Chapter 655 The Chosen Sacrifice (6800)

[Compared to the stable period, the Holy Sun's source energy dissipation index is 91.37%, and the average annual decrease is 0.47%]

[The frequency of magic moon outbreaks fluctuates frequently and irregularly, making it impossible to summarize the data. However, strong activation phenomena can be observed, and a large-scale ecological change needs to be guarded against]

[The source energy solubility diagram of each region of the Aeon Continent is as follows: Central region 54.1, Southern region 46.7, Northern region 77.2, Eastern region 48.3... The source energy concentration in the Northern region has increased abnormally, and the Seal of the Moon has shown signs of change, suspected to be a prelude to the unsealing of the Twilight Dragon]

At the top of a magnificent, mountain-like giant tower, in the center of a towering crystal hall, a young boy who looked to be in the prime of his youth stood silently before countless light screens that appeared and disappeared.

Data and information, which seemed incredibly detailed and highly confidential to outsiders, appeared one after another like a waterfall, then dissipated with the boy's will.

Pale gold mixed with crimson light burned throughout the dome, forming the background color of the light screens, and the burning colors filled the hall.

"What is the resonance rate of the Burning Soul Torch now?" he asked, his voice hoarse and calm. "And the charging level?"

[Burning Soul Torch resonance rate 44.3%, currently charged 5.94%]

[The Imperial Source Energy Furnace Central Network is now connected, and soul purification processing is in progress. The Burning Ember fire seed is intact and ready for the 'Reignition' project at any time.]

"No. It's too early."

The fair-haired boy in luxurious robes shook his head slightly and said softly, "And the speed is too slow. Even if the souls of all the construction demonized are liquidated together, it won't be enough to fill even one ten-thousandth."

"Without war, even relying on the constant burning and filling of those demonized raised by many mobile cities, after so many years, it's only charged less than six percent."

"The resonance rate isn't much of a problem. The fifth Primal Radiance Holy Rock has been brought in, which should be able to increase the resonance rate to over fifty percent. If we can get the Northern Barbarians and the Primal Radiance Holy Rock in the East Sea, sixty percent or more won't be a problem."

The blond-haired boy was slender, with a detached and arrogant expression. The elaborate court robe enveloped him, but it did not convey the elegance one would expect. Instead, he exuded a threat akin to that of a feline predator – seemingly weak, but incredibly dangerous.

But if the observer was a battle-hardened, killer hunter, then he would keenly perceive that the blond boy's slender physique had a specific reason. Beneath the body tightly wrapped in court robes, there was not the texture of ordinary human flesh, but rather... something like a wooden doll.

"War..."

Asmodeus XIII, the Sun Emperor, closed his eyes. He stood in the center of the hall at the top of the Babel Tower, and murmured, "Necessary war."

He had wanted to continue muttering to himself for a while, contemplating some follow-up matters, but sensing something, the Emperor turned his head and looked behind him.

"Aharonov, why are you here?"

Unlike his usual cold and indifferent tone, the Sun Emperor's voice was filled with surprise, warmth, and casualness, like a friendly inquiry between close acquaintances: "What's wrong? Do you have something to report, or did you just want to come and see me?"

The white-haired old general stood at the entrance of the hall. He looked rather tired at the moment, but upon hearing the warm greetings from his Emperor and friend, Aharonov couldn't help but smile: "Both, Your Majesty. You haven't left the Babel Tower for the past few months. Naturally, we wanted to visit you."

Speaking of this, the old man couldn't help but shake his head again, "Alas, you always act so fierce and brutal outside. No wonder they think of you as a tyrant."

"But I am indeed a tyrant. You only see me through a filter because you're my friend."

The blond boy chuckled lightly, his voice still hoarse. "However, I am indeed different from ordinary tyrants. My cruelty is not directed at a specific group of people, but at all living things in the world of Aeon."

Aharonov sighed softly. "To allow more people to live, isn't it?"

"At least for now."

The Sun Emperor did not deny it. He invited the old general to his side to watch the light screen information in the Babel Hall with him. "Tell me, what exactly happened? Why didn't Duke Ilovis come with you?"

"Ilovis is not suitable to know these things. He is too kind and values morality too much. He will definitely stop us."

