204: Causes of Realm War

Sublimation complete!

Target reshaped, original imprint covered.

Dark Star Empire Shoulder Badge (Legendary - Damaged) has ascended to: Infinite City · Endless Emblem (Legendary)

Su Jin spread out his hand.

In his palm, the emblem symbolizing the Dark Star Empire and a ferocious vertical pupil had vanished without a trace.

In its place was a brand-new, jade-like emblem.

Inside the emblem, brilliant rivers of stars seemed to flow endlessly.

An miniature of a majestic city was imprinted on it, and above the city, the eternal rune "∞" representing infinity floated.

Item Name: Infinite City · Endless Emblem

Type: Spatial Beacon / Storage Artifact

Quality: Legendary

Binder: Su Jin

Core Function 1: Star Hub Positioning - Can be used as a sub-beacon for the 'eternal star beacon' for ultra-long-distance coordinate anchoring and communication.

Core Function 2: Secret Treasure Space - A 10,000 cubic meter independent space is opened internally, capable of storing living beings, with stable spatial laws.

Core Function 3: Infinite Imprint - This item has been assimilated by the Infinite City's origin; only the Lord of Infinite City and his authorized users can use it.

Description: When endless radiance shines, even the enemy's relics will sing your name.

"Heh, this description is quite eloquent."

Su Jin weighed the brand-new emblem in his hand, a slight curve appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"The truth, indeed, must be told to those who can understand it."

The original Valerius's soul imprint had been completely erased by his unique power, replaced by the absolute authority belonging to Infinite City.

His mind sank into it.

The vast space of ten thousand square meters inside the emblem was instantly clear.

The space was huge, and it was packed full.

As expected of a commander of the Dark Star Empire, his accumulated wealth was astonishingly rich.

Most conspicuous were the mountains of various high-purity energy crystals and rare metal ingots.

The value of these basic strategic resources alone was inestimable.

And in the corner, several boxes, individually protected by energy barriers, were the real highlight.

Su Jin's consciousness "opened" the first box.

An ancient parchment scroll and several faintly glowing data chips lay quietly within.

"Molten Heart Southern Territory Mine Secret Distribution Map…"

"Preliminary Exploration Report of Void Dark Crystal…"

Su Jin scanned the contents; these were precisely the bargaining chips Valerius had previously attempted to use to buy his life.

Several super-large source crystal veins marked on it had not even been discovered by the Blue Star Alliance.

One of them even had "Void Mithril" as an associated material, a core component for manufacturing large-scale spatial equipment.

"Not bad. I'll have the Engineering Corps check them out later."

The second box opened.

A rich, almost tangible life aura rushed out.

Inside the box, three fist-sized, translucent emerald fruits emitted a soft glow.

Sacred Spirit Tree Seed (Legendary Grade): Contains immense life energy, capable of cultivating a sacred forest with highly effective healing and purification effects, and has a strong suppressive effect on undead and abyssal energies.

"Good stuff."

Su Jin's eyes lit up.

He continued to open the third box, which contained a neatly folded dark gray cloak.

Phantom Walker (Legendary): When worn, it can distort light and energy fluctuations, greatly reducing one's sense of presence. When activated, it can enter a "phantom" state, immune to three instances of lock-on and detection below Legendary Tier 17.

Su Jin took out the cloak; it felt weightless in his hand, as if he were holding a handful of flowing shadows.

This item was practically tailor-made for Shadow One.

With it, Shadow One's infiltration and assassination capabilities would be enough to threaten ordinary Legendary powerhouses.

As for the Boundary Raven in the last box, it was a rare artifact capable of short-range jumps in the Boundary Sea.

In addition, there were massive amounts of magic scrolls, alchemy potions, and encrypted documents recording the internal troop movements of the Dark Star Empire.

"A Southern Territory commander, truly rolling in wealth."

Su Jin sighed, tallied all the spoils, confirmed there were no hidden traps, and contentedly put away the Endless Emblem.

Valerius's gamble of everything for the Abyssal Descent ultimately only left him with a giant glazed pit.

And all his accumulated wealth became the Infinite City's.

This deal was too good.

Su Jin took one last look at the new crater formed by the thunder punishment, then his figure flickered and he disappeared from the spot.

A thousand miles away from the Crimson Tower, in a secluded valley.

Tens of thousands of Infinite City soldiers, after being collectively teleported back by the Azure Wood Teleportation, quickly constructed defensive fortifications under Stone Rock's command.

Stone Rock, carrying a giant shield like a door panel, paced anxiously back and forth at the camp entrance, occasionally looking up at the distant sky.

