Chapter 1434: Gambling on Fate
“Seven days.” Roland did the arithmetic against Lightning’s last altitude report, and the result exceeded any category he’d been holding in reserve. “Wait — you intend to flatten the entire Fertile Plains?”
Seven days was more than enough for that. More than enough for the impact to tear apart not just the plains but the Land of Dawn and the Blackstone region as well. A floating island tens of kilometers across, falling from ten thousand meters of altitude — the shockwave would circle the planet. Terrain would shift. Earthquakes, tsunamis. Even the demons would have nowhere to hide from it.
If the Fertile Plains became a basin, and seawater filled it, every living thing in the Land of Dawn died. Where would anyone run? With the Sky-sea Realm already at their heels, the demons’ original strategy had been to seize human territory and buy time. This contradicted that plan completely.
Hackzord looked at him with something approaching surprise. “You’ve worked out the outcome of Plan B. That saves considerable time.” He paused. “Of course, the Deity of Gods won’t continue rising indefinitely — it will stop at the two-day mark. Then it will move toward Graycastle. If Mask’s account of his own plan was honest, it will ultimately come down near the sea. This destroys your kingdom but preserves the two God’s Stone mines.”
A meticulous plan. Roland kept his face still while his thoughts dropped.
He had known something serious had occurred when the two senior lords appeared a second time — something too urgent for letters. That was why he’d taken the risk and returned to the hill himself.
But this was worse than anything he’d held as a possible shape for the news.
If Hackzord and Serakkas were willing to cooperate, destroying the Deity of Gods’s core was theoretically achievable. The problem was the nuclear weapon. The detonator assembly wasn’t in mass production. Even with materials on hand, the assembly team needed weeks. The offshore test had been a product the Ministry of Industry had pushed itself to its limit to build, and the next warhead would have to be manufactured in Neverwinter’s laboratory from the beginning. Even rushed, it couldn’t reach the Kingdom of Dawn in time.
And even if he’d never run the offshore test — even if he’d built the bomb first and transported it directly above the Deity of Gods — it would still take a day. One day was enough for the floating island to gain enough altitude to destroy most of the Kingdom of Dawn.
Roland put down his cup. “Why didn’t you use this from the start? A single God’s Stone mine could have broken the human side entirely, instead of waiting for this.”
“What do you think the Deity of Gods is — cabbage from your farms?” Hackzord’s tone had an edge in it now. “Setting aside the difficulty of linking the magic power cores to the Birth Towers, a God’s Stone mine large enough to power it is rare in itself. The reason it can only ascend for two days is because that ascent exhausts the mine entirely. Hermes’s stockpile wasn’t even sufficient to qualify for Plan B originally.”
So they’re still constrained by magic power consumption, even at the apex of their technology.
“Since Mask can control it, others might be able to as well.” Roland’s thinking pivoted. “Have you not attempted that?”
“Human.” Hackzord’s patience was audible in the way it shortened. “You are wasting time. The underground civilization created this core apparatus, and even they couldn’t make it mainstream. My race inherited their legacy and it still doesn’t mean anyone within it has the requisite talent — much less your humans, who have never obtained any legacy whatsoever. Take the time you have left and get your people out.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“You—!”
Roland held up his cup against the fury in Hackzord’s eyes, let a beat pass, and spoke evenly. “Graycastle and the Kingdom of Dawn have a combined population of millions. Moving them to the Fjords in seven days is impossible. And without Neverwinter, humanity cannot hold against the Sky-sea Realm. Even if I alone survived, it would only delay the end.” He paused. “And don’t forget: the Battle of Divine Will doesn’t stop. Not for anyone. Not for your race either. Is that the outcome you want?”
“What use is any of this?” Hackzord answered with practiced disdain. “Without Valkries, I would never have spoken to you.”
“I’m not denying that. Your information is vital — I’m grateful for it.” Roland’s tone didn’t shift. “But you aren’t entirely right either. Having a legacy isn’t the only way to inherit one.”
A pause. “What do you mean?”
“Valkries, for example, is currently accepting the human legacy.” He glanced at Nightmare Lord. “Am I wrong?”
Valkries, silent through most of this, finally spoke. “I cannot deny that.”
“What riddles are you speaking in?” Sky Lord’s displeasure was now fully present.
