Luna returned to her home.
The City of the Sword of Decapitation was vast enough to grant her a residence no smaller than those in three-dimensional space.
This was a villa situated within a sprawling military compound, a privilege accorded to her status. The area was lush and scenic, with her villa entwined by a short but sturdy tree.
It wasn't a matter of neglect; rather, it was a deliberate architectural style. Inside the building, one could see beautiful orchids and fragrant air plants blooming directly from the branches. Luna loved nature, and this was her specific choice of environment.
Upon returning to her quarters, a robot had already prepared dinner for her. Luna disliked obtaining nutrition through injections or compressed supplements; she felt that the sensation of appetite reminded her she was human.
If she only consumed those things, how would she differ from a robot recharging its battery?
The aroma of a freshly cooked meal wafted from the table.
Luna ate with ravenous speed.
In a short while, over 10 kilograms of food had vanished into her stomach, yet for her massive frame and musculature, it seemed like a mere drop in the ocean. She stood 2.8 meters tall and weighed over 3.7 tons.
Her terrifying muscles harbored immense power: beneath every inch of her skin, one could see bio-currents flickering, electrical pulses visible to the naked eye.
For a body like hers, the basal metabolic rate alone required a staggering 78.3 billion kilocalories per day, to say nothing of physical exertion.
This was merely her biological consumption, excluding any internal mechanical wear and tear. Fortunately, her meals were specially processed, containing energy levels far exceeding standard food definitions.
"Encore, is there any information in the mailbox?"
After finishing her meal and drinking a five-kilogram bottle of beverage, Luna questioned the villa's intelligent butler.
A holographic image appeared before her.
Looking like a little sprite, Encore appeared chubby and quite adorable.
A holographic representation of a mailbox manifested in front of it: the sprite dove inside, rummaged around, and huffing and puffing, pulled out a message.
It said: "It's a notice from the Military Department, ordering all personnel to evacuate four-dimensional space to temporarily avoid the brunt of the attack."
Luna reached out and took a look.
It was a mass-distributed email, specifying the evacuation standards for each tier and segment. Scholars were to evacuate first, followed by technical personnel, then infants, and finally the soldiers.
"To think we are actually abandoning the fourth dimension after establishing ourselves here for over ten thousand years."
"Is the enemy truly that powerful after all?"
Luna recalled that battle from 1,700 years ago.
It was the most desperate moment they had ever experienced in the fourth dimension. No matter how they counterattacked, they couldn't budge the enemy in the slightest. Their most powerful weapon strikes were like ants trying to shake a giant tree.
Victory was simply impossible. After all, this was the opponent's home turf.
Human Civilization had not yet grown powerful enough to crush everything: quite the opposite, in fact, human Civilization was still very weak.
Because of that weakness, they had sought to develop first: the exploration of the fourth dimension was the result of a staggering accumulation of resources.
Luna suspected there were three-dimensional factors at play as well. The Federation still had enemies back in the third dimension, whether internal or external.
It could be said that the Federation was currently surrounded by enemies on all sides: retreating was the most rational and correct decision.
She scrolled through the information on the internal network.
The official government channels had released their announcements. Below the posts, while most people were preparing to evacuate, the most vocal opinions came from those who refused to leave.
They simply couldn't abandon everything they had built.
To have come this far, only to retreat now? Wouldn't all their past efforts have been for nothing?
Luna even saw people mentioning her in the comments.
"In the last war, didn't we destroy dozens of enemy warships?"
"That person named Luna, she possesses that kind of power. She must be the military's super weapon. If we could just mass-produce those super weapons, maybe we could wipe the enemy out."
"We've only had one actual engagement. The previous two civilizations we encountered were defeated. No matter how strong they are, our human Civilization isn't weak."
"I want to volunteer to stay behind: even if I die, I want to die in the fourth dimension."
"..."
No matter how intelligent a person is, there are always moments of impulsiveness.
Luna didn't think they were mere idealists: they simply didn't want to desert their posts. For many in the fourth dimension, military service occupied over 90%, or even 100%, of their lives.
A generation had grown up entirely in the fourth dimension.
They were now somewhat terrified of returning to three-dimensional space. Sometimes, the fear of the unknown is enough to overcome the fear of death. Everyone's perceptions differed, and Luna didn't know the specific thoughts of these people.
But in such a large population, there would always be those who existed like this.
They weren't being rational.
As the center of their discussions, Luna herself didn't actually know exactly what had happened 1,700 years ago.
She had simply received a mission.
A mission to go and fight.
If she didn't fight, she would be directly obliterated by Hyperdimensional Space. That was why she had possessed such "courage" back then, intercepting the enemy with a single ship.
But that had been the result of being steeped in an atmosphere of utter despair.
