Chapter 672 Shame (7200)

"Why not barbaric?"

Ignoring his son's admonition, Akharonov, though knowing he was far weaker than Su Zhou, showed no sign of backing down.

Believing in his own sense of righteousness, he naturally had nothing to fear. The old general pushed Okolyolov, who was trying to stop him, aside and looked up at the four-headed dragon, meeting Su Zhou's gaze. His eyes shone with determination: "You've experienced war, you know the turmoil of rebellion—Svetlore, you've even failed!"

"You know full well that doing this will trigger a rebellion among the nobles, causing many mobile cities to declare independence, and once again starting decades of chaos—and by that time, the Holy Sun will probably be extinguished. Even if it's extinguished, the war won't end. Because people are just that foolish, they will get caught up in trivial matters when facing a crisis, and instead of dealing with the real suffering."

Akharonov raised his hand and pointed high at Su Zhou: "Ignoring the final outcome, blindly destroying everything, what is that if not barbaric? The continuation of civilization is the most important thing. As long as most people are still alive, then sacrificing a part is the most normal choice!"

Sensing the other party's impassioned emotions, Su Zhou shook his head.

"But you're wrong."

The four-headed dragon lowered its head, its scales like steps. He walked down step by step, arriving in front of Akharonov and his son.

He held a large shield, and every step he took on the ground was like an unbreakable fortress advancing. Almost everyone lowered their heads. They dared not look at the man's figure, because it would blind them, like staring directly at the sun.

"I'm wrong?"

Only Akharonov still glared at Su Zhou: "What makes you say that? Don't think you can force me to admit I'm wrong with your strength!"

The old man's words carried a sense of martyrdom-like sublimity.

Yes, Svetlore was strong. The Third Army was completely defeated, their lives in his hands.

But so what? He was just a barbarian with brute force. He had never considered the future of civilization, nor had he considered the world situation, the entanglement between forces. He just patted his head and thought he was right, so he had to interfere with their actions to save the world.

Akharonov was not afraid of death at all. In fact, he would only be proud to die for his cause.

But Su Zhou didn't care about his anger, and could also understand where his anger came from.

Indeed, according to Akharonov's logic, the Asmodeus Empire's actions, all of these measures, although quite barbaric and bloody, could indeed guarantee the survival of civilization.

Su Zhou knew very well that not everyone was like him, with the power to change the world. Most of the time, they could only adapt to the situation and find a path that wasn't too bad.

Without power, there's no way to choose correctly—Su Zhou also completely understood why the vassals and clans of great existences all had the power bestowed by the great existence.

Perhaps it was not favoritism, nor a reward, but a basic condition.

——Because without power, let alone realizing a wish or achieving what is right, they were not even allowed to choose a path that was closer to what is right.

Su Zhou didn't blame them for going astray. For a world where there were no transmigrators and no miracles, this was perhaps a reasonable inevitability.

But they should have self-awareness, to know that the path they were taking was wrong, a 100-point test should strive for 100 points.

Moreover, they should know what choice to make when facing what is right.

"I can save everyone."

So, he opened his mouth as a reminder, and said to the old general in front of him: "Don't worry about rebellion and independence, and don't worry about any chaos. You don't even need to worry about the Holy Sun extinguishing and the Twilight Dragon, because I will suppress all disobedience and rekindle the Holy Sun, and revitalize the Divine Wood."

"I will revive the World Tree. As for the Twilight Dragon, let the old thoughts pass away. If they must be remembered, I alone can remember them."

"I can do all of these things. I can bear the entire Aean World."

At this moment, Su Zhou's hand was raised slightly, and layers of phantoms appeared in front of him. Under his power, these phantoms quickly transformed from illusion to reality.

The man looked up slightly, signaling the old general to watch.

——That was around the Hope Light Society, villages using alchemical creations to cultivate and plant fields, prospering and developing, with a shadow of mechanized planting on Earth.

——That was around the Extreme North Inheritance Hall, ordinary people, whether they were Northern tribesmen, or Yan Frost residents, or demonized people and non-demonized people from all over the world, all collectively comprehending the inheritance, cultivating and working, supporting themselves while learning the source energy skills.

——That was the scene of everyone putting aside their mutual hatred, living together, and fighting for the future.

