Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"This is it." He threw the flying sword into the sky and handed it to the nearest heavenly soldier, saying, "Go to the top of the hill over there and find a deserted place to prepare. When you hear my command, throw it down."

Chapter 434 Lightning Strike

"Now is it, have you thundered yet?"

The Life Tree had no eyes, but it could obviously see the surrounding scene. However, he was not sure whether the Thunder God's "Thunder" was something he could see.

"Wait a minute, five seconds left."

The celestial soldier carrying the flying sword talisman had already arrived above the target and launched a beam of light—

“Drip, drip, drip.”

Suddenly, Shangluo's cell phone rang.

"Hey?"

"Hey! Shangluo! What are you doing! Why are you aiming at the Imperial Prison's token? The Imperial Prison will be blown up by this sword!" Lu Huaiyang's roar came from the other end of the phone, his voice trembling, he was panicked.

"Huh? Are they targeting the Imperial Prison?"

"So where were you striking? Wait, inside Hutian? You striking inside Hutian? That makes sense. The flying sword Lu Zu gave you is a thunder sword, and it strikes down from above. Do you know how the Zhen hexagram is drawn? Two broken and one connected, meaning it strikes from top to bottom. No matter where you are, no matter how many lids are on your head, the sword will strike directly in front of you. If you strike inside the iron can of Hutian, the flying sword will first penetrate the dozen floors of the Imperial Prison, then penetrate your can and lift the lid. Did you know that I'm sitting in your office upstairs? I was so scared that I scattered all the tea cans!"

"Ah, this. Sorry, sorry. But can you actually stop it?"

"Lü Zu's own sword is naturally flexible. He withdrew his attack when he realized you were fine. So why did you strike that token?"

"Ah, that's right."

"Are you Monkey King? You're going to poke a hole in the sky after getting the golden cudgel, right?"

"Isn't this about showing off one's skills to reduce communication costs? Even Monkey King has to jump through the Water Curtain Cave, right?"

"Okay, still the same coordinates?"

“Yes, that’s the seat.”

Before he finished speaking, a pillar of light, as wide as the Tower of Babel, descended from the sky. Under the beam, grass, trees, soil, and even the mountains crumbled in the light. Wherever the residual power reached, even huge rocks were blown away like pieces of paper.

"Is it enough?"

"(Jinling Yayan)! What is that thing!"

"I struck you with a thunderbolt—so you know it now! If you really let Lu Zu strike you, you're done! Are the thunderbolts enough?"

"Enough, enough! Quickly withdraw your magical powers! Ah! The dirt is falling down! Ahhhhhhhh!"

"Hey, hey, hey! Where's your mark? Are you okay? Do you want a rescue team?!"

"Rustle, rustle, rustle--" electronic noise covered the channel.

1.5 seconds later.

[Hello? Is this Uncle Lu?]

A strange voice appeared on the other end of the line.

"You are... ah, you are Apollonia?"

[Uncle Lu, you know this? ]

"There's nothing the Imperial Guards don't know. Is Shangluo okay?"

"It's nothing, I just ate a mouthful of dirt and was rinsing my mouth over there. He chose a spot quite far away. How did you strike the thunder?"

"Of course thunder is produced with the hammer and drill of the Thunder God."

[Huh? Is there such a thing in the Imperial Prison?]

"We have a lot of good stuff here."

[Oh, by the way. It's my birthday tomorrow night. Uncle Lu, are you coming? Lu Liang and the others are coming, too.]

"I can't. I'm on duty tomorrow night. But I'll be watching you upstairs. Well, happy birthday to you in advance. I asked Lu Liang to bring a gift."

[Wow! Thank you! I won't bother you anymore. Bye, uncle!]

"Your Majesty, I have news. It seems Miss Apollonia has been successfully born."

"Well, it means the environment is well built, making her feel safe."

"Do you want to send someone to help? Her safety is very important. They are all important. It is dangerous to rashly explore in unknown areas."

"That's not necessary. He might not care about you. Just trust him. Oh, and I suddenly remembered, what kind of birthday cake should the Romans have?"

"Eh??? Your Majesty, did you also send a cake?"

Zhu Xianxun was stunned for a moment: "Did your family also send a cake?"

"Yes, because I only knew she was a little Roman girl and didn't know what to get her. When I thought of Roman birthdays, it was cake."

"If we send cakes to both families, wouldn't that be too much? What should we do then?"

Both men fell silent.

"Wait, hold on." Lu Huaiyang reached out and dialed another number on the phone. "Wait, how about we switch over for a while so I can ask my daughter. This question should be asked to the young people."

On the other end of the phone, Zhu Xianxun was a little speechless: "Is this the generation gap? I'm only a generation older than them, is there a generation gap? Alas, time makes me old. I need to soak more wolfberries. Hurry up, ask your daughter if there is any solution."

Lu Huaiyang talked for 12 seconds before the signal was switched back between Zhu Xianxin and him.

"Got it." Lu Huaiyang breathed a sigh of relief.

"So soon? The girl is quite clever. Any plans?"

"She said there's an ice cream cake available now."

"Ice cream cake? A huge pile of ice cream on a cake? I really don't understand what young people are thinking these days."

"Tsk, Your Majesty, I suddenly remembered that you seemed to have eaten it. On the fourteenth of last month."

"The fourteenth of last month? You mean my wedding anniversary? Ah! That was an ice cream cake! I couldn't tell at all."

"Tsk tsk tsk, Your Majesty, sometimes you have to act like a young person and pay more attention to things that young people like."

"I have my reasons. I'm refining an elixir. This is a big deal."

"We can refine the elixir anytime. We have plenty of time in the future. Flowers never bloom again, and people never become young again."

