A different world game? A different world game!

Chapter 1126, Part 2: The Void Gate

Above the Leviathan continent.

Beneath the thin layer of clouds, the fortified city of Tesila continued to relentlessly spew forth flames of destruction.

The roar of alchemical ballistae, the flashing of magical light, the war cries of soldiers, and the hissing of void creatures blended into a never-ending background sound.

However, all of this appeared as a flat, unrolled map to the two beings high above.

The King of Resistance and the Ape of Destruction have been hovering here observing for several days.

At the severed right arm of the Destroyer Ape, purplish-black void energy and residual earthy-yellow astral power were still subtly intertwined and fighting, preventing healing.

His bloodshot eyes scanned every tactical detail below without blinking.

The alternation of shield walls, the infiltration of cavalry wedge formations, and the instantaneous adjustment of the fire network.

Finally, even the King of Resistance, who was always taciturn and surrounded by a suppressed dark golden light, slightly turned his head, and his deep voice seemed to resound directly in the consciousness of the Ape of Destruction:

"You are the Apocalypse who has participated in the most world destructions. Have you ever seen a world like this?"

Upon hearing this, the Ape of Destruction rolled its eyes dramatically in an extremely human-like manner, causing the purplish-black aura to ripple.

“If I had seen it, I wouldn’t be dragging this arm around, just watching from the front lines with you.”

He replied irritably, "In most worlds, the moment I land, the void erosion combined with my rule analysis is enough to get a pretty good look at everything there—I mean, the underlying rules and information structure. That satisfies my 'hundred spirits,' and then it's just a matter of methodical destruction, or watching them collapse on their own. No surprises."

He paused, then turned his gaze back to the artful defensive battle below.

"But this place... is different."

"Once it lands, perception is blocked; rules are anchored and encrypted by some force; and information flow is highly integrated and controlled. It's like covering your ears and blindfolding you."

"This 'unknown' is the only motivation that keeps me from finding a place to end my life and go back to sleep."

His tone carried a hint of self-deprecation, as well as excitement driven by intense curiosity.

They didn't really make any moves; they were just observing.

Regarding the mesh-like node defense system below, they initially only commented with a "slightly experienced" assessment.

After all, in an endless world, intelligent beings can come up with all sorts of incredible methods to resist destruction.

They had seen the "clumsy method" of connecting the entire world and establishing dozens or even hundreds of continuous defense lines, and that scene was even more grand and exaggerated than the network of nodes in front of them.

What truly sent a chill down their spines, and even...terrified them, was the warriors themselves.

Those soldiers clad in heavy armor, forming a shield wall with their flesh and blood; those cavalrymen riding war beasts, precisely weaving through the purple tide; those spellcasters standing atop mage towers, expressionless as they guided strategic spells.

Their movements were so uniform as to be almost unbelievable, their tactics executed with the precision of a perfect drawing, and their minds remained as steadfast as a rock in the face of endless monsters and the whispers that eroded their spirits.

“Unless this world is a Hive Consciousness,” the Destroyer Ape murmured, then immediately contradicted himself, “but the forces created by the Hive Consciousness are like these mindless Void creatures, possessing only instincts and no ‘will’.”

"But they clearly have independent consciousness; they get tired, they get hurt, they roar... yet they can achieve such extreme coordination for a common goal."

The dark gold energy around the King of Resistance fluctuated slightly, a sign of the frustration arising from the clash between his pent-up destructive desires and the reality before him.

"So, this world... really can pull through."

He wasn't asking questions, but rather stating a conclusion that was gradually becoming clearer.

"At least this continent appears to be flawless."

The Ape of Destruction withdrew its gaze, its tone becoming listless. "Trying to find a breakthrough here? The possibility is extremely slim. The void devours everything here, and the information is instead absorbed, integrated, and encrypted by the divine kingdom on the ground."

“I can 'smell' less information than in the uncorrupted areas. This is absolutely their core area, and staying here any longer is a complete waste of time.”

Moreover, they all clearly understood that although they were floating here, looking down at the battlefield, that god was also watching them from somewhere, just as they were looking down.

Meaningless.

To be honest, if they didn't know the power of the gods, which would never appear unless in the most desperate situation, they would have died long ago.

Of course, if the gods intervene directly, they'd be happy to have some peace and quiet.

Perhaps the power of such a deity is enough to truly destroy them? That would be a fortunate thing.

