The Rebellious Commander!

Kevin rarely asked for anything; he had always been exceptionally good at being a dog. While the squeaky wheel got the grease, when a child who was obedient year in and year out occasionally tugged at your sleeve and sniffled, you truly did not have the heart to refuse. In the end, Karen drew a circle around the name of Commander Dickno. Kevin was satisfied. He curled back down on the seat, his eyes filled with nostalgic longing, a doggy grin stretching across his snout. Karen then circled four other commanders' names. If Dickno took one slot, he still needed to choose two from those four. The descriptions in the roster were ultimately too brief. Once they reached the First Knight Order's garrison, he would need to review the commanders' detailed life records before making a final decision. Seeing Karen close the roster, the two nuns tacitly decided to do something so the already awkward atmosphere would not turn even colder. Beneath their seats was an onboard icebox embedded with ice-element crystals. The two bent down and opened it. One brought out a glass, and the other brought out a glass as well. Then, both glasses were presented before Karen at the same time. Evidently, each had assumed the other would grab the wine, leaving both holding empty glasses as if begging Karen, the master of the carriage, for water. Smiling, Karen took the initiative to pick up the bottle. Seeing this, the two instinctively drew their glasses back, but Karen had already unplugged the stopper and made a gesture to pour. Left with no choice, they awkwardly held their glasses out again, and Karen poured for them one by one. "Here, let us drink lightly so as not to hinder business." Karen raised his glass to them. They responded in kind, each taking a small sip, their earlobes immediately flushing crimson. The two sisters worked in the Curia of Cardinals, holding positions of no small standing. Normally, they only needed to be stern and rigid. Finding themselves in an unfamiliar environment where they had to curry favor with someone, awkwardness and unease were only natural. "Are you busy with work normally?" "Busy." "Not busy." The two sisters looked at each other, both catching the agony and torment in the other's eyes. Karen nodded, leaned back against the seat, and closed his eyes to take a brief nap. Seeing Karen do this, both sisters secretly breathed a sigh of relief. They preferred sitting upright in silence like this. After passing through several security checkpoints, the carriage halted before the canyon. Karen stepped down from the carriage, took another respectful look at the inscription on the stele, and then led Little Kanna by the hand as they walked inside. The Great Bone Gate appeared before them once more. Little Kanna licked her lips. Noticing this, Karen said to the two sisters, "Go handle the handover formalities first." "Very well, Director." "Yes, Director." After dismissing them, Karen snapped his fingers and set up a simple barrier to block outside observation. Nearby, several Awakener priests noticed Karen, but mindful of his status, none approached. The barrier covered a corner of the gatepost. Karen rubbed Little Kanna's head and said, "Go ahead and eat." "Hehehe!" Little Kanna was thrilled. This was far more comfortable than secretly gnawing beneath the big stupid dragon's skirt last time. She opened her mouth and bit down. The white bone base—which ought to have been sturdier than a divine artifact—was bitten cleanly through like white chocolate, a large chunk snapped off with a crisp crunch. Purr, perched on Karen's shoulder, asked, "Is this really fine, meow?" Unconcerned, Karen replied, "It's fine. Kanna's abilities can restore it without a trace." "You spoil her too much, meow." "It belonged to her in the first place." This Great Bone Gate had originally been made from raw materials supplied by the Rebel Dragon God. Letting her inheritor eat some was only proper. Besides, Little Kanna was now an officially registered dragon of the Church of Order. Little Kanna ate happily, but this time she did not deliberately gorge herself until full. Instead, she unzipped her backpack, biting off piece after piece and stowing them inside, planning to take them home to eat with her medicinal pills. The advantage of a divine artifact backpack's vast interior was fully displayed here. Purr rested a paw against her forehead, watching the "daughter" she had raised, and sighed in wonder. "How is this a bone dragon? She's clearly a woodpecker." After a while, Karen saw the sisters returning. Upon seeing the barrier Karen had erected, they sensibly stopped at a distance and waited without approaching further. Behind them was an old man sitting atop a massive