Chapter 407: The Worm
"The alliance, in the end, cannot be relied upon. The Yamato people cannot place their hopes on foreign races..." Yamamoto pondered the behavior of that Anti-Bai Mo Alliance and ultimately abandoned the idea of relying on them.
Led by the United States, the European Union, Yamato, the Latin Alliance, and Russia had temporarily put aside their prejudices a year ago to establish an alliance meeting, discussing joint efforts against the ever-expanding Land of White, whose goal was to swallow the entire Earth.
However, the various great nations, always riddled with conflicts and prioritizing their own survival over others', were outwardly united but inwardly divided during the alliance meeting, with no deep-seated cooperation whatsoever. The agreements they signed were all superficial gestures.
As Yamato was the primary target, the other nations hoped they would exert themselves fully, doing their utmost to weaken the Land of White's power.
Relying on their uniquely abundant Spirit Stone resources from volcanoes, Yamato had the highest proportion of superhumans in the world. This was the fundamental reason they were able to be counted among the great powers of the Spirit Qi Era.
While they didn't expect Yamato to achieve a mutually destructive outcome with the Land of White, it was better to expend others' lives than to expend their own.
Thus, the support Yamato received consisted almost entirely of advanced military equipment and spiritual materials, while actual superhuman units from other nations were few and far between.
"Whether you choose to resist or not, the final outcome will be no different." The ambassador's voice suddenly became devoid of all emotion, as if he had instantly transformed into someone else.
"He's here?" Yamamoto, deep in thought, immediately guessed the reason after discovering a faint, yet alarming, surge of power emanating from the Land of White's ambassador, who had previously posed no threat to him.
"The concept of 'battle' does not exist between us. Within ten years, I will take over the entire planet." A terrifying pressure erupted from the ambassador, whose eyes were vacant and whose form was like a puppet.
The guards responsible for Yamamoto's safety had their expressions twist in that moment.
Because even when facing the pressure unconsciously leaked by the ambassador before them, they still had to exert all their strength to resist, just to ensure they weren't forced to their knees.
If they were to disgrace themselves by bending their knees in such a situation and thus tarnish Yamato's image, their only choice afterward would likely be ritual suicide by seppuku.
"Heart's Fire Purgatory!" Yamamoto drew his ceremonial sword and unleashed a colorless flame barrier to counter the overwhelming pressure.
Once enveloped by the barrier's flames, the pressure on them diminished to an easily bearable level. The guards, who had been struggling to hold on, immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
"Compared to destruction, creation truly is more interesting." Looking at Yamamoto, who had fully entered a battle-ready state, the descending entity suddenly uttered a bewildering remark and then vanished.
Bai Mo, who was researching how to remold physical bodies for souls, just happened to achieve a new breakthrough at this moment. Thus, he withdrew the will of his descending entity that had been confronting Yamamoto and focused all his thoughts on this more important matter.
Regardless of the pleasantries or lack thereof, things would proceed as they were meant to, without any changes or compromises. The research into remolding physical bodies was far more interesting in his eyes.
"Mr. Yamamoto, what is this...?" The ambassador, having regained consciousness, had not noticed that his body had been temporarily taken over. Thus, he confusedly questioned the group, who looked as if they were facing a great enemy.
"It's nothing." Judging from his tone that the person had switched back, Yamamoto sheathed his long sword, his expression returning to its usual coldness.
Another meeting summoning the ambassador ended without result. Bai Mo's appearance had become an insignificant interlude.
United States, New Pentagon.
"Yamato likely only has two years left. When that land bridge reaches Yamato proper, everything for them will be over," said Gei Te, the new President of the United States, pointing at the latest world map.
"For us, located on the American continent, we have at most ten years."
"How much longer will the construction of the 'Worm' take?" During the internal meeting, former President Joseph Lee, who was present, raised his question.
After nearly eight years of management, although he hadn't achieved his initial ambition of becoming emperor of the United States, he had successfully ensured that the next president was 'one of his own,' and he himself would run for president again after another eight years.
The democratic elections that the United States had once prided itself on had ultimately been manipulated by him into a game of alternating terms.
"At least three more years. Sometimes I wonder, will we end up unleashing a monster that destroys the world?" Gei Te's tone carried a hint of worry.
"If it doesn't have the power to destroy the world, do you think it could deal with that person?" Raul, smoking his pipe nearby, clearly had a broader perspective and more confidence.
Over the past decade, concepts like morality, equality, and human rights had been severely challenged. The benefit, however, was that with the lowering of ethical boundaries, a host of black technologies that would have originally caused widespread moral controversy were quietly developed by various secret laboratories in the United States.
As a major arms dealer, Raul, his subordinate Mos's Laboratory was a crucial component of this effort. The creation of the 'Worm' was precisely one of the primary breakthrough research tasks handled by Mos's Laboratory.
"Teach, what are your thoughts?" The others turned to look at Marshal Edward Teach, who sat to one side, wearing a black military cap.
Ever since his avatar, possessing power comparable to his main body, was destroyed during a probing mission in Australia a year ago, the formerly stout Teach had abruptly lost dozens of pounds, only gradually recovering until now. His usually arrogant personality had also reined itself in considerably, making him uncharacteristically taciturn.
"His strength a year ago was roughly fifty times mine." After a year had passed, Teach, as an enemy who had personally fought him, for the first time revealed the precise data.
Previously, after his probing mission failed, no one had dared to poke that hornet's nest and inquire about the specific details. Teach's brutality and arrogance were well-known. His moniker, 'Butcher,' was certainly not unearned.
The number of people he had personally killed already exceeded five digits, most of them during the civil war. Teach had countless enemies, having fled the United States for the Latin Alliance. After he had re-established his footing, they collectively offered a bounty of ten billion U.S. dollars for Teach's head, yet even today, he was still alive and well.
Because Teach remained silent, analysts could only conduct on-site investigations afterward to obtain environmental data from the Australian battlefield. Using computers in conjunction with special reconnaissance ability users, they partially reconstructed the situation at that time.
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