On the way back to the "Spark" base, the atmosphere became unprecedentedly strange.

The way Sun Chengzong and his soldiers looked at Chongzhen had completely changed. If before it was fear and awe, now there was an additional hint of... fanaticism.


In their eyes, the "Emperor" who could integrate "sacred objects of humanity" into himself and emanated contradictory auras of sanctity and deathly stillness, was no longer a mortal ruler, not even a vengeful demon god, but... a true, walking among humans, comprehensible and followable... "deity."

A savior who returned from "The End" to rescue this world corrupted by evil demons.

I keenly detected this change. I knew that my crazy plan had half succeeded.


That evening, in the stone house command room, I convened the first formal "imperial council" between the "sovereign and ministers."

There were only three participants.


Me, the self-appointed "Chief Advisor."

Sun Chuanting, the successor of the "Path of Humanity" who was forced into rebellion by reality.

And... Chongzhen. The "God" who sat in the main seat, with half his body radiating a gentle white light and half surrounded by abyssal black mist.

"We must go to Taiyuan," I said straightforwardly, pointing at Taiyuan Prefecture on the map. "But we cannot rush in like bandits, loot, and leave. We need to... 'recapture' it."

"Recapture?" Sun Chuanting frowned deeply. "With our few hundred men? Li Yan, a general of Li Zicheng, has already stationed twenty thousand troops in Taiyuan. Our small force isn't even enough to fill the gaps between his teeth."

"So, we cannot rely on 'force'." I looked at him and slowly said, "We need to rely on 'momentum'."

"What momentum?"

"The momentum of 'Heaven's Mandate', the momentum of 'Divine Descent'." I enunciated each word.

I turned toward the Chongzhen Emperor.

"Your Majesty, what you need now is not slaughter, but... 'miracles'."

Chongzhen's eye sockets, a fusion of black and white, silently gazed at me, waiting for me to continue.

"From today on, you are no longer 'Emperor of the Great Ming' Zhu Youjian." I took a deep breath and revealed the most insane part of my plan, "Your identity is the 'Final Emperor', the 'Guardian of Humanity', who has returned to the mortal realm from the highest heavens to cleanse the world of demons... the savior."

"And we are not an army, but the 'Divine Punishment Forces' under the Emperor's command."

"We go to Taiyuan, not to plunder, but to... 'judge'."

"Judge whom?" Sun Chengzong instinctively asked.

"Judge those who... in times of national crisis, hold great wealth, yet refuse to contribute funds, watching the country fall... traitors to the nation." I said coldly, "Such as Prince Jin, Zhu Qiugui."

Sun Chuanting's body suddenly trembled.

He understood my meaning.

This was... making an example of the royal clan and feudal princes, offering the first "sacrifice" to this newly born "deity," to establish His "divine authority."

"When the Emperor is in exile, the royal clan bears guilt." I continued, "The 'Final Emperor' has descended to the world to restore order, to reclaim the wealth that rightfully belongs to the 'state,' to form the 'Divine Punishment Army' and sweep away the demons across the land. Mr. Sun, do you think... this 'story' is sufficiently 'aligned with heaven and acceptable to the people'?"

Cold sweat seeped from Sun Chuanting's forehead.

He looked at me as if gazing upon a true devil.

This plan was too poisonous.

It perfectly exploited the hatred that the common people in chaotic times had for corrupt officials and powerful feudal lords. It also packaged Chongzhen's "revenge" as "divine punishment" and "justice."

It transformed a naked robbery into a... religious ceremony that complied with the will of heaven and united people's hearts.

"But... Prince Jin is after all a member of the royal family..." Sun Chuanting was still making a final struggle.

"Royal family?"

Chongzhen, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke.

His voice now became extraordinarily peculiar. Half of it was cold and emotionless like a "divine oracle," while the other half carried the endless resentment and mockery belonging to "Chongzhen" himself.

"Those... parasites who only know how to suck the fat and marrow of the people, and treat me as nothing?"

"When I was in the capital, I begged them to donate funds, but they wouldn't give a penny. Now, with the country broken and home destroyed, they still want to hold onto their mountains of gold and silver, to become the running dogs of the 'new god'?"

"I... approve."

He looked at me, and a hint of approval flashed through his eye sockets, where black and white were clearly defined.

"Let's proceed according to the 'Prime Minister's' proposal. I... will go to Taiyuan to personally 'judge' my... dear imperial uncle."

Sun Chuanting was completely speechless.

He discovered that in this team composed of "madmen" and "demon gods," he, the only "normal person," had instead become the most out of place existence.

He could only, and must, be dragged by us together into this mad abyss.

Three days later.

A tiny force of only three hundred people left the Taihang Mountain stronghold and set off toward Taiyuan.

At the front of the procession were three large black flags with white characters, fluttering in the wind.

The flags did not bear the words "Great Ming," nor did they display any general's name.

They only displayed three magnificent characters, brimming with murderous intent.

—"Divine Punishment Army."