Control of the Soul Barrier
On the main planet of the Arcane Civilization, the council hall was filled with Arcane Mages in robes adorned with dark gold patterns.
At this moment, everyone stared solemnly at the constantly flashing holographic star maps in the council hall.
This includes the number of stars within the star map of the Star River Galaxy, changes in the energy state of the Merrick Star Region, and the casualties of their own reinforcement fleet.
Especially when they saw that their own fleet had lost more than 25% of its strength, the hundreds of elite arcane mages of the Arcane Civilization were so quiet that you could hear a pin drop in the entire council hall.
"Major General York, should we... send more reinforcements?"
At the very front of the conference hall, Kali Carrie cautiously inquired of Major General York.
The Arcane Civilization has a total of six archmages, four of whom have already joined the reinforcements to support the Merrick Civilization's plan to overthrow it.
Of the two who remained, one dominated parliamentary politics, and the other led the Civilization Army.
Logically, given York and Merrick's relationship, he should have been one of the generals sent to reinforce them.
Unfortunately, York is now really old, and his strength is beginning to decline.
That's why Nielsen and Major General Morse participated in this so-called secret battle as representatives of the Arcane Civilization Army.
In fact, just as the Witchcraft Civilization and the Beta Civilization were experiencing a violent energy explosion.
The kind of violent explosion that can be detected by the naked eye and senses from a great distance.
York only then truly understood what this so-called subversive plan was.
He had never imagined, no matter how hard he tried, that Lister was planning to overthrow the entire Galactic Federation.
The Arcane Civilization, which is deeply intertwined with the Merrick Civilization, could no longer possibly leave this "pirate ship" even if it wanted to.
We can only go down this path to the bitter end, hoping for a miracle.
"Have the remaining Civilization Army prepare."
"If the losses increase by another 10%, I will lead a team to provide reinforcements."
Major General York remained relatively calm and chose to observe the situation for a while longer.
In reality, they were equally hesitant and even panicked.
After all, a battle of this magnitude, once it ends, signifies the future of the Arcane Civilization.
If we lose, there will be no need for support, and our civilization will surely be annihilated.
Just as he was pondering these things, the Merrick star map in the council chamber suddenly flickered violently.
Several streams of immeasurably high energy fluctuated continuously until a final result was obtained several minutes later.
Not long after, a special notice began to be sent out.
When Lister's voice came through the remaining communication network, the entire circular hall fell into a deathly silence.
The next moment, a deafening cheer erupted.
"We won! We really won!?"
"Both the Witchcraft Civilization and the Beta Civilization have perished!?"
"Is this for real!?"
"If Lord Lister wins, then our Arcane Civilization...!!"
A mix of anticipation and excitement erupted throughout the conference hall.
The chief archmage, Federal House of Representatives Luolin, suddenly stood up.
With his eyes fixed on the announcement coming from the council, he slammed the scepter, inlaid with a star core, heavily onto the ground. The next instant, Lister's announcement rang out again.
Immediately, memories of that secret meeting more than three hundred years ago flooded back.
Back when Major General York defied public opinion to invest in Lister and offer them a newly completed large warship, he was still quite hesitant.
Some were reluctant to give away such a valuable warship, which had cost so much money, so easily.
He eventually agreed, but he never imagined that the young man from the edge of the galaxy would actually become the Hegemon.
Even now, it has even overturned two major galactic giants.
The ancient star tracker on the dome of the hall suddenly disintegrated automatically, and countless gears pieced together the emblem of the Merrick Civilization in the air.
This is the dominant power of the Galactic Federation Senate, which can add or delete information about the dome civilizations of various civilizations.
It was clear that power had fallen entirely into the hands of the Lister Hegemon, and the Witchcraft Civilization and the Beta Civilization were swept into the dustbin of history at this moment.
"Quick, look at the energy readings!"
One of the arcane mages suddenly pointed to the inconspicuous monitoring screen on the far right.
The star system energy pipelines, which were originally monopolized by the Witchcraft Civilization, are now tilting towards the Arcane Civilization at an alarming rate.
For the first time, those dark matter collection stations, which had been suppressed for tens of thousands of years, emitted blue light at full power.
Countless points of light suddenly lit up on the surface of the ruling planet.
Needless to say, this is the reward for victory!
"Reply to the Merrick Civilization."
Archmage Roland's excited voice echoed in the hall.
"Congratulations on the success of the Merrick Civilization Project. Inquire about the next steps of our Arcane Civilization."
The victory in this great battle had a completely different meaning.
The civilizational landscape of the Galactic Federation is undergoing a major transformation, and their Arcane Civilization is about to usher in a new era.
