Extraordinary Pedigree.

Chapter 707 Horse Racing: Gun of Morning Light X
Terra calendar 1591.2.10.
10:00AM. Weather/fog.
New Manhattan Junction Port.

The weather was gloomy and the entire New Manhattan was shrouded in a thick layer of fog.

The outline of the port is looming, like a ghostly presence appearing from another dimension.

New Manhattan Junction Port, a huge hub spanning time, space and dimensions, is located on the southern edge of the city, close to the "Junction Rift".

Mist lingered in the air, carrying with it damp vapor and a hint of uneasiness.

The energy of the rift seemed to distort reality here, and the outlines of the buildings were sometimes blurred and sometimes as clear as a knife edge.

The port's architectural style complements the rapid architectural style of New Manhattan and is full of various bizarre designs.

The towers that leaped up from the ground stretched toward the sky like twisted steel vines. The edges of the buildings glowed with a strange glow, the colors of the neon lights blended with the energy escaping from the cracks, the walls flickered as if they were breathing, and tiny electric arcs appeared from time to time, making the magnetic field in the air unstable.

These towering buildings are made of glass, steel and unknown materials. Each surface reflects strange light from the intersection cracks, giving people the illusion of being in a place where the future and the supernatural are intertwined.

The area near the border port is divided into two parts: one side is the legal trade area, and the other side is the black market trading area full of danger and mystery.

In the legal trade zone, neatly arranged cargo ships are moored at the huge steel dock, containers are piled up like mountains, and robotic arms are busy moving cargo into the ships.

The fog made these huge machines look like giant beasts operating in silence, with a certain mechanical coldness and efficiency.

And those ships from different worlds, spaceships from other dimensions, and merchant ships floating in space are quietly docked at these docks.

Their designs vary, and they are full of features from other worlds. Some ships do not seem to belong to the physical world at all. Their surfaces are covered with runes and energy auras, and even faint distortions of time can be seen flowing on their surfaces.

The scene in the black market trading area is completely different. The buildings here are dense and messy, and the alleys are winding like a huge maze.

The walls were covered with graffiti in alien languages, and the flashing signs glowed dimly in the mist.

People are constantly coming and going in the black market, and the goods traded are diverse, ranging from smuggled high-tech weapons to rare and extraordinary drugs, all of which highlight the chaos and danger here.

The air in the black market trading area is filled with the smell of exotic spices and alcohol.

Hidden in the mist of New Manhattan Junction, lies an extremely secret and luxurious tavern - Twilight Moon Shadow.

It is said that this tavern is run by an elf with a long life. Few people in the outside world know about it. Only a few people who have been introduced through various levels are qualified to set foot here.

The architectural style of the tavern combines the elegance and mystery of the elves, and the exterior walls are woven from ancient vines and silver stones.

Everyone said that at night, the walls of the tavern would glow with a faint blue-purple glow, like a forest at twilight, exuding a tranquility that was a mixture of nature and magic.

Inside the tavern, the wooden walls are hung with hand-woven tapestries made by ancient elves, decorated with their unique patterns and runes.

The soft light coming from the translucent crystal lamps makes the pub look like a dream.

Compared with the modern Terra architectural style, this place doesn't look like something from the last century, whether it's the people or the things inside.

However, this is a new world, and bizarreness and disjointed styles are the themes of the new world.

Therefore, there is never a shortage of urban legends in the New World.

For example, this pub has a strange urban legend - no matter how many people there are in the pub, you have to wait in line for fifteen minutes.

In a corner of the pub.

Xia Xiu sat quietly beside a round table carved from moonwood. Under the dim light, his silver cane and top hat were casually placed aside.

The blond young man held his chin with his left hand and gently fiddled with a black chess piece with his right hand, with a focused expression.

His short golden hair was enveloped in the ambiguous afterglow of the light, flickering and adding a touch of softness to his calm face, but his golden eyes were still deep and calm, revealing an unfathomable majesty.

On the table, a chess game is in progress.

The white and black chess pieces are in fierce confrontation, and every move on the chessboard foreshadows the complex game in reality.

Opposite Xia Xiu, four people sat quietly, each with a different look on their face.

The most eye-catching one was a burly man with a pair of thick horns on his head, bronze-like skin, and a body as strong as steel. He almost occupied half of the seat.

He crossed his arms and stared at the chess board quietly, his brows slightly furrowed, as if he was thinking about something.

The second person was a man with a sophisticated mechanical arm in his right hand. The gears on his mechanical arm made a faint humming sound. He looked around calmly, and from time to time he used his left hand to gently adjust the mechanical parts of his right arm.

