"The Iron Cavalry removed their armor for the first time," Zhili continued.
"They revealed their twisted bodies and scarred faces."
"But no one mocked them."
"Autran had only inherited fragments of Glamoth's technology and developed its own crude methods."
"To force the Molten Knight armor to function, they had to perform brutal modifications."
"Without the armor, their voices were hoarse."
"One of them simply commented that the alcohol tasted terrible."
"She couldn't understand why anyone liked such a drink."
The mood finally relaxed.
Laughter broke out.
Noise and cheering filled the air.
Together they welcomed the final celebration before death.
Because the Rangers themselves would also be the ones walking toward death.
"The feast of drunken joy eventually ended."
"And after the celebration…"
"Everyone departed for the battlefield."
"The Second Campaign Against Zhuluo began."
"And it might have been their last chance."
"No matter how arrogant Zhuluo was, this time the 'ants' truly posed a threat."
"If he survived this operation…"
"He would no longer ignore the Rangers."
"He would treat them as real enemies and launch ruthless retaliation."
"When the plan was finally carried out…"
"It's hard to say whether things went smoothly or not."
"Events unfolded exactly as expected."
"But Zhuluo's strength was too overwhelming."
"The Swarm poured forth endlessly."
"They covered the sky like a living storm."
"They reproduced faster than they died."
"The overwhelming pressure of a cosmic calamity became fully apparent."
"The Legion was also enormous."
"But unlike the Swarm, it had no reinforcements."
"At first the Legion crushed the Swarm."
"The Swarm nearly collapsed."
Then—
"The battle reached a stalemate."
Then—
"The Legion slowly fell behind."
Then—
"The Legion began to lose ground."
"But Zhuluo himself was different."
"His stamina seemed infinite."
"The Destruction Path energy granted to him also seemed endless."
"With every passing moment he inflicted devastating destruction—"
"On the Swarm."
"On his own Legion."
"On everything."
"There was no distinction between enemy and ally."
"Simply approaching him meant annihilation."
"And the scale of destruction kept growing."
"The Swarm casualties expanded faster and faster."
"At one point, Zhuluo was destroying them faster than they could reproduce."
"And yet—
"His efficiency kept increasing."
"If things continued like this…"
"This Swarm colony—hidden in the Asdana system and reproducing ever since the fall of Propagation…"
"…might truly be destroyed by Zhuluo alone."
"In other words…"
"The Swarm alone might not be able to stall Zhuluo long enough."
"He was a Lord Ravager, an Emanator of Destruction."
Even that endless swarm might not delay him until the destined moment arrived.
"At the critical moment…"
"The Fool scattered a cup of blood wine."
"A retired Xianzhou general among the Rangers threw out a branch of the Ambrosial Arbor—"
The Branch of Eternal Longevity.
"And the leader of the righteous Rangers fired a shot he never wished to fire."
"That blood wine was likely infused with diluted Destruction golden blood."
"When it turned into a red mist…"
"The Swarm was almost annihilated instantly."
"But the Swarm's massive numbers meant some survived."
"A few lucky survivors adapted."
"They endured."
"Though their numbers were tiny…"
"They now carried a fragment of Destruction itself."
And from that moment—
"Zhuluo could no longer wipe them out so effortlessly."
"The retired Xianzhou general had violated the Xianzhou taboo."
"He threw out the origin of immortality."
"A branch of the sacred Jianmu Tree."
"The Branch of Eternal Longevity."
Countless beings across the universe longed for such a treasure.
But now—
It created something terrifying.
"The Swarm gained the power of Abundance."
"The Jianmu's energy did not merely enhance their regeneration."
"It resonated with the Swarm's natural Propagation power."
"Even the Rangers hadn't expected this."
"The power of Abundance fit the Swarm too perfectly."
"The Swarm became vastly stronger."
"I don't know what the Swarm looked like when the Propagation Aeon Tayzzyronth was still alive."
"But I imagine…"
"It must have been something like this."
"In the Rangers' plan, this step was extremely dangerous."
"It would only be used as a last resort."
"No one knew whether Abundance would harmonize with the Swarm…"
"…or conflict with it."
"If they were compatible…"
"It could create a disaster threatening the entire universe."
