Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 359 City of Lies
"How does it feel?"

Hearing the noise, Carl saw Ethan close the parchment book and asked impatiently.

"The City of Truth" became a forbidden book in the empire as early as the time of Henry III. Most people believe that the City of Truth never really existed. Even within the Society of Truth, believers were divided into several factions. The most mainstream view today is that the so-called "dream" was actually the saint's own imagination of the future. He used the latter half of his life to build an ideal country with words.

Unlike blind fanatics, believers in the God of Truth believe in objectively existing things. They respect saints, but never regard them as truth.

Karl belonged to a minority in the society.

He didn't believe the book's detailed descriptions were from imagination. He believed the story in the book and that the people of the City of Truth had sent a starship, but for some unknown reason, the starship failed to reach the Empire.

After saying that, Karl glanced at Winter. Although the latter had not made a clear statement before, Karl could tell that she belonged to the majority of the society.

"You don't need to hide anything, just tell me your truest thoughts."

Carl didn't find it shameful to talk about. From an objective point of view, the majority's reasoning was also self-consistent. The saint had hoped to help Henry I establish an ideal state, but ultimately failed. Such stories happened in every era and every kingdom.

"It really existed."

Ethan's answer startled Carl. His aged body trembled, and his lips quivered as he spoke. "You...believe? I mean, I'm glad you think so, but Vince, even she doesn't believe the stories in this book."

“I’ve been to similar places, and only someone who has been there can describe the same scenery.”

"Clap."

The parchment book fell to the ground from Karl's hand. After a long while, he excitedly grasped Ethan's arm. "You've been there? You've seen the City of Truth?"

"It's a similar city."

Ethan expressed his true thoughts, "However, I have a different opinion from that philosopher; I don't think it's a true ideal country."

Especially at the end of the book, just as the story was about to come to an abrupt end, the city, which was comparable to the level of modern technology he knew, suddenly built a starship, an interstellar travel technology that only existed in science fiction.

“Professor Carl, you should have heard of the concept of preconceived notions.”

"Appreciate further details."

Carl's expression was almost solemn. He moved a chair and sat down opposite Ethan, even picking up a blank parchment book. He chanted a spell, and a quill quickly floated to his side.

"The philosophers believed that the democratic parliaments spared no effort in helping them, and that they were a symbol of enthusiasm and friendliness. The book uses the phrase 'selfless' many times, which is not a phrase that would often appear in political contexts."

In Ethan's view, when writers cannot explain the many practices of the Democratic Parliament with logic that conforms to reality, they can only imagine them as selfless benefactors, and only in this way can their attitude toward the Empire and him be explained.

If the author had encountered a street kid in shorts in the City of Truth, one could barely use such words to explain their kindness. However, the book explains in detail the relationship between the Democratic Council and the City of Truth. They are the city's supreme rulers, and every decision they make will affect the lives of countless residents.

"On page 43, there is a description of a summit of a democratic parliament in which he was fortunate enough to participate as a diplomatic ambassador. At the meeting, he explained to the parliament in detail the extraordinary path of the empire. He spoke of the most mainstream orthodox gods and the middle gods, and he also mentioned the existence of Bazartos and several evil gods."

When the Imperials talk about the existence of the Old Gods, the concept of "Doomsday" is indispensable.

It is a sharp blade hanging over everyone's head. Even the most fanatical believers of the gods believe that the moment "Doomsday" arrives will be the moment when human civilization is on the verge of destruction.

"If you were a member of a democratic parliament, after hearing about the existence of an evil god and 'Doomsday,' would you really continue to push for further communication?"

Over the past three years, Carl has reread the book countless times, and he has naturally pondered the questions raised by Ethan, which are in fact the reason why the majority question the legitimacy of the City of Truth.

"Humanitarian spirit—he made a note on page 46."

"But the Democratic Council has also mentioned many times that the City of Truth was established after the Third War, which almost destroyed the entire world, and they no longer have the resources to deal with an even more serious disaster."

Ethan felt this was the benefit of living in modern society, which made him immune to the nice words of politicians. He would never believe that the Democratic Parliament was really just raising the banner of humanitarianism and working together with outsiders from "another world" to fight against the Old Gods.

