novellhall Chapter 1106 Change and Defection
Chapter 1106 Change and Defection
The deep purple void sky pressed down on the battlements of the second Wailing Barrier as if it were a tangible force.
Each surge of energy caused the battered defense line to groan under immense strain.
The order to retreat had already been issued; this was a moment that could not be delayed.
However, on the front line of the defense, on the battlefield that had been ravaged by energy storms, the fierce battle between the two figures never ceased.
The massive, half-dragon, half-machine body of the alchemical dragon Biglet clashed with the figure of the Rift Queen, who was surrounded by a cold amethyst aura. Each collision tore through space, and the resulting energy ripples instantly vaporized any low-level void creatures that approached.
Their battle was a contest of wills between beings at level fifteen, and also the most jarring note in the prelude to their retreat.
The troops in the rear did not stop because of this peak battle.
The well-trained Night's Watch and Alliance soldiers were retreating from the city walls in an orderly fashion, like a tide, according to the pre-arranged plan. They transformed into countless resilient streams, dispersing towards the "order nodes" that had already been constructed and were spread across the continent.
Each node is a new, meticulously designed miniature fortress and fire support point, which will form the next phase of a defensive network that slows down the void and wears it down layer by layer.
These nodes are carefully calculated and designed based on the surrounding spatial intensity, terrain, and distances between them.
In addition, the distance of attraction can effectively draw the void waves into different numbers of troops, causing them to go to the designated nodes and stop there.
More reinforcements are continuously arriving from the City of the Ring and the rear safe zone, filling the gaps between nodes, preparing to rely on the nodes to carry out a more flexible and brutal point-based defensive war after losing the giant shield of the Wailing Wall.
It also allows frontline soldiers to rotate shifts and have time to catch their breath and rest, since they are fighting against the void, and the void's influence on their mental will is not so easy to resist or get rid of.
However, at this moment, their actions were precise and efficient, holding the line until the very last moment.
The final counterattack before the retreat began.
The pent-up energy, like a volcano suppressed for millennia, erupted with a deafening roar.
"Fire!"
"Beat them hard! Let them all die!"
"Ahhhh!"
On the city walls, the remaining magic towers emitted their last rays of light, and thick beams of arcane energy tore through the air.
The alchemical cannon array unleashed a dense barrage of energy projectiles.
Countless enchanted arrows, divine spears, and Night's Watch-made "vacuum annihilation spheres" bombs were rained down on the surging purple tide in front of the city walls as if they were free.
In an instant, the destructive torrent surged back, forcefully carving out a blinding blank area amidst the boundless waves of void creatures.
Countless aberrations were reduced to dust in the pure energy storm.
The space became unstable, and the surrounding energy began to boil.
Excessive energy collides here.
Finally, even space itself was torn apart.
Faced with the invasion of the void, even this kind of spatial tearing and shattering seems insignificant.
Just as this cover fire reached its peak, three floating "iron flower" structures appeared in the sky above the battlefield.
Those strange creations, imbued with the power of divine projection and digitized rules, seemed to be summoned by an invisible force, rapidly converging towards the center.
As they rotate, they interlock and deform, eventually forming a larger and more complex "mountain flower" shape.
A buzzing sound shook the heavens and the earth, and countless streams of golden data burst forth from the core where the three flowers converged.
They are no longer illusory light and shadow, but rather condensed and solidified, rising from the ground in front of the battlefield to form a "data wall" that stretches across the sky and radiates the silvery glow of order.
This colossal wall, composed entirely of information and rules, crashed violently into the void waves with unparalleled propulsion.
It is not a physical barrier, but rather an absolute negation of the erosion of the void by data-driven rules.
The surging purple tide crashed into the wall, as if it had struck an insurmountable barrier of sighs itself, and was forcefully pushed back.
Data flowed ceaselessly across the wall. Any void creature that attempted to directly attack or climb it had its information instantly analyzed and disrupted, and its limbs began to disintegrate and become data the moment they made contact.
In an instant, the destructive momentum of the void creatures was abruptly halted by this wall of information.
Void creatures have no intelligence, only the instinct to devour and destroy.
Faced with obstacles, their response is simple yet terrifying—pile them up! Climb them! Fill them with sheer numbers!
