Chapter 1724: Chapter 1724

1724: Chapter 1720: Arrogance 1724: Chapter 1720: Arrogance When Australia fell into a bitter struggle, the entire Pacific had already descended into the flames of war.

Even further out, the coastlines of various countries were under siege by invaders.

The whole world naturally sunk deeper into despair and chaos.

This wasn’t merely the invaders realizing something was amiss—it was the natural evolution of Earth itself.

With the arrival of the Exotic Realm’s God Above Gods and the deeper assimilation into the Exotic Realm, the local Exotic Realm lifeforms felt as if they had returned home…

This comfort rooted in their life’s origin instinctively made them more active.

At the same time, the Exotic Realm assimilation of the planet naturally birthed more Exotic Realm creatures.

This time, nations faced numerous attacks from newborn, immature sea beasts and fishmen, some of which had only just been born, while others were entirely new species spawned from the toxic oceans.

They were not particularly difficult to deal with, but this was just the beginning.

As time dragged on, nations that were already stretched to their limits would surely collapse…

“Boom!” Explosions and flames erupted everywhere.

And beneath the waves, the fires of war boiled equally fierce.

Countless ships converged here, their multicolored flames, in a physical sense, igniting the oceans themselves.

Centered around Dragon Moon Island, the war between Giant Gods and Giant Beasts intensified with no end in sight.

Ships were constantly set ablaze and sunk, while Giant Gods and Giant Beasts fell into the sea one after another.

No one could truly guarantee their survival.

The mighty crocodile could easily attract a giant whale that’d swallow it whole in a single bite.

In the sky, “fireworks” filled every corner.

Domains clashed between deities, quasi-gods, and overlords, tearing open spatial rifts and unleashing colors mortals could not bear to gaze upon.

Higher still, in space beyond the planet, the battles were even more ferocious.

This was an even more brutal battlefield, a deathmatch between immortals.

Every now and then, Divine Boats collided in what appeared to be bloody hand-to-hand combat.

But in reality, it was an invasion and clash of Divine Kingdoms.

The victor took everything, while the defeated became mere nourishment.

Occasionally, meteors rained down from the heavens.

Occasionally, an immortal would fall and be consumed as sustenance by another immortal.

Deities, those collectives blessed by the world and conferred power, were naturally compelled to march onto the battlefield when the world was under threat.

“The planet is afraid.”

“It is utterly terrified.”

“That monster has frightened It…”

The arrival of the God Above Gods truly terrified the planet itself.

In Its fear, It naturally threw everything It had into the fight.

Those who had once consumed parts of It, owed It a debt, or were “controlled” by It were all sent to the battlefield.

In a way, Lu Ping’an and Xiu Yi’s actions had their benefits… Growing more slowly perhaps, but at least they retained their freedom.

In truth, the God Above Gods hadn’t just taken “two bites.” It had already consumed five, with the other three bites being deities It deemed delicious.

Exotic Realm Gods were also perishing in the skies above.

In comparison, they were even more helpless than Earth’s gods.

The planet was merely a fearful “shareholder,” while on their side, there were genuine Commanding Generals and Death Messengers.

For entities like the Octopus, lesser gods were nothing more than delectable food.

“True immortality might lie in unconstrained independence…”

Lu Ping’an muttered as he stared into the sky.

In his hand, he held the severed head of a quasi-god.

With the war raging on, chaotic battles between all parties inevitably escalated.

In such an environment, even quasi-gods could fall at any moment.

Lu Ping’an fought to protect the Mother Star for the people he cared about.

He was attached to the land and the world itself, but it was only a small attachment at best.

If he were far away, he might miss it.

But stay too long, and he’d grow weary.

If it became absolutely unavoidable, leaving for another planet wouldn’t be out of the question.

Among the elites, Lu Ping’an’s fighting spirit was never particularly strong.

He was willing to die for certain things, but he refused to be tied to a stake, sent out as cannon fodder or a meat shield.

“In a sense, this is why the gods are so invested in keeping the battles confined to the Foreign Domains.

Until the world’s self-rescue mechanisms are activated, it actually doesn’t count as a major issue.”

“But the problem lies in the fact that, four years ago, no one ever anticipated that Earth itself would come under threat…”

Even the gods are nothing more than chess pieces caught up in its design.

For the first time, Lu Ping’an longed for “transcendence.” The more he understood the state of the universe, and the more he used the Eye of Truth to see through it all, the more he felt repulsed by this reality that constantly dragged people into its madness.

Lu Ping’an raised his gaze toward Dragon Moon Island, toward the Eastern Country in that direction, and toward Wanjing in that direction.

Perhaps it was because he had seen through it all that they would stop at nothing to push forward the Nirvana Plan, even if it meant risking complete failure—they had to make a bet.

He couldn’t help but imagine what might have happened if, back then, the decision-makers of the Eastern Country had thought they could scrape by and allowed life to continue as usual.

The illusion blurred into reality.

Lu Ping’an seemed to see familiar streets, himself dressed in the Captain’s uniform of the Special Service Team, patrolling along the roads.

Five or six years were enough to turn a college graduate into a professional.

Among his peers, he was the fastest, already reaching Sixth-tier quasi-rule level, already a renowned rising star of the Ancient City… The overwhelmingly vivid environment brought Lu Ping’an to the realization that this was likely “reality.”

Perhaps the result of him digesting the Time Snake, it was another worldline, a version of his life that was calm and stable.

But… what was meant to happen would eventually arrive.

When the enormous shadow finally descended, Earth and the Eastern Country would likely be completely defenseless.

What would he do then?

He probably wouldn’t even qualify to step onto the frontline and decide the outcome of a battlefield.

By then, he’d likely be fighting desperately…

“The best-case scenario would merely be desperately securing a ship ticket for my family…”

Lu Ping’an closed his eyes again.

Such a future, seen through the Eye of Truth, wasn’t worth it… An Earth without the Nirvana Plan was no different from ten years ago.

In the face of this level of Exotic Realm invasion, it would fall with barely a struggle.

Looking at the increasingly chaotic battlefield before him and the madness spreading across Australia, Lu Ping’an sighed once more.

Reality wasn’t that much better than the illusionary realm.

Earth had once been a low-magic environment.

A world like the Green Planet had fallen from high-magic to medium-magic levels, and the Silent Mountain Range World was a strictly regulated medium-magic setting… The super-magic standard he remembered came from the world under Firebird’s banner, where even a neighborhood uncle could pull out a rule-level war puppet—it was an utterly bizarre worldview.

But now, just judging by this region, the contamination level… the magic power density had already surpassed the Silent Mountain Range of old.

Staring at the land and battlefield before him, Lu Ping’an felt an illusion, as if the ground might split apart at any moment, and the entire planet might simultaneously fall into the Abyss… In the next moment, he abruptly returned to reality, clenching his teeth.

Because he knew it wasn’t just an illusion—it was a possibility revealed to him by his spiritual intuition.

He raised his head toward the heavens.

Even though he couldn’t see anything, he could vaguely sense the colossal entity lying in the higher-dimensional layers.

If it wanted to, it could make it happen…

Is it simply trying to have more fun?

Or is it worried about accidentally stepping into a cesspool and disgusting itself…”

Lu Ping’an let out a laugh—part self-deprecating, part irritated.

“…Weakness has never been the greatest barrier to survival.

He discarded the quasi-god’s head and once again stepped into the shadows.

This time, he would personally quicken the pace.