Chapter 1361: A Change of Mind
Is she disappointed that she couldn’t kill it?
Roland didn’t know whether to console Fei Yuhan or roll his eyes. Any ordinary person’s first reaction after surviving a battle with something invulnerable would be relief — raw, trembling relief. That Fei Yuhan sat brooding over her failure said something about what kind of mind she had. A genius’s thinking, it had to be said, ran along different rails than everyone else’s.
The higher-ups reached consensus quickly.
Everything touching on the Battle of Divine Will — both worlds, their connection, all of it — was classified. The Martialist Association’s leadership decided that until the Erosion crisis was resolved, none of it could surface without risking the panic that would follow. As for Roland’s identity and what to make of him: that would be handled one step at a time. If Fei Yuhan’s account was accurate, his importance exceeded even the Association’s President. But Prism City couldn’t act on that judgment unilaterally. Sky City and the other branches would need to confer. The process would take time.
In the meantime, Prism City would give Roland whatever support he needed.
With those fundamentals settled, the hall moved into details. Roland waited quietly while they worked through them.
He walked out into the corridor with Fei Yuhan and nearly walked into Valkries.
She stood there watching them both, her gaze settling on Roland after a moment. “I wish to speak with you alone.”
Fei Yuhan smiled. “I’ll leave you to it. Zero is still sleeping in the ward.” She turned and left without ceremony.
Roland followed Valkries around to the courtyard behind the building.
It was winter, but the courtyard held onto its greenery anyway. A thin crust of unmelted snow lay over the lawn, and through it sharp green blades of grass pushed upward — a quiet announcement that the cold season was nearly spent, that the new year was waiting just around the corner. If he had been here for a stroll, this would have been a good place to take one. Valkries had not brought him here for a stroll.
“What did you want to say?” Roland broke the quiet. “You’ve realized you were wrong and you’ve decided to trust me?”
“No. I still cannot trust you.” Valkries shook her head. “The future of our races depends on the Battle of Divine Will. I cannot make a decision without verification.”
“You watched it happen. The Oracle tried to stop me from finding the truth — maybe that means nothing on its own, but doesn’t it suggest we’re pointing in the right direction? Even if I fabricated everything about the Western Front, I couldn’t have arranged the Oracle’s attack.”
“I admit you’re right.” She said it without inflection, without concession. “My position doesn’t change.”
Roland stopped walking. Annoyance moved through him like a cold current. “You are helping the Gods destroy your own civilization.”
“There is no point in criticism when one side holds all the information.” Valkries turned to face him. “The Dream World and reality are separated by the Realm of Mind. If you were me — if you had fought humanity for thousands of years — could you simply resolve yourself to cooperate with enemies on nothing more than a verbal promise?”
Roland opened his mouth. He couldn’t say yes. He stood there with the word just out of reach and finally let the silence answer for him.
After a long moment he exhaled. “Then we have nothing to talk about.”
“I will not make a decision without verification. But—” A pause. “If verification were possible, I would reconsider.”
He blinked. “What?”
“When you drove to rescue Fei Yuhan, the girl at the wheel — she was a Transcendent. But she was different from the witches you normally travel with. Not in ability. In bearing. The witches with you felt familiar to me. The girl at the wheel felt like something from another generation entirely.” She let the observation settle. “The ones I recognize are from the First and Second Battles of Divine Will. After humanity withdrew behind the border, I had no further contact with your kind. So I conclude the girl is young — perhaps even alive in your world right now.”
Young by demon reckoning means centuries younger than the ancient ones. And from a single encounter, she read the difference between Scroll and the God’s Punishment Witches. Roland kept his expression neutral. “What does that have to do with anything? Even if you asked her and she answered, you’d assume we’d staged it.”
“It matters because of how the Union’s witches enter the Dream World. Their life spans are less than a century, and they must have drawn on the Underground Civilization’s legacy for this. I’ve thought about little else since you trapped me — the only theory that holds together involves the Underground Civilization’s peculiar relationship with magic power. They have a remarkable ability to ease connection with the Realm of Mind.” Valkries walked to an ice sculpture in the center of the courtyard and studied her own reflection in its surface. “I originally believed the Union had abandoned their physical bodies entirely and transferred their spirits into a fixed Dream territory. But seeing that young witch — a living Transcendent moving freely in and out of the Dream World without external help — means my theory was wrong.”
“That capability is beyond anything the Underground Civilization achieved,” she continued. “I don’t know what method was used. But I know this: if a living witch can use it, then it should work equally well for a higher ascendant of my race.”
