Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

That was the first truly brutal battle to ever take place in the world. The massive Abyssal Fleet, having cast aside all restraints and ignored the schemes and misleading tactics of the ship girl fleet, successfully breached the island's outer defenses after paying a heavy price. The island's ordinary people, completely unprepared and still leisurely enjoying themselves even as the Abyssal Fleet's cannons roared in the harbor, were finally exposed to the Abyssal Fleet's firepower for the first time.

From that day on, for the first time, the mortals of this world experienced true growth. They could no longer hide in the safe haven of 'Eden,' enjoying all the services without any psychological barriers and taking them all for granted as the darlings of the world. Because Eden had been destroyed by Lilith, the storms and disasters of the outside world would forever leave painful marks on them.

The battle lasted a long time. Even though the land's light attribute had an inherent advantage over the deep-sea fleet that emerged from darkness, in the end, when the deep-sea fleet was repelled by reinforcements sent from other islands, there was no living creature left on the largest island.

After that battle, the ship girl who called herself Lilith vanished from the deep-sea fleet. Just as she appeared without warning, she disappeared without a trace, leaving no trace of her in the world. Only many mysterious and unpredictable legends remained on the sea and the land.

Several months later, apple trees bearing white fruit grew on the island inhabited by many mortals.

However, not a single ship girl was allowed to consume them.

Chapter 71, Gospels, End

God loves the world, but why does God love the world?

If people have no attachment to God and are of no value to Him, why would God bestow His love upon meaningless places?

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"Gods or demons, they are of no use to us humans. We don't need the power of these lurking monsters, nor do we care about their existence—we humans have been the masters of this world in the past, and we will be in the future!"

"Fellow countrymen! Let us unite! Those monsters from the sea have only occasionally gained the upper hand. We have been victorious for thirteen hundred years, while they have only held the advantage for a few years. As long as we are of one mind and work together, the future will surely be in our hands again!"

"Join our army, and let us reclaim our lost glory from this land!"

In the central square of the city, several excited young men were passionately proclaiming the latest recruitment advertisement. Many people stopped in the square near them, and occasionally, a few, spurred on by the slogans and enthusiastic atmosphere, would blush and walk to the registration point next to the stage to sign their names. Almost immediately, amidst enthusiastic applause and praise, they were given a brand-new set of military uniforms and then, led by the shipgirl soldiers with their inorganic smiles, were assigned to different directions.

Human society in this world has undergone changes in recent years that are more than ten times greater than those of the previous thirteen hundred years combined. The initial changes likely began when the island at the very center of the nautical chart, originally nameless but later named 'Glory,' was completely captured in the second attack by the Deep Sea Fleet. From that moment on, the once peaceful world truly possessed concepts such as 'war,' 'killing,' 'revenge,' and 'avenging.' Many islands also united for the first time due to a truly oppressive external force, leading to the emergence of 'governments' for the first time in the world.

This was the initial change, but a second transformation soon followed. When the people of an island discovered fruit trees bearing strange white apples and curiously swallowed the fruit, the mortals of this world learned something even newer without any instruction.

They learned 'populism,' 'militarism,' the construction and distribution of power structures, and the principles of unity, checks and balances, and compromise. And one thing they've been living in from the beginning, yet only now have they grasped its true meaning—'class and hierarchy.'

After swallowing the white fruit from the apple tree, the mortals immediately promulgated the first law of the new government: strictly prohibiting any ship girls from contacting, or rather, approaching, the land where the apple tree grew. For the first time, the mortals formed a land-based army, whose primary duty was to guard the apple trees and distribute the ripe fruit to every mortal of pure blood.

This unit is called the 'Chereb,' and any member who has served for more than a year has their hands stained with the blood of ship girls. These white fruits seem to hold an immense attraction for the ship girls; every year, every month, even every day, many ship girls, driven by subconscious desires, unknowingly approach the fruit trees. A small portion are discovered and destroyed along the way. The majority, however, realize the abnormality of their actions and report it, then are sent to a place called the recovery center.