"So there was only one option."
"They had to drag the Swarm into Nihility's shadow."
"If they failed…"
"The resulting catastrophe would be thousands of times worse than Zhuluo himself."
"The Rangers likely had backup plans."
"Otherwise they would never have risked such a method."
"But I don't know those details."
"I was only an observer."
"Not a participant."
"The enhanced Swarm was terrifying."
"But fortunately…"
"Only a handful had survived."
"This was the best moment to destroy them."
"To ensure the sacrifice wasn't wasted…"
"The Rangers allowed the Swarm to consume the corpses of their fallen comrades."
"The dead became nourishment."
The battlefield had become a place of sacrifice.
"The leader of the righteous Rangers didn't want more people dying."
"But he also didn't want all that sacrifice to be wasted."
"So he fired the shot."
The "Reversal Strike."
His final words were simple.
"Anyone who wishes to come…
may come."
He sighed.
He knew exactly what kind of people Rangers were.
He knew they would come.
Because he had fired the shot that would lead many to their deaths—
He believed he should be the first to step forward.
The moment the shot was fired—
countless meteors streaked across the sky.
The meteors filled the heavens.
They gathered like sand forming a tower.
Until they became a torrent of the Hunt.
"The Aeon of the Hunt also appeared that day."
"I do not know what They did."
"Perhaps nothing."
"Perhaps Their presence itself was the Rangers' final hidden card."
"My own lord—the god of the Pure Land—also appeared to record everything."
"Zhuluo faced something unprecedented."
"A Swarm that possessed the regeneration of Abundance followers…"
"Yet also intelligence."
"And an intensified desire for slaughter."
"They were highly resistant to Destruction."
The Rangers activated Plan Two.
The contingency plan.
The final plan.
"Meteor after meteor descended."
"They crashed toward Zhuluo."
"Each one delivering a suicidal strike."
Their goal was simple—
Disrupt Zhuluo.
Redirect him.
Trap him in the center of the Swarm.
Trap him in the center of the battlefield.
"They gave him no chance to escape."
"They forced him to continue fighting the Swarm."
"As long as even one Ranger remained alive…"
"Zhuluo would never leave that battlefield."
"This is the version of the battle widely known across the universe."
"The battle lasted an unknown length of time."
"The main combat phase lasted roughly three system hours."
"The shadow of Nihility arrived later than expected."
"But eventually…"
"…it came."
"The shadow of Nihility enveloped the battlefield."
Exactly as planned.
Then—
For unknown reasons—
a massive explosion occurred.
Zhuluo.
The Swarm.
The Rangers.
The Molten Knights.
They all fell together into the Sea of Death within Nihility's shadow.
They sank toward the Black Sun of Nihility.
"They succeeded."
"They won."
"With wisdom and the determination to die…"
"They killed Zhuluo."
"This remains the first and only recorded case of Pathstriders killing an Emanator."
"But the cost was devastating.
Less than one in ten Rangers survived the battle.
Even the leader of the righteous Rangers died.
The Galaxy Rangers would remain silent for a long time afterward.
Of the small group that organized the campaign—
only two survivors remained."
"The former Nameless…"
"The Ranger hero…"
Boreklyn Tiernan.
And another Ranger—
Loretta.
"Sadly…"
"After the war, Tiernan received the symbolic Hero's Bullet of the Rangers…"
"And then disappeared."
"No one knows where he went."
"As for Loretta…"
"She still travels the galaxy."
"She is currently recruiting brave souls aboard the civilization worldship Xien."
"To help defend it against the advance forces of Destruction."
Zhili suddenly smiled.
"Ah…"
"I seem to have wandered off topic again."
"My narration has become rather lengthy."
"I hope you don't mind."
Lin Yi shook his head.
"On the contrary."
"The more detailed the better."
"There are very few records of this history."
"If I gather enough information…"
"I could add it to the Simulated Universe and recreate it as a differential scenario."
"That era has enormous research value."
His eyes lit up.
"I've even thought of a name already."
Differential Universe — Thousand Stars Chasing the Sun.
"I bet it would reveal many interesting things."
Then he paused.
"…Actually, that's a bit premature."
