The Creators: From Night City

Page 544

"Go here"—at a constantly changing network node, the emperor raises a torch to illuminate the path ahead.

The Emperor was quite familiar with the broken network system that had trapped him for millennia.

"Your words are still so sharp and naive. Compared to the essence of your existence, that is what is more worthy of discussion."

"What do I have to discuss?" Jiang Bing replied irritably.

“Explore your life memes, explore your unimaginable form of existence.” The Emperor turned back, his eyes gleaming with wisdom.

Jiang Bing, a 'god' with such a highly self-centered will, is a possibility of life that the Emperor never imagined. It is probably far beyond the reach of the Ancient Saints and the Protoss in terms of self-awareness, after all, the power of Warhammer, this cesspool, is tainted with some poison.

Everything that comes from the Warhammer universe is somewhat extreme.

This is why the West Coast can't produce good black people; the free country has never been truly free. What kind of soil produces what kind of sprouts; even if it emerges from the mud unsullied, it may still be a poppy.

"What's wrong with me? Compared to you bunch of troublemaking gods and those artificial benevolent gods of the Spirit Race, I'm perfectly normal, okay?" Jiang Bing retorted habitually in the face of the Emperor's probing expression.

"But speaking of the spirit race gods, how much do you know about the Laughing God we're going to meet later?" Jiang Bing steered the conversation to the main topic.

A vortex of subspace energy gathered at a damaged point in their path, giving rise to a group of vicious subspace entities that lurked there. As Jiang Bing and the Emperor passed by, they eagerly jumped out, ready to ambush them.

However, these demonic entities, capable of destroying and corroding an Imperial strike cruiser, didn't even have time to utter their robbery salutations before they were instantly evaporated by the purely destructive psionic energy field emanating from the Emperor's consciousness projection.

It's no exaggeration to say that the existence of the Emperor made the 'biological intelligence' of the Net Path itself recognize the presence of powerful "foreign objects" within its body, and it tried to tremble and expel them from the body.

The passageway attempted to close like a wall, while the illusionary maze defense mechanism inherent in the network channel was activated simultaneously, trying to guide them out of the network channel.

However, the Emperor directly and forcefully "denied" these already disintegrated defense systems with absolute power and will. The 'torch' he held high forcibly distorted the local rules of the network path, allowing the two to pass through unimpeded.

"Not many, after all, most of the Eldar's pantheon was devoured with the birth of Slaanesh, and the Eldar themselves have lost many records of the pantheon and the pantheon. The records known to humans are mostly obtained from these Eldar remnants."

The emperor continued walking at a leisurely pace, as if he already knew the location of his destination.

"In Eldar legends, He is the god of drama, satire, art, riddles, and the unpredictable. When Slaanesh was born and all the gods in the Eldar pantheon were drawn to and devoured by his innate hunger, only Sirloko chose to laugh out loud and mock this ultimate absurdity of the universe. It was this nature, which was contrary to Slaanesh's essence, that made him one of the few surviving gods among the Eldar pantheon."

"What other gods of the Spirit Race do you know that haven't fallen yet?" Jiang Bing casually asked, inquiring about the top secrets of this universe.

"The Phoenix King Asuyan, the God of War Kane, the Goddess of Dreams and Secrets Lilith, the Goddess of Misfortune Erinys, the God of Unborn." "However, compared to the God of Laughter, they are either asleep, or have fallen apart, leaving only remnants of their souls, or are hidden in power, all of them incomplete."

"Of course, there's also Isa, the goddess of life, but she's most likely imprisoned in the Nurgle realm."

The emperor revealed these top-level racial secrets without reservation, and also shared his own speculations.

"Hmm, it seems that West Lego is a rare free god. Are you so sure that you can persuade Him to cooperate with us?"

The emperor raised his torch, and surging spiritual energy rippled forward, illuminating his calm, expressionless face.

Emperors were highly experienced in negotiating with the gods.

“I will give Him a solution that He cannot refuse,” the Emperor said.

The torches burst forth with towering flames, like red-hot iron rods, directly "burning" a temporary, stable passage through the overgrown netting.

