After all, the emperor did not find the whereabouts of the Tide Church crew member in the town. He seemed to be swallowed up by the fog on the road and disappeared from this world forever.
However, some people say that he has returned to the territory of the Tide Church. It is located in the central sea surrounded by islands. Only the believers of the Tide Church know the way to get there, and they, the reserve sacrifices, have no right to know these secrets.
In addition, they had not encountered the high-ranking councilors who had arrived in the islands. The investigation in the town found almost nothing, and the emperor gradually realized that even the residents of the town seemed to accept him
As "meat", they were always ready to be tied to a fishing boat and sacrificed to the Lord of the Tides. When the believers of the Tide Church came to the town and called their names, it was a relief for them. .
They look just like the residents of Silvermoon Harbor, but they look like the walking dead. Whenever he proposed to leave the island to live outside, they would show extremely frightened eyes. The awe of the Tide Lord had already been written into their genes and blood, so that they would not dare to do so even when facing death. any grievance against their master.
The emperor noticed this subtle detail. The people in the town and the believers of the Church of Tides all called the god they believed in
“Master” not God the Father. After returning to the hotel, he could only rest in the town for a day, waiting for Diego's father... to take care of his waist.
He felt that this might be the first god in the world to be troubled by back pain. The fierce battle on the sea made the emperor clearly realize that if they want to go deep into the Misty Islands, they must come from
Help from “Father God”. The red ball of light above the clouds disappeared, and they finally had a sense of time in the town.
It's just dark now, and most residents in the town have returned to their homes.
"Dongdongdong, dongdongdong--" A sudden knock on the door interrupted the emperor's thoughts. He opened the door and found an old man in gray robes appearing at the door. The old man's hair was messy and he looked like he had been there for a long time. It had not been taken care of. After opening the door, he looked into the room warily. After confirming that only the emperor and Diego were in the room, he finally entered the room with confidence.
Earlier, the emperor had met the old man at the market in the town. At that time, he was far away and hidden in the dark. There was no interaction between them.
If the prosthetic eye hadn't automatically recorded the old man's information, he might not have been able to recall these details.
"Paladin, this is my name." The old man's voice was low. This was also the first named person they met after arriving in the town.
"I heard that you have been inquiring about the Church of Tides in the town. Does this mean that you are with that group of people?"
"That group?"
"A few days ago, your companions occupied several coastal towns. They repelled the attack of the Tide Church and are now looking for a way to enter the church." The old man said in a determined tone.
All this could not be more obvious. The emperor was just like those foreign invaders, his body had turned into an iron lump.
"I have seen your ships. They can still fly in the sky. I think the space inside should be very large and can accommodate many people." As the old man told the story, the emperor also reacted.
he mentioned
The "companion" should be the robot in the steel fortress. At the same time, he also revealed to them that besides them, there were other fleets that broke through the sea monster's defense line and successfully arrived at the Misty Islands.
He didn't know where this mechanical fleet came from. Even the intelligence department of the coalition government knew nothing about their existence before this.
The laser weapons used by the robots and the equipment installed on the airships seemed to be more advanced than military technology.
The emperor deliberately did not clarify the misunderstanding and asked instead,
"Why do you ask?"
"If your ship can accommodate the residents of the town, maybe you can take them with you when you return and send them to the outside world?" The old man's tone was urgent, mixed with pleading,
"In return, I may be able to help you find a way to the Church of Tides." He observed the emperor secretly for a long time before finally mustering up the courage to come to him.
Because as far as the old man knew, his companions stationed in other towns were not friendly towards the locals. They did not know what they had done to the people in the town. The bodies of those residents began to slowly change, and the skin of those people Gradually replaced by metal, their flesh and blood were swallowed up by machinery, and eventually they became cold mechanical creations like those people.
He heard these rumors from several Tide Cultists who fled after defeat. They seemed to have been completely frightened by those mechanical monsters.
When he saw this, he hid in the dark, imitated the tone of those robots, and got a lot of information from the believers.
Hearing this, the emperor became even more confused about the old man's arrival.