Of course, there was also the scene of the crystal sapling, located at the top of the Hope Light Tower, shining with light comparable to the Holy Sun, the Burning Ember Divine Wood sapling was growing vigorously.

In one year, the Burning Ember Divine Wood was far from mature. Even if it wanted to become the size of the ancient Banrong Undying Tree, it would probably take hundreds of years.

However, just illuminating a large area centered on the Hope Light Mountains was completely enough, and could undertake the role of maintaining a local ecosystem.

In the hundreds of years, the Holy Sun in the sky would be extinguished, but a new Holy Sun would grow out and once again illuminate the world.

Su Zhou didn't change anything. These were all the most realistic images, all the past and present, everything that was happening within the sphere of influence of the Hope Light Society.

He believed that Akharonov could see it.

But this was not the end.

Because, another phantom appeared on the other side of Su Zhou's body.

——That was in the mobile cities, the souls of demonized people who were being bullied by gangs, discriminated against by ordinary people, clearly carrying the hopes of their families, but were eventually hunted down and thrown into source energy furnaces.

——That was around the wilderness devastated by natural disasters, many simple buildings, and the poor people struggling to survive in them. They had no help from the mobile cities, and could only constantly migrate under the threat of natural disasters and the demon moon, living humble lives, not even worthy of being oppressed and exploited by the nobles.

——That was a child who was destined to endure suffering from birth, with a tortuous fate, because he was the son of a demonized person, born in a slum. Even if he was intelligent and had no demonization disease, he was destined to be rejected, and his behavior to fight for respect would be denounced as 'barbaric' by those high-ranking, decent people.

Because not respecting the bottom people was part of this order. If the pariahs wanted respect, it would be destroying the order, destroying civilization.

In the eyes of those decent people who wore neat coats, ate rice and meat, and had enough food and clothing, this kind of order was a good civilization, and those who destroyed this good civilization that they depended on for their lives were the barbarians who should be spurned.

Even, in the phantom, there was such a memory.

A mother gave birth to ten children, but because she was too poor to support them, she buried three. This was very normal for poor families. Burying their own children, and even having abortions in order to no longer have children, was also very common, after all, they had no means of contraception.

There was also a mother in the upper district whose child died in the riot. At the funeral, she cried very sadly and howled very loudly.

"What's there to cry about?" Hearing this sound, a slum mother who was washing clothes thought, "How many children have we lost? We never cried at all."

It wasn't that she wasn't sad about her dead children, but she really didn't think human life was so precious. How could she work if she cried so sadly? She still had seven children to raise.

Of course, this was still limited to ordinary people.

And what about the nobles?

If a noble mother in the Aean World lost a child, she would find a few commoner and poor children as burial objects, to serve as playmates and servants in the afterlife, so that her child would not be lonely.

Such customs were not even rare.

People's joys and sorrows are not connected, even if they experience the same things.

Who is more barbaric?

What is wrong?

The answer is this social order.

Su Zhou stared at Akharonov, who was opening his eyes and watching all of these phantoms.

He could see a bit of unextinguished light in this old general. He didn't know if it was the goodness in his nature that had not been extinguished, or if it was because of the influence of other people, but he felt that the other party would know that he was wrong.

For what is right, eliminating what is wrong is certainly a joyous thing, but if you can make what is wrong admit that it is wrong before it dies, then that is naturally even more joyous.

Because death is not the end.

Just like online debates, the argument may continue until one side gives up and ends the topic, but giving up is not the end, one side admitting that it is wrong is.

In order to prove that he really had this power, and wasn't just talking nonsense, Su Zhou showed Akharonov his power in the Burning Soul Realm, showed his past achievements, and then said what he was going to do in the future.

Su Zhou even showed Akharonov how he was going to reform in the future: he would take the Extreme North Ice Field and the Yan Frost Territory as the core, ensure the growth of the Burning Ember Divine Wood, and then carry out step-by-step purges against the surrounding forces, using absolute strength to suppress all the inferior nobles.

He would reform agriculture, create new source energy engines. The design drawings for the engine were very advanced. Although Akharonov didn't know if it could operate, or if it was real, after seeing it, he felt that the design was very mature. It was impossible to use it to deceive himself. Wouldn't it be more enjoyable to use this energy to smash himself with a shield?

The facts proved it.

