Judgement

In the beginning Goddess Eich had created the world. Her daughters, the Goddess of Order, Astrya, and the Goddess of Chaos, Cynthia, in turn, created the first generation of dwellers. Ever since then, the war between Order and Chaos became the unending theme of this world.

At one point the two equally powerful Goddesses overexerted themselves, and had fallen into a deep slumber. Nevertheless the remains of their creations had continued to fight the war for them. After the Golden Race and Sulfur Race fought each other to extinction, the Moon Elves, representing the Silver Race and the Giants, representing the Mercury Race, continued this war of souls.

This war had never stopped, ever since the inception of the world.

If the Order suppresses the Chaos, a relatively stable era of Order begins. On the other hand, if the Chaos manages to reign supreme, a chaotic era full of pandemonium begins. A change in era could dictate the rise and fall of innumerable races.

Eich's Seven Great Trials were more or less related to this eternal war. Or rather, it could even be considered an extension of the eternal war.

As the 2nd Generation Gods fell into a deep sleep after their fight, it was rumored that they were dead. Astrya's subordinate, the God of Light, also the God who had single-handedly created the Holy Light, had become the core of the 3rd Generation Order Gods.

Of course, just like every ruler who got on the throne, he quickly got the mortal humans with their short lifespans to praise the greatness of the Holy Light, making them forget the prestige and greatness of the rulers of the previous generation.

As for the Chaos Faction, due to the fact that they regarded violence and freedom as a virtue, to date, they have yet to decide on a boss… Still their absolute power had always been a tier higher than the Order Faction. After all, in the Chaos Faction where power reigns supreme, those who remain weak cannot survive.

Furthermore, at a time when the First Generation Children of Order, the Angel Civilization, had become history, the still remaining Angels became the servants of Gods, while the First Generation Demons of Chaos were still engaged in their merry-making in the Abyss and occasionally, they would cause some trouble on the Main Continent as well.

It was to the extent that the Order Faction only had 7 Main Gods whereas the Chaos Faction had a total of 13 Main God-level existences. If they were to unite together, perhaps the Goddess of Chaos, Cynthia, would reappear in the world once more.

This was the basic setting of 'The Great Eich Purgatory War'. In the game, there had been 2 main factions, Order and Chaos. Every gamer, before their character's birth, had to choose between one of the two and their choice was permanent, unless one were to delete their character and start all over again.

The war between the two Factions had continued since the ancient times till today. Each had tasted their fair share of victory though more often than not, it was the Order Faction that held the upper hand.

Well, everyone should understand the reason. Since they were living by the primitive and barbaric laws of the jungle and since none were happy with another being above them, then on what basis should they be content with somebody else being allowed to sit on the throne? Alright, it inevitably ended up in an internal strife. When battling outsiders, they ultimately ended up dragging each other down, causing them to fall together despite their strength.

The Sulfur Race and Golden Race were exceptionally strong. Even the weakest of their grown individuals were at minimum Gold-rank and their sovereigns weren't any weaker than true Gods. Due to the nature of the Chaos Faction, Chaos beings tended to be more experienced in battle and were slightly stronger than their Order counterparts of equal power rank.

Even so, they were still equals in war. Eventually, after many wars, more than 90% of the Sulfur Race and Golden Race fell in battle. The Elemental and Metal Dragons, noticing the plausible threat of the extinction of their species, were unwilling to continue acting as pawns for the war. So, they started working together secretly and formed the Dragon Tribe of today, distancing themselves from this eternal 'Sacred War'.

Under the perseverance of the Gods of both faction, as well as to continue fighting on… The High Elves replicated their body structure to create the Wood Elves, Moon Elves, Night Elves, Silver Elves and similar kinds of Elf tribes. Even the Angels had created the First Generation of Mountainous Human Tribe. These tribes, in their grown form, had the battle power of a Silver-rank at a minimum and thus, they were named the Silver Race.

Naturally, with there being an injection of new blood for one faction while the other's population were gradually dwindling due to war, the scales of war began to tilt.