Aharonov stood beside his Emperor. For a moment, he felt as if he had returned to nearly a hundred years ago, when he was still a mere knight, adventuring the world with the Crown Prince and his friend.

But soon, this fleeting memory faded away, and the general said solemnly, "It's about the Second Ember King in the Ember King Designation, the Primal Radiance Holy Rock of the East Sea, and some things about the demonized."

Aharonov recounted everything that Professor Svetly had done in the East Sea, as well as all the subsequent information.

"Your Majesty must already know these things, but the follow-up information about the Hopelight Society is the latest report from our reconnaissance personnel."

He concluded.

The Sun Emperor frowned in thought, then nodded slightly. "Demonized, huh? Come to think of it, the pressure has been increasing recently, which would indeed provoke resistance."

Even though Su Zhou repeatedly emphasized that the Hopelight Society's philosophy was 'Equality for All', both the Sun Emperor and General Aharonov focused on the demonized.

Not only that, even the demonized who had defected seemed to not understand human language at all, as if they believed that the Hopelight Society was founded solely for their sake.

To this day, no ordinary people are willing to join the Hopelight Society.

But this is not strange.

Although Su Zhou spoke of equality, in the world of Aeon, the willingness to treat demonized equally was, in itself, the most extraordinary favor.

From the Sun Emperor to the common people, from the demonized to the ordinary, everyone thought so, and assumed that this was the norm and the right thing to do.

"Professor Svetly... I remember, his father was infected with demonization during the Red Moon outbreak of the Magic Moon and went berserk, and was killed on the spot by the military police."

He closed his eyes, seemingly extracting data from the database. "Yes, that's right. After leaving the rebels, he also adopted many demonized orphans. An obvious displacement. It's not strange that he supports demonized. It can even be said to be natural."

"Your Majesty."

At this moment, Aharonov turned his head to look at the Sun Emperor, and earnestly advised, "For the future of humanity, exploiting the demonized is a necessary evil. But if the demonized are angered to the point of a collective uprising, it would be counterproductive."

"The Empire has not done well enough in this regard. We should learn from the advanced experience of Seashore City and assign the demonized to those seemingly well-paid but actually extremely dangerous and resource-intensive positions... This way, both efficiency and public sentiment can be taken care of!"

Soldiers should not interfere in politics. Aharonov knew that what he was doing had crossed the line of duty as a subject, but at this moment, he was not advising as a subject, but as a friend of nearly a hundred years.

"I understand."

Asmodeus XIII naturally would not put on any imperial airs towards his true friend. He opened his eyes and gazed at the crystalline hall that seemed to be burning before him, and the Primal Radiance Holy Rock on his chest shone even brighter. "But my friend, I cannot do that."

"This world, this society, needs demonized as the 'oppressed'."

"The people need a class lower than themselves to inflict their malice upon."

"They need to know that no matter how bad their lives are, they will never fall to that point, and they can never fall to that point—this irreplaceable sense of security will make ordinary people, who are a hundred times more numerous than demonized, more stable and more aware of the beauty of their current lives."

The Sun Emperor reached out his hand and extracted an image from the ocean of constantly refreshing information. It was a three-dimensional model of an ancient village. In the center of the village was a simple and ancient source energy formation.

The boy pointed to the center of the formation, then turned his head and said in a meaningful tone, "Look, my general, do you know what this is?"

"...I don't know." The white-haired old man narrowed his eyes. He carefully observed it and then shook his head in confusion. "It's too crude. Although it can create a certain amount of pain, it seems a bit difficult to even kill someone... Wait, there also seems to be a part that maintains life?"

He really couldn't understand it.

"This is a human sacrifice formation."

The Sun Emperor calmly explained, "In the villages of the western mountain barbarians, an ancient custom is preserved—when the village encounters difficulties and times are hard, the elders will select the most unloved, weakest, and least popular person in the village, and turn him into a human pillar, as a sacrifice, to bear the hatred of all the villagers."

"Anyone can torture him, anyone can despise him. He is the embodiment of evil, the representative of pain. As long as they trample on the life of this human pillar, it means that they are trampling on pain."

"In this way, just by looking at him and torturing him, the people in the village can regain courage and determination to face the more difficult times ahead."

