521: Chapter 456: The Hidden True Form is Actually the Deputy Marshal – A Shocking Change
After the Gate of Guixu collapsed, the gray-white mist deep within the rift began to dissipate slowly.
Under the Marshal's command, the ten Vanguard Battalions evacuated in an orderly fashion.
The coverage of the Order Domain shrank from three thousand kilometers to one thousand kilometers, just enough to protect the retreat corridor.
Lin Zhou walked at the rear of the team, the water level of the river of civilization had dropped to thirty percent, but his gaze remained fixed on the dark red light that had not yet dissipated at the deepest part of the rift.
The Lord of Nothingness's integrity was only five percent left; it would completely perish in seven days.
He should have been relaxed, but he was not.
"Captain, it's time to go." Su Yueyao's voice came from the front.
Lin Zhou turned and walked toward the exit.
Just then, the dark red light at the deepest part of the rift suddenly burst—not a shockwave of energy, but a collapse at the level of the rules.
From within the light, a figure slowly walked out—not the main body of the Lord of Nothingness, but a person.
An old man wearing the uniform of a General of the Expeditionary Force, with graying hair and a majestic face.
His right eye was a normal black pupil, but his left eye was a hollow, gray-white flame.
His right hand gripped a dark red scepter, with a Guixu energy core embedded at the top.
His godhead Rank was unfathomable, and strange fluctuations of intertwined Guixu energy and Order rules flowed around him.
[Night Owl · Identity Revealed]
- Name: Night Owl
- Rank: General
- Position: Deputy Marshal of the Expeditionary Force (second only to the Marshal)
- Godhead Rank: LV8000 (Peak of high-tier divine power)
- Status: Deeply fused with Guixu
- Identity: Supreme Leader of the Void Sect — "White-Clad · Hidden"
"Night Owl..." The Marshal stopped in his tracks and turned around.
His expression had never looked so grim. "It's you."
Night Owl smiled, a gentle smile, as if reuniting with an old friend on the battlefield.
"Teacher, it has been three hundred years. You have aged."
"You are insane." The Marshal's voice trembled, not with fear, but with anger.
"You are the Deputy Marshal of the Expeditionary Force, the protector of the Human Race. Why would you defect to Guixu?"
"Why?" Night Owl raised his left hand, and there was a dark red crack on his palm identical to the one on the Marshal's right hand.
"Three hundred years ago, I followed you deep into Guixu to battle the Lord of Nothingness. You wounded its left eye, and it left this crack on my hand."
"After returning, the crack could not heal, and the Guixu energy eroded my godhead day and night."
"I tried every method—Fire of Civilization, essence of order, godhead repair fluid—nothing worked."
His voice was calm, but the gray-white flame in his left eye flickered.
"Until the Lord of Nothingness found me. It said that as long as I swore allegiance to it, it could stop the crack from spreading."
"I agreed. Not because I was afraid of death, but because I needed time. I needed time to study Guixu and its weaknesses."
"I wanted to find a way to eliminate it completely. But I failed."
"Three hundred years, not only did I not find a way, but I was assimilated by it instead. My godhead has already fused with Guixu; I can never go back."
[Night Owl · Status]
- godhead integrity: 60%
- Guixu Fusion rate: 100%
- Reversible: No
- Behavior: No way out
"So you helped it open the Gate of Guixu?" The Marshal's left hand clenched.
"I did not help it open the door. I simply did not stop it."
Night Owl raised his scepter, pointing at the Marshal.
"Teacher, Guixu is an inevitability of the birth and death of the Universe. We cannot eliminate it, only delay it."
"The Lord of Nothingness is merely the manifestation of Guixu's will; kill it, and Guixu remains. A new Lord of Nothingness will be born in a hundred years."
"Rather than struggling in vain, it is better to comply."
"Comply? Comply with Nothingness?" The Marshal stepped forward, golden light condensing in his left hand.
"My student would not say such things. You are not Night Owl; you are a Puppet of the Lord of Nothingness."
Night Owl was silent for a moment. Then he smiled, his smile no longer gentle, but crazed.
"Perhaps. Perhaps I have not been myself for a long time."
He raised his scepter, and a column of dark red light shot toward the Marshal.
The Marshal blocked with his left hand. The light column was stopped by the golden palm, but his godhead integrity dropped from twenty percent to fifteen percent.
[Marshal · Status]
- godhead integrity: 20% → 15%
- Combat time remaining: about five minutes
Lin Zhou charged forward, the Sword of Civilization slashing toward Night Owl.
The sword light was blocked by a shield, causing it to vibrate.
Night Owl looked down at Lin Zhou, the gray-white flame in his left eye flickering slightly.
"Successor of the Way of Civilization. Your fire is very bright. Pity, it cannot burn me to death yet."
He swung the scepter, and dark red tentacles extended from it, lashing out at Lin Zhou.
Lin Zhou dodged, but a tentacle grazed his right shoulder, and his godhead integrity dropped from thirty percent to twenty-five percent.
[Lin Zhou · Status]
- godhead integrity: 30% → 25%
- river of civilization water level: 30% → 25%
"Captain!" Su Yueyao's moonlight enveloped the area, the silver-white light clashing with the dark red.