“Simply: the true intention of legacies is to receive everything the other party holds — their knowledge, practices, teaching, wisdom. That itself is inheritance,” Valkries said, unhurried. “You can view it from another angle. Legacies don’t require the extinction of the holder; that is God’s rule, not an inherent law. I am not human, but that has not prevented me from learning and gaining knowledge here. In the Dream World, I have learned a great deal.” She turned to Roland. “You knew this already.”
“Not too long ago,” he agreed. “But watching you use the cellphone to order goods from the Cargarde Peninsula removed most of my remaining doubt. Even if something happened to me, the Witches who have entered the Dream World would carry that knowledge out.”
“Enough.” Hackzord’s voice cut through. “What does any of this have to do with the Deity of Gods?”
“We humans have no legacy shard from the underground civilization,” Roland said, “but after studying their historical remains, it isn’t impossible for us to modify the Deity of Gods’s core apparatus. The Union has researched this. As of today, there are Witches who have grasped the relevant knowledge. I can’t promise they’ll successfully halt the magic power core — but compared to a mass evacuation or destroying an obelisk at ten thousand meters of altitude, it is worth attempting.”
Sky Lord was quiet for a long moment as the pieces settled.
“Can humans truly do this?”
“They look…” Roland searched briefly for words. “Somewhat unconventional. But they are unquestionably human.”
“You are gambling on this.”
“No.” Roland had never entertained the idea of fleeing alone, not from the first moment. “We simply have no other choice.”
“I agree.” Valkries spoke with the weight of someone who had counted the costs. “The Bottomless Land has fallen to the Sky-sea Realm. King’s City is advancing and the troops are not enough. The path to the Origin of Magic remains theoretical. Since the worst is already possible, it costs nothing to attempt this.”
Nightmare Lord had spoken. Hackzord held his silence.
“Then we should discuss the plan for taking the Deity of Gods,” Roland said.
Chapter 1434 - Gambling on Fate
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
“Seven days…” Roland calculated the rate of ascension reported by Lightning in his mind, and realized that the end result far surpassed the category of it being a ‘weapon.’ “Wait a minute, you plan to flatten the entire Fertile Plains?”
This period of time was sufficient for the Deity of Gods to turn it into a disaster of apocalyptic proportions, much less destroying the entire plains. The effect of its descent would even severely impact the Land of Dawn and the Blackstone region. The drop of the floating island that had a diameter of tens of kilometers at an altitude of over ten thousand meters high was enough to form a shockwave that circled the planet several times over. It was so severe that it would lead to a change in the terrain and trigger earthquakes and tsunamis. Even the demons would find it difficult to escape such a level of disaster.
If the Fertile Plains was smashed into a basin, causing a sea water to fill it, all life in the Land of Dawn would be exterminated. Where could they run to? With the Sky-sea Realm right on their heels, the demons’ original plan was to seize the human territory to stall for time. Provided that this happened, it was basically a contradiction to their original goal.
Hackzord looked at him in surprise. “You’re actually rather clear about the outcome of Plan B… This saves me a lot of time explaining. Of course, the Deity of Gods will not continue to rise upwards all the time and should stop after two days. It will then move towards Graycastle. If Mask did not lie during his explanation of his plans, it will ultimately land near the sea—This way, it will destroy your kingdom but preserve the two other God’s Stone mines.”
It truly was a meticulous plan.
Roland maintained a calm expression on the surface, but his heart had sunken to the bottom.
When the two senior lords appeared the second time, he knew that something important had occurred, to the extent that he could not waste the time waiting for the letter. It was the reason why he took the risk to return to the hill.
But who would have thought that the new information would be that terrible!
Provided that Hackzord and Serakkas were willing to cooperate, destroying the core of the Deity of Gods was achievable. But the problem laid on the detonator installation for the nuclear weapon not being mass produced by the Ministry of Industry. Even with an abundance of raw materials, the assembly team required several weeks to assemble the parts. The last offshore nuclear test was a product the Ministry of Industry spent all its efforts to produce, while the new actual warhead had to be manufactured in Neverwinter’s laboratory. Even if they rushed to manufacture the product, it couldn’t be delivered to the Kingdom of Dawn right away.
Taking a step back, even if he had not conducted the test at the Kingdom of Dawn and chose to build the nuclear weapon before transporting it right above the Deity of Gods, it still required a day—which was enough for the floating island to gather enough height for a destructive force capable of destroying the majority of the Kingdom of Dawn.
