Chapter 701: Historical Records
Within the oasis of Bastis, in a dense forest, Doro manipulated her zombie puppet to inquire about the history of Bastis, the Plague, the Eternal Life Cult, and the Savior Faction from the newly healed believer Alima. Alima, who had successfully undergone profiling, answered everything without hesitation. Through Alima’s responses, Doro began to speculate on the intentions of the Eternal Life Cult in releasing the plague in Busairite.
“Busairite is remote, not only outside the Church’s sphere of influence but also active with the opposing Savior Faction. If the Eternal Life Cult truly intends to create a large-scale plague against the Church, then Busairite is indeed the perfect training ground. The believers here can provide free combat training for the plague virus, helping it to evolve and iterate, creating a super virus that possesses a strong resistance to the abilities of the Path of Redemption.
“Once this virus is fully developed, general medical methods and the abilities of the Path of Redemption will struggle to counter it. If the Eternal Life Cult were to simultaneously poison large areas across the Main Continent, it would undoubtedly lead to a pandemic of the Plague. The black earth and white chalk extraordinary beings stationed by the Church in various countries and cities would not be able to cope with such a plague. Perhaps only those with abilities at the Red Tier or above could find a way to treat it, but how many of them are there?
“The Red Tier archbishops are also limited to one per country, and the number of Red Tier archbishops is a significant factor limiting the expansion of the Church’s influence. While the exact number of Red Tier archbishops isn’t transparent, estimates based on information provided by Vania suggest there are approximately twenty to thirty of them. Most are dispatched to various countries and regions to maintain faith. With these archbishops, the Church has controlled the entire Main Continent and some key areas beyond it. In regions without archbishops, the influence of the Church significantly diminishes.
“Among these archbishops, the number belonging to the Path of Redemption will not be particularly many; it may be questionable if there are even ten. The backbone of the Church’s medical efforts remains the wide array of white chalk and black earth. If a virus capable of mass spread evolves to a level that’s challenging for these to manage, it could deliver a severe blow to the Church’s substantial base of believers. Currently, its level of evolution is nearing that standard…”
Sitting on the exquisite carpet of her tent, Doro pondered while sipping on the desert nomad’s specialty milk tea, her brow slightly furrowed. If her speculation was correct, then the nature of this plague was indeed more severe.
“It seems… the Eternal Life Cult might be plotting some grand conspiracy… What does this have to do with the Triumvirate of the Amniotic Sac slowly re-integrating? The movements of the Triumvirate have become increasingly close; what exactly are they trying to achieve?”
Doro continued to think to herself, but since her thoughts were merely speculation without clear evidence, she did not delve deeper. Instead, she shifted her focus back to the present. She then manipulated Ed to ask Alima, who was nibbling on a piece of bread.
“So, could you tell me how you were defeated by the Eternal Life Cult?”
Listening to Ed’s words, Alima wiped her mouth after finishing the piece of bread, then, after some contemplation, replied.
“Well… those cultists used treacherous tactics to defeat us. As the plague in Bastis grew stronger and we became increasingly unable to cope, they secretly infiltrated Bastis. They converted those suffering from the plague by alleviating their symptoms and pain, turning them into agents of chaos while we were unaware. Those misguided followers of the evil god secretly became their accomplices and minions, assisting them in their assault against us.
“The cultists planted tiny bug eggs in our water and food through these misguided individuals. These eggs were carefully cultivated by the cultists, incredibly low in spirituality, and essentially indistinguishable from ordinary objects, which caused us to unwittingly consume them. Afterward, these eggs anchored within our bodies and fell into slumber.
“Then, taking advantage of our reduced spirituality and weakened mental state due to treating the plague, the cultists launched a surprise attack. They injected us with their spirituality through miasma and mosquito bites; their spirituality could revive the dormant bug eggs within us, awakening them. The awakened eggs would rapidly hatch into larvae, growing swiftly, gnawing on our flesh and nerves to strengthen themselves, impeding our movements and absorbing our spirituality. Ultimately, we fell into defeat and capture due to these internal attacks.”
