211. Mere Councilors? Watch Me Banish You to 2D with Remaining Moon!
Coulomb Torque was extremely optimistic about the current situation. He scoffed:
"First, without any Zeta-tier on their side, no sub-Zeta irregular forces can even touch our main body. As for a possible Zeta-tier enemy, they should know just how much of our continuous fire net they can endure."
"Second, there's the matter of numbers. Even if a Zeta-tier does show up, do you know how many Gamma-tier troops we have now? Sure, Zeta-tier damage is high, but are they capable of taking on, say, 16,000 to 18,000 Gamma-tier enemies? When the attack started, Trivira didn't even have time to sound the alarm—it was sealed off and destroyed immediately. From the official statements and rescue operations at Gladiolus Fortress, there's a huge disconnect in their execution. Have they even taken a proper look at themselves before stepping forth like this?"
"I'm not just picking a fight. People tend to think path-tier powerhouses are terrifying, but that's mostly because they haven't had time to fully develop their equipment and skill sets. They assume that once someone hits Zeta-tier, that's all it takes. In reality, if you rely solely on Zeta-tier destructive power to fight a [Society] like ours, it's simply impossible!"
"Otherwise, let Star Abyss ramp all their path-tiers up to Omega-tier and try fighting one [Society]. If a Star Abyss civilization could wipe out a single [Society], I wouldn't mind being judged. Sure, a genuine path-tier powerhouse might challenge some of our councilors or even our Speaker—but in front of the [Society] main body, they're as feeble as clay chickens and pottery dogs. We [Society] invaded Star Abyss with the noble ideal of devouring and eradicating corrupt civilizations. If we can't do that, might as well leave the Star Abyss stage."
Coulomb Torque's words sounded somewhat off, laden with personal bias.
Yet the other two didn't refute him.
It was simple: for this operation, the power of [Mechanical Society] was behind them. If necessary, Speaker Meganium Ross would also be released to descend into the mortal realm and remove any obstructions.
In the invasion by [Society], once a council forms, generally there's no way to undo it.
Especially here on White Candle Star, they'd amassed an enormous force, and the planet's government was clueless about the invasion.
It was over.
Standing atop the council spire, Coulomb Torque overlooked the world below. His electronic eyes took in the entire landscape. For a fleeting moment, a thought surfaced in his mind:
"If my professor hadn't plagiarized my thesis back then, would I have ended up like this?"
His research stolen, expelled from the institute, deprived of academic advancement, left jobless. His wife and child disappointed and gone, his parents' scornful, icy looks—homeless in the end.
——All of it seemed like it happened only yesterday.
Now his actions would drag billions of White Candle Star's inhabitants into the abyss to become fodder for [Society], causing the entire Crystal Tower civilization to lose White Candle Star and all its advantages. Countless people would be homeless—just like Coulomb Torque was back then.
And that was…
A cold clench tugged at Coulomb Torque's heart, stirring excitement:
"…just wonderful."
Since the world had robbed him of everything, naturally he'd seek equal vengeance upon society.
All that nonsense about "the world's harshness kissed me, yet I respond with song" was purely masochistic, twisted logic, right?
Only weaklings and cowards choose to return kindness for injury. A normal person should bully those weaker to extract enough strength and nourishment to challenge the strong.
A "weak" person is "weak" precisely because they don't know to bully someone even weaker than themselves.
Civilization is like that—a blatant, unnatural contrivance that suppresses natural instincts with reason and law.
[Society], on the other hand, allows you to unleash that natural impulse and pay back the civilization that ruined you and stole everything. No matter what wrongdoing you commit, once you rejoin the main body, it's all erased.
That was enough.
Coulomb Torque's mind settled, forging a deeper resonance with Mother Marshgurgon, further stabilizing his Zeta-tier presence.
"We'll soon witness White Candle Star's destruction," Watt Rivetsteel remarked. "Maybe Coulomb's right; no one's even noticed our presence yet, let alone dispatching troops. They don't even know the council's formed—we've already won."
