Above The Sky
Chapter 354 - 354 336 Apocalypse Crisis 33

354: Chapter 336 Apocalypse Crisis (3/3) 354: Chapter 336 Apocalypse Crisis (3/3) Terra Year 779, June, an “Apocalypse” level biohazard crisis emerged in the region surrounding Harrison Port in the Empire’s Southern Ridge Province of the Setar Empire.

The swarm of giant parasitic worms, named “Heart-eater Worms,” had already spread throughout the Empire’s Southern Ridge and showed a trend of continuing to spread rapidly.

The infected would fall into a state of abnormal frenzy, then become vicious, turning into bloodthirsty beasts, seeking out any nourishment they could consume, and they were skilled at acquiring enough flesh and blood through killing.

Once they had acquired sufficient nourishment, the infected would enter a “transformation” state, enveloped by a huge flesh cocoon—those who metamorphosed would emerge from the cocoon, restored to their youthful prime, and possessing normal intelligence, but were completely controlled by the swarm, becoming the flesh shells of the Heart-eater Worms.

Or, in other words, a peculiar sort of semi-independent entity.

At the same time, a derived organism of the swarm, named “fungus carpet,” was assimilating the local plants.

Although the Archbishop of the Great Flame from the Huai Guang Church had done everything possible to stop the spread of the fungus carpet, and the South Ridge Governor, Marquis Barton, along with the nineteenth and twenty-third legions, had all assisted in taking action, and several roaming Third Power Level experts from South Ridge had also come to help, they could only barely ensure that the fungus carpet did not continue to spread in the South Ridge.

Presently, a Fourth Power Level expert had been mobilized by the Empire, and the leader of the Azure Cloud Knights, the “Summoner of Thunder,” along with his knight attendants, had already departed from Bison Fortress, but they could not guarantee they could completely contain the spread of the Worm Nest.

The Setar Empire, the Abassalom Bloodline Countries of the Fiery Flame Land, Whale Song Cliff, and the Canaan Moore Federation all received the Huai Guang Church’s highest-level alert immediately.

Within a mere two hours, the related officials and high-level authorities had already convened under the presidency of the Huai Guang Church, Spiritual Tool Church, and the Hall of Ten Thousand Spirits.

Whether crisis or disaster, they are divided into three categories.

Level three “Disturbance,” level two “Cataclysm,” and level one “Apocalypse.”

“Disturbance,” just as the name suggests; a powerful Magical Beast, an out-of-control armament from a bygone civilization, a large-scale outbreak of gu poison disease—these would cause an area to malfunction and agitate, all belonging to this tier.

The most common of these is probably when the Redwood Natives’ Second Energy Level Peak Totem Masters lose control of their Magical Beasts and begin to frenziedly attack all the intelligent life settlements in South Ridge…

This is a fairly typical “Disturbance.”

But in reality, whether they are First Power Level Magical Beast colonies, like a group of Thunderhunter Jellyfish migrating, or a Third Power Level Great Magical Beast attacking a city, they all classify as this level.

The second level “Cataclysm” also doesn’t have a fixed Power Level standard; any disaster that can cause a significant imbalance in the local ecosystem, resulting in mass casualties, whether it’s an earthquake, volcanic eruption, or a Titan Beast from the Fourth Power Level attacking a city like Dawnlight City, are categorized as “Cataclysm.”

However, the first level “Apocalypse” is different.

No matter what kind of disaster it represents, be it bacteria, viruses, Fifth Power Level True Dragons, or other Titan Behemoths, or even a devastating war between countries, what “Apocalypse” level disasters symbolize is actually just one thing.

That is, they are capable of threatening the normal operation of the entire human society.

Therefore, no matter how credible the Huai Guang Church is, there are still those who choose to question.

“Do the Heart-eater Worms truly qualify as an Apocalypse level threat?

Wouldn’t a few Fourth Power Level experts be able to eradicate them easily?”

Such skepticism is not uncommon, nor does it incite public outrage—it’s accountability, after all, the Huai Guang Church is often prone to “alarmism.”

They always like to elevate the degree of danger by half a tier, causing everyone to become highly alarmed, then using a relatively moderate method to suppress the disaster.

