Chapter 385: Prefer Death to Dishonor! |
The God-Level Civilization, "Human Civilization", has officially announced its destruction.
The entire battle lasted for barely the blink of an eye. Every civilization in the universe, aside from the remaining twenty-six God-Level Civilizations, quietly observed this war through their own methods and received that somewhat playful Civilization Broadcast.
-
"The universe is a grand stage; come if you want to die."
"Surrender within seven days, and you shall be spared."
-
For a time—
Every civilization in the entire universe qualified to detect this war fell silent. The original "Human Civilization", which was an incredibly formidable powerhouse even among God-Level Civilizations, had perished just like that. Taking its place on the stage was a brand-new Human Civilization!
"..."
After a long while.
An old man sitting at the head of the table finally looked toward a middle-aged man in the corner and spoke in a hoarse voice, "When you led the Rugged Civilization back to our main branch, you told me something. You said you had encountered a Tier-6 Civilization with immense potential called the 'Human Civilization'."
"You judged that they had the potential to break through and become a God-Level Civilization. You suggested that once our civilization achieved God-Level status, we should lend them a helping hand during their God-Level Civilization war, thereby securing an incredibly powerful ally."
"Is the Human Civilization you spoke of... this Human Civilization?"
"Yes..."
The middle-aged man sitting in the corner was currently staring with a face full of utter disbelief. His mouth hung open for a long time before he finally replied with a trembling voice, "It is him. I just never expected him to be this fast."
He was originally the leader of the Tier-7 Rugged Civilization.
Before returning to the main branch of their clan, he had encountered Chen Mang. Honoring their agreement, he had left his resources to Chen Mang. He knew this guy had immense potential and would definitely carve out his own prestigious reputation in the universe in the future. However, he never imagined that the speed of this rise would be so absurdly fast.
How long had it even been?
He hadn't even fully settled in yet!
Their main clan was still making preparations to initiate the God-Level Civilization war. They had not even officially broken through to become a God-Level Civilization yet.
And yet, this guy had already taken the step first?
Moreover, looking at the situation, it seemed he did not just want to stop at becoming a God-Level Civilization!
"..."
The leader of the Star Arrow Civilization looked at the middle-aged man in the corner, his mouth twitching slightly. He had always considered himself the protagonist of the universe. If this universe were merely a novel, he firmly believed he would be the main character.
Along his journey.
He had encountered endless special encounters.
From an ordinary member of the Star Arrow Clan, he had gone through grueling cultivation to finally reach the position of the "Holy Arrow". He then led his race's rise to power, ultimately gathering all the scattered clansmen across the universe, ready to amass all their strength and charge toward the status of a God-Level Civilization.
His life was like an inspiring blockbuster film.
Resilience and hard work were his defining traits.
Success and formidable strength were the sum of his experiences.
But—
When he saw the Civilization Broadcast sent out by the "Human Civilization", when he witnessed the footage of their war, when he learned that they had broken through from a Tier-6 Civilization to a God-Level Civilization in an incredibly short span of time, and when he realized that the God-Level Civilization status he had dreamed of was achieved by the other party with a casual wave of a hand, he fell silent.
He suddenly felt that he might not be the protagonist after all.
That man named Chen Mang was the true protagonist.
He had worked so hard and achieved so much success, yet all it earned him was the mere qualification to look up to this man. As for those inferior to him, they didn't even have the right to detect this Civilization Broadcast. They didn't even know what had just happened.
An immense sense of loss surged in his heart. This crushing feeling of defeat was something he had never experienced since the day he was born.
"Huu..."
The leader of the Star Arrow Civilization took a deep breath, his entire being suddenly seeming to age a decade. He looked toward the man in the corner who had previously interacted with Chen Mang and spoke in a raspy voice, "Surrender to the Human Civilization in my name."
"Yes!"
Soon, the man's voice rang out from the corner of the conference room. "Leader, we have already broadcasted our civilization's message to the universe. I believe the Human Civilization will detect it and reply very shortly."
"Mhm." The leader of the Star Arrow Civilization leaned back in his chair, looking exhausted and powerless. "When they reply, let me know what demands they make."
The civilization he had built with his own two hands had surrendered just like that, without putting up a fight or waging any war. Resentment lingered in his heart. Countless times in the dead of night, he had fantasized about becoming a God-Level Civilization and leading his clansmen to the absolute pinnacle of the universe.
This matter was like an obsession that had firmly taken root deep within his heart.
He had once firmly believed that he would choose to prefer death to dishonor, fighting alongside his civilization until only the very last person remained!
He possessed that resolve!