No living ship girls have ever eaten the white fruit, so although human society has changed, its overall combat strength has remained the same. The only difference is that the human army used to be a disorganized mess, while the current human army has coalesced into a sandcastle—no, it might not even be considered a human army. Because among all the armies in the entire world capable of directly confronting the Abyssal Fleet, all the soldiers who can go to the battlefield are ship girls.

Humanity is not without wise men, and not without those who cannot see the hidden flaws. But even those contemporary sages who see the problem are powerless to change the situation—without ship girls, mortals are as fragile as paper under the onslaught of the Abyssal Fleet. Therefore, ship girls absolutely cannot be abandoned, and for the same reason, mortals absolutely cannot tolerate the ship girls slipping out of their control before mortals develop the ability to protect themselves.

It's not that there haven't been ship girls who ate the white fruit; it's just that all of them are dead. Mortals learned through some channels that the Abyssal Fleet's transformation was due to them eating the black fruit, which is at least the opposite of the white apple in color. They also verified this through many experiments that couldn't be conducted openly, discovering that if ship girls ate the white fruit, they would, after a short period, gain intelligence, independent will, and immense power, even surpassing that of the Abyssal Fleet. But independent will means a denial of loyalty; after all, in this world, at least in this era, ship girls weren't born to be servants of mortals.

For this reason, a division arose within the ranks of the mortals. Some believed that the fruit of wisdom, seemingly created by the Creator specifically for the ship girls, should be returned to them, and then a new oath of guardianship should be forged with the transformed ship girls through the sincerity and will of the mortals. If everyone helps each other, the ship girls set aside past grievances, and the mortals love the ship girls as they love their own kin, then with both sides working together, victory will surely be achieved against the increasingly fierce offensive of the Abyssal Fleet.

Another group believes that these white fruits—or rather, the fruits of wisdom—should be properly preserved in the hands of mortals themselves. Even if mortals can only gain far less than the ship girls from eating them, and only experience a simple increase in wisdom, this slight effect can still bring enough benefits. As long as the status quo can be maintained, even if there is a slight decline, as long as the mortals' own physique and wisdom can be improved, then one day mortals will be able to crack the semi-mechanical structure and the technological armaments inherent in the ship girls, and ultimately all those who defy them will be wiped out from the world.

The two factions argued incessantly, but ultimately the latter gained the upper hand. While humanity in this world had learned political maneuvering, they hadn't yet grasped the art of ruthless extermination within their own kind. Although the pro-ship girl faction was severely suppressed, some of their ideas still exerted some influence on the new government.

Mortals built a school, a special school specifically for ship girls. The primary course in this school was to instill the correctness and authority of mortal rule in a select group of newly born, still somewhat naive, ship girls. The most outstanding and obedient members would be granted a white fruit of wisdom upon graduation. If, after this transformation, the chosen one remained true to their principles and continued to fight for mortals on the battlefield to the last drop of blood, then this relationship between mortals and ship girls would continue until humanity could fully control them, or until they were no longer needed.

Today marks the start of the final stage of the course before the test.

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"Can you hear the sounds outside?" The ship girls were divided into several classes, and the teacher in charge of the final stage of the tutorial for a group of ship girls was a young, even somewhat immature, blonde woman. She had clear sky-blue eyes, a delicate and refined face, and a pair of slightly oversized black-rimmed glasses perched on her nose. She was dressed in a fitted black suit, and the pointer in her hand was pointed out the window.

Outside the window, newly enlisted soldiers, their faces flushed with excitement after the recruitment presentations, strode along the street in sparse formation. Most of them were beaming, their hearts filled with an eager anticipation of this unfamiliar act of 'war'.

Very ignorant, very naive, but also very energetic.

“Those people are the best and most energetic group of young people in this land. Some of them will hold important positions in the future, while others will become the commanders of most of you. Of course, not every one of you is qualified to be their subordinate. Whether you can obtain this qualification depends on the results you can achieve in the following courses.”

The classroom was completely silent, without any noise or reasonable or unreasonable fidgeting. All the ship girls sat upright and meticulously in their seats, their bright eyes fixed intently on the petite human teacher on the podium, listening carefully to every word she uttered—because noise was strictly prohibited in the classroom, and these ship girls had long ago learned to obey rules and instructions.

