Spellcasting Gods

"Hahahaha! My God! This icy touch! Absolute obedience! It's simply the ideal soldier in every commander's mind! Unbelievable! My master actually gave me 20,000 in one go!" Kerwin laughed uncontrollably as he stroked the construct's hard outer shell.

I can't help but laugh!

With such an army as a foundation, he was not only confident in destroying the expeditionary force sent by the kingdom, but also in capturing fortified castles and expanding his territory tenfold or a hundredfold.

"My lord! Please give me a thousand steel golems, and I will be willing to be the vanguard of the army, eliminating all enemies that stand in your way." Baron Kelanster was the first to kneel down and volunteer for the battle.

Ever since he stormed into his enemy's house and slaughtered all of his blood relatives, he had completely joined Kerwin's camp, becoming the tyrant's accomplice and henchman, and even enjoying the pleasure of killing.

"Relax, my dear Baron. We now have enough leverage. It's time to abandon our cautious plans and go all out. Summon everyone for a military conference. I'm going to crush the royal family and take their place in one fell swoop." Kerwin curled his lips into a sinister smile, as if he could already see the magnificent scene of this steel army suddenly appearing on the battlefield and utterly crushing the kingdom's forces.

After all, the most important rule for winning a war is to strike unexpectedly and catch the enemy off guard, launching an attack where the enemy least expects it, before they are ready.

It was foreseeable that, due to information asymmetry, the generals sent by the royal family could never have imagined that they would encounter 20,000 invulnerable steel golems in a remote western province, so their defeat was destined from the start.

Now, the only thing to consider is how to maximize the results of the battle, annihilate as many enemy troops as possible, and break the kingdom's backbone in one fell swoop, so that it will never dare to engage in a direct confrontation again.

Otherwise, if we miss this opportunity, it will be difficult to find another chance for such a large-scale field battle.

Even the most foolish general wouldn't be so stupid as to let flesh and blood collide head-on with steel; that would be no different from suicide.

"As you wish!"

Baron Calanter bowed with one hand on his chest, then quickly turned to inform his colleagues.

……

It must be said that after a series of iron-fisted reforms, Kerwin concentrated almost all the power in his own hands. The biggest advantage of centralization is that it eliminates endless squabbles and can concentrate resources and power in one place as quickly as possible.

In less than half an hour, in the castle's main hall, a dozen or so confidants, or vassals who had rendered military service during the expansion, gathered together to begin a heated discussion on how to lure the kingdom's army into a suitable battlefield and then wipe them out in one fell swoop.

No one knew that their supposedly secret military meeting was being magnified on a magic mirror.

Admiring the flawed ideas and schemes of these native creatures, Zhang Cheng couldn't help but shake his head with a smile and sigh, "How foolish! How shallow! How ignorant! I can't believe I actually chose such a group of low-IQ creatures as my agents."

"Heh, don't be so sarcastic. Do you really expect these creatures, still on the edge of savagery and civilization, to see through the past, present, and future of the entire universe like you and I do? No, even those advanced civilizations that have entered the interstellar age don't understand what the universe means to them," Gru said with a meaningful wave of his forelimbs.

After completing the release of the egg, he returned to the tower and observed what his new kin was doing every day. Occasionally, they would gather together to exchange their views on life, race, civilization, society, order, religion, and ethics.

The only thing they kept silent about was the use of energy and rules.

Because they all know that it won't be long before these things become clear in the game.

Instead of just talking, let's get straight to the point and test who's better.

Zhang Cheng nodded thoughtfully: "Perhaps you're right! Limited by their perspective and technological level, most intelligent life forms are bound to their home planet by gravity throughout their lives, and some have never even left their birthplace by more than twenty kilometers. In their eyes, their birthplace is the whole world, and places further away exist only in various outlandish legends and stories. Under such circumstances, ignorance, stupidity, and stupidity are the norm, and even the most intelligent brain is of no use."

