Uncle, I am not an ordinary office worker.

Roy lied a little. The creator of the law had probably long been buried in some corner of history. Roy didn't think he was still alive. Of the few remaining humans, at least Trevor Friston would definitely not be able to be present in person. His huge alloy body had never been intended to leave the stasis chamber since its construction. As a semi-permanent synthetic life, it was destined to fulfill its impossible mission until the last moment.

But this did not prevent Roy from negotiating in this way. Negotiations are all about truth and falsehood. If one is truly honest and gives away all one's cards, that is not negotiation, it is like having a mental illness and needing to see a psychiatrist. Moreover, Roy's half-truthful pressure would make the Pope feel more at ease. After all, compared to the trust that Evangelista XI had to pay, the reward he and Lateran received was too great.

Evangelista XI obviously understood this truth. On the land of Terra, it is almost impossible to completely entrust trust to another person. If he relied on his conscience alone, he would most likely make the same answer as Andorn's question in the guide's path - no matter what, I choose to protect this paradise. But now, Roy's subtext is undoubtedly telling him that the conditions he is offering now are the most favorable. In order to deal with the so-called "crisis of the old days", it is inevitable to obtain the authority of the law. Even if the Pope refuses, he can just bring the creator of the law. At that time, the law will still be in their pockets, and Lateran may not have the opportunity to negotiate with him and make a deal.

He had certainly considered the possibility that Roy was lying, but he couldn't think of any reason why Roy would lie. Just to fool him once?

He was already a well-known Eternal Knight in Terra, with a reputation and prestige that was no less than any celebrity in the past and present. Why did he come to Lateran to do this to him? Besides, wouldn't it be easy to tell if the USB flash drive was real or fake by just testing it?

Evangelista XI ended his contemplation and replied:

"Before I make a decision, I need to verify the truth of what you said."

Evangelista XI stood up and solemnly declared: "Please come with me. You will be the first non-Sakota in all of Terra to see the essence of the law."

..........

Valerie is watching Amaya's every move.

This Iberian writer who claimed to be from Victoria had shown her abnormality several times. Her anti-reconnaissance ability was surprisingly strong, her patience was also extraordinary, and the most important thing was her attitude. Even if Willife thought she had not revealed any flaws and was discovered, she could always feel that Amaya had glanced at her vaguely at the corner of a street or through the glass of a store.

This was the first time she had this feeling that she was being watched at all times.

But she was, after all, a cardinal assistant in the tenth chamber of the papal hall, and was a high-ranking intelligence officer who was expected to be promoted to cardinal after a few more years of accumulation. The more Amaya made such unusual moves, the more she could not let this suspicious woman go.

Even though this might be dangerous—and although Valerie didn't think Amaya could do anything, this was Rutland—she wouldn't back down.

Finally, after replacing another stalker, Valerie received a report that Amaya stopped in front of an Iberian Church jewelry store.

"The Iberian State Church's jewelry store? There are such stores in Lateran?" Valerie was a little surprised. Ever since the Iberian State Church declared independence from the Lateran Catholic Church, the relationship between the two families had gradually become distant. Although they still had exchanges with each other during the Golden Age, ever since the Great Silence broke out and Iberia fell silent, even such exchanges had become extremely rare.

Because the State Church no longer exists, there is only the Iberian Inquisition.

"It should be an old store before the Great Silence. It mainly sells Iberian-style trinkets, tapestries, clothing and so on. Business is pretty average." This was the answer that came from the intercom.

Willlif frowned, and suddenly some rumors about Iberia came to her mind. She immediately asked cautiously:

"What was she doing there? What did she buy?"

"Uh... a conch?"

"Don't let her blow!" Valerie ordered hurriedly.

But it was too late. The melodious and deep sound of conch shells could be heard from the intercom in the distance.

【Woo----】

Volume 1: Chapter 278: Fifteen Thousand Letters

The dark environment of the tunnel could not blur Roy's vision, and he could see everything here clearly.