Ethan conservatively estimates that, disregarding the starship that suddenly appears at the end of the book, based on the author's description of the City of Truth, there is no need for the arrival of Doomsday; Old Ba alone would be enough to turn the entire city upside down—the people there have neither the weapons to fight against the Old Gods nor the experience of dealing with the Old Gods' followers.

Furthermore, the book's description of the peaceful and prosperous life in the City of Truth is far removed from his understanding of modern society.

The author's perspective is like standing on a skyscraper overlooking the entire city, where all that comes into view are people scurrying about in this steel forest like ants. That's why he can identify it as the ideal state of human society in the book. But in Ethan's memory, modern society is full of contradictions.

Oppression has never disappeared; it has simply shifted from the past oppression of royalty and nobility to the oppression of workers by capitalists.

The wealth gap, class stratification, and ever-increasing crime rates...

Evil gods would certainly thrive there.

To Ethan, everything the author saw appeared to him as if the Democratic Parliament had deliberately shown him, suppressing all contradictions and evils to create a false sense of peace.

"The Democratic Parliament never mentioned any of their plans for dealing with Doomsday in this book, did it?"

This time, Carl did not respond to Ethan's question because he knew that what Ethan said was true.

The book's suggestion of "everyone uniting to think of a solution" cannot solve any problems. Everyone living in this world understands the horror of the evil gods. Even though they are sealed outside the world, their influence still permeates every corner of the continent.

Carl lowered his head and re-listed the doubts raised by Ethan on the blank parchment.

Ethan waited quietly for him to finish his recording work, and he also sorted out his thoughts, because for a resident who had lived in modern society, this was clearly a book of lies, in which politicians' high-sounding rhetoric was vividly displayed.

But their intentions, which are disguised by rhetoric, will eventually be exposed by their actual actions.

"What they really wanted was news about the empire, and in the end, they thought they got it."

Therefore, during the author's final visit, the Democratic Congress no longer pretended. It dispatched a starship that should not exist within that technological system, and those on board were not necessarily friendly diplomatic envoys. They were fully armed and likely equipped with firepower capable of instantly leveling an entire city.

As for what the starship encountered during its voyage, only the crew on board know.

"The Third War and the destruction of the world outside the City of Truth are all the Democratic Parliament's side of the story. In reality, your sage never left the city. He never even stood on the city wall at the edge of the city and looked down at the area outside the city."

Every point of doubt raised by Ethan struck Carl's heart like a hammer blow.

He had his doubts, but the majority in the society never offered an explanation that could convince him.

Now, he understood what Ethan meant by "preconceived notions"—although there were disagreements within the Truth Society, their starting point was the philosopher's hope to establish an "ideal state." Ethan, however, was different; he had doubts about the Democratic Parliament's motives from the beginning, and he seemed more inclined to believe that the philosopher had been deceived by the Democratic Parliament.

“That’s very interesting… This is the first time I’ve heard this viewpoint.”

Carl asked, "What do you think are the motivations of a democratic parliament?"

"To launch a war of aggression and plunder resources."

Such behavior is commonplace in modern society, and their sage had revealed almost everything about the empire to them.

Energy-storing crystals, rune technology, and various products born from mysticism.

Carl gripped his quill, and after much hesitation, he finally wrote down Ethan's opinion.

This is a rather severe accusation that fundamentally negates the "ideal state" in the minds of countless believers in the God of Truth.

"But in any case, this history is over."

Ethan said. The author of the "City of Truth" may never have truly witnessed the entirety of that world. Before the war, the starship and the City of Truth encountered an accident, but the story in the book is still frightening. In Ethan's view, they once faced a super-civilization that had mastered interstellar travel technology.

Karl lowered his head, lost in thought.

"Of course, I don't have direct evidence either; I'm just offering my personal opinion."

"This is very helpful to me."

Carl quickly replied, "But I can't give you an answer right away. Perhaps I need to reread the book—it's been three months since I last looked at it."

This time, his reading style will change.

Perhaps he should try the perspective Ethan offered, try to see the Democratic Parliament as the evil side, and then view their various actions in the book from that perspective.

"We should also take our leave."

"Why don't you stay for dinner before you leave?"

"This book has also been very inspiring for me. I have some things to take care of when I get back."

Ethan waved his hand, declining Professor Carl's offer, "We live very close by and can communicate anytime."

