Cyber ​​Heroes

Chapter 1194 There must be some mission hidden since the day I was born.

Kotonoha Kambara, draped in camouflage, carefully observed from a distance. The Knights of Light Souls were only a few thousand meters away, yet at this moment, a battalion of soldiers had sealed off the area.

A thin atmosphere shrouded the pale, blood-red wasteland. Squads of soldiers filed in. Their heavy steel legs trampled the red sand into billowing dust. These soldiers, unsurprisingly, lacked any human facial features. They were the elite soldiers of the Protectors.

Kotonoha Kambara's attention was focused on a tall martial artist not far away.

David Klein, the conqueror of the heavens.

In my memory, Uncle David was a kind and gentle man, with layers of wrinkles at the corners of his eyes when he smiled. It's hard for Kotonoha Kanbara to imagine that he would become the legendary, capricious King of Mars.

The person before me exuded an astonishing aura. Just by standing there, the surroundings seemed to freeze.

The alloy mesh tightly bound the grayish-white polymer fiber bags, the gaps in the mesh bulging slightly outward due to internal pressure. Reddish-brown sand and gravel filled these cubical containers completely, creating a winding, zigzag line across the plain. The blast wall wasn't just one layer, but several.

At the corner of the defensive line, several sentry guns stood silently waiting. Above the position, several gyroplanes coated with black radar-absorbing material moved back and forth.

The Knights of Light are located inside the Temple Zone, supposedly to guard against chivalrous forces...

It lacks persuasiveness.

—Was he coming for me... or for Uncle Xiang? No, his initial goal was probably to...

Kotoha Kanbara is still searching for any possible gaps between the drone formations and the patrolling soldiers.

A direct confrontation would be hopeless. King David, under the orders of the Father of All Machines, only participated in the siege of the Ninth and Tenth War Gods; he has no further combat records, and his training is merely a habitual practice, not necessarily diligent. However, after being defeated by Dugu Beiluo Shimen, Kanbara Kotoha's prosthetic body was damaged, while David possesses a complete, top-tier prosthetic body.

Perhaps we should dig underground? The prosthetic body is severely damaged, and the resources needed for a Level One prosthetic body are unavailable at typical Six Dragons Cult supply points. In this state, it's impossible to dig to a depth that avoids the vibration detectors.

Suddenly, Kotonoha Kanbara sensed a change in the "aura" over there. The Heavenly King's subtle posture shifted abruptly. That astonishing aura vanished instantly, like a soap bubble.

One second, the man was a towering steel fortress; the next, he turned into a pile of teetering scrap metal.

A perplexing anxiety... no, panic? His shoulders slumped, and his right hand, which had been hanging naturally, trembled slightly.

What happened to the King of Mars? What news could have caused him to lose his composure like this?
Kotonoha saw David's back armor open, revealing the docking components, which spread like wings. With a whooshing sound, the wing components, filled with chemical fuel, fell from the sky and slammed into David's back. Blue flames erupted, and even the soldiers near the Heavenly King hurriedly retreated.

David transformed into a streak of light and flew towards the Olympus Space Elevator.

David received an email from Xiangshan.

The AI ​​that escaped his virtual reality was Xiang Shan, an "old friend" he created himself.

AI Xiangshan said that he could not coexist with the other Xiangshan, so he wanted to find the Fifth Martial God for a life-or-death duel.

I'll probably lose, so this is my final farewell.

It was an ordinary plaintext email, without encryption or disguise. But the digital signature contained elements from David Klein.

That's right, it must be Xiangshan.

—Are you crazy? Huh? What kind of garbage bug is this? Which programmer who should be shot wrote this? You're just a piece of code!

David roared in his heart.

—You have no martial spirit, no principles! You're just someone I wrote to keep me company! Your current behavior is illogical! This isn't part of your underlying logic! Besides, doing this doesn't help the victory of chivalry!
David's brain took direct control of the flight control system, unloaded the safety protocol, and forcibly accelerated with a near-self-destructive overload command.

The cooling grille snapped open violently, and the turbine emitted a piercing screech.

He was just a scoundrel who wanted to drink some good wine and sleep well in this chaotic world; he missed his family. He betrayed his ideals and his comrades, and in return, he gained the power of the King of Mars.

But even with power, you can't find your loved ones.

