Chapter 103 The Orc Plains I think I understand the meaning of that dream now. ...
As the night deepened, Easter remembered Cai Cai's words of advice. He wasn't the kind of person to be ungrateful, so he tidied up his desk, went back to his room to wash up and rest.
With his consciousness blurred and chaotic, Easter felt as if he were on a turbulent sea, which only calmed down after a long time.
East couldn't describe what he saw; it was too strange, too bizarre, something that no human should be able to face directly. It was an endless abyss, a bizarre dream, without words, without sound, just emptiness.
The nothingness coalesced into form, as if putting special glasses on Easter, making everything that could not be looked at directly into something that humans could understand.
It was a chaotic battle, a siege, twelve "people" besieging one "person".
East realized something in his heart, and he became an observer, watching the war of gods that had taken place countless millions of years ago.
East watched more closely, hoping to glean useful information from the battle, even though the outcome was already decided.
The one being besieged was the Miracle. In Esther's eyes, His beauty was beyond human imagination. Moonlight and the Milky Way flowed into His hair, and crimson light gathered into His eyes. He was holy and noble, and could not be desecrated.
Easter saw no resemblance to Him in any way, so he could more confidently say that he was not Him.
While Ister was distracted, the battle was drawing to a close. Miracle looked at its enemies with eyes that shimmered with a beautiful glow, remaining silent, neither sad nor happy, showing no emotional fluctuation for its own demise.
While Easter was still wondering what would happen next, he watched helplessly as the miracle shattered before his eyes.
In that instant, East noticed a scarlet tear slide from Miracle's eye.
An intense, almost tangible emotion washes over you, the heaviest of which is "doubt"—doubt about the difference between humans and gods, and why humans, even after becoming gods, still cannot let go of their seven emotions and six desires.
Secondly, there is "regret," regretting that He never had been a human being and never experienced the seven emotions and six desires that they cherish;
Then came a little bit of "fear"—fear of death, fear of annihilation, fear that He would no longer exist.
What remains is "helplessness," the helplessness that after His death, there will be no more gods born in the world, and the order of this world will eventually descend into chaos. There is little He can do, He only hopes that He can protect this world one last time.
Easter woke up from his dream with a start, clutching his wildly beating heart. He stared blankly at the bedsheets.
Is this what a god is? Even in such a tragic death, he did not harbor a single ounce of hatred, and used his last strength to prolong the life of this world.
East had guessed that Miracle would feel resentment in his final moments, but he was wrong, terribly wrong. He was a human by some twist of fate, Miracle's last tear, the emotion contained in that tear that came to be in human form. It's quite a funny situation, actually.
Ist didn't understand the bard's intentions, but it seemed unnecessary to understand them, since the bard was such an unpredictable person.
Easter rubbed his head, got out of bed irritably to wash up; he had a meeting this morning and couldn't be late.
Today was another busy day, and there was still no news from Arebo.
It was hard for East to describe his feelings; they were like a live volcano that could erupt at any moment, yet he was desperately trying to suppress them.
It took East three days to arrange everything. With the system and players stabilizing the overall situation, there wouldn't be any problems if he left for a while.
Then, on the day he was to depart, something happened that was hard to describe as either good or bad.
East curled his index finger, pressing hard against his temple, and chuckled softly. On his desk lay a letter of goodwill from the Orc Plains. How to describe the value of this letter? It was equivalent to half of the Orc Plains becoming his territory if he simply nodded.
This is a good thing, no doubt about it. He can get what he wants without bloodshed. He already has half of the Orcish Plains; the other half shouldn't take long to acquire. ...
However, at this point in time, it was a bad thing for East personally.
Most of the arrangements that had been painstakingly made had to be overturned after this document arrived. After all, it was an undeniable fact that the country was short-handed. Half of the Orc Plains was equivalent to more than a dozen Felix Kingdoms, and the Orcs living on the Orc Plains were of different kinds, so they had to be dealt with differently. Undoubtedly, this was not something that could be dealt with in a short time.
"System, this document arrived just in time," Easter remarked softly.
The system remained silent, not daring to utter a sound. Four or five days passed, and there was still no news from Arip. Moreover, the chaotic situation on the mainland was escalating. It was not an easy task for East to go to sea; it had been arranged with great difficulty. This whole mess had caused trouble.
Actually, many people advised Ister not to go. Ister's abilities are all about summoning players, so whether he is there or not makes little difference. It's not like he can find the person just because he went. That's the truth, but it hurts to say it out loud. That person is a loved one, not someone insignificant.
Some fearless people even told Easter, "You've done everything you could; the rest is up to fate."
Players have thoroughly explored many of the "small abysses" in the sea, not only clearing out the monsters but also the various mineral resources within. One can imagine how many players are in the sea. This is an indirect reason why the Orc Plains couldn't hold out. But with so many players, they still couldn't find even half a piece of Areber's clothing, making one wonder if he was really in the sea.
Faced with the advice of his officials and players, Easter could only remain silent with a blank expression. Arip was not only his lover, but also his anchor, his kite string, his bridge to the world, and an inseparable part of him.
"Host, I have no objection to whatever choice you make." The system finally spoke, unable to bear the agonizing silence any longer.
