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墨書 Inktalez
Beiyue was not angry; a slight smile appeared on her face as she looked at the crow beside her. "How will he handle it?"
Cui Ming did not answer. He stood up, walked over to the crow, and handed him a piece of roasted meat. The crow accepted it. "Thank you. It looks well-cooked." After taking a bite, he nodded in appreciation; it was indeed good.
Cui Ming smiled and said, "Crow, give me a reason not to kill you." He admired the crow and did not want to kill him, but objective needs outweighed subjective feelings.
"I have nothing to offer you," the crow replied helplessly. "But I want to live."
Cui Ming sincerely apologized, "I'm sorry."
The crow asked, "Are you going to kill me because of my strength or because I'm from the Fire Cult?"
"Your strength," Cui Ming answered. "You are too difficult to defeat. I can't let this opportunity slip away; I can't leave such a strong enemy alive."
The crow said, "I will set up a magic circle called the Initial Magic Circle."
"I know," Cui Ming nodded. "The Alliance has such a magic circle. When a fugitive possesses a violent destructive mindset, the Alliance will execute them. There are two options for execution: one is immediate death, and the other is undergoing initial purgatory, where they remain in the Initial Magic Circle for a day and night. Not only will they be unable to use any Force, but they will also be confined to bed for the rest of their lives, unable to care for themselves. Their immunity will be extremely poor, making them susceptible to illness and death."
The crow nodded. "The principle of the Initial Magic Circle is to destroy the body so that no Force can be used. Not only will the body be damaged, but the nerves in the limbs will also be harmed, potentially causing internal injuries as well. If luck is on your side after purgatory, only your mind will remain clear while your body is completely paralyzed; you can eat and drink but cannot move at all. If luck runs out, well... you'll die right there in the magic circle. I hope you can give me this chance, Cui Ming."
Cui Ming looked at the crow. "Is living that important?" He sensed a strong will to survive in the crow but could not see any fear of death.
The crow replied, "I have never taken pride in my strength because I know that no matter how powerful one is, they cannot stand against the Force Alliance. I hope to leave behind my thoughts; my ideal is to earn respect for the people of the Fire Religion Nation without needing strength."
"Your goal is difficult. As long as there is a day when the Fire Cult views outsiders as heretics, respect cannot be earned. The Fire Cult first harbors hostility towards outsiders; they may submit to its tyranny but will never respect it."
The Crow looked out at the sea. "I know, so one of my goals is to change the doctrine of the Fire Cult to allow and respect the beliefs of outsiders. The Fire Cult should be like the Cult of the Gods or Buddhism. In their early years, both the Cult of the Gods and Buddhism were quite exclusive, but due to the needs of the rulers, they underwent continuous reforms to align with the interests of those in power. I hope the Fire Cult can also undergo a reform."
Cui Ming was puzzled. "If that's the case, why are you developing Half-Beast practitioners?"
The Crow laughed loudly, turning to Cui Ming. "Cui Ming, you are too young. Politics is a game. The Dawn Empire wants us to be strong, but not too strong. So when we become too powerful, they will ally with Twilight City to suppress us; when we are too weak, they will secretly support us to keep Twilight City in check. This ensures that this century remains the Age of Dawn. If, as you say, the Fire Cult undergoes reform, who would agree? The first to disagree would be the Dawn Empire. Or do you think Twilight City has not had any contact with the Fire Cult over these thousands of years? Have they not negotiated to end confrontations? Why do you think there was a Third World War?"
The Crow continued, "Implementing reforms in the Fire Cult now would only lead to one outcome: the division of the Fire Cult Nation, infighting, chaos, and civil war. Look at the reforms of the Cult of the Gods fifteen hundred years ago; it once stirred up a bloody storm. When can the Fire Cult reform? Only when the reformists hold significant military power and control public opinion. For this purpose, we need practitioners in both quantity and quality; we need to achieve victories in war and gain the trust of the people of the Fire Cult Nation before we can proceed with reforms."
Cui Ming took a moment to digest this information. "So what you're saying is that you definitely have to fight Twilight City?"
"Yes," replied the Crow. "For hundreds of years, we have never won; even near our Holy Mountain has been occupied by Twilight City. If we can reclaim land near Holy Mountain and defeat Twilight City once, we will be seen as heroes."
Cui Ming said, "If Fire Cult Practitioners join the battle, then the Force Alliance will also participate. It will inevitably lead to a world war."
"No, not that kind of war. It will be a war of practitioners; the Fire Cult will challenge the Force Alliance. If we win, we will reclaim our lost territories."
"And if you lose?"
"We will cede land to Twilight City," said the Crow. "After winning, we can carry out religious reforms that make the Fire Cult non-aggressive and reduce its exclusivity. If we lose, we must still reform our religion under duress as losers; it will be difficult and pressured, but it could also be an opportunity."
Cui Ming asked, "Let me ask this: is it really up to you regarding this group of Fire Cult Practitioners?"
