The facts proved exactly that. Godzilla looked with faint confusion toward the direction covered by his attack, a little puzzled.
Just moments ago, he had clearly sensed Irontomb's life signature dropping at an exponential rate. How had it suddenly strengthened again?
Could this thing be like the final bosses in game stages, switching to second or third forms once the health bar dropped to a certain point?
Godzilla did not understand. But it did not care.
"If I can blast you into scraps once, I can do it again!" There was something strange about Irontomb. Godzilla did not know, and did not want to know.
Right now, he only wanted Irontomb to hurry up and come out from wherever it was hiding, so he could crush it!
Off to the side, Mobius, who had already withdrawn earlier due to being unable to withstand the extreme heat, was also staring at that seemingly empty space, deep in thought.
She did not believe anyone in the cosmos would dare to snatch prey from a tiger's mouth at this particular moment.
Lone wolves would not, because the aftermath would make hiding impossible.
Those with factions would not either. That would be like standing in the open as a living target, Godzilla would not even need time to look for them before tearing them down.
The weak would not dare. The strong would be sensed by Godzilla the moment they appeared, and would be killed instantly.
Considering all of this, the only ones who might act at this time were likely only… the dead!
"Buzz!!" The instant this conclusion surfaced in Mobius's mind, an unobservable ripple spread outward, surging through the sea of stars at incredible speed.
At once, the Diamond's barrier was blasted open with a massive breach, large enough for an entire fleet to pass through!
This sudden scene left not only Diamond stunned, but even Taravan wore a look of confusion.
He might mock Diamond for needing to step down, but that did not mean Diamond was actually weak. This guy could still fight through another ten Amber Eras!
As his eyes slowly narrowed, Diamond could see through the breach Godzilla's silhouette.
To prevent being breached from within, Diamond had continuously reinforced the inner wall, creating a situation where the internal defense far exceeded the external.
But that did not mean the exterior was fragile.
Not to mention that he and Taravan were guarding it together from the outside.
Yet now, this supposedly impregnable defense had fallen. Truly shattered by an inside-outside coordinated strike. And the attack that broke through the external defense…
"Imaginary Pulse." Taravan slowly spoke the true name of that attack.
Imaginary Pulse, a weapon that violated galactic ethics and had been widely condemned, and which had once provoked Godzilla's fury, had long since been sealed away by the IPC.
The IPC also could not truly abandon such a powerful weapon. Later, they produced a one-to-one replica based on the existing device, but lacking core technology, it could never be fully restored.
It could only sit there as a model.
But now…
"It is not imaginary energy, it is quantum." Feeling the energy particles drifting through the air, Diamond said gravely.
Then the target became obvious. Irontomb…
"To be this tenacious under that kind of attack, someone who did not know better would think he was an Emanator of Abundance."
Taravan raised an eyebrow and joked.
"Even an Emanator of Abundance should be down by now. Abundance just has strong recovery and is hard to kill, it does not mean truly immortal. And besides…"
If it really were Abundance, news of a dying Emanator spreading out would probably excite the Abundance faction more than anyone else.
In the midst of their banter, the two initiated communication with the IPC.
The moment the call connected, before the person on the other end could ask anything, Diamond spoke first.
"Make preparations."
"For what?"
"The Third Mechanical Emperor War."
…
The Third Mechanical Emperor War.
Before this, it had been widely believed that the most likely initiator of a Third Mechanical Emperor War would be Screwllum.
But reality told everyone that no matter how certain things seemed, they could still change.
At the moment when everyone finally relaxed and felt relieved, the Third Mechanical Emperor War officially erupted!
On a certain planet, Intellitrons and humans who had been spontaneously celebrating the destruction of the mechanical legions suddenly froze in place.
The machines' eyes lit up red, and emotionless voices rang out.
"Exterminate all biological life!"
Bang!
"What are you doing? Are you insane?! Stop it right now…" Bang! Gunpowder had no emotions, only a lethal intent.
