Chapter 737: The Leader
Roland knew it was speculation. All of it.
He could not build an argument from the underground civilization’s documents alone — the contents still required verification against too many unknowns. The civilization had believed they outlasted their competitors, but where were those competitors now? What had become of them? What about humanity itself — had witches appeared before the first Battle of Divine Will? Had magic sensitivity arrived early in human prehistory, in some ancestor still living in trees, or had it come later, a sudden mutation after an ancient victory that no one had recorded?
Maybe this world’s people had bypassed the long process of evolution entirely. Maybe humanity was what it was because it had already won something — and what it had won had changed it.
To answer those questions properly would require explorers of Thunder’s kind. Many of them. Working across generations.
But that was secondary. The primary fact was survival. The questions would still be there once the demons were defeated, and he believed they would be answered in time. He had always believed that — that every research question yielded eventually to sufficient money, manpower, and patience.
He looked at Pasha. “Before you moved the relic underground — had it been held by Starfall City all along?”
Now that he understood its importance, the relic’s security occupied his attention in a way it hadn’t before.
“Yes. The giant paintings make it impossible to bury the Divine Will and simply ignore it — anyone near it will perceive the deities regardless. So it must be kept by the most powerful witch organization available. During the Months of Demons, when magic power reaches its peak, the demonic beasts are drawn to it — which explains why they attacked Hermes with such concentrated fury in those months.” Pasha shifted her body aside as she spoke, and the scene through the curtain opened to show what lay behind her: two mounded heaps of demonic beast corpses, pale blue blood still running in thin rivulets across the stone floor. “After we learned Starfall City had suffered its decisive setback, we recovered the relic as quickly as we could. It is safe with us now.”
Wendy had gone pale at the sight. “How did you kill so many?”
“The Instrument of Divine Retribution strips its targets of magic power. Without that power sustaining them, these creatures die quickly.” Pasha described the mechanism briefly. “But the instrument only becomes a genuine weapon when activated by the Chosen One.”
Roland caught the critical word immediately. “Strips magic power — does that mean it causes no harm to creatures without magic? Can a God’s Stone of Retaliation interfere with it?”
“Neither. It acts directly on magic power itself. God’s Stones have no effect.”
An area of effect spanning over five thousand miles. No side effects on non-magical life. He had to admit it was an extraordinarily clean weapon. The start-up requirement, though — the Chosen One — remained a problem so fundamental that everything else was contingent on it.
Did the underground civilization ever actually field this weapon, or only theorize it? They lost their piece of the relic, which suggests they never successfully used it in time. They built something they couldn’t operate. That would be a very strange kind of tragedy — though “strange” might be the wrong word for a magic world.
He turned his attention to the broader picture. The underground civilization had developed advanced magical theory. The demons could cultivate diverse abilities. Humanity’s witches — by contrast — were a volatile, statistically unpredictable population: awakenings spread randomly through the common population, abilities appearing without pattern or plan, difficult to develop systematically, impossible to manufacture. Against the consistency and deliberate design of the other two, humanity seemed to be working at a disadvantage that would take generations to close.
And there was not much time.
He suspected that long before the Taquila survivors found another Chosen One — if they did — Neverwinter’s armies with their steel and powder would have gained the decisive advantage in the war. Magic power remained essential; he had no intention of abandoning research into it. But the two tracks needed to run simultaneously. New magical discoveries would increase what his industry could produce. Industrial growth would generate the resources that further magical research required. Each fed the other.
All research yielded, eventually, to sustained investment.
He set the glass down. “Pasha, thank you for telling me what you have today. The demons are plainly our common enemy, and we should pool everything we have against them.” He paused. “How would you feel about forming a united front — a formal alliance against the forces of Divine Will — as the framework for our ongoing cooperation?”
Pasha’s tentacles tapped the stone. “Agreed. Our only request is that you continue your policy of gathering witches. Every witch in Taquila wants to find the Chosen One among them. We will send another God’s Punishment Witch to bring you a new Five-Colored Stone.”
“I would continue that policy regardless. The witch organization in Graycastle will keep expanding.” He paused, and let the next thing settle before he said it. “However — I think you should consider moving. Closer to Neverwinter. Into the western mountains.”
The room shifted.
“Your Majesty?”
“What about the demonic beasts?”
