People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

Ernst paused, thought for a moment, and tentatively asked:

"Exoskeleton?"

Muirth snapped his fingers: "Bingo! I didn't expect we'd be so in sync!"

Chapter 305 Elene: Haisi is a biological weapon of you Agorians

Ernst had his reasons for inviting Eleanor to his office.

Ever since Ernst learned about Terra's "Three Major Crises" from Kal'tsit, he has been preoccupied with the matter.

This land is already rotten to this extent, yet it still has three major crises, similar to the "Three Great Cataclysms" that erupt in the mid-to-late stages of Stellaris? Are you sure you didn't include the word "Holy" in your Terra?

Unfortunately, Kelsey did not reveal specific information about the three crises to Ernst, but only gave him a brief explanation of their names.

[Sea Heir], [Demon], and [Originium].

Ernst had already learned quite a bit about the "Demon Crisis" from Kal'tsit and Typhon. That eerie phenomenon, somewhat like memetic contamination, possessed the power to strip away concepts; even a single blade of grass could bring about a terrifying contamination effect. For one thing, Ernst still vividly remembered the strange gaze he received when Kal'tsit addressed him by his name last time—a feeling that made the world seem to freeze for a moment, a chilling sensation, as if his soul was being ripped from his body. No one would want to experience that again.

Although Kal'tsit and Typhon seemed to think that thanks to Amar's love, the demon came and went quickly and wouldn't have any impact on him, one can't just wash off the damage and step on something again just because stepping on something once didn't cause any harm, right?

Fortunately, the crisis of the [Demon] is currently being contained by the Ursus Empire, the Yan Kingdom, and the Sami in an unknown land beyond the Infi Ice Plains in the far north of the Earth. Ernst doesn't need to worry about things there for the time being. But not worrying doesn't mean being completely ignorant of them.

After learning about the demons, Ernst became particularly curious about the details of the other two crises.

[Originium Crisis] Putting that aside for now, Originium, a mineral that is cheaper than oil but has ridiculously high energy, already has the feel of a spirit stone from a fantasy novel. Add to that the various settings such as Oripathy, infected people, and incurable diseases, and if Ernst thinks there is no problem with Originium, he is either a fool or a madman.

However, the Originium industry system is the most common industrial system in the Terra world. Ernst cannot simply abandon Originium and start from scratch to build a technology tree of steam engine - internal combustion engine - electricity. Not to mention that Ernst doesn't even know if he can dig out oil, a liquid gold, from the Terra land. Even if he could, Ernst wouldn't know how to use it.

Converting oil into energy involves many complex processes, and Ernst, a typical liberal arts student, was completely clueless about this kind of technological work. Even if he wanted to do it, when he first took over Sherag, there were neither the industrial conditions nor the talent available.

Now we do have a great scientist like Levy, who might be able to trigger the Eureka moment, but it's too late.

Furthermore, abandoning the Originium industrial system and starting a new technology tree might seem like a way to avoid the problems of Oripathy and the Originium crisis once and for all, but it also means that Kjerag would have to decouple from the entire Terra industrial system. If that were to happen, let alone development, the cost of trial and error alone would be enough to make Ernst suffer.

He didn't have the resources, because a certain lurking snow leopard was still biding its time, determined to stage a show of cunning and ruthless ambition. And Sherag didn't have the resources either; being surrounded by three powers was not a good situation. One or two, or at most three, failed attempts could exhaust Sherag's already meager resources, plunging Sherag into an abyss of no return.

Whether Jeragand will still protect a ruler who, in the eyes of the Sherag, is merely a figurehead and acts recklessly, remains to be seen.

Ernst had heard the legend of the Holy Mountain Tyrant since he was a child.

Knowing that the Originium Crisis was a crisis that had to be weathered no matter what, Ernst's task was to try his best to prevent the remaining two crises from erupting at the same time.

In Stellaris, unless you intentionally modify the game, theoretically only one of the three major calamities should occur per game. However, the real world is not so benevolent; all three crises could potentially erupt simultaneously.

Today, the crisis that Ernst knows the least about is the "Sea Inheritance Crisis," which caused the golden Iberia to sink to the bottom of the sea overnight.

As the most destructive, infamous, and seemingly most imminent crisis in Terra, there is nothing better to understand it than to ask an Iberian.

In particular, this Iberian's status was theoretically not low: a junior judge, his master Dario, and his patriarch Saint Carmen!

