Chapter 183: Nuclear Weapon!
When Cloud City and the Federation became connected, the grand formation that covered the entire Federation also extended into Cloud City.
At the same time, the towering, sky-shrouding figure that loomed over Cloud City finally came into view for the Federation’s transcendent beings.
“That… that’s it?”
“How can we possibly win against that?”
“Maybe ending ourselves first would be better—at least it wouldn’t hurt so much.”
“Shut up! How do you know unless you try?”
“Waiting for death is the act of a coward!”
Compared to Xu Zhi’s cold, almost indifferent calm, the scene in the Federation was what one might truly call “facing the apocalypse.”
Under desperate circumstances, even their impassioned speeches carried a strange resemblance to those from hot-blooded youth dramas—if only their voices weren’t trembling.
Unlike Cloud City, the Federation possessed far greater resources, manpower, and weapon stockpiles—and thus could launch attacks on a scale Cloud City could not dream of.
And the moment that figure appeared, the Federation acted.
Though they could no longer save most ordinary citizens, the Federation was not doing nothing. Not long after His true form appeared, strategic bombers were already airborne—armed not with ordinary explosives, but with modified weapons designed specifically for transcendent creatures.
—Nuclear warheads infused with supernatural power.
Yes. There was no hesitation left. The Federation had already become a purgatory. Faced with the apocalyptic scene and the monstrous entity’s shadow blotting out the sky, the Federation’s surviving leaders made their choice immediately:
No testing, no debate, no holding back.
Even if it meant obliterating Cloud City itself, they would strike—now.
“We have to hit before it reacts.”
“There’s no time for siege warfare. If we delay, our pilots will all die anyway!”
“Better to die on the battlefield than rot away doing nothing!”
“Who will undertake this glorious mission—one with no return, but for the survival of all humankind and every living thing?!”
The air grew solemn and heavy with tragic resolve. Every soldier, every pilot, raised their hands high—they believed humanity’s fate now rested upon their shoulders.
At this point, none shied away from certain death. In less than an hour, half the Federation’s population had already perished.
Who could say whether they’d survive the next minute?
Better to die doing something meaningful—something that history would remember.
They truly believed: if they could deliver this strike, that thing would die.
After all, nothing could survive a weapon like this—the most destructive creation in the Federation’s history.
This weapon had been secretly researched since the rise of transcendents, part of the Federation’s preparation for doomsday. When they received messages from Zhong Lingfan and the prophecies from the “Lamp”-type transcendents, development had accelerated even further.
Pooling all the Federation’s resources and manpower, they had managed to produce only two nuclear warheads infused with supernatural energy.
By chance—or perhaps by fate—the most compatible energy for the design turned out to be “Lamp”, the attribute of illumination and purification.
“The fate of the Federation rests on your shoulders,”
said the leader solemnly, patting the pilots’ shoulders before they departed.
Not a single pilot spoke. Eyes reddened, they simply gave one final salute—and boarded their planes without hesitation.
They had once been elite aviators, one in ten thousand. Later, they became powerful transcendents of the new era. And now, in the end, they returned to the most honorable duty they had ever known.
As the bombers soared over the Federation’s empty skyline, everything below appeared calm—yet dead. Streets and buildings stood silent under the crimson sky, steel jungles devoid of life. The radio channels were quiet.
“Don’t be too sad,” their captain said, forcing cheer into his voice.
“Focus up. It’s fine. After us… the Federation will rise again.”
“Captain’s right! We’re closing in on that monster—cover the approach!”
“This’ll be one for the history books, huh? Maybe they’ll even print our names!”
“Not maybe. Definitely!”
Their fear slowly hardened into resolve.
Soon, they entered Cloud City’s airspace—drawing nearer to that colossal being.
“Ready?”
“Always!”
When the bombers appeared in Cloud City’s skies, Xu Zhi instinctively turned her gaze away from Him. Using her Eye of Secrets, she scanned the distant aircraft—and her expression immediately changed.
She tapped the small aberrant creature perched on her shoulder.
Zhong Lingfan hadn’t given her any notice—meaning even she had no idea what was happening.
The Federation really had gone all-in. Many wealthy elites and officials had fled from the Federation to Cloud City seeking shelter, yet the Federation didn’t even warn them before launching the strike. But then again… at the end of the world, who still cared?
Politics could wait—if there was a world left afterward.
The little aberrant no longer needed words to understand her. With a thought, it reacted—its branches rapidly growing, weaving into a cage of intertwined limbs that enclosed Xu Zhi.
Then it extended toward Zhong Lingfan and the others, creating another enormous “tree cage” to protect them and the faintly glowing barrier that shielded the transcendents inside.
Xu Zhi could run—she could probably escape Cloud City before the explosion hit.
She wasn’t ignorant anymore. She knew exactly what that weapon was, and how devastating its power could be.
But—if the Federation could actually kill that thing—why would the Narrator have told her to prepare?
Even her little aberrant would be beyond their power to kill, let alone Him.
And so, while Xu Zhi maintained her calm pessimism, the pilots clung to their blind optimism—
A mushroom cloud rose over Cloud City.
The warhead struck true.
The detonation point was flawless—right at the core of His shadow.
The pilots had faced minimal interference, aside from the constant psychic pollution. Their planes had been fitted with devices to resist it, though even so, they had to pour almost all their transcendent energy into maintaining mental shields as they approached.
Still, they succeeded. Their mission was complete.
Yet in the instant they relaxed—the psychic contamination pierced their minds, tearing through their shields. Before the nuclear fire bloomed, every one of them was already dead.
Then— a blinding flash. A deafening roar.
Even with the aberrant’s protection blocking most of the sound, Xu Zhi’s eardrums burst instantly, blood trickling down her face.
The shockwave and radiation spread through Cloud City like a living thing. Even in so-called “safe zones,” people could feel the city itself writhing under the assault.
Some heat and radiation penetrated the aberrant’s shell. Xu Zhi’s skin blistered, warped from the temperature and radiation—then instantly healed again.
She stared at the wounds as they vanished, feeling the strange mingling of Lamp-attribute supernatural energy and radiation in the air.
And she could only silently pray—
—That the being at the heart of the explosion would at least be hurt.
As for killing Him?
That was nothing but a fool’s dream.
