A New Development in the Shadows

With the war against the Machine-Slaying Federation coming to an end, Ocas, who received the news in the Void Corridor, naturally signaled for a retreat.

The entire 4v3 battle wasn't too difficult.

The reinforcing Spirit Remains and the World Annihilation from both sides of Eternal Night did not fight too fiercely.

The only difficult opponent is that otherworldly evil god.

However, this wasn't particularly difficult for the three of them.

It's true that the Power of the End is lacking compared to the power of the abyss.

However, the evil god before them was merely a summoned entity from another dimension, and its power was not that of the original.

Ultimately, within a certain limit, and with relatively ordinary attack methods, they could suppress them in battle, but were still lacking in ability to kill them.

On the battlefield where dazzling energies intertwine, Emily is now completely engrossed in the battle.

He completely ignored Ocas's gesture.

The staff in his hand seemed to have been unused for many years; now that he was wielding it again, he felt playful once more.

Unbridled Destruction energy continuously surged from the staff.

"Let's retreat, Emily!"

"Lady Zoya is already waiting for us in the Azure Galaxy."

"If you're not leaving, Ocas and I will be going now."

Isaac's fighting spirit hadn't subsided, but she found it difficult to break through the evil god's barrier and directly fight the Void Spirits.

This had made the fight rather frustrating, and only now was the opportunity to offer some words of encouragement.

Fortunately, Zoya's reputation still holds true.

The four World Annihilation in front of her couldn't force Emily to retreat; it was her own predecessor, Zoya, who was putting more pressure on her.

Emily curled her lips into a smirk, and the Destruction power of the staff in front of her surged once more.

At the same time, the remaining Destruction power within this star field also erupted violently.

Drawn by the Destruction energy of the staff, it scattered erratically across the entire star field, somewhat resembling the Star Core Disintegration Rays of war machines from Star Machine Civilization.

The Void Spirit and others, all threatening to World Annihilation, immediately activated their shields to defend themselves.

But after this wave of energy attacks ended, there were no more enemies left on the battlefield, only ruins remained.

On the outskirts of the Azure Galaxy, a fleet led by three large ships slowly entered.

Inside the lead warship, Wang Yue was being curiously pestered by Isaac and Emily.

"They really do look alike!"

"I can't see a single flaw! Even the fluctuations in the soul pressure are exactly the same."

Wang Yue still resembles Lister.

The two men, Isaac, were constantly sensing each other, trying to find the differences.

Unfortunately, after trying for a long time, it was still difficult to distinguish them.

"Can you become one of us?"

Emily was as excited as if she had seen a new toy, eager to find out more about Wang Yue's abilities.

Unfortunately, Wang Yue ignored the two of them.

The more of her abilities are revealed, the less deterrent she becomes.

He simply nodded, offering no response.

Seeing this, Emily couldn't help but feel an increasing pressure emanating from her...

Wang Yue Overlord Tier; she never took him seriously.

Since they wouldn't cooperate, she naturally preferred to conquer them with her strength, as always.

"Lady Emily, what are you doing?"

In the end, it was Ocas who came to smooth things over.

It blocked most of the oppressive aura emanating from Emily, while simultaneously issuing a warning.

"Reports have come from the Machine-Slaying Federation: Aiselyn of the Emerald Royal Court and the Lord of Curses and Grudges of the Spirit Remains Star Abyss have both been killed by Lister."

"And they were all killed by a single strike from him..."

"Hmph! So what!"

"I just wanted to get to know this new ally."

Emily's friendliness was limited to those who were powerful; towards others, she either fought or toyed with them in various ways.

Wang Yue on this warship had clearly become her new target.

"Emily."

A calm sound came from outside, and the control room door was already open.

Zoya slowly stepped into the ship, her gaze sweeping over Emily.

That's when Emily pouted and gave up.

While Isaac was also quite interested in Wang Yue, he was more curious about the battlefield situation of the Machine-Slaying Federation.

"Lady Zoya, was the Lord of Curses and Grudges truly slain by Lister with a single strike?"

"Um."

Zoya was present on the battlefield, and although she spent most of her time fighting Sailianna, she paid close attention to Lister's moves.

Seeing Isaac's curiosity, or perhaps a sense of inquiry, he added further.

"His strength is formidable, especially in attack, where he has reached the pinnacle."

"Not weaker than me or Lord Xavier."

"Is it really that powerful?"

"He... he's a newcomer... no... he's only entered the world of World Annihilation in the last thousand years."

