Then I'll Cut Down This Galaxy
The galaxies and warnings along the way had no effect whatsoever under Kavin's control.
This army, a veritable steel torrent, managed to sweep all the way to the core area.
The core region of the Star Machine Civilization consists of four star systems.
The Machine Creation Ring, the Heart of Ten Thousand Machines, the Eternal Forge and the Data Abyss.
The fleet passed straight through the stargate into the Machine Creation Ring, and the scene inside the core system was indeed completely different from that of the outer systems.
The entire galaxy is visibly clean.
There are no floating meteorite belts, only small celestial bodies.
What is visible to the naked eye are planets that have been completely transformed and are highly mechanized.
At the same time, some have long lost the general form of a "planet," such as the geometric shape of a tall rectangular tower, and mechanical planets that resemble two-dimensional planes.
At first glance, these strangely shaped planets possess an unusual beauty.
Even under Lister's perception of the Killing Intent Wave, these celestial bodies, though far apart, possessed a strangely unified rhythm.
"Something's not right about this galaxy."
Kavin's voice sounded unusually strange at that moment.
His expression remained calm, but the speed at which the golden data network in his vision jumped suddenly increased.
"Is it because it was specially modified?"
As Lister inquired, he couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
It is indeed a World-Ending Level force that has survived the last great war.
Even though the strength of the Ruler One was somewhat lacking in his eyes, the accumulation and foundation of this power were truly formidable.
This level of completely transforming the entire galaxy into a mechanized system.
The Machine-Slaying Federation is simply not something they can achieve in the short term.
There was neither the manpower nor the massive amount of resources available.
At that moment, I couldn't help but wonder if the Machine Creation Galaxy was already at this level, then the other three core galaxies must have also been completely transformed.
"Yes... this galaxy seems to have been specially 'purified,' losing more than 60% of its mass compared to a typical galaxy."
There weren't even any small celestial bodies or meteorites. Most of the planets seemed to be arranged in a regular pattern, so their mass was naturally not high.
Regarding Kavin's explanation, Lister was more impressed by the deep-rooted influence of the old guard.
However, the data stream in Kavin's pupils was still accelerating, and in the next instant, he saw the golden data stream explode into red.
What warning or anomaly has been detected?
Or have you found their location?
"Kavin, have you found the Overlord One?"
"No! There's something wrong with this galaxy."
"These mechanical celestial bodies are resonating... the entire galaxy... should be a unified whole, a complete entity."
"Wait a minute! Our galaxy has been exposed!"
As soon as Kavin finished speaking, Lister noticed that these planets, which were originally scattered, were showing signs of moving closer together.
Several planets were now meshing together like gears, and the surfaces of all the planets were covered with swarms of constantly writhing nanomechanical insects.
Mechanized stars are imprisoned in a Dyson lattice structure, and the released energy is transported to the central prismatic core through thousands of plasma channels.
The next moment, a distant voice drifted over.
I knew you'd come.
The cold, mechanical sound seemed to echo throughout the entire galaxy.
The speed at which stars connect within the galaxy has suddenly increased!
Countless mechanical planets continuously meshed together, gradually forming a giant, multi-dimensional geometric shape.
The general outline of this shape instantly reminded Lister of the final form of the Ruler One.
However, this war machine is tens of thousands of times larger than the one we saw at the Ruins of Alcaso, a war machine constructed from the entire star system.
This is quite a move!
As expected... the difficulty of fighting in the core area of World Annihilation forces skyrocketed instantly.
"Lister, and this lucky one who won the Holy Grail, I've been waiting for you for a long time."
"Since you're here, don't leave!"
The voice of the Ruler One transformed into a tangible shockwave amidst the resonance of the mechanical galaxy, causing the spatial structure of the entire star field to Twist.
Suddenly, countless abyss-like fissures cracked open on the interlocking planetary surfaces, and a torrent of purplish-red Mechanical Poison, like blood surging in a vein, flowed wildly inside the galactic-level mechanical body.
"This is the true legacy of the Ancient Machine Kingdom."
Kavin's voice rang out from the side, remaining remarkably calm in the face of the opponent's potential attacks at any moment.
"Like the colossal bronze structure at the ruins of the Ancient Machine Kingdom, that bronze structure was the core of the ultimate mechanical weapon that was modified from a star system back then."
"I never imagined that this Star Machine Civilization would actually realize the original plan of the Ancient Machine Civilization."
With the Kavin also acquired the technological legacy of the Ancient Machine Kingdom in the Gray Domain Galaxy.