Then, the Sulfur Race, who weren't adept in creationism, found their own solution.

The Demons, through offering strength, longevity and knowledge as incentives, managed to successfully tempt the First Generation Humans, the Mountainous Tribes, to join the Chaos Faction. Currently they were known as the dwellers of the Abyss of Hell — Devils.

Ironically, after the incident, the Devils and Demons started an endless bloodshed to vie for the crown of evil, making the Demons incomparably regretful for their decision back then. Nevertheless, it was their fall to depravity that had strengthened the battle power of the Chaos Faction significantly.

After tasting the sweetness, they also successfully had lured Fallen Angels, Red Dragons, Black Dragons, Fire Giants and Giant Devils to join their ranks. These new races formed the Mercury Race and became the arch-enemy of the Silver Race.

The betrayal of the first intelligent humans, the Mountainous Tribes caused the Order gods to purge the First-Generation Humans. Eventually, the Second-Generation Humans, which were the humans of today, were created.

However from the outset this generation of humans was designed to be used as pawns.

Compared to the other tribes in the past, they were extremely weak individually and their lifespan was exceptionally short. What the creators had hoped for were just pawns who couldn't cause much damage even if they were to turn their back on them.

But surprisingly, this weak race managed to change the entire flow of the battle.

Weak at birth? This provided them the motivation to pursue power through creating weapons, studying magic and such. They studied martial arts from the Beastmen, smithing from the Dwarves and Giants and magic from the Elves.

Short lifespan? This only made them cherish their time even more. With an endless desire and motivation for knowledge, their footsteps reach even Heaven, Hell and many other dimensions.

Furthermore, the iron law of the world dictated that the stronger a race is, the harder it was for them to reproduce. In comparison, the weak humans possessed a fearsome reproduction ability.

Basically, once the numbers were high enough, the humans wouldn't lack geniuses who could face the Gods and Demons head-on.

After experiencing countless wars, when the age of the Trolls finally came to an end, the fact that the world predominantly belonged to the humans was the best proof.

The powerful existences in the Chaos Faction weren't just for decorations. They were still unable to create living beings but they were capable of twisting the laws of the world… Thus, the Ancient Human King, the dictator who had ruled the world countless years ago crawled out from his tombstone, powered not by stamina or blood pulse but by the endless Power of Death.

He was the first Undead, as well as the oldest Death God, Ayer.

For a significant period of time, the Undead served as a tool of war for Demons and the Malevolent Gods1. The Undead swung their blades towards their closest kin mercilessly.

I must admit, that the bloodthirsty Undead who craved for the souls of the living to fill their void were a convenient tool of war. They did not fear death and their numbers were endless.

No one would wish for their own brethren to be reduced to simple pawns and tools of war. So, Death God Ayer secretly granted the intelligence of the Devils to his own brethren. Even though only Undead who reached Silver-rank and above could possess the ability to think, this was enough to create the earliest iteration of Undead Lords. Under the command of their Undead Lords, countless subjects fought fearlessly for them.

Since they weren't even afraid of death, why should they accept slavery?

Alright, so what happened afterward was the betrayal of the entire race.

As seen from the current Xiluo Empire, the Undead regarded themselves as an independent race. Even today, it was not rare, especially for human Mages, who feared death and in search of longevity, to convert themselves to become an immortal Undead as well as the core of the Undead race — this is also how the being called 'Liches' were born.

The never-ending war between Order and Chaos was something not even the dead could escape from. Upon death, the souls of those who believed in the Gods of Order would be sent to the Heaven Realm where the Gods lived. The strong would have a chance to become a God Envoy and continue fighting for them. As for the faithless, cultists and evil, their souls would flow along the River Styx through the Abyss and Hell. There was a possibility that they might be converted into a Devil or Demon at any time and climb up to shore.

The War of Dimensions between the Abyss and the Heaven Realm, the eternal war between the Order Faction and Chaos Faction continues to function as a never-ending meat-grinding machine.

For the players, this was not only the past history but also the storyline for the future plot.

