Cataclysm: Undead Dragons and Zero Empire

Chapter 96 The Great Purge

When the Death Clerks entered the meeting hall and announced the dissolution of the debate, Jacob and Isaac both knew that the debate had eventually reached Terence's ears.

Both men knew that Lord Terence and General Howard would not stand idly by and watch the conflict between the two factions escalate indefinitely. However, they did not expect the two leaders to be so impatient and to suppress the conflict so suddenly.

After the debate ended, Jacob led a group of sorcerers away from the Ark space station and returned to the Moon Temple, his aged face turned towards the moon, which was getting closer and closer outside the window.

He didn't think his beliefs were wrong. Abandoning flesh and blood, pursuing eternity, and following in the footsteps of the Lord—isn't this the most devout faith?

However, Lord Terence did not stand up for the sorcerers and even stopped the debate. Does this mean that the lord does not agree with his ideas?

Meanwhile, Isaac returned to the laboratory in the Ark space station and locked himself in a room filled with formulas, blueprints, and calculation models. However, he couldn't seem to get the ideas that had been growing vigorously. Lord Terence's attitude made him feel uneasy.

Just as Jacob's transfer plane landed on the moon and Isaac closed the laboratory door, countless Death Knights dressed in black robes and Death Knights wearing the "Hand of the Flame" emblem simultaneously sprang into action.

In an underground temple on the far side of the moon, several sorcerers, who had not accompanied Jacob to the debate, were sitting around the altar, talking in hushed tones, their faces filled with fanaticism and resentment.

"Lord Terence is too conservative! His hesitation will only delay the future of human civilization. He is clearly the only representative of the Lord on earth, yet he is reluctant to lead us onto the path of truly following the Lord! Flesh and blood are weak, machines are eternal; we cannot give up like this!"

The leading sorcerer slammed his fist on the stone table. "Isaac and his gang of mages are utterly foolish! They have committed a grave sin of blasphemy against the authority of the Lord!"

"And what about Howard? A warrior who only knows how to fight, what makes him worthy of sitting in the position of human leader?"

"What's more, he has never publicly offered his faith to the Lord! He's a dictator!" another sorcerer said through gritted teeth.

"So, according to you, Lord Terence isn't being unreasonable? Only he can communicate with the Lord, monopolizing the channels of communication! Why should the Lord's will be conveyed only by him? We are also believers of the Lord, and we are also entitled to hear the Lord's divine pronouncements!"

"I think Lord Terence and Howard have long forgotten the Lord's teachings and our original intentions!"

The third person was even more radical, pointing the finger at both of humanity's current leaders: "We can't wait any longer! We must stand up and expose their cowardice, incompetence, and betrayal to all believers! We must call on all devout believers to overthrow their rule and lead humanity onto the path of truly following the Lord!"

Their voices grew increasingly excited, and some even began drafting declarations, as if they could already see themselves raising their arms and calling out, with countless believers responding, ultimately ascending to the pinnacle of power.

Just then, the gate to the underground temple was suddenly shattered by a burst of psychic power. Amidst the flying debris, several Death Cult priests led soldiers of the Death Cavalry into the temple, their black robes fluttering in the wind as they were fueled by psychic energy.

"Using the name of the Lord to mislead believers and attempt to subvert civilized order, the evidence is conclusive, and they plead guilty and accept punishment!"

The sorcerers turned deathly pale instantly. They tried to unleash their psionic energy to fight back, but they were no match for these "Black Knights," like a boulder against a mountain.

Their bodies were firmly held in place by psychic energy, maintaining a kneeling posture to allow blood to flow to their brains; otherwise, forcibly breaking free would only result in watching their spines detach from their bodies.

They watched helplessly as the priests and soldiers approached, their eyes filled with fear and despair. "You—how could you—" The leading sorcerer's voice trembled, but before he could finish speaking, he was struck in the chest by a psychic force and instantly passed out.

The priests took out shackles that could block psychic energy and bound the conspirators tightly, dragging them out of the underground temple.