The Crow fell silent for a long time before responding. "The position of Fire Sect Pope has been held by practitioners for hundreds of years now; for all this time, it has been practitioners who have passed down the title of Pope. The Pope that appears before people is merely a puppet. Together with practitioners, they have enough influence to exert overwhelming power over the Fire Cult Alliance."
"But..."
"But... human thoughts cannot be completely the same. Indeed, there are divisions within the Fire Cult. I share the same ideals as the leader, but unfortunately, the Pope has some differences in opinion. However, at least for now, the Pope's goals align with ours: to develop Fire Cult Practitioners."
"Haha!" Cui Ming laughed mockingly. "You talk about ideals for so long, but it turns out to be a fantasy. You don't even have power; all the practitioners are under the Pope's control. What are you even doing?"
The Crow remained unfazed and replied, "I am an orphan from a war-torn country taken in by a charity orphanage established by the former Pope. He shared his vision with me—his dream was to have the Fire Cult accepted by everyone, just like the Cult of the Gods and Buddhism. Upon examining the details, many of the Fire Cult's ideas are far more advanced than those of the Cult of the Gods. For instance, it opposes personality cults, while the Cult of the Gods still retains such practices, which are exploited by certain dictators."
Cui Ming interrupted, "Your leader is the former Pope?"
"...Yes," the Crow nodded solemnly.
"He was deposed from his position as Pope?"
"Yes."
"Because he wanted to carry out religious reform?"
"Yes." The Crow sighed deeply. "Politicians do not wish for religious reform because they have a group of completely blind followers in religion. If you look at the history of the Eternal Sphere, you will find that in countries dominated by the Cult of the Gods and Buddhism, there are often peasant uprisings. Moreover, after foreign enemies invade and destroy a nation, people abandon their original country and serve only their conquerors."
This is indeed true; centuries ago, there was a nation called the Song Dynasty that accounted for 80% of global productivity with a population of over forty million. However, it was destroyed by nomadic tribes, resulting in countless deaths. The survivors revered these nomads as kings. Even today, people from that country still view their leaders as heroes and promote their conquests—destroying civilizations and committing atrocities—as achievements to be proud of.
The Crow continued, "The Fire Religion Nation has never experienced peasant uprisings and will never be destroyed unless all its people are killed by foreign enemies. Why? Because of religion. Therefore, nobles and politicians need stability for their own interests while ensuring that those at the bottom protect their benefits; this all requires religion. Some impoverished citizens in the Fire Religion Nation live difficult lives while nobles continue to live luxuriously, yet the country remains very stable."
The Crow added, "The reform failed because the Pope did not foresee that his own daughter would betray him. The Pope's daughter believed he was a traitor to God. At that time, I was too young and too weak. The Pope's daughter won over the support of Fire Cult Practitioners through her speeches, imprisoned her father, and with support from a few ordinary practitioners, she became the new Pope."
Cui Ming asked, "So where do your ideals come from?"
The Crow said, "Because the Half-Beast you speak of is loyal to me, Cui Ming, killing me would bring no benefit to the Eternity Alliance."
Cui Ming replied, "I do not agree with that statement."
The Crow pondered for a moment and nodded, "Alright, perhaps you'll agree with this: I have control over a small number of Half-Beast practitioners, not many—only one out of four. My current goal, along with the New Pope, is to win a battle first. What we want to do now is aligned."
Cui Ming contemplated, "Once successful, you would assassinate the New Pope and frame it on the opposing side, gaining the support of the practitioners. If the war fails, you could also kill the Pope and shift the blame onto the New Pope. Moreover, the Old Pope is still alive; he has many supporters."
The Crow neither confirmed nor denied this, saying, "Master Bei helped me create two incredibly powerful pieces of equipment. One is the Hand Crossbow, capable of rapid long-range attacks. No one can withstand the immense power and speed of the Hand Crossbow, except for... Bufon's shield. That was a grave mistake; the New Pope was too eager for quick results and sent out the rats. I regret not stopping her."
Cui Ming asked, "And the other treasure is the Undead Amulet, right?"
The Crow nodded. "But I won't tell you its abilities, nor will I use it in battle against the Force Alliance."
Cui Ming stated, "Crow, you have no confidence in controlling the Half-Beast. If I let you go and you assist the New Pope in developing Half-Beast practitioners, then if you die or your plot is uncovered for any reason, the New Pope will initiate war."
The Crow replied, "Killing me won't change anything; it will only make those who were loyal to me now loyal to the New Pope. If you let me go, I might be able to change the Fire Cult. If you don't let me go, a world war is just a matter of time."
After a long silence while looking at the Crow, Cui Ming finally said, "You possess the technology to create Half-Beast practitioners."
The Crow smiled wryly. "To survive, I've said too much... I wish to ask you to keep this confidential, but I know that's impossible... We do have some technology, but it's not that simple; the failure rate is extremely high. Additionally, considering the growth cycle, cultivating a Half-Beast practitioner requires not only enormous resources but also considerable time." (To be continued.)
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