It was impossible to sense anything in the dark space. Only PL-15's monotonous voice was narrating what happened back then.
"… After the attack, many of the warriors could not react in time. Our first line of defense was lost within two hours. After the mental network went berserk, we did cut off the connection with the outside world immediately, but no one thought that the situation would be so serious that the Abyssal Emperor would lead the army to invade. The enemy charged all the way to Kane and was temporarily intercepted there. In order to find out the situation, Governor Gurrandolph led the army alone and charged into the enemy's mothership formation, trying to forcibly connect their information link. Thirty minutes after the attack, Gurrandolph and his soldiers all exploded. Before he died, he sent back a message saying that he had been infected by the Abyss and that the entire Imperial Army had been infected. The situation was so serious that it was unimaginable. He asked us to retreat and buy time to collapse a few worlds to disrupt the Void coordinate system so that the rebels could not attack here … "
"So, Mobrador became what it is now, a universe of several worlds superimposed on each other, and it is located on a Void island." I came to a sudden realization. Many things that I could not understand in the beginning began to become clear. "This coordinate storm must have lasted for a long time. In the records of the Protoss, this world system was still a blank area until a few thousand years ago."
"Did you name this world Mobrador? Understood, the database has been updated. As you said, we locked Mobrador by collapsing it, so that it would not be destroyed, at least until the Void coordinate system stabilized. However, an accident almost destroyed our efforts: the apostles who had evacuated to Mobrador showed signs of being infected by the Abyss again, and it was spreading rapidly. "
"You did not know that it was spreading through the mental network?"
Sandora suddenly asked.
"Gurrandolph's speculation and the research of the Empire's technicians had vaguely pointed out this point, but we thought that it was enough to close the mental connection between the Heaven's intranet and the Empire's main network. Now, it seems that the Abyss had already infiltrated before we closed the connection. It changed after entering the spiritual network of the Shiring Apostles. It may also have changed the spiritual network of the Shiring Apostles. In short, no one detected its existence before it exploded. When it started to explode, we had already sealed ourselves in the world of Mobrador. It was too late. "
"The second battle took place during this closed time, but it ended very quickly. Since the world's information system was closed, the Abyss could not be replenished, and the souls of the Shiring Apostles had a certain purification effect on them, the infected rebels were quickly wiped out. However, the situation was still complicated and dangerous. We lost contact with you, and we did not know what had happened in the Empire, nor did we know how many more rebels were about to attack this world, and we did not know if the Abyss was still lurking in our spiritual world."
"So you decided to destroy or release all the facilities of the Empire and lock yourselves here?"
I asked aloud.
"More or less, we finally confirmed that our spiritual network had mutated after being infected, and we could not actively detect the existence of the Abyss. To be safe and protect the last territory of Her Majesty the Queen, we destroyed all the facilities of the Empire that had been connected to the spiritual network, and then took the Imperial Army that was confirmed to be uninfected offline. Some of them were sealed up, and some were given to the servants. They needed to have the ability to resist after we left, or at least have the ability to perish together with the rebels when they found this world."
"You don't know what they became after that. They needed the approval of the Parliament to scold a person, let alone perish together. Sigh …" I thought of the Mobradorians who could cause the world to panic when fighting with more than thirty people. I couldn't help but sigh. For ordinary races, time was indeed the most terrifying weapon. Even if the Empire gave them the sharpest claws and teeth, if they wanted to wither their muscles, there was no cure. Other than the war machines like the Protoss and the Shiring Apostles, who had no concept of time to begin with, there was probably no other race that could fight bravely in the endless passage of time.
"After that, you created this incomparably huge shadow space," Sandora said faintly. "You made it so huge that it was completely separated from the real world. You didn't have to worry about large-scale invasion. Then, you left a key in the real world."
"We were waiting for your return," the warlord named Samar replied. "I supervised the creation of the artificial world core called Dina's Ark and modified it into a key that could connect two worlds in a short period of time. After you returned to this universe, it would react and guide you to open the shadow space."
"Man proposes, God disposes." Sandora sighed. "After you left, this world was still not at peace. The key was damaged by the flames of war. Without anyone to guide it, we lured the enemy out."
