Chapter 673 Shining Upon the World (6700)

To onlookers unaware of the specifics, the Third Army Group had completely collapsed, even abandoning resistance.

Before his death, Aharonov had issued an order to 'surrender' to everyone, which brought a sigh of relief to many.

At least, they now had an excuse for their subsequent actions, and although some wanted to roar and shout 'For the glory of the Empire!' to resist, no one actually did so, because they were facing Su Zhou.

In the past, their shouts of fighting for the glory of the Empire would greatly boost morale, because even when facing any kind of enemy, they had a chance of victory.

If that was the case, then sacrifice was not unacceptable.

However, when faced with an enemy that could not be defeated no matter what, they were not foolish enough to commit suicide.

But even so, some soldiers of the Third Army Group still wanted to take advantage of the chaos to escape, piloting small land-roving boats away from the already chaotic battle formation.

Su Zhou could see everything, but he did not stop those who wanted to run.

"Let those who want to leave, leave."

Standing in front of Aharonov's corpse, Su Zhou glanced at O'Korelov, who was trying to piece together his father's head and body, and then stopped paying attention.

He turned to Dawn, the Holy Sun Pope, and the others who had rushed over from behind and said, "Everyone can leave. Give them all the land-roving boats. There's no point in keeping them, and they'll only take up our manpower."

"We only want those who want to stay, and those warships."

Su Zhou's instructions were naturally executed one hundred percent.

Although some soldiers of the Third Army Group initially couldn't believe that such good conditions were real, once a daring soldier piloted a land-roving boat away from the northwest wilderness, and the Dawn Society indeed did not pursue, more and more soldiers of the Third Army Group wanted to leave this place.

"This will only make them die faster, Svetly."

On the other side, the Leader of the Light Chasers walked to Su Zhou's side. He took out his eyeball and wiped it, then sighed, "The Empire will suspect that there are spies among these defeated people. Moreover, the main general is dead and the fleet is gone. These soldiers who fled instead of fighting to the death are already worthless."

"I can imagine their ending."

"I don't save everyone. Even God only saves those who save themselves. They don't want to stay because they believe that the Empire will still win. They still want to protect this decaying and huge organization, and they still want to stop the arrival of the new world."

Su Zhou watched the soldiers fleeing towards the horizon indifferently. He shook his head slightly, "What's more, those who don't even have the courage to stay and witness the future, who don't know how to adapt to the times, and only know how to escape… let them turn into dust under their Emperor's command."

"Of course, I also know that perhaps many people just want to go home… but on our side, there are also many people who are just trying to protect their homes."

Having said that, there was no need to say more. Su Zhou turned and left, "Innovation is not a dinner party. It is bound to shed blood. I can only guarantee that if there is a battle, then I will go first, I will bleed first, and I can't control what happens to others."

Ruthless words. But that was normal.

Hearing these words, the Holy Sun Pope and the Leader of the Light Chasers exchanged glances, and the two nodded slightly, as if they had reached a consensus.

——Professor Svetly actually has such awareness, intending to take the lead. In the Aeon World, this can already be considered a saint.

The Third Army Group of the Empire was completely defeated, General Aharonov was killed in battle, and Major General O'Korelov and the entire ship were completely captured. The most powerful fleet of the Empire was completely annihilated in this way, without even causing a ripple.

But in the entire Aeon World, this major event set off a tsunami of public opinion.

After confirming again and again that this was indeed true news, many forces and powerhouses couldn't help but reveal expressions of astonishment and disbelief.

Was the Third Army Group not strong?

No one could say that. Two Disaster Realm powerhouses, a heavily armored and heavily armed fleet group with firepower enough to destroy several mobile cities, plus a team leader from each battalion who was a Divine Will, such a legion could be said to be unmatched on the Aeon Continent. If the Coastal City was on land, it would be easily crushed by it.

This legion alone could make the Southern nobles unite and be on full alert. It could be completely described as invincible and unbeatable.

Therefore, this could only mean that Professor Svetly was even stronger.

So strong that he surpassed common sense.