That was, until he encountered the "Human Civilization". It wasn't until he witnessed the footage of that completely one-sided, overwhelming war that he finally understood the true meaning of a meaningless battle. If he truly refused to surrender, war would yield only one outcome: the total annihilation of the Star Arrow Clan from the universe!
Right at that moment—
The AI robot in the conference room suddenly spoke up, "Leader, I have detected a new Civilization Broadcast from the Human Civilization."
"Read it."
"'Civilizations below the God-Level do not need to surrender. Go find a random corner to play in by yourselves.'"
"What?"
The leader of the Star Arrow Civilization immediately shot up to his feet, laughing out of sheer fury as he slammed his palm onto the table. "What the hell does that guy mean? My Star Arrow Civilization is a Tier-9 Civilization! We are an existence on the verge of breaking through to the God-Level! In his eyes, do we not even have the right to surrender?"
"Good! Very good!!!"
"Since he is like this..."
He had been ready to spout some harsh words, but as his gaze subconsciously swept over the crowd in the conference room, he noticed the complex emotions in their eyes—mixed with a trace of deep-seated fear toward the future. The words on the tip of his tongue were swallowed back down. His lips trembled slightly, and after a long moment of silence, he let out a miserable chuckle.
"As of today, I am stepping down from my position as the leader of the Star Arrow Civilization. You can choose the new leader yourselves. The AI will assist you in completing the handover process."
With that said.
He left the conference room without even looking back.
All the pride, dignity, and achievements he had built up over his entire lifetime completely collapsed the moment the Human Civilization refused to accept his surrender. He had worked relentlessly his whole life, and just when he thought he had become successful enough, he realized he didn't even have the qualifications to surrender.
This intense sense of defeat—coupled with the sheer impossibility of taking another step forward in a future overshadowed by such an insurmountable mountain—made him lose all desire to remain in his position.
He had originally thought himself to be the protagonist.
But later, he discovered that he was nothing more than an extra, and an extra who didn't even have the right to speak to the protagonist at that.
All of this was simply too difficult for him to accept.
After the old man left.
The crowd in the conference room turned their gazes toward the former leader of the Rugged Civilization. Among everyone present, this guy was the only one who had ever interacted with Chen Mang and even left behind a foundation of goodwill. Naturally, he was the most suitable candidate to take over as the leader of the Star Arrow Civilization.
"...Uh."
The middle-aged man, who was formerly the Grand Elder of the Rugged Civilization, felt his eyelids twitch as he looked at the stares directed his way. He naturally understood what everyone meant. After a long pause, he finally spoke, "Raise your hand if you agree with me becoming the new leader of the Star Arrow Civilization."
Swish, swish, swish.
It was passed unanimously. Every single person, including the AI, raised their hand.
Among everyone here, only the AI truly understood how terrifying the Human Civilization was. It had calculated the win rate if the two civilizations went to war. The Star Arrow Civilization's win rate was 0.00001%, and that insignificant fraction of a chance was built entirely on the premise that the leader of the Human Civilization suddenly dropped dead.
After all, the combat power of the entire Human Civilization was extremely concentrated, residing solely within a single train. The moment that train's captain was defeated, the Human Civilization would naturally fall apart. However, while it was easy to say, executing such a decapitation strike would be monumentally difficult.
And just like that.
The meeting came to an end. The former Grand Elder of the Rugged Civilization silently walked out of the conference room. At this moment, he felt incredibly grateful in his heart. Back when he left the Rugged Civilization, Chen Mang had given him a human who possessed the "Holy Arrow" talent, allowing them to traverse the Bloodline Wormhole.
After returning to the main clan, he had concealed the existence of this human.
Otherwise, that human would have definitely been erased.
This also meant that he could potentially use this matter to establish a relatively good relationship with the Human Civilization. If that human had been killed back then, things would be incredibly troublesome right now.
Just as he stepped out of the conference room.
He looked at the assistant beside him with a bit of anxiety and hurriedly whispered, "After we came back, I told you all to treat that human well as a guest. Where is that human now?"
Although he had issued such an order.
Sometimes, when the orders of a superior were carried out, various deviations would always occur. In the past, minor mistakes were acceptable, but he absolutely did not want any slip-ups at a critical time like this.
"They are in the safe house. They're eating well and sleeping soundly every day."
"Good, good, good. Elevate their treatment to the highest level possible."
"Understood."
The assistant naturally understood the severity of the issue at this moment.
Meanwhile—
Inside the Stellaris Train.
Qi Ya squeezed out a smile as she stood before Chen Mang, biting the bullet as she spoke. "Boss Mang... I know my father's temper. Our Zerg Civilization will always prefer death to dishonor. It is impossible for him to surrender."
"Could you please spare the Zerg Civilization for my sake?"
