Translator: AnubisTL
Immediately afterward—
Chen Mang felt a repulsive force emanating from the planet, not particularly strong but steadily pushing him away. Without resisting, he allowed the force to propel him into space.
As soon as he left the planet, the Council of Elders surrounded him. The Great Elder, his eyes filled with confusion, blurted out, "Did you fail the trial?"
"If even you couldn't pass..."
"Does this mean the Rugged Civilization is truly doomed?"
He had emerged so quickly—it must have been a failure.
Berserkers couldn't enter this planet. Only Divine Archers could.
Though they had never entered the planet themselves, they knew the nature of the trials within.
"Mm," Chen Mang nodded, summoning his Stellaris train. He strode toward the locomotive cabin, turning to glance at the Elders. "Care to come in and chat?"
The moment the Stellaris train materialized—
The Elders' hair stood on end, their eyes wide with terror. They stared at the train as if it were a monstrous beast, sensing a palpable threat of imminent death—a feeling they had never experienced even when facing their most formidable enemies.
Just what Tier of civilization does this guy belong to?!
"Very well," the Great Elder said hoarsely. "I know I cannot pass this trial."
Chen Mang, seated in the locomotive cabin with his legs crossed and leaning back in his chair, glanced at the assembled Elders and casually lit a cigarette. "The Holy Arrow position, when facing a full-scale assault, can unleash an extremely powerful attack in conjunction with all the Divine Archers of the Rugged Clan. This was revealed in the trial's introductory sequence, and you should be even more aware of it."
"The cost is the Holy Arrow's life."
"First," Chen Mang continued, "I am not a member of your Sagittarius Clan. I would never sacrifice my life for your race."
"Second," he added, "I don't particularly need the power of your civilization. You may think yourselves mighty, but in my eyes, you're merely average."
"Third," Chen Mang concluded, "the true power of this foundation-leveling technique lies in the number of Divine Archers within the Sagittarius Clan. The Holy Arrow merely serves as a catalyst. With so few Divine Archers left in your Rugged Civilization, even a Holy Arrow would be unable to unleash its full potential."
The Great Elder remained silent, knowing Chen Mang's words rang true. Yet he was helpless; the Sagittarius Clan could no longer produce a Holy Arrow.
Chen Mang paused before waving his hand. Various data points appeared on the screen beside him.
"According to my intelligence, the reason the number of Divine Archers in your Rugged Civilization is dwindling is because the Sixth-Tier Green Mountain Civilization has unleashed a highly contagious virus upon you."
"This virus spreads through sexual fantasies."
"Anyone infected will transmit the virus to every person who has ever had sexual fantasies about them. Its transmissibility is extremely high, and this virus is systematically decimating your civilization's Divine Archer population."
"The Green Mountain Civilization!"
The Great Elder stared blankly at the information on the screen, his mind reeling. After a long moment, realization dawned, and his eyes blazed with fury. The evidence overwhelmingly pointed to the Green Mountain Civilization—a civilization within their own civilizational territory. For years, they had been preoccupied with searching for the Holy Arrow, and this civilization had dutifully paid tribute, leaving them little time to address the Green Mountain Civilization.
They had never imagined such a treacherous betrayal—a dagger plunged deep into the Rugged Civilization's very lifeblood!
"Damn them!"
The Great Elder's face darkened, his expression so grim it seemed to drip with malice. Turning to the assembled Elders, he declared each word with icy precision: "Mobilize the armies. Within three months, I will annihilate the Green Mountain Civilization!"
"No need," Chen Mang said softly, waving his hand again. "I've already destroyed the Green Mountain Civilization. It was only after their annihilation that I learned this information."
The Great Elder glanced down at the compass in his hand. He saw that the Green Mountain Civilization's galaxy, including their Political Mother Planet, had been completely Two-Dimensionalized, flattened into a paper-thin sheet.
His expression grew complex as he looked back up at Chen Mang.
The Green Mountain Civilization was at least a Sixth-Tier Civilization. How could they have been so easily destroyed?
This is truly astonishing.
And it happened within our own civilizational territory, without us receiving any warning? Our intelligence department clearly needs a thorough overhaul. How could such a monumental event remain hidden from us until now?
