Chapter 10: Everything They Said Was Right
No. 3 looked bewildered and asked, "Run?"
Run what? A race?
"Of course it's not a race. What I mean is, the strength of the Black Mist Progenitor has made most people truly understand the gap in combat power between evil gods and legendary experts. For the first time, they really comprehend that the difference between the 'gods' and 'evil gods' they speak of is fundamentally not a matter of an 'evil' stance."
By the time Joshua said this, he was already very calm. He stated flatly, "They themselves are legends. In their eyes, gods are naturally not some great, unique, unshakable beings, and evil gods and sages are merely slightly stronger gods. That was the former belief of most Mycroft legends. But when facing the Black Mist Progenitor, they realized that the power possessed by true ancient evils is not something that can be countered by decades of hard struggle.
"In other words, the fact that evil gods will invade in the future fills them with fear—probably not fear, but rather making what they believe to be the correct choice."
"And that is to run."
No. 3 listened silently to Joshua's account, but for some reason, she didn't feel any contempt. Instead, a deep sense of helplessness arose within her.
Yes, anyone would feel fear... Even if not afraid, no one would want to endure it head-on, right?
Evil gods are the natural disasters of the multiverse, akin to volcanic eruptions, typhoon strikes, and earthquakes. Faced with these calamities, the best choice for a civilization is naturally to run—no matter how strong one is, no one would think it meaningful to swing a sword at a volcano or charge into a typhoon.
Even if one overcomes the natural disaster, what's the point? Battered and bruised, countless lives lost, the world painstakingly repaired will be destroyed—is it really worth it?
At this moment, Joshua continued to mutter calmly to himself, "I know what they're thinking... Of course they're not afraid. They're not even afraid of death, so how could they fear evil gods? Besides, everyone here is a legendary expert. Even if they really can't win, they can absolutely retreat if they want to."
"It's the responsibility of being human and the glory of being strong that makes them stand here, sharing life and death with Mycroft civilization."
Having said this, Joshua let out another heavy sigh.
Although he hadn't known them long, he could say without hesitation that all the legendary experts of the Mycroft world were people who had transcended base interests.
They might have flaws or bad habits—like enjoying smoking, pretending to be ordinary adventurers to play the fool, having a bunch of illegitimate children, buying houses everywhere but never living in them... But this was just their way of life. When it came down to it, they were willing to give their lives to protect the world and civilization they deeply loved.
But it hadn't come down to it yet, had it?
The evil gods still had decades before they would arrive—at the earliest thirty years, at the latest forty or fifty, or even seventy or eighty.
Such a long time was enough for Mycroft civilization to formulate countermeasures, without having to rush into a decisive battle with the evil gods. Just like detecting the timing of a volcanic eruption, knowing the landing point of a typhoon, or predicting when an earthquake would start, the local residents could evacuate early. Mycroft civilization could completely avoid the enemy's edge, hide far away, and only strike back after fully developing.
Was this idea wrong? Of course not! What the Era of Falling Stars lacked was time. Give them a few more centuries, with all the heritage from the Era of Radiance, through the struggles of generation after generation, they would eventually become stronger than the Era of Radiance.
But...
Joshua clenched his fist.
But could they really run? Would they really have time to develop?
If the behind-the-scenes manipulator he suspected existed, then no matter how much Mycroft civilization ran, it would be meaningless.
But in the end, this was still just a guess. Even Joshua himself doubted it, and if he told others, they wouldn't believe him.
"They have many ideas, each one very thorough. It's clear that during this time, they've seriously thought about the future of our world."
Joshua raised his head, staring at the black dome of the information hall, and said calmly, "For example, the Nature Mentor."
"Galannod proposed an idea—she plans to use her own body as a carrier to create an unprecedented 'hibernation pod' as large as several mountain ranges. Just like the Father of Nature back then, she intends to preserve the bodies of all civilized individuals within her own body for hibernation, then enter the void herself to find another world suitable for our survival."
"A crazy idea, but highly feasible. Because she is the Nature Mentor, she is a complete ecosystem. As long as she lands on a suitable world, the entire Mycroft civilization can re-prosper and flourish within decades, recreating today's glory."
"Another example is William and Stanley. These two great scholars of the spiritual realm are even crazier than Galannod. They plan to create an enormous world-wide magic array, uploading the souls of all life in the Mycroft world into the magic net server, leaving only a carrier in reality—that is, within a psychic terminal. They believe that what flesh can do, puppets can also do. We only need to control puppets through soul projection to enter the world, which is far safer and less costly than the current method."