The King of Resistance remained silent for a moment, then slowly nodded.

His eyes, which seemed to hold the power to annihilate the world, finally swept over the ironwork structure above the Tesila Fortress, which radiated an orderly silver glow.

"...Go to other continents. From the edges, from freshly torn wounds, it's easier to see the truth beneath the flesh."

Two figures, one a deep, dark gold, the other a broken, purplish-black, no longer lingered. They transformed into almost imperceptible streaks of light and vanished silently into the Lebia sky, leaving behind only the still fierce battlefield below, seemingly untouched by their presence.

…………

The continent of Bestar.

The rear strategic command center, "Eye of Deep Rock".

This is a vast space buried deep within the mountain, protected by multiple runes and barriers.

On the central holographic strategic sand table, a miniature map of the entire world of Aigela is being projected in real time.

The deep purple color representing the void has already devoured about a quarter of the world, mainly concentrated in the eastern region of Taril, which has completely fallen.

And the northern Bestar and northeastern coast of Tate, where fierce fighting is taking place.

On the screen labeled "Bestar Northern Defense Zone", pale purple spots of light are being cut and blocked by many bright gold lines. These lines represent individual node fortresses and the "mesh defense system" formed by their connections.

A half-elf man, the tactical master Elandil, leaned wearily against the back of a cushioned chair, rubbing his throbbing temples from staring at magical light and shadow for so long.

He had elven pointed ears and a slightly darker human complexion, with fine lines at the corners of his eyes revealing his experience.

Looking at the purple area on the sand table, which was progressing slowly but steadily, and the effectively functioning golden network, he suddenly gave a relaxed smile and said to Grom, the lead engineer who was checking the data beside him:

"Honestly, old buddy, these void monsters... don't seem as scary as the legends say. Aside from their terrifying numbers, their tactics are incredibly simple—they just charge forward."

"Our tactics of division, delay, and attrition are being executed even more smoothly than rehearsed. Look at Lebia over there, they're even counterattacking, annihilating entire enemy units within the engulfing zone."

"Everything is getting better. Although we are losing territory, we have accomplished our 'resistance' objective quite well. Isn't this... a victory?"

For them, victory was not about completely annihilating the void, but about firmly blocking the opponent according to the established plan.

Slowly retreat along the engulfing line.

Without looking up, Grom tapped the metal tabletop heavily with his thick knuckles, producing a dull "thump-thump" sound.

"Victory? Elandil, put away your elven optimism!"

His voice was loud and clear, with the seriousness characteristic of dwarves, “We paid the price of the entire continent of Taril and the casualties of hundreds of thousands of warriors to barely establish this 'visible' defensive line!”

"If the Void is only capable of this much, why did Lord Cana devise the 'Last Line of Defense' plan, and even predict that it might only be able to hold a corner of the City of the Ring?"

Even though Kana was describing the most extreme scenario, they felt it might be a prophecy, so they kept making plans based on the worst-case scenario.

That wasn't wrong, so Kana didn't stop it.

He raised his head, his eyes sharp as knives beneath his thick eyebrows.

"Do you think Lord Kana is worrying unnecessarily? Think about his predictions and preparations step by step, which one of them has ever failed to come true?"

"The fact that 'everything is going smoothly' now may be the biggest trap! The deeper the void devours, the stronger the descending power may be. This is common knowledge in astral understanding."

That's not true at all. This information was obtained by Kana from the Titans.

"We've only lost a quarter of the world; it's far from time to relax!"

Elendil's smile faded, and he sighed and nodded.

Question Cannavaro? Nobody would actually do that.

That man's figure and reputation have long been intertwined with the world's hopes.

Everyone was just... inevitably a little bit of wishful thinking when things were going smoothly.

But Grom's reminder was like a bucket of cold water, bringing him to his senses.

Just then, a piercing priority communications ringtone sounded in the strategy room.

A fox clan messenger almost jumped up, his voice trembling slightly: "Report! Multiple node fortresses in the Northern Territory, including 'Heart of the Tiger,' 'Gray Shield,' and 'Spear,' have simultaneously sent urgent observation reports!"

"A massive spatial distortion has occurred above the already fallen 'Black Swamp Zone'! The area affected is... extremely large!"

On the sand table, in the center of the northern region of the Bestar continent, which had been dyed deep purple, a dazzling red spot began to flash wildly and rapidly expanded into an irregular red area.

Northern border of the continent of Bestar, the watchtower of the fortress "Heart of the Tiger".