As a Divine, she had been unable to exert her full strength in that war. The massive disparity on the front lines was laid bare, naked and showing no mercy.
And at that time, she had assumed she was going to die anyway, so she figured she might as well make it mean something, rushing in with her blood boiling.
The moment she left, she had regretted it.
Then came the crushing weight of the Enemy.
Her warship was destroyed without mercy.
She felt as if her very body was being melted away.
She had no memory of what happened next; everything she knew was told to her after her return. Luna was no less shocked than anyone else to hear that she had somehow destroyed dozens of enemy warships.
She hadn't scrutinized the details of that incident.
Because she was always being watched. In this era of hyper-advanced technology, it was better for her to stay humble in her role as a Tool.
After all, she didn't possess the protagonist's plot armor found in movies and novels—one person daring to storm a villain's headquarters, piloting a single ship against thousands of enemy warships.
But regardless of that.
With the Federation retreating from the fourth dimension, she could return to her original life within Hyperdimensional Space. Hyperdimensional Space was better; for a Divine, while danger existed, it at least didn't feel this hopeless.
Luna crumpled the digital mail notification into fragments. Encore flew up to catch the shards, collecting them back into the mailbox while pouting and venting its frustration at Luna, only to be promptly muted by her.
Just as she thought it was time to move on.
A notification appeared before her eyes at a most inopportune moment.
[New Mission Announced]: Powerful Four-Dimensional Civilization
[Mission Background]: After taking root in four-dimensional space, human Civilization—having annihilated and enslaved one civilization and resisted another—has finally drawn the attention of a high-tier four-dimensional Civilization. They have turned their gaze here, dispatching a powerful conquest fleet to deal with the human Civilization attempting to expand its territory in the fourth dimension. The fleet's crushing stance has already proven its strength, forcing human Civilization to retreat. But is this truly the end?
[Mission Requirements]: Following instructions, annihilate the powerful four-dimensional Civilization fleet.
Seeing this mission, Luna remained silent for a long time before finally speaking.
"Insane!"
How did they dare?
Luna found it hard to imagine how human Civilization dared to counterattack a civilization hundreds of times stronger than itself.
Even if the enemy's fleet consisted of only a few thousand warships while her side could mobilize millions.
However, this hundred-fold disparity wasn't a matter of quantity; it was a matter of quality—a technological chasm. It was like Level 1 minions fighting a Level 100 boss.
Whether you had ten thousand or a million of them, the Level 100 boss's defense was ten thousand, while a Level 1 minion's attack was only one.
How do you fight that?
Every hit would result in Damage Immune. Forget about chipping away at the health bar; a mosquito bite would have a better chance of drawing first blood.
With such a massive gap, how could they have made such a decision?
"Could it be because of what happened that time?"
During that incident, she had been used as a Weapon, destroying dozens of enemy warships, which had given the Federation high command hope. After thinking for a while, Luna decided to let it go. Even as a Divine, she had no way of predicting such things.
She closed the mission interface and saw a multitude of red dots appearing on her world map—communication requests. This interface was for Hyperdimensional Space. These messages, naturally, were from other inhabitants of Hyperdimensional Space.
Ten thousand years of combat had allowed the Divines to discover many others of their kind. Initially, they all fought alone, even when assigned to the same mission, remaining wary of one another.
After all, within Hyperdimensional Space, Divines were constantly struggling for Divine Power and Godhood; killing the weak and seizing their power was perfectly normal. A Divine could die, and a Divine could become prey—that was the status quo of Hyperdimensional Space.
But as the war continued, the Divines realized their own impotence on this kind of battlefield. Especially after several Divines had perished, they decisively banded together, supporting one another to significantly increase their chances of survival.
Consequently, Luna had amassed many contact details for other Divines.
Truthfully, before coming to the fourth dimension, she hadn't even known there were so many Divines within Hyperdimensional Space.
She alone had encountered over a hundred on a single battlefield. Some Divines had estimated that there were between 1,700 and 2,000 Divines in the fourth dimension.
Previously, many in Hyperdimensional Space believed there were only four or five hundred.
But it was likely that number would soon drop back down to those levels. In Luna's own count, she knew of over 300 Divines who had fallen.
In the four-dimensional theater, they had encountered three civilizations.
The first civilization was easily dealt with.
The second civilization was a nearby powerhouse. Because this area had been conquered, they had dispatched their fleet to fight. That civilization was roughly equal in strength to human civilization, though perhaps slightly stronger due to their home-turf advantage.
The war with that civilization spanned over 8,000 years of humanity's tenure in the fourth dimension.
While that conflict was in a stalemate, the near-top-tier civilization had intervened.
Among the Divines she was in contact with, Blacklight had fought by her side for 3,000 years and was considered a friend. There were also several other Divines who almost always operated together, forming a small group.