Coincidentally, Levi also arrived in Sherag at this time. Ernst was happy to share information about this apocalyptic crisis with his fellow countryman. He wasn't an 18-year-old Japanese high school student whose first thought about the end of the world was how to keep it a secret from others and become a hero. As a Chinese, he knew very well what it meant to be united and the importance of the collective.

Levi pulled out his notebook. He had a portable tablet, but he still preferred to record important information by hand. Elena, on the other hand, looked at the guest sitting on the sofa with some suspicion. Levi did not look very friendly. He was alright when he wasn't smiling, but when he did smile, it was even a little creepy.

However, it seems that Eleanor wasn't entirely judging by appearance. The look in her eyes when she examined Levi wasn't one of disdain for his looks, but rather a different kind of scrutiny.

The judge's scrutiny.

Ernst noticed Eleanor's gaze and took the initiative to start a conversation:

"Miss Judge, what's wrong?"

Elena snapped back to reality, her face flushed, and she quickly waved her hands in denial:

"Judge? Don't call me that! I'm not officially a judge yet. I'm just an apprentice, a junior judge!"

But judging from the corners of her mouth, which were harder to suppress than a revolver, she seemed to quite enjoy the nickname.

After a brief moment of shyness and fluster, she coughed lightly and said seriously:

“I will strive to become a full-fledged judge. So for now, just call me Elena!”

“I was just thinking, Mr. Ernst, about your description of this Mr. Levy…”

Her gaze returned to Levi, her eyes subtly revealing a hint of apprehension and hostility.

"A genius scientist, proficient in many fields, recently nominated for multiple scientific awards, established his own Originium Life Sciences Laboratory at the renowned Rhine Lab, and... he doesn't possess any racial characteristics, making it impossible to determine his race..."

Elena's voice grew softer and softer until, in the end, even Ernst's four-channel hearing could only hear her murmuring words like "race," "characteristic," "sea," and "Agor."

Before Ernst could ask a question, Eleanor spoke up herself, her eyes sharp, asking in a serious tone:

"Mr. Levy, although it may be presumptuous of me, may I ask what race you are?"

Levi's gaze sharpened slightly, and his expression became somewhat serious.

Terra has many races, but without exception, they are all orcs, with no pure human beings. Levi was very curious about this—because some Terrans with regressed bloodlines exhibited animal characteristics that were too similar to the animals he had seen on Earth. Not to mention, Terra also has beast-kin, who are basically human companions that can be identified at a glance as cats and dogs.

The existence of these animals couldn't be a coincidence. During his stay in Colombia, he specifically went to the library to learn about the evolutionary history of Terran creatures. He finally came to the conclusion that the person who wrote the Terran atlas was an incompetent fool who should be hanged from a lamppost!

Why would you name an animal based on its purpose? Because it can carry things, it's a pack animal; because it can be domesticated, it's a herding animal; because its teeth are sharp and can bite, it's a toothed animal.

Levy said: "Сука блядь (Sukabr)!"

The more Levy learned, the more he realized the connection between this planet and Earth, or rather, between Earth and humanity.

However, there are basically no humans on the earth now. The only one Levi knows is Ernst, a "half-orc" who somehow grew ears and a big tail. Levi also realized that even if this planet is related to humans, something must have gone wrong.

Therefore, he has always avoided discussing the issue of race with the public.

However, since Elena suddenly asked this question, Levi obviously couldn't just brush it off in this situation.

He looked at Eleanor and replied:

"I'm human."

Ernst couldn't help but cough twice.

No, sir? Are you being so blunt?

However, Levy's expression remained resolute.

He wasn't actually without options to answer. Based on his understanding of the various races in Terra, there were at least two races from which he could lie about his identity without being exposed on the spot.

One is the Agor, a rare race that once lived in Iberia but now mostly wanders throughout Terra. They do not have the common racial features of the earth races, such as ears, tails, and feathers. However, their reputation is not very good now. They seem to be regarded by Iberia as the culprits of the Great Tranquility and are being hated and hunted by Iberia.

The other group is the Pitram, who also do not have obvious racial characteristics. Like the Agors, they are technologically advanced and have a sophisticated society, and they are even rarer than the Agors who once lived extensively in Iberia.

However, he did not report either of his identities.

Because he is human.

Levy always believed that humans should be proud of their human identity, even if they live in a different world, even if they no longer have any relatives, friends or even fellow human beings. Humans should not be subservient to other races. This is the pride of being human—the most intelligent of all beings.

As he gave this answer, he also glanced slightly at Ernst behind the desk.

Clearly, his true intentions went beyond just the wine.

