Todd's eyes were cold, and dragon scales were faintly visible on his arms. He said in a deep voice, "Iliad, I consider myself a patient man, but there are always limits to that patience. You had better give me an explanation about Sutherland."

“Explanation?” Eliard stroked his silver beard and said, “You have no idea how great Sutherland is. His contributions to the alien races are unparalleled.”

Todd rubbed his forehead hard: "We've been talking for so long, haven't you understood what I'm saying? I've never denied Sutherland's past achievements, but the problem is that he's gradually turning into a monster."

Elijah: "It doesn't matter what Sutherland becomes, but what matters is that he can lead us into the future."

Todd was utterly speechless.

He felt that the Eliad he was facing was a complete fanatic, whose mind was filled only with worship and obedience to Sutherland.

Todd turned to leave, saying before he went, "I don't understand the point of this conversation at all. You've lost your mind."

Seeing Todd about to leave, Elijah suddenly said, "There are some things I can't explain in detail, but you should trust Sutherland."

This inexplicable, even somewhat abrupt, remark caused Todd to stop in his tracks.

"Trust Sutherland? You want me to trust a monster who has devoured tyrants for over a hundred years?"

He showed no anger at the disrespect in Todd's words. Illid's calm tone made Todd suspicious: "More than a thousand years ago, the Taro leadership planned a great purge of the alien races. That purge involved the army, the church, the parliament, and many other parties. Whether in planning or division of labor, that purge was almost a foolproof operation."

"Under such circumstances, the weak and isolated alien races were like a pile of loose sand. Although they had heard some rumors, they were unable to organize any decent resistance."

“It was at that moment that Sutherland stepped forward.”

"He first bribed those greedy congressmen with his wealth, then provoked those belligerent generals with his achievements, and finally impressed those arrogant scholars with his knowledge."

"Almost single-handedly, Sutherland bought the alien races three precious years, during which he transferred a large amount of wealth, opened up an escape route from north to south, and orchestrated an escape of tens of thousands of people."

"He even abandoned his family for the sake of a different race."

Elijah sighed, and the old and frail man found a clean patch of sand and sat down shakily.

Brushing the dust off his clothes, Eliard continued, "Before each elder of the council takes office, they hear from their predecessor those thrilling stories from the past. It's hard to imagine that Sutherland could accomplish such a feat in such harsh conditions."

"This is not only due to his intelligence, but more importantly, his deep and sincere feelings for people of other races."

As Todd listened, he said, "Unfortunately, his soul is now shattered, and under the tyrant's nourishment, he is gradually becoming a mindless monster."

Eliard glanced at Todd: "I believe there are things Meredith doesn't know."

Todd: "What?"

Elijah: "As early as the beginning of the Presbyterian Church's establishment in the Supuhar Mountains, ten years after Sutherland's sacrifice, the Presbyterian Church had already begun to try to locate and recall Sutherland's soul."

Todd: "Ten years after Sutherland's death, the Elders began trying to summon Sutherland's spirit? That means the Elders started trying to find Sutherland's soul more than a thousand years ago?"

Elijah: "Yes, Sutherland is the leader of the alien race and our savior. How could the elders let his soul wander outside unchecked? However, only the elders have the right to know about the summoning of his soul; others are simply unaware of it."

Todd: "Wait a minute, I remember that necromancy requires a medium, such as the remains of the deceased, a keepsake, or someone else's memories..."

Eliard: "That's right. The ability to summon spirits requires the remains of the deceased as a medium, but only the most powerful spirit summoners can use memories to summon spirits. Ordinary spirit summoners usually use the deceased's personal belongings for the ritual, but the best medium is actually the deceased's body. However, Sutherland's body was burned by the Talos, so we can only try to summon spirits using his ashes and belongings."

"This method of summoning souls is not very effective; we can only summon scattered fragments of the soul."

"However, through the combined efforts of many powerful alien beings in the Elder Council, Sutherland's soul gradually became complete and clear, and the Elder Council also found a way to communicate with Sutherland."

Todd said in surprise, "You mean that Sutherland's soul was brought to the Council of Elders a long time ago, and you even found a way to communicate with him? But Meredith told me that you only found Sutherland's soul more than a hundred years ago."

Eliard shook his head and said, "Although she is the daughter of a sage, everyone can see Meredith's hatred for her father. In order to prevent any accidents, many elders kept the matter of Sutherland's soul a secret and did not mention it to others, including Meredith."

Todd then asked, "You found Sutherland's soul, so did you help him find a body to house it?"

Elijah: "We tried, we tried hundreds and thousands of times. We tried to store Sutherland's soul in the bodies of men, women and even children, but without exception, we failed."

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