Chapter 417: The Demise of the Sea Clan

Bubbles rolled through the deep blue palace, and luminescent pearls cast a soft, ethereal glow, creating a scene of breathtaking beauty.

Hailan Dong had never imagined that Caroline, the great sage of the Ishtar people, had already transformed into a woman of the Corpse Race, becoming their first true god, reigning supreme and ruling the entire species. If this truth were to be revealed, the entire world would undoubtedly be shaken to its core.

However, from another perspective, it was only natural—even inevitable. If a previous higher civilization had secretly intervened, then within an emerging race of natives, they would naturally ascend to the highest position, even possessing the means to achieve godhood.

Sakura smiled, seeing the doubt in his eyes. "Hailan Dong, you are right. You haven't guessed wrong. After my extensive research, we Ishtar discovered a shocking truth: we were destined for destruction. It was inevitable; the virus was unconquerable. So, for the continuation of our race, we made an incredibly drastic decision."

"What decision?" Hailan Dong's voice was hoarse.

"If you can't defeat it, become it."

Boom!

Hailan Dong's mind exploded, and his aged body trembled violently.

Sakura smiled faintly. "Yes, I transformed myself into a zombie. In that instant, I devoured all 1,731 scientists in the research institute."

Devoured 1,731 people? This was the full truth behind the deaths at the institute.

Hailan Dong's mind went blank. The Ishtar people truly were a mad race! She had escaped with humanity's elite, the last spark of their civilization. She should have done everything possible to survive, even abandoning the urban survivors and modifying her brain's core programming. This would have been the most rational approach, as it specifically targeted the C-virus, preventing infection. Yet, she had been so utterly insane as to make a decision that was almost suicidal, extremely irrational! She had staked everything, returning directly to save her entire people.

To honor the trust of the Ishtar people who believed in them, a zombie named Sakura returned. As the last hope for the entire Ishtar race in this apocalyptic world, she carved out a final sanctuary for her people, ensuring their survival.

"Truly... a lunatic," Hailan Dong murmured, trembling as he closed his eyes. "You could have risen again by abandoning the Ishtar struggling among the horde, changing your brain's core language to become a new human, free from the virus... yet you chose to return to self-destruction."

"However... I refused!" Empress Sakura smiled.

Hailan Dong was stunned. He recalled how, when Levi died, the entire Ishtar race launched a war, losing nearly half their population.

"If God dies today, then the Ishtar people shall live until the day after tomorrow—solely to recount God's life to other races. With proud hearts, we will use the powerful mechanical allure of technology to visually tell the story of our Lord."

They were extreme to the point of fanaticism, utterly unhinged. They were a race almost beyond comprehension. Yet Sakura had indeed done it. She became the new leader of the Corpse Race and, amidst the zombie hordes, protected the Ishtar survivors, creating a difficult living space for them.

"So, did I win this bet on civilization?" Sakura asked.

Hailan Dong fell silent. Caroline had indeed won. She still stood at the pinnacle of the world, unifying it, while the Sea Race was destined to fall with his death. Moreover, if Caroline so wished, she could easily annihilate the Sea Race; their power over life and death already lay in her hands.

"You won against me, but have you truly won?" Hailan Dong whispered hoarsely. "Even if you stand at the apex of the Corpse Race, you cannot restore the glory of the Ishtar people, or their former prosperity, because over a billion zombies still cover the entire land. Their numbers are simply too vast. All you can do is use high-level Corpse Race to protect the Ishtar people and establish a final sanctuary."

"The vast tide of history remains irresistible..." Hailan Dong said no more. "The era of the Ishtar people is over, just as our own era is departing."

"Can we truly not return to the glory of the Ishtar?" She smiled, gazing into the distance. "Do not underestimate the resolve of us Ishtar. No one can destroy a divine race. Only we can destroy ourselves."

Hailan Dong was startled.

"As the price of the bet, the collective wisdom of your entire race is now mine," she continued, smiling. "Let me devour the entire Sea Race, all 1.1 billion of them."

"In return, I will grant you godhood."

Sakura raised her arm high, and ripples rapidly spread outward. "Come, Sea Race, be extinct! Become memories in my mind, just like the Ishtar!"

A terrifying aura swept across the entire ocean. In the Naga tribes, cities, and towns of the Sea Race, countless people walked into the streets—old and young, numbly staring at the sky. A horrifying power swept through, leaving nothing but corpses in its wake, impossible to escape.

Hailan Dong's clouded eyes widened in a sudden realization. In his final moments, he struggled to his feet, witnessing her brain operating like an incredibly powerful supercomputer. He finally grasped an unbelievable method of achieving godhood!

"You already...!"

After that day, the entire ocean fell silent. Corpse Race from across a vast region felt the terrifying aura, which shot up into the sky. When they rushed to investigate, they were horrified to discover that the entire Sea Race had become corpses, floating densely and bloated upon the water.

"A sea of blood!"

"This was a dominant race!"

There were no survivors. Like the scenes from the Ishtar research institute before, they had been infected by the virus. Even Hailan Dong, the overlord of the Sea Race, lay silently on his throne, transformed into a corpse.

Empress Sakura returned, still holding her red umbrella, smiling silently on the throne. She was like the sole deity wielding a crimson scepter of kingship, overlooking the entire world and cosmos. "Who should I kill next?" she said, smiling.

Countless people listened, their blood running cold. Someone noticed that her realm had reached an unfathomably high-level deity.

"Empress Sakura is the most terrifying tyrant in history. She went alone and annihilated the entire Sea Race!"

"As Hailan Dong was about to age, she went directly, alone, to the Sea Race..."

"That was over a billion Sea Race! Over a billion! The population of the Ishtar civilization back then was only that much!"

"The killer of old, whose massacres shocked the world, but now... this! This!... How tyrannical and lawless is this!? She directly killed billions, collecting vast life energy, raising herself to an incredibly terrifying realm!"

"Shush! Keep your voice down! Walls have ears!"

In the Holy Sakura Dynasty, a tyrannical deity reigned supreme, her might striking terror into the hearts of all.

In the 92nd year of the Great Cataclysm, the 12th year of the Holy Sakura Dynasty, Sea Emperor Hailan Dong reached the end of his life. A deity arrived in Kweividias, slaughtering billions in the marine domain. The Sea Race was annihilated.

In the distance were rivers of molten lava. Xu Zhi walked with Zhao Shirou on the ruined streets, just as they had long ago.

The Ishtar of old had been too vast and prosperous. They ruled countless beast races and tribes—dragons, hydras, chimeras, and more. At their peak, their territory covered 40% of the entire world, an area equivalent to forty vast ancient realms! The sheer size of that land was unimaginable. They were a civilization that had developed to its absolute zenith, with a population of over a billion, all unimaginably elite. They averaged Tier 4 to Tier 5, and countless minors were still Tier 1 to Tier 3. It was precisely because of this that the number of wandering zombies in this land was immense, making them almost impossible to destroy.

"Even now, a hundred years later, after countless massacres, their numbers still don't seem to have diminished," Xu Zhi said, walking through the ruined streets and watching the wandering zombie hordes, which had become an integral part of the world.

"Is Empress Sakura truly... Lady Caroline?" Zhao Shirou asked, stunned, her face filled with disbelief. How could Lady Caroline destroy the entire Sea Race, including Emperor Hailan Dong? That was over a billion living beings! They had families, relatives, and children. Lady Caroline was the one who had established genetic laws, respected life, and built a perfect society!

"Who knows? People change," Xu Zhi smiled, a touch of emotion in his voice. He asked, "Do you want to hear a story? A story about the development of an ancient civilization... its rise and its fall."