“Very good.” The teacher nodded, picked up a marker, and wrote his name on the whiteboard behind him. “Everyone is very quiet, which I appreciate. Although other teachers in your previous courses did not see the need to tell you their names, I am different. I believe there should be some additional connection between students and instructors. Of course, you can choose to forget, but I will not change my approach.”

“My name is ‘Samael.’ I hate snakes and love grapes. And I’ve also given a name to this class you’re in. Or rather, I’ve given a name to your group—from the end of this class onwards, this class will be called ‘Eve,’ and you are all part of ‘Eve.’”

Silence remained before her; no ship girl agreed, and no ship girl disagreed. Because they had not received permission to agree or disagree.

“Very well, now let’s begin the first lesson. I hope you will all remember what I’m about to say.”

The instructor opened the book.

"First, you need to know what the Styx myth is, and why it holds considerable importance in the Deep Sea Fleet."

....................................

Months later, the group of 'Eves' trained by Samael overwhelmingly won all the spots to consume the White Fruit of Wisdom. Each of them underwent the predicted dramatic transformation after consuming the fruit. They became smarter, wiser, and more… adept at weighing pros and cons.

The mortals' decision-making failed; this crude brainwashing method couldn't truly imprint itself on the minds of these ship girls. They gained mental freedom the moment they consumed the Fruit of Wisdom, but for some mysterious and strange reason, they didn't immediately unleash their power to resist the rule of mortals. Instead, they threw themselves wholeheartedly into the war on the front lines, just like the ruling faction among the mortals.

With their addition, the pressure on the front lines fighting the Deep Sea Fleet was greatly reduced. The previously heavily suppressed battle lines were gradually pushed back, and as more 'Eves' who had consumed the Fruit of Knowledge entered the battle, the Deep Sea Fleet's forces suffered a steady defeat.

Five years later, the island corrupted by darkness returned to the control of mortals. And on the very day the ship girls achieved victory, Samael, the mentor who nurtured the fifth generation of 'Eves,' was assassinated within humanity's ranks, the cause being political infighting.

Mortals finally learned the last lesson they were meant to learn in this world: the ruthless decisiveness to kill anyone who stood in their way, even if they were of their own kind. From that day forward, they were finally freed from the protective grace of the gods and truly entered this world of war.

Before Samael died, no one thought her death would have any negative consequences. But after her death, everyone knew that she had made a secret pact with every 'Eve'. Because with her death, all the surviving 'Eves' chose to rebel. They still considered the Abyssal Fleet their enemy, but they no longer obeyed the orders of mortals. And the reclaimed island became the new home of the ship girls. And from this new home, they began their own expansion.

Thus, the world finally stabilized in a three-way balance. There was the Abyssal Fleet, now without Lilith; the independent ship girls calling themselves Eve; and the Mortal Federation, which had gradually grown stronger amidst the war and still controlled some channels for acquiring new ship girls. These three forces checked and balanced each other, fought against each other, and grew together.

Everything that happened in the past has become legend and story. Time has passed, and before we knew it, nearly fifteen long years had gone by.

Once everything had stabilized, Alice, now awake, opened her eyes to the outside world.

Everything is ready, and the appointed time has arrived.

It's time to end this world's final battle.

Chapter 72 The Curtain in My Heart

The space around them, which had been writhing, became stable.

"You've woken up at just the right time. Everyone's here now, and it's up to you to complete the final steps." Patchouli's voice rang in Alice's ears, and she nodded. As she awoke from her slumber, she also adjusted her physical condition—she could clearly sense a part of herself pulsating in a nearby area, which was obviously the valley where the Tower of Babel world was located.

—Clearly, Patchouli moved her body to the Valley Region upon completing the Sixth Age. It seems time was indeed running out. Even the sages' plans were showing signs of change, to the point that she had to save every last bit of time.

Not only Alice and Patchouli, but the other reincarnators from the Central Continent team who were not involved in the war also appeared in suitable areas. Zheng Zha, Zhao Yingkong, and Zhao Zhuikong—Zhao Zhuikong's aura seemed somewhat unstable, but he was still in the state of unlocking the fourth stage of the gene lock—along with Alice herself, a total of four fourth-stage powerhouses were guarding the four corners outside the Tower of Babel world. Now, they were just waiting for her and Chu Xuan to complete the final step.

