Chapter 22 The Battle of the End (Part 2)

Endgame.

What a familiar word.

Thales once watched a lot of dramas in the Night Temple next to the Grand Bazaar—although most of his attention was on how to make money from the pockets of the attentive audience.

I have to say that even though the priests of Mingye seem to be nervous, they wrap themselves in an airtight way, chanting "my lord will return", "the world will collapse twice", "history is all lies, The only one who can save the world is the True God of the Night" and other crazy words ("Fortunately, they didn't say anything about 'the night is coming, and everything is dangerous'"... Hey, Ryan, watch out, that fat sheep is about to turn around! —— The beggar Thales who watched the show.).

But the drama they rehearsed is really a good way for the illiterate after time travel to understand the world without spending money.

Well, maybe it's not that good—Thales followed behind Gilbert, and couldn't help curling his lips when he remembered a scene in the drama "Mingye descends into the mortal world and personally saves the thirty-three princesses".

Among the various dramas, ranging from absurd to persuasive, Thales has a deep impression. There is a scene called "The Day of Disaster, When the World Ends".

That is the battle of the end.

Thales still remembers that in those mainly black and red sets, a masked man in black clothes was holding a chain and a sickle, with heavy steps and heavy footsteps surrounding the entire stage. It became gloomy and scary, and often scared the children watching curiously to tears.

Wherever the men in black went, actors wearing various headgears to represent the world wailed, screamed, and fell back and forth on the stage.

He still remembered the chilling words in the behind-the-scenes chanting like a crow:

"The disaster is coming! The disaster is coming! He won't let any of this world go! Until everyone is captured by the disaster!"

"Wake up, my compatriots, wake up, wake up! Disasters are sweeping through everything, the river of hell is pouring down on the world, the sky is collapsing to the ground, and the end of the world is imminent!"

"The gods are always on our side, the devil is with us, the emperor stands behind us, and the heroes are in front of us! Only by fighting can we survive, and the dark night is eternal!"

"Compatriots! Disaster is coming! There are words in the dark night. The ferryman on the prison river is not a hideous, inhuman evil fruit and devil flower, but can corrupt people's hearts! I would rather go back with the hero with a sword than for that kind of disaster servant minion!"

"This is the final battle, regardless of each other, regardless of saints!"

"The battle of the end! The dark night covers the earth, and the disaster will surely dissipate!"

In Thales's unclear memory, in the neurotic play, the so-called "disaster" character holding a chain and a sickle killed countless creatures until he was defeated by the alliance of the entire world.

But until the end, the priests and actors of the Temple of the Dark Night did not explain what the 'disaster' was. There are also children on the street who ask, the priests always ask the children to say "I_shall_serve_while_the_Dark_Night_returns" (I_shall_serve_while_the_Dark_Night_returns) before they are willing to give them a maltose, and then say with a smile, "The disaster is the world enemy".

Thales, who was so engrossed in his thoughts, didn't notice that Gilbert had already led him to the steps on the second floor.

As I've seen before, the three giant portraits of the kings of the stars are neatly hung on the wall.

"Lusaka Kervin was a famous portraitist during the period of Mindis III. His portraits pay attention to the combination of history, and rely on the environment and movements to express the spiritual temperament of each character in the most similar way." Gilbert stood at the Under the portraits of the three former star kings, he said in a daze.

"'Three Kings of the Stars', these are the few kings and monarchs in Colvin's masterpiece, just as His Majesty introduced to you before."

Works of famous artists? Thales then raised his head,

Looking carefully at the portrait in the middle of the wall - the young knight with a gun riding a horse, judging from his posture, should be moving forward and his seven-pointed star badge.

The previous glance was too hasty, and Thales, who had no time to observe carefully until today, noticed that this seemingly heroic knight had curled his spear, and his crown was damaged and mottled. It was full of blood, and the mounts were tired. The knights behind were all wounded. Some charged with shields, some were covered in blood, some had armor missing, some supported each other on horseback, and some even had only one arm left.

Under the setting sun in the distance, there are mountains of corpses and weapons everywhere, and there are very few people standing, decorating the tragic battlefield alone, while blood and darkness dominate the remaining tones.

Except for the young seven-star crowned knight who seemed to be roaring wildly, the expressions of the six people behind him were all lonely and sad, but they still showed no hesitation.

Seeing this, Thales' heart moved, and he suddenly remembered the words of King Kessel V:

"That's Tormund I, the last prince of the Last Empire, the founder of the stars, the 'King of Restoration', and his bravery in the Battle of the End is still celebrated today."

"He is—" Thales' expression moved slightly, and he looked at Gilbert beside him.

"Yes, 'King_of_Renaissance' (King_of_Renaissance) Tormund Canxing," Gilbert replied with a deep expression: "In the battle of the end more than six hundred years ago, among the surviving imperial commanders in the Western Front, The person with the highest status."

"It's also your ancestor, the founder of the Star Kingdom after the war."

