Lin Feng's words, like a whisper from the deepest abyss, lingered in Zhang Huanyu's ears. He abruptly looked up, only to see Lin Feng's resolute back and that black dragon robe that seemed capable of devouring all light. Fear, an unprecedented fear, instantly gripped his heart. He had never imagined that Lin Feng's plan would be so far-reaching, so cruel.
“Purify…purify…” Zhang Huanyu murmured to himself, his body trembling uncontrollably. He recalled the secret report of “Breath of Dust,” which, in just a few words, hinted at the ultimate goal of this weapon—to reshape the life forms of the entire planet according to the “pure” gene sequence defined by Lin Feng. And he, as Lin Feng’s highest-ranking official, was merely a prop in this grand and terrifying script.
But he had no choice. No one had a choice in front of Lin Feng.
He struggled to his feet, his pale face contorted with despair and fanaticism. "Yes...yes, Your Majesty!" His voice was hoarse and trembling, yet it carried a numb, submissive quality born of utter defeat.
He knew that when the second form of "Breath of Dust" activated, he himself might be in danger. He was human too, and his genes weren't what Lin Feng defined as "perfect." But at this moment, he couldn't care less about those things. He was a loyal dog with a broken spine, his only instinct being to carry out his master's orders.
Zhang Huanyu stumbled and rushed toward the central control tower of the city wall, which was the core hub of Chengtian Capital and the final activation platform for "Breath of Dust".
Outside the city, hundreds of thousands of allied troops and defected Imperial soldiers were immersed in the joy of their hard-won victory. They cleared the battlefield, treated the wounded, and cheered loudly, as if they could already see the dawn of freedom. In their eyes, that towering steel city was no longer an insurmountable fortress, but a prison about to be breached.
Irelia stood at the forefront of the army, her golden armor stained with gunpowder and blood, yet the "Sword of Dawn" in her hand still shone brightly. She gazed at the tightly closed city gates, her unease growing stronger. Too fast, everything had happened too fast. The collapse of the empire, the defection of the rebels—it all seemed like a meticulously orchestrated drama, so perfect it was chilling.
“General Yue!” Irelia turned around and said to Yue Zhenshan beside her, her voice carrying a hint of seriousness. “Something’s not right. Lin Feng won’t fail so easily. From the beginning, he never intended to defend the city walls.”
General Yue Zhenshan's face was also clouded with gloom. Although he had successfully turned Meng Kuo and Li Ling to their side, a huge weight remained in his heart. He understood Lin Feng better than anyone else present. That man was an absolute fanatic, leaving no room for error.
“Your Majesty is absolutely right,” Yue Zhenshan said in a deep voice. “I suspect… from the very beginning, we, including Meng Kuo and Li Ling, were just part of his plan. What he wants to eliminate may not be just the foreign races.” His gaze swept over his former imperial colleagues beside him, and an uncontrollable chill rose in his heart.
Generals Meng Kuo and Li Ling were excitedly directing their respective troops to encircle and wipe out the die-hards who remained loyal to Lin Feng. They saw the solemn expressions on Irelia and Yue Zhenshan's faces, but the joy of victory and their anticipation of a bright future temporarily suppressed their doubts.
Just then, countless deep red lights suddenly lit up the sky above the capital of Chengtian. The light did not come from the energy cannons on the city walls, but rather from every corner of the city and the top of every tower, like countless blood-red eyes, instantly covering the entire sky.
Immediately afterwards, an invisible wave of power swept outwards from the capital city of Chengtian. It was silent, bringing no storms, no earthquakes, and no destructive energy impacts. It simply... existed, instantly covering the entire plain and enveloping hundreds of thousands of allied and rebel troops in an incomprehensible way.
For a moment, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up at the sky in confusion. The blood-red light gave people a strange sense of oppression and unease.
"What is this?" Barton Bronzebeard's rough voice carried a hint of wariness as he sensed an unsettling chill in the air.
Lina's cat-like eyes narrowed as she sensed a powerful crisis, one she had never encountered before—intangible and formless, yet omnipresent.
The very next second, something unexpected happened!
Those first to be affected were the alien warriors whose bloodlines were, in Lin Feng's definition, "least pure."
An orc berserker's body suddenly stiffened. He had just been sharing the joy of victory with his dwarf comrades, but the next moment, his skin began to turn ashen at a visible speed, his thick muscles rapidly atrophied, and the light in his eyes vanished instantly. He opened his mouth, as if to let out a wail, but only spat out a mouthful of black blood. In less than three seconds, this powerful orc warrior, as if drained of all life, collapsed to the ground, turning into a pile of foul-smelling dust.
Then, the chain reaction began to spread!
Within the Alliance camp, screams of agony echoed from warriors of all races!
The dwarf warriors' skin quickly covered in dense black spots, as if something inside their bodies was rapidly collapsing. The intense pain caused them to writhe on the ground, and finally, their bodies swelled and burst, their flesh and bones turning into a pool of pus that emitted a pungent sulfurous smell.
The elves' bodies began to become transparent, their beautiful faces melting away in distortion. Their life force seemed to be instantly drained away by some invisible force, leaving only illusory afterimages before finally disappearing completely, leaving not even ashes behind.
