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Chapter 385 - Death Before Dishonor! [2.3k]

 

Translator: AnubisTL

 

The God-Tier Civilization, "Human Civilization," was officially declared extinct.

The entire battle lasted barely a blink of an eye. Every civilization in the universe, except for the remaining 26 God-Tier Civilizations, silently observed the conflict through their own means and received the somewhat farcical Civilization Broadcast.

[Cosmic Grand Stage: Come if you seek death.]

[Within seven days, those who surrender will be spared.]

In an instant—

Every civilization in the universe capable of detecting the war fell silent. The "human civilization," once considered one of the most formidable among God-Tier Civilizations, had been so easily annihilated, replaced by an entirely new human civilization!

"..."

In a remote corner of the cosmos, within the conference room of the Tier 9 Sagittarius Civilization, the high-ranking officials sat in stunned silence, their gazes fixed on the flickering images on the screen. Not a single word was spoken.

After a long silence, the elderly leader finally turned to a middle-aged man seated in the corner and rasped, "When you led the Rugged Civilization back to our clan, you mentioned encountering a Sixth-Tier Civilization with remarkable potential—the 'human civilization.'"

"You predicted they had the potential to ascend to God-Tier status and suggested that after our civilization achieved God-Tier status, we should assist them during their God-Tier Civilization War. This would secure us a powerful ally."

"Is this the human civilization you were referring to?"

"Yes."

The middle-aged man in the corner stared in disbelief, his mouth agape for a long moment before he finally stammered, "It's him. I just never imagined he would progress so quickly."

He had once been the leader of the Rugged Civilization, a Tier 7 civilization.

Before returning to his clan, he had met Chen Mang and fulfilled his promise by leaving resources for him. He knew this young man possessed immense potential and was destined to carve out a formidable reputation in the cosmos. However, he never imagined Chen Mang's rise would be so meteoric.

How long had it been?

He hadn't even settled back into his clan yet!

His people were still preparing for the God-Tier Civilization War, not having officially broken through to God-Tier status.

And you, old man, have already taken the lead?

Moreover, it seems you're not merely aiming for God-Tier status!

The leader of the Sagittarius Civilization glanced at the middle-aged man in the corner, his lips twitching slightly. From the moment he entered the Cosmic Grand Stage, he had believed himself to be the protagonist of the universe. If this cosmos were merely a fictional tale, he was certain he would be the hero.

Throughout his journey, he had been blessed with countless fortuitous encounters.

Starting as an ordinary Sagittarius Clan member, he had cultivated diligently to attain the position of "Holy Arrow," then led his clan to rise in prominence. Finally, he had gathered all the scattered clansmen across the cosmos, preparing to marshal their combined strength for a final assault on God-Tier Civilization status.

His life resembled an inspirational epic.

Resilience and relentless effort were his hallmarks.

Success and power were his achievements.

But—

After witnessing the human civilization's Civilization Broadcast, observing its war footage, and learning that it had ascended from a Sixth-Tier Civilization to a God-Tier Civilization in an impossibly short time, he fell silent.

He suddenly realized he might not be the protagonist after all.

That title belonged to Chen Mang.

He had striven so hard, achieved so much, yet could only gaze up at Chen Mang from afar. Those less accomplished than him weren't even qualified to detect the Civilization Broadcast, let alone understand what was happening.

A profound sense of loss washed over him, a feeling of defeat he had never accepted in his life.

"Hah..."

The Leader of the Sagittarius Civilization took a deep breath, instantly appearing decades older. His voice hoarse, he turned to the man who had made contact with Chen Mang, sitting in the corner. "Surrender to the human civilization in my name."

"Yes, sir!"

Soon, the man's voice echoed from the corner of the conference room. "Leader, the Civilization Broadcast has been sent into space. I believe the human civilization will detect it and respond soon."

"Hmm." The Leader of the Sagittarius Civilization leaned back wearily in his chair, his strength seemingly drained. "They've replied. Tell me their demands."

The civilization he had painstakingly built was surrendering without a single battle. His heart burned with resentment. Countless nights, he had dreamed of leading his people to the pinnacle of the cosmos as a God-Tier Civilization.

This ambition had become an obsession, deeply rooted in his soul.