Survivor in the Western Front Theater, Commander of the Empire, with the highest status.

Thales immediately grasped the key word.

"The commander-in-chief of the empire? Which empire? What is his identity? Besides the Western Front, are there other theaters? Who are Tormund's enemies?"

Gilbert is used to Thales's learning style of interrupting and asking (or even refuting) at any time. He smiled disobediently and said:

"Of course it's the only 'Empire'? e_Empire)."

"The only empire?"

"Yeah," Gilbert took a breath, showing a nostalgic smile: "Do you know, Mr. Thales, our known world was originally a vast land shaped like an arm. And we, the stars Where it was, at the wrist—"

Thales raised his head suddenly: "What?"

He interrupted Gilbert in shock: "A piece—a whole piece of land? The eastern and western continents separated by the Sea of End—"

But Gilbert just smiled and raised a hand to signal him to be quiet in front of the portrait of the former king.

"Listen to me, the answer lies in the battle of the end."

But Thales has already sorted out the answer in his brain that is not far from the truth.

The Battle of the End, wait, the ocean between the two continents is called—the Sea of End?

Two continents?

Thinking of this, Thales couldn't help complaining: "Gilbert, uh, you don't want to tell me that a powerful outside creature invaded our world with a legion, and then we were defeated in a fierce battle It intended, but inadvertently broke a magical well and blew the world into two continents?"

Gilbert's smile stagnated: "What?"

"Then the one to the west is still called Kalimdor—"

"Hush——" Gilbert smiled helplessly and interrupted him: "My little sir, you do have the ability to write novels and make up stories. If it weren't for your identity, you might be able to be an excellent songwriter." Wanderer or poet, but we're taking a history lesson now."

Thales shrugged his shoulders, closed his mouth, and put a piece of memory he had just retrieved into the depths of his brain—it was still related to the girl with the second stroke.

Gilbert watched him patiently, and did not continue to explain until Thales stopped speaking and became solemn in front of the ancestor's portrait:

"More than 3,000 years ago, after human beings comprehended extraordinary power, super-level and extreme masters emerged one after another, and the combat power and equipment of the army continued to increase. After years of friction, war and alliance, human beings finally merged into one. As a whole, the war with the various races has been victorious year after year, and it has become the master of the known world on the mainland."

Gilbert showed reverence and longing, his eyes drifted, and he said faintly:

"They have established a huge country that covers the whole world, deters the mainland, and touches almost all corners of the known land. People from the Northland, Ludor, Nieda, Kailenza, and Red Earth, except for a small number of Far East man, almost all human beings are under its protection and rule"

"They didn't set the name of the country, or the name of the dynasty. The supreme ruler called himself the 'emperor'."

"That unprecedented country—it's called 'Empire'? e_Empire)."

Thales took a slight breath, and what he felt in his heart was no glory and pride, but only sadness and sighs.

War made the country, and the country made the war ("War_made_the_state, _and_the_state_made_war") - he silently added a sentence from the bottom of his heart, the words he learned from the master's book in his previous life.

Integration and war, to put it simply, how many wars, how much blood and slaughter are needed to build an unprecedented giant country?

But Gilbert's expression darkened immediately:

"At the height of the empire's rule, a new race that was so powerful that it was almost terrifying was born among human beings silently."

"They are immortal, indestructible, unparalleled in strength and energy, even the strongest in the extreme realm are powerless to resist, even true gods and demons are invincible - what's more frightening is that they are completely different from human beings and even all races. Thinking and behavior principles are unreasonable, wild and crazy, and difficult to communicate."

Thales froze slightly.

The blue-clothed and brown-haired nervous figure seemed to appear before his eyes again, opening and closing his mouth: "Standing above the sky, surpassing the gods, looking down on all beings..."

When Thales came back to his senses, Gilbert sighed:

"They are like disasters. When they come to the world, they continue to bring chaos and disasters, blood and slaughter—the once great empire gradually declined under heavy blows, and finally perished."

A new race?

Born among humans?

Unreasonable?

Disaster?

Thales remembered something, and his heart began to beat irregularly.

"By the time of Tormund I, that is, the century when the Imperial Calendar and the End Calendar alternated, the Empire had long since perished for more than three hundred years, and the world of humans and races returned to chaos and division."

"And the 'final empire' that Tormund is in is just a remnant of the empire built by the survivors, another country with a completely different system, territory, and people."

"Historians have traditionally called the former great empire the 'Ancient Empire'? e_Ancient_Empire), and the latter weak empire the 'Final Empire' (the_Final_Empire)."

"In the end, the Empire, in 1609 of the Imperial Calendar, that is, the year when the War of the End took place, was only a medium-sized country in the world. The spiritual heritage and orthodox name of the ancient empire did not bring glory and inheritance, but It's a burden and a hatred."

"The land of the vassals in the past was full of ambitions, and the vassal clans were eager to move, and the numerous kingdoms were eyeing them."

