# Chapter 32: Famine World
Before the warrior's eyes, countless scenes flashed rapidly.
Like a black tide, herds of animals ran across jungles and hills, dense schools of various fish flowed in the warm ocean currents of the deep sea, beneath the silent glaciers were surging polar sea maelstroms, and enormous bizarre creatures dwelled in the steep, abyssal depths within the vortex...
Among the rapidly flashing scenes, Joshua witnessed the rise and fall of countless biological races, and also witnessed the changes occurring on countless lands. He watched plains turn into rivers, then transform into mountains and abysses. The world, under the passage of fleeting time, changed its form like rubber.
And there was a human-like creature that occupied the majority of these scenes.
They hunted beasts, they cultivated grains, they gathered into tribes, they built cities. With the spread of writing and language, the fire of civilization was ignited. The world, under the burning passion of this race, was constantly being transformed.
Joshua saw how this race, similar to humans, went from barbarism to civilization, from birth to prosperity, and finally, to the starry sky above their heads.
A colossal mana-powered spaceship carried a torrent of energy, heading toward the astral void beyond the heavens, traveling through numerous worlds. They treated every race with a peaceful heart, conducting fair trade.
But the good times did not last long.
Under the warrior's indifferent gaze, the seed of chaos was planted into the great ship sailing through the void, and this sealed the fate of this world. A sudden wave of monsters sweeping across the entire world destroyed the most essential parts of this civilization. Countless advanced weapons were wrecked, and the remaining energy weapons had little effect on these monsters. The entire world instantly fell into apocalypse.
The final scene was like this.
Howling winds swept across the grasslands, causing the verdant long grass to ripple and sway. Accompanied by the deafening roar of steel, countless warriors wielding all kinds of strange weapons, clad in thick, solid steel mana armor, formed an army, gathering on a vast plain.
Floating airships, like islands, circled in the sky, casting patches of shadow over the land. The radiance of mana flowed across their armor, flashing with terrifying light.
And standing opposite them were countless terrifying monsters.
Through the Divine Mechanism contract, Joshua felt Lin's spirit tremble. He immediately understood that he was not the only one who had seen this 'vision.' And the warrior naturally knew why his Divine Mechanism was surprised—because the strange weapons in these warriors' hands were clearly the prototypes of Divine Mechanisms.
And what stood before them was clearly an army of Wild Gods.
Compared to the rapidly flowing images of civilization's development at the beginning, this scene moved very slowly. But as time passed, the scene became more and more vivid. At first, Joshua could only see blurry images and hear indistinct sounds, but in the end, he could even smell the mixed scents of grass, steel, and blood.
The human army assembled, and the chaotic forces also completed their formation. Then, the human army, composed of steel, led by a leader holding a giant shield, took the initiative to charge toward the Wild God army on the other side of the plain. Before them were Chaos monsters that filled every corner of the earth and sky.
The noise of crystal and steel grinding against each other, along with the sound of charging horns, echoed across the entire plain. The black smoke from the dissipating bodies of fallen Wild Gods completely obscured the once-sunny sky, forming a dark curtain. Accompanied by battle cries that shook the heavens, the green plain was also stained red by the blood of warriors. Burning flames consumed the grass and trees, spreading into the distance.
This was an extremely brutal slaughter. Neither side retreated. Countless steel airships fell from the sky, turning into huge fireballs, while the bodies of flying Wild Gods also fell like rain, turning into trails of black smoke.
Chaos monsters had no mind to speak of, while these warriors fought to the death with unparalleled courage and a sense of duty. Mana beams had no effect on these monsters; only physical attacks had some effect. This was a tremendous disadvantage for this civilization, which had embarked on the path of mana from the beginning and had not developed Battle Qi or firearms. Before putting on their mana armor, the warriors did not even know how to fight in close combat. Yet even so, they wielded their weapons and fought fiercely.
The roar of battle gradually faded. In the end, only a single squad of knights remained on the entire plain.
A tattered battle flag, stained with blood, fluttered in the wind. The knights' armor was covered in stains and damage, and their swords were full of notches. The sky was obscured by the black mist of Chaos, and the sun's light was completely blocked. And opposite the knights was a colossal monster, as huge as a mountain.
Sharp, blade-like limbs vibrated wildly at the edges of its carapace. Countless injured but not dead Wild Gods had merged together, transforming into this twisted, enormous monster before them. Millions of compound eyes rotated across its body, releasing beams of destruction. Countless mouths with suckers and barbs opened and closed, spewing acid that corroded everything. Human language could not describe this kind of mad Chaos monster. Even the monsters in nightmares were cuter than this one.
But the surviving knights showed no trace of fear.
They gripped their damaged swords, raised their broken flags. The knights' faces bore a look of resolve—the determination to fight to the very last moment, even knowing it meant death.
"Charge!"
With this hoarse command, the remaining army began to gallop toward the enormous monster.
This was the last resistance.
The scene vanished.
And the flashing images continued.
No miracle occurred. The charging knights naturally did not succeed. After devouring all the corpses on the plain, the enormous monster disintegrated into countless black mists, enveloping the world. Sunlight was blocked, the weather grew colder, plants could not grow, wild beasts could not survive, crops failed, jungles withered, there were no clouds, no rain. All elements related to life gradually disappeared. Before this 'Famine' that enveloped the entire world, all things were on the verge of extinction.
The fire was about to go out.
This civilization, which had once been able to travel through the void, no longer had the power to resist. After the defeat in the decisive battle on the great plain, the surviving people could only switch to a defensive posture. They huddled inside colossal fortresses like mountains, barely surviving by relying on geothermal heat. Meanwhile, huge Wild Gods, with giant horns on their heads, two pairs of enormous bone wings on their backs, and countless compound eyes and tentacle-like limbs, flew in the hazy gray mist in the sky. Blue-white lightning flickered around their bodies, as if demonstrating their sovereignty over this world.
Joshua was completely captivated by this scene. Watching the enormous monsters flying in the sky, exuding a terrifying aura, his body instinctively began to prepare for battle. Battle Qi ignited within him, a red halo flowed, and then transformed into pure black.
But this action seemed to trigger something.
"...Soul Abyss... Soulflamer?"
An inexplicable voice sounded—an anomaly suddenly occurred.
The scene before him instantly shattered. Spiderweb-like cracks spread rapidly, and all images began to collapse. At this moment, gray, stagnant Steel Force erupted from the vortex, turning into thick fog, intending to engulf everyone.
No one would allow this strange thing to touch them—neither Joshua nor Moria, neither Lin nor Claire. But everything happened too fast. In an instant, the gray smoke engulfed everyone.
(To be continued.)