Shepherd Tantra

Chapter 1111: Pulling out the minions and integrating into civilization
no doubt.

...That is the power of the sixth level.

That kind of sacred and fanatical demeanor made Haibasha's expression change slightly, and his little head tilted back for a moment.

"This kind of spirit... I thought I saw the Great Judge again."

She couldn't help but whisper.

Haibasha made no secret of his fear of Don Quixote's power, but his words sounded like a compliment.

"The Noble Judge...it sounds like the name of a warship."

Aiwass asked with interest, "It's the same type of name as [Cruel Preacher] and [Oathbreaker]."

"Indeed."

Haibasha nodded. "That technology only existed in the Dark Ages... or should have existed. A kind of heavy-armored paladin wearing consecrated armor, they existed only for killing. If I remember correctly, they should have been abandoned before the birth of mankind."

She lowered her eyes with some nostalgia and sadness.

In a trance, she seemed to see the past of the Church—

The huge statue that reaches the sky is like a pure white tower that can move.

It is an ancient war tree with a tree-like spirit as its core. It is covered with a church shell, and once it sits on the ground, it becomes a fortress city. Each of them is a heavy war fortress that can move on the ground or in the sea... Each of them can accommodate nearly 10,000 people, and there are 333 gun ports alone. Once deployed, it can perform 3,000 resonance chants.

It was a war weapon used to fight against fifth-level sea monsters, demon beasts, and dragons. For a fifth-level monster cluster, only a fortress of this size would make sense.

That is the true form of the Oathbreaker.

It is not a warship in the traditional sense... but an amphibious mobile fortress.

Once it approaches the enemy, [Oathbreaker] will release a large number of [Noble Judges].

Inside these three-meter-tall silver-white humanoid armors, which were heavily armored, were skilled paladins with strong faith. Relying on the power replenished inside the [Oathbreakers], they were launched and fell towards the beasts like comets.

Just landing on the ground can destroy a large area of ​​​​the ground.

The rising smoke and the shaking earth... Haibasha will never forget it in his life.

Only with the protection of these high-speed and maneuverable superiors can the bulky Cruel Preacher warships be considered safe. These turrets provide auxiliary shooting in the sea or help intercept the air force, and the injured and damaged noble judges will be teleported back to the fortress under beams of light for treatment and repair.

In the era before humans were born, elves were the rulers of the world.

Any of the enemies they fought against back then was far superior to the giants—even the giants were part of the alliance. It was under such circumstances that the elves relied on their extraordinary military strength to kill all the enemies and opened up gathering places on the earth, which gave them the opportunity to establish a unified and permanently neutral Eternal Kingdom...

The fear of elves among various races was almost developed from that time.

It is also because of this that, with the protection of the elves, the newly born human beings were able to survive and not become extinct.

In an age when hundreds of species of beasts roam the land, "genocide" is not some imaginary threat, but an event that occurs every month.

"Then why has the Supreme Judge been cancelled now?"

Aiwass was somewhat puzzled: "If the 'Oathbreaker Annihilator' was dismantled because the maintenance cost was too high... it was just the re-armored Paladins. Doesn't the Theocracy also retain the Paladin Corps now? If this organization can be preserved... even if only the armor is left, it can serve as proof of the Theocracy's former glory, right?" Hearing Aiwass's words, Haibasha was stunned for a moment.

Such familiar words, she seemed to have heard them somewhere before...

"——Why should these great things be abandoned? Isn't this a waste? Moreover, they are proof that the Theocracy is the main force in resisting the beast disaster, and they are also part of the Theocracy's glorious history... Without them, how can we prove to future generations the cruelty of that war? Without them, if the Theocracy is invaded by foreign races in the future, how will our descendants protect themselves?"

In a trance, Haibasha seemed to hear the questions he had asked back then.

And her mouth moved of its own accord, and she uttered the words that Hermes had once said to her:
"…Because the Theocracy does not intend to give people the impression of being 'belligerent' and 'dangerous'."

Haibasha said softly: "All the wars that the Theocracy participated in were 'necessary wars'. It was for the continuation of other civilizations and for the sake of those weaker races that the Theocracy decided to enter into this cycle of mutual slaughter. Now that the problem has been solved, we should withdraw from it and should not covet the status and glory brought by this noble power.

"When you hold a hammer in your hand, everyone looks like a nail. The neutrality of the Theocracy is a core principle, and force is only used to ensure the possibility of neutrality... not the other way around, interfering with other countries with force like a judge from above. That is not the way to be called a dedicated nation, Son of the Great Tree.

"The elves want people to forget the memories of the past. The races that survived the war are not superior to those that did not experience the war, and they are not more noble, more important, and more deserving of ruling the new races in the new world... such as humans.

"All races are equal. When flames gather together, they shine brighter. That is civilization.

"Suffering is not worth praising. The spirit of overcoming suffering and the will to endure suffering are worthy of praise. And these qualities do not need these scarred killing machines to prove that 'it once existed'. Instead, they should be passed on through the words and deeds of the future citizens of the Kingdom... so that it 'will continue to exist, exist forever in the future'."

As for the issue of the Theocracy being invaded... this was Hermes' answer at the time.

"——In this world, the principles of the path are the source of power. If the Theocracy has not degenerated and is still a country of dedication unparalleled in the world, then it can protect itself without relying on these ancient technologies. Just as wisdom gives birth to wisdom, love gives birth to love, and dedication gives birth to dedication... If the Theocracy succeeds, then other civilized countries in the future should also worship the sacred fire together, which will reduce their purity and make them not as pure as dragons and monsters. Then it will be even more impossible for them to defeat the Theocracy."

This is essentially the contamination of other paths by the spirit of "dedication".

Having said that, Haibasha looked at Don Quixote again.

He still held his head high and stood guard by Aiwass with great pride and silence.

That glorious and sacred posture was not shaken in the slightest by Haibasha's words.

—— He obviously didn't agree with Haibasha's words, but he didn't argue or get angry. He stood guard beside Aiwas like a stone statue. No matter what thoughts came up in his mind, it didn't affect his sacred duty of protecting his master at this moment.

"Really... so similar."

Haibasha murmured in a low voice.

Just like the noble judges of the past... No, it should be said that they are exactly the same. Even the style of the armor is the same.

The Pope’s guards back then were just like these emotionless “stone statues”: cold, tough, silent and vigilant.

It is completely different from the current papal guards who regard it as an honor and a profession. They regard "guarding" as a mission. It is more important than life, more important than morality... more important than one's own principles, more important than one's personal life. It is more important than everything.

And now, after a long time, even the Theocracy has become weak. This empire that has survived from the Dark Ages has now become more "humane".

Although Haibasha also thinks that this may not be a bad thing... after all, the source of the path of dedication is "civilization."

As a believer in the God of Burning and Chasing Darkness, removing one's own minions and integrating into civilization is also an extremely important step.

Even Sizhu himself is used to hurting himself, so how can an elf, the son of a giant tree, survive alone?

(End of this chapter)