Hearing about the new blood, Matins’s heart softened a bit.
But immediately, he returned to his role as a battle commander.
He turned his head and said to Lacroix, “Sergeant Major, I need you to take some men to prepare for the demolition. Next, we will act together.”
“Yes, sir!”
…
At the bottom of the maritime ruins, at the very bottom of the Central Spire.
There were three core facilities established by the Nature Salvation Society.
The first was a Spirit Energy Field Refinery.
The second was a Shield Generator.
Both devices, originating from the pre-war era, had been discarded as obsolete. Under Ge Wajia’s technical capabilities, and under the twisting reality of Chaotic Sorcery, they had been repaired, put back into operation, and had even formed a connection with each other.
The pure Spiritual Energy extracted from the Spiritualized Gas Field was poured into the Shield Generator, providing it with an almost endless source of energy.
Beyond these two, there was also a Demon Engine.
The so-called Demon Engine referred to an Abyssal demon that had fused its mental will with a certain machine, gaining a physical entity in the real world, enabling it to act.
That monstrosity, like a moldy, flesh-grown machine, stood quietly not far from the Shield Generator.
Ge Wajia was also here.
At this moment, he sat opposite the Demon Engine with his eyes tightly closed.
The voice of the demon kept echoing within Ge Wajia’s soul.
“…Accept the gift, fully accept the gift.”
“…Only the Benevolent Father can save this world, He will grant immortality to all life on the planet.”
“…The followers of the false emperor are closing in, do you really want to let this world return to the cruel hands of that empire?”
These voices kept tempting Ge Wajia’s soul.
Meanwhile, another faint voice echoed from the bottom of his heart.
“Don’t believe it!”
“Think about those people stuffed into the canisters, can that be called immortality, can that be called living?”
“Turn back, let’s put an end to all of this.”
…
Listening to the voices pulling at his mind simultaneously, Ge Wajia himself slowly opened his mouth.
“I said, if you keep nagging, I’ll sacrifice you.”
Both voices suddenly fell silent.
After a while, that voice from the depth of his heart spoke up again, “Would you rather believe these demons that once destroyed our world than the empire?”
“It was the empire that destroyed our world.”
This was Ge Wajia’s belief.
He had no intention of arguing further.
He raised his hands, making an offering gesture.
And at that moment, the previously silent voice of the demon stirred once more.
That strange laughter, reverberating in his heart and infiltrating the depths, was elated, like a hunter who had finally captured his long-desired prey, eagerly opening his fangs, ready to devour it.
At this moment, the voice within Ge Wajia’s heart had become incredibly weak and faint.
He left one last message: “Trust in humanity…”
Ge Wajia also gave his final response: “I trust in the Benevolent Father.”
“Hahaha!” The demon’s strange, heavy laughter continued to echo in the depth of his heart, completely occupying the deepest recesses, “Yes! Exactly! Trust in the Benevolent Father! Only the Benevolent Father is the ultimate destination for everything in the universe!”
With the demon’s laughter echoing, what Ge Wajia could hear ringing near his ears, the so-called ‘Gospel from Heaven,’ grew louder and louder; his body began to undergo violent changes, sprouting numerous tumors. These tumors kept expanding, then burst and oozed pus, only to be immediately replaced by larger ones growing from within.
During this process, his size kept increasing, becoming more and more contorted.
Eventually, he became a creature nearly six meters tall with three horns on his head and three eyes, almost touching the ceiling.
His body developed horizontally into a bloated, yellow-green figure riddled with pus-filled sores; then abruptly, his swollen belly ‘pop’ exploded, spilling a mass of plasma and revealing the intestines inside.
Continue your journey on empire
But he was completely oblivious, his massive face simply bearing a fierce smile.
“I am Ge Wajia!”
“I am… the Great Unclean!”
Two different voices echoed from his mouth, filling the entire space.
…
Matins, Rizzo, and Lacroix, upon entering this space, were met with this sight.
A huge, foul-smelling creature stood before them, occupying a large part of the already spacious six-meter-tall area.
After blowing the door open, they encountered some obstructions during their descent.
Among the enemies, numerous demons appeared.
Real demons.
A type of monster called the Plague Bearer, with a distorted humanoid shape, three eyes, and three horns, as if a weakened, miniaturized version of the Great Unclean.
These Plague Bearers, along with some Plague Spirits, formed a demonic group, and together with the Cult followers, tormented by the plague into inhuman forms but still alive, they barred the human troops’ assault.
The firearms in the hands of those Cult followers looked like ordinary kinetic rifles produced locally, but when fired, the bullets had a special Spiritual Energy effect, significantly increasing their destructive power.
The Plague Bearers were even more terrifying.
Spitting out saliva like bullets, containing intense poison and corrosive effects. For ordinary special ops elites, the ceramic steel cladding on the exoskeleton provided limited protection, corroding holes in a second or two, followed by the rapid death of the soldier inside.
Even the space warriors were reluctant to expose their Terminator Power Armor to such loathsome attacks. Even if it wouldn’t be penetrated that easily, they didn’t want their precious armor pitted and pocked.
Logically, after encountering resistance in their advance, they shouldn’t be too hasty. Since the enemy clearly had no way to retreat and was not worried about fleeing, they just needed to utilize the terrain, take cover, and gradually push forward, using heavy firepower to clear out enemies step by step.
However, during this process, they felt a very unsettling presence emanating from the depths of the building, from even lower levels.
Matins consulted Priest Rizzo’s opinion briefly and decided to go for a full-on assault, even if it meant more casualties.
They had to speed up their pace, or else, they felt that something significant was happening below.
For this reason, Matins, as the strongest, led the charge.
His Terminator Power Armor was almost the perfect cover in these cramped quarters. With defense a notch above the conventional power armor, it easily withstood incoming fire.
Moreover, Matins wasn’t an easy target. Although his mobility was slightly less than that of standard tactical power armor once he donned the Terminator, he could still manage some evasive maneuvers, avoiding the full brunt of incoming fire.
And the heavy grenade launcher he held in one hand, like a miniature rapid-fire cannon, mercilessly obliterated all enemies in front of him.
The three warriors accompanying him also cleared out enemies swiftly with their grenade launchers, relieving the pressure on the commander. The elite troops behind them were no pushovers either. They couldn’t withstand a hit from a Plague Bearer or a Cult gunman, but by overloading their laser rifles, they too could take down an enemy with a single shot.
Still, they were a step too late.
Facing the fully-formed, immense demon ahead, even Matins in his Terminator Power Armor felt like a small child in comparison.
Moreover, Matins fully understood what he was seeing.
This was… the Great Unclean, a being known as the Great Demon.
Why would such an enemy appear on Rage Owl Star? Was there fertile ground here for the advent of a Great Demon?
————
Today’s update is here.
Finally found some time to write in the evening…
I’m currently on a business trip, and for the next week or so, I will do my best to ensure the daily 4000-word update is not missed, though I cannot commit to a noon release anymore.