Turning his head, Asmodeus XIII, whose eyes were more like those of some non-human being than a human, turned slightly to look at the silent general.

He said softly, "The demonized are the human pillars and sacrifices of our world."

"They are the special existence that was chosen."

"The demonized cannot live happily and cannot enjoy a good life. They must be difficult, painful, poor, ignorant, foolish, and can only struggle powerlessly. They cannot be equal to humans, because in this way, humans cannot draw strength from their suffering and endure the difficult times ahead."

"Seashore City is the wrong approach. They can maintain stability now because they are affluent, which can suppress many contradictions. But when the Holy Sun goes out, who will trade, who will give their wealth to that city? The conflict between demonized and ordinary people will tear the Falses family's rule apart. They have already entered a dead end."

Humans are the most capable of compromise. If they were told from the beginning that all of humanity would have to endure the almost inhuman treatment of the dark age after the Holy Sun fell, then no one would agree, even if it meant death.

But if they see the demonized, see those humans who live worse than beasts, they will compromise, thinking that no matter what, the demonized will be worse off than them, and their own situation is far better than that of the demonized.

Human nature.

The Sun Emperor raised his head. From the top of the tower, he looked far into the distance, as if he could see the Misty Mountains on the other side of the continent and the Hopelight Tower. He seemed to be able to see the demonized city setting out from the edge of the Southern Border, officially embarking on a long journey.

He saw the sparks, saw the light, saw the sea of fire that was destined to engulf everything in the future, and saw the countless stars shining on the earth.

Therefore, they must be extinguished now.

"Now that the demonized have their own 'army', they cannot be allowed to have their own cities and bases."

With his hands behind his back, at this moment, Asmodeus XIII's tone returned to its original detached and calm state. He no longer spoke as a friend, but as an emperor issuing orders: "General Aharonov, the criminal who killed our country's nobles, Professor Svetly, has established his own base in the Misty Mountains. This is no longer a simple riot, but a real rebellion, a rebel army of demonized."

"This demon army has already stirred up unrest among many demonized in the Empire. If we don't stop it now, then the demonized who have already resigned themselves to their fate will burn—once they have tasted equality, no human will give it up, even if they have been tamed for thousands of years, this nature cannot be erased."

He ordered, "General, extinguish it. Trample the seeds of the demon army into the mud."

The white-haired general knelt on one knee, bowing his body to his Emperor, and respectfully accepting the decree.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The general who received the order left the Babel Tower.

The fair-haired boy continued to stare at the light screen displaying almost all the important information in the continent.

"Babel Tower, data."

[Yes, Your Majesty. Compared to the stable period, the Holy Sun's source energy dissipation index is 91.36%, and the average annual decrease is 0.47%...]

……

Apart from the Empire, other forces on the Aeon Continent were also focusing their attention on the establishment of the Hopelight Society and the movements of the demonized city.

Northland, Dusk Tribe.

Among the mountain valleys filled with ice and snow, the sounds of shouts and practice, as well as the sound of blades cutting through the air, rang out, creating an ear-piercing whistling sound.

Great Chieftain Dalot, whose physique was even more robust than a ferocious beast, stood in front of a group of young tribe members. Although these young people were in dozens of degrees below zero ice and frost, with their eyebrows and temples covered in icicles, they did not tremble from the cold at all. Instead, they nimbly fought each other with weapons, creating blurred figures on the frozen earth.

Whoosh!

The sound of air being torn apart rang out. In the crowd, one figure was particularly agile. He wielded a long-handled axe, causing the giant axe to tear through the air, creating a sonic boom.

The tribe youth sparring with this black-haired young man didn't even have time to react before he was frightened by the explosion. However, the giant axe that tore through the wind and frost didn't actually chop down, but stopped ten centimeters above the opponent's head.

"Are you okay?"

Retracting the giant axe, the black-haired youth asked with concern. The frightened tribe youth slowly recovered, and he waved his hand somewhat shamefully. "Hey, Kama, you're really getting stronger and stronger. I'm really no match for you. I can't be your sparring partner anymore..."

"During the next Autumn Hunt, you'll definitely be able to harvest a full load of prey with the Great Chieftain and the others!"