Chapter 1104 'Imperial' Diplomacy

Under the Emperor's guidance, the duo eventually ventured into the depths of the online world.

The concept of an entrance has disappeared, space has become infinitely folded and stretched, and the flow of time has become chaotic.

Fortunately, even disregarding the two individuals' status, Jiang Bing's mere existence is enough to redefine local physical and dimensional constants.

The two finally encountered the guardian of the Dark Library in this chaos.

The Clown Troupe, where the God of Laughter exercises his authority, is the tentacles of his will in the material world.

Without any actual contact, a grand drama of fate quietly unfolds.

The vivid fantasy is like a grand stage play, showcasing the various failures of the human empire, the betrayal of the Primarchs, and the tragic flaws of the Emperor's Plan, aiming to shake the will of the Firebringers on a psychological and philosophical level.

Unfortunately, Old Man Huang was more stinky and hard than a rock in a latrine, and this deceptively realistic fantasy couldn't affect him in the slightest.

The actors, dressed in colorful costumes made of diamond-shaped fabric, spirit bones, and energy fragments, continued their performance. Wearing their signature "smiling" or "crying" masks, their exaggerated and flamboyant expressions made them clowns who abandoned their personal identities. They became fixed "characters" in the Laughing God West LEGO drama, appearing and disappearing around the two of them.

They held the deadly cannon-energy staff and the shameful sword in their hands, yet none dared to offer them up, nor did any of them dare to meet the Emperor's gaze.

This is normal, after all, there are very few in the galaxy who dare to face the two of them directly.

The clown troupe didn't actually intend to overreach themselves and eliminate their opponents; they were simply stalling for time to allow the God of Laughter to write a new stage play about destiny.

It was Jiang Bing who said, "Found it."

Under the astonished gaze of the group of clowns, he suddenly extended his finger, as if unzipping a zipper, and opened a void rift in front of him.

Beyond the gap lay a mysterious space.

At that moment, the clown troupe felt their blood run cold.

However, Jiang Bing and the Emperor unusually did not choose to enter, but instead used it as a bargaining chip to begin negotiations.

“Silego, I know you’re watching, and I believe you should understand what the wisest course of action is.”

"Come, let's talk."

A laugh echoed from the void, and the clown troupe began to dance again, swirling and leaping around the two, playing the role of dedicated stagehands. A clown wearing a mask that was half-smiling and half-crying, with constantly shifting expressions, twisted his body in bizarre and illogical postures and stopped before the emperor.

All the individual members of the troupe performed a grand collective dance around him, bursting forth with a powerful spiritual resonance to present the "descent" of their Lord.

"A strange spectator has entered the stage of destiny, disrupting the script. The ambitions of the human emperor and the four gods are now clear. Why are you wasting your time here?" he, or rather, west Lego, said.

The emperor's language was "Wangdao" and very straightforward.

"Give me knowledge related to the internet."

The usually polite Laughing God was almost choked to death by the Emperor's direct attack.

"This drama should not be staged on the stage of fate."

"If you refuse, we'll have to take it ourselves. You only have one, while we have two."

"The curtain suddenly descended, obscuring the next scene from the audience's view. The Lord of Humanity and the future of the galaxy were hidden behind the curtain. And what kind of play do you, the Emperor of Humanity and the new audience, intend to put on?"

"No comment," the emperor said succinctly.

Jiang Bing nearly choked to death. He had considered that the other party would be eloquent and persuasive, that the other party would appeal to his emotions and reason, and that the emperor would explain the advantages and disadvantages, denounce the chaos, and try to form alliances. But he never expected that the emperor would turn into a beggar and directly demand it.

They even made it clear that if they couldn't get it, they were prepared to forcibly take it.

Jiang Bing could only say that it fit the character's persona and was perfectly acceptable.

But this seemingly unscrupulous approach is actually the wisest and most efficient choice at present.

The Emperor, who had ignited himself and wagered the entire human race at the card table for 13 years, was seen by all those with a modicum of 'vision' in this world as nothing more than a madman carrying a nuclear bomb.