On both sides of the downward staircase were numerous sculptures and murals, all of which were saints from the Lateran, including the ten saints from Evangelista XI onwards, the twelve saints who first founded the Lateran, and the dozen saints who were canonized after their death for their outstanding contributions or great fame. A total of thirty-six sculptures stood in the excavated caves, and around them were countless blooming flowers, flying feathered beasts, various animals surrounding them, and huge halos that seemed to be real.

The owners of these lifelike sculptures are now in the laws and heaven of the Lord that they believe in, but Roy seems to still be able to feel his gaze from their eyes that are engraved with spirit, as if they are really still alive, standing in this dark underground for a thousand years, waiting and observing every believer who walks deeper.

It was a dark and silent journey, but Roy could not help feeling the piety on this road. After passing through the first door, coffins containing the remains of saints from past generations appeared beside Roy. Evangelista XI did not introduce and explain his location to Roy as he did to Andorn. He just quietly stopped and stood in front of the coffins in silence for a long time. When Roy noticed that he had fallen behind him, he turned around and found that he was solemnly clasping his hands together, confessing and praying.

Roy did not interrupt him. He waited until he finished praying and caught up with him before asking:

"Is this also part of the process for Lateran to meet with the law?"

"This is one of the procedures to prevent me from going to hell after I die." Evangelista XI replied with a wry smile, "If you are deceiving me, I can imagine what the result will be."

"In later times, I may be known as Evangelista XI the Apostate, and the Laterans will spit and despise the fact that they once had a pope like me. This title will follow me to the end of civilization."

"But you might also be called the 'Thirteenth Saint', or the 'Opener of a New Era'. It depends on whether you want to make the secret known, too," Roy added.

Evangelista XI glanced at him and nodded noncommittally: "I hope so."

After walking for a while, he suddenly stopped and reminded: "It's a very dark road ahead. If you are not prepared, you can close your eyes."

Roy looked at him with some confusion, as if he wanted to ask why. But Evangelista XI had already taken a step forward. He stretched out his hand and slowly pushed open the ancient stone door in front of him, which was already covered with a lot of dust.

There is light behind the door.

After staying in the darkness for too long, Roy was suddenly exposed to the dazzling light and turned his head away subconsciously. He was about to ask why Evangelista XI lied, but the corpses scattered on the road answered his doubts.

Those were bones, very old bones, their surface had turned yellow, and some of their structures were obviously damaged. They were scattered on both sides of the corridor, looking like some cheap bloody toys.

Compared to the corpses in the coffins that Roy had seen along the way, which were well preserved and maintained, the corpses here did not receive the slightest respect. They were like the stinking and rotting corpses in a pile of corpses on a battlefield. No one was willing to clean them up, and no one cared about their past.

"who are they?"

Roy asked.

Evangelista XI stretched out his hand, pointed to a pair of obvious curved horns on the top of a skull with a large hole in it, and replied, "Sarkaz."

"According to the secrets of Lateran history passed down by the Twelve Saints. When the saints discovered the remains of the Law in the wilderness, they were soon besieged and robbed by a large number of Sarkaz. The Sarkaz tried to take away the Law and make it serve their war and revenge, but the saints and ancestors had had enough of sacrifice and death, and they chose peace. So the Sarkaz fought a fierce battle with the saints and ancestors. At the end of that war, the saints felt the call of the Law and led the remaining ancestors to the Law. The Law helped them hide the characteristics of the devil, taught them to be good, gave them empathy, and gave them guns."

"Just like a miracle, once the gun was in the hands of the saint, it seemed to become the saint's arm, and it was easy to use with great power. So, when the saint walked out of the Hall of Law and faced the heavy siege of the Sarkaz outside the temple, he raised the gun and summoned the divine punishment."

"A holy light that penetrated the heavens and the earth descended from the sky, purifying all enemies. The participating Sarkaz fled in panic, but were defeated by the saints and the people."

“Here is the ruins from that time.”

The legend might be true or false, but Roy knew that Evangelista XI probably did not lie when it came to the part about the beam of light that penetrated the sky and the earth.

In the original plot, the elite operator of Rhodes Island, the former Lateran Pope's envoy and cardinal, the old man Sakota codenamed Outcast, summoned the Holy Light of Judgment by firing the sixth bullet when facing the five commanders of the Deep Pool.