The black-haired youth wanted to say something more to his friend, but a tall figure came to him.

"Not bad, Kama, and Madara."

Dalot stood in front of the two youths, praising, "The Serpent's inheritance resonates very well with you, and you are rapidly becoming stronger. And Madara, you were actually able to exchange a few moves with Karlo, who has received the inheritance, before revealing a flaw. If you weren't still young, you could probably try to try at the Ancestral Stone to get your own inheritance."

The Great Chieftain's praise was naturally a great honor for the tribe's children. Madara couldn't help but sweep away the gloom of losing to Kama and became happy.

Of course, he also knew that he was superfluous now. The Devouring Wolf and the Overturning Serpent, the most powerful in the Winter Dusk tribe cluster, second only to the Twilight High Priest and the inheritors of the Twilight Dragon inheritance, were meeting. This kid who hadn't received the power of the ancestors should leave early.

After Madara bid farewell and left, Dalot examined the young man's body before him.

He nodded, and said solemnly, "Your talent surpasses mine, Kama. I will tell the priests that after I die, you will be the new Great Chieftain candidate."

"No, Chieftain, I want to follow you forever..."

Upon hearing this, the young man, who thought he was just receiving some urging and experience transmission, panicked. Dalot was his idol. Even after receiving the most powerful Serpent inheritance, this tribe youth never thought that he could surpass the other party.

"I am going to die."

The Northland barbarian Great Chieftain said with a smile. He reached out his hand and patted the other party's shoulder. The huge force even caused the snow dust under Kama's feet to rise up and scatter in all directions. "We will eventually have a war with the Empire, with the whole world. And I am the Great Chieftain, and I will take the lead in the charge, so I will always die first."

Looking at the somewhat confused expression in the young man's eyes, Dalot smiled again, his eyes full of tenderness.

He had no children. Perhaps he did. After all, the relationship between men and women in the tribe was so complicated, who knew who was whose child? Apart from the priests who needed to determine their offspring to ensure that their descendants could nurture professionalists with powerful source energy talents, other tribe members were not so strict.

For the Great Chieftain, all the young people in the tribe were his children.

But soon, Dalot became serious again.

"Kama, what is your reason for living?"

He asked.

"To lead everyone to live on, to break out of the snowy plains, and to kill all those Empire dogs!"

He replied.

The young man did not hesitate, his tone filled with resentment. "Mother, Arnau, and Uncle Tai all died at the hands of the Empire's invaders... We wouldn't have gone out to plunder if it wasn't for the frost disaster, but they come to harass us regularly every year, and they even want to shift the blame to the Frostwind people."

"Those Frostwind people have indeed killed many of us, but we did steal their grain and kill their people, and the Great Dragon witnessed that this is fair—but those Empire dogs... We clearly didn't rob them..."

The young man clenched his fists. This was the logic and thinking of the Northland tribe people. They would not hate those who fought with them, just like they would not hate the prey they killed, because on this land, everyone was someone else's prey, and no one should think that they could stay out of it.

What they hated were those who still killed and still intended to provoke the battle between the Northland barbarians and the Frostwind Army to ensure the stability of the northern border, even though it wasn't for survival.

--Nothingness is the truth.

But life was still born.

--Life is meaningless.

But the human heart does have meaning.

Every Northlander will choose a belief as the reason for them to live on, instead of throwing themselves into the Great Dragon of Nothingness. Their lives exist for this meaning, which is far more firm than any oath or any faith.

"Very good."

Hearing the answer he wanted, although he wasn't completely satisfied, Dalot still smiled, "Very good, Kama, if we can all work together like this, then no one will be able to stop us."

"Train hard, child, don't fail the serpent's blood in your body. It is greedy, craves life, and turns this desire into the motivation to move forward."

"Our goal is to burn the whole world!"

Saying this, Dalot turned and left, leaving Kama to worshipfully watch his back.

However, the Great Chieftain, who returned to the tribe, received unexpected news.

"Oh?"

He raised his eyebrows. "That strange guy who defeated our envoy, obtained the Burning Ember Divine Wood, and obtained the fragment of the Holy Sun... ran to the Misty Mountains and established his own force and army?"

