Chapter 1308
The Path of Unification
“The Great Horde… what a name,” Eivass murmured. “It’s a good name.”
The Great Horde – another translation for this name is “Legion.” This was a completely new model, distinct from how Geometric Heavenly combined numerous wills, or how The Fool and the Banquet Master existed as one soul within two bodies.
Gwenivere, the “Pure White Robe,” Lancelot, the “Silver White Crown”—one could even summon people using the old divine name “Silver Crown Dragon”! Perhaps in the future, other members of the Knights of the Round Table would join… If they gave themselves a name, they could all become a part of the Great Horde.
Each member of the Great Horde possessed entirely different abilities. By using different divine names, different “Great Hordes” could be summoned. For instance, if one needed healing, they wouldn’t call Lancelot or the Silver Crown Dragon, but only Gwenivere. However, for large-scale freezing, the Silver Crown Dragon could be summoned. As the number of members in the Great Horde increased, their capabilities would also expand, eventually reaching the realm of “omnipotence,” becoming the “Omnipotent God.”
Omnipotence for an individual was a paradox. But for a collective deity, this was entirely possible, and there was even a clear direction for its completion—no matter what ability was lacking, one simply needed to bring in an individual with the corresponding ability.
“I’m afraid the next time we meet,” Eivass chuckled, “many familiar faces among you will have been added.”
“I plan to bring that child Haina into it as well,” Lancelot said with a brilliant smile, giving Eivass a thumbs-up. “Let her join the Great Horde temporarily first—we’ll deal with what comes after. Perhaps she’ll want to wait for a new Origin River, or perhaps she’ll want to become a member of the Great Horde…”
“Is that so?” Eivass said, somewhat surprised. “I thought it might even be a stretch for her to join the Knights of the Round Table…”
“Perhaps,” Lancelot nodded and admitted, “in terms of merit and personality, that’s true—she’s still somewhat young, probably hasn’t experienced enough hardship.”
In a sense, Haina was a Swamp Dweller constructed from Lancelot’s Soul Shards. Their relationship was similar to that between Ring Heavenly Envoy, Shepherd, and Eivass. Lancelot’s criticism of Haina was, in essence, self-criticism. “If I hadn’t gone through hardship back then, hadn’t met Arthur, hadn’t launched the expedition to defeat the giants—maybe I would have been as naive as her.”
Lancelot’s words were tinged with a bit of nostalgia and sadness. “But sometimes… I wonder if I would have preferred not to have gone through those hardships.”
“…Do you regret it?”
“Regret? No—if I hadn’t been there in the Round Table, things probably wouldn’t have gone so smoothly. Undoubtedly, my existence was necessary!” Lancelot smiled brilliantly with considerable pride. That unrestrained smile made Eivass feel as though he saw a bit of Haina’s shadow in it, making it no wonder Gwenivere was infatuated with him. “If it weren’t for me, what would become of my brothers? In that regard, I don’t regret making that choice… I just sometimes wonder if there might have been another possibility for me.”
“Like Haina?”
“Like Haina.” Lancelot nodded seriously. “She’s confused about what she should do, but she completely believes you can create miracles—just like us back then. When we sailed to Avalon, who would have thought Arthur could truly defeat Supreme Heaven? We didn’t even know how strong Supreme Heaven was, yet we still followed him… Just as Haina doesn’t know what kind of enemy you’ll face, yet she still chooses to sacrifice her life for it. From this perspective, Eivass is Haina’s ‘King Arthur.’ It’s just that she hasn’t experienced the hardships that would allow her to grow… And in another timeline, Haina did indeed suffer her destiny. Her kingdom was destroyed, her family slaughtered, and she was covered in wounds, yet from them she grew and became a true hero.
— But if that ‘Nameless’ one were to make a choice, would she choose to let herself forget everything, to prevent all disasters from happening, and to become as young and innocent as she once was? The answer is yes. This is probably what Haina has most in common with Lancelot.
“From this point of view, I believe she can also be one of us.”
“We don’t intend to only recruit the strong. I think that would be straying from the path,” Gwenivere, who had been listening quietly, spoke up. “More than ‘power,’ we focus on ‘unity.’ Even those who aren’t as strong but have sufficient collective consciousness can join. Haina is the perfect example, showing people that joining the Great Horde isn’t that difficult… Unity should never have a threshold. The previous Knights of the Round Table can all join as well.”
