Chapter 34: Peace Walker (Part 2)
World Star River, Unknown Void.
"The interior of this world is filled with powerful chaotic energy... but it is far from being an Evil God. It seems that even if there is civilization inside, it has at most developed to the level of a primitive tribal era."
A surging wave of Holy Light flashed through the chaotic temporal currents, then slowly condensed into a mass of countless multicolored bubbles mixed together. Under the radiance of the holy glow, an aged white-haired old man stood in the void, accompanied by a golden-haired knight with a resolute expression.
"Hmm... Self-annihilation due to fighting over gathering places? Insect clusters releasing toxins against each other, causing a mixture of compounds, creating a low-ignition-point, high-concentration acidic vapor. The acid mist was ignited directly by sunlight, leading to a massive explosion. Additionally, there was the spread of an abnormal infectious disease due to the failure to dispose of corpses in a timely manner."
The old man narrowed his eyes slightly, seemingly able to see through the world's barrier and directly observe the situation inside. He murmured softly, "It's a large-scale self-annihilation caused by an internal war within an insect-like cluster civilization. Their civilization has developed to the point of building large underground nests."
"Purify it."
Saying this, the old man raised his hand and sent down Holy Light from across the void.
Infinite radiance pierced through the world's barrier in an instant. Three pillars of light—gold, white, and gray—swept across every corner of the internal world like three suns. From mountains to ocean floors, from continental shelves to basins, every region that once had an ecosystem but was now tainted by chaos was thoroughly illuminated and purified.
The golden-haired knight stood behind the old man, watching his adoptive father purify the world, then connect to the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground to request travel to the next possible life-bearing world. He remained silent.
The temporal currents churned, and they appeared in another world.
"This world hasn't been completely tainted by chaos yet, but its ecosystem has been severely damaged... Chemical weapons warfare has completely poisoned the atmosphere. Individuals of this civilization can only move outside while carrying anti-toxin life-support equipment. The chaotic energy hasn't yet condensed into a physical form, but it's already very massive. It seems I'll have to send down an avatar to cleanse it."
The old man sighed. A stream of light flew out from him and entered the world. He shook his head regretfully, "This world's civilization has already developed... what Joshua calls satellite technology? They were on the verge of lunar colonization, even capable of building floating cities... But the civilization's mother body has been completely destroyed. Even after the apocalypse, if they want to rebuild their civilization, they'll need a long time to start from scratch."
It could be seen that lizard-like creatures, but more slender and agile, with membranes between their limbs, were wearing strange life-support suits, carefully walking through the ruins of cities filled with toxic gas and acid. They were collecting any usable materials and facilities they could find. Their current gathering places were on the tops of some building remnants, along with a few remaining large floating cities. These were located at high altitudes where the air was relatively clean and barely livable, but the floating cities had no source of resources—they were water without a source.
Another temporal teleportation.
Not every teleportation could save, and not every teleportation encountered civilization. The journey of the old man and the knight was long and tedious. They were constantly putting out fires, constantly eliminating already-formed chaos. In just a few days, they witnessed the extinction or near-destruction of dozens of civilizations. These civilizations had never been discovered before because they hadn't shown any value worth discovering or communicating with. They were unformed sparks, quietly lying in wait, hoping to one day bloom with light in the void.
But now, everything had lost its meaning.
"Loranda, what do you think?"
Finally, above a blue planet world, the old Pope gazed into the void, watching his avatar—a humanoid form of light—defeat an evil fallen avatar that resembled a mass of light, rescuing the civilization on this planet from an unprecedented social upheaval. Without turning his head, he asked in a low voice, "Do you understand the power of this 'Unknown Evil God'?"
"Father, I understand."
The adopted son of the Pope of the Seven Gods, Eagle, the Paladin Loranda, bowed his head respectfully and answered seriously, "But there are some things I still don't understand now... After witnessing that the poison of chaos can affect so many worlds, amidst my anger and shock, I unexpectedly had some other thoughts."
Upon hearing this, Eagle nodded slightly and said, "This is the purpose of bringing you here... Speak."
