Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

Look carefully at the ends of their flippers.

Apollonia paused and zoomed in.

It can be clearly seen in the picture that these young cloud whales have rocks attached to the ends of their flippers.

"It really does look like a barnacle on a humpback whale. What is this?"

This is stone. These dragons are actually a combination of elemental life and flesh. They are born as flesh, but as they age, they increasingly return to the elements. At first, stone only appears at the ends of their limbs, but look at the large one—its surface is as smooth as a spirit, and its interior is completely devoid of flesh.

“So, there’s an in-between stage?”

[According to this scenario, the Cloud Whale should gradually lose its biological activity as it ages. Initially, its limbs will be replaced by its elemental body, and eventually, even its internal organs will function. At that point, its limbs will shed their stone layer. Once this replacement is complete, the Cloud Whale will become a natural phenomenon.]

"I see. Are they immortal, in some way? After being fully elementalized, can they truly become living beings?"

[Well, actually, this process seems to take some time. You can see that this Leviathan responded to the call to join the battle. Perhaps even Leviathans can respond to the call of the contract. However, each response consumes their remaining humanity. Once their humanity is completely exhausted, they will be no different from wind, rain, thunder and lightning, and will probably become floating islands.]

"What is the attitude of the atmospheric herdsmen towards this?"

They seem very reluctant to recruit Leviathans for battle, as each use diminishes their numbers. They are also extremely cautious in using young Cloud Whales—this time, mobilizing so many at once, considering the young age of this world, is already an unprecedented war.

As he spoke, the cloud whale on the screen had already dived to the ground. The rocks at the end of its flippers skimmed across the mountaintop, sending grass, rocks, innocent fungi, and even the ambushers lying in wait atop the mountain flying through the air.

This is their second ability. These cloud whales can emit sound waves inaudible to human ears, which they use to search for enemies. This function can also be used as passive radar—they can discern the situation through the sound of the wind. These ambushes would be impossible to evade unless they were well-dug.

"So in the end, the Qi Clan won?"

[No, the next frame is it, it starts! ]

As the ambushers on the mountains ahead were driven back, a column of white smoke immediately rose from a peak. A peach torpedo shot straight into the sky, colliding with a cloud whale diving into the valley. The audible whale roars began to ring, and the cloud whales in the torpedo's path moved out of the way.

However, the torpedo was not targeting them. The torpedo circled several times in the air, then flew straight up, heading towards the Basilosaur that had not yet landed in the sky.

[Here, it's the same situation we encountered before. Peach torpedoes seem to have poor anti-interference capabilities, and they automatically lock onto the most conspicuous targets on the battlefield. Now they're directly locking onto the high-altitude Basilosaurus. And then...]

Time continued to flow. Suddenly, a horn sounded from high in the sky—the horn's pitch was extremely high, mixed with the whistling of the wind, imitating the sound of a cloud whale.

Immediately afterwards, a deafening explosion erupted from the Basilosaur, a response to the horn call. A visible shockwave descended from the sky, shattering the flying Peach Torpedo into dust. The remnant of the storm's force washed over the ground, a sound that resonated even with the mountains.

The soil and rocks on the mountain were shaken loose, and the entire mountain collapsed. The broken soil and rocks gathered into a mudslide, burying all the water people who had just been knocked away.

"Wow, this thing is powerful! What is this?"

A kind of song. The atmospheric herders and the young cloud whales can communicate through language, but the dragon whales can only communicate through the song of the wind. Although the battle seems to be a foregone conclusion, the final winner is not them.

"Well, it looks like the time left for the water tribe is running out?"

They now call themselves the Vajra Tribe. Well, time is running out.

Time continued to flow—the whale song began its next movement. The trumpet's call deepened, while the Basilosaurus's chorus soared. With a single tremor, the sky twisted, and the Basilosaurus "jumped" directly above the city of Carnegie. Thunderclouds gathered nearby. With this development, it seemed as if everything was coming to an end.

But before he could finish his words, another giant object leaped over:

Omega 39 appeared in the sky above Carnegie City.

"Huh???" Shangluo was stunned. "Why is our ship there?"

"I asked them to go because King Insula of Carnegie City offered a good price."

I'll take a break on Friday and update a little earlier tomorrow.

Chapter 493 Negotiation

"Interesting. They name a price, and then you're out."

【Well, this has already happened.】

"I'm curious what price they offered that made you agree without discussing it with me. Does that mean this matter doesn't actually involve a decision?"

Their 'price' is unconditional surrender in exchange for us proposing 'unconditional surrender'.

“Why do I feel like nothing was exchanged?”

It was practically a zero-for-zero exchange, so I agreed. However, they also had some small expectations—they hoped to demonstrate the power of the Thunder God in this process. In essence, they were handing their fate over to us. Because it was an unconditional surrender, they would gladly accept whatever we decided.