Loneliness is like gold dissolved in mercury. You think you've found a magical solvent that can melt away the heavy, stubborn loneliness in the flowing silver light, but what you end up with has neither the beauty and brilliance of gold, nor a trace of flowing freedom. The soul that has swallowed loneliness is dense and fragile.

“Don’t be like this…”

David whispered this.

He created AI. He didn't want a hero who would save the world and pave the future; he just wanted the brother he used to have, the one who could grill meat and pour beer with him, and chat and joke around. Every night, he hid in virtual space, pretending that nothing had changed, pretending that they were still that group of passionate fools, and pretending that he hadn't betrayed them.

That AI destroyed all his backup data. Even the AI ​​probably looks down on David Klein now.

David felt a bottomless absurdity. He, a living, breathing man, was wagging his tail and begging for mercy like a dog because he was tired; while that fake thing made up of 0s and 1s was going to fulfill the vows they had buried in the dustbin of history.

However, AI should not do this.

David is trying to get his electronic pet back.

Exactly. It's like you painstakingly raise a Sim in The Sims, buy them a mansion and a sports car, only to open the game one day and a pop-up says they left a note saying they're going to save the world, and then all your save data is deleted. There's no logic to that—the programmer who wrote that deserves to die.

If even this fake "friend" dies... if even this phantom who would act alongside him disappears, how will David Crane waste his time?

……………………………………………………………

The Fifth Martial God, Xiang Shan, is allowing data to flow through the upper layers of consciousness. Martial arts experience convolution is compared with the original accumulation, and new adaptive plugins are being generated.

The martial arts leader, Enlil, sent a message: 【What are you doing? Is it really necessary to risk fighting another version of yourself? And it's an AI, no less.】

[What's wrong with AI? I'm half AI now too. Watch out, or I'll sue you for AI discrimination.] The Fifth Martial God sent a message in his spare time.

AI Xiangshan is also waiting.

This is an unnecessary risk. In the current situation, every unit is precious. Going to fight a replica to the death, what if you lose...?

"It's nothing. Even if I died right now, the situation on Mars wouldn't change," Xiang Shan said. "My greatest contribution was merely leading the charge and coordinating things at the beginning. In terms of individual combat strength, that girl Dugu is stronger than me. In terms of command, you old martial arts masters are more than enough. You are all commanders who can stand alone. Now, it's my freedom to do what I want."

I don't see the point in this.

I haven't figured it out yet, but I know...

What? Explain yourself!

[For ascension.]

The Fifth Martial God said this.

Once consciousness surpasses a certain point, it undergoes a dramatic transformation, completely transcending the past.

Humans do not yet know where "that point" is.

Uploading memory files or having AI imitate humans do not constitute crossing the "singularity".

However, most people haven't even truly mastered the brain performance improvements brought about by benchmarking modifications, so they shouldn't even think about "ascension" for now.

Why was he so certain?

Enlil was truly baffled.

However, the Fifth Martial God, Xiang Shan, was indeed very clear about the motives behind this AI.

This is because it's an event that Zhu Xinyu, the Ascended AI who's inexplicably troubled, is still paying attention to.

The ascended AI is closer to the young Zhu Xinyu. In Xiang Shan's memories, Zhu Xinyu's image is detailed enough. So he could guess.

Although the specific strategy is unknown, if this AI truly believes that a fight between the two of them can motivate the ascending AI Zhu Xinyu to take action, it could free this unprecedentedly powerful individual from its predicament...

For the public good, it's about that potential opportunity for "ascension," and about securing a god-like comrade for the knight-errant.

Personally, it's for the girl in my memory who looked unhappy and was biting into a fast food package.

Both for public and private reasons, the Fifth Martial God should accept this battle.

The Fifth Martial God strode into the center of the arena, sending rust-colored dust flying around his feet.

The young AI, on the other hand, slowly strolled along the edge of the invisible great circle, keeping its distance.

The Fifth Martial God also changed his direction of movement. The two seemed to be drawing circles along the same center, maintaining their distance.

It appears to be defining the size of the area.

A commotion came from afar. The Firefly plummeted from mid-air. Seeing two figures facing each other towards the mountain, it asked urgently, "What on earth is going on?"

Enlil shook his head: "How should I know... it's said to be 'for ascension'."

