Forge a path to success.

Chapter 418 The war ends
The world of black and white shattered silently, and the gigantic maw that occupied the sky above the battlefield decayed, dissolving into large swaths of black blood that fell to the earth.

The gravitational pull of the celestial body vanished because the "love" that sustained its power was gone. Without love, there is no power; without love, there is no meaning. Even though the black moon has become a reflection covering the sky, it ultimately failed, isolated in the depths of space by the collapsed passage.

The moon's shadow that had shrouded the battlefield vanished, but the sounds of the stars echoed from the distant sky. The Cradle of Oblivion trembled violently, billions of fleshy tentacles raging across the moon's surface, venting its grief and rage. Those tentacles carved deep, scarred furrows into the lunar surface, causing the blood of the gods to spurt out and disperse into the deep space.

The beloved goddess of the Dark Moon has died, and the First Abyss is plunged into grief over her passing.

The shadow of the black moon gradually faded, and the battlefield high in the sky was illuminated by lightning. High above, beyond the sight of ordinary people, another battle also came to an end.

"No, no! Mom, go away!"

The hideous and morbid abyssal worm, struck by countless bolts of lightning, was incinerated by the extinguishing white light. The steel giant swung its fist, shattering the heart and ending the vile life. The will that constituted the god was disintegrated by the light, and the matter that made up the body was thrown into a perpetual motion machine. The god who controlled plague was crushed by absolute power, and turned into a wisp of smoke.

The Jade Maiden had already flown far away. Gone was the composed demeanor she had displayed upon her descent; now, covered in blood and utterly wretched, she bore no resemblance to her divine status. She cried out towards the distant battlefield, "The plan has failed! Even the divine child is dead! What are we still doing here? Waiting for everyone to perish together, to hasten the demise of this world?"

Suddenly, the benevolent old man appeared before her and helped the hysterical woman to her feet. His round belly had been ripped open by a slash, and foul-smelling organs kept falling out of the wound. He casually closed the wound and licked the bloodstains on his palm.

"Poor child! From the very beginning, he was confused about the direction of love, and once he realized his true feelings, there was no turning back. Even if he comes to the moon, the pain will be the same." The old man sighed deeply. "It seems that this time we cannot fulfill the moon's wish. Children, come here..."

"Let's go home."

He took out the large bag used for distributing gifts and gathered Yu Yin Nu and all the fallen ones in the arena into it. Before the next wave of attacks arrived, he faded into the dissipating moonlight.

Whether righteous, heretical, or from the abyss, no one wants to prematurely escalate the conflict. Each side has its own objectives, and if this battle fails, they will decisively retreat, leaving it for another attempt. No one feels any burden about this.

In any case, war will never disappear; only darkness awaits in the near future.

Not far away, the Eternal Calamity withdrew its power and landed on the mothership's deck. It immediately reported and recorded the events.

“3001/8/8，06:12:04，确认第一深渊势力撤退，同时间，确认S-003号盈月圣子‘疫病’死亡。确认Z-3000-1号特殊特异点死亡。”

"Data collection complete. First special singularity contact experiment completed. The battle is officially over."

The Eternal Calamity did not issue a pursuit order, but silently watched the Benevolent One depart. The Lord of the Broken Heart did not glance at the fleet; if the prototypes described him, they would say he was a very loyal man. In this battle, the Empire had sided with the city-state in the outcome, so even if it had the resources, it would never intervene.

Lord Ranhe came up behind it: "You have killed another god, and the power of the First Abyss has been severely damaged as a result. This can be described as one of the greatest achievements in nearly a hundred years. Please allow me to draft a report for you and exaggerate my contributions in the pre-battle preparations, otherwise the Source War General may dismiss me."

“Permission granted,” Eternal said. “The number of Ascendants of mass 4 and above will gradually increase.”

"Preliminary calculations suggest an increase of over 35%... After all, the First Abyss lost a significant amount of combat power this time, which will weaken the Cradle's gravitational pull as a result."

The war commander issued the retreat order, and the mothership turned around and sailed smoothly towards the base, leaving the ancient divine tree behind. The two true mechanics stood silently for a moment, then Ranhe turned back to look at the divine tree.

