1000 shades of god

---

As Adam's voice thundered through their minds, the soldiers moved without hesitation, plunging into the mud-swamp with unwavering resolve. The command wasn't just heard; it was felt, resonating deep within their bones.

"In his name, we fight. In his name, we prevail."

The swamp bubbled as the enemy revealed themselves. Massive gibbons, their fur slick with swamp water and blood, emerged like shadows made flesh. Their eyes glowed faintly, twin orbs of malice. Each beast towered over the soldiers,

A soldier whispered, clutching his rifle tighter:

"What are these things? Titans? Demons?"

Another barked back, though his voice wavered:

"Doesn't matter. The Lord has willed it. They fall, or we do."

The troop major stepped forward, his voice cutting through the tension like a blade:

"Eyes sharp! Safety off! Remember, we are not alone. The Lord sees us. FIRE!"

The swamp erupted in chaos. AK-47s roared to life, their staccato bursts lighting up the darkness like fireflies on a battlefield. Bullets shredded through the gibbons' ranks, splattering mud and blood.

"Keep firing!" shouted a soldier, his voice strained. "They can't take this forever!"

But even as bullets tore through flesh, the beasts pressed on, unrelenting.

"How are they still moving?!" another screamed, unloading his clip into a gibbon charging through the hail of bullets.

"Because they're monsters! Aim for the head!"

One gibbon lunged, its claws slicing through armor like paper. A soldier cried out as he was lifted into the air, the beast crushing him in its jaws. His body fell limp, splattering the swamp with crimson.

"No, no! He's gone!" yelled a comrade, firing wildly at the beast.

"Focus, damn it! If you lose it now, we're all dead!" snapped another, slamming a fresh magazine into his rifle.

Despite the chaos, there was no retreat. Each soldier stood their ground, their faith in Adam unshaken. One soldier, drenched in sweat and blood, muttered under his breath:

"I don't care how many of these bastards there are. The Lord's will is absolute. If I fall, I'll take a dozen with me."

The gibbons moved like shadows, fast and unyielding. They struck from all sides, their claws rending flesh and bone. A younger soldier screamed as a beast lunged at him. Before he could react, the gibbon's sickle-like teeth sank into his chest, snapping his ribs like twigs.

"We're being torn apart!" cried another. "They're too many!"

The troop major roared back: "And yet, we fight! Hold the line! TRUST the Lord!"

Even in the chaos, there was a strange, unshakable unity. A soldier, missing an arm, leaned against his comrade, firing his last rounds into a gibbon charging them.

"You're still breathing. That's enough for me."

Another soldier grinned through bloodied teeth, hoisting his rifle.

"If they're this hard to kill, imagine what the Lord must think of us. Keep fighting! Make him proud!"

The swamp grew darker as the gibbons pressed their advantage, their roars blending with the screams of the dying. One soldier, back to a tree, wiped blood from his eyes as he reloaded.

"This isn't just a fight. This is faith. They're testing us. And I won't fail."

As another wave of gibbons emerged, the troop major raised his voice above the din:

"No one stands alone! Together, we're unstoppable! TRUST IN HIM!"

The soldiers rallied, their gunfire intensifying. The swamp became a crucible of death, where blood, sweat, and unyielding faith collided. For every soldier that fell, two more gibbons were cut down.

A dying soldier grabbed his comrade's arm, his voice a rasp:

"Don't let them break you. Adam believes in us... Now fight like you believe too."

Even as the gibbons loomed over the survivors, the soldiers' voices rose in unison, their faith unbroken:

"In his name, we fight. In his name, we prevail!"

In this time a wild gibbons took a young soldier and directly spattered his brains into shunks of meat.

---

Adam's fists tightened as he watched his comrades fall, their unwavering determination burning brighter than the chaos around them. As a lord, he couldn't—no, he wouldn't—let their devotion be in vain. Their cries of defiance fueled his resolve, and he knew it was time to act.

