Chapter 631 — A Mysterious Voyage, the Final Defiance

Even a veteran knight made no attempt to dodge responsibility when a fleet had come under attack and taken damage, but Gao Yang cut him off outright: "You bear no responsibility for this incident. Your response was entirely proper and averted greater losses—and it has also given us valuable experience. Compile a detailed account of the engagement and the operating status of each ship's systems at the time, and send it to the Mana Technology Research Institute and the shipyards for reference in future refits."

"Yes, sir."

The communication cut off, and Gao Yang could not help letting out a long breath.

He must not let the smooth progress of the war blind him—even in so smooth a military operation, such a grave lesson had lain hidden, and if that lesson were not absorbed, the next time it surfaced it might well mean a fatal crisis!

Even while being relentlessly crushed, those crystal-cluster giants had still found an effective means of resistance, and Gao Yang, who had until now focused entirely on combat on land and on the water's surface, had overlooked the possibility that the enemy might strike at the warships from beneath the water!

This was not to say he had no concept of underwater combat, but that it had simply never occurred to him—he had never imagined that in this era, when facing a horde of infected monsters, he would still encounter the challenge of underwater combat!

It was like a fully armed modern soldier going to fight a primitive man with a wooden club—the soldier would never think he needed extra cover and an insulating protective suit, but then the primitive man gives his club a swing and summons a ball lightning...

Had those crystal-cluster giants been anything more than flesh and blood, had the enemy also possessed weapons and equipment comparable to Cecil's—or even merely half an era behind—then those foes who struck at the warships from beneath the water might truly have sunk the river fleet's vessels.

Just then Victoria's voice came suddenly from beside him, breaking into Gao Song's thoughts: "Has something happened?"

The Northern Duke had eaten a little food, then rested and meditated briefly, and her condition had now recovered a great deal. Seeing Gao Yang's grave expression, she assumed something had gone wrong at the front.

At the same time she noticed the small mana-net terminal before Gao Yang—she had seen larger machines fixed to the ground back in Xuanyao City, and now she beheld a compact model that could be easily moved; a trace of admiration and longing crept into her gaze.

If the kingdom's army had possessed such things then, perhaps the situation would not have deteriorated so badly... At the very least, she would have been able to gather the uninfected troops in time, rather than let most of the forces far from Boulder City be converted into crystal-cluster giants while fighting alone and cut off from all communication...

But it was only a thought—she knew Gao Cen had never minded spreading these advanced devices abroad, so long as the price was right, but the kingdom's nobles would not necessarily accept things that might shake their authority, especially the mage families who controlled the relay towers across the land and the plains nobles who bred griffins; they would likely spare no effort to obstruct such technology.

"Nothing, a small matter," Gao Yang said, noticing Victoria's gaze. He could more or less guess what she was thinking, but did not point it out. "We'll rest and refit here for a day, then push on north—the crystal-cluster legion has likely begun its assault on the royal capital by now. Let us hope Holy Sunil holds out until we arrive."

"What matters is that they must know reinforcements exist," Victoria said at once. "I... know the capital's nobles well. Without word of reinforcements, they likely could not hold out even three days—even with the strongest fortress in all of Ansu."

"...My view of the capital's nobles aligns closely with yours."

...

In the deep, dark abyss of the underground, crimson magma churned and heaved at the foot of the cliffs. The priests of the Church of All Things' End, robed in black or dark green, gathered beside the vast body of the False God's Flesh, watching from afar its every breath.

The enormous deer-shaped body had now come near to full maturity; a layer of vast and holy radiance cloaked its huge and elegant form, and across fur white to the point of admitting no speck of dust drifted ceaselessly all manner of mysterious runes and sacred marks. It appeared already prepared to descend into the world, yet one final chain still bound the body of this man-made god—

That chain coiled about His neck and hooked between His antlers; runes flickered along its length, and a mighty power of sealing and suppression restrained the man-made god's urge to awaken.

Opposite the False God's Flesh, upon a high platform floating in midair, two figures stood watching the giant deer's body from afar.

One of the figures was a female priestess, half woman and half tree; the other was a man wrapped in a plain black robe, his face hidden in the shadow of his hood.

"Grand Hierarch, Heaton is dead." Beiyila Augustus turned her head slightly and spoke to the man beside her.

The Grand Hierarch gave a slight nod, and the voice that came from beneath the hood was hoarse and constrained: "I felt it..."

"We have lost a key pillar on the Holy Spirit Plains," Beiyila continued. "The Cecilites will certainly keep pushing north. Their aggression, their destructiveness, and their military strength are all astonishing."

After a brief silence, the Grand Hierarch sighed softly. "So be it... Cecil is stronger than I expected. If our path is blocked, perhaps theirs can serve as another road... One more road means one more card in mortal hands."

"...If words like that were to spread, they would surely cause unrest."

"Perhaps. But before I leave this world, I would rather speak as a 'human' than as a half-divine, half-human Grand Hierarch," the Grand Hierarch said hoarsely. Then he turned his head slightly; his face remained hidden beneath the hood, but a pale hand emerged from the robe, holding a thick, heavy tome. "This book is yours to keep."

"The Book of Ultimate Truth..." Beiyila glanced at the book with a complicated look in her eyes. "All the answers are hidden within its pages..."

"But perhaps there are answers beyond the pages as well—the Outlands Wanderer, for instance," the Grand Hierarch said in a low voice, watching Beiyila take the book. "Prepare the ritual. Red Maple has been destroyed, and our time is not generous."

The floating platform descended slowly toward the lava lake below, joining with the great floating island where the priestesses stood. When the priestesses of the End of All Things saw the Grand Hierarch step down from the platform, they fell silent as one.

Centuries of scheming had finally come to this point. In that indescribable moment, all the stirring slogans and speeches seemed pale and powerless. No one cheered, no one applauded; these priestesses who had fallen into darkness merely retreated in reverence, bowing slightly, and watched as the Grand Hierarch in his plain black robe walked step by step into the air, step by step toward the body of the man-made god.

The Final Rite of Defiance.

The greatest defiance, the greatest negation and confrontation that humans could offer to a god.

Beiyila lifted her head and watched as the Grand Hierarch came step by step to the vicinity of the sacred giant deer's brow. The black-robed figure spread his hands, and his hoarse voice echoed through the entire Abyss of Flesh and Blood.

"God, open your eyes and prepare to receive your humanity!!"

And then the sacred giant deer opened its eyes.