525: Chapter 460: The Marshal Fights for His Life, Burning His Divine Essence to Suppress the Rebels

Three days after Chen Tianyou was arrested, in the medical center of the New Universe core area, a deep sleep pod.

The Marshal lay in the pod, his godhead integrity only at one percent, his divine flame as faint as a candle in the wind.

His right hand had turned completely grey-white, and dark red cracks spread from his fingertips to his neck; these were traces of the Return to Void energy erosion that had not healed for three hundred years and were now spreading rapidly as his godhead weakened.

The medical team at the medical center monitored him twenty-four hours a day, but everyone knew that with current medical means, the erosion of the Return to Void energy could not be stopped.

The Fire of Civilization could purify it, but Lin Zhou's river of civilization water level was only at thirty-five percent, and he was far away in the Seventh War Zone; it was too late.

The alarm in the medical center sounded at two in the morning.

It was not an abnormality in the Marshal's vital signs, but rather the detection of a faint fluctuation of Return to Void energy deep within the Return to Void rift—not a residue, but new activity.

Although the Lord of Nothingness was dead and its heart had stopped beating, its will had not completely dissipated.

In the deepest part of the Return to Void rift, among the ruins of the battlefield where the Marshal fought Night Owl, a mass of grey-white flame was slowly coalescing.

That was the remnant thought of the Lord of Nothingness, the last trace of consciousness it left in the world.

It was waiting, waiting for the Marshal's godhead to completely collapse.

Once the Marshal died, his Order Domain would disappear, the Return to Void rift would lose its final suppression, and the remnant thought of the Lord of Nothingness would devour the Marshal's godhead fragments and re-coalesce.

[Data on Remnant Thought in the Depths of Return to Void]

- Form: Grey-white flame

- Strength: Weak (slowly strengthening by absorbing Return to Void energy)

- Target: Devour the Marshal's godhead fragments

- Estimated complete coalescence: Approximately seven days

The attending physician at the medical center contacted Lin Zhou at three in the morning.

"General Lin, the Marshal's vital signs are deteriorating. The erosion of the Return to Void energy has accelerated, and his godhead integrity is dropping by zero point one percent every hour. At this rate, his godhead will completely collapse in seven days."

"Seven days..." Lin Zhou was silent, "Is there any way to delay it?"

"Yes. Using the Fire of Civilization to nourish his godhead can temporarily suppress the erosion of the Return to Void energy. But your river of civilization water level is only at thirty-five percent; if you split off a portion to nourish the Marshal, your own godhead will not be able to withstand it."

"Split it." Lin Zhou did not hesitate.

He arrived at the medical center from the Iron Wall Fortress via a teleportation array and stood before the deep sleep pod.

The Marshal's aged face looked exceptionally haggard in the pod; his right eye was tightly shut, and his left eye was slightly open, its pupil having lost its focus.

Lin Zhou pressed his hand against the pod wall, and the river of civilization surged out from his divine kingdom, turning into a wisp of cyan-gold stream that seeped into the Marshal's godhead.

[Fire of Civilization · Nourishing the Marshal]

- Target: Marshal's godhead

- Consumption: 10,000 Divine Power daily

- Effect: Return to Void energy erosion rate decreased by 80%

- Lin Zhou's river of civilization water level: 35% → 33%

The Marshal's godhead integrity stabilized. His left eye slowly closed, and his breathing leveled out.

But Lin Zhou knew this was only treating the symptoms, not the root cause.

The remnant thought in the depths of the Return to Void was still coalescing, and the Marshal's crisis had not been resolved.

He needed to completely destroy that flame, but with his current power, he could not do it.

His godhead integrity was only at forty percent, and his river of civilization water level was only at thirty-three percent; rashly entering the depths of the Return to Void was equivalent to suicide.

"Li Mo, can the reversal device eliminate the Return to Void remnant thought?"

Li Mo's projection shook its head. "No. The reversal device can only accelerate the closing of the rift; it is ineffective against the remnant thought. It requires the power of Order to purify it. The Marshal's Order Domain has already dissipated, and his godhead integrity is only at one percent; he cannot act again."

"Then find a substitute." Lin Zhou called up the list of officers of the Expeditionary Force, "Whose godhead has an 'Order' attribute?"

"There are. Third War Zone commander General Zhao Wuji, godhead attribute 'Order · Steel'. Fourth War Zone commander Qian Weiguo, godhead attribute 'Order · Thunder'. Fifth War Zone commander Sun Haoran, godhead attribute 'Order · Flame'. But the godhead integrity of all three of them is below sixty percent; they were previously contaminated by the Void Sect and are still recovering. Even if they joined forces, they would not be able to contend with the Return to Void remnant thought."

Lin Zhou was silent. He looked at the Marshal in the pod, and a thought welled up in his heart—it was not that he couldn't think of it, but that he didn't want to.

In the Marshal's godhead, there still remained the Origin of the Order Domain.

If the Marshal was willing to burn his own godhead and use the power of the Order Domain to completely suppress the Return to Void remnant thought, the remnant thought would never be able to resurrect.