A time even more powerful than the era in which the previous Quasi-Hegemon existed.
At the same time, the Glimmer Civilization, the Yalan Civilization, and other Merrick subordinate civilizations all entered into a frenzy.
Witnessing this new era in the Milky Way Galaxy is incredibly exciting.
The people guarding the Leviathan Civilization were equally excited.
The dawn of a new era, an opportunity for the Leviathan Civilization to truly reshape the Galactic Federation.
It's fair to say that everything it represents is something to look forward to.
Of course, the truly excited ones were the Merrick Civilization itself.
Countless factions within the civilization began to revel in the festivities.
The first feeling everyone had was one of relief and survival.
Indeed, from the very beginning of the battle, when everyone learned that their opponents were the Witchcraft and Beta Civilizations, they all thought that the Merrick Civilization was overestimating itself.
In particular, Lister dared to challenge these two established civilizations after only three hundred years of being Hegemon.
But when the reality of victory was finally presented, an even more exhilarating frenzy ensued.
But all of this was something Lister couldn't worry about for the time being.
He still has a lot of work to do.
Search for the location of the Soul-Devouring Spider Mother in the Beta Civilization Domain.
Did this nourishment, which allowed him to reach the Overlord Tier, die in the explosion this time, and did his death bring him any new surprises?
He personally led Boren, Kavin, Hoffman, Wang Yue, and others to the destination.
The Lord of Qingteng has already led his troops back.
The enormous body of the Soul-Devouring Spider floated silently in the desolate starfield of the Beta Civilization after the explosion.
The entire body was torn apart, and the originally grayish-white mycelial nest was ripped into fluff by the shock wave of the explosion.
Ster's boot crushed a crystallized spiderweb fragment, Killing Intent Wave swept across the mother's chest cavity—the core area where the Soul Crystal should have condensed, but now only a charred empty cavity remained.
"It was blown to pieces?"
Hoffman's secret threads were drawn out of the mother's eye socket, bringing with them several strands of blue-green nerve bundles.
Kavin suddenly pressed down on the human-face relief on the mother's abdomen, and a pale gold mechanical force spread along the lines.
"Wrong!"
"It's because after becoming an evolutionary Hegemon, its organs were transferred."
Mechanical forces outlined a complex energy spectrum within the mother's abdominal cavity, and the organ structures Twist by the explosion's shockwave were reorganized in the data stream.
Suddenly, his fingertip paused at a certain indentation—where a faint spiritual fluctuation could be felt.
"Found it."
The arm precisely sliced through the hardened keratin layer, revealing a semi-melted blue-purple crystal core. The surface of the crystal core was covered with spiderweb-like cracks, but inside there remained an unobservable, unusual energy.
Pierre's Energy Guidance Converter was connected to the area at this moment, and the Soul Crystal began to be converted.
Congratulations, you have obtained a 'High-Quality Soul Crystal'.
[High-Quality Soul Crystal (SS): An important soul material that can significantly enhance certain soul forms.]
There are a total of 21 ordinary Soul Crystals and 2 high-quality Soul Crystals.
The group glanced at Lister, their expressions showing no sign of concern.
He ultimately accepted the two high-quality Soul Crystals, while the ordinary Soul Crystals were distributed among the others.
He was the only one among them who truly needed him; Kavin and Hoffman were not entirely dependent on him.
[Soul-Devouring Spider Overlord Tier Soul Core (S): Can be used for the evolution of any life form. (Note: Severely damaged state, 17% activity remaining, 3% increased evolution probability)]
Hoffman then accepted this special soul core.
The difficulty for its owner to evolve and improve is self-evident; having this item to increase the chances is an unexpected bonus.
After dealing with the Soul-Devouring Spiders, the group finally headed to the core of this cleanup operation— the Soul Barrier.
Above the ruins of Beta Civilization's First Governing Star, Lister's body swept across the crystallized stardust.
The Killing Intent Wave through layers of spatial barriers, penetrating the original restricted area.
They eventually located a hidden space that was difficult to perceive or penetrate; unsurprisingly, this was the area of Soul Barrier.
Unlike the soul nurturing space in the Babylon Galaxy, Lister discovered that the location of the Soul Barrier within this Milky Way Galaxy was moving at an irregular speed.
The power of the soul completely locked onto this special space.
As the group drew closer, and Lister probed them with intense soul energy...
The physical entrance to the Soul Barrier finally appeared before everyone's eyes, like a Twist vortex of gray mist.
"Notice: There are no longer any contracted life forms or souls in the Soul Space. Are you willing to form a contract with one?"
