Chapter 678 Are You Worthy of Sacrifice? (6666)

"Clearly, he changed his mind. This doesn't look like a move to protect the people."

Su Zhou raised his eyebrows. "It sounds more like the Imperial Will... I've heard Aharonov and some others talk about it."

"Indeed."

Illowitz's expression was obviously somewhat dejected, but he rallied his spirits and told Su Zhou about the details of the Imperial Will.

Initially, before Asmodeus XIII became the Sun Emperor, he, Mihail, and Aharonov racked their brains for years to solve the problem of the dying Sacred Sun. Finally, they decided to abandon all plans to 'stay in Aean' and decided to step into the void and go to other worlds.

This was a very bold move, but it could bring better possibilities and a future for all living beings. After all, they were facing the end of the world, so why not solve it once and for all and just change worlds?

The trio decided to take a gamble.

The origin of the Blood Godwood, the Soul-Burning Art, and the Blood Art were all improved at that time.

Going to other worlds in the void required an unimaginably huge amount of energy, which was not difficult for Soul-Burning experts. But the difficulty lay in how to protect the many people and take them through the turbulent flow of time and space.

Obviously, the bodies of ordinary people were too heavy and too fragile, and it was impossible to carry them to other worlds.

After weighing the options, preserving the soul and abandoning the body was naturally the only choice.

However, even though the world of Aean was a world with an unbelievably high density of spiritual energy, souls were not so easily condensed. If one was not careful, a half-baked soul would be contaminated by source energy and become a demon, or even a monster.

The Imperial Will was a means to solve this problem.

--Since the people did not have souls, the emperor would give them one--

"Using the souls of me, Mihail, and Aharonov, two Soul-Burners and one Calamity Realm expert, as the core, we continuously draw spiritual energy to create ownerless spiritual matter and bestow it upon the many residents, giving them a 'temporary soul'."

"Just like the sun shines on the earth, wherever the light shines, the residents of the empire will become Soul-Condensers."

As he said this, although his tone was calm, Su Zhou could sense the pride in Illowitz's heart.

In fact, it was something to be proud of.

The man couldn't help but nod in admiration. "The empire distributes souls? This is actually a prerequisite for national cultivation. If the Asmodeus Empire can really do this, then the end of the world may really greatly promote technological development--Earth is no different, just not as radical and urgent."

"But obviously, this plan died prematurely," he said.

"Yes." Illowitz couldn't help but smile bitterly. "Creating souls is not difficult and doesn't take much time, but the results of the trial run were not ideal--the first batch of mobile city residents who were granted souls all became demons, and uncontrollably turned into human demons who killed and devoured each other... From that time on, we realized that the curse of source energy was probably more terrible than we imagined. The will of the world hated us, whether it was the Sacred Sun or the Demon Moon, or even the air, they were all leading us to a dead end."

"People without talent who gain souls are as good as murdered. This path was blocked, but we found another way. Since the distributed souls would be污浊 (wuzhuo, defiled), then we might as well cut our own souls and lend them to all living beings, using our powerful souls as a barrier to protect the memories and thoughts of all the people. After arriving in a universe without source energy, we would condense spiritual wisdom and create souls again, and re-conceive and give birth to all living beings."

--This is the Path of the Godwood.

Su Zhou keenly realized this. Although the methods and appearances were very different, this was essentially very similar to the process of the Godwood going to other worlds to reproduce.

Before the original Godwood went to other worlds, in order to bring the seeds of many lives with it, it must have gone through many trade-offs, just like the trio of the old empire.

And the act of creating an ecosystem in another world is essentially similar to recreating a world familiar to oneself.

"It's just that, it still failed."

Su Zhou said lightly, "What exactly happened? Listening to you, the Sun Emperor seemed like a good person at the beginning? How did he become this stinky mess?"

"...It didn't fail. It's just that the Imperial Will's plan was only half implemented and then it wasn't continued."

