People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

They would not oppose Nasti's plan because of their status as hereditary princes or big landowners from the old era; they respected this new "leader."

This action may not seem significant today, but in the future, it might be recorded in this way in the Sarkaz history book that Hedley so desperately wants to keep for public education.

—Fremont, the Soul Forge Maintenance Specialist appointed by the Kazdelnia government, has successfully completed the first Soul Forge load test!

Just like "Puyi, a citizen of the new China, became a member of the Chinese Academy of Literature and History".

He was no longer the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, nor the ruler of the royal court.

Above the floating city, inside the new building that houses the Soul Forge itself, Fremont lowered his eyes as he watched the dead souls emitting endless screams and roars, and bursting forth with boundless emotional energy within the Soul Forge.

"Old folks, pull yourself together!"

He whispered, "The numbers on the dial are high, but not quite what we'd hoped for. At this rate, it's feasible to accommodate a few plots of land of similar size, but if we need more..."

“What you are carrying on your shoulders now is a Kazdel. A Kazdel that has never appeared in history before, a Kazdel in the sky.”

"Burn even hotter! Vent your anger, and whatever else you have, and don't embarrass the Sarkaz at this time!"

"Fremont."

A voice called out, and Fremont subconsciously raised an eyebrow, wondering if he had seen a ghost today. Could his bowl of chicken soup have actually woken up this dead soul?

But the next second, he realized that the source of the call was not a dead soul.

Those souls, already in a daze, couldn't even utter a complete word. To understand them, one would probably need the Demon King himself.

The one who spoke was the one whom even he had to respectfully address as "ancestor".

"Safar, what brings you here?"

"Let me see what Kazdel is like in this era."

The Flame Demon emerged from the passageway, its body engulfed in relentless hellfire.

His gaze, like a streak of fire, fell upon Fremont, lingered briefly on him, and then turned back to the burning Soul Furnace, a strange hint of nostalgia creeping into his eyes.

Fremont was slightly startled, but after a moment's thought, he understood the reason.

Dead souls are the fusion of Sarkaz souls that have died and are not accepted by other souls.

No one knows when the first Dead Soul was born, nor does anyone know why he was not accepted by the other souls and could only wander the world alone. Furthermore, no one knows that the first Dead Soul was a branch of the Sarkaz before becoming a Dead Soul.

However, it cannot be denied that the undead are older than all the Sarkaz; they are practically the living history of the Sarkaz. If they weren't already consumed by their overwhelming obsessions, their minds clouded and their memories fragmented, they would undoubtedly be the liches' primary subjects of study!

This incredibly long history of the Dead Souls might also illustrate a point—that among the Dead Souls, there might be some of Safar's old acquaintances.

"Our great king, the leader of retribution, Barthar the Sunbinder."

"The demon king of demons, the warrior of warriors, burn everything to ashes—enemies, hatred, the entire world!"

"He will lead us, he will guide us, he will show us the way forward, no punishment, no justice, no battle, give me death!"

Ignoring Fremont's gaze, Safar strode slowly toward the Soul Forge, uttering words in a language with an inexplicable melody—a Sarkaz language so ancient that even a scholar like Fremont could not fully decipher its contents.

Those were the songs they sang when they united the various tribes to form the indistinguishable "Clan of Punishment" and launched an expedition against the divine overlords.

"Kazdel has collapsed, Kazdel has never collapsed, Kazdel is right beneath our feet."

"The punishment has passed, the fire has burned everything, and every inch of the land we stand on is the frontier of Kazdel!"

Gradually, the dead souls that had been roaring and howling, turning all their anger, despair, and sorrow into energy, fell silent.

They can understand Safar's language, they can sing along to Safar's songs, and they can feel Safar's feelings.

"Punishment" is such a simple will: to punish everything, to judge the unjust, to judge the unjust, to judge the inactive, to judge all things, all things can be judged, and should be judged!

They will remember why they set out, why they stopped, and why they were born.

Safar glanced at Fremont, who snapped out of his daze and looked down at the readings on the scale Nas had given him.

Far exceeding anything seen before.

The energy that was wasted in the midst of irrational rage has been preserved under the current circumstances, which is enough to boost the efficiency of the Soul Forge by several levels!

How did you manage to collect that information?

Fremont looked at Safar with disbelief.

The lich has studied the Soul Forge and the dead souls for hundreds and thousands of years, but he has never seen, anywhere or in any record, a method like Safar's to calm down the maddened ancestors in the Soul Forge.

How did he do that?

Safar stopped chanting, but the dead souls within the Soul Forge continued to sing.

A muffled sound came from his armor as he asked Fremont a few questions that everyone should have naturally realized:

"In the history of the Sarkaz, when was the first time that people [disregarded race and origin, united as one, and from then on, were of one mind]?"

This is the era when Barthar, the "Burning Flame Rebel," launched the "Punishment Expedition."

"Why can dead souls be utilized by a magical creation like the Soul Forge? What does it look like?"

The furnace needs flames to burn, and the dead souls look like a burning black flame, so the creations built to contain and utilize them are called the "Soul Furnace".

"What have I been doing in Kjerag all this time?"

Safar was personally appointed by Ernst as the "Heating God." During the winter in Kjerag, he single-handedly shouldered the responsibility of heating most of the Kjerag region!

Having said all that, Safar said no more, turned back, and looked once more at the blazing furnace, listening to the otherworldly chanting emanating from it.

Fremont stood there stunned for a long time before finally pursing his lips and asking the last question:

Why did you do that?

This time, Safar smiled.

Flames swelled, spread, burned, and engulfed his iron armor, forming the massive figure of a fire demon.

The "true form" grinned, facing Fremont, as if scoffing at the fact that the wise lich would ask such a question.

