The storm continued to surge from the north, mixed with unusual heat and metallic smell.
The gloomy sky was set off by black clouds. Israel Diamond stood on the giant observation deck in the center of the East Bander Plateau, watching the hot and humid moisture extending along the iron-gray horizon - heavy rain fell, and small waves fell. The stream turned into a raging river, and the lake that had dried up over the winter was refilled. The water continued to expand on the black and green land, and the dry trees sprouted new buds.
Spring is here, but this spring day is different from the past. The warm wind from south to north was rolled back due to the power of a certain legend a few days ago. The hot wind coming from the North Ural Plain mixed with the cold spring rain, going against the direction of thousands of years. The pattern returned to the Helgamos Plain in the center of the empire, and it did not even stop, and even reached the Bander Mountains on the border of the Western Mountains and the empire.
The emperor looked at the rain falling above his head. The heavy rain hit the roof of the watchtower and also hit the gradually expanding magic energy base. The surface buildings of the void battleship production base named 'Apocalypse' have become increasingly dense. As there are more, they are burning tons of magic crystals all the time, emitting colorful smoke. The rain knocks the smoke to the ground, forming puddles of various colors.
The colored light of magic flowed on the ground, like a rainbow. Israel looked at the earth and his empire. His eyes could sweep across the entire empire, from the southern fortress of the Black Forest to the extreme northern ice sheet of the Vast Sea. As long as Israel If Rael is willing, he can see everything clearly. Whether it is the druids hiding in the forest or the villagers living in seclusion in the mountains, he knows everything clearly.
There was only one thing he couldn't see clearly. People's hearts.
Under such heavy rain, most of the hard-working citizens will not go out. Only those who have to work outside due to special reasons and businessmen who transport supplies will grit their teeth and brave the rain. But in addition, there is another This kind of people especially like this kind of weather... no, they like any kind of weather, as long as it is not a peaceful and sunny day.
Israel could see that in the mountainous area to the south of the Helgamos Plain, a caravan carrying purified kaman white grass powder was rushing in the heavy rain. Four guards wore leather armor and rode horses in the rain. On alert, the dragon chariot protected in the center ignored the wind and rain, strode across the rugged mountain road, and ran towards the city that was not far away - but just when the lights of the city could be seen from a distance, the trees on both sides of the road accompanied it. There was a rustling sound in the room, and dozens of people with scattered clothes and tattered and inconsistent weapons jumped out amidst the whistle. They laughed and charged towards the carriage, with madness lurking in their numb eyes.
Bandits never care about the weather as long as they have a worthy prey in front of them.
After taking the throne for decades, Israel originally thought that he already knew a lot about the evils in his empire. Whether it was the gangsters who blackmailed the elderly and extracted protection money, or the nobles who oppressed the common people and snatched virgins, he had seen a lot. , even in the army, there are villains who suppress death reports and drink the blood of soldiers. It is not the first time for His Majesty the Emperor to execute them, but this series of actions seems to be meaningless, brushing off the surface of the empire. A layer of haze, but you can see more darkness surging in the depths - selfish desires, customs, unspoken rules, blood, favors, interests... The whole system seems to be a breeding ground for evil. Even if a group of people are killed, there will still be a third one. Second batch, third batch, never ending.
Human society is not perfect in the first place. It just hovers between being able to survive and being passable. Ordinary kingdoms are replaced every few hundred years, and empires with legends will inevitably decline occasionally. It is born with scars, and it is naturally impossible to grow. What a perfect flower.
In those years when he could only gradually move towards death due to hidden injuries, Israel was extremely decadent. He sat on his throne with a wry smile, looking down at the ministers and lords under his command who were frowning. The war against the orcs was over, and those The emerging nobles who rose up due to the war were naturally unwilling to lose power. They bribed ministers and even princes and used various means to launch a war against the Western Mountains or the Eastern Plains.
- Let them be. His Majesty the Emperor thought so at the time. He did not have time to correct the empire step by step. He did not even bother to care about where the empire would go in the future. Anyway, he had eradicated the orcs and sent away this behemoth that had been fighting the empire for four hundred years. Go to hell. Israel felt that he had done enough to deserve the title of a great emperor. There was no emperor with such great achievements as him in the entire Mycrof continent going back hundreds of years.
