Chapter 78: We Are More Correct 6200

Chapter 78: We Are More Correct 6200

"Alright, no need to see me off. The teleportation array is right at the door. I may be old, but my legs aren't that bad yet."

In the Origin Star River, Jetram Star Domain, within the Mycroft multi-star-river void fortress cluster, a simple gathering banquet was being held in a separately designated rest area.

The rest area was large, capable of holding over two hundred people with the help of spatial magic. This space was almost too spacious for the number of people at this gathering, since no matter how you counted, the number of people familiar with a certain legendary warrior couldn't possibly exceed two hundred.

At this point, the gathering was nearing its end. Many were already preparing to take their leave. After clinking glasses with Archbishop Atanis, Joshua downed his wine in one gulp. Following this, the old priest, who had already decided to go to the Church's headquarters for further study and attempt to advance to the Ultimate rank, bid farewell to the warrior. The warrior, along with the two clergy members, Saya and Robzek, escorted him to the teleportation array at the door.

Turning around, Joshua surveyed the entire rest area. This gathering had been a complete success, pleasing both hosts and guests alike. It was a pity that Israel, Loranda, and Hill couldn't make it. The former, as a deity, was currently in the Boundless Heaven, with the assistance of the other six gods, establishing his own domain. The latter, having recently become a legendary, had taken on a diplomatic mission and was probably still wandering in some alien abyss.

As for the elven druid Hill, because he had become the chieftain of a large elven tribe, he was still diligently working in the Mycroft World. Coupled with the suddenness of Joshua's gathering, he simply couldn't spare the time. And if Hill couldn't spare the time, it meant that Lady Faina the Sea Dragon couldn't either. The couple regrettably missed this gathering, but Joshua didn't think it mattered much. After all, if the warrior wanted, he could create multiple avatars at any time to communicate with various friends. It was just that doing so would be somewhat disrespectful.

Now, quite a few people had already left. The two elders, Atanis and Nostradamus, each had their own work and couldn't stay too late. Although Eagle and the four Fairy Empresses had come by mid-gathering to say hello, they didn't stay long either, as their work was only busier. As for the Seventh Prince, Alva, it wasn't that he didn't want to be sociable, but Nostradamus, who was his father's teacher, was taking him to prepare for special training. Neither Joshua nor he could easily refuse.

Brandon and his wife, along with their two daughters, had originally planned to stay until the end. But Remy and Fran had grown up. Both were studying at the Wallachia branch of Winterfell Academy with excellent grades. Now, one planned to join the Imperial Foreign Exploration Department after graduation as an exploration team member, while the other intended to join the Void Army as a warship captain. Because of these ideas, the couple, who hoped their daughters would develop steadily and safely, had some unpleasantness with them. But this was also a normal conflict between parents and children. At this point, Joshua couldn't offer any advice. He could only drink a few more cups with Brandon and then see off this newly promoted legendary, yet worried father.

After all, no matter how sharp the sword, it cannot cut through the heart of an old father.

"We should be going too."

High Sister Saya and Paladin Captain Robzek, having accompanied Joshua to see off Archbishop Atanis, were also preparing to leave. After all, it was almost time for rest, and neither had any intention of staying overnight. Ultimately, they were also busy people. The monastery and the knight order both had many matters to attend to, especially now during the stable development period of exploring the star river, a time requiring hard work. Joshua naturally didn't refuse. After embracing them in turn, he bid them farewell.

Among those still remaining, Priest was standing by the window with Su Er, looking at the void scenery. His sister, Brandy, was wrapped in Priest's coat, asleep on the sofa. Also asleep was Lisa. The dragon girl held the little girl in her arms, her large tail covering them both, looking very warm.

Black was still sweeping through the leftover food from the banquet. Little Guang sat upright on Black's head, occasionally extending a light tentacle to stir the sauce on the dishes, seeming to be having a great time—Joshua hadn't let her play earlier. The dwarf Nick was also sitting at the dining table. He wasn't eating; instead, he had taken out a cookbook and seemed to be taking notes.

Ivan, Amira, Karin, Clark (the knight), Seid (the clergy), and Wayne (the mage) were discussing issues related to the Gold-rank realm at a small table nearby. But since three of them were mages, the clergy and the knight could only face each other and play Fae Cards. Judging by the strips of paper on their faces, the clergy had lost more than he won, but he was in a good mood. The knight, though winning quite a bit, looked as if his victories were sickening.

