# Chapter 19: Ideals and War Part 2 (5500)
"Open!"
A god was shouting in a low voice. It was the main god of a large void civilization, whose strength had not yet reached the Legendary Limit, but dozens of other gods from the entire civilization had set up a formation behind it. All the gods jointly bore the erosion of the Great Source upon this main god, allowing it to use power exceeding its own limits for a short time without being consumed by Divine Annihilation. This god lived up to expectations. Facing the overwhelming, countless Chaos Minions numbering in the trillions, along with an Evil God, it immediately unleashed its ultimate technique.
Along with ripples spreading through the void like water waves, an illusory temple began to manifest from nothingness. At the top of this temple hung a great bell. The bell rang, causing everything to tremble. In an instant, the vanguard of the invading Minion army on this front was shattered into dust by the divine power manifested as the bell's sound. At the same time, this illusory temple grew larger and larger, eventually covering this entire star domain, enveloping thousands of fortresses within it.
The god named "God of Eternity and Brevity" possessed a divinity representing eternal protection and momentary destruction. That temple was its true form. The bell's sound echoed eternally, bringing swift destruction to all enemies. Even the Evil God could not break through the defensive line formed by this god's true form for the time being.
The subsequent battle no longer required its continued intervention, because the experts from another void civilization were already prepared.
"My turn!"
There was an existence that looked like a bubble composed of cloud and mist. In reality, those clouds were actually countless small vortices, each carrying certain information. The combination of countless pieces of information formed a complete life. This race, born from a gas giant and composed of raging winds, was naturally as violent and free as a hurricane. Laughing loudly, it stirred up a violent temporal storm in the void, then hurled itself toward an Evil God, shattering the world barrier and pushing it into an uninhabited star domain on the side.
One could see stars breaking apart under their impact and battle. The raging wind swept through, turning everything into the finest particles or even smaller. Under that excessively violent "freedom," all atomic nuclei began to fission, then fusion. No force could hinder their free separation and aggregation any longer, finally transforming into the freest form of energy and destruction.
Minutes later, all planets along the way were destroyed. Oceans evaporated, mountains collapsed, gas giants were scattered, and everything turned into what seemed like a heat death—a free sea of particles. Soon, the Wind Expert pushed the Evil God to the center of the star system, into a massive pale blue star. Laughing loudly, it released its true form, transforming into a colossal gas mass far exceeding an ordinary sun. Then, it pressed the Evil God—which had not yet had time to display the uniqueness of its abilities—along with the entire star into its body, beginning a frenzied compression.
"Die!"
A torrent of energy was forcibly compressed toward the star's core. In that instant, an artificial supernova explosion was born. Countless stellar matter struck the core at near-light speed, then rebounded at near-light speed. Violent energy scattered in all directions. This was not particularly remarkable in itself—just a supernova—but the Evil God's counterattack, launched through this opportunity, severely wounded it. The Wind Expert suffered a heavy blow, its entire gas mass showing signs of dispersing. However, on the other side, the divine power transmitted across time and space by the God of Eternity revitalized it, allowing it to continue maintaining its "compression," pressing the entire Evil God along with the supernova's energy together.
Finally, when the Wind Expert withdrew its true form in a weakened state, turning into a tattered cloud of mist, what remained in its place was a black hole that had already begun to contract. The trace of the unnamed Evil God had vanished completely.
At the cost of severe injury, quickly eliminating one Evil God to free up more strength to support other regions—this was the choice of the guardians of this star domain.
But in other star domains, developments were not necessarily so smooth. Experts went to battle Evil Gods and their powerful Legendary-rank Minions, while ordinary fleets had to face endless Minions. In this infinite sea of darkness, unless one reached Legendary High-rank, even a Legendary was merely a solitary boat.
"Damn it, communications are down. The Seven Gods have gone to join others in dealing with that absurdly powerful Chaos Evil God. For now, we can only hold on by ourselves!"
