In the 840th year of the Star Calendar, the war that had lasted nearly 400 years was approaching its end. The number of parasites was less than a million, and even the lowest - ranked ones were at the Demon Crocodile level. Meanwhile, the number of Judges was only tens of thousands.
Among the Judges, there were over a hundred who had reached the Chosen One level, and fewer than a hundred S - ranked Judges. Most of the S - ranked Judges were engaged in logistical tasks, while the front - line combatants were all at the Apocalypse level.
Chosen Ones also had differences in strength, though there was no detailed classification. Among them, four stood out as the strongest. These four were the first - batch Judges. Indeed, they had lived from the 570th year to the 840th year.
Moreover, there were no signs of aging on them. Nearly 300 years had passed without leaving a single trace on their faces. They still looked young, as if they were only in their twenties or thirties.
The final battle strategy meeting was held at Underground Base 1, the earliest and most secure shelter. In a circular conference room with a diameter of 100 meters, it was filled with people—councilors, politicians, and senior 将领 of the Judges' army.
"General Talos, please report on the current situation of the Judges." An elderly man with white hair in the conference room said to a middle - aged man.
"Currently, there are over 70,000 Judges in total. More than half of them have reached the Judicator level, and there are 167 Chosen Ones. Four of them are the first - batch Judges, with codes A - 001 - 04, A - 017 - 02, A - 014 - 14, and A - 026 - 10." The middle - aged man, wearing a shoulder strap with four stars, activated a holographic projection, displaying all the data in the middle of the conference room, with various data marked on it.
"These four will be the main force against The End. We will also select a few powerful Chosen Ones to join this team. The End is extremely powerful, and having more people isn't necessarily better. We don't need unnecessary sacrifices. So my idea is to be precise. As long as we kill The End, the other parasites won't be a threat."
"How is the development of the new weapons by the Research Department going?"
"Everything is ready on our end. The three planetary orbital cannons have all been inspected and confirmed to be able to operate at full power." The person in charge of the Research Department was a red - haired woman, not very old, only in her thirties or forties. In recent years, all new armors and weapons had come from her, so she had reached this position at a young age.
Especially the planetary orbital cannons she developed, which had been operating in Earth's orbit, powered by absorbing solar radiation. A full - power shot could kill hundreds of Domain - level parasites.
There was also the armor she developed specifically for these four, which she called the Divine - Slayer Armor. In her words, if The End was really a god, this armor could counter even a god.
The energy crystals used in the armor had an astonishing energy capacity of 700 gigajoules. Despite the volume being doubled, the capacity had increased more than twentyfold.
Three hours later...
"All departments, enter Level 1 alert status. We will launch the attack on The End in three days. Please do your best." The white - haired man at the head of the table bowed deeply to everyone.
"We will live up to the people's expectations!!!" Everyone else in the conference room stood up and shouted solemnly.
Three days later, at 10:00 a.m., at Mount 珠穆朗玛 (Everest)...
"Everyone, we are the elite among the Judges. At 2:00 p.m. today, we will launch an attack on The End. Only by killing The End can we have a future. This battle determines the future, the fate of humanity depends on this battle." The team attacking The End had 14 members, led by A - 001 - 04. He looked remarkable, wearing a black combat suit embedded with 24 energy crystals. This combat suit was strange; with their strength, they didn't need so many energy crystals.
"The battle plan is simple. A - 017 - 02, A - 014 - 14, A - 026 - 10 and I will be the main attackers, pinning down The End. The eight of you wait for the right moment to attack and find an opportunity to deliver a fatal blow to The End." A - 001 - 04 knew very well that this plan was almost impossible to kill The End, even if all Chosen Ones joined. But he was a soldier, and a soldier's duty was to obey. He wouldn't ask why; he would just execute.
"Yes!" The other thirteen were the same. They would only follow orders, their eyes firm. Except for one—A - 026 - 10. Her gaze was fixed on A - 001 - 04, and there seemed to be something different in her eyes compared to other Judges.
At 2:00 p.m., the attack on The End began.
The battle took place on the second - level step of Mount Everest. Since her birth, The End had been living here. She had only acted twice—once in the Antarctic Battle and once in the European Battle. Both times had caused heavy losses to the Judges.
Although they had finally recaptured the areas, the casualties were much higher than expected. This made people realize that The End's strength couldn't be overcome by numbers alone.
The battle started as planned. A - 001 - 04, A - 017 - 02, A - 014 - 14, and A - 026 - 10 were the main attackers. Together, they barely managed to hold The End back, but The End remained uninjured. They were covered in scars, and if this continued, they would surely be defeated.
Less than ten minutes into the battle, two of them were dead, and the four were all injured to varying degrees. The End also had many wounds, but none were fatal. She looked much better than them.
Meanwhile, at Underground Base 1...
"Report, all three planetary orbital cannons are ready, and their charging rates have reached 100%. We can start attacking The End."
"It's not enough, not enough. 100% power is not enough." The red - haired head of the Research Department shook her head and started typing on the keyboard, sending several commands to the three orbital cannons.