"War Master, if we follow my pre-battle plan of version 45 and strike 18 minutes after the Fallen enter the field, we can achieve more results."

“Your calculations are correct,” said the Eternal Calamity. “But you know better than I do that the City-State of Thorns helped the Empire long ago.”

The beam of spiritual energy that formed the Burning River rippled slightly. Gazing at the receding city-state, it recalled a story its parents had told it long, long ago, when it was still a giant. Back then, its father was also a foolish little giant, carrying a large bundle and following the army, hiding and fleeing. His Majesty said he had foreseen that there was hope for survival in a distant city-state, so they ran desperately towards that great tree…

“Yes, that was a long time ago,” it said.

Behind the departing Imperial fleet, the Divine Tree of Unity fell back to earth, gradually disintegrating into five major veins. The Sea of ​​Corrupted Light had receded, and Lavaiva had retreated to the Spiral Tower two minutes earlier. The giant wolf that had been gnawing at the tree roots had also vanished, fleeing back to the ocean with its wounds all over.

The city-states, clinging to life amidst death, went even further, rendering any further fighting pointless. They would ponder deeply over that old book, and soon send out even more forces in an attempt to alter their fate.

But that will be a matter for the future. The current battle is over, and the warriors can finally put down their weapons for the time being.

"It's finally over!" Trek exclaimed.

The battle grew increasingly chaotic towards the end, and even he, the commander-in-chief, was thrown out of the city-state to help manage local skirmishes. Right now, he's propping his wooden spear aside, sipping wine from the wounded soldiers. The city lord and his daughter, whom he hadn't seen for some time, are offering words of comfort, while the rest of the recruits lie sprawled on the ground, utterly disrespectful.

"I'm going to die, I'm going to die, if this keeps going, I'm really going to die..." Qingye's voice was barely audible.

“Much easier than in the wilderness,” Shakes commented.

"Relax my foot! How many gods of light have come this time! I'm so nervous just looking at this situation I feel like throwing up!" Vande protested.

Gulibo raised a small white flag: "Even if the gods lose, it's not like we lost... The thought of us all dying together if we lose makes me not nervous at all..."

"Gulibo, do you know your brain is getting more and more muddled? You've been assimilated by this godforsaken place!"

Qingxia stretched lazily, and just then, she saw a familiar figure flash across the horizon. She cupped her arms around a megaphone and shouted into the sky, "Here! Commander Chongming, we're here!"

The figure on the horizon paused noticeably, and Ji Huaisu fanned the flames: "Don't go, Commander Chongming, we all miss you!"

"You all think destiny and the tides of fate are bullshit?"

Chongming appeared, looking annoyed, and immediately launched into a tirade. Fan De remained unfazed: "I've already had enough bad luck, it doesn't matter anymore..."

Ji Huaisu rubbed his hands together and stepped forward, his face beaming with smiles: "Oh, Commander Chongming, we still have two soldiers who are missing. Could you perhaps use our past relationship to help them out..."

"Plenty of people will worry about it, he won't die!" Chongming sneered.

Since the person in charge said he wouldn't die, then everything must be alright. Everyone was finally completely relieved and could lie down on the ground and start doing nothing.

Guang Shimingwu approached, holding a wine cup, and said with a smile, "Sir, Jing Sha still needs time to recover after the battle. If the outsiders take advantage of the situation, we may suffer losses. It's just time for Ji Dao to return to the island. I intend to bring my family members to assist in guarding Jing Sha until the overall situation stabilizes. I wonder..."

Chongming waved his hand dismissively, as if shooing away flies: "It's your family's business, you decide!"

The old man beamed, "Then it's settled." Ji Qiufeng chimed in, "The Martial Venerable takes the world as his responsibility; he truly is a role model for us martial artists!"

Qingye had just lain down when she heard this and jumped up: "Wait, wait, wait!! Patriarch, please allow me to say something. The Martial Venerable of the Blade has never been interested in politics. If neither you nor the Guangshi family are here, then Shura Island—"

Chongming glanced at her: "What happened to Shura Island?"

Qingye trembled: "The situation on Shura Island might be a little bad..."

"A bunch of useless trash, just kill them!"

