People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

The Grand Commandant of Yan Kingdom nodded in deep agreement, expressing his admiration for Dario's righteous and awe-inspiring speech.

Before arriving at the World Summit, he thought that everyone in Terra was a despicable coward! They ignored the threats that were right in front of them, but instead, like carrion beasts, they stared at the smallest bit of petty gain, willing to fight tooth and nail for it.

But now it seems that there are still heroes among the Terrans. There are also nations like the Seven True Continents, which care about the fate of Terra, just like Da Yan Jiu.

Dario, you're a true hero!

As for Ursus's representative, Speaker Islam Witt, he was the most composed, perfectly fitting the stereotype that Ursus people are cold-blooded, ruthless, ungrateful, inhuman, and lack manners.

But in reality, he was just thoughtful about Dario's performance on the podium.

Leaders of small countries, minor powers, and corporations might not be able to see it, but who is Witt? Everyone here is a seasoned actor; they can see through this act at a glance.

What? Why didn't Yan Kingdom see it? This involves some national circumstances. At least in Yan Kingdom, no one dares to use issues like the Sea Heir or demons as "bargaining chips." The imperial court wouldn't joke about these things either; no matter how poor they were, supplies were still continuous.

This is why the Grand Marshal dared to express "contempt" for countries that did not pay attention to the Terra crisis, and was able to directly bring out the rootless flower and the Haisi specimen during his speech to the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

People do indeed regard it as a "symbol of strength" and a "glory," a glory that cannot be measured by monetary value.

Of course, this attitude is somewhat condescending. After all, different countries have different national conditions. Just because Yan has that kind of strength doesn't mean that countries like Iberia also have it. Dario also "needs to eat."

That's what Witte was thinking about.

Although Ursus is not located by the sea, almost its entire long border is threatened by demons and collapsing entities. Could they also...

However, regardless of the circumstances, Ursus is, after all, a permanent member of the Security Council. It's hard to say whether His Majesty Fyodor would be willing, capable, or even willing to listen to Dario's "demand for aid."

After all, Iberia suffered a devastating catastrophe, leaving the entire country in ruins and desolation—a fact known to everyone across the land. Ursus, however, is different. Although it suffers from numerous internal conflicts and its government finances are strained due to excessive military spending, it is still a legitimate major power.

When a large country asks a small country for aid, are you asking for help or extorting protection money? Whether anyone will buy it, and whether you'll incur resentment, are indeed troublesome issues.

This matter needs to be discussed further after we return to China.

While Witte was pondering, Dario had already finished his speech.

Looking at the applauding crowd and the forces and companies that immediately expressed their willingness to provide assistance to Iberia, Dario smiled with satisfaction.

It was worth the half-month he spent consulting with Elena to prepare the speech.

My dear disciple, all your hard work pulling all-nighters and burning the midnight oil has paid off! Your master has a feeling that Iberia might be able to catch its breath this time!

Powerful entities and corporations are secondary; the real players are major powers like Victoria. As a permanent member of the Security Council, can you really ignore Terra's future?

Dario also grasped this mentality: "I've been asking for things before, and you've been giving them. Now that I have this status, giving is even more legitimate, and I can also make this public, putting it on the table and gaining a good reputation." Iberia received much-needed funds to rebuild its homeland and recruit soldiers, you fulfilled your responsibilities and gained fame, and the international summit also played a role in enhancing your authority—a triple win, like Qin Shi Huang eating peppercorns—completely triumphant!

Following Dario's speech, the representative of Letania spoke.

Liselotte Ivignad wiped away the painful tears from the corners of her eyes and walked onto the podium.

She glanced around the room, finally fixing her gaze on Ernst, and asked a question that many countries had now received the news about and were also wondering about:

"Leytania has a question to ask."

"At the first World's Fair, Prime Minister Ernst Shivaesh of Sherag showed us Terra's first airship and promised to share the airship and the data from the first Starfall Project with the participating Terran nations free of charge at the World's Fair. In fact, we did receive this data, which was only available to members of the World's Fair."

"But some recent issues have raised some questions for us. Mr. Ernst, between the first World's Fair and the current first World Summit, have there been any instances of airship data being lost, stolen, or traded?"

