Looking at the empty hospital room, Zhang Yi pulled out a special black phone and dialed a number.
The call was picked up after a single ring. Zhang Yi spoke in a low voice, “The situation in Ningcheng has failed. Execute the final plan. It would be best to wipe out all the monsters and ghosts in Ningcheng along with it!”
There was a brief silence on the other end before a steady voice responded, “I understand. Zhang Yi, the Nanming Kingdom will remember you!”
With that, the other side hung up.
Zhang Yi stared at the heavy rain outside and suddenly called out, “Someone, open the window. I want to breathe the outside air.”
In a conference room in the Capital...
Six people were seated. Feng Chang hung up the phone and turned to look at a middle-aged man in a suit sitting in the center, who wore a sapphire brooch of a three-headed Golden Crow on his chest.
He spoke with a weary expression, “Your Majesty, the situation in Ningcheng has failed. The garrison has been wiped out, the inspectors are being blocked, and the only usable Ghoul died at the church entrance. Please, Your Majesty, give the order!”
The middle-aged man said nothing, remaining silent.
“Your Majesty, we cannot hesitate any longer. Before the Earth Mother descends, this is the best time to erase them and bury those ghostly things in Ningcheng,” a white-robed old man with eyebrows trailing down to his chin said.
A plump woman in a red robe, her belly straining against the fabric, looked at the middle-aged man. “Compared to capturing those monsters for research, I am now more inclined to destroy them. That thing is an evil god. If the chronicles are true, it will be a great catastrophe for our Nanming Kingdom.”
The Emperor of the Nanming Kingdom, Zhu Weiliang, listened to their words with a calm gaze.
He knew these people wanted him to shoulder the blame for the deaths of two million people in Ningcheng.
Of the six people present, everyone except him was a member of Parliament. They were backed by massive interest groups or military backgrounds.
He was nothing more than a figurehead, called to meetings like this only when needed—specifically, to take the fall for launching nuclear missiles at his own country.
At that moment, a smiling, obese middle-aged MP sitting next to Feng Chang spoke up: “Your Majesty, why do you say nothing? The survival of the Nanming Kingdom is in your hands. If you do not make a decision now, do not regret it later.”
The other MPs also looked toward Zhu Weiliang.
Zhu Weiliang’s hands clenched under the table. After a moment, he spoke: “I authorize the use of nuclear weapons. Everything is for the Nanming Kingdom!”
In Ningcheng!
Outside the church...
A five-meter-tall ball of flesh surrounded by grey tentacles appeared. In the center of the mass was Liu Wen’s face.
He looked up at the sky and said in a raspy voice, “My Lord, the conditions for the birth of the Earth Mother should be sufficient now.”
As soon as he spoke, Zhao Jin’s body appeared out of thin air before him.
Zhao Jin looked at the face of the Earth Mother and then checked his Destiny Force.
Destiny Force: 7,692 units!
Liu Wen had harvested the cultists and crushed the garrison, Liu Qi had attacked the armored units, and the Miasma was still taking its toll. The death toll for today had already exceeded ten thousand.
Not everyone contributed a full unit of Destiny Force; some people’s entire lives weren't worth a single unit, and the amount they contributed upon death was pitifully small.
‘I want to gain gravity manipulation. I want the range of my Heavenly Domain to increase tenfold. I want my Heavenly Domain to grant me vision, and I want Hypnotize to be integrated into and enhance the Heavenly Domain. Set the limit to 3,000 units of Destiny Force. Customize ability intensity!’ Zhao Jin thought to himself.
With so much Destiny Force available, he would be a fool not to strengthen himself.
Especially since Zhang Yi’s final call was to request a nuclear strike to erase all of Ningcheng, killing him along with everyone else.
Zhao Jin knew all of this, yet he did nothing to stop it, because this nuclear strike would be the fireworks for the Earth Mother’s grand entrance.
Hum!
A massive amount of golden light appeared around his body, the dense Destiny Force nearly solidifying.
Nearby, Liu Wen noticed this. His eyes rolled toward Zhao Jin. ‘What a strange aura... Is this one also evolving?’
A moment later, Zhao Jin looked at his status panel.
Gravity: Can exert gravitational force equal to a thousand times your own strength!
Heavenly Domain: Within a radius of 150 kilometers, you can freely view and perceive events that occurred within the last 72 hours. Hypnotize all creatures within the Heavenly Domain. Can move through the Heavenly Domain without cooldown! (Can teleport target objects once every thirty seconds!)
After spending 3,000 units of Destiny Force, Zhao Jin’s abilities were enhanced across the board. In particular, the vision from the Heavenly Domain paired perfectly with the zero-cost Slash.
If he wished, he could instantly form a circular domain slash covering a diameter of three hundred kilometers, and he could maintain that slash indefinitely.