Once you chose a Faction and joined the world, endless wars and calamities would follow by your side.

Out of Eich's Seven Great Trials, the first two trials were problems which could be solved internally by humans. At that point in time, on the Surface World, Silver-ranks would be sufficient to serve as the main attacking force. However when the 3rd Trial, 'The Undead Calamity', as well as the 4th trial, 'The Return of the Demons and Devils', would begin, the war would have escalated to the point that only the Golden Races could interfere directly in the war. At this point, even Gold-rank humans could only be considered as higher tier pawns.

Not mentioning the 5th and 6th for now, the 7th and final Trial, was the revival of the two sleeping Goddesses. The ancient history would then play out once again. At that time, even with the strength of the SemiGod which I had once reached, I could only count as slightly higher quality cannon fodder.

When that time came, the Gods would begin fighting directly on the mortal world. The Eich Continent would cracks once again. The Foreign Dimension Gates would open and the powerful foreign races would turn this entire world into a living hell.

As for the reason why there isn't an 8th trial? When the world would end up cut into 3000 pieces or more, would it even matter…

No wonder Seers would tend to be eccentric. How could I take it lying when I knew what kind of a doomsday future was awaiting us…?

Perhaps, I had become mad the moment that I had become aware of the calamities awaiting us in the future? I had pursued power in a frenzy, slaughtered in a frenzy and used my System to improve myself in a frenzy. Of course, in the midst of doing so, I've committed uncountable, unpardonable crimes as well.

Going by that principle of mine that all sinner would be judged, I'm afraid that the first one that should be burnt on a stake was none other than me.

Even so, I don't intend to argue my way out. I admit to all my crimes but I have no regrets. Besides… I seem to have found a way to divert the course of the world and have been doing much in preparation for it.

At this moment, the time that I had waited for so patiently to come, was probably here. The main storyline mentioned in the System Notice also represented the start of the 1st Trial, the 'Whisper of the Demons'.

The start of the main storyline, in the 'original history', also represented the point in time when players would enter the game to change the fate of this world.

It was just like what the strangely pragmatic advertisement slogan had said, 'A true world is awaiting, you hold the future in your hands', then the cause for failing those 7 Trials no doubt had something to do with those short-sighted and foolish players.

For example, the one who ended up opening the seal to the Abyss that allowed the Demons and Devils to roam the mortal world was a bunch of player mercenaries, who were blinded by their own greed. Furthermore, the one who ignited the Calamity of White Bones which plagued the entire world was, in fact, an invasion started by an Undead Lord player.

The irresponsible otherworldly visitors fought for the sake of gold coins and equipment. They viewew the original inhabitants as nothing more than puppets to fool, to extract their remaining worth out, turning the hard-to-survive calamities into an impossible-to-survive hell.

Of course, for the world to continue moving forward, the ones who fought the war ended up sacrificing themselves many times for it, some even having their accounts deleted as a result, were also this bunch of otherworldly guests.

But this time, in this real world, there were no longer any gamers who held the future in their hands. The only one who could change the future was me, a defective Skeleton.

"I swear to reverse cause and effect, change the course of fate and let the populace safely survive all the calamities."

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Alright, after a bunch of crap, I believe that everyone should be sick and tired of hearing about the settings and background. Let's get back to something concrete.

For a long time, I had been thinking and thinking about how to tide through those calamities. Un, at the very least, how to stop the repeating loop of the Eternal War.

"Holy Light, huh?"

The Holy Light which had spread to over 30% of the world's believers had become my experimental device.

The foolish God of Light had indeed fulfilled his motives and had become the strongest God. However, due to the excessive influx of faith by such a sheer number, he was assimilated by the faith and lost his humanity, turning him into a Concept-like existence.

A little tough to understand? It was like an old PC downloading the entire internet's data at one go, causing the CPU to explode. The entire system was jammed, leaving only the hardware to operate.

Un, the God of Light was that PC which exploded. He's now only instinctively maintaining the basic programs whereas his owner had already disconnected long ago. On the other hand, as he represented the Concept itself, losing his owner only turned him even stronger.

