Chapter 113: The World Tree

Seemingly sensing the arrival of crisis, the Evil God Dagon began to stir uneasily the moment the fleet entered lunar orbit. Although Dagon's power had been virtually exhausted through countless years of imprisonment, his formidable spiritual perception as a demigod allowed him to immediately detect the presence that threatened his very existence.

However, since Artanis and his three companions had managed to suppress Dagon for so long, they naturally would not let him escape at this final moment. While Artanis, along with the other two, joined forces to suppress Dagon, Anthony not only intercepted the missile barrage from the human empire but also disrupted and locked down the spatial stability around Dagon, preventing him from tearing through space to flee the battlefield.

After conferring with the arriving Executor Mohandar, Artanis immediately increased the energy output from his hands and transmitted the retreat order to the other three.

Upon receiving Artanis's signal, the other three tacitly amplified their power, and the fleet of the Protoss Empire had already locked onto Dagon in the Atlantic Ocean.

The commands to "Open Fire" and "Retreat" rang out simultaneously. A massive beam of energy pierced the pitch-black night sky, accompanied by several blue-and-white energy beams descending from above, freezing the surrounding space-time.

Passing through the golden portal, Artanis and the others successfully evacuated the engagement zone just before the space-time freezing beams arrived. Yet, to prevent Dagon from escaping while they withdrew, Artanis left his phase crystal behind. The energy contained within the crystal was sufficient to last for several milliseconds, which was more than enough time for the fleet to annihilate the evil god.

The blue cleansing beam not only ripped open the upper atmosphere of Midgard but also shocked all the human nations that had been closely monitoring the region. Apart from that bizarre tsunami, human governments had detected no further threats from the Atlantic, but every visionary knew that the battle zone in the Atlantic was the crucible deciding humanity's fate.

Due to the existence of the Mirror Dimension, human nations could only guess at the battlefield conditions through various indirect signs. Countless experts and scholars spent the entire night sleepless, their eyes fixed on that deceptively calm ocean surface.

Now, an energy beam exceeding all warning limits descended from the heavens, throwing the monitoring human empire into absolute chaos. The sheer power manifested in this energy beam was enough to effortlessly destroy Midgard. If a tsunami could be evaded by aircraft, where could anyone possibly flee if the entire planet itself were destroyed?

Fortunately, after a brief moment of panic, major experts and scholars regained their composure. After all, if this beam had truly struck Midgard, they would have already turned into cosmic dust alongside everyone else, with no time left for fear. Thus, this beam of energy was evidently not aimed at humanity.

In truth, humanity simply knew too little. As Midgard, the realm of Midgard served as one of the Nine Realms and an essential node of the World Tree. As the foundational cornerstone of the spatial laws in this universe, the World Tree was not so easily destroyed.

Yet, from another perspective, the preceding cleansing beam could indeed have easily obliterated a terrestrial-class planet. As the guarantor of cosmic order maintained by the Protoss Empire, even though only a small detachment of the Golden Armada had rushed to reinforce them, it possessed peerless and formidable might. Unless a true god descended in person, no one could stand against them.

Dagon, bound by the stasis field, was naturally no exception. Under the bombardment of the fleet's heavy artillery, Dagon—originally resting on the surface of the Atlantic—was driven deep into the ocean floor. At the very moment his life force dissipated, Dagon chose self-detonation in order to scatter his flesh and blood far and wide.

Dagon's self-destruction triggered a violent earthquake, blasting a colossal crater in the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. The space-time stasis beam was disrupted for a fraction of a second by this immense surge of power, causing a massive tsunami to instantly rear up across the Atlantic, its tremors rippling rapidly around the globe.

Fortunately, the space-time beam recovered the very next instant, calming the earthquake-induced tsunami. Even so, fragments of Dagon's flesh appeared to have used the chaos to escape.

Following Dagon's choice to detonate himself, Mohandar ordered the fleet to shut down its main cannons. Without Dagon's resistance to absorb the brunt, those main cannons would have pierced the planet's crust within moments, making a cease-fire the only viable option.

Mohandar communicated this development to Artanis. Had this location been anywhere other than Midgard, standard Protoss protocol would have seen the entire planet burned to glass to thoroughly eradicate the last remnants of the evil god.

Yet, considering Artanis's prior instructions, Mohandar had no choice but to reluctantly abandon that option.

"I am grateful for your assistance, Executor Mohandar. May the gods bless you." Artanis was already aware of the battle's outcome. He had anticipated the intelligence regarding a portion of Dagon's flesh escaping; after all, as an ancient demigod, finding a path to survival in a desperate situation was entirely expected.

Coupled with Midgard's unique status, letting some of his flesh escape was an acceptable outcome. The subsequent cleanup could be left to the people of Midgard themselves. The Protoss Empire had no intention of acting as Midgard's babysitters; had it not been for the locals' inability to deal with Dagon, Artanis would never have intervened.

Now, Dagon was reduced to mere scraps of flesh, the vast majority of his power having vanished in the self-destruction. Human capabilities were sufficient to wipe out the remaining threat unless Dagon somehow managed to regenerate his demigod powers. Consequently, Artanis had no intention of following up on the aftermath.

After relaying the information to Anthony and expressing his gratitude, Artanis and his two companions were pulled away from Midgard by a tractor beam. The arrival of this volunteer fleet had not only been meant to quell the sudden emergence of a demigod on Midgard, but also to reinforce Asgard, which had been ambushed by the Dark Elves.

Millions of years ago, Asgard and the Protoss Empire had forged an alliance treaty, during which Asgard had shared the prophecy concerning Ragnarok.

Over the countless years that followed, experts from both the Protoss Empire and Asgard gained a deeper understanding of this prophecy. The most severe consequence of Ragnarok was not the destruction of Asgard, but the collapse of the World Tree.

The World Tree was a supreme treasure left behind by the God of Infinity. Once the World Tree fell, catastrophic anomalies would erupt across the spatial laws of the entire universe. The barrier known to the gods as the Celestial-Human Ward would vanish, and when that day came, every evil god would be able to descend in their true forms. At that time, the universe would inevitably become a battlefield for gods and demons.

Even if any lifeforms managed to survive by sheer luck, the entire universe would be battered beyond recognition. A fractured universe could no longer continue its natural evolution, and the mission of Galactus would likely follow not long after.