Extraordinary Pedigree.

Chapter 970 The Civilization Elimination Plan
Armand laughed loudly, a laugh that seemed to echo from the depths of hell, tearing through the silent air. His smile was undisguised, even carrying a hint of self-mockery.

"That's how it should be, that's how it should be." He muttered to himself, then looked at Xia Xiu, a strange light flashing in his eyes.

Xia Xiu stared at him calmly, remained silent for a moment, and then spoke softly:
"Indeed, their deaths are largely related to you."

Upon hearing this, Armand remained unmoved, his expression unchanged, but a strange glint flashed in his eyes. He smiled slightly, his voice low and carrying a deep interest: "Heh, so this is your assessment, young junior?"

He gently raised one hand, as if issuing a silent judgment, his sharp gaze sweeping over Xia Xiu before he asked with an air of indifference:
"So, from your angelic perspective, do you think what I did was wrong? Hmm. Judging me from a moral standpoint?"

Xia Xiu spoke without hesitation, his tone calm and firm, like a cold iron hammer striking a stone wall, echoing with profound power:
"I don't want to discuss the trolley problem with you too much. I'm not making moral judgments, nor do I want to discuss the merits of morality with you."

He paused, then his tone slowly rose with a powerful force—a divine judgment from heaven, a sense of responsibility and glory between angels and their comrades:

“I am simply standing in the Kingdom of Heaven, on the side of my comrades, and on the side of the angels, to tell you—you should let the angels know why you died. This is your mission and responsibility as a decision-maker in the Kingdom of Heaven.”

"Undoubtedly, you failed to do that."

His gaze was sharp as a blade, and his words were like lightning-fast swords slicing through the silence.

"Sacrifice is the cornerstone of the Kingdom of Heaven."

"We bear all this burden not to die anonymously without knowing the cause."

You concealed the truth about the experiment, deceived the angels, and even the glory they left behind after their deaths could not bring them any relief.

You let them die without knowing why, like innocent people pushed by fate to their doom.

Instead of showing anger at Xia Xiu's blunt, even slightly offensive, words, Amond revealed a hint of appreciation in his eyes, as if he had suddenly rediscovered some long-lost interest in this cruel conversation.

His smile carried a hint of self-deprecation, a deep reflection on his actions. Armand lowered his head and murmured to himself, "You're right, young man."

He raised his head, his gaze as deep as an endless abyss, but his tone was extremely calm: "We decision-makers may never have thought that we would be viewed this way, but you must know that bearing everything, bearing this burden, is the fate we should bear."

His gaze passed through Xia Xiu, seemingly traversing time and space, settling on his own past.

“All that we did—those experiments, all the deaths and sacrifices—was a necessary evil.”

Do you think I made a mistake?
What do you think I'm hiding?
No, I carried the burdens that needed to be carried, and behind every decision lay something unspeakable—the lurking gaze of chaos, the struggle against the unknown.

He took a deep breath, as if trying to calm the burden weighing on his chest.

"If I had another chance, I would still choose to do it, because back then, only I could make that choice."

At this point, Amond turned his gaze to the sky, where the four enormous CR-13 individuals still floated silently, as if they were silent witnesses.

The look in Armand's eyes gradually deepened.

"Each generation has its own mission. This is true for our time, and it is true for yours as well."

Everything we did, all the experiments, all the sacrifices, all the blood and fire—were preparations for the final battle.

We must, before the Apocalyptic War, identify and eliminate potential threats to the Kingdom of Heaven as clearly as possible, and accumulate strength.

"This battle was inevitable."

His tone of voice was like a low horn, a reminder of the unknown future.

Xia Xiu listened silently, his face expressionless, but deep down, his slightly constricted pupils indicated that something within him had been touched.

The Apocalyptic War that Amund spoke of was the terrible future that the Four Lords had once told him about.

His purpose in cooperating with the four monarchs was to join forces to eliminate the Crimson King before the Apocalypse War.