"Although it has inherited the glory of the ancient empire, in the end the empire made enemies everywhere, with constant wars, heavy tax burdens, years of civil strife, weak imperial family, and declining rule."

"Seeing the glory of the empire will end in the 1609th year of the imperial calendar."

"But in this year, that race, those disasters, have bewitched many believers and followers all over the world, and with unprecedented power——officially declared war on the entire civilized world!"

Thales was slightly shocked.

With clear logic, he has already caught several logical errors in this narrative, but he didn't speak out immediately, but endured it.

What exactly is the disaster? What does it mean to be born from a human?

Since he has such power, why not continue his efforts after the destruction of the ancient empire, and wait until the final empire before officially declaring war?

Since it is completely unreasonable, why do they recruit followers and believers like a true god?

If they have completely different thinking from human beings, why do they still declare war? Conquer the world? What a joke!

This is simply a story full of flaws!

But Thales realized that it wasn't that Gilbert was deliberately misleading, but that there was a lot of information that Thales couldn't understand at all.

Just like before, the secret of the bloody year.

"Those disasters," Thales swallowed, and asked slightly nervously, "What are they?"

Gilbert wasn't surprised by Thales' question, but he didn't notice that Thales' tone was less confident and calm than usual.

He sighed: "After the War of the End, all news and sources of the 'disaster' are blocked and banned. This is a secret agreement between the gods, demons and the world, and it is also a countermeasure to prevent their numbers from increasing. However, you must know sooner or later Yes, it's okay to tell you."

Gilbert took a deep breath and said sternly: "Those disasters were once humans or members of other intelligent races. But desire, greed and ambition drove them to lose their essence - aliens. Although Most of the time they are almost indistinguishable from us, and even hide among us, but they are a real alien race."

"In the eyes of the folks and most people, these disasters have a common name:

Magician. "

At that moment, Thales exerted all his control to suppress his body so as not to tremble too much.

"In their eyes, the magician is just another type of supernatural being who seems to be on the same level as the end knights, supernatural warriors and other powerful people."

Gilbert's eyes were cold, and he continued: "But only the countries and temples that participated in the War of the End know that these so-called magicians have brought disasters to history for thousands of years, with bloody debts, and ended the empires of the two generations before and after. , a terrible 'disaster' that almost destroyed the entire world!"

"Only when they try to kill a magician, will they find out that something is wrong, and they will notice the clues-by then it is often too late."

"Because of the magic master, those disasters are immortal, immortal, and indestructible."

"Sir," Gilbert said seriously, "if you encounter a magician unfortunately in the future, protect yourself first. After you are safe, try to ask for help... We have a set of measures for the weakness of magicians, which can fight against them and eliminate them. harm."

Touching the wound on his right hand, Thales' expression remained unchanged, but his teeth were trembling slightly - I'm afraid he has already seen those "disasters".

Even he himself might be - no, you can't think like that, this idea is too dangerous.

For his own safety, although Thales was full of doubts in his heart, he must not ask too hastily—who knows what will be seen when he is in a hurry?

Gilbert paused here, as if wondering why Thales didn't speak and ask questions. But he didn't get too suspicious, instead he closed his eyes and thought about something, and after a few minutes he spoke softly:

"There is no need to doubt their horror—the power of those disasters is too strong. More than 600 years ago, under the leadership of the strong, our most powerful and daring army and their minions fought in blood and madness Endless. After breaking through the perimeter, the most elite knights and warriors surrounded those disasters, but they could only die in piles."

Thales recalled the drama of the Temple of the Dark Night. On the stage, the actors all fell down on the path walked by the "disaster".

"The gods came to the world one by one, and then fell. The demons also climbed up to the ground, and then destroyed. The strong men of all races rushed to the battlefield, and sacrificed."

"The war lasted for many years, and after paying a terrible price, we studied their weaknesses and finally defeated those scourges."

Thales clenched his fists tightly, and Ashida's lonely words seemed to ring in his ears: "We lost."

Gilbert's words interrupted his recollection of Ashida:

"But the power of those cursed disasters is too terrifying. In the final pursuit battle above the extreme, those cursed disasters, those bastards who can almost destroy the world—"

Thales, who was watching Tormund's charge carefully, trembled, and suddenly knew the next story.

Gilbert calmly said the next sentence:

"It sank the most fragile piece of land in the center of the continent that connects the four directions. All the living beings and matter on it suffered a catastrophe."

"After the sinking of the land, the aftermath of energy spread, pushing the entire continent away in two directions. In just five years, the ocean formed was already bottomless, and the known land was cracked into things. Two continents and countless islands."

"This is the famous 'Great Fission' (e_Great_Fission) more than six hundred years ago."

"The Final War? e_Final_War), this is the end."

Gilbert let out a long breath, and what he said next made Thales dazed for a moment:

"The piece of land sunken in the sea encompasses the entire territory of the final empire."

"The final empire."

"It ends here."