tome—Zhong Tasen, the deputy administrator here. "All packed?" Karen asked. "Mm, all done!" Little Kanna had repaired the pillar as she chewed. Now that she was finished, the naked eye could not discern any difference at all. She swung the backpack onto her shoulders and gave a happy little hop. Karen took her hand and walked inside. Zhong Tasen floated over and bowed to Karen. "Greetings, Director Karen." "Greetings." "Please follow me." "Thank you for guiding the way." Led by Zhong Tasen, Karen entered the pyramid. With his very first step, Karen sensed the astonishing spatial array formation within. Here, the compression and expansion of space could be exaggerated to an extraordinary degree, yet it felt completely natural. Karen knew this was an array technique lost to this era, utterly impossible to replicate now. Anyone walking inside inevitably lost their sense of space. Whether intentionally or not, Zhong Tasen made a sharp turn. Karen was about to follow him when he suddenly saw Kevin turn in the opposite direction. Trusting Kevin, Karen naturally followed the dog instead. With a single step, the elderly nun sisters were left behind, and so was Zhong Tasen. Zhong Tasen seemed surprised to find Karen suddenly appearing ahead of him, but he quickly regained his composure. "It seems Director Karen is quite well-versed in the laws of space." *No, my dog is the one who is well-versed.* The sisters were still walking behind them. Even though Karen and Zhong Tasen had stopped, the sisters continued marching just a meter behind, never closing the distance, and apparently noticing nothing amiss. Zhong Tasen smiled. "Director Karen, um... there is something I would like to ask your help with." "Please, speak." Karen had thought Zhong Tasen wanted to dismiss outsiders to discuss some secret, but the old man merely opened a hidden compartment in the giant tome beneath him and pulled out a thick stack of stationery. "Though we Awakeners are forbidden to leave the garrison during our service without formal orders, we are not completely cut off from the outside world. We know what goes on outside; the Church provides us with newspapers and magazines. "Therefore, many of our female Awakener priests admire you greatly and hope you might sign autographs for them. Of course, quite a few male Awakener priests asked for them as well. "They are all very young. Well, um, of course, some are not so young in years, but still feel young at heart. "What I mean is, I hope you can grant their wish. I'm nearing retirement and can soon go out to breathe the fresh air, but these children... it really isn't easy for them." Karen answered immediately, "It is my pleasure." "That is wonderful!" Zhong Tasen handed Karen a quill. Karen took it and began signing. As he signed, Karen said, "Please convey my respects to them. It is their tremendous sacrifice and steadfast dedication that safeguard the foundational bottom line of Order." "I will, I certainly will." Once the signatures were finished, Zhong Tasen carefully stowed the stationery away. "Please continue following me." "How long can those two keep walking like that?" Zhong Tasen replied, "The spatial laws combined with a mental hypnotic influence can bewilder them for a very long time." "Then let them continue walking there. I would like a somewhat private environment to pay my respects to the predecessors I might awaken. Would that be convenient?" "Of course. According to our visitor logs, many esteemed guests make this request. "Once you have made your selections, notify me. I will arrange for personnel to transport them out, and they will only be awakened when the time comes." This was done to conserve precious time after awakening. After all, this was not a mass awakening of the First Knight Order to take up arms and immediately march into battle. The optimal approach was to transport the three chosen commanders in their coffins to the war planning chamber before awakening them. Zhong Tasen handed a circular piece of jade to Karen. "Walk straight ahead. The five circled on your roster, along with their detailed biographies, have already been retrieved and placed in the innermost hall." "Thank you." "You are too polite, my lord." Zhong Tasen turned and departed. Holding the jade, Karen continued inward, while Purr peered around inquisitively from his shoulder. "Kevin." "Woof!" Having received Kevin's confirmation that there was no surveillance, Karen knew they could speak freely. "Purr, have you never been here before?" "Never, meow." "I thought you had visited here too." "I wanted to, but getting in really is impossible. The security here is simply too tight. You don't feel it only because of your high status." Karen entered the hall. Five coffins rested