More Void Aberrations roared and lunged at the Data Wall, frantically assaulting the flowing data surface with their bodies, claws, and corrosive energy.
They surged forward relentlessly, layer upon layer, like countless frantic purple ants climbing a transparent giant peak, attempting to "crush" and "erode" this wall of rules with their own existence and the corrosive power bestowed by the void.
The data stream flickered intensely at countless contact points, and void creatures were constantly being completely digitized and annihilated.
But more surged up, and soon a layer of "purple fleshy blanket" that kept wriggling and thickening covered the wall.
The speed of data repair began to fall behind the speed of erosion accumulation.
Just as the "Mountain Flower" construct took shape and the Data Wall advanced, Bugret keenly caught the momentary distraction of the Rift Queen due to this anomaly.
His massive dragon claws erupted with blinding blue flames, and a ferocious tail whip sent the Rift Queen flying, crashing into a distant, half-destroyed hill.
Before the opponent could regain his footing, Bugret's massive body transformed into a golden streak of light that tore through the sky, instantly escaping the core battlefield and speeding towards the City of the Ring Tower.
A metallic, distinctly mocking mental wave echoed clearly across the battlefield.
"You bitch, Amethyst, next time we meet, I'll tear your stinky face off and keep it as a trophy!"
Before the sound faded, the streak of light had already disappeared into the horizon.
The Crack Queen rose from the ice shards, her face, made of amethyst, expressionless, but the surging energy around her showed that she was not without emotion.
She didn't pursue Bugret; her icy eyes were fixed on the massive data wall, still slowly pushing forward and covered with writhing purple flesh mountains.
She slowly raised an amethyst claw and made a sweeping motion towards the giant wall, silently cutting away the "crack" of space with the power of the rules!
However, the force that could tear a huge gap in the Wailing Barrier vanished the moment it hit the Data Wall, as if it had disappeared into thin air.
A huge, irregular "scar" briefly appeared on the wall.
However, the surging data flow inside converged and wove rapidly as if it had a life of its own, and the restorative power at the rule level instantly smoothed out and erased this spatial rift, as if it had never existed.
The Rift Queen's attempt to test the waters failed for the first time in the face of these bizarre, data-driven rules.
She looked down at her fingertips, which had just touched the edge of the data stream from a distance.
A tiny, yet tenacious, golden thread of data, like a maggot clinging to a bone, tried to spread and analyze upwards along her amethyst shell.
A purple glint flashed in the eyes of the Rift Queen, and without any hesitation, she swung her left hand down like a knife.
With a crisp "crack!", her right forearm, imbued with digital power, was severed at the elbow.
The severed arm fell to the ground and was instantly broken down into countless flashing points of light by the residual data stream.
Immediately afterwards, dense purplish-black void energy surged at her severed point, and a new arm, entirely composed of amethyst, grew and shaped at a visible speed, restoring her to its original state in the blink of an eye.
She shook her newly formed arm and looked at the data wall that was still stubbornly pushing forward under the climb of countless void creatures, yet constantly being eroded, and further away in the direction of the Ring Tower City radiating the light of order. For the first time, a trace of solemnity appeared in her cold thoughts.
The way this world resisted, and the strangeness and power of its core rules, seemed to truly exceed her past experience of destroying countless worlds.
In the distance, the King of Resistance, the Ape of Destruction, and the Mother of Mourning, hidden in the fluctuations of the void, as well as the Crystal Law in the clouds further away, all silently withdrew their gazes from the main battlefield.
The Queen of Rift's failed attempt to test the waters and her act of regenerating her severed arm undoubtedly conveyed a clear message.
While the Void Creatures' "human wave erosion" tactic against the Data Wall was effective, its efficiency was far lower than expected.
The Aegira defenders demonstrated remarkable organizational skills by utilizing this precious time to complete their retreat and strategic deployment.
This shows that the world is united enough and has made many contingency plans for the void.
They had already prepared for the end of the world.
Don't panic or get nervous.
These Apocalyptic beings no longer remained merely observers; they began to act silently according to their own will and plans, either disappearing into the void tides or venturing into the depths of the continent.
The Crystal Law still hangs deep in the clouds above the Sea of Sunset.
Her perception field covered an extremely wide area, taking in the tragic yet magnificent retreat at the front lines, the rise and collapse of the Data Wall, the escape of Burget, the setback of the Rift Queen, and the rapid deployment of defenses by the troops at countless nodes in the rear.