"We don't even have test subjects for the Simulated Universe yet."
Then Lin Yi glanced at Zhili with a playful smile.
"Of course…"
"If information is insufficient…"
"I wouldn't mind putting you into the Simulated Universe."
"You've seen quite a lot, haven't you?"
Zhili stiffened.
Lin Yi laughed.
"Relax."
"I'm joking."
"We've traveled together for a while now."
"That makes us friends."
"And my grudge with the Garden of Recollection…"
"…won't be taken out on every Memory Keeper."
Zhili visibly relaxed.
Lin Yi looked ahead.
"We're almost at the top of the tower."
"But the real story still hasn't started."
"What you told us so far is only the prologue, right?"
Zhili nodded.
"I once appeared briefly during the Zhuluo campaign."
"I spoke with several Molten Knights."
"And made a deal with them."
"The details are private."
"I promised to keep them secret."
"But in exchange…"
"I obtained their memories."
"Precious memories."
"And those memories revealed something even more valuable."
"The memory of an entire civilization."
Autran.
"It was a unique civilization."
"Born in unusual times."
"Inheriting unusual technology."
"And forced by chaos to walk a path different from other civilizations."
"A radical path."
"A desperate path."
"A path taken solely for survival."
"They still died though."
Lin Yi interrupted again.
Zhili continued calmly.
"Yes."
"They still died."
"They perished in a Stellaron disaster."
"The Stellaron infected their star."
"It caused the star to emit a strange radiation."
"A radiation lethal to all animals."
"Creatures exposed to it died within moments."
"But plants were unaffected."
"In fact…"
"They flourished even more."
"To preserve their civilization…"
"They built a massive tower."
A tower reaching toward the heavens.
The Great Curtain Tower.
Using it, they generated a planetary shield—
Blocking the sky.
Blocking the star's light and heat.
"For a civilization…"
"The importance of a star's light is obvious."
"What happened afterward…"
"I do not know."
"I only know Autran eventually perished."
"Over the eight—no, nine Amber Eras since that deal…"
"Every time I attempted to visit Autran…"
"Something delayed me."
"Always."
"Only after Autran was destroyed…"
"…did all those obstacles suddenly disappear."
"I cannot believe that was coincidence."
"Nine Amber Eras."
"For individuals, that's unimaginably long."
"But for civilizations…"
"It is only a short time."
"So I was never worried."
"Until Autran suddenly vanished."
"Only then did I realize…"
"There might have been a hidden hand guiding everything."
"A hand impossible to perceive."
"Later I investigated."
"But Autran's destruction was absolute."
"No one knew what had happened."
"Then one day…"
"I learned that Autran survivors existed."
"And I came here."
"Almost as if something was guiding me."
"Shortly after I arrived…"
"You appeared."
"Another coincidence."
Isn't it?"
Zhili looked meaningfully at Lin Yi.
Lin Yi immediately understood the implication.
But the suspicion was ridiculous.
He had only arrived in this universe a few years ago.
These events had occurred many Amber Eras ago.
"Everything after that…"
"You already know."
"The story ends here."
"This tower resembles the Great Curtain Tower."
"Just much smaller."
"At the very top lives the king chosen by the Autran survivors."
King Dekara.
"I've told you everything I know."
Just as Zhili finished speaking—
they arrived at the door leading to the tower's summit.
Clearly she had timed the story perfectly.
All three stopped walking.
Zhili asked quietly.
"So…"
"Shall we go in?"
Lin Yi answered with a classic phrase.
"Since we're already here…"
Dongfang Qiqing said nothing.
This decision wasn't hers to make.
She simply played the role of a quiet observer.
Lin Yi pushed the door open.
Immediately—
powerful music echoed through the chamber.
A heroic orchestral piece filled the air.
Lin Yi turned around.
Dongfang Qiqing had somehow produced a floating speaker that followed her automatically.
The music was coming from it.
Lin Yi stared in confusion.
"…What are you doing?"
She looked embarrassed.
"Um…"
"I've been livestreaming this to Zhuxing the whole time."
"She told me to play music."
Lin Yi blinked.
"Why?"
Qiqing replied seriously.
"She said…"
"When you're about to fight a boss battle…"
"…you need background music."
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