“Ah! Quite a clear and insightful description. But I’m curious, what is your home planet like? Has it also entered the age of interstellar civilization?” Gru asked with great interest.

"My birthplace?" A strange light flickered in Zhang Cheng's eyes, followed by a smile. "I'm sorry, I don't know how to describe it, but I can assure you it has absolutely not entered interstellar civilization; at most, it has just touched the threshold. Like the natives I just saw, the history of my original tribe was filled with war, violence, bloodshed, and slaughter, with hatred for each other surpassing everything else..."

Chapter 1059 Homeworld (Part 2)

"So... the place where you were born is a planet full of contradictions, brutal competition, and plunder? Even people of the same kind are divided into different countries and groups based on differences in genes, skin color, culture, religion, interests, etc., and fight each other. The victors get everything, and the losers are even deprived of the right to live?"

After listening to Zhang Cheng's introduction, Gru's eyes lit up slightly, revealing undisguised curiosity.

It's important to know that almost all planets in the universe that have ever harbored life generally fall into two categories:

One possibility is that the planet's inhabitants have achieved internal unification and have begun actively expanding into outer space, which is the so-called interstellar civilization.

The second type is those who have not yet begun to explore the endless starry sky and are still firmly bound to the ground by the planet's own gravity.

The former either completely dismantles the original social structure and interest groups through the power of technology, and has undergone certain genetic modifications to ensure that no problems will arise within it.

The latter, on the other hand, is still in a state of competition among several or even dozens of countries for resources and living space, making it impossible for them to unite.

In contrast, Earth, which has reached the threshold of interstellar civilization, seems quite special, and could even be said to be of considerable research value.

On the one hand, it still retains relatively backward concepts such as nation, religion, and ethnicity, and even resorts to war to control resources and the economy.

On the other hand, it has also formed several large joint institutions and has seen many proposals such as "a community with a shared future for mankind." Major powers have used economic, political, military and trade means to unite more small countries around them.

The complex internal struggles and collaborations aroused even Gru's strong curiosity, who, as the ruler, wanted to find out more.

Zhang Cheng shrugged nonchalantly and replied, "That's right! Isn't it incredible? We call ourselves humans and our home planet Earth. It's a blue planet located in the Milky Way galaxy in the three-dimensional universe. It's so tiny that almost all interstellar civilizations have overlooked it."

"Insignificant? Hahahaha! No! No! No! I think you misunderstand the word 'insignificant.' Perhaps in the past, Earth was indeed a small and insignificant planet. But since the birth of you and another Overlord, it has ceased to be obscure and has become a planet full of legend. If you don't mind, could you take me to see it? Provided that you haven't destroyed or hidden it away yet," Gru suggested with a laugh.

"Destroy or hide?" Zhang Cheng raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Because he didn't understand why the other person thought he would do something so pointless.

"Oh? Judging from your reaction, you haven't destroyed your homeworld yet, or at least hidden it away?" Gru's tone revealed strong surprise, while he didn't forget to explain, "You must understand, the moment each of us becomes a Dominator, we either desperately want to make a complete break with the past, and the best way to do that is to destroy our homeworld, kill all life on the planet, and erase all traces of its civilization. In this way, the Dominator can forever hide the secrets and weaknesses of their past, preventing anyone from using them to achieve some ulterior motive. In contrast, some Dominators will directly hide their homeworld in a private space that no one can find, secretly protecting their homeworld."

"I still don't understand! Why does the Overlord have to hide the past? Do beings like us, who stand at the pinnacle of the universe, really have to be affected by such base emotions?" Zhang Cheng asked subconsciously, frowning.

"It's hard to say! You have to understand that when we merge with the main theme, we are no longer the same people we were before; to some extent, we represent the will of the universe. But the universe is merciful; it doesn't take away our joys and sorrows, so emotions still exist to some extent. Think about it: after you've lived for billions of years, if you suddenly see your parents who gave birth to and raised you appear, wouldn't you feel excited, nostalgic, and want to cry? Believe me, when you're old enough, you'll understand that our real enemy isn't each other, but loneliness and solitude..."