The first thing they said was the origin of the enormous war weapon made up of galaxies that stood before them.
It also explained to Lister the true purpose of that massive bronze structure from back then.
"That's right! You reacted quickly."
"However, our Star Machine Civilization is not merely a continuation of tradition, but a new generation of progressives that transcends the Ancient Machine Civilization."
When the Ruler spoke these words, even though it was just a cold, mechanical voice, Lister could still feel the pride in his words.
It was as if he were truly the inheritor of the Ancient Machine Civilization, and had genuinely developed it into a new generation, creating a brand new mechanical era.
In reality, the Star Machine Civilization was merely a defector from the original Ancient Machine Civilization.
Even this ruler, Yi, was the first defector.
The complete multidimensional geometry has now been constructed, and the aura of the Ruler One has fully descended upon this war machine.
Instead of immediately launching an attack, he paused for a moment before speaking again.
"I thought Ocas hadn't come yet, but it turns out he's already here!"
"Haha~! I was just wondering how to get you two to come over! I didn't expect you two to come to my doorstep on your own initiative."
"The humiliation at the Ruins of Alcaso, I will repay tenfold today."
A familiar aura approached at an extremely fast speed.
In the blink of an eye, Ocas, bound in iron chains, appeared beside him.
He greeted Lister with a smile.
"I didn't expect you guys to be one step ahead!"
"It's all because there are too many metal bumps on the road; they wasted so much of my time. Luckily, it didn't cause any major delays."
After saying that, he looked helplessly at the colossal multidimensional geometric shape.
"As expected, this Star Machine Civilization has nothing new to offer."
"I thought his hideout would have some interesting stuff, but it's just a big lump of iron..."
Before Ocas could finish speaking, thousands upon thousands of dazzling dark purple spots of light suddenly lit up on different facets of the geometric megastructure.
The next instant, the "Star Core Disintegration Ray," which gathered the immense energy of the entire Machine Creation Galaxy's core, transformed into hundreds of thousands of deadly beams, surging towards Lister, Kavin, and the Machine-Slaying Federation fleet behind them!
Space dissolved and collapsed along the path of the ray, leaving behind shocking dark red void scars.
A golden mechanical shield lit up in front of Kavin.
The rays initially managed to melt and penetrate the shield, but within seconds, the golden mechanical shield seemed to have a learning ability, gradually blocking and reflecting the ray energy.
Ocas, however, paid no attention, tightening the chains around his body and directing his energy only at the chains.
It was as if the chains were being charged; attacks of this magnitude had absolutely no effect.
As for Lister, he was even more relaxed at the moment, still using the familiar Flash.
An SSS-level Flash has the ability to deconstruct spacetime and possesses extremely strong displacement capabilities.
Just like last time in the Ruins of Alcaso, as long as he wasn't prepared to trade blows, the opponent's attack wouldn't affect him at all.
Not to mention that his strength has greatly improved now, and he has plenty of energy left to deal with these star core rays.
That's it?
"If that's all, you have no other chance..."
As the stellar radiation gradually died down, Ocas couldn't help but utter a sarcastic remark.
This time, they were being besieged by three World Annihilation working together.
In fact, in terms of sheer strength, Lister and Ocas alone were confident that they could completely kill the Overlord One.
The main reason the three of them came was, of course, for Kavin.
To fully absorb the mechanical legacy of the Star Machine Civilization, the best approach is to kill it in one fell swoop.
Otherwise, given the mechanical engineering department's backup plan, Lister and the others could have easily guessed that it would most likely be a self-destructing explosion.
"Heh heh! You think this is the end?"
"Lister, Ocas... and this lucky one..."
A cold voice rang out, but this time it didn't seem to come from within the enormous geometric structure.
Lister vaguely sensed that sounds were also coming from his surroundings at the same time.
The sense of Killing Intent Wave immediately spread.
Immediately, it sensed the energy fluctuations of the star core rays again.
"Watch out!"
The attack is not over yet.
Countless stellar core rays seemed to be reflected back from the extreme distance, suddenly increasing the speed of the attack and multiplying the number of rays several times over.
Their entire star field seemed to be concentrated by the purple light of this star core ray.
In the current war machines of the Overlord, the star core rays are reflected again when they converge on the various surfaces of the geometry.
"No! He doesn't have just one war machine; there should be four operating at the same frequency!"
Kavin was the first to react.
This reveals the true nature of the war strategy employed by the current ruler, Yi, at his headquarters.
