From soil tamped down by absolute power, no unexpected sprouts could break through. Throughout this war concerning its very survival, the Church of Life performed with unyielding consistency from beginning to end.
Karen even felt that the earlier assassination attempt... might not have been carried out with any expectation of success, but had rather been a deliberate choice by those three temple elders to embrace a more dignified death.
After marching into the Garden of Life from multiple directions and converging toward the Tree of Life, the knight orders followed the decree of their High Priest, plowing deep through this land that was at once rich and barren.
From priests to birds in flight, down to every tree and every flower, nothing was shown mercy. Basse trailed behind the knight orders, so wherever it crawled, all that met the eye was a swath of dark brown scorched earth.
Sivus sighed like a wandering minstrel stirred by the scene, yearning to voice some poetic melancholy. He looked around; counting himself, there were only four people present, so naturally he picked the youngest. Turning to Karen, he said, "Do you see? This is war. How can you not..."
Karen said, "I've served as a corps commander."
Sivus choked on his words and glared at Karen in annoyance.
Due to the earlier depletion from defending the outer perimeter of the Garden of Life, the Tree of Life could no longer shield the believers gathered beneath it.
The fiercest local resistance erupted at this point, but it was merely the lingering dissonance at the finale of a grand concert.
Far in the distance, surges of immense auras erupted without warning, and the faint silhouettes of colossal dharma bodies could be seen, only to be extinguished in the end.
Meanwhile, localized pacification and mopping-up did nothing to delay the "real business" here. Several hundred armored giant wengs had been assembled from the surrounding knight orders and stood in neat formation.
The leading female giant weng bowed toward the High Priest's position. A wisp of crimson glow appeared between her brows, and behind her, all the giant wengs raised their arms together, throwing back their heads and roaring.
In an instant, hundreds of giants manifested out of thin air, towering like a mountain range. The armor covering their humanoid forms remained even after giantification—this alone was an exorbitant expense.
Moreover, in sheer stature, each was two to three times larger than the giant wengs Karen had commanded in the past. Any one of them possessed the power to battle a giant dragon barehanded; they were practically a different species compared to the giant wengs used in regular army corps or for engineering and hauling.
Indeed, the finest "equipment" was always reserved for the knight orders. On the shoulders of each giant stood two priests: a senior priest and a senior array master.
The priests chanted individual blessings over the giants beneath their feet, while the array masters directed them into nodes of the formation array.
Above the head of the leading female giant, Ukonga's figure appeared. Karen noticed that his former roommate had been remarkably active throughout this war; despite being a temple elder, he had taken on considerable command responsibilities.
One could only say that he truly lived up to coming from that former dormitory. Unreliable though his personality might be, his practical capability still crushed the likes of Xidi and Rohan.
Another reason might be that he had spent most of his time keeping a low profile, similar to hibernation. His recent high-profile activity was likely because he was soon to lead a team to Mink Street.
If he succeeded, he would re-establish his standing as a temple elder and get back on track; if he failed, everything would be lost. Thus, there was no point in holding anything back now. The Temple might well share the same attitude toward him—no sense in letting him go to waste.
The array formed by the giants began to circulate, its terrifying pressure descending upon each and every giant.
In this regard, they were very much like little Kanna: relying on their immense physiques, even ordinary spells and arrays could produce dreadful amplifications.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A thick black chain shot toward the Tree of Life, piercing deep into its trunk. Then, hundreds of giants turned as one and began hauling backward in unison, like haulers dragging a towline.
Blood seeped from the bodies of every giant. The leading female giant's hair was stained crimson, and the blood dripping down gathered into streams below. The physical strain was immense, yet they persevered.
Cruelly enough, though they possessed humanoid forms, in operational assignments they were still categorized as "war instruments"—mere consumables.
Crack...
A massive chunk of bark was ripped from the trunk, exposing two pitch-black cavities within.
Cheers erupted from among the giants and the formations of the two nearby knight orders. Romir's expression was grave; this spectacle was equivalent to her own Gate of Samsara being forcibly torn open, and she could not help feeling a kindred sorrow.
Sivus closed his eyes. The heritage of the Church of Life had endured for more than two eras, making it one of the oldest faiths in the entire religious circle.
Yet first came the rampant slaughter by the God of Order at the end of the last era, followed by the ruthless suppression by the Church of Order in this era. How many priceless treasures meant to last forever had shattered into the river of history?
If those two primary gods of Life were still around; if the Church of Life had not so excessively drained the nutrients of the Tree of Life in this era; if the foundations of the Church of Samsara had not neutralized its defenses... If not for so many "ifs," how could this Tree of Life have been cracked open so easily?
Yet indulging in such melancholy was meaningless now. It would be better to lament when the High Priest of the Church of Order would ever be replaced.
Oh no, dammit—he had concealed his cultivation realm! Facing the ambush earlier, Sivus had sensed it. The High Priest's composure was not because he knew he was completely protected, but because even if all that protection were stripped away, he still had nothing to fear.
