Could there exist a nation where the Four Pillar Cult successfully overturned order and ruled supreme? A realm where the cult leader reigned as sovereign uniting church and state; where going to prison was reserved for those who didn't believe in the Four Pillar Gods; where everyone was bombarded day and night by promotional spam blasted out by the Four Pillar Gods, without even the option to reply "STOP" to unsubscribe...?
Such a place actually existed.
Yaxiu flipped through the sorcerer manual in his hands. Along the way, they had run down a sorcerer projection; the Witch had glanced through it and found it contained information about the Four Pillar Cult that they were all interested in, so she had passed it over to him. The White Queen and the other sisters strictly forbade Diya from reading intelligence about such evil gods.
Yaxiu, on the other hand, didn't care in the slightest. If the Four Pillar Gods could truly corrupt someone, the original cult leader's body would have already been pure filth without a single shred of humanity left, not to mention that the curse of the Everlasting Presence still weighed on him. Worrying about getting corrupted by the Four Pillar Gods was like a Lalafell worrying about turning into an ingredient—as if it were something he could decide for himself.
The manual's owner was a temple sorcerer belonging to a religious power. His favored schools were fire arts and gunplay, and he had once held the renowned moniker of "Burst Knight," referred to for now simply as Burst.
The manual took the form of an ordinary combat record, documenting nine major battles spanning from his birth to his death. It sounded like very few, but that was because Burst had omitted every battle he could win easily. Consequently, these nine battles were either closely matched or fought against overwhelming odds, with almost every single one pushed to the brink of life and death, demanding everything he had.
Five of those nine battles were fought against the Four Pillar Cult. Through Burst's impressions of the enemy, Yaxiu and the others could practically witness the cult's meteoric rise: beginning as "insignificant heretics," progressing to "troublesome thieves," then evolving upon their next encounter into "rivals to the Temple," and finally becoming "an irresistible, formidable foe" and "an inescapable nightmare"!
It started as "annihilation battles" meant to suppress the Four Pillar Cult, turned into "retreat battles" marked by steady defeat, and culminated in a desperate "defense battle" to protect the Temple. It was clear the Temple had been thoroughly battered and broken by the Four Pillar Cult every step of the way.
Moreover, it looked suspiciously like an alternate timeline for Yaxiu: killing Gerard, overthrowing Kaimeng City, and ultimately dominating the Blood Moon. Was life really that easy for the Four Pillar Cult in that country?
What caught his attention was that in the final battle, Burst hadn't actually believed the Temple would lose. The phrase "As long as the Temple deploys its ultimate decisive weapon, these heretics will surely be obliterated" appeared repeatedly. Since Burst was a Two-Winged Sorcerer, his confidence was hardly mere arrogance, and yet the Temple's stronghold had still been blown to pieces.
The reason: "That woman actually seized control of the weapon and turned traitor. She actually defected to the Four Pillar Cult."
This struck all three of them as rather bizarre: could the ultimate combat power of a sorcerer organization truly not be a sorcerer, but an external object that could be piloted?
Not that they were full of "sorcerer arrogance"; on the contrary, they knew full well that sorcerers being inferior to man-made creations was perfectly normal. The destructive output of most Two-Winged Sorcerers might not rival firearms, their scouting capabilities were generally inferior to drones, not to mention mobility—even Sanctuary Sorcerers loved riding in cars.
Yet firearms rusted, drones could be shattered, and a hovercar could turn into a mobile tomb in a split second. A sorcerer's power lay in possessing miracles that transcended worldly laws: teleportation, gun-bursts, mind shock, the flow of time... In the face of miracles, artificial constructs could only pale in comparison. Only a sorcerer could contend with a sorcerer.
Furthermore, the Temple Burst served surely possessed Sanctuary Sorcerers, and perhaps even Legendary Sorcerers. If its pinnacle combat power was still an external object, did that mean that country could create a construct rivaling the combat strength of an angel?
Then another thought crossed Yaxiu's mind: did that mean the Four Pillar Cult over there had actually recruited combat strength comparable to an angel?!
Although Yaxiu had zero affection for the Four Pillar Cult, remembering how his own start had been an escape game while someone else's was a Grand Strategy game made him harbor some resentment toward the Four Pillar Gods.
Fortunately, there was still Everlasting Presence bringing up the rear; otherwise, Yaxiu would have thought himself the most pathetic regional director in the entire Four Pillar Cult.
"Still," Yaxiu said, looking over the details of that last battle, "the 'that woman' who defected... why does that description feel strangely familiar?"
"A little, yeah," Sonia and Diya nodded in agreement.
In the end, news from other nations was nothing more than trivial pastime. Finishing the manual, Yaxiu acquired a new skill: "Mounted Combat Mastery." Though it was termed mounted combat, Burst had actually ridden a motorcycle, making him a high-speed mobile mounted marksman—a concept that sounded brimming with bloody, thrilling violence.
Still, it was far more useful than something like "Fishing Mastery"—his primary mode of transportation in Nabistin lately was a motorcycle, and with "Mounted Combat Mastery," Yaxiu could race with Annan now.
At this point, Yaxiu couldn't help glancing at Diya. "Witch, how many skills have you mastered?"
Ever since they arrived on the Time Continent, any sorcerer manuals gathered by the team were prioritized for the Witch. Combined with running down three or four sorcerer projections throwing themselves into their path every night, Yaxiu thought about it and realized the Witch's reading volume was getting somewhat ridiculous.
"Huh?" Diya blinked, pausing to ponder. "Actually, most of them are pretty useless. The ones Sister White and the others found somewhat useful are just Financial Analysis, Political Statecraft, Human Anatomical Analysis, Social Ecology Studies, Expression Management, Hydraulic Engineering, Cryptography, Love Hunting..."
Diya casually reeled off a dozen skill names before adding, "...plus dozens more. They're really not much use, but since I've never had a formal education, I can only rely on reading sorcerer manuals to pick up all kinds of knowledge..."
Yet the cult leader and the country girl were already dumbfounded. It had never crossed their minds that the most knowledgeable person here would turn out to be the Witch, who looked the ditsiest.
*Turns out I'm the illiterate one!*
"You'd have more than enough qualifications to be an emperor," Sonia said with a touch of envy. "Having so many practical skills must be a huge help in your daily life, right?"
"Huh?" Diya blinked. She recalled how Lisi's hair had to be groomed by Aunt Bogin, how she needed Yaxiu to sleep beside her at bedtime, and how after studying for just a little while every day she could run off to eat, drink, and play. "Probably... maybe?"
Though the country girl couldn't read sorcerer manuals whenever she pleased, she was envious rather than jealous. After all, the vast majority of high-value sorcery spirits acquired by the team were handed over to her to handle, and those could be turned into cold, hard cash.
It was precisely because she had financial breathing room and could even send money home that she had the luxury to be picky about the olive branches people extended to her, rather than selling herself short ahead of time for money.
Endorsements, for instance—the offers merchants gave her before and after the Meteor Tribulation differed by a full twentyfold. While still nowhere near a top-tier screen maiden's, it was ample proof that her commercial value still had plenty of room to appreciate.
If she could take first place in the Intercollegiate League, the country girl could ride the momentum straight into film and television, release albums, and swiftly rise to become a megastar on the same tier as Daidalos. Even if she wasn't a noble, she would become a powerhouse dynasty in her own right!
When that day came, she would have more than enough confidence even to keep a Legendary Sorcerer!
This was the modest little goal in Sonia's heart: earn enough money to keep a Legendary Sorcerer!
After all, no matter how formidable the Watcher had been before his rebirth, he was probably at most a Legendary Sorcerer, right?
Chapter 457