Chapter 1111: Pulling out the minions and integrating into civilization
Without a doubt.
...That is the power of the sixth energy level.
That sacred and fanatical demeanor made Haibasha's expression change slightly, and his little head tilted back for a moment.
"This kind of courage... I thought I saw the Supreme Judge again."
She couldn't help but whispered.
Haibasha made no secret of his fear of Don Quixote's power, but his words sounded like praise.
"The Sublime Judge...it sounds like the name of a warship."
Aiwass asked with interest, "It's the same type of name as [Cruel Preacher] and [Oathbreaker Annihilator]."
"Indeed."
Haibasha nodded. "That technology only existed in the Dark Ages... or rather, should have existed. A kind of heavily armored paladin clad in consecrated armor, who existed solely for the purpose of killing. If I remember correctly, it should have been abandoned before the birth of mankind."
She lowered her eyes with a sense of nostalgia and sadness.
In a trance, she seemed to see the past of the Theocracy—
The giant statue reaches the sky, like a pure white tower that can move.
It's an ancient war tree with a tree-like spirit at its core—sheathed in the shell of a cathedral, it becomes a fortress city once it's planted on the ground. Each one is a massive war fortress capable of operating on land or underwater... Each one can house nearly ten thousand people, boasting 333 gun ports alone, capable of three thousand resonant chants once deployed.
It was a weapon of war used to fight against fifth-level sea monsters, demon beasts, and dragons. For a swarm of fifth-level monsters, only a fortress of this size would be meaningful.
That is the true form of the Oathbreaker.
It's not a warship in the traditional sense... but an amphibious mobile fortress.
Once it approaches the enemy, [Oathbreaker] will release a large number of [Noble Judges].
Inside these heavily armored, silver-white humanoids, roughly three meters tall, lay paladins of exceptional skill and unwavering faith. Relying on the power replenished within their [Oathbreakers], they launched forth like comets, plummeting towards the beast herd.
Just landing on the ground can destroy a large area of the ground.
The rising smoke and dust, the shaking earth... Haibasha will never forget it in his life.
Only with the protection of these high-speed and maneuverable superior beings could the bulky Cruel Preacher warships be considered safe. These artillery batteries provided auxiliary fire from the sea or helped intercept the air force, while the injured and damaged noble judges were transported back to the fortress under beams of light for treatment and repair.
In the era before humans were born, elves were the rulers of the world.
Every enemy they fought was far superior to the giants—even the giants were part of the alliance. It was in this environment that the elves, relying on their superior military strength, annihilated all their enemies, carved out numerous gathering places across the land, and ultimately had the opportunity to establish a unified and permanently neutral Eternal Kingdom...
The fear of elves among various races was almost developed from that time.
It is also because of this that, with the protection of the elves, the newly born human beings were able to survive and not become extinct.
In an age when hundreds of beasts roamed the land, "genocide" wasn't some idle threat, but a monthly occurrence.
"Then why has the title of Supreme Judge been abolished?"
Aiwass was puzzled. "If the Oathbreaker Annihilator was dismantled because maintenance costs were too high... then only the Paladins were re-armored. Doesn't the Theocracy still maintain its Paladin Legion? If we could preserve this formation... even just the armor, it would serve as a testament to the Theocracy's former glory, wouldn't it?"
Hearing what Aiwass said, Haibasha was stunned for a moment.
Such familiar words, she seemed to have heard them somewhere before...
"—Why should these great objects be abandoned? Isn't this a waste? Moreover, they are proof of the Theocracy's strength in resisting the beast plague and are part of its glorious history... Without them, how can we prove to future generations the cruelty of that war? Without them, if the Theocracy is invaded by foreign forces in the future, how will our descendants protect themselves?"
In a trance, Haibasha seemed to hear the questions he had asked back then.
And her mouth moved of its own accord, and she uttered the words that Hermes had once said to her:
"...Because the Theocracy does not intend to give the impression of being 'warlike' and 'dangerous'."
Haibasha whispered, "Every war the Theocracy has participated in is a 'necessary war.' It is for the continuation of other civilizations, for the sake of those weaker races, that the Theocracy has decided to enter this cycle of mutual slaughter. Now that the problem has been resolved, we should withdraw and not covet the status and glory that comes with this noble power."
"When you hold a hammer, everyone looks like a nail. The Theocracy's neutrality is a core principle, and force is used only to ensure the possibility of neutrality... not the other way around, intervening in other countries through force, like a supreme judge. That's hardly the way to be a nation of devotion, Son of the Great Tree."
"The elves want people to forget the memories of the past. The races that survived that war are not superior simply because they experienced it. They are not more noble, more important, or more deserving of ruling over the newly emerging races in the new world... such as humans.
"All races are equal. When flames gather together, they burn brighter. That is civilization.
"Suffering isn't worth celebrating; the spirit that triumphs over it, the will to endure it, is what's worth celebrating. These qualities don't need these scarred killing machines to prove they once existed. Instead, they should be passed down through the words and actions of future citizens of the Theocracy... ensuring they 'continue to exist, continue to exist, and exist forever' in the future."
As for the issue of the Theocracy being invaded... this was Hermes's response at the time.
"—In this world, the principles of the Way are the source of power. If the Theocracy hadn't degenerated, remaining a nation of unparalleled devotion, it could have protected itself without relying on these ancient technologies. Just as wisdom begets wisdom, love begets love, and devotion begets devotion... If the Theocracy succeeds, then other civilized nations will likely join in worshipping the sacred fire, lowering their purity, unlike the dragons and demonic beasts. Then, it will be even more impossible for them to defeat the Theocracy."
In essence, this should be the pollution of other paths by the spirit of "dedication".
Having said that, Hypatia looked at Don Quixote again.
He still held his head high and stood guard by Aiwass with great pride and silence.
That glorious and sacred posture was not shaken in the slightest by Haibasha's words.
He clearly disagreed with Haibasha's words, but he didn't protest or get angry. He stood guard beside Aiwass like a stone statue. No matter what thoughts arose in his mind, they didn't affect his sacred duty to protect his master.
"Really... so similar."
Haibasha murmured softly.
Just like the noble judges of the past... No, it should be said that they are exactly the same. Even the style of armor is the same.
The Pope's guards back then were just like these emotionless "stone statues": cold, tough, silent and vigilant.
They were completely different from the current papal guards who see it as an honor, a profession. They saw "guarding" as a mission. It was more important than life, more important than morality... more important than one's own principles, more important than one's own life. It was more important than everything.
Now, after a long period of time, even the Theocracy has become weak. This empire that has survived from the Dark Ages has begun to become more "humane".
Although Haibasha also felt that this might not be a bad thing... after all, the source of the path of dedication is "civilization."
As a believer in the God of Burning and Chasing Darkness, removing one's own minions and integrating into civilization is also an extremely important step.
Even Sizhu himself is used to hurting himself, so how can an elf, the son of a giant tree, survive alone?
(End of this chapter)
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