As Concept Gods, the 'great' Mother of Earth and 'wise' Goddess of Magic were incredibly powerful Gods. But, other than providing power to their own believers, they don't even have a sense of self anymore, thus depriving themselves of the ability to interfere with the world.

"Any child of Order who worships the light, shall have the authority to wield the Holy Light!"

This dictum of the Holy Light might seem sacred, but in actuality, it was just a machine-like way of dealing with the prerequisites to use the Holy Light. There were two prerequisites to using the Holy Light and anyone who fulfilled those requirements would be able to utilize it. Firstly, he would need be originated from an Order bloodline and secondly, he must worship the light…

Anyway, my experiments had proven that it was just a load of bull. Even a Demon could utilize the Holy Light when possessing the body of a human. It was enough as long as you brainwashed him to fool that receiving machine that he really worshipped the Holy Light.

Just the Holy Light itself wasn't sufficient for my plans.

Holy Light was a Lower Concept of Order. Its key Concept revolved around 'Cleanse'. That's to say, it caused everything to proceed on naturally along the laws of the world. So, existences that defied these laws, such as the Undead who defied the laws of death and the Demons and Devils who were children of Chaos, were naturally its arch-enemies.

In reality, Holy Light was indeed the nemesis of these two Chaos lifeforms… So, those who intended to use Holy Light to pursue peace and harmony were just like those who pursue military might to bring about world peace. One could try to picture it how they wanted by the result of it was destroying all of their enemies.

Eich's long history had proven that it was impossible to completely wipe out one faction. Order and Chaos couldn't destroy each other totally. After a short-lived victory, a merciless vengeance would soon follow suit.

Since destroying the other faction was impossible, then getting along should be the only plausible solution… Getting along with the completely unreasonable Chaos lifeforms??? If word were to spread that I was the one to say this, then I would have really proven true to my honorary title of 'The-Lich-whose-head-was-dunked-in-water-Roland'.

"If only there was a boundary, a boundary that everyone would acknowledge."

This had been my most initial thought. Afterward, I recalled the agreements made among countries in my previous life. Then, I remembered the legal career I passionately worked in that first life of mine…

"Alright, since I'm so idle now, being trapped Sulfur Mountain City, why don't I just give it a shot? There's nothing to lose anyway."

Thus, 'ding ding dang', the Supreme Court was built. 'Ding ding ding', the 4 Halls were erected. 'Ding ding ding', the entire legal system had been formed…

So, when the thick notebook which I filled with different laws had somehow been recognized by the Origin of Order and had become the God Equipment Origin of Codex, the Power of Law also rose to become a Concept equal to the Holy Light. The one who found it hardest to believe that all this had happened was none other than me.

After a long state of disbelief, I had fallen into a state of uncontrollable frenzied laughter and intense joy… Then, laughing and laughing, I had started crying. I don't even recall how long I had been in a state of madness, how long I had struggled…

"Hahahahaha, so the solution was so easy after all. For an entire 300 years, I had been walking in circles. To think that the key would be on me from the very start." After countless failures, this was the very first time I saw the light of hope.

The core of the Holy Light was 'Cleanse', putting everything back to the order they belong to. The core of my Power of Law was 'Equality'. Every life had their own reason of existence and order. Even Chaos itself was a twisted form of Order. As long as both parties could work within the boundaries they agreed on, then coexistence could be possible.

This boundary was the basis of the Power of Law.

"Those who bypass these boundaries will be punished and even sentenced to death. Regardless of his identity, strength and race, in the face of the scale of law, everyone is equal."

The first Power of Law was similar to the primitive form of the law we have currently, revolving around the concept of an eye for an eye. It was very crude and hard to control, wounding both the opponent and the user. Fortunately, as long as my phylactery wasn't destroyed, it was just a matter of reviving. I had become used to dying anyway… Cough, after adding in more laws and changing the core principles, the current Power of Law was getting closer and closer to the 'Laws of Equality' I hoped to create.

