When the plot-skips players into the game world

Chapter 428 Giants Step into the Children's Playground



Aiwass did not immediately head to Star Antimony but instead lingered in the Holy Nation for a few more days.

After all, Favna and Helquinn had just reunited, and separating them again right away would seem rather harsh. Helquinn hadn't even met his son yet.

Moreover, Favna personally requested this from Aiwass—because when she saw Helquinn's Dragon Lance had decayed to the point of being unusable, she decided to craft him a brand-new lance.

As a long-lived dragon, she had mastered some of the Dwarves' magus craftsmanship. This was the very reason she could forge equipment.

…As for the materials she planned to use, Aiwass remained in the dark.

But Aiwass's Mana Points could not sustain Helquinn's prolonged combat state. Therefore, aside from the meeting and reunion, Helquinn mostly remained in his travel state—one that consumed no mana.

However, Rhine seemed to prefer his father's ghostly horse form more than the spectral elf clad in silver armor.

It was said that initially, Rhine was quite afraid of Helquinn, for reasons unknown. He kept avoiding him and dared not speak to him. Yet once Helquinn transformed into a horse, Rhine gradually warmed up to him and even began to play with him.

By April 4th, Rhine was already enthusiastically riding Helquinn around.

Though Rhine had reached adulthood by elf standards, he was still a child as far as dragons were concerned. His innocence persisted.

Helquinn, too, was delighted, spending every day running around with Rhine. The father and son quickly grew closer to one another. Apparently, Helquinn spoke candidly with Favna, resulting in Favna no longer dragging Rhine into constant training. This made Rhine even more grateful to Helquinn and all the more affectionate toward him.

By April 5th, Helquinn's new lance was finally forged.

Meanwhile, with the completion of yesterday's Great Sage's Holy Day rituals, the Holy Nation entered a month-long period of repose.

Aiwass's previous preparations began to earnestly unfold:

The ancient factories resumed their thunderous activity, extracting and channeling the Blood of the Sacred Tree into various facilities. Newly designed battleships were being constructed with remarkable efficiency, while sealed and neglected ancient warfare techniques were reactivated.

Since the end of the great war and the founding of the Holy Nation… ever since the Holy Crown was enshrined, the Paladin Legions of the Holy Nation had ceased to carry numerical identifiers.

With the ascent of the Eternal Pope, the Holy Nation was no longer vulnerable to invasion, nor did it find it necessary to invade other nations. Furthermore, the Candle Celestial Marshal sought to act as a "guardian" observing the growth of civilizations, which meant the Holy Nation had little need for excessive military power. Too high a threat level would merely provoke fear or enmity.

As a result, the Holy Nation had not openly recruited new Paladins in over three millennia, relying solely on the generational transmission of the role among heirs.

Even after the emergence of the "Professional" system, the mystical skills related to the Paladin profession were jealously guarded, never disseminated externally. The profession retained its exclusivity through a unique mechanism wherein priests and paladins were mutually convertible, allowing select third-level human priests, who had passed rigorous tests and filtration processes, to advance into the Paladin profession—for example, Bishop Mathers had transitioned into becoming a "Guardian of the Holy Tomb" in this way.

However, the foundational Paladin profession remained firmly under the Holy Nation's control.

This ensured that the "Paladin"—a combat profession distinctive to the Holy Nation—would not spread outward and potentially disrupt its stability. Even within the Holy Nation, Paladins were exceedingly rare.

Before the Holy Nation was established, priests were, in actuality, far fewer in number than Paladins.

—Until now, everything has begun to shift once more.

"If the Holy Nation's purpose is no longer mere observance and protection, but to act as a leader and guardian—to defend the world in the face of a looming catastrophic crisis—then the Holy Nation must strengthen its forces. Not merely relying on the individual strength of powerful figures like the Cardinal Archbishops, but establishing an organized, systematic armed force."

Aiwass stated as much.

The Ring of Ouroboros ritual was bound to materialize, for its emergence stemmed from humanity's inherent greed. As long as there existed those who aspired to become great powers, to claim the title of King of the World, the Ouroboros ritual would perpetually come to fruition...

Even if the Fallen Celestial Marshal uncovered this stratagem ahead of time and worked to sabotage the Star Antimony Ouroboros ritual, it would only result in an outcome akin to the illustration shown—forcing the Serpent Celestial Marshal to ultimately ascend to the Endless Knot, and simultaneously seize Aiwass's essence before the apocalypse.

At that point, Aiwass would be even less capable of opposing the Pillar God.

Thus, it would be better to align with the Ouroboros ritual—to leverage the Celestial Marshal Shards to further evolve the Great Sin Beast!

However, this approach necessitated addressing another matter.