After receiving permission, Loranda turned his head, looked at the blue world that was gradually returning to calm, and said softly, "I once traveled across the Mycroft Continent, helping people, solving problems, and eradicating cults. Because of your teachings, I didn't intend to stay on the Holy Mountain to cultivate in asceticism, becoming a strong ascetic who has no benefit to this world except for personal strength."
"I traveled through the Far South, wandered in the Western Mountains. I helped countless people and punished many evildoers... I have seen many loves and partings, many thrilling events. Naturally, I have also seen some of the ugliest things in this world."
"In a small border town near the mountains, young women would always go missing inexplicably. Sometimes it was the blacksmith's second daughter, sometimes the daughter of an ordinary farmer. Their disappearance was naturally a huge disaster for their families, but for the entire city, it was just an insignificant piece of gossip... Of course, I couldn't sit idly by back then. I traced the clues, ignored the advice and warnings of many local officials and nobles, and found all the missing women... Some, I only found parts of."
"The lucky ones were just sold as servants and could be rescued intact. The unlucky ones were sold to dark mages as experimental materials, or to illegal vampires or wealthy nobles with abusive tendencies, hand fetishes, or necrophilia. In those cases, having a complete human form was already good. Most, even as corpses, were very fragmented."
The old Pope listened silently. Having also traveled the world like this in the past, he said nothing. Loranda continued calmly, "Of course, it wasn't just women being abducted and sold. Some little boys or infants were also stolen... Some were sold to infertile families as heirs—that was the luckiest outcome, at least they could have a complete life. But most of the time, these children would become death warriors, experimental tools for certain families, or have their tongues cut out, limbs amputated, and be used as begging tools in big cities."
"There are many possibilities, and I won't list them all. Of course, these aren't really important, at least not to civilization."
Saying this, the Paladin raised his head. His tone held no anger, only a cold calmness: "These are all small matters... Father, there are even bigger things. For example, collusion between officials and merchants to exploit the lower classes, or the shoddy construction of dams leading to the complete flooding of downstream rivers, causing tens of thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands to be displaced. Corrupt kings, blind officials, nobles doing whatever they want in their territories—these things don't improve with technological progress. Just a few days ago, a king from the Western Mountains showed off his pet maids to me, treating people like livestock. I didn't smash him with my hammer because I knew that in their society, these things were legal and reasonable. I couldn't force ignorant natives to follow etiquette just because I have high moral standards."
"You could have killed him," the old Pope said noncommittally. "Of course, you would have to know the consequences of your actions. But Loranda, what are you trying to say?"
"What I'm trying to say is that contradictions, conflicts, ugly things, hatred between people, and the sorrow buried deep in society are the most normal things in the world. As long as we haven't reached the level of the Radiant Era back then, these deep-rooted flaws will never disappear. But even in the Radiant Era, weren't there similar contradictions? Conflicts—what do they have to do with Evil Gods?"
The Paladin raised his head, his tone as firm as iron: "I don't believe for a second that these conflicts were induced by an Evil God. Because this is the bitter fruit brewed from the malice hidden in the human heart. If it doesn't erupt now, it will erupt in the future."
"But in reality, the destruction of these civilizations was caused by the chaotic disturbances of the 'Unknown Evil God.'"
Eagle didn't show much emotion in response to his adopted son's words. He simply pointed out where the other was wrong: "Without the Unknown Evil God, the contradictions of these civilizations might have been masked and dissolved by the social progress brought by technological advancement. Just like our Mycroft Civilization, after obtaining the Unified Grand Database, many contradictions disappeared due to rapid technological development—at least, they haven't reached the point of eruption."
This was also why the Mycroft Civilization, up to now, didn't have many contradictions that could be called crises. If a piece of land yielded less than a hundred kilograms, farmers couldn't survive after paying taxes, which would naturally induce contradictions. But if technology advanced and a piece of land yielded three or four hundred kilograms, then farmers wouldn't starve after paying taxes, and the contradictions would naturally be suppressed.
Regarding the contradiction Eagle pointed out, Loranda just smiled calmly: "Father, what I mean is that at least 'conflict' itself wasn't spawned by an Evil God. Conflict has always existed. The destruction of these civilizations is very reasonable. Except for the fact that after death, they are transformed into chaos, everything seems as it should be."