"I am a Sarkaz."

"The Balrog is also a Sarkaz."

"The Balrog has never betrayed the Sarkaz!"

His proud declaration:

“I am the king’s personal guard, and everything I do is to vindicate my king.”

"He is no traitor to the Firefire! He is the Sunbinder—Barsa!"

"He fights for Kazdel!"

"I, too, fight for this new Kazdel!"

Chapter 705 The war is about to begin

"Kazdelnia has successfully launched."

"Ah."

"The Sarkaz of Shelag were overjoyed; they even held a grand banquet for a thousand people, and the celebrations lasted until the next morning."

"Ah."

"But on the other hand, we have found that the desertion rate among soldiers has been very high in the past two days, especially among mercenaries, many of whom have already quit."

"Didn't you notice them leaving?"

The shapeshifter swarm shook its head at Theresis and spread its hands:

“We can’t be so idle as to watch every mercenary camp every day. Some deserters leave without taking anything with them, so we can’t detect them immediately.”

When a mercenary breaks a contract, they will usually transfer some of their assets. At the very least, they will take the money they have earned or some food and drink with them. Otherwise, after working so hard for so long, risking their lives, wouldn't it be a waste of their time?

But the shapeshifter swarm discovered that some Sarkaz were indeed willing to leave without a single penny, pretending they hadn't moved at all, and then run away as if nothing had happened. This was truly rare.

But this is enough to show how attractive a new life is to this part of the Sarkaz.

Therese understood this as well.

Zhong knew that the swarm of shapeshifters wasn't completely uncontrollable, but rather that it didn't need to be completely controlled.

For Q, turning a blind eye was the simplest and most reasonable course of action. After all, the Shapeshifter Cluster had never been loyal to the Military Council or Theresis. Where those people went after they fled was predictable, and for the Shapeshifter Cluster, that was also where he was betting.

U is simply transferring money from his left pocket to his right pocket. He doesn't have obsessive-compulsive disorder, so why should he care about this and that?

Theresis did not rebuke the group of shapeshifters, nor did he spout any grand principles of "loyalty and diligence to the country, and wisdom in governing the country." He knew that he could not do anything to this Sarkaz who was different from others, nor could he control the other party's thoughts.

He simply gave the order:

“I will arrange for Manfred to take over this matter. Shapeshifter, from now on you will only be responsible for reconnaissance work against the Victorian army.”

The four shapeshifters did not answer, but silently looked at Theresis, as if waiting for something. After a long while, there was no response from Theresis, so he looked away.

He actually wanted to hear what punishment Theresis would impose on the deserters. But Theresis's lack of answer was itself an answer.

The two shapeshifters could accept the decline in Sarkaz cohesion at the bottom of the Military Council, leading to a rout, but Theresis, as the chairman of the Military Council and a general, understood but could not agree to it.

It seems he will take drastic measures.

He's always like that.

The shapeshifter didn't say much. Those deserters, they couldn't possibly really believe that escaping Londinium would allow them to escape to Sherag, could they?

That would be incredibly naive. The distance from Londinium to Sherag is considerable. Even after leaving the towering city walls, they would still face a wall of allied troops, not to mention the roads ahead. There are two duchies to choose from: the Duke of Castle and the Duke of Windermere. Which of these two is a formidable opponent?

5. War is cruel. They threw themselves into this war, their hands stained with the blood of Victorians, and they still want to get out safely. Surely they don't think that the definition of "Lentinium Sakazzi extremist terrorist" at the World Summit is a joke?

They might say things like, "I haven't spilled any blood. I'm just a logistics guy. I haven't killed anyone. Among those who didn't come, there are some who are more ruthless than me. Why didn't you kill them?"

But, there is no way.

Life inevitably presents us with such dilemmas. There's no going back in life; once you've made a choice, there's no going back.

Elder Jinchi was a highly accomplished monk who practiced Zen meditation and lived to be 270 years old. However, he was easily tempted by greed and set fire to the temple. Even if he regretted it afterward, where was the chance to repent and start anew?

"we know."

The shapeshifter nodded and turned to leave.

Therese sat alone in the desolate hall.

Theresa wasn't by his side; the Shard was nearing completion, and he was with Quesatushta. Not only to assist, but also to oversee.

Quesatushta is suspicious; everyone in the military council can see that.

His usual talk of "immortality" and "family" has vanished, replaced by nonsense about "gods" and "salvation," making him seem like he's gone hysterical. But somehow, he's somehow obtained the repair methods for the Shard, which can help Theresis quickly restore it to a working state—something Theresis desperately needs.

The Military Council had a long-standing unspoken rule: "Heroes come from all walks of life." Theresis allowed powerful Sarkaz who pledged allegiance to him to keep their secrets. But he never imagined that one day this unspoken rule would be applied to Quesatushta.

However, given the current state of the battle, he no longer had time to doubt anything.

He wanted to complete his plan and use a war to secure a future for the Sarkaz!

It wasn't about international affairs or political upheavals; it was about snatching a sliver of hope from the hands of a higher Creator! :)

The news of Kazdelnia's successful launch was both good and bad for him.

Okay, because the Sarkaz have a way out. Ernst has done things very thoroughly; the military council of Londinium has become a pawn for the Sarkaz, completely cut off from them. No matter how much trouble they cause, unless they directly destroy Victoria, they will no longer affect the Sarkaz in Sherag and Kazdelnia.

The problem is that he can't influence the other person, but the other person keeps influencing him.

With fewer soldiers, more deserters, low morale, and widespread anxiety, the Military Commission appeared to be on its last legs. The contraction of the front lines was not due to Theresis's lack of options, but rather because the