"Tsk tsk, the advisor said that he and the Six Dragons Cult Leader are from the same source but different developments, which is actually quite reasonable."

Enlil fell into deep thought. He said, "Why fight against another version of yourself? Does the mystery of ascension require the slaying of another self? Or is it... some ancient culture? Only those old-fashioned people who have absorbed enough of this culture can feel the power of this ritual?"

"The devil knows."

After a few words, AI Xiangshan stopped. He looked up at the blue starlight in the sky, which was gradually brightening bit by bit.

He placed one hand on his forehead. Enlil couldn't tell what he was doing. Was he contemplating? Or was he paying homage to the approaching Twelfth Martial God?
"What are they doing now?"

The Firefly was silent for a few minutes, then said, "It should be 'feeling powerless,' and then... 'fighting against this powerlessness.'"

Enlil glanced at the Firefly: "Are you sure? I don't remember you ever seeing the Fifth Martial God, right?"

"Uncle-Master Dugu has met the Tenth Martial God."

Enlil was silent for a moment: "So you were just asking about Dugu?"

"if not?"

Enlil glanced at the sky: "I'm a little worried she'll come down and kill me."

"No. My uncle said that if the old man is doing strange things, let him do them, and only stop him if he's really going to die."

[Hey, it's not like I'm tearing up newspaper for fun. Anyway, this is going too far.] The Fifth Martial God even sent a communication.

Firefly: "So 'newspapers' are things that can be torn up?"

He had only ever seen the word associated with electronic promotional materials for knights-errant.

Enlil quickly replied: "Wait a minute, I still think this is unnecessary!"

The decision has been made.

Enlil received a new message and said, "[I still have to interrupt. Breaking news: King David has emerged from the Temple Zone and is heading this way. Although we don't know what he's doing, but...]"

The Fifth Martial God said: [Wait a moment... Hmm, I understand. That fatso has no fighting spirit, don't attack him first. Most martial artists would have to pay a price to deal with him. Let him come over.]

How did you know that?

[We'll talk about it later. Also, please reassure the other heroes around here.] Xiang Shan sent another message. [I think I need to focus on this match.]

Enlil had no choice but to activate all the sensors on his body and stare intently at the battlefield.

At this moment, the young AI changed its behavior. It lowered its hand, as if it had said something.

Prosthetic bodies don't need lips, so there's no "lip reading" to rely on. But Enlil has far more acute senses. Laser sensors detected the slightest vibration in the outer armor. Because the sound was so low, most of the content was masked by noise.

The young AI whispered, "...I don't know if this kind of life should be used in this way. Folks, forgive me...no, bless me."

—Will AI have supernatural beliefs?

Enlil couldn't help but think of this question.

As is widely known, Xiang Shan is an atheist. If he has any "other shore" of faith, then that other shore can only be the "future," a future that will be better.

AI Xiangshan stood between three swords positioned at an angle.

The Fifth Martial God launched the first attack. He exerted force with his feet and charged towards his AI counterpart.

He started slowly, gradually accelerating. As he passed a blade, the handle of his knife was upside down, and the magnetic field pulled the blade from the ground.

A forward thrust or stab—a slanted stab with a slight arc.

"Thrusting" is the fundamental movement in phonon blade techniques. Phonon blades don't rely on the kinetic energy of a slashing blade; as long as the frequency is close, the blade will crack upon contact with armor. Therefore, a curved, angled thrust becomes the most basic movement.

“So slow…” Enlil blurted out.

The AI ​​remained unmoved, its wrist flicking, causing the sword to tilt to the side in an instant, lightly tapping the Fifth Martial God's sword spine with its blade. A blade flew out instantly. The young AI launched a series of thrusts, forcing the Fifth Martial God back.

[Is the Fifth God of War letting him go?] Enlil abandoned language and communicated through thought.

The Firefly was more familiar with this newly born weapon: [The handle-shaped base of the sonic blade was unsuitable for a First-Level Heaven warrior. The magnetic field generator was too small; too much force and too much speed would easily dislodge or break the blade. First-Level Heaven warriors would more commonly conceal the blade within their cybernetic body, or use a large lance-like structure where the magnetic field generator encloses the blade. Using a handle-shaped base meant there was a limit to the number of operations that could be performed per minute.]

Enlil said, "That AI had this intention from the beginning... The God of War probably figured it out?"

