Wasteland Echoer.

Chapter 534: God's Container

"The Federal Council... is one step ahead of us?" Although Big Brother's expression was covered by a thick mask, his disappointment was still evident.

"However, Chief, it seems that Mr. Yaroslav Rurik, the commander-in-chief of the 'Red Fantasy Ruins' campaign of the Federation Council, has enough scientists under his command, but lacks talents in the fields of mysticism and magic.

"Sophia, the only secretary who could answer his extraordinary knowledge, was seriously injured in the process of using the 'old' power to suppress the 'new snake girl'. She was rushed to a field hospital converted from an abandoned factory for temporary treatment." Talia added a crucial piece of information to "Big Brother".

"Oh, this means that, in reality, the Federation soldiers are doomed to be lost after entering the 'Red Fantasy Ruins', right?" The tone of "Big Brother" was obviously softened, and his body leaned back slightly, with a hint of excitement.

"Of course, Chief." Talia turned the notebook to the newer pages and continued:

"Sophia is an important mystic talent under Yaroslav's control. She is an out-and-out lost person who cannot be reformed. In the eyes of the Federation Committee, she is at best an 'awakened supernatural person' who can be used. Therefore, in name, Yaroslav treats her as his granddaughter and secretary, and arranges for her to receive military treatment equivalent to the fifth rank of Hurricane, giving her a salary of 5 new rubles per month and 10 new rubles of supplies.

"In fact, it was to make her a loyal collaborator in the Federation Committee's search for Pramini and Echo. After all, she had actually explored this ruins and had stepped into the core area that bound the Eternal Red Lord. She was originally loyal to the Chaos Group, but was forced to leave Icefall and New Wind Town because of the open and secret struggles between Vasili and Genadi."

"Is the information about Sofia true? I don't trust those people in the Federal Council at all now. They are thinking about how to deceive the Lost Ones and us so-called 'independent armed personnel' all day long. Even if they don't deceive the enemy, they will deceive their own people." "Big Brother" said unhappily.

"The source of the intelligence is highly credible. Chief, Oaks has persuaded Stanislav, the captain of the Northern Bear Assault Team, to betray Yaroslav and the Federation Council. They stole a diary containing Sofia's information from the safe in Yaroslav's office in Vasilysk. The author of the diary is Yaroslav himself." Talia said:

"When Oaks informed the members of the 'Northern Territory Bear Charge' of the consequences of the 'Universe Energy Evolution Platform' plan and the truth that Vasily had killed tens of thousands of people in the capital in order to gather enough energy to activate the [Core], the faith that supported them in fighting for the Federation was instantly destroyed.

"The wheel of history rolls forward. It will not disappear, nor will it fall apart. It will only cause the wrong groups to continue to disband and move towards what it believes to be the right direction. Let's go back to Sofia. It was with her 'Purple Annihilation' ability that Yaroslav summoned the electromagnetic cannon maintained by 'Ancient Power' to suppress the 'Newly Created Snake Girl', thus gaining the opportunity to completely destroy this monster.

"But even if you use the body of a Lost One to activate the 'Ancient Power', you still have to pay back with your life force and mental strength. In fact, any intelligent creature obtains the 'Ancient Power' by borrowing it. The more power you obtain, the greater the price you have to pay."

"So, what conclusions have you reached on this point?" Big Brother looked at Talia with interest and asked.

"Chief, after careful analysis by Marco and I, we believe that Sofia is Yaroslav, or the guide arranged by the Federation Council." Talia answered in an affirmative tone, and tilted her head to look in the direction where Marco was sitting.

Then, Marco nodded, stood up and replied:

"Yaroslav's purpose in keeping Sofia by his side was not to train a successor. Article 1, Paragraph 3 of the Federal Military Law clearly stipulates that the Lost Ones who are invited by the Federation Council to participate in cooperation and the Lost Ones who are inspired by human ideals and rebel shall not hold any military leadership positions.

"The Khitan people once said: How can we tolerate foreigners sleeping soundly near our beds and pillows? Of course, Yaroslav is an idealist with extremely high moral standards. He would never keep Sophia by his side for any dirty thoughts. As a military commander of the Federation, he is rational and loyal enough, and he doesn't look like a crazy guy at all."

"After all this nonsense, isn't what you want to explain just Talia's conclusion?" Big Brother's tone was clearly filled with displeasure.

"I'm sorry, Chief. I may have been too wordy." Marco covered his chest with his bandaged right hand, bowed to apologize, and then went straight to the point:
"I believe that Talia is not only a guide for the army after the Federation Council enters the 'Red Fantasy Ruins', but also a 'vessel' that helps the 'Lord of Eternal Red' return to the human world."

