People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

Before Lamarle could repeat the question, Elki reiterated his affirmation.

Lamaren: "Even war?"

Elki: "Are the Sarkaz afraid of war?"

Durian Marlene: "Don't the Cyclopes always stay out of those tragic wars you see?"

Elchi: "There is no tragedy in Ernst."

Lamarle was startled and looked at the Cyclops with undisguised disbelief in her eyes.

"Has the Cyclops's power failed?"

She asked, and Elki shook his head:

"Of course not, we can still see the vision, yours, the shapeshifter."

Before she could finish speaking, the group of shapeshifters interrupted her:

"We will not allow any Sarkaz to enter Shelag without permission."

Ramalyn was somewhat confused by the shapeshifter's sudden interruption, but she was more concerned about his answer:

"Will you help Ernst?"

"We only do what we want to do."

The shapeshifter, a man of few words, raised his hand and rubbed his stomach.

"Intruders are nothing but food."

In their minds, there has never been any Sarkaz compatriots or Terran enemies.

A shapeshifter is a shapeshifter, unique yet infinitely variable.

Outside of "us," there are only "them," and "them" are insignificant.

He found Ernst amusing, and in a way, he had done him a favor, so he was naturally willing to repay the kindness.

"So, what is the banshee's attitude?"

The shapeshifter countered.

His gaze unconsciously drifted to Aifaniel, who was enjoying a baby-like sleep in his mother's arms.

How could such a sorcerous lord kill me? And with mere words, devoid of any magic?

It's incredible.

The great banshee glanced at everyone present and shook her head:

"You already have three votes, does my opinion matter?"

“Of course it’s important.” Elki nodded.

If one had to name a few, among the Sarkaz bigwigs of Sherag, Ramaren and the Shapeshifter Cluster would be the most authoritative.

The High Priest hasn't arrived yet, and Fremont won't be there in person. If things really come to a head, the Shapeshifter syndicate and Ramallen are evenly matched. How much can Elchi and Emengard really get involved? Her opinion is certainly worth considering.

Lamarle smiled:

“I respect Aphrodite’s choice.”

"Since Aifanir and Rhodes Island have chosen to anchor here, I will not allow anyone to disturb the peace here."

"This is the promise of the Banshee Valley."

Elki and Emengard breathed a slight sigh of relief, while the group of shapeshifters turned their attention away.

No matter how you look at it, Aifanil doesn't have the ability to harm him right now.

The shapeshifter swarm craved death and was eager to see how far this rare male banshee could grow before she could kill him.

Now that the banshee has made her choice, he can wait a little longer and doesn't need to worry about whether the prophecy can be broken.

"So, how about drafting a charter? How do we deal with the Sarkaz outside?"

"Elki asked."

"What should we do? Just kill them all."

The shapeshifters were very decisive.

“If needed, we can swallow them all and then create identical clones. When we no longer need them, we can just disperse them.”

He had once simulated an entire town in Iberia, so this level of operation was nothing to him.

Emengard silently distanced himself from this murderer.

It's not that she has high moral standards; there are only a hundred or so Sarkaz, not even a thousand. In the eyes of the proper old Kazdel nobles of the demon race, it's not a big deal at all.

When Lord Quiron led us into the pass, heads rolled everywhere, and the Punishment Clan was wiped out! The Firelord traitor was killed, and tens of thousands of Sarkaz died. Our ancestors didn't even blink, and the next day they established the Royal Court and captured Balrog, leaving corpses strewn all over the place!

With so few people, it's really not enough to fill a tooth gap.

Although Emengard was a Sarkaz youth of the new era and had studied at the prestigious Letania Academy, she was a Sarkaz for life. She didn't think there was anything wrong with dealing with a group of Sarkaz who might affect her graduation project.

I just don't want to.

After all, if her mentor Fremont hadn't given that order, why would she do that backbreaking work? Only by carrying out her mentor's will could she graduate smoothly!

"I think passive defense is fine. We can capture or kill those who come in, and leave those who don't. Who knows, Ernst might have some clever ideas?"