"As long as a Law Enforcers gives up their individuality to fight for justice and equality, they will be able to wield the Power of Law."

I imitated the simple rules of the dictum of Holy Light but I was still far away from the day of achieving that.

As a newborn power of concepts, the Power of Law was still weak and required an influx of faith for it to grow. For now only in Sulfur Mountain City, where the Power of Law was the thickest, in an area around the Origin of Codex, could the Power of Law be a Concept equal to the Holy Light.

"After all, there's no God of Law. However, there will be one eventually…"

Just like what I had said when I was teasing the Town Security at the Undead Playground, there would be a God of Law and the Power of Law would be recognized by the entire world. As long as my scheme… Hehe, I think using the word plan was better, succeeds, what should be there will be there.

"There will be a God of Law, and Enforcers, who wield the Power of Law, will roam the entire world. Every city will establish its own justice and legal system…"

…It will all be there! I swear on my phylactery!

This time around, I won't be the silly individual who tries to block the truck with his weak arms to attempt to change 'history'. This time, we, all of the Law Enforcers, who believe in the law, shall became the authors of a brand new history.

When that fool, Adam, once asked me if it was worth it to sacrifice so much for such an intangible dream, my answer to this day remains the same.

"Of course it's worth it. My dreams are like the sea of stars. My Power of Law will one day surpass that lame Power of Holy Light."

Yes, without a doubt, I am poaching from the Holy Light. Maybe I should be glad over the fact that the God of Light had lost his sense of self or else getting erased by a ray of light from the sky all of a sudden would be my ending.

But now, those foolish Holy Knights were instead overjoyed over the creation of a new power belonging to the Origin of Order and even specially sent people here to study it…

Let me return to my corner to laugh a bit. When the Power of Law becomes mainstream and legal systems are built up all over the continent, will there still be a need for the existence of a Holy Church who repetitively preaches old values? Isn't this the legendary act of cornering oneself?

This reminded me of my previous world where the teachers in those monasteries had become the creators of modern science, thus digging the grave for creationism… History was indeed similar all around the world, it was always the people inside who dug up the holes for their own downfall.

Un, when that time would come and they would lose their jobs, as repayment, I shall provide job changes for Holy Knights to Justice Knights, Priests to Judgementor and Holy Mages to Law Incantationer. The tips I would earn from the service are sure to quite substantial.

"Lord, we are done with the preparations."

Elisa's voice interrupted my wonderful daydream.

This was the First Hall of the Supreme Court as well as the largest Court, capable of holding up to a thousand people. But, due to its large size, it was expensive to maintain this place and thus, I had only used it on a handful occasions.

"Now, it is time to show the world the true divinity of the Power of Law. From now onwards, starting from Sulfur Mountain City, the Power of Law will penetrate every corner of the world…"

The plain and calm sound of a deep voice reverberated within the huge hall, resulting in an ancient and heavy resonance, as though it was a feedback from history, as though it was the decided future.

Now, as I sat on the top of the court, the entire spectator stand remains empty. On my left stood the strongest person of the judicial system, Judge Kale Diya and on my right, the blank-faced Legend-rank Xueti.

Elisa carefully passed a thick old book filled with yellow pages forward. The old book which felt like it might scatter with just a blow of the wind was the highest God Equipment of the Power of Law, the Origin of Codex.

"Old companion, I haven't used you ever since you've become a God Equipment."

Caressing the familiar binding, I felt a little sentimental. Looking around me, Kale and Xueti nodded, indicating that they were all prepared to go. Thus, I started speaking.

"I, the Supreme Judge Wumianzhe!"

"I, first-tier Judge Kale Diya!"

"I, second-tier Judge Xueti!"

"We call for a Council of Judgement! Begin the hearing!"

Following our declaration, the silver light of the Power of Law scattered down like stars and the entire world was shrouded by a blinding silver light. The next moment, we were no longer in the old court, but in a space devoid of anything.

"Kale."

Taking over the God Equipment Origin of Codex, the Saint Great Law Incantationer Kale Diya stroke the beard he was proud of and spoke with a deep voice:

"Court of Stars!"