But now, Starfall 837, March 10th.
Israel's eyes flashed with divine brilliance, and a series of rune data was reflected behind him. The light blue data flow surged like a waterfall, as if he was calculating and correcting-Israel watched. The bandit who was thousands of miles away rushed towards the panicked caravan, and then stretched out his right hand.
So, along with the crazy surge of rune data, his will turned into the light of heaven's punishment, causing the dazzling golden light to cross the space and become a flaming arrow hotter than the scorching sun. Thousands of flaming arrows pierced the clouds, and as the Rain fell out of thin air, turning all the thieves into ashes before they could even feel the pain.
Looking at this scene, the corners of Israel's mouth curled up.
He discovered that he could actually do more.
"Hiss--" Not far away, violent fluctuations in space and time rippled. Along with the faint blue light that suddenly appeared behind him, two terrifying and huge auras came. At this moment, the entire 'Apocalypse' production line came to a halt. In an instant, all the magic power within hundreds of miles was frozen due to the arrival of the two, and no longer obeyed the user's commands.
But Israel did not turn around. He knew who was coming and what their purpose was. Israel knew that one of the two people behind him was his most loyal and closest comrade-in-arms, and the other was also the most worthy friend.
"Teacher Nostradamus, Lord Radcliffe."
Israel stood at the top of the observation tower, gazing at everything in the distance: "My dream is about to come true."
"Isn't your dream to lead everyone out of the world and to the other side of the star sea?"
It is monotonous and emotionless, as if the sound comes from the friction of iron against iron. This is the voice of Joshua Van Radcliffe, the inheritor of the sages, the god-given hero, his voice and his He is also boring and lacks emotion, with an aura of fear that can make ordinary people tremble and bow their heads. He only has a little emotion when fighting and getting along with his family, like a human being, not a god of death.
"Why, the void battleship was built?" Joshua's voice sounded quite relaxed. He approached step by step, and finally came behind Israel. In response, His Majesty the Emperor sneered: "Who are you leading to the other side? A group of liars, robbers, thieves, cowards and sadists? It is not my dream to lead a group of lunatics out of the world."
"Reaching the sky in one step, I will not dream of such a pure dream. I will only walk slowly towards the goal I want, even if it takes my whole life."
At the beginning, Israel's voice was still filled with emotion, but as it went on, his voice became firmer, until finally, his voice was as calm as usual, but no matter who it was, everyone felt that the surrounding The air is gradually heating and boiling, and an indescribable momentum is spreading from the center of the emperor: "Everything should be thanked to you, Lord Radcliffe. Without you, there would be no current empire, and there would be no Apocalypse Base. , there would be no information terminal and magic network - naturally, there would be no such thing and me now."
"You once told me, why didn't I immediately start reforming? Because I know that the time has not yet come. After one group of people are washed away, another group of people will stand up. Sin is like a reed. You break it. With it, it will grow taller in the coming year, and the strong will naturally oppress the weak, just as one class must oppress another class.”
"So now, is it time?" came the soldier's doubtful voice.
"The time has come." Israel nodded slowly.
"Let him see the results of our hard work these days."
Nostradamus, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke. He smiled and stood beside His Majesty the Emperor, and then took out a strange-shaped steel bar made of an unknown metal from his arms. Joshua could see It was half of a prism, and on the other side, Israel also took out a similar steel bar from his hand. He took the other half from the old mage's hand.
—This is an information terminal! But why so big? ! Seeing this scene, the soldier suddenly reacted.
And at the moment when Joshua understood, Israel clasped his hands and combined the two into one. Suddenly, a light blue light shot out from the lower end of the prism, which was data composed entirely of runes. The amount of information flow is so large that even Joshua cannot analyze it in an instant.
Israel's calm voice can be heard: "Joshua, just watch."
"The time for change has arrived."
Suddenly, the observation tower located at the center of the Apocalypse Base began to shake, and the steel plate on the top began to rotate and bulge outward, forming a high platform. A deep passage appeared in the center of the high platform, and a beam of blue light similar to the prism emerged from the passage. The bottom part shoots out and blends with the light of this 'key'.