Zhao Jin’s body was pulled into the air by gravity. Floating alongside him was the stone face of the Earth Mother.
Without turning his head, he said excitedly, “Liu Wen, watch closely. This will be the most important turning point in human history!!!”
He floated a hundred meters into the air, looking at the dark clouds heavy with rain.
With a single thought, countless translucent, interconnected slashes of immeasurable length appeared beneath the clouds.
Swoosh!
The slashes swept through the clouds.
To Liu Wen’s horror, the sky that had been pouring rain just a second ago suddenly changed. The moon and stars appeared.
The rain vanished instantly.
Not far away, Liu Qi pulled his combat knife from a soldier’s head.
He looked at the suddenly clear sky in shock. “What the hell... what just happened?!”
On the streets, the white mist had vanished. Corpses were everywhere—soldiers, inspectors, and Night Slaves.
Only Liu Qi and a single Night Slave remained standing in the area.
On the top floor of the hospital, Zhang Yi stared at the sudden cessation of the rain and the moonlight streaming through the window.
His eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief. “Is this kind of power... truly something a living creature can possess?!”
The monsters from before, however powerful, only had strange abilities with limited range.
But changing the weather with a single thought was truly beyond his comprehension.
‘Has the Earth Mother been born ahead of schedule?’ He stared out the window, his expression numb.
If that were the case, then the call he had made earlier was in vain.
Above the Church of the Earth Mother, Zhao Jin looked at the stone face and shouted, “The source of all life in the world, the end of flesh and blood, the final destination of consciousness—Earth Mother, please be born into this world!”
This time, he didn't recite a long passage of text, because the stone face had already absorbed so much faith and consciousness. Those believers were constantly thinking of the Earth Mother.
Hum!
Golden Destiny Force gathered on the stone face of the Earth Mother. The half-closed stone eyes twitched slightly and began to look at Zhao Jin.
Watching this, a smile spread across Zhao Jin’s face. “Hehehe, hehehehe...”
The golden light continued to converge on the stone face.
Two thousand kilometers away from Ningcheng, inside a launch base...
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Piercing alarms echoed throughout the base as soldiers ran quickly through the night.
A grey-haired Lieutenant General in a black military uniform stood in the open area, watching the busy soldiers.
Behind him stood a middle-aged man sent by Parliament.
“Special Envoy Jiang, has the Coalition launched a nuclear strike against us?” Luo Haoyan asked without turning around, his voice filled with doubt.
Jiang Zhi shook his head. “I don't know. The higher-ups only gave me the launch coordinates and the keys. Please hand them over to the operators, General Luo.”
As he spoke, he took a USB drive from his pocket and handed it to Luo Haoyan.
Luo Haoyan took the drive and walked toward a nearby building.
Inside, a group of technicians were seated. Seeing Luo Haoyan approach, one middle-aged man stood up. “Reporting, General! We are ready for launch!”
“Take this. Let me see where we’re hitting.” Luo Haoyan handed the USB drive to the middle-aged man.
The man took the drive and plugged it into the interface.
A moment later, the middle-aged man’s expression changed, and his voice trembled. “General... the target is Ningcheng!!!”
Luo Haoyan’s pupils constricted. He whipped around to look at Jiang Zhi, who had followed him in.
The envoy wore an equally shocked expression.
Luo Haoyan glared at him and roared, “Special Envoy Jiang, what is the meaning of this?! How can a country launch a nuclear strike on its own city? If word of this gets out, the public will be furious! We will be branded as criminals!”
Jiang Zhi felt his scalp go numb. He hadn't known the target before arriving either, but when he remembered that his superiors told him he must complete the mission at all costs...
He could only steel himself and say, “General Luo, this is a decision by Parliament, and it carries the Emperor’s personal signature. Please do not delay, or you and your family will be the true criminals!”
Hearing the threat in the man’s words, Luo Haoyan could only turn back to the soldiers. “Launch immediately! Do not delay!”
Compared to the safety of himself and his family, he could only ask the people of Ningcheng to suffer. Besides, there would be no pain once the thing hit.
“Yes, sir!” Having received the order, the soldier immediately pressed the button on the console.
Rumble!
Two launch silos opened, and a massive roar echoed out.
Two twenty-one-meter-long white missiles shot out from underground, soaring toward the sky.
After reaching an altitude of a thousand meters, the two missiles began to accelerate, easily breaking the sound barrier.
Their speed continued to climb.
After the nuclear launch...
At the High Council in the Capital...
A screen in the room lit up. Feng Chang watched the satellite feed of Ningcheng being transmitted in real-time.
“The Sky Thunder nuclear weapons will reach Ningcheng in approximately ten minutes. At that time, Ningcheng will become history,” a middle-aged man in a military uniform said.
No one spoke. They simply watched the satellite image of Ningcheng, which sat in the dark night, emitting small points of light.
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