Cataclysm: Undead Dragons and Zero Empire

Chapter 126 Nuclear Explosion

It was only then that the people at the scene realized what was happening. The crowd, which had quieted down, began to erupt into even louder discussions, while those who enjoyed watching the spectacle continued to push forward, making the crowd even more chaotic.

"Quiet."

Terence's voice remained calm, yet now carried an undeniable authority, and the psychic energy that emanated from it calmed the panicked crowd.

Just then, the moment the sniper missed, a second wave of attacks suddenly erupted. Assassins lying in ambush around the square acted simultaneously, the dense bullets sounding like a single gunshot. Some even pulled out grenade launchers and pulled the triggers at the high platform. Several high-explosive shells, trailing flames, drew arcs in the air as they flew towards Terence.

Further away, several missiles streaked across the sky and hurtled towards the crowded square, showing no regard for casualties and aiming only for a fatal blow.

Unseen by the crowd, psionicists launched an attack on Terence from all directions, unleashing a barrage of death spells and magic at any cost, leaving no blind spots.

"Protect the leader!"

The priests standing on the platform reacted instantly, stepping forward in unison. Their psionic energy erupted simultaneously, creating a shield to protect Terence, but they couldn't attend to the surrounding civilians.

Amidst the chaos, a gentle yet vast psychic energy emanated from Terence, spreading out and instantly enveloping the entire plaza.

Those burning flames in his eyes became even brighter, completely filling his eye sockets, making Terence appear as if he had no eyes at all.

A thin layer of psionic energy barrier enveloped each civilian, instantly depleting the kinetic energy of stray bullets that struck them, and also blocking the shockwaves of explosions that landed in the crowd.

The dense barrage of bullets, grenades, and missiles, along with countless deadly psionic attacks, vanished without a trace around Terence.

Seeing that all their attacks were in vain, as if they had sunk into the sea and could not harm Terence, the assassins unleashed even greater firepower and psionic energy on him.

"I know who you are."

Terence's voice pierced through the flames of the explosion and the clamor of the crowd, clearly reaching the minds of every assassin.

"In the eyes of some fanatics, I am a heretic."

"The other part consists of ambitious individuals who seek to overthrow the new doctrines and engage in an endless struggle for power and profit."

These two groups of people, with different intentions but the same goal, conspired to assassinate him.

Terence's gaze swept over the tall buildings surrounding the square, and over the assassins hidden in the crowd. The assassins all felt as if they were being stared at by a cold, venomous snake, their bodies stiffening.

"I gave you a chance," Terence's voice held no anger, only a faint disappointment. "Doctrine debates and ideological differences can be discussed openly, but you chose the most despicable method."

Terence remained undeterred by their attacks, his attention completely focused on the terrifying energy he had just sensed rising rapidly deep within the city, while the earth began to tremble.

The alarms blared throughout the city, their shrill, piercing sound like a death knell. Terence received a more specific warning: the monitoring system reported directly to him.

[WARNING! High-energy nuclear reaction detected! Estimated yield in the range of 200 megatons! Repeat! High-energy nuclear reaction detected!]

The public was gripped by extreme panic and had no interest in watching the spectacle. Even those who did not understand the meaning of the nuclear crisis alarm were aware that the clear alarm sound was designed to remind everyone that danger was imminent.

A yield of 200 megatons is only possible for a planetary-level hydrogen bomb. Nuclear weapons of this magnitude could even directly blast open the Earth's crust, and many buildings in New Valentine could probably reach cosmic speed and become shooting stars in the sky.

This place will be transformed into a bottomless, gigantic pit, completely erased from the map, and even the person who launched the assassination never expected to survive.

The leader of the assassins looked at Terence's figure on the screen, a crazy and resolute smile on his face. This fanatical believer was a leading figure who was dissatisfied with Terence's reforms. Even if it meant dragging the entire city down with him, he would completely eliminate this traitor who desecrated the doctrine.

"Terrence—you deserve to die! You can stop a bullet, but do you think you can stop a hydrogen bomb?" He laughed maniacally. "You and the false god you preach, go to hell together!"

This level of hydrogen bomb was no longer the design of the past. When the energy of nuclear fusion was about to reach the critical point, Terence finally revealed his true power, which he had never shown to the world before.

Burning black and red flames surged wildly from his eye sockets, streaming down his cheeks like two burning tear tracks.

A vast and boundless surge of psionic energy erupted from his body like a tsunami, instantly engulfing the entire city of New Valentine and precisely locking onto the hydrogen bomb hidden within the city.

Terence raised his right hand and gently clenched it in that direction. In the next instant, the light from the hydrogen bomb, along with the device that preserved it, vanished from its spot.

The psionic energy transferred it directly to the high sky beneath the dome of the underground city, below the screen simulating the sky.

Countless enormous hands formed from psychic energy stretched out from the void, each finger like a towering pillar, its surface swirling with black and red flame patterns.

They overlapped and merged into a perfect sphere, firmly sealing the hydrogen bomb, which was about to explode and had already triggered a chain reaction, inside the sphere.

The hydrogen bomb exploded.

A nuclear explosion with a yield of 200 megatons unleashed its full power at this moment.