“System, what is ‘love’?” Easter asked abruptly.
"Host, I am a system. I cannot understand the complex emotions of humans. The only words I can say are the rigid, written ones," the system said.
East lowered his head, his warm white hair falling to his chest, his face dark and inscrutable, making it impossible to discern his true emotions.
[Miracle] It is a pity that there are no emotions and desires, but at this moment, Easter suddenly envied Him. If people do not have emotions and desires, they will not have to struggle with many things.
His pupils deepened in color, turning a dark red that couldn't transmit any light. The beauty mark at the corner of his eye resembled a tear of blood on his cheek, conveying a sense of melancholy yet compassion, indifference yet pain, extreme and contradictory.
“System, I don’t think I should be struggling with this,” Easter said. “To put it bluntly, I didn’t cause this tragedy, so why should I have to clean it up? I’ve always been a selfish person, and my heart is so small,” he said, his voice trailing off. “But I can’t truly do whatever I want.”
Easter took the documents from his desk and walked out of the office. His expression was indifferent as he went to the Privy Council, a place he rarely visited after everything was on track.
[Host...?] Easter's actions were so fast that the system didn't even have time to react.
“As they say, my personal power can’t change anything,” Easter said, gripping the document in his hand. “My presence or absence makes little difference. Rather than doing futile work, I’d rather improve my own capital more quickly.”
The system wasn't brainless; it could see through Esther's reluctance. It assumed its host wouldn't care so much, since the host was right. Even if it proved his connection to this world, it couldn't change the fact that he was just an outsider. He shouldn't have too much responsibility towards this world; it was a bit abnormal.
“I think I understand the meaning of that dream now.” East walked into the small conference room inside the secret room, sat at the head of the conference table, and waited for the officials to enter.
Ignoring the system's antics in his mind, Ister discussed the arrangements for the Orc Plains with the officials he trusted. This included several players who had established relationships with the orcs in the Orc Plains and had a better understanding of the area; their presence was indispensable.
Instead of looking at East, Roasted Sweet Potato glanced at him every now and then, his eyes revealing undisguised worry. This was a situation no one wanted to see; it was too much of a dilemma.
If East were to act too emotionally, it would be irresponsible; but if he were to act too rationally, as he is now, it would be cruel to himself.
East noticed the change in the expression on Rudi's face, but he chose to ignore it and listen to his officials' discussion. Only through the clash of ideas could a truly feasible solution be chosen.
The orcs on the Orc Plains seem to live in a prehistoric era. They do not have large, unified cities; instead, they are settlements of individual tribes.
The concept of kingdoms existed, but it was merely an attempt to unite against external crises. However, the alliance was too easily broken, and no truly powerful group could achieve unity. At the very moment when they should have united, they were truly torn apart and ruled independently. The orc kingdom had long since become a mere shell of its former self.
This is related to their survival philosophy. Their nature is mostly animalistic, and most orcs don't have many ambitions; they are content as long as they can eat and stay warm.
They did not develop industry, had little thirst for knowledge, and their ability to develop decent agriculture was only due to their exceptionally favorable terrain and climate, which they failed to fully appreciate.
This rendered them almost incapable of handling crises. No matter how strong their fighting power was, they could not cope with the predicament of resource scarcity. If they did not want to die, they could only seek a new way out.
The officials all believed that they should not be too lenient with the orcs. Now that the orcs were asking for their help, they could not easily agree. What is too easily obtained will not be cherished. They would only accept the orcs' submission if the orcs truly offered something.
Ister didn't offer any rebuttals, but asked them to come up with feasible solutions, such as the allocation of resources, the resettlement of the orcs, and the future development of the orcs. Agreeing to accept the orcs' submission meant that interaction between humans and orcs was inevitable, and these were all things that needed to be taken into consideration.
After the human officials left, the remaining players all looked at Ist.
"Your Majesty, are you alright?" It wasn't until the roasted sweet potato spoke first.
“Don’t worry,” Easter rubbed the little bird that was not as big as a roasted sweet potato, “I can handle it.”
Unbeknownst to him, when he first entered the game, he recalled something he had thought about: according to the established pattern, it would be difficult for Ister, with his gentle and harmless nature, to unify the entire continent. Now it seemed that his thoughts were not wrong.
“King, we are your summoned creatures,” Guagua emphasized. The longer he stayed on this continent, the more he felt that his mindset in the game was wrong, which led him to consider quitting the game. However, he was unwilling to give up and just wanted to see what the continent would become in the hands of this king.
“Those orcs are pitiful,” Mo Wujie said bluntly. “They are starving and cold, and their mortality rate is terrifyingly high.”
He stared intently at Ister, as if trying to see into his heart. "King, will you feel remorse?"
Easter leaned back in his chair, weary, and said, “The answer isn’t important. What’s important is that I have limited abilities and can do very little. Don’t have too high expectations of me. After all, I can’t even find my lover, can I?” His question was tinged with self-deprecation, as if he didn’t really want an answer.
No one spoke; they all looked at Ist with complicated expressions, probably never expecting him to be so reckless and self-destructive.
“If there’s nothing else, you can go ahead and get busy,” East said, urging them to leave. “I have to get busy too.”
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