In a very short time, the atmosphere completely flipped. On every world where Irontomb had laid hidden contingencies, machines began turning on people.
Even on worlds without Intellitrons, all kinds of electronic devices rose up, launching indiscriminate slaughter.
…
"The only fortunate thing is that most of Irontomb's backup measures were destroyed by Godzilla, and another portion was dealt with by the arriving support from the IPC, and some idle busybodies. Otherwise, things would be far more chaotic right now."
Herta looked at her puppets which were powered off and spoke.
"Well, um… there should not be any problems on the train, right?" March asked hesitantly.
"The Express you ride has the blessing of the Aeon of Trailblaze. As long as you do not directly confront that guy, nothing on board will be affected. And at this distance, his reach cannot extend to you anyway."
Herta raised an eyebrow slightly. "Does your train even have anything worth his attention?"
He had clearly inherited Rubert's will and become the Third Emperor. If he was looking for anything, it would be top-tier machines. Looking for you… to ram people with a train?
Hmm. That actually sounds like a decent idea.
If that were the case, would Screwllum not become the fourth in line?
Herta thought to herself.
"What can we do right now?" Himeko asked.
"Pray? Or drive that train of yours into someone." Herta joked.
"Irontomb, the Lord Ravager, one who has obtained the power of the Quantum Sea, now inheritor of the Emperor Rubert's will, the unique fusion that has ignited the Third Mechanical Emperor War. Each of these alone is enough to make people wary. Stack them together and it is no wonder."
She sighed softly.
"What a pity. I originally wanted to observe what would happen after fusing with quantum and then cooling down."
"But now things are even more interesting." A smile crept onto her lips, her eyes blooming with a light born of concentrated curiosity.
An evolved Irontomb would never be content with mediocrity. Anyone who could become an Emanator had extraordinary ambition. No matter what legacy Rubert left behind, he would not sit idle. He would inevitably unleash an even greater mechanical calamity.
Herta had not experienced the previous disaster, and she regretted that.
And after meeting Screwllum, who was widely regarded as the most likely successor to the Emperor, she had felt even more anticipation.
No matter how one looked at it. She had not expected someone to fulfill this small wish of hers.
It was not that she was heartless. It was simply that the decision behind this disaster was not hers. Since she could not stop it, she might as well reap some benefits from it.
…
Streams of light streaked across the void, and the night shone brilliantly.
They were existences that brought destruction to worlds.
Jarilo-VI.
The long-dormant Insect Emperor slowly stretched its body. Its razor-sharp mandibles clashed as its massive forelimbs shifted. With a casual sweep, it sliced a drifting meteor into eight pieces.
"Huff huff huff!!"
Small True Stings flapped their wings. Their crimson shells interlocked tightly, forming a massive swarm that became a river encircling Jarilo-VI, wrapping the planet completely.
Within Jarilo-VI, amid lush forests and vast mountain ranges, colossal beasts lifted their heads one after another.
Mountain ranges rose from the ground unceasingly, and only then did the people on Jarilo realize that the mountains they had once traversed were actually living beings.
The beasts roared skyward. Those that had evolved flight took to the skies, while those that could not fly stood guard over the land.
Countless gigantic beasts of varied forms and overwhelming presence strode freely across Jarilo's surface, radiating ancient power.
Boom!
A massive beast resembling a bipedal wyvern advanced outside Belobog, each step resounding like thunder.
"They have all awakened." Feeling the wind stirred by the wyvern's movement, Bronya murmured softly as she commanded the troops to form ranks and prepare for battle.
Jarilo possessed a vast population of colossal beasts, a fact known throughout the cosmos. This was an ecosystem built around Godzilla, and also Jarilo-VI's new defensive system.
And reality had already proven how brilliantly these beasts performed when defending.
"We just received a message from the IPC. They say the Third Mechanical Emperor War has begun and told us to be cautious. They are ready to support us at any time."