Ernst nodded silently.

He certainly hadn't forgotten that his experience, principles, and moral bottom line as a human being had always been the beacon that distinguished him from the large group of anthropomorphic creatures on Terra.

Elene clearly didn't notice the subtle exchange of glances between the two. Although she was somewhat dissatisfied with Levi's seemingly perfunctory answer—the Terrans also called themselves human—she had no evidence and couldn't directly conclude that Levi was an Agor.

Perhaps there are indeed geniuses on land? If all scientific progress is attributed to Agor, then what is the difference between her and the old Iberian nobles and royalty who pinned their hopes for national prosperity on the technology brought ashore by the islanders of Agor?

Having figured this out, Elena nodded slightly, accepting Levi's answer, and then, taking this opportunity, formally began to speak:

"It's a good thing you're not from Agor."

"Otherwise, as a judge's apprentice, I would have arrested you too!"

"Because the culprits behind the Great Tranquility are the Agorians and the despicable bio-weapons they control—the Haisi!"

Chapter 306 Kal'tsit: Oh no, there's a pirated copy!

Ernst just wanted to let out a loud "Whoa!"

Good grief, Agorians, bioweapons, are we even on the same wavelength?

Ernst knew that the Agors had a bad reputation on the continent in recent years, but that was because of Iberia's persistent export of the Agorian evil seed theory. However, given Iberia's current international influence, which even the Bolivar would consider a fellow sufferer, such rumors were still only at the level of gossip. They were far from being comparable to the Sarkaz, who were universally condemned, and most people didn't take them seriously at all.

Don't you see, the band Sunset Fades are all from Agor, and they're touring all over Terra, their fan base growing every day, their popularity soaring, almost catching up with that famous rapper next door who does part-time logistics?

But considering that Elene was originally a native Iberian, and was being educated in the court with the goal of becoming a Grand Inquisitor, it is not surprising that she would have the idea of ​​"I want to kidnap the mother of the Agorians".

The information provided by Elene is certainly biased, but that does not negate her value. After all, the Tribunal has guarded the Iberian coastline for so many years, and Iberia is the country with the deepest contact with the ocean among all Terran nations. The intelligence they provide is certainly the most valuable.

With the idea of ​​listening first and then checking the answers with Kal'tsit later, Ernst followed up on Elene's statement with a question:

“But, Elena, according to the information I’ve seen, the Agor people who have come ashore call themselves ‘islanders,’ which means wanderers. If they can control biological weapons that are enough to destroy Iberia’s golden age, why would they wander, and why would they assist Iberia’s development?”

This was also what Ernst couldn't understand the most. Currently, the rumors spreading among the nations of Iberia claimed that the treacherous Agorians had brought disaster from the sea, destroying prosperous Iberia and killing tens of thousands of Iberians. Based on this narrative, they created numerous plays, nursery rhymes, and stories, which were sung throughout the streets and alleys of Iberia. And in the primary schools funded by the court, Iberian children were learning a history of the Great Silence constructed from this same narrative.

At least in the eyes of the vast majority of people who neither know nor are interested in the history of Iberian countries, the Agors have become the culprits who destroyed a country and one of the countless synonyms for "calamity" on the land of Terra.

But actually, it's not difficult to find out the truth.

Historical records and documents related to Iberia may have been lost due to operational errors caused by the "flood" during the Great Tranquility. However, only Iberia experienced the Great Tranquility; civil servants from other countries had no need to help Iberia cover up its flaws.

The Royal Library of Victoria, the Ludwig University Library in Letania, the Great Yan Academy of Literature, the National History Museum, and other institutions have all conducted basic investigations and research on the seemingly miraculous prosperity of Iberia. The influence of the Agorians is naturally undeniable, not to mention the vast amount of unofficial histories, literary works, poems, and other forms of literature that praise the harmonious relationship between the Golden King of Iberia and his chief minister, Breogan, which forged a golden age. While such content may have been censored in Iberia, just as Ernst intended in creating *The Annals of Erzgebirge*, literature is something that is difficult to truly kill.

Why Iberia perished in the ocean remains unknown; perhaps the Great Tranquility was indeed due to the Agorians. But we do know why Iberia prospered: the Iberian king accepted gifts from the Agorians—advanced, cutting-edge technology and readily available scientific products—which formed the cornerstone of that nation's glorious era.

When the last Golden King of Iberia used the Agorian-built broadcasting system to broadcast throughout his land, did he ever imagine that just a year later, the remnants of Iberia, rising from the ruins, would hold such a distorted view of the era that should have been called Iberia?