He had once firmly believed that he would rather die than see his civilization surrender, fighting to the last man!

He had the resolve!

But then he encountered the Human Civilization and witnessed their overwhelming, yet asymmetrical, war. Only then did he understand the futility of war. Had he refused to surrender, the outcome would have been inevitable: the complete annihilation of the Sagittarius Clan from the universe.

Just then—

The AI Robot in the conference room suddenly spoke: "Leader, the Human Civilization has broadcast a new Civilization Broadcast."

"Read it."

"Civilizations below God-Tier need not surrender. Go find a corner to play in."

"What?!"

The Leader of the Sagittarius Civilization leaped to his feet, his anger turning into a derisive laugh. He slammed his fist on the table. "What does that bastard mean? My Sagittarius Civilization is a Tier 9 Civilization, on the verge of ascending to God-Tier! Does he think we're not even worthy of surrendering?"

"Very well, very well, very well!"

"Since he insists on this..."

He had been about to unleash a torrent of harsh words, but a subconscious glance at the complex, fear-tinged expressions on the faces of those in the conference room made him swallow his words. His lips trembled slightly as he remained silent for a long moment before letting out a bitter laugh.

"Effective immediately, I relinquish my position as Leader of the Sagittarius Civilization. Choose your new leader yourselves. The AI will assist with the transition."

With that, he turned and strode out of the conference room without looking back.

All the pride, dignity, and achievements he had accumulated throughout his life crumbled the moment the human civilization refused to accept his surrender. He had striven his entire life, only to realize, just when he thought he had finally achieved success, that he didn't even qualify to surrender.

This crushing sense of failure, coupled with the insurmountable weight of the future looming over him—a future where he could never rise any higher—left him with no desire to remain in his position.

He had once believed himself to be the protagonist.

But he now understood he was merely an extra—the kind who didn't even warrant a line of dialogue with the main character.

The weight of this realization was unbearable.

After the elder left...

In the conference room, all eyes turned to the former leader of the Rugged Civilization. Among those present, only he had ever interacted with Chen Mang and forged a positive connection. He was the most suitable candidate to lead the Sagittarius Civilization.

"Uh..."

The middle-aged Rugged Civilization Grand Elder glanced around at the expectant gazes, his eyelid twitching. He understood their unspoken request. After a long pause, he finally spoke, "All those in favor of me becoming the new Civilization Leader of the Sagittarius Civilization, raise your hands."

Swish, swish, swish.

Unanimous approval. Every hand, including the AI's, shot up.

Among those present, only the AI truly grasped the terrifying potential of human civilization. It had simulated the outcome of a war between the two civilizations, calculating the Sagittarius Civilization's chances of victory at a mere 0.00001%. Even that infinitesimal chance hinged on the sudden death of the human civilization's leader.

After all, the entire military might of human civilization was concentrated on a single train. If the train conductor fell, the entire civilization would crumble. While the concept of a "Beheading Plan" sounded simple, executing such a plan would be extraordinarily difficult.

And so, the meeting concluded.

The Great Elder of the Former Rugged Civilization silently walked out of the conference room, inwardly grateful that Chen Mang had given him a human with the "Holy Arrow" talent to guide them through the Bloodline Wormhole when they left the Rugged Civilization.

After returning to his people, he had concealed the human's existence.

Otherwise, the human would undoubtedly have been eliminated.

This meant he might now be able to establish a decent relationship with human civilization through this matter. If he had eliminated the human back then, things would be far more complicated now.

As soon as he stepped out of the conference room, he anxiously turned to his assistant and urgently whispered, "After we returned, I ordered you to treat that human well. Where is he now?"

Though he had given the order, superiors' commands often suffer various deviations in execution. While minor deviations were usually tolerable, he couldn't afford any errors at this critical moment.

"He's in the safe house, eating well and sleeping soundly every day."

"Good, good. Upgrade his treatment to the highest level."

"Understood."

The assistant clearly understood the gravity of the situation.

Meanwhile—

Inside the Stellaris train's locomotive cabin:

Kira forced a smile and stood before Chen Mang, steeling herself to speak. "Lord Mang... I know my father's temperament. The Zerg would rather die than surrender. He'll never yield."