Luna pulled these individuals into a group chat. Immediately, she saw someone speaking in the group.
[True Lord]: Have you guys received the mission? What is it?
[One Sword Immortal]: It's likely all the same—that insane suicide mission.
[Marionette Actor]: We're all dying together, so I can rest easy!
[Bubu is not No-no]: There doesn't seem to be a punishment listed for the mission. I feel like we can just skip it.
[Blacklight]: No punishment is the greatest punishment. It's clear the Federation high command wants us to do it. If we don't, we're likely finished.
[Marionette Actor]: Then we might as well just die!
[One Sword Immortal]: No joke, do you guys think there's any chance of surviving this time?
[Bubu is not No-no]: Is Luna still alive? Why isn't she speaking?
The group chat fell silent as they waited for Luna to speak.
She considered it for a moment.
[Perfect]: Since the high command issued this mission, they must have some level of confidence. We've been cultivated for so long; they wouldn't just send us all to die in one wave.
[Marionette Actor]: That's not necessarily true. Who knows what those at the top are thinking? They might just want to run a test.
[True Lord]: Human Civilization has existed for over 200,000 years, and Hyperdimensional Space's history is incredibly ancient. I suspect there are more than just the one or two thousand of us. It's entirely possible they're sending us to our deaths just to probe for information.
[Blacklight]: That's not the point of this discussion. We are definitely going; we just need to figure out how to handle it.
[Bubu is not No-no]: Are we still teaming up, then? I'm a bit scared!
[Perfect]: Teaming up is obviously for the best. I doubt anyone here is arrogant enough to want to go solo against a high-tier Civilization!
There was a fraction of them who preferred to be lone wolves, trusting no one. However, in this specific group, no one was like that.
Survival was more important than anything else.
Although they might not fully open their hearts to one another—and might even backstab each other once they returned to the third dimension—generally speaking, with a shared goal and facing such a massive crisis, they could maintain a united front.
[Bubu is not No-no]: I'm definitely not going solo. Let's find a meeting point to sync our Divine power.
Syncing Divine power allowed them to communicate within a certain range. Even if it only covered a few hundred million kilometers, which was almost negligible on an interplanetary battlefield, it could be a lifesaver in critical moments.
Since others wouldn't constantly keep their eyes on someone else, this communication allowed everyone to monitor each other's status. It was very practical.
But because they all remained cautious, they didn't maintain permanent Divine power links; instead, they set them up anew for each mission.
[True Lord]: No need to find a place. The military is calling me to assemble. I expect you'll all get the call soon.
The Divines were all startled. The mission was starting so quickly. Shortly after, the others began receiving notifications one by one, Luna included.
She had micro-robots clear all sweat and bacteria from her body, straightened her attire, and headed out. Using her mecha's flight mode and the city's aerial transit lanes, she soon arrived at a specific building.
This structure wasn't tall, only a little over 300 meters, but its footprint was massive, spanning 180 million square meters. Luna had never been to this sharp-edged, rectangular block of a building before.
She saw a sign by the entrance: [Latitude and Longitude Research Institute].
It looked like a facility for spatial research.
Stepping inside, she entered a vast hall. The hall was shaped like a funnel, rising straight up to a ceiling that offered a view of the starry sky. Soft light filtered down from above, so gentle that unless one looked closely, it was hard to tell where it originated.
However, what caught Luna's attention more than the light were the people in the hall. Almost every single one of them triggered her internal alarm.
There was no doubt.
Everyone here was a Divine!
Not quite.
Luna could sense that some of those present lacked the Divine aura.
However, she was certain that everyone standing here was an elite powerhouse of human Civilization, each and every one of them.
"You noticed it too?"
"Looks like a major event!"
At that moment, Blacklight approached, leading several others. They were the Divines from the group chat, and most looked even more human, or rather, human-like, than Blacklight.
In Hyperdimensional Space, after countless battles, the Divines had concluded that the human body structure was indeed exceptionally versatile. Consequently, many Divines had modified their forms to be humanoid.
However, they weren't entirely identical. For instance, humans can't see behind themselves, so some had incorporated Multi-eyed traits, adding eyes to the back of their heads or simply installing another face.
Others had reinforced their skeletons to withstand immense pressure; some might look human on the outside, but their internal bone structure had been heavily modified, some parts added, others removed.
The one commonality, including for Luna, was the absence of flesh-and-blood internal organs. During combat, organs were prone to catastrophic failure due to excessive load; cases of bursting hearts or lungs were common. Thus, fragile biological organs had been replaced by powerful mechanical cores.
True Lord followed behind Blacklight.