[Information Terminal·Number 00-00, the highest administrator authority intervened and began to implement Plan No. 1.]
[The top manager - codenamed Israel, the energy fluctuations are certain, and the soul resonance is certain.]
[Plan starts-]
[May you shine on the world like the sun.]
The metal prism in Israel's hand has been liquefied under the high-intensity energy impact, but this is not destruction, but seems to have returned to its original form. The silver metal containing light blue light is surging and changing in the emperor's hand. It is as unpredictable as the human heart which can never be fathomed.
A huge roar came, and everything was ready. The towering observation tower changed its shape as if it were alive. Under the operation of the already confirmed magic circle program, the three legends watched this huge magic machine begin to transform. With the The noise caused by the friction between steel and steel, as well as the micro-hum caused by the resonance of magic power, caused the lower part of the observatory to break away from the huge steel base. It was suspended in mid-air under the support of huge magic power, and continued to rise towards the sky.
Joshua and Nostradamus stood at the top of the unchanging observation tower. The two did not pay attention to the rising platform. Their eyes still stayed on the person in the center of the platform - and at this moment, His Majesty the Emperor stood Opening his palm, the liquid metal in his hand began to slowly float, and then rapidly unfolded in mid-air, turning into a throne that seemed to be composed of light. Israel stared at the throne slowly falling to the ground, embedded in the It has reserved a high platform. The emperor sat on his throne.
Then, he issued his first instruction: "Expand the full detection lens."
[As ordered, supreme manager.]
The emotionless voice answered him in the language of pure information, and the next moment, as invisible energy fluctuations swept through every part of the empire, countless light curtains unfolded in front of Israel's eyes.
Joshua, who was full of doubts, opened his eyes wide, and he and Nostradamus stared at these light curtains.
The Helgamos Plain has a panoramic view, from Yonge Lake to Thomas Canyon, from the Tartarus Plateau to the Great Ajax Mountains, every region and city in the northwest of the entire empire comes into view, even mountain villages and The dwarves in the underground were not missed, and the warrior could even see the dwarves herding moles digging a passage to the depths of the earth, which was only a stone's throw away from another underground cavity.
In the southern fortress, the hot and humid air from the north has not yet arrived, but the gloomy black clouds have already appeared in the northern sky. The families of the soldiers and civilians in the fortress are hurriedly taking back everything on the hangers to prevent the finally washed clothes from getting dirty. In the southeastern swamp, the thick gray clouds are moving slowly, like cloud mountains, with lightning flying through them. The residents of the tribe are accustomed to this and continue their daily lives.
On the eastern coast of the empire, the golden afterglow of the sunset is reflected on the sea surface of Shiwan Port, as moving as the purest real gold. The waves are rising one after another, and the stars can already be seen gradually emerging on the horizon. On the island in the distance, a lighthouse The light is guiding the passing merchant ships to avoid the reef and go in their respective directions smoothly.
In every corner of the entire empire, whether it is famous or unknown, whether there are people or no people, even in the Hessian Jedi where there are only monsters raging, even in the overcrowded commercial city, there are numerous light curtains reflecting every change. , the imperial capital of the Three Mountains Holy City, in the Morlai Palace, the silver-haired queen frowned. She felt a familiar sight, but she didn’t know where it came from. In the castle of the ancient Fairy Island, the empty elemental palace There was nothing on the pillar. The goblin originally stationed here had already left the place and was wandering around the empire with a certain boy.
The swordsman traveling with his family, the dragon girl wandering around in the North Mountains, the mount swimming in the Vast Sea while the warrior was away, the first team completing the mission conscientiously, wandering around the city with the silver-haired girl, buying miscellaneous books Artificial intelligence... Familiar and unfamiliar, everything is in these endless light curtains.
"I am not a sage, nor a saint. Nostradamus and I know that opening up the people's wisdom is the first step to transform society, but before this first step, I must crush all classes. This is almost An impossible task, because there are destined to be superior and inferior among people, there are bound to be oppressors and oppressed.”