In the distance, starlight bloomed and then extinguished—the radiance of a fortress being destroyed. At the bridge, Ke Lei Le was calmly directing the entire fleet's operations. They had just broken through the blockade of one group of Chaos Minions and were now engaged in a chase with another group of Chaos Minions.
Naturally, they were the ones being chased. During the pursuit, the attacking Chaos army grew larger and larger, to the point where the mere accumulation of their energy fields could directly deflect the fleet's secondary cannons. Charging the main cannons would slow them down, instantly turning this battle—which could have been a slow elimination of the enemy—into blind flight.
"They're all chasing us. We can't lead so many enemies toward defensive sectors that can't withstand them. I see that the neighboring defensive sector of the God of Eternity still has some spare capacity. Let's head there first."
The entire ship responded to Ke Lei Le's words. Ai Er Ma was currently waving her tentacles, using her powerful Legendary-level strength to repel the constantly accelerating Chaos Minion clusters from behind. The Amos people, who had received part of the Ultimate Sublimation Aggregate's inheritance, still had some strength left, but only for fleeing and self-preservation. Facing a swarm of Evil God Minions sufficient to completely fill and drown the entire world, even she had to be careful not to become an elephant killed by ants.
But just as Ke Lei Le and Ai Er Ma decided on their direction of advance, suddenly, another batch of Evil Gods emerged from the Silent Void. This time, not only did the two's expressions change drastically, but even the other experts and gods engaged in battle showed stunned expressions.
Just over a dozen additional Evil Gods—they couldn't break through the defensive sector. As long as they mobilized the other Legendary experts and gods waiting in the rear to block this wave of attacks, it would be manageable. But this didn't match the plan! According to the defense plan originally determined through observation, because the intensity of the war in the early stages of the Evil God army's invasion wasn't too high, they could use the frontline's delay to continue fortifying and extend the construction of the rear fortress clusters. But now it seemed that their assumption that war intensity would gradually increase was fundamentally wrong!
"That's right... Evil Gods have no intelligence, no plans. Their actions are completely arbitrary—they can be fast or slow as they please. This is utterly unpredictable!"
Understanding this was useless, however, because along with the dozen newly appeared Evil Gods came the same nearly infinite Minion army as before! And this time, an entire large Minion cluster appeared in the defensive sector of the God of Eternity—which was precisely the direction Ke Lei Le and Ai Er Ma were heading.
"I'd say, this time, we might really die."
Issuing orders loudly through the communication channel, Ke Lei Le stabilized morale and decided to take a risk by turning to break through from the side. After all, Evil God Minions were not allies among themselves; they would also fight each other. Although they wouldn't engage in prolonged conflict, brief battles would occur. If they could mix the pursuing Evil God Minions behind them with the suddenly appearing Evil God cluster ahead, neither side would likely have the energy to chase them for a short time... But without a doubt, this was a gamble—a desperate gamble with nine chances of death and only one of survival.
Yet even so, Ke Lei Le, who had voluntarily agreed to come to the frontlines, felt no regret. He closed the public channel and spoke softly to the entire bridge: "Ai Er Ma, are you afraid?"
"Death? Of course I'm not afraid."
The ship responded to its captain. The Amos person's voice was extremely calm, even carrying a hint of laughter: "I have never feared any difficulty or obstacle. I am an Amos person—an Amos person who dared to resist even the Great Emperor."
"On the contrary, Ke Lei Le, aren't you afraid? Let me say this first: I have no regrets. I have proven my love for the Amos people. I have done everything I could for the Amos people. My ideals have been achieved. My life belongs to myself. So even death holds no fear for me."
"But what about you?"
"Me?"
One hand raised, pressing down on the captain's hat atop his head. The black-haired human felt as if some spiritual entity was touching his cheek. Ke Lei Le adjusted his hat, looking ahead at the location of the Chaos cluster—the only chance in this desperate gamble—and revealed an enigmatic smile: "My ideals... though not yet realized, I too am unafraid."
"Because I am protecting."
"Because I am needed."
"Because I am loved."