As Alima narrated this to Ed, he nodded slightly, then continued to ask.
“Did you seek aid from your holy order? Are they aware of the situation in Busairite?”
“They know about the severe situation of the plague in Busairite. We reported it to them, but currently, the holy order likely doesn’t have the capacity to manage the issue here. Ever since the Adus incident last year, the northern heretics have been exerting intense pressure on us. Recently, their activities have become increasingly irregular, with some areas becoming very radical. In Iga… large-scale direct conflicts have already occurred, and the Mu Fa Council has devoted most of its energy to addressing the changes posed by the northern heretics.”
Alima responded while taking another piece of bread. After hearing her words, Ed raised his eyebrows in curiosity and continued.
“What is the Mu Fa Council?”
“It is the governing body within the holy order. Mu Fa refers to the high-ranking leaders of the holy order, meaning ‘the one who transmits teachings.’ They form the Mu Fa Council to collectively receive the teachings of the Sage and communicate the will of the Sage, serving as figures of reverence for all mid- and low-tier believers.”
Continuing to chew on the bread, Alima kept answering. Hearing her words, Doro became even more interested and urged Ed to ask further.
“Who is the Sage?”
“The Sage is the most authoritative figure in the holy order, the most esteemed person after the Lord. He is the messenger chosen by the Lord to convey the truth, referring to himself as the ‘Transmitter of Teachings.’ He conveys and interprets the Lord’s true intentions to us, organizes and leads us to uphold the truth, and through trials, one day we will, under his guidance, eliminate all heretics and restore the truth to this world…”
While eating her bread, Alima spoke at a slow pace, and Ed raised his eyebrows slightly.
“So, the Sage is essentially the founder of your holy order?”
“Yes, the holy order was indeed established by the Sage and has been maintained ever since. Throughout the more than eight hundred years of its history, due to pressure from the northern heretics and interference from other cults, it has faced ups and downs, experiencing destruction and rebirth several times. It is the Sage who has maintained the holy order until today; as long as the Sage exists, the holy order will not perish.”
While munching on a new piece of bread, Alima affirmed to Ed. Hearing her words, Doro stroked her chin thoughtfully.
“The Sage, huh? Interesting… this means the Savior’s Incarnation Sect has been able to endure eight hundred years under the continuous suppression of the Church while maintaining the title of the most extraordinary heretic solely because of this person called the Sage? What kind of background does he have… how powerful is he to withstand the Church for so long without being extinguished?”
Doro pondered curiously, then controlled Ed to ask Alima for more information regarding the higher-ups of the Savior Faction and about the Sage, but due to Alima’s low status, she didn’t know much, so Doro ultimately didn’t glean anything concrete.
Finally, as the topics were nearing their end, Doro then had Ed pose one last question to Alima.
“By the way… do you know how I might learn about the history of Busairite? Does it have any written historical records? Are there any rumors regarding the place called ‘Heoperis’?”
Ed asked Alima. Regardless, Doro’s primary mission in coming to Busairite was to search for Heoperis. No matter how the Eternal Life Cult and plague developed, her quest for clues about Heoperis could not cease.
“Heoperis… I’ve been in Busairite for a few years and haven’t heard that name… However, if you’re inquiring about the history of Busairite, there are indeed written records available.
“Although Busairite is chaotic, there have been several brief unifying dynasties. Among these, the most recent dynasty is called the ‘Santo Dynasty.’ This Santo Dynasty, in order to promote its legitimacy and ensure long-term unity and stability for Busairite, desperately worked to shape a sense of national identity for Busairite.
“For a long time, the chaos in Busairite stemmed from the mutual conflicts among the various tribes residing here. Hence, the Santo Dynasty intended to forge a shared national identity among these diverse tribes, creating a unified Busairite nation, which would help maintain long-term stability.