"Shh."
Chen Mang furrowed his brows and looked up, interrupting Qi Ya's words. "First, the Zerg can surrender. Didn't you surrender when you joined the Stellaris Train back then?"
"Second, I only asked him to surrender. I never said I was going to exterminate his entire race. What is there to talk about sparing?"
"My father's personality is to prefer death to dishonor. He will never surrender."
"Then he can just wait to die. You can't just talk about preferring death to dishonor while secretly not wanting to die, right?"
"I..."
Feeling helpless, Qi Ya turned around to look behind her, wanting her husband Zhang Yi to come out and say a few words. She had married Zhang Yi a long time ago. He was the older of the two brothers, the one who loved eating roujiamo and moving heavy things.
However, Zhang Yi, who usually doted on her incredibly, absolutely refused to follow her over after learning her purpose for seeking out Boss Mang this time. He was even prepared to ask for a divorce.
On one side was familial love.
On the other was romantic love.
Caught in the middle, she didn't want to abandon either side.
Even though she hadn't seen her father in a long time, the image of his majestic face still occasionally flashed through her mind, along with his stories of past heroic battles. Thinking of this, tears couldn't help but fall as she knelt on the ground, her voice trembling.
"Boss Mang..."
"I beg you, please spare my father. It's truly impossible for him to surrender. I don't want to lose my father. Can't there be a happy ending?"
"The Zerg Civilization poses absolutely no threat to the Human Civilization."
Right at that moment—
Xiao Ai's voice echoed through the train carriage.
"I have detected a spatial jump nearby. It is a Zerg mothership, and it is rapidly approaching. The mothership has lowered its energy shields and is not equipped with any weapons systems. They have sent us a message. It is the leader of the Zerg Civilization, requesting permission to board the train for a conversation."
Logically speaking, no civilization in the universe should have been able to detect the location of their train.
However, since they had broadcasted their civilization's message outward, it naturally exposed their coordinates.
"It's over."
Qi Ya's voice trembled with sobs. "He couldn't bear the humiliation and came here to fight to the death. Boss Mang, I beg you. You can wipe out the entire Zerg Civilization, but can you please spare my father's life?"
Soon.
The door to the train carriage slowly opened.
The sound of laughter arrived before the person even stepped into view.
A middle-aged man's hearty laugh echoed rapidly. Soon, a middle-aged man walked into the carriage with two attendants. He grinned broadly, speaking in somewhat broken and non-standard human tongue.
"Looks like I made it here pretty fast."
"I was rushing here nonstop. I always felt that surrendering through a Civilization Broadcast lacked sincerity. So, I specifically brought along all the resources of the Zerg Civilization to surrender in person."
"Although the magnanimous Human Civilization only asked for seventy percent."
"I still felt that, to celebrate the ascension of the universe's greatest new God, offering a mere seventy percent of our resources wouldn't fully convey our sincerity. Only one hundred percent is enough!"
The middle-aged man took a deep breath. Without a single moment of hesitation, he looked at Chen Mang sitting in his chair, dropped down to one knee, and offered up a spatial storage bag with both hands. His voice was deep and hoarse as he declared, "The current Zerg Empress of the Zerg Civilization has come specifically to congratulate the new God on His ascension! We formally surrender to the Human Civilization, and we hope to become the most loyal vassal race to the Human Civilization in the future!"
The entire process was as smooth as flowing water.
There wasn't a single pause or hesitation.
It was as incredibly fluid as a stage play that had been rehearsed countless times.
As his words faded.
The train carriage suddenly descended into dead silence.
After a long while.
Qi Ya, who was still kneeling to the side, looked at her familiar yet suddenly foreign father. Her eyes were filled with absolute disbelief and bewilderment as she asked in a trembling voice, "Dad? What are you doing? Weren't you the type to prefer death to dishonor? How... how could you just surrender like this?"
In her heart.
It was utterly impossible for her father to surrender. No matter how incredibly powerful the enemy was, he would never submit.
In her memories, her father had always been a serious, stern figure. Since when had he ever been this completely shameless and smiley?
"Qi Ya?"
The solemnly kneeling Zerg Empress finally noticed his daughter kneeling off to the side. He was immediately a bit surprised and excited. "Why are you here? Are you also here to represent the Zerg Civilization and surrender?"
"I thought my speed would be the fastest, but I didn't expect you to be even quicker! I knew it. You have always been the most outstanding heir to the Zerg Civilization!"
"..."
Qi Ya remained kneeling in place, utterly bewildered for a long time. She suddenly felt that spending all this time begging Boss Mang was completely pointless. Her father was far, far more afraid of death than she had ever imagined.