there, each accompanied by a stone stele embedded with a memory array that allowed one to review the coffin master's life. One could even hear the coffin master's self-introduction, recorded in their own voice before death. However, the epitaphs here were strictly vetted without glossing over faults for the deceased. Since these people were prepared to be awakened by future generations of believers to contribute once more, unprincipled exaggeration and boasting were forbidden. Even so, anyone qualified to lie here in death was certainly no ordinary figure. Karen first reviewed the epitaphs of the other four. All four commanders were exceptional; picking any three would suffice to formulate a viable war plan. This caused Karen's resolve to grant Kevin this favor to waver. After all, this was a war involving an orthodox church; the big picture had to come first. Furthermore, Dickno had another disadvantage: among those here, he was relatively young. He had died at only forty-five. Finally, Karen began reviewing Dickno's epitaph. When he finished, Karen could not help but sigh. Though it was far richer than the brief summary in the roster, Dickno still did not stand out particularly. Most crucially, for this impending war, his expertise did not match. The previous four commanders were far more suitable. Seeing this, Kevin immediately stretched out a paw, stroked the coffin, and turned his head, looking up at Karen with immense pleading. "What exactly is so special about him? Do you have an absolute reason for me to choose him?" "Woof!" "His command ability is extraordinary?" Karen shook his head. "None of the commanders resting here have poor command ability." "Woof!" Purr chimed in, "Oh, you stupid dog, just how close were you two back then?" Kevin nodded, then shook his head. He was anxious and impatient. Sensing Karen's wavering resolve, he let out an agitated barrage of barks: "Woof, woof, woof!" There was no hidden meaning—just pure barking. "All right, let me take a look." Karen decided to communicate with Commander Dickno—not by awakening him, but by briefly stimulating a thread of spiritual power in his remains to interact with him. Closing his eyes, a black chain extended from beneath Karen's feet, sliding into the coffin. When a person died, they were truly dead; the body possessed no conscious thought. Under normal circumstances, everything only restarted after awakening. This was also why most awakened individuals had their memories frozen at the moment before death. Under the influence of Karen's power, the thoughts of Dickno's consciousness began to stir, and Karen entered his memory mindscape. It was a military camp, empty of soldiers. Karen walked toward the command tent at the center. Lifting the flap, he saw a massive sand table inside. The sand table was dynamic, meticulously rendering battlefield details such as weather and ocean currents. A middle-aged man leaned with both hands on the edge of the sand table, observing it intently. His hair was dark purple, an uncommon color. He looked somewhat lean, and unlike the typically solemn, imposing demeanor of other commanders, he wore a pencil mustache that gave him a slightly frivolous air. Perhaps he was better suited for a social ball than a military encampment. "The latest intelligence is at the foot of the desk," Dickno said without looking up. He had taken Karen for his adjutant. Karen flipped through the intelligence reports and began adjusting the sand table accordingly. Having served as an army commander himself, he was quite adept at this. "The Sea God Cult's main force should be right here. The monster beast tribes of the seabed, the most loyal to the Sea God and crying out to avenge him... Heh, meanwhile, the actual believers of the Sea God Cult turned gloomy and passive upon learning their chief god had fallen." Dickno spoke to himself as he issued troop deployment orders. It was clearly a one-sided slaughter, with a difficulty far lower than Karen's desert campaign. Thus, even if a one-sided steamroll produced an astonishing casualty ratio, it was still difficult to shine. Karen stood by his side, quietly coordinating, occasionally exchanging tactical inputs within the command hierarchy. It was about enough. He still saw nothing extraordinary. In the man's memories, this campaign against the Sea God Cult held great significance, which aligned with his biographical records. Karen turned, preparing to leave. But just as he reached the tent entrance, he paused and glanced back at the sand table and Dickno, who still stood beside it. "Do you know Raniedal?" "Raniedal?" Dickno looked up at Karen. "Of course. I love that shiny bald head of his. He's a very genial deity. As long as someone helps him fight the Sea