Volume 2: Funeral Song of Crows Chapter 7: Magical Network and Disaster Calendar
Although Heishui Province is located in the warm and humid south, the weather in Chenyue still has a hint of winter chill, especially for those who go out on the road early in the morning.
A palm-sized girl with dragonfly wings on her back sat on the shoulders of a tall man in black who carried two swords on his back. She tightly grasped a piece of the man's cloak behind him and wrapped it around herself. She shivered constantly and sneezed from time to time.
"So witches can catch colds too?"
After the other person sneezed for who knows how many times, Cass finally couldn't hold back his curiosity and asked.
The other party rolled his eyes at him, then pulled up his cloak and wiped his nose as if nothing had happened and said:
"There is only one kind of person in this world who doesn't catch a cold. Guess what it is?"
"What?"
Cass asked.
She was about to answer with a triumphant smile on her face, but the magic caster who was walking in front and wearing a shabby brown robe and had gray hair spoke up:
"I didn't expect to hear this saying in this place. Where did you learn it?"
"It seems like I saw it in a children's comic book I read before...Aqiu!"
She sneezed again as she spoke.
"Comic strip? Yeah, that makes sense...Cas, you don't have to worry too much. After a witch is born, she will be easily affected by the external environment for a period of time. Generally, it will be fine after a few months."
William turned around and looked at Cass who looked worried.
"So I planned to let her rest in Dusk Fortress for a while, but she must come with me..."
Cass said helplessly.
"What? You're allowed to run out of that stripped-down fortress to play, but I'm not allowed to come out with you?"
She interrupted Cas with her golden eyes wide open.
The look and tone are exactly the same.
Cas replied with a headache:
"I've already said it before. I'm here with the Chief Judge to carry out a mission, not to have fun..."
"Ah, in terms of difficulty, there is actually no difference. But Liz, isn't your description of the Dusk Fortress a bit too much? That's dismantling the fortress's structure to lay the basic source silver lines, and everything will be repaired later."
William, who was walking in front, said helplessly.
This was also the reason why he brought Cass out this time, because the other party had just started training to master the authority of God King Oka. Previously, he had always let the other party conduct simulated training in the underground meditation room of Dusk Fortress. In case of any out-of-control situation, he could use the remaining sealing techniques inside to suppress it.
But now the entire Dusk Fortress was about to be completely renovated and new lines were laid, and the meditation room was temporarily unblocked. So William simply took Cas with him, intending to teach him how to control his power on the way.
After all, the effect of learning and training in actual combat is far better than simulated training created through illusion.
What was more surprising was that the witch who had just been reborn not long ago insisted on coming over. Cass couldn't persuade her, so he asked William for his opinion with some trepidation.
And such little things never mattered to William.
By the way, Cass originally planned to give the new witch a new name, but she insisted on calling herself Lizzie.
It was unknown whether this was the effect of the golden mist rose that William took out from the treasure hall. William remembered that the better the flower medium used by the witches when they were reborn, the more memories of their past lives they could retain. So William flipped through the treasure hall and found the flower that was said to be used as a medium by the demigods in the Silver Age for the divine marriage ceremony.
The result is that, except for the fact that her eyes turned pure gold after her rebirth, this witch is almost exactly the same as Liz in terms of personality, appearance, and even memory.
So in this case, should we treat the other person as the same person?
William felt that he should discuss the concept of the "Ship of Theseus" with Castorp when he had the chance.
"So who doesn't catch a cold?"
"Hey, guess~"
The quarrel between the man and the witch behind them continued, and William tactfully stopped disturbing them.
"Lord Kane."
At this time, Nazemar, who had been following William and had been silent all the way, suddenly spoke.
"What is it?"
Breathing in the moist morning air, William asked without even turning his head.
"There is one thing I don't quite understand. Why are you so eager to master the... uh, technique of blessing the holy image? If you go directly to Platinum City or Wanren City and use the holy images there to manifest your divine power, wouldn't it be quicker to announce your return to the world?"
Hearing this question, William sighed and replied:
"First of all, your idea is still based on the premise that I am the Eighth Holy Spirit. But I am not. Believe me, I know what it feels like to use the real power of the Holy Spirit."