"Mind Control! Hahahaha!"
"Crap!"

On the other side, Constantine (the alchemist) was chasing Syndicate, demanding his Psychic Terminal contact number. This made the Flame Demon repeatedly reiterate that he was male. But Joshua could see that the alchemist wasn't after Syndicate's appearance at all, but rather his unique abyssal slime life essence. Although it seemed like they were both after genetic material, it was clear that the alchemist's methods and goals were not what ordinary people imagined.

Number 3 had just talked with Joshua for a long time, but later had to leave to analyze the information from the Knowledge Seizer. What remained in the rest area was a mana projection floating in mid-air, with very little computing power invested. It only moved when poked and otherwise floated like a glowing balloon. Ying and Lin were communicating with Chu Hao using "zzz" sounds. Joshua could understand them. They were discussing when to move the Lord's Manor to the void base. Then Chu Hao could transform into a void warship and tow the Lord's Manor flying through the void.

"Zzz, zzzzz!" (Absolutely brilliant idea!)
"Zzzzz, zzz!" (A flawless plan!)
"Zzzzz, zzzzzz?" (But, will the master agree?)

Is it necessary?

Joshua couldn't help but want to laugh. Move the Lord's Manor into the void? How could they come up with that? And would a Lord's Manor not in Moldavia still have meaning? Saying that was like having a lord without a territory...

...

Wait... according to this logic, then he, a lord who spent most of his time away from Moldavia, also seemed to have lost his meaning?

Time always passes quickly. Joshua wouldn't worry about where his students slept. They were all adults and should learn to take responsibility for their own affairs. Just like how the warrior briefly introduced several methods to reach the Ultimate rank to his students; the rest was up to their own efforts. As a teacher, Joshua could at most provide them with some convenient conditions.

However, just as Joshua was about to dispel this avatar and redirect his attention threads back to his main body, Priest and Lisa, who seemed to have just woken up, walked over together. Syndicate and the alchemist followed behind. In fact, Ivan, Amira, the knight, the mage, and the clergy all came over. Karin and Nick also stood nearby, their gazes earnest.

"What is it, you little ones?"

The warrior could tell at a glance that his students had gathered because they had questions to ask. He canceled his dissolution process and looked at this group of young people with considerable curiosity. "Could it be that you still have doubts about advancing to the Ultimate rank?"

Joshua's teachings had never been secretive. Whether it was his experience in advancing to the Technique and Force's Ultimate Essence, or his later thoughts on the Soul's Ultimate Essence, he had imparted everything to them without reservation. Logically speaking, with the intelligence of these little ones, who could be considered geniuses, they shouldn't have any more doubts.

"It's not about that, teacher."

The first to speak was Karin. This knight's daughter, who had probably been too absorbed in studying spells recently, had very dark circles under her eyes. She coughed first, then caught her breath and said softly, "Just now, we were discussing what we wanted to do in the future after advancing to the Ultimate rank. Then we accidentally started talking about issues related to future expansion."

"Yes. The number of legendary experts can't suddenly increase in the next ten or twenty years. In the foreseeable future, Ultimate-rank experts will be the core high-level force. According to the current trend, after our group advances to the Ultimate rank, we'll probably be dispatched to various vassal states and protectorates to serve as local governors."

The next to speak was Nick. This dwarf's beard had grown very long. In terms of appearance alone, he probably looked older than Joshua. But his voice still showed that he was a relatively young dwarf lad. "So, we were just discussing these vassal states that the fleet has recently subjugated."

The Mycroft Joint Fleet had recently nominally gained the vassalage of several void civilizations. Generally speaking, several void civilizations around the Space-Time Hub would actively or passively become vassals of the Mycroft Civilization. After all, the Space-Time Hub could not be lost, and the Mycroft Civilization's strike force around the Space-Time Hub was also very powerful. Therefore, for their own survival and to gain more benefits, many civilizations chose to submit during the Era of Falling Stars.

Of course, these civilizations were also marketed the Exchange System and Restorative Pillars. The Mycroft Civilization would also send a team of Transcendent Beings to nominally garrison these nations. In reality, these countries were all autonomous regions, and those Transcendent Being teams were essentially just guards protecting the Space-Time Hub.

Joshua naturally knew what his students meant by coming to ask him this—the answer was obvious.

They had already guessed what the current Mycroft high-level intended to do in the next ten or twenty years.