God Cult, he's full of benevolence and affection. A great drinking buddy." Karen muttered to himself, "That's not right." "What's not right?" "Who am I?" "My adjutant, aren't you?" "Why couldn't you tell that I am an outside consciousness?" "What outside consciousness? You should go attend to your duties. The battle is about to begin; we're all very busy." Karen nodded, surveyed his surroundings, and suddenly realized. "This is merely the outermost layer of your memory mindscape. You just pasted a layer of paper over it. Barely any of your consciousness is invested here, which is why you couldn't sense something was off with me. What on earth are you doing in the deeper layers of your mind?" Karen extended his hand, feeling through the void. Then, he found a fissure, like spotting a seam in a papered wall. His consciousness began to force its way through. This memory had only temporarily revived because of the power Karen provided, and Karen's soul strength had long since reached an astonishing level. No matter how deeply the man hid, it could not obstruct Karen's investigation. A rift opened before him, and Karen stepped inside. Within, the sky was bloodred. Karen stood on a protruding platform of a mountain peak, with Dickno standing ahead of him. Karen walked over. The mountain was far taller than he had imagined. Below, the ground was divided into individual sectors, and within each sector stood a towering, majestic figure. Those were deities. And facing each deity within their sector was an array of the Knights of Order. Tailored to each deity's traits and weaknesses, the opposing knight formations, configurations, and tactics had all been specially designed. In every single sector, war raged. Based on the battle conditions in each sector, Dickno was continually recalculating the optimal, most cost-effective arrangements. Sector after sector stretched beyond the horizon. On the perimeter, there were even more complex combat modules accounting for multiple deities joining forces, or deities coordinating with their respective church armies. Even Karen was thoroughly astounded. Just how powerful must this commander's mental strength have been in life to support such terrifying simulations and calculations? The real-world war against the Sea God Cult had probably just been a cold appetizer. The true feast had all been concentrated here. Yet even in the previous era, not every generation of commanders had sufficient room to display their talents. One could easily spend an entire lifetime without encountering an opportunity to unleash their full potential. No wonder you only lived to forty-five... No, under such an extreme mental burden, the fact that you lived to forty-five was practically a miracle. How was this a human being? He was a humanoid Phantom Beast Compasini. Karen finally understood why Kevin had recommended him. With his capabilities, once awakened in the war planning room, he could rapidly digest the balance of power between the Church of Order and the Church of Life, and within moments, he could probably throw dozens of battle plans right into Kred's face. Some people succeeded because the era propelled them forward, while others were simply unlucky—not only missing the right era, but being utterly buried by it. Even posterity could not discover his abilities and the brilliance he ought to have displayed. When Karen read the epitaph, hadn't he failed to notice anything special as well? Befriending a god truly was an important thing... Because gods lived for a very long time, and two eras later, one could still use a dog's paw to dig you back up. If Karen ever had the chance to lead an army on an expedition in the future, having this man by his side would make waging war far easier. He could simulate everything beforehand, essentially buying the ingredients, preparing them, cooking the meal, and serving it right before you—all you had to do was pick up a spoon and taste if it had enough salt. Look at what he was interested in. The man was no longer satisfied with church warfare; he was playing divine wars straight inside his head. Moreover, there was a peculiar detail. Whether deliberately designed to raise the difficulty or not, his side had no deities aiding them; it relied entirely on church forces to combat the gods. In the previous era, when the Church of Order possessed its supreme overlord god, the Four Retainers, and a host of powerful branch deities like the Twelve Knights of Order, this might have seemed somewhat redundant. But in the present era... it was a match made in heaven! There was no need to hesitate any longer; it had to be him. For Karen, this was no longer just about the current campaign; the man's talents could cover far more ground. Once their