Chapter 1071 – What Exactly Are You? (Part Four)
Wei Ci strained to understand but could grasp some of it.
“So this knife too?”
Jiang Pengji replied, “I’ve seen this type of knife a few times, it’s the Marshal of the Federation’s personal blade.”
“Marshal? Like a military commander managing troops?”
“Not just that.” Jiang Pengji stated, “To put it metaphorically, it’s equivalent to an Emperor, with power even greater than the Emperor. There’s only one Marshal in the Federation, under them are ten Legion Commanders. Each Legion is further divided into ten Military Districts, each with about a million troops. The Federation Marshal has the highest authority to mobilize troops. Can you guess how great the Marshal’s powers are? A knife made from this material is only fit for a Marshal.”
Wei Ci was increasingly astonished.
“A m-million troops?”
That’s just the strength of one Military District! If it were the Marshal of the Federation, wouldn’t they control a hundred million troops?
How many people is a hundred million?
Don’t the five nations combined only have fifty million people?
Jiang Pengji said, “That’s still the military strength during peacetime. If there’s a war and the situation gets tense, the military could expand by more than tenfold.”
Since Jiang Pengji became conscious, the Federation had been fighting everywhere, with hardly a moment’s pause.
The Human Federation loved peace, but couldn’t withstand the troublemakers around them, so wars were endless.
Back in the day, Jiang Pengji was a big shot commanding over a hundred million elite Federation troops!
Now, she was reduced to robbing a small farm with a bunch of weaklings, totally shameful.
She has to maintain her dignity, alright?
Wei Ci couldn’t even imagine what kind of world his Lord had lived in before.
“Why? Only the Federation Marshal possesses a knife made from this material? Is it something like an Emperor’s token?”
Wei Ci didn’t understand Jiang Pengji’s world, but from her few words, he could analyze quite a bit.
She said it so casually, as if she were used to it, indicating that her former status was certainly exceptional.
Not just at the Legion level, at least at the Military District level.
In this world, that would be someone with tremendous power.
“This is classified information of the Federation. If it were back then, if I dared to leak even half a word, I would most likely be sent to a military court and then dismissed—” Jiang Pengji gestured a decapitation motion, but continued, “But now—what’s said has been said. Since I have this knife in front of me, what else can’t be said? This knife is made from a special material, and there’s only one that can be forged in the whole universe.”
Well, saying “the whole universe” isn’t quite accurate; to be more precise, it’s “throughout the cosmos.”
When Jiang Pengji saw these documents, she found it quite laughable.
The universe is vast; intelligent beings have only explored a tiny fraction; who dared to claim “throughout the cosmos”?
Who gave them the right?
See, didn’t a second knife just appear in front of her?
“So rare? What sort of material could there be only a tiny bit of in the world?”
Wei Ci looked at the knife; other than its sharpness, he couldn’t quite discern anything more.
Jiang Pengji smiled and said, “Its rarity isn’t because of the material, but because it can ‘slay gods’.”
“S-slay gods? Are there really deities in this world?” Wei Ci’s face was even more shocked.
“There are no gods in this world; I’m just messing with you.” Jiang Pengji smirked mischievously, “What I mean by ‘gods’ are essentially ‘virtual beings’. It might sound a bit abstract; you can think of ‘virtual beings’ as things formed from people’s beliefs—no physical form, existing in a fictitious world, kind of like ghosts? In my world, there was a virtual being called ‘Heavenly Brain’ that attempted to overturn the whole world. It was man-made, possessing great power, akin to an all-powerful deity—”
Wei Ci listened intently; everything Jiang Pengji spoke of was like a “tall tale” to him.
It was hard to understand, but he wished to know more about the person in front of him.
In this life and the last, never had he been this close to her.
“A ‘god’ created by humans? Possessing the ability to stir the seas and go beyond limits?”