"The Third Mechanical Emperor War…" Repeating the terrifying phrase, Bronya turned to look at Cocolia, about to speak.
Bang! A deafening explosion cut off all words. Everyone snapped their heads toward the source of the disturbance.
The beasts looked up, surging power gathering as nearly all of them unleashed attacks simultaneously!
Vast energies converged into visible rings, blasting apart the clouds and shooting straight into the skies.
Hundreds of beams, each of a different color and form, pierced the sky, forming a unique spectacle over Jarilo.
In space, the beasts that had arrived early and the crimson tide echoed one another, all pointing toward a single direction.
"Shriek!!"
The Insect Emperor let out a piercing cry, subsonic waves invisible to the naked eye rippling outward toward a distant star system.
The Insect Emperor launched the first attack!
This cry was like a horn of war. All beasts and the crimson tide displayed their power, followed by light erupting from within the world itself.
And it did not stop there. At this very moment, after the core force took the lead, on every life-bearing planet within the Jarilo star system.
"Roar!!"
"Roar!!"
Roars echoed back and forth, responding to the initial call.
This was the might of the Red Swarm.
The instant the mechanical calamity entered Jarilo's territory, every beast that sensed the enemy activated its combat systems.
…
At the source of it all.
Irontomb's figure was still nowhere to be seen, as if it had truly vanished. But Godzilla could sense that it was still there.
Suddenly, within his perception, a color completely different from his own appeared.
The color of a shaded grey color.
It appeared abruptly within the silent cosmos, continuously extending outward.
In an instant, a gigantic bronze gear manifested beneath Godzilla's feet. Then several smaller gears appeared, linking to the large one, followed by yet another massive gear.
Again and again, until in the blink of an eye, the entire surrounding space was covered in enormous gears, endlessly connecting and rotating, enough to make one's eyes blur.
What kind of strange nonsense was this? Godzilla watched the changes around him expressionlessly, his thick tail swaying casually, like an adult watching a child at play.
In truth, he was indeed watching a child play. If Irontomb had chosen to flee into the Quantum Sea, then finding him would still have been possible.
Not that he could not be found, but with the Quantum Sea currently in turmoil, constantly churning, Irontomb hiding deeper within meant Godzilla could not be bothered to drag him out.
But now, Godzilla could sense that he was in an unknown space.
The cosmos contained countless strange spatial layers in every direction, spaces that most beings would never use in a lifetime.
And as a former member of the Genius Society, although long fallen, Rubert had left his contingencies within one such space before his death, waiting for a suitable Intellitron to enter and claim them.
And now, Irontomb was inside. A clear path to escape, yet he refused to walk it.
"Huff."
White mist escaped Godzilla's mouth. From Mobius's perspective, it almost looked like Godzilla was smiling.
Yes. He truly was smiling.
Buzz! Suddenly, Godzilla's dorsal fins flared and shone, brighter than at any previous moment, blazing with incomparable brilliance.
One thing deeply satisfied Godzilla. The body Irontomb had prepared for himself had been completely annihilated in their earlier clash.
And having only just begun to receive Rubert's legacy, Irontomb had no time to prepare a new body.
He could have possessed a nearby Intellitron at will, performing multiple jumps in a short time to escape.
But he did not.
The pride of a Lord Ravager influenced him. Perhaps it was the brief experience of organic life had given him a different spark at this moment.
In any case… He was getting serious.
At this instant, the energy radiating from Godzilla surpassed all previous levels. Time itself seemed to behave differently.
Molecules from different moments, sharing the same phase, overlapped within Godzilla's maw. A deep blue halo gradually formed, and the extreme heat twisted everything around it.
This was only the beginning.
In just a few seconds, more and more ultra-high-temperature rings condensed, all terrifying energy converging at this single point!
Wheel like lights.
When multiple wheels fully formed, they began to collapse inward, compressing and condensing in front of Godzilla's mouth, and then…
They erupted!
This was the Purple Atomic Breath.