"So, there's nothing to fear, is there?"
On the chaotic battlefield engulfed in flames of war, a fleet with countless Evil God Minions chasing from behind resolutely charged toward another, even larger Minion cluster.
The trail of exhaust flames speeding forward was precisely the posture of chasing "hope," using one's own hands to seize the future!
And at the rear of the battlefield, behind the Biros Star River, in the Multiverse Star River, another even more massive, more surging, more boundless light was dragging endless trails of radiance, hurtling in this direction!
[You must have your own ideals]
But no matter what that ideal is—even if it's being a delivery driver, a taxi driver, a dishwasher, or even a NEET living off others—never take war as your ideal.
War is the most terrifying, most detestable thing in this world. It brings death, destruction, and the ugliest side of human nature. It means the shattering of civilization, the blooming of bestiality. It tears apart the mask of politeness, allowing selfishness, brutality, and the desire for destruction to rise from the darkness.
Forget all of this. It is something that should be despised.
Once, a middle-aged man said this to his silent son amidst the ruins of a post-war reconstruction city. A father and son who had experienced destruction, massacre, expedition, and witnessed hell should have reached a consensus on this matter.
[But I like it.
I like death, destruction, slaughter. I like destruction, violence.
I like war, battle.
This is my ideal]
"This is not something that can be explained by genes or education. I am inherently abnormal, simply a warmonger. This is my logic. It is incurable, and I don't want to change."
"I cannot forget. I was born for this."
A world of three colors—silver, red, and black—streaked across the myriad realms like a howling meteor. The inhabitants of countless worlds trembled, unable to breathe, merely from sensing its violent aura. The destruction and desire for annihilation it contained were far more terrifying than any Evil God.
But now, this destruction was fighting for their existence.
[So let battle and war be the game between madmen like me and other madmen. Let darkness and chaos be my eternal enemies. This is my ideal, my hope]
[This is my path]
On the chaotic battlefield shrouded in gloomy evil clouds and dim stardust, a brilliant star came from afar. It was like a thunderbolt sweeping across myriad realms, breaking through layer upon layer of silence.
The moment it appeared, the entire battlefield seemed to freeze. All the experts engaged in battle belatedly looked up, their faces instinctively showing shock, then vaguely sensing the familiar aura.
"This is..."
The vast battlefield was crossed in an instant. The God of Eternity, who had been bracing to face the approaching Chaos army, looked up, gazing at the divine light that had passed it in a flash, heading toward the distant depths of the void. In astonishment, it saw that the Minion cluster numbering in the trillions before its eyes had been directly reduced to nothing, dissolved completely, like stardust floating around the sun. In the distance, the dense Minion cluster had been split open, as if cleaved by a heaven-splitting giant axe, carving out a broad, straight path—an immensely huge fissure.
And this fissure continued to expand, still spreading. Wherever it passed, whether Minions or Evil Gods, all turned to ash, leaving not a trace. In their place was light that filled people with vitality, that revived all living beings, even myriad worlds.
"It's Joshua!"
"He's here! He has awakened and come to the battlefield!"
Heroes give people courage, and banners give heroes direction.
Without needing the encouragement of warriors, the experts who saw the direction of victory naturally gained courage, and then brought courage to even more people.
"Over twenty Evil God fluctuations have disappeared... My god, in just an instant! The entire frontline is empty!"
"Unimaginable. Is he still at the Sovereign realm?!" (Other civilizations' term for Legendary)
"No... I heard from the Mycroft people that above the Sovereign realm, there are realms called 'Near-Saint' and even 'Saint Sage'... Radcliffe has probably achieved 'Near-Saint'!"
The three-colored starlight stopped hurtling. It remained in place, and then the massive world began to shift. The four-armed giant god appeared at the forefront of the battlefield. Joshua raised his head, his eyes flashing with crimson flames. Though they revealed infinite violent aura, his gaze was clear. His body still shimmered with silver light, but black patterns spread across its surface.
