On the flagship of the Heavenly Punishment Fleet, for the first time, a data fluctuation indicating "unexpectedness" flashed in the electronic eyes of Executive Officer Alpha.

"The energy shield strength exceeds the theoretical calculation value by 372%. The target... has absorbed 'spiritual energy' from other biological units."

"Conventional strikes have failed. Activate the second phase of 'Divine Punishment'."

"Release... 'Scavenger'."

At Alpha's command, the bow of the flagship "Wrath of the God Emperor" slowly opened, resembling the gaping maw of an abyss.

What emerged from them were not fighter jets or soldiers.

Instead, it was an endless "cloud" composed of nanorobots, resembling a black sandstorm.

These nanobots are one of the Empire's most terrifying weapons. They can devour and decompose all matter, whether it be metal, rock, or flesh and blood. Wherever they go, they leave behind only absolute, molecular-level "cleanliness."

Black nano clouds, blotting out the sun, like living, breathing darkness, slowly pressed down on the valley.

They are ubiquitous, and any energy shield is meaningless in their presence.

The cheers in the valley abruptly ceased. Fear once again enveloped everyone's faces.

"That's the Empire's 'nano swarm'! Hide!" Bahrain shouted in terror.

However, Irelia's face remained calm.

She withdrew her Holy Light Shield, letting the black cloud representing ultimate destruction surge toward her.

She simply closed her eyes gently, the holy sword in her hand held horizontally in front of her chest.

"Everything has a spirit."

"Order should not be built on the basis of annihilation."

"Listen to my voice, lost children... Return to your origins."

She started "singing" again.

This time, her singing lacked both the fervent fighting spirit and the sorrow for the deceased.

Yes, it is a rhythm as tranquil, peaceful, and all-encompassing as the birth of the universe.

This rhythm acts directly on the rules at the most fundamental level of matter.

The surging black cloud composed of countless nanobots suddenly stopped in mid-air.

The billions of tiny robots that make them up seem to have been given "life" at this moment. They no longer execute the cold "devour" commands from "Gaia".

They began... "dance".

In the air, following Irelia's song, they transformed into all sorts of beautiful, dreamlike forms. Sometimes they became flying dragons, sometimes blooming seas of flowers, and sometimes rushing galaxies.

That blackness, which originally represented death and the end, at this moment revealed a breathtaking and magnificent beauty belonging to "life".

"Impossible... The underlying logic of nanobots has been rewritten..."

On the flagship, the synthesized voice of the CEO-Alpha carried for the first time a hint of incomprehensible "emotion".

“The existence of this target has transcended the realm of ‘energy.’ She is… interfering with the ‘rules.’”

"We request... Your Majesty the Divine Emperor to make a judgment in a higher dimension."

However, it did not receive a reply.

Because Irelia had already raised her head, her gaze seemed to pierce through the vast sky, through the thick armor of the "Wrath of the Gods," and directly "saw" Alpha on the bridge.

"Your 'order' is built on cold calculations."

"And my 'hope' comes from a warm 'heart'."

Irelia stretched out her hand towards the sky.

The black nano-clouds that were "dancing" seemed to receive a command and instantly coalesced into an enormous black spear that was ten thousand meters long.

"Now, I'll show you which one is truly more powerful."

She gently grasped the sky.

"Go, 'Requiem'."

The black nano-spear traced a space-tearing trajectory through the air, carrying an unparalleled power belonging to the "rules," and instantly pierced the flagship of the Heavenly Punishment Fleet—the "Wrath of the God Emperor."

There was no explosion, no flames.

The massive warship, which resembled a sky fortress, was instantly pierced by the black spear. Like a program code infected by a virus, it rapidly "datafied" from the point of impact, breaking down into billions of meaningless 0s and 1s that dissipated into the air.

On the bridge, in the final moments before being dismantled, the electronic eyes of the Executive-Alpha flashed a piece of emotional data that did not belong to it, but came from a distant past and belonged to "humanity".

That data was titled... "Awe".

The flagship was wiped out in a single blow.

In the Heavenly Punishment Fleet, the other "Arbitrator" warships were completely thrown into chaos.

Their central computers all experienced varying degrees of logical breakdowns after witnessing this incomprehensible scene.

"Retreat! Retreat now!"

"Monster! She's a monster!"

The surviving Imperial soldiers screamed in terror.