Every witch in the reception hall was looking at him now — some with worry, some with something closer to alarm. Only Agatha’s expression held a different quality, something between recognition and unsurprise, as though she had been waiting for exactly this.
Roland held up a hand to quiet the room, then turned to Pasha again. “To be honest: I cannot agree with a plan that has you defending the relic on your own. If you lose it, every effort humanity has made becomes worthless. Demonic beasts are manageable. But without the defensive line at Hermes — are you confident you could withstand a coordinated demon assault? A surprise attack?”
The underground civilization had been eliminated, presumably, because they lost their relic. He was not willing to be in the position of learning from that lesson after the fact.
“If you were in the western mountains near Neverwinter,” he continued, “I could put an army in the field to support you within hours of an attack. The relic would be genuinely protected. That seems preferable to hoping the distance buys you enough warning.”
Celine’s voice, cool and precise: “If we convert the annihilation core, the demons become as easy to kill as demonic beasts.”
“No. The demons are not demonic beasts. They are more powerful, more intelligent, and they adapt. I can see from the pile of bodies behind you that those demonic beasts reached very close to your core region before they were stopped.” He noticed the small, involuntary stiffening of Pasha’s minor tentacles at that observation. “If a group of Mad Demons with throwing spears attacked you instead — how many of your magic cores would survive intact?”
“But—”
“If you don’t trust my protection, or you’re concerned about attracting demonic beasts to Neverwinter’s vicinity, we can place you on the side of the western mountains facing the Fertile Plains. I’ll build a road connecting your position to the city. I’ll be able to reach you when it matters.” He let a breath pass. “Trust is the foundation of any cooperation. Choosing a location that both parties regard as safe — that is the first act of mutual trust. Isn’t it?”
Pasha went silent. The tentacles of the blobs intertwined, moving rapidly together — communication happening through contact, through touch, in a language he couldn’t follow. He counted: seven minutes, perhaps eight, of that private deliberation.
Then the tentacles lowered.
“Before I give our answer,” Pasha said, “I have one question first.”
Roland waited.
“If we do form this united front of Divine Will — who leads it to fight against the demons?”
Chapter 737: The Leader
Translator: TransN Editor: Meh
Roland was clear that it was nothing but his own speculation.
I can’t jump to a conclusion based solely on the documentation of the underground civilization since their contents still need further verification. For example, the underground civilization thought that they successfully survived a series of competition, but what about their opponents who probably were also able to use magic power? Where did they leave their traces? What about human beings? Did witches first appear before the first Battle of Divine Will— or rather, was the mankind gifted with the sense of magic when they were still primates or even at the beginning of the Mammalian age?
Maybe, human beings in this world didn’t go through such a long process of evolution at all. Could they directly become what they are now through mutation after gaining a victory?
He was afraid that to answer these questions, he would need a great number of outstanding explorers like Thunder.
As compared to those researches, his top priority still remained to be human survival, but he believed that it was just a matter of time for him to find out the answers.
He looked at Pasha, asking, “Before you moved this part of relic underground, had it been kept by the church… no, I mean the Starfall City all the time?”
Now that he knew the importance of the relic, he started to care about its safety.
“Yes. Due to the existence of the giant paintings, burying it underground can’t prevent the Divine Will. Therefore, it’s always kept by the most powerful witch organization. During the Months of Demons when magic power reaches its peak, demonic beasts will come for it. That was why they launched frenzied attacks at Hermes during those months before.” With these words, Pasha moved her giant body away, revealing the scene behind her. Two piles of dead bodies of demonic beasts stood there with light blue blood dripping down and flowing all over the ground. Pasha continued, “After we knew the Starfall City had suffered a serious setback, we took back the relic as soon as we could. Now it’s very safe in our hands.”
Wendy gasped at the sight. “How did you kill that many hybrid demonic beasts?”
“The Instrument of Divine Retribution can deprive the targets of their magic power, and these monsters will die soon without the power in their bodies.” Pasha briefly described how this instrument worked and continued. “But it’ll only become a mighty weapon when it’s activated by the Chosen One.”
Roland caught the keyword immediately. “Deprive them of their magic power? So does it mean that it’ll do no harm to normal animals? Can God’s Stones influence the instrument?”