"Does that sound familiar? That's right, what they're describing is the prototype of the Calamity Evil God, the World Coordination Array. Although these guys don't know about the existence of the World Coordination Array, they've proposed similar or even identical concepts. I guess great minds think alike."
"Even Nostradamus thinks it's a good idea. He even believes that the Soul Abyss Sphere and Restorative Pillar I created perfectly fit the plans of Galannod, William, and the others—a carrier that can fully store souls, and an automated machine that can perfectly recreate bodies. We could stuff the souls of the entire civilization into a server the size of a mountain range, then release them in the target world to recreate Mycroft civilization."
"It's perfect. We don't need to abandon a single person. We can take everyone with us, even the elderly over eighty will gain a new lease on life."
Having said this, Joshua closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh. "So many of us, thinking of so many ways, yet only I am thinking about how to get stronger, how to fight the evil gods. But everyone else is thinking about leaving, about how to avoid this... This feeling is really unpleasant."
No. 3 was no longer sitting in the chair. She floated in mid-air, not knowing what to say, so she could only gently hold the warrior's hand.
"You understand them, and they understand you... There's no need to be angry about this." The artificial intelligence girl whispered softly in the warrior's ear, "There's still plenty of time. We have time to think, don't we?"
"I know..."
Joshua clenched his fists again, but immediately released them. He said flatly, "I still remember what Nostradamus said to me just now."
With that, he fell into a recent memory.
In the deepest laboratory of Winterfell Academy, the old mage and several other legends sat in chairs, all gathered around a round table. Nostradamus was across the table, staring intently at the warrior. He spoke in the most solemn tone, "Joshua—"
"If you, or one of us, were to become a being on the level of a sage, then perhaps we would fight to the death for glory, just like the Radiant Civilization back then."
"But we are the helmsmen of civilization, the highest echelon. We can decide whether the future of all life on Mycroft is to hibernate within Galannod's body or to be uploaded entirely into a server, becoming pure soul-spiritual entities."
On both sides of the round table, the legends whose names were mentioned revealed their faces. Their expressions were equally serious as they looked at Joshua. The Nature Mentor took over from Nostradamus and said gently, "We are willing to join forces to completely destroy Mycroft civilization in a single day—similarly, we can also save it. This immense power would cause some to fall, becoming tyrants and dictators, but we will not. This power only strengthens our resolve."
"Joshua, we are transcendent experts. The few of us chatting here can determine the direction of a great civilization—that's why we need caution, reverence, and extreme care, never allowing a single mistake. This immense power is our greatest glory and our greatest responsibility. We cannot decide the future of everyone in a world based on personal preference."
"Yes."
Beside him, the avatar of Israel let out a sigh. The Imperial Emperor murmured to himself, "We are not yet the Era of Radiance. We don't have the confidence to be as arrogant as they were back then. Moreover, even the Era of Radiance paid the price for their arrogance, which is why we exist."
"As the successors of the Era of Radiance, we naturally cannot repeat the same mistakes. Behind us are billions of people—even if we manage to block the evil gods, what then? They have no power to resist the evil gods' minions."
The memory ended.
Joshua did not sigh, nor did he clench his fists. He was silent for a long time before saying calmly, "Of course, everything they said was right."
"Even I have thought of escape methods like the Paradise of Bliss. And the reason I created the perfect human prototype and pondered what abilities void flesh could bring was precisely to prevent the situation where most ordinary people couldn't even resist the evil gods' minions... In truth, I'm not much different from them. I also haven't figured out how to deal with the collective assault of who knows how many evil gods."
"Unless I become a sage, but how exactly does one achieve that level? A sage is not the kind of selfish person who hides their advancement information. Yet the fact is that He left no message behind. We searched the Grand Database precisely to find some clue—the Decay Evil God is one clue, and I'll go find its whereabouts later."
"..."
No. 3 said nothing. She held Joshua's hand tightly, while the warrior lowered his head, staring at the densely packed black storage devices beneath the transparent crystal floor. He was speechless for a long time before continuing, "I'm not actually angry... But, No. 3, I just can't help thinking."
"Even if we successfully escape."
"Will we, as stray dogs, ever be able to counterattack and return?"