"Another strange rebel army. The Empire people have lost the hearts of the people, so they deserve it."

He made such a summary, then looked in the direction of the Misty Mountains. "Send an envoy over to ask if he is willing to fight against the Empire with us. We Northerners don't mind burning the whole world with others."

"The anger of the demonized is extraordinary, and they are also people suppressed by the Empire. We can completely join forces."

He made a conclusion.

Frostwind Army.

Deep inside the General's mansion, a pair of deep purple eyes lit up in the darkness.

"You mean, the guy who stole our Holy Sun crystal has a divine tree in his hand? He even made the divine tree alive, and it's now shining on the top of the mountain?"

A powerful, metallic male voice rang out, filled with deep doubt.

But soon, the voice laughed heartily, "Interesting, interesting, what a wonderful development, what an interesting thing!"

In the dim mansion, streaks of deep red blood lit up. A general with horns on his head, a black serpent prostrate between his knees, surrounded by a black aura, and wearing heavy armor, slowly stood up.

The man, who obviously had demon blood, murmured, "Although I sensed that the world was about to change drastically, I never thought that there would be such interesting things."

"Pass on my orders, I want to know all the information about that Svetly and the Hopelight Society!"

Every organization on the continent was busy because of Su Zhou's existence.

The Lightseeking Order, still in a meeting to discuss, the Holy Sun Church, holding its annual celebration, the exasperated East Sea nobles, the chaotic Southern Border nobles... without exception, the eyes of the world were focused on this, focused on the center of the Hopelight Mountains.

And Su Zhou stood at the top of the Hopelight Tower, and narrowed his eyes, gazing at the horizon far away on the earth.

"A pioneer explorer?"

He recalled the information that Cicero, who had been given the Burning Ember Flame Guidance Technique by himself not long ago, had revealed when reporting the situation to him, and couldn't help but shake his head, "That's really strange. How many眷族 Great Existences are there in this world?"

"Yala, Twilight, World Tree, Pioneer, these are the ones that can be confirmed. Others may exist, but I haven't found them yet."

Funiya did lead the demonized in the Southern Border to accomplish great things, but just by listening, Su Zhou knew that only the explorers of the Pioneer Space could have such an out-of-tune, style-breaking existence.

Holy crap, brainwashing with a Hummer sound system, pasting big-character posters and pulling banners... This rich experience in stirring up trouble is impossible for anyone other than this group of multiverse pests.

If it were Su Zhou, Su Zhou would think that his imagination wasn't that big—at most, he would build an airship and then put up a big banner on the airship or something.

And in order to explore the potential secrets of the world, her choice to act ostentatiously was undoubtedly correct... As long as she made herself known to everyone, whether it was herself or other hidden powerful existences in this world, would cast their eyes on her.

Naturally, she would also be noticed, discovered, and explored by her.

One of the classic pioneer behaviors.

Su Zhou wasn't surprised that pioneer explorers would appear in the world of Aeon. No, in other words, pioneer explorers could appear at any time.

Among the worlds that Su Zhou had been to, Earth had them, the Nine Xuan Realm had them, the Divine Wood World probably had them, the Reincarnation World also had them, and the Divine Dragon World almost certainly had them, so it would be strange if a world structure that could easily summon otherworldly divine dragons wasn't interfered with by the pioneers.

Apart from the Perfect World, which was rather special as a Primordial World, basically every world had the footprints of pioneer explorers.

"Although pioneer explorers are more likely to cause trouble, I have to say that I quite like the trouble she caused."

Thinking of the small mobile city that Funiya had seized, and knowing that the other party was moving in his direction, Su Zhou couldn't help but nod with a smile. "It's just that this will inevitably be intercepted by people... It seems that I have to find some time to go out and meet them."

"But."

Lowering his head, Su Zhou looked at the shadows lurking on the periphery of the Hopelight Mountains, who thought they were hiding very secretly.

Substantial black malice emerged from above their heads.

He shook his head slightly.

"We have to clean up the trash near our home first."

This chapter should have been a big chapter update of w words with yesterday, but unfortunately my condition is not good

I'm working hard to recover my condition!

Also, everyone, don't forget to give Su Zhou a 比心! (heart!)