Soul Trigger

Chapter 682 The Mystery of the Pioneers

The Crimson Ritual failed on Aquile.

From Pulitzer to Raven, and now to Odin before her, the enormous shift in identity is so starkly apparent to her that the Crimson Ritual's influence on her understanding of the world is fading, or even disappearing altogether.

Under Aquile's trembling gaze, Ji Li's body vanished instantly, reappearing behind her the next moment.

With a muffled thud, the girl went limp in his arms.

Sika and Andrew, already on edge, almost instantly went into battle mode, but were stopped by Angelica:

"stop!"

Only then did the two notice the malevolent aura emanating from Aquile:
Aquile's mind and emotions are corrupting.

Was it because of the dramatic changes that happened to Pulitzer...?!

"Take good care of her." Ji Li handed her to Angelica without even glancing at Sika and the other two.

Angelica quickly replied, "I'll persuade them... but Aquile..."

Her expression was complicated, but she was still apprehensive in the face of "God".

Clearly, Equiel's corruption proves that Pulitzer's importance to her was even deeper than Angelica imagined, and perhaps it was already a crucial pillar enough to anchor her moral balance.

She gritted her teeth, about to muster the courage to speak, when Ji Li interrupted her:
“I am her brother, and that will never change.”

Angelica was slightly taken aback, but then breathed a sigh of relief.

"Let her get a good night's sleep, and I'll explain to her personally later."

Ji Li smiled and walked towards Old Man Green and his grandson, but was stopped by a voice—

"I...I also pledge allegiance! I also swear allegiance!"

He turned his head and saw that it was the Dead Water Knight Bordeaux, who was covered in blood, clutching his severed hand and hysterically craving life.

Ji Li tilted his head:

"Why are you still here?"

"Wait, don't kill me... The sheepdog has a backup plan! I know she has a backup plan! She..."

An endless darkness engulfed everything.

Ji Li didn't care what other tricks the sheepdog might have up its sleeve, because no matter what tricks it had up its sleeve, it was nothing to fear.

After taking over Valhalla, he was able to pull all the anomalies existing within Red Maple Town into the spatial bubble where Valhalla was located, which was Odin's Holy Land, and trap them there.

The automated combat weaponry left behind is enough to cause a lot of trouble. At worst, it would just allow Ji Lixin's physical personality to move around. He hasn't yet tested how much power a fully-formed Dead Apostle can achieve compared to Odin's current strength.

He has become stronger, but his existence has become increasingly elusive.

The many mysteries in the Pioneer's memories are difficult to solve. Only by obtaining the otherworldly crystals from the Tower of Babel to recover more memories can we perhaps explain his existence and the root cause of Ji Li's current predicament.

But what if the pioneers left behind more than one space bubble?

In the cyberspace of Valhalla, Ji Li endlessly explored its depths and continued to sink.

Finally, he saw the ruins of this colossal structure—

Four.

It is missing four key components.

As for what exactly it is, apart from the core of the Midgard Serpent logistics system, the World Tree Spawn, a spinal-shaped mechanized core capable of spontaneous proliferation, he, as the combat-side user, does not know clearly.

Expanding on this, he had every reason to believe that the space bubble left by the pioneers was not just this one, but that there were four other ones existing in this world, perhaps even on White Island.

This reminded Ji Li of what old Green had said:
They devoured the body of the Father.

If this is true, then the body may not simply refer to the modified bodies of the pioneers, but rather to a more abstract expression, such as power, assets, and army.

Just like this Hall of Heroes.

Fortunately, the Hall of Heroes can serve as a core building. If Ji Li can complete it... not only the powerful logistics and transportation system of the Serpent of the Midgard, but also the [Demon Machine] factory of the Demon God system and the industrial lines for various technological weapons and exoskeletons.

If he could complete the Hall of Heroes, even if it was only at the level of his prosthetic body before his ascension, plus the unknown spiritual compatibility modification from the Pioneers, it would be enough to sweep across the entire planet... no, the entire Inner World.

There's no reason not to use it. It's just that right now, apart from a few small units, there are only a large number of exoskeleton armors. If he has enough personnel to equip them, he can instantly arm a powerful force.