Roland felt something shift in his chest. “You mean you want to—”
“Bring the Sky Lord here to speak with me.” Valkries raised her head. “Even if you created the Dream World, you cannot fabricate what you don’t know. As commander of the Western Front, Hackzord will be able to verify everything I need to confirm.”
Roland stared at her, then felt a short, incredulous laugh escape him. “That’s a Grand Lord. If I could control him, I wouldn’t need my First Army fighting so hard. And Hackzord hasn’t shown its face since our ambush. How am I supposed to find it?”
“I will create the opportunity.” Each word was placed with care, like stones across a ford.
He frowned. “Are you serious?”
“But you must promise me two things. First: you will not use the opportunity to attack Hackzord. Second: whatever decision I reach in the end, you let him go.”
“Do you understand the risk I’m taking?”
“We are all in danger.” Something fierce flashed behind her composure. “Yes — you think this exposes humanity’s secrets. But isn’t it the same for me? To allow a Grand Lord to take this risk—if you break your promise, what can I do but regret? Do not think I made this choice on a whim.”
She steadied herself, the intensity receding. “This is the greatest compromise I will make. Whether to accept the risk is entirely your decision.”
Roland held her gaze for a long moment. “I want to know what changed your mind.”
“To fear the future and abandon the effort is the mentality of cowards. Even knowing defeat is possible, we should do everything we can to turn it around.” The faintest shift crossed her face. “For a human to say such words — it surprised me.”
Those were Fei Yuhan’s words. At the meeting. He felt the pieces lock together. She was already standing outside the hall.
“And do you remember the question you asked me at the start?”
Do you think the Transformer from a thousand years ago did the wrong thing?
Roland nodded.
“I think it did the right thing.” Valkries turned and walked toward the exit. “That is my answer.”
Chapter 1361 - A change of mind
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Is she feeling disappointed because she was unable to kill the Oracle…
Roland did not know whether to console her or roll his eyes. Any ordinary person’s first reaction should have been joy, having survived a battle against an invulnerable entity. Yet Fei Yuhan was stuck in brooding over her failure, it had to be said that a genius’s thinking was always different from the common person.
The higher-ups quickly came to a consensus.
Information regarding both the Battle of Divine Will and the two worlds were classified as top secret information. The higher-ups of the Martialist Association deemed that before the Erosion crisis was resolved, all content related to either were banned from being leaked to prevent unnecessary panic.
As for Roland’s background and identity, the Martialist Association took it one step at a time. If they went according to Fei Yuhan’s account, his importance was even above that of the President of the Association. But the decision was not one that Prism City could make on their own; it required Sky City and the other branches of the association to have a common discussion and consensus. This process was estimated to take a long period of time.
But to not interfere with the battle against the Erosion, Prism City was to provide their full support to facilitate Roland to the best of their abilities.
After their agreement on the fundamentals, the discussion in the hall moved into details regarding the actual support.
Roland simply waited quietly for the results.
Roland walked out of the hall with Fei Yuhan and stumbled upon Valkries waiting outside for him.
Her gaze stopped at Roland after staring at the two for a while. “I wish to talk to you alone.”
Fei Yuhan smiled. “I’ll make a move first, Zero is still sleeping in the ward.”
After her departure, Roland followed Valkries to the courtyard behind the building.
Although it was winter, the courtyard still had an abundance of greenery. The lawn around the stone slabs had unmelted snow on them with sharp green grass poking out, as though reminding the people that the cold season was nearing its end, and it was time to welcome the new year.
If it was a stroll, Valkries had definitely chosen a good location. But her motive in inviting him over was obviously not to admire the scenery.
“What do you want to say?” Roland broke the silence. “You realized you’ve made the wrong mistake and decided to trust me?”
“No, I am still unable to trust you.” Valkries shook her head. “The future of our races depends on the outcome of the Battle of Divine Will. I cannot make a decision without verifying the situation first.”
“You have seen it for yourself, the Oracle was trying to stop me from seeking the truth—It might not mean anything, but doesn’t that imply that we are in the right direction? Even if I had fabricated the outcome on the Western Front, the incident with the Oracle can’t be something I deliberately arrange, right?”
“Yes, I have to admit that you’re right,” Valkries answered calmly. “But my opinion won’t change.”
Annoyed, Roland stopped abruptly. “You are helping the Gods destroy your own civilization.”