Nasty nodded. That made sense. Ernst might use these refugees for something. Killing them all would be convenient, but not appropriate.

Lamaren conducted a final round of voting.

Kill them all. I'll replace them. I have one vote, cast by the shapeshifter himself.

The passive defense Lich proposal received three votes: Nasti, Emengard, and Elki.

Lamaren abstained.

The royal court forces exchanged views extensively and reached a basic consensus to maintain a passive defensive posture regarding the Sarkaz refugee problem encountered by Shelag.

The participants, including the Shapeshifter syndicate, criticized this approach.

"If you don't understand your mercy, we can kill you all. Wouldn't that still prevent you from putting up a passive defense?"

Chapter 544 Kal'tsit: It must be Ernst, could it be me?

Kal'tsit received a letter.

Actually, this is not a big deal. It's just a letter. Rhodes Island's business is now spread all over the world. They receive countless letters every day, so it doesn't matter at all if it's just an ordinary letter.

But Kal'tsit still couldn't take her eyes off the letter.

【Dear Dr. Kal'tsit, hello.】

[This letter is from a confused, ordinary Sarkaz infected.]

I have the following questions and would like to ask you for your help.

"A regular Sarkaz infected person?"

Kal'tsit stared at the words on the letter.

Sarkaz, infected, ordinary—what can you glean from putting these three words together?

Kal'tsit looked at the letter from left to right, reflecting on it from beginning to end. From the moment she first received the letter and furrowed her brow as she set it aside, to the moment she finally finished dealing with all the other letters and picked it up again, she could only glean a common meaning from these three words.

I am illiterate.

That's roughly the idea.

But when Kelsey looked at the letter, disregarding its content, just looking at the handwriting, the style, and the standard Victorian grammar, she wanted to yell: "Are you illiterate?"

Even Massier would transform into the Great Western King after seeing you!

And each of these problems is a major one.

I'd like to ask you, what is your view on the current situation in Terra? Is this land truly incapable of containing the Sarkaz, the Infected, or people like us?

The Terrans' minds are always incredibly rich and full of mystery. During her long period of study, Kal'tsit often encountered people who took it upon themselves to interpret the meaning of life.

However, most people's expressions were quite subtle. Take herself as an example; Ernst often advised her: Keep it simple, keep your way of speaking simple. After experiencing some less-than-pleasant misunderstandings and accidents, she gradually realized that she seemed, perhaps, probably did rely too much on rich rhetorical devices to add mystery and ambiguity to her words, making it easy for people to misinterpret her expressions unnecessarily, based on their original intentions and basic concepts. Although this gap could be reduced or even bridged through deep emotional, spiritual, and even physical exchanges, on this land, most of the time, people facing survival crises and misunderstandings do not have enough natural time to complete this not-so-short, but rather lengthy, act.

Okay, I won't use myself as an example next time.

In short, Kal'tsit was somewhat surprised and also somewhat familiar with this straightforward and direct approach to the core of the contradiction.

Therefore, Kal'tsit did not rush to think of an answer, but continued to read, examining each word and each stroke of the pen.

I've heard that Rhode Island Medical Centre is a multinational medical company. Given your company's philosophy, would you care about an ordinary Sarkaz infected person like me? Even if I don't have money, it's unlikely I could offer much help to your company's development.

I know this request is somewhat unreasonable, but as you can see, there are far too many people like me on this land. I don't claim to have any particularly pitiful qualities compared to others, but I humbly request that the respected Dr. Kal'tsit answer my questions.

[If I were a Sarkaz, I wouldn't want to travel with Theresis, yet I have nowhere else to go. Whom can I turn my gaze? In which direction can I strive? On this land, who, while peacefully sleeping, could possibly consider whether Sarkaz like us can even drift off to sleep?]

"Tete"

Kal'tsit suddenly stood up, and before she knew it, cold sweat had soaked her back.

"No, that's impossible."

