Ionia, the Eternal Forest.
This oldest and most sacred forest in the world is bathed in warm sunlight. The enormous canopy of the Io trees shades the sky, forming a green dome. Deep within the forest, elves are offering sacrifices to the Fountain of Life, chanting ancient songs of gratitude for nature's bounty. Their lives are simple and pure, living in harmony with nature.
Suddenly, a massive black rift tore through the sky above the Eternal Forest without warning. The rift was like a wound, instantly shattering the tranquility of this peaceful world.
The elves looked up in horror; they had never seen anything like it. Some of the older druids felt the cold, unfamiliar power emanating from the crack, and their faces turned deathly pale.
"What...what is that?!" a young elf screamed in terror.
The next moment, tens of thousands of figures clad in hard armor and wielding bizarre weapons surged out of the crack like black locusts. They were expressionless, their eyes flashing with a cold light, and every step they took carried a destructive pressure.
"Invasion begins." Irelia's voice was transmitted directly to every warrior of the Calamity Vanguard through the mental link.
"Eliminate all resistance."
The Calamity Vanguard, led by Irelia, surged into the forest like a tidal wave. They made no sound, yet every step they took carried a heavy, oppressive weight.
The elves were first filled with fear, then with anger. They were the guardians of nature, and this forest was their lifeblood.
"Invaders! Cease your atrocities!" an elderly elven druid roared, his wooden staff radiating a dazzling emerald light, and countless vines burst forth from the ground, coiling around the unfamiliar figures like giant pythons.
However, the warriors of the Calamity Vanguard were like emotionless machines. Their bodies emanated energy fields, and the vines that came into contact with these fields withered, shattered, and turned to ashes the instant they touched them. Garrosh, now known as the "Vanguard of Destruction," cleaved the ancient tree before him with a single axe stroke. The once-powerful battle axe was now enveloped in a ghastly white energy, and each swing brought with it a deathly howl.
Li Yao, once a wise woman, is now a "Shadow Apostle." The energy bow in her hand no longer fires magical arrows, but pure beams of annihilation, easily piercing through the resisting elves. Balin, once a dwarven elder, is now a "Titan Heavy Armorer." His massive body is like a mobile fortress, remaining unmoved as the elves' magical attacks rain down upon him. Then, with his thousand-pound warhammer, he crushes all obstacles into dust.
Irelia hovered in the air, her pale white magic sword trembling slightly in her hand. She didn't attack, but simply watched silently as everything unfolded below. Her gaze was devoid of pity, as if she were watching a preordained performance.
Ionia's resistance was futile. Their prized magic proved so fragile before the dimensional technology and energy of the Calamity Vanguard. The creatures of the forest were mercilessly slaughtered; even the beautiful butterfly-like beings turned to ash the moment they came into contact with the Calamity Vanguard's energy field.
Flames began to spread through the Eternal Forest; they were no longer natural fire, but cold, all-consuming energy fire.
The elves' homeland was reduced to scorched earth in just a few hours. Their songs turned into desperate wails. Their hopes were mercilessly crushed.
Irelia, once a beacon of hope, has now become a messenger of eternal despair.
She saw the indomitable flame flickering in the eyes of those young elves, and witnessed their tragic heroism as they charged towards death at all costs to protect their homeland. She could even feel the intense yearning for life, freedom, and the future deep within their souls.
But to her, these emotions were merely "data" as defined by Lin Feng.
"Capture prisoners, screen them." Irelia's voice, like a cold command, pierced through the smoke-filled battlefield.
The warriors of the Calamity Vanguard immediately ceased their slaughter and began carrying out the order to take prisoners. Those elves who remained alive, regardless of age or gender, were roughly bound. Their eyes were filled with fear, sorrow, and despair for the future.
“By order of His Majesty the Divine Emperor, all individuals possessing exceptional talent or unique life energy characteristics must be captured alive.” Gaia’s voice was transmitted to all the Calamity Vanguards through Irelia’s consciousness. “Female beings, in particular, will be given priority in the selection process. Their ‘emotional memes’ and ‘life carriers’ have extremely high ‘appreciation’ and ‘research’ value to higher-dimensional life forms.”
Irelia's icy gaze swept over the captured elves. Her magic sword pointed lightly at a young elven girl with long silver hair and jewel-like eyes. Even imprisoned, the girl still radiated pure life energy, and her eyes held an indomitable light.
“Her.” Irelia’s voice was devoid of any emotion.
Garrosh, now the Vanguard of Destruction, immediately stepped forward and roughly seized the girl. The girl let out a terrified scream, but her resistance seemed so insignificant in the face of the enhanced orc.
"The leaders of the rebellious civilization, and all female individuals possessing high-value 'emotions,' will be offered as 'tribute' to His Majesty the God-Emperor and the Imperial High Command." Irelia's command was clear and ruthless. "The remaining low-value individuals will undergo 'purification' transformation. Their planetary ecological resources will be fully exploited. Gaia, begin deploying the dimensional nodes."
At Irelia's command, more Imperial equipment descended through the dimensional portal. Colossal mining machines began drilling into Ionia's rich core, extracting its life energy. Giant factories rose from the scorched earth, crushing ancient trees in the forests and refining them into usable resources.
Ionia, this once peaceful and beautiful world, was completely reduced to a resource supply base for the Empire and a testing ground for Lin Feng's "emotional experiments" in just one day.
The captured elven maidens were imprisoned in specially made energy cages by the empire. Their cries, fear, and despair were captured and refined by Gaia's data core, forming pure "emotional memes," which were then sent to Lin Feng's Crown of Nothingness as "works of art" for his appreciation.
Irelia became the supreme executor of this brutal conquest. She commanded the Calamity Vanguard, methodically bringing everything in Ionia into the Empire's order. She watched as those lives, once like hers and full of hope, turned to ashes before the cold machines.