A hydrogen bomb at this level is no longer a momentary flash of light, but a fireball that can burn for several minutes, essentially a simulation of the sun.

All the world-destroying power was locked tightly within that sphere, without the slightest leakage. The people, who had no clue about the crisis, only saw a second sun shining in the sky below the dome, even more dazzling than the virtual sun on the dome.

The sun hovered in the sky for a few minutes before finally disappearing completely, just like a sunset that occurs at noon.

All the high temperatures, shockwaves, and nuclear radiation were neutralized by Terence's psionic energy, causing no damage to the city.

The crowd stared blankly at the sun disappearing from the sky, then turned to look at the figure on the platform slowly lowering his right hand, their minds blank.

Before the live broadcast, the entire human civilization was plunged into utter shock, finally realizing what had just happened.

Is this the power that humanity should possess?

This must be a miracle.

It's unclear who first knelt down, but more and more people began to kowtow devoutly to Terence on the platform, reciting the prayer Terence had just preached. Even the young people were no exception, never having been so close to the realm of faith.

"Praise be to the Father! Praise be to the Lord!"

May the glory of the Lord shine upon the world! Have mercy on mankind!

The rising and falling prayers converged into a torrent that echoed across the square and was broadcast live to every corner of human civilization.

However, unlike the relief of the people who survived the disaster, those who launched the assassination were completely dumbfounded.

They couldn't comprehend how a human could possess such power. The leader of the assassins slumped into his chair, his face ashen, muttering, "Impossible—this is impossible—God doesn't exist—he can only be a mortal—"

The other assassin, knowing his death was imminent, stood out like a crane among chickens amidst the kneeling crowd. His eyes were filled with madness and resentment as he roared at Terence on the platform, "You possess such power! Why don't you just declare yourself emperor?! You could clearly be the sole ruler of humanity! Why bother with these pointless religious charades?!"

Upon hearing this, Terence looked at the hysterical assassin and said, "My power has never come from force, but from God."

"My mission is to spread the faith of the Lord and guide human civilization on the right path as instructed by the Lord. I am a humble servant under the Lord's name, not an emperor or a ruler."

"And you," his voice suddenly turned sharp, like a drawn blade, "are all parasites. How can human civilization be saved by working with you vermin?"

The moment the words left his mouth, Terence released his psionic energy once more, this time not for protection, but with a chilling judgment.

Everyone involved in the assassination, no matter where they were hiding in the city, was simultaneously plunged into an endless hallucination.

Everything in their field of vision vanished, leaving only a pair of eyes burning with black and red flames that occupied their entire world, swallowing their consciousness and souls like an abyss.

In an instant, flames shot into the sky from the crowd, and those who spontaneously combusted screamed as they watched themselves turn into bits of black ash and scatter on the ground.

Upon seeing these people spontaneously combusting in the street, the surrounding crowd retreated in terror, only to find that the flames were only burning the assassins themselves, without igniting anything around them.

The crowd looked at the assassins who had spontaneously combusted in the street with awe and fear in their eyes, and bowed even more devoutly to Terence on the high platform.

Terence withdrew his psionic powers, the flames in his eyes gradually subsided, and he returned to his original form. He preached the Lord's teachings to the kneeling crowd below, calming their emotions. This time, the effect was even more successful and significant, until he announced the end of his sermon.

Terrence dialed Howard's private number, and it was answered immediately.

Howard's voice came through the comms, "Terrence, are you alright? I watched the whole thing live. I've mobilized the army and started purging those remnants."

"You've made quite a stir this time," Howard sighed. "The hydrogen bomb has been brought out, the armory has been inspected, and it wasn't stolen. It could only have been produced by them. With that kind of power, your enemy might be right next to you."

"The Reformation must continue," Terence said, unmoved by the number of enemies. "There are still too many worms in human civilization."

"This reform will inevitably affect the interests of many people, and bloodshed is unavoidable."

"But don't worry," Terence added, changing the subject, "this purge will probably only be concentrated within the Death Faction, and won't be as widespread as the last purge, so it won't affect your interstellar expansion plans."

"What I want is a pure, truly spreading faith in the Lord, not a fragmented sect corrupted by power and ambition."

On the other end of the communication, Howard was silent for a moment before finally saying, "Okay, I will fully cooperate with you and will not interfere with any of your reforms."

"But Terrence, I must remind you," Howard's tone became extremely serious, "the outside universe is bound to be full of unknowns and dangers, and we cannot afford to get bogged down in internal strife now."

"I understand," Terence nodded slightly. "I will always remember that the Lord's will is for human civilization to freely explore the future, and everything I have done is to help humanity walk more steadily and further on this path."

"That's good," Howard breathed a sigh of relief, fearing that Terrence might say something like "internal stability must come before external threats." "If you need anything, just contact me anytime."

After the call ended, Terence sat in the shuttle heading towards the moon, slowly closing his eyes. His hand gently stroked the black stone hand-held piece carved with dragon bone patterns in his arms, feeling the warm touch on his fingertips.

The will of God is always watching over all of humanity.

Terence slowly opened his eyes and looked out the porthole at the real starry sky that appeared after leaving the underground city.

Human civilization will inevitably venture into the stars, until it draws near to the throne of the Lord and is granted death.