“Outer… Outer God?”
Lind’s tone trembled, but rather than fear, it was more a sense of disbelief—how did it suddenly take a bizarre turn?
Of course, there was reason to be afraid; if Lind truly understood what that Outer God was, then fighting and killing might as well be replaced with going home to have kids with Lena.
“Outer God?”
Upon hearing this title, Bernice’s eyes lit up, saying, “As expected of the Lord Governor, your summary is excellent. Or is it that such deities existed even in the Golden Age?”
Was there… was there? Probably not, right? The so-called Golden Age couldn’t have been a period when a bunch of crazy humans fought against Outer Gods, could it?
Although Lind never quite understood what the Lantern Dream emphasized about the Golden Age being a certain time, he speculated that for the people of this world, the concept of the Golden Age should be somewhat similar to Atlantis in his previous life—featuring advanced technology, abundant resources, and a high material standard of living.
And, in the end, it was all destroyed for unknown reasons, becoming a legend.
After hesitating for a moment, Lind decided to speak honestly: “I don’t know what this so-called ‘Outer God’ is, but I think it probably doesn’t exist.”
Bernice quickly pulled out paper and a pen to start recording.
“The Golden Age, when the Outer Gods had yet to descend upon this world, aligns with the original texts.”
Then, based on Lind’s two sentences, Bernice wrote a lengthy analysis about the Golden Age. It wasn’t until Lind helplessly tapped the table that Bernice finally came to her senses.
“I apologize, Lord Governor. What you said is very meaningful to our research, and I have to jot it down while inspiration strikes.”
“Well then, next, I will share the information we have regarding the ‘Outer Gods’ you mentioned in detail with you.”
Bernice glanced again at the shadow behind Lind, seeming reluctant to leak this information to the bards.
“Lucanus.”
As soon as Lind finished speaking, the shadow behind him twisted reluctantly and moved to the door.
The discussion didn’t last long; there wasn’t much information about the Outer Gods, and even fewer useful pieces of information; after all, the records were too sparse. The main thing was that the Outer Gods were involved in some early teachings of the Goddess.
Throughout the conversation, more of it consisted of Bernice trying to gain a better understanding of the situation regarding the Golden Age.
However, accordingly, Bernice revealed many contents of the Goddess’s original texts and a lot of religious knowledge, so Lind didn’t walk away empty-handed.
Seeing Bernice leave, Lucanus quickly emerged from the shadow, saying, “My king, there’s no need to listen to the temptations of these Sisters; their so-called information and knowledge are merely derived from unverifiable original texts that cannot withstand scrutiny.”
“You seem to have a problem with them?”
Lind curiously looked at the somewhat sullen Lucanus.
“The Empire and the religion have always been at odds.”
Lucanus never concealed that he was an extremist, believing that even gods should grovel at the feet of the Empire and accept its rule, which is why he was at odds with the Lantern Dream that always emphasized the uniqueness of the Goddess.
Lind could feel that there was indeed some essence to this, but he suspected it wasn’t the true essence. However, he didn’t press further and instead turned to look out the window.
Aside from the Lantern Dream, Lind also asked Tia about the situation regarding this Demon God, but unfortunately, the elves didn’t have any useful information either; they didn’t know much more than the Lars Family. After all, it was the Lars Family that originally drove the Demon Clan to the Eternal Frozen Land, after which the Demon Clan unearthed the so-called deity.
Fortunately, what Bernice mentioned about the Outer God was different from Lind’s previous understanding of Outer Gods; it wasn’t something indescribable.
In a sense belonging to religious narratives, there had to be a god’s nemesis—a pure villain purely there to be the antagonist, ultimately smacked down by the god or banished to some so-called hell, with no grandeur involved.
If it really was the kind of Outer God Lind previously understood, that would be utterly despairing.
One could only say that there are differences among alien gods, and the Outer Gods in this world are clearly not on the same level as those in Lind’s previous novels.
No wonder the records of Outer Gods in this world are so sparse; only the early texts of the Goddess’s teachings contain a few clues, and a god who doesn’t even have its own doctrine appears merely to be a defeated character at the hands of other gods.
Moreover, there wasn’t just one of these so-called “Outer Gods”; they were practically mass-produced fodder.
Even in some more radical religions, one can find the shadows of Outer Gods. For instance, in the religious narrative of the War God, the so-called model of invasion is an Outer God, whose presence brings calamity—wherever these Outer Gods go, the lives of the innocent suffer, and bodies that die release blood that renders the land barren, leading to reduced crop yields, and ultimately, the same old religious tale ending with the War God leading the believers to defeat the invaders and drive them away.
Moreover, in the narratives of the War God, these Outer Gods have even had experiences similar to certain ancient figures in Lind’s previous novels being capsized by fishing boats.
Of course, the most critical point is that these deities lacked corresponding divine arts, so even cultists would not worship Outer Gods, and thus, they naturally declined.
According to Bernice, Lind fundamentally need not worry. Even if the Goddess hadn’t responded to her believers in a long time, the Goddess’s divine arts still genuinely existed. What is there to be afraid of from a god that cannot bestow divine arts upon its followers?
However, Lind still felt something was amiss, primarily because Isha had clearly indicated in her letter that the Demon Clan had become fanatical believers. With the temperament of the Demon Clan, it would be impossible for them to worship a god that serves no purpose.
Moreover, there was a description that resonated with Lind—that this so-called god was unearthed from the Eternal Frozen Land by the Demon Clan, and everyone within Bernice’s circle thought that what was unearthed could be some kind of statue of the Outer God.
But according to Bernice, the Outer God had basically had no followers in the past; how could there be anyone to build a statue for it?
Then what exactly was unearthed? What hidden secrets lay within the Eternal Frozen Land?
Lind also trusted Isha’s instinct, that if Isha said there was an ominous premonition, then something bad was sure to happen.
In the end, Lind still brushed these thoughts out of his mind; reflecting on these matters would only make him paranoid. Bernice had also reminded Lind that the so-called Demon God might not even be an Outer God but merely an unknown evil god statue unearthed from the Eternal Frozen Land, which the Demon Clan dug up.
With all believers perishing, and the faith severed, it’s not strange for evil gods to affiliate themselves with the doctrines of other gods; in fact, that’s the normal situation.
Moreover, this unknown evil god might be even more troublesome than Outer Gods, but as troublesome as it may be, ordinary cultists could never defeat a regular army. After careful consideration, Lind decided to summarize the situation and send it to the front lines without making any unnecessary commands.
At this point, there was no way to let the army stop just because of a minor concern. What Lind could do was to prevent potential dangers as much as possible, quickly repair the railway, ensure logistics, and do as much as he could.
