Silent Crown

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

At first, it was a point that was extremely small and difficult to observe.

But broken music theory then flowed out of the circulating layer, and aether gushed out of the outflowing layer.

One rose, and the other descended, gathering in an empty space of nothingness. So, countless broken strands of music theory were pieced together here, sketching a vague outline.

It was the seed of miracle.

Then, the alchemy arrays that had dimmed seemed to have come alive, breaking off and reconnecting automatically. In an instant, layers of complicated structures were formed by reorganizing the original appearance, as if towering buildings were rebuilt from ruins. It drew the chaotic power within the core, and elements rose from it. It was the fire of the alchemists.

The vague seed of miracle operated in the alchemy arrays, flowing like water. Amid the tens of thousands of complex changes, it was diverted, merged, burned, cooled, qualitatively transformed, and restored…

In a flash, after undergoing the four major stages of blackening, whitening, reddening, and greening, black iron turned into black gold. In the ordinary item, its essence emerged, and the incorporeal spirituality condensed within.

It seemed illusory, like the moon in the mirror and the flower in the water.

A pair of eyes opened in the darkness, and from the kingdom of the dead, they looked at the mortal realm. As the eyes opened, the core that was collapsing chaotically seemed to suddenly freeze. All the changes and turmoil of music theory came to an abrupt end, pausing in place, and shook no more.

As the saints looked on, their faces ghastly pale. An illusory voice declared softly, "As above, so below, so all things have their birth."

So, in an instant, an incredible miracle erupted from the core of the catastrophe.

Amid the dim and cracked crystal polygon, countless scattered modules rose again, merging into one, and spun madly. As if time was flowing in reverse, the collapsed alchemy arrays rose and returned to their original positions. The music theory that had lost control returned to chaos, then once again emerged in a complete form from chaos, coursing through the Heaven Ladder.

In the darkness that had cut off contact, glows lit up one after another, illuminating the darkness and restructuring the embryonic form of the network. Star-like specks of light lit up within the region covered by the Net of Aether, responding to its call. The instruments of harmonious melody which had shut down due to overloading were connected back into the network one by one, returning to the blueprint of Land of Dreams. In the end, it was as if the heavens and the earth were reopened, and everything was complete once more.

So, the pair of eyes looked at the scepters of Telemann and Puccini. "Separate thou the earth from the fire, the subtle from the gross. Caution is advised."

At the moment, the miracle that emerged from the fire dissipated, replaced by death which condensed from water.

Compared to the vast power of the saints, the power it propelled at the moment was simply so weak that it approached zero. The power was so pitiful that it was only enough to condense into a note…

Despite the difference between them clearly being so great, the fear brought about by death was so real, yet so ridiculous.

The illusory voice said, "Its force is above all force, for it vanquishes every subtle thing and penetrates every solid thing."

The note condensed from nothingness, passing through the complicated and complex movements of judgment, just like a drop of rainwater passing through the gaps between layers of flames, falling into the core miraculously.

As if it had been rehearsed many times, it wasn't the note that moved forward, but Telemann who advanced towards it. Despite clearly not having met before, they "coordinated" seamlessly.

It made one shudder.

The note gently attached itself to the turbulent music theory, combining as one with the intervals within. They did not repel each other, as if they had originated from the same source.

Then, as the note was inserted, the whole interval abruptly changed from the initial fluentness to infinite unnecessary loops. In a flash, the interval overloaded, and the key link in the whole strand of music theory was broken, causing a fatal flaw to appear in the rigorous music theory.

It was like a destructive chain reaction triggered by pushing the very first piece of domino.

The note appeared in the worst possible place and became the first straw on the camel's back, but the rest of the work was done by Telemann's own power…

Collapse.

The avalanche-like collapse began.

Destruction swept from the inside out. For want of a nail, the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe, the horse was lost. For want of a horse, the rider was lost. For want of a rider, the message was lost. For want of a message, the battle was lost. For want of a battle, the kingdom was lost.

Reality became a fairy tale in the fables before the pair of eyes.

With a beauty that was almost artistic, he gave the enemies precise destruction and death. And after writing down the beginning, the eyes were no longer concerned about how things would progress towards the end. He simply made use of the final minutes and gazed at everything around him, contented.

"Hence I am called Hermes Trismegist, having the three parts of the philosophy of the whole world." He sighed in a low tone. "This is… the last of my great jobs…"

Seemingly laughing, the eyes slowly closed. The incorporeal spirituality dissipated, countless arrays fell apart, re-integrating themselves into the core of the catastrophe, disappearing without any trace, and he returned to a long slumber.

"Goodbye forever, boss," Ye Qingxuan lowered his eyes and murmured softly.

In just a moment, everything became completely different, and the tables were turned.

The dense sound of bones shattering continued ringing out from Telemann's body. First it came from the phalanges, followed by the arms, then the thoracic cavity and the ribs, and finally, the skull ruptured from the inside out, falling apart.