The next person was a pretty woman with long rabbit ears hanging on both sides of her slightly curly hair, adding a touch of softness to her, but the sharp look in her eyes could not be ignored.

She stood tall, her hands resting lightly on her knees, her eyes occasionally moving between Xia Xiu and the chessboard, as if waiting for his response.

And finally, a stern woman with a solemn expression and horse ears appearing and disappearing in her black hair.

She sat in the corner, wearing a black hood and with a thick gun box on her right.

There is no doubt that three of the four people present are special operators of the Administration: Qing Niu, Mole, and Jiaoyue Rabbit.

And in the corner is Sophia Williams.

"You want to ask me why I didn't let the Administration take control of the situation?"

"Don't let the operators interfere in the chaos in New Manhattan, liberate the infected there, and put an end to this unrest?"

Xia Xiu raised his golden eyes from the chessboard, gently swept over the Green Ox and the Bright Moon Rabbit, then slowly returned his gaze to the chessboard, gently moving the black chess piece with his fingertips.

His fingers were deft and graceful, as if silently controlling the fate of the entire chess game.

“Katarina, Rowell,” he said softly, his tone steady but with irresistible authority, “although both of you are infected with perissodactyly, your backgrounds are different.

One is from an imperial military family, and the other is a natural hunter. The operators you command are all gifted elites, and all of them entered the world with art. However—"

The fourth sword-wielding man in the Kingdom of Heaven paused for a moment, his eyes as deep as a bottomless abyss, and his voice became a little deeper:
"Most of the infected people you come into contact with are the strong ones in the group, but the real infected masses are not like that. They cannot be liberated by force alone. What they need is... more."

Before he finished speaking, Xia Xiu gently pushed a white knight on the chessboard.

The moment the chess piece fell, the entire chess game seemed to have undergone a huge reversal, and the black chess formation collapsed instantly.

The black pieces representing the Liberation Hoofbeats and the Cultural Committee were in trouble, and the white pieces took the initiative.

As these words fell, Xia Xiu's fingertips gently pushed a white knight on the chessboard.

The moment the chess piece falls, the entire game changes.

The black chess formation, which had originally had an advantage, began to collapse. The move of the white knight instantly reversed the situation. The black chess pieces representing "Liberation Hoofbeats" and "Cultural Committee" fell into trouble and were forced into a corner by the white chess pieces, making it difficult to fight back.

"What do I want to do? Or rather, what does the Administration want to do?"

Xia Xiu chuckled, his voice still gentle, but revealing a hint of helplessness: "

You should understand this is a very regrettable thing.”

"A group of people who feel cold will gather under the sun and feel the power that the sun contributes to the earth."

He slowly raised his head, and a certain light flickered in his golden pupils. That light was like a hidden flame, warm and hot, but hidden under the calm appearance.

"But for the sun, this is insignificant. Its light and heat are a gift to all things on earth."

"The gifts here are never equal, so it creates more troubles and disputes. The sun can only bring fire. The real light should be the passing of the torch of will - everything I grasp turns into brilliance, everything I give up turns into coal, and I must be the flame without a doubt..."

The three special operators, Qingniu, Jiaoyuetu and Mole, looked at each other, then lowered their heads and remained silent.

Sophia, in the distance, had a very different reaction.

She stood quietly in the corner, her hood lowered, her eyes fixed on the case of her gun.

As Xia Xiu spoke, her fingers unconsciously gripped the gun case beside her, and an uncontrollable fiery light gradually flashed in her eyes.

The hood hid her face, but the fire in her eyes burned brighter and brighter, and she found the answer to her inner desire in these silent words.

Xia Xiu still stared at the chessboard, the chess pieces turning slightly at his fingertips. Wang Anran, representing the "Spider Mother", stood in the center of the chessboard, while the other chess pieces representing the "Liberation Hoofbeats", "Social and Cultural Committee", and "Red Branch" were surrounded by the black pieces in his hand, isolated and helpless.

His gaze seemed to penetrate it all.

This chess game is just the inevitable result after careful consideration.

Xia Xiu slowly stood up, elegant and calm, his aura like the calm before the storm.

He looked at Sophia, his voice firm:

"Go ahead, all the pieces are in place."

"It is time to remove those who cling to the old skin and the oppressors."