Suppressing a legion and multiple Disaster Realms with one person's strength, this could almost be called the strongest in the world.

Therefore, in a matter of days, various messengers walked on the earth, and countless encrypted messages flew in the sky.

Many people who had been closing their eyes opened them, and the tightly closed city gates opened a crack, and someone peered out at the world.

The world began to become chaotic.

Because this incident almost indicated that the foundation of the Empire's rule over the world was being shaken.

And the Dawn Society also became famous because of this, and was completely known and familiar to everyone. After all, the Third Army Group, which served as a stepping stone, was too thick and tall, so that all the other forces except the Empire were suppressed.

Just a few days after Aharonov was defeated and committed suicide, a large number of previously anonymous enchanted powerhouses flocked from all over the world, intending to join the Dawn Society—they saw hope in the power of Professor Svetly, so they would rather carry this crippled body and pursue the light.

Although the Dawn Society did not accept everyone, it was undoubtedly true that a large number of powerhouses gathered in the Dawn Mountains, and the periphery of the Dawn Society, which had absorbed a large number of enchanted people, refugees, and even fleets, began to expand in the northeast of Aeon.

And the Holy Sun Church and the Light Chaser Order also launched a number of cooperations, and these three major societies and sects showed signs of alliance.

For a time, in just seven days, the world was in turmoil, and the Asmodeus Empire seemed to have signs of being terminated like the late Sol Empire in the past.

Just as Aharonov had said before, the world was beginning to shake.

But all this turmoil was jointly suppressed by the Dawn Society and the Empire.

The two sides acted almost simultaneously, and almost tacitly began to clean up the chaos around them. Those bandits who seemed to want to take advantage of the chaos to plunder, and the neutral cities that intended to stand on their own, were all directly suppressed by both sides.

The Empire's methods were a bit bloody, but the Dawn Society's side couldn't be called friendly either. They always bombarded a few bases first to test the parameters of the new artillery, and then directly dispatched elite squads to behead the leaders. Any city lords or nobles with a slightly bad reputation were all physically eliminated on the spot, and then they took over the rule.

In this series of actions, the first batch of Dawn Society members taught by Su Zhou were the backbone. Loya did not go to the front line, but Gasha showed extremely strong combat capabilities in this series of assault battles, which made the leaders of other major forces show admiration and even couldn't help but want to poach him.

After all, he was a Demon King seed. Su Zhou was not surprised by this.

Taking over after destroying the family, such behavior, if it had been in the past, even the Empire would have been condemned and resisted by the nobles of the country and the major forces of the world, but in this turbulent eve of the finale, no one cared about the rules.

Even forces such as the Celestial Dragon nobles and the Holy Sun Church began to take over and merge the neutral city-states that were previously located in the buffer zone between the various forces. This set off a bloody storm, but it was much better than a chaotic war.

The momentum and chaos caused by the Dawn Society's victory over the Third Army Group, on the contrary, promoted the overall situation in which the major forces in the world consolidated their existing domain interests and quickly merged small forces to seek survival.

This was not surprising.

Because small forces may feel that the Empire has lost a pillar of support and will naturally collapse. In the chaotic world, they must make preparations early to deal with the great era.

But the real major forces, who had experienced Asmodeus XIII sweeping the world and revitalizing the Empire decades ago, all knew that the foundation of the Empire lay in the 'Sun Emperor' alone, and the Empire's First Knight.

The former and Aharonov commanded the army to be invincible and conquer everything, while the latter blocked countless beheadings and assassinations for the former two, and blocked the attacks of all the forces in the entire Aeon world with one person's strength, forcibly stabilizing the Empire.

If Aharonov was an arm of Asmodeus XIII, cutting it off would certainly be painful, but it was not a matter of life and death, then the First Knight Irovitz was the sea-stabilizing needle of the entire Empire.

He was the one whom everyone in the Aeon world recognized as the 'strongest'.

If Irovitz did not die, the Empire could not disintegrate and there would still be at least some order.

