This incident affected far more than just the Xianzhou and the Antimatter Legion. Many who had originally stayed out of it were hastily dragged into this sudden calamity.
For example,
"Statistics: the Milon star system, the Masteri star system, the Squelo star system, the Mosdes star system… many originally unrelated and peaceful regions have been forced to become involved."
On a planet within the Mosdes star system, Screwllum calmly scrolled through the incoming news from outside.
Along the way, quite a few star systems had suffered harassment from the Antimatter Legion.
Most star systems did not face large numbers of Voidrangers. After all, the primary targets this time was the confrontation within the Hisei Star Region. However, the legion's advance route inevitably passed through clusters of life-bearing systems.
Voidrangers, guided only by instincts engraved into their very being, would naturally not turn a blind eye to such planets.
Thus, at different times, many similar star systems met the same fate.
"I've got peace and quiet over here." Herta appeared in the form of a virtual projection, her gaze slightly lowered.
This allowed her to clearly observe the Antimatter Legion being wiped out by a massive mechanical Godzilla on Mosdes Planet No. 6 below.
"Oh? Looks like the tech's been upgraded again. You've loaded quite a few good things onto it."
Screwllum, "Just some routine technological iteration."
Herta let out a snort of laughter.
Technological iteration was true enough, but so were the precious mineral resources. The various metals on Screwllum's oversized toy alone, if dismantled and sold separately, would be enough to buy several naturally habitable ecological planets.
"Crunch, crunch." Scattered, faint chewing sounds came from behind Herta.
From Herta's perspective, countless True Stings waving sharp forelimbs were gnawing at Voidrangers who could no longer struggle. No matter the unit, all were powerless before the swarm that resembled an interstellar flood!
As a star region once ravaged by the Antimatter Legion, Jarilo's territory was naturally within the legion's reach, let alone the insect planet, which could hardly remain unnoticed.
However, Jarilo-VI was not only rich in natural ecology and tourism resources, but also possessed defenses equally renowned.
If someone managed to pass through the insect swarm, they would then face a planet-class Giant Sting comparable to an Emanator.
If they somehow survived that, the lush forests of Jarilo-VI housed towering beastly silhouettes that would silently lock onto them in unison.
And if they passed all of that, congratulations. They would face the cosmic behemoth, Godzilla who suppressed multiple Emanators alone and brought Penacony into his domain!
Completely different from her time on the space station, Herta had no need to consider using weapons to eliminate enemies on Jarilo.
She simply drank her coffee, chatted casually, and watched as enemies died in droves.
Incidentally, earlier Asta had contacted her in mild panic, the space station had been invaded again.
But this time, before the Voidrangers even entered the compartments, Herta casually tossed out a Curio and annihilated them.
"You still haven't given up on that research of yours? How useful was the inspiration that little one provided?"
Herta looked at the Herrscher of Sentience, who was still energetically playing games on the ship's main screen.
"Her abilities are very special, an exceptionally rare coincidence." Screwllum neither confirmed nor denied it.
Every Genius had their primary research subjects, and one of Screwllum's was humanity.
The various emotions of organic life were, in the eyes of inorganic life, entirely unnecessary.
Yet precisely because of this, a universe where organic and inorganic life coexisted was all the more fascinating.
In simple terms, this was one of Screwllum's most important research.
"Lady Herrscher of Sentience can cause the most profound scenes within consciousness to manifest again. This does not belong to the power of any known Path, and it indeed possesses considerable research value."
Throughout the universe, wondrous races and strange powers emerged endlessly. Many were abilities that civilizations developed naturally through evolution. Screwllum had studied countless such individuals.
But none had ever been as unique as the Herrscher of Sentience.
"If you had to choose, who would you prefer to see win this war?"
"Answer: If an exact answer is required, I would prefer the Xianzhou Alliance to achieve final victory. Compared to Antimatter Legion, any other power remains preferable."
Even so, it would be extremely difficult.
If both sides continued to confront each other head-on, even without deliberately dragging out the battle, it would not end anytime soon.
