World’s End: My Keyword is One More Than Others

After recounting Du Ge's achievements, Luo Shuang went on to acknowledge the contributions of others and bestowed titles and ranks upon them.

However, compared to Du Ge, the others' accomplishments seemed rather insignificant, and Luo Shuang quickly glossed over them.

The officials had long seen through Luo Shuang's intentions and naturally had no objections.

Finally, the era name was changed to Wuying, and it was proclaimed to the world.

Luo Shuang officially ascended to the throne.

That day's Linyang Daily detailed the process of Luo Shuang's enthronement ceremony and the biographies of the meritorious officials.

It also covered the new policies under Luo Shuang's rule, such as gender equality, universal education, and the promotion of zodiac culture.

As the Linyang Daily spread throughout Luo Shuang's jurisdiction, Du Ge once again experienced the exhilarating sensation of his attributes skyrocketing.

The stepwise increase was many times faster than the usual attribute gains. At this rate, Du Ge estimated that by the time he unified the Chongming Kingdom, his attributes would be comparable to what they were at the end of the last Alien Star Battlefield.

Back then, even when his head was severed, the wound could quickly heal, making him nearly immortal.

It could be said that the one who benefited the most from this enthronement ceremony was Du Ge, followed by Luo Shuang.

The most crucial point was that, in the minds of most people, Luo Shuang would eventually belong to Du Ge.

...

After the enthronement ceremony, Du Ge toyed with his Admonition Cane.

This was the first time he had obtained a derivative item.

He had to admit, the process of its creation was incredibly difficult.

If anything had gone wrong—if it had been damaged while hitting Luo Shuang, lost in battle, or if he had used it for something else, or if Luo Shuang had not become emperor—the item might never have appeared.

However, the fact that loyalty ultimately produced such an item was quite unexpected for Du Ge.

Du Ge smacked his lips and looked thoughtfully at the King-Beating Whip.

It seemed that the creation of derivative items was probably different from the Keywords; it also depended on the target it was used on. If Luo Shuang had a more normal mindset and truly saw him as a Master, this bizarre skill might not have awakened.

Nevertheless, the attributes of the derivative item were quite impressive, almost like a physical cheat.

Had he known derivative items were this powerful, he would have pursued them in previous worlds.

With dual Keywords, creating two derivative items would mean having six skills...

But this time, loyalty produced a King-Beating Whip. Du Ge had no idea how to create a derivative item from the trend Keyword. Should he make a Zodiac Scepter?

Setting aside derivative items, Du Ge still didn't know how to unlock the second derivative skill from the trend Keyword!

He had done everything he could, short of launching an economic revolution with "Das Kapital," but even the revolutionary trend hadn't awakened a second skill, so an economic trend seemed unlikely.

Moreover, in chaotic times, economic strategies were not very practical.

Regardless, the tasks had to be done.

The next day.

Du Ge led the Earthly Mischief Army and Earthly Alien Army along the Mist River, reclaiming all the towns along its banks.

Thanks to Pei Ma'er's chaotic tactics, they didn't even need to fight this time.

The moment Du Ge's royal army reached the city gates, the local magistrates and governors had already killed the tax collectors and inspectors, opened the gates, and welcomed the royal army.

Pei Ma'er's chaos made it so that only a madman would want to hold office in such a country. Compared to Pei Ma'er, Du Ge only used some unconventional tactics in battle and treated the public fairly well.

Between two evils, choose the lesser.

The Emperor of Chongming was dead, and loyalty to him was meaningless. The best choice now was to submit to Luo Shuang.

Having conquered the Mist River's banks, Du Ge realized that Pei Ma'er could no longer mount effective resistance.

He divided his army into three groups, advancing methodically and steadily encroaching on Chongming Kingdom's territory. Since Pei Ma'er was eager to disrupt the country, all Du Ge had to do was restore order bit by bit.

In the end, it would be Pei Ma'er who would be anxious, not him.

Du Ge had a feeling that Pei Ma'er was already losing his patience and would soon challenge him directly or disrupt his rear to continue boosting his attributes.

The former scenario was manageable.

With the Admonition Cane, Du Ge was not afraid of a direct challenge.

The real concern was the latter. If Pei Ma'er was determined to cause chaos, Du Ge couldn't defend against his mobility.

Regardless of whether Pei Maer's attributes were chaotic, causing such a disturbance meant his cultivation level must have reached the grandmaster stage.

...

What you fear most often comes to pass.

As Du Ge steadily encroached on Chongming Kingdom's territory.

Serious unrest suddenly erupted in the rear areas of Linyang, Jiangbei, and the three defensive passes.