Legend-rank experts pull their distance away from Gold-rank experts by showing to the world the glamor of their souls, their Soul Imprint. If so, then what did a Saint-rank expert have to differentiate themselves from Legend-rank experts?

It was the world. Saint-rank experts had their own Soul World, allowing them to project the ideal world of their hearts into reality. In the world they created, they were able to exert 300% of their usual strength.

Very quickly, with the help of the Origin of Codex, Kale completed the creation of his own Soul World.

That was a court created by the light of the stars. There was the Judge's Stand, Defendant's Stand, Plaintiff's Stand, everything a court should had was all there. In this court, all kinds of fighting tools and abilities had been voided and no lies could be spouted. The only thing that one could rely on were facts and interpretations of the law.

In this moment, the empty spectator stand became filled with figures created by the glimmer of the stars. The star spirits of ancient heroes were invited as spectators to view this miraculous judgement.

But unlike normal spectators, they would use the justice which the world sang praises of to make a judgement. If they found the judgement to be unfair, they could forcefully terminate the judgement. On the other hand, if they found the judgement impartial, they wouldn't be stingy with their applause.

"First of all, the crime of escaping from jail!"

"Pah!" The gavel struck down and innumerable starlight gathered. In this moment, the Defendant's Stand filled up with intangible figures as the escapees from Sulfur Mountain City Prison fell into a daze.

Their physical bodies were now looking blankly forward without any strength in their limbs. They simply stood there in a daze, as though their souls had escaped. In reality, their souls had been brought to this star-filled court.

"Why am I here…"

"This is?"

Towards the chatter of their souls, I lightly knocked the gavel.

"Incantation of Law: Silence!"

Afterwards, only the sound of Xueti's mumbling of the incantation could be heard.

In this court, the effects and the consumption of mana for Law Incantations had been increased significantly. Despite it being just a 1-circle Incantation of Law, he had already chanted for an entire 30 seconds!

"Incantation of Law: Judgement!"

When Xueti finally activated the Law Incantation, a bright red light appeared on all of the souls and a vague image appeared on their forehead, signifying their guilt. It showed how they attacked the prison wardens, escaped from jail, killed the patrols blocking the way and brought harm to ordinary citizens along the way.

"147 innocent citizens have died and the estimated loss totals to 3.62 million gold coins."

The star spirits on the spectator stand began to ramble angrily. To these ancient heroes, the hurting of innocent citizens was the shame of the powerful. It was an act they couldn't tolerate. Many of them even display a thumbs-down gesture towards them.

"Death penalty!!"

"Death penalty!!"

Then, all of the videos turned into a scene of the physical monument outside the Sulfur Mountain City Prison gates. Carved on it were some laws that I had written personally.

"Sulfur Mountain City Statute 97: Escapees from prisons will be hanged!"

"Pah!"

My gavel also struck down immediately.

"1461 defendants judged guilty of escaping from prison. The court sentences them to death by hanging! The sentence is to be carried out immediately!!"

The next moment, all of their souls returned back to their body. Just when they were glad, despite being drenched in cold sweat, believing it to be just nightmare, they failed to realize that a sensation on the neck was making it harder and harder for them to breath…

Following which, 'hulah' and an intangible rope pulled their heads up, leaving only their legs to kick frenziedly in midair.

Even though they were grabbing their necks frantically, causing multiple scratches on their necks, they were unable to grab hold of that formless rope. After numerous seconds of struggling, both of their hands slump down, devoid of strength.

After concluding the first round of judgement, I took a deep breath.

"The execution has been completed. The second crime, the crime of betraying the city!"

It was similar to the previous process, just that the defendants this time were the remaining Councilors who conspired with the other Underground Cities, the ones who made use of the chaos to rob and slaughter others and such…

"Death penalty!! Decapitation!"

Following the fall of the gavel, thousands of heads fell to the ground. Seeing how the sinners suddenly fell dead in the midst of wreaking havoc, citizens of the city knelt down, thankful for the appearance of this miracle!