Her perfect body, composed of light, emitted a pale glow, illuminating this destroyed world. She knew this was only the beginning. Lin Feng's "experiment" had just begun. Countless worlds like Ionia would become her targets, and in this eternal darkness, they would all welcome their "fallen witches."
And she will forever dance in this endless dance of despair woven by Lin Feng himself.
---
The Crown of Nothingness.
Lin Feng sat on the throne, before him floated hundreds of tiny orbs of light, each emitting a different color. These were "emotional memes" collected by Gaia from Ionia and then purified.
Red represents anger, blue represents sorrow, and purple represents despair. Among these, there are also some extremely faint golden specks of light, yet carrying a unique fluctuation—these are the last remaining, indomitable "hope" of the Ionian beings in the face of destruction.
Lin Feng gently raised his hand, and a purple orb of light flew into his palm. Within the orb, a captured elven girl was reflected, her beautiful face streaked with tears, her eyes filled with fear of the future and grief over the destruction of her homeland.
“Despair… its essence is the collapse of ‘hope’,” Lin Feng murmured to himself, his voice carrying the calm of a scholar. “This emotion can generate enormous energy fluctuations in a pure biological organism. Through the intervention of the ‘Calamity Vanguard,’ it can cause a shift from peace to destruction, and then from destruction to submission. The emotional trajectory in between is full of rich variables.”
He slowly clenched his fist, and the purple orb of light instantly transformed into a stream of pure energy, which he absorbed.
“Treat ‘emotions’ as quantifiable data and as recyclable energy; this is the ultimate direction for the evolution of civilization.” A strange light gleamed in Lin Feng’s eyes.
"Gaia, report on the progress of resource mining in the 'Ionia' plane, as well as the efficiency of 'emotion meme' collection."
“Reporting to Your Majesty the Divine Emperor.” Gaia’s core consciousness reappeared. “Three thousand dimensional nodes have been deployed in the Ionia plane, with a core energy extraction rate of 1.5% per day. It is estimated that the core energy of this plane can be completely drained within ten years. The efficiency of emotional meme collection has reached 97.3%, and five hundred high-value individuals have been selected and will be sent to the Crown of Nothingness as ‘tribute’.”
Lin Feng nodded in satisfaction. "Purify these 'offerings' to the highest level. Remove their base and chaotic memories, preserving their pure 'emotions' and 'life' essence. Then, send them to the 'Garden of Life' at the heart of the Empire. That will be the latest 'collection' of the Empire's high command, as well as myself."
“Command received,” Gaia responded.
Lin Feng closed his eyes again, enjoying the "emotional energy" drawn from Ionia, imbued with a rich life force and the power of despair. This energy was constantly nourishing his "Dao," giving him a deeper understanding of the ultimate truth of the universe.
He knew this was just the beginning.
With Irelia and the "Calamity Vanguard" legion, and his "interdimensional gates" that he can open at will, his "experiments" will be endless. Countless planes will become his canvases, and countless civilizations will become his "variables."
“Irelia.” He murmured the name again, as if calling upon the most perfect work of art. “The 'despair' you bring will far surpass the 'hope' you once brought.”
His voice pierced through dimensions and the void, echoing deep within Irelia's consciousness.
---
Ionia, once an eternal forest, is now a vast resource extraction site.
Irelia stood silently atop a newly completed imperial tower, overlooking everything below. Her body had fully adapted to the identity of the "Fallen Witch" bestowed upon her by Lin Feng. Her senses were heightened to their limit, allowing her to clearly perceive the "emotional fluctuations" emitted by every living being in this world as they endured pain.
She could feel the fear and despair of the elven girls trapped in the cages, and their reluctance and grief as they were transported away by imperial ships, longing for their homes and loved ones.
Lin Feng defined all of these as "emotional data".
Her heart, already riddled with holes from Lin Feng's threats, was now being constantly eroded by these "emotional data" from another world, becoming even colder and more numb. She became a perfect executor, a pure vessel, bearing Lin Feng's will and spreading "despair" to a more distant universe.
"First Apostle, the 'plane node' has been fully deployed, and the 'core energy extraction' plan has been initiated. Please issue the next phase of instructions." Gaia's icy voice echoed in her consciousness.
Irelia raised the magic sword in her hand, its blade pointing towards the green dots in the distance marked by the Imperial probes.
Those are untouched civilizations in the Ionia plane.
"Keep pushing forward." Her voice, like the coldest winter wind, swept across this destroyed world.
"To spread the 'purity' philosophy of Emperor Lin Feng to the whole of Ionia."
She slowly closed her eyes, and in that instant, a faint image, glowing with golden light, seemed to flash through the depths of her mind.
That was Garrosh, roaring on the battlefield, carving a bloody path for his comrades. That was Queen Elana, praying fervently, infusing the ancient tree with life. That was Li Yao, her gaze wise and resolute.
That was herself, wielding the Starry Holy Sword, striking with her final sword for the Alliance and for hope.
But that scene only existed for a moment before it was completely swallowed up by the cold darkness brought about by Lin Feng's will.
She opened her eyes again, and in those abyss-like eyes, there was only absolute obedience to Lin Feng, and an endless, icy chill that brought eternal night.
Her mission is to become the sharpest sword in Lin Feng's hand, etching the "pure" order he seeks deep into the bones of every civilization. She will lead the vanguard of calamity, traversing countless dimensions and conquering countless worlds, until the entire universe is left with only the "absolute order" and "perfect data" defined by Lin Feng.
And she herself will, in this endless conquest, forever and utterly... lose herself.
This is Lin Feng's "victory".
This is the fate of the "fallen witch".
The eternal night has only just begun.
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