The azure lightning that had recently pierced the heavens and earth had illuminated half the night sky as bright as day.

That terrifying pressure, even from a thousand miles away, still made one's heart palpitate.

"Commander, stop swaying, my eyes are getting dizzy."

A nearby Furnace Iron Guards couldn't help but grumble.

"Go, go, go, you don't know anything."

Stone Rock glared, roaring gruffly, "Lord Su Jin is dealing with that monstrous thing alone over there, how can I not be anxious!"

No sooner had he spoken.

A familiar figure approached from a distance, landing in front of the camp.

It was Su Jin.

"Lord Su Jin!"

Stone Rock's eyes lit up, and his rugged face immediately broke into a smile as he ran over, thudding loudly.

"You're back! That monster…"

"It's dealt with."

Su Jin patted his thick shoulder armor, "Pack up, the entire army will set off, destination Red Hawk Valley."

"Understood!" Stone Rock's voice was booming, and he turned to rally his men.

Watching the bustling army, Su Jin also relaxed a bit.

Just then, the communicator on his wrist vibrated.

It was a communication request from Lin Yuan.

Su Jin walked into the central command tent and connected the call.

Amidst the flickering light and shadow, the figure of Lieutenant General Lin Yuan, the supreme commander of the Blue Star Alliance's Southern Territory, appeared before him.

"The overall situation in the Southern Territory is settled. You've worked hard, Lord Su Jin."

Lin Yuan's face showed some post-war fatigue, but his mental state seemed very good.

"Next, I will convene all departments for an online operations meeting to discuss subsequent cleanup and frontline reconstruction matters."

"Alright."

Su Jin nodded, then spoke, "I also have something to report to you. Valerius, after escaping from the main battlefield, came to me."

Lin Yuan's gaze paused for a moment, clearly surprised.

"Is that so… And now he?"

"He's dead." Su Jin's reply was calm.

The air was silent for a moment.

A hint of a smile finally appeared in Lin Yuan's eyes.

"That guy… ultimately couldn't escape. Abandoning his entire army only bought him a moment of lingering."

"I will report this truthfully to the Alliance's Supreme Command. This is your deserved merit."

"Thank you, Commander." Su Jin's tone shifted, and his expression became serious.

"However, before he died, he used something that shouldn't have appeared."

"Abyssal creation."

When those four words left his mouth, the smile on Lin Yuan's face instantly vanished.

Su Jin briefly recounted how Valerius had sacrificed himself to summon the abyssal monster.

After hearing his narration, Lin Yuan's expression became solemn.

"Abyssal creation… And he even completed the sacrificial transformation?"

His voice deepened, carrying a chill.

"The seriousness of the matter might exceed our estimates."

"I will immediately classify this intelligence as top-level and report it to the Supreme Strategic Committee."

"We must investigate whether this was Valerius's personal act, or…"

"The Dark Star Empire has already made contact with the Abyss."

"Otherwise, it would truly be troublesome."

Su Jin nodded; the shadow of the Abyss made the nature of this war even more complex and dangerous.

"Oh, right, Commander."

Su Jin suddenly spoke, asking the question that had lingered in his mind for a long time.

"I've never understood."

"Hmm?"

"The Blue Star Alliance, the Dark Star Empire, and the Three-Eyed Clan have been in confrontation in the Tianyu Realm for hundreds of years."

"Although friction was constant, a fragile balance was always maintained."

"Why this time, did they become so resolute, willing to pay any price to launch a full-scale war?"

This defied logic.

A three-way standoff was the most stable.

And the cost of an all-out war was something no single party could bear.

A slight misstep could lead to the collapse of civilization.

The high-ranking officials of the Dark Star Empire and the Three-Eyed Clan could not possibly be unaware of this.

Lin Yuan, hearing this question, looked deeply at Su Jin.

His gaze held scrutiny, and assessment.

After a moment, he seemed to have made a decision.

"Su Jin, what I'm about to say is classified as Alliance S-level top secret."

Lin Yuan raised his hand and activated the highest level of encryption protocol on the light screen.

The surrounding background turned into absolute darkness, leaving only him and Su Jin.

His voice was extremely low, yet every word was weighty, as if it could strike a person's heart.

"Your strength, and the intelligence you just provided, both prove that you are now qualified to know this secret."

"The reason they are so anxious, the reason they are willing to go to war at any cost…"

"Is because they are afraid."

"Afraid?"

"Yes."

Lin Yuan spoke each word distinctly, revealing the truth that had triggered the entire war.

"Because our first Human Lord, Lady Lin Qing…"

"She…"

"Is about to ascend."