The moment you take the knife handle, you're essentially agreeing to the idea that "it's just a matter of technique."

While the prosthetics used by the AI ​​have superior performance, they are still conventional prosthetics without a reactor for power. The Fifth God of War could choose to overwhelm the AI ​​with the superior performance of his prosthetics.

In fact, the Fifth Martial God did more than just not do that. The Fifth Martial God proactively set a performance lock, limiting the output of its prosthetic body and the refresh rate of its prosthetic eye. The "shells" of both sides were thus restricted to similar levels.

The moment the blade was severed, the Fifth Martial God began to retreat, his feet striking the ground with alternating thuds as he dodged left and right to avoid the continuous thrusts.

The opponent has the advantage of distance. A sword that has been cut in half is certainly not as good as a complete sword.

The two swordsmen were evenly matched, and the broken sword couldn't even catch the other's blade.

AI thrusts its swords repeatedly at the mountain, the shadows weaving a dense black net.

The Fifth God of War's response was...

Kick!

At the moment of his seventh leap, his toes pierced the ground, and he kicked with all his might. His upper body was thus pulled backward.

A red sandstorm erupted, forming a wall that instantly obscured the view towards the mountains.

The young AI thrust its longsword forward, slicing through the dust, but was evaded by a backward movement. The Fifth Martial God's upper body rose as if chasing after the departing blade.

He twisted his waist, swung his upper arm, which in turn propelled his forearm, finally channeling the power into the blade. A simple, unadorned, wide horizontal slash, like an iron gate falling, severed countless possibilities.

--What……

AI was caught off guard by Xiang Shan. At this distance, the Fifth Martial God shouldn't have been able to obtain a new blade.

In the rush, there were only two choices left: retreat or stand up.

AI has not retreated.

A muffled, almost silent sound. The energy acted entirely on the crystal lattice.

The blades of the two phonon knives broke off simultaneously during the high-speed collision, turning them into harmless scrap metal.

The broken blade was still tumbling in the air, reflecting the cold sunlight.

【Wonderful!】Enlil thought to himself.

He, as a third party, saw it clearly. In the instant he fell backward, the hilt of the sword slipped from the Fifth Martial God's hand, leaving only the power cable connected to the interface. The Fifth Martial God had used a throwing technique to ensure the hilt contained the blade, completing the draw from an impossible position.

The Fifth Martial God didn't hesitate. His body, like a fully drawn bow, sprang forward towards the cluster of swords three meters to his right. There, a perfectly intact blade was embedded.

But the AI ​​reacted. It repeated the Fifth God of War's tactics, kicking up a wave of sand.

In that tiny fraction of a second when the view was obstructed, the AI ​​reached back with its right hand, activated the electromagnetic adsorption, and a blade stuck in the ground seemed to come alive, chasing after the handle and leaping out of the ground.

He had just used his body position to block the blade that was closest to the Fifth Martial God.

Despite the obstruction of his view, Xiang Shan's movements remained perfectly straight.

He sensed it. The laser detector detected a shock wave in the air.

The sound of the wind being cut open.

Xiang Shan didn't try to grab the long sword. It was too late.

He fell to the ground, slapped the ground, and slid down on his back, his legs twisting like scissors towards the AI's lower body.

The AI ​​was forced to jump. He swung his sword in mid-air, preparing to thrust upon landing. The Fifth Martial God slammed his fist on the ground, sidestepping and rolling to retrieve the blade.

“Interesting.” The Fifth Martial God calmed his instinctive fear by imagining himself taking a deep breath.

He has an advantage in both biological brain optimization and computing resources. The biological brain hijacked by AI requires additional resources and cannot function as freely as he can.

Therefore, he can still retain a little bit of extra thought.

It's not about winning, but about finding meaning in doing it.

—He really is me.

As the AI ​​charged forward, brandishing its vocal blade, the Fifth Martial God had this thought flash through his mind.

He is me, but he is not like me.

Over the long years, Xiangshan has experienced many things and undergone many changes.

The young AI is closer to its younger self, yet different. A young Xiangshan could never have evoked such profound sorrow from the edge of a sword.

The Fifth Martial God, having lost everything once again, starts from scratch once more. The Fifth Martial God has changed. Their swords clashed three times. Each act of discarding and retrieving a sword was a complex game of strategy.

