People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

"She caused her family a lot of worry, so she has to pay the price for her recklessness back then."

"As for when she finds her way, she will probably still want to go back to Kazimierz."

Every Nearl is a thoroughbred horse, and the family motto of "not fearing hardship and darkness" is not just something to be said, but something deeply ingrained in the very bones and blood of every Nearl.

The blood and bones of a knight.

Margaret's journey began in Qazimir, and she will surely return to Qazimir in the future. But for Marna and Maria, one's old path has ended, the ranger is dead, and the new path is unclear. Now, he has no other desire than to find his brother and sister-in-law and protect his family. The other's path has not yet begun.

And Margaret's companions on this journey...

Ernst turned his head to look at Shining, who was standing there, and Liz, who was in a wheelchair in front of her. Beside him, Amiya asked:

“Miss Shining, you helped Margaret answer her ‘mission,’ so what is your mission?”

Shining withdrew her gaze from the monitor screen and looked at the three people in front of her.

The three judges, Kelsey, Amiya, and Ernst.

Actually, there should only be two sessions. Amiya and Kal'tsit are the ones in charge, and Ernst is just there to listen in.

Given Shining's "special status," Kal'tsit suggested that Amiya skip the personnel department and conduct the interview directly with her. Ernst shouldn't have come either, but since Amiya agreed and Kal'tsit didn't directly object, what could he do?

As for what makes this identity special...

Kal'tsit spoke in a somewhat cold voice, continuing the question Amiya had just raised:

"Master of Forgiveness, who are you?"

Chapter 461 Ernst: What Terra Bug? I'll tell you!

who am I?

What a great question, one of the three ultimate philosophical questions.

In his previous life, Ernst had heard many stories of people exploring this ultimate question, some real, some fictional, some shocking, some exciting, and some hilarious. There were even stories of people committing suicide because of the question, "Who are you?" or "Who killed you?"

Ernst knew that people on Terra generally liked philosophy. His level of philosophy was not very high. He had basically skimmed through the articles by "Goethe" and "Nietzsche" that those slightly more cultured people used to show off and often talked about.

Did you see it? Yes. Did you understand it? If you did.

After all, in Ernst's view, philosophy should also be practical, so some "philosophies" must be learned, not only learned but also memorized and remembered, while other philosophies are enough to understand so that one is not speechless when asked by others.

But that was the past. This is Terra! The previous civilization is out!

This place has its own philosophical system, its own philosophical viewpoints, and different philosophers whose names and appearances don't match at all. Even if there is a prototype, they probably couldn't keep their own penises.

Moreover, the philosophical education in this godforsaken place is clearly ingrained. Grab any kid off the street and ask them what their life goals are, and they can start with basic necessities like food, clothing, shelter, and transportation, then move on to class conflict, racial survival, and the continuation of civilization, finally concluding with a profound and enigmatic sigh:

"Alas, the infected! Alas, the Sarkaz! Alas, this land!"

So when Kal'tsit asked, "Who are you?" Ernst was already drenched in sweat.

Thankfully, the question wasn't directed at him. Otherwise, Ernst would have truly upheld the fine tradition of the "Cheese Snow Leopard" and shown Kelsey what it meant to be "born of a mother."

But compared to Ernst's somewhat stiff expression, Shining's face showed more sorrow.

She clearly had a different answer to this question.

"I am who I am."

The Shining's voice was soft yet firm.

“I am not yet another shadow cast upon this land by the White Horn Demon King. I am Shining, I am... Quessina, but now, I am just Shining!”

Kal'tsit nodded slightly, but didn't show any approval. Instead, she glanced sideways and pointed to Amiya beside her:

"Then, do you dare to accept Amiya's test?"

Clearly, this was her real purpose. Her true intention was to bypass the HR department and have herself and Amiya conduct the interviews directly.

"test?"

A flicker of confusion crossed Shining's face as she followed Kal'tsit's gaze to Amiya beside her. Young Katarina sat upright, striving to maintain her composure, though her stern face only made one want to gently pinch her cheeks...

No, it's this aura.

Shining's face showed undisguised astonishment.

As the Sarkaz tribe, renowned for its profound understanding of "life" and "soul," no one in the Pardoner family could possibly fail to recognize this aura. Even if it was incredibly complex at the moment, even if it appeared in a place it should never have been, even if... it hadn't even revealed its true form.

