Above the northern wasteland, the leaden clouds were violently torn asunder by a tyrannical divine force. A golden ring, kilometers in diameter, rotated slowly in the sky. At its center, a massive, illusory pupil radiating a cold, celestial glow slowly uncurled—the "Oracle's Eye," the ultimate miracle of the Holy Kingdom.
In the scriptures of the Ministry of Light, when this eye opens, all mortal concealment becomes futile, and souls ignite in the face of divine scrutiny. As the pupil focused, several beams of high-energy radiation, resembling molten gold, pierced the atmosphere, accurately striking the outer perimeter of the "God's Punishment" Infantry Regiment's underground fortress.
BOOM—!
Fortifications built from specialized reinforced concrete melted like butter under the rays. Inside the fortress, crimson alarm lights flashed frantically. The air was thick with the scent of ozone, a byproduct of high-energy particles tearing through the atmosphere.
"Commander! Monitoring points three and five on the perimeter are down!" Old Limper's voice cracked over the comms. He was huddling behind the thick armor of God's Punishment No. 1, yet he felt a shiver crawling into his marrow. "That thing… it's looking at me! I feel like my head is going to explode! Those scriptures… countless verses are burrowing into my brain!"
"Stay calm. That's not a miracle; it's a high-dimensional information-overflow attack," Su Zhe sat before the central console, his face cold as iron. His eyes reflected countless streams of flickering data as the System parsed the enemy's energy signature. "It's trying to overload your brain's processing power through visual signals. All units, drop your tactical visors immediately! Switch to infrared and ultrasonic simulated vision!"
Su Zhe's fingers blurred across the holographic panel, pulling up a flickering deep-blue icon.
"System, since 'He' loves watching so much, let's give Him some decorations. Initiate the 'Silent Curtain' protocol. I want to turn that eye colorblind."
[System Snark: Host, just a heads-up: activating this array will instantly burn 50,000 points. That's almost your entire stash from the recent 'mowing' sessions. Are you sure you want to put an electromagnetic blindfold on a 'True God'? This is a pricy way to turn every psionic sensor within a hundred miles into chaotic noise.]
"Cut the crap. Points can be earned again, but if my soldiers get brainwashed, where am I going to find replacements?" Su Zhe slammed the execute button. "Full-spectrum jamming—ON!"
Upon the command, sixteen massive triangular prism antennas hidden atop the fortress slowly rose. Each antenna crackled with heart-stopping arcs of electricity. Then, an invisible wave—appearing like a pitch-black storm in the psionic spectrum—surged outward in all directions.
[System Weapon Profile: EA-18G "Growler" Integrated Electronic Warfare Array (Wasteland Modified)]
- Type: Wideband Omnidirectional High-Power Electronic/Psionic Jamming Device.
- Technical Specs: Coverage from 30MHz to 20GHz; instantaneous power output overloaded to 300%.
- Core Function: [Psionic Turbulence] — Emits electromagnetic waves completely opposite to psionic frequencies, forcibly disrupting the coupling between supernatural individuals and atmospheric mana.
- Battlefield Performance: Within the jamming radius, the accuracy of all skills relying on "Divine Sense," "Perception," or "Soul Locking" drops by 95%. Low-level casters will immediately fall into shock due to sensory chaos.
In the sky, the golden pupil suddenly trembled violently. Its once-precise beams began to sweep wildly like a drunkard, slicing the distant barren mountains into jagged ruins.
"Now!" Su Zhe ordered. "Armored companies, advance! Show them the violent aesthetics of the Industrial Age."
The fortress's heavy steel gates groaned open. Iron monsters spewing black smoke roared out from the underground. This time, the vanguard was no longer the old T-54s, but steel beasts equipped with modern fire-control systems that Su Zhe had just redeemed.
[System Weapon Profile: PLZ-05 155mm Self-Propelled Howitzer]
- Performance: Equipped with a 52-caliber long barrel; maximum range up to 50 km.
