Chapter 735: The Legacy of the Past
Roland already knew what would happen next.
When the God's Punishment Army was no longer the only way to fight demons, a group of people, upholding the belief that they were unwilling to degrade their kind into shell materials, had a serious conflict with Akalies.
Now it seemed that the War of Faith recorded in the church history books was probably a substitute for this war of beliefs – using a fictional victory to cover up the truth.
The fundamental reason for this conflict, in addition to ideological differences, was probably this: the higher-ups of the Union knew full well that no matter which plan they chose, they could not guarantee that they would definitely defeat the demons.
According to Phyllis, the Starfall Queen's God's Punishment Army hibernation plan could indeed allow the Union to have about three to four thousand extraordinary warriors with immense strength and mature tactics before the Battle of Divine Will. However, the disadvantage was that once these thousands of people suffered losses, they could not be effectively replenished in a short period. It was a long process for souls to adapt to bodies. A group of warriors who could not withstand attrition might be able to block the demons' offensive for decades, or even regain the ruined Holy City of Taqila, but it would probably be unrealistic to break through the Dawn Border.
As for the Chosen One Project, it was even more of a gamble. Failure was normal, but once successful, not only would there be no side effects, but according to the records in the stone slabs, it could also bring witches closer to the gods.
Comparing the two, one was betting on the present, and the other was gambling on the future.
"The final result is that you defeated Starfall City?"
"Disputes will not produce true winners, and Taqila was not the ultimate victor either. After both sides lost their extraordinary abilities, Eleanor stepped forward. In order to stop this internal friction, she devoted herself to the Core Carrier and became the first witch to be fused."
"You mean, the Three Chiefs are all in the Labyrinth Ruins..." Agatha said in surprise.
"That's right. From then on, the Union lost three extraordinary individuals, which also meant the complete disintegration of the Three Chiefs system." Pasha said sadly, "In this way, the ruins became an inseparable part of the survivors. Both sides had to take a step back and reached an agreement at the negotiating table. Taqila stayed to continue studying the magic core, while Starfall City went to Hermes as planned to build a new Holy City. Since the Original Carriers were extremely limited, in order to ensure that we had enough manpower, they would provide the Labyrinth Ruins with a certain number of ownerless shells for a period of one hundred years."
"After the deadline, if there were no breakthrough discoveries, or the Chosen One was still not found, they would take back all the research results of the ruins, including the soul-containing instruments and Original Carriers. By then, Starfall City would come with the God's Punishment Army, and if we violated the agreement, they would never show mercy again."
"Wait..." Roland noticed something was wrong, "The church hasn't come looking for you since then?"
From the results, the witches of Taqila were still hiding underground, without turning over to gain a dominant position, and the God's Punishment Army used by the church was always a flawed version without consciousness. Clearly, they had an overwhelming advantage in numbers, but they did not send troops to occupy the Labyrinth Ruins... Could it be that they had forgotten the agreement?
Pasha sighed, "For a long time, we did not have the ability to explore the outside world – the Original Carriers could not be exposed to the sun, and the witches who transferred their souls needed to readjust to their bodies, so we were not clear about the situation in Hermes at the time... Later, we realized that the new order they constructed no longer followed the will of Akalies."
"As expected!" Agatha gritted her teeth, "I said that that person could not have done such a thing. Compared to the God's Punishment Army plan, the church's actions were completely destroying the foundation of witches!"
This sentence aroused unanimous agreement from the survivors on the opposite side.
After Roland waited for everyone to calm down a little, he changed the topic and asked, "What exactly is the Core Carrier? What are the differences between it and the Original Carrier?"
"They are all shells – the body of the vanished civilization was very fragile, so it had to parasitize in shells. These shells have the ability to be immortal, as for where they came from specifically, the literature did not describe in detail." This time, the answerer seemed to have changed, compared to Pasha and the previous Wrathful One, her tone seemed very intellectual and gentle, "In the knowledge we currently have, the Original Carrier is the most
common type of shell. In addition to having a similar appearance, the Core Carrier also stores many unconscious memories inside, which can be regarded as an Original Carrier that has been used for many years but has lost consciousness – only by merging these memories together can we unlock those remaining literature and experimental records."
"You are..." Just hearing this voice, Roland could imagine an academic woman with round-framed black-rimmed glasses and a waist-length thick braid.
"My name is Celine, Your Majesty, a member of the Exploration Society, and I once worked with Agatha."
"I'm not too familiar with her," Agatha leaned over and said in a low voice, "Even if you work in a research tower, you're not necessarily on the same floor. But I heard that she is usually very quiet, but once she talks about things related to magic, she seems like a different person, becoming fanatical and unrestrained."
Perhaps it was precisely such a person who would become a loyal follower of Nataya, Roland coughed twice, "So the fused witch... is still alive?"
"It can't be considered alive," Celine replied, "In addition to Eleanor and the dozen or so witches who were seriously injured in the conflict, we have successively fused thirty-six volunteers to awaken the Core Carrier – not everyone is willing to turn into a monster, or be imprisoned in a cage without consciousness for the rest of their lives. Unfortunately, it cannot communicate with us normally, it can only answer yes or no."
"Yes or no?" Roland's heart stirred slightly, "Can it answer any question?"
"It must be something it can understand, the clearer the conditions, the faster it answers. Without the Core Carrier, it would be impossible to repair or change the magic core." Celine's voice gradually became excited, "It is a synthesis of Taqila's will, the more people who are fused, the faster its reaction, so for us, accompanying Eleanor is the last contribution we can make to the pursuit of the path of magic."
What Roland was thinking was completely different, inputting questions and getting feedback, isn't this the most primitive biological computer system? If the conditions are set, can it solve equations? Can it independently complete complex calculations? If I could trick it into coming to Neverwinter to study it!
But the atmosphere is not suitable for making such a request, so he had to temporarily suppress the thoughts in his heart, intending to discuss the conditions later and slowly figure it out.
"I see, I basically understand your situation, now there is only one last question left." Roland drank the chaotic drink in his cup in one gulp, "Whether it is you or the church, or those ancient books that have been handed down, they have repeatedly mentioned the term Divine Will. I even heard that there is a mysterious temple built underground in the Hermes Plateau, the top floor of which contains a secret room that no one but the Pope can approach. As long as you stand on it, you can sense the existence of the gods... Can you tell me, what exactly is Divine Will?"