Without hesitation, Adam activated his only SSSS-Rank skill, his eyes glowing with an otherworldly light. His intelligence surged, and his perception expanded, allowing him to tap into the senses of every soldier on the battlefield. The chaos of the swamp became clear—a vivid map of every movement, every opening, every threat.

With no blind spots left to exploit, Adam's mind spun a strategy as sharp as a blade. He infused his troops with a magical surge of courage and pride, his voice echoing within their minds:

"You are warriors of the Lord. Let your will be unshakable. Let your blades be unstoppable."

A soldier, feeling the sudden wave of strength, roared and charged forward, his dagger glinting as he drove it straight into the skull of a towering gibbon. The beast fell with a sickening thud, its blood staining the swamp.

The soldiers regrouped, following Adam's mental commands with precision. Each pair strategically targeted two gibbons at once, moving like clockwork through the shifting terrain. As they advanced, the ground beneath them grew firmer—signs they were nearing the edge of the swamp.

And then they saw it.

In the distance, gibbons were retreating, running toward a massive underground cave. The realization struck like lightning: this was their stronghold.

The beasts scrambled inside, some standing guard at the entrance, sacrificing themselves to buy time for the others. But against the onslaught of thousands of soldiers, the defenders fell swiftly. Blood soaked the marsh as the cave's entrance grew closer.

Then, the air shifted.

From the depths of the cave, a new force of gibbons emerged—larger, faster, and more terrifying than any they had faced before. Their muscles rippled with unnatural power, and their eyes gleamed with cold intelligence. These were no ordinary beasts; they were the gibbons' elite warriors, their final hope.

The soldiers faltered, unease rippling through their ranks.

"What… what are these things?" one whispered.

"They don't care about the bullets!" another shouted, firing desperately as the gibbons charged through the storm of gunfire, their speed blurring their forms.

Adam raised his arm, his voice steady and commanding:

"Hold the line. I will handle this."

His mana surged, a terrifying 8,000, dwarfing even the mightiest legends. His mind flashed to the teachings of the Magician of Nine Realms, his loyal ogre subordinate. The space mantras he had mastered now pulsed within him, ready to be unleashed.

With a deep breath, Adam summoned the power.

A chaotic sphere of spiraling energy formed in his palm, its waves distorting the air around him. The soldiers stared in awe as the sphere grew, vibrating with uncontained power.

"Stay back," Adam commanded, his tone calm yet absolute.

With a flick of his wrist, he released the sphere. It expanded rapidly, consuming everything within a 3-meter radius. The air crackled as over 200 elite gibbons fell in an instant, their bodies collapsing like broken marionettes. The swamp fell silent for a moment, the sheer devastation leaving even the soldiers breathless.

As Adam surveyed the battlefield, his gaze locked onto the cave entrance. A massive rock formation loomed above it, tilted at a precarious angle.

An idea sparked in his mind.

"Soldiers," he called out, his voice carrying strength and determination. "Prepare for the final assault."

Using his remaining mana, Adam conjured a powerful spell. The air shimmered as he manipulated the space mantra, focusing his will on the rock.

Adam moved with precision, his eyes cold yet calculating, his focus sharper than ever.

With a swift motion, he used his high-precision laser cutter to drill a 20 cm hole into the boulder sealing the gibbons' stronghold. He carefully inserted an optics fiber cable, its thin, serpent-like form slithering into the darkness. The live feed flickered on his tablet, revealing a curious sight.

A massive golden gibbon, towering at over four meters, approached the strange object with a mix of amusement and suspicion. Its Goliath-like arms gently grasped the cable, mistaking it for some sort of snake. It let out a low grunt and dragged it further into the depths of the cave.

As the camera adjusted, Adam's sharp mind quickly analyzed the scene. What unfolded before his eyes made his heart skip a beat—over 10,000 gibbons, each larger and more muscular than the ones outside, moving in synchronized precision.

They were arming themselves.

