The Imaginary Tree.
A group of masks once again climbed to the treetop. As the greatest prankster in the cosmos, how could he enjoy his fun without anyone to share it with?
"The Destruction colliding with the Hunt, this is just too entertaining!" Joyful laughter echoed across the crown of the tree, laying bare the delight of its owner.
Godzilla slowly opened his eyes. The incessant laughter by his ears had successfully woken him up.
His eyelids drooped slightly, revealing a speechless gaze.
Godzilla knew very well that the reason the Xianzhou had collided with the Antimatter Legion was entirely because of this guy.
That planet Rahu, too, was roaming everywhere because of Aha. Otherwise, it should have been heading straight for the Xianzhou Luofu, or at the very least, moving toward regions rich in Abundance.
Instead, it followed behind the Cloud Knights, wandering about, lured into resource-poor territories.
Based on Godzilla's understanding of Aha, there had to be more meddling mixed into this. The appearance of the Irontomb might very well also be Aha's handiwork.
A prankster fears nothing more than peace. Not to mention that this one was the greatest prankster in the entire cosmos.
"Hehe, even those bookworms from the Remembrance have shown up. The fun's getting bigger and bigger."
Suddenly, Aha burst into laughter once more.
....
A remote star system, where both sides were still fighting relentlessly.
The Antimatter Legion oppressed the planets of the universe. The vast armies of the Legion that blotted out the sky and sun struck fear into the soul.
Two factions that were meant to formally clash in a more distant future met ahead of time by chance, facing each other at opposing summits.
Between the Xianzhou and The Antimatter Legion, there had always been a battle destined to be ignited.
Noticing that the activated planet which had already largely recovered, upon it, the souls of the Xianzhou people had mostly had their bodies transformed into the appearance of Void Soldiers, Feixiao's fighting intent stirred instinctively.
But she soon calmed down again.
She was not a reckless brute who charged the moment she met an enemy. She could sense that the current state of the people of Cangcheng was relaxed.
Though still bound, they were no longer trapped as before by the terror of the the activated planet, instead enjoying a fleeting moment of peace.
"After drifting outside for so long, it's time to sleep for a while." Her eyes lowered slightly as Feixiao murmured softly.
She alone could not kill this the activated planet, but behind her were countless sources of strength.
She was a Xianzhou General, one of the Seven Arbiter-Generals, bearing the Reignbow Arbiter's blessing as she led the Xianzhou Yaoqing.
The suffering endured by the people of the Xianzhou should rightly be brought to an end by her.
"General, the nearest Xianzhou Zhuming will take another system hour to arrive. Please be careful." Jiaoqiu said gravely as he oversaw logistics and supplies from the rear.
"One system hour, is it… That's enough. I can fight her for a day."
The corner of Feixiao's mouth lifted slightly, revealing a sharp, battle-hungry smile unique to her.
A lone Arbiter-General was at a disadvantage when facing a Lord Ravager. That was determined by the very nature of their authority.
But that was before. Becoming one of the Seven Arbiter-Generals was not merely about inheriting authority.
To prevent the tragedies of the past from repeating, Feixiao trained day and night. Her skills had long since reached great heights.
Even in the past, when her body limited her and the Moon Rage prevented her from unleashing her full strength, she could still stand as a General through sheer technique alone.
After consuming the Crimson Moon, Feixiao's physical attributes underwent another qualitative leap. At this moment, she alone was enough to completely suppress the pressure of an Emanator head-on!
"General, a large number of Void Soldiers are gathering toward this location. They should be reinforcements from the Antimatter Legion." Moze reported calmly.
"Expected. If Celenova ever went out without bringing a horde of subordinates, I'd start doubting whether she really was Celenova."
Feixiao's impression of Celenova was, aside from her arrogantly standing on Xianzhou Zhuming's territory and ordering Zhuming to obey her command to attack the Wingweavers, the legion that constantly surrounded her.
Vanguard General under the Aeon of Destruction, her reputation was well earned.
Both sides faced off, their sharp edges fully revealed.
The atmosphere at the scene was taut to the extreme.
On this battlefield where one could almost smell the gunpowder that had yet to ignite, every passing second weighed heavily on the mind.