The gun may really be a medium for some greater power. Some military facilities of the ancient civilization are still in operation today, thousands of years later.

"bring it on."

Evangelista XI walked past the ruins made of desolate bones and stood in front of the final door.

Like the exterior of the shelter that Trevor Friston had defended for thirty thousand years, the outer shell of the Temple of Law was also layers of pitch-black, textured black alloy, but he obviously didn't have a semi-artificial intelligence manager like Trevor Friston, so when Evangelista XI placed his hand on the display screen in the center of the gate, the entire temple came alive.

The dried lines were quickly filled with energy, and the display screen rippled with waves, showing the words "Authentication Successful". With a dull unlocking sound, the door slowly opened to both sides, and a room composed entirely of computers, pipelines, and a huge central processing unit suddenly appeared in front of Roy.

At this moment, Roy realized that the Hall of Law was already a part of the law. The size of this supercomputer was beyond Roy's imagination of computers.

"Check the recent situation."

Evangelista XI gave the simplest of instructions.

But as always, Law didn't react at all. He could only turn sideways and look at Roy.

Roy took out the USB drive, walked forward, and without much effort, found a familiar and quaint interface on the huge machine.

It seems that humans at that time also anticipated the possibility of technological discontinuity and regression after the natural disaster, and thus retained this USB interface.

Taking a deep breath, Roy inserted the USB drive into it.

The next second, the computer that had been dormant for a long time made a loud startup noise, and light appeared on the gray screen.

"Identifying authorization code."

"Authorization code authentication successful."

"Welcome, Dr. Trevor Friston, glory to humanity forever."

"You have 15,000 unread messages from unknown senders. Please decide whether to read them."

information?

Roy was stunned. He had thought of many things that would happen after starting this machine, but he had never expected to receive a message.

After a moment of silence, he did not let Evangelista XI avoid him, but spoke in front of him:

"Help me open the first one."

Volume 1: Chapter 279 People on Both Sides of the Barrier

"Sir, our defense line has been breached."

"I know, we need to regroup our troops!"

"But we have no more troops, sir."

"No, I have sent messages to all nearby Imperial outposts. Reinforcements will arrive soon! By then, the Moon of War will wipe out all enemies before us!"

In the empty room, the old man with white hair and beard stared at the silent radar chart in front of him, his bloodshot eyes flashing with crazy light. He kept answering, talking about the possibility of victory one after another with a confident tone. Only the empty command room reflected on the screen revealed a chilling fact - there was no one left in the room except him.

But he seemed to have no idea about this and continued to repeat what he had said countless times:

"No, sir. Terra has been lost for a long time. All the messages we sent to the base have not received any response, and the War Month has fallen into silence. It's time to face the facts. Either continue to live in humiliation, or die gloriously with our past glory!"

Suddenly, his expression became extremely angry, and he bared his teeth as if he wanted to eat himself on the screen, roaring and shouting:

"What bullshit are you talking about! You are trying to shake the morale of the troops! Even if I am the only one left on the defense line, I will never admit that he has collapsed!"

The roar echoed in the room for a long time. The old man took several deep breaths before finally calming down. He reached out his hand and stroked the display screen, as if stroking a face, and finally let out a long sigh:

"Sir, you are too stubborn."

There was a long silence in the room.

Outside the porthole, the dark universe remained calm, without any change due to this madness. The stars in the sky were like spectators, flashing their indifferent eyes, enjoying this pitiful farce. Until the old man spoke again:

"The defense line has not collapsed. We are soldiers. We are still alive. The defense line will not collapse."

"You are younger than me, you should walk behind me, soldier."

He turned his eyes away, not looking at himself who couldn't help pursing his lips in the reflection on the screen, and said tenaciously:

"Send an email to Terra."

"This is the Human Third Line of Defense Command. I am Commander Attlee C. Mascamara."

"The third line of defense is on the verge of collapse, but we are still holding on. If anyone can receive this email, please send reinforcements immediately."

"The glory of mankind will last forever."

........