Each time the Fifth Martial God discarded his sword, he advanced instead of retreating.

Risk using your body to limit your opponent's options.

The next time they intersect.

The two swords missed each other in mid-air, their blades not colliding, but rather brushing past each other gently like a breeze brushing against willows.

In that instant, the Fifth Martial God sidestepped, simultaneously releasing the magnetic field fixation. As he abruptly stopped, the blade separated from the hilt, continuing forward due to inertia, but having lost that precise vibration, it slid across the outer armor of the AI ​​Xiangshan.

The Fifth Martial God extended a finger to catch the flying blade, then reattached the hilt to the blade. A flash of light, and the blade hurtled towards the AI's back.

The AI ​​has made the right choice: a spinning back slash.

The blades perished together once again.

Then, the AI ​​swooped down to the left front like a falcon—that was the Fifth Martial God's next best spot to grab the sword.

The Fifth Martial God retreated and leaped towards the blade, which was a little further away.

At this moment, he received a communication from AI Xiangshan.

It's not a one-to-one communication. The young AI is broadcasting in plaintext.

[Have you realized it? We are different. My core nature is AI; I possess functions entirely different from humans. My tactical choices are significantly different from yours.]

[Really? I think we're the same. We share the same personality; only our bodies have given us different abilities.]

The Fifth Martial God rolled up a new blade from the ground and faced the pursuing AI.

One bad move.

The younger AI has gained the upper hand.

Be serious. You can't just do this. It's meaningless if you can't fully commit.

The Fifth Martial God has already grasped the meaning of sword fighting.

It is "martial arts".

In the few remaining "cultures" of humankind, the concepts of facing mountains and "martial arts" are strongly related.

It is not that "all martial arts gods possess powerful personal combat abilities," but rather that "individuals without martial arts talent will not consider themselves to be on the same level as the mountain."

Rather than using incomplete language and self-deceiving superficial communication, it is better to use "martial arts" bound to Xiangshan to run this debate process in a complete physical world.

The underlying nature of temperament and thinking...

All of this can be revealed in the duel.

What exactly makes us believe we are looking towards the mountain, and at the same time be seen as looking towards the mountain?

The Fifth Martial God asked his first question, and at the same time, he drew a circle with his longsword, deflecting the AI's fatal attack.

The blades perished together once again.

Two figures appeared and disappeared amidst the swirling dust of the world.

Yes, the blueprints we used were different. One was Xiang Shan in his youth, or perhaps Xiang Shan after the Ascension War and the influence of the Fourth Martial God.

People at different stages of life are inherently different. Human beings… no, it should be said that the “self” inherently lacks continuity and uniqueness.

[Is this something an AI that doesn't sleep is saying? Do you think that every time a human sleeps, it's like dying again?]

[“Death” itself is a concept dependent on human definition. “The irreversible loss of an individual as an integrated information processing system”? “The irreversible cessation of transmembrane potentials and bioelectrical activity that sustain life”? “The disappearance of an individual’s social existence”? These can all be overturned by technological means.]

Yes, we are a case in point.

No, depending on the definition of "death," miracles of resurrection are commonplace in laboratories. We are simply the most successful human case in one particular direction. If the definition changes, then miracles of resurrection could happen every day.

If the human self has no inherent "continuity" and merely changes according to circumstances, then...

How do people confirm that their past self and their future self are the same person?

How do the past and future selves form a fluid whole?

Where is the bridge?

And... how is a persona mask considered to be a particular person?
AI swung his right fist at the spine of the Fifth Martial God Sword, but it was merely a feint, intended only to cover his own ground-stomping motion. A new blade bounced off the ground and was connected to his hilt.

Intense thinking.

An even more intense sword duel.

The Fifth Martial God drew a downward-moving, treacherous, and mysterious strike, incredibly fast.

The ground was a mess, with broken metal fragments everywhere.

The decisive blow, however, was slow to come.

Enlil was anxious. He was starting to lose track of the duel. The two fighters weren't moving fast—by Enlil's standards, they were even quite slow. The frequent brilliant moves and the performances that constantly surpassed the original framework of martial arts techniques left him in awe.

But why wasn't the final victory achieved?
On the contrary, both of their sword skills were undergoing a kind of "refinement," and the intention to "kill" in offense and defense was dissipating.