"The third crime, the crime of war and the crime of bribery!!"

This time, following the strike of my gavel, my sight changed continuously. Finally, I arrived at the battlefield a distance away, in the sulfur mountains which had changed into an ice field!

Both parties on the battlefield didn't seem to yet have noticed the arrival of the Court of Stars. Only Margaret and the Beastman Chieftain seemed to be tilting their head to look in our direction.

"It's normal for Margaret who had stepped into the realm of SemiGod to feel me, but that Beastman… Looks like he isn't a normal Saint-rank."

But the arrow was already drawn, I had no choice but to proceed ahead.

"It appears to the court that the crime is still ongoing and the invasion is currently proceeding along, so a verdict needs to be executed immediately to lower the losses of the victim!"

"Pah." Kale's suggestion was logical and at the same time, it could save a portion of the powers of the Origin of Codex, which was on the verge of drying up. There's no reason for me to reject it.

"Agreed. Shorten the process and begin judgement immediately!"

"This land belongs to the jurisdiction of Sulfur Mountain City. The invaders, the Underground Alliance Army, as well as the victim, Sulfur Mountain City, are clear to see. Following the codex…"

"Death penalty!"

"Death penalty!"

"Death penalty!"

The 3 judges came to the same conclusion and chants of 'death penalty' could be heard from the spectator's stand. The judgement of the Council immediately took effect and thus…

In the next moment, on the ground, regardless of whether it was the strong young military officers of the Beastman or the old experienced Beastman veterans, after being labeled with the mark of guilt, blood started to flow out from their eyes, nose, mouth and ears. One after another, they dropped to the floor silently. In the sky, the eyes of the Red Dragons and Black Dragons rolled back and they fell to their deaths.

The mysterious deaths of strong warriors one after another caused the entire battlefield to be enveloped in an eerie silence. Even the wise Margaret appeared stunned upon such a sight.

The fiery battlefield from before chilled down in a blink of an eye after the verdict was passed.

The ground was full of the corpses of the invaders…

In this moment, the Underground Alliance Army was almost entirely annihilated. The only exception should probably be the Dragon Empress who was loitering around in the sky.

After realizing that something was amiss, the strongest Dragon of the Underground World abandoned her comrades and fled from the battlefield without a second thought.

From the very start, I didn't include the SemiGod Dragon Empress into the judgement. As a SemiGod tier, she was too powerful. Given Kale's strength, even with the augmentation of a God Equipment, he was unable to judge her. If he were to try it forcefully, the entire Soul World might even shatter.

"If only I was in my best condition…" I shaked my head. Just like Margaret's catchphrase 'Hypothetical situations are meaningless, [if]' is only an excuse used by the weak to console themselves'. I better focus my attention on the present.

The judgement had ended and the star spirits had scattered. Sweeping across the battlefield with my eyes, I saw the supposedly dead Beastman Sovereign stand up as he glared furiously at me.

In his beast eyes, a black-green inferno was burning fervently with bone-piercing hatred.

"So it really is the doings of the Demons? Furthermore, it looks like it's a Noble. Seems like we won't be able to get him... for now."

I was familiar with that flame. That was the Chaos Inferno that originated in Hell, only Great Demons of noble bloodline could wield it.

In the next moment, Shou Nuya's figure disappeared completely in a patch of black smoke.

As for our side, the dissolution of the Soul World seems to have reached the final phase.

"Lord, looks like I will have to apply for a 2 month long break." After uttering this, the old Kale who had overworked himself this time fell to the ground unconscious.

"Good job." After getting Xueti to settle Kale properly, I glanced helplessly at the Origin of Codex which had lost its glow. After spending so much energy, it looked like the God Equipment was in for a longer break.

But looking at the city area which had begun to regain its peace, the survivors were thankful for the miracle as they hugged one another and rushed to and fro to report their safety to their families, I felt that it was all worth the effort.

Finally, I struck the gavel down lightly.

"End of hearing. Court dismissed."