Chapter 1441: Consensus

Eleanor’s promise of not lasting much longer proved, in the end, to be generous by half.

The Deity of Gods took nearly two full days to complete its descent. Roland dispatched the First Army to Seawindshire’s coastal area and swept the shoreline clean, ensuring the island’s fall would harm no one.

At nightfall on the second day, the floating island’s underside touched the ocean. From a distance it resembled an inverted vertebra standing alone on the horizon — immense, impossible, singular. That view was the last time the island’s full body was visible above the waves. As it sank into the Swirling Sea, the water rose at a rate the naked eye could track: sandy shores swallowed, coastal levees overrun, the spray bursting into the dock’s warehouse rows. The boats abandoned at port swayed, strained, and tore apart under the violence of the manufactured waves. The continuous thunder of water against land carried for kilometers.

Roland watched it all from high ground.

Such a sight was, almost certainly, the first and last of its kind in the world’s history. His only regret was an inability to produce poetry. History demanded something lyrical for a moment like this — and regardless of how poor his verse might have been, the image of him standing there, back turned to the wonder, would have been eternal.

Instead, he simply watched.

Finally, the setting sun reappeared behind the Deity of Gods, its rays catching the crystalline water and drawing a band of light from the new land all the way to Seawindshire’s lowlands — as though the sea and the shore had decided, on their own terms, to become one.

Enormous as the Deity of Gods was, it was nothing against the Swirling Sea. By the time it settled on the ocean floor and became an island in truth, the floodwaters had already receded from the docks. A new waterway formed in the gap between the island and the mainland — and that gap, Roland noticed, had closed the distance between Graycastle and the Fjords considerably. A trade island, in time. He was certain of it.

“I never thought the demon’s ultimate weapon would become new land for the kingdom.” Nightingale’s voice was soft beside him, touched by something she didn’t name. “We’ll have to redraw Graycastle’s map.”

“I’m more concerned with what the upper echelons of the demons will do next.” Phyllis, practical as ever, kept her eyes on the horizon. “Without a supply point along the route, it will be difficult for them to return to the ridge of the continent.”

“We can sort that out in the meetings. For a first step, I’d call this outcome passable.” Roland thought, briefly and without knowing why, of the Dream World — where demons had come from a distant peninsula, crossing a sea not unlike the one before him now. “As for the new land — let’s call it Cargarde Peninsula.”

The assembly with the three Chambers of Commerce passed without much drama.

Upon learning of Mask’s grand plan — and of the King’s full awareness of everything they had done — Hackzord went visibly distant, leaving Serakkas to answer on his behalf. Roland could read the Sky Lord’s condition clearly. Hackzord did not want a complete rupture with the King before obtaining proof, but now that the King knew, there was no longer any path of retreat. For someone as careful and deliberate as Hackzord, that realization would take time to settle.

Silent Disaster, by contrast, was perfectly calm. Nothing seemed to matter to her so long as Valkries was safe.

The fate of the remaining demons inside the Deity of Gods was settled quickly. Roland would not agree to Red Mist supply lines at the periphery of the Four Kingdoms; the two Senior Lords had no real concern for the lives of the Inferior Demons. The solution wrote itself: the tens of thousands of demons would remain on the new island for hard labor and continued construction; thousands of Mad Demons entered dormancy to reduce Red Mist consumption and wait for an opportunity to migrate.

The obelisk was in irreversible decay. The Red Mist Lake could only supply so much. The island was, in effect, a sealed world for those who depended on the mist. After assisting in the transference of the Mother of Soul, Hackzord brought Silent Disaster back to Sky City to take control of the forces remaining there.

He wanted strength in hand. That was understandable.

Roland did not press him. Hackzord was clearly unwilling to move against the King, and a sudden reversal on the eve of battle could bring disaster. Demanding more would only manufacture one.

The final matter was Mask. Nassaupelle.

On this point, even the two Senior Lords arrived at a surprising consensus: he had to die.

According to Hackzord, despite Nassaupelle’s evolution toward an omnipotent state, it bore no relation to the demon race. He had chosen a path of singular existence — one in which, if he succeeded, only his name would remain where the race had been. In other words, he would have become something else entirely.