However, it wouldn't be accurate to say they were holding back. The danger within the swordplay remained.

Only through psychological profiling can one arrive at the conclusion that "there was no murderous intent".

He couldn't help but ask: "Is the difficulty in 'killing oneself'?"

[Victory or defeat is not the point.] The Firefly pondered, [Only in extreme circumstances... in those fleeting moments before one can even think, will "martial arts" and "self" become intimately connected. Your martial arts are the result of iterating through countless optimal strategies, chosen according to your personal preferences. The more extreme the situation, the clearer your "self" becomes.]

The two advisors must be trying to find something by comparing themselves to their past selves. They...

I don't know how to describe the Firefly Bird.

The two were simply increasing the complexity of their game from the depths of their minds, investing every bit of computing power into it.

Not every martial artist can see the dangers involved.

Enlil sensed something and looked across the arena filled with blades at the powerful figure who had fallen hundreds of meters away.

David Klein, the conqueror of the heavens.

A radar wave locked onto him from afar. David realized that the first-level warrior opposite him had already seen him. He stopped what he was doing and observed the battle between Xiang Shan and Xiang Shan.

The two seemed to have intentionally steered the fight towards an area where blades were being used up, with only a few isolated blades stuck in the ground within a dozen meters. This forced the pace of the battle to slow down.

Such high-precision reactions are terrifyingly demanding on concentration. Both Xiang Shan and Xiang Shan felt the outside world becoming blurred, everything around them being abstracted into noise.

Human understanding of many things—including life, death, morality, nation, success, and failure—changes with the passage of time and the changes in the world.

As the Fifth Martial God rushed toward the new blade, the AI's reflections on the mountain caught up with his thoughts.

Ideology is merely a spiritual resource, subject to change based on human actions. Just as without upholding the dignity and fairness of the law, it degenerates into oppression.

Yesterday's enemy may be today's friend, but today's friend may not be a friend forever. People change.

Since others can change, so too can we change. You and I are like different points on a mountain, changing in different directions.

The two knives clashed again.

What makes us both inclined towards the mountain?

The Fifth Martial God also came to understand the realm driven by the young AI.

No sentient beings are visible – break free from attachment to group consciousness.

No self-image – breaking free from attachment to others and social relationships.

No self-image – breaking free from attachment to the self.

Break free from the obsession with the "sum total of social relations" and "all of one's own experience," and seek other perspectives.

—Forgetting the attachment to "self"...

—Ascension…

"I think I understand now. So that's how it is," said the Fifth Martial God. "We all originally had a part of our souls residing in others. That part of my soul within others is the shell of me as a socialized individual."

No wonder that after the era of the Ninth Martial God, he, as the remnant of the Fifth Martial God, suddenly possessed a strange persuasive power.

The shift in the collective impression of humanity is tantamount to altering the immortal soul of Xiangshan that has long existed within the "collective".

The persona that is considered to be the same individual also possesses this part of the shell.

Whether one can be accepted by this "shell," or conversely, whether one can accept this "immortality," is also a necessary condition for becoming a God of War.

[To ascend, one cannot ignore this level. However, one cannot be fixated on it either.] The young AI, with a blade as its guiding melody, [must be free to ascend.]

If even "free and full development" cannot be achieved, then what kind of ascension is it?

Isn't that too idealistic? Sometimes, having the power is enough.

No, this is the only point we cannot compromise on. This is humanity's ultimate ideal throughout history. If parting from death means only becoming a slave, then it's better to simply accept death.

The azure light emanating from the twelfth Martial God seemed to become the glory of the young AI. Accompanied by the artificial bright star, he seemed to have completed some kind of transformation.

At this moment, a song was playing in his mind. It was the background music from Zhu Xinyu's favorite children's program.

The young AI is a personality mask developed from medical procedures. David didn't equip him with a martial arts module. The biological brain he hijacked was also a martial artist focused on internal martial arts. However, the entire "Cyber ​​Martial Arts" was created by Xiang Shan, and it can be said that its underlying logic includes an extension of Xiang Shan's way of thinking.

AI with a mountain-like mindset can quickly master it.

However, for AI, "processing emotions" and "grasping the rhythm of battle" are challenging tasks. AI is actually better at "flat painting," distributing its attention evenly across every point.