Anyone who wanted to jump out at this time would be regarded as a chicken to be killed to warn the monkeys, and would be eliminated by the most cruel means.

Compared to these small fish and shrimps that emerged from the sea when they saw a little turbulence, the major forces wanted to see the reactions of Irovitz and Asmodeus XIII even more.

But in fact, Irovitz had no reaction at all.

He was just sitting in his good friend's empty house, staring blankly in the darkness at the chair where Aharonov often sat to read the newspaper and drink coffee.

The gray-haired, golden-eyed knight's expression was as blank as a child's, looking sad as if he didn't know anything about it and didn't understand why it was happening.

He was not a noble, nor did he have a military rank. The Empire's First Knight was just a nominal title. In essence, he was just a friend of the Emperor and the Great General, a 'commoner' living in the Imperial Capital.

The Third Army Group originally had tasks every month. When Irovitz said goodbye to his old friend this time, he was still thinking that he would ask Aharonov to retire early to accompany him to fish next time. The Empire did not need them to be stable, and the Sun Emperor's power was enough. The Empire no longer needed the old generals to continue to pay.

"Why did you hide it from me and go to fight?"

He murmured to himself, "We haven't always gone to the battlefield together for eighty-three years? Why did you set off alone this time when facing such a powerful enemy?"

Silence.

Because the person who would answer was no longer there.

And in this dark house, a light suddenly lit up.

[Because Aharonov didn't want you to engage in an unjust war.]

A swaying golden flame lit up out of thin air beside Irovitz, and then turned into a hazy human-shaped phantom.

The phantom's tone also carried sadness, but it also had sharp accusations: [To put it bluntly, it's that he doesn't trust you anymore. After all, Irovitz, you also know that you believe that the Dawn Society is the right thing to do.]

But soon, the phantom's tone softened: [But we all know that the answer cannot be the latter.]

"Your Majesty…"

Having long noticed the source energy fluctuations beside him, Irovitz naturally felt the appearance of the other party in his heart even without looking at it. But at this moment, he had no intention of saying anything more, just raised his head and said in confusion: "Why is this? Why did Aharonov commit suicide? The Dawn Society said that it was because he knew the truth and felt ashamed, so he committed suicide."

"But I have said the same thing many times. Our actions are unjust. Why didn't he listen to what I said? Why did it have to be at this time, at this time…"

He was a little lost, and the silver-haired knight hugged his head, suppressing the pain in his heart, not at all like a powerhouse comparable to a god.

However, the flame-shaped figure beside him knew that such a sincere heart was the reason why Irovitz could compare to a god with a mortal body.

[Because of escape.]

Therefore, the Sun Emperor said calmly: [You are his friend. You can pretend not to hear what you say. When you communicate, you will leave room for maneuver and will not force your friend to a dead end.]

[The Dawn's Svetly is different. He is powerful, an enemy, and hates injustice. Naturally, he will break Aharonov's psychological defense without hesitation. Being able to make a villain commit suicide is even his mercy. I want to thank him for leaving Aharonov with a complete body.]

The knight was silent, and the Sun Emperor shook his head slightly when he saw this scene.

[Why are you silent, Irovitz? He is a general, and it is his duty to die on the battlefield, just like me. If the Empire collapses, I will also collapse.]

[I told you back then that if you want to become a hero and change the world, you must use the power in your hands; if you want to change the Empire, you must become a noble and a general; if you want to be a reclusive sage, then don't appear in the Empire and cut off relations with us evil people. You insist on doing everything, but you don't want anything, and this will not end well.]

[Just like now, what is the use of your sadness? Even if Aharonov committed suicide, he can be considered to have died at the hands of the Dawn's Svetly. You insist on your own morality, and friendship will erode your heart. If you take revenge for friendship, where is the morality that supports you to become stronger?]

The Sun Emperor's words were powerful, and every sentence hit Irovitz's heart.

And strangely, he didn't even deny Irovitz's morality, and didn't even refute that he belonged to the evil side.

Every word and deed of his was expounding the facts, which was why the First Knight felt so painful and couldn't remain silent.

