Chapter 64 : Chapter 64

Chapter 64 : “Goni.”

Compared to what Chu Zu planned to do, both the conquests in the retrospection and Nilia’s adventures in the main storyline became simple.

The necessary background had been laid, and the guided growth had not been neglected.

Although Nilia would occasionally do something shocking, defending the lighthearted tone of the entire text with his flexible morality, with Polika around, he could always be pulled back to the main storyline and not stray.

After the retrospection, Chu Zu opened his eyes to see Hikta’s face nailed to the bronze door.

He had turned back into a male, speaking with Feian without any awareness of being a prisoner, elegant and polite, with a strong and uncomfortable sense of disharmony.

No matter what Feian asked him about the gods, Hikta would answer.

He said: “The gods did not create. We only witnessed the desolation of this world at its birth.”

He said: “Feian, did Aturu not share her knowledge with you? You are life that landed from the ocean. It took you hundreds of millions of years to land on land, and after several cycles of prosperity and decline, you will need to spend hundreds of millions more years before you evolve into the form of ‘human’.”

He said: “You call it ‘evolution’.”

Noticing Chu Zu’s gaze, Hikta turned his head, his black hair scattered across his cheeks, “To be precise, before the world was reset, the humans of the past called it ‘evolution’.”

Feian was a little helpless: “You… have already reset it many times…”

“I prefer to call it correction.”

Hikta smiled faintly, “You are still too young, Feian. Even the longest-lived human cannot physically perceive whether the world is evolving or stuck in a stalemate.”

“When a certain creature becomes so tyrannical that it can restrict nature, and the tree of life that should have been flourishing is pruned down to a single branch, shouldn't the gods release their restraint on the world? Humans have never been the masters of the world. No one can be the master of this world.”

Chu Zu listened quietly until he finished, then drew the short knife from behind his back.

A thin layer of fire from a secret art covered the blade.

The fiery blade severed Hikta’s neck.

The head fell to the ground and rolled a few times, coming to rest at Chu Zu’s feet.

Feian turned her head, her eyes full of sadness.

Chu Zu raised his foot and crushed the smiling head, then said to Feian: “You come with me.”

“Feian seems a little shaken.”

On the carriage back to the Sagteni Kingdom, Feian had already closed her eyes, half-asleep.

Chu Zu had the royal guard driving the carriage get her a blanket.

Feian clutched the edge of the blanket, her brow slightly furrowed.

The system observed Feian’s expression.

She didn’t look well, and her breathing was more rapid than usual.

Chu Zu didn’t fall for this at all.

“Hikta’s speech sounds like an overzealous environmentalist. If a human said that, we could debate about humanistic thought. What is he, to talk about the master of the world in front of me?”

He glanced at Feian.

“I don’t care about her thoughts either. She’s over a hundred years old, not a real little kid.”

The system thought to itself, that’s not what you looked like when you had someone cover her with a blanket.

Chu Zu: “Bring up the mall. I want to take a look.”

Since it involved extracting the underlying code of the props, the system worked cautiously.

Even though it was just a normal browsing, it managed to make it feel a little sneaky.

Chu Zu found it a little amusing.

“Buying props, using props. It’s not against the rules. What are you afraid of?”

“Sigh, you don’t know. There are too many rules that aren’t written in the manual. In the beginning, our system manual only had two or three rules. After a large number of hosts caused a big commotion, the manual is now terrifyingly thick.”

The little yellow chicken said, “There’s no precedent for analyzing mall props and giving them to non-hosts. I have to be on guard.”

Chu Zu: “Shouldn’t you be on guard against me?”

System: “Huh?”

The little yellow chicken didn’t react.

Since the first mission, it had gradually stopped following its superior’s directives.

After all, the system’s core principle was to prioritize the mission.

When the host could absolutely dominate the mission progress, the system should also fully cooperate—that’s what the little yellow chicken thought.

Browsing through the mall, Chu Zu first added the props he thought were useful to the shopping cart, and would decide whether to buy them after the system analyzed and sorted them.

He said slowly, “There are many ways and means to accomplish one thing. The ways I’m used to probably don’t sit well with your superior.”

The system thought for a while and said dryly: “Are you… still planning to change jobs?”

Chu Zu: “?”