He doesn't even need to threaten anyone; his words are enough to make listeners obediently take them to heart.

Even the God of Laughter doesn't need to use His abilities to foresee the future. With His wisdom alone, He knows that the Emperor will definitely keep His word. If He dares to utter a single word of dissent, the other party will dare to destroy His Dark Library, or even blow up the entire Internet Channel to drag out the Dark Library hidden within.

To take it to an extreme, he once suspected that the Emperor was planning to drag all life in the entire galaxy down with him, but he couldn't figure out what methods the other side would use.

Not only He couldn't understand it, but the remaining great prophets of the Eldar, the great astrologers of the Necromancers, and even the four Chaos Gods—all the important figures who knew about the Emperor's recent actions were terrified.

They really thought the warp would suddenly become quiet, the four gods would suddenly become obedient and quiet, and the entire warp would become as calm as a still well.

This is all because all the influential and well-informed "big shots" have fled far away to avoid trouble.

Apart from the unfortunate Nurgle, the other three gods dared not make any rash moves and waited for the Emperor to make his move.

However, the Emperor's visit and demands today allowed West Lego to glimpse the cursed man's plans for the future.

It was this glimmer of hope that made Him tremble.

"Should we give it to them or not?"

The emperor turned the tables and issued an ultimatum.

The clown troupe stood frozen in place like puppets on strings, as if the puppeteers behind them were deep in thought.

A longsword burning with pale white spiritual energy was drawn from the void by the Emperor. Although the massive and magnificent True One Armor had long been melted and dismantled, it was now being reforged and rebuilt by the Emperor.

The Fire Bearer's seemingly emaciated body swelled up amidst the raging flames, resembling a supernova about to explode, completely disregarding the life and death of those around it.

Meanwhile, another longsword engraved with countless runes was also drawn from nothingness by 'Om Messiah'. The tip of the sword lightly touched the spiritual bones on the ground of the net path, and it burst forth with the power to dissolve everything.

The rampant self-awareness of the internet began to tremble involuntarily.

These two don't look like they're here to 'take a loan' at all; they clearly want to rob the 'bank' as well.

"You two have opened the curtain, and I agree to perform on the stage of destiny." As expected, the God of Laughter backed down, after all, if He didn't agree, these two really intended to fight.

Having achieved his goal, the Emperor's surge of spiritual energy and power vanished in an instant, transforming him back into the slender, white-robed Firebearer—a change of expression as swift as Trump's after a successful election.

This sudden change was so unexpected that Jiang Bing, who was shameless for the first time, was a beat slow to put his tools away.

The temple of knowledge quietly opened, and an endless stream of information surged and churned behind the doors, flowing through the dark library, sometimes visible and sometimes hidden.

An infinite torrent of information, enough to instantly shatter the sanity of mortals, contradictory cosmic truths, complex psionic knowledge, the legacy of ancient sages, and the signature technologies of countless alien races flow within it.

"Fate is always fluctuating, like a curtain being drawn back, with rises and falls. If you give it, you must take it." At the last moment, the God of Laughter offered His price, wanting to make a deal with the Emperor.

"What do you want?" The emperor was not surprised at all.

"The Eldar must also join the grand stage play you have composed."

"You dare to bet?" The Emperor's question made Jiang Bing feel as if he had anticipated the God of Laughter's plan.

"The curtain call is approaching." West Lego said nothing, yet it seemed to have said everything.

Thus, this straightforward deal was successfully completed.

Chapter 1105 Standoff Between Titans

Billions of ether formed the foundation, hammered by the craftsman's hand, forging a creation that transcends dimensions.

The human network is gradually taking shape under the hard work of Jiang Bing, the 'builder'.

The sound of forging hammers striking fate echoed throughout the subspace, resounding across the universe.

The four Chaos Gods, unusually, reached a consensus on a certain matter.

If a 'net' unique to humankind were to be built, it would be tantamount to locking them in an iron cage and starving them.

As a result, the subspace construction site where Jiang Bing was located was subjected to endless demonic attacks.