The preparations mentioned by Amund seem to confirm the prophecy of the Four Princes, suggesting that everything is destined to collapse at some point.

Amund seemed to sense Xia Xiu's change, turned around, and his eyes flashed with a sharp light that did not match his words.

“If I’m not mistaken, you possess one of the seven seals.”

Xia Xiu did not respond immediately, but silently turned the [Heavenly Lever] in his hand. The silver cane slowly rotated in his hand, making a slight friction sound.

He remained silent for a moment, his eyes deep, pondering whether he should continue to conceal the truth or reveal all those unspeakable secrets.

Ultimately, he decided to confess.

"Yes, the Seven Seals are indeed on me, and I know their exact whereabouts—the first four are in the hands of the Four Lords of Chaos, the fifth will appear after Terra is unified, and the sixth and seventh are behind the Twin Gates above Terra."

Before Xia Xiu could finish speaking, he stretched out his left hand and summoned one of the seven seals—the [Black Seal].

The mark hovered in the air, serene and profound.

It was a piece of parchment with a dark gold hue, its edges burned with some kind of black runes, exuding an ancient and mysterious aura. In the center of the paper was a dull, black seal, concealing some unfathomable power.

Xia Xiu pointed to it and said softly, "This was given to me by Xin Liezhi... Yes, I have some cooperation with the Four Monarchs."

After hearing this, Armand showed no anger in his eyes, but instead smiled gently.

His gaze held the kind of admiration one would give an old sect elder when looking at a peerless genius.

He did not rebuke Xia Xiu for cooperating with the four monarchs; instead, he looked at him more intently, his eyes gleaming with admiration.

"Cooperation is possible."

Amund's voice was low and hoarse:
"But you must remember, the Four Lords are not simple partners. Their danger is far beyond your imagination. They may provide you with power and even help you achieve your desired goals quickly, but at the same time, they may also become your greatest enemy at some point."

"Their goal has never been the future of humanity, but rather their own power and pleasure."

Your cooperation with them may be beneficial in the short term, but be wary.

They are always in the game, always planning their next move.

And we—even you, the new Arbiter of Heaven—must always be prepared to face betrayal from the Four Princes.” “Remember,” Armand concluded, his eyes sharp as knives, “any cooperation with the Four Princes is merely a temporary alliance. Behind you, there may always be a dagger, waiting to strike.”

Although Xia Xiu did not respond verbally to Armand's statement, he deeply agreed with it in his heart.

He never truly trusted those four chaotic troublemakers.

The Four Lords of Chaos were merely temporary collaborators.

To put it bluntly, everyone is getting what they want. Cooperation is just a facade; everyone knows how many hidden tricks are lurking behind the scenes.

If the four monarchs had the chance, they would not hesitate to deliver a fatal blow from behind; and if Xia Xiu had the chance... he would not hold back either, and would not hesitate to overthrow them one by one.

Their relationship can be described as that of "loving partners".

Partners filled with murderous intent are always ready to "open their hearts" to each other.

Xia Xiu narrowed his eyes, his gaze slowly turning towards the sky.

Above the sky, the four CR-13 individuals still hovered at the edge of the starry sea, like blurry, enormous phantoms. They remained silent, yet constantly released an indescribable sense of oppression, like four divine monuments beyond reason, proclaiming the echoes of an old era.

“Then…” Xia Xiu withdrew his gaze and looked at Amund, his tone steady.

"Were those four guys also tampered with by the Four Monarchs?"

He paused, then added, "And... what happened to you looking like this?"

Amund nodded, confirming Xia Xiu's first statement:
"Well, the four monarchs did indeed do something."

"How should I put it... each of these four failed divine progenitors has, to varying degrees, been implanted with their own traces by the four monarchs."

Armand stretched out a hand, pointing to the sky. "Those four girls—you saw them too. Their power is strong, but not pure. They were designed as weapons from birth. Heaven gave them flesh and divinity, but the Four Lords gave them chaos and unpredictability."