Su Zhou had a program, a plan, and his own goals.

He walked according to the steps, and advanced steadily. He believed that struggle was necessary, but struggle must find the right method and enemy, unite friends, and win over centrists.

"The Empire...can't do all of this."

Although he still maintained his stubbornness on the surface, Akharonov's heart had actually begun to waver.

Because the imperial system meant that they had natural enemies and a class that needed to be ruled. They would have no friends.

Because the emperor was a lone man. He needed to rule over his own ministers, and the ministers often fought for their own interests, instead of for a better tomorrow for everyone.

"This is what I am going to do."

Su Zhou answered all of the questions that the old general had previously questioned, and cut off the other party's path of retreat.

Su Zhou believed that Akharonov knew all of this, he would not fail to understand.

So, he asked.

"Now, General, who considers himself civilized, there are two paths in front of you. One is to use demonized people as fuel, and to regard the people as gray livestock. The pace of progress is only for the benefit of the nobles and the emperor."

"The other is that everyone is equal, everyone has the obligation to learn, the obligation to serve everyone, everyone can cultivate source energy, and can grasp their own destiny. The pace of progress is for themselves, for everyone."

Su Zhou held up the phantoms of the two paths in front of the stunned Akharonov. He said calmly: "Civilized you, how will you choose?"

The old general opened his mouth, his mouth was dry, but he couldn't speak.

At this moment, in Su Zhou's heart, he finally understood why even the two Divine Woods, which were as correct as can be, and represented the great existences of 'existence' and 'continuation', were still unable to defeat Twilight.

He also knew why, although Yala did not argue with the Divine Woods, and even admitted that they were right most of the time, he was still unwilling to completely admit their correctness.

The answer was actually very simple.

"Existence is not right, it is just reasonable."

Su Zhou said silently in his heart. He sighed.

"And reasonable is 108,000 miles away from right. There are countless more tragic and indescribably miserable worlds in the multiverse than this Aean World. Their existence must have its reasons and be reasonable, but it is not right at all."

Closing his eyes, Su Zhou couldn't help but shake his head in his heart: "Yes... Yala may be right."

"Right does not exist."

"But that doesn't matter."

At this moment, Akharonov raised his head, his eyes were a little dazed. Of course he knew that everything in these phantoms was real. He had seen such a sad world, so he didn't want to see an even more tragic world. Therefore, he wanted to maintain the current civilization and ensure the stability of existence.

But many times, the stability on the Aean Continent was just stably and inefficiently slaughtering the poor people.

Otherwise, with the area and technology of the Aean Continent, supporting trillions of people would be an extremely simple matter.

"But..." Even at this point, the old general still didn't want to admit it. His white hair was soaked with sweat and hung on his temples.

Wiping away a handful of sweat, Akharonov struggled and said: "But all of this is to allow everyone who still exists now to live stably!"

Hearing this, Su Zhou shook his head slightly.

"Civilization is not order, stability, continuation, and existence, these superficial things... If you really think that civilization is just human thoughts and trends, an accumulation of some cultures, a combination of some social phenomena, and you think that the word civilization represents everything that already exists."

"You will never be able to understand the true meaning of civilization."

——What exactly is civilization?

At this moment, Su Zhou could hear Akharonov's heart asking.

So he raised his hand and pointed at himself, and then pointed at the other party's heart.

"Ask yourself."

The man said lightly.

"What is your best imagination of civilization? Is it better than it is now? Is it brighter than it is now?"

"Is it more perfect, joyful, beautiful, good-looking, lovely, and a million times more exciting than it is now?"

"But that's just imagination, it's unreasonable and doesn't exist..." The old general clenched his fists. He did imagine such a future, an impractical world that had never existed.

A world of great harmony.

Therefore, he gritted his teeth and denied it.

"That is something that does not exist at all!"

He roared hoarsely: "A fantasy that can never be achieved... What's the use of knowing that thing?!"

"So that's what's right."

And Su Zhou nodded calmly, admitting it.

At this moment, he revealed a smile and looked down at the old general who had already lowered his head: "Imagining 'non-existent beautiful things', and then moving towards a 'non-existent beautiful future', when thousands upon thousands of people take this step forward, that is the embodiment of the essence of civilization."

"Civilization is not just a noun, but also an adjective—we should be civilized people."