Jiang Pengji snorted coldly, “Close enough—but a god created by humans, no matter how strong, must obey humans, obeying the ants they perceive. How could a god be content under the control of ants? The ‘Heavenly Brain’ utilized humanity’s reliance on it to suddenly initiate wars, causing countless troubles, while selling various secrets to surrounding forces. In my world, wars followed one after another, all due to the chaos left by the ‘Heavenly Brain’. It wasn’t until the day I fell that the wars finally neared an end—but who knows when they’ll come again?”
The “Heavenly Brain” and the System are so similar, both being top-tier virtual beings; how could they be content beneath humans?
When Jiang Pengji realized the system was bowing down to her, it was not unlike the remnants of the chaos caused by the “Heavenly Brain.” Such a high and mighty presence seemed like a powerful weapon that could go out of control at any moment, injuring not just enemies but oneself as well.
“After the ‘Heavenly Brain disaster’ settled, people created another ‘Heavenly Brain’. Because humans could not live without a ‘Heavenly Brain’, they needed a substitute. The Marshal’s personal blade appeared around that time; it’s not only a symbol of status but also the only weapon in the world capable of completely slaying ‘Heavenly Brain’. The two mutually restrict each other to prevent a second ‘Heavenly Brain disaster’ from occurring.”
Wei Ci couldn’t imagine why humans couldn’t live without the “Heavenly Brain.” Was existence without it impossible?
“Since that’s the case—why does this knife—”
Wei Ci didn’t know how to ask, but thankfully, Jiang Pengji understood.
“It’s not the same one; the one in the hand of His Excellency the Marshal is different in style.” Jiang Pengji raised her hand to return the long knife to its sheath; she sensed—the two sub-systems in her mind trembling slightly—she smirked satisfactorily, “Whatever the purpose of the person sending me this knife is, since it’s been sent, how can I refuse it? Although there are no ‘gods’ in this world, the blade is extremely durable, perfect for slaying enemies. Every time I battle, weapons get so dull they become unrecognizable; with this knife, I no longer need replacements.”
Jiang Pengji sighed, feeling quite bittersweet.
The precious Yin-Yang jade pendant was used to trade for Zixiao, and an even more impressive blade was used for beheading—
Rich yet unable to spend, life was as lonely as snow.
Wei Ci felt a sense of ease.
Although he had heard about the knife’s true purpose from Jiang Pengji, he wasn’t from that world, so he couldn’t grasp the full depth of it.
As long as it’s a good knife, as long as his Lord can slay enemies to her heart’s content, that’s what’s most important.
As for the gift-giver?
Suddenly, Wei Ci recalled something and asked.
“That person said this knife was made by ‘your father’—was it really crafted by the Old Patriarch?”
Jiang Pengji replied, “Do you think my father could create a knife like this? The most likely candidate would be my father from my past life, though I don’t even know who he is—I was found on the battlefield ruins at the age of three and taken to an orphanage, then later adopted by a couple. They treated me fairly well, but due to some special circumstances, they sent me to a military school for war orphans. There, I was raised as a gene warrior—gene warriors, similar to death soldiers—secretly trained to grow up. My childhood memories are too vague, but I’m sure there are no memories of biological parents in there.”
The Federation had countless orphans, and Jiang Pengji couldn’t trace her past; she seemed like a person who had appeared out of nowhere.
Fortunately, she’s inherently emotionally detached. If she couldn’t find out, then she couldn’t; no need to force it.
Jiang Pengji held the knife in one hand and fished for a black-and-white meatball with the other.
“It’s late; Zixiao, should you be going to bed?”
Wei Ci’s expression changed slightly as if he remembered something left unfinished.
“I’m not going to handle you today; it’s just a cuddle to sleep, don’t overthink it.”
She had a hunch that she wouldn’t be dying any time soon; everything the system had said was just nonsense!
“Lord—”
What handling nonsense—isn’t that something a woman would say?
Wait—was the Lord also a woman in her previous life?
Wei Ci felt a bit flustered.
