For a Divine Apostle whose mission was to destroy civilization, this was undoubtedly unacceptable.
Thus, after creating a batch of modern military equipment—including main battle tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, self-propelled artillery, and heavy fighter jets—upon its descent, the Herrscher of Reason began building an industrial system to supply logistical support.
The End of the First Great Collapse
The First Herrscher—the Herrscher of Reason—had originally planned to launch a full-scale assault on humanity only after establishing an efficient and stable industrial system for logistical replenishment.
That way, even in prolonged combat, the Herrscher of Reason could ensure that it would not fail from exhausting its Collapse Energy.
The Herrschers of the Pre-Collapse Civilization had indeed regarded fulfilling Collapse's mission—to destroy human civilization—as their duty, but that did not mean they would throw away their brains.
When it came to how to destroy human civilization more efficiently, the Herrscher of Reason had its own ideas.
However, Mu Continent's mobilization efficiency far exceeded the Herrscher of Reason's expectations.
Just as the Herrscher of Reason was busy clearing survivors from the city, Mu Continent's first wave of forces—a fighter wing—appeared on the city's horizon.
As deafening engine roars and continuous sonic booms rang out, the Herrscher of Reason knew that its original strategic plan could be tossed into the trash.
Knowing that the original plan had failed was one thing. Figuring out how to deal with the current problem was another.
After controlling identical fighter jets created with its own authority to intercept Mu Continent's incoming fighter wing, the Herrscher of Reason fell into thought.
Yet before it could devise a new way to break the deadlock, reinforcements from Mu Continent began pouring into the battlefield without end.
Then, the Herrscher of Reason sank into the quagmire of the prolonged war it had feared most.
The weapons and equipment created by the Herrscher of Reason were no inferior in performance to those fielded by Mu Continent's regular military.
In terms of coordination, the unmanned weapons directly controlled by the Herrscher of Reason were vastly superior to Mu Continent's regular forces.
However, Mu Continent's numerical advantage was simply too overwhelming.
Even as fighter jets were shot down by the Herrscher of Reason's creations every second, more reinforcement aircraft continuously joined the battle.
In the end, having consumed too much Collapse Energy to keep going, the Herrscher of Reason had no choice but to abandon the struggle for air superiority.
As everyone knew, losing air superiority in modern warfare meant losing control of the battlefield.
After seizing air superiority, Mu Continent's air force seized the opportunity and launched a fierce assault on the Herrscher of Reason with suffocating firepower.
Under the barrage of air-to-ground missiles and all manner of aerial bombs raining down like raindrops, the various weapons and equipment created by the Herrscher of Reason rapidly turned into burning scrap metal.
Although the Herrscher of Reason continuously created Mu Continent's mainstream anti-air systems to fend off enemy aircraft, no matter how many fighters it shot down, Mu Continent's military, now fully committed, would unhesitatingly bring in more aircraft to fill the gaps on the battlefield.
Yes, by this point, Mu Continent had begun treating the extermination of the Herrscher of Reason as an actual war.
To be fair, among all Herrschers, the First Herrscher—the Herrscher of Reason—fought in a way most familiar to modern militaries.
Although it could endlessly produce all kinds of weapons and equipment, from a broader perspective, the battle to eliminate the Herrscher of Reason could indeed be regarded as an ordinary modern war.
Clearly, in the field of modern warfare they knew best, Mu Continent's military was able to successfully suppress the Herrscher of Reason, who had previously been just an ordinary person, through its extensive combat experience and resource advantage.
Even though the Herrscher of Reason had the cheating advantage of Herrscher authority and could replenish its forces in real time, the number of combat units under its command continued to decline as time passed.
In the end, Mu Continent piled up victory at the cost of enormous numbers of lives and vast financial expenditure.
Under the numerical disparity brought about by overwhelming resources, the Herrscher of Reason, who theoretically could have single-handedly wiped out all human civilization at full strength, ultimately caused damage limited to only one city.
Of course, the price Mu Continent paid for this victory was also extremely high.
In the air force alone, nearly ten fighter wings and over a thousand aircraft were shot down.
The losses suffered by the armored units that entered the battlefield after gaining air superiority were even more horrifying. More than a thousand main battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles of various types were destroyed by the Herrscher of Reason's creations.