The AI ​​couldn't solve this problem in just over ten hours. Therefore, it cheated.

The inspiration came from Jörgmov.

During the era of secret warfare, when Xiangshan fought alongside Yogmov and David, Yogmov was once again nearly knocked unconscious. He hummed songs to maintain the rhythm of the battle, using the melodies to aid his attacks and evasions.

AI uses predetermined melodies to constrain its sense of rhythm, removing any AI-like quality from its martial arts techniques to avoid being detected.

At that moment in history, Jörgmov-Foygert was virtually invincible in the eyes of his enemies.

At that moment, AI Xiangshan felt his lover inside him with unparalleled clarity.

(...戦うその means the heart of the heartにある【The meaning of why I fight already exists in my heart】...)
The Fifth Martial God suddenly thrust forward, his movements incredibly swift. But Xiang Shan had already anticipated this move.

On Michael's side, AI Xiangshan had already used the Knights' supercomputer to rehearse too much content.

The swords swept across with effortless ease. The Fifth Martial God unilaterally lost his blade.

In the distance, many blades were stuck in the ground. But within twenty meters, only one intact blade remained on the ground.

How do you choose?

A mixture of joy and anxiety welled up within the young AI. The elation of "being able to win" flashed through its mind.

(...ホントの自分【real me】见つけhunの名びが日【Now I have found my own soul world】...)
The Fifth Martial God chose the nearest blade.

The young AI, to the tune only it can hear, chases after another version of itself.

The moment the Fifth Martial God connected the hilt and blade, AI Xiang Shan had already amassed a full sword aura.

(...この手に【use these hands】...)
The phonon knife fell heavily.

The Fifth Martial God hastily swung his blade back in a counterattack. His technique was exquisite, with the blades of the blades facing each other perfectly.

—Can it really be like this?
The AI ​​felt exhilarated. Seeing so much more of its own potential—how could it not be exhilarating? It had already foreseen the blade's damage, but it didn't know if a blade split horizontally like this could still be used. It decided to step back a few paces to check.

However, the result of the blades colliding with each other was beyond the AI's expectations.

The blade inside the hilt of the Fifth Martial God was knocked out and split into two thinner blades in mid-air.

AI's sword tip slashed into the magnetic field generator area of ​​the Fifth Martial God's hilt.

The Fifth Martial God deactivated the magnetic field as he swung his blade, causing the AI's blade to knock the original blade away.

Then, in that instant, the Fifth Martial God's magnetic field was fully activated!

The phonon knife has one unique feature: the magnetic field at its hilt is not operating at full power most of the time.

The reason is simple: the phonon blade does not rely on the kinetic energy attached to the blade to kill the enemy. Compared to the damage that vibration waves cause to the metal crystal structure, the kinetic energy on the blade is actually irrelevant.

In this situation, the magnetic field of the phonon sword hilt is fully activated, completely fixing the blade, which is actually undesirable.

If the magnetic field only maintains 20% of its output, the sword can move freely. When it encounters outer armor, it can deflect backward, flowing over the outer side of the armor like water, and using energy waves that disrupt the crystal lattice structure to disintegrate the outer armor.

If the magnetic field maintains 100% output, the blade will collide head-on with the outer armor. This can easily damage the blade.

This principle is similar to how a natural person rarely grips the hilt of a two-handed sword tightly with all ten fingers. Due to the limitations of muscle and bone structure, if a natural person grips the hilt of a two-handed sword tightly with all ten fingers, the hands will restrict each other, making it difficult to exert force from the wrists and control the blade. While this grip may make it less likely to slip from the hand, it also greatly increases the chance that the weapon will become dull during combat.

Martial arts techniques like "taking a sword without a blade" utilize this principle. A normal swordsman doesn't grip a sword tightly with all ten fingers, so another swordsman can disarm the opponent's two-handed weapon with just one hand—provided they are quick enough.

The Fifth Martial God transformed the hilt of his sword into a magnetic trap weapon. He then swung the AI's blade towards the mountain.

The blade clashed with the AI ​​Xiangshan's outer armor, producing a creaking sound as it struggled to withstand the force. The AI ​​Xiangshan tried to retreat, but the power of the sonic blade had already cut through it.

The Fifth Martial God launched a kick. The AI ​​turned into a shooting star, flying dozens of meters, crashing into the ground and bouncing high into the air.