Even the most powerful dragonborn and trolls were not spared. Their scales peeled off, their muscles dissolved, and in the end, they all turned into a pile of filth in extreme pain.
This is neither a physical attack nor a magical strike. It is a deeper "purification" targeting the very essence of life! The second form of "Breath of Dust" is precisely identifying and destroying what Lin Feng defines as "impurities"!
The cheers on the battlefield instantly turned into hellish wails! Countless alien warriors, without any power to resist, vanished in droves as if erased by an eraser. The alliance's lines began to collapse without any enemy attack, revealing countless shocking gaping holes.
Irelia's face turned deathly pale. She could clearly feel the fluctuations of that invisible force, attempting to penetrate her armor and corrode her body. But the holy light within her was like the strongest barrier, desperately resisting this corruption from the depths of her being.
"What is this? What kind of monster is this?!" Barton Bronzebeard roared, as countless dwarven comrades around him died in agony. His massive warhammer slammed heavily into the ground, but to no avail. He felt that invisible force was also eroding him, but the dwarves' unique resilience and the earth power within them temporarily slowed the onslaught of death.
Lina, however, was more perceptive. She sensed her bloodline being scrutinized and judged by some force, a force that seemed to be trying to remove the "inhuman" parts from her body. She moved like the wind, attempting to dodge, but found that the force was all-pervasive and impossible to avoid. She could only exert all her strength to activate the shadow power within her body, forming an illusory shield to barely withstand it.
"This is 'Breath of Dust'!" General Yue Zhenshan's eyes were bloodshot. He finally understood Lin Feng's true intention. "This is 'Purification'! Lin Feng wants to eliminate all life he considers impure!"
Before he finished speaking, that invisible force began to turn its attention to the imperial soldiers who had just defected.
"Conscience"—in Lin Feng's eyes, this is the most unforgivable "virus" in their bodies!
Those Imperial soldiers who had once fought for the Empire but now rebelled out of "conscience" began to exhibit physical changes similar to those of the alien races, albeit more slowly. Their blood vessels bulged beneath their skin, their faces turned bluish-purple, and they groaned in pain, as if their souls were being forcibly ripped from their bodies.
General Meng Kuo and General Li Ling, these two once spirited commanders, now seemed to have all their vitality drained away.
Meng Kuo's refined face twisted in pain. He clutched his chest, collapsed to his knees, and trembled violently. "Impossible...no...why..." He looked desperately at his former subordinates, the soldiers who, like him, lay on the ground in agony. They weren't aliens; they were pure human beings! They just wanted a better future!
Li Ling's robust body began to weaken, his thick beard turning gray instantly, as if decades of life had been robbed of him in a flash. He pointed in the direction of Cheng Tian Capital, his eyes filled with endless regret and resentment. "Lin Feng...you...madman!"
The "genetic modification" within them became a death warrant at this moment. The second form of "Breath of Dust" seemed to be able to recognize this artificial modification and use it as a breakthrough to rapidly disintegrate their lives.
Lin Feng wanted more than just death. He wanted a complete and utter "erasure" at the genetic level!
General Yue Zhenshan's body also began to show abnormalities; he felt a force tearing at his cells. After all, he had once been the commander of the Empire's main legion, and his body had undergone genetic enhancement under the Lin Feng Empire system. But his will was strong, and he forcibly suppressed the excruciating pain within his body.
"Charge in! We must charge in and stop him!" Irelia roared, and holy light formed a huge barrier around her, enveloping the fleeing alien and human warriors. But the barrier was also trembling violently and on the verge of collapse under the erosion of that invisible force.
However, before them stood a tightly closed hundred-meter-high city wall, Zhang Huanyu's remnants of his personal guards holding the line, and the all-pervasive "purification" power that descended from the sky!
"For survival! Charge!" Barton Bronzebeard roared again, feeling the life draining from his body, but he did not back down. He swung his warhammer and charged toward the city wall, trying to force a way through.
Lina's shadow power was also at its peak. She tried to sprint as fast as she could, hoping to reach the city gate before being completely "purified".
But it was all too late.
The crimson light on the city wall suddenly intensified, and the power of the "Breath of Dust" enveloping the plain also increased accordingly!
"Boom!"
A deafening roar did not come from the city walls, but from the center of the battlefield.
That was General Meng Kuo's body, which exploded after reaching its limit! Flesh and bones were broken down into the most primitive particles, which vanished instantly like dust in a breeze.
Next came General Li Ling, then countless defecting imperial soldiers, and those foreign warriors still struggling to hold on. Their bodies, one after another, dissolved into nothingness amidst agonizing cries. The scene wasn't one of bloodshed, but of utter annihilation, the complete annihilation of life.
General Yue Zhenshan was also utterly crushed by this force. He felt his life force being extinguished, his genetic code being forcibly dismantled. He collapsed to his knees in agony, watching his men vanish silently, his eyes filled with despair and rage.
"Lin Feng...you...you demon!" He roared these words with his last ounce of strength. Then, his body began to turn transparent, and finally, in resentment and grief, he turned into invisible ashes, completely dissipating into the air.
Almost all of the Alliance's commanders, except for Irelia, Barton, and Lina, perished completely in this round of "purification".
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