Chapter 20: The Void Era and the End of Childhood
On the fifteenth day of April, in the year 841 of the Falling Stars Era, in the afternoon, above the highlands of Siberia, a rift was torn in the world barrier, and a colossal torrent of energy from the void surged into the world's interior.
In an instant, clouds stretching for a thousand miles dispersed, the daylight dimmed, and the bright sky and sun transformed into a night sky filled with countless stars.
And amidst this revolving river of myriad worlds, a silver metallic river cascaded down from the end of the sky, accompanied by a thunderous roar. It continuously expanded, finally taking the form of a colossal steel pillar-like hand, which pressed down rapidly upon the Siberia Highlands!
Whoosh! Whoosh!
A great gale swept across the entire northeastern side of the Western Mountains and the whole of the Siberia Highlands. The moment the metallic giant hand descended from the sky, a super-hurricane of over magnitude seventeen arose from the ground. A storm and shockwave capable of twisting steel surged outward, with enough force to sweep across the entire Western Mountains and the Northern Empire, destroying ninety percent of surface structures in the border regions.
However, the array that Baniel had inscribed on the level highlands suddenly lit up. Rounds of runic structures, fitting together like gears, rotating layer upon layer, rose rapidly. They formed a structure resembling a cylindrical beehive, forcibly suppressing all the shockwaves within a radius of fifteen kilometers centered on the array. Within this area, heaven and earth were overturned; outside it, all was calm.
"Array overload at 116! Nostradamus, tell Joshua to go easier!"
At that moment, Baniel, standing right next to the array, was intently staring at the data on the light screen before him. He shouted loudly, then raised his hand and quickly activated the next step of the array: "Begin guiding the power, entering the second phase, 'Foundation'!"
And with the chief engineer Baniel's command, the raging power restrained within the runic array followed the descending silver giant palm and directly struck the array's main body. But astonishingly, the steel hand descending from beyond the void did not destroy Baniel's array. Following the guiding light pillar, it pressed down perfectly flat onto the array, without the slightest deviation or tilt.
Then, this metallic giant hand, carrying the giant array that spanned kilometers in radius, crushed through the crust of the Siberia Highlands, just as a human might press their hand into a pile of snow, directly creating an incredibly huge depression on the continent of the Mycroft World!
Boom! In an instant, the earth shook and mountains swayed. Whether it was rock, stone, or soil, under the intense friction and shockwave vibration, they were heated into surging golden magma. Logically, the entire Siberia Highlands should have completely shattered and collapsed in an earthquake of magnitude ten or higher. But the runic array designed by Baniel was still functioning.
One could see the colorful glow of runes shining. The gear-like runic structure steadfastly blocked the endless impact, still constraining the continent-crust-level destructive force of the metallic giant hand within a certain range. Using this destructive force, it guided the hand to continue deeper until it penetrated deep into the mantle!
"Don't let anything go wrong."
Baniel could hear Nostradamus's voice coming from a light screen beside him. The Rune Master, covered in liquid nitrogen, was fully focused on manipulating the array and could only reply briefly: "I designed this plan!"
If that was the case, then there was absolutely no way it could go wrong!
And the facts were just as he said. Over a dozen seconds later, when the silver giant hand had pressed the entire runic array deep into the earth's crust, and itself had completely submerged into the molten mantle, this straight metallic pillar standing between the earth and sky actually stabilized, without any further tremor.
And the runic array, pressed deep into the molten depths, instantly activated its second function upon sensing the surrounding scorching geothermal energy, following the pre-programmed instructions of its designer!
"Molten Core Energy Convergence Array Reconstruction, initiating!"
With the command given, the runic array deep in the mantle activated again. This time, its task was no longer to block shockwaves and heat flow, but to convert the shockwaves and the surrounding endless heat into surging energy.
One could see a gentle vortex forming deep within the mantle. The flow of magma across nearly half of the northwestern continent changed its direction, converging towards this vortex. This scorching rotational force of the earth was greedily absorbed by the runic array, then transformed into the activation key connecting the metallic giant hand.
"Joshua, it's your turn!"
Confirming that the Molten Core Energy Convergence Array had started, and that the entire Siberia Highlands and half the continent hadn't been destroyed by a single palm strike from a certain warrior, Baniel wiped the continuously evaporating liquid nitrogen from his head, then shouted towards a blank light screen: "Hurry up and stabilize the foundation, otherwise if the 'Sky-Piercing Tower' is even slightly tilted later, we'll have to start all over again!"
And an instant later, a low male voice crossed the void from beyond the world, sounding from the outer side of the world.
"Understood."
"Beginning... transformation!"