Massive racks of weapons, spears carved from obsidian, and makeshift war tools of iron and bone were being distributed among them in orderly lines. These creatures weren't just mindless beasts; they were a disciplined force preparing for war.

Adam frowned deeply. His mind raced. "An army ten times larger than we expected...and now armed. If they break out, my men won't stand a chance."

---

The Plan

He turned to his soldiers, their eyes locked on his for guidance. Adam's tone was calm yet commanding:

"Listen up. We're not fighting 10,000 soldiers—we're fighting time. Hand over every explosive you've got. We'll bury them alive before they get the chance to retaliate."

The soldiers hesitated, glancing at one another.

"But Lord Adam, the radius..."

"That's an order!" His voice cut through the air like a blade.

One by one, the soldiers handed over their dynamite bundles, each equipped with remote detonators. Adam worked methodically, attaching the bundles to a nano-thread spool. He directed the optic cable deeper into the cave, its flexible design guiding the dynamite directly into the heart of the gibbon force.

Inside, the gibbons carried the explosives further without a hint of suspicion. Their primitive minds, curious and unaware, saw the colorful sticks as trophies for their king. Bundle after bundle was dragged into the cavern's center, where a massive throne carved from stone stood, the seat of their alpha.

The soldiers outside watched anxiously, the tension thick enough to choke on.

"Sir, the count is at 2,000 charges."

Adam's lips tightened into a cold smile. "Perfect."

---

The Blast

"Detonate."

The button clicked.

An explosion ripped through the swamp, the force of it deafening. The ground trembled as if the earth itself was splitting apart. The massive boulder at the cave's entrance was obliterated, shards of rock scattering like deadly shrapnel. Inside, the explosives created a cascading shockwave, collapsing the cavern and pulverizing everything within.

BOOM! The sound echoed for miles.

From the live feed, Adam witnessed the carnage. The sheer force turned the cave into a fiery inferno. The gibbons—female, elder, child, and warrior—were vaporized in an instant. Their mighty forms disintegrated, leaving nothing but charred ash and a macabre paste of flesh and bone coating the rocks.

The shockwave's aftermath sent a plume of smoke and debris into the sky, blotting out the sun for a brief moment. The island itself shook, the explosion leaving behind a massive crater where the stronghold once stood.

---

Aftermath

The air was thick with the stench of burnt flesh and sulfur. Adam's cold, piercing gaze swept over the battlefield. Among the Red Army, several soldiers were injured by the force of the blast—cuts, bruises, and burns were rampant.

But it was worth it.

The territory of the golden gibbons, once a thriving, war-hardened community, was now nothing more than ash and rubble. Adam's voice, devoid of emotion, cut through the chaos:

"We're not done. Move in and eliminate the survivors."

The soldiers hesitated for a split second, shaken by the scale of the destruction. But the command was absolute. They marched forward, stepping over charred remains, scanning for any signs of life.

Inside the remnants of the cave, faint groans and weak movements betrayed the presence of a few lucky—or perhaps unlucky—survivors. The Red Army moved with ruthless efficiency, delivering swift mercy to the injured gibbons.

---

The Price of Victory

As the sun set, the battlefield stood silent. What was once a thriving gibbon stronghold was now a barren wasteland. Adam stood at the edge of the crater, his expression unreadable.

A young soldier approached him hesitantly, his voice trembling.

"Lord Adam...we...we destroyed them all. Was it necessary to go this far?"

Adam turned, his cold gaze softening for just a moment. He placed a hand on the soldier's shoulder.

"Sometimes, survival demands sacrifice. What we did today ensures that our people will live to see another dawn. Their blood was a tragedy...but it wasn't for nothing."

The soldier nodded, tears in his eyes, but his resolve strengthened.

As Adam looked out over the desolation, his thoughts lingered on the cost of victory. The price was steep, but the future of his people was worth every drop of blood spilled.

With the faintest glint of emotion in his eyes, he muttered under his breath, "War is never humane. But sometimes, it's the only option."