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墨書 Inktalez
As Cui Ming and Feng left the desert with a sense of trepidation, they finally breathed a sigh of relief upon entering the territory of Dawnmoon City. Zhir had ultimately not delivered the wood. Feng gave a thumbs up, saying, "You did well; you can blow the Grim Reaper into a living deity."
"Believe it or not, most of it isn't just hot air," Cui Ming replied. "We can't fathom the thoughts of the gods, but based on my deductions, I think my interpretation of the Sun God’s expectations is quite plausible."
"I know there's a place in another world that is also a desert, where a god established a religion and garnered a large following," Feng Dao said. "According to descriptions from Otherworldly Creatures, the desert there is beautifully constructed, and housing prices are sky-high. However, this religion has encountered some bad apples, seemingly referred to as Terrorists."
"I told you my theory was plausible. The god wants to turn barren lands into oases of life, but the followers are causing chaos." Cui Ming suddenly pondered about Wanderer—what kind of god was he? What beliefs did he hold? Was wandering through the universe also a belief? And thus he became Wanderer? Seeds cannot sprout on their own unless there is a god whose duty is to adapt to circumstances or one who represents ordinary people. Cui Ming always believed his perspective on things was rather mercenary and down-to-earth; too many people like that would lead to chaos. Was there even a position for a Well God? What other gods were related to him?
It seemed that male gods were more reliable! I am handsome; therefore I exist... Damn it, this cocky attitude is truly contagious. I must reduce my time spent fooling around with Feng; I’m quickly descending from being an upright person to a boastful fool without morals. However, for now, I’ll just go along with it; there are still matters to attend to in Dawn City. Feng, as my Henchman, has no particular goal and wanders aimlessly—he's great for labor.
The highway from Dawn City to Dawnmoon City had already opened. Last year, the Fire Cult in Dawnmoon City was severely suppressed because the Judicial Department uncovered that several years ago, the crisis in Dawnmoon City was orchestrated by the Fire Cult. After this revelation, all residents who followed the Fire Cult—over forty thousand—were placed under surveillance. Among them, three thousand were arrested due to their involvement in the incident, and over one hundred were executed for crimes related to terrorism. The Fire Religion Nation was understandably furious about this situation; however, with evidence firmly in the hands of Dawnmoon City, they found themselves somewhat helpless.
Due to this incident, populism emerged in Dawnmoon City advocating for discrimination and expulsion of Fire Cult followers. Numerous conflicts broke out between both sides, with media overwhelmingly siding with populism. The authorities seemed intent on using this situation to resolve issues with the Fire Cult by demolishing three Fire Cult temples according to law. The Fire Cult followers began to resist; they armed themselves and occupied the third-largest city in Dawnmoon City. The Eternity Alliance smuggled countless weapons to Xiaoyue City Official while soldiers from Dawn Empire, Twilight City, Nordo City, and even Dawn City were dispatched as mercenaries to fight for Xiaoyue City Official.
Soon after, Dawnmoon City suppressed the riots and declared the Fire Cult a heretical sect while offering two options: one was to relocate to Sharon City within the Fire Religion Nation; the other was to abandon their faith. Once evidence pointed conclusively towards the Fire Cult as the mastermind behind these events, Dawnmoon City's stance became very clear along with public sentiment. Over twenty thousand Fire Cult followers boarded ships bound for Sharon City under heavy armed guard. Upon reaching the Eastern Continent, Twilight City opened a green channel for them while soldiers monitored their journey to the border. However, unexpectedly, Sharon City refused entry for these refugees citing an overwhelming burden while condemning Dawnmoon City's actions.
With efforts from both the Eternity Alliance and allies of the Fire Cult, over twenty thousand followers were gradually absorbed by various Fire Religion Nations. Currently, only about two thousand remain in refugee camps at Sharon City's border. There is an upside; from their camp they can see Holy Mountain directly above them. The actions of the Eternity Alliance have directly or indirectly helped them get closer to their faith.
Accompanying Dawnmoon City's attitude, more than ten city-states in Eastern Continent collectively declared the Fire Cult a heretical sect under the banner of Eastern League. Businesses were prohibited from producing food specifically for Fire Cult followers; anyone promoting Fire Cult doctrines could face at least two years of imprisonment.
From then on, just like in Western Continent, the Fire Cult faced near extinction in Eastern Continent as well. Meanwhile, in Eastern Continent where Fire Religion Nation still held majority influence among its populace due to these events led to increased animosity towards the Eternity Alliance. Starting from late last year, suicide attacks targeting ordinary residents began surfacing with Twilight City being hit hardest as it is the largest nation in Eastern Continent.
Through airships and missiles, Twilight City launched strikes against several hideouts of martyrs while small-scale military conflicts erupted along the border with Sharon City. At this moment, the leader of the Eternity Alliance, Dawn Empire, began mediating, urging Twilight City to restrain its impulse to provoke war and proposed a peace roadmap for the Eastern Continent, hoping everyone could maintain their own stability. However, Twilight City seemed unimpressed. Earlier this year, it expanded its military by one hundred thousand troops and increased defense spending, equipping militias with various modern weapons. It was anticipated that once war broke out, Twilight City could muster over a million armed troops within three days.
