228.FATE Awakening Sword (Part 2)
"—Jania?" Li Aozi exclaimed in surprise. "Hey, are you okay?"
「That crimson shockwave… was too powerful. The sword's durability can't keep up with you anymore.」
Jania's tone sounded regretful:
「Li Aozi, you've grown too fast. At this rate, who could possibly keep up with you?」
"Don't worry, I'm not going to abandon anyone."
Li Aozi nodded and reentered the fray, constructing brand-new terrain with elemental architecture.
"Umbra can resurrect in at most four hours. I need to clear the field quickly to weaken the [Mechanical Society] Mashgegan's hold on White Candle Star."
Li Aozi swept a hand through the air, calling quietly:
"World, rise and fight for me!"
Rocky giants rose from the peaks, lumbering and roaring. Frost swirled and drifted, freezing everything in its path. Atmospheric elements summoned thunder and gales; pale blue acidic rain fell in torrents, punishing machines unceasingly. A fiery elemental creature burst forth from cannon breeches and igniters, rampaging amid the mechanical army.
Meanwhile, darkness spread quietly in the shadows, silently cursing every mech hiding behind cover, dragging them into an unending realm of blackness…
Li Aozi wasn't truly an [Architect], but with years of experience and White Candle Star's utter trust, he now wielded genuine Domination over this natural ecosystem.
Wherever his fingertip pointed, humidity and oxygen levels shifted at once. Wherever his gaze landed, flames erupted or earthquakes raged. Even at an 8,000-meter elevation, he could summon floods at will, letting the scarlet snowfields lie prostrate at his feet.
Blades, spears, swords, and halberds clashed. Caramel Snail slashed open the monitor of a high-level mech, crushed it underfoot, and charged into a factory with his comrades.
Seeing the complex steadily churning out Mechanical citizens, the players exchanged glances, wordlessly making the same choice.
[Self-destruct protocol set. Dimensional detonation countdown: 59, 58… ]
They jumped out of their colonized troopers, returning to normal human size for easier escape. Dashing out of the factory, Cumin Powder waved behind him and shouted:
"So long, suckers!"
[… 3, 2, 1!]
Fwup——
The entire factory folded inward and compressed, flattening against the earth.
[Task Complete]
"Is it over…?" Caramel Snail gasped for breath, staring blankly ahead.
With this last factory shut down, wiping out the Mechanical's forces via the heroic army and Li Aozi's elemental giants was only a matter of time.
Logically, the councilors were defeated, so civilization should be saved.
Yet the current situation seemed far from settled.
Boom!
With a casual squeeze of his hand, Li Aozi dropped the weight of gravity, compressing the blood-soaked battlefield into a mirror-smooth surface. Even the sturdy bedrock was forcefully pressed a dozen meters downward by his power.
The barrier of black magnetic fluid shattered instantly. Space and communication links were restored. Li Aozi soon received gravitational-wave signals from various places; simultaneously, his own broadcast reached outward at last.
The heroic army stood in formation, while Lake Fairy Sophia Marlin quietly approached.
At this point, the final Mechanical citizens had been annihilated.
"…It's not over yet."
Sophia Marlin pointed above them.
Li Aozi lifted his gaze to the sky, where a 20-kilometer-wide circular gate blocked out the light. Interlocking gears spun in precise array, running continuously in a rhythm so exquisite it could be called a masterpiece of mechanical industry.
The Mechanical Gate still existed.
"What's going on…" Li Aozi frowned. "We eliminated all the Mechanical citizens. The Society's ritual should vanish completely, right?"
"'Institution.'"
Sophia Marlin said:
"They used a 『Society Institution』 to infect and corrupt the entire planet, like… a viral plague, forcibly corrupting anyone with an idealist worldview."
"That's such a dirty trick?" Li Aozi clicked his tongue.
He checked the time: only nineteen minutes left before Umbra's revival.
This was no good. If things dragged on, the Mechanical councilors would revive and get stronger. After a few more power-ups, no one on this planet could stop them.
"No way we can cleanse the whole planet's proto-citizens in so little time…"
Li Aozi muttered, thoughts racing.
"Drive away Mashgegan."
Sophia Marlin looked at Li Aozi, saying:
"You… must challenge Mashgegan in person to expel it."
"Challenge it personally?" Li Aozi asked. He glanced at her, but realized her eyes weren't on him.
He turned, following her line of sight to where the lone wolf-helmed knight stood.
——[Heroic Warlord] Lidevidens.
"It's your duty…your destiny. You alone can do it. You've held firm all along, never yielding. Even though your body rotted, your soul decayed, your consciousness withered, you've still adhered to that principle: to launch a final counterstrike."
Sophia Marlin spoke to Li Aozi:
"Give the sword to him."
She didn't really need to say it. A quest interface popped up before Li Aozi:
[You triggered the event—"Witness: Fate Awakening"]
[Type]: Event / Witness
[Deadline]: 15 minutes (countdown underway)
[Difficulty]: None (Please witness it all)
[Cutscene]:
...
"Lake Fairy" Sophia Marlin, guardian of the Farlician spirits, had gleaned much about hidden truths and history over these past five millennia.
"In ancient times, the god Sharpfang Peak perished alongside one of the Secret Society's councilors, the [Blacksmith], pouring his power into this sword. He knew the gulf between himself and the [Secret Society] was too vast, so he chose to preserve his strength and bequeath his weapon to General Lidevidens, his successor—then fell peacefully on the battlefield."
Sophia Marlin told you this story:
"But Lidevidens received more than just a weapon. He also inherited his mentor's teaching:"
「Little Liwei, our civilization's fate is already sealed. With Leozi defeated and Haines destroyed, Farlicia's glory is gone. Realistically, we exiles beyond the Abyss have no future; our history ends here.」
Nearby, Lidevidens stood quietly, his ruined body slowly showing signs of vitality.
「But Farlicia's most precious legacy isn't a weapon, nor cultural works, nor bloodlines.」
The fairy continued reciting Sharpfang Peak's words:
「It's our spirit: courage, equality, fraternity, zeal.」
「I don't want you to guard our people and blood, but rather to safeguard that spirit. Any civilization inheriting our spirit, treat them as Farlicia's people.」
「Don't clash with the next successor. The Star Abyss is vast, enough for every nation and race. Our only enemy is the [Society]. Everyone else is our ally.」
[Please hand over the "Fate Awakening Sword."]