"Lord, you plan to use the 'Exchange System' to gradually encroach on the internal economic systems of these void civilizations, using powerful Transcendent force as intimidation to promote the 'commodities' of our Mycroft Civilization."

The mage pushed up his glasses. Although he wasn't a direct student of Joshua, as a member of the Elite Squad, he could be considered half of the warrior's unregistered disciple. He speculated confidently, "If this continues, within ten years, these seemingly independent void empires will become our true vassals. Driven by the extremely convenient Exchange System, they will lose a considerable part of their industrial production capacity. Anything that can be easily exchanged for will inevitably cause the collapse of the local related industrial system, because you, Lord, follow true equivalent exchange, charging no processing fees, labor costs, or even taxes!"

Joshua's expression was unreadable, neither confirming nor denying. But he didn't stop them from continuing. Next to speak was Priest. This young warrior, who had been explaining related issues to Su Er beside him, said in a low voice, "Some civilizations might become alert, but it's useless. As long as they don't dare to openly confront the Mycroft Civilization, don't dare to confront you, teacher, then they absolutely won't dare to ban the Exchange System. And if this continues, part, or even a large part, of their industrial system will collapse due to the more convenient Exchange System. Their people will become servants of the Mycroft Civilization, working for us, offering resources, and unknowingly, completely lose their sovereignty."

This drew nods of agreement from everyone.

"Well said."

Seeing that no one was speaking for a moment, Joshua couldn't help but nod. He clapped his hands and said approvingly, "You guessed very accurately. This is indeed the method the old Pope, the Seven Gods, and I came up with... Of course, I also have some selfish motives and a small plan, but overall, what you said is very correct."

"However." At this point, Joshua changed his tone. He said solemnly, "But I can tell that you don't seem to agree with this plan."

Suddenly, the hall fell into complete silence.

"How could that be? Although it sounds a bit cold and cruel, even making one want to ask overly sympathetic questions like 'Is this all their future can be?'"

At this moment, it was Lisa's crisp reply that broke the silence. The dragon girl lowered her voice, as if not wanting to disturb Brandy, who was sleeping behind them. "But there's no other way—"

"Because in a few decades, the evil gods will come."

Syndicate finished her sentence. The Flame Demon's expression was very serious at this moment.

Whether as Joshua's students or as Joshua's first 'saint', everyone present, as exemplary Transcendent elites of the next generation of the Mycroft Civilization, had long known of the existence of the evil gods and the news of their impending arrival.

"But, even if it's to fight against the evil gods, wouldn't uniting the strength of many civilizations to resist be better than us forcibly gathering the resources of other civilizations and struggling alone?"

It was only at this point that Priest truly raised the doubt in his heart. "Teacher, I can't quite understand. These civilizations—" He pointed out the window towards the void. "Although these civilizations might be inferior to us, who have inherited the legacy of the Era of Radiance, in certain technologies, their military force also has its unique aspects. If we were to call on them to fight against the evil gods together in the future, the resistance they provide as individual entities would certainly be greater than as vassals whose industrial systems have been destroyed!"

And no matter what, ten or twenty years was not enough time for the Mycroft Civilization to completely digest these vassals. Even merging territories was a major project. Look at the Shalt people, the Star Shepherds, and the Abyss Demons; they were still independent of the expedition fleet's core. Even these highly cooperative civilizations were like this, let alone those alien star river civilizations that might harbor malice.

"Moreover, this seems to erase the possibility of future progress for these civilizations..." Ivan nodded together with his sister and murmured to himself, "We've all used the Exchange System. It's really convenient and easy to use... But precisely because of that, sometimes when I want to do some experiments myself, I don't want to mix things myself for many steps, but directly ask the Exchange System for help."

Amira followed closely, "Yes, for some experiments and productions, if there is similar information in the Unified Grand Database, I can even directly exchange for the finished product. Sometimes, I don't even need to do the experiment, because the information left by predecessors already contains directly completed data... This is definitely not a good thing for the accumulation of experience and the spark of ideas! If this continues, these civilizations will basically be crippled."

"As long as no one can defeat you, teacher, then no one will dare to resist the Exchange System. And if no one dares to stop it, then they are destined to become slaves of the 'Exchange System' in the future!"

Compared to the creations of the legendary giant god derivative that controls the Steel Force, even the industrial system of a void civilization cannot possibly win. What the latter can produce, the former can produce; what the latter cannot produce, the former can still produce—and it's harmless, pollution-free, fast, cheap, with no price difference, arbitrary taxes, or scissors gap. Absolute equivalent exchange.