"There's a generation gap between us now, isn't there? Hang up, I'm going to make some medicine. See you later."

"No, Your Majesty, I'm thinking about the heir. I haven't seen Ying yet, which is really... Hello? Hello? Your Majesty, you can't hide from this! There really is a throne to inherit!"

On the other end of the line, another impatient voice came. It was the switching center.

"Captain Lu, are you alright? The caller has hung up. Please don't occupy the line. The only way to make calls from within the Imperial Prison is through this switchboard."

"What are you saying? Don't think you can stay out of this just because you're a nobody. He's also the emperor of your family. Watch out, I'll go downstairs and pull out your wires!"

"If you have any complaints, please go to the Ministry of Thunder and complain to Lord Shang Tianjun. Thank you. Our Heavenly Soldiers and Generals are no longer under the control of your Imperial Guards. Please respect yourselves."

With a snap, the busy tone and telegraph tone on the other end of the line disappeared. This red phone had no telephone line connected to the outside world, just like other red phones. Without the support of the heavenly soldiers, this phone was no different from a toy model.

"Well, are you really okay? Did I hit the thunder too hard with the hammer drill just now?"

Chapter 435 Arrival

"Gulp, gulp, ugh."

Shangluo rinsed his mouth for the sixth time and finally spit out all the mud in his mouth.

"Why does it smell like date paste?" Phaethon next to him was also rinsing his mouth.

"Nonsense, it's essentially date paste. If it weren't date paste, I would have vomited it out long ago—oh, by the way, where's Apollonia?"

"I'm here~" Apollonia stood there in mid-air, without a speck of dust on her.

Shangluo's face was still stained with mud, and he was still wiping it with water: "You ran really fast. Why didn't you remember to take me with you?"

"Because you're too heavy, I have to fly by myself. Okay? If you're ready, I'll take down the curtain."

"Wait a moment. I can't let those water tribesmen see me covered in mud. How can a god be covered in dirt?"

"This god's identity seems to match your mysophobic nature. Your words and actions are flawless. Okay, okay, okay, it's already very clean."

"Alright." He turned the clothes over and looked at them again before putting them on. "Remove the barrier."

The surroundings suddenly turned dark, and then suddenly became bright - the heavenly soldiers surrounding it removed their camouflage, turned into white wings and flew away.

"God! God is back!! God and the angels are back!"

"So... uh, you saw it all, right?" Shangluo slowly walked down from the white wing and waved his hand to let the heavenly soldiers who sent him down return to the sky.

"Enough! Enough! God!" The Life Tree was also covered in mud, and the entire village was covered in fertile soil blasted from the mountain. Everyone was covered in dust and dirt—but it wasn't a big deal. The lightning seemed to strike with remarkable precision, obliterating everything within its reach, but the impact on the surrounding areas was minimal.

Shangluo also looked back.

The mountain was gone, less than a few hundred meters from the village. In its place was a large lake, fed by the stream flowing from the village.

Yet just a few hundred meters away, they had nothing to do except eat some dirt.

"That's pretty powerful, isn't it? Was that the thunder struck by Captain Lu?"

"Just now, while you were washing your face, I took the time to ask. It seems that Captain Lu hit you with the hammer drill of the Thunder God."

"So it's the Thunder God's thunder? No wonder it's so accurate, striking with pinpoint precision—but there's actually something like this in the Imperial Prison? Where did it come from?"

"I asked, but he wouldn't tell me."

"Then can't you ask further?"

"Oh yeah, why didn't I ask? Oh yeah, he seemed to say he wanted to give me a birthday present?"

"You don't even ask that! Aren't you too easily bribed?"

"Then go ask! Why do you ask me to ask!"

"I'll ask the questions, girl, just go cool off. Just wait for the cake tomorrow."

"Cake? Why do we need cake?"

"Aren't you Romans? Don't Romans have birthday cakes on their birthdays?"

"What kind of stereotype is that! I already said I want to eat barbecue! Barbecue is enough."

"I know, I know, but there has to be some cake to top it off for you, right?"

"Oh, what a waste." Apollonia waved her hand. "No need to go through so much trouble. Barbecue is enough. I'm not interested in those rituals. I just want to eat meat."

"But I have already ordered the cake." Shangluo replied.

"Ah, what cake?"

"Hey~~ You'll know tomorrow. There's bound to be a surprise. It's definitely a cake you've never tasted before."

"It's ice." Phaethon was about to say, but Shangluo covered his mouth.

"Okay, I'll just look forward to it. But wow! Look at that beautiful lake!"

"Hmm? Anything changed?"

Shangluo looked back - after the dust settled, the big lake that was created by the lightning had already appeared: the lakeshore and the bottom of the lake were all shining with colorful light like ice crystals.

"That is, frozen?" Phaethon blinked.

Shangluo took a closer look and said, "Wow! That's not ice, that's colored glass! Has the ground been burned into colored glass?"

"It's a miracle! It's a miracle!" Covered in dust, the people of Insula village knelt down as they looked at the crystal-like lake.

"Lord Thunder God!" The branches of the Life Tree swayed in the wind. "Thank you for coming! Thank you! Now, we are saved! We are saved!"

As the dust settled, the light of the Crystal Lake became increasingly dazzling—along with the lightning flash from before, it could be seen by the distant city of Carnegie.

"Omega-level psychic fluctuations detected. Danger level: Uncalculated." A cold mechanical voice echoed in the cabin. "Red alert activated. Hibernation mode released, all ships awake. Captain, please assume command."

The lights inside the ship switched to red, reflecting off the cold stainless steel.

The captain's hibernation chamber was the first to be awakened.

"Ah." With a painful and weak voice, the captain in the hibernation chamber took off his respirator.