As he spoke, William recalled the memory of how he mobilized the incarnations of the Seven Holy Spirits to beat up the three real bodies of the Void Kings in the ending of The Crescent Moon.
Then he continued:
"And, most importantly, if I do this, then the holy image can only be used as a holy image, and the equation of me being the eighth holy spirit will become fixed in the minds of the people."
"But isn't that what an icon is supposed to be..."
"A thing that allows people to monitor their surroundings in real time and can be used as a medium for remote spellcasting, and I ended up just using it to preach?"
Seeing the confused expression on Nazemare's face, William pointed to the rice fields on the side of the road and tried to give her an example.
Because of the years of famine and decay, wilt disease spread in the rice fields. More than half of the rice seedlings were a sickly gray color, and some had simply withered and died, falling powerlessly to the ground like dried corpses.
"According to the standards of the Star Law, you are at least a seventh-level magic caster who has studied life magic. Tell me, if I order you to slow down the spread of the blight, how much farmland can you be responsible for?"
Nezemar looked at the endless rice fields, calculated silently in his mind, and then replied:
"If we are only responsible for purifying the blight pollution, considering the recurrence of the epidemic, it will probably be around a few hundred acres."
[Dispel the Plague] is the most basic life spell. At her level, when using this spell, especially on plants, she only needs to consider whether her mental strength will not be able to sustain it, and the consumption of magic power is basically negligible. The main limitation for her is transportation, or space - she can't travel to so many places in a day to dispel and purify.
"The annual output of a few hundred acres of arable land is only enough to feed a few hundred people at most, and Thorn City alone has hundreds of thousands of residents. Even if all the magic casters who study life in Blackwater Province were sent out, it would only be a drop in the bucket in the face of the epidemic that has spread throughout the Blackwater Swamp."
As William spoke, the magic medium in his hand emitted a circle of green ripples. The sickly gray color on the rice seedlings melted away like melting snow after coming into contact with the green ripples.
As the ripples spread, a circle of emerald green rice seedlings that seemed to be dripping with water appeared where William's magic medium pointed. But compared with the endless gray rice fields around it, it was as small as an emerald dropped on the beach.
William continued:
"The spell must rely on the perception of the magic caster, and the range of the spell is also limited. Even I can't cast a spell on something I can't perceive. If I want to use magic to stop the spread of this plague, I have to go to every acre of land to cast the spell myself, just like you. At most, I am just a little more efficient than you. But if I can mass-produce those holy images and place one on each piece of land... So now do you understand the real use of those holy images?"
After discovering that the "holy image" could be used as a medium, William never thought of using it to show his divine power in front of others or to preach. In William's view, those holy images were sensors and spellcasting nodes that could be used to extend his power to the greatest extent.
And maybe it can do much more than that...
William thought as he looked at Nezemar's expression of sudden realization.
If the essence of the Eighth Holy Spirit is really as stated in the manuscript of "The Hidden Holy Spirit", that is, the immortal spirit in the heart of every living being, then since I have been able to obtain some of the authority of the Eighth Holy Spirit because of my hundreds of years of faith, it is enough to prove that this authority can be reshaped by changing my faith.
The essence of faith is nothing more than a commonly recognized idea. It does not necessarily have to be presented in the form of religion, nor does it necessarily have to be centered on a small number of believers.
If in the future I could change the belief form of the Eighth Holy Spirit and make everyone a node , maybe I could bypass the existing astral circuit form and create a magic network protocol that is truly based on consensus.
"Lord Kane!"
Nezemar's voice suddenly brought William back to reality from his exciting imagination.
"What's wrong?"
Looking at the other party's eager eyes, William asked curiously.
"The question I asked just now was that I was too superficial. I didn't expect you to be so compassionate and willing to use your own holy image to help the suffering of the living beings in this world. You are really too..."
Ahhh…
William did not listen carefully to her subsequent compliments. He just resisted the urge to cover his face.
I guess the biggest obstacle I imagine is how to change the minds of people like her.
Of course, it is too early to think about those things right now. It is estimated that for a long time, the greatest function of this statue will be to extend one's own power.
At the very least, we should use it to eliminate the blight that is currently spreading in Blackwater Province.
"A year of famine and decay..."
William gritted his teeth slightly when he thought of this.