As he said this, a faint sadness appeared in Gruna's insect-like eyes.

Zhang Cheng scoffed at this, shaking his head with a cold laugh: "Sorry, I'm not as sentimental as you. In fact, before becoming the ruler, I had already completely severed ties with the past. You might not believe it, but I've personally killed those I called friends and allies, and I can also send my once cherished partner into the arms of death without hesitation. Deep down, I've long regarded myself as a higher-level life form, and that backward home planet means nothing to me. If anyone tries to use this against me, I will not hesitate to snap the necks of those so-called relatives and friends, and then find the mastermind behind it all and make them pay the price in my own way."

"So you don't mind if I visit your home planet?" Gru was clearly a little skeptical of this explanation and continued to probe cautiously.

"Of course I don't mind! I've already told you the location, haven't I?" Zhang Cheng asked with a half-smile.

"Alright! In that case, I'll go now. Goodbye, my friend, and I wish you a fantastic start to the game."

Having said that, Gru retracted his insect-like limbs into his shell, and his entire convex-shaped body suddenly tore open a spatial rift and crawled inside.

His use of the rules is so pure that he doesn't need precise coordinates to freely travel between higher and lower dimensional universes.

Staring at the crack that opened and healed so quickly, Zhang Cheng muttered to himself with disdain, "Home planet? That kind of thing has absolutely no meaning to me. Because on that planet, I'm just a lowly ordinary person, someone at the bottom of society who barely survives on a wage. Even disappearance or death wouldn't cause any ripples. I'm as ordinary as a calm lake, unable to stir up even a ripple."

……

Meanwhile, Gru, having crossed the spatial rift, appeared out of thin air in the outer reaches of the solar system just hours before Zhang Cheng vanished.

Using his own power, he found the blue planet that emitted signals of civilization with almost no effort.

Without any hesitation, he traversed a distance that was beyond human comprehension at top speed, crossing the atmosphere and appearing at the entrance of a bar.

Through the glass window, he could clearly see Zhang Cheng, who still retained the most ordinary human bloodline, sitting at the table drinking with another stranger, occasionally uttering various complaints.

Chapter 1060 Come on! Please me!

Feeling the incredibly complex threads of fate connecting ordinary lives, Gru felt an unprecedented resonance.

Although he placed himself in a higher dimension to avoid being noticed by the bustling crowd around him, as if observing the world inside a box through a layer of glass or membrane, he would normally not perceive much.

But now, the lines of fate gathered above this bar are so numerous that they are impossible to count, and each one has countless branches behind it.

As a ruler, Gru had seen countless intelligent beings, some favored by fate and others cursed by it, but none of them could be as complex and multifaceted as that ordinary human not far ahead, who seemed to possess infinite possibilities at first glance.

He didn't understand, nor could he comprehend, why fate, the most mysterious force in the entire universe, which cannot be measured by common sense, would be so concentrated on a single being.

The feeling was almost like the will of the universe wanted to conduct an experiment to test whether it was truly omnipotent.

Just as the creature, which looked remarkably like a large beetle, fell into deep thought, Zhang Cheng, who was completely drunk in the bar, finally obtained the golden parchment scroll. He vanished from the spot in an instant, leaving behind only his clothes, pants, shoes, cell phone, and wallet.

The mysterious man sitting opposite him also turned into a wisp of light and disappeared silently into an inconspicuous corner.

“Interesting! This is so interesting! I can hardly believe I’m witnessing something so amazing. What does this mean? Is it the beginning of a transformation in the entire universe? Or the prelude to destruction?” Gru muttered to himself as he quickly disguised himself as a human and squeezed through the membrane.

It was nighttime, and a large number of young men and women were constantly coming and going in the bar. No one noticed that a terrifying monster capable of destroying the earth countless times had entered their world.