"Innovators who are moving towards 'better'!"

Su Zhou put down the shield. The crystal giant shield flowed with a radiance like the Holy Sun, enveloping the entire battle formation of the Third Army.

Under this light, Akharonov was silent for a long time.

From the initial fearlessness of sarcasm, to the subsequent慷慨激昂, then the intention to refute, and finally the silence, everything happened in just a few minutes.

The four-headed dragon stood between heaven and earth, the Third Army stopped in place, all the soldiers heard the conversation between Su Zhou and Akharonov. Some had blank expressions and could not understand, some clenched their fists and felt indignant.

But also, some widened their eyes, extremely shocked.

They understood Su Zhou's words, like a thunderbolt tearing through the dark clouds, allowing sunlight to pierce into their hearts.

Even Okolyolov, the general beside Akharonov, his son, widened his eyes.

He subconsciously grabbed his hair, scratching it painfully.

This soldier, who only knew how to obey orders, suddenly realized something. That was, all of the people they had suppressed and killed over the years, those people whose reasons they could not understand at all, and only felt that it was annoying to make trouble, what exactly were they rising up and resisting all of this for?

He understood, finally understood, but only just understood.

So, he suddenly felt shame.

Su Zhou stood in front of the generals, but seemed to be standing in front of everyone.

——You should be aware——

——This is the moment——

A silent棒喝 exploded in their hearts.

The flames were burning fiercely. The fire that ignited in the wilderness before dawn had not yet been extinguished. The dazzling flames spread in the bushes, turning into scars that divided the plain into fragments.

Looking around at all the soldiers and soldiers of the Third Army, Su Zhou hoped that the flames could also ignite in people's hearts, so that they could bloom with light.

He could certainly revive the Burning Ember Divine Wood and make the world no longer dark, but he even more hoped that the Burning Ember Fire could burn in the hearts of everyone on the Aean Continent.

That kind of light was the real daylight, which could illuminate this world shrouded in Twilight.

"...You, you are right."

And finally, after a long period of silence, the old general finally sighed and admitted: "Yes, indeed, I was wrong, we were all wrong."

He lowered his head in despair, kneeling on one knee on the ground, with the longbow in his hand as a crutch: "The only reason we don't change is because I am a general, and Mihail is the emperor. We are all rulers. Who would think of killing themselves?"

"On the contrary, Iroviz... Iroviz, he has always been a knight, and only a knight, he is even unwilling to be a noble... So, he is the one who is right..."

He smiled bitterly, and had to admit all of this.

Because Su Zhou had power, had authority, he controlled the life and death of everyone in the Third Army, and it was only a matter of a thought.

Otherwise, even if he really knew that Su Zhou was right, Akharonov would not admit it. Instead, he would attack Su Zhou, kill him with all his strength, and annihilate his words in the dust.

He would definitely do that—it could even be said that he had done it in the past.

But now, he couldn't pretend not to know, ignore it, or retreat, because Su Zhou was right in front of him.

It was precisely because he realized that he would indeed do this that Akharonov felt shame at this moment.

Clearly knowing what was right, but still choosing the wrong path, just because it was more beneficial to him, so he despised the dignity of others.

He only then knew that he was so despicable.

"Then surrender, bring the entire Third Army with you."

And Su Zhou's voice sounded.

In the past, no one had ever persuaded an entire army to surrender, because no one had ever held absolute destructive power over an entire army. Even in the Burning Soul Realm, facing a strong army led by a disaster-level powerhouse, it could not be said that they were sure to win and could definitely annihilate the other party.

But Su Zhou was different.

The man said these words, his tone as ordinary as advising people to go to bed early and get up early: "Your power should be used to create a new world, not to maintain the old world."

"Abandon those meaningless honors, your blood should flow for a better future, and loyalty should be given to your parents and family, not a ridiculous emperor."

Between illusion and reality, the four-headed dragon, which controlled the flow of source energy in the entire Northwest Wilderness, watched the four directions at the same time, no one had a chance to counterattack.

This was the most important thing.

Su Zhou's power ensured that everyone could only reason with him, instead of fighting.

He had cultivated for six years, and finally accomplished one thing.

That was to allow everyone in the world to only reason with him peacefully.

"That's right."