"What should I do… to not be wrong?"

With his hands pressed on his head, a voice came from between his fingers, Irovitz's tone carrying great confusion: "You have made mistakes. I shouldn't help you oppress the common people… but I'm not smart, and I can't think of a better way to maintain order. Oppression is always better than a chaotic world, so I don't do anything."

"But Aharonov is still dead… In this world, what is right?"

[Live on, remember Aharonov's death, and that won't be wrong.]

The flame-shaped figure also raised his head and looked at the small table where someone often put coffee and newspapers. He said lightly: [And in this world, there is no such thing as right. It's better to take action than to think about such meaningless things.]

And after saying this, the Sun Emperor turned his head and looked at the knight with a blank expression: [My friend… you have always been silent, silent to this world.]

[You clearly have the power to change the world, but you have not taken responsibility.]

"I have taken responsibility… I have saved many people, I have participated in the war to pacify the world…" The knight lowered his head and murmured, he put down his hand and looked at the palm lines on his palm.

[No, that's not enough. You are the strongest in the world, but you are willing to be unknown… This is wrong. If you have power, you should have authority. Just like this time, if you are willing, you will be the Marshal of the Empire. Aharonov's actions cannot be hidden from you, and he will not die. You can also implement the benevolent policies you want.]

The Sun Emperor's voice was always very calm and thin, with a hoarse taste: [Of course, I may not agree, but I will also compromise, because you are the Grand Marshal of the Empire, and not just my friend.]

People may not listen to what friends say, but they will pay attention to what people whose positions are closely related to them say.

Irovitz clenched his fists.

He had said such things to Aharonov and Mihail countless times in the past.

They said that he was very powerful, and as long as he was willing, he could hold unparalleled power in this Empire. If he could use it well, perhaps a better world could really come, at least it could reduce the suffering by a fraction.

But he felt that he had done everything he could do. In the final analysis, he was just a knight who was obsessed with skills and loyal to rules. He would not govern the country, nor would he lead an army. All he could rely on was the long sword in his hand.

Yes, he had once killed two Northern barbarian chiefs with one person's strength, and suppressed the Yan Frost Army Formation with one person's strength, doing things comparable to what the Dawn's Svetly was doing now. He forced back the Southern nobles' 'Royalist' Allied Forces, forced them back to the Kadiul Gorge, and then turned to the center to block the army of another prince for Asmodeus XIII.

In that chaotic world in the past, he had once united the scattered Empire. The three of them joined forces to end that era when civilization was almost disintegrating.

And after everything, Mihail invited him to become a Marshal, and Aharonov thought that he could be his staff officer, and he would become the newest and most powerful Duke of the Empire, an authoritative figure second only to one person.

But Irovitz was unwilling.

In the final analysis, he was just a knight, and that was all.

He had tentatively governed a small city, and the result was disastrous. He was first dizzy with the complexity of the decrees, and then the city's finances collapsed because he didn't know how to operate it. In addition, he really didn't understand interpersonal relationships, so communicating with his subordinates seemed very stiff and difficult.

Let him govern the country?

Irovitz believed that he would only do bad things with good intentions and mess things up. It would be better to let Mihail and Aharonov do it.

[You should do something.]

And at this moment, the Sun Emperor's voice sounded: [Or rather, you want to do nothing, just wait, wait for the right thing to come?]

[That's not a bad choice either.]

And after being silent for a while, Irovitz finally stood up.

He finally understood.

In this world, many times, you can't use right or wrong, correct or incorrect to divide things.

Sometimes, it is just because of existence that they must fight each other.

All of this cannot be avoided. Aharonov is already dead. Whether he is an imperial citizen or a friend of the other party, he must do something, he must do it.

Yes, Aharonov didn't want him to participate in this unjust war, so he fought a war that he didn't want to fight.

So he died, died for the world he wanted in his heart.

Irovitz knew that even if that world was not perfect, even full of sin and mistakes, at least Aharonov had taken action and was responsible for his actions.

This was ten thousand times better than him.

"My friend, this meaningless war… I will finish it."