After all, although the Heart-eater Worm swarm is dangerous, when compared to the ‘Jielara Carlin Incident’ that occurred in Yanjiang in the past, it still falls short, and shouldn’t be considered an Apocalypse Crisis.

Even compared to the many Worm Nests that the Huai Guang Church had eradicated in past years, it’s somewhat lesser.

Three hundred years ago, a Third Power Level Sublimator from Yanjiang, named ‘Jielara Carlin,’ excavated a sort of ancient plant capable of enhancing human vitality from a relic.

The ancient plant named after its discoverer, “Carlin’s Flower,” could make people’s thoughts more active and their ‘vigor’ robust, day and night, thus winning the welcome of men and women, young and old, from the Yanjiang Countries, and it was cultivated on a large scale.

It is said that in the first year after “Carlin’s Flower” was unearthed, the fertility rate of the Yanjiang Countries immediately soared by ten percent, with almost no side effects—except maybe feeling a bit tired.

Clearly, Carlin’s Flower could not be contained, and within a few years, it rapidly spread throughout Yanjiang.

This special pre-civilization era plant indeed enhanced people’s work efficiency, and some Sublimators even claimed that using Carlin’s Flower pollen as an adjunct to Magic Potion made advancement much simpler, and this method was known as “Pollen Path” or “Pollen Dao.” Those Sublimators who used this advancement method even formed a “Holy Flower Knight Order” dedicated to spreading this unique plant.

But it was at this time that some residents of Yanjiang claimed they had begun to connect with the thoughts of others in their dreams, feeling endless joy and peace, all brought by Carlin’s Flower.

A huge religion quickly took shape and became a political entity with enough sway to influence the policies of the Yanjiang Countries in a short time.

In some remote small towns, the Holy Flower Knight Order even replaced the essentially paralyzed official administrations, becoming the de facto rulers of the locale.

This triggered the vigilance of the Huai Guang Church and the Retrospection Sect stationed in Yanjiang, and the upper echelons of the Yanjiang Countries also realized something was amiss.

No matter how one looked at it, everything had happened too quickly, and many people had not even had the chance to react.

But they were already unable to stop it.

On what seemed an unremarkable night, tens of millions of Yanjiang residents fell into comas in their sleep and never woke up.

And a massive Spirit Energy Plant appeared in the dreams of all the people of the Yanjiang Countries.

It was a gigantic Carlin’s Flower that was yet to fully bloom, and within its bud, the Heart Light Body of Carlin’s Flower’s discoverer, Jielara Carlin, was undergoing transformation, with rivers made of souls flowing into the bud, accelerating the sublimation of the Heart Light Body.

It was at this moment that some still relatively normal Yanjiang People shockingly realized that many around them were no longer their original ‘selves’, but were Spirit Energy offshoots that had been consumed in soul and mind by ‘Carlin’s Flower,’ and were being controlled in their stead.

And those infants born after the spread of Carlin’s Flower, all lacked normal mental faculties!

They were born as carriers of Carlin’s Flower offshoots.

These Spirit Energy Plant offshoots could almost perfectly imitate the daily actions of those whose minds they had consumed, even engaging normally in scientific research, entertainment, and art appreciation, indistinguishable from regular humans and even more empathetic.

Because Carlin’s Flower understood humans deeply, it would not provoke others, striving as much as possible to ensure the harmony and stability of society.

The only flaw was that they would proactively, earnestly, and almost forcibly recommend Carlin’s Flower to everyone around them.

By now, conventional methods were inadequate to eliminate the influence of Carlin’s Flower, and Jielara Carlin, or rather, the mother entity of Carlin’s Flower, had reached the Fifth Energy Level and continued growing stronger.

This fearsome Spirit Energy Plant had rooted itself deep within the land and the depths of humans’ soul spaces, constructing its own nest.

Its Heart Light Body ‘Silent Underworld River Akron’ flowed through the collective will of the Yanjiang tribes, leaving no plant or creature untouched in its wake, only the silent river of Carlin’s Flower’s own Spirit Substance remained in its path.

The minds of millions dissipated into nothingness, merging into one.

In the quietly eerie calm.