"Could you please spare the Zerg Civilization for my sake?"

"Shh."

Chen Mang frowned and looked up, interrupting Kira. "First, the Zerg are capable of surrendering. Didn't you yourself surrender and join the Stellaris train?"

"Second, I'm merely asking him to surrender, not annihilate his entire race. What's there to 'spare'?"

"My father's nature is to die rather than yield. He'll never surrender."

"Then let him die. He can't claim he'd rather die than yield while secretly hoping to live, can he?"

"I..."

Kira turned helplessly to look behind her, hoping her husband, Zhang Yi, would step forward and say something. She had married Zhang Yi long ago—the same man who loved meat sandwiches and treated his fellow movers like brothers.

But when Zhang Yi learned the true purpose of her visit to Lord Mang, he refused to accompany her and even threatened divorce.

On one side was family.

On the other, love.

Torn between the two, she couldn't bear to lose either.

Though she hadn't seen her father in ages, his stern face still flashed through her mind from time to time, along with memories of him recounting his past heroic deeds. Tears welled up as she knelt on the ground, her voice trembling.

"Lord Mang..."

"Please spare my father," she pleaded. "He would never surrender. I don't want to lose him. Can't there be a peaceful resolution?"

"The Zerg Civilization poses no threat to human civilization."

Just then—

Xiao Ai's voice echoed through the locomotive cabin.

"Detecting a space jump nearby. It's a Zerg mothership, rapidly approaching. The mothership has deactivated its energy shield and carries no firepower accessories. They've sent us a message: the Zerg Civilization Leader requests to board our ship for negotiations."

Normally, no civilization in the universe could detect the Stellaris's location.

But by broadcasting the Civilization Broadcast, they had inadvertently revealed their position.

"It's over," Kira whispered, her voice trembling with a sob. "He's come to fight to the death rather than endure humiliation. Lord Mang, please, you can annihilate the entire Zerg Civilization, but spare my father's life."

Moments later, the locomotive cabin door slowly slid open.

Before the figure appeared, a voice echoed through the cabin.

A hearty laugh from a middle-aged man echoed through the locomotive cabin. Moments later, a man of that age entered, flanked by two attendants. He grinned, his Mandarin accent thick and imperfect.

"Looks like I made it just in time," he said.

"Rushing here like this, I felt that surrendering through a Civilization Broadcast would lack sincerity. So, I brought the entire resource reserves of the Zerg Civilization to offer our surrender in person."

"Though the human civilization generously only asks for seventy percent..."

"I still believe that celebrating the ascension of the universe's greatest new god with merely seventy percent of our resources would be insufficient to express our sincerity. Only one hundred percent will do!"

The middle-aged man took a deep breath, showing no hesitation as he knelt on one knee before Chen Mang, who sat in a chair. He pressed a storage pouch into Chen Mang's hands and declared in a hoarse voice, "The current Queen Mother of the Zerg Civilization has come to congratulate the new god's ascension and formally surrender to the human civilization. We hope to become the human civilization's most loyal vassal race!"

The entire process flowed seamlessly, without a single hitch. It was as smooth as a stage play rehearsed countless times, utterly flawless.

As his words fell silent...

The locomotive cabin suddenly fell into complete silence.

After a long pause, Kira, still kneeling beside her, gazed at her familiar yet alien father. Her eyes filled with disbelief and confusion as she asked in a trembling voice, "Dad? What are you doing? You always said you'd rather die than surrender. How could you just give up like this?"

In her mind, her father would never surrender, no matter how powerful the enemy. In her memories, he had always been stern and serious. When had he ever acted so frivolous and smiling?

"Kira?"

The Zerg Queen, who had been kneeling solemnly on one knee, finally noticed her daughter kneeling beside her. Surprise and excitement flashed across her face. "What are you doing here? Did you also come to represent the Zerg Civilization's surrender?"

"I thought I was the fastest, but you beat me to it! I knew all along you were the Zerg Civilization's most outstanding heir!"

"..."

Kira remained kneeling, lost in confusion for a long time. Suddenly, she realized that all her pleas to Lord Mang had been meaningless. Her father was far more afraid of death than she had ever imagined.

(End of the Chapter)

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