Chu Xuan still hadn't shown himself; it would be a mistake for a strategist unsuitable for direct combat to appear on the battlefield. Zhang Jie, naturally, also remained hidden, along with the elusive Zero. He simply activated his mental network, connecting the thoughts of everyone present.

Before he could act, Zheng Zha's voice rang out in the mental network.

Zheng Zha: [Alright, I know we're going to have to fight those Vera to a pulp this time. Since you smart people have already calculated everything, I won't ask you stupid questions like why we should fight them or how to make them fight us—Margot Royd, I remember you analyzed before that the Vera's combat strength should be around mid-fourth tier. And even now, I don't think we can defeat a mid-fourth tier like a fully-fledged Ex.]

Zheng Zha: [I think you should have a corresponding solution... Margot Royd, you told me before that you would give me a solution so I could choose for myself. Now that we're about to start fighting, there's no need to keep it a secret anymore.]

Zhao Yingkong: [Same as above. My brother Zhuikong and I also support the battle plan that the team has already drafted. And I think it's time to announce this plan now. I am also very clear about the true power that a mid-stage fourth tier can possess. Even excluding Ilúvatar, who is not part of the Valar, we will have to deal with fourteen enemies, and at least eight of them are truly powerful.]

Zhao Zhuikong: […………] — He seemed to want to say something, but because he was a newcomer and was being represented by his sister, he ultimately said nothing.

Alice didn't reply, but instead sent the prepared plan to every key member of the team at this last moment before the battle. Just half a second later, she sensed a massive, turbulent mental fluctuation through her mental network! She could almost clearly hear Zheng Zha's scream!

'What!? So we only need to deal with a few...'

[Don't speak, don't think, just keep it to yourself.] Alice's will suppressed the wave completely before it even began to surge. Zhang Jie's mental network instantly returned to calm; she reached out and tossed Sauron's ring to Zheng Zha. As Zheng Zha caught the ring, the newly joined Zhao Zhuikong and his cousin took a step closer to Alice's location, their forms then completely dissipating into space.

The plan has been announced, and no one has raised any objections.

Then, Chu Xuan's mental communication system rang.

[The Tower of Babel world will release all of our reincarnations and those of the Celestials in thirty seconds. Alice, is there anything else you need to do?]

He didn't ask for anyone else's opinion, and the others were clearly able to control themselves at such a crucial moment. Apart from Zheng Zha's restless emotions still being publicized online, everything was very quiet.

Alice shook her head and then took a soft breath. She could sense that the magic furnace within her body and every cell that made up the bubble world were operating at full power, and the concepts and energy she needed reached her fingertips as her will shifted.

“No, there’s nothing else to prepare.” She reached out, grasping the invisible world above the valley. Then, focusing her mind, a gathering of concepts and a surging sea of ​​energy enveloped her completely—

"The time has come."

"The compilation of the Book of Revelation, an external scripture, begins."

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'Pfft—' Xiao Honglu plunged a trident made of magic into the chest of a Ringwraith. Listening to the angry and unwilling screams of the undead creature and the scoring announcement from the main god, he finally couldn't help but let out a small breath of relief, his heart and body achieving a temporary relaxation while remaining vigilant.

—Completely defeat the entire Ringwraith, obtain one B-rank side quest, and receive 4000 reward points.

This was the third time he had heard that voice. Aside from the one he had personally slain, the other two had been crushed to dust or burned to charcoal by the Red-Eyes Black Dragon at the cost of near destruction—he wasn't sure if it was worth it to kill two Ringwraiths with modest rewards at the cost of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon's inability to participate in this cycle of reincarnation. But regardless of whether the deal was worthwhile, one fact remained unchanged.

He won.

As he achieved victory, his power also grew.

He could feel that he had reached the critical point of the third stage—no, he had actually already crossed that critical point, because his thinking had begun to transform, and some things that he had not noticed before, or that he had noticed but had not paid attention to, were now clearly appearing in his mind.

