For Duanmu Huai, what he was most concerned about right now was still the current situation on that planet.

The Insect Swarm had already made planetfall, but the battle was far from over. According to the reports sent back by the Reconnaissance Fleet, the Insect Swarm was currently locked in a fierce fight with the Green Skin on that planet. As for the Space Undead, they had seized the advantage of terrain and were stirring up trouble among them. The Chaos Fleet, on the other hand, seemed unwilling to provoke the Insect Swarm in the slightest and had retreated far away into the Eye of Fear.

Every day, besides checking on the battle situation over there, Duanmu Huai would go to Maria to observe the progress on that side. After all, for now, the most important thing was still completing the Ether Synchronous Engine. And to achieve this, Duanmu Huai’s best approach was to divide the Ether Synchronous Engine into several modules, like assembling a model: first put together modules like the limbs and such, and save the final full assembly for later when it would be much easier.

If anyone was happiest about Duanmu Huai’s plan being delayed this time, it was naturally Maria. After all, building and outfitting the Ether Synchronous Engine was a massive project; even a tiny component would take a lot of time to complete. Even with Puppets and Mecha Servants working around the clock without sleep, this was not an easy task.

"So, how much longer do we need?"

"I’d say at least a year, Great Judge."

Maria stared at Duanmu Huai in front of her.

"You should understand very well that manufacturing an Ether Synchronous Engine is a major undertaking, and we’ve never tested it before. To be frank, I’m not sure that even if we complete the assembly, we can truly activate and deploy it. I still stand by my opinion: I believe we should first find a place to conduct a small, controlled test, rather than using it directly on the final battlefield."

"Hmm........."

Duanmu Huai rubbed his chin, falling into thought. In the game, players never tried something like this; everyone just triggered the quest, accepted it, then gathered materials, turned them in, waited for the Ether Synchronous Engine to be completed, watched the cutscene, and that was that. But now that he was personally building the Ether Synchronous Engine, perhaps, as Maria said, a small-scale test was indeed necessary.

However......Duanmu Huai had his own concerns.

In the game, players hadn’t run any tests, and the reason was simple: pumping energy from Subspace would inevitably attract the attention of the Evil Gods. They would definitely try every possible way to figure out what was being done here—especially that guy with the XX on his forehead, Cunning Deception. Duanmu Huai was certain it would absolutely seize the chance to stir up trouble.

Moreover, where to conduct the test was also a problem. In essence, it would be like opening another Eye of Fear into the material world. Even if it was small-scale and within a controllable range, Duanmu Huai was unwilling to do it.

This was exactly where the Judge and the oil man differed in philosophy. The Tribunal, at its core, focused on eliminating the threat of Subspace, while researchers like Maria were more concerned with practice and experimentation from both theoretical and practical standpoints.

"No."

Duanmu Huai shook his head.

"Running a test is extremely dangerous, and where am I supposed to find a second Eye of Fear? If we could find one, we wouldn’t need to waste so much time in the first place."

"There really aren’t any?"

"There really aren’t."

Duanmu Huai thought for a moment, then decisively nodded, while Maria let out a sigh.

"But in that case I can’t guarantee a one hundred percent success rate."

"Nothing is one hundred percent. Just do your best."

In the end, Duanmu Huai still stuck to his decision, and Maria could only nod in agreement.

Just then, the communicator blared an alarm. Duanmu Huai opened the channel, and Aikute’s voice quickly came through.

"Reporting, uncle, something strange has happened."

"I’ll be right there."

Duanmu Huai responded, then once again looked at Maria.

"I’ll leave things here to you."

"It doesn’t seem like I have any way to refuse."

The mechanical arms on Maria’s body moved nimbly and deftly, making an open-handed gesture. Duanmu Huai glanced at her, then reached out—and flipped up her robe in one go.

"Wah, Great Judge, what are you doing?"

"No, I just wanted to make sure you didn’t actually install this thing into your body."

Duanmu Huai stared at the mechanical arms mounted on Maria’s back, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course I didn’t. I’ve already promised you and everyone else, Great Judge."

"As long as you remember. I don’t want Zhi Jingxiang coming after me later."

Duanmu Huai let the cloak fall back down, ignoring Maria’s flushed, indignant glare, and turned to leave.

When Duanmu Huai returned to the Combat Command Room, he received the new information from Aikute.

"One of the Reconnaissance Fleets discovered them in a Galaxy relatively close to us."

As she spoke, Aikute spread her hands, and an image appeared on the screen—a massive Golden Warship slowly sailing through the boundless Universe. Its exterior looked elegant and simple, unlike Human Warships which were covered in ornate decorations; it looked more like a piece of art. Around it, countless Warships clustered like schooling fish. Golden solar sails glittered under the light of the Star......

"The Spirit race’s ark world? What are they doing here?"

Seeing this, Duanmu Huai frowned.

The Spirit race had no home planet.

Or rather, their home planet had long since exploded.

Back when Obsessive Sin was born, it destroyed the entire Spirit race, and only a handful of Spirits barely escaped with their lives. From then on, the Spirit race had roamed the stars like gypsies, calling all four seas their home; their caravans were the Spirit Tribe’s Ark. And all this time, the Spirit race had done everything they could to stay away from this place, not approach it.

