"fireworks?"
Airola was slightly startled when she heard what Xia said.
"Um."
Char stretched out his fingers and drew a few strokes in the air.
There was clearly nothing on his fingers at the moment.
However, there were pale blue lines drawn in the void.
Then, it materialized into an extremely clear magic model.
"Xiao Ai, do you remember when we were very young, I told you about the techniques used by the snow hunters in Ceylon to hunt reindeer herds?"
While drawing in the air, Char spoke softly.
...
...
"certainly."
Aurora nodded slightly.
Although that was many years ago.
However, Airola remembered clearly everything she had experienced with Char, every ordinary daily moment, every simple or not-so-simple memory.
Memories do fade with time, but legends are legends because they can solidify those fickle things into eternity.
When Airola released the restraints of the Holy Spear, officially became a Legend, and began to condense her own exclusive spiritual ocean.
The first thing she did was to seal up all her past memories related to Char, along with all her emotions towards Char at that moment, in the deepest part of her soul and back them up.
Because she had been with Char and experienced so many bizarre things, Airola was really scared.
I was afraid that I would lose my memory for some reason, forget the memories between me and Char, and also forget the feelings I had in the past.
He was even more afraid that he would be like so many other legendary warriors, forgetting his original intention little by little as time went by, forgetting the feelings he once cherished, and eventually going down completely opposite paths with Char, becoming strangers whose destinies would never intersect again.
Even though she knew the possibility of those things happening was extremely small, just thinking about them made Airola feel extremely uneasy.
So she engraved the fragments of memories she cherished deep into her soul.
As long as the soul named Aurora still exists for a moment, even if the body perishes and time passes, the mark like that engraved on the stone will never disappear.
Even if one day, she lost her memory and forgot her past like those melodramatic romance novels she had read, or even if, under the influence of others or for various reasons, she chose to embark on a path that ran counter to Char's...
But as long as the mark still exists, she can recall everything that happened in the past and regain the extremely passionate feelings she has for Char today.
Such a thought only flashed through the blonde girl's mind.
She said softly: "I remember everything you said."
"Um."
Char didn't know what was going on in Airola's mind, so he just nodded: "This is also the experience that the ice hunters learned from the snow wolf pack."
"The snowfield reindeer are not small in size, and each group has hundreds of them. Although they are herbivores, if they are really inspired to fight together against a common enemy, they will still be a big threat to wolves."
"Being trampled by deer hooves and pierced by deer antlers can cause injuries to the wolves."
"For wild snow wolves, being injured is equivalent to death."
"So, in order to avoid getting hurt while hunting, wolves will choose smarter hunting tactics."
"Split the reindeer herd into different small groups, use long-term harassment and guerrilla warfare to tire the reindeer's spirit, and cut off their possibility of uniting and fighting against the outside world."
"When the reindeer are completely exhausted and start to become suspicious, the wolves will work together to drive the reindeer to a dangerous place, such as a cliff."
"By then, the wolves won't even have to hunt on their own. They just need to make some noise outside to bluff, and the already panicked reindeer will fight among themselves, trampling on each other and falling off the cliff in the chaos."
"You don't need to attack actively. You can have a full meal without any effort."
There was a slight pause in Char's words.
Between his fingers, red dots of light representing mythical creatures slowly gathered somewhere in the void.
"Similarly, in our current environment, the same principle applies."
"It sounds cool to make enemies with the mythical creatures of the entire world, but it also means being reckless and inefficient."
"On the contrary, if we can find a way to divide those mythical creatures that are already hostile to each other, we can make them fall into a cycle of internal friction."
"Then, we just need to find a suitable opportunity to catch them all in one fell swoop—"
"Then."
Xia spread out his crossed fingers: "Bang."
At the same time, the lifelike azure image outlined in the air exploded in an instant.
It turned into countless bright blue light spots and scattered in all directions.
"So, when fireworks are rising, should we watch them from below? Or from the side?"
During this process, Airola did not speak, but just listened to Char quietly.
This is why Char has always liked to chat in front of Airola. She has always been a good listener. As long as Char starts talking, she will listen seriously, nod and ask questions from time to time, and never be perfunctory.
It was not until Char finished his story that Airola looked at Char.
“It’s not that easy to make those powerful mythical creatures feel threatened and become suspicious and see danger everywhere.”
"So, who are you going to fool this time?"
Xia Ya was stunned: "Why do you say that? Has the image of me in your mind, Xiao Ai, been solidified as a big liar?"
Airola stared into Xia's eyes and said softly, "Because of experience."
"You've always been like this since you were a kid."
"Whenever you show this expression, it means that you are ready to fool people again, or that someone hostile to you is about to suffer."
The first time she saw Char with such an expression was after the fall of Ceylon, at the train station of the Red Frost Lord City, the closest city to Ceylon.
Char said he was going to the city library to look up some information and asked Airola to wait for him on the train.
But he still hadn't returned until the magic train was about to start.
It was not until later that Airola found out that it was Char who had made a thorough investigation and found that there was a female Title-level Beast Tamer from the White Tower on that magic train. She must have noticed Airola's talent as a Beast Tamer, and would have taken her back to the White Tower to train her.
If it wasn't for that split second when Airola didn't even think about it, but just followed her instinct and jumped off the train, then she and Char would probably have really been separated.
Even though there is still a bond from Ceylon, no one can say for sure whether the two can reach the same point as they are now after being separated.