On the throne, Israel gradually became indifferent, a voice with heavy echoes sounded, his tone was cold, and a strong murderous intention emerged in his words: "I thought for a long time, and I can only think of one way. "
"Then I will be the oppressor—the only one."
The divine radiance danced in Israel's eyes, and the emperor's original deep pupils began to gradually transform into pure light - at this time, his eyes completely turned into two golden fires, burning all those with them like the sun. The person looking at each other, Israel, was sitting on the throne, staring at all the light curtains. He said softly: "Thank you, Mr. Radcliffe, for bringing the magic network and the void battleship production line. Together we created the final step in our plan - an empire-wide surveillance network."
At this moment, Joshua also understood. He raised his head and looked into the void. Silver light flashed in his pupils. He saw countless rune light chains rising from all over the empire, and then went to Somewhere in the void is the Empire's recently completed Void Battleship No. 1. Israel named it and the entire production base 'Apocalypse'. There is an extremely huge core terminal on the Apocalypse, which accepts dispersion. The signals of the detection circle are located throughout the empire, and then relayed to Israel's throne.
At that time, the warrior didn't know why he had this name, but now, he understands.
"No wonder the server always crashes from time to time... There are obviously several legendary powerhouses working day and night to reinforce and repair it. It turns out you are the one doing the experiments."
Joshua murmured to himself. He turned his head and looked at Israel: "Nostradamus must be your accomplice. Barnier and William also know it?"
"After all, I funded the construction of the information terminal. They just followed professional ethics and didn't ask me what I was doing."
Israel nodded slightly to Joshua to show his concealed apology, but then he pointed to the light curtain and said softly: "Look, Mr. Radcliffe."
"These evils are everywhere."
Following Israel's words, Joshua looked towards the light curtain, and at this moment, the light curtain lenses on the surface all changed, turning into countless images that were different from the previous ones, and the warrior saw them. At the first sight, he clenched his fists subconsciously, and uncontrollable anger rose in his heart.
He saw the evil lurking beneath the empire, masked by a facade of prosperity.
They were bandits that roamed the wilderness and deep forests, plundering caravans and lone travelers. The missing people on countless lists were born because of them. Countless old people lost their children, and countless children lost their children. Father, one caravan after another went bankrupt because of them, and thousands of people died.
They were adventurers hiding under friendly smiles and working with their companions in the wilderness old forest squadron. They pretended to be friendly and took newcomers who were inexperienced and full of hope for the future to the inaccessible wilderness, and then took them in their sleep. Killing them one by one, they harvested the dreams of others and enriched their own wallets. The blood on their hands could not make them feel guilty at all, but could only make them sneer with disdain.
In addition, there are nobles who hide in secret rooms and think that no one knows about them. They have tried all the excitement and tasted all the delicacies, and have developed demons in their hearts. Hunting wild beasts and monsters can no longer satisfy these people. Finally, they turned their attention to their own race. So, every month, every week, or even every day, one or two boys and girls would go missing in a slum area, and a group of people would be masked in a certain mountain village. Abducted by knights, their end was to be turned into 'novel' materials in the bloody basement of the castle, satisfying these people's violent desires that cannot be described in words.
"Human trafficking gangs, businessmen who train female slaves, nobles who enjoy persecuting civilians, mages who are interested in analyzing human beings... They think they are hidden and they think they have a protective umbrella, so they can do whatever they want."
The villain who drags the crying girl out of the house in the name of usury is mocking the stupidity of this family; the slave merchant who uses magic potions to destroy the slave's mind and rebuild his personality is full of excitement; the farmer who whips the territory likes to hear the bones breaking. The crackling noble shouted happily, and increased the strength in his hands; on the experimental table, the magician who did not use any paralyzing medicine, but simply wanted to see the extremely frightened eyes of others showed an inhuman smile.
Israel's cold voice echoed in the observation tower, and His Majesty the Emperor sitting on the throne sneered: "But now, it's all in my eyes - the laws of the empire - and I will judge them."
