288 Battle Will Continue

"Gray snow, leaping in the pulse."

A torrent of scorching iron rain ripped through the sky, leaving trails of crimson flames that resembled scars across the heavens before crashing heavily onto the earth. The commandos kicked open the hatches, grabbed their staffs and rifles, and charged towards the settlement.

"The mirror reveals a hidden childhood."

The prism opened from the mothership's deck, unfolding outwards like flower petals. The rune links responded and resonated, drawing out magical power and activating the central 'stamen' crystal. Based on the Morsburg effect, it drew endless power from the crystal.

"The pencil fell into the gap between the sofa and the wall."

In an instant, crimson demonic light descended from the sky, evenly scorching and baking the city. The hills were melted into a pool of shattered glass, and the radiation of demonic energy formed visible blue shockwaves that echoed continuously across the land.

"Like time itself, it will never be seen again."

The city's dilapidated tenement buildings were evaporated in an instant, the ditches flowing with sewage and excrement were instantly wiped out, and beams of destructive light pierced through the surface and penetrated hundreds of meters underground. Magic energy, like ocean waves, penetrated deep underground, washing away the gaps in the geological structure, destroying earthworms, lungfish, and spirulina, and equally eliminating every living creature.

"To those who journey forward, may your path be accompanied by sunshine."

The invaders chatted and laughed as they charged through the jungle and fields, brandishing their machine guns and staffs and shouting, "Happy times have begun!", "A1 high-level flashbang, give me some sweet talk!", "All things in nature are created to nourish people!", and indiscriminately unleashing their firepower on any active target.

"The emerald green sunlight shines through the blood vessels."

The fleeing people took refuge in the church's fortress, where priests frantically cared for the refugees while bewilderedly facing players who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

' The Devil God Path is fraught with heresy, so many heresies, they're everywhere.'

They murmured to themselves that the powerful heretics were incredibly terrifying in terms of both technology and strength, which made them want to retreat and surrender at one point.

"You shouldn't back down; the wind will bring failure back."

Ta-da!

The sound of guitars filled the church. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the rock singers who had been mixed in with the crowd silently stepped forward, picking up their guitars like warriors picking up their rifles.

"We shouldn't retreat anymore, and we shouldn't come back."

church.

Rock and roll.

Rivals who once hated each other and wished they could kill each other now reach out their hands and hold each other tightly.

"Green sunlight will illuminate your future."

Purple sunlight shines through the glass tiles, and after being stained by the colored glass, only a harmonious green remains.

Smash!

With doors and windows shattered, players burst into the church with joyful laughter, only to be greeted by the final resounding notes of rock music and the roars of Wandering Souls.

"From now on, never talk about failure again."

September 19, 2020.

After fifty years and seven generations of Xia Beiluo's efforts, at this moment, the traditional forces of the Bizarre Church and the innovators of the Rock and Roll bands finally reached an agreement. They shook hands and made peace, bravely facing the invaders from the From the Star Abyss.

The shaman brandishes a torch and sword, unleashing a thunderous roar at the demonic heretics descending from the sky. The medium summons the silent ghosts, and an army of ghouls, blotting out the sky, crawls out of hell, shouting as they charge toward the armored vehicles.

"Fellow countrymen, stand up!"

The rousing Rock and Roll resounded throughout the battlefield, and the guitarist screamed, his voice shaking the soul. "We will never fall here, we will stand up and fight to the last moment!"

"No one, except the gods, can make us kneel! Not even visitors from the stars!"

"The Violet Star still exists on Earth! All these heretics can get are corpses and scorched earth!"

Bullets whistled through the air, tearing rebellious bodies to shreds. Heavily armored mages, staffs in hand, unleashed magical flames, burning and obliterating the approaching ghosts. Griffins streaked across the sky, dropping magical bombs on bunkers and fortifications. Teleportation arrays lit up in all directions, and agile assault teams rushed into the streets and alleys, ruthlessly eliminating every indomitable soul amidst the ruins.

"Their resistance is really fierce."

A player swung his knife, severing the head of a Redemption Army, then grabbed his armored machine gun and shot down a bassist who was frantically playing in the distance, before exclaiming:

"This music gave them too many buffs, turning ordinary people into warriors."

"After all, the system shows that these Rock and Roll band members are Social Citizen." Someone casually remarked, "Thanks to the experience with White Candle Star, the [society] corrupted many mortals. Some people were afraid to fire and ended up being eliminated by the corrupted citizens. This time, we won't be lenient with civilians."

"That's right, [Society] is parasitic on their culture, there's nothing we can do but give them a quick death." The player, carrying a machine gun, said matter-of-factly, "This time, it's our turn to fight against [Society].

