Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 140 A Question That the Gods Cannot Answer

As a priestess who was often in charge of external affairs, Farrell traveled to many places and cities.

He had touched the majestic city walls etched with a thousand years of history, strolled through the super plaza that could hold hundreds of thousands of people, gazed up at the world's number one magic tower, built by the Silver Kingdom with the full strength of its nation, and spent his entire childhood in the capital of the Divine Court—a holy city filled with thousands of temples, tens of thousands of statues, and an atmosphere permeated with fanatical faith...

Even those unremarkable small towns and cities each have their own elegance and unique scenery.

In comparison, the Vast Sea Territory, a city carved out of endless yellow sand, has a population of only a few thousand. According to Farrell's understanding, if it wasn't ranked last, he couldn't think of any other territory that could be worse.

However, every time he came to Hanhai, he couldn't help but think of what the scholar Eliot had said: "They—are very spirited!"

They are indeed full of energy.

Farrell had been here many times, and moreover, the Divine Court had already established a branch here, so he was quite familiar with the situation in the Vast Sea.

During the day, it's a bustling construction site, but after dinner, the rest time for the workers at Hanhai is a vibrant world of "people".

The burly men, their skin tanned to a bronze color, gathered in twos and threes, chatting about their day's work and occasionally counting on their rough fingers how many work points they were still short of becoming quasi-citizens!
The women huddled in a sheltered corner, chattering softly, their voices filled with the everyday warmth of life—whose child had received an award, how beautiful the new floral fabrics at the market were, whether their extra work points were enough to buy their daughters new clothes.

The little ones watched with envy as the older kids, wearing the Torch Youth Corps badges, puffed out their chests higher than the cafeteria ladies', strutting proudly in the square. Occasionally, a bold little one would follow behind, clumsily trying to imitate a few steps, sometimes making a mistake by moving their arms and legs in unison, which would elicit friendly laughter from the adults watching.

Some time ago, two large pools were dug in the public area of ​​the territory, filled with water, and turned into public bathhouses.

The water is cold, of course, but it's disinfected every day. Most importantly, it's free, which saves you the water you would have used for washing in your own dugout.

After a long day's work, the workers went in for a quick shower and came out refreshed, their smiles impossible to hide.

This is a desert, a desert where water is incredibly precious.

Only those who have lived in the orcs' slave farms know how hard-won their current life is.

Therefore, in this desolate, lonely desert wasteland with hardly any greenery, the savage, vigorous vitality bursting forth from these people made Farrell seem to see the shadow of those fanatical believers in the capital of the Divine Court.

The local bishop, Avery, stood guard beside High Priest Farrell, his face ashen.

He had just recruited his thirtieth believer in the area and was promoted to a first-level bishop based on his performance. However, both he and Farrell knew perfectly well that this was a performance quota arranged for them by Lord Chen Mo.

In this land, the Lord of the Vast Ocean is the only god.

If the lord is displeased, no representative of any god can survive the night here, well, even with divine protection, it's unlikely.

This is also the main reason why Farrell went to the trouble of coming in person to earnestly persuade Chen Mo; he had already begun to like this magical land.

He was sincere in his desire to convert the lord into a believer of the god.

The trouble Chen Mo is currently facing is a good opportunity.

Farrell even had a feeling that if Chen Mo, the Lord of Miracles, joined the Divine Court, he might create a new legend of the fastest advancement in the history of the Divine Court.

I will be recorded in the annals of the Divine Court for this!

All her beautiful dreams vanished when she met Chen Mo again the next day.

Chen Mo seemed to have fully recovered from yesterday's discomfort, his expression neither sad nor happy, calm and composed.

With territorial officials sitting on one side and representatives of the Divine Court on the other, Chen Mo slowly unfolded the thick stack of papers in front of him under Farrell's expectant gaze.

"Before resolving the matter of Cloud Mist Territory," Chen Mo's voice was calm and clear, "I would like to clarify a few technical issues with the Divine Court first."

"Regarding the use of forbidden-level attack spells and items that disrupt the laws of the continent and incur divine punishment, I fully trust High Priest Farrell's advice. However, I think it is necessary to discuss the specific standards involved."

"Does this violation of continental law primarily refer to the slaughter of life, or the destruction of the environment?"

Farrell took a deep breath; this stubborn guy needed to be persuaded patiently.

