "Mother, no... It's Eternal Calamity! It's the Eternal Calamity!!"

It is the mechanical deity who holds the principle of "eternity," the highest authority under the emperor, the perfect crystallization of imperial technology, and the world's most recognized contemporary god.

Godly War General - Eternal Calamity!
The abyss's maw was illuminated by light, and the True Machine army leaped out through the passage opened by the Eternal Calamity. All weapons were activated at maximum power, delivering a crushing blow to the unsuspecting Fallen army from the rear. In just one second, the Fallen forces suffered losses exceeding 35.6%. Lord Burning River watched the results with satisfaction; this was the reward for its meticulously prepared battle plan.

“侦测到Z-3000-1号特殊特异点正在维持深渊召唤，2号、3号特异点将在38秒后与其接触。请指示。”

The Eternal Calamity turned around, its gaze meeting the eyes of the two people on board. This was their first formal meeting, and both imprinted the other's figure in their minds. Chu Hengkong and Violet remembered its power, while the Eternal Calamity remembered their gaze.

Weak and ignorant, yet full of unwavering confidence in victory.

It withdrew its gaze and issued a request to the mainland: "In order to maintain the normal progress of the experiment and ensure the long-term survival of the imperial truth, we hereby declare a full-scale war against all the fallen forces in the Eastern Theater."

The emperor in the distant capital sent his reply: [Agreed]

“3001/08/08，05:32:12。开始东部战区沉沦者歼灭战。”永劫号下令，“为帝国真理而战！”

Its steel fist instantly smashed through the abyss worm, carrying the worm's massive body to the other side of the passage. Before the Jade Maiden could recover from her panic, the perpetual motion machines on its shoulders spun rapidly, summoning the eternal lightning that would slaughter gods!

"Hahaha!" The old man in the distance laughed loudly. "I thought only we were willing to gamble everything, but I didn't expect the Empire to lose patience this time as well. It seems they really care about Earth."

He swung his cane and asked with a smile, "So, what is it for you?"

Not far away, a warrior in tattered armor was sharpening his sword. His face was completely wrapped in bandages, and he looked like a bandit who had wandered into a battlefield.

Chongming sneered, "Even the new recruits are on the field, how can I, their superior, have the face to stand by and watch!"

The old man's smile grew increasingly eerie; his form melted away, revealing a terrifying, inhuman appearance. An unobservable darkness was eroding reality, and Chongming stepped into it. He drew his sword, unleashing a withered flame that cleaved through the night.

"Get this over with! Settle this score and don't look back!"

His shouts traveled a great distance, reaching the assassin's ears. Chu Hengkong laughed upon hearing this, standing at the very front of the deck, facing the overwhelming darkness and malice.

The warships accelerated further, carrying an indomitable spirit. They were rapidly approaching the depths of the abyss, the surrounding environment a chaotic blur, with no discernible landmarks, like the indistinct grayness of a half-awake state.

While Vilbert was busy manipulating the Millennium Bug, she casually asked, "Is that the Lord of the Broken Heart?"

"Yes, our old superior who led us in the Heavenly Prison."

“I see. I was wondering what made you so sure that Miss Guangshi’s plea for help would bring reinforcements.”

"Because he's a very loyal man."

Qingye's plea for help received a handwritten reply from the Fate Master. Since Chongming had given his approval, he would never stand idly by. The Fate Master of Remnant Heart was that kind of man; even if he was covered in wounds, he would fight to the death on the battlefield, let alone now.

Chu Hengkong remained calm. He knew his side had done its best, and all that remained was a battle. He waited patiently for his boss to finish his work, while observing the warship beneath his feet. The ship was quite imposing; its broad, heavy deck reminded him of the aircraft carriers of past military superpowers. Religious-style reliefs adorned its silver-white armor, and rows of cannons lined both sides of the hull in neat, uniform rows, like window lattices between buildings.

The bridge at the stern of the warship resembled a steel castle, topped with three Gothic spires. From above, he would have thought his boss had installed a cathedral on the ship. Such a design didn't fit her practical aesthetic; he figured it must have another purpose.

"Nice warship." He made conversation. "Boss, I think your taste has improved."

Vilbert smiled and said, "It's my Boundary Wheel. When I was designing it, I thought you would really like this style, so I made it a bit exaggerated."

"So you were planning to bring this thing to Earth and blow this country bumpkin's mind?"

“No, I originally planned to use this to eliminate any potential enemies, and then pretend to be a ghost to come back to life and find you alone,” Vilbert said. “After all, you’re too proud, and you’ll be very uncomfortable seeing me become stronger.”

Am I such a narrow-minded man?

"You are."

"Okay, I might be." Chu Hengkong touched his nose. "Listen, boss..."

“This is our battle,” Violet interrupted him. She turned and stared into the assassin’s eyes.

“Akong, I know very well that you have a special sense of responsibility towards the royal power, just as you firmly believe that you must protect me. But I must point out that this battle is not just a personal grudge between you. It carries the hatred of my father and family, and I must settle this blood debt with it.”

She touched the badge on her chest, the symbol of the caduceus gleaming.

“If fate truly exists in this world, then this is the moment when fate comes to an end. I must give it my all, even if it means putting my own life at risk, I will not allow myself to hide behind you. I was deeply moved when you said you would never let me get hurt—but this time, even if I am seriously injured or even die, I must go to the battlefield. I beg you to focus all your energy on defeating the enemy, and not to be distracted by me.”

Looking at her earnest expression, Chu Hengkong was momentarily reminded of the young and stubborn girl from many years ago. He asked, "Why, Violet? What makes you think I no longer need to protect you?"

“I have many other methods that I haven’t had time to explain to you, but the battle is imminent. Therefore, I can only ask you to believe me,” Wilbert said. “Believe that I am now capable of standing by your side.”

Chu Hengkong smiled slightly and patted her shoulder.

"I'll always trust you, because you're my boss."

Without needing further words, they understood each other's resolve and how to face the upcoming battle. Ten seconds later, Wilbert finished her work, explaining that she had used information and memory to visually translate the environment, allowing them to penetrate the battlefield and observe their surroundings.

That was a space with only two colors.

A pure white sky, and a murky black sea.

A white-haired youth stood at the horizon, gazing up at the increasingly clear moon in the sky. He scratched the back of his head in distress, without turning around.

"After all this time, you still don't seem to understand what 'giving up' means."

Chu Hengkong asked the question calmly, just like when his friends had discussed things a long time ago.

"Are you ready?"

"I'm available anytime!"

It turned around, two daggers flashing in its hands, a gentle smile on its face.

"Then let's begin. The long-awaited final battle. Let's end everything that belongs to the Blood Alliance!"

(End of this chapter)