"Still alive?"

The Mask's voice echoed in the Mind of the Silent Disaster – a resonance of consciousness transmitted through the Tower of Genesis.

It lowered its head, gazing at the slightly dimmed white hem of its robe in its hand. "I told you, I will not die until humanity is destroyed."

"Good, but don't forget, I, Nasopelle, am the one who determines this victory! Without the combined assault of the new Symbiote and the God-Forged Engine, even throwing in two or three thousand Primordials wouldn't amount to much in these rugged foothills..."

"I do not deny that."

"..." Perhaps surprised by its straightforwardness, there was a brief pause on the other end. "In any case, when the King asks about the Western Front, I hope you remember what you said. Also, Haeczoed had nothing to do with this battle, and you saw that with your own eyes. Although it has its reasons, it's better to clearly distinguish the merits."

"I agree."

"..." The other side was speechless again. "I didn't expect you to be so reasonable. Then go to the place where the bugs are setting up the Fire Rain. I will have the God-Forged Engine meet you there."

"You want to collect their weapons in the process?"

"Exactly," Nasopelle said triumphantly. "That is both proof of victory and an excellent collection for my pursuit of mysteries."

...

As it ascended the mountain road to the summit, the God-Forged Engine had already closed its gates and was slowly descending.

The Silent Disaster had to admit that the Mask Lord was indeed irreplaceable – standing beneath a floating continent even wider than the Endless Mountains, anyone would feel a sense that the mountain was about to be crushed. But in fact, it would come to a standstill the moment it touched the ground, as if a weight of a thousand jun was stacked on an egg without breaking the latter.

Next, transporting supplies or deploying troops would be very easy.

Moreover, even without landing, the God-Forged Engine could complete internal and external exchanges through a liftable hanging platform, and this vertical distance of nearly a hundred meters was enough to make the enemy sigh, far beyond the past moats.

It could be said that it was an impossible task to capture the God-Forged Engine from the outside.

While waiting for the rendezvous, the Silent Disaster suddenly heard a slight sound under its feet.

This position had long been abandoned by humans, and even if there were any survivors, the Symbiotes should have dealt with them.

Following the source of the sound, it walked to a collapsed opening.

It should have been a concealed fortification dug by the enemy, but it collapsed under the impact of the Active Spear, turning the underground passage into a cage. The subtle sound came from within.

If nothing was done, whoever was trapped below would only meet their death.

But the Silent Disaster leaned down and lifted the collapsed top panel with one hand.

It didn't even know why it was doing this – perhaps with the idea of getting more information, or perhaps the Mask's interest in the Greycastle people had infected it. Before long, it had cleared out a hole large enough for one person to pass through in the collapsed area.

The passage was not long, and after only two turns, the Silent Disaster reached the end and also saw the source of the sound – the end of the passage was a relatively spacious dark room, with an oil lamp hanging above the doorway. In the dim yellow light, a human male sat with his back against the wall, panting quite heavily, and there were many trails of blood repeatedly dragged on the ground.

The Silent Disaster noticed that only a few strands of flesh remained on the other person's feet. Presumably, they had been trapped and severed when the top panel collapsed, and only then did he break free.

However, this person should be aware of the structure of the passage, and even if he gave up his feet, he should not have been able to escape the concealed fortification. In that case, why did he struggle?

"Too bad..." The male raised his head and glanced at it. "In the end, what arrived was a devil."

"Speak, what, you know – information, otherwise, death, is a – luxury." The Silent Disaster opened its mouth stiffly. Unlike Vakiris, it had spent most of its time fighting the Sky-Sea World since it became conscious, and its mastery of human language was not proficient.

However, the other person seemed not to have heard its question.

"I was thinking earlier... if it was a teammate who came, that would be great, but if it was a devil... wouldn't I just have to sit and wait for death." He smiled weakly. "It just so happens that there are still some propellants stored here, which, when combined with detonators, can fulfill my final duty. I just didn't expect that what came was such a big fish..."

It probably wouldn't be able to get anything out of him, the Silent Disaster thought expressionlessly, it might as well hand him over to the Mask to deal with.

Just as it was about to step forward to stun the other party, a rope slipped quietly from the human's hand.

The other end of the rope seemed to be connected to a heavy object, and after losing its restraint, it quickly shot upwards – only then did the Silent Disaster realize that many disc-shaped objects were piled up in the corner of the dark room, and a dark object fell silently from between the low top panels, with a square iron block placed below, which was also where the bloodstains were most concentrated.

No... this person's struggle was not to escape this place.

The oil lamp hanging on the door frame allowed him to see the person clearly at a glance.

The rope in his hand would ensure that whether he lost consciousness or was killed, he could trigger this setup.

– He dragged his tattered body, crawling around in this small room, all for the sake of an opportunity not to sit and wait for death.

The Silent Disaster retreated as quickly as possible!

The male raised the corner of his mouth.

"Long live... humanity!"

An extremely dazzling light bloomed from the corner, instantly illuminating the dark room as bright as day!

Accompanied by a loud bang, the collapsed area suddenly bulged upwards, as if it had been punched open from the inside by a giant fist, carrying a large amount of rubble and snow into the sky.

...

"What's going on this time?"

The Mask looked at the Silent Disaster Lord, who was being carried onto the God-Forged Engine, and frowned as he asked the assistant.

"Your subordinate doesn't know, I only know that there was another explosion on the top of the mountain... probably it fell into the bugs' trap."

Nasopelle snorted. "What a mess. If it were another Lord, it would probably be devoid of breath."

At this time, the Silent Disaster looked as if it had been stepped on by the "Horned Ones". The broken armor was mixed with flesh and blood, the face resembling a human female only had a blurred outline left, and almost no magic power remained.

"Doesn't this prove that your idea is correct?" The assistant lowered his head and said.

"That's right," Nasopelle laughed. "Even the most powerful body has its limits. On the contrary, the Symbiote is the ideal direction of evolution – replace it at any time after it is damaged, with no upper limit on growth. That is the body that we should pursue!"

It stopped looking at the unconscious Lord and turned to the Tower of Genesis. "Throw this guy into the Mayfly Pond to soak. We shouldn't need it to take action for a while. Those bugs must not have thought that the Wolfheart, such an easily obtained item, is not the primary goal of the God-Forged Engine. Swallowing all the kingdoms in one go is the fastest way to get the fragments of inheritance."

"Pass my order, adjust the course, and head to the Hermes Plateau at full speed!"