Chapter 1309 - 595: The Civilization Destroyed

Chapter 1309: Chapter 595: The Civilization Destroyed

Just as Herbert’s curiosity piqued about what was happening, the scene in his memory suddenly turned blank.

"What happened?"

Then, the scene shifted again, bringing him to a unique classroom.

Or rather, it was a combination of a laboratory and a lecture hall.

The students, dressed in uniform, sat on tiered seats, while at the front, a hybrid professor with scales and lizard-like slit pupils explained the complex diagrams on the blackboard.

On one side was a biological anatomy chart showing muscle fibers and nerve pathways.

On the other side was a mechanical schematic diagram, complete with gears, connecting rods, and drive shafts.

And in the middle, there was a dense array of runes and energy circuits.

"The key to symbiosis lies in the stability of the will."

The professor tapped the intersection of the diagrams with a pointer, saying in a deep voice, "Don’t think of this as a dangerous attempt, it’s an epoch-making genius idea."

"Pure machinery lacks adaptability and self-repair capabilities, while pure flesh is limited in strength and easily damaged."

"By combining the two, one can create a perfect warrior that transcends a single form."

The atmosphere in the classroom wasn’t great, even somewhat heavy.

After a moment of silence, a student hesitantly raised a hand and asked, "Professor, but the current ’Bloodsteel Guardians’ project reports indicate that the test subjects’ consciousness stability is generally below expectations, with multiple samples showing severe cognitive impairment and even self-destructive tendencies."

"Is this really the right path?"

The professor was silent for a moment, slit pupils slightly constricting, and said solemnly, "Don’t overthink it, that’s a necessary price."

"In wartime, what we need are weapons that can fight against the ’Flesh Erosion’, not exquisite works of art."

The students, dissatisfied with such a perfunctory explanation, protested:

"But professor, if they can’t even maintain self-awareness, how can they make judgments in a complex battlefield environment? Are they supposed to rely entirely on remote control? What about areas with severe psi interference?"

"Moreover, what we’re doing now, won’t it anger that divine—"

Thud.

"Enough!"

The professor stomped his foot forcefully, interrupting the student’s line of questioning, "This issue involves strategic decisions made by the highest council and is not within the scope of this course."

"Moreover, divine beings don’t exist! Don’t believe the nonsense spread by those lunatics!"

"Those invaders are just enemies with special powers."

The owner of the memory turned his head, realizing that all the students around him were whispering, their faces full of deep unease.

...

"This world seems to be under invasion by foreign forces?"

Herbert analyzed the details he saw in the memory, trying to piece them together.

"Are they in a state of alert?"

"Who is the enemy? Another civilization? Or... could it really be a divine being?"

"The name ’Flesh Erosion’ sounds like something from Sinful Desire, could it be a god with powers similar to that entity?"

As he pondered, the scene shifted once more.

This time, the view in the memory owner’s eyes was extremely blurry, with the entire scene shaking violently.

He seemed to be running with all his might.

An alarm blared piercingly in his ears, red warning lights whirling and flashing in the corridors, researchers in white lab coats running, some with briefcases in their arms, others hurriedly closing the doors of the experiment chambers.

"Evacuate! All non-combat personnel proceed immediately to the third refuge!"

"The security zone has been breached! Those things have changed their abilities again! Their blood can corrode magic shields!"

"Send the ’Bloodsteel Guardians’ forward! Activate all combat units!"

Through the observation window of the corridor, Herbert caught a glimpse of the scene outside.

The sky was no longer lead-gray but was stained with an eerie purplish-red, resembling a festering wound, with copious amounts of "blood" pouring down from high above.

Huge, indescribable shadows writhed over the city, with tendrils touching buildings that twisted and deformed like melted candles.

From afar came an inhuman shriek, neither beast nor demon, but a sound more hollow and voracious.

Herbert stared at the doomsday-like scene, capturing one word.

"Devourers..."

This world was being consumed by an unknown entity known as the "Devourers."

Then, amid the violent impact, the view of the memory owner rolled and flew out to an unknown distance before crashing heavily to the ground, the blurred view settling on the ceiling.

Dust filled the air, alarms became distant.

But soon, a figure came to his side—a warrior in silver armor, though with slight flesh movements at the seams of the armor.

"Civilian?"

The armored warrior’s voice was mechanical and cold, "Can you still move? We must leave here."

The memory owner coughed laboriously, his voice trembling, "Bloodsteel Guardian? Cough, aren’t you on the frontline..."

"The frontline no longer exists."

The warrior said succinctly, extending a mechanical hand to pull the person up from the ground.

"The entire world is the frontline."

"Go."

"As long as you want to survive, don’t stop."

The memory owner started running again.

In his stumbling run, Herbert saw more details through this person’s peripheral vision.

The streets were littered with debris, and in some places remained the energy residues from the breaking of magical shields.

Hybrids, humans, even some gentle demons fought side by side, wielding various strange weapons.

Steam-powered firearms firing enchanted bullets, mages with magic staffs with alchemical bombs hanging from their waists.

This was a civilization that pushed steam-tech and magic to the extreme, their combat power should absolutely not be weak.

Yet they were still retreating steadily.

Because their enemies, those terrifying creatures controlled by "gods," just their mere existence was beyond their comprehension.

"This is divine punishment!"

"It’s the wrath of the gods!"

In the ruins, someone was madly screaming.

"All of this is judgement by destiny!"

"Hahaha..."

After that, the memory was completely interrupted.

...

In the laboratory, Herbert slowly opened his eyes, brows tightly furrowed.

"Phew..."

He exhaled gently, quickly calming down.

Although he had witnessed the demise of a civilization, Herbert wasn’t overcome with empathic sadness.

It was more like watching an apocalyptic-themed movie.

What truly made him frown was that he couldn’t understand why these residual wills wanted him to see these things?

Why me?

He wanted to continue exploring, but the soul cluster of the mechanical robot had become incredibly dim, seemingly about to completely shatter.

"Herbert?"

Svanni looked at him with concern, asking softly, "What did you see? Your heartbeat is somewhat unstable."

Miss Dark Elf had been monitoring his physical condition, ready to forcibly break their connection at any moment.

Herbert pondered for a moment before saying slowly, with a somewhat confused expression, "I saw in its memory a unique civilization, a world destroyed by foreign gods."

He succinctly described to Svanni, in terms she could understand, everything witnessed in the soul memory.

A civilization with a technological advancement path different from this world, surpassing the current era, and a cataclysm brought by divine beings.

After hearing this, Svanni’s deep purple eyes sparkled with interest as she asked, "So, does it mean it’s a survivor of that civilization? Do you want to keep trying to explore?"

"No, not for now, let it rest a bit."

Herbert thought and shook his head, averting his gaze from the robot, saying blandly, "If you’re interested, you can take it back to Elda for research."

"But I think there might be more to it than just a mere survivor."

He didn’t explain further, allowing Svanni to pack up the thoroughly settled robot, taking it back inside Elda for a more thorough investigation.

"Nenasha, what do you think?"

Herbert engaged in inner dialogue with Miss Harmonious God who suddenly became particularly quiet, "Do you have any leads on its origins?"

["Well..."]

After hesitating, Nenasha said somewhat uncertainly, ["To be honest, I have no recollection of this robot."]

["But, I do have a slightly familiar feeling about the ability of the ’Devourers’ ..."]

The deity’s voice grew quieter, guiltily muttering in a small voice: ["I won’t lie, this kind of thing feels like something I can create... but I really have no memory of this!"]

["It really wasn’t me, was it!?"]

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