"If so, why did you transfer the airship data to others, resulting in it ultimately falling into the hands of the Sarkaz? If not, why did the Sarkaz extremists in Londinium use airships as weapons in the military conflict against the Victorian Empire's allied forces?"

This wasn't actually the question Letania wanted to ask. Almost every country that was following the progress of the special military operation at Lentinium and had some concerns about its own defense wanted to ask this question; Letania was simply speaking on behalf of the Security Council.

After all, the strategic threat posed by airships is simply too great. Existing warfare methods centered on high-speed warships are fundamentally inadequate to counter weapons like airships.

Ground-to-air combat? It's not that easy, especially in Terra, a world teeming with advanced technology and dark magic. The common worry that flying vehicles are high-attack but low-health, easily picked off by enemies, might simply not happen.

A massive casting unit could construct a large-scale defensive barrier, or some amazing material science could create something new that would be enough to resolve such concerns.

Ernst even thought that if Terra were to develop its air force in the future, it wouldn't be like Earth, developing small and agile supersonic fighter jets. Instead, it would likely move towards high-speed airborne warships, or space carriers. Coupled with small unmanned aerial vehicles, just like in some science fiction works he often read in his previous life, super-large space carriers would soar through the sky, using main and secondary guns, as well as a large number of drones like swarms of bees to strike the enemy.

It has a bit of a space carrier feel to it from Stellaris.

Therefore, this is why the nations were puzzled by the Sarkaz airships that appeared on the Victoria battlefield.

No one would believe this was a deal between Ernst and the Sarkaz. After all, Ernst's political credibility was questionable, and making deals with those Sarkaz extremists would not have benefited him at all. His proposed "Draft Draft for Nation Establishment," as well as his stance that he had reiterated countless times before, were completely contrary to Therese's faction.

But now that the airships have appeared and achieved some success, we still need to ask them questions.

And Ernst, unsurprisingly, gave a perfectly reasonable answer:

"The airships of the Sarkaz extremists during the Lentinium conflict had no connection with Shelag. Shelag provided no technical support whatsoever, and there is absolutely no intention of testing new weapons during the Lentinium conflict."

Ernst paused, then said...

"Sherrag has always had a friendly relationship with Victoria. The Duke of Caster and the current Allied leader, the Duke of Windermere, are both old acquaintances of mine. Sherrag would not make a choice that would harm others and himself in such a matter."

"Sherrag will, as always, stand on the side of peace, fairness and justice, on the side of the World Summit, oppose and condemn the illegal acts of the Saakaz extremists, and sincerely hope that the turmoil will end soon, and that peace and tranquility will return to Lentinium as soon as possible."

After Ernst finished speaking, he nodded to Ivignad on the podium and slowly sat down.

But before he could even sit down, Ivignad spoke again.

"Well then, Mr. Ernst."

"For the sake of peace and stability in Terra, and for the swift end of the Lentinium conflict, could Sherag lease the airships to Victoria at a certain price to bridge the weapons gap between Victoria and the Sarkaz extremists and resolve this conflict more quickly?"

Ernst paused slightly, raised his head, but did not look at Ivignad, instead looking at Duke Kast not far away.

Duke Caesar seemed to have anticipated Ernst's reaction, nodding slightly and giving him a smile.

Wanting to borrow an airship could not possibly be Leitania's idea. Even if it were, would Leitania have made this request on her own initiative without consulting Victoria?

This matter was, of course, initiated by Kester; he simply asked Ivignade to make the suggestion.

The price, of course, is sharing firsthand information about the weaponization of airships.

Victoria provided manpower, weapons, and battlefields for experimentation, while Letania only needed to communicate to receive firsthand information, thus gaining an advantage over the remaining three nations—Ursus, Columbia, and Yan—in airship construction. For Letania, which was normally the weakest of the five nations, this was undoubtedly a good deal.

Ernst clicked his tongue in exasperation, almost laughing in exasperation.

He promised here that the Sherag battlefield would not use the Londinium battlefield as a testing ground for new weapons. Ironically, the Victorians themselves were quite happy about this, and even joined forces with the Leitanians to put pressure on them.

The Duke of Caesar had been so cooperative lately that he thought the man had actually improved a bit. Now it seems that his anthropomorphic level of utter depravity remains top-notch, unchanged at all.