“Is there no price for this?” Eivass asked with some doubt.
“The more people join, the more the power of the Origin River will be dispersed,” Gwenivere nodded. “But as ‘we’ grow stronger, and as the concept of ‘unification’ strengthens, we will also gain more power.”
Eivass nodded, somewhat enlightened. “It’s wonderful…” he exclaimed from the bottom of his heart. “Perhaps some people didn’t even qualify to be Heavenly Envoys before. And now they can become members of the Pillar Gods—even the weakest Pillar God is still a Pillar God.”
“As long as it is beneficial to the ‘Great Horde’,” Lancelot added. “I also plan to poach some people from other paths. The Path of Unification is very inclusive. Even Phantom Demons from other paths can join.”
“For example?” Eivass asked curiously. “Do you have any targets?”
“There are quite a few talented individuals. Based on my observations over the years in the Shadow Realm, many gods don’t actually like their current paths and positions too much…”
“For instance, the Disciple of Winter Envoy, that King Star Antinomy who turned into an Und; the Heavenly Raksha is also homeless, only roaming the wilderness; the Reverse Heavenly Envoy Lan Malok can also give up his position as Heavenly Envoy and return, I believe he’d want to come back; and Titania, I know she’s lonely, so why not bring her in too. I’ve also met some new friends in the Shadow Realm. Besides these, there’s also Morgan and Merlin—reuniting the scattered members of the Round Table is also a good idea!” Lancelot stated. On the other hand, the Silver Crown Dragon’s draconic face showed disdain, forming a stark contrast to Lancelot’s brilliant smile. “Morgan and Merlin… Tsk… I really don’t want to see them.”
“…Wait a moment?” Eivass was somewhat taken aback by the Silver Crown Dragon’s obvious reluctance. “Don’t your opinions need to be unified? I thought your consciousness was connected.”
“Seeking common ground while reserving differences,” Lancelot nodded, admitting it. “Compared to becoming Heavenly Envoys or Disciples of other paths… joining the Great Horde allows for the greatest preservation of individual will and freedom. I think this is also a good selling point. We won’t be able to subdue or control other individuals just because they are stronger. For example, Arthur is definitely stronger than me and Gwenivere, but he won’t stop me from bringing Merlin and Morgan in. Our consciousness is always connected, thus we are both individuals and a collective. However, we are not confined to just one body to act. Therefore, even if opinions differ, there’s no need to forcefully select a ‘single correct outcome.’ We can normally do our own things, recruit our own people; or we can, through consensus, ask others for help.”
…It felt like there might be some “small groups” emerging in the future. Eivass thought to himself. But they had shared consciousness, so contradictions arising from a lack of understanding each other should be greatly reduced.
Perhaps this was also a kind of correct path? He had originally intended to discuss the matter of the new Hrasal Empire with Lancelot…
However, after the deaths of Abyss Heavenly Envoy and Calamity Red, the Mirror Ritual that connected the Material Realm and the Dream Realm finally disintegrated at this moment. Eivass fell directly. His vision blurred, and he found himself back in the desert engulfed by Abyss Heavenly Envoy. The murky, dark mud swamp looked chaotic now. Eivass sighed, “Sigh…”
…But there was no hurry. Since Haina was also going to be one of the Great Horde, he could just call her down and ask her then.
Compared to that—
Eivass took out two Heavenly Envoy Fragments given by Great Philosopher and Knight Heavenly Envoy with his left hand, and two cards of Leah and Helchin with his right.
…Although I feel Little Butterfly might not be very suitable for the Heavenly Envoy Fragment of the Secret Art Heavenly Envoy, I’ll try it first.
However, among the Heavenly Envoy Fragments from Great Philosopher and Knight Heavenly Envoy, Helchin could at least be used in one of them! As for the remaining one… if Little Butterfly couldn’t use it, he would exchange it with His Majesty the Pope for the Heavenly Envoy Fragment of Flame Heavenly Envoy.
There was no way the Heavenly Envoy Fragment of Flame Heavenly Envoy wouldn’t work, right?