He stretched out his right hand and grasped it in the air. Suddenly, with the sharply increasing energy fluctuations, every sinful place that appeared in the light screen received its own divine punishment - the scorching arrow of fire from the sky. And descended, killing all the bandits and all the villains with precision. The gang's lair turned into a sea of fire in the eyes of many numb onlookers. The slave merchant's headquarters collapsed in the sky fire, and the noble's mansion was destroyed by the precise laser cutting. Under the irradiation, they were torn into pieces, including the nobles themselves, and the magician in the mage tower spontaneously ignited out of thin air, turning into black coal in the bewildered eyes of the next experimental subject who had not yet been dissected.
Countless evildoers are still looking at the sky in panic before they die. They are praying and confessing their sins to God. However, the emperor's anger will not weaken at all because of this weak confession. Those who deserve to die should do so. Withered grass turns into gray smoke in the flames.
"Thirty days."
After doing all this, Israel suddenly said loudly in a raised tone: "As long as there are enough materials, Apocalypse Base can produce a second-level air cruiser, which can carry four high-energy magic crystal cluster cannons and serve as a transfer station. , carrying my power, after thirty thirty days, I will establish a monitoring and combat network covering the entire empire. As long as there is evil that can be seen, I can send spaceships or directly suppress it."
"The ultimate dystopia..."
At this time, Joshua was whispering such a word to himself, because he was speaking it in the language of the earth, so whether it was Nostradamus who was watching all this with a smile, or the calm Israel Er didn't understand. When the two of them showed confused expressions, the soldier closed his eyes slightly, then he opened his eyes and looked at Israel, and asked in a deep voice: "Is this your choice? Israel, Use absolute power to oppress the entire empire? Use information terminals to monitor everyone?"
"Yes, that's my choice."
He answered without hesitation, and Israel showed an extremely determined expression. He opened his eyes wide and looked at Joshua: "There will be no more crime, no more oppression, bandits will be extinct, and gangsters will be extinct." All of them will be put in prison, and all the nobles who torture and kill civilians will be sentenced to death by me, and any criminals who attempt murder will be burned to ashes by me - I am the legendary strongman Israel, and I have the ability to do this!"
"There will be no more classes in this world. Common people can live peacefully, caravans don't have to worry about peacemakers and bandits, upright people can hold their heads high, and despicable people can only go to hell. This is what I want!"
Joshua stared at Israel's face: he wanted to find even a trace of selfish desire in it, but he couldn't. The emperor had no selfish desires from the inside out. His words and deeds were consistent. There was no flaw in what he said and did. —What if this is really what he thinks from the bottom of his heart
"This is absolute power."
The soldier took a deep breath, and many thoughts surged in his mind. For the first time, Joshua was not clear about his thoughts - his reason told him that absolute power would lead to absolute corruption, and Israel would never Exception, but on the other hand, he believed in the will of a legendary strong man. Israel said that he could achieve eternal justice, so Radcliffe was willing to believe that he could do it.
Contradictory? No, trust itself is unreasonable.
"Teacher Nostradamus, Lord Radcliffe."
As if feeling Joshua's complicated emotions, Israel softened his tone. He stared at the light curtain in front of him and said in a voice with heavy echoes: "I know that this kind of absolute power is nothing. Good thing."
"But now, I do feel the 'justice' brought by 'power'."
Sitting on the 'Seat of Apocalypse', which is completely composed of information terminals, Israel looked down at the earth and his empire from an observation deck 12 kilometers above the ground. The surging light of divinity came from The emperor's body surged out, Israel slowly closed his eyes, and a huge, gear-like black ring holy symbol appeared behind him.
That is the holy symbol of the God of Power and Justice.
In the boundless heaven, a certain great will shook slightly.
"The Awakened God..." He murmured softly, looking at Mycroft's world with complicated eyes, but then he changed his attention and continued to be immersed in the process of integrating the boundless heaven.
As for Mycroft Continent, over the East Bander Plateau, Israel opened his eyes again, his eyes burning like the sun releasing a radiance that made it impossible to look directly at him.
"I won't leave this seat until that day comes."
Thus said the Emperor: "I will keep my eyes on this country."
"Until it becomes what I want it to be."
Everyone is not a good person, but what does it matter
(End of chapter)