The Dragon Breath of the Dragon Vein Golden Scale scorched the tentacles, causing them to break, but they regenerated immediately.
Wang Meng led the Vanguard Battalion in a charge.
Three thousand Flying Swords shot toward Night Owl, the rain of swords landing on the shield and creating ripples.
The integrity of Night Owl's shield dropped from one hundred percent to ninety-five percent.
[Night Owl · Status]
- Shield integrity: 100% → 95%
- godhead integrity: 60%
"Not enough." Night Owl raised his left hand, and the dark red crack on his palm glowed.
A column of gray-white light shot out from the crack, rushing straight toward the Vanguard Battalion.
Lei Zhan's shield wall blocked the front, the shields shattered, and the Iron Rock Giants were forced back.
[Lei Zhan · Status]
- Shield wall durability: 5 million → 3 million
- Soldier casualties: 200 lightly injured
The Marshal made his move. He flew in front of Night Owl and struck Night Owl's chest with his left hand.
Night Owl blocked with his scepter, and the golden palm collided with the dark red scepter, erupting with blinding light.
Both were knocked back; the Marshal's godhead integrity dropped from fifteen percent to ten percent, and Night Owl's godhead integrity dropped from sixty percent to fifty percent.
[Duel · Data]
- Marshal integrity: 15% → 10%
- Night Owl integrity: 60% → 50%
- Both sides suffered losses
"Teacher, your power is not what it was three hundred years ago." Night Owl wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"Your power is not either. Guixu did not give you eternal life; it only gave you aging."
Night Owl's smile froze. He looked down at his hands—the skin was loose, veins bulging; those were the traces of aging.
Guixu energy could maintain his godhead from collapsing, but it could not stop his physical body from aging.
He was already three hundred years old; his body had long reached its limit.
"Kill me." Night Owl's voice suddenly became deep.
"Teacher, kill me. I cannot go back, but I do not want to become a Puppet of Guixu either."
"Kill me and purify my godhead. Inside it, there is the complete structural diagram of the Gate of Guixu energy core."
"With it, you can completely close the Guixu rift."
The Marshal was silent. "You have been waiting for this day?"
"Waiting for thirty years. From the moment I discovered I could not reverse it, I have been waiting."
Night Owl spread his arms. "Come."
The Marshal raised his left hand, golden light condensing in his palm. But he did not strike.
"I cannot bring myself to do it."
"Then I will." Lin Zhou stepped forward, the Sword of Civilization in hand.
Night Owl looked at him and smiled. "Successor of the Way of Civilization, your fire is very bright. Burn me to death."
Lin Zhou swung his sword, and the sword light slashed into Night Owl's chest.
The Fire of Civilization burned within Night Owl's godhead, stripping away the Guixu energy bit by bit.
Night Owl's body began to become transparent, but his eyes were very calm.
"Thank you."
His body turned into gray-white light particles and dissipated.
A dark red crystal dropped from the spot where he had dissipated—that was his godhead core, sealing the complete structural diagram of the Gate of Guixu energy core.
[Night Owl · Fallen]
- Identity: Deputy Marshal of the Expeditionary Force, Supreme Leader of the Void Sect
- Godhead core: Purified
- Relic: Gate of Guixu energy core structural diagram
The Marshal caught the crystal and was silent for a long time.
He tucked the crystal into his bosom and turned to look at the troops.
"Retreat."
The team continued to evacuate. The Guixu rift slowly closed behind them.
Lin Zhou walked at the end and looked back.
The dark red light had completely vanished, and the gray-white mist was also dissipating.
Three days later, the Civilization Guardian Legion returned to the Iron Wall Fortress.
The Marshal handed Night Owl's godhead core to Li Mo, asking him to analyze the structural diagram within.
[Gate of Guixu energy core · Structural Diagram]
- Content: Complete structure, rune distribution, energy nodes
- Usage: Can build a reverse device to permanently close the Guixu rift
- Required Materials: 1000 Origin Stones of Space, 10,000 units of essence of order, one wisp of Fire of Civilization
Lin Zhou stripped a wisp of Fire of Civilization from his palm and handed it to Li Mo.
"Use my fire."
Li Mo took the flame and sealed it in a specially made container.
"Captain, your fire..." Su Yueyao looked at him worriedly.
"It does not matter. A wisp of fire will recover in a few days."
Lin Zhou stood on the Wall of Heroes, looking in the direction of the New Universe.
The Fire of Civilization of one hundred thousand towns was like a sea of stars in the night sky.
As long as the fire exists, the people exist.
The Marshal stood beside him, his right hand hanging at his side, the dark red crack having spread to his neck.
"Marshal, your right hand..."
"It does not matter. The crack will not take my life. It just won't be usable in the future."
The Marshal looked at the starry sky. "Night Owl's death, do you think it was worth it?"
Lin Zhou was silent for a moment. "He was a Puppet for thirty years, but in the end, he left the structural diagram for us. Whether it was worth it or not, he knows himself."
The Marshal nodded. "Tomorrow, we begin building the reverse device. One month later, we will permanently close the Guixu rift."
"Yes."
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