His body was petite, resembling a human child, but considering he was from the Shore Tribe, this form was actually quite large for him. He wasn't looking at Luna; instead, his hands were moving as if he were holding a tablet, manipulating a holographic screen that only he could see. He looked completely absorbed, his face flushing slightly from time to time.
Beside him was Bubu is not No-no, a miniature female Warbeast.
Even as a miniature version, she stood five meters tall, every muscle sculpted and rock-solid, appearing even more powerful than Luna.
Marionette Actor looked like an ordinary, unremarkable young woman with a ponytail, her skin a vibrant red. Though she seemed plain, Luna had seen her "battle-mode" state before; beneath that unremarkable exterior lay a hidden, surging power.
She claimed she had an obsession with large chests and had once tried to give herself a whole row of them, but eventually realized it hindered her movement, so she scaled back to two.
Standing furthest back was One Sword Immortal, who, true to his name, was a literal sword.
He had compressed his consciousness into a mechanical blade. It looked like a Crusader's longsword, a two-handed weapon with an ornate crossguard, made of brilliant silver with no other hues.
The entire sword was 2.4 meters long and 12 centimeters wide, carrying significant heft. When needed, it could transform into a humanoid robot—commonly nicknamed Sword-man.
Marionette Actor looked at Luna, her first words being, "You look a bit unusual."
Bubu is not No-no asked, "Unusual how?"
"I don't know, it just feels like she doesn't fit in with us. I've had that feeling since before, but now I'm certain. Perfect, you're an outlier."
Marionette Actor pointed at Luna like a child finding a flaw in a picture.
"Nonsense. It's clearly the rest of you who are far too bizarre."
Luna glanced around.
No one standing here looked remotely like a normal human being. Being a standard human made her too average, and thus, out of place.
Marionette Actor seemed to have an epiphany.
"So that's it."
True Lord gave a soft click of his tongue.
Marionette Actor heard him: "Did you just click your tongue?"
Her gaze toward True Lord was quite dangerous.
True Lord, adopting a child-like innocence, said, "No, no, I just found a new waifu... I mean, I just beat a game. That was excitement you heard."
Despite True Lord's excuse, Marionette Actor remained skeptical; the guy had a history of being sneaky, often tilting his head to watch something during battle.
One Sword Immortal spoke from the back: "Are you guys being too loud? I feel like everyone is staring at us."
The group looked around.
Sure enough, everyone was looking their way. Even True Lord retreated a bit, closing out the shady website on his holographic screen.
Blacklight spoke then.
"They're not staring at us; they're staring at Luna."
"They all think this operation is connected to Luna. After all, she's the only one who has managed to inflict casualties on the enemy."
Luna shrugged beside them.
She had explained countless times that she knew nothing, but these people still believed she was hiding something.
While the atmosphere in the hall was somewhat tense.
A holographic projection appeared above them. It was merely a silhouette, though it wasn't hard to discern the outline of a young girl. No one paid much attention to that detail; instead, every Divine in the hall tensed their muscles.
Even after ten thousand years in the fourth dimension and completing numerous missions.
This was the first time they had all been assembled. Every person here was terrifyingly powerful. Seeing so many gathered together only reinforced their previous judgment: Hyperdimensional Space was the Federation, and they were the weapons the Federation had selected through brutal screening.
Secondly, it was clear that this mission would likely be the most dangerous they had ever accepted.
"A few are still missing, but it doesn't matter; they will be briefed later."
"Present here are 1,511 standard combatants and 197 officers. You are the most powerful warriors of the Federation—and indeed, of all human Civilization."
"1,700 years ago, a near-top-tier four-dimensional Civilization destroyed 2 million of our warships. After a long silence, that Civilization is showing signs of a renewed offensive against us."
"Before arriving, you saw the mass evacuations. But those retreating are the weak; they lack the power to alter the course of the battlefield, even if their numbers were multiplied tenfold or a hundredfold."
"But we cannot abandon the fourth dimension. The Dimensional War has only just begun. If we flinch now, our research will be forced to a halt, and our Civilization's progress will stagnate."
"You have been summoned here, and I suspect you understand why. Your strength far exceeds that of ordinary beings. There is a proverb: 'With great power comes great responsibility.' You have been called here to exercise that power—to engage the enemy and emerge victorious!"
Silence filled the hall.
They had endured too much grueling conditioning; the missions in Hyperdimensional Space had systematically reshaped their mindsets.
They simply confirmed the mission. As for whether they would die, the high command didn't even need to consider it. These individuals were weapons—tools designed to accept a task and see it through to completion.
Ayla scanned every person in the hall, her gaze lingering on Luna for a single second.
She didn't actually have high hopes for Kandi's research.
But this was the best plan she could find at this stage.
The Divines could perish, but the fourth dimension could not be lost.
Therefore, the time to test the capabilities of the Divines had arrived!