Turing Binary had no choice but to concede:
"Maybe so—"
He didn't finish before every mechanical citizen's consciousness received an urgent alert:
'Warning: Unknown celestial object falling! Current speed Mach 46! Estimated impact site—Mount Austro.'
"A missile could damage the facility with fragments. Activate the laser array and 'Stonehenge' C-RAM interceptors."
Turing Binary calmly issued the counterstrike orders, instantly mobilizing ground forces. A furious barrage erupted skyward.
Boom—Boom—Boom—Boom—Boom!
Dense gunfire blanketed the sky, dazzling lasers weaving a vivid tapestry. Enhanced by Marshgurgon's energy supply, they fired with deadly intensity, enough to vaporize anything in their path.
"What is it? A meteor? A falling space station?"
Watt Rivetsteel was puzzled. He switched to observational modules and looked upward:
"Altitude 260,000 meters… let's see who's come knocking—"
Whoosh!
Watt Rivetsteel's towering form vanished in an instant. His two companions only realized it a moment later.
"Enemy attack! A councilor is missing!" Turing Binary stated coldly. "Track the signal—no trace!"
"No trace?"
Coulomb Torque's electronic eyes displayed horror.
Watt Rivetsteel was a Delta-tier councilor on Star Abyss metrics, but thanks to Mother Marshgurgon's infinite energy support, he could arguably clash with a Zeta-tier.
And he'd vanished in the blink of an eye?
"I can't locate him. What kind of technique is this…?"
Turing Binary ran frantic calculations. Even slowing the footage by millions of frames showed no clues.
The recording revealed no sign of Watt Rivetsteel being dismembered, dissolved, or vaporized. Nor was there any flash of spell energy.
He simply disappeared, soundless and instantaneous.
Why?
Who struck him? He'd merely looked up at the falling celestial object—and then he vanished.
"—Celestial object?"
A celestial object usually means something in space—basically any body out in the universe, presumably beyond the atmosphere.
If it was truly from outer space, the planet's protective magic system would've ripped it apart upon reentry. Even though Trivira was destroyed, that system should still be active.
"Councilor Coulomb Torque, that thing definitely isn't from space. It's—"
Turing Binary stopped mid-sentence, a giant hand landing on his shoulder.
"Hello."
Slowly turning his head, he was greeted by a transcendently beautiful face—something beyond any single race's standards.
Li Aozi smiled gently:
"Councilor of the Machine, I'm sending you off to the 2D realm!"
"—You mortal!"
Coulomb Torque was enraged, unleashing the power of the Sacred Son Core in a burst of staggering speed.
Yet no matter how fast you are, you're still bound by time.
Li Aozi raised a hand and snapped his fingers.
Ping—
Gravity: Space-Time Freeze.
Intense gravity contorted space-time in an instant, slowing everything. It was like pouring mercury over reality; even the air couldn't flow. Eventually, not even particles could move.
[Ugh, my weakened "Time Stop" burns mana like crazy. I can only keep it up for thirteen minutes—way too short, and it doesn't negate damage.]
Li Aozi shook his head. Thirteen minutes might suffice for a smaller area on the ground, even if the targets are Zeta-tier. It still wasn't enough to clear the field.
Besides, there was another genuine Zeta-tier councilor around. The longer he tried to hold them, the weaker the effect became—similar to how Remaining Moon countered it. Unless he fully drained his mana, it wouldn't hold; then there'd be no power left to fight afterwards.
Previously, Remaining Moon was beaten by [Calamity]… but that had taken three entire mana bars.
Thus, with limited time, the best plan was to dispose of the high-priority targets first for maximum gain, leaving him enough resources to deal with this Zeta-tier councilor.
Li Aozi pressed his palm forward, a blue light shining from his palm.
[Remaining Moon] Activated—Dimensional Reduction Strike!
"Ah, my dear Remaining Moon, your Omega Energy is so convenient!"