It can be said that the battle between the Fire Cult and Twilight City was on the verge of igniting. Engaging in combat with so many Fire Religion Nations would be a long and arduous process for Twilight City, which desperately needed support from its allies in the Eternity Alliance. However, the peace proposals from Dawn Empire gained considerable traction, and the Eternity Alliance had twice vetoed Twilight City's proposal to retain the right to declare war at any time. On the other hand, the Fire Religion Nations found themselves in a dilemma; they instigated small-scale border conflicts only to realize that their combat capabilities were on entirely different levels compared to Twilight City. A group of three hundred attacked a post manned by thirty-six soldiers but failed to even enter firing range and were instead bombarded by airships and missiles supporting the defenders.
With airship positioning and missile guidance technologies solely in Twilight City's hands, they conducted a small-scale test that dissuaded Sharon City from taking on a leading role in the conflict. Ultimately, the border skirmishes ended with a "misunderstanding."
It appeared that both sides were at an impasse; however, some media outlets reported that Twilight City had decided to unilaterally initiate war. Currently, their Prime Minister and diplomats were frequently engaging with leaders of the Eternity Alliance. Due to events in Dawnmoon City, the Eastern Continent had resorted to extreme measures to exclude the Fire Cult while expressing goodwill towards Twilight City. They indicated that even if Twilight City went to war with Fire Cult Nation, all commercial trade would continue as normal. Both Dawn City and Nordo City stated they could provide substantial low-interest or even interest-free loans if needed. Meanwhile, voices of opposition arose from the Western Continent, which used children as symbols of peace and released doves to advocate for tranquility, warning everyone about the disasters that war would bring. This led to significant divisions among the populace of Twilight City regarding whether to go to war or not.
The reason for sharing this was due to Cui Ming's observations during his journey with Feng. They were traveling by chartered vehicle towards Dawn City, where transportation of goods was notably frequent along the highway. There were even convoys consisting of dozens of large trucks. With the highway open, Dawn City no longer needed to take long detours via sea routes; they could directly access maritime routes from Dawnmoon City, significantly reducing transportation costs. Consequently, job opportunities in Dawnmoon City surged as both cities explored plans for railway construction.
"It's about to go to war," said the driver, a recently retired sergeant from Dawn City. "Look at these trucks; they're tightly covered and filled with strategic supplies. When I just retired, someone contacted me asking if I wanted to become a mercenary. All six of my former comrades are now in Twilight City's foreign legion."
Cui Ming curiously asked, "Brother, what do you think about going to war?"
"It's definitely a bad thing; nobody likes war," he replied. "But with the Fire Sect, it's only a matter of time. If we don't fight today, our descendants will have to fight eventually. We can't be blamed for being warlike; two years ago I was ordered with my unit to help quell unrest in Dawnmoon City and learned a lot about the Fire Cult. They are extremely insular; their religion and customs take precedence over laws. For example, if a girl has a secret relationship with someone else, she might end up dead because her family feels ashamed. Love is supposed to be free according to marriage laws; however, if you want to marry a woman from the Fire Cult, you must become a believer. The same goes for marrying a man from there—you must also convert. Even though some people may be polite and courteous towards outsiders, privately they harbor disdain for non-believers. But Fire Cultists are not afraid of death; they are devout and believe dying in battle is an honor. We once surrounded seven Armed members of the Fire Cult; they refused to surrender and charged right at us."
The driver continued, "If the Fire Cult wants to attack Twilight City, that's just wishful thinking. But if Twilight City attacks Sharon City, it would become a nightmare—no matter how advanced technology gets, infantry must enter enemy cities; then they'll face universal hostility from civilians. So I tell my comrades that defensive battles are fine, but they should know what they're getting into when it comes to urban warfare."
Cui Ming asked with concern, "What about us in Dawn City?"
"Dawn City will definitely not violate any treaties by sending regular troops without alliance approval," he assured him. "However, judging by public sentiment and attitudes among city leaders here, whatever strategic resources Twilight City needs will be provided by Dawn City one way or another. It's hard to say; political matters can be unpredictable—there might be troop deployments after all. However, reports indicate that the Fire Cult possesses a considerable number of practitioners with significant capabilities directly related to whether war will break out or not; currently both sides' practitioners are maintaining an observant stance because I think these Psychic Ability users are unsure about each other's strengths and are hesitant to express support for war."
Cui Ming remarked, "They have their difficulties too; for instance with the Ye Family—they cannot attack ordinary people or even militia forces without violating Force Alliance regulations against intervening in conflicts involving civilians unless Fire Cult Nation initiates military action first."
"Feeling full and idle, if you ask me, if the Eternity Alliance and the Force Alliance teamed up, they could easily wipe out the Fire Cult, and this world would be peaceful again."
It was simple and brutal. Was it useful? Not really, because the number of Fire Cultists was so vast that complete extermination was impossible, and changing their doctrine was out of the question. This kind of war would always address the symptoms rather than the root cause, but addressing the symptoms might bring years of peace. On the other hand, if the Fire Cult gained the upper hand, even if the population of the Eternity Alliance was larger, they would ruthlessly exterminate everyone, believing it to be a divine mandate to eliminate heretics. (To be continued.)
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