“The problem,” Roland said, “is that he can shift into another body at will through the network. How exactly are we supposed to destroy him?”

“Until his plan succeeds, that will be extremely difficult — but we remain far from that state.” Celine conveyed Eleanor’s words with care. “Before I severed his connection, I sensed nodes of drastically varying strength. Those comparable to the Deity of Gods number only one or two.”

“This female — the Ancient Witch is correct.” Hackzord changed course quickly under the combined glare of the God’s Punishment Witches. “After all, Nassaupelle has been working behind the King’s back. He will not have had many opportunities to make similar alterations to every Mother of Soul in every city. Those nodes that have not undergone sufficient modification are almost certainly incapable of transmitting his consciousness fully. And the stationary Birth Towers will have been destroyed by the Sky-sea Realm, which limits his options considerably. My guess is that Mask is at King’s City.”

That is, thoroughly, Hackzord’s style.

To destroy Nassaupelle, they would have to destroy King’s City — and aside from Nassaupelle, King’s City contained the King himself. Hackzord had stated plainly that he had no wish to oppose the King, and yet his suggestion placed the King squarely at the center of the target. Roland noted this without comment.

But the plan gave him pause. He did not want the human territories plunged into another crisis like the Deity of Gods’s fall.

Striking before the enemy could launch their own all-out assault — bringing the battle to King’s City at the Fertile Plains — was undeniably the lowest-risk path. And Eleanor’s appearance had greatly increased the plan’s feasibility. With their own floating island, they could reduce the Aerial Knights’ flight time; for the large-caliber bombers, that reduction was critical. The greatest remaining obstacle was the development of high-output engines. According to the Design Bureau of Graycastle’s schedule — manufacturing, assembly, test flights — that meant roughly a year. But with a mobile runway, the engines could be swapped for the Type-14 Piston Engine used by the Phoenix, which barely met the operational threshold for the large-caliber bombers. With that substitution, the bomber project’s fruition was no longer distant.

It had become imminent.

Chapter 1441 - Consensus

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

The span of time which Eleanor claimed of not being unable to last much longer was in fact not a short period of time.

The final movement of the Deity of Gods took up nearly two full days for the descent. Roland dispatched the First Army to Seawindshire’s coastal area and executed a thorough sweep, ensuring that the drop of the island would not harm anyone.

At nightfall two days later, the bottom of the floating island touched the surface of the ocean. From a distance, it looked as though an inverted and giant vertebral body stood alone on the ocean horizon, and that view was the last time the floating island’s entirety was exposed. Following the slow descent into the Swirling Sea, the water surface rose quickly, causing the sandy shores at the port to disappear at a rate visible to the naked eye. The ocean spray crossed the coastal levees and burst into many of the dock’s warehouse facilities.

The discarded boats left at the port swayed incessantly with the man-made waves, ultimately tearing apart under the violent waves. The continuous rumblings produced by the waves crashing onto the land were so loud that even those standing a few kilometers away were capable of hearing them.

Roland stood safely on high ground and witnessed the entire process.

After all, such a majestic sight was probably the first and only one.

His only regret was not being able to recite poetry.

According to history, such times were perfect for one. Regardless of his poetic standards, that scene with his back view would go down in history forever.

Finally, the rays of the setting sun appeared once again behind the Deity of Gods, reflecting upon the clear and crystalline water and produced a band of light from the new land over to Seawindshire’s lowlands, as though the two were one entity.

Although the Deity of Gods was humongous, it was nothing compared to the Swirling Sea. By the time the island touched the bed of the ocean and turned into an island, the tidal waters that had inundated the docks had already receded. The gap between the island and mainland formed a new waterway. At the same time, it had closed the gap between Graycastle and the Fjords. From this, Roland could foresee it becoming a flourishing trade island.

“I never thought that the demon’s ultimate weapon would turn into new land for the kingdom.” By his side, Nightingale spoke emotionally. “Seems like we will have to redraw Graycastle’s map.”

“Compared to that, I am more concerned about what the the upper echelons of the demons will be doing.” On the other hand, Phyllis paid more attention to actual problems. “If there isn’t a supply point for them along the way, it would be difficult for them to return to the ridge of the continent.”

