[Player Piano · Saint Nicholas: If [Destruction] failed to ignite the flames of war that lock down fate, and the Saint, chanting hymns of paradise from within the fire, laid his hand over that of the false god and took up the true holy sword... what would things have become?
[The Elation] Aha attempted to fool "Fate" for you. The battle between Aeons was decided in an instant—
He failed. The script casually woven by the Fool met a fiery end. But in the gap between the Aeons' clash, you have been granted a brief moment of freedom from the shackles of fate.
The Divine Authority gifted to you by [The Elation] Aha has written a fool's play for you, to conceal your destiny...
After you choose to use this Divine Authority, for one minute, your fate will be concealed by Aha's fool's play, and you will be temporarily free from the locks of "Fate."
Due to [The Elation] Aha's generous gift, during the fool's play, the Miracle trigger rate increase from "The Existence of 'You'" will be fixed at 100%.
"Aeons are so single-minded, they'll believe any little trick! Haha!" —[The Elation] Aha.]
---o---
So Sampo was only thinking of self-preservation after all...
Looking at the screen, Ron shook his head slightly. As an Emanator of [Elation], Sampo's strength was by no means weaker than a Lord Ravager's. In fact, given the power of Aha himself, it was even possible that an [Elation] Emanator was stronger.
Sampo's performance was also exactly what Ron had expected. As a Lord Ravager who specialized in ultimate destruction, Burning Wind had been unable to counter Sampo and was swept off the battlefield, which meant Sampo had seized the initiative in their fight.
But he had only dealt with Burning Wind. After taking him away, he disappeared to who knows where. Ron estimated that Sampo wouldn't be back until this war was over...
Ron had initially hoped to use his formidable strength to somehow resist both [The Burning Wind] and [The Star Howler] simultaneously. But now that Sampo clearly had no intention of working overtime and only wanted to protect himself, Ron could only accept it with a sense of resignation.
After all, getting a guy like Sampo to help take out one Lord Ravager was already a good deal. He certainly couldn't ask for more.
Now, only [The Star Howler] and the remaining Antimatter Legion were left. In Ron's hands were Herta's puppets—an avatar of an [Erudition] Emanator—ten Star Destroyers, and a group of Silvermane Guards injected with the "Savior" serum. Adding himself, a half-[Erudition] Emanator with knowledge but no power, he could more or less match strength with [The Star Howler], this most trusted vanguard general of [The Destruction] Nanook. But that was before he received the blessing.
Without [The Elation] Aha's blessing, it would indeed have been just an even match.
But if he factored in the generous blessing from this Fool...
There were far, far too many things Ron could now do.
He stared at the text on the screen, thoughtfully stroking his chin.
Divine Authority... This was the second time Ron had seen a trait of this tier in the Life Simulation Game.
The last time was when he became the [Salvation] Aeon in the Simulated Universe and obtained the Divine Authority unique to that Path, "Hope Made Manifest." That trait could fix a desired future in every choice, freeing that future from the locks of "Fate" and setting the base Miracle trigger rate to 30%. It was perfectly in line with what a Divine Authority should be.
But compared to the one on the screen now, it seemed a bit weak.
Although "Hope Made Manifest" could be used continuously and had a high ceiling if one was lucky—perhaps triggering a miracle with every fixed future—it was ultimately a probability-based trait, and there would be times when it failed.
This Divine Authority from Aha, though a one-time use, could unlock the shackles of "Fate" and directly boost the Miracle trigger rate to 100%...
This meant that, when needed, he could trade this authority for one guaranteed miracle.
Therefore, even if there was only the slightest possibility of something happening, Ron could use this Divine Authority to guarantee it would occur. This was something the long-term use authority like "Hope Made Manifest" could not do...
With this one-time-use authority, there was so much Ron could achieve.
Whether it was completing a nearly impossible counterattack plan to crush the Antimatter Legion, or obtaining some nearly unobtainable resources;
He could even replicate his ascension in the Simulated Universe, using Aha's concealment to forcibly trigger the minuscule probability of ascending to the throne of an Aeon...
Ron could use this authority to deceive "Fate" and, with Aha's help, forge another miracle.
Of course, the option of ascending to godhood was not currently on his list. Even with Aha's concealment, after the Divine Authority's duration ended, he would inevitably be ganged up on and killed by [The Preservation], [The Abundance], and other Aeons whose Paths he had torn apart. The loss would far outweigh the gain.
Unless the Antimatter Legion's assault was simply too ferocious, and Ron had exhausted all other means and failed to defeat them, with New Belobog on the absolute brink of destruction and a desperate last stand was required, he would not casually attempt to ascend.
