"What's happening?"
At the Hayes forward base in the distance, the commander had not yet recovered from the shock of a legendary demon escaping the research facility when he heard the terrifying song emanating from the sky.
Immediately, a scene that shattered his reason unfolded.
Above, a dark world far larger than this one was descending at incredible speed.
The outer edges of this world, the shattered crystalline barriers, no longer required magical instruments to observe—they could now be seen with the naked eye.
Countless cracks, like broken glass, appeared across the sky, multiplying rapidly.
These shattered traces were proof of the Endless Abyss's arrival, proof that the crystal barriers had been broken.
"What kind of world is this?!"
Even the commander, whose reason was already on edge, was pushed to the brink of collapse by the arrival of this divine world, the Endless Abyss.
Having witnessed the fall of countless worlds before, the commander trembled as he took in the true form of the Endless Abyss.
It was all too small—his existence, and even the existence of his homeworld, were infinitesimal in comparison.
At that moment, he finally realized that every strategy he had conceived was completely wrong.
It wasn't them who were going to conquer the Endless Abyss.
On the contrary, it was their hubris that would lead them to be conquered!
"All along, this kind of world has never been our target for conquest!"
"My greed has caused meaningless sacrifice."
The commander trembled as he stood. Regaining a fragment of his reason, he made the most "rational" decision he could:
"Deputy officers, issue the combat orders! Tell the front-line soldiers that reinforcements are on the way!"
"Tell them that our homeworld has already dispatched a massive support force."
His quiet voice echoed throughout the base, but what he said next shocked everyone.
"All guards, the orders I give you are as follows:
Take all scientists, alchemists, and mages, and leave this plane!
Then, close the passage leading to this world from the other end!
No ordinary soldier may escape this world, except you and the researchers!"
Many soldiers, busy with their tasks, stared at the lone commander in disbelief, thinking: *You've gone mad.*
They couldn't understand why the usually calm and collected commander would issue such contradictory orders, orders filled with lies.
"Yes, sir!"
At this moment, the difference between guards and ordinary soldiers became clear.
These fully indoctrinated guards dragged one researcher after another, ignoring their screams and struggles, and headed straight for the spatial passage.
The communications soldiers hesitated, uncertain if they should transmit these orders—orders crueler than an extermination decree.
Other soldiers, upon realizing they would be left behind, broke down completely.
In the face of life and death, the rationality granted by chemical injections was limited.
"You're insane!" "Commander, what are you doing?!" "He's lost it, just like the soldiers!"
"You're a traitor! You're sending our comrades to their deaths!"
"You're abandoning all of us?!"
Unbeknownst to them, the commander was not insane—it was they who were.
Some soldiers ran toward the spatial passage, while others drew their weapons, aiming at the commander.
But…
"Do you want your homeworld destroyed?"
The commander's cold voice cut through the chaos. The soldiers froze, looking at him.
"I apologize for my previous misjudgments!"
He removed his helmet and addressed all Hayes soldiers:
"This time, we face an enemy that cannot be defeated by war. Their world is far too vast!"
The Hayes soldiers raised their heads, gazing at the descending black-red vortex in the sky, sinking into despair.
"I don't know how many soldiers or powerful warriors remain in their world.
But I do know this…"
The commander knelt before the soldiers, his voice icy and merciless:
"We are no match for that twisted, fallen, chaotic world.
And our homeworld, now shrouded in darkness, is no match either.
So, I selfishly ask one thing of you: stay here.
After the valuable researchers have left, use your lives to complete the ritual—erase all traces of the spatial coordinates!"
The soldiers, mages, and alchemists were stunned.
"Wait… you mean erase the spatial coordinates?"
In theory, even if a spatial passage was destroyed, traces of the coordinates would remain in the originating world for days.
"When did we acquire this technique? Was it invented by the Academy? Or magic…"
"It's always existed. It's just never been public."
The commander shook his head.
"Only the highest-ranking of us know how to perform this ritual. Unlike textbooks suggest, in our invasions of other worlds, we have faced defeats.
Whenever encountering an enemy we cannot confront, the forward commander will issue such a decision.
If our world's coordinates are obtained by a powerful enemy, all our efforts will be for nothing.
So, for our ugly, yet nurturing homeworld…
Die here!"
A Hayes soldier stepped forward, punching the commander in the face.
"Pfft!"
Spitting on him, he spat out with utter disdain:
"I'll stay! But… not for you, for the children of my homeworld!"
Another soldier followed, delivering his own punch, cursing:
"I've never eaten much soft food, drunk much clean water, or breathed uncontaminated air. But after those worlds are conquered, my parents will enjoy the delights they never had.
For them, I will stay!"
One by one, more soldiers made the same choice.
After the commander collapsed, the soldiers only spat and cursed, saving their energy for the ritual.
Minutes later, the commander and the final few thousand soldiers stood amidst the wreckage, silently watching the approaching black mist.
On distant battlefields, countless Hayes soldiers fought desperately, motivated by the belief that "reinforcements are on the way!"
At the core of the base, the spatial passage was finally sealed—at the cost of life.
"You're late!"
Looking at the black mist, the commander smiled faintly:
"Our world has escaped your grasp! Though we lost this battle, we have not lost the war!
All you can take are our bodies and souls—nothing else!"
Chu Hao emerged silently from the black mist.
He gazed at the Hayes soldiers, who had been used as ritual "materials," and smiled enigmatically.
"I think you've misunderstood.
Your souls are of little value to me."
A chill of dread washed over the commander's mind again.
"Oh no…"
"The only reason I came here was to see the despair in your eyes!"
Chu Hao smiled fearfully at the tiny insect-like commander.
Raising his hand, a black-red "unstable" portal appeared before him.
At the end of the portal lay the Hayes homeworld!
"All the despair you've produced is… delicious to me!"
With the commander's eyes full of despair, Chu Hao stepped into their world.
Into that mysterious, unfathomable dark world.