Chapter 1213: Chapter 53: The Great Migration of the Vena Refuge
“We should go to the outer ring.”
Lu Li and Matthias walked on the road back to the core cave.
“Pardon me, Mr. Luli, but that’s too dangerous; no one knows if it might be a trap…”
“It was already spreading in the outer ring before I came.”
“But we don’t know if it has discovered us or if it knows we have discovered it…”
Lu Li did not think the other would give up spreading for him, but the possibility existed—even though no longer human, Lu Li, bound by faith, was still a prime candidate for a follower.
They left because, when the Twisted Shadow was converting a believer, it found a resident marked by the Evil God’s aura.
Because the residents’ food and water sources were contaminated and lacked monitoring, the Twisted Shadow presumed the residents either inadvertently consumed the flesh of an Evil God’s believer or drank the polluted water, but soon it discovered a second, then a third.
The three residents were strangers to each other; their residences far apart, with no chance of mistakenly consuming the same contamination.
Dismissing coincidence, what remained was intent.
An Alien God was spreading faith in the Vena Refuge.
They now needed to track the source: whether the problem stemmed from the supplies brought by the Earth Dwellers’ Trading Company or from the Alien God’s tendrils infiltrating the refuge, or if it truly was an extraordinary coincidence.
The Twisted Shadow temporarily blinded the consciousness of the three residents carrying the Evil God’s aura, possessing the believers, and brought them to an empty place away from the residents.
“You have summoned Her Excellency, Mother of the Marsh; She will soon arrive. The handling of the Evil God’s aura can be entrusted to Them; Vena Refuge has other requests that need your assistance…”
Matthias’s request left Lu Li unable to refuse; he quickly recounted the troubles currently faced: aside from evacuation causing the outer ring to crowd into the Inner Ring, opportunists seizing chances to sell conspiracies, residents tainted by the Evil God’s aura, the councilors were insincere in following his and Lu Li’s orders.
They moved their belongings onto the road, piled the streets, and dramatized the migration, turning the core cave into chaos.
So Matthias needed Lu Li’s help: he was fed up with these fools like those who walk with heads down on the beach, ignoring distant tsunamis, vying for power and profit at humanity’s survival time.
“Therefore, I intend to disband the council.”
Matthias asked Lu Li’s opinion. He assumed Lu Li would agree, but he did not.
“I do not support that decision.”
“Why?” Matthias felt puzzled.
“You mentioned before, the council parliamentary system is the best choice to prevent the city from going astray under rulers.”
“But they are heading astray…”
“But it’s not the council that’s the problem; no one’s always right…” Lu Li recalled something, his dark eyes slightly lowered: “No decision is perfect, including my words now.”
Vena Ice-Free Port is like a big ship, following the captain’s orders. But if the captain has problems, leading it irrevocably to crash into an iceberg, there needs to be a first officer to turn the rudder.
“I think I understand your point now, what you’ve been telling me about extremism, right?” Matthias repeated what Lu Li had said: “‘We should not face the world extremely…’ ”
“So how do you intend to solve this matter?”
“Before setting sail, The Dreamer told me a story.” Lu Li unusually spoke more: “I thought the story was metaphorical for either myself or the world’s future, but now it seems it was meant for you all.”
“A story?”
…
Ten minutes later.
In the council hall.
All the councilors were quietly watching Lu Li and Matthias at the round table.
“I would like to tell you a story.”
Lu Li slowly recounted the story told by The Eternal Dreamer before setting off.
A world that maintained peace for hundreds of years saw war reignite; the most powerful country and the second strongest country stood at border confrontations while small peripheral nations eagerly hoped to gain from the war, countless conspirators roamed the land to exacerbate the war’s severity.
Because the more severe the war, the more the profiteers benefit, while the dead drawn into the war express no opinions.
This war swept over the entire world, lasting a hundred years; countless lords and kings emerged in the war, only to be slain by more formidable or cruel monarchs. Those who remained unbeaten during the continuous turmoil were labeled “great,” acquiring that glory for themselves.
During, some recognized the dwindling population, worsening famines, increasing plagues, but in the war era, everyone was pushed forward by the torrents, unable to reflect, even those great kings could only struggle to surface before the next wave, taking breath.
Yet everyone believed victory was imminent.
The king of the country that became the strongest a century ago planned to launch a full assault with surrounding nations, the second strongest sent envoys for peace attempts, small nations still vainly sought the final spoils; bards spread rumors of impending war’s end in exchange for rewards, mercenaries melted or sold off the blunted iron swords, former conspirators fulfilled plots or died while new ones hadn’t arisen, farmers tilled blood-drenched and corpse-laden fields.
Then the end abruptly awoke from the depths, easily destroying the world.
All ambitions, schemes, beautiful aspirations, joys, and sorrows; everything ongoing, unfinished, and about to start vanished momentarily as the crust shattered.
“We never know whether tomorrow or destruction will come first.”
Merchant Anthony appeared beside Lu Li as he finished the story, bringing news of the Mother of the Marsh’s awareness having descended.
Having told the story, Lu Li left the council hall with it, footsteps echoing through the empty hall as they receded.
Wearing a suit tight against bulging flesh, Bark looked at Matthias: “What does the Exorcist mean?”
“Survival and destruction are within a moment; we are as fragile as summer flowers, contending with other blooms for the brightest won’t stop us from being shattered in a storm…”
Matthias understood the story was not only for the councilors but also included him: “So…I shall no longer think of disbanding the council, and ask you to set aside personal interests.”
“The people outside are not your meat shield.”
…
Lu Li headed straight to meet with the Mother of the Marsh and the Twisted Shadow.
Matthias knew how to handle council matters. Whether to make them resign council positions or reform, as long as it did not hinder the plan to withdraw into deeper layers.
Lu Li saw a thick branch, seemingly cut from the Banyan Tree Guardian’s twigs, where the Mother of the Marsh had possessed it, standing; the Twisted Shadow beside it, and three dazed residents temporarily stripped of consciousness.
“What do you intend to do with them?”
The Mother of the Marsh’s whisper echoed in his mind.
“First confirm which Alien God left the aura.”
Lu Li let the Mother of the Marsh hold him and quietly entered the dreams of the three residents.