After all, this was the place where the Spirit race’s humiliating History both began and ended.

At the end of the day, if the Spirit race hadn’t conceived and brought forth Obsessive Sin, and in doing so torn open a wound between the material world and Subspace that would never heal, then the Eye of Fear wouldn’t exist at all. For the Spirit race, the Eye of Fear itself is the symbol of the fall and filth of their so‑called noble history.

Not only that, more importantly, their blasphemous Deity—Obsessive Sin—never stops trying to seize the Souls of these remaining Spirits. So for the Spirit race, staying away from Subspace is almost an instinct, just to avoid some greedy Demon suddenly rushing out and butchering them on the spot.

Yet what this Spirit race fleet was doing right now was practically looking for death.

"Hm? Wait a second... could it be..."

Staring at the Spirit race fleet before him, Duanmu Huai narrowed his Eyes, and suddenly remembered something.

Among the Spirit race there had always been a prophecy: when all Spirits are dead, the Souls of the entire Spirit race will be gathered into the Infinite Loop, condensing the entire race’s Strength into the Shinigami, who will then slay Obsessive Sin.

But there’s a problem with that.

The Spirit race is few in number, they’ve basically got no reproductive ability to speak of, and the condition for the Spirit Race’s Death God to awaken is that every last Spirit has to be dead.

Of course, the Spirit race has another way. Legend says that as long as they collect several Divine Swords, they can resurrect it. And they did in fact once awaken an avatar of the Shinigami.

It’s just that... Duanmu Huai is not of the Spirit race, so of course he doesn’t need to care about whether the Spirit race lives or dies.

So when he saw this fleet, Duanmu Huai made up his mind without hesitation.

The Insect Swarm, Space Undead and Green Skin all tangled together into a big mess—he wasn’t going to stick his hand in that pot. But wiping out the Spirit race’s clan and cutting off their bloodline, paving the way for the great cause of destroying Obsessive Sin? That was a duty he’d absolutely shoulder.

As a Judge, being able to exterminate the Spirit race while also possibly awakening the Shinigami, getting it to wipe out Obsessive Sin, one of the Four Great Evil Gods, and then personally finishing off the Spirit Race’s Death God afterward—now that’s killing three birds with one stone, so爽 it’s ridiculous!

Settled, then!

"Lock onto the position of that Spirit race fleet."

Duanmu Huai issued the order without a second thought.

"I’ll personally go pay those white‑skinned monkeys a visit!"

As the saying goes, on a rainy day you beat the kids—might as well, since you’re idle anyway.

Being this free and not finding some Alien Rascals to play a little genocide with—wouldn’t that be a waste?

Meanwhile, in the vast starry void, facing the darkness and Chaos ahead of them, the Spirit tribe’s ark also hesitated, unable to move forward.

Are we really going to do this?

Morris sat in the chair, staring at that murky, rotten, blasphemous, evil scar in the Universe. It could feel the evil Strength and gaze of Obsessive Sin swirling within, greedily reaching for everything.

Everything.

Thinking of this, Morris let out a bitter laugh.

The Spirit race had reached a dead end; there was barely anything left of them as it was. Of course, what truly drove the Spirit race to make this decision was still their kin—the annihilation of the despised Traitors.

The fall of the Dark Spirit Clan.

Those traitors obsessed with the past, hiding in the Net Path, had been completely wiped out, and their Souls had vanished without a trace. The extinction of the Spirit race had thus entered its countdown. But the main reason they came here still lay in a prophecy.

The place of beginning, the place of ending.

Where it began, there it will end.

So, in the end, they chose to come here.

Perhaps we shouldn’t have come.

But we are already here.

Morris clenched its fists. It heard the Chanting and Hymns of the guiding Prophets. They mourned the glorious days of the past, and the powerless grief of the present. The melodies that had once joyously praised the Spirit race’s glorious History now held nothing but tragic memories. It had to make a decision. Before reaching the final destination, it still had one last chance—one last chance to turn back and leave this place.

No matter what, even if Obsessive Sin is destroyed, so what? The other Evil Gods still exist, and as for the Spirit race’s sins—can they truly be washed away?

When every Spirit has fallen, even if their sins are washed away, what difference does it make?

Even the Ancient Saints have perished in the long river of time; won’t the Spirit race be the same? How many beings still remember the glorious History of the Spirit race ruling the Milky Way? For a History that has long since passed, even been forgotten, is it truly meaningful for them to sacrifice everything?

Morris wavered, restless and uneasy, as if all the resolve it had mustered before had completely vanished.

But very soon, it no longer needed to decide.

The Net Path slowly opened, and Warship after Warship emerged from within.

They were not Spirit race Warships, but those of their opponents, their enemies.

"Die, filthy Alien Rascals."

Duanmu Huai stood on the bridge, staring at the Spirit tribe’s ark before him, bloodthirsty ecstasy flashing in his Eyes.

"For the sake of this Universe, your extinction is the better outcome."

Then, he spoke coldly.