But...
If someone could annihilate a Sixth-Tier Green Mountain Civilization within our territory without our knowledge, then perhaps destroying the Rugged Civilization isn't impossible either?
As these thoughts raced through his mind, the Great Elder fell silent. He abandoned the topic of offering Chen Mang the Holy Arrow Position. This man's power and hidden origins were clearly far more complex than he had imagined.
For him, the Holy Arrow Position, which others coveted so fiercely, held no allure whatsoever. In fact, he considered it utterly useless.
"Let's not dwell on the past," Chen Mang said, turning to the Great Elder. "Your most pressing issue now is the shortage of Divine Archers. I can help you eradicate this virus, allowing the Sagittarius Clan's numbers to swell. With a larger pool of candidates, you'll naturally have no shortage of Holy Arrows. It's best to fill that position with one of your own clansmen anyway."
"What do you say?"
"Of course!" A flicker of surprise lit the Great Elder's eyes. "You can cure this virus?"
They hadn't even detected the virus, let alone found a cure.
"Seventy percent certainty. It'll take some time. Let's discuss compensation first. What price are you willing to pay? I need iron ore and various resources, but no murphy stone. You have three chances to make an offer."
"If the offer intrigues me, I'll stay and help you solve this."
"If not, we'll part ways and perhaps meet again someday. And..."
Before Chen Mang could finish speaking, the Great Elder fixed him with a serious gaze. "All our resources—everything—will be yours if you can solve this problem and secure a Holy Arrow for the Rugged Civilization. Every resource of the Rugged Civilization will be yours!"
"This entire territory, including all the mining stars, will be yours."
"This civilizational territory spanning hundreds of millions of light-years will be yours."
"..."
Chen Mang fell silent, his lips twitching slightly. After a long pause, he said quietly, "You're skilled negotiators. Your first offer is already tempting. But..."
"It doesn't sound like a genuine offer. Are you planning to welch on the deal?"
"My debts aren't easily evaded."
What the hell is this?!
He wanted to make a killing, but they were treating him like a fool. Giving him all their resources? What would they use? Would they just give up everything else? Love can fill your belly, but a Holy Arrow can fill your belly even better.
As long as they have the Holy Arrow, they don't need anything else?
If they were just going to resort to war to plunder resources in the end, he might as well skip the research on a cure and attack now.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
The doors of the Stellaris locomotive cabin slowly closed, and the Built-in Security System hidden within the cabin was ready to activate at any moment. Eliminating this group of Elders here would effectively decapitate the Rugged Civilization, leaving them without leadership.
"Not quite," the Great Elder said, taking a deep breath before looking at Chen Mang with a serious expression. He spoke slowly and deliberately, "Now that things have come to this, I'll tell you the truth."
"Though our Rugged Civilization belongs to the Sagittarius Clan, we are merely a branch of it."
"Recently,"
"The Sagittarius Clan has advanced to Tier 9 Civilization and is now striving for God-Tier Civilization. Through some means, they have contacted all scattered branches of the Sagittarius Clan throughout the universe, summoning all clansmen to gather and jointly ascend to God-Tier Civilization!"
"When the time comes—"
"At the appointed hour, an immensely complex Bloodline Wormhole will open, connecting all clansmen scattered across the cosmos and bringing them home. This includes our Rugged Civilization, which also wishes to return to its ancestral roots and rejoin the main Clan."
"But..."
"To enter the Bloodline Wormhole, the Holy Arrow must lead the way. Without it, we cannot access the wormhole."
"For the Sagittarius Clan, this is a trivial matter, as every member possesses a Holy Arrow. However, the Rugged Civilization lacks one, and the deadline is three months away."
"If a Holy Arrow isn't forged within these three months, the Rugged Civilization will lose its chance to return to the Clan. Even if one appears later, the Clan won't activate the extremely costly Bloodline Wormhole solely for our sake."
"This is our only opportunity."
"Therefore..."
"If you can truly resolve this issue within three months and forge a Holy Arrow for us, we will entrust you with all our resources."
"The Bloodline Wormhole can rapidly gather our scattered brethren from across the cosmos, spanning distances of hundreds of billions of light-years—an astronomical figure. However, the price is steep: those who enter the wormhole must abandon all possessions, including clothing, entering stark naked, as if newly born into the world."