Of course, Gru wasn't particularly interested in these lowly beings. He simply walked into the bar and went to the seat Zhang Cheng had sat in before he disappeared, constantly searching for the rapidly vanishing lines of fate, trying to find some patterns.

A few minutes later, he followed the one that resonated most strongly, traversing time and space to reach another parallel Earth.

It goes without saying that this ruler is eager to observe Zhang Cheng's growth experience and to figure out exactly what made an extremely ordinary intelligent life embark on an extraordinary path that transcends its own limits.

What makes the other person choose to completely sever ties with the past, even to obliterate a part of themselves, and force themselves to become the way they are now?

……

Meanwhile, on an unknown planet in a corner of the universe, Zhang Cheng was unaware that Gru had developed a strong interest in his past. He left the magic tower alone and appeared in a vast, desolate wilderness.

At his feet, two armies from opposing camps were locked in a stalemate, and a fierce battle was about to break out.

One of them was flying a golden lion flag, clearly a royal banner. It was obvious that after a period of political maneuvering, the kingdom had finally decided to send a large army to quell the rebellion in the western provinces.

As for the other side, it was naturally Kerwin and the ragtag group he had hastily assembled.

Judging from the apparent number of soldiers, the two sides are actually quite evenly matched.

The Kingdom mobilized a total of 40,000 infantrymen, 20,000 cavalrymen, 10,000 archers, about 1,500 catapult and ballista troops, and finally 200 elite airmen riding pterosaurs.

Kerwin deployed 60,000 infantry and 30,000 cavalry, including 20,000 archers, about 3,000 ballistae and ballista units, and fewer than 50 pterosaurs as his elite air force.

However, considering that the kingdom's army consists of 100% professional soldiers who have undergone rigorous training over a long period of time, and many veterans have participated in at least five wars, they are highly experienced and have an absolute advantage in terms of quality.

In stark contrast, Kerwin's rabble consisted mostly of civilians who, aside from the professional soldiers recruited after defeating other lords, were forcibly conscripted. It was essentially no different from forced labor; some were even unarmed and carrying pitchforks meant for farm work.

Despite their slightly larger numbers, such an army is incredibly weak in combat. They might fare better in a favorable situation, but if they encounter resistance or the battle becomes stalemate, they will collapse completely within minutes. They are simply no match for veterans who have survived countless battles.

Of course, Kerwin didn't place his hopes for victory on these cannon fodder used to lure the enemy. Instead, he quietly hid 20,000 magical puppets in the bushes not far behind him.

Once the commander of the Kingdom's army orders a full-scale offensive, he will reveal this trump card, annihilating the enemy's manpower in the shortest possible time, preventing the opponent from quickly assembling a decent army to stop his expansion.

That's right!

From the very beginning, he used all his human armies as a spiced bait, which smelled delicious and tempting.

He knew that the commander of the kingdom's army must be just as eager as he was to annihilate the enemy's main force in the shortest possible time and ensure that there would be no more decent resistance forces in the entire western province.

In this way, the royal family can regain control of the land, and the court nobles can take the opportunity to send their children over, pretend to perform some military service, and obtain a decent territory.

The powerful kingdom paid no attention to the rebellion in the western provinces.

Even in the minds of a small group of ambitious individuals, this rebellion not only had no downsides, but also a series of unspoken benefits, presenting a golden opportunity for their families to expand.

"War! Plunder! Slaughter! Come! Please me! You lowly mortals! Use your blood and death to stage for me the most moving drama..."

Accompanied by Zhang Cheng's sarcastic whispers, the resounding bugle call finally echoed across the wilderness.

Woo-woo-woo-woo

Boom!Boom!Boom!Boom!

The neatly arranged infantry formations began to march forward in large strides to the beat of the war drums, the sharp tips of their spears gleaming with a chilling golden light under the sunlight.

The moment the front-line soldiers of both sides clashed, the deafening battle cries ignited their innate killing instincts.