"Will they really accept it?"

"Hah, I'm afraid not. They just realized they couldn't win and wanted to sit down and talk it over. And by the way, explain why they started the war."

"Do they think they are right?"

At least they felt they were fighting for justice—the fundamental reason was that the Tyranids and the Atmospheric Nomads were too slow to react. The Romans were attacking and plundering, yet they didn't even react until the very end, necessitating their own defense. This, however, clearly violated the rules, as the Tyranid King wouldn't allow anyone other than himself to control the land.

"So actually, until the very end, the King of Terran didn't show up? Isn't it the Air Clan that's coming?"

[It seems that the Tyranids' delivery capabilities are truly problematic. Their army has yet to cross the sea.]

"I've long said that there were problems with their first distribution of the world, but it's quite convenient that they handed it over to me to handle."

Shangluo came here to recruit young men. This opportunity was just right for him to intervene in this incident.

"So, are you preparing to intervene, or are you still doing so as the God of Dusk?"

"Yeah. After all, this time it's all for myself, not for the justice of this world. So, this identity is more suitable for me. Helping them solve their problem is just a side job."

On the third day of the standoff between the Basilosaurus and the warships, neither side moved. For the Basilosaurus, who had lost his sense of time, three days seemed but a fleeting moment. But the rest of the battlefield remained silent for three days as well. Outside the city, only men searched for survivors amidst the collapsed earth and rock. The Akkadian army on the Basilosaurus's back also remained silent.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the battleship. The Omega 39 phlogiston submarine, its streamlined hull reflecting a cold, outer light, was unmarked and motionless.

No one dared to attack the warship, just as no one dared to attack the Leviathan. In the face of a transcendental force capable of altering the very fabric of heaven and earth, the battles of mortals seemed insignificant.

"Master Priest, it's been three days. Can't we take action yet?" The golden-armored warrior and the priest stood side by side, perched on the forehead of the Dragon King Whale, looking ahead. From their perspective, the large ship flying in the sky didn't seem so terrifying.

"This is what the dragon wants. The dragon doesn't want to take action."

"I see." The warrior nodded. While they could normally communicate with dragons using their horns and collaborate with them in combat, only priests who had delved into the spirit world could communicate specific information with dragons, as dragons no longer understood the language of that world.

"Hmm?" The priest was stunned for a moment while speaking. "Longlong has spoken. Here they come! They are coming!"

The mystery that had remained unknown for three days was finally about to be solved. Who was the other party?

The Carnegian rulers called him "Thunder God," but they didn't take his words seriously. Carnegian's previous behavior was no different from that of a madman, whose words were incomprehensible. The Akkadian army had no intention of stopping, but the dragon's request to halt them compelled them to do so—another way of looking at it: it was a sign of the dragon's recognition of their strength. It proved that the Carnegians were indeed under divine protection.

And now, with the dragon's reminder, they all knew that the divine power was really about to come.

The clouds in the sky were swept away by a big white hand.

"Yes." The priest finally confirmed that it was indeed the power of God, because the power of God is usually expressed in the form of "hands".

"Put down your weapons," he ordered the people behind him. "Even if the opponent isn't a good god, don't move. Don't move."

Soon, an angel appeared to him as the legend said.

Before the angel could say his request, he bowed to the flying white gloves and said, "Please lead the way, angel. It is an honor to meet with the gods."

The city of Carnegie was in ruins. The priest's shuttle, guided by an angel, landed within the city's palace district. Looking down, he saw rubble scattered across the ground, shattered by the Basilosaurus's roar. Looking up, he saw the giant hand that obscured the heavens and sun stretched out in the sky.

Compared to that big hand, the Basilosaurus looked as cute as a little goldfish in a fish tank.

Walking on the rubble, he climbed up the steps of the palace in the city of Carnegie.

This was originally the fortress of the King of Tyranids. The palace doubled as a castle, built of stone. But thanks to the power of the Earth Dragon, the palace itself, its foundation, and the stone covering it all became a seamless whole. These stones were so smooth, as if they had been hewn from a single solid block, smoother than polished cement.

The palace is located atop 99 steps. Standing at the top of the steps are two statues, one on each side, depicting two dogs—a parody of the divine realm, as the "Incomplete Classic" indicates that these statues were placed before important buildings in the divine realm. While the specific animals are unclear, a comparison with the animal encyclopedia suggests they are likely dogs. Therefore, the animals here are also dogs.

"By the way, what are those two at the door?"

Shangluo pointed to the stone statue at the door and asked Uma. He sat on a chair in the center of the hall, and Uma, the king, stood beside him.

"That's... that statue was there before we arrived. We have no problem with the Dragon God's rule, so we've preserved it as much as possible. We also asked the priests, and they seem to be a simulation of the gods' world."

"what?"

He was talking about stone lions. They probably saw you put stone lions at the entrances of government offices and banks, so they put some here too.

