Wasteland Echoer.

Chapter 635 Falling into Darkness (Part 2)
“Yes, we haven’t gone mad yet.” Adaloni glanced at the distant light still flashing from the explosion and sighed.

"I originally thought I would be trapped in the Dragon Realm behind the Karlov Gate until... my soul was obliterated, or the cycle of this era ended. It was the young emperor and the 'Chosen One' who gave me the opportunity to return to this world."

“But fate imprisoned me in the Senner prison for nearly a thousand years. I thought that the Fire Empire had forgotten me, the Eventre had forgotten me, and the Crusaders would forget me too. Until Vasily released me from that greatest prison.”

As Adaloni sighed, he groped through Maxim's mangled body for any usable equipment.

Although his simple clothes and extremely cheap weapons were damaged and looked tattered during the fall, at least the "Eternal Light" brand flashlights that Shaneva equipped for the "superpowered team" seemed to have been fitted with shockproof devices.

Although the outer shell was cracked, the main body inside, especially the main tube filled with powdery "Jurim" ore, was undamaged. Adaloni tentatively pressed the switch and shone the light around. Although it couldn't make the world around him as bright as day, it was still as bright as dusk as an ordinary flashlight.

“Adaloni, I think we should hold off on using it for now.” Dark snatched the “Eternal Light” flashlight from Adaloni’s hand, put it in his jacket pocket, and explained:

"There's only one light source up here, but while you were shining your flashlight, I looked around. Most of the buildings here seem to be from the steam age. In other words, this is very likely an underground facility built by the old empire."

"In that case, the old empire must have set up a way back to the surface, or at least some kind of elevator. If we keep using flashlights, we won't be able to see the outside light or accurately judge the current time. We'll get lost in the 'false light' until we're exhausted."

“I understand.” Adaloni nodded in agreement.

“Moreover, Adaloni, I can feel that the magical energy within me is becoming unstable. It seems that there is not only a dense, maddening ‘sorrow’ here, but also a fleeting energy that is continuously consuming the magical energy within us.” Dark pointed to the surrounding space, his face full of worry.

“Dark, do you know why I brought up my past just now?” Adaloni’s tone suddenly became serious, a stark contrast to his brief, sentimental state just moments before.

Seeing Dark shake his head in denial, Adaloni explained with a slightly helpless smile:

The appearance of "continuously consuming magical energy" usually indicates the presence of deities in the vicinity. All magical energy originates from the seven time-dimensional creations of the Creator, while the deities maintain their "divinity" and existence by constantly seizing magical energy from the universe.

"Therefore, the gods will inadvertently 'siphon' all the magical energy around them. This instinctive behavior is uncontrollable. In order not to harm humans or damage their image among believers, the gods will always stay in the divine realm and rarely descend to the human world."

“A very novel idea, Adaloni. This is indeed the first time I’ve heard of it.” Dark looked at Adaloni with his gray eyes, like a child eager for knowledge.

However, all Adaloni could do in response was sigh and shake his head:
"I originally thought that after walking out of Senel Prison, I would see a brand new future world. Who knew it would be a world that regressed. These common-sense issues are well known not only in the Second Era, an era when magic flourished, but even in the Third Era, which was dominated by steam."

"However, I don't want to talk about how much magical knowledge humanity has lost over the years, or how much the world has regressed. I'm saying all this to tell you something, Dark."

"What? I'd like to hear it." Dark immediately became interested, raised his head, and looked at Adaloni's red dragon-like eyes.

"Back then, besides Light Hein, who possessed Light Socrates and guided him in the manner of Red-Faced Hein, there was another person who saved me from the Gate of Karlov. This was a boy from the same world as Light." Adaloni strode up to Light, taking several deep breaths, seemingly trying to confirm a strangely familiar scent:

"His name is Clayt. Of course, he is a descendant of the royal family of the Flame Empire. We should probably call him by his Eastern name, Ye Mingyuan."

“This name sounds familiar. I seem to have seen it many times in the ‘Manuscripts of the Church of Hope.’ He is a god, right? And not just an ordinary human with divinity, or a demigod, but a truly supreme and ordered god, right?” Dark asked, recalling the information in his mind.

“Nothing is supreme, nothing is eternal.” Adaloni first denied Dark’s additional modifier, then responded with an affirmative tone:
"He is indeed a god, something I only learned later. The 'Grey Dream' that you and Light Socrates entered many times, I also entered a thousand years ago. About 600 years ago, after I fell into a deep sleep again in the Senner prison due to being whipped by the jailer, I saw him in the Grey Dream."

"He told me that the Crusd Empire and the Eventre Empire were already at war, and he wanted to cross the war zone again, return to the Flame Empire, put aside his hatred and pride, and return to his homeland to 'fight the world' as a dragon. However, the Lord of the Night appeared in the desert palace he had to pass through on his way back to the Flame Empire."

"The Lord of the Night, how come he's everywhere? He's mentioned repeatedly in historical records, autobiographies, myths, and even documents from the old empire. It seems he's always been a schemer, a destroyer," Dark thought to himself, but he stopped there. He didn't want to offend a god unintentionally with his words.

"'When Yin and Yang are in harmony, all things come into being.' This is the wisdom of the Khitan Ris. When humanity ruled the world of light, darkness would naturally arise when light reached its peak—this was perfectly normal. However, at that time, the Lord of the Night reported Ye Mingyuan's story to the 'planetary incarnation' of the Creator. The Creator issued a divine decree: 'Originally, Ye Mingyuan arrived in our world as the creator of a new era, or as the savior of a broken age. But due to a miscalculation and a series of unbelievable coincidences, he arrived in an era that was on the path to prosperity and its zenith.'"