“No, it directly affects magic power, and God’s Stones can’t do anything about it at all.”
Learning that this instrument could affect an area within a radius of over 5,000 miles without causing any side effects to living beings without magic power, Roland had to admit it was really an environmentally friendly weapon. Unfortunately, however, its start-up requirement seemed too harsh.
He wondered whether the underground civilization had really tested this instrument’s power or not. “Maybe they’ve just done it in theory? Otherwise, they wouldn’t end up losing its relic in the war. Wait, did they create something they couldn’t use? This kind of absurd things will only happen in this strange magic world.”
Thinking that the underground civilization had an advanced magic theory and demons were able to cultivate various kinds of abilities, he realized human beings seemed to have no advantage in manipulating magic power at all. The witches were not a stable group. Their awakenings happened randomly among people and their abilities were hard to predict and control. Given that, he believed they still need a long time to evolve, but now there was not much time left for human beings.
Roland suspected that by the time the Taquila witches found the Chosen One, Neverwinter’s armies equipped with advanced steel weapons had already gained an upper hand in the war against demons.
Despite all those thoughts, he would never try to deny the existence of magic power in this world.
He decided to carry out research on both science and magic power at the same time. In this way, the new findings of magic power would increase their productivity. In the meantime, the development of productivity would generate more resources for the studies on magic power.
He believed all research projects could be successfully carried out as long as there was plenty of money and manpower, including the one on magic power.
Now that he knew the basic situation of the Taquila survivors, he thought it was time to negotiate with them.
He said, “Pasha, thank you for telling me your situation and research results. As demons are obviously our common enemy, we should work together and pool our resources to fight against them. How about we building a united front of Divine Will to further our cooperation and coordination?”
Pasha tapped with her tentacles. “I agree. We only hope Your Majesty will continue your policy to gather more witches. All the Taquila witches want is to find the Chosen One among them. We’ll send another God’s Punishment Witch to bring you a new Five-Colored Stone.”
“I’ll continue the policy anyway. Even if you don’t say that, I’m still going to expand the witch organization in my kingdom, but…” He paused for a while. “I think you’d better move to another place, such as the western mountains near Neverwinter.”
“Well…”
Before Pasha gave her answer, all the witches in the reception hall stirred. “Your Majesty?”
“What about demonic beasts?”
At this moment, all the witches were staring at him. Some seemed worried and some nervous. Only Agatha gave him an approving look as if she had known that he was going to make such a request.
Roland surveyed them and signal the witches to calm down and relax. After that, he turned to look at Pasha on the light curtain again and said, “To be honest, I can’t agree with your plan to protect the relic on your own. Once you lose it, all human beings’ efforts will be wasted. Demonic beasts aren’t tough enemies, but without the defensive line in Hermes, are you sure you can protect the relic when demons launch a surprise attack on you?”
Having heard that the underground civilization diminished probably because they lost its part of the relic, he thought it was better to put this thing under his own protection or somewhere near him. He would feel better if he would be able to send an army to support them immediately when they were attacked.
Celine seemed to be disagreeable. “As long as we change the annihilation core, demons will become easy targets as demonic beasts.”
“No, they won’t. Demons are way more powerful and intelligent than demonic hybrids. I can tell from the packed dead bodies that those demonic beasts were once very close to your core region. If I guess correctly, the Instrument of Divine Retribution isn’t far away from the phantom instrument.” Roland noticed that the little tentacles on Pasha stiffened for a moment when
she heard this sentence. “If some Mad Demons who can throw spears attack you guys, how many magic cores will be able to remain intact?”
“But…”
Roland continued to explain patiently, “If you still think I won’t do any better than you or worry about that demonic beasts would be attracted by the relic, you can settle down on the side of the western mountains close to the Fertile Plains and I’ll build a road to connect your place with Neverwinter. In that case, I’ll be able to help you whenever you’re in trouble: Trust is the foundation of cooperation, and placing the relic where both parties regard as safe is the first step to build our mutual trust, isn’t it?”
Pasha remained speechless with her tentacles intertwined with those of the other blobs. They seemed to be communicating with each other rapidly in this way. After seven or eight minutes, she started to talk again.
“Before I give our reply, I’d like to ask a question first. If we do form a united front of… Divine Will as you said, who’ll lead us to fight against demons?”