"Speak clearly, this information is crucial." "Big Brother" immediately sat up straight, glanced quickly at Luo Nie, and signaled Marco to continue.

"According to the data obtained from the old sites of the Choigrad and Ventnos River Projects, as early as the beginning of Ivan XXII's reign, the Federation Council's 'Experimental Exploration Team' had sneaked into the core area of ​​the 'Red Fantasy Ruins' and collected data there." Marco described it with his excellent memory:
"The scientist in charge of the 'Red Fantasy Ruins Exploration Project' at the time was named Mikhail Olegovich, and his mentor was the initiator of the 'New Structure Project', the infamous Ivanov Khatlov." "According to his 'K22.RH03' report records, there are a large number of 'Alienation' particles in the 'Red Fantasy Ruins', especially in the retrieved pre-era rock samples, the concentration of 'Alienation' particles is even higher.

"This means that this 'Red Fantasy Ruins' may have existed during the time when the ancient gods ruled the world. Its purpose was to restrain and gradually dissolve the gods."

"To bind and dissolve the gods?" Big Brother repeated the last sentence and asked:

"Since the beginning of the Third Era, the concentration of magical power in the air and nature has reached an extremely low level. Even the mountains, forests, ruins and ancient sites that magicians use for daily practice have been gradually abandoned. How could such an extraordinary place still exist in the territory controlled by humans? Don't they need magical power to maintain it?"

"It's really not necessary." Marco nodded.
"For a long time, we, including those people in the Federal Committee, have mistakenly believed that the use of any non-technological power requires the use of magic power as fuel due to the lack of magic information. In fact, the ancient power does not come from the magic power. It can exist independently of the magic power and can be used by people... no, borrowed.

"The power that maintains the 'Alienation' is the 'ancient power' that the 'ancient gods' once poured into it. These 'ancient powers' rely on the 'blessings' of Cthulhu and Deepser, and will not overflow, nor will they naturally dissipate.

"'Alienation Sorrow' will exist in the form of black smoke or colorless gas. Once a god steps into it, they cannot escape. It will constantly interact with the magic source power in the god's body and dissolve together. Because the magic source power in the god's body is very strong, and they have 'divinity' and can generate magic source power independently, this process is long enough."

"According to what you said, Marco, the gods who are bound have their 'divinity' worn away by the 'alienation' particles, and their magic source power is constantly disappearing... Can I understand it this way: it is difficult for the gods to escape from there, and even if they manage to leave there, their bodies will be shattered and their power will fade due to the loss of magic source power." "Big Brother" analyzed:

"So, they need a container to cultivate their divine power again and return to the human world?"

"Chief, your speculation is mostly correct." Marco agreed and said:

“But I don’t agree with the last point.”

"Tell me what you think," Big Brother instructed.

"The bound god is actually the 'Lord of Eternal Crimson'. He cannot get in touch with other gods and the Creator in the 'Red Fantasy Ruins'. The 'Ancient Power' was born earlier than the Magic Power. It can completely block the signals sent by the Magic Power, leaving the 'Lord of Eternal Crimson' in an isolated situation." Marco narrated:
“But once He sees the light of day again, as long as His ‘divinity’ is not completely annihilated and the ‘alienation’ particles completely fade away, He can immediately obtain the power He originally deserves from the sleeping Creator. But after all, His body has been corroded for hundreds of years, and the ‘alienation’ has long penetrated into His bones. Therefore, He needs a clean container to hold His soul and ‘divinity’.”

"In that case, Yaroslav, no, the Federation Council actually knew about this a long time ago, so they brought Sofia as a 'container', hoping to get the assistance of the 'Lord of Eternal Red', the god of 'Pramini'." "Big Brother" analyzed.

"Yeah." Marco sighed in a helpless tone:

"But no one expected that Sophia would borrow more 'Ancient Power' than she could bear in order to defeat the 'New Snake Girl'. The consequence of overdrawing the 'Ancient Power' is not just that the body is corroded by the power, but also that after death, one will go to the vast deep sea west of the Endless Ocean and become an ancient monster, becoming a slave of Cthulhu and Deepthur.

"By the way, now the Federation Committee has not only lost the guide in the Red Fantasy Ruins, the speed of exploring the ruins will be significantly slowed down; moreover, they have also lost a 'container'. However, there is also an evil god 'Echo' bound under the ruins. If the 'Lord of Eternal Red' cannot use Sophia, He will try to use the 'Echo' as a container.

"After all, the 'red magic power' in the 'Echo' can also help him rebuild his connection with the Creator."

"Who, 'Echo'?" Luo Nie, who was listening in on the meeting, exclaimed.

(End of this chapter)