The massive Heavenly Punishment fleet, abandoning the wreckage of hundreds of warships, fled in panic in the direction it had come from.

The valley was deathly silent.

All the allied soldiers looked up at the golden figure in the sky, as if in a dream, who had single-handedly defeated an entire elite imperial fleet.

Fear had vanished from their hearts.

All that remained was a fanatical worship, akin to that of a deity.

Irelia slowly descended from the sky.

Her face was somewhat pale. Fighting an entire fleet and rewriting the rules of nanobots was not without its costs for her.

But her eyes remained bright.

“We have won the first battle,” she said calmly, looking at the jubilant Allied forces. “But this is only the beginning.”

“Go clean up the battlefield. The wreckage of the Empire’s warships is the best material for the dwarven craftsmen. We need the bones of our enemies to arm ourselves.”

"Then, the entire army marches forth! Towards the Whispering Woods!"

News of Irelia's defeat of the Celestial Punishment Fleet spread like wildfire throughout the entire continent.

Although Gaia immediately blocked all official information channels, Irelia's "Song of Hope" had already awakened the souls of far too many people. Through word of mouth and secret means of communication, this "miracle," powerful enough to overturn the entire empire's rule, was continuously spread and fermented.

The sparks of resistance were ignited in every corner of the empire.

Some enslaved races began to emulate the rebellion of the "Jaws of the Titans," attacking the Empire's mines and factories.

Some "optimized" human communities have also begun to experience small-scale riots and "regression" phenomena.

For the first time, the Empire, a machine that had been running precisely for thirty years, experienced a widespread and unpredictable "malfunction".

Meanwhile, Irelia, leading her "Avengers," arrived at the Whispering Woods.

Led by Queen Elana, all the elves left the "reservation zone" to welcome their heroes.

When the elves saw the army of orcs, dwarves, and humans, though ragged, they cheered with heartfelt joy.

"The Alliance! The Alliance is back!"

Beneath the ancient tree of Azshara, Irelia, Elana, Garrosh, Balin, and Li Yao, the five leaders representing the power of the Holy Light, the elves, the orcs, the dwarves, and the newly born humans respectively, held a simple yet solemn alliance meeting.

"From this day forward, we are no longer a single race." Irelia's voice rang out before all witnesses, "We will inherit the legacy of our forefathers who sacrificed themselves for freedom thirty years ago, and rebuild the Alliance!"

"Our goal is singular—to overthrow the tyranny of the empire and bring freedom and hope back to this land!"

"For the Alliance!"

"For the Alliance!!!"

A roar like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami echoed through the Whispering Forest.

The newly formed alliance was officially established.

They established their base in the Whispering Forest and began intensive preparations for war.

Led by Balin Stonefist, the dwarven artisans began crafting weapons and armor for the allied forces using Imperial Alloy salvaged from the wreckage of the Celestial Fleet and magical wood provided by the elves.

They combined the dwarven runic technology with the elves' natural magic to create a new kind of "magical armor." Orc warriors wearing this armor not only gained significantly increased defense but could also unleash small chains of lightning. Arrows crafted using this technology could penetrate the Empire's energy shield.

Under Li Yao's leadership, humanity leveraged their strengths in learning and planning. They were responsible for the alliance's logistics, intelligence analysis, and strategic planning. They cracked the Empire's low-level communication channels and began to win over wavering Imperial garrisons.

The elves became the eyes and ears of the Alliance. Their skilled scouts, riding hippogryphs, flew across the continent, contacting scattered resistance groups and mapping the Empire's troop deployments. Queen Elana, meanwhile, led the elders in their relentless efforts to heal the Ancient Tree of Azshara, attempting to awaken its true power.

Irelia became the spiritual leader of everyone in the League.

She no longer acted rashly. She knew that while her power was formidable, it was not limitless. More importantly, she needed to allow this allied force to grow, to gel, and to truly coalesce into a unified whole through her battles.

She transformed her holy light into blessings, bestowing them upon every Alliance warrior, enhancing their strength and healing their wounds.

With her "Song of Hope," she constantly awakens those slumbering souls, attracting a continuous stream of fresh blood to the alliance.

In just a few months, the new alliance's power grew rapidly, like a snowball rolling downhill. They liberated dozens of imperial resource points, incorporated tens of thousands of enslaved and defected imperial soldiers, and established a stable base.

A real threat, one that the empire must take seriously, has emerged.