Illowitz knelt on one knee. He leaned down and touched the seemingly filthy flesh on the ground, his expression dim, as if he had made a mistake: "He did bestow spiritual matter to protect the empire's residents, but conversely, the thoughts and wills of all the empire's residents also became a part of him, achieving His immortal body."

"The demon infection rate in the empire is much lower than in other regions, and even if there are any, they are strictly regulated, because of this."

The gray-haired knight stood up, he looked at Su Zhou and said softly: "The plan is still being implemented, the Tower of Babel is transmitting the light of dominion to the inside of the Sacred Sun, communicating with the remaining power within it."

"The Sacred Sun was originally going to be extinguished, so before we leave the world, why not push it to its brief peak, shine in the void, and help us select the world--and the Soul-Burning Torch will therefore burn fiercely, allowing the Sun Emperor to temporarily possess power beyond the gods."

"Theoretically, at that time, we will leave the world of Aean, and those who want to stay can continue to stay... But now it seems that Mihail seems to want to stay temporarily, he always says that 'preparation' is not enough, but I don't know what he wants to prepare!"

Prepare what? Of course, prepare fuel.

At this moment, Su Zhou understood everything.

What this Sun Emperor wants to do is definitely not simply leave the world of Aean and find a suitable new world to live in--his ambition is definitely big enough, so big that four hundred years later, he will burn the entire world of Aean, turning it into dust in the void before setting off.

What he did during these four hundred years, even perfect deduction cannot know.

But Su Zhou doesn't need to guess at all. As the Demon Lord who devoured countless evil people's souls, his experience allows him to easily deduce what the Sun Emperor did: during these four hundred years, the other party must have been continuously using the Imperial Will to create souls, mass-producing alternative soul aggregates like the Blood Godwood, and then harvesting them as crops, hoarding an unimaginably huge amount of soul mass.

And even though the Blood Godwood is not complete, it is still a Godwood in the final analysis. So many Godwoods have been continuously produced over the past four hundred years, and it is not surprising that they eventually gnawed the entire world empty.

Whether it's friends, the residents of the empire, the people of the Aean continent, or even the entire world of Aean, they are all tools for this Sun Emperor to achieve his goals.

"He must not be kept alive."

Su Zhou's fist hardened, and he clicked his tongue: "We must kill this guy as soon as possible, otherwise the longer this person lives, the more people will suffer."

Su Zhou didn't lower his voice, and Illowitz also heard his muttering, so the knight stood up and shook his head cautiously: "You can't kill him. I said, the Sun Emperor is immortal."

"Through the Imperial Will, He is already the incarnation of the entire Asmodeus Empire. If the empire is not destroyed, even if you destroy that body and the Light-Heart Body, a new Sun Emperor will be born again from the thoughts of the empire's people."

Su Zhou didn't reply, because he heard the hidden meaning in Illowitz's words.

Sure enough, after a pause, the knight took a step forward, his aura began to recover, and even became hotter than when he flew towards the Mount of Light before.

"I want to ask a question."

Originally, Illowitz's eyes were dim because of the death and betrayal of his friend, but now, the knight's eyes began to burn with dark golden light: "Svetogor of Mount of Light, what exactly do you want to do to this world? And why are you doing this?"

"What do I want to do?"

Su Zhou glanced at Illowitz, and he shook his head: "Don't you have eyes and ears? What I'm doing is all in the north, in the Mount of Light and Yanshuang Territory, in the inheritance hall in the extreme north ice field. You obviously know everything, why ask me?"

"What I want to do is to allow everyone to freely choose their own life, everyone can get their own meaning, everyone is equal to everyone, there will be no more suffering and torment in the world, and every day will be better than yesterday."

"As for why I want to do this."

At this point, he raised his head, staring at the Sacred Sun in the sky, and even the countless universes in the void above the sky.

"Because time is flowing, because life is being born."

"Because a better tomorrow is there, I can 'imagine' it, so I want to make it happen."

"...That's great."

The knight looked at Su Zhou at this moment with envy, and he couldn't help but repeat: "That's great... As expected of Mount of Light, your answer is better than I imagined..."