"Beep! Beep! Beep! Warning! Orbital Cannon 1's charge reaches 120%, 150%..."
"Orbital Cannon 2's charge reaches 130%, 170%..." The entire laboratory was filled with red alarms and mechanical sounds. Everyone in the laboratory looked at the woman in astonishment.
"Okay, all of you get out. I'll handle the rest." The red - haired woman didn't care about the astonished looks and continued typing, controlling the three orbital cannons.
"But, Doctor..." The operator just now wanted to say something.
"I said, get out!!!" The red - haired woman shouted, interrupting the operator. As she finished speaking, the people left the laboratory one after another.
At Mount Everest...
The battle had lasted half an hour. Only six of them remained, and A - 014 - 14 had also died. These six were all seriously injured. The End was also in a sorry state, but not as bad as them. Still, they continued to fight, constantly fighting.
Their order was to kill The End. As long as The End wasn't dead, they would fight to the last person.
"Kill!!!" They were driven back by The End again. Their armors were in tatters, and so were their weapons, but they didn't take a step back; they charged forward bravely.
At Laboratory 1...
"Orbital Cannon 1's charge reaches 500%, Orbital Cannon 2's charge reaches 500%, Orbital Cannon 3's charge reaches 500%. Energy overload. The orbital cannons are expected to explode in 3 minutes." Mechanical sounds kept ringing. The orbital cannons were operating beyond their power limits and would soon be unable to withstand.
"Lock target, fire at full power." The red - haired woman pressed the launch button. All three orbital cannons locked onto the second - level step of Mount Everest and fired at 500% power.
"Target locked, launch successful. System overheating, entering standby mode..." After firing at 500% power, the three orbital cannons were basically half - destroyed.
This was their plan: pin down The End and use the three orbital cannons to kill her. The 500% power of the three orbital cannons might not be enough to kill The End, but there were still 14 Judges. The Judges had energy cores on them—14 people had a total of 336 cores, containing 235,200 gigajoules of energy.
This was pure energy, and its explosive power would be enormous.
On the second - level step of Mount Everest...
When the battle had lasted 40 minutes, only A - 017 - 02, A - 026 - 10, and A - 001 - 04 remained. They felt strange. This combat suit was clearly better, with purer crystal cores and more energy, but until they were on the verge of death, the energy of these crystal cores seemed unchanged.
At this moment, the sky above their heads seemed to change slightly. A - 026 - 10 noticed something and glanced at the bodies of their fallen comrades on the ground.
She understood everything in an instant. Her face changed drastically. She ignored the battle with The End and rushed to A - 001 - 04's side in an instant. She pressed the button on the back of his combat suit. The combat suit instantly disintegrated into molecules and left A - 001 - 04's body. Then she grabbed his arm and threw him out. The whole process took less than 0.1 seconds. Before A - 001 - 04 could react, he was thrown out.
A - 026 - 10 was known for her speed. In terms of speed, she was even faster than The End. So she could react instantly, while the others still didn't know what was happening.
She also took off her combat suit and ran outside, but it was too late.
"Boom!!!" The attack from the three orbital cannons arrived in an instant, and it also triggered all the energy crystals in the combat suits. The huge explosion instantly flattened Mount Everest, and the entire mountain range was hit by a large earthquake, with countless rocks falling from the sky.
A - 026 - 10 was blown several kilometers away. A - 001 - 04, no matter how slow - witted, knew what had happened. He adjusted his posture and used his biological field to fly, catching A - 026 - 10 in the air.
A - 026 - 10 was on the verge of death but kept looking at A - 001 - 04, a smile on her lips. When they landed, they had been blown more than ten kilometers away by the shock wave.
A - 001 - 04 placed A - 026 - 10 on the ground, half - holding her. His brows were furrowed. He didn't understand why A - 026 - 10 had saved him, and he didn't know why, looking at A - 026 - 10 in such a state, his chest felt tight and he could barely breathe. He just looked at A - 026 - 10 in silence.
A - 026 - 10 smiled and tremblingly reached out to touch A - 001 - 04's face. But she was too injured to reach. A - 001 - 04 just looked at her, not moving further.
"Fortunately, you're safe, and everything happened in time." A - 026 - 10 had no disappointment. This was destined to be her one - person show, and she had no regrets.
"Why?" A - 001 - 04 was silent for a long time before asking. Why did he feel so 难受?Why did A - 026 - 10 save him? Why did she still smile when she was dying? Why was her tone full of relief.
"Because.........I love you." A - 026 - 10 stared at A - 001 - 04 for a long, long time. As she finished speaking, she closed her eyes, lifeless.
After hearing this answer, A - 001 - 04 fell silent. He didn't know what this feeling represented. All these years, for him, there had only been battle, endless battle.
They weren't allowed to have emotions. If they did, they would be captured for treatment. If the treatment was successful, they could return to the team; if not, they would be destroyed. Emotions were foreign to him. He had no joys, sorrows, or pleasures, and was indifferent to the departure of comrades.
But today, as he watched A - 026 - 10 die, his chest felt tight and he could barely breathe.
"What does 'love' mean?"