"Man proposes, God disposes?" PL-15 repeated. "Well, it's an interesting saying. Fate was indeed something that the Shiring Apostles couldn't figure out. No one expected the situation to turn out like that. We repent for our mistakes. After retreating to the shadow space, we began to search for a way to completely avoid being infected by the Abyss. In the end, we found that the only way was to split our souls …"
Luen's voice then sounded. "After paying a huge price, we finally completely determined the source of the infection and how it spread. However, it was hidden in the PsyNet of all the Apostles, and almost everyone was infected to some extent. Completely purifying the Abyss became an almost impossible task. What's worse, after being infected by the Abyss, our PsyNet mutated. Now that I think about it, perhaps the PsyNet was the first line of defense to collapse when the disaster came. After the PsyNet mutated, we felt that it had become a threat, so we decided to destroy it together. "
"We extracted our own souls and rewrote them," PL-15 said. "The Shiring Apostles' PsyNet was built on the basis that the soul and the body worked at the same time. When the soul left the body and completely lost the connection, the PsyNet also ceased to exist. Simply disconnecting the PsyNet could not destroy the Abyss hidden in the PsyNet, so we began to destroy the Abyss together with our own PsyNet. "
I was filled with deep respect for the Avengers' resolute decision to cut their losses in the face of such a calamity. Others might not understand, but I knew just how great of a price they had paid for their actions.
"Our plan was extremely good," Samar said. "The apostle who stayed behind to observe the outside world sent back a message before self-destructing. The abyssal reaction from the real world to the shadow space has already stopped, and the already mutated spiritual network has also disappeared without a trace. We have finally protected your last piece of territory. As for our bodies, the process of soul stripping has been synchronized. The infected parts were concentrated and destroyed, and the uninfected parts were implanted with the primitive code from ancient times, like the simple program of the War Puppets. We left a mission for the bodies that only had a few soul fragments left, so that they could continue to monitor the two worlds while the shadow space was sealed. "
"From the looks of it, this is the problem," I said.
Sandora agreed. "Their judgment mechanism was messed up. They saw all the Shiring Apostles, regardless of whether they were normal or abnormal, as rebels from the heart of the Empire."
As soon as Sandora said that, the countless soul waves in the surroundings revealed a gloomy expression. It was obvious that this was their greatest frustration.
PL-15 said in a low and flat voice, "Perhaps there was a problem with the soul fragments we left behind. Because the intelligence of a pure War Puppet is very limited, if all the bodies were turned into War Puppets, the defense forces of this world would exist in name only. That was why we left some soul fragments for those bodies according to their original strength. These soul fragments were all rewritten and could no longer resonate with the body to form a spiritual connection. The bodies of the low-ranking soldiers are empty, while the high-ranking commanders retain a lot of intelligence. The three of us, the Warlords, left behind the most soul fragments. These fragments contain almost all of our experience and wisdom — except for our memories. "
"The remaining soul fragments are actually unstable. We didn't think of that," Samar said. I realized something interesting. The three Warlords seemed to have a habit of telling the truth one by one. When they explained the situation to Sandora, they would always follow up. It might have been some kind of tacit understanding. "Even if there is only one soul fragment left, intelligence can still evolve. Our bodies mutated under such circumstances. They … started to lose control and refused to accept the commands of their own souls. We can faintly sense what these bodies are doing, but we can't return to their bodies."
A bunch of lonely souls … Err, it seems a little disrespectful to say that now.
While the three Warlords were narrating the situation, the other souls remained silent. Even though I could feel countless different spiritual undulations in the surroundings, they didn't utter a single word. This was definitely the world's strongest spectator group. As time passed, I felt a little creeped out. Furthermore, I had already understood the basic situation. Even though there were still many things I wanted to ask, it was more important to get down to business. Thus, I hurriedly said, "Let's talk about these matters later. Right now, we have to settle one matter first — — how can we close this shadow space? Also, how can we stop the Avengers? They are attacking my fleet. We are no match for them in terms of numbers. "
The truth was clear. This control core was the ultimate barrier built by the will of hundreds of millions of avengers from countless worlds in the entire Emperor-level territory of the Old Empire. Its defensive ability was probably many times stronger than that of any ordinary emperor's home planet. After all, not everyone had nothing better to do than commit mass suicide to build a city wall. After the amount of information collapsed, this place became immune to any kind of damage. In other words, the message 'damaged due to attack' was no longer effective on the control core of the shadow space. Alaya had provided us with a method that couldn't be considered a clear path, which was to use the power of the Mystic Apostles to penetrate this barrier. But the problem now was that all of our Ravens combined weren't enough to drill a hole through this barrier.
"Closing the shadow space requires Her Majesty the Queen's power."
PL-15's words came as a shock to everyone.
I could feel that Sandora was stunned for a moment. Then, both of us asked for an explanation at the same time.