“We can resolve them in the meetings. For this first step, I would consider the outcome as passable.” For some reason, Roland thought about the Dream World. In there, the demons came from a distant peninsula, and it was somewhat similar to the scene before him. “As for this new land, let’s call it Cargarde Peninsula.”

…

The following assembly with the three Chambers of Commerce did not have much twists and turns.

After learning about Mask’s shocking grand plan and the King’s awareness of the developments, Hackzord was clearly distracted, leaving Serakkas to act on his behalf and answer a few questions.

Roland could guess how he was feeling. Regardless, the Sky Lord did not want a complete fall out with the King before obtaining concrete evidence.

But after stumbling upon the King’s knowledge of everything they had done, it was equivalent to him having no path of retreat. To the careful and prudent Hackzord, it inevitably resulted in him worrying over his personal gains and losses.

Compared to him, Silent Disaster was much calmer, as though nothing mattered to her so long as Valkries was safe.

The plans for the remaining demons inside the Deity of Gods were quickly resolved.

It was impossible for Roland to agree on establishing Red Mist supply lines at the periphery of the Four Kingdoms, while the two Senior lords were unconcerned about the lives of the Inferior Demons. As such, the tens of thousands of demons were left inside the new island for hard labor and continued construction; thousands of the Mad Demons entered dormant states, cutting down on the consumption of Red Mist, and to wait for a suitable opportunity for migration.

The obelisk was in an irreversible state of decay, and with the Red Mist Lake being able to only supply a certain amount of Red Mist, its continued decay was definite. This land became an isolated island for the demons that relied heavily on the Red Mist. After assisting the transference of the Mother of Soul, Hackzord brought Silent Disaster back to Sky City to take control of the remaining forces.

Since his actions were already known by the King, having a little bit of strength in hand would not be a bad thing.

Roland did not demand anything from Hackzord, who was clearly unwilling to go against the King. After all, if he suddenly went against his words right before the battle, it could potentially lead to disaster.

The last thing that mattered was Mask, Nassaupelle.

This time, even the two Senior Lords came to a surprising consensus—he had to die.

According to Hackzord, despite his evolution to an omnipotent state, it had nothing to do with the race. He had chosen the path for his sole existence, and if he succeeded, only his name would exist in the race, or in other words… he would had completely turned into another species.

“The problem is, he can change into another body at will with the use of the ‘network,’ how am I supposed to destroy him?” Roland posed the crucial question.

“Until his plan is successful, this will indeed be extremely difficult to come to fruition, but we are still far from that state.” Celine conveyed Eleanor’s words. “Before I severed his connection, I sensed that there were nodes of drastically varying strengths, and ones which are comparable to the Deity of Gods number only one or two.”

“This female—Ancient Witch is right.” After being glared at by many of the God’s Punishment Witches, Hackzord quickly changed his choice of words. “After all, Nassaupelle is doing everything behind the King’s back, and he will not have many opportunities to make similar alterations to every Mother of Soul in every city. For those nodes that have not undergone sufficient alterations, they are most probably incapable of completely transmitting his consciousness. Furthermore, the immobile Birth Towers would had been destroyed by Sky-sea Realm, so there are very few places that he can go to. My guess is that Mask is at King’s City.”

That’s truly Hackzord’s style.

Roland thought inwardly to himself. To destroy Nassaupelle, they had to destroy King’s City, and aside from Nassaupelle, there was the King. Although he had made it known that he had no wish to oppose the King, his suggestion immediately pushed the King to the center of the target.

But this plan made Roland wary.

He did not want the human territory to once again fall into another crisis akin to the Deity of Gods’s plummet.

Attacking the enemy before their all-out attack and strike the King’s City down at the Fertile Plains was undoubtedly the method with the lowest risk. More importantly, Eleanor’s appearance had greatly increased the feasibility of the plan.

With their own floating island, they could cut down on the Aerial Knights’ flight time, which was undoubtedly significant for the large caliber bombers. The greatest difficulty for the project was researching new high-output engines. According to the Design Bureau of Graycastle’s plan from manufacturing, assembling to test flights, they required a time line of about a year. But with the moving runway, there was the possibility of changing the engines to the Type-14 Piston Engine used by the Phoenix, which barely made the mark of operating the large caliber bombers. With that, the bearing of fruits for the bomber project was imminent.