Whispering in a deep voice, Irovitz raised his head and looked at the flame-shaped figure beside him, his eyes extremely complicated.

"Mihail…" he said softly, "We made you the Sun Emperor, hoping that you could become the sun and illuminate the dark era after the Holy Sun is extinguished."

"The sun shouldn't have another sun competing for glory, so I hide my light, wanting to become the road under your feet. This is already a perfect ending for me."

"I understand everything, Mihail, I'm not stupid, I just don't want to think like that… But it is indeed my fault, my ideas led to the current situation."

"So I will do something, which is good and bad for you, but you must have known it long ago since you are so smart… You, you must have a plan, right?"

He turned around, opened the door of Aharonov's mansion, and strode out.

The knight's last sigh was still echoing in the room: "Mihail, my friend, my Emperor."

"Why… are you unwilling to shine upon the world?"

The flame-shaped figure stayed in the room, he did not follow him away.

After that, the Sun Emperor heard a roar, this roar shook the sky, as if to vent all the sadness, anger, hatred for himself, and helplessness in his heart.

With the Imperial Capital as the center, the clouds in the entire sky retreated in all directions like a tide, retreating to the distant end of the field of vision. The layers of clouds piled up into mountains, but they still seemed to be smoothed away by a giant's hand, dissipating in the rapid gale.

Then there was a burst of light, and a storm, and the incredible source energy oscillated the atmosphere. All the dust in the entire city and the surrounding land was suspended, as if attracted by a magnet.

All the residents located around the Imperial Capital subconsciously raised their heads. They raised their heads and looked at the sky, but saw a hazy dark golden source energy creating a huge and complex rune array in the sky. From a distance, it looked like a perfect cross star.

They were a little surprised and frightened by this, but they calmed down under the comfort of some older residents. They knew that this was the mark of the Empire's First Knight, the 'Star of Pacifying All Directions'.

The rune array was just a remnant image. At the moment of its appearance, the dark golden streamer had already entered the top of the sky that ordinary people could not even see, and then sped towards the northeast. The Disaster Realm powerhouse guarding the Imperial Capital swallowed a mouthful of saliva. At this moment, only he could see that at the top of the Aeon world's sky, there was lightning accompanied by raging winds, and a terrifying and sharp aura that seemed to be able to tear everything apart.

If all these anomalies happened on the earth, it would not be as simple as a natural disaster.

But the Sun Emperor turned a blind eye and deaf ear to this.

He just came to Aharonov's favorite table and chair, sat on the chair that Irovitz had sat on before, and stared at the scene in front of him in almost the same posture as the knight before.

His eyes were deep, and he couldn't see any emotional fluctuations.

[Am I that bad? Letting my friend go to his death?]

He murmured to himself, then shook his head freely: [I just want to live, so what's good or bad.]

He stood up, the body made of flames dissipated, and a spiritual light returned to the Tower of Babel, on the Burning Spirit Torch.

The Sun Emperor's body opened his eyes, he looked down at the enchanted people who were constantly being captured by the Imperial army and filled into the Burning Spirit Torch under the Tower of Babel, and even ordinary Soul Condensers who may have committed crimes. There was only indifference in his golden pupils.

He could hear wailing, painful hissing, and desperate curses.

But all of this could not cause the slightest ripple.

The Sun Emperor raised his head and looked at the sky.

There, the Holy Sun was gradually dimming.

There, above the sky, was the barrier of the world.

There, outside the void, was the location of other worlds.

The turbulent and turbulent space-time turbulence was so noisy and noisy, and worlds that didn't know whether they could breed life were floating in it, which made the Emperor who could see it sigh.

Therefore, this Emperor shook his head and said to himself: [Irovitz, you don't understand at all.]

[After all, the sun will be extinguished, who would be willing to be the sun all the time?]

[The Divine Tree must be the same.]

And on the other side of the world.

The light of the Candle Sun is shining in all directions.

(Note: This section contains an author's note about monthly voting rewards. These are omitted in the translation, as they are not part of the story.)