The descent of the Celestial Marshals, in their efforts to transform the Material Realm into a domain suited to their existence, would almost inevitably lead to catastrophic destruction for all living beings. Although Aiwass's ultimate goal was to combat the apocalypse, this did not permit the sacrifice of these innocents—just as the concept of "preemptive death" must be rejected.

This ascension ritual further strengthened Aiwass's resolve and clarified his self-awareness. He realized he was still prone to falling into the trap of "preemptive death"... because that was precisely the snare the Serpent Celestial Marshal had already fallen into, and in a certain sense, they were fundamentally the same.

What proved effective against the Serpent Celestial Marshal could equally ensnare Aiwass.

Now awakened, Aiwass realized he had to deal with this issue—while he might be able to defeat the descending Celestial Marshals themselves, their very descent would unleash catastrophe.

The advent of the Fallen Celestial Marshal would bring hordes of demons into the Material Realm. Relying on his strength alone, it would be impossible for Aiwass to eradicate every single one of them—Phantom Demons, first of all, did not fear death. Secondly, his Mana Points were finite. Lastly, he could not single-handedly guard every entry point against an entire Demon Army.

To preserve his strength for combating the Fallen Celestial Marshal, he needed allies and companions.

The Holy Nation was the perfect entity for this purpose.

When the Fallen Celestial Marshal descends, various Celestial Marshals might appear simultaneously across the world—no matter how powerful Aiwass was, it would simply be impossible for him to protect everyone in multiple locations at once. He could not instantaneously teleport and neutralize every Celestial Marshal's destruction before it occurred. Hoarding this secret and attempting to monopolize the crisis would only be selfish.

The proverb "teaching one to fish is better than giving them a fish" applied here. In such circumstances, it was inappropriate to treat the "doomsday crisis" as a personal secret, keeping it buried within oneself and reveling in the isolation of being the sole Savior… Instead, it should be shared. At minimum, the very existence of the doomsday should be disclosed, so humanity could prepare mentally and the machine known as the Eternal Theocracy could begin to preheat and operate in advance.

The world was never meant to be saved by just one person. If a single individual's sacrifice and toil were required to save the world, it would signify that the world was already deserving of obliteration.

Even the Sun, which illuminates the heavens, could not simultaneously bring light to every corner of the globe.

The Sun would inevitably set, journeying to other skies. Yet even in its absence, people knew the Sun existed; knowing the Sun existed brought hope for tomorrow.

Aiwass need only provide hope to humanity—with preparation and hope, people would rise to save their own world.

As for him, he needed only to tackle the toughest challenges!

Now, the Holy Nation had reactivated the organizational structures for the Paladin Legions known as "Guardians," "Purifiers," and "Enforcers," along with the auxiliary legion "Protectors," which fell outside the Path of Devotion. It began large-scale recruitment.

The recruitment requirements were between one hundred and five hundred years of age, with no restrictions on gender, origin, race, or path. However, all candidates needed to undergo stringent tests of will and morality.

Though these soldiers might not participate directly in heavenly battles, they could at least clear the field of minor threats—even in games, wars of this scale demanded allied forces.

In some games, allied soldiers could be highly capable, winning battles without much involvement from the player; in others, allied NPC soldiers might be underpowered, requiring player intervention lest they perish; yet in other games, both sides might endlessly stalemate, only resolving when the player intervened. Regardless, no protagonist ever faced an entire army alone.

Even in the game-like scenario against the Fallen Celestial Marshal, it was only after the "Disaster of Tree and Amber" concluded—with the Elves' friendship and the Holy Nation's aid—that the adventurer team had the opportunity to reach the Fallen Celestial Marshal's instance in the Triumphal Palace amidst the overwhelming odds of the Demon Army and traitors aiding the Marshal.

At the very least, even if these individuals could not even clear minor threats—they could protect civilians and counter natural disasters.

There needed to be hope… It could not be a scenario where the enemy swept in like an overwhelming tide and one's own side was entirely empty.

As the Holy Nation's movements became increasingly overt, fear began to spread further among other nations.

They started to realize that this time, the Holy Nation was serious.

This was no joke, nor merely a revision of past conventions... The Elves truly intended to accomplish something significant.

Something that could not be achieved solely by the efforts of fifth-level Cardinal Archbishops or the Papal Guard;

Something that required activating ancient techniques from wartime eras now buried in dust.

It was as if giants had walked into a playground for children.

Humans had never personally witnessed the glory of the Elves' golden age, but other races had.

Before the Candle Celestial Marshal founded the Church, the Giant Tree People were renowned for their belligerence.

And now, the awakening of the Eternal Theocracy revived the tranquil world, setting its stagnant waters into motion once more.

At this moment, the course of history changed.


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