Chapter 1195
**Twin Snakes Biting Their Tails, Eternal Samsara**
After learning what Hassan and the Red had been doing, Eivass realized… this matter was likely to escalate significantly.
He could no longer turn a blind eye to it. It wasn’t that Eivass wanted to interfere directly, choosing a side without on-site investigation… but rather because he clearly grasped a certain possibility.
If the situation continued to develop, the Abyss Heavenly Envoy could descend at any moment!
Undoubtedly, the Red would not stop. They were devotees whose homes were destroyed, whose minds were twisted by hatred to the point of madness. They were willing to sacrifice themselves to achieve a great cause. They had no weaknesses, and they firmly believed they were walking the path of righteousness. This was different from the extreme and conceptually manipulative “Death in Advance” theory. If they followed the principle of “Death in Advance,” they would view those they killed as “necessary sacrifices,” their value reduced to zero, thereby minimizing their own “sin.” It was precisely because the holders of this concept had such high moral standards that they needed to forcibly convince themselves through such means.
However, the Red had no such need. For these Desert People, morality was a luxury. They didn’t believe that everything they did was right, nor did they believe it was a “necessary evil.” Rather, they knew clearly that this was an unforgivable sin, aware that they were equally guilty with the Lords. Under these circumstances, they used human lives as fuel for a conflagration that would destroy everything—willing to bear such a great sin, to fall and become demons after death, just to inflict a wound on the Lords. This was a devotion based on revenge. They would rather—even if it meant destroying themselves—make the Lords wail in hell.
The deserts did not have the Church of the Nine Pillars’ common knowledge about the Dream Realm. Therefore, the Desert People had their own, simple religious view of “afterlife reincarnation.” They believed that most ordinary people, after death, would become happier in the next life based on how much they suffered in this one. Over countless lives, the ratio of happiness to misfortune would gradually tend towards fifty-fifty—in simple terms, a reincarnation-based ELO system.
As for becoming an Extraordinary, they didn’t consider it a fortunate matter but rather touching upon “demonic knowledge.” This was actually quite normal. Ordinary Desert People most easily came into contact with knowledge of the Transcendent Path and resonated most easily with its concepts, which likely included Demonology, Curse Studies, and Ritual Studies… none of which seemed like proper subjects. In the cognition of the Desert People, once one touched demonic knowledge… there was no next life. They would become demons after death, suffering eternally in hell while fighting eternally, until they atoned for their sins—some Desert People believed this took units of five hundred years, others three thousand, and still others ninety-six thousand years… but generally speaking, “Extraordinary individuals are not to be envied.”
Although, in a sense, their understanding of the Dream Realm was not entirely wrong… and even somewhat close, this simple view of the afterlife clearly made the Desert People more hesitant to resist. Since they were suffering in this life, they were likely to enjoy happiness in the next; if they resisted, all the suffering they endured would be in vain. These rebels made their decision to resist with this common understanding—their will and determination were entirely different from the Loki followers of the Church who acted based on the theory of “Death in Advance.”
A person knowing they would enter the Dream Realm as a Disc after death, versus believing they would go to hell for eternal torment—the fear of death in these two scenarios was vastly different. They didn’t even fear death, let alone eternal torment after death… in this context, their madness was self-evident.
Under these circumstances, the fact that the Red could continue to expand already proved that this Fourth Water War was fundamentally different from the previous three. The previous three Water Wars were suppressed because their demands were for “water.” Even if they won local battles, they had to keep living Lords captive to maintain the water supply. Offense and defense were fundamentally different matters. To conquer a city, one only needed to capture a Lord alive, and their army would naturally disperse. But defending a city was difficult… especially since slaves often lacked the ability to counter spells and curses. Other Lords could even send assassins to murder these captured Lords—killing just one Lord meant the collapse of a city-state, and further meant the destruction of a supply point and transit station. Thus, the longer the front lines dragged on, the more unfavorable it was for them.
Every Water War that arose was incredibly fierce, like the sun rising and illuminating the Earth with its light. But each one also fell slowly after reaching its zenith, as the sun does.
—But this time was different. The Red, appearing in the Fourth Water War, disdained capturing Lords alive. They believed “Free People are slaves to the Lords” and therefore saw no need to rebuild the oases. Without any regard for the safety of “hostages,” they would absolutely dare to summon the Abyss Heavenly Envoy if the battle turned against them, even if it meant half, or the entire Ancient Kingdom of Anxi, would be buried with them. This was because they didn’t want to liberate slaves, but to annihilate the Lords.