allotted time expired, awakened members of the First Knight Order would have a memorial service held for them and their remains buried outside, because by then their bodies would hold no remaining spiritual power and would not be brought back to the First Knight Order. Therefore, secretly transferring him out would not be difficult. He could enter the performance hall. However, this required Karen to lay some groundwork through advance communication. Yet when Karen walked up to him, he found the man still absorbed in his own work, merely glancing at Karen without any particular reaction. This... still wasn't the deepest layer? Karen began sensing again. This time, finding the seam was far more difficult, as the man's mental strength exceeded his expectations. Left with no other choice, Karen resorted to the simplest method. He placed a hand on Dickno's shoulder and searched for the seam in a very physical manner within the mindscape. Finally, Karen found it. A crack appeared on Dickno's back. Karen reached out, tore it open, and stepped inside. From the outside, it looked as though Karen had ripped Dickno open from behind and walked directly into his body. *Hum—* A dull vibration resonated. Karen thought to himself with a trace of anticipation: *Come, let me see what secret is buried in your deepest layer.* The first to appear was Raniedal—a bald figure standing ahead, locked in battle against the forces of the Church of Order. This was the first time Karen had seen Raniedal's combat form at his peak. Though there was nothing particularly remarkable about it—Raniedal relied on his intellect, never renowned for martial prowess. Perhaps because he was familiar with Raniedal, Dickno had gathered more data on him? Looking further back... The setup was similar to the previous layer, divided into various sectors, each containing one or several deities under attack by the forces of the Church of Order. However, this layer had far fewer sectors than the one above, and they were far more refined and vivid. The data was detailed not only for Raniedal, but for others as well... Because the opponents being simulated here were all branch deities of the Church of Order. Simulating this in one's head back in that era... no, even in this era, it was an act of extreme heresy, a taboo so profound that people dared not even think it. Yet this Commander Dickno was having the time of his life inside his own head, because he could obtain far more detailed data on the abilities and powers of these deities, making his simulations all the more effective and realistic. Karen even saw the Twelve Knights of Order clashing head-on against the Knights of Order... Even those remnants who harbored bitter hatred against the Church of Order and were branded as heretical cults could hardly muster such an outrageous imagination when slandering the Church of Order. Yet on this layer, Karen did not see Dickno. Before him lay only a circle, resembling a well. There was yet another layer! *The bottommost layer couldn't possibly be...* Even Karen felt a chill run through him. He already had an inkling: this commander's private amusement might truly have reached an unimaginably wild extreme. The well cover was heavy, but this was practically Karen's half-home ground. As chains of Order manifested one after another, the cover was pried open. Taking a deep breath, Karen leaped in. The sensation of weightlessness did not last long before his feet touched the ground. Instantly, Dickno's excited voice rang in his ears: "Praise my Lord! My Lord is truly the mightiest deity, the greatest deity, the greatest overlord!" These fervent praises were not directed at Karen. When Karen appeared here, he saw only a single sector on this entire layer. "Hm? Who are you? How did you get in here?" The Dickno here finally resembled a complete consciousness. He noticed Karen at once, turning to look at him in bewilderment. "Could it be that even the First Knight Order has fallen? Did the believers of later generations fail to awaken us in time?!" Karen did not rush to answer him, looking instead at the sector below. Between the two warring sides, one side consisted of the full might of the entire Church of Order, including every configuration and countless war engines Karen had seen and had never seen before—a level of treatment entirely unprecedented in the previous two layers. In the previous two layers, he had still pursued cost-effectiveness, seeking to slay the target deities with minimal casualties. Here, it was different. Here, they were exerting every ounce of strength just to see if they could defeat this deity. Yes. Indeed. The deity standing at the center, surrounded by the full might of the Church of Order, was... the God of Order!