“Why didn’t you implement this right from the start? If you made use of one God’s Stone mine, you would have been able to defeat the humans instead of waiting for this day.”
“What do you think the Deity of Gods is, some cabbage from your farms?” Hackzord replied sourly. “Ignoring the difficulty of linking the magic power core and Birth Towers, just to have a sufficiently large God’s Stone mine is rare enough. The reason for its ability to only rise for two days is because of the complete exhaustion of the God’s Stone. Judging from the mine’s stockpile in Hermes, it isn’t even qualified to be part of Plan B.”
So they are still limited by the consumption of magic power…
“Since Mask is able to control it, others might be able to as well.” Roland’s train of thoughts turned abruptly. “Have you not made any attempts in this aspect?”
“Human, you are just wasting time!” Hackzord’s tone obviously turned impatient. “Even the underground civilization who were creators of the core apparatus isn’t able to make this complicated thing mainstream. Although my race obtained its legacy, it doesn’t mean that anybody wields such talent, much less you humans that have never even obtained a single legacy! Make use of the time now and run for your lives.”
“I am not going anywhere.”
“You—!”
Roland picked up his drink and repelled Sky Lord’s furious glare. He revealed a smirk before speaking in a serious tone. “Graycastle and the Kingdom of Dawn has a populace of a few million people. It is basically impossible to migrate them to the Fjords in such a short time. And without Neverwinter, humanity will not be able to resist the enemy from the Sky-sea Realm. Even if I survived alone, it’s only a matter of time before the inevitable happens.” He paused for a moment. “And do not forget—as long as the Battle of Divine Will doesn’t stop, no one can escape extinction. Is that the outcome you want?”
“What’s the use of talking about this?” Hackzord replied disdainfully. “If not for Valkries, I will never have spoken to you.”
“I cannot deny that this information is extremely crucial. For this, I should be thanking you,” Roland admitted. “But you are not entirely right, having a legacy isn’t limited to only obtaining a legacy shard.”
“… What do you mean?”
“For example, Valkries is currently accepting the human’s legacy.” He turned to Nightmare Lord. “Am I right?”
Valkries, who had maintained her silence the entire time, finally spoke up. “I cannot deny that.”
“What kind of riddles are you getting at?” Sky Lord was obviously unhappy.
“Simply put, the real intention of the legacies is to accept everything of the other party, including its teaching, practices, collections, wisdom… this itself is considered as inheriting a legacy,” Valkries said unhurriedly. “In fact, you can understand it by viewing it from a different point of view. Legacies need not be obtained with the price of the extinction of the legacy holder; that is just the rule of God. I am not a human, but this doesn’t obstruct me from learning and gaining their knowledge—In fact, while being in this Dream World, I have learned many things.”
At this point, she turned back to Roland. “You already knew of this long ago?”
“Not too long ago.” Roland nodded. “But watching you use the cellphone proficiently to purchase products from the Cargarde Peninsula further proved my guess. Even if something terrible happened to me, the Witches who had once entered the Dream World, are able to bring this knowledge out to the other world.”
“Enough! What does this have to do with the Deity of Gods?” Hackzord bellowed.
“We humans did not obtain the underground civilization’s legacy shard, but after studying the historical remains left behind, it is not impossible for us to revise the Deity of Gods’ core instrument.” Roland spoke resolutely. “In fact, The Union did research on this and as of today, there are a few witches that have grasped the relevant knowledge. I am unclear if they are able to successfully stop the magic power core, but compared to a mass evacuation or destruction of the obelisk high up in the air, this is undoubtedly worth a shot.”
At long last, Sky Lord understood what Roland was getting at. “… Can the humans truly do this?”
“Although they look rather… strange, they are undoubtedly members of the human race.”
“You are making a gamble on this.”
“No, this is us having no other choice.” Roland never had the thought of fleeing alone from the very beginning.
“I agree to this.” Valkries stated solemnly. “The Bottomless Land has already been overrun by the Sky-sea Realm. King’s City is continuously approaching, and there aren’t enough troops. Heading to the Origin of Magic is only theoretic. Since the outcome cannot be any worse, it won’t hurt taking a gamble.”
Seeing that Nightmare Lord had spoken, Hackzord could only maintain his silence.
“If that is so, we should start discussing the plan needed to seize the Deity of Gods,” Roland said.