Dark Wizard: Rise! My undead army!

The Steel City.

The rioting crowd stopped what they were doing and looked up at the huge display screen in the center of the square.

Steam castle.

The factory workers put down their wrenches and stared at the old television screen on the wall.

Gear Town.

The crowd that was confronting the guards quieted down and looked at the television set in the shop window next door.

Furnace City.

In the darkness, holographic projections lit up the sky, illuminating tired and desperate faces.

Energy hub.

The crowd on the perimeter stopped their charge and looked up at the giant projection on the exterior wall of the government building.

There are also countless small towns, villages, and towns.

Everyone was watching the same scene.

In the scene, the old goblin in the golden robe stands on the balcony, with the magnificent palace behind him and a dark mass of people in front of him.

The emperor spoke.

The sound was amplified and broadcast throughout the square, and also through countless screens to the whole world.

"I know about that meteorite."

The crowd stirred again.

But this time, no one shouted, no one cursed, and everyone listened attentively.

"I've always known," the emperor said in a low voice, tinged with weariness.

"I knew it from the moment I first observed it three years ago."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the faces below.

"Why didn't I tell you?"

Someone opened their mouth as if to shout something, but no sound came out.

"What's the use of telling you?" The emperor's voice suddenly rose.

"Tell you, do you want to panic five years in advance? Do you want to spend eighteen hundred days and nights in fear? Do you want the entire empire to fall apart before the meteor arrives?"

"Have you thought about this?!"

He slammed his hand on the railing, his voice filled with anger and exhaustion that had been suppressed for three years:

"For the past three years, I haven't had a single good night's sleep! Every time I close my eyes, I see that meteorite crashing down!"

"Every time I see you laughing in the streets, working in factories, or taking care of your children at home, I think to myself, how many of these people will still be around in five years?!"

"You think it's easy to keep this from you? You think I want to be the villain?!"

The crowd fell silent.

In the square of the Steel City, a middle-aged goblin holding a sign slowly lowered his arm.

In the Steam Fortress factory, a young worker lowered his head, and the wrench in his hand fell to the ground.

On a street corner in Gear Town, an old woman who had just lost her son covered her mouth and wept silently.

The emperor took a deep breath and calmed his tone:

"I originally intended to wait for a technological breakthrough so that I could take all of you with me and leave."

"The success of Explorer is only the first step; manned interplanetary spacecraft is the second step; and colonizing new worlds is the third step."

His voice carried a hint of bitterness:

"Of course, it's very difficult. To achieve large-scale interstellar travel in just five years...it's extremely difficult."

"I know, you all know, everyone knows."

He raised his head and looked up at the sky.

It was empty; there was nothing there.

"But now... that 'god' has appeared."

In the picture, the emperor's profile appears exceptionally aged in the setting sun.

"I don't know if he is a true god." His voice was low, as if he were talking to himself.

"All I know is that his power far surpasses ours. He can tear through space, condense planets in the palm of his hand, render all our weapons ineffective, and make the most elite assassins kneel and commit suicide."

He paused for a moment, then lowered his voice:

"A person like that... no, a being like that, could kill us with the ease of turning his hand."

But he didn't.

The emperor turned around, looking at the countless faces below, at the countless eyes behind the camera, and his voice suddenly rose:

"He gave us all a choice!"

"Therefore, I hope that in this time of life and death, you will sincerely believe in that deity!"

"If he is the true God, if he can protect us, then we have a way to survive!"

He paused, his tone becoming even more resolute:

"But the Empire will not place all its hopes on others! The Explorer is about to return, and the manned spacecraft program will proceed as scheduled! I have ordered that all national resources be allocated to the space program!"

"If technology can take us away from here, then that's a way to survive!"

He took a deep breath, his voice booming like thunder:

"I don't care whether you believe in God or not, I'll only tell you one thing—"

"The goblin race will not be extinct!"

"As long as I reign, I will never allow the goblin race to be wiped out!"

"Now--"

He raised his hand, pointing to the square outside the palace, and to every goblin in front of countless screens.

"Those who wish to believe in God can go and pray! Those who wish to believe in science can go and support the research institute! Those who wish to curse me can continue to curse!"

"I have said what I needed to say!"

He turned around and strode back to the palace without looking back.

...

The Steel City.

In the center of the square, an old goblin with white hair was the first to kneel down.

"N'Zoth... Supreme God N'Zoth... Please protect us..."

The surrounding crowd was silent for a few seconds, and then more people knelt down.

Like dominoes, it spread outwards from the center of the square.

One after another, in one place after another, until finally the entire square was filled with a dark mass of goblins kneeling down.

Some people clasped their hands together, some touched their foreheads to the ground, and some were in tears.

But some people did not kneel.

The young goblins exchanged glances, then turned and walked quickly toward the research institute, as if they were in a hurry to do something.

Steam castle.

In the factory, a middle-aged foreman remained silent for a long time before bending down to pick up a wrench.

"What are you looking at? Get to work!" he roared, but his voice trembled.

The workers silently returned to their posts, and the machines started running again.

But everyone would occasionally look up at the television screen on the wall, which had returned to normal programming.

Gear Town.

The old woman who had just lost her son in the riots knelt on the street corner, her hands clasped together, her lips moving as she murmured the name she had just learned.

"N'Zoth... N'Zoth..."

People around her watched her; some knelt down as well, while others shook their heads and walked away.

Furnace City.

In the projection, the emperor's figure had disappeared, but those people were still staring blankly at the darkness.

Suddenly, someone shouted:

"Where are the power company workers? Go back to work! How can we conduct research without electricity!"

A few responses came from the darkness, followed by a flurry of footsteps.

Energy hub.

The crowd on the periphery began to disperse.

Some walked towards the temple, some towards the research institute, and some stood there in a daze, not knowing where to go.

But no one was trying to break down the gate anymore.

Inside the palace.

The emperor sat on his throne, and five ministers stood before him.

No one speaks.

After a long silence, the emperor spoke, his voice hoarse:

"How many people do you think will believe him?"

No one answered.

The emperor gave a wry smile and leaned back in his chair.

"Five years...two paths...god and technology..." he murmured, "which one will succeed?"

Outside the window, the setting sun is sinking below the horizon.

In the square outside the palace, some people were praying, some were leaving, some were embracing, and some were crying.

Two choices, two paths.

Five years from now, who will be alive?

Nobody knows.

But at least, they all tried to survive.