At the edge of the dark forest, the Emperor, unusually fully armed, stood atop the highest point of the position, holding a golden psionic longsword, like a banner inspiring all the Imperial soldiers fighting at that moment.

Endless demonic entities emerged from the edge of the forest, attacking the human empire's defenses.

Just like the Cyber ​​War of ten thousand years ago, all the soldiers involved did not back down and bravely faced the challenge head-on.

As the 'Network Way' gradually takes shape, the chaotic offensive in both the real world and the spiritual realm becomes increasingly intense.

In the realm of the mind, the Emperor fought to the point of madness, leading his troops in a frenzied dance on the human front; in the real world, the planet Cardia was engulfed in towering waves, with hundreds of millions of troops converging there, awaiting the arrival of an earth-shattering collision.

Led by the Blood Angels, Dark Angels, and Imperial Fists, the main Space Marine fleet, along with a large number of Imperial Guards and Titan Legion reinforcements, finally arrived at the outer perimeter of the battlefield. Under the leadership and mediation of Regent Robert Guilliman, they launched a simultaneous all-out attack on the Chaos Fleet's defenses. They advanced with unstoppable momentum, directly piercing through Abaddon's carefully constructed defenses and approaching the skies above the planet Cardia, preparing for a decisive orbital battle with the Chaos Fleet stationed there.

Abaddon had anticipated the Imperial reinforcements' counterattack. He left part of his fleet to hold off the defenders, while his main fleet abandoned the encirclement and turned around, engaging the Imperial reinforcements in planetary orbit. Using the firepower and size of Blackrock Fortress as cover, he attempted to drag the war into a brutal war of attrition.

Meanwhile, this Chaos Warmaster deployed all the Chaos Knight families and demonic Titans, along with all his elite troops, in an attempt to completely capture Blackrock Fortress before Imperial reinforcements breached his defenses, thereby gaining complete control of the Blackrock Obelisk array in the area.

All the war machines, including the Titan Legion and the Knight Families carried by the original garrison of Cadia and the Imperial reinforcements, were also deployed to the battlefield near the "Black Rock" fortress, preparing for an apocalyptic showdown between "god machines" and Chaos.

Black Rock Fortress, located in the southern hemisphere of Cardia, 1200 kilometers south of the equator.

The setting sun was like blood, and due to the continuous bombardment and energy release, the entire sky was a dark red, a color of eternal night.

Blackrock Fortress resembles a giant fortress carved directly from a black basalt mountain, with a Void Shield control crystal array with a diameter of 5 kilometers standing on top, which is the most solid shield in the entire Cardia.

Before this impregnable city, in the areas not covered by the Void Shield, the ground was riddled with craters created by orbital bombardment. Each depression had been melted into a glassy state and solidified into murky amber.

The orbital bombardment, which had lasted for several days, suddenly subsided, leaving the world shrouded in a gray haze of high-concentration heavy metal dust, radioactive fallout, and residual subspace energy.

Beneath the calm surface, however, lurks endless killing intent.

At the main gate of Blackrock Fortress, Marcus Hell, the "Iron Lord" appointed by Creed as the commander-in-chief of this battle, contrary to his usual anxious demeanor, closed his eyes and bowed his head to begin praying to the Emperor.

In fact, it wasn't just this commander; all the Astral Army, Astartes, Battle Sisters, Mechanicus, aircraft, tanks, knight mechs, and Titans on this front were engaged in pre-battle prayers.

Everyone understood that this brutal battle of attack and defense would be decided today, in a few hours.

Above the sky, countless ships were engaged in a fierce battle. The Chaos Fleet and the reinforcements commanded by Guilliman clashed with each other with an unwavering resolve. Light spears, macro cannons, laser arrays, vacuum torpedoes, and the firelight from explosions illuminated most of the sky above Cardia.

Countless lives were lost, countless brave warriors perished, countless divine creations were destroyed, and countless meticulously crafted warships were reduced to ruins.

Things once cherished have now become cold bargaining chips, ruthlessly cast into the noose of destruction, all for the sake of a few glimmers of victory.