"The nature of the starry world is not afraid of destruction; the gods can reshape the landscape and reshape the earth at any time."

"However, the death of life is irreversible, and even the gods cannot bring the dead back to life."

"Therefore, using forbidden spells to destroy life is the greatest malice against the world and will be punished mercilessly by the gods!"

This was still the orthodox explanation from the Divine Court. Chen Mo nodded and immediately followed up with the second question: "Then, in large-scale wars, the number of dead is in the thousands or tens of thousands. Even the orcs have slaughtered humans many times on the White Deer Plain in the north. Isn't this also a trampling on life? In fact, the number of dead may even be more than a single forbidden curse. Why are they not punished by the gods?"

Farrell took a deep breath.

This issue is quite complex, involving "unspoken rules" that the Divine Court is unwilling to discuss in detail.

Farrell had to use an analogy to try to make a vague explanation.

"Lord Chen Mo, let me put it this way: if we consider the Starry Continent as a living being, its body would have two parts: the dead, the armor, and the living, the flesh and blood!"

"Mountains and rivers are like the armor of the world's psionic energy. Even if they are damaged, it's not a big problem because they can be repaired."

"If the flesh and blood are slightly injured, such as being cut here or bumped there, it doesn't matter. The body will repair itself. Sometimes, these injured parts are absorbed and drawn upon by life, and then become new nutrients."

"However, if a large chunk of flesh is cut off at once, or a hand is chopped off, the body cannot accept it. Such damage is irreversible, or the cost of recovery is extremely high!"

Chen Mo pondered for a while. If you say there was no explanation, then yes, an explanation was given, but if you say it was explained clearly, then definitely no.

These interpretations from the perspective of "gods" obviously concealed many things, so he decided to send these materials back to Earth and let his hometown see if they could come up with a reasonable interpretation from a more pragmatic perspective.

Let's not waste any more time; we have a lot to discuss next.

"High Priest Farrell, I would like to ask a more quantifiable question: Is there a specific quantitative limit to the mechanism by which this large-scale forbidden spell destroys lives and triggers divine punishment? For example, is it ten thousand people, or twenty thousand?"

Chen Mo leaned forward slightly: "Suppose, suppose the divine punishment is triggered when at least 10,000 people are killed at once, then killing 9,999 people wouldn't trigger it, would it?"

Farrell's face stiffened.

"Whoosh"—Chen Mo turned a page, glanced at Farrell, and then asked, "Let's use 10,000 people as the standard. Does this mean that these 10,000 life forms are purely human, or do they include orcs and elves?"

"Should different ethnic groups be counted together or separately?"

"Are orcs and merfolk included in the statistics? What about undead creatures?"

"What about livestock? For example, camels, do we count those? And smaller ones, do we count swift owls, or mosquitoes? If we count them like that, then setting a fire on a mountain would probably be considered a massacre."

Seeing Farrell's blank stare, Chen Mo simply ignored his answer and continued asking questions on his own.

Are the babies in a pregnant woman's womb counted as separate lives?

"If we're calculating, should it start from the moment of conception, or wait until the fetus has grown to a certain stage before we can calculate it?"

"What if this fetus has a congenital defect and is destined to die young? Should it not be counted? Can the gods make an accurate determination and judgment in this regard?"

The scribe of the Divine Court, who was responsible for taking notes, began to tremble uncontrollably with his hand holding the quill pen. Ink dripped onto the expensive parchment, spreading into a shocking stain.

He would occasionally look up blankly, casting pleading glances at Farrell and Avery. The two high priests could only keep their faces expressionless and pretend not to see him.

"Wow"!
Chen Mo turned another page.

"Oh, right! There's also the issue of time."

Farrell clutched his forehead in pain.

"Let's assume we take the destruction of 10,000 lives as the standard. Is there a relatively precise measure for this time span?"

"If a forbidden spell instantly annihilates ten thousand lives, that counts as triggered. So, if it takes an hour to completely destroy ten thousand lives, does that count?"

"What about two hours? What about a day? There has to be a standard, right? The calculation time can't be extended indefinitely, can it?"

"To give another specific example, what if a magician casts a plague spell, and 10,000 people are infected, but many of them don't die for several years or even more than ten years? How do we account for that?"

"If the blame is placed on the mage who cast the forbidden spell, will the divine punishment descend immediately after he cast the spell, or will it wait until all the victims are dead and all the damage has been settled before it comes down?"