"In that case, why are you still doing this? Aren't you afraid that I will turn you into a mechanical monster?" The transformation the old man mentioned was obviously the mechanical plague they encountered in Silver Moon Port, and now it is certain that this plague Brought by those mechanical fleets that appeared out of nowhere, the ultimate purpose of this plague is to transform humans into their own kind, thereby making up for their losses in the war.
"Because compared to the curse we are burdened with, the changes in the body are nothing at all." The old man gritted his teeth and said with determination in his eyes.
"As long as I can get freedom, I won't hesitate to turn into a machine or even a stone." He took out a book with yellowing pages.
In the small town, books are contraband, and anyone who hides them will be punished with death. This is a code that has been implemented by the Tidal Church. Membership in the church will expose people to some bad ideas, and the town residents who exist as sacrifices have no use at all.
"Thoughts," that's not what they should be thinking about. He just needs to ensure that he is in good health and can complete the sacrifice in a full posture.
The only remaining book in the town is the life-long effort of the old man. He may be the longest living person in the town. He was lucky enough to avoid every sacrifice list and was able to save all the things he had on the island. Everything I see is recorded in this book.
If he dies one day, his thoughts and knowledge can still be carried on in this way. As for Paladin, that's not his name either.
His parents, like everyone else in the town, did not name their children, and when he was very young, his parents were selected as sacrifices and boarded a fishing boat out to sea. Never came back.
And when he saw it from a stone tablet on the island
When I heard the name "Paladin", I was deeply impressed by his deeds. Paladin was once the general of the kingdom and a hero in the eyes of the people.
On the remaining inscription, General Paladin once led his fleet on the sea to launch a decisive battle with the evil spirits that inhabited the depths of the ocean.
That war affected the entire kingdom, but even with all the strength of mankind, the sea could not be conquered in the end. Paladin's fleet was completely wiped out, and he sank to the bottom of the sea together with his beloved homeland.
Today's Misty Islands are the relics left by that civilization.
"They destroyed Paladin's monuments and burned all historical texts. Since then, those troublemakers have become the masters of the survivors." The old man told everything he learned.
He spent his whole life traveling to every corner of the Misty Islands, and pieced together an incomplete story from the broken wreckage. This secret had always been kept in his heart, and he did not dare to share it with anyone.
He also gradually understood the reason why they were stripped of their names and existed here like sacrifices. This is
A curse from "God". Even after the death of Paladin and his followers, their descendants had no peace in this land.
The Lord of Tides uses this method to make everyone who wants to resist her understand the consequences of doing so. This is a millennium-long curse.
It has been so long ago that the people on the island have long forgotten what happened on this land; it has been so long ago that they have accepted their fate, been stripped of their names and identities, and have continued this curse forever in the form of sacrifices. .
As the emperor read the words in the book, he felt his emotions fluctuate for the first time in a long time. He had heard some legends about lost ancient countries, but historians generally believed that those civilizations were fictional and did not actually exist in this world at all.
But at this moment, he actually met the remnants of a lost civilization on an archipelago with an unknown geographical location.
The old man hoped to gain courage from Paladin's deeds, but all he could do was record everything he knew. This was the greatest resistance he could do.
Unfortunately, the emperor was pessimistic about the old man's efforts. Over the course of these thousands of years, the descendants of the warriors have been completely tamed by the Tide Lord, and they can no longer think of taking up arms.
And while they were talking, a group of uninvited guests arrived in the town. The dazzling light dispersed the darkness.
The people from Tide Church are here. The residents of the town resignedly left their houses and gathered in the town square. Even the elderly and children were no exception. Their eyes were dull and they were arranged neatly together, like goods for anyone to choose from.
The believer shined a light on each person's face, and then someone took out a list with portraits of the chosen ones written on it.
Because of the recent war, their master needs more sacrifices. The people who were called did not resist, and there was not even the negative emotions of fear and unwillingness to be found on their faces.
They just stood there, their arms tied behind their backs with ropes by the cultists. This is their life and the whole meaning of their existence.