“To do so, the Santo Dynasty, during the unification of Busairite, made every effort to establish a common culture for Busairite. This process included various forms of propaganda and education, as well as extensively gathering legends and histories from different tribes, then centralizing and compiling them into an official history of Busairite for public use.
“Unfortunately, after the records were gathered, the founder of the Santo Dynasty, the most capable King Santik, passed away. His successor, while somewhat capable, lacked the ability to handle the intricate chess match that was Busairite, ultimately leading to the outbreak of tensions that had long been suppressed by King Santik, resulting in a new war that destroyed the Santo Dynasty. The collected historical records could not be uniformly compiled before the dynasty’s fall.”
Alima elaborated, her gaze drifting to the distant horizon beyond the forest, towards the direction of Bastis.
“The capital of the Santo Dynasty was in Bastis, where all the collected records were stored in the Bastis Museum. Since it was hidden in an underground library, it avoided much of the conflict. After we took over Bastis, Gemarhai discovered that hidden library while cleaning up the ruins of the old library and found various records that survived the fires of war.
“Most of these records were from mortal hands, with few secret transmissions, so Gemarhai wasn’t particularly interested. She merely sorted them a little before returning them to their places. However, that underground library, due to its discreet location, was treated by Gemarhai as her secret study. During the outbreak of the plague, she continuously researched the peculiar virus there, and since I often assisted Gemarhai, I also frequently visited. The stories from there were shared with me by Gemarhai…”
Alima spoke, and as her words settled, a trace of sorrow appeared on her face. Doro noticed and paused momentarily before waiting for Alima to regain her composure. As Alima picked up another piece of bread and began to eat, Doro continued prompting Ed to inquire further.
“So, how would one access that underground library? Do the people of the Eternal Life Cult know of its existence?”
…
During the night, on another stretch of the Bastis oasis, at the Church camp near the lakeside.
While Doro was communicating with the rescued Alima to gather information, at the center of the camp, within a big white tent, Vania had just sent off a nun who had come to report, leaving the spacious tent empty with only Vania present.
Sitting in the vast tent space, Vania watched the flickering firelight and passing shadows on the tent fabric, listening to the noise outside, momentarily lost in thought.
At that moment, a faint glow shimmered, and a translucent figure of a nun appeared out of nowhere in the empty tent. Sensing this phenomenon, Vania turned her head to look at the suddenly appearing figure.
“Nun Evi… you can show yourself?”
“I could have shown myself long ago; I found a suitable stop around Bastis. By noon today, I could have connected using the relay device on you. It’s just that there was always someone by your side, so it wasn’t appropriate for me to appear.”
Looking at Vania rising from the carpet, Evi spoke. Hearing Evi’s words, Vania paused slightly, then continued.
“You could connect by noon… that means you know everything happening here in Bastis now?”
Vania asked Evi, and Evi nodded in response.
“Indeed, the current state of Busairite and Bastis has exceeded our previous expectations. Frankly, this peculiar situation has reached a level that warrants requesting a cessation of this operation…” With a serious expression, Evi said to Vania, upon hearing her words, Vania couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise.
“Can… can we apply for a rejection? Is that even possible?”
“Of course! Your primary task is to ensure the completion of the relief and your ascension. However, with the bizarre plague rampant in Busairite, along with the interference from the cult, the difficulty of completing the relief here has already become substantial. The problems here are beyond what our prepared resources can manage.
“So, you could directly abandon the relief efforts in Busairite, forsake all the people here, and carry out relief in another, relatively easier location. There are plenty of places in the world similar to Alita that still require assistance; there’s no shortage of needy souls. Since the issues here arose from unforeseen circumstances, it’s not your fault, and as long as reported appropriately, no one in the holy order will blame you.
“In such a place, our abilities are restricted and cannot be fully exercised. But if you change locations, you might face some usual famines and turmoil that could enable an easier relief effort and possibly even facilitate your ascension…” With a meaningful tone, Evi said to Vania, then she smiled, watching Vania, waiting for her response and choice.
