Chapter 94: The Heart of the Deity

What does it look like to see ten thousand cannons lined up? Sun Licheng finally experienced it today. Even though these cannons weren’t as large as those on Earth, the sight was awe-inspiring. Staring at the masses of artillery filling the entire space, Sun Licheng imagined the thunderous roar of a thousand guns firing in unison. He walked among them, sensing the formidable presence that had endured millennia without fading.

Among these magic crystal cannons, the largest one was three meters long and half a meter in diameter, consuming five magic crystals with every shot. According to Reiter’s memories, this was a fortress cannon, designed to target titans, dragons, and behemoths—creatures at the apex of power. The cannon’s destructive force was immense, and its consumption equally so. Due to the potency of the magic crystals, each cannon could only withstand twenty or thirty shots before its life expired.

Compared to the fortress cannon he’d first encountered, the other artillery pieces were familiar: he’d seen them aboard the flying carriers. The warehouse was filled with cannons that used three magic crystals, two, and even lighter artillery powered by a single crystal. The entire storage was packed wall to wall.

Sun Licheng had hoped to find firearms or something akin to guns, but aside from a few hundred of the small cannons mounted on houndbacks, he found nothing else. It seemed, as Mr. Ingenious had said, that the Goblin Empire’s personal weaponry still lingered in the era of cold steel.

Apart from the magic crystal cannons, the artillery warehouse also held a vast array of specialized mechanical puppets. One puppet in particular caught Sun Licheng’s eye: its tall back was oddly sunken. He turned to ask Mr. Ingenious.

After checking, Mr. Ingenious replied, “This is a transport puppet designed to carry magic crystal cannons. It enables the cannons to move swiftly and fire rapidly.”

Sun Licheng understood. This was the Goblin Empire’s self-propelled artillery. These transport puppets could not only move and fire the cannons, but also perform other tasks—even wield weapons in combat, surpassing the capabilities of Earth’s self-propelled artillery.

Unfortunately, most of these mechanical puppets were no longer functional. Only about thirty remained intact, or so it was said.

After leaving the artillery warehouse, they proceeded to the vehicle depot, which preserved all kinds of vehicles from the Goblin Empire. Here, Sun Licheng felt as though he’d stepped into a science fiction world. The vehicles came in every imaginable shape, with locomotion devices far beyond his expectations: some walked on legs, some rolled on treads, some used wheels, and others soared on jets. Those using wheels ranged from single-wheelers to ten-wheelers, giving Sun Licheng a glimpse of the Goblin Empire’s ingenious design skills.

Some say cars are a man’s second wife. Seeing so many vehicles, Sun Licheng’s hands itched with excitement. He asked Mr. Ingenious to start up a single-wheeled motorcycle, then hopped on.

The motorcycle resembled those from the “Dragon Ball” comics: a huge tire forming the outer ring, with the driver seated inside, and it could reach incredible speeds.

With the wind howling past, Sun Licheng shouted in exhilaration as he raced through the main corridor!

Suddenly, something caught his eye—a colossal vehicle. He pulled over, approached it, and found it at least five meters tall, nearly ten meters wide, and about twenty-five meters long, with rows of wheels lining its sides. The body was clad in thick armor, and there was a massive cargo bay.

“What’s this vehicle for?” Sun Licheng wondered, quickly searching his memory. He soon found information about the vehicle and recalled that the underground fortress housed an extremely powerful weapon—the Heart of Divinity—and this vehicle was used to transport it.

Though Reiter had spoken highly of the Heart of Divinity, it was, in essence, an extraordinarily potent magic crystal bomb—or perhaps more accurately, a magic crystal nuclear warhead. Once detonated, it unleashed apocalyptic power, capable of destroying even descending gods.

“Damn, isn’t this just a giant Ivan?” Sun Licheng exclaimed as he realized its purpose.

Thinking of the Heart of Divinity, Sun Licheng decided to see it for himself. He mentioned this to Azure Dragon, who nodded and led him down another corridor.

Their group passed through numerous chambers until they reached an elevator, guarded on either side by combat puppets. Sun Licheng was intrigued: these puppets had ten arms and a burly build, appearing formidable.

“Boss, these combat puppets are called Scythe of the Reaper. They’re the Goblin Empire’s latest combat model and arguably the most powerful. When the empire was on the brink of collapse and materials were scarce, these puppets were extremely difficult to make, so only three thousand were produced,” Mr. Ingenious explained, noticing Sun Licheng’s curiosity.

Suddenly enlightened, Sun Licheng recalled a faint memory and asked, “How many are in the underground fortress now?”

“Seven,” Mr. Ingenious replied immediately.

Clearly, this was a place of great importance, warranting the deployment of such precious combat puppets. Sun Licheng soon learned that these puppets belonged to the fortress guard; they were not managed by the mechanical puppet warehouse. Azure Dragon had no command authority over them: all Scythes of the Reaper answered only to the control core, not even Reiter, the commander, could dispatch them elsewhere.

“It seems I need to study the permissions of this underground fortress more thoroughly. Such treasures going unused are a waste beyond words!” Sun Licheng reminded himself as he stepped onto the elevator.

Only after boarding did Sun Licheng realize how deep the underground fortress truly was. It took forty minutes for them to reach their destination. When the elevator doors clanged open, an immense space the size of six football fields appeared before him.

The chamber was empty except for two Scythes of the Reaper standing guard and three enormous spheres at the center.

Sun Licheng walked closer and looked up. Each sphere was nearly ten meters in diameter, a bluish-gray hue with a glazed surface, shimmering under the lights.

These three spheres were the Hearts of Divinity, each holding enough power to kill a god—the most formidable weapons of the Goblin Empire.

According to Reiter’s memories, the empire had used this weapon three times, wounding or killing a god each time, achieving legendary feats.

After ten thousand years, the once-dominant weapons were now aged; two had nearly lost all potency, while the third’s power had diminished greatly. Yet, if all three detonated together, they might still bring down a god.

Coming from future Earth, Sun Licheng felt a strong aversion to such nuclear-level weapons. Each use brought not only devastation, but also centuries of lingering disaster. He was grateful the Goblin Empire hadn’t gone mad and scattered these bombs everywhere. Whether it was the conscience of the empire’s leaders or simply a lack of materials, he couldn’t be sure.

Gazing at these ferocious weapons, Sun Licheng thought, “Better let these things sleep forever.”

Though he had no intention of ever using them, he still wanted to secure control over the weapons. Guided by Mr. Ingenious, he entered a concealed chamber, where, after inputting his fingerprint and password, a metal box appeared before him.

Carefully opening the box, Sun Licheng found a finely crafted dagger—the detonator for the Heart of Divinity, known as the Heart of Freedom.