"It is precisely because the times do not need him that even though the 'Upper Spirit Emperor' of the Flame Empire did something as absurd as 'Dragon Celebration' and released us, no power still accepted him, and he had no opportunity to build his own team and become a leader. Therefore, the Creator intends to give him the title of 'Chosen One' so that he can find the 'Order of Destiny' in the most critical moment of the world and guide him to the true path of saving the world."

“Ordinal 51: The Chosen One, is that right?” Dark asked.

“That’s right. Moreover, the ‘Chosen One’s’ ‘Choice’ can only be used once. He will bestow upon the true chosen one an absolutely correct destiny, ensuring that he chooses the right path in any situation. However, after releasing his divine power, the god will fall, and the divine position will become vacant until a new cycle begins, or the next ‘Order of Destiny’ appears.” Adaloni walked in front of Dark, his back to him, and further speculated:

"I estimate that the previous 'Chosen One' guided Ivan XXII to the absolutely correct destiny, which allowed the Crusd Empire to dominate for a time, thus creating an opening for his position. Moreover, Dark, you should know that dragons, as the 'most powerful and complete' beasts, possess the most powerful abilities of all animals."

"I can never forget the scent of Ye Mingyuan who saved me from the Dragon Realm, and here, I can smell that venerable divine aura again."

“I understand. Since you’re certain there’s a god nearby, then let’s find Him. Once we find the god, we’ll naturally find a way out of here, and we can also find the sacred object that will awaken your dragon bloodline. So, Adaloni, follow the familiar scent and move forward.” Dark patted Adaloni on the shoulder, encouraging him.

……

Meanwhile, at the top of the former military outpost No. 08, on a deliberately cleared small platform, Shaneva was holding a pair of brand-new "farsighted" binoculars from the Novayask Military Supplies Factory, watching the battlefield situation in Belogersk amidst the occasional bursts of orange and gold light.

The "Far Vision" telescope was made using old imperial blueprints excavated from the "Tianquan Evolution Platform," with improvements added. The lenses are mixed with [Dark] ore powder, so that even if the observer looks directly at the explosion of "Heavenly Punishment Fire" at close range, it will not cause any damage to their eyes.

As artificial flames of divine punishment, resembling blooming spider lilies, fell into the city, igniting a raging inferno that seemed impossible to extinguish, Shaneva's joy deepened.

It wasn't until the last few "artificial divine punishment fires" fell in the very center of Belogersk, igniting a dazzling and magnificent mushroom cloud, that Shaneva's envious gaze at the "beautiful scene" affected her mouth, causing her to burst into uncontrollable laughter.

Taking advantage of the temporary pause in the explosion of the "Artificial Heavenly Punishment Fire," Mikhail, having obtained Shaneva's permission, pushed aside the guards blocking his way, a smug smile that seemed impossible to suppress, and strode confidently to Shaneva's side.

As the only "Deputy Commander" of the Federation Council, the "Commander" of the various corps of the Strategic Regiment, and the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the "Fall of Atlas" campaign, Mikhail held a pure black book in his hands, and with barely concealed joy, reported to Shaneva:
"It seems, Commander Shaneva, you made the right bet. A prolonged siege cannot advance the current war situation. We did not expect that old man Nebrius had several transport pipelines outside the 'main pipeline' that were not connected to the 'ground line' and were prepared to wear us down."

“Olga is really worth nurturing. If he hadn’t realized this and urgently proposed Plan A-02, we probably wouldn’t have achieved the results we have now.”

"It seems Nabrius's defeat is inevitable." Shaneva put down her "farsighted" binoculars, her face still contorted with the lingering ecstasy from her earlier maniacal laughter, and said with a smile:

"These fools, who wander in delusion and are lowly creatures at the mercy of others, will eventually pay the price for their ignorance and incompetence. If these insects remain within the Federation and are still our citizens, I don't know what to do with them."

"However, Nabrius has provided me with an excellent excuse. These foolish rebels, these worthless insects, can provide us with no value even if they remain in the Federation. Why not use a 'just war' to wipe them all out?"

“That’s right, Commander Shaneva, I completely agree with your point of view.” Mikhail, at this moment like an evil villain from countless novels, stood behind Shaneva, gazing with malevolent eyes at the flames spreading outwards in the distance, and responded in a deep but sinister tone:
"Only those humans we can control are considered resources; these humans who rebel against the Federation are liabilities. Even if they surrender, you won't accept it, and neither will I. To truly revive human civilization, we must completely eliminate all unfavorable factors."

"If we want to establish a new era, then we must completely destroy the old world. Olga's 'A-02' plan, at this moment, can be called a brilliant plan. We pretended to only just find out that Nebrius was transporting goods through secret pipelines, and deliberately sent a large number of 'superhumans' to attack the pipelines. In reality, we were interfering with Nebrius's judgment on the silent front, making him think that our focus of attack was on the pipelines."

“Yes,” Shaneva continued, picking up where Mikhail left off:
"In this way, Nabrius will concentrate his main forces on defending the supply pipelines and will not even think about withdrawing from Belogersk. Moreover, he dares not leave the entire Outer Nabrius Mountains before destroying the [Core of Khitania].

"But what he didn't know was that the [Core of Khitanria] was far more robust than we imagined. Professor Igor told us that once the [Core] was hidden within the illusory universe, it would be difficult for any physical force to destroy it. Even if the entire Belogersk became ruins, the [Core] would not be damaged."

"So, my Commander Shaneva, what should we do next?" Mikhail waved the black book in his hand, pulled Shaneva into his arms, and asked in a slightly indulgent tone, pretending to ask for instructions.

"We can look at the contents of the 'Dark Manual' later. I think that after launching the final round of 'Artificial Heavenly Punishment Fire,' we can order all the legions to launch a general offensive." Shaneva's face revealed a smile of complete control.