"Speaking of which, these songs are quite nice. I think I can understand why some people would rather lose themselves than not join society."

"That's what they say, but if I were an NPC, I wouldn't want to lose my own personality."

"Ah, but it really sounds nice. Sacrificing oneself for the collective, it seems pretty good... Uh, the system is notifying me that my [Worldview] has developed a 'social tendency'. Once it reaches the maximum value, I will be forcibly transformed into Social Citizen."

Do you still want to join [society] now?

"I don't want to think about it anymore, absolutely not."

The players joked and laughed as they trampled the bones of the Violet Man underfoot. They walked through the crimson streets, sat down in front of the burning church, and lightly tallied up their quest loot.

This was the first time such a landing battle had taken place since they entered space, and most people were immersed in the joy and novelty of the mission's victory.

Snap.

The seventh generation ' Xia Beiluo ' lay in a pool of blood. Li Aoz calmly walked forward, kicked her head away, squatted down, and reached out to touch the silver guitar she was tightly holding— 'Soul Casino '.

[Side Quest: "A Trip for Two" has been completed.]

Whoosh! Li Aoz's hand stopped in mid-air, his fingertips just an inch away from touching the guitar.

He rested his hands on his knees, not even glancing at the shadowy Tsu・Shadow Edge held across his neck, and calmly said while still kneeling:

"Put the knife down."

"... You lied to me, Li Aoz."

The Caramel Snail said coldly, "Why do you do this?"

Li Aoz said calmly, "That's the plan. Didn't I tell you—don't think about anything else, just listen to me."

"A plan? What do you take me for?"

Caramel Snail held the blade horizontally, its radiating surface pressed against Li Aoz's neck. Li Aoz's words made him laugh in anger, "You clearly knew that Xia Beiluo was already dead, you clearly knew that this planet was beyond saving, you clearly decided to invade this planet long ago—but you lied to me, lied to me and said you were looking for someone. You told me so much about how miserable Xia Beiluo was, how unfortunate the people were... making me go through so much, and now you tell me that all of this is the result of [society] parasitism."

"Aren't you happy?" Li Aoz asked casually.

The Caramel Snail said, "You've made good friends with people along the way, and they've treated you to so many good things..."

"They liked me on their own initiative; I didn't ask them to," Li Aoz replied dismissively.

He gripped the sharp blade tightly. "You took me through every city here, letting me understand the local customs and traditions..."

"To facilitate bombing."

Caramel Snail clutched her chest, saying bitterly, "You knew the truth about 'rock and roll' all along, and you kept preventing me from truly listening to Rock and Roll —it's a tragedy, why didn't you tell me?"

"If I tell you this, how are you going to carry out your mission properly?" Li Aoz glanced at him. "What do you think we are here for?"

Caramel Snail paused for a moment, then said:

"Make contact with Xia Beiluo... become friends, and then help them reconcile with the local civilization and achieve peace..."

"Who do you think you are?"

Li Aoz pushed aside the knife, picked up the guitar, slowly stood up, turned his back to Caramel Snail, and said, "What do you take me for now? A hero? A savior? A peacemaker?"

"... Didn't you do those things on Azure Planet?"

The Caramel Snail opened its mouth and said, "We joined you because of one sentence from Li Aoz —'Leave our planet and find a way to save our home world.' You should naturally be a savior—"

You're wrong.

Li Aoz gently plucked the strings:

I have no obligation to save others.

"... Huh?"

"From beginning to end, I have only lived to fulfill my own selfish desires."

Li Aoz said calmly:

"Saving Azure Planet is to turn you into my followers and believers. Azure Planet is strategically important, and I want it."

"That White Candle Star— "

"White Candle Star has 3 billion people, and its existing Interstellar Civilization facilities are incredibly well-developed—besides, guess why all of White Candle Star's physical industries are under Lioz Dominate's name?"

Li Aoz's remarks caused Caramel Snail's pupils to tremble violently.

"... Then why fight so hard against society?"

Caramel Snail asked:

"Since you are an oligarch, a president, and a brutal aggressor... why do you still insist on fighting to the death with [society]?"

"Silly child."

Li Aoz glanced pitifully at Caramel Snail: "If I don't kill [Society], how can I immigrate to Narrative-level Civilization? I need a pledge of allegiance, to defeat the warriors of [Society]. That's one of the highest honors in the entire universe. Who wouldn't want to write a glorious chapter in their resume?"

The Caramel Snail fell silent.

Rumble rumble rumble...

Thunder rumbled in the sky, accompanied by aircrews and fighter jets slicing through the heavens, the piercing noise mingling with the heavy rain.

The Caramel Snail's heart gradually became unsettled.

He tilted his head back, trying to calm his mind.