There's simply no comparison. They are bound to lose.

These were the views and doubts of Joshua's students.

—Very good.

Joshua did not immediately answer his students. He looked around and saw faces that were young, full of curiosity, resolute, and with their own convictions. They could already analyze events, summarize and conclude. They could already see the possible situation ten or twenty years from now, and from now on, they were thinking and worrying about the future.

—Perhaps, this was how the Sage of old faced his followers and saints, explaining his understanding and views?

Perhaps so. At this moment, the warrior's heart was filled with gentle joy. So he clapped his hands and said calmly, "Alright, your questions have been thought about and considered by me, the Pope, and other legendaries. The answer is simple: we must do this."

Saying this, Joshua looked up at the ceiling. His gaze could easily penetrate the walls and look into the dark void. "In a few decades, the evil gods will come. So, we are erasing the future possibilities of these civilizations to give everyone's future greater possibilities."

Lowering his head, the warrior's aura was slightly released. Instantly, including Black, who was still eating nearby, Ying, Lin, Little Guang, and Chu Hao, everyone raised their heads. They felt their master's aura surpass any previous limit in an instant. The warrior's students felt a pressure more than ten times greater than usual, and they couldn't stand steadily one by one, having to support each other.

Only Syndicate timely supported Lisa. At this moment, he displayed the boldness (pòlì) of a former strongman, withstanding the warrior's aura. This former Ultimate-rank greater demon, who had once had hopes of becoming a legendary, was very familiar with this kind of aura. Although it couldn't compare to back then, when he was used as a weapon by the strongman before him to massacre in the demon circle, it was enough to prove Joshua's 'seriousness'.

"'Future possibilities'—sounds nice. In reality, the reason these civilizations were chosen by us is precisely because they had already begun to decay. Apart from their vast territories, they had no 'progress' whatsoever."

At this point, Joshua, who had become slightly more serious, spoke in a rather stern tone. "Perhaps for them, a future not interfered with by us is a good choice, a good future. But in reality, the choices and futures we will provide them are definitely better than ninety-nine percent of possibilities and futures. But honestly, this sounds a bit hypocritical, so let me put it another way."

Pausing, the warrior squinted his eyes and scanned his students. "This is how the world works."

"The weak can only accept all this and change themselves for the world, adapting to it. Unless they can surpass me, surpass us, become strong, very strong—then they can, like us, force the world and other civilizations to change themselves, making the world and others adapt to them."

Joshua noticed that no one had shown any sign of 'cowardice' or 'submission' due to his earlier aura impact. This pleased him greatly, so he withdrew part of his pressure. He shook his head and said, "Actually, you got one thing wrong. Eagle, the Seven Gods, and I have no intention of forcibly promoting the Exchange System."

"Strength is one way to change the world. So are courage, confidence, fear, determination, conviction, a moment of passion, and even coercion, seduction, brainwashing, and deception. But these are just 'methods'. The most important thing is to take action, to make the possibility of change greater than zero. The Exchange System is just a trigger. You're right that it contains everything, and their production system might collapse because of it. But at the same time, they can completely absorb all the knowledge of our Mycroft from it."

"Listen, children. We are extremely generous, sharing all our information with all civilizations. We force no one. They can completely use 'determination' and 'conviction' to absorb knowledge from it, accelerate their civilization's development, and change their civilization's future. But they can also naturally use 'laziness' and 'opportunism' to rely on the Exchange System, destroy their own industrial system, and completely submit themselves to a degraded fate."

And these are all 'changes'.

Succumbing to temptation, or overcoming oneself—both are futures and destinies. The Mycroft Civilization has given a choice. In these decades before the end comes, they are recruiting comrades, not creating servants. But this trial is not one that all civilizations can pass.

"Understand?"

Having said this, Joshua paused. He noticed that his students were showing thoughtful expressions. He nodded with satisfaction and then continued, "Good and bad are both changes. I only provided a trigger to accelerate their change. There was no coercion."

"As for the more fundamental question... why these civilizations are so easily influenced and changed by us, the answer is actually very simple."

The warrior said this, crossing his arms over his chest. He turned his head to look out the window at the void, his voice calm and low. "Every civilization has its own correctness. But of course—"

Joshua said, in a tone that was matter-of-fact and extremely arrogant.

"We are more correct."