After all, becoming an Aeon granted power, but it also came with an excessively heavy price...
Unless the potential reward was great enough for Ron to be willing to sacrifice his simulated self and pay the price of being besieged by several veteran Aeons one minute after his ascension, he would never choose that path...
But still... a Divine Authority?
Ron looked at the screen thoughtfully, and it was only now that it dawned on him.
Theoretically, only Aeons and their recognized Emanators should be able to wield the power of a Divine Authority. Now that Aha had granted him this one-time-use authority, did that mean He had also granted him the infinite power of an [Elation] Emanator?
With this question in mind, Ron looked at the screen. The image faded, and a new option box appeared:
[The mead brewed from the divine blood of [The Destruction] Nanook flowed into your stomach like a fiery "solar prominence." The mead was completely digested, and the power of Nanook was converted into pure Imaginary energy. The blessing of [The Elation] Aha was applied to you through this energy. The god has permitted you to control this authority, to ignite a hope of escaping the fated end under His protection.]
[Right now, the endless Antimatter Legion, under the command of the Lord Ravager · [The Star Howler], has woven a net of destruction. They are advancing along a predetermined route, clashing with New Belobog's interstellar fleet in the void. Twisted biological armor and the hulls of starships are torn to shreds in the meat grinder of war, left to float silently in the cold expanse of space.]
[But the war has not reached a stalemate just because soldiers are being shattered... You know that this can only end when all combat strength on both sides has been exhausted. The enemy commander is that Lord Ravager who terrorizes the sea of stars, and a war against her cannot be fought so conservatively, bogged down in a phase of trading forces.]
[New Belobog's production capacity cannot support such a high-intensity war. This brutal rate of attrition will sooner or later drain the planet's remaining resource reserves, handing the initiative of the war to the Antimatter Legion's vanguard general...]
[You must think carefully and find a strategy that can turn the tide of battle.]
[Please choose—]
[1. ([Elation] Blessing) Use the Divine Authority: Player Piano · Saint Nicholas.
The blessing given to you by [The Elation] Aha is meant to be used at times like this... Lord Ravager · [The Star Howler] is [The Destruction] Nanook's most frequently deployed vanguard general and the Lord Ravager who has brought about the most destruction in this sea of stars.
Countless civilizations have been annihilated by her hand, and countless lives have been trampled into paste under the iron hooves of her legion.
Those civilizations were not weak; they had long earned the right to be known on the chessboard of the cosmos... New Belobog is not particularly strong among them. Even with Herta's puppet as an Emanator's avatar, it can only barely squeeze into the upper echelons of those destroyed civilizations' combat power.
Use Aha's blessing, unleash a miracle, and completely destroy this Lord Ravager's [Will of Destruction]—this is the easiest choice for you.
After selecting this option, you will trigger a free-form miracle option. After freely inputting text, you will trigger a miracle to resolve the threat of Lord Ravager · [The Star Howler] and her terrifying, locust-like army.]
[2. Make your own choice freely.
The battlefield is ever-changing, and everything is unpredictable... You need to formulate your own complete plan and proceed step-by-step, to see if you can, without borrowing the power of a god, resist this calamity of [Destruction] with mortal strength.
After selecting this option, you will trigger a free-form option. After freely inputting text, you will complete the plan you have written, attempting to resolve the threat of Lord Ravager · [The Star Howler] and her terrifying, locust-like army.]
---o---
Looking at the options, Ron sighed helplessly.
Was this the power of [The Star Howler]? Nanook's most frequently deployed general was truly no pushover. Just attempting to face her, to command his army against hers, the game was already presenting the option to use a Divine Authority, with the only other choice being a free-form one...
Clearly, within the game's calculations, Ron's only chance of triggering a miracle and defeating [The Star Howler] was to formulate the most meticulous plan possible. Otherwise, he would have to use the Divine Authority from Aha. There was no other way...
But there was no way Ron was going to use the Divine Authority here.
They were nowhere near the point of desperation. The Antimatter Legion didn't have that great of an advantage. In a war of this scale, a small advantage was just a temporary gain or loss. Ron was not without a chance of commanding his fleet to push them back.
Moreover, Ron hadn't prepared to rely solely on his fleet to defeat the Legion. The reason he'd had Cocolia order the databank AI to convert New Belobog was precisely for the enemy he was facing now.
The current New Belobog was an impregnable fortress. What was once a pristine ecumenopolis was now covered in solid strongholds, mostly manned by cold, unfeeling androids, as well as the Silvermane Guards who were currently being injected with the serum, evolving and applying the "Savior" trait.