"Although you always say I'm a savage, Char, and I am indeed clumsy."
"But, around you, I can still tell a thing or two from your tricks when I see you fooling people so much." Airola said softly.
"But that's just your character, isn't it?"
"Infiltrate the enemy... and only take action after you have gathered all the intelligence, grasped the overall situation, and planned all the possible escape routes."
"Then, we'll accomplish our goal in one fell swoop."
She blinked her beautiful sky-blue eyes: "Let me guess."
"Are you planning to use your basic skills as an actor to blend in with those guys who claim to be gods, and then stab them in the back at the critical moment?"
"Just as you have done in the past few echoes of history."
"That was the result of long-term forbearance. How can it be called a backstab?"
Xia shook his head helplessly.
"I really can't hide anything from you, Xiao Ai."
"However, even though it's just a lie, this time is really a little different from before."
"Disguise yourself as a subordinate of the enemy and pretend to submit to the enemy in order to gain the upper hand at a critical moment."
"This strategy is indeed effective... However, even if you act as a role, the feeling of living under someone else's roof and being inferior to others is still a bit frustrating."
"When we were weak before, the situation was stronger than us, so we had no choice but to use this strategy."
"but--"
"With our current strength, sometimes we can do whatever we want instead of doing things that make people unhappy."
"oh"
Airola glanced at Xia and said, "What are you going to do?"
"There is a phrase in my hometown called 'He Zong Lian Heng'."
"To put it simply, this term means to win over some of your allies among potential enemies in order to divide your opponents."
Listening to Char's explanation, Airola couldn't help but frown slightly.
"Everyone knows this truth."
"But it should be difficult to find our allies or accomplices among those mythical creatures, right?"
"A simple covenant is nothing but a piece of waste paper. Only a community connected by interests is the most reliable alliance."
"However, our goals and interests are different from those of mythical creatures."
She glanced at Char and said, "What you want to create is a world without gods, where humans, dragons, elves, dwarves...all races can live freely."
"In other words, it is to maintain the situation in the Fourth Epoch where the gods have retreated and the intelligent races are independent and self-reliant without any constraints."
"But what those demigods and false gods want is to transform the entire material plane into their own kingdom of God, and rely on the power of faith to ascend to the throne of the Creator of the Glorious Age."
"Even, relying on the power of faith, one can go one step further and reach a higher realm that no living being has ever reached."
This is a fundamental disagreement and an unsolvable contradiction.
Of course, Char could make promises to some weak demigods, agreeing to give them the spoils of divinity and power that were useless to Char and others after the war, in exchange for them serving as traitors in the camp of gods.
However, the reliability of such a transaction is so fragile that it is vulnerable to attack.
No one can guarantee that those weak demigods will not pass on the information of this transaction in exchange for more benefits... By then, they will only be outsmarting themselves, and may even be calculated by the gods and fall into an abyss from which there is no escape.
"Xiao Ai, your analysis is correct."
Char glanced at the blonde girl beside him in shock.
He suddenly realized that this girl was not as reckless as she usually appeared.
If Airola was really as reckless as he thought she was, then she wouldn't have been able to manage all of Char's businesses in the Black Lily District of the Imperial Capital in such an orderly manner when he left the capital.
However, when she was with Char on weekdays, Airola had already gotten used to restraining her own brilliance, not thinking too much, and not using her own opinions to interfere with Char's decisions.
Only when it came to Char's own safety, as it did now, would she, very rarely, raise opinions that went against Char's.
"It is not a wise choice to rely on the fragile opportunity of fighting against a tiger to determine the outcome of the war."
"Those mythical creatures are all old monsters that have lived for thousands or tens of thousands of years. If you are really arrogant enough to think that they can be easily manipulated and fooled by a few words, then you will probably die an ugly death."
Xia smiled.
"Then why do you say that..."
Airola was only halfway through her words when she was interrupted by Char.
"In my opinion, becoming the throne and embarking on the path to becoming a demigod are both paths chosen to reach higher peaks. There is no distinction between high and low."
"And the reason why I gave up the path to becoming a god and took another more difficult path——"
"Because in my opinion, while becoming a god gives you power, you also lose too much."
Char's gaze seemed distant. He was clearly looking at the City of Snow and Wind, but it seemed as if he was looking at some even more illusory height.
"Needless to say, the madness and pollution brought about by the containment of divinity is irrefutable evidence of this. The many demigods who perished and lost control during the Cataclysm are irrefutable proof of this."
“But—even if it is a more advanced path in the eyes of mythical creatures today, is the so-called power of faith really infallible?”
"Relying on the image of the gods among the followers and believers as an anchor to stabilize one's own will is indeed an effective way to fight against disorder and madness."
"But...binding my spiritual body and self to the body of faith in the eyes of the believers—"
"But it also means that the self of the deity will no longer be a self, but will change with the cognition of the believers."
"A single believer may not be able to change anything... But if the image of the gods changes in the eyes of all believers..."
"Then, He is no longer Him, but something else constructed by the concept of God in the hearts of believers."
Xia Ya chuckled: "So, Xiao Ai——"
"Have you heard of...the goddess's fall?"
"Evil fall?"
The blonde girl thought about it for a moment, then looked up at Char: "What is that?"
"It's good that you haven't heard of it."
Char heaved a sigh of relief and patted Airola's little head:
"Children don't need to know this kind of thing."
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