"The last obsession we left behind before we left our bodies was to guard the defense line." Luen's voice was low. "Protecting Her Majesty the Queen's territory and resisting the invaders is the 'last wish' of all the Avengers. If this obsession were to disappear, the spiritual force field outside the control core would lose its effect."
"What should I do?" Sandora asked calmly.
Luen's reply came a few seconds later. Obviously, it wasn't an easy request to make. "Your Majesty, please announce the disintegration of the 77th Heaven."
Sandora fell silent. Everyone was silent. I vaguely understood what she meant, but I still said to Sandora with uncertainty, "The 77th Heaven …"
"It's my territory," Sandora replied softly. Shadora replied softly. Even though I could only hear her voice and sense her presence, the low tone of her voice reminded me of how gloomy she was right now.
The disintegration of the 77th Heaven would mean that all of Sandora's territory would fall. The final defense line would collapse. It would also mean that the Avengers and Queen Sandora would be removed from the system of the Empire. Even though it sounded like a simple sentence and seemed like a formality, to a Queen, it wasn't just a sentence. Thus, everyone fell silent and waited for Sandora to make a decision.
But I knew that I didn't have a choice at all.
"Alright, announce the disintegration of the 77th Heaven. I understand." Sandora didn't think for too long. Her identity as a Queen allowed her to suppress the gloominess in her heart and choose the path that was most beneficial to the overall situation. "Actually, it isn't difficult. After all, we were already mentally prepared for the destruction of everything. Now, we have finally confirmed it … So, what should we do? Broadcast the Emperor's order in the shadow space? "
"Right here, the control core retains the last simulation information system that imitates the Avengers' spiritual network. It is the only external command input method that the control core recognizes. This information system was originally reserved for your return. You only need to adjust your spiritual waves and use the highest authority of the Avengers to confirm this order, and the control core will stop operating. If the 77th Heaven is removed, this defense line and those obsessions … will no longer exist. "
"What about all of you?"
Sandora asked sternly as if she had sensed something before taking action.
"… We," Samal paused for a moment. "A few hours ago, our plan was to lead you to destroy the shadow space and then die together. Because of our mistake, this is an unforgivable crime of betrayal. But the new news that you brought is that the New Empire is being rebuilt, so you need our strength. A group of souls that can no longer have a body can do anything, but we still have some knowledge. All the survivors of the Avengers will be combined, and in the end, we will leave behind the Three Overseers. This will be enough to carry all the knowledge and minimize the waste … The New Empire will definitely have many things to do, so you don't need to waste any energy to provide more souls that can't fight. "
I thought to myself, 'As expected, this is the signature way of thinking of the Shiring Apostles. Everything is directly considered based on the greatest benefits for the Empire. Even their own lives can be accurately converted into numbers and placed on the scale. In any case, I will never admit that I am a hindsight.'
But I knew that the moment they revealed this original plan, this plan could not be carried out. Because I understand the current Sandora. She is still the Warsong Princess who rules over the world, but she is no longer the merciless Golden Tyrant.
"This is only a temporary plan when the Emperor is not around, but now that your Emperor has returned, I declare that this plan is invalid. All of you must live. Now, however many of you are here, you will follow me back. The New Empire needs any power that can be used, and the souls must continue to work. As for the so-called crime of betrayal … I will pardon all of you. "
You see, I have said it before.
I am thankful that all the Avengers here still maintain the blockhead of the traditional Shiring Apostles. They are completely blindly obedient to their Queen's orders. As long as it is an order from the Emperor, any Shiring Apostle will carry it out without any conditions. If Yellowstone Volcano is about to erupt, as long as Sandora points to the front and says jump, I am willing to bet that the Empire's soldiers will fill up the volcano in less than thirty seconds, not to mention that it is just a pardon order.
I immediately informed the mothership on standby outside to send a large number of Leader Bees as support. There are more than a hundred thousand souls here that need to be settled. Although it is not a large number, they are all the most powerful people in the old Empire. It is already good enough that a Leader Bee can accommodate one soul.
Sandora has successfully found the analog port that still retains the old Empire's frequency in the surrounding information flow according to PL-15's instructions. She connected her spiritual power to the port (don't ask me how, this place is so dark, who knows). Then she was silent for a full minute, but when she spoke again, her voice had firmly spread throughout the entire control core, and then through the analog channel outside the control core to the entire universe.
"… I, Sandora? Kelvi? Ulysses, ruler of the 77th Heaven of the Empire, Emperor Schilling, hereby announces that all defense lines have collapsed. The original 77th Heaven is disbanded, and the old Empire era has come to an end. Today is the third year, 275th day of the New Empire era. All members of the Avengers, disband! "
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