The system began to sell out its superior on its own: “I know our side character correction system is more annoying. The hosts of other systems don’t have so many restrictions…”

“Actually, my superior was very easy to talk to before. He was very good to me. The first time I was sold, he even got angry at my host, saying he had never seen such a useless host.”

“But after I was taken down from the mall, he suddenly became very fierce.”

The little yellow chicken blinked its eyes, “Very fierce. He doesn’t chat with me anymore. He just likes to stare at me when he has nothing to do, to see if my host has violated any rules. It’s made me the little yellow chicken that changes hosts the most frequently among all the systems…”

It rubbed against the host’s arm as he browsed the mall: “If you’re going to change jobs… let me know in advance.”

Chu Zu smiled: “I already said I’m not changing jobs. If I do, I’ll take you with me—does your manual say that systems can’t change jobs?”

“No…”

The little yellow chicken was stunned, “No, it doesn’t!!”

Chu Zu lifted the system onto the mall panel and had it browse with him: “If you don’t like your superior, get a new one. If you don’t want a superior, become a superior. You’re quite intimidating when you’re fierce. Why do you always start to cower every now and then?”

The system looked up at the host, who was looking down from above its small head.

During the first mission, the host had said that he was a newcomer to the workplace with no experience.

By the third mission, the little yellow chicken felt that it was a newcomer to the workplace.

Is this the legendary innate workplace holy physique!

Chu Zu pushed the little yellow chicken’s head down: “Time to work. Don’t let your mind wander. The worst that can happen is you won’t be hung on the mall. If it really comes to it, I’ll pull a big one and run away with you, far, far away, where your superior can’t find you.”

System: “Okay!”

***

Upon returning to the Sagteni royal palace, Feian immediately fell into a deep sleep due to prolonged high mental concentration.

Zui had Naqiya find someone to settle her down, and then he spoke to her about the Goni Kingdom.

Coincidentally, Naqiya was also holding a stone tablet, intending to discuss matters concerning Goni with Zui.

Naqiya said: “The situation in Goni has changed.”

It was known to all nations that Sagteni I had spared the assassins of Goni.

They had witnessed the miracle of the river flowing backward and the ruins being restored, and they no longer held any expectations for the assassination of the king.

They either fell into prayers to the gods or began to race against time to try to salvage the situation.

Even though Zui was still in the deep ravine temporary palace, they were already calling the current situation a "decline."

The soldiers of Goni who returned to their country reported what they had seen and heard.

“The high priestess of Aturu was furious and ordered the execution of all soldiers who failed to carry out the order. Their bodies were hung outside the royal city for the black vultures to peck at.”

Nania said, “The high priestess also held several sacrificial ceremonies in a row, cutting out the hearts of all the sacrifices from the age of four to fourteen, but Aturu never appeared.”

“The high priestess believed that it was all the army’s fault. Their escape from your hands was undoubtedly a foolish act, causing the entire Goni to be despised by Aturu.”

Naqiya had thought Zui would be angry.

Of course, he had let the soldiers go not out of pity.

In Zui’s perception, soldiers should be in the position of soldiers, not being ordered to do stupid things like assassinations outside the battlefield.

But Zui showed no expression, looking at the stone tablet with a casual air.

It was as if all the violence and bone-chilling sharpness had been left in the deep ravine temporary palace.

He also showed no interest in conquest, but was looking forward to something else.

Zui: “Continue.”

Naqiya came back to her senses: “The general of Goni, Jalaba, cut off the high priest’s head, dragged the King of Goni from a woman’s body, and demanded that he abolish all of Aturu’s privileges in Goni and immediately issue a national emergency statement.”

Everything happened late at night, just like the night when the high priest had summoned everyone to issue the order to assassinate Sagteni I.

Jalaba’s style was far more forceful than the high priest’s.

He didn’t play politics, nor did he resort to conspiracies.

He looked down on so-called sanctions from the bottom of his heart.

When the high priest’s head fell to the ground, the momentary fear solidified into eternity.

He didn’t understand why Jalaba dared to do this, and he didn’t need to.

The high priest’s death was just the opening ceremony of Jalaba’s thunderous action.

The prime minister cowered under the stone table, afraid that his usual alignment would also be settled, but Jalaba did not continue to overstep his authority and asked him to come out from under the stone table.