He had only recently learned from Vincent that there was such a thing as the disaster calendar.
Earlier, Vincent found William and said that he had sealed off Duke Simon’s secret warehouse hidden in the underground palace and asked him what to do with the supplies.
After all, the quantity of that batch of materials was huge, with more than 50 tons of refined source silver alone, which was the strategic resource reserve accumulated by Simon over more than 20 years.
At this time, William finally remembered the reason why he came to Thorn City and immediately planned to buy fifteen tons of source silver.
Vincent directly allocated 20 tons to William and said he didn't have to pay a penny.
"This is still not good..."
William said embarrassedly as he looked at the Geotechnical Spirits who were constantly carrying boxes of Origin Silver Ingots through the portal to the Dusk Fortress.
Vincent shook his head and said:
"You saved the lives of this city and even the entire Blackwater Swamp. Just for this reason, this amount of source silver is far from enough as a reward. Moreover..."
Vincent sighed and said:
"Besides, it doesn't make sense for the Rose Palace to ask for so much money now. At the request of the Empire, the surrounding provinces have cut off trade with us, and the Star Council has completely stopped the new wizard awakening service for the entire Blackwater Province. In our current situation, these source silver can neither be exported nor digested internally, so they can only be piled up here. If you are in urgent need of a large amount of source silver, it is better to give it to you first, at least it can still be of some use."
But in the end, under William's strong request, Vincent accepted the money.
"After all, they are all Thorn City's property. You can compensate the miners with a portion of it, and for the rest, please help me hire some trustworthy enchanters to help process the source silver into the most basic magic-sealing runes and magic wires. By the way, apart from cutting off trade and stopping the awakening of mages, is there no other action from the Empire?"
William thought that after the previous big moves, the empire would at least put some tougher pressure on him.
"This year is a year of famine and corruption. The ban on trade alone is enough to cause us heavy losses. If we cannot trade with Jade Province, our food problem this year will be very serious."
Vincent said heavily.
"Wait a minute, what is the Year of Famine and Corruption?"
When William heard this word, he had some uneasy guess in his heart, and he asked quickly.
From Vincent's answer later, we learned that this was a periodic law derived by the imperial astrologers through observing the changes in the stars. It is a cycle every thirteen years, and every year there may be disasters related to it on the continent. The rulers need to make corresponding preparations to reduce the losses caused by the disasters.
The year of blood, the year of famine, the year of madness, the year of power, the year of conspiracy...
War, famine, madness, ambition, unrest...
In this world, the changes of stars can affect the trajectory of people's destiny. The most typical example is the numerology of horoscopes. Children born under a certain horoscope may have special talents in certain aspects.
Specifically in the game, players are required to choose their own zodiac sign when creating a character, and the corresponding zodiac sign will have a bonus for skill upgrades.
But these years clearly correspond to the realms of the Void King!
In response to William's question, Vincent nodded:
"That's right. It's the combined influence of the Star Realm and the Moon Realm on the present world that caused the disaster chronology to appear. It is said that in the past, the thirteen Void Kings would affect the present world together, but after the establishment of the Star Law, only one Void King will take turns every year."
So you still think you made a profit, right?
William almost blurted out after hearing what the other party said.
That situation occurred back then because of the Moon Realm Rift. After the Moon Realm Rift was closed, the Void King could only influence the Vic Continent through his own Summoning Day.
Where does the Moon Realm Crack come from now...
At this time, William recalled what he saw and heard at the Star Lighthouse in Thorn City.
Not only that, but there may be twenty-four.
William finally understood why the rift in the Moon Realm opened by the Star Lighthouse was located in the unowned area of the Moon Realm.
Because the Void Kings do not need to rely on seizing rifts to exert influence on the Vic Continent. The method of directly invading the real world is both inefficient and wasteful. They only need to wait until the year when it is their turn to stir up trouble and strengthen the power of their own domain.
This is also the reason why when he observed from the commanding heights of the Moon Realm, he discovered that the thirteen realms had become more powerful than they were a thousand years ago.
How could it not be strong after so many years of nourishment from rotating disasters?
"You said this year is the year of famine and decay, right?"
After listening to Vincent's words, William asked slowly.
The other party nodded.
"Then I'm going to make that bitch on duty this year lose all her money."