“There’s no point criticizing me when there’s an imbalance of information. Regardless, the Dream World and reality are separated by the Realm of
Mind.” Valkries turned around. “If you were me, will you be able to set your resolve and cooperate with enemies that you have fought against for thousands of years? Besides, the only thing I can get is a verbal promise.”
Roland opened his mouth, but ultimately couldn’t say the word “yes.”
After a long while, Roland finally sighed. “If that’s the case, then we have nothing to talk about.”
“I will not make a decision without verifying the situation first, but—” Valkries paused, “If it can be verified, I will reconsider your suggestion.”
Roland was stunned. “What?”
“While saving Fei Yuhan, the girl that drove over was a Transcendent, right? And she is different from the witches by your side, not in terms of ability, but behavior— I found the former unfamiliar, but the latter rather familiar. In the words of this world, a generation gap. After thinking about it, the ones that I am familiar with are the people from the First and Second Battle of Divine Will. After all, after the humans retreated behind the border, I no longer had any interaction with your kind. From there, I guess that this witch is rather young and might even be alive right now?
Rather young… That’s likely comparing to those demons centuries of years old. From simply meeting, she was able to judge that Scroll and the God’s Punishment Witches are not from the same generation? Roland replied in a noncommittal manner, “What does this have to do with what you were talking about? Even if you get an answer after asking her, you might think we had preplanned the entire thing.”
“It obviously matters. The life expectancy of The Union’s witches are less than a century and are bound to draw support from technology left behind in the Second Battle of Divine Will by the Underground Civilization. Ever since I fell for your trap, I have repeatedly pondered over how they are able to enter the Dream World, and the only possibility I have theorized has to do with the Underground Civilization.”
Valkries walked over to an artificial ice sculpture and looked at her own reflection. “Although the requirements are extremely demanding, this race holds a fascinating ability with magic power, allowing them to greatly decrease the difficulty required to connect with the Realm of Mind. Additionally, we know that the fact that the Union managed to excavate the legacy of the underground civilization in the Fertile Plains was no accident. I originally believed that they had given up on their bodies in reality and transferred their spirits into a specific Dream territory. But after seeing that Witch, I realized that my theory was wrong.”
“The ability to allow a live Transcendent move freely in and out of the Dream World without any external help isn’t something the underground civilization is capable of achieving.” Valkries continued, “I do not know what methods were used, but I know this fact for sure—If existing witches are capable of using this method to enter the Dream World, I believe that it will be as effective for a higher ascendant from my race!”
“You mean you want to—” Roland’s heart skipped a beat.
“Bring Sky Lord here to see me.” Valkries raised her head, “Even if you’re the creator of the Dream World, it’s impossible for you to duplicate something you have no knowledge of. As commander of the Western Front, Hackzord will undoubtedly verify the questions that I wish to know.”
Roland blinked his eyes and couldn’t help but chuckle in anger in exasperation. “But that’s a Grand Demon Lord. If I could control him, why would I need my First Army to fight so bravely? Furthermore, Hackzord has suffered from our ambush previously and no longer dares shows its face; how can I find him?”
“I will help you create an opportunity,” she enunciated each and every word slowly and clearly.
Roland frowned. “… Are you serious?”
“But you have to promise me two things. Firstly, you cannot use this opportunity to attack Hackzord. Secondly, regardless of what decision I make in the end, you have to let him go.”
“Did you even consider how big of a risk I am taking here?”
“We are all in danger!” Valkries replied solemnly, “That’s right, you think that this would expose the secret to Humanity’s legacy, but isn’t it the same for me? To allow a Grand Lord to take this risk—if you renounce your promise, what else can I do but regret? Do not assume that I made this decision on a whim!”
Sensing that her emotions were stirred, she somewhat calmed herself down. “In short, this is the biggest compromise that I am willing to make. As for whether or not you want to take on this risk, the decision lies completely with you.”
Roland stared at her for a long time before asking, “I want to know, what changed your mind?”
“To fear the future and give up on forging ahead is simply the mentality of cowards, even if we know that defeat is the eventual outcome, we should do all we can to turn that around!” Valkries coughed gently. “For a human to be able to say such words, it did surprise me.”
Those were Fei Yuhan’s words at the meeting.
She was… already standing outside the hall back then?
“Also, remember the question you asked me at the beginning?” Valkries looked straight into his eyes.
Do you think that the Transformer from a thousand years ago did the wrong thing?
Roland nodded.
“I think that it did the right thing.” She turned and walked towards the exit. “That is my answer.”