Deep within the earth, the metallic giant hand, originally in the shape of a 'palm', had its five fingers fixed firmly deep within the earth like the roots of a giant tree. With the Molten Core Energy Convergence Array continuously providing energy, along with a silver radiance falling from the end of the sky, this enormous metallic giant hand began a rapid and awe-inspiring transformation.
One could see countless dense, root-like metallic spikes extending from the depths of the fingers, palm, and arm. They pierced the earth, stabilized the rock layers, and turned the loose soil into the most solid bedrock. This scene was like a tree taking root and sprouting. In less than ten minutes, the entire underground of the Siberia Highlands was penetrated by metallic roots, which were even continuously spreading towards the Western Mountain range and the southern desert plains on the northeastern side of the highlands.
Meanwhile, high in the sky, the world barrier torn by the immense force began to slowly heal itself. But astonishingly, the continuously expanding and extending steel pillar resisted the closure of the world barrier. The center of this nearly solid metallic pillar, originally about fifteen hundred meters in radius, began to hollow out. This hollow grew larger and wider. Gradually, this seemingly slender and skeletal metallic pillar expanded into a hollow giant tower with a total mass exceeding fifty-five trillion tons, piercing the heavens and standing between the world and the sky!
One could see the base of this giant tower was a massive metallic root system rooted in the entire Siberia Highlands and even the Western Mountain region, plunging directly into the mantle zone. The middle section of the tower was a metallic pillar spanning five hundred thousand meters, disappearing into the 'Void Realm' above the sky. And the very top of the tower was a massive void base that extended straight into the void, propping open the world barrier, with a base radius exceeding five thousand meters!
Outside the void, the Steel Giant God severed its connection with this 'alienated' arm, allowing this arm, created from the very beginning to be built into a giant tower, to operate independently.
And on top of the Metal Giant God, Number 3 widened her eyes, shocked, watching the top of the giant tower seal itself, completing a new layer of world barrier. The world barrier completed by the giant tower was like the lid of a drink, ready to be opened at any time, but was usually sealed to prevent foreign objects from the void from entering the world's interior.
After a long while, she recovered from her shock and whispered to herself: "Joshua... is this what you called the 'Sky-Piercing Tower'?"
"Yes."
Joshua, in his Giant God form, nodded slightly. His body was continuously shrinking, finally transforming into a high-density form the size of a mountain range. At this moment, he was watching that pillar that seemed to support heaven and earth, and said calmly: "This thing should technically be called a 'Space Elevator', but the Mycroft World has no space, no electricity, and this isn't an elevator. On the contrary, it's more like a hollow giant tower, and its utility is far higher than a space elevator. So, along with others, I named it the 'Void Sky-Piercing Tower'."
"This Void Sky-Piercing Tower can directly connect the earth and the void. Through it, the Mycroft Civilization can continuously transport materials to the void at a fraction of the original cost, building massive warships or fortresses. Similarly, external minerals and precious resources can be imported into the Mycroft World at a fraction of the original cost."
"Radius of five thousand seven hundred meters, entirely composed of living metal, total mass of fifty-five trillion tons. I directly shaped it in the void using the Steel Force. Baniel inscribed the runes and smoothed the energy circuits. Barbarossa enchanted it, turning it into a magical structure. Faina constructed the core engine of this Void Sky-Piercing Tower, which will later be teleported directly from the Eastern Sea by Nostradamus and delivered to the earth's core."
Saying this, Joshua's tone carried a hint of pride: "Actually, I only prepared the raw materials for the tower body, devoured a few mountain ranges in a dead world, and shaped it. The design, site selection, rune enchantment, array inscription, energy system, and the technique of recreating an artificial world barrier were all done by other Legendary experts and deities. Soon, Nature Mentor and others will join. They are responsible for creating a complete extra-world ecosystem in the void base, using this as a foundation to create a 'zero-gravity' demiplane directly connected to the void."
Hearing this, Number 3 silently watched this incredibly huge sky-piercing tower. Its vastness could be perceived from outside the world; its height could be clearly seen by fishermen on the edge of the Mycroft World. Such a colossal structure required raw materials gathered from other worlds, devouring several massive mountain ranges. And this was not the limit of this tower—because it was entirely cast from living metal, it would be very easy for the Mycroft people to expand it in the future.
With Joshua's strength and Number 3's divine inheritance, both could see that at the lower end of the giant tower, an extremely powerful electromagnetic field had begun to converge. This 'Electromagnetic Launch Array', co-designed by Barbarossa and Pope Eagle, could instantly accelerate a projectile to nearly twenty times the speed of sound while ensuring its stability. This speed could even be continuously increased. Simultaneously, the Holy Light Power generated with the acceleration field would stabilize the structure of all launched objects, ensuring they felt no acceleration force.