"What if divine punishment descends when a spell is cast, but these people are later rescued and survive? What then?"

"What if, I mean, what if, the person afflicted by this spell is supposed to die in ten days, but the next day, someone else comes and kills the victim prematurely? What then?"

"Whoosh"—another page turned, and Farrell's heart trembled.

"You just said that releasing forbidden spells on mountains and rivers is not subject to divine punishment. However, if a forbidden spell causes a river to burst its banks and drowns people, should those lives be attributed to the one who released the forbidden spell?" "What about those who didn't die from natural disasters but from epidemics caused by the floods? Should those deaths be counted?"

"Or, because the flood destroyed the farmland, people starved to death in the second or even third year due to lack of food. Should such lives be included in the statistics?"

"..."

"Hua La"——

"If a forbidden spell was originally intended to be cast on a confirmed, uninhabited, empty area, but during or after the casting, a group of reckless individuals deliberately entered the area of ​​destruction and suffered fatalities as a result, how should the responsibility be assigned?"

"Although there is life in this area, we issued a clear warning in advance and gave them ample time to evacuate. Some people are stubborn and refuse to leave. Can this be used as grounds for exemption from divine punishment?"

"..."

"Hua La"——

"If the forbidden spell used was not cast by the user, but rather a pre-made forbidden-spell item, then is divine punishment directed at the creator, disseminator, or user of the item?"

"If I am the owner of an item, and someone steals it from me, resulting in the destruction of a life, how would the gods handle this? Who would be primarily responsible? Would there be any joint liability?"

"..."

"Splash," "Splash," "Splash"...

High Priest Farrell pressed his head firmly against the table, sweat pouring down his forehead like a stream, soaking the gold-embroidered collar of his robe.

He had realized that his attempt to explain the "reasoning" of divine punishment to this illogical lord was like digging a bottomless pit for himself and even for the entire divine court!

It may even bring unspeakable trouble to the gods.

Are we to expect the gods to issue a "Detailed Rules for the Implementation of Divine Punishment" or a "Sentencing Standard" for this?
Two full hours.

The officials of Hanhai kept their eyes down, silent as if frozen in fear.

The representatives of the Divine Court were all ashen-faced and felt extremely uncomfortable.

The lord would take a sip of tea, ask a few questions, then take another sip and ask a few more questions.

Yes, I also went to the toilet twice in between.

My mouth feels dry if I don't drink water, and my stomach feels bloated if I drink too much.

"That's all I can think of for now regarding the issue of divine punishment. I'll add more if I have any further questions!"

"In my personal opinion, I hope the Divine Court can provide a quantitative, timely, and qualitative response to this matter. Divine punishment represents the majesty and justice of the gods, and it should not be so ambiguous! Doesn't this tarnish the sacred image of the gods?"

"This matter will require the help of Bishop Farrell. I believe it would be highly inappropriate for the Holy See to intervene in the Cloud Territory incident before we reach an agreement on this issue!"

Finally, Chen Mo turned the last page and pushed the roll of paper in his hand aside.

Farrell breathed a slight sigh of relief. He struggled to lift his head, wiped the sweat from his eyes with his sleeve, and was just about to take this opportunity to say something...

Then, Chen Mo picked up another roll of paper.

The priest's heart suddenly raced.

"Next, we need to discuss another issue."

"The issue of the right to wage war in Cloud Mist Territory."

"To this day, I still believe that the war launched by the Green Pine Kingdom against the Cloud Mist Territory was an outright war of aggression. It's just that there is currently no one on the Starry Continent to uphold justice."

"Since Green Pine initiated the war and the Mist Moon Divine Court did not intervene, then why did the Mist Moon Divine Court intervene when Princess Frost of Cloud Mist Territory retaliated?"

Farrell finally caught his breath, quickly licked his lips which had been stuck together for a while, and replied, "Lord Chen Mo, please don't misunderstand. The Divine Court has no intention of interfering with Princess Liushuang's personal war actions."

"The crux of the problem is that she used the unicorn entrusted to her by the Misty Moon Divine Court. This is the symbol of Misty Moon and its ceremonial artifact. It is now being used as a weapon of war, which is inappropriate and should not be allowed!"

"If the Divine Court takes action, it will only arrange for the trainers to reclaim the unicorn that originally belonged to Mist Moon, to prevent the Divine Court's sacred beast from getting involved in secular wars..."