"But they're clearly two dogs! They have plum blossom paws, long ears, and pointed muzzles. They look like both a dog and a fox. Hey, isn't that a Samoyed?"

[Well, maybe they first thought it was a dog, and then looked in the dog encyclopedia to carve something they liked. Since the stone was white, they also found a typical white dog to carve. So, that's how it turned out.]

"But how on earth does this thing look like a dog?"

Chapter 494 Witness

[Don’t your stone lions look like dogs?I think it's a dog.How can a lion have curly hair?I think the person who made the stone lion has never seen a real lion.But the lion placed at the door is somewhat similar to the dog that guards the home, and it gradually became like a dog - but there seems to be another way of saying it. 】

"what?"

There's also a lion statue at the port of Piraeus in Athens, and that lion also has curly hair. I'm wondering if the one you're carving here is an Asian lion, just like ours is actually a European lion. Both species are now extinct, so there's no way to verify. Perhaps those two species originally had curly hair, while only African lions have smooth hair.

"So, over time, the curly hair element has merged with the poodle."

It's hard to say. Roman art declined for a while, so we don't know if this is how it evolved. But if we were to continue painting it, we might also end up drawing it like a dog. After all, it's easy to draw a lion that looks like a dog. The lions on the gates of Babylon looked similar to dogs. They specialized in drawing lions.

"Ah," Shangluo pressed his forehead as he looked at the two Samoyed statues squatting at the door. "Forget it, dogs are dogs. This is also an evolution of the art form, which is understandable. I just can't hold it in any longer."

The castle looks quite decent, except for the two Samoyeds at the door who look a little bit confusing.

【Why do you keep looking at that dog? 】

"Because I always feel that those two Samoyeds are looking at me. Maybe I am mistaken? Did you see anything?"

"Wait, let me check the footage. It's fine. This thing is made of stone, just like the city itself. It's been standing there motionless since it was built. You said it was looking at you, but that's probably an illusion."

"Why do I just feel uneasy?"

He asked Uma, who was standing next to him, "Do you see anything unusual about the stone statue at the door?"

"I haven't seen it," Uma replied. "But since you asked about the statue, I have a question I don't understand. We actually plan to build a statue for Lord Thundergod when peace comes. Lord Thundergod is yours."

"It's my brother."

"So that's how it is, three brothers, huh?" Shangluo's appearance was a little blurry in his memory, but it was indeed similar to his current appearance, with many obvious differences, such as his hair.

"Yes, that is my eldest brother Sun Xingzhe, and my second brother Xingzhe Sun..."

"Yes, yes, that's what Lord Thunder God said at the time. Then why did you come instead of Lord Thunder God?"

"I should have told you that the Thunder God only deals with invasions from outer space. This is your own business, so I'll take care of it."

"May I know your name? We will also erect a statue for you."

"Let's talk about this later." Shangluo waved his hand, "When you can get through this disaster, then we can talk about it."

As they were talking, the people outside had already climbed up the steps and stood between the two stone statues of Samoyeds.

"Why doesn't he come in?"

Uma listened to the announcement from outside and replied, "He dared not come in without the summons of the Lord God."

"That's the rules. Come in."

The priest in white robe stood in front of Shangluo and opposite Uma.

"What's your last name?" Shangluo asked.

"As an unknown person serving the Dragon God, I dare not speak my name before you. I am only a priest."

"Alright, Mr. Priest. I called you here today so that both families know what the other is thinking. But there's a premise, Mr. Priest. The King of Carnegie City before you is ready to surrender unconditionally. So, do you still want to continue fighting? Or, do you think the punishment should continue?"

"From the very beginning, we never intended to impose any 'punishment,'" he replied. "If possible, we didn't want to start a war. The power of the Air Dragon isn't reserved for war. We simply hope to live up to the gods' grace and survive peacefully between heaven and earth. But this villain before you has started a war that has engulfed the entire earth, disrupting the order of this world."

"Well, then, what do you want?"

"Exile. We wish to exile all the villains here, including the one standing before you."

"Okay." Shangluo nodded. "I'm not here to stop you. You are the victors, and their unconditional surrender is a reasonable request. So."

He looked at Uma: "What do you think?"

"We can be exiled, but I have one thing to declare: I am not a villain. Everything I do is without deviation, all for the purpose of protecting those you cannot protect one day. Every word I say can withstand the judgment of heaven and earth. My words, like my actions, are without deviation. With that said, we will exile ourselves."

"Wait." The priest raised his hand. "Are you serious? Don't think you can steal a good name in history by simply walking away. I might want to check."

"Of course. If you can check it, go ahead."

"Okay." He looked at Shangluo, "God, please allow me to call a witness."

"Witnesses? Do you have any other witnesses? If so, feel free to call them."

"They are here, always here." He took a deep breath and blew a long whistle with his fingers.