He reached out and pressed his hand on the hilt of the sword. After admiring him, Illowitz couldn't help but sigh: "If you could have appeared earlier, that would have been great... Aharonov wouldn't have had to go against his own nature to capture those demons that he also sympathized with back then, and he wouldn't have killed those imperial residents who shouldn't have died or rebelled, and he wouldn't have died in front of you."

"And you also have another way to save the world, I know, the Soul-Kindling Godwood will shine again, better than His Majesty's, more humane, more..."

Speaking of this, he seemed to be at a loss for words, but soon, Illowitz found a suitable word.

"More full of love."

"In that case, I wouldn't have a reason to fight you."

Su Zhou glanced at the hand of the other party that was already holding the hilt of the sword, and he shook his head slightly: "It's not too late now, you may have many shortcomings, but at least you are a good person worth saving."

"Well, although it's a bit out of place, and it's also a bit silly, but you don't even have any resentment, you are indeed a good person."

The main reason why Su Zhou was willing to say so much to Illowitz was because of this.

This imperial first knight is the strongest and purest 'good person' he has ever seen in the world of Aean.

There is no resentment on his body, his enemies have never hated him, the people love him, his colleagues respect him, and even the Sun Emperor, the guy who seems to be using him, doesn't think Illowitz is bad.

What kind of person do you have to be to have such a pure soul?

The answer is actually very simple.

Just like the Dusk, just do nothing.

"It's just that I think you might rather be a bad person than be such a good person." This was Su Zhou's concluding remark.

Then, he was shocked to see that the knight in front of him, who was holding the sword hilt tightly and seemed about to draw his sword to fight, actually cried silently because of a single sentence.

Large drops of tears fell from the corners of Illowitz's closed eyes, but he was laughing. The Soul-Burning expert, who could already see signs of aging, laughed self-deprecatingly: "Yes, that's right--I didn't do anything in the past, I didn't become a marshal who could restrain Mihail, I didn't become a powerful minister who could check and balance the emperor, I didn't fight for control of the Imperial Will--this is my biggest mistake."

"How can I entrust my trust to human nature, believing that a person will never change, and will always be as high-spirited, kind and respectable as when he was young?"

Su Zhou stared at the tears falling from the corners of Illowitz's eyes, dripping on the mobile city covered by the remains of the Flesh Godwood. He saw the vast source energy contained in the tears instantly purify and evaporate the flesh, and storms and thunder exploded in the mist rising from the tears.

He didn't despise the other party because of his crying. On the contrary, Su Zhou understood better than anyone.

--When a man starts to cry wantonly, he no longer cares about anyone else's eyes.

He is only crying for himself, regretting the mistakes of his life--he is not fragile, not unable to withstand the blow, but has completely lost his restraints, lost his reason to stagnate, and has made up his mind.

--So, cry if you are sad.

Then.

Su Zhou, saw the knight draw out the long sword from his waist--a long sword entirely constructed of soul, condensed by Illowitz's shining Soul of Light!

--So, if you want to fight, you will fight.

Above the remains of the Flesh Godwood, the two powerful men confronted each other. Illowitz drew out the long sword in his hand. That was his Light-Heart Body, his soul, his will! A divine weapon flowing with endless divine light, forged to cut off injustice and unfairness.

The celestial phenomena had already begun to change, and the source energy began to change because of the powerful man's actions, causing storms and thunder to breed and be born in the abruptly arising clouds. Illowitz's voice rang out in the wind, like thunder carrying a rumbling vibration.

"Svetogor of Mount of Light!"

"Before you stands the son of Belgrade, Illowitz, the Pacifier of the Four Directions, the Empire's First Knight!"

"Kill me, and there will be no one to protect the Sun Emperor, the empire will fall apart, the nobles will question the authority of the empire, no longer obey the emperor's orders, and the Sun Emperor's actions will be greatly stalled because of this."

"Kill me, and the pillar of the Sun Emperor will collapse, and a pillar of the Imperial Will, my Soul-Burning Soul, will dissipate--He will get greater authority, get more power, and become the sole host of the Imperial Will, but precisely because of this, he will have a brief flaw, no longer be immortal, and can be killed!"