The prime minister should admonish the monarch.

The King of Goni needed a deafening voice.

If he didn’t listen, then it was time for Jalaba to do his thing.

What Zui did to the Katur cult in Sagteni became the best example.

The people couldn’t understand, and there were not a few who were terrified.

And it was only at this moment that Jalaba truly understood the greatness of that tyrant.

Even if Jalaba could not be as certain as Zui that all his actions were correct, he had already stared at the mistake, so how could he willingly sit and wait for death?

The loyal soldiers tried to interpret dignity on the battlefield, the innocent people waited for the king to bring them peace and prosperity, but what about the King of Goni?

And what about the Aturu cult?

Jalaba had also been a loyal follower of the Aturu cult, but when he discovered that the so-called doctrine had long gone against Goni, why should he still believe?

Why did Goni still need gods?

Jalaba dragged the king from his bed.

The prime minister trembled like a sieve and stammered out what the king should do.

As the king’s chariot moved slowly through the spacious streets, flanked by the guards’ soldiers, Jalaba led the way.

The panicked King of Goni rode on a tall white horse, wearing the crown of Goni, with the flag of Goni flying on both sides.

Behind the guards’ soldiers, the shabby and tired people stared at the person on the horse with unfamiliar eyes.

They rarely saw the king.

They were more familiar with Jalaba, and the high priest’s head, which was tied to the horse’s side.

When the people finally realized that this was the King of Goni, the crowd began to shout: “Long live Goni! Long live!”

Many people remained silent.

The silence gradually turned into a gloomy and bizarre atmosphere that the King of Goni could not imagine.

When he took out the papyrus prepared by the prime minister—the content of the speech was recorded on it—the King of Goni almost fell off his horse.

The King of Goni’s voice was too soft, almost only he could hear it.

He couldn’t make it any louder, and his legs were trembling.

Halfway through his speech, a shabbily dressed child quietly slipped through the legs of the guards and onto the middle of the road.

He held a heart riddled with a thousand holes high above his head.

The heart had already turned black, emitted a foul stench, and was surrounded by buzzing flies.

What was even more terrifying was the child’s eyes, which were black and lusterless.

“The priest said that if we offered my sister’s heart, Goni would get better. Your Majesty, has our Goni gotten better?”

Jalaba recognized the child.

After the previous sacrificial ceremony ended and the crowd dispersed, he had secretly run to the altar.

He was too small and thin to drag the girl’s body, so he could only secretly take away the heart that was hung at the top of the altar.

His sister’s heart.

In the high priest’s words, this was a devout and noble heart.

It would be protected by Aturu and make Goni prosperous again.

But in the boy’s hands, it was just a rotting and foul-smelling filth.

Even the King of Goni frowned, showed disgust, and covered his nose and mouth.

“Drive him away.”

The King of Goni shouted at Jalaba, “Jalaba, drive him away for me, and the dirty thing in his hand!”

This was the King of Goni’s most resonant sentence, and the boy heard it.

His originally withered face was suddenly filled with hatred and distortion.

The boy couldn’t bear to part with the only thing his sister had left, so he bent down, grabbed some stinky mud from the ground, and threw it at the King of Goni.

“You are the one who deserves to die the most!” he screamed, “Die! Die! Die!”

On the rooftops, balconies, and roadsides, the crowd began to stir.

After a while, the restlessness evolved into pushing and cursing.

They released their long-suppressed hatred, hatred for who knows who.

Everyone in sight became an accomplice to their difficult lives.

Especially the king.

Especially the King of Goni!

The King of Goni’s voice was drowned out by the crowd.

The voices were not uniform.

Some shouted “Long live the king,” some screamed “The high priest will be reborn,” “Aturu will punish,” “Everyone go to hell,” “Give me back Goni”…

“The tyrant has arrived.”

In an instant, everyone stopped.

They all turned their heads in unison and stared at Jalaba.

“The tyrant has arrived—!”

Jalaba kicked the horse’s rump hard.

The tall horse reared up on its hind legs, neighed at the sky, and galloped back and forth among the crowd under his command.

Amidst the sound of horse hooves, Jalaba shouted, “Sagteni will not spare a single inch of the world’s soil. Aturu has rejected Goni. Are you going to reject Goni too?!”

