The empire held an absolute advantage. They controlled over 90% of the land and resources, and possessed an almost inexhaustible military force. Yet, they were unable to completely eradicate the "resistance armies" that spread like a virus throughout the empire's body. The cost of their rule grew increasingly high, and the battle lines stretched ever longer. For the first time, the massive imperial machine felt the weariness of existence.

Meanwhile, the alliance continued to grow and expand in the cracks. Lin Feng's scorched-earth policy not only failed to intimidate the people, but also pushed countless civilians who were originally observing and uninterested in politics, and even those who had previously benefited from the system, to the side of the alliance. When your home is burned down and your relatives are slaughtered, you have no other choice but to resist.

More and more people, fueled by a deep-seated hatred for the Empire, crossed the blockade and joined the resistance organizations deep in the mountains. Blacksmiths, farmers, doctors, scholars… they used their skills to contribute to this seemingly hopeless war. After an initial sharp decline, the size of the Alliance's army began a slow but steady recovery.

An even more unexpected change occurred for Lin Feng.

The seeds of rebellion have begun to take root and sprout within the Empire.

The rule of an empire is not monolithic. It is composed of countless individuals.

The first person to publicly step forward was an imperial general named Yue Zhenshan.

General Yue was a veteran general with a distinguished military record. A graduate of the empire's most prestigious military academy, he dedicated his life to upholding the empire's honor. He had rendered outstanding service to Lin Feng during the empire's unification wars. The "Seventh Iron Wall Legion," which he commanded, was one of the empire's most powerful elite units.

However, when he was sent to the Iron River Valley front to carry out a "purification mission," he witnessed firsthand how the "Punishment Legion" burned a city with tens of thousands of civilians to the ground simply because it was "suspected of harboring rebels." He saw the desperate faces struggling in the flames. He smelled the scorching, bloody flesh of his own compatriots in the air.

At that moment, the belief he had held onto all his life crumbled.

That evening, he sent an encrypted message to the Revival Alliance through a secret channel.

"My name is Yue Zhenshan. I am a general of the Empire, but before that, I am first and foremost a 'human being.' I can no longer turn a blind eye to the suffering of my compatriots. I can no longer wield the butcher's knife against those innocent people who are only fighting for survival. The Emperor... has betrayed the ideals that led to the founding of the Empire. He is dragging us all into an abyss called 'madness.' If your 'Dawn of Light' can truly bring a ray of light to this dark land... then I and my Seventh Legion are willing to become the swords in your hands."

This information caused a huge uproar at the alliance's supreme command.

"This is a trap!" The one-armed Patton slammed his fist on the table. "It's definitely that bastard Lin Feng's scheme! He wants to lure us out with a fake surrender and then wipe us all out! We absolutely cannot believe these Imperials' lies!"

Lina rarely showed a serious expression: "The risk is indeed extremely high. We cannot verify General Yue's true intentions. If anything goes wrong, the situation we have finally stabilized will collapse immediately."

All eyes were on Irelia.

Irelia stared at the message composed of text, remaining silent for a long time. Her finger lightly traced the sentence, "I am first and foremost a 'person'."

Finally, she raised her head.

"I believe him."

"Irelia!" Barton called out urgently.

“I don’t believe in his identity as an ‘Imperial General’,” Irelia said, her eyes clear and firm. “I believe in his conscience as a ‘human being’.”

"Lin Feng's tyranny has been able to persist because he has divided us into 'imperials' and 'rebels,' into 'humans' and 'alien races.' He uses hatred and fear as high walls to separate us. And now, for the first time, someone is trying to tear down this wall from within. Whether it is a trap or not, we must give him a response."

"Because our purpose in resisting has never been to kill all the people of the Empire. It is to awaken everyone to resist the one and only tyrant sitting on the throne."

“Lina,” she turned to the catwoman, “find a way to establish a stable connection with General Yue. Tell him that the Alliance welcomes all ‘comrades’ who possess conscience and courage.”

...

The palace above the throne in the heavens was deathly silent.

Lin Feng silently watched the entire intelligence report displayed on the screen regarding Yue Zhenshan's secret contact with the Alliance. Governor Zhang Huanyu knelt behind him like a statue, not daring to even breathe.

The temperature in the entire palace seemed to have dropped to freezing point.

"Your Majesty..." Zhang Huanyu finally mustered his courage and said in a trembling voice, "Yue Zhenshan has betrayed you! He has betrayed the Empire! Please allow me to immediately lead the 'Cataclysmic Divine Soldiers' to wipe out the Seventh Legion on the spot! I promise to bring back Yue Zhenshan's head and present it to you!"

Lin Feng did not turn around.

He simply raised his hand slowly, signaling him to shut up.

After a long while, a low, suppressed laugh echoed in the empty hall. The laugh was filled with an indescribable coldness and... rage.

"Betrayal? No, this is not betrayal."

Lin Feng slowly turned around, and for the first time, a near-tangible, destructive rage ignited in his eyes, which held the very essence of the birth and death of stars.

He anticipated the alliance's resistance and that the outcasts would become more united out of hatred. All of this was within his calculations, even a "purification" process he was happy to see.

But what he never expected was that the first thing to run into trouble would be the very empire he had created, the one that should have been the purest and most loyal in the world...

The "new humans" he created were infected by some ridiculous, old-fashioned viruses called "compassion" and "conscience," and thus stood on the opposite side of him.

For him, this was no longer a "betrayal".

This is an insult.

It is the most thorough denial of him as a "god".

"They think I'm wrong?" Lin Feng's voice was terrifyingly calm. "They think they can build a better world by relying on those sentimental emotions? They think they can achieve so-called 'peace' by uniting some alien races?"

"Foolish... How incredibly foolish!"

His anger vanished instantly, replaced by an absolute, cold rationality.

"Zhang Huanyu".

"Your subject is here!"

"What kind of environment do you think snakes like best?" Lin Feng suddenly asked a completely unrelated question.

Zhang Huanyu paused for a moment, then, trying to decipher his superior's meaning, replied, "A dark, damp cave full of cracks."

“Well said.” A cold smile curled at the corner of Lin Feng’s lips. “There are just too many of these self-proclaimed clever ‘snakes’ hiding in the shadows of the empire. Catching them one by one would be a waste of time.”

"Since they all feel that the outside world is warmer and brighter..."

“Then I will personally open all the holes for them, so that they can crawl out and bask in the ‘sunshine’ they crave.”

"Pass on my orders." Lin Feng's eyes gleamed with calculation. "Starting today, relax traffic controls between the various occupied territories. Deliberately create 'loopholes' in the defense of some arms depots. You can even 'accidentally' allow some disgruntled officers to come into contact with Alliance defectors."

A look of confusion appeared in Zhang Huanyu's eyes: "Your Majesty... this... isn't this aiding the enemy?"

“No.” Lin Feng sneered, “I’m just giving those hesitant snakes a reason to leave their burrows. I need them to come together. I need them to stake all their hopes and all their strength on a so-called ‘decisive’ action.”

"I want them to believe that they really have a chance to defeat me."

"Then……"

He opened his arms as if to embrace the whole world.

"On a grandest stage, wipe them out cleanly, along with their ridiculous hopes."

“Go, my consul.” Lin Feng’s gaze returned to the image of General Yue Zhenshan on the screen, who was secretly communicating with Lina. “Go and carry out my orders. Prepare for this final, grand… funeral for our guests.”