As for why she did this, do we even need to think about it?

Who benefits most from the prolonged unresolved conflict in Lentinium?

It's definitely the Duke of Windermere, who is currently in charge of the army! She has plenty of time to win people's hearts, consolidate military power, and expand her influence, while if the Duke of Castle doesn't do something, it's only a matter of time before she becomes a figurehead commander.

Ernst thought Windermere's tactic of feigning retreat was brilliant, but the Duke of Caesar wasn't stupid either; she probably had her eye on airships from the very beginning. Even if the Sarkaz hadn't produced airships, she would likely have brought it up at the World Summit anyway. The presence of airships in the Sarkaz only made her excuse more convincing.

Having acquired the airship as a weapon, she quickly resolved the conflict in Londinium. As the person who obtained the airship, turned the tide, and brought victory, the Grand Duke and Victoria's representative naturally no longer needed to fear the Duke of Windermere's prestige in the army.

It's a good plan.

However, before Ernst could speak, a pale green figure in the second-to-last row of the seating area, in the Rhodes Island section, spoke up, panting:

"No, it's no use."

"The Sarkaz airship is not a product of science and technology. The core of that airship is dead souls, a creation of Sarkaz witchcraft."

"Ordinary airships are no match for that. Even if we went, it would be a waste and would only embolden those Sarkaz extremists!"

The speaker was none other than Kal'tsit, who had just arrived!

Chapter 594 Kal'tsit finally got to carry the game!

Ernst always believed that Kelsey must have something, because she possessed a great deal of information.

Many of the sophisticated strategies, plans, and tactics we often see, in reality, mostly rely on information gaps.

As for Kal'tsit, at least so far, Ernst has not encountered a situation where he directly asks Kal'tsit and she replies, "I really don't know."

From the ancient Balrog's account of the Tikaz and the gods during the Three Kings era, spanning tens of thousands of years, to the expedition against Kazdel two hundred years ago, she knows far too much. Whether it's the Demon Lord Theresia and Theresis, or even just bits of information about the outer stars, she knows so much that if she were to become an enemy, Ernst would find himself in a very difficult situation.

No one knows whether she can actually perform the Nine Strategies. If she can, then with the information she possesses, she could accomplish far too many things.

Therefore, Ernst maintained good relations with Rhodes Island and Kal'tsit. Having many friends is always better than having many enemies.

And as it turns out, Kal'tsit was indeed a good friend; she proved to be very useful in crucial moments!

"Dead souls are a special branch of the Sarkaz race. To be precise, they might not even be considered a branch."

"Dead souls are anomalies among the Sarkaz souls; they are the collection of those Sarkaz who have been excluded, unable to be accepted, and unable to be freed."

Invited to stand on the stage, Kal'tsit showed no sign of nervousness, as if such a scene was commonplace for her.

She glanced at the seated representatives, and as she spoke, she couldn't help but feel a sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a feeling of mixed emotions, including admiration and reflection).

They're all here.

The intelligence was accurate. Yan Kingdom, Ursus, Victoria, Colombia, Letania, and many more Terran nations—aside from those whose leaders even she couldn't identify—almost every country and power had sent its representative. The International Summit was no longer simply a "glue" or "alliance" to bring together certain nations to create strategic deterrence against others and achieve peace on Terra; it had become a genuine international organization capable of projecting its influence across the entire continent.

Was it shocking? She's already heard it. More than anything, she felt relieved.

This time, I'm relieved that I didn't misjudge him.

Her gaze then fell on Ernst.

She sped through the wilderness to make it to her speaking time today, arriving at the venue breathless. Luckily, she didn't miss the time and even helped Ernst out of a predicament. He must be very happy, right?

What's with that expression on your face?

9. What does "explain it more clearly" mean? Wasn't I clear enough just now?

4 Kal'tsit paused for a moment, then glanced at the others. Sure enough, unsurprisingly, they all had expressions that said, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

Lin lowered her head somewhat awkwardly. Kal'tsit reorganized her thoughts and spoke again:

"To put it more simply, dead souls are the souls of the Sarkaz."