Leaving the Antimatter Legion aside, their nature ensured few would ever assist them.
As for the Hunt's side, aside from individuals who joined due to personal feelings, they also received support from certain friendly forces.
As for sending direct reinforcements… When two top-tier galactic powers clash, who would you even send?
Purely to exhaust your own foundations?
Nous remained detached, Remembrance drifted through the cosmos, Masked Fools busy chasing their Aeon, Finality was fine just watching, and the others suffered from limited numbers and could not turn the tide.
If anyone was most likely to intervene, it would be the followers of the Amber Lord, the Path of Preservation!
Such galactic chaos was bad for stable business. And the will of Preservation made it impossible for them to ignore the current situation.
"Boom!!"
A scorching presence suddenly surged upward. The immense heat wave directly triggered the ship's defense and cooling systems.
At the same time, the star of the Mosdes Galaxy silently went out.
This star region lost the light it had possessed since time immemorial.
The sudden disturbance caught the attention of the two, excluding the one still focused solely on her game.
"The star was extinguished? What's going on?" Drawing on experience, Herta immediately judged that someone had forcibly extinguished the nearby star.
Whether achieved through technology or Path-based power, the ability to snuff out a star proved the perpetrator was anything but ordinary.
At the very least, they were someone of note.
"Boom!"
"Crash!"
In the pitch-black void, violent collision waves were intermittently detected by the ship's systems and converted into sound.
Suddenly, a flash of light illuminated the space ahead. Revealing within it a darkness even deeper.
Though it blended into the surroundings, its massive size was still caught by the light, revealing its true form.
It was none other than Luxbane!
"So it's this Lord Ravager…" Herta and Screwllum froze for a moment.
They hadn't expected to encounter this Lord Ravager, known as Luxbane, within the Mosdes Galaxy. Why would such a being appear here…
They soon understood what had happened.
A jade-green vertical pupil suddenly appeared, carrying emotions that did not belong to a cold-blooded creature, emerging in her eyes, Oroboros.
Herta knew who was facing off against Luxbane.
Under the pitch-black starry sky, countless Doomsday Beasts surged forth from all directions. Night was Luxbane' home field, and also the corridor through which it transported its forces.
Under this darkness, countless galaxies had suffered far too much. Now that this danger had initially left Yafana, it was something worth celebrating for those who still lived in fear ...
Screwllum piloted the spacecraft away from the clash.
The ship had considered many forms of protection during its design, but no matter how sturdy those defenses were, they were meaningless before a collision at the Emanator level.
"Not bad, not bad. It seems this body has developed very well, actually reaching Emanator-level energy fluctuations. The source of this power is ... Abundance?" As she analyzed further, Herta's brows slowly knit together.
She had stayed on the Xianzhou Luofu for some time. Naturally, she had approached the Ambrosial Arbor, that Plaguemark of Abundance, with a researcher's mindset and gathered various data.
Although she had never directly touched it, her understanding of it surpassed that of many scholars of the Xianzhou.
Even now, with only a projected body, she could still analyze the origin of the energy lingering around Mobius.
Such a refined and beautiful body, even Screwllum could not help but admire it.
Emanator-level power was something that could truly influence the balance of the cosmos.
Countless people in the past had paid unimaginable prices in pursuit of such strength.
But why had Mobius collided with Luxbane?
....
"Anger, recklessness, destruction, annihilation."
"Lord Ravagers, power born from destruction itself. Ever since I learned of your existence, I've been curious."
In the form of a Giant Half Serpent, Mobius moved effortlessly through the stars, her calm voice slowly spreading through the void.
"Countless beings across the galaxy resist destruction, fear destruction, yet at some moment are forced to face their own destruction. And your existence accelerates that process."
She crushed a Doomsday Beast that had just flown out of the darkness, and Mobius' tone suddenly changed.
"Destruction is indeed terrifying, but it contains many things within it. The hidden vitality buried deep within this Path is something outsiders cannot see. Even I often wonder whether that feeling is mistaken ..... It's just that you never realized it, or perhaps realized it and chose to ignore it."