No one knew how much time passed before the blazing radiance of colossal fire illuminated the battlefield.
"Boom!"
Warships roared, blades flashed, and the Cloud Knights' battle cries rang out.
Doomsday Beasts howled, Stormbringers bent their bows, and fearless Void Rangers charged forward, roaring.
The gleam of armor on the Cloud Knights and the dull gray of the Void Rangers were like two rivers that would never intersect, yet by chance, they collided at this very moment.
They roared at one another.
Above, Feixiao and Celenova clashed.
As the leaders of their respective sides, once they entered battle, there was only each other in their eyes, only when weapons pierced flesh, churned blood, and the power of their Paths was wantonly unleashed upon the other's body did their emotions finally stir.
This universe had always been like this: those who were stronger ruled all directions; true order was forged by strength!
A heavy axe hacked down mercilessly, followed closely by the cold-gleaming blade of a spear.
The light of the Hunt coiled around it, frigid killing intent laid bare.
Celenova neither dodged nor retreated, meeting it head-on with the purest force!
She was adept at strategy, but most of the time this cosmos did not require clever schemes. Mastering overwhelming power, that was what a truly intelligent person should pursue!
In most cases, strategy was merely compensation for insufficient strength.
She was proud, and arrogant, and she had every right to be.
The fearsome name of the Lord Ravagers resounded across the cosmos; the name Celenova alone struck terror into countless worlds!
If she could crush her enemy head-on, she would never resort to schemes.
This war was not initiated by Destruction. The Hunt formally declared war, and as a Lord Ravager, her pride compelled her to choose a direct, head-on battle.
A vast and resplendent momentum!! The aura of their clash was grand and overwhelming.
The powers of Destruction and the Hunt intertwined. No life could approach the surroundings, occasionally, a Void Ranger or a Cloud Knight that strayed in by mistake would fail to last even a second before being annihilated into pure energy by the terrifying shockwaves.
"Don't move." A clear, cold voice devoid of any other meaning accompanied the tip of a blade as it struck forth.
Acheron calmly watched Irontomb as he continuously repaired the activated planet Rahu, not even looking at the battle raging on.
She was simply keeping an eye on his movements.
Feixiao could hold back Celenova, and the Cloud Knights of the Xianzhou could fight the Antimatter Legion head-on.
If Irontomb joined the battlefield, the entire situation would only become more complicated.
She held fast to the promise she had made to Stelle and was doing all she could.
Until someone appeared on her side who could take over, she would not allow Irontomb to move even a single step.
That was all.
Just as the entire Sidis Star Region boiled over, in a corner unnoticed by anyone, a memetic lifeform slipped through space, arriving quietly and observing the major events unfolding before its eyes.
"Clashes between the Legion and the Xianzhou happen from time to time, but a battle of this scale is the first of this Amber Era." Black Swan gazed softly at the distant battlefield.
With her abilities, she could clearly perceive everything happening there. As for the battle between Celenova and Feixiao, she did not go to watch it.
They both were Emanators. Black Swan was not so overconfident as to pry into matters that were never meant for her to touch.
Remembrancers are memetic lifeforms, but that does not mean memetic lifeforms cannot die. She, after all, quite cherished her own life.
Her gaze shifted slightly toward Acheron, who was holding Irontomb in check, and Black Swan's expression stiffened.
In the past, Black Swan had relied on her abilities to wander freely, wherever there was something interesting, she would be there.
That strike from Acheron had truly given her a psychological scar. It wasn't enough to make her abandon her duty as a Memokeeper, but when faced with matters of a certain level, she would no longer act as casually as before.
Suddenly, those crimson eyes shifted onto her without her knowing when.
Black Swan's heart tightened. She knew she had been discovered. As for how she was discovered, that was not important.
Acheron was someone who had stepped into the shadow of [IX], an extremely special existence. It was not strange that she could detect her.
Especially now, when she had drawn that blade.
Back in Penacony, Black Swan had already noticed that even when Acheron did nothing, just standing there, she was like a black hole, devouring all the excess crimson in the world.
Memetic lifeforms ultimately still exist in contact with reality, and being noticed within another's domain was nothing unusual.
"Scaring people the moment we meet, how rare." With a soft sigh, Black Swan let out another quiet lament.