However, even if they are not powered by electricity but by spiritual matter, how much spiritual matter would be required to drive these automated combat units and maintain the automatic maintenance of an entire Valhalla?

With this question in mind, Ji Li continued to descend into the depths of the cyberspace of the Hall of Heroes.

There, his question was answered:
It was a brain stored inside a transparent vat, much like the brain in a vat of an extreme modifier, but with a difference, because it constantly emanated spiritual energy; it was a relic of a personality.

Ji Li's first thought was that this thing was the brain of a pioneer, but that seemed unlikely.

The pioneer's mind is his mind, so does he not have a mind now?
Therefore, this should be a relic of a certain personality, or a resting place, that presents the shape of a brain in a vat.

It continuously absorbs the joys and sorrows of everyone in Red Maple Town, transforming them into spiritual matter to nourish this enormous Hall of Heroes.

Moreover, spiritual matter, as a form of energy, was even more effective than the energy Ji Li possessed in the Murphy Megastructure, managing to sustain the Hall of Heroes' operation for a century.

Even so, the energy reserves in Valhalla are not full; there is not much energy left.

If he hadn't discovered and taken over, Valhalla would have entered a state of intermittent energy depletion within ten years at most.

The Hall of Heroes contains many intact but unusable functions due to insufficient spiritual energy. One of these functions is the manufacturing plant for the third skin and the fully automated defense system.

Having taken in all this information, Ji Li narrowed his eyes.

……

At Green Manor, the campfire crackled.

Apart from Old Green, who was pouring whiskey for Ji Li with a fervent expression, everyone else was still stunned and unable to recover from the huge shock.

Pulitzer is the Raven, very good, a pleasant surprise. Well then, let's make good use of this cholera-monger who's full of lies, and put him back in the Awakened Prison.

No, he is not only a raven, he is also Odin, the Odin from Norse mythology, he is a god.

No, he's not just a god, he seems to be an alien as well.

The Norse mythological family seems to be all aliens, and they're also experts in gene-editing therapy, turning old Grimm from a congenital defect caused by inbreeding into a superhuman who can live for over three hundred years...

What exactly is this unfolding?

Sika and Andrew were numb; they couldn't even celebrate their survival, instead pondering the immense amount of information.

Are we now to serve this great deity?
As for Aquile, she locked herself in her room, remaining silent and refusing to see anyone.

Ji Li expressed her understanding; all she needed was a little time.

The truth about Odin's Sanctuary is that when the pioneers transformed Old Grimm, granting him longevity and health, they made his entire family promise to guard Valhalla.

This was not ordinary guarding, but rather, through some incomprehensible technique, by rewriting Old Green's body, that space was hidden within his bloodline code.

Thus, in a sense, the entire Grimm family, as long as they were direct descendants of old Grimm, became the "gateway" to Valhalla.

Whether it's old Green, his son, or his grandson Jason, as long as they know the truth, they can be opened like a treasure, provided that the person opening it also knows the whole process.

Therefore, in order to preserve the things in the Holy Land and await Odin's resurrection and return, old Grimm chose to conceal everything and only pass on the most basic faith to his descendants.

Even his hysterical state in front of Angelica when he was "dying" was a performance.

Because of the miracles performed by Odin, he faithfully guarded Valhalla, remaining in Red Maple Town despite being incredibly wealthy.

Realizing that the changes in Red Maple Town were becoming increasingly numerous and abnormal, Ji Li and his companions' investigation into the truth became the catalyst for his actions:
They lured everyone into the "Pilgrimage Site," a wheat field where only the phantom of Valhalla could be seen, and locked them inside to fight each other, thus completely keeping the secret.

Angelica expressed her confusion: "Besides the holy site, why is there a 'pilgrimage site'?"

"That was done by the servant of God after the Holy Father left... She was also concerned about what the Holy Father left behind, fearing that it would be used by others, so she later returned to Red Maple Town and carved out a 'Pilgrimage Site'."

As for the three World Tree marks and the so-called altar, they were actually just a superficial smokescreen set up later by the servants of the gods.

Old Green was pleased to answer questions and resolve doubts for the new believers and servants of God.

You can't expect the great Holy Father to answer such a trivial question for you, can you?

"Divine servant, space bubble... is it the Great Thunder?" Ji Li pondered.