“The Administration will help you rebuild your own homes, provide jobs and benefits to every infected person, so that they no longer have to worry about their livelihoods;
You will no longer be enslaved, no longer abandoned because of illness; you will build your own bridges to the future, and everything - from the most basic survival to higher pursuits - will pave the way for you. "

When the fourth sword-bearer of heaven finished speaking, Sophia had already stood up silently, carrying her iconic gun box on her back.

She stood there quietly, her eyes deep and firm, and finally looked deeply at Xia Xiu.

There seemed to be an indescribable gratitude and determination in those eyes.

Without any extra words, she turned around resolutely and disappeared at the door of the tavern, her figure blending into the thick fog.

"It's foggy... it's really a good climate for killing people."

Her silhouette gradually faded in the fog, like a lone wolf hunting in the dark, her edge was restrained, yet extremely deadly.

After her, other special operators also began to take action one after another.

Xia Xiu had already preset a cleanup mission for them through the [Adam] system, targeting the members of the Red Branch organization hiding underground in New Manhattan.

There is a suspended sphere floating in front of each operator. It is a peripheral genealogy morphology sphere developed by [Adam]. It emits a faint blue light, guiding the direction for each executor.

Special operators such as Qing Niu, Jiaoyue Rabbit, and Mole saluted respectfully to Xia Xiu, and silent tacit understanding flowed in the air.

The fourth sword-wielder in Heaven waved his hand gently, indicating that there was no need to say more, and the operators left the tavern tacitly.

*
*
Everyone is welcome.

Xia Xiu stood quietly by the window of the tavern, looking at the street outside through the slightly yellowed glass.

The fog was like a heavy veil, covering the streets of New Manhattan. The thick fog swirled through the narrow alleys of the city, locking the land into another world.

Just as Sophia said.

"When the fog is covering, it's a good time to hunt." Xia Xiu raised the corner of his mouth with a faint smile, then he lightly put his top hat on his head and pressed it down to cover the pair of golden eyes that were like deep pools.

He held the silver cane in his right hand and tapped his left palm lightly. The tapping sound echoed rhythmically in the empty tavern, like a countdown drumbeat, or like a conductor preparing to lead an upcoming symphony.

Every gentle sound is the prelude to the drama that is about to begin.

"Soldiers against soldiers, generals against generals, kings against kings."

He whispered to himself, with a hint of calm sarcasm in his tone.

He had already spread enough bait and set up the whole game.

Now, we just have to wait for the god who is stirring up the storm behind the scenes—the "mighty" god from the Golden Royal Court, to descend upon the kingdom of God and invest divinity and domain.

The system of gods in the heavens and all worlds has long been carefully analyzed by the Terra academic community.

The authority and domain of the gods, whether they control conspiracy, war, betrayal, or natural phenomena, are all symbols of their power.

According to Terra's academic community, this is a specific [information authority] and [crown]. The domain is not only a symbol of the power of the gods, but also reflects their belief system, code of conduct, and how to influence the real universe through these powers. Behind these authorities, in fact, are nothing more than complex, flawed, and preconditional "etheric information integration systems."

The gods of the Golden Court, no matter how powerful their domains are, need to complete the so-called "information assimilation."

To put it simply, a deity with the power of "conspiracy" must gradually gain power through the trickery and betrayal of his believers.

The more devout believers there are, the more conspiracies and betrayals are realized, and the more powerful the god becomes.

The Terra academic circle believes that this is a specific kind of "divine Mi Mu pollution", while the scholars of the Nursery Academy of Heaven are even more concise and crude. They openly criticize the gods directly - they say that the foreign gods in the heavens and all worlds are the source of pollution.

They usually directly contaminate a race's 'pan-consciousness cluster projection' in the ether.

Pollute one or more races (the race is called a faith). The more devout believers there are, the stronger the power of the deity will be.

Not only the number of believers is important, but also the piety (degree of pollution) of the believers will affect the power of the deity.

The anatomy of the Kingdom of Heaven is more direct and cruel: "The gods of the heavens and the worlds are nothing more than manipulators who anchor the source of pollution. All divine authority depends on those polluted believers."

The more believers there are and the more devout they are, the more powerful the god will be; if the believers become alienated or their faith collapses, the power of the god will weaken.

There is another source of power for these gods, and that is the kingdom of the gods. That is the source of their power, a plane from which they draw on the faith of their believers.

In their own kingdom, gods are almost invincible - they can control the laws and dominate everything.

But once you step into Terra's reality, things are different.

Of course, some gods derive their power directly from the concepts they symbolize.

For example, gods who govern time gain power from the existence of time, and even without large numbers of worshippers they are still embodiments of these fundamental forces.