That was equivalent to three armored group armies being completely wiped out in a single campaign.
Even for Mu Continent, the world's hegemon, losses of this magnitude could be called crippling.
The Herrschers, along with their authorities that completely transcended the realm of science, utterly overturned the worldview of everyone who knew the truth.
Before this, Mu Continent had not never encountered enemies who fought alone.
However, aside from his attack on Y City, Moros had never truly clashed head-on with Mu Continent's military.
Whether it was the slaughter of the senators' convoy in Fuyuan City or commanding Spectral Dragons to raid Mu Continent's capital, Moros had shown relative restraint.
Because they had never personally felt that skin-cutting pain—or rather, because the pain they had suffered was not deep enough—those in power had always underestimated the strength a single individual could display.
As for the Battle of Y City, Moros's strength at the time was still far inferior to that of the Herrscher of Reason that descended during the First Great Collapse.
After all, Moros back then did not possess the ability to cast the Level 5 Destruction Magic Armageddon.
Therefore, only when the Herrscher of Reason displayed its astonishing destructive power did humanity in this world truly understand the terror of individual strength.
This was humanity's first direct encounter with the Great Collapse and the Herrschers, as well as the opening prelude to civilization's end.
Driven by fear and greed toward the power wielded by Herrschers, humanity's enthusiasm for researching Collapse Energy soared to unprecedented heights.
This frenzy was not confined to Mu Continent, which had personally experienced the First Great Collapse. It swept across all of human civilization.
The destruction of a city was ultimately difficult to conceal. Even though Mu Continent did everything it could to block information related to the First Great Collapse, a great deal of news still leaked out.
However, that was only for national-level powers.
For ordinary people, the First Great Collapse remained a baseless rumor.
They remained immersed in the information cocoons carefully woven by governments around the world, living ordinary and peaceful lives day after day, completely unaware of the truth of the world.
On a global scale, massive amounts of resources continuously flowed into the countless research institutes springing up like mushrooms after rain, while military production in every country entered an accelerated phase.
At the same time, Moth to Fire, an organization specifically established to handle special affairs, also saw its authority expand significantly.
Moth to Fire had now become an independent entity unlike the World Health Organization, its role extending far beyond that of a coordinating body.
Under the active efforts of the Moth to Fire Council's members, this international organization under the United Nations was granted its own independent armed forces for the first time.
Naturally, none of this had anything to do with Moros, who was diligently studying magical tomes in his Demiplane.
The difficult results achieved by the Pre-Collapse Civilization when fighting the Second Herrscher—the Herrscher of Void, who wielded spatial authority—during the Second Great Collapse revealed just how shallow their research into space truly was.
Research into space at that level clearly could not reach the Demiplane controlled by Moros.
Returning to Fuyuan City
"Moros, wouldn't this be too much trouble for you? Eden's agency is very influential..."
A faint note of concern showed through in Elysia's voice.
Hearing that, a genuine smile could not help appearing on Moros's face.
"Don't worry, Elysia. I'll handle this properly. I'll offer them terms they can't refuse and make sure they stop interfering with Eden's artistic pursuits."
"All right, Moros. I believe you."
Feeling the resolve and confidence in Moros's words, Elysia, who knew he was no ordinary person, found much of the worry in her heart dissipating.
Then, after chatting idly with Moros for a while longer, Elysia reassuringly cut off communication through the Spectre Jar.
However, if the Pink Fairy Lady had known how Moros had dealt with the witnesses aboard the Ocean Miracle, she might not have felt so reassured.
Yes, although two years had passed, the governments of various countries had tacitly imposed an information blockade, so the public still knew nothing about the fate of the survivors aboard that large ocean liner once hijacked by pirates.
Aside from those witnesses who had personally seen the spectres go on a killing spree, ordinary people could not accomplish something as difficult as seeing through the beautiful dream carefully woven by the media and uncovering the world's true face.
Given Elysia and Eden's current status in human society, they clearly had no access to records of what happened on the day the Ocean Miracle docked.
"Hmm~"
Softly humming an unknown tune, Elysia happily sprawled across the soft bed and rolled around with delight.
At that moment, the Pink Fairy Lady wore a simple white nightgown, her long pink hair casually draped around her. She looked both adorable and alluring.
"Elysia, were you talking to Moros again?"