On the streets, everyone seemed to go mad, attacking people and smashing things. Some even set fires, and in the ensuing chaos, half the city burned, causing countless deaths and injuries. After the city was burned, large-scale plagues broke out in Linyang and other places.

General Wei Tingjiang, who was guarding Dongling Pass, was beheaded, and his head was hung on the city gate...

Since Du Ge's uprising, no battle had caused more deaths than Pei Ma'er's chaos. Wei Tingjiang was also the first Heavenly Assistant Star to fall.

The news reached Yuyang, and everyone fell silent.

"Du Ge, what should we do?" Gao Ming's face was ashen. "Pei Ma'er has gone mad. If he continues like this, no matter how much territory we conquer, it won't be enough to counter his destruction."

"Master, we must eliminate him." Luo Shuang's eyes were filled with tears, and she clenched her fists tightly. "This guy is too despicable. So many innocent civilians, who did nothing to provoke him, how could he be so cruel?"

The imperial teacher and others remained silent.

At this moment, they finally understood what it meant for the Heavenly Demon to be unscrupulous.

Du Ge set aside the intelligence reports in his hand and asked, "What's the situation in various places?"

Most of the time, Du Ge's demeanor was gentle, but now his tone was as cold as ice.

Pei Ma'er's actions against the public had severely crossed his bottom line.

Having experienced so many Simulation Fields and Alien Star Battlefields, the Keywords of chaos, slaughter, and brutality had never had much effect; he had suppressed them, and they had hardly shown their power.

So, this was the first time Du Ge felt the madness of chaos.

Pei Ma'er must die.

Of course.

The most hateful was the true culprit behind all this—Pan-Universal Entertainment.

Pei Ma'er had caused such a huge commotion; who knew how many people were rewarding him with mental power!

A company that made money and entertained itself at the cost of human lives should not exist in this world...

"The Chu Kingdom's army has advanced deep into Chongming Kingdom, and the towns along the way have surrendered without resistance. In three days, they will likely capture the capital of Chongming Kingdom," said Cao Lin, glancing at Du Ge. "But judging by their route, they seem to be heading straight for us. At their current speed, they will meet our army at Lanjiang in ten days. However, they are unlikely to engage us in battle at Lanjiang..."

"Wei Jiuchou has led an army of 400,000 to Dongling Pass. This is the last piece of intelligence sent by General Wei," Huangfu Xing said somberly.

"Internal and external troubles!" Du Ge lightly tapped the armrest of his chair and sighed.

"Du Ge, let's split our forces!" Gao Ming suggested. "I'll go with Wu Chang and Xiang Li to intercept Wei Jiuchou, and you can take Ge Zong and the others to deal with the Chu Kingdom's army."

"Pei Ma'er has at least one Heavenly Demon with him, likely related to disease and plague. We don't know how many allies Wei Jiuchou has. Our intelligence network is limited to Chongming Kingdom, and we know nothing about him," Du Ge replied, looking at Gao Ming. "Pei Ma'er's skill can drive everyone insane. If we split our forces to deal with Wei Jiuchou and Pei Ma'er launches a sneak attack, none of you will survive."

Gao Ming opened his mouth but said nothing. No one wanted to die at this point.

"It's so difficult!" Xiang Li lamented. "It feels like this battlefield is full of lunatics. Without Du Ge, we would have been wiped out long ago."

"No splitting forces." Du Ge stood up and walked to the map, pointing to Linyang City. "Pei Ma'er is in Linyang, and Wei Jiuchou has to pass through three gates. We will travel light and intercept Wei Jiuchou. If Pei Ma'er shows up, we'll take him down too. If Pei Ma'er doesn't show up, we'll deal with Wei Jiuchou first and then turn back to intercept the Chu Kingdom's army. There's plenty of time."

"Imperial Teacher, I haven't awakened any skills yet. Are you confident in dealing with chaos?" Guan Feipeng asked.

"If I'm willing to act, I'm confident," Du Ge replied, glancing at the Admonition Cane in his hand.

"Du Ge, what if Pei Ma'er keeps avoiding direct confrontation and continues to cause chaos from the shadows until the end? What do we do then?" Gao Ming asked, worried.

"The general trend is unstoppable," Du Ge said, looking around at everyone. "In the next few days, the Linyang Daily will go all out, changing the horoscope of all the zodiac signs to five stars, maximizing health fortunes to suppress the plague first. If Pei Ma'er dares to endure, I'll summon the Heavenly Demons from the Alien Star Battlefield and kill them one by one, leaving only our people. I want to see how long he can keep this up."