"They are back, my soldiers, my warriors, they are back." - The third year of the Defense Era.

"The monster that devoured their souls and tore their bodies apart is flashing with strange and fancy light all over its body. I'm not sure whether it has a physical body. Fortunately, the defense line has retained weapons against energy life forms." The tenth year of the Defense Era.

"It's a little too big. Just getting close, the gravity destroyed the outer edge of the defense line. I doubt even the battleship is not even one-tenth of it, but it is still far inferior to the Overmind, let alone the Moon of War. If we can have even one such support..." The 15th year of the Defense Era.

"Are there still living people in the universe? Why have all the messages for help I sent fallen on deaf ears? Why is it that apart from space stations and outposts like ours, no planet can respond to our calls?" The 30th year of the Defense Era.

"Damn, what did I see? A planet exploded right in front of us. No, it was that kind of monster. It broke out of its shell from the inside of the planet, just like a chick hatching. Is the whole planet just an egg of theirs?" The 36th year of the Defense Era.

"Man has done his best, but it is hard to defy fate." The 100th year of the Defense Era.

Roy sorted out all the letters he had read. In the 100 years known as the Human Defense Era, in addition to these few records of events, more letters were requests for help, obituaries, and curses and pleas sent to various planets.

Roy didn't know how to describe his feelings when he saw these letters. Compared to the shocked expression of Evangelista XI beside him, he felt more heavy.

It feels heavy, like something is pressing on your heart, like you really want to do something but find yourself unable to do anything.

The enemy in the sky was finally mentioned directly. It was an energy creature that could be ten times the size of an interstellar battleship, and it was extremely dense, able to tear down the defense line formed by the outposts simply by gravity. Its body was flashing with strange and dazzling light, and it could break out of the shell of the planet like a hatch.

Roy increasingly felt that this was like the virtual creature that appeared after he had signed the contract with Yuanshen for fifty years and blew up the planet.

Roy also found something unusual in the email. The most important thing was that the outpost claimed that it had not received any reply from Terra.

This is abnormal, because Trevor Friston said frankly that he had sent distress messages to the universe for tens of thousands of years, but no human had received a response. And he himself had not received any information from the universe, not even a message for help.

This doesn't make sense. Since this outpost was able to learn about the War Moon parked above Terra and formed a defense line to ask Terra for help after the natural disaster crisis broke out, it couldn't be too far away from Terra. It's impossible for this human commander not to notice the signal sent by Terra!

What is blocking the communication between the two sides?

Roy couldn't help but look up. Through the ceiling, his thoughts seemed to touch the star pod above his head.

Trevor Friston may have misjudged one thing: the Star Pod, or Guardian Angel, was not a complete failure.

It did work. When the monster hatched from the planet wandered around the defense line, it didn't notice what was happening on Terra. Although it didn't have a perverted barrier like the Angle of Peace that couldn't be destroyed even by the etheric phase engine, it completed its original design mission with extremely limited resources.

But it also brought a problem that no one had expected, which blocked Terra's communication with the universe.

This double-edged sword made the planet and the outpost two isolated islands, unable to communicate anymore. So no one responded to Trevor Friston's 20,000-year call, and the white-haired commander did not receive any support for his 100-year persistence.

If Roy had not appeared, they might all have met an extremely darkly humorous ending - dying as a lonely person in a close space.

"At least I can bear witness."

Roy reached out, closed the email he hadn't finished reading, and looked at Evangelista XI.

The Pope looked at him as if he were an alien.

Volume 1: Chapter 280: Huge Waves

Biological environment transformation communities, sea communities, and swarms have had countless names over the long course of time.

Their creators gave them a consciousness structure system that is almost like Gestalt, which makes them equal, equal, selfless, innocent, and dedicated. They are a biologically nearly perfect race. They can complete the evolutionary process that ordinary creatures need tens of thousands of years or millions of years to complete in just a few days or months. But they are also the humblest race. Their only mission is to accept the command of the creator, transform this planet, and turn it into an environment suitable for human survival. In addition, they are not worthy of humanity, emotions, life, and everything else that humans regard as treasures.