- Rate of Fire: Burst fire of 3 rounds per 15 seconds; enough to create a terrifying "wall of fire."
- Ammunition: Equipped with terminal-sensitive projectiles and "Psionic Concussion Shells."
- Core Component: [Digital Fire Control Terminal] — Uses system satellite positioning to automatically correct for wind, temperature, and earth curvature to achieve first-round hits.
"Coordinates 114, 514. Holy Knight vanguard. Three-round rapid fire. FIRE!"
Five kilometers away, the Holy Knights, who were preparing to charge under the "Divine Miracle," fell into unprecedented panic. Their prideful "Aura of Courage" vanished. The divine oracles they once heard clearly in their minds were replaced by a piercing "static" hiss, like countless needles stirring their brains.
"Inquisitor! God... God is gone!" An adjutant knelt in agony, bleeding from his eyes and ears. "I can't feel the Holy Light!"
Red Archbishop Simon waved his jewel-encrusted staff in a frenzy, screaming, "It's the demon's mist! Raise your shields! Welcome the Lord's power—"
Before he could finish, a terrifying shriek, like ten thousand sheets of silk being torn simultaneously, ripped through the heavens. Dozens of 155mm shells, weighing dozens of kilograms each, trailed long plumes of smoke as they plummeted from the clouds.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Every shell that landed sent a dark-red fireball dozens of meters wide into the air. Under the carpet bombing of modern artillery, things like "Holy Barriers" and "Iron Bodies" appeared pathetically pale. The shockwaves tossed knights in heavy plate armor into the air like ragdolls. The intense heat instantly welded their armor to their flesh.
The battle lasted less than twenty minutes. The Holy Kingdom's proud vanguard had been reduced to cinders in the ruins. Archbishop Simon crawled out from under the carcass of a warhorse, his magnificent silk robes scorched black, the gems on his staff shattered from overheating.
He looked ahead. Three massive PLZ-05s were slowly adjusting their barrels, their dark muzzles radiating the coldness of death in the sunset. In the shadow of the cannons, Su Zhe walked forward, followed by two fully armed "God's Punishment" infantrymen, their electromagnetic rifles humming with a low charging sound.
"You... you God-slaying sinner..." Simon trembled, pointing at Su Zhe. "The Lord's majesty is untouchable! The 'Oracle's Eye' will wipe you ants from existence!"
Su Zhe stopped and glanced at the golden eye in the sky, which was chaotic but still trying to re-gather energy.
"He's tired of watching. I'm putting Him to sleep." Su Zhe smiled coldly and spoke to the empty air. "System, confirm point balance."
[System Snark: Holy Knight vanguard decimated. 150,000 points credited. Host, you now have just enough to unlock 'The Big One.' But I must warn you, if you drop that thing, the geographical coordinates of this land might need to be rewritten.]
"Unlock Strategic Tech Tree: [Orbital Kinetic Strike Module · KINETIC-X01]." Su Zhe took a deep breath, a flash of madness in his eyes. "If we're playing, let's play big."
[System Weapon Profile: Orbital Kinetic Bombardment Module — "Rods from God"]
- Carrier: Tungsten rod magazine satellites hidden in Low Earth Orbit.
- Principle: Uses gravity to accelerate a pure tungsten rod (0.3m diameter, 6.1m long, 9 tons) from 1,000km altitude to the surface.
- Terminal Velocity: Mach 12 (approx. 4.08 km/s).
- Destructive Power: Kinetic energy release equivalent to 15 tons of TNT; penetrates up to 200 meters of rock.
- Core Advantage: [Zero Psionic Conductivity] — Pure physical kinetic energy; ignores all magic, Holy Light, or psionic shields.
Su Zhe raised his hand. A red crosshair appeared on his retinal display. He moved the crosshair slowly, finally locking onto the energy node directly beneath the golden pupil—the "Cathedral of Divine Revelation," the Holy Kingdom's northern command center.
"Archbishop Simon, look," Su Zhe pointed to the sky. "That's not a meteor. That is my law."