He galloped wildly through the crowd like a murderous black shadow, his voice spreading in all directions.

“Who killed your compatriots, your sisters? Who killed you? Who killed Goni?!”

He roared, “It was you! You handed over your authority to the so-called gods. As I look around, I don’t see a single Goni. You have abandoned your motherland and willingly become the captives of the gods.”

“What are you still hoping for? If you are lucky enough to survive from the hands of Sagteni I, you fools, it’s only because he doesn’t have you in his eyes. Goni is not worthy of being in his eyes. When his sword points at the gods, what is Goni doing?!”

“If the gods do not protect Goni, then let the gods die. Before that, before the iron cavalry of Sagteni I flattens the earth—”

Jalaba said coldly: “I am my motherland!”

***

“Back in the palace, the King of Goni wanted to cause trouble for Jalaba, saying it was contempt for royal power. After saying that, he was slapped, and his crown flew several meters away.”

The system, having read the background information, summarized it for the host in more detail than Naqiya.

“Now Goni is the same as the previous Sagteni, with all of Aturu’s people locked up. But they’re not as decisive as you, they’re just locked up.”

“Those followers seem to still be hoping that the gods will punish all the unfaithful. They cursed Jalaba, and they also cursed you, saying that you were the one who started this bad trend.”

Chu Zu: “It’s fine. I will go and punish them first, then I will go and punish their god.”

He sighed, “Why isn’t Jalaba a Sagteni.”

The system shouted: “Snatch him over! Snatch him over! Make him change jobs!”

“I can’t.”

Chu Zu said, “He is not loyal to the king, only to Goni itself. I can destroy Goni, but I can’t change him.”

He stroked the little yellow chicken’s head and said deeply, “There are always things that must be done no matter what. From the moment the decision is made, no one can change anything, whether it succeeds or fails, even if it’s a stubborn insistence.”

Sagteni I’s mood had improved.

Naqiya noticed keenly that after the king learned of the changes in Goni, a very faint curve appeared at the corners of his lips.

“Jalaba has made Goni worthy of being conquered.”

Zui casually placed the stone tablet aside, “This will be a fair war. The wars of humanity should not be swayed by the gods.”

Naqiya saw Zui slowly turn his gaze towards her.

The desire left behind by the deep ravine temporary palace had returned to his eyes.

“You have done well, Naqiya.”

Zui suddenly said, “If it weren’t for me, you would be another Sagteni I. Without fear and awe, the world would praise your name.”

Naqiya took a deep breath: “I know.”

This was undoubtedly a reply that would bring about a fatal disaster.

Anyone who heard it would immediately curl up, waiting with trembling fear for the price of overstepping to befall them.

But Zui made no move.

A light similar to Zui’s shone from under Naqiya’s eye wrinkles.

At this moment, this mother and son, this sister and brother, were like two sides of the same coin.

“Without me, you would not be able to support the entire vast Sagteni. Of course.”

She said with a smile, “But I must admit that what Sagteni needs now is you.”

The person with real appeal is not the one with powerful logic.

Feian also knew the secrets of this world.

She could use her long life, her meticulous mind, to dissect the truth under the complex mechanism.

But so what?

Humans are always too lazy to think about what is “complex.”

They believe that the gods have divided black and white, and right and wrong are thus clearly distinguished.

Even if Feian laid everything bare and warned everyone, they would still ignore it.

The person with real appeal doesn’t even need so-called true knowledge.

He needs to be strong enough, selfish enough, and ambitious enough.

He will make everyone give up thinking and just understand his meaning.

He indulges people’s laziness, even to the point of walking an extreme path with him.

The more extreme the reason, the simpler it is, the easier it is to understand.

Instead of telling them about the complex influence of the gods, it is better to directly declare that the world belongs to me.

You also belong to me.

Only then will they follow, or resist.

Resistance abandoned the tediousness of the past, and the gods were also classified as “tedious.”

This is a contest between countries, a struggle between humans!

“I know what you want to do.”

Naqiya’s eyes held a smile, “Your Majesty, I cannot accompany you to the same height, but at least I can witness that day—”

“Your anger is the evaporating rain, and it will eventually burn out everything that dominates us.”