He glanced around at the people around him; Boren, Kavin, and the others showed no unusual behavior.
The soul power of this space was the first to probe him.
It seems to be an attempt at a contract that started with the life form with the highest soul strength.
"Yes!"
The next instant, the spiritual intelligence of the barrier began to surge, constantly penetrating his body.
Within a special area of the barrier, the aura of souls began to shift, constantly mimicking the soul aura of Lister.
Killing intent and a bloody aura surged within, until a small Saber Soul hovered within, at which point the soul power finally stabilized.
Congratulations, you have successfully formed Soul Barrier.
[Soul Barrier (SS): A special barrier space in the Milky Way Galaxy that can collect and gather the souls of life forms of a certain strength within the galaxy. The collected soul power is used to improve the barrier itself, and a portion is shared with the contractor. Furthermore, life forms within the Soul Barrier can directly plunder souls...]
The vortex of gray fog suddenly expanded into a channel with a diameter of one kilometer.
The moment they stepped in, the barren rocky ground beneath their feet transformed into a surging river of souls.
[Notification: You have entered the core area of Soul Barrier. The current barrier integrity is 71.3%]
As expected, the barrier was not independent of the Milky Way Galaxy; it too suffered from the explosion and erosion of the mechanical core.
This was the first time either Lister or Boren had entered the core area of Soul Barrier.
The first thing you see is a crystal coffin floating in the depths of the riverbed.
The coffin contained a corpse, long since devoid of flesh and blood, consisting only of a skeleton and a robe in the style of Witchcraft Civilization.
Moreover, there was no energy fluctuation in his body, and even the power of his soul could not detect him at all.
If Lister's guess is correct, this corpse is Zion's trump card from the previous battle.
The corpse of the first Witchcraft leader who could absorb damage for him and help him possess a body to increase his combat power.
Apart from that, there were no other remains in this core area.
Indeed, the actual controller of the entire Soul Barrier must be Zion of the Witchcraft Civilization.
The Beta Civilization is merely a sharer of this barrier.
The coffin was kicked open by Lister.
The killing intent emanating from the body pressed down on the corpse, and in an instant, the skeleton, without the support of a soul, was crushed to dust.
[Special Crystal Coffin of the Witchcraft Civilization (S): A special coffin crafted by the Witchcraft Civilization, capable of preserving the soul of any living being within it.]
Unexpectedly, this coffin is quite unique; this is probably why the remains were sealed within the Soul Barrier.
While its soul body remains immortal, it can also continuously be nurtured within the Soul Barrier.
After taking a few more steps forward, Lister's perception of the soul power within the barrier began to intensify.
Within the Soul Barrier, gray mist surged like a tide, and countless soul energies were gathered from within the Milky Way Galaxy.
The soul power of those advanced life forms that perished in the Big Bang is transforming into billions of points of light, converging from every corner of the Milky Way Galaxy towards the core of the barrier.
Especially for the Witchcraft and Beta Civilization Domain, the annihilation caused by this massive explosion was truly terrifying.
The Merrick Star Region was no less impressive, with over a dozen Hegemon perishing within it, all thanks to the energy source of the Soul Barrier.
"Notice: The current growth rate of soul power within the Soul Barrier is 407% of the usual rate, and there are currently 337 units of soul power remaining."
Repairing the existing barrier requires 544 units of energy; remaining repair time: 107 years.
"Notice: At the current rate of energy absorption, the next sharing of soul power can take place in 7 years."
As expected, this massive explosion and the great changes in the Milky Way Galaxy brought a rare and bountiful harvest to the Soul Barrier.
Unfortunately, the barrier needs to repair itself, and it also takes time to absorb the energy of the souls after the explosion.
Seven years later, Lister couldn't help but look forward to the first batch of Soul Crystal rewards.
After clearly perceiving the entirety of the Soul Barrier, Lister began to attempt to master this barrier space.
Silently, he began to mobilize the soul power within the barrier.
It must be due to the barrier contract; as he manipulated and mobilized it, countless pieces of barrier information began to flood in.
The next moment, two gray mist-like spheres began to condense in his hands.
[Key to the Soul Barrier): This key is a single-use key that can open and close Soul Barrier. It can also drain the souls of marked life forms within the Soul Barrier and plunder soul energy through killing...]
That's right, the one-time key to the Soul Barrier was easily obtained and created by him.
After making two more keys and distributing them to everyone, Lister finally led them away.
Whether this barrier can be fully utilized and allocated will be discussed later.
Now that we have the key, it's time to rebuild the order of the Milky Way Galaxy!