"I believe that many countries have concepts such as souls, salvation, reincarnation, or going to heaven. For the Sarkaz, however, these concepts are not just stories or legends in religious texts, but real phenomena. The Sarkaz are the race that values ​​death the most. When a Sarkaz dies, they return to the realm of souls—which you can simply understand as the underworld, or a place like heaven or hell. But some Sarkaz will encounter accidents in this process, either because some ability they had in life rejected the attraction of the souls, or because they encountered some situation that prevented them from being accepted by the souls. Such Sarkaz become dead spirits, also known as 'wandering spirits,' 'vengeful spirits,' or 'ghosts.'"

Kal'tsit explained it in the simplest and most abstract way possible.

There's no way around it; the so-called Sarkaz are essentially a collection of "Terra's native races"—a hodgepodge of everything. And this hodgepodge has been simmering for tens of thousands of years, making it even more of a mixed bag! Don't be fooled by the current Blood Demons and the like, who supposedly uphold concepts like "pure-blooded." In reality, during the process of being frantically simmered in the Originium cauldron, transforming their appearance from strips of blood leeches into the handsome men and beautiful women they are today, no one can say for sure what exactly got mixed in.

The change was merely a modification of the Originium at the "information level," which was treated as "evolution" and therefore not reflected in the narrow concept of "bloodline."

Therefore, for the Terrans, the so-called "essence of evolution" is endless information and the external manifestations of information—the fusion of limbs, abilities, and consciousness.

For Kal'tsit, she could certainly give the leaders of the Terran nations a lesson on Terran biology on the spot, but just explaining the complex history in her own way would probably take ten days to two weeks. And these people obviously wouldn't have that kind of patience, nor the time to listen. She could only try to describe things as concisely as possible, even if such descriptions would lead to many misunderstandings regarding the concept of "dead souls."

The Grand Commandant of Yan was the first to understand.

The concept of "lingering spirits" is common in the history and culture of the Yan people, who have always believed in commemorating the dead and reincarnation. Therefore, the idea that wronged souls turn into vengeful ghosts and linger is the easiest for them to understand.

Although, strictly speaking, dead souls are eccentric and often violent, not all dead souls are "evil spirits."

As long as it's easy to understand, Kal'tsit chose not to go into too much complicated terminology—anyone interested in that can just ask her privately. Who knows, she might even be able to help Rhodes Island secure some orders?

While the leaders of other national powers grasped the concept at different speeds, they explained it to each other and thus gained a basic understanding.

"But what does this have to do with airships?"

Ivignad frowned.

The one who answered her was not Kal'tsit, but the Grand Commandant.

"Dead souls have the ability to possess people and objects, right?"

After understanding the concept of dead souls, the Grand Marshal understood where Kal'tsit's claim that "the Sarkaz airships are creations of dead soul sorcery" came from.

It's common knowledge that vengeful spirits can possess objects, animals, and even corpses, driving them to act.

Kelsey nodded:

"Yes, thanks to Sarkaz sorcery, undead can be manipulated and controlled. And undead possess the ability to fly."

"The essence of a Sarkaz airship is a shell that looks like an airship, inside which lives one, or rather a group of dead souls gathered together."

The Grand Commandant nodded, and Ivignad shrugged, offering no objection.

Ultimately, this matter had nothing to do with her. She had merely collaborated with Castle. Success would be good, but failure wouldn't cause her any loss.

Kester remained inactive, while Ursus's representative, Islam Witt, inquired with interest:

“I understand, but, Ms. Kal'tsit, where is the evidence?”

He raised his hand and waved the file in it, which contained some basic information about Rhodes Island that he had just asked his subordinate to retrieve.

To be honest, he was speechless when he saw this information.

Kal'tsit spoke eloquently, appearing omniscient and speaking with such conviction that he was misled into thinking that Kal'tsit was some kind of reclusive Sarkaz research expert who would know such obscure knowledge.

After all, as the Speaker of Ursus, he considered himself to know quite a bit about the Sarkaz because Ursus had a Wendigo Legion stationed in the North to defend against the demons. However, he couldn't say that he was completely unaware of the existence of the dead souls, but he only truly had a concrete concept of them today.

And Kal'tsit looks like she knows how to fold a hedgehog's folds☆代購：→…。 =多嘛。