"They were meant to be creations of order, the ultimate weapon upon which our resolutions and assemblies placed our hopes."

Amund's tone carried a hint of barely perceptible regret: "Unfortunately, the experiment ultimately failed."

"Later, they fell into the hands of the Four Lords, who manipulated them and pushed each of them in a skewed direction. Now, their bodies still bear the... blessings and seeds left behind by the Four Lords."

Xia Xiu stood aside, listening quietly, his mind replaying the two words Armand had said:

"Gifts and seeds..."

His gaze shifted to the sky, where the four massive CR-13 units still hovered, their indistinct figures motionless, seemingly forever adrift at the end of time. A glint of light flashed in Xia Xiu's eyes as he silently pondered—

"It looks like the Courtyard Children of the Mortal Court will have four more Courtyard Legions."

He was lost in thought.

No matter how distorted or out of control these individuals are, as long as they still possess the "gifts" and "seeds" left behind by the Four Monarchs, it means that their genetic makeup can still be used for their own purposes.

If he can fuse these legacies with his own genes through the power of the flesh-and-blood lineage, he can create new gene seeds and create his own flesh-and-blood enemy.

The four CR-13 individuals, which should have been idealized weapons, have become impure and extremely dangerous beings after being tampered with by the four monarchs.

But in Xia Xiu's eyes, it was precisely this imperfection that made their genes a valuable blueprint.

“Each one is a new subclass.” He calmly pondered in his heart that if he could transform them into part of the spiritual legion and then expand them based on their genes, he could create a new order and power in this chaotic world.

But all of this still requires time and patience. He needs to wait for the situation to gradually take shape before bringing these seeds of unlimited potential into his domain and making them part of his new plan.

Xia Xiu pondered quietly, the situation before him seemingly becoming more and more complicated with each word Amund spoke. He was deeply immersed in his plans and arrangements for the future, but the air around him suddenly became heavy due to the change in Amund's tone.

"As for your second question..." Armand suddenly spoke, breaking the silence. His voice was no longer as relaxed as before, but carried a certain deep and somber quality, as if he were about to unveil this long-buried past.

Xia Xiu raised his head, gazing into his eyes that were already marked by the passage of time, patiently waiting for the next answer.

"Why am I appearing in this form?" Armand's tone slowly shifted, a subtle, unseen glint in his eyes. "And my current mission..."

He paused for a moment, as if recalling something, and his expression became increasingly serious.

"All of this is related to a plan I implemented during my tenure, which involves a plan to eliminate civilization."

"The Civilization Elimination Plan..." Xia Xiu couldn't help but repeat it again.

It seems that the decision-makers during the Demon King's Army era, besides the unusual weaponization project, also secretly carried out many other ruthless activities unknown to the public.

“Yes.” Armand’s tone became somewhat profound, and his gaze drifted into the distance.

"Our responsibility is not only to protect humanity and safeguard the continuation of civilization."

Standing beneath the lingering glow of the [Hand of God]'s landing point, Amund spoke with a calm and solemn tone, like an ancient priest standing on a judgment seat, slowly recounting that unspeakable truth.

“At times, we even have to make heinous decisions.” He lowered his eyelids, as if mourning for himself and for the countless souls who sacrificed themselves. “For example, eliminating a part of… civilizations that threaten the future development of humanity.”

His tone was devoid of any remorse, but rather as calm as a rock.

"Well... many of the issues involved are very complex, and the ethical and causal relationships involved are extremely complicated. But even so—we have no regrets."

Armand's tone was like a blade brushing across the surface of a stormy sea—sharp yet calm.

His gaze fell on Xia Xiu, the successor, the executor of the new era's resolutions, and the new vehicle for the Kingdom of Heaven's lineage and utopianism.

So, now—

Amund suddenly extended his right hand, palm facing up.

"Could you share the power of the Heavenly Lineage with me, this ghost?"