If this High Priest could condense a godhead fragment and receive an extension of life, he would become an absolute nightmare for the entire church circle!
As for the claim that after becoming a temple elder he would enter the Temple of Order and step down from his post as High Priest... Heh, that was wishful thinking. After all, Tyrannus was the very author of the Church of Order's canon!
Black stairs materialized, and the knight formations began advancing up the steps into the two openings. More fierce sounds of battle immediately erupted from within.
The High Priest instructed Mobiten, "Prepare some food. Nothing too meager; after all, we have guests."
"Yes, High Priest."
Clearing out the interior of the Tree of Life would still take some time. The High Priest led everyone to dine atop Basse's expansive shell. With the three "Hierarchs" seated, Karen had no choice but to play the servant once more, pouring tea, serving water, and carving food.
The High Priest did not use attendants or employ a secretary, because he could "serve himself." However, using avatars could not be displayed in front of outsiders; it would be beneath his dignity.
Sivus remarked, "I feel this ought to be enough, wouldn't you say?"
The High Priest shook his head. "Still not enough. The regret our Lord left behind in those days should rightly be fulfilled by us, His believers."
Romir merely kept her head down and ate, neither speaking nor getting involved.
Sivus frowned and said, "The Church of Life still has plenty of remaining strength scattered across its outer holy grounds. If Order truly reduces this place to nothing, cleaning them up later will be troublesome. There is no guaranteeing they won't become something like the remnants of Light, sabotaging none other than the Church of Order."
"I have already issued invitations to numerous orthodox churches. Even if this place is destroyed, the surviving remains are of immense value. What is more, there are vast quantities of documents and artifacts."
"You're going to share this place with other churches?" Sivus looked astonished. "Then where does that leave my Church of Principle?!"
By tradition, spoils won by Order ought to be studied by Principle.
The High Priest glanced at Sivus and said calmly, "In my view, the cooperative model between our two churches ought to change as well. In the past, practical necessity demanded mutual support. Now, circumstances have changed."
"The Church of Order wants to lead the partnership?"
"Everything can be negotiated. We shall see what is most appropriate. Principle can lead in certain aspects, while Order leads in others. This isn't breaking tradition; this is consolidating our traditional friendship and deepening cooperation."
"The Church of Principle will never surrender its independence. It was precisely because Order guaranteed this that Principle chose you as our partner." Shedding his earlier flippancy, Sivus turned solemn.
The High Priest raised a hand, took a damp towel from Karen, and said while wiping his hands, "No problem. Principle is free to choose a new partner."
Sivus's expression darkened completely.
At their level, practically everyone was an old fox, but they still needed clear expressions and gestures to convey their positions and attitudes.
"Norton, what exactly are you trying to do?" Sivus asked. "Do you truly believe that the power of the Church of Order alone can resist the grand tide of the returning gods?"
The High Priest picked up his tea and took a sip.
Karen quietly reminded him, "It isn't advisable to drink tea right after a meal."
The High Priest gave Karen a slightly surprised look, nodded, and set down his teacup. "Understood."
Sivus continued, "I am truly curious. Does that entity inside you truly agree with what you are doing now? Does he not wish to return? You can use political maneuvering to suppress the Holy See and suppress the Temple, but can you suppress a god?"
Karen served freshly sliced fruit. "You might have some fruit; it helps with digestion."
"Mm." The High Priest took a bite and said, "Not as good as the fruit you had Daina bring in last time."
"There will be more in the future. Now that we have fertilizer, I plan to vigorously develop the fruit and melon cultivation industry in the Yorktown Region."
"Very good."
Sivus rolled his eyes. How could he fail to see that these two, elder and younger, were working in tandem to ignore him?
Romir ate with a slight smile playing at the corners of her mouth. Samsara was already miserable, so seeing other churches suffer brought her joy.
Suppressing his frustration, Sivus said, "A new cooperative model isn't off the table, but it must be founded upon mutual respect for our independence and autonomy."
Karen chimed in, "High Priest, I noticed two openings in the Tree of Life. What is the history behind them?"
"Those are the ruins where the two gods of Life hid back then. They thought having two primary gods in their church gave them the right to sully our Lord's majesty."
Karen chuckled. "In the end, they were just tough talkers who couldn't take a beating."
Sivus: "..."
The High Priest raised his fingers, and Karen passed a lit cigar to his fingertips.
As he blew out a smoke ring, the High Priest looked at Karen with mild amusement. Taking advantage of his youth, this young man deliberately played along with him. With this boldness and discernment, no wonder Foden favored him so much.
Most importantly, this cooperation was built on Karen fully understanding his inner thoughts and stance.
The High Priest said, "You will be in charge of negotiating the new cooperative model with the Church of Principle. After all, you and our Principle Hierarch have been getting along so swimmingly along the way."
Both Sivus and Romir shot deliberate glances at Karen. At a dining table of this caliber, such an arrangement was practically an explicit signal that this young man was being elevated to a higher echelon.