At that moment, a gentle, familiar voice came from nearby, interrupting Elysia's private amusement.
She looked up and, as expected, saw Eden.
There was a trace of concern and curiosity in Eden's eyes, as though she wanted to learn what Elysia and Moros had discussed.
"My dear Eden!"
Elysia called out enthusiastically, swiftly leaping off the bed and throwing herself into Eden's embrace.
She hugged Eden tightly, her face brimming with a satisfied smile.
In Eden's warm embrace, Elysia contentedly shared her conversation with Moros.
"So, Eden, you'll soon be free of these restraints and able to pursue the artistic dream in your heart."
"Yes, thank you, Elysia."
Watching the Pink Fairy Lady blink those large eyes as clear as the sky, Eden gently stroked her hair.
"But won't this bring Moros too much trouble?"
As someone who had personally experienced the Ocean Miracle incident and heard Moros describe the traits of undead units such as spectres and vampires, Eden had some understanding of Moros's strength.
Yet she still did not believe Moros could directly contend with a major company standing at the pinnacle of the entertainment industry on this planet.
After all, mercenaries and regular armies were entirely different matters.
Eden did not yet know that terrifying beings capable of facing an army alone existed in this world.
"It should... be fine, right?"
Stirred by Eden's words, Elysia turned her gaze toward the Spectre Jar tossed by the head of the bed.
After cutting off magical communication with Elysia and Eden once more, Moros entered the room belonging to the Lord of the Graveyard within the Mage Guild.
Skillfully putting on the mage robe hanging from the coat rack, Moros gave a light wave of his hand. A flash of light passed, and a Demiplane passage slowly opened within the room.
Through the slowly rotating, dark-blue vortex-like curtain of light, Moros could clearly see the scenery on the other side of the Demiplane passage.
In Fuyuan City, the city where the senators had lost their lives, dozens of spectres still remained.
Under the necromancer's orders, these spectres wandered through every corner of the city. Like mobile teleportation coordinates, they ensured that he could use them to conduct ultra-long-range teleportation whenever needed.
Now was the time for Moros to make use of these spectres.
After careful selection, he finally settled on a spectre wandering through an empty warehouse in the dockside warehouse district. This spectre would become the precise coordinate for opening his Demiplane passage.
Passing through the Demiplane passage, Moros set foot on Fuyuan City's soil once more.
As his figure appeared, hundreds of spectres surged out of the Demiplane passage like a tidal wave.
If spectres had not been incorporeal and unable to collide with ordinary objects, this tide of spectres would already have smashed apart the warehouse Moros was standing in.
Standing in the center of the warehouse, Moros stared at the surging tide of spectres before him.
"Go, my loyal servants. Find the building with a statue like this at its entrance!"
He raised a hand and projected the statue outside the entertainment company Eden had signed with into the warehouse, showing the spectres their target.
As Moros's command fell, the spectres transformed into streaks of dark-green light, flying out of the warehouse and vanishing into the night sky.
With flight speeds comparable to Mu Continent's mainstream Attack Helicopters, Moros believed he would soon find the headquarters of XX Entertainment Company, the agency Eden had signed with.
Events unfolded exactly as Moros expected. Just a few minutes later, through his connection with the spectres, he learned that one had already found XX Entertainment Company's headquarters.
Found it, then...
Amid the chanting of mysterious incantations, Moros waved his hand and cast the Level 4 Adventure Magic Instant Travel.
Instant Travel: Teleports the hero and troops to a selected location near the caster. Consumes 15 mana points.
Under the mighty power of magic, Moros vanished from the empty warehouse.
When he appeared again, Moros was already standing atop a high-rise near XX Entertainment Company's headquarters.
From his lofty position, he looked down at XX Entertainment Company's headquarters below, which stood only one or two floors shorter than the building he was on. A deep light flickered in his eyes.
Let me see who dared to interfere with Eden's choices.
With that thought, Moros cast an Illusion Magic spell on himself to conceal his form.
This spell originated from his research into the Level 3 Summoning Magic Phantom Forces.
Although it lacked Phantom Forces' various miraculous properties, its effectiveness under optical observation was not the least bit inferior to the original.
More importantly, it consumed very little mana, making it perfectly suited to Moros's current needs.
Once the spell was complete, Moros stepped forward and set foot upon the pitch-black night sky.
Before you continue