"Domain, infected group, kingdom of God, level of divinity..."

Xia Xiu murmured about the several elements that constituted the gods of the religious factions in all the heavens and worlds.

1. Faith and believers (polluted groups): Gods draw strength from the worship of believers. The stronger the faith, the greater the divine power. Because it is a branch of the pan-consciousness cluster that pollutes the race, it is very easy to overdraw the potential of the race/country - for example, in the extraordinary field, even if they possess it, they cannot give birth to a powerful individual stronger than the god of faith (the source of pollution).

2. Domain (etheric information authority/crown-like): The domain controlled by gods is also an important source of their power. Gods who control key areas are more powerful.

3. Laws and Planes (Kingdom of God): The power of gods is connected with the fundamental laws of the real universe, and the planes they live in are also the concentrated source of power.

4. Divinity (source of pollution): The fundamental source of power for the gods' existence, which gives them immortality and extraordinary power, but also gives them the power to pollute. This trait complements the domain and is sometimes regarded as one.

The Ivy War is a huge change for both beings within and outside the plane.

This war is not only a fight for resources and power, but also a war of raising poisons among gods of faith - the gods in the heavens and all realms are gradually strengthening themselves through the faith and power of their believers, and every such war will eliminate those who are not strong enough.

The weak are devoured, and the strong take on new power.

The Golden King's Court is just such a force, rising on the blood of countless believers in God.

As the reserve decision-maker of Heaven, Xia Xiu naturally has a special mission.

He gave this task to himself.

On the surface, he is a person dedicated to developing the education system of the Administration and promoting the secularization of the Kingdom of Heaven, with a series of long-term tasks such as building schools and cultivating talents.

But those are just secondary axes. The real main axis has never changed, that is - the golden tree and the fateful confrontation with the Golden Royal Court.

The Ivy League War is a touchstone for the top power of the Kingdom of Heaven, and Xia Xiu’s mission is to accomplish one goal in this war: to kill gods.

For him, the Ivy War is just a prelude. The real climax is the mutual breeding of poisons among the gods of faith in the heavens and all worlds, and the war between the gods of faith in various dimensions.

Killing gods, this is his ultimate goal.

He must completely curb the development of the Golden Court, or even destroy it, in this Ivy War.

In the Golden Royal Court, although the gods of faith appear glorious and powerful on the outside, in the eyes of Heaven and Xia Xiu, the gods of faith are nothing more than puppets bound to the source of pollution, relying on the piety and sacrifices of the believers to survive, and they will be pulled down from the altar if they are not careful.

The establishment of the school is not only for the secularization of the Kingdom of Heaven, but also to facilitate the union of the Terra countries to hunt for the God of faith.

Xia Xiu knew that the alliance between alien races and those who believed in God would be the most dangerous enemy in the future, but he also knew that the alliance between the Kingdom of Heaven and the countries of Terra was their real nightmare.

Although everyone is usually domineering in their own circle, they can still distinguish between the big and small kings.

In the past, Terra was still in the midst of a war to expel alien races, and all the kingdoms and the Kingdom of Heaven were so sweet to each other.

During the alien expulsion war, Terra and Heaven faced those foreign invaders together and cooperated with each other tacitly.

And now, history seems to have come full circle.

The aliens came again, bringing with them gods of faith from other worlds, trying to seize power on the land of Terra.

The Edisi Federation, this giant entity that has divided the land and bounded its borders, has already carved out a territory called the "New World".

In this new world, they gave birth to the [Golden Tree], which was originally intended to open up a shortcut to the heavens and all worlds and extract endless resources from it.

Their original plan was not to allow those who believed in gods to come to Terra, nor was it to worship these gods from other worlds.

The Federation's real goal is to exploit all living beings in the universe connected to the [Golden Tree] - whether it is resources, wisdom, or even the power of faith in God.

In their view, the Golden Tree was just a tool, a source of new wealth and power, not a means for those who believed in the gods to take root and grow in Terra.

The wealthy giants in the Federation had long been aware of all this. They looked at the infinite power of the God of Faith with greed in their eyes.

The appetite of the giants is always big.

Once the time is ripe, these greedy giants will bare their fangs and bite hard at those gods who think they are sacred and inviolable.

"Supreme, Mighty, Heavenly Power, Glimmer of Light... It's quite interesting how the Golden Court classifies its gods."

Xia Xiu came to the chessboard with a contemptuous smile.

"However, I still like the classification system of the two houses: Supreme God, Strong God, Medium God, Weak God."