She saw the farthest and the deepest.
The more she looked, the brighter the core of her being—a rule belonging to the "Crystal Law" that had not been completely obliterated by the void—became.
This world has demonstrated resilience, organization, technological prowess, and the ability to collaborate efficiently even in dire circumstances, and to create tactical methods that even Apocalypse must treat with caution.
It was unique among all the countless worlds she had experienced that had been targeted by the Void.
The data wall that eventually collapsed but still left behind "embers," and the last line of defense that turned into "dead ground" white light and continued to erode the void creatures, perfectly embodied this tenacious and intelligent will to resist.
There is truly hope in this world.
The idea was clearer and more resolute in her mind than ever before.
This was no longer a distant fantasy, but a cold judgment based on her long and destructive career.
If even such a world cannot survive in the void, then who can?
This might truly be the only chance for redemption she has ever had, a chance that has been possible after countless eons of waiting.
The core of the Crystal Law's thought process was operating at high speed.
She knew very well that she was not the only one who had witnessed what had just happened.
Whether it was the silence of the King of Resistance or the astonished question of the Ape of Destruction, it was clear that the other Apocalypses were also moved.
Although they are powerful, they are essentially destroyers distorted and manipulated by the void.
The Void never granted them actual authority to command massive Void legions.
The void needs no command, only a tide that engulfs everything.
They are more like a group of "high-level thugs" forced to participate in a destructive feast, possessing their own memories and complex emotions.
Throughout the long cycle of destruction, the Crystal Law has witnessed far too many of its companions' "attempts" and "failures."
Trying to defect and help the invaded world?
First of all, those worlds, filled with fear and hatred, are unlikely to trust an apocalypse that exudes an aura of emptiness; it is fortunate that they do not attack immediately.
And how many of the Apocalypse's are good-tempered saints?
Faced with overwhelming hostility, past goodwill instantly transforms into the fury of betrayal, often leading to an eventual and accelerated destruction alongside the void.
After all, they were affected by the void, and their will was inherently unstable.
Occasionally, a world might attempt to cooperate, but it quickly collapses due to the disparity in power, internal suspicion, or the despairing size of the Void.
The power of the Apocalypse can attack other void beings, but it cannot efficiently and massively clear out low-level void creatures like a vast ocean.
These setbacks have either numbed most of the Apocalypse, causing them to "slack off" amidst the destruction, or completely distorted them, leading them to embrace the Void's ideology and actively accelerate the destruction process to "reduce suffering."
But this world is different!
It has a real, visible basis for resistance.
Those Apocalypse members who haven't completely succumbed, who still harbor a weariness or even a slight resistance to destruction deep within their hearts, such as herself, and perhaps the Destruction Ape who is interested in "possibilities."
After witnessing the power and hope displayed by Aigella, one's mind will inevitably become active.
Even if they don't directly defect to help, as long as they choose to slack off, it will be a huge benefit to the defending forces.
More importantly, the leader of this world, the being named Kana, clearly has an extremely deep understanding of the rules and logic of the void.
Does he also possess the wisdom and magnanimity to understand the uniqueness and risks of Apocalypse's "distorted ally"?
The possibility of cooperation exists.
The core rules of the Crystal Laws trembled slightly.
She can no longer remain merely an observer.
She had to find a way to establish contact and communicate with these tenacious resisters.
She needs to know their attitude, their views on the Apocalypse, and their bottom line and the possibility of "cooperation".
This will determine her next move.
Should we continue to observe from the shadows, offer limited assistance, or... risk everything and fight for this last hope of salvation?
Her gaze pierced through the clouds, past the void waves that were relentlessly turning to ashes on the white-light dead land, and firmly locked onto the city deep within the continent, shrouded in the radiance of order.
The city surrounding the tower.
A special being that can be seen in every revelation.
Contact is necessary.
She needed to find a suitable opportunity, a way to attract the other party's attention without immediately incurring a devastating blow.
The crystals of the Crystal Law refracted a complex yet resolute light in the afterglow of the setting sun, quietly adjusted their suspended posture, and drifted silently toward the City of the Ring Tower.
The path to redemption may lie just ahead. (End of Chapter)