The Watcher is a young werewolf soldier with an extremely keen sense of smell and sight.

He was routinely scanning the purple sky in the distance—a land utterly corrupted by the void, permeated with an unpleasant, foul stench.

Suddenly, the hair on his body stood on end slightly.

Not right.

That frozen purple "sky" was not still.

It was swaying, like looking at the scenery through a wave of sweltering heat, the edges of the objects becoming distorted and blurred.

Moreover, the area of ​​distortion was expanding at an alarming rate. Soon, almost half of the sky in the occupied zone had turned into a huge, constantly writhing, transparent ripple.

"What is that?!" he exclaimed.

His companion immediately raised his binoculars.

More and more people noticed the anomaly.

The soldiers on the city wall, the officers in the command tower—everyone's attention was drawn to it.

"Is a gigantic monster about to emerge?"

"Could it be a new weapon from the Void?"

"Energy readings are skyrocketing! Spatial stability is plummeting!"

Panic, like a subtle electric current, quietly spread throughout the fortress.

The information flew back like snowflakes through the magical communication network.

Almost at the same time the intelligence reached the Eye of Deeprock, the space above the fortress rippled like water, and the space god Popo, clad in a robe of stars, appeared.

The white mouse's large eyes were filled with solemnity.

The next moment, a gentle yet incredibly stable aura appeared beside Him.

When Kana arrived, he remained calm, but his eyes were as deep as an abyss.

Neither of them spoke; they simply watched each other silently.

Hidden in the clouds high in the sky.

The defenders below held their breath, and the entire front line seemed to have been muted, with only the increasingly intense lamentations in the distance remaining.

"Snap—"

The sound, like the cracking of glass reaching its limit, echoed through every corner of reality and the mind.

That space, twisted to its extreme, shattered with a deafening roar!

It wasn't a crack, but rather like a shattered mirror, peeling away and dissipating to reveal a vast, dark void behind it that sent shivers down one's spine.

At the other end of the void lies the cold, empty, and endlessly malevolent astral void.

The second void gate.

Moreover, it was a massive gateway, far exceeding the initial one, large enough for the entire fleet to pass through.

"Ugh——"

Instead of monsters immediately emerging from the doorway, a clear, long, and seemingly soul-stirring sigh and roar rang out first.

With that roar, an incredibly dense, deep purple aura erupted from the door like a tsunami, instantly engulfing the world.

At the same time, the constant, background noise-like whispers in everyone's ears suddenly transformed into sharp, frenzied, seductive, and destructive murmurs.

"what!"

Many soldiers with weaker mental strength immediately clutched their heads, their eyes unfocused, their faces showing expressions of dazedness or pain, as if they were about to lose themselves.

Just then, a clear and majestic dragon's roar resounded in the spiritual sea of ​​all living beings.

A magnificent dragon phantom, its body shrouded in black and white light, seemed to emerge from the river of souls and wills, appearing deep within everyone's consciousness.

His figure was not very solid, but it carried the power of order that suppressed all chaos.

He raised his head and, facing the sweeping purple spiritual storm, unleashed a pure black and white interwoven flame.

There was no heat, no explosion, but wherever the black and white flames passed, the frenzied, decadent sounds melted away like snow, and the soul-corroding purple aura was dispelled and purified.

The soldiers jolted awake, their eyes regaining their clarity, and they gasped for breath, still shaken.

The spiritual crisis was temporarily averted by the black and white dragons.

Many veterans recognized him instantly; he was one of the Night's Watch's most mysterious guardians.

But the real-world horrors have only just begun.

Under the gaze of countless horrified eyes, shadows surged within the enormous void gate.

Then, one, two, ten... a dense array of enormous figures slowly "swam" out.

They float high in the air, each one as large as a major battleship at sea.

Its shape is hard to describe; it seems to be some kind of twisted biological structure, or a living ship covered with a thick chitinous shell.

Its surface is covered with viscous, purplish-black energy veins. It has no obvious facial features, only several pairs of purple "eyes" or energy focusing organs of varying sizes that emit a faint glow.

They stood silently in the sky before the Gate of the Void, casting shadows that covered a large area.

The concentration of void erosion in the air surged instantly, even dimming the light of the fortress barrier.

These are definitely not the low-level void creatures that only knew how to charge on the ground like before.

The intensity of the war escalated dramatically at this moment. (End of Chapter)