"Mr. Ernst, the following is about an ancient Sarkaz legend."

Kal'tsit's sudden words brought Ernst back to his senses, which had been wandering off in a daze.

Listening to riddles is mentally taxing, especially when you're faced with two people earnestly discussing philosophical questions that seem to refer to a specific person or thing. Ernst didn't want to drift off, but like college students in advanced mathematics classes, sometimes the time you consciously remind yourself "not to drift off" is later than the time you actually start to drift off.

But since Kal'tsit had specifically reminded him, Ernst perked up and listened attentively to her tales of the Sarkaz.

Any legend related to the Sarkaz tribe was valuable to Ernst. After all, establishing the Sarkaz state was no easy task, and Ernst didn't want to leave any "historical problems" behind in the future.

"You said."

Ernst nodded. Kelsey then began to explain:

"The Sarkaz Demon Lords possess different abilities depending on the Sarkaz clan to which they belong."

"In legend, there was once a white-horned demon king in the ancient Kazdel. This demon king's abilities were exceptional even among the kings of Sarkaz."

"People describe his power as follows: [White Horned Demon King] - Quesatushta, possessing the ability to weave time. He uses twilight as threads to weave the glory of the Sarkaz's past, present, and future onto the sky. Every warrior fighting on the battlefield can see the eternal reflection simply by looking up. This makes them disregard life and death, and under the Demon King's leadership, they are invincible."

"Before his death, his Kazdel never fell. He smeared the golden blood of the Pegasus on his magnificent walls, and the twilight tinged that gold with crimson, which alone was enough to keep the enemy at bay from a thousand miles away."

"This is one of the few things that can be called an achievement."

Kelsey said,

"After that, Quesatushta glimpsed the future of Kazdel after his death. He claimed that Kazdel would fall apart after his death, and the only way for Kazdel to exist forever was for him to exist forever, and for the Demon King to always be him."

"Then......"

Kelsey paused, and before he could speak, Ernst interrupted:

"Then, he went to find a way to achieve immortality?"

Kal'tsit paused for a moment, then nodded, somewhat puzzled.

"Ernst, where did you hear this story?"

Ernst shook his head decisively:

"No, I swear, this is the first time I've ever heard of the Sarkaz Demon Lord. You mean that... Quesatushta, that's a really hard-to-pronounce name, and I've never heard of him before either."

"Then why did you..."

"I've just tasted enough, please take it away."

Ernst waved his hand.

To be honest, as a complete outsider, he had heard far too many stories like this.

He had heard and seen too many of these kinds of dramas: heroes who fought against foreign enemies in the past became ambitious schemers who divided the country; wise kings who were once virtuous became tyrants who implemented white terror; and dragon-slaying heroes who became evil dragons themselves.

Unfortunately, many screenwriters love this kind of thing, which is one of the reasons why "pure villains" could actually garner higher ratings and more fans in Ernst's previous life.

Even bad guys need a savior.

Of course, it's not that Ernst had any objection to this situation. In fact, the saying "Peace is established by generals, but generals are not allowed to see peace" happened many times. Even a clay Buddha has some temper; who among those with weapons could truly swallow their pride?

When the Duke of Wellington led the Victorian army to conquer Gaul, what did he ultimately gain besides a large number of medals that restricted his freedom?

Can you say Wellington, who achieved such great military exploits, was wrong? Without his brilliant command, Victoria might have truly been defeated by Corsica I in the final battle against Gaul. Their strength is their due; what right do you have to restrict them?

But can you say that the Duke of Castells, including the former Lion King Alistair, was wrong? Not entirely. Everyone understands the principle of "not allowing another to sleep soundly beside one's bed," and the Duke of Castells and the Lion King weren't incapable of allowing a powerful duke to exist; it's just that the Iron Duke was "too powerful." His conquest of Gaul in one war, his aggressive expansion, and the resulting negative attitude from neighboring countries are not without reason.

In the real world, there aren't that many good people and bad people. If you really want to find a purely good person, you're more likely to find someone like Cheng Xin, who is more destructive than a bad person.

Therefore, Ernst still advocated discussing fewer philosophical issues and focusing more on practical, useful matters, such as:

"So, he succeeded?"