Only Karen felt no stirrings in his heart. This was merely a pie in the sky baked by the High Priest—a promised reward once he completed the Mink Street assignment, promoting him from a capable subordinate of the Holy See into a core member within it.
Whether this promise would ever be fulfilled was hard to say. In the High Priest's eyes, regardless of success or failure, Karen would most likely perish under an enraged strike from one party or the other.
For neither the slumbering figure nor the Temple could simply deploy knight orders to resolve the matter as they had today; without absolute force to suppress things, individual prowess would have boundless power to sway the course of events.
"Understood, High Priest." Karen's expression remained unchanged as he swallowed the empty promise. After all, what seemed to others a suicidal mission of near-certain death was, to him, practically a trip back home.
The most dangerous figures on either side were his roommate and his grandfather. Ah, truly terrifying opponents.
Not long after the meal, Ukonga arrived. He was wounded: his shoulder had been pierced through, and a large chunk from his left cheek to his jaw had been cleaved off. Yet his body was no ordinary flesh and blood, so the wound gleamed with a crystalline luster, like a chipped ceramic vessel.
"High Priest, the interior has been cleared. You may proceed for your tour."
The High Priest stood up and asked, "Were the losses heavy?"
"Considerable."
"Mm." The High Priest did not press for specifics, merely uttering, "Basse."
The giant tortoise quivered slightly, and a halo of light enveloped the High Priest and Ukonga.
Seeing this, Karen leaned toward Ukonga, and Ukonga shifted toward Karen as well. The giant tortoise beneath their feet could certainly "see" this little maneuver. The halo of light seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then split off a portion to envelop Karen as well.
Sivus said in discontent, "Hey, we aren't going together?"
The High Priest replied, "Until the new cooperative model is settled, we best not go together, lest it compromise Principle's independence."
The halo drifted upward, carrying the three of them toward the Tree of Life.
Both openings were massive; only upon drawing close did one realize they were entrances into a barrier. Once inside, the space widened boundlessly, reminiscent of the pyramid at the First Knight Order's garrison, except that here, traces of slaughter and devastation were strewn everywhere, along with numerous corpses of people and demonic beasts left untended.
"Greetings, High Priest."
"Greetings, High Priest."
As they passed through, many Order priests bowed toward the halo.
Ultimately, enveloped in the halo, the three arrived at the deepest layer of the Tree of Life. The original restrictions within had long been breached, and a red root grew here, pulsing with the rhythm and sound of a heartbeat.
Approaching it, one could feel a searing heat scorch the skin. It was not thermal temperature, but rather an intense discomfort caused by an overwhelming concentration of life force—much like oxygen toxicity.
The High Priest remarked, "It is said that in the last era, during the Tree of Life's most flourishing period, this part alone was the true form of the entire tree."
Ukonga said with feeling, "Indeed. In an era where the gods do not manifest, everything has degraded far too much. Forget an entire era—even taking a millennium as a measure, signs of degradation are everywhere."
Hearing this, the High Priest was about to speak when, on a sudden impulse, he turned to Karen and asked, "What do you think?"
Karen shook his head. "I dislike the word 'degradation.' I have read accounts of many battles from the last era, and I know there is an immense disparity between then and now. Yet the word still sounds grating to the ear, as if losing the gods means we must plunge back into 'ignorance.'"
Ukonga frowned slightly, appearing somewhat displeased, but did not say anything.
The High Priest urged, "Go on."
"I believe the essence of this supposed degradation lies in the fact that when the gods were present, we were nothing more than appendages to them—mere ornaments. What we believe we lost was never truly ours to begin with; it was bestowed upon us by the gods. On the contrary, the technologies we now continually reverse-engineer and restore are what we truly master, not gifts from divine grace, nor subject to the whims of a god's will. Much like the 'independence and autonomy' Hierarch Sivus spoke of outside. In an era without gods, what we can own and master is the true independence and autonomy that belongs to us."
The High Priest said, "Ukonga, what a fine student you have taught."
"Heh."
"Aren't you angry?"
"Not at all. He is the student I chose, just like my own son. How could a father bear to be angry at his son?"
"Truly a touching bond between master and disciple."
The High Priest stepped forward and placed his hand upon the crimson root.
In the next moment, the High Priest's voice echoed through the surroundings: "Can you hear my voice?"
Karen heard it, but gave no response, realizing Ukonga seemed unable to hear it.
Sure enough, the High Priest added another sentence: "Can you hear me, Augurev?"
The High Priest was initiating communication with Augurev through the roots of the Tree of Life!
This was an extraordinarily secret channel of communication. Even standing right beside him, Ukonga, a temple elder, could not hear the slightest whisper. Yet Karen, by virtue of his own uniqueness, was able to "participate."
Suddenly, a voice heavy with the vicissitudes of time and exhaustion rang out:
[Tyrannus, you have actually returned...]
Chapter 881