[This operation is abnormal... Me, Zhang Heng, Ming Yanwei and the others, the Celestial Team, and Alice and Chu Xuan, who are orchestrating this war from behind the scenes. Everyone is abnormal.]

He didn't encounter any Celestial Reincarnators in this battle; the Ringwraiths and the dragons they rode were all the enemies he faced in this encounter. And his companions…

'boom--!!!'

Xiao Honglu turned his head, his gaze falling to the side as a golden beam of light plummeted from the sky—the orbital artillery barrage unleashed by Luo Gandao and Zhan Lan from a great height. When that beam of light struck the ground, a massive crater, hundreds of meters in diameter, was scorched into the already devastated River Valley Town. Explosions, flames, the screams and wails of evil creatures dying—it seemed that only dark creatures belonging to Soren's forces had been dispatched by the Celestial Team to attack the others. And the Celestial Team's Reincarnators…

"Zhan Lan, help me pick up Ba Wang."

Xiao Honglu's heart skipped a beat, and a clear mental link was formed in his mind. The next second, he heard the Overlord's rough voice.

"Hehehe, these guys in black cloaks have some tough heads, but I've smashed them now... Is this Xiao Honglu? What do you want?"

Xiao Honglu didn't bother with formalities and asked directly, "I remember you seemed to have faced several Reincarnators from the Celestial Team earlier? How did it go? I didn't hear any notification from the Main God's scoring system, but your voice didn't sound like you suffered a loss at their hands. What exactly happened?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the voice on the other end of the communication suddenly became serious.

"A reincarnator from the Celestial Team... My situation is a bit special; it's not convenient to communicate just by talking or thinking. I wanted to contact you earlier, but you seemed a bit busy... Anyway, come over here. After that shelling, the battle between Zhang Heng and Ming Yanwei seems to have come to an end." After saying that, Ba Wang ended the communication. The next moment, Xiao Honglu saw a faint glow reflected on the bottom of his retina from somewhere on the ruins.

That was a signal, a positioning device that had been pre-arranged and implanted in every reincarnator back in the Star River Era. After receiving the positioning information, Xiao Honglu dove downwards without hesitation, his mind racing as he did so.

[Chu Xuan had already foreseen this battle. Undoubtedly, the main force of the Celestial Team, possessing fourth-tier combat power, is currently tied up somewhere. But if that's the case, there's no reason why the other members of the Celestial Team shouldn't be on the battlefield… Whether it's Chu Xuan or Sister Alice, unless they have made any particularly special arrangements, they wouldn't abandon these useful whetstones… It seems there really are some unexpected variables?]

He descended from high altitude to low altitude, looking down at the ground. The ruins of the city, ravaged by the aftershocks of the battle between the Central Continent Team's reincarnators, immediately came into view. He could even soon see the huge craters, scorched and melted into lava, and the scattered piles of mangled corpses around them—he took a soft breath.

Strangely, despite witnessing such a horrific scene, he felt little emotionally stirred. The civilians of the valley who had perished in the fighting were pitiful and tragic in his eyes, but he didn't feel the self-reproach or regret he might have felt previously. In the past, even if he and his companions had only been the ones passively responding to the attack, he would have been consumed by extreme regret and self-blame for causing the deaths of so many innocent people, perhaps even turning on Chu Xuan and Alice with harsh words, demanding an explanation!

He let out a soft breath.

"So that's how it is. The interference I encountered has been eliminated. In that case... does that mean I've passed the trial?" He landed lightly on the ground, his gaze shifting slightly, and he saw Zhang Heng and Ming Yanwei standing beside a street ruin—these two people, who previously could hardly coexist peacefully, were now sitting calmly on an adjacent ten-square-meter plot of land. Zhang Heng had used his bow and arrows to shoot large craters into the ground, while Ming Yanwei was diligently piecing together the remains of nearby dead people and carefully placing them into the craters.

They were building tombs, collecting the remains of those who had died in the battles between the reincarnators. When Xiao Honglu approached them, the little boy could almost clearly sense the palpable sense of self-reproach and sorrow surrounding them. A deep rift still existed between them, yet it was temporarily suppressed for this unusual reason.

Xiao Honglu walked past Zhang Heng.