She said, “I will witness, starting from Imolai, stepping over Goni, stepping over the myriad of kingdoms that resist you, humanity will finally be united as one.”

Zui stretched out his hand and said faintly: “Then come with me, and together we will crush Goni.”

A smile passed over Naqiya’s lips as she took the invitation from the king.

***

That day it rained heavily.

In the darkness, the soldiers of Goni were soaked to the skin.

The rain seeped into their armor and clung to their clothes, making it difficult for them to move.

The mud under their shoes caught their steps, forcing the soldiers to rest.

Jalaba also could not rest.

The howling rain made reconnaissance difficult, and the news from the soldiers ahead was also vague.

Sagteni I did not repeat the powerful tactics of Imolai.

At that time, he alone was an army, a powerful symbol rooted in the barracks.

Now Sagteni I have shown enough respect.

He had abandoned the power he could summon at will and was truly confronting him as the lord of a country.

Jalaba was even flattered.

He was just a general of a poor and weak country.

What had he done to deserve the tyrant taking him seriously.

Jalaba paced around the camp.

The King of Goni would not give any useful instructions.

In fact, not causing trouble was already the result of the prime minister’s constant “supervision.”

He had too much information to deal with.

Sagteni I represented the movements of the army, while Naqiya represented the response within the borders of Sagteni…

The trouble lay here.

The enemy was a complete military power.

Even a child on the border could pull out a weapon at any time and join this war.

Damn Sagteni, why did they give them a Naqiya, and also a Zui?

Jalaba gazed at the defense line obscured by the rain, desperately wanting to see the current situation clearly.

He knew that the future of Goni was in his sweaty palm.

When the sun broke through the horizon, the rain stopped.

The continuous heavy rain made marching difficult.

Goni’s few troops were divided.

Under the faint and gloomy warm sun, Jalaba finally gave the order.

The entire army launched a general attack.

They had to push back the Sagteni army that was approaching the border before the next storm fell!

But Jalaba himself did not go out with the army.

He chose a risky path.

There were two most important people in Sagteni.

Goni was helpless against the tyrant, but the other one was not as formidable as Sagteni.

In this campaign, Naqiya did not stay in the safe rear.

Perhaps to be able to deal with the soon-to-be-conquered Goni in time, she had come to the front line with Sagteni I!

Nearly half of the scouts were killed or injured, but they finally brought back this news.

Jalaba knew this was bait.

On the battlefield, this was undoubtedly a legitimate provocation, perhaps even mixed with the tyrant’s mockery of the last assassination—but this was one of the few choices.

When tens of thousands of soldiers let out a thunderous shout, the war drums rumbled, and the armored cavalry broke through the iron shields set up by the enemy, blood, severed limbs, fear, and hope were constantly intertwined.

Jalaba led a small team, stepping through the mud, and went around to the rear of the battlefield.

Sagteni I was undoubtedly on the battlefield.

The tyrant always marched with his soldiers.

Jalaba believed this was the only chance.

As long as he could hold Naqiya hostage, even if it only brought a threat to the rear, Sagteni I would definitely not sit by and watch.

Privately, this was Zui’s only relative.

Publicly, Naqiya was the cornerstone of Sagteni’s stability under his rule.

Jalaba did not expect to win the war, but Sagteni had to withdraw its troops.

His own life was insignificant, but as long as he could buy enough time for Goni, the sun of his motherland would eventually rise from the hands of the young people.

Jalaba’s mistake began at this moment.

“Where is Naqiya? Where the hell is she?”

The rear camp was as quiet as a military camp.

There were no accompanying garrisons, no grain and fodder supply camps…

Apart from the brief facilities that could still be considered a “camp,” this place was even more empty than the current King of Goni’s bedchamber.

Jalaba was burning with anxiety.

Every moment of delay, countless soldiers were trampled to death.

The not-so-tight defense line was built on their absurd and proactive attack.

Everything depended on it now!

“Naqiya is at the front line.”

A cold voice sounded from behind.

Jalaba had never heard this voice before, but he knew the owner of the voice.

He felt his heartbeat must be as faint as a bird’s song.

The accompanying soldiers were helpless and at a loss, turning their heads with him.

The red-eyed king with black hair was alone, his eyes holding a wave wider than the previous storms.