Those who cannot face history squarely will ultimately have no future.

Eleanor's answer did not surprise Ernst. More than fifty years had passed since the Great Silence, and the Iberian Tribunal had long since constructed a complete and self-consistent theory to embellish the golden age that the Iberians saw as flawless, yet ruthlessly shattered by the sinners of Agor.

When Elene answered with utmost seriousness, "The Agor betrayed Iberia, who had taken them in and given them a place to live. They wanted to seize the country from the Iberians, so they launched internal rebellions and attacks, and summoned tidal waves of ferocious fish and sea monsters from the ocean to attack Iberian lands. In the end, the Iberians chose to perish together with the Agor," Ernst realized the problem.

Education deprived this young Liberi of any opportunity to realize what real history was like; she could only see a little girl who had been meticulously dressed up.

Perhaps Iberia did this to incite extreme ethnic hatred to unite this crumbling nation, which is understandable. However, they ultimately shirked their responsibilities and unscrupulously dumped them on the Agor islanders, who were unable to answer. This is unforgivable.

Even from such a textbook-like answer, Ernst still gleaned some key information.

First, according to Elene, the Agors had been plotting the Iberian rebellion for a long time and had been very adept at disguising it. While the deep-sea cultists who worshipped the Terrorfish and the life forms of the sea were frantically infiltrating and proselytizing along the Iberian coastline, a large number of Agors were still diligently serving in various important positions in the Iberian court.

Regardless of the credibility of the examples that Elene cited, which were comparable to "I have a friend," Ernst noted that the Iberian court was essentially submerged by then. No one could draw a conclusion that would convince everyone: how much of the royal family had been infiltrated by the Deep Sea Cultists, and how many important positions were occupied by those traitors who worshipped the Sea Cultists.

But at least from another perspective, is it possible that those hardworking and diligent Agorians really didn't know about this?

Ernst had no interest in clearing anyone's name; it was just a possibility. After all, if a rotten apple is thrown into soup, the soup is definitely undrinkable. But to say that all the ingredients in the soup were poisonous wouldn't be entirely true.

The existence of the Deep Sea Cultists, these treacherous figures, was so conspicuous that it aroused Ernst's physical disgust and strategic concern.

This group of persistent traitors and collaborators is, in some ways, even more disgusting than the direct cause of the Great Tranquility—Hai Si.

These are the ones who should all be arrested and arrested.

Additionally, there is some information regarding the Great Tranquility.

The Great Tranquility is called the Great Tranquility because of the series of events that occur when it occurs, according to the records of the Iberian Tribunal.

In the initial stages of the Great Silence, the port cities along the old Iberian coastline fell into complete silence. It was not simply a lack of sound, but a total silence that included sound, electronic device signals, lighthouse lights, and even human messengers.

Nothingness—that is the true meaning of profound stillness. The once-prosperous civilization seems to have been rewound to ancient times. The skyscrapers still stand, but are now deserted; the streets are still bustling, but utterly silent. The coffee someone just brewed is still steaming on the table, but the person who brewed it has vanished.

Ernst felt this strange situation was quite fitting for demons, but Kal'tsit divided the Sea Child and demons into two separate crises, which shows that, at least in essence, these two things are not the same thing.

So, let's polish this picture a bit.

In a towering but empty building, crimson blood slowly slid down the windowpane. On a bustling street, the exploding flesh and blood membranes covered the dazzling colored lights, projecting colorful internal organs. In the steaming hot coffee that someone had just brewed, a small bubble suddenly appeared. Then, what floated to the surface was not a sugar cube, but someone's unwilling eyes.

Since the strange thing wasn't that everyone disappeared, the only thing that could silence hundreds of thousands of people was instantaneous death.

It's hard to say which is better, the one with its powerful, brick-flying characteristics or the one with its eerie, demonic aura.

This is only the beginning. Later, this scene will spread throughout Iberia, followed by tsunamis that wash away all blood and traces, rising sea levels, and corpses submerged in the ocean, turning into food for the dinosaurs and sea creatures.

This is the Great Stillness.

Ernst shuddered after only a brief mental exercise based on Eleanor's description.

He would rather believe that Elene was joking or exaggerating. But it was, after all, a calamity that destroyed a country, one of the crises that Kal'tsit hailed as the "Three Calamities" based on the scale of Terra.

For him now, just thinking about it makes him feel a sense of helpless difficulty.

"Speaking of which, the characteristics of this dinosaur are quite interesting."