"Handwriting can be imitated, and so can text content. Even if it's not a deliberate imitation, although it may be very similar, it's not entirely impossible for it to be someone else."

Kal'tsit took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.

Even a normal person would be startled to receive a call from the phone number of a deceased close friend, and would shout that the wronged should be held accountable. This is even more true for Kal'tsit.

Fortunately, she had been trained very well by Ernst during this period, and her mental resilience had not only improved but had practically skyrocketed. So much so that when she saw this letter, her first reaction was not "Wow!" but rather one of surprise and uncertainty.

The ship still preserves the letters she and Theresa communicated, including Theresa's handwriting. However, Kal'tsit didn't even need to verify them; she could tell that, apart from the fact that the signature wasn't Theresa's and the tone was somewhat unfamiliar, the letter was clearly something Theresa would have written.

But the problem is, Theresa is practically dead now, with grass growing tall on her grave, so why would she suddenly write to her?

What happened? Edo Tensei souSUO: 偲%牭了？

Namo Samantabhadra, how utterly devoid of compassion!

Kal'tsit is furious!

Is writing a letter in this tone, and even sending it to her specifically, meant to make fun of her?

If Warfarin was behind this extremely malicious prank, she won't be able to leave the bridge for at least a month! If it was a deliberate provocation by an outsider...

Kal'tsit, though not particularly talented, was once a force to be reckoned with in Terra, single-handedly destroying a nation with Mon3Tr. (Kal'tsit's own comment during a stroll through the dust, while discussing the Four Emperors' battle with Theresa.)

Do you want to test if mon3tr's sickle feet are sharp?

Logically speaking, in this situation, she should crumple the letter into a ball, find a fireplace, and throw it in, accompanied by a little tune and a shout:

"This stuff is garbage, and this is the only way I treat garbage!"

But when she picked up the letter, she couldn't put it down.

It's highly likely to be a prank. But perhaps, there's only a one in ten thousand chance.

Is it Theresa, or some ordinary Sarkaz infected person whose handwriting is very similar to Theresa's, who is genuinely asking Rhodes Island, and Kal'tsit, for help?

Despite knowing that the possibility was extremely slim, Kal'tsit could not give up.

At least, if it can help someone.

She took a deep breath, picked up the chair she had knocked over, sat back down at her desk, and picked up her pen.

[To the unknown ordinary Sarkaz infected. (Crossed out, highlighted)]

[This is Kal'tsit. Thank you for your letter, and thank you for your attention and trust in Rhodes Island.]

[The Sarkaz's path is determined by their own will. I am deeply gratified that you are unwilling to be an accomplice to evil, to aid and abet wrongdoing, and to help Theresis. Because even the most ordinary person, comparing the Sarkaz and Victoria from the most mundane perspective, can understand the vast chasm between them. The Sarkaz's way out is definitely not with Theresis.]

Regarding your question, I offer the following answer.

This land is certainly worthy of the Sarkaz. Every race has the right to live equally on this land; at least, that's what I, and the people of Rhodes Island, believe. And we are currently working towards that goal.

Kal'tsit paused, pursed her lips, and wrote again:

[If you'd like, you're welcome to join Rhodes Island. We welcome any like-minded individuals, regardless of your race, whether you're infected, or whether you have enough money. Rhodes Island has comprehensive plans to help you pay for your treatment through your own labor.]

This is no joke. Compared to the few infected care facilities in the Terran countries, Rhodes Island is practically doing charity.

As the name suggests, these are facilities for infected individuals seeking treatment; their status is self-evident. Ordinary infected individuals, however, rarely receive such treatment.

Rhodes Island charges very little; in fact, it charges almost nothing for infected individuals who are truly in need. Instead, it allows infected individuals to work as operators and earn treatment in exchange for their work.

In theory, once you join Rhodes Island, even if you don't earn enough for treatment that month, Rhodes Island won't actually cut off your medication. Rhodes Island doctors, like Kal'tsit and Warfarin, whose skill levels are among the best in the entire Terra region, will even perform surgery on you personally, without any extra charge.