With the blessing of the Supreme Guardian's miraculous authority, these soldiers were not without a chance of resisting the Antimatter Legion. In fact, the main phase of the war would be the difficult fortress and urban warfare that would begin once the Legion landed on Jarilo-VI...
They were still far from the most difficult point.
The effect of the Divine Authority from Aha was simply too powerful. Ron felt that it should be used to create a shocking, game-changing effect. If he was going to use it, he had to squeeze every drop of its effect, to trigger the most powerful miracle he could.
Now was not the time for a miracle of that magnitude to solve the problem.
Unless the Antimatter Legion had already secured a decisive victory, as long as New Belobog had even a sliver of a chance of winning, Ron would not choose to use the Divine Authority. He would fight with all his might, trying to seize that tiny chance of victory with mortal power.
With this thought, Ron clicked on the second option.
The option box on the screen faded, and a blank text box appeared in its place.
Ron watched the cursor blink mechanically, his mind flashing through one vision after another, simulating the possible outcomes of various choices in the war...
After a long while, Ron finally took a deep breath. He organized the thoughts in his mind, sorted out an extremely meticulous plan, and carefully typed it into the text box...
The filled text box on the screen faded, and a new scene appeared—
The intensity of the war was escalating.
The remaining factories in New Belobog were running at full capacity. Countless androids, controlled by the databank AI, had their power consumption limiters disabled. They were forcibly overclocked to boost performance, sacrificing their operational lifespan just to install one more screw on the assembly line.
Countless mass-produced starships were continuously loaded onto rocket launchers and sent into space. Under the control of the databank AI, they joined the battle, plunging into the meat grinder against the Antimatter Legion, only to be utterly crushed within minutes.
The vanguard general hiding in the shadows truly possessed a skill that matched her fearsome reputation. She was renowned for her military strategy, and her ability to lead troops could truly turn decay into magic.
The Antimatter Legion, which had initially been at a disadvantage due to the surprise attack, had easily reversed the situation under her command. The battlefield was no longer a stalemate. Now, the Legion was steadily advancing toward Jarilo-VI, while the clustered fleet of New Belobog was in constant retreat. For every few thousand meters they fell back, they left behind countless wrecks. Even with the full support of New Belobog's factories, their decline was undeniable.
A simple calculation made it clear. At the current rate of attrition versus production, never mind using up all of New Belobog's resource reserves, in just a short while, the planet's reserve starships would be completely gone.
Then, the fleet would be unable to form a reliable defensive line. The Antimatter Legion would pierce through the weak defense like a sharp knife, then proceed at full speed toward New Belobog, break through Jarilo-VI's atmosphere within ten-odd minutes, and land their troops on the ground to begin the destruction they so cherished.
Watching the scene on the screen, Bronya clenched her fists, her palms sweating with nervousness.
She had never studied anything about interstellar warfare; the old Belobog had never supported such learning. But that didn't mean she couldn't understand what the rapid disappearance of the blue dots representing New Belobog on the panoramic map meant.
She stared at the map. The blue dots were retreating step by step, and with each step back, a chunk of them was torn off by the dense swarm of red dots. Many blue dots were extinguished, completely swallowed by the red tide.
Bronya didn't understand how things had come to this. She had thought that the IPC fleet from a few days ago was the final test New Belobog would have to face.
But who could have known that in such a short time, a massive army from the Antimatter Legion would suddenly appear on the horizon, baring its fangs, ready to completely annihilate Jarilo-VI.
"What are we going to do..."
She murmured to herself, her clenched fists loosening and tightening, unconsciously clutching the corner of her uniform, staring at the screen, at a loss.
This was a war she could not participate in.
For the first time, she felt so powerless... In the previous simulations, no matter how strong the enemy, they were always on the soil of Jarilo-VI. No matter how weak Bronya was, she could at least contribute something, even risk her life to tear a piece of flesh from the enemy.
But this time was different... The battle against the suddenly appearing Antimatter Legion was taking place in the heavens. A war in the stars left her able to do nothing but stand on the ground and look up, watching helplessly as New Belobog gradually fell into a losing position, bit by bit revealing its weakness, as if on the verge of total defeat, about to be consumed by the calamitous fire in the hands of the Antimatter Legion.
She could only watch... She could do nothing.
This feeling of powerlessness filled Bronya's chest. For a moment, she suddenly felt a sense of grievance. She didn't understand why Belobog had to face these threats. All they wanted was to live well. The people of Belobog just wanted a world where they could live in peace. Why did they have to face such a crisis?
This sliver of grievance rippled in her heart, but it soon faded. Bronya was no longer the little girl who had to follow behind her mother. Having experienced so much in the simulations, she had long since matured...