The Lord of the Broken Heart cursed and disappeared. Qingye felt a chill run down her spine and found the patriarch pressing her head affectionately, his strong voice sounding like the sinister laughter of a vengeful ghost.

"Qingye, I remember you've always had a dream of pacifying the island, haven't you..."

"I...I...I..." Qingye stammered, "I am!"

"Isn't this your opportunity?" Mingwu encouraged patiently. "Work hard with your friends!"

Everyone laughed and turned to leave, while Qingye slid to the ground like a dead eel. Vande poked at her with his tentacles and announced, "She will probably go west before Shura Island."

"Go to hell, you stinky squid!!"

The half-dead, cheerful friends immediately started fighting. Ji Qiufeng skillfully ignored the younger generation's antics and walked over to the sighing Trek.

"The battle has been won, so why are you sighing?"

"Fighting is easy, but building is hard. How many days and nights will it take to repair the houses that collapsed in these few hours of fighting?" Trek said with a worried look. "Just thinking about the post-war reconstruction and the formal election process gives me a headache."

“It’s much better to give the citizens of the city-state something to do than to just talk all day long,” Ji Qiufeng said. “If I were you, I would regret the war even more.”

"Our city-state has survived by the skin of its teeth and won a great victory. What is there to regret?"

Ji Qiufeng countered, "Isn't it a pity that the culprit who weakened the city-state fled after being defeated?"

Trek stroked his chin, a meaningful smile on his face.

"I have discussed this matter with Lord Jing Sha, and we both feel that these are extraordinary times... so we might as well use some extraordinary measures!"

·
Near the surface of the Sea of ​​Illusions, a cowardly demon races frantically towards the depths, fearing it might be even a fraction too slow.

The outermost edge of the ocean is always littered with corpses. A failed landing or a war between the strong can reduce countless weak demons to nothing. Usually, the lucky ones who survive these calamities would rise to the surface to devour the corpses and grow stronger. But this time, almost all the demons are hiding like the cowardly demons, afraid to make even the slightest sound.

That sea already had a master. A being a million times stronger than them lay atop the mountain of corpses, devouring the bodies of its own kind. The sound of its devouring was like the groan of the mountains, and smoke-like blood flowed from its wounds, staining the illusory sea.

"You old bastard... just you wait...!"

Furudan howled angrily.

"The long imprisonment is finally over, and I now know the secret you hid for Twilight. Next time, it won't be such a trivial matter. After I crush that hateful traitor, I will tear your heart apart!"

"Are you calling me, Lord Chaos?"

Before I knew it, the chaotic smoke gradually dissipated.

A bright light shone on the sea, and blue flames ignited within. A man in a white tuxedo stood before the mountain of corpses, politely removing his hat from the chaos.

Chaos grinned maliciously at the enemy who had been delivered right to his mouth: "You actually dared to come over here, Kanin!"

“I am a reasonable businessman, and he was my former boss, so I should come to see him one last time.” Kanin smiled. “I know what you’re going to say. I was too greedy, too arrogant. It was just a minor fatal wound, yet I thought I could devour a god. You are absolutely right, and I have no objection to that.”

"But as you know, I am, after all, a demon."

"This is what we demons are naturally like, isn't it?"

Furudan's expression changed, for suddenly more eyes were being cast upon it. The demons that had been hiding at the bottom had quietly risen to the surface, their gazes timid and cowardly, yet filled with an ambition that did not belong to them.

It suddenly remembered something: this generation's ambition had previously made a deal with the weaker demons. They gave them food and space to move around in exchange for a "favor".

The devil's deal is a contract.

The eyes of those weak demons burned with the fire of ambition.

"Since we have the hope of devouring the flesh and blood of the gods, what harm is there in fighting to the death!"

The demons, corrupted by ambition, swarmed in. Frudan roared in fury. Kanin put his top hat back on, his smile vanished, and he uttered the last words the god would ever hear.

"I hate calling people 'Master' the most."

·
And so, the last ripples vanished in the tide.

The story concludes with the birth of a new god, "Love," and the deaths of two old gods, "Plague" and "Chaos."

The Battle of Jingsha for Independence has come to an end.

(End of this chapter)