Upon hearing this, Karl stopped trying to persuade him to stay. What he really wanted to do now was to lock himself in the library and re-examine their City of Truth with the many questions he had just recorded.

Leaving the world of books and returning to the streets of the Empire, the familiar scene still greets my eyes.

Just past noon, people's busy lives continue.

"Tell me, what happened to that starship in the end?"

Winter, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up and asked a question. The black cat walking beside the two of them also raised its tail and pricked up its ears to listen.

"Who knows? Maybe it was a subspace storm, or maybe it encountered a black hole."

Ethan could only speculate about the starship's fate using science fiction terminology.

But regardless of the past, the strange "dream" has reappeared.

He, like the author of The City of Truth, was caught in a strange dream, and on the other side of the dream was a place he was familiar with, yet which was very similar to The City of Truth.

Even more subtly, just before he woke up, the boss of Pioneer Technology suddenly proposed the theory of "world destruction".

After falling asleep tonight, Ethan had a new goal.

He headed towards home, needing to rest and recuperate beforehand. Suddenly, something occurred to him, and he asked, "By the way, what's the name of the God of Truth again?"

He suddenly realized that there were several believers of the God of Truth around him, but he knew very little about the God of Truth.

"He has no name."

Winter replied, “The believers describe Him as a light that exists in the darkness, and the God of Truth will guide his followers when they are lost in the sea of ​​ignorance.”

However, they all knew that this was not true.

It turns out that both the upright god and the middle god were once followers of the old gods, and they were the puppets most favored by the old gods.

"Then which of the old gods does the God of Truth worship?"

With these questions in mind, Ethan visited Ampolis and Bazartos, bought animal bones from the slaughterhouse, set up a simple summoning ritual, and exchanged a few words with his old friend Kane, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.

He received the same answer from these three ancient gods:
do not know.

I've never heard of this person before.

I don't know where it came from.

........................

Meanwhile, on the other side.

"Merlin, I've always had a question."

In the office, Zhuang Xiao held a syringe, staring blankly at the solution inside. "Why is it that we can enter other people's 'dreams' just by getting an injection?"

This doesn't sound scientific at all.

There are also the cryogenic chambers in the "hospital wards," and the way they entered the "other world"—none of these can be explained by the technology they possess.

"All I can say is that these are some 'antiques' left over from before the world was destroyed."

Merlin said, “But I’m glad you asked, which shows you haven’t given up your curiosity… I happened to see a facility on an old map that houses these ‘antiques.’ It’s located on the west side of the city and looked like an ordinary clothing store before the world was destroyed.”

Zhuang Xiao didn't buy it at all, and sneered, "So, you want me to go to the surface for you again this time?"

This is a decree of the shelter—any shelter resident who goes to the surface without permission will be sentenced to death.

They had just made a mess of things, and not only Minister Chen Qi, but also the higher-ups were definitely watching their every move. At this time, the only result of running to the surface would be that they would be riddled with bullets by the security personnel's heavy machine guns before they could even open the door to the shelter.

Although she accepted Merlin's invitation, it didn't mean she trusted Merlin's character.

In Zhuang Xiao's view, Merlin was a madman who would put anyone in danger for his own thirst for knowledge.

"No, of course I wouldn't do that. Why would you think that?"

Merlin shrugged innocently. "While I'm not that concerned about your personal safety, I don't want you to die pointlessly."

"Your hints just now sounded like you wanted me to go and die."

"That's my fault for not expressing myself clearly."

Merlin said, "The facility I described is located on the west side of the city. It looks like a high-end clothing store. The store manager is a 50-year-old man who is thin and has a mole on the back of his neck."

"so what?"

"So the next time you fall asleep, if you happen to find the same clothing store on the west side of the city and coincidentally run into the same store manager, perhaps you can find a way to sneak into the clothing store's basement—unfortunately, I can't provide you with any code words or messages, you'll have to rely on yourself for everything."

At this point, Merlin immediately added in a relaxed tone, "Of course, you can also pretend you didn't hear anything, and enjoy life on the other side, have a few cups of milk tea, and go enjoy the nightlife after get off work..."

"If I find out you're hiding something from me again..."

Zhuang Xiao's eyes flashed with a fierce light. "Next time you wake up, you'll be getting shot, Merlin."

(End of this chapter)