Isaac wanted to classify it as a new generation of World Annihilation, like Ocas and Aiselyn of the Emerald Royal Court.

It has never experienced a battle or contest between any World Annihilation forces.

However... comparing the two sides in a way she felt was unreasonable.

The World Annihilation events of the new generation have accumulated over tens of thousands of years, while Lister... has only existed for less than a thousand years.

Even upon closer examination... his lifespan may have only been a thousand years.

To think that Lady Zoya would make such a comment... This!

Isaac simply couldn't think about it any further.

"That's true."

"His abilities are rather singular; his attacks rely entirely on swordsmanship, yet they strike directly at the soul."

"Furthermore, his own soul is extremely powerful; to some extent, Sailianna was somewhat limited in his presence."

"His only weakness is his defense; in a one-on-one situation, it's hard to say whether he could even fight Lord Xavier."

"But in multi-person battles, his sustained combat capability is probably not strong..."

Despite her apparent calm during the war, Zoya was deeply shaken inside.

I thought Lister was already in a stalemate when I went to reinforce him, but to my surprise, he was handling the situation with ease.

Even before he arrived, he had already killed Aiselyn.

"I've fought the Lord of Curses and Grudges before. Although he was no match for me, I think it would take some effort to kill him."

"And Lister, in his prime, only needs one strike."

Zoya even showed a video clip to the people in front of her.

The scene shows Lister effortlessly parrying the attack from the Lord of Curses and Grudges, and then killing Lord of Curses and Grudges with a single strike.

It was an unbelievable scene, but it all really happened.

Information and footage of the battle quickly spread to the various World Annihilation forces.

With two more World Annihilation beings falling at once, the entire war officially entered its most intense phase.

Especially since this time, one of the Lord of Curses and Grudges was also killed.

Inside the Hall of Spirit Remains Star Abyss in the Spirit Remains.

Eternal Night led Silent Night and Aogu to participate in the internal discussions of the Spirit Remains Star Abyss faction.

The atmosphere inside the main hall was quite quiet.

When the Spirit Remains Lord's gaze swept over the Silent Night, a fleeting hint of displeasure crossed his face.

Even if the two sides have a good relationship, Spirit Remains still finds it difficult to maintain his composure in the face of the current battle situation.

The same World Annihilation was dispatched, but its own Curses and Grudges died in battle, while Silent Night returned alive.

Fortunately, he suppressed these emotions instantly.

They were all long-time leaders of power, so they still possessed a basic level of shrewdness.

He also knew that the real target of his anger should be Lister, not Silent Night.

However... this presents a difficult situation for Lister.

"Silent Night, you personally participated in the battle, so tell us about Lister's true strength."

"His swordsmanship... is it really that hard to defend against?"

The Spirit Remains Lord still finds it hard to accept that the Lord of Curses and Grudges has been killed with a single blow.

It's important to know that the Lord of Curses and Grudges was World Annihilation being born before the last great war. While his strength might not be considered top-tier among World Annihilation, his methods were unpredictable, and he possessed an extremely strong ability to survive.

Lister's swordsmanship doesn't seem particularly remarkable, so how could it be so...?

"Hmm! It's hard to resist."

"His swordsmanship was so skillful that even Sailianna struggled to withstand it. If it weren't for Lady Sailianna's life-saving intervention, Varalos would have been killed with a single strike long ago."

When the situation on the battlefield was brought up again, Silent Night remained calm on the surface, but felt somewhat complicated and embarrassed inside.

After all, this was his first time retreating, or rather, fleeing under Lister's intimidation.

The fact that a World Annihilation powerhouse was scared away by another World Annihilation powerhouse is already quite humiliating.

Even if the two sides World Annihilation have a large power gap, they can still put up a fight, restrain each other, and then retreat.

But... when facing Lister, he didn't even have the desire to fight.

Even now, recalling the blow the other party delivered to Curses and Grudges, he still feels lingering fear.

Although it was embarrassing, I don't regret my decision to run away.

At present, they are constantly praising Lister in order to alleviate the embarrassment of their own escape.

"Lister's fighting style is simple; his swordsmanship looks ordinary, but once you're locked onto by his killing intent, there's no escaping his strike."

"The slash will affect the soul completely, Curses and Grudges extremely great damage. That's how Ju-on was killed."

The Spirit Remains Lord sighed unhappily; no matter how much Curses and Grudges, he was still dead.

Having lost a World Annihilation, the Spirit Remains Star Abyss has instantly become weaker among all the forces in the world.

Fortunately, his forces had long been bound to the Eternal Night Royal Court.