Unicorns, being such extraordinary creatures, are somewhat overpowered in this kind of territorial war; it's like towns fighting each other, with one side deploying an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Even if the Divine Court were to send out such supermodel creatures, it would still have its own means of controlling them.

The young princess can control unicorns with the necklace from the Divine Court, but once the Divine Court's tamer arrives, this method of control will be easily abolished by the Divine Court.

Hmm, you spent a lot of money to get and use the powerful weapon, but the key is still in the hands of the Divine Court. This operation looks a bit familiar.

Chen Mo scoffed and interrupted without any politeness: "Since the weapons of war of the Misty Moon are 'unsuitable' for intervening in the conflicts of other countries, then the Dwarf Merchant Guild's advance investment in the Green Pine Kingdom, providing war funds, materials, and even possible 'technical advisors' and 'spy intelligence,' does that not count as intervening in the war?"

"Why didn't I see the Misty Moon Divine Court 'drag' those dwarfs back and give them a lesson? Hmm?"
Farrell gave a wry smile: "The Divine Court has no say in matters concerning dwarfs!"

"Tsk tsk, you can't control the dwarfs, so you can only control their enemies, right?"

"I've always suspected that the dwarves have some kind of leverage over your Divine Court, which is why they let these guys do whatever they want!"

"I'm also telling you something very clearly!"

Chen Mo slowly stood up and looked directly at Farrell.

"I have no interest in that land of Cloud Mist Territory. The dwarves can have whatever they want—mines, casinos, banks, whatever."

"The dwarf sponsored the Green Pine's attack on Cloud Mist Territory. Cloud Mist Territory lost the battle, and even the Earl was killed in action. These are acts of war, and I have nothing to say about them."

"However, the dwarfs have what they want, and I have what I want!"

"Princess Liushuang's safety is my only bottom line."

"If something happens to her in Green Pine's hands, I'll go after Green Pine. If something happens to her because of your divine court's interference, then I'll also go after your divine court!"

Farrell was not surprised by this statement. He forced a smile and said softly, "Then you should persuade Princess Liushuang. Whether it's removing the jade, coming to my Divine Court, or having us arrange for someone to escort her to your Hanhai Territory, it's all the safest way for her."

Why make a weak woman like her struggle in such a desperate situation?

Chen Mo stood his ground: "Then why don't you go and persuade Green Pine to go back? Why don't you persuade the Dwarf to mind his own business? Why do I have to persuade Flowing Frost?"

Farrell was caught off guard by the barrage of questions, his smile finally crumbling, and his voice hardening: "That's just how it is! The Green Pine Kingdom is stronger than Cloud Mist Territory! The Dwarf Merchant Guild is stronger than your Vast Ocean Territory! Isn't it only natural that the weak should yield to the strong?!"

"That's right!" Chen Mo clapped his hands. "Why didn't you say that earlier? Instead of going through all that trouble and talking about rules, protection, inappropriateness, and things that shouldn't be done, you could have just said that you have the bigger fist."

"However, don't take me for a fool."

"My Han Hai has its own intelligence sources."

"Yunwu Territory is such a small place with a mere hundred thousand people. The dwarfs who want to make money here are nothing but a few 'low-class' people who can't be brought up! I've found out all their names."

"They think they can represent the entire dwarf race? What a joke!"

"Similarly, I don't believe that your claim to take back the Frostbite Unicorn is a decision made by the highest levels of the Divine Court."

"At best, this is nothing more than a decision made by a few corrupt officials within the Divine Court who are colluding with that small group of dwarf flies, using the name of the Divine Court as a pretext! They do not represent the righteous decisions of the Divine Court, do they?"

"So, you're not wrong to say that the dwarf is stronger than me, or that the Divine Court is stronger than me!"

"But when it comes to the specifics, it's not necessarily true whether this small group of dwarfs and a few priests are stronger than me!"

"How about giving it a try?"

Without waiting for a reply, Chen Mo waved his hand, his tone resolute.

"The day after tomorrow morning, in the northwestern desert, I cordially invite the esteemed High Priest Farrell, Bishop Avery, and all guests of the Holy See to enjoy a 'fireworks' show meticulously prepared by the Vast Sea Territory."

"Perhaps after reading this, you will change your minds."

"I don't need to persuade Liushuang; instead, you should go back and try to persuade the relevant people. Who knows!"

(End of this chapter)