Chapter 141 Analysis and Arrangements

Three months later.

"Caesar killed Caesar?" Looking over some intelligence reports that required his attention, Liu Tian wore a mocking smile. He raised his head, and invisible electromagnetic waves radiated outward. A projection screen in front of him automatically displayed a video, and upbeat music began to play—

Y.M.C.A.!

"You've got to be kidding me, the Gattuso family really pulled it off." The moment the music started and he saw the naked upper body, having already fully understood the situation afterward, Liu Tian turned off the video. After all, he wasn't gay; he had no interest in watching a video of something that happened between two gay men, nor did he have any thoughts about a pathetic man's body.

"The ultimate humiliation, and they even broadcasted the video everywhere. Your family has practically played the roles of *Tiger Hai* and *Blue Dream*. Impressive, truly impressive." Liu Tian clapped and praised, though it was unclear who he was actually applauding—was it the dead elders of the Gattuso family? Or was it Caesar, who had undergone a complete metamorphosis, no longer hiding a lion in his eyes, but truly becoming a fierce lion himself?

"With the power of one hundred thousand horses, coupled with the potential existence of multiple Spiritual Speech abilities, unless he delivers himself to my doorstep, I don't stand a chance of beating him to death right now." Liu Tian flipped through the intelligence reports, readily admitting his own shortcomings. "Zihang, how is the situation over there?"

Without specifying what situation he meant, Liu Tian trusted that Chu Zihang shared this tacit understanding with him.

"According to some people loyal to Heaven, they believe that the one who died was the real Caesar Gattuso, and this Caesar, who carries a dark past and displays a yearning for power and desire, is merely a body double, just like the other eight people he subsequently hunted down and killed," Chu Zihang said calmly. "After all, the difference in personality before and after is just too drastic."

"I'd say it threatened their interests. After experiencing the ultimate humiliation, a person could turn into anything, not to mention that final blow of uploading everything to the internet—anything Caesar does now is possible. What is he doing right now?" Liu Tian asked.

"Caesar was previously frantically trying to delete all the videos, but it seems an artificial intelligence is hindering him, making it impossible for him to delete them all. Now, he has directly disabled all network systems in the regions under his control, and day and night, he patrols the land randomly. Anyone who dares to use the internet or anything capable of displaying the video is directly blasted to death by him," Chu Zihang said.

"Obsessed with deleting his own dark history? No wonder he keeps expanding. Does he think that as long as he continuously deletes all footage, the impact will eventually be completely erased one day?" Liu Tian pondered, then immediately overthrew this notion. "No, if that were the case, wouldn't it be easier for him to just kill everyone? Why bother being so indecisive?"

***

"Forget it, trying to figure out the thoughts of someone who might already be a senile madman is pointless. Since he has emerged, adding another combat force to the enemy side, the day of battle is almost upon us." Liu Tian tapped on the desk. "With the rate of growth I've displayed, plus Hela—who, once perfected, can master the locations of all Nibelungs and open space while ignoring their owners—no matter who it is, they certainly won't dare to wait too long. Locally, the only ones who could trade blows with me for a few rounds are those few: the Four Monarchs, the Black King, the White King, Odin, and the World Tree."

"The Four Monarchs are all twins, making eight in total. One is dead, three are on our side, leaving four. Four fragile glass-cannon mages who drop dead the moment they meet; catch them and they die. If they devour each other, according to Xia Mi's description, they'll get a lot stronger, but they still won't escape the status of glass-cannon mages, who die the moment they're touched."

"Xia Mi claims the White King—who was nearly equal to the Black King—is dead, but you can only believe half of that at most. The Black King, Nidhogg, likes to mess around when he has the upper hand. He dragged out something that should have been a one-hit kill, spending six epochs—over 700,000 years—just killing a defeated foe. It's entirely possible the White King left behind some trump cards."