How was the Antimatter Legion formed?
Nanook, who walks the Path of Destruction, cast a glance upon powerful beings across various worlds who harbored destructive impulses, branding them with marks and granting them power.
These beings were inverted from within, thrown into worlds known as 'war forges' to be reforged, their deficiencies filled with antimatter, ultimately forming the framework of the legion.
This was the Antimatter Legion.
To outsiders, these beings may have already died at the moment of transformation, but in Mobius' eyes, that was not entirely the case.
Indeed, a vast number of creatures lost themselves during the transformation, degenerating into terrifying void soldiers that knew only destruction.
But what could not be denied was that the emergence of the Lord Ravagers was proof that destruction could give birth to new life.
The Lord Ravagers beneath Destruction raised the banner of destruction, bringing destruction to countless worlds.
But if the meaning of destruction were only destruction itself, then what was the point of destruction?
Nanook should have been destroying world after world under the constant observation of sentient beings.
Yet He did not. He believed that the birth of the universe was a mistake, that civilization was a cancer quietly rising among the vast sea of stars, that conflict was the only common language among intelligent life.
To correct such errors and erase the stains of the universe, Nanook became the embodiment of entropy.
"Meaningless discussion." Luxbane remained unmoved by Mobius' curiosity and doubts. Its massive form was still shrouded in darkness.
Only from its tone could one sense its complete disdain for Mobius' theories.
This was not disdain born of overwhelming strength, but a collision of ideologies.
Perhaps Mobius was right. Perhaps she was completely wrong. But none of it had anything to do with him.
The moment destructive impulses were born within him, he was gazed upon by the great Nanook.
The blessing of destruction descended upon his body, and he would carry out the will of destruction, offering the most satisfactory reverence to the Aeon he followed.
Mobius was not surprised by Luxbane' reaction.
If one spoke only of the void soldiers, her words would indeed sound absurd. But as long as Emanators existed, such discussions could not be dismissed outright.
If, she meant if.
If that supreme Aeon of Destruction truly wished to destroy this world, then His power would unquestionably stand at the pinnacle of the universe. Neither Preservation nor Elation would be able to withstand Him in a single clash.
After all, destruction exists everywhere.
Of course, Paths are extremely conceptual existences. Even now, Mobius could not define their boundaries. Across this entire cosmos, no scholar could give a definitive answer to this topic.
Destruction, Abundance, Propagation, these seemingly opposing Paths all emerged as forces that, in the eyes of ordinary people, were far from benevolent, and they even occupied most of the universe.
Mobius wondered whether this was the universe's self-regulating mechanism, or something else entirely.
And no matter how one researched it, everything inevitably led back to a single existence.
The Imaginary Tree!!
"What a pity. My current capabilities are still insufficient to conduct thorough research on the Tree."
With a soft sigh, regret appeared on Mobius' face.
By borrowing the power contained within the Ambrosial Arbor, she had successfully crossed into the Emanator tier.
Of course, this did not mean she had reached Emanator level on her Path.
Rather, she had forcibly piled herself up to this level through various methods.
Yet she always felt that she was still one step away from perfection.
This perfection referred to the state of her current body.
Something was still missing.
Unfortunately, time was too short and clues too few. She could only explore slowly, and that was precisely why she had chosen to confront Luxbane head-on.
She wanted to find what she lacked. Her gaze fell upon Luxbane, her thoughts quietly stirring.
If, she was saying if.
If she could, like Godzilla, bring the power of the Sea of Quanta and the Imaginary Tree into her body, and supplement it with the power of a certain Path, would she be able to see even farther?
Naturally, she could not withstand power at the level of Godzilla's absorption. She could only dilute it repeatedly, hoping to achieve some kind of effect.
As she confronted Luxbane, Mobius' mind spun rapidly, calculations running at full speed. Her alluring eyes were now ignited by a certain flame, burning fiercely.