"The power of this Evil God is not about spawning conflict. If it had a name, it would definitely not be 'Conflict' or 'Contradiction.' At the very least, an Evil God that can create them out of thin air could be called a Conflict Evil God or a Contradiction Evil God."
This argument was very clear and also aligned with Eagle's own previous speculations, so he nodded, signaling Loranda to continue.
"Father, I once explored an alien world together with Count Radcliffe. I often communicate with him. He often says that the existence of civilization itself is not something that 'necessarily appears.' Any civilization has the possibility of collapsing at any time. This is the greatest 'social experiment' that all intelligent beings have united in with their instincts. Everyone is crossing the river by feeling the stones, not knowing what ditches lie ahead."
"Even the Radiant Civilization faced destruction. The era of Great Harmony wasn't necessarily flawless. Since civilization is not 'eternal,' it must inevitably meet its 'end.' And the reason for the end can be anything. What can be destroyed will inevitably be destroyed by that reason."
"The essence of this Unknown Evil God is to drive civilization, even all things, toward 'self-termination.' It can be called the Terminal Evil God, the Annihilation Evil God. Of course..."
Saying this, Loranda let out a breath and said softly, "It can also be called Death."
"Father."
The Paladin paused, sighed, and said, "I want to protect the Mycroft World, protect my homeland. I only want to protect this world. But to be honest, after seeing the power of this Evil God, I am truly afraid—more afraid than when I witnessed the descent of the Calamity Evil God's avatar back then."
"When sorrow keeps accumulating in the abyss, one day it will be fermented by despair into a bitter fruit called death... So many civilizations have been destroyed, providing power for this nameless Evil God. Even if the Mycroft World can hold on now, we will inevitably not be spared in the future. Only by protecting one world can we fail to protect that one world. Only by keeping the star river in our hearts can we shelter a corner of peace."
Hearing this, Eagle finally showed some expression. He smiled.
And Loranda continued, raising his hand to point at the blue world beneath them. Below the world's barrier, chaos was dissipating, and the humanoid form of light was returning victorious: "Between people, there may be isolated islands, but between civilizations, it is absolutely not the case. When they go extinct, we are like teeth without lips. Even if I am a selfish person who only wants to protect my own world, I must now take action to help other civilizations."
Saying this, the Paladin also smiled: "My strength is sufficient to suppress some weaker worlds. Father, I don't want to follow behind you anymore. I want to carry out missions on my own."
"Go, just remember your original intention."
Eagle didn't say much. He just turned around and patted Loranda on the shoulder: "But I thought you would need a few more years of sedimentation to understand this so clearly... Loranda, your progress is great, far beyond my imagination."
"That's because I stand behind you, Father, and behind Count Radcliffe... Those who walk ahead move so fast that those who follow behind naturally dare not slack off."
Loranda began to apply for teleportation permissions from the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground. Of course, because he wasn't a Legendary expert, there would be some delay. But this gave him time to exchange a few more words with Eagle. The Paladin said with some emotion, "So-called heroes aren't those who charge alone, but those who can inspire others to muster the courage to fight and move forward together."
Eagle looked at his disciple and adopted son, stroked his beard, and said in a somewhat meaningful low voice, "So, in your eyes, Joshua is a hero?"
"Of course not, Father."
Loranda said with a smile: "Count Radcliffe is not a hero. He is a banner."
"He is the banner of our era."
A banner that was raised ten years ago, fluttering in the fierce wind.
"But he himself doesn't know or care... The banner marches at the very front, and heroes follow closely behind. Our civilization, because of him, has moved toward the direction he guides. Joshua probably hasn't realized this himself, but in reality, even you, Father, aren't you involuntarily guided by him? Just like this time, using the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground to suppress the chaotic disturbances, he was also at the very front."
"Haha, he's always been swift and resolute."
The old man couldn't help but chuckle softly. He stroked his beard again and said calmly, "So, Loranda, what do you think you are, and what do you want to become in the future?"
At this moment, Loranda's body was already enveloped by the teleportation array that the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground had torn through the void. He was in an ethereal state just before teleportation. In response to his adoptive father's question, the Paladin said naturally, "I want to become a hero."
"Since I cannot become the banner."
"Then I will become the person closest behind the banner."
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