These conspirators often saw that neither Terence nor Howard had a strong desire for power, and that the Lord rarely interfered in human affairs, which gave rise to unwarranted ambitions.

Taking advantage of the ideological conflict between the two factions, they incite public opinion in an attempt to overthrow the current ruling order of human civilization, satisfy their own desire for power, and even go so far as to fabricate so-called "divine pronouncements" in the name of God to bewitch believers, turning their devout faith in God into a tool for their power struggles.

This touches upon Terrence's absolute bottom line.

The same scene was playing out simultaneously in every corner of the galaxy, without the slightest hesitation or delay, swift and decisive, like a tornado sweeping through, cleansing away the filth and leaving behind a vast expanse of pure white.

In the underground city, a sorcerer who spread extremist rhetoric and incited believers against Howard and Terence was arrested from his residence by the Death Knights. In the orbital mining station, a magician who was conducting a trial run of "law" on tens of thousands of miners was suppressed by the Death Knights with psychic energy, and the rebels were killed on the spot.

Jacob and Isaac, as leaders of the divine sorcerer and magician factions respectively, although not directly involved in the conspiracy, bear undeniable responsibility for the escalation of the conflict between the two factions due to their poor management of their subordinates.

The two were relieved of their duties and taken to the temple prison by the Death Cult priests, where they would await the Lord's will and the final judgment.

The purge lasted all night on the planet, and a large number of divine mages and sorcerers, as well as civilians involved in the incitement, were arrested, their files stamped with bright red seals.

This operation precisely targeted each individual, demonstrating a long-planned and well-prepared strategy. No innocent person was wrongly accused, and no malicious individual was let off the hook.

Might makes right, and any large-scale conflicts that occurred throughout the process were suppressed by violence. As the first rays of dawn pierced the atmosphere and shone on the frozen ground, Howard issued an official statement.

This veteran, who had spent his life in the military, wearing the pistol that had accompanied him for half his life, appeared on the screen, in the eyes of everyone who temporarily put down their work, speaking to all of human civilization: "I am Howard Jones."

"Last night, the Death Knights and Death Clerics worked together to arrest a group of extremists who intended to subvert the order of human civilization and incite internal divisions."

Howard's gaze swept across the camera, as if meeting the eyes of everyone watching the statement. "Human civilization has come this far, surviving one catastrophic disaster after another, thanks to unity and resilience. From the blood and fire of corporate wars to the earth-shattering earthquakes, we have climbed out of disasters hand in hand, and finally have the opportunity to set foot on the vast starry sky that we have looked up at for countless years."

His voice suddenly became louder, carrying the unique strength and force of a soldier, even though he was getting old. "Some people want us to abandon our flesh and blood as human beings. Behind immature technology are unpredictable ethical disasters and risks. We must not gamble with the future of the entire human civilization."

"Someone wants to create a set of laws," to build a world with concrete rules, while we have always been committed to studying the laws of psychic energy, perfecting psychic theory, and promoting the popularization of psychic energy. We must not use a rigid set of rules to stifle infinite possibilities."

Howard sealed away all these immature theoretical proposals, listing them as "taboo" matters, until human technology developed enough to thoroughly study them and the time came to choose the future.

"I hereby declare that the destiny of human civilization should follow our own correct path, and should not be hijacked by ambitious individuals. Any thought or extreme behavior that attempts to tear human civilization apart is an attack on the path of human civilization's development."

Howard stated unequivocally, "We will show absolutely no leniency or indulgence towards these traitors to human civilization; they will face the fairest judgment."

Those arrested will face trial, allowing every human being to see their crimes clearly. Howard knows that most of them will face the same death sentence. At the end of the statement, Howard's gaze softened, and he paused for a moment before continuing, "Fellow countrymen, the future of human civilization has only just begun. The road ahead will inevitably be filled with trials and tribulations, and countless unknown dangers, but there is no future we cannot reach."

May humanity endure forever.