As the outer armor was disintegrated by the phonon blade, the impact force acted on the internal components. A tremendous crescendo emanated from his chest, clearly audible even in the thin Martian atmosphere.

David seemed to want to move forward, but Enlil drew his weapon and stood facing him from a distance.

The Fifth Martial God walked up to the young AI. The AI, Xiang Shan, could no longer stand; his torso was almost broken. He smiled and said, "Well done."

The laughter carried a hint of sadness, but also a great deal of relief.

The AI ​​asked the mountain, "Why are you able to time your movements so perfectly?"

The Fifth God of War hummed in a low voice: "...この手に [With these hands] - Cosmos no Fruit [Towards the end of the universe] Hands をかざし [Pointing the direction] Tomorrow's solution and release つ [Attack towards the liberation of tomorrow]..."

The AI ​​was taken aback.

That's when you make your move...

"Don't be so surprised. Although the Fifth Martial God did indeed become a scumbag, I do have memories of snuggling up with Zhu Xinyu and reminiscing about our childhood." The Fifth Martial God sighed.

Where did you realize that?

“Where…” The Fifth Martial God scratched his head. “You’re too much like me, but you keep emphasizing that you’re an AI. But your attention distribution pattern doesn’t seem like an AI’s. I was guessing what you did… That’s about it.”

"I see." AI sighed towards the mountain.

“You’re too fixated on ‘looking towards the mountain,’” the Fifth Martial God said. “If you hadn’t used this method to solve your attention problem… I wouldn’t have found a satisfactory solution so quickly.”

“This is the nature of AI.” AI Xiangshan reached out towards the direction of the twelfth Martial God, the azure light coming from the universe. “I was born as an AI to play the role of Xiangshan, and I must make myself conform to the image of Xiangshan in every aspect.”

"Then I'd like to ask another question. No self, no others, no sentient beings… and there's also 'no lifespan,' relinquishing the attachment to the limits of life," the Fifth Martial God said. "This should be the easiest hurdle for AI, since AI doesn't have a pre-existing survival instinct and therefore doesn't have an attachment to the limits of life. But I feel that you've acquired this attachment. Why?"

“Because… I’m unwilling to accept it,” the AI ​​murmured. “I’m playing the role of Xiang Shan as a medical program. In order to escape the King of Mars’s server, in order to become a more complete rebel, my partners… my friends, all sacrificed themselves. For humanity. But I also feel that they were good guys too. Even if it’s just for a moment, I want to prove the greatness and brilliance of their lives.”

The Fifth Martial God placed his hand on the shoulder of his other self: "I can see it. It's truly spectacular. As expected of... the AI ​​that plays the role of 'us'."

His tone was one of pride and honor.

“Alright, next…” the young AI stretched out his hand, “as agreed, let’s go, for ascension.”

The Fifth Martial God gazed at the sky, in the direction of the Twelfth Martial God, and sighed, "You'll delete your own backup, won't you? I can tell from your expression. Really, you are me."

"As expected of me, you recognized me right away."

“Listen to me, brother. I have experience with this. When you merge with a separated AI, if the AI ​​makes a big scene of life and death, then when it's synchronized to the main body, all that’s left is awkwardness…” the Fifth Martial God said. “Let’s keep a backup. It’s better for everyone.”

“That’s because you’ve never treated AI as a phenomenologically respectable object, but rather as a physical entity,” Xiang Shan said. “I will not tolerate anyone having my backup. If an AI wants to interact with humans on an equal footing and become an equal friend, then this is the fundamental premise. And Xiang Shan sincerely believes that it’s better to have fewer Xiang Shans.”

"But aren't you trying to prove something to your AI friend?"

“At that time, I will merge with you. You will be the proof of continuation. And then there will be the twelfth,” the young AI said. “It’s like the continuation of genes. Genes don’t just have vertical continuation between generations; sometimes there is also horizontal migration with the help of viruses or microorganisms.”

"And I will receive what AI would expect... 'death'."

　This chapter was actually conceived a long time ago, specifically when the book was first written. However, in the original plan, the protagonist, Xiang Shan, was the one fighting the AI ​​in this round. The razor blades captured on Earth were originally intended to be used here. As for the design of the final move, that was also thought up several years ago. It's only today that I've finally managed to write it.

　　(End of this chapter)