Under the horrified gaze of everyone, a brilliant white light streaked across the highest point of the sky. Its speed was so extreme it bypassed the very concept of sound.
No magic fluctuations. No Holy Light warnings.
In the crimson wake of the tungsten rod's friction with the atmosphere, the world seemed to fall silent. A second later, the white light pierced straight through the massive golden pupil.
The "Oracle's Eye" shattered instantly. Following that, the iron rod carrying devastating kinetic energy slammed precisely into the Cathedral of Divine Revelation on the horizon.
BOOOOOOOOM—!!!
It wasn't a typical explosion; it was the muffled roar of the earth's crust being forcibly torn. A massive grey-black cloud of soil and debris rose hundreds of meters high. A powerful shockwave rippled outward in a ring, leveling stones, withered trees, and the remnants of the Holy Kingdom's camp instantly.
Kilometers away, Archbishop Simon was blown off his feet. He discovered in horror that the sacred cathedral he had spent his life serving had been replaced by a bottomless crater. Everyone inside—priests, psionic arrays, and the so-called vessel for the True God—didn't even have time to leave a final word before the Mach 12 impact.
"No... impossible... no mana reaction... how..." Simon muttered, his soul broken.
"It's called gravity," Su Zhe stepped forward, his combat boots crunching on the scorched earth. "It is the most fundamental law of this universe. You've worshipped a 'God' for thousands of years, yet you forgot to revere the power of the earth itself."
[System Snark: Tsk tsk, look at that precision. Worth every bit of the 50,000 points per 'Express Delivery.' Host, the Vatican is likely in a collective state of aphasia right now. That one strike just impaled the core of their faith.]
"Old Limper, pack it up." Su Zhe turned to the comms, his voice as flat as if he had just cleared some trash. "Take the prisoners. Give Archbishop Simon 'special' attention; he has a lot of intel in his head regarding the capital's defenses."
"Yes, Commander!" On the other end, Old Limper's voice was filled with fanatical devotion. If they had followed Su Zhe before just to survive, they now truly believed this man could drag the high-and-mighty gods off their pedestals.
However, Su Zhe's brow did not unknit.
[System Warning: Host, detecting abnormal fluctuations in global psionic thresholds. It seems your 'Rods from God' strike triggered an ancient defense mechanism. In the depths of the eastern seas, ultra-large lifeforms are awakening.]
Su Zhe narrowed his eyes, looking toward the eastern horizon. There, he could vaguely see abnormal black tides churning at the edge of the world.
"What is that? The Pope's backup?"
[System Snark: No, those are the planet's original 'landlords.' The 'True God' behind the Holy Kingdom got scared by you and seems to have fast-tracked the 'Doomsday Cleansing' protocol. Those Old World Titans... each one has a mass exceeding a hundred thousand tons.]
"A hundred thousand tons?" Su Zhe sneered, turning toward the fortress entrance. "Then let the factory run at 24/7 full capacity. A hundred thousand tons of meat won't stop a Dongfeng missile with a nuclear warhead."
Su Zhe's silhouette looked exceptionally solitary and arrogant before the heavy steel doors closed.
"System, how many points do I need for that 'Strategic-Class Submersible Aircraft Carrier'?"
[System Snark: I knew you'd make that move. Host, your ambition is even bleaker than this wasteland. But, I like it.]
That night, the northern wasteland was no longer silent.
Tens of thousands of survivors were jolted awake by the earth-shattering tremors. They emerged from their burrows, staring at the north where the symbol of divine right once stood—now nothing but ruins and craters.
In the deepest part of the fortress, Su Zhe watched the production lines rapidly churning out "Psionic Armor-Piercing Shells." Every shell was engraved with a single line:
"Only Steel and Gunpowder Define Freedom."
From this chapter on, the gambit between the wasteland and divine right had officially entered its peak. Su Zhe was no longer a survivor struggling for life; he had become gods upon this earth. "Industrial Demon" most feared by the gods upon this earth.