"That leaves the Black King, Odin, and the World Tree. The so-called World Tree, based on the effects previously demonstrated by Gungnir—which was formed from its branches—plus the fact that alchemy can imbue unconscious objects with consciousness, will undoubtedly be the consciousness and physical form born from the elements of this world, though it's likely struggling to protect itself right now. After all, Xia Mi said that all myths and legends in this world can be traced back to the Dragon race in the end. Among them, Norse mythology is closest to true history—no, it's closest to the prophecy made and destiny arranged by the Black King Nidhogg himself."

"Combined with the prophecy that during Ragnarok, Nidhogg kept gnawing on the World Tree without participating in the war, only showing up at the very end to harvest the corpses everywhere, it's very likely that the Black King is gnawing on the World Tree, which may have already lost its ability to resist or never had it in the first place. Until the Dragon Kings on the earth are mostly dead, or the World Tree is completely finished and he gains the highest authority, he probably won't come out."

"As for Odin, he possesses a bloodline a cut above the Four Monarchs and holds Gungnir, forged from a World Tree branch which no one else possesses. Perhaps he is the World Tree's backup plan, but since he cannot leave the Nibelung, maybe he's missing something—something extremely crucial that opposes the Black King. It seems that might be the Blood of the Black King. Where would one get that? Never mind, there's no need to consider that; since they want to fight me, the others will definitely help complete it for him."

"And what about Lu Mingfei? What kind of entity is he? Although he only has half dragon blood, and it is constantly decreasing as it converts into human blood, his authority has never diminished; in fact, it's slightly higher even than a Dragon King's. Moreover, the dragon blood inside him feels the same to me as the World Tree branches, yet it's mixed with other things. Is he an accidentally born consciousness of the World Tree? Or a backup to the backup plan?"

Liu Tian's thoughts raced frantically. Through the intelligence provided by Xia Mi and the information supplied by countless Heaven personnel, he was peeling back the veil of the world layer by layer, approaching the truest truth.

***

"Forget it, the intelligence is insufficient, and there are too many subsequent possibilities. I can't continue deducing; I'm too lazy to think about it." Suddenly, just as he was nearing the ultimate truth, Liu Tian slapped the desk. "What the hell am I thinking for? Is the truth really that important? They're all enemies anyway, and they're all enemies who are going to show up sooner or later. I'll just blast to smithereens everything that dares to block my path, and that'll be the end of it."

"Let me calculate my potential opponents: four plus three equals seven. Counting Caesar Gattuso, who didn't suffer a mental breakdown after experiencing the ultimate humiliation and is bound to grow rapidly—no, I should just call him Caesar—plus one, that's eight."

"Let's round it up to ten to be safe, and then, taking into consideration what hasn't been accounted for, double it to twenty."

***

"In the worst-case scenario, in the end, there will be twenty people capable of trading blows with me surrounding me, and among them, there might even be beings whose power is no less than my own." Liu Tian sneered. "How many times can they kill me? Once or twice? I hope they can kill me at least three times, otherwise, letting you all roam outside on purpose won't have any meaning."

"However, we still need to add some fuel to the fire for these cowardly fellows." Liu Tian raised his head. "Zihang, where is Lu Mingfei right now?"

Chu Zihang, who had been quietly waiting for Liu Tian's instructions nearby, said, "He is leading his friends Lao Tang and Ye Sheng to carry out routine cleanup missions."

"Have him take Lao Tang to the west, to station himself in the area bordering Caesar—time limit: one year. He'll understand what I mean," Liu Tian said. "Let's see, I've thrown all the guys who can cancel Spiritual Speech far, far away, creating such a great opportunity for you. Let's see if you can resist the temptation."

"Understood." Chu Zihang nodded in acknowledgment.

"Oh, right." Just as Chu Zihang was about to make the call, Liu Tian added, "Over the next few years, until I destroy all those who dare to resist, Heaven's work focus must shift toward digging shelters and conducting emergency drills. At the same time, we must stockpile enough food, and everyone must be prepared to flee for their lives at any moment."

"Don't worry about potential panic. From now on, everyone must undergo training. Anyone who refuses must be kicked out of Heaven. This time I'm showing mercy, so it won't count as betrayal."

"Let's see how many fools are left after they finally open their minds."