She simply turned her attention away from Acheron and focused instead on the two sides locked in battle.
Under normal circumstances, the cosmos was fairly calm. Even occasional news of the Antimatter Legion conquering another star system would not cause much of a stir.
The Interastral Peace Corporation's reach extended throughout the universe. Any world qualified to become part of the IPC's market or extraction zones was brought under its protection.
Even the most remote star systems had IPC starships stationed there.
You could doubt the faith in the Amber Lord held by certain people within the IPC, but when it came to safeguarding assets and territory, they were the most reliable.
Thinking of a few people at the IPC, Black Swan couldn't help but chuckle softly.
That Taravan, an Emanator of Preservation, not believing in the Amber Lord, what an excellent joke.
And yet, precisely because he was an Emanator of Preservation, bearing the Amber Lord's attributes, the IPC entrusted him with heavy responsibilities. Matters of Paths were tangled and chaotic, who could truly make sense of them?
"Boom!"
"Bang!"
Two deafening explosions erupted at the same time, and surging waves of energy scattered large numbers of Cloud Knights and Void Troopers.
Black Swan lifted her gaze to see several planets shatter under the attacks of Feixiao and Celenova.
Many of the smaller fragments were completely annihilated by the subsequent shockwaves.
In the blink of an eye, several more stars were reduced to dust.
And this kind of battle was merely a warm-up.
"The Great General truly lives up to her title. Handling work of this magnitude still looks effortless for you," Celenova said with a light smile, her expression unchanged.
"You're not bad either. For the Vanguard General rumored to command the Antimatter Legion, possessing this level of strength is rather rare," Feixiao replied.
The two stared directly at each other, mutual disdain clear in their eyes. Their auras locked tightly onto one another, any revealed flaw would be met with a thunderous strike.
Unfortunately, after several rounds of exchange, both understood that while killing the other was possible, it would not be today.
"If I hadn't taken the Crimson Moon, I probably wouldn't be a match for this woman," Feixiao thought, sensing the faint tremor transmitted through her heavy axe as her eyes narrowed slightly.
In battles of this scale, even the slightest deficiency became a massive disadvantage.
The Seven Generals who could wield mighty spirits were all powerful, but how much of that power they could unleash depended entirely on the individual.
She was the most offensively inclined among the Seven, and even so, she could only fight Celenova to a standstill. If it were her former self, still troubled by Moon Rage, she likely wouldn't have even entered her stride before relapsing, and being taken down.
Lord Ravager.
There were no mistaken names, only perfectly fitting titles.
That designation itself embodied the overwhelming combat prowess of the Destruction Path, not to mention that every Lord Ravager had been elevated under Nanook's gaze.
Just as Feixiao was thinking of a way to break the deadlock, a familiar presence burst onto the scene.
"Xianzhou Zhuming…" Celenova raised an eyebrow slightly, her expression playful as she looked at the starships tearing through space, the banners they bore unmistakably those of the Zhuming.
By coincidence, the first Xianzhou she had ever set foot on in the past was Zhuming. Seeing it again now brought a faint sense of nostalgia.
At the same time, upon seeing the arrival of the Xianzhou Zhuming, Acheron slowly sheathed her blade.
Irontomb understood that it was now his turn. The reason he had not clashed with Acheron earlier was not fear. He possessed only reason, no emotion.
At the time, his processor's analysis concluded that acting rashly would force the Legion to face several powerful figures, Acheron included.
He did not care about the lower ranks. His mechanical Legion blotted out the sky, utterly overwhelming in numbers.
Only Emanator-level beings could truly decide the course of the battle.
According to his calculations, Acheron had no substantive ties to the Xianzhou. Her intervention this time was likely due to a chance encounter.
Investigating Acheron's interpersonal connections, so simple they could fit on a single sheet of paper, was effortless for a Lord Ravager like him.
If Acheron, a powerhouse who stood head and shoulders above even other Emanators, formally took the Xianzhou's side, the situation would become far from favorable.
At the very front of the Xianzhou Zhuming's flagship, an elderly man stood against the wind. His usual kindness was gone, replaced by the presence befitting a General.
"Lord Ravager Celenova, it's been a long time. I trust you've been well."