The heavy pressure of out-of-control music theory destroyed him first. After the majestic crown and robe were removed, his essence as a defective product was revealed…

It was not only Telemann who was instantly defeated. Without Telemann to share and support the burden, the full power of the operating Net of Aether was directly acting on Puccini. Like walking naked into the aether engine of a warship, one would be burned to ashes by the horrifying power almost instantly.

As the scepter collapsed, half of Puccini's body caved in instantly, as if he had been attacked from the front by an invisible siege hammer and beaten into a pulp. But he still had yet to die. Squirming on the ground, he reached out and pressed a hand on Telemann's forehead.

Mahler looked at all of it, dumbfounded, and finally laughed forlornly and hoarsely. "After all the effort, is it still in vain?"

He cast a final glance at Ye Qingxuan, and his gaze became one of realization, as if he got the answer. "Sure enough, you are a monster."

Mahler moved forward, ignoring the sharp pain of the blade scraping against his bones, and grasped Ye Qingxuan's palm firmly. "Come with me and return to nothingness!"

The final elegy was played.

The core movement of Saint Mahler's legacy—Das Klagende Lied!

In a flash, music theory extended from his body, resonating with Telemann and Puccini, and even the dying Verdi became part of the cycle of self-destruction. The four scepters turned into a chain, tightly binding Ye Qingxuan in it, pulling him to follow them to destruction.

It was the final step to annihilate Ye Qingxuan with the core of the catastrophe after destroying the Net of Aether completely. Whether or not the Net of Aether was still complete, and whether Ye Qingxuan was dead or alive, the four of them were destined to die from the very beginning.

Letting Mahler grip his wrist, Ye Qingxuan looked at the other man's eyes indifferently.

Then, he clenched the New Testament Sword.

The bangs of the metal colliding erupted, and the projection of the Land of Dreams descended from the sky, bringing endless power. It broke Mahler's seal as easily as crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood.

The blade was pulled out from the blockade imposed with flesh and blood. It was flipped, and cut off Mahler's hands. It deftly turned in a circle in the air, and flitted across Mahler's neck.

A line of blood spread from his throat.

At the moment, be it flesh, blood, bones, movements, spirituality, consciousness, or the intangible and fleeting soul, everything of his fell apart under the blow struck by the New Testament!

"I am not a monster." Ye Qingxuan looked at his eyes, which were full of despair, and finally corrected him, "You are."

The next moment, flames rose from the crack, and in a flash, they were turned into ashes, and no trace of their existences remained. Ye Qingxuan didn't look back, not even once. He stepped over the ghastly white ashes on the ground and walked towards to the divine armor in front.

In his hands, the New Testament Sword flitted through the empty space, and made a piercing noise as if it was scraping against steel. The electricity of the music theory of reform lit up from above the blade, jumping around and dancing in rage, illuminating his face.

Ye Qingxuan declared indifferently to Odin in front of him, "Come on, as you wish, war has arrived!"

…

Loud bangs came from afar, and the seawater rolled turbulently, stirring up the stench of solder that had combusted completely.

In the sharp whistle, the ship docked at the pier. Roars and shouts came from all over the crowded pier. The musicians stood on higher ground, and their voices rang out one after another like thunder.

"The seventh column, the seventh column, set off immediately!"

"Make way, we have five more minutes to move the stuff down and an hour to send them to the front line."

"Soldier, get out of the way. Yes, you, now. Everyone, be f*cking clear about this, jump into the sea if you wanna die, don't stand in front of the tower crane!"

As the chaotic orders were issued, the crowds on the dock were quickly led away, but the space was quickly filled up again. Many cargo ships were lining up outside the harbor, waiting for their turn to enter the port.

In the rumble of the tower crane, the huge ship at the very back circumvented the queue and entered the port amid the angry roars of many captains.

Then, the cabin door to the bilge opened with a rumble. One after another, steel monsters crushed the cabin door and the pontoons underneath, and drove onto the dock. They moved forward along the cleared passageway, emitting black smoke, and roared past the onlookers.

The sixth batch of reinforcements had set off from Birmingham.

They had no time to wait for the three rounds of testing to end. After the first round of war testing ended in the World of Dark, the remaining 600 Water Tanks underwent simple modifications and were sent directly to the front line in nine batches.

Half were sent to the Blanc Stronghold, and half advanced straight into the enemy's territory with the Royal Fleet. They made a long curving detour and landed on the other side of Asgard, directly used the colony of the Sicilians as a springboard to attack the industrial cities of Asgard and destroy the military logistics.

After a desperate, six-hour battle, the Anglo Army finally controlled the port, and occupied half of the city, competing with the Asgardians for the other half of the city.

As for the opinions of the Sicilians who were the original inhabitants, who cared?

Who asked them to form an alliance with Asgard?