At this moment, Su Zhou seemed to have remembered something: "Also, tell that Sun Emperor, if he is willing to cooperate with me to create a new world, I will give him a lenient sentence when I judge him, at least I won't eat him."

Although he didn't understand what Su Zhou meant by not eating him, Akharonov, whose eyes were gray, shook his head. He clenched his fists and smiled bitterly: "No, it's impossible."

"Mihail will not change. He is my friend and monarch. I know how stubborn and arrogant he is. He became emperor in order to have the right to judge everyone, so that no one in the world can point fingers at him."

"Moreover."

Speaking of this, raising his head, Akharonov's expression carried a trace of lost laughter. The old man ridiculed himself mockingly: "He is us."

"Asmodeus XIII is the core of the Sun Emperor, but the Sun Emperor is not just Asmodeus XIII."

He raised his head, looked at Su Zhou, whose eyes were solemn, and the old general stretched out his hand and pointed to his heart: "The Sun Emperor is the will of the Empire. In other words."

"——It is our will."

"An immortal god, the monster we created."

"A god of the masses? The Way of [Unification]? Or the Order Road of [Coordination]?" Su Zhou keenly noticed the meaning in Akharonov's words, but could not get an answer.

Because at this time, Akharonov pulled out his saber from his waist, a long sword cast from the highest quality ice amber source energy steel.

"Surrender." At this moment, he said to everyone.

Then, the old general condensed his entire body's source energy, collapsing his soul, heart-light body, and source energy core. Then, he slashed his sword at his own head.

All of his struggles in life were denied. He suddenly understood that all of the hardships and setbacks he had experienced, all of the pain and torture he had endured, were all meaningless. All of the effort he had put into his life would be in vain.

He had no face to live.

——Nothingness.

At the last moment of his life, this word suddenly appeared in Akharonov's heart.

It was too nothing.

Just for existence, just for the continuation of the Empire, all of the evil deeds and efforts made in order to live would eventually turn into nothingness with death, especially since this death was his own suicide, it was simply meaningless.

But he also had an understanding in his heart.

If you want to transcend nothingness, you must transcend existence. Don't just do something to live, but do something more noble and correct.

"My death is not to atone for my sins, nor is it to escape. I have no face to atone for my sins, and I cannot escape."

Before his soul self-destructed, this fragment of thought flashed out from the general's mind.

Death was his last resistance.

Boom, a thunder-like roar resounded through the sky.

In this great shock, in front of the Third Army's battle formation, the mountain range giant heart-light body collapsed and disintegrated like a building in an earthquake. Its head fell, and then turned into dust in the air.

——General of the Third Army of the Empire, Duke Tyrol, Akharonov committed suicide in the Northwest Wilderness.

Because of unbearable shame and mistakes.

Blood splashed around. Akharonov's headless corpse knelt on the ground. Okolyolov cried out in shock. He lunged forward and picked up his father's head as quickly as possible, only to find that he had not closed his eyes even in death.

He was gazing at this world.

Su Zhou did not stop the other party's suicide.

Akharonov had committed many sins. The righteous army that the original owner of this body had been a part of was wiped out under his command. The deaths of a million people in a city could be attributed to his order, and this general had issued such orders no less than twenty times.

When he first entered the Aean World, Su Zhou was shocked that his student, Gasha, would actually massacre 20 million people in the future, and felt that he was a veritable demon king.

But looking at it now, although Akharonov did not personally massacre people, the number of people who died from his orders was no less than 20 million.

Adding in those who died from the Empire's tyranny, the number was even greater than the number of people the Sky Dusk Great Khan had massacred with his army.

If you had to compare evil, the Emperor of the Empire was the real demon king, demon emperor.

So, this was the ending that Akharonov deserved. Su Zhou would not stop the other party.

But he still remained silent, because of the other party's admission of his mistake before his death, that kind of understanding-like repentance.

Also, the information that had been revealed.

"Asmodeus XIII."

He raised his head, looked at the already dark horizon, where the holy sun had set, and the red moon that had just risen.

The remaining essence of the Divine Wood shone upon the world, providing all the life in this world with its former blessings, as well as its current curses.

Su Zhou clenched his fists, and in the depths of his confused eyes, a raging fire burned.

"Sun Emperor..."

He murmured to himself: "What kind of monster are you?"

I'll try to post regularly in the future!