Kal'tsit pursed her lips and turned her gaze to Shining.

Ernst paused, then looked at Shining, somewhat incredulously:

"Wait, you mean... the person sitting in front of us might be a Sarkaz demon lord...?"

“The former Demon Lord,” Kal'tsit corrected, nodding as she did so. “We can’t completely rule out that possibility.”

"Quesatushta maintains his eternal existence by reincarnating his will within his own bloodline. Over thousands of years of reincarnation, he has long since fallen. The noble soul that was once chosen to be the Demon King to maintain the survival of the race has now degenerated into a filthy yet tenacious maggot. In order to survive and continue to covet the authority of the Demon King, he is capable of anything."

"Wait, let me ask you, is Quesatushta male or female?" Ernst couldn't help but ask.

Kal'tsit replied, "He was originally male. But now, any Sarkaz with white horns could be his incarnation."

Ernst understood; he completely understood everything.

Cat, what can I say? Terra Bug Lord!

Ernst felt a bit nauseous, especially after Kal'tsit's maggot analogy, which was indeed too vivid, perhaps even exceeding Kal'tsit's original intention.

But he had no choice but to think about this problem.

From Ernst's perspective, this Terra Bug Lord is clearly a huge threat! Even more so than Theresis of Londinium!

why?

Because Theresis is like that golden angel; he is indeed very strong. Ernst was deeply impressed by the way Rhine Lab came and went so freely that time, but Theresis was always in the open.

To deal with him, Ernst wouldn't even need to lift a finger. Hadn't the Grand Duke of Victoria already launched a special military operation against him?

But this guy, the Insect Lord, is a true schemer, and the most despicable of them all. If even a personified duke like the Duke of Caesar has to consider international standing, political reputation, and whether a compromise can be made for a win-win situation when a unilateral victory is impossible, then Quesatushta doesn't need to think about these things at all.

Purely disgusting, thorny, going a step further than anthropomorphism, a guy who never even considered being human.

Ernst didn't know this before, but now that he does, he has to take it extremely seriously. This kind of thing should be eradicated as soon as possible, and it must be completely eradicated; it absolutely cannot be given a chance to be resurrected!

It's like the first step in getting into Fate: you have to kill Insect Lord! Keeping him around is just asking for trouble!

But how can we kill him in a way that guarantees he will never revive?

Ernst pursed his lips, two ideas already forming in his mind, but he set them aside for the time being, turning his gaze to Kal'tsit:

"So, you have a way to check if Miss Shining is... Quesatushta?"

"That's Rhodes Island's secret."

Kal'tsit spoke earnestly, seemingly afraid of any unforeseen circumstances, and then emphasized it again.

"Even if Amiya agrees to tell you, I won't allow it."

Ernst rolled his eyes and complained, "What happened to the trust we were promised?"

Kal'tsit pursed her lips: "This won't do. This... isn't the right time yet."

She nervously prepared the words to persuade Ernst, calculating the price she could offer to avoid disappointing him. But unexpectedly, this time, Ernst didn't inquire at all. He stood up decisively and ended his eavesdropping in a relaxed tone:

"Alright then. You guys chat first, I'll be going now."

"Huh?" Kal'tsit's voice was filled with astonishment and a hint of disappointment. "You...you actually didn't..."

"how?"

Ernst smiled, looking at Kal'tsit with interest. It was as if he were sizing up the unspeakable heroine who coyly said she would only rub against him and not go in, but in the end she really stopped and began to feel unsatisfied.

"Are you disappointed?"

"I don't!"

Kal'tsit let out a loud denial, as if trying to cover something up.

Since Ernst says he doesn't want to know, then so be it! Knowing too much about the Sarkaz won't do him any good!

Hmm? No, that's not right. I never intended for him to know Amiya's secret in the first place! Never in the first place!

Forcibly shaking off the inexplicable, extended thoughts in her mind, Kal'tsit nodded to Ernst:

"In that case, thank you for your understanding, Ernst. See you later."

Ernst shrugged indifferently and waved to Kal'tsit and Amiya:

"Okay, see you later."

Stepping out of the control center, Ernst took out his terminal and jotted down another note in his memo.

When it comes to resurrection, why would he need to ask Rhodes Island for help?