He gently moved the last chess piece on the board, his eyes gleaming coldly.

"Now, we just have to wait for the big fish to take the bait."

thump—

The chess piece fell, and the whole game was reversed in an instant.

*
*
11:05AM.
The exhausted Mikhail Garcia came to the foggy new world and the port of the other world, followed by the few elite cadres of the Liberation Hoofbeats who were still alive.

The Liberation Hoofbeats he led was no longer a simple rebel organization.

After days of fighting, they not only destroyed the core strongholds of the two Blood Networks, but also successfully hunted down two Ranger leaders.

The warriors of the Liberation Hoofbeats are no longer simple protesters, but the embodiment of revenge.

They responded to oppression with beheading and declared war on their enemies with death.

When the head of the last ranger leader was impaled on a stake, Mikhail stood in a pool of blood with a grim look in his eyes and a bloody battle axe in his hand.

He raised his head and looked into the distance. That was the place where Adelaide Kurd once held power, but now, that huge secret kingdom was crumbling.

He raised his hand, his blood-stained palm seemed to be a symbol of victory. The members of the Liberation Hoofbeats behind him burst into wild cheers. Their dream of revenge was already within reach.

Mikhail knew that this was not enough.

"We still need to find Adelaide Kurd, the fat pig who deserves to be chopped into pieces..."

The leader of the Liberation Hoofbeats smiled grimly, "He should have received the gift I prepared for him."

*
*
11:45AM.
In the New Manhattan area, in a secret location near the border port.

Adelaide Kurd, the director who once controlled the New Manhattan power network, is now like a trapped beast, forced into nowhere to escape the offensive of the liberation movement.

Most of his blood network had been destroyed, and only a few of his elite ranger troops were left.

The government abandoned them and drove them out.

He became a discarded pawn in the hands of those in power.

Even one of his most trusted leaders, the commander of the Poison Bee, was beheaded by Mikhail and displayed to the public.

These cruel realities made him gradually lose control of the situation.

The fat, arrogant official has now become thin and haggard in his own luxurious bunker, with madness and despair in his eyes.

He has been hiding from place to place and can no longer appear in public. His only hope is the Raven Task Force.

However, this did not reverse the situation at all.

Kurd's heart was filled with fear and anger, but he no longer had the power to fight back.

"Escape, you must escape!"

This was the only thought in his mind. In order to ensure that his wealth and power would not be sanctioned by the Federation and the [Financial Street], Kurd began to quickly sell off his assets, and even sold most of his extraordinary items, in order to raise enough resources to escape Terra and go to an uninhabited outside world to "hide from the limelight."

"I'm leaving here," he said to his only remaining confidant, his voice trembling, his eyes full of fear and anxiety, "They will never be able to find me again. When the storm is over, I will definitely come back and make a comeback..."

Just when the Kurds thought they were about to escape successfully, Mikhail's "fatal blow" came.

A subordinate who was tortured by the hoofbeats of liberation and turned into a unrecognizable person was released by the hoofbeats of liberation and brought a very unfortunate news to the Kurds.

Mikhail had already known about Kurd's escape plan through an inside informant.

With a sneer, he planned the final attack, and this time, his target was not Kurd himself, but Kurd's only weakness - his daughter.

Kurd's daughter was secretly hidden in an aristocratic school on the border, far away from the center of the storm.

However, Mikhail's methods were so crazy that he had already grasped her whereabouts clearly.

Just before Kurd was about to leave Terra, a raiding party from the Hoofbeats Liberation Force successfully kidnapped Kurd's daughter.

When the news came, Kurd's heart almost stopped beating.

"They caught her..." Kurd murmured, and all the strength in his body seemed to be drained away in an instant.

His hands were tightly gripping the table, his eyes filled with madness and fear.

He couldn't imagine what would happen to his daughter, and he couldn't accept that his only weakness was in Mikhail's hands.

Mikhail sent a video. He stood in a blood-red background, holding a sharp dagger in his hand, and said coldly to the camera:

"Adelaide, you think you can get away with this? We all know what you care about most... I have your daughter in my hands. If you don't want to see her beheaded like your rangers, you know what to do."

This sentence was like a knife piercing Kurd's heart. He could no longer bear any pressure, and his heart-wrenching roar echoed in the empty room. His world completely collapsed at this moment.

"Mikhail!!!"

Kurd's voice was distorted and hoarse, like that of a madman who was in extreme despair.

This bloody battle with no winners is finally reaching its climax of destruction.

……

……