Chapter 27: Sigh
The Mycroft world’s homeland being attacked by an Ultimate Lifeform was not kept secret—in fact, it was utterly impossible to conceal. The long-lurking Ultimate Lifeform, once known as the elven individual ‘Noipel,’ had suddenly revealed its true form. Before it began its large-scale destruction and assault, no one had anticipated that this rising star had already been completely infiltrated and controlled by the plague.
In that great catastrophe, one-third of the central void base in the Jetram Star Domain was destroyed from within, which unfortunately included the exchange zone arranged for ambassadors from otherworldly civilizations. Fifty-one ambassadors from other civilizations died on the spot, while the Mycroft people’s losses were even more severe: 370,000 elite void base staff perished in the Ultimate Lifeform’s attack. The entire Jetram void base was nearly paralyzed, and the Third Sub-Fleet, which happened to be docked for maintenance at the time, was mostly sunk in a chain of consecutive explosions, with the few survivors all heavily damaged.
If not for the timely arrival of two Legendary experts stationed nearby—the newly ascended Legendary Brandon Kaos and Nostradamus—who intimidated the still-rampaging Ultimate Lifeform into fleeing, the losses might have multiplied several times over.
Although, on the surface, the death toll seemed small and only a single void base was damaged, every single person who died was a top-tier elite void worker, chosen one in a thousand. Moreover, the void base was located in the Jetram Star Domain, directly connected to Mycroft’s homeland and regarded as core territory. That even this place had been attacked undoubtedly served as a major wake-up call for the Mycroft people, shaking them free from the illusion that “the disaster is still far away from us.”
In the face of a transcendent plague, distance was utterly meaningless.
Other civilizations were also finally forced to confront the disaster unfolding in this multiverse. Many void civilizations had not been oblivious; they had indeed sensed some omens of the increasingly tense and abnormal atmosphere in the multiverse—such as the rising frequency of World Devourer appearances, something writhing in the dark void, and the increasingly blazing and surging light of the Great Magic Tide… They all understood that the era of stability, peace, and leisurely development and enjoyment had passed. With this great plague sweeping the multiverse as the prelude, conflict was descending from the distant star seas.
The magic tide had arrived, conflict had come, and the final act of a *** cycle was slowly unfolding on the stage of the multiverse.
“…We must admit one fact: we are all under a great crisis.”
At the Jetram void base, during a large multi-civilization exchange conference temporarily convened by the Mycroft Alliance, a calm-faced, blue-haired young man stood at the podium and spoke in a serious tone. Mie Lü, the God of Order and Destruction, representing the Seven Gods, stunned the entire audience with his immense power. Without hesitation, he truthfully told all civilizations willing to know the truth about the Evil Gods that the Mycroft civilization had uncovered, as well as their conjectures about the multiverse’s future: “This super plague is just the beginning. It may not even have been created by the Evil Gods, but by some equally threatened super lifeform. And the methods of the Evil Gods are far beyond what that single entity can compare to. Believe us, facing dozens or even hundreds of Evil God invasions, some of which include primordial Evil Gods so powerful they surpass human intellect, no civilization can stand against them alone.”
“Yes, we are researching how to combat this plague. Barring accidents, our professional researcher, Eidyril Galannod, will develop a specialized vaccine for this plague within a few days. We cannot guarantee it will be absolutely effective, but we are fighting it, not merely passively defending. We will distribute the vaccine data free of charge and in a timely manner for each civilization to produce independently. On this point, we hope that many civilizations can join hands to face future threats and do the same as we do—namely, ‘sharing’ and ‘cooperation’—which is the essence of civilization, not beasts.”
“Even beasts share and cooperate…” muttered an ambassador from some unknown civilization under his breath. But because the venue was very quiet at the time, and the new ambassadors were not weak in strength, his words instantly spread throughout the hall, triggering waves of low discussion.
On a macro level, leveraging the plague, the Mycroft civilization rapidly united a large number of neighboring void civilizations, forming a loose alliance. Internally, an unprecedented large-scale lockdown and purge also began.
It could be seen that, aside from some essential staff with a spirit of sacrifice who still remained working at void bases in outer star colonies, the vast majority of staff had returned to the demiplane of the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground via emergency teleportation. They would all undergo the most meticulous inspection, as well as a cleansing from body to soul. This sounded very harsh, but it was absolutely necessary. By investigating the abnormal signs of the Ultimate Lifeform Noipel when it was still human, many Transcendents indicated that before it fully became an Ultimate Lifeform, there had been some signs of change in its soul. This immediately alerted the powerful: a transcendent plague might not necessarily start from the physical body; it could also infect through the mind and soul.
William, the Mind Dominator, worked urgently on an emergency basis to design a mental identification program based on the Magic Net. It could minimize the mental deviation value of a person’s heart. Anyone who logged into a Psychic Terminal would undergo a scan by this program. If the mental deviation exceeded 5%, they would be placed under official key surveillance. If it exceeded 10%, corresponding inspection and identification personnel would be dispatched. If it exceeded 20% or more, regardless of whether the individual was old or young, male or female, they would face an elite Transcendent suppression force descending from above, fully armed and ready.
At the same time, all projects involving void exploration were halted. Void echo analysts were classified as high-risk operations, and only the most loyal individuals whose strength met the requirements could perform corresponding tasks under supervision.
A series of swift and decisive operations undoubtedly greatly curbed the spread of the plague. After rooting out a few individuals confirmed to be latent plague carriers, the Mycroft civilization became even more cautious and meticulous in this regard, even beginning to seriously consider a related ‘Great Relocation Plan.’
Mycroft World, Northern Empire, Moldavia Territory.
In the modern city cluster that had become the Empire’s northern heavy mana industrial base, with the Great Aias Volcano as its energy source and forging center, a long-absent returning visitor had arrived.
Beneath the gloomy rain clouds, the Paladin Loranda stared somewhat dazedly at the familiar yet unfamiliar city in the distance. He remembered that the last time he came, Moldavia’s main city was merely a medium-sized town, exuding a cold and aloof aura in the wind and snow. But now, it had transformed into a pearl of the entire northern province—towering factories, enormous magic towers, energy transmission arrays, and numerous high-rise buildings all gave him an atmosphere like another world.
But this was not a sigh of lamentation over the disappearance of familiar things; rather, it was a feeling of comfort and joy born from ‘precisely because of this.’
He was growing stronger, and civilization was advancing… This thriving ‘change’ was precisely the most perfect future everyone dreamed of.
But now was not the time to reminisce about the past or sigh over changes. The Paladin’s eyes sharpened slightly, and without hesitation, he strode forward along ‘Lord’s Avenue.’
He bore a heavy responsibility. The various Legendary experts of Mycroft, and even Joshua from the distant Starry World, had all sent their approval. Many permissions had coalesced into the key in his hand, becoming the key to open that door.
“The Sanctuary Great Relocation…”
He murmured to himself. Loranda exhaled, then took another step forward.
And so, while the Mycroft civilization’s homeland was launching some experimental plans in response to the immense threat posed by the Ultimate Plague…
In countless civilizations that had once considered themselves safe, in countless regions that had once thought themselves remote, in countless worlds utterly unaware that the crisis had already arrived, the invisible threat continued to spread.