Did Felin, who was once suspected of being a Paradoxical Powerhouse, already possess such immense power back then?
However, the fragments of power she lost also affected her memories, so she probably doesn't remember them anymore.

The nursery rhyme was not compiled by the clay puppeteer, but was an ancient rhyme recited to his descendants by the third school board member when Yuk Middle School was founded, and also the third family to witness Odin's existence, in order to pass on the story of Odin.

This rhyme came to the attention of the fourth being, the clay sculptor, who witnessed Odin's arrival. He studied it diligently, but in the end, the "sheepdog" stole the peach.

Through the clay puppeteer's diary and subsequent explorations, the sheepdog learned the secret of Odin's sacred land.

Perhaps it was by enslaving the clay maker's body and gaining a greater power of domination that the sheepdog became the powerful Red Hunter.

"Old Green".

Ji Li interrupted old Green's preaching, flattered by the address: "Great Holy Father, I..."

"Is it true that you 'devoured my body' as you said before?"

Old Green shuddered, his eyes widening in disbelief.

"You...don't remember?"

"I only retrieved a portion of my memories. Are the things you said before, about Ludwig and about eating my body, all true?" Ji Li asked again.

Old Green remained silent for a moment:
“These are all things that the servants of God told me.”

Is it film again?

Ji Li called out to Fei Lin in his heart, but Da Lei was still asleep, digesting the fragments of the time domain.

Indeed, Felin's past is intricately connected with the pioneers, even more so than Ji Li had imagined.

In this way, by retrieving more fragments of the time domain for Da Lei and simultaneously restoring Da Lei's memories, we should be able to get closer to the truth that Ji Li wants to obtain, the truth about the Pioneers, more quickly.

Suddenly, Ji Li recalled the pioneer's memories, where he repeatedly uttered phrases like "failed" and "wrong path"—

Was it... suicide?

The anger he felt when he first saw the photos suddenly surged within Ji Li again:
Having lived for hundreds of years, or even thousands of years, how did he become such a coward?
He entrusted Valhalla to mortals for care, but things were often lost and misplaced. His servants even spread rumors that he was being "eaten up." Now, there is a possibility that he will commit suicide and be reincarnated.
This thing could absolutely not be him.

No one else noticed Ji Li's slight change in mindset, but Old Green suddenly knelt down on the ground:
“Great Holy Father, please forgive your incompetent believer…”

Ji Li was slightly surprised by his keen insight, then stood up:

"The real surname of the Dead Water Knight Bordeaux is Ludwig, isn't it?"

Angelica: "At the last moment of his outburst, he tried to command me in Ludwig's name... This should be genuine."

He might be a descendant of the Ludwig family, who possessed one of the three World Tree Marks.

The pioneers helped Baron Ludwig avenge himself, helped the Ludwig family grow stronger, and enabled him to rise from baron to duke. They even participated in the founding of the Yuk School.

However, no trace of Odin worship can be seen in the contemporary Archduke Ludwig; the Odin worship on Isle of White has a very limited reach, and there are also hidden plots and conspiracies in Bordeaux...

Although Ji Li did not directly witness all these signs and omens, the undeniable fact is:

The Ludwig family betrayed their pioneers.

If there's any possibility that the remaining four space bubbles could be located somewhere, then the Ludwig family must be the ones who know the inside story.

Is this adding another stab to the bucket of old grievances against Shulong? I wonder how well Archduke Ludwig is licking his wounds.

……

“I swear, I had no idea about the Red Hunter’s plan! I was working with her in the name of the Ludwig family! I was deceived by her! I was the one being used all along!”

Facing the hysterical Bordeaux-Love Ludwig locked in the cellar of the Green Manor winery, Ji Li twisted his neck and rubbed it.
"I don't care how the Joker became the Joker. I only want to know one thing: the Ludwig family betrayed me, didn't they?"

Bordeaux shuddered:
"I...I don't know..."

Ji Li grinned:

"You can speak freely, I won't take your life. After all, if we're going to wipe out such a large family and retrieve my dismembered 'corpse,' we'll need a smart person to lead the way, won't we?"

Bordeaux isn't stupid. Ji Li has already pointed out the value of his life, which is exactly what he wants, isn't it?
He quickly calmed down, but the fear and unease in his eyes had not yet subsided:

"...I know nothing of what happened in the past, and everything about you has been buried within the Ludwig family...I am just a lucky one who has learned about the ancient history..."