Under the influence of supernatural power, any reaction force, thrust, or acceleration force could be easily resolved. It was incredibly convenient. In fact, the Void Sky-Piercing Tower itself could be considered a ridiculously huge electromagnetic railgun. After passing through a five-hundred-thousand-meter acceleration track, any projectile could unleash unimaginable destructive power.
"The Mycroft people... are truly worthy of awe."
Thinking of something unknown, Number 3 couldn't help but sigh, then spoke softly. But Joshua shook his head slightly and said with a smile: "Worthy of awe? Number 3, you are also one of the creators of this great wonder!"
"Without your rapid extraction of key data and information from the Unified Grand Database earlier, giving us a solid technical foundation, even if the Void Sky-Piercing Tower could be built, it would certainly be much later than now... But let's not talk about that. Look, the 'Dreadnought-class Void Battleship' has started to launch. It will be the first warship to travel from the earth to the void through the Void Sky-Piercing Tower."
Just as Joshua finished speaking, at the Siberia Void Warship Production Line, an exceptionally huge warship, over fourteen hundred meters in total length, began to slowly float under the blessing of anti-gravity magic. One could see streams of silver-blue streamlined mana light flowing across the ship's surface, indicating that its core engine was preheating and starting up.
This warship, over four hundred meters wide and about three hundred meters high, presented an axially symmetric design aesthetic. At first glance, it looked like a heavy spearhead, with a diamond-like hull structure. Its incredibly thick living metal armor boasted defensive capabilities comparable to, or even surpassing, composite adamantite alloy armor. Its core power source was a psionic collision engine, originating from the Star Sea World and improved by the Ocean Sage, Faina. Thanks to the Rune Master Baniel's intelligent transformation of the warship, this huge battleship could be smoothly operated by fewer than five thousand people.
Now, the void battleship, named 'Dreadnought', had detached from the production base. It slowly floated to the launch site... Then, accompanied by a roar louder than thunder, the huge nozzles on its sides and tail suddenly erupted with psionic light flames stretching ten thousand meters. This brilliant silver-blue light flow generated terrifying thrust, propelling the huge warship towards the nearby tower that pierced the heavens.
Inside the Dreadnought, there were no living humans controlling it. The ship was currently controlled by thousands of temporary elemental lifeforms created by Baniel. They possessed physical strength similar to humans and were the perfect experimental subjects.
Joshua and Number 3, Baniel and William, Nostradamus and Faina, Barbarossa and Eagle... All the Legendary experts watching this scene, watching the Void Sky-Piercing Tower and the Dreadnought-class battleship, watched intently. They watched the warship resist the heavy gravity of the earth, resist the immense air resistance, slowly fly bit by bit, pass through the tower's huge valve, five thousand meters in length and width, and officially enter it.
"Electromagnetic Launch Array, activating!"
"Activating Holy Light Defense System... Beginning to counteract impact!"
"Launch countdown... 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... Launch!"
"Boom!!!"
Accompanied by the flickering of blue-green mana arcs, a huge electromagnetic field instantly enveloped the entire Dreadnought-class battleship. This massive steel creation was accelerated to a rapid speed of six thousand meters per second in an instant, and then it sped towards the end of the sky, towards the outside of the world.
One could see a silver light flying through the hollow pipe towards the void. The translucent crystal layer clearly showed the passing light stream.
Then, a minute and a half passed.
At the top of the Void Sky-Piercing Tower, the artificial world barrier slowly opened, and a huge warship spewing silver-blue light streams flew out lightly, entering the void.
"Beginning post-launch inspection... Original personnel count: 5135. Beginning scan..."
"Confirmed. Current personnel count: 5135. No severe injuries, no minor injuries, no anomalies. Scan result evaluation: Perfect!"
Deep within the Siberia Highlands, at the Void Warship Production Line, in the central control area, two synthetic voices devoid of any emotional fluctuation sounded.
At first, there was only silence.
Then, with the first clap of applause, soon, applause like thunder resounded throughout the entire production base!
Joshua and Number 3 were outside the world. They could not hear the applause and cheers of the ordinary people on the earth who had perfected the designs of the Legendary experts, built the warships, and executed this miraculous plan. But simultaneously, they, along with all the Legendary experts watching this scene from various corners of the world, raised their hands towards the huge warship flying in the void and applauded seriously.
Because what they had just witnessed was the beginning of a civilization truly stepping into the Void Era.
And with that, the childhood of a civilization was declared at an end.