However, it is inevitable that he will have to bow down to Eternal Night in the future.

"Eternal Night... What are your plans, Lister?"

"Since she's so powerful in solo combat, why don't the two of us go and try again with Sailianna?"

The Spirit Remains Lord still couldn't get over the death of Curses and Grudges.

Anyway, the war has already reached this point.

If they continue like this with the Emerald Royal Court, they will only be devoured by the alliance between the Church of the End and the Machine-Slaying Federation.

In that case, why not take a gamble now?

In a sense, the more lives lost on the battlefield, the stronger their Spirit Remains Star Abyss will become.

"Spirit Remains... you're in too much of a hurry."

"To be fair, Lister's strength surpasses both of ours; even Sailianna would have difficulty restraining him."

"Even if we win a battle like this, we will suffer heavy losses."

The Eternal Night King was much calmer now. In the current situation, although the Silent Night had lost face in their royal court, their fighting strength had been preserved, and there was no need to fight to the bitter end right now.

To put it bluntly, in the World Annihilation War, their primary goal was to survive, not to seize a new round of dominance or even monopoly.

In the past, there have been World Annihilation forces that harbored such ambitions, but unsurprisingly, they were all eventually besieged and annihilated.

Even though the Church of the End achieved a great victory in the last war, it still did not dare to fight the six major powers to the bitter end.

Even the Star Machine Civilization and the Crimson Covenant haven't made any further moves.

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

"We can't just let this go on, can we?"

"Their Emerald Royal Court is competing with Lister for the Seed of Eternity; I think they're in for a tough time now."

"If another World Annihilation dies in the Emerald Royal Court, I think we should surrender as soon as possible and hand over our power."

The Spirit Remains Lord can no longer tolerate the current situation.

The Emerald Royal Court, which was expected to make a breakthrough, couldn't even handle the mere Lister.

Not to mention, there's also the strongest fighter from the last great war, Xavier, who hasn't even made a move yet!

The situation has already turned against us. If we don't make a desperate effort to turn the tide now, it will be difficult to fight back later.

"Wait!"

"Wait?"

Upon hearing this, the Spirit Remains Lord looked utterly bewildered.

"Yes! Wait!"

"We won't be fully involved in the upcoming battle at the Emerald Royal Court; we'll just make a show of it."

"Our only chance to survive is to make the Church of the End and the Machine-Slaying Federation feel that victory is within their grasp."

Having said all that, even though the Spirit Remains Lord had been somewhat emotional and unable to think things through calmly, he now understood what Eternal Night meant.

"You mean, let the Church of the End and the Machine-Slaying Federation fight amongst themselves?"

Is that even possible...?

Why is it impossible?

"Could those lunatics actually form an alliance with someone?"

"Their church is the end... Destruction from the beginning, how can they truly rule!"

The Eternal Night King has an unparalleled understanding of the Church of the End.

The very existence of this church is tantamount to the Destruction of the entire universe.

It's just that due to insufficient strength and the inability to achieve it, it has developed to its current state.

Even so...!

"So... who will we help then? Lister?"

The Spirit Remains Lord found his words somewhat laughable.

The Curses and Grudges on his own faction had just been broken, and now he was actually considering supporting Lister again.

However, Eternal Night seemed to think it was perfectly natural.

"Of course it's Lister, otherwise do you really want the Church of the End to achieve its goals?"

"Lister has only existed for a thousand years, yet he possesses such strength."

"I think he's already not much weaker than Xavier right now, and maybe in the future... he won't even be limited to our universe..."

Even though the Spirit Remains Lord has many grievances against Lister now, he naturally acknowledges his strength.

Unlike in the past, this time all forces' World Annihilation stemmed from their genuine recognition of this god of death.

By now, this person has effortlessly slain three World Annihilation.

He was even able to go toe-to-toe with Sailianna, which means his strength is truly recognized by all.

Spirit Remains still couldn't get over it, at least not right now.

"I understand... but... please give me some more time to think about it."

Upon hearing this, Eternal Night nodded in understanding.

He then got up and left with his men.

Meanwhile, in Lister's Babylon Galaxy, the battlefield debris was being cleared away.

Leviathan will be responsible for coordinating these mechanized planets.

Kavin is currently recovering from his injury.

Lister originally intended to stay in the Babylon Galaxy for a while longer, but then the system message arrived again.

"Notice: Contract Lifeform No. 001, players, the server will officially disappear in three days. The Auction House, Inventory, player chat, and resurrection function will all be shut down. Please confirm whether you agree or request a postponement."