The current war machines are only one aspect; the Ultimate War machines are constructed from the four core star systems: the Machine Creation Ring, the Heart of Ten Thousand Machines, the Eternal Forge, and the Data Abyss.
This first wave of star core rays was not directed at them, but rather intended to amplify the reflections on the war machines in three other locations.
Now, nearly a billion stellar core rays are completely concentrated in the entire star field of the three of them.
It's no longer a multi-point sniping attack, but an indiscriminate saturation attack covering the entire star field!
Lister's health plummeted, and he was just about to use his Flash to escape over a great distance.
The opponent's binding power alone cannot hold him back.
But before he Flash, a golden shield suddenly lit up in front of him.
With a single hand raised, Kavin expanded his shield, enveloping Lister and Ocas.
Once the purple stellar rays reached a certain quantity, the scene before us was already incandescent.
Although Kavin's shield had deciphered the star core rays, blocking them still consumed a huge amount of energy.
This was especially true of the impact caused by the convergence of energy from four galaxies.
Fortunately, Kavin then produced the Holy Grail.
In an instant, the previously shaky golden shield solidified.
The rays from the star's core lasted for several minutes.
With that level of energy, Lister and Ocas could easily be caught off guard and suffer a loss.
Indeed, a World-Ending Level force should not be underestimated.
The Ruler One, being the leader of the Star Machine Civilization, possesses combat power far exceeding that of the Ruins of Alcaso within this core star system.
However, his offensive tactics remained largely unchanged.
After this massive burst of ray energy dissipated.
With their health points already dropping to a low level, the opponent's new coordinated attack is about to begin.
Lister no longer held back, unleashing his Battle Intent Eruption and a surge of ferocious killing intent.
"Buzz--!"
An invisible buzzing sound rang out, and the passive Saber Soul Mastery was activated.
Countless killing intents converged, and a gigantic Saber Soul materialized behind him.
This time, the Saber Soul is completely different from the past; the Saber Soul Mastery have undergone a significant breakthrough.
With the help of high-purity Soul Crystals, it broke through the original limitations and its level has been raised to LV240, now at the peak of the Fourth Advancement.
This transformed the Saber Soul behind him from Phantom and blurry outline into a solid giant, sculpted from blood-red crystal.
Its powerful aura caused the resonant frequency of the Ultimate War machine in front of it to become disordered.
The Saber Soul wielded blades in both arms, the crimson longsword solidified from countless crystals of killing intent.
The space around the Saber Soul felt so fragile for the first time. The long sword only touched it lightly, and the space at its end shattered and was then cut into spatial rifts.
Looking at the Saber Soul behind Lister, and at himself in his near-peak state, Ocas's mouth gaped open for a moment, somewhat dazed.
It seems that not long after the last battle at the Ruins of Alcaso, Lister's strength has made a great breakthrough again.
The intense pressure emanating from him far surpasses that of the so-called Ultimate War machine on the other side; they're not even in the same league!
Even the ruler, Yi, couldn't help but feel fear deep within his heart.
This was the first time he had ever seen Lister in this state.
Now he truly realized that the other party had not only not exerted their full strength at the Ruins of Alcaso, but had merely toyed with him.
With the passive enhancements of Saber Soul Mastery, Battle Intent Eruption, and unlocking Battle Intent Potential, Lister's strength is dozens of times greater than his first-stage level.
It possesses the strength of a true World-Ending Level powerhouse at the pinnacle.
"Using galaxies as weapons?"
"Then I will destroy your entire galaxy!"
At that moment, Lister's voice, filled with killing intent, resounded at the core of the Ruler One.
The powerful killing intent deepened the fear in the heart of the ruler, Yi, and even brought to mind the figures of the "Shadow of the Root Network" of the Emerald Royal Court and "Xavier" of the Church of the End during the last World Annihilation War.
Based on his impression of Lister, he was in no way inferior to these two, and perhaps even surpassed them.
From his perspective, the blade in Lister's hand moved.
The Saber Soul behind him also swung out a sword.
The blade's edge suddenly burst forth with a scarlet aurora, tearing a dimensional rift across the Machine Creation Ring in the star field.
This strike contained not only threads of killing intent at the peak of Fighting Spirit, but also the soul rules refined by high-purity Soul Crystals —wherever the blade passed, the resonant frequency of the mechanical celestial body was forcibly severed, and even the annihilation trajectory of the "Star Core Disintegration Ray" was Twist into spiral-shaped debris.
Ultimately, the blade's edge headed straight for him.