“Your tactic is not wrong. The problem is, why do you think Naqiya is only good at politics?”

Jalaba’s pupils shrank, his heart was squeezed tightly, and he couldn’t make a sound.

On the front line that Jalaba could not detect, the great prime minister of Sagteni was leading her troops to charge at the fleeing Goni people.

The dark army surged behind her.

She had never been so free, galloping on horseback like lightning.

The old Sagteni was left behind her, the golden palace was also left behind her, and all the dregs that had imprisoned her soul were shaken off.

Naqiya’s soft whip danced on the muddy battlefield, just like the long sword that Zui was now drawing from his waist.

The sword’s edge slid on the mud.

When it was raised again, it flicked away mud spots.

The white light of the metal flashed, and finally became a point of sharpness in Jalaba’s vision.

When Naqiya’s smile was brighter than the sun, she shouted at those who were on the verge of death: “Run, you humble ones! Goni is dead! Victory belongs to Sagteni!!!”

Zui also said softly to Jalaba: “The ambitious people of Sagteni have never been just one king.”

Their voices sounded at the same time.

The two battle lines that determined the life and death of Goni decided the victory and defeat in an instant.

The anxious King of Goni was absent-minded in the kingdom.

He desperately needed a result.

But there was nothing.

All the guards in the palace had followed Jalaba to the front line.

Now only the equally timid prime minister was by his side.

He did not receive any news, only a strange rumbling sound that shook the earth, getting closer and closer, it was simply horrifying!

Different from the elite soldiers of Goni, they rushed into the palace in neat formation.

The blood and mud on their feet were embedded in the clean carpet.

The bloody and metallic solemn killing surrounded the absent-minded King of Goni.

The King of Goni collapsed on his throne.

In the distance, Naqiya, who had taken off her helmet, was holding Jalaba’s head and slowly walking to the throne.

“Get down.” Naqiya said coldly.

The King of Goni left the throne trembling.

He was so scared that his body couldn’t stop trembling, and his crown also fell off, rolled to a distance, and stopped at Zui’s feet.

Sagteni I was half-covered in blood.

He was not wearing any armor representing the battlefield, and he strolled leisurely under the long spears that flashed with cold light on both sides.

His scarlet eyes fell, and Zui picked up the crown.

The monarch who had flattened Goni in just one day did not give the King of Goni a single glance.

His cold gaze was fixed on the throne.

After a long while, Zui took the head he had personally cut off from Naqiya’s hand.

Unlike the high priest of Goni, until the last moment of his life, Jalaba’s eyes still held a terrifying brilliance.

He did not yield to reality, firmly believing that Goni still had a future, firmly believing that after his death, the sun of Goni would eventually rise slowly.

Zui placed the sun of Goni on the throne and firmly placed the crown on his head.

He walked out of the main hall, and Naqiya followed closely behind.

The entire palace, and even the entire Goni, fell into a terrible silence, a gloomy and deathly silence, a mourning of bewilderment.

It was only after Jalaba, who had once shouted “I am my motherland” on the main road, died that the people who were no longer Goni knew what they had lost.

They were supposed to be the masters of their own destiny, but their country had been stolen by the so-called gods.

They did not have the thunderous means of Sagteni.

All the virtues they were constrained by: caution, obedience, diligence—were useless on the eve of the real conquest.

The gods would not teach them what resistance was.

Jalaba tried to shout, but his voice came too late, too late.

“If they want to resist Sagteni I, then first, they must find what is the savagery of humanity.”

Zui was chatting with Naqiya, and also announcing to the countless countries in the world that were staring at Goni.

The voice also reached the ears of the god who was watching him.

“This is the rule I have set, the simplest rule. Even the most foolish person should understand.”

“To submit to the gods, or to submit to me—to be their puppets, or to live under my hand as a human.”

The tyrant showed a crazy and bloody smile.

He asked Naqiya, “How do you think they will choose?”

The wind blew open Naqiya’s black hair.

The dried blood stuck to the side of her face, and finally only a black and red mark that was of no importance was left.

Two pairs of scarlet eyes looked down at the world from a high place together.

Naqiya said faintly: “They have no choice, King of All Kings—the true master of the world will make the world have only the latter.”

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