The cost would be—the Marshal's godhead would completely collapse, his divine flame would extinguish, and his true spirit would dissipate.

He could not make this decision for the Marshal.

On the dawn of the seventh day, the Marshal awoke from his deep sleep. It was not the medical pod that woke him, but his own will.

He sensed the coalescence of that grey-white flame in the depths of the Return to Void and sensed the threat facing the New Universe.

His right eye was already blind, and the vision in his left eye was mostly blurred, but his consciousness was exceptionally clear.

"Has Lin Zhou come?" His voice was hoarse.

"I am here." Lin Zhou stood by the pod.

The Marshal struggled to sit up, his left hand supporting him against the pod wall. He looked at Lin Zhou and was silent for a moment. "Help me to the Return to Void rift."

"Marshal, your body..."

"I can still walk." The Marshal pushed away Lin Zhou's hand and staggered out of the medical pod.

The teleportation array sent the two to the edge of the Return to Void rift. The rift had already closed, but a grey-white fissure as thin as a hair remained in the Void Realm—that was the energy channel of the Return to Void remnant thought.

In the fissure, the grey-white flame danced, as if mocking them.

The Marshal walked to the fissure and extended his left hand. Golden light coalesced in his palm, so faint it was almost invisible.

His godhead integrity was only at one percent, and the power of his Order Domain was nearly depleted. But he did not hesitate.

He pressed his left hand onto the fissure, and the golden light seeped into the rift.

"Marshal, what are you going to do?" Lin Zhou's voice was trembling.

"Burn my godhead, suppress the rebellion." The Marshal turned back, looked at him, and smiled, "Child, the Way of Civilization is entrusted to you. The New Universe is also entrusted to you."

His body began to glow. It was not the golden light of Order, but the final flame of his life.

His godhead was burning, his divine flame was burning, and his memories were burning. His godhead integrity dropped from one percent to zero, and the divine flame went from bright to dim, then extinguished.

[Marshal · Burning Godhead]

- godhead integrity: 1% → 0%

- Divine flame: Extinguished

- True spirit: Beginning to dissipate

- Order Domain: Deployed for the last time

Golden light surged from the Marshal's body, turning into a massive pillar of light that shot into the Return to Void fissure.

Wherever the pillar of light passed, the grey-white flame was engulfed, and the Return to Void energy was evaporated.

The fissure began to shrink, from the thickness of a hair to disappearing completely. The Return to Void remnant thought struggled in the pillar of light, let out a silent roar, and then completely dissipated.

The Marshal's body began to turn transparent. His left hand was still pressed against the fissure, but his fingers were no longer visible. His eyes were very calm; there was no pain, no regret.

"Teacher..." Lin Zhou's voice choked with emotion.

"Call me Marshal." The Marshal smiled, his smile like the old man who had saved a young soldier on the battlefield three hundred years ago, "Child, remember. The Way of Civilization is passed down from generation to generation. Do not let it down."

His body turned into golden spots of light and dissipated into the Void Realm.

Lin Zhou reached out his hand and caught a golden crystal that fell from the spots of light—the Marshal's godhead core, sealing away his lifelong combat experience and Order rules.

[Marshal · Fallen]

- Identity: Commander-in-Chief of the Human Expeditionary Force, God King

- Relic: Godhead core (golden)

- Contribution: Burned godhead, completely suppressed the Return to Void remnant thought

- New Universe safety time: At least one hundred years

Lin Zhou knelt in the Void Realm, holding the crystal in his palm.

The Fire of Civilization burned within the crystal, and the Marshal's Order rules merged with the Way of Civilization.

The river of civilization water level rose back from thirty-three percent to forty percent, and the height of the Heavenly Pillar rose from 1.3 million kilometers to 1.4 million kilometers.

[Lin Zhou · Status]

- Godhead Rank: LV550 → LV580

- river of civilization water level: 40%

- Heavenly Pillar height: 1.4 million kilometers

- New ability: [Hand of Order] (Marshal's Legacy)

He stood up and looked towards 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.

The Marshal was gone, but his Order Domain still remained—merged into the river of civilization, becoming a part of the river.

"Captain, the Marshal, he..." Su Yueyao's voice came through the communication link.

"He is gone. But his fire still remains." Lin Zhou raised his left hand, and golden light coalesced in his palm, "The Way of Civilization is passed down from generation to generation. Do not let it down."

He turned and walked toward the teleportation array. The Return to Void rift was completely closed, and the Return to Void remnant thought had completely dissipated.

The New Universe was safe, for at least a hundred years. A hundred years later, new rifts would appear, and a new Lord of Nothingness would be born.

But he believed that a hundred years later, there would be new successors to the Way of Civilization. Their fire would be brighter than it was now.

Lin Zhou stood on the Wall of Heroes and embedded the Marshal's godhead core into the wall.

The golden crystal intertwined with the cyan-gold inscriptions, and a mark of the Marshal appeared on the Wall of Heroes.

One hundred Fire of Civilization swords hummed simultaneously, and the Marshal's phantom appeared in the sword light—not his true spirit, just a memory. He looked at Lin Zhou and smiled.

"Child, well done."