In other words, even within the Ludwig family, everything about the pioneers was concealed.
“However, if you’re talking about something like your ‘Hall of Heroes’… I do know one. I don’t know what it is, I only know that it’s an existence known as the ‘Remains of Gods’ or ‘Children of the Stars’.”

"It sounds like a story made up just to survive."

“I didn’t lie! Everything I said is true… It’s just that it has nothing to do with you, nothing to do with Odin, but something to do with a being called the Forerunner…”

Ji Li's gaze sharpened:
"where is it?"

"In Birmingham, in the large Dormition Museum controlled by the Ludwig family, there are supposedly several other items, all left behind by that mysterious pioneer..."

The Ludwig family once owned two pieces. In order to become one of the four Grand Dukes, they donated one to the royal family, while the other remained in their home base of Birmingham, where it was placed in the Dormition Museum...

I'm telling the truth! I'm not lying to you!!!

Ji Li remained silent, then smiled and let out a long sigh:

"In other words, the Ludwig family did indeed betray me..."

Bordeaux was taken aback; he didn't understand.

But when he realized what Ji Li meant, his eyes suddenly froze, his gaze becoming rigid:

"Who are you……?!"

Ji Li let out a wild, unrestrained laugh—

You idiot, you're such an idiot...

Not only did they die, but their things were also divided up by a bunch of carbon-based monkeys in a deal-making scheme... What utter idiots!

Bordeaux stared in terror at the seemingly crazed Ji Li, his soul trembling and his heart pounding.

"Once I've verified your information, you can come with me."

Bordeaux felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his heart.
"Thank you... Thank you so much, thank you, Holy Father! Thank you... I won't let you down, I definitely won't let you down!"

At night, Ji Li stared expressionlessly at the skull ring in his hand.

"Your source is correct. It seems you've encountered someone within the Ludwig family, someone with considerable authority. So, you're also interested in the Pioneers?"

"also?"

The tombstone laughed:

"To be honest... the reason I stayed in Birmingham, besides waiting for you, is also because of a major group matter..."

"Speak directly if you have anything to say."

"Just yesterday, the Stained Knights sensed the subtle changes in the world through the Crimson Ritual and suddenly convened a meeting to decide on the operation to fall Birmingham."

Sudden?

Ji Li frowned: And it was yesterday.

If anything is a coincidence, it's that he successfully reclaimed Valhalla yesterday.

Is it really that much of a coincidence?
“I suspect… this isn’t about actually falling to Birmingham, but about seizing the ‘Remains of God’.”

“Bingo!” The skull ring opened its mouth wide. “You fully understand the word ‘also,’ but given the chance, the Tower of Babel will not miss out on the feast of four million souls in Birmingham!”

"If we sacrifice all of this to the underworld, do you know what we'll become?"

"A flying toilet bursting at the seams by four million souls?"

"..."

The skeleton suddenly closed up, staring at Ji Li with its mouth half-open:

"It's a nice witty remark, but it should be 'a toilet that reaches the heavens,' or at least you should use the root word 'reaching the heavens.'"

In short, the Stained Knight might break through the fourth stage of the Dead Apostle's Cursed One realm and become the legendary 'Tail Eater'..."

"Stronger than paradox?"

"Yes, so we can't let him do that."

Ji Li: "?"

"Don't make that face. We've known each other for so long, you should know that I've never been that loyal to the Tower of Babel... So, join?"

"You know, I'm just a double-scarred dead apostle."

"No, it's just me and two other people; the Stained Knight himself won't be involved. And you suddenly came to find me at this time, I know... you've regained your memories and achieved your complete form, right?"

"you guess."

"Does it remember anything, like you ever adopted a little girl with pink hair?"

"What is that? Do you think I look like the type to be a stay-at-home dad?"

The tombstone fell silent for a long time, then chuckled:
"Forget about it, it's just a trivial joke. So, are you joining or not?"

"I'll be staying in Red Maple Town for a while longer. Have a great time."

Communication was interrupted, so Ji Li put away the ring and called Angelica to wake her up:
"There's something important I think you should know."

(End of this chapter)