This was the cruelty of reality.
Although Bronya didn't know why the Antimatter Legion had suddenly come to Jarilo-VI again, and with such a grand invasion, none of that mattered anymore.
These enemies didn't care if you felt wronged. Since they had started this war, they obviously had something they wanted to gain... The reasons were not important. There was no possibility of gentle negotiation with these enemies.
Only resistance... and only resistance.
All she needed to think about was how to resist this invasion.
Looking at the screen, Bronya's emotions calmed slightly, and she began to think of a solution.
According to the records of the Architects, during the first Antimatter Legion invasion of Jarilo-VI, the commander was also a Lord Ravager, an Emanator of [Destruction] just like the one currently commanding the battle from the heavens.
At that time, although the people of Jarilo were constantly retreating, after the first Supreme Guardian received the miraculous authority from [The Preservation] Qlipoth, that Lady Alisa Rand had successfully led the Silvermane Guards to hold the line of resistance. This clearly showed that the Lord Ravager was not invincible and could not simply ignore the resistance of the Silvermane Guards.
Thinking of this, and of how Cocolia had ordered the databank AI to convert New Belobog into a fortress city a few days ago, and how the Silvermane Guards were now being injected with the "Savior" serum, plus the fact that she and Cocolia both possessed the miraculous authority from Qlipoth...
The current New Belobog was surely far stronger than the Belobog of over seven hundred years ago.
In that case... could they try to lure the enemy in deep, draw their main force into New Belobog, and bring the Lord Ravager who was guiding the invasion from behind the scenes to the forefront, and attempt to launch a counterattack within the city?
The fleet's strength was too weak compared to the Antimatter Legion. It was clear they could no longer defeat them. This somewhat radical option was probably the only one with a chance of success...
Bronya thought thoughtfully, excited that her idea seemed to have no flaws. But she quickly became dejected again.
She had lost so miserably in this simulation and was still under house arrest by Cocolia in the New Qlipoth Fort. What chance did she have to make a decision in such an important war...
Besides, although she felt her idea might be effective, it certainly couldn't compare to the work of a professional like Ron. Even if she had command authority, she wouldn't immediately implement this idea. She would have to ask Ron for his decision first.
But what Bronya didn't expect was that this was the first time she had come close to following Ron's line of thinking.
Although Ron's plan was far, far more detailed than hers, at least in this first step, Bronya's thoughts were no different from his.
The scene on the light screen faded, and new lines of text appeared:
[The New Belobog fleet's defensive line was completely broken by the Antimatter Legion. After swiftly clearing the fleet, countless war machines docked in the orbit of Jarilo-VI and began rapidly deploying troops into the atmosphere.]
[Countless Voidrangers fell through the atmosphere, plummeting toward the ground at great speed. Under the command of their leader, they quickly assembled, forming neat arrays and standing by, preparing to destroy this innocent planet.]
[And now that the war had reached this stage, with the Antimatter Legion having achieved such a great victory, the mastermind behind it all finally revealed herself—]
[Lord Ravager · [The Star Howler] stepped out from the shadows that had concealed her. For the first time in this war, she stepped onto the stage, appearing before the assembled Antimatter Legion, ready to, as the commander, fully unleash her might and invade New Belobog, to collect the spoils of her victory—an expected destruction.]
But as Ron read the text on the screen, not only did he not feel any pressure, but the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, revealing a smile of a successful scheme.
"Avoiding the brunt of their attack was indeed a good decision... You've finally decided to come out, Star Howler."
Ron muttered to himself and clicked the screen. The text faded, and a new scene appeared:
The Antimatter Legion's Voidrangers assembled at their landing points. The colossal legion took shape under Star Howler's command, standing on the outskirts of New Belobog, completely unopposed.
The new city blocks were clean and tidy, and the wide streets were quiet, giving Star Howler the opportunity to organize her legion at her leisure.
But this opportunity was not without a price.
If you wanted to assemble your troops on the spot, preparing to reignite the fires of war, then you had to be prepared to be ambushed, to be trapped and beaten like a cornered dog...
Ron would not let such a golden opportunity pass.
The city blocks surrounding the legion suddenly echoed with the clicking of mechanisms, rapidly shifting and transforming to reveal their true forms.
These blocks had long been converted into war fortresses, with only a simple camouflage left behind.
From within, countless androids picked up portable antimatter fission cannons. An unknown number of giant humanoid armors—"Titans"—tore through their "building" disguises from nearby. The fixed emplacement cannons on the fortresses began to charge, all of them aimed at the Antimatter Legion that had just landed and had yet to complete its formation...
The counterattack was about to begin.