"Aside from the Bloodline Wormhole, there's essentially no other way to gather all our scattered clansmen across the universe."
Chen Mang pondered silently, understanding why the Rugged Civilization was so desperate. The opportunity to join a God-Tier Civilization would naturally drive them to urgency, especially given the strong cohesion of the Sagittarius Clan.
Of course, their small population was a major factor.
The Human Clan, with its massive population, couldn't possibly afford the astronomical cost of creating a Bloodline Wormhole.
But...
"Three months?" Chen Mang shook his head and turned to the Great Elder, his voice soft. "You've misunderstood. I can only guarantee the birth of more Divine Archers. The Chosen Ones already poisoned and transformed into Berserkers are beyond help. Even if cured, their fate is sealed."
"All I can do is ensure that newborns in your civilization won't carry this virus."
"How could a newborn possibly become a Divine Archer?"
"I can't help you with that."
"Then there's no point in any of this," the Great Elder said, a flicker of sorrow in his eyes. "Only if a Holy Arrow is born within three months will there be any reason to continue negotiations. The Rugged Civilization is willing to pay any price."
"If that doesn't happen..."
"The Rugged Civilization will become the Sagittarius Clan's sole remaining branch adrift in the cosmos."
He had deliberately withheld a crucial piece of information:
The Tier 9 Civilization of the Sagittarius Clan had explicitly warned all branches that any group failing to reunite through the Bloodline Wormhole within the specified timeframe would have their Chosen One powers revoked.
The Sagittarius Clan's power stemmed from their Chosen Ones.
Within the clan, the strongest branch would possess the Divinities of both the Divine Archer and the Berserker—Divinities capable of nullifying the powers of all other Chosen Ones.
To put it bluntly:
If they failed to return through the Bloodline Wormhole and reunite with the Tier 9 Civilization within three months, their civilization's power would be completely stripped away.
At that point, they wouldn't even retain the strength of a Third-Tier Civilization, let alone a Seventh-Tier one.
Any surrounding civilization could easily devour them.
Their only option was to await their doom.
This wasn't a simple matter of returning to their ancestral roots. While the Sagittarius Clan had strong cohesion, some inevitably preferred remaining outside the headquarters, ruling as warlords. The "Divinity" system served as a means of control.
Three months later.
Without the Holy Arrow, the Rugged Civilization would perish.
This was why, despite sensing the Green Mountain Civilization's suspicious activities in recent years, they had no time to address them. With their civilization's imminent destruction looming, they had no energy to spare for external affairs.
Three months.
Chen Mang fell silent. He genuinely wanted to accept the job, but his abilities fell short. Creating a Holy Arrow in just three months seemed an impossible task.
Still...
He wanted to try.
He murmured, "Send me the Holy Arrow assessment criteria. I'll give it a shot."
"Very well."
The Great Elder didn't hesitate. He immediately handed over a token. "This contains all the information regarding the Holy Arrow assessment."
The group then parted ways.
The Great Elder and the others departed once more, immediately setting out to find potential candidates for the Holy Arrow. They couldn't place all their hopes on Chen Mang alone; they needed to actively search themselves, hoping that the Rugged Civilization might suddenly produce a Holy Arrow with extraordinary power.
"For now," Chen Mang murmured, sitting in the locomotive cabin and gazing at the Holy Arrow assessment criteria, "our only path forward is through cheating. To pass the Holy Arrow assessment—ignoring the character evaluations—the sole requirement is..."
"...to draw a longbow as an un-class-changed Chosen One and unleash a Sagittarius Shot."
"This signifies immense potential, demonstrating the ability to resonate with celestial bodies and generate soul-shaking vibrations even in the nascent stage."
"Can this be achieved through cheating?"
"Theoretically, there's a chance," Xiao Ai's voice echoed through the train. "While the universe boasts countless races, they aren't truly infinite. If we mass-produce Tier 500 Bread, someone will eventually reacquire the Sagittarius Clan's racial talent."
"After all, Tier 500 Bread isn't even expensive."
"It only requires 200 million units of iron ore—practically a bargain."
(End of the Chapter)
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