Similarly, the Lords felt the same—they could not yield an inch. The Lords possessed authority beyond that of monarchs. This was not an ancient tradition in Anxi. Anxi originally had a monarch, but because the monarch was now completely silent, these Lords acted like warlords, carving up territories—it had regressed from a feudal system to a slave system. Not many people knew this; this history had not been erased by the Lords. Unlike the slaves who had no access to knowledge, the various education, culture, and technologies of the Ancient Kingdom of Anxi were not backward. In fields like mathematics, astronomy, and medicine, they were even world-leading. They had a respect for knowledge and truth that was the opposite of the complete control over personal and life rights. For this reason, “White Punishment,” which erased all records and traces of existence, became Anxi’s highest form of punishment. Ancient spells lost to the outside world could still be passed down in Anxi.
—Precisely because “erasure” was uncommon and unacceptable, it became a punishment. But even though scholars knew this, none dared to bring up past history. Even with the King of Anxi still silent, the slaves and Free People still respected their perhaps non-existent monarch. The Lords knew that if they yielded even by the smallest step, they would transform from supreme slave owners into water-producing machines obeying the monarch’s orders. Therefore, no Lord dared to compromise, nor were they permitted to compromise… If anyone showed the slightest hesitation or cowardice, the other Lords would immediately kill them.
The Red’s threat was undoubtedly effective. Even the brainwashed Heaven City could not accept the outcome of its oases being gradually burned to ashes. If the Lords of other Oasis City-states learned that Fiery Fist Hassan had returned and that the Red’s expansion and madness could no longer be stopped… they would inevitably choose only one future. That is, to summon the Abyss Heavenly Envoy and use the boundless sea to extinguish all flames—preferably, they would also kill the Abyss Heavenly Envoy themselves, thereby completely monopolizing the control over water and opening a new energy level ceiling.
—Twin Sixth Paths, how wonderful! Even the Eternal Pope would be unable to resist! At that time, they wouldn’t even need to consider the Church’s reaction—those high and mighty Elf Bishops could also be captured as slaves!
On one side was revenge, on the other was ambition.
On one side were self-destroyers craving a desperate, hysterical mutual destruction without regard for consequences;
On the other side were astonishing arrogance and foolishness, with unshakable confidence in their plans and power.
They were destined to lose themselves in this madness. And whoever fell into a disadvantage would undoubtedly choose to summon the Abyss Heavenly Envoy.
Like twin snakes biting each other’s tails, they were in motion yet stationary.
—The fruit of fate was locked in place.
It was like the gladiatorial arenas of ancient Rome, where two immortal enemies were thrown in—they could never leave without paying the price of one life.
And betting behind them were the “Red Dragon” and “White Dragon” locked in an unending struggle within the Dream Realm.
It was a battle of barbarism versus authority, the death struggle between avengers and monarchs. They were like spectators in the arena, shouting and roaring, their faces red. The Ring Heavenly Envoy was the owner of this arena—he looked down upon it all coldly from a higher vantage point. In his eyes, these people were so stupid and shortsighted, and their lives and deaths, their madness and obsessions, could all be turned into his wealth.
When Eivass realized this, he knew… he could no longer choose to bet on either side.
Two chess players were playing a game, and a group of pawns were fighting each other. And even the chess players were merely puppets controlled by others. He had to jump out of the game—even if he couldn’t immediately knock the puppet master to the ground, he had to at least reach the level of the chess player and gain the right to move the pieces freely. Otherwise, he would just be manipulated, unable to even see the direction of fate.
But to this day, Heaven City and the Red were locked in an irreconcilable conflict. It was impossible to evacuate those people before the Abyss Heavenly Envoy descended—the war had already begun, and the Lords would not allow such a large population to leave the city-state at will… That in itself, like what the Red was doing, touched the Lords’ true Achilles’ heel. And on the other side, Eivass had nowhere to accommodate such a vast population of tens of millions.
Moreover, even if he did—those Free People would not be willing to leave the city-state with Eivass. That would be tantamount to rebelling against the Lords, with no different outcome than joining the Red. If so, why wouldn’t they join the organization they were familiar with, the Red, and inflict as much pain as possible before their fated death? After settling the Chieftain, Eivass stayed put, thinking for a very long time. Isabel quietly closed the door from the outside, refusing anyone’s disturbance except for Sherlock, allowing Eivass to think in earnest. Eivass deduced many times but found the situation to be impregnable.
—ThisSituation was almost unsolvable. This was clearly a death trap designed by the Ring Heavenly Envoy. In the Ring Heavenly Envoy’s view, Eivass had no way to untangle this knot. In fact, before he unexpectedly obtained information about the Chieftain, he wouldn’t have known about all this—and to obtain this information, he had to obtain Lucifer’s legacy; otherwise, the Harpies would not have offered him absolute trust and loyalty. That is to say, Eivass knowing the truth was outside the Ring Heavenly Envoy’s plan.
So, let’s deduce from the beginning— What would happen if Eivass didn’t know about this?