Facing the endless darkness before him, the giant god spread its four arms. The god of destruction, whose hands held nothing, laughed loudly, revealing gleaming white teeth. It said nothing, and nothing needed to be said, because behind it, the corpses of dozens of Evil Gods were burning fiercely, and trillions upon trillions of Minions had turned to nothing.
Come.
It silently challenged.
And so, even the senseless Evil Gods, even the mindless Chaos, had no choice but to respond.
In that instant, accompanied by what seemed like a mountain-shaking, sea-roaring tremor, beyond the Biros Star River, in the endless darkness of the Silent Void, countless lights suddenly blazed forth. In that moment, the distant sky became a riot of color. Countless lights—some dim, some magnificent, some multicolored—flared up, carrying boundless, overwhelming pressure. Some were not bright, some were not conspicuous, but without exception, they all undoubtedly possessed intense 'presence.' These densely packed 'conspicuous presences' filled the entire canopy of the Silent Void.
And the people who had been exhilarated by Joshua's arrival instantly fell silent.
Because they understood.
These lights—some dim, some magnificent, that had flared up because of the giant god's arrival.
Were all Evil Gods.
From beneath their feet to the distant depths of the void where the eye could not reach, from before their eyes to the far end of time and space that could not be imagined, endless Evil Gods were surging silently toward this direction, some fast, some slow.
Dark nebulas, luminous rings, shifting prisms, shattered geometries.
Loose vortices, twisted spirals, burning mists, flowing starlight.
Fragments of unity, conglomerations of flesh, howling halos, thick spiritual matter.
Everything imaginable and unimaginable, things that seemed alive and things that didn't, everything that could exist and couldn't exist—all of it, countless Evil Gods, countless remnants of civilizations, all the countless beings destroyed since the birth of the multiverse, had appeared here.
Who knew how many star rivers, even multiverse star rivers, had their wreckage gathered here? Some were powerful, some were weak, but without exception, they were all Evil Gods—all Chaos sufficient to destroy worlds and devour civilizations.
But there was nothing to fear.
Before this endless sea of Evil God lights, there was one exceptionally powerful Evil God. It looked like a luminous ring, and at the center of the ring was a dark hole, as if something was constantly condensing there, constantly summoning something. Facing the Steel Giant God standing before all the Evil Gods, it immediately began to prepare an attack. Even the mere prelude to its attack sent a chill through the numerous experts in the Biros Star River.
They seemed to see an illusion—the process of an immensely powerful civilization gathering the strength of their entire race to create a psychic will entity that surpassed gods, surpassed limits. That endless convergence and fusion ultimately created not an 'existence' that broke through limits, but destruction that shattered everything. And upon their remains, their wish was fulfilled. The power they could not unite while alive was shaped by Chaos, forged into an eternal foundation.
But Joshua paid no attention. The four-armed giant god casually swept its arm around, grabbing an Evil God. Crimson flames burned, reducing it to ashes in an instant. The warrior said nothing, simply tossing the burning light behind him. Then, within the Pioneer Fortress cluster, this light condensed, transforming into surging Emotion Force, opening a portal. A mighty fleet of Emotion Force emerged from this portal.
Following them were two gods holding divine rings.
The old man like a cicada, Tan Ya, was covered in crimson flames of courage, while the one-eyed Takur person on the other side radiated deep purple psychic energy.
Finally, behind that portal, a blue-green light flared up. Accompanied by a surging tide, the curtain was lifted. The Triple Veil, though not yet complete but already capable of battle, responded to the call of its allies and arrived at the forefront of the battlefield.
At this moment, the [Condensation] Evil God launched its attack. It reversed its dark hole, which was constantly condensing something, transforming it into a bright, pure white passage. Then, an invisible lightning bolt that would make even Legendary Limit experts' hair stand on end directly struck Joshua, producing a violent temporal tremor.
In that instant, the battlefield was flooded with light. Everyone watching this scene unconsciously clenched their hearts for a moment.
Until an intact iron gauntlet tore through the light, smoothing the void.