The knight held the long sword in front of him, his voice like a sigh, but louder than thunder. He didn't make any moves, but just with a move of his will, a bright and incomparable lightning bolt, enough to destroy a city, fell from the sky.

The galloping thunder was like an excuse, containing power that ordinary Calamity Realms would avoid. Wherever it passed, the atmosphere burned, and plasma fell like rain, turning into a downpour that could incinerate the entire mobile city.

The purpose of Illowitz's flight all the way here was finally revealed.

He came here to seek death, to redeem his mistakes, at the cost of his own life.

As one of the creators of the Imperial Will, another Soul-Burner in the trio, the existence of the knight himself represents a part of the 'Imperial Will's' cohesion--in order not to compete for the glory of Asmodeus XIII, he chose not to be an official, not to hold a military post, not to become a noble, and not to restrain any actions of the emperor.

This choice was proven to be wrong. A person will always slide into the abyss. At this time, a friend needs to reach out and pull him back, but the Sun Emperor obviously did not encounter any retention during the process of his fall.

His friends trusted him too much, so much so that he couldn't even realize that he was wrong.

But even so, Illowitz is still an important part of the Imperial Will, which is enough to show his importance.

How can one stop his former friend's crazy plan? If it is a head-on battle, Illowitz does not think that he can defeat the Sun Emperor, who is also a Soul-Burner and has higher authority over the Imperial Will. Moreover, if he is killed by the Sun Emperor, his authority will be plundered by the other party on the spot, and there will not be even a slight state of weakness.

He must tell the truth to another strong man who is unrelated to the Imperial Will, and kill himself with his hand.

Illowitz did think so, and he did so. He is attacking Su Zhou now, just to give the other party a reason to fight him.

Similarly, the battle is also a test to test whether the other party does have the power to defeat himself and defeat the Sun Emperor, who is stronger than himself--only those who fight him with all their strength and win can truly save this world and give the people of Aean a future.

"Too arrogant."

However, Illowitz made a mistake.

That is, he chose the wrong target when he said this.

At this moment, the knight, who had drawn out the sword of light in his hand, suddenly felt that he could not breathe.

It was not air. Soul-Burning experts no longer needed air. The feeling of suffocation came from source energy. The gray-haired knight suddenly realized in shock that within a range of five thousand kilometers centered on himself, or even a larger range, all the source energy began to surge and roar, and began to condense in one direction.

--Not in his direction.

"Too arrogant."

The lightning that fell from the sky suddenly dissipated into nothingness, as if it had never appeared.

A voice rang out in front of him. The surging source energy should have expelled all the air around it, turning the atmosphere into a vacuum, but this voice unreasonably directly crossed all media and forcibly slammed into Illowitz's mind with spiritual energy and soul as carriers: "How dare you say that?!"

The knight opened his eyes wide. He looked at the figure of the white-haired old man in front of him. There, a giant shield was condensing into shape, and the center of the shield surface, which was more dazzling than the sun, was condensing, and then, it just became bigger and bigger...

Until it was in front of his eyes!

Boom!!!!

The incomparably strong shield turned into an indestructible heavy hammer at this moment, and directly hit Illowitz's body.

"Are you even worthy of saying you want to die in front of me?!"

Su Zhou's expression was cold and terrifying at this moment, and scarlet light, more scarlet than blood, was burning in his red eyes: "Are you even worthy of escaping your responsibilities?!"

At this moment, above the sky, the clouds surged into a tide, and then turned into the appearance of dragons and snakes entangled together. The four-headed giant dragon condensed into a Godwood, and then turned into a Light-Heart Body like a giant hand propping up the sky, and just like that, it attached to the giant shield with incredible power and blasted towards the knight!

In an instant, the speed of the knight who was knocked away exceeded that of a meteor. A roaring human figure wanted to stop his retreat.

But even if he tried his best to prevent himself from flying out, he still turned into a starlight shining in the sky, at a speed of 170,000 meters per second.

"This is the responsibility I chose!"

But soon, the knight, who had turned into a star, returned at a speed faster than before he flew. He had turned into a flowing dark golden light, completely transformed into a spirit state, only the sword in his hand was clearly visible, like a physical entity: "Death is the only meaning I have left!"

But roaring was useless. Anger in the world of transcendent beings was useless, especially when the power that Illowitz was facing was so unreasonable.

Faced with his anger, Su Zhou responded with a barrage of bullets.

Lightning, light streams, electromagnetic cannons, and wind-condensed blades, all kinds of attacks instantly occupied the entire sky and filled the knight's vision.

On the way back, the light sword in Illowitz's hand flew around. The knight used his superb skills to cut open all the source energy condensation points. The speed of his sword was almost as fast as light. In one-thousandth of a second, he broke through all the attacks within 7,500 meters in front of him, blocked all the chasing storms and thunder, and the electromagnetic cannon torrents that were running through him.

At this speed, even the electromagnetic cannon shells that fired three thousand rounds per second, each traveling at two hundred thousand meters per second, six hundred times the speed of sound, were as weak as a child's slingshot.

The Empire's First Knight was indeed worthy of the name. The sword in his hand had simply reached the limit of skill. No matter how fierce the attack or how fast the shot, it would be blocked, or even countered by him. The high-frequency oscillating storm blade was disintegrated into a gentle breeze by him like unbuttoning a button, and the ultra-high-speed kinetic energy shells that surpassed the combined bombardment of the entire empire's fleet were directly knocked away, smashing into the surrounding earth, splashing countless magma, and breaking the rock layer like biscuits.

Even the light, the hot light beam light stream, was predicted by him and absorbed or knocked away with the sword of brilliance in his hand.

The extreme of skill.

But what he had to face was the source energy that had also reached its limit.

At this moment, Su Zhou was standing in mid-air. The mobile city under his feet had been directly pressed into the ground by the fluctuations overflowing from his body. The entire city, along with the surrounding earth and rock shell, was constantly collapsing and sinking, like a huge abyss. The cracks revealed the golden-red magma deep underground.

However, the brilliance around Su Zhou was even more dazzling--the materialized source energy even condensed into a viscous liquid, and finally condensed into crystals, which solidified into a giant crystal tree behind him.

In an ultra-high pressure environment, solids can flow like liquids, and invisible source energy can also condense into solids. 'Form' has lost its meaning, which is the truth defined by human beings using their subjective standards.

With the power of the Godwood, and the terrible source energy density of the world of Aean.

At this moment, Su Zhou surpassed the constraints of the Path of Sex with another body, crossed the boundaries of the Path of Spirit, and possessed hundreds or thousands of times more source energy reserves than a strong man of the same level, which only the Godwood clan could possibly have.

And, instantaneous output capability.

Raising his hand, he spoke.

"Who allowed you to die?"

"Are you even worthy of sacrifice?"

Then, Su Zhou swung the shield like a heavy hammer. He mercilessly hit the knight in front of him, who had finally overcome numerous obstacles and arrived in front of him, with one shield after another, knocking him into a trance, and then added a second shield smash!

Crack! In an instant, the entire mobile city that was sinking into the earth collapsed. The mobile city made of steel and solid rock was shattered into countless debris like being attacked by heaven and earth, and in this sky full of flying dust and rock rain, Illowitz, who had no time to launch an attack on Su Zhou, was just like that. He was pressed into the earth's crust by the great power from the sky.

He was like a nail, hammered into the earth's mantle with one shield, directly into the depths of the earth by 100,000 meters!

"What... what the hell?!"

The dark golden brilliance of the whole body was constantly vibrating. Although he was a little unconscious from the beating, or even a little confused, an absurd idea subconsciously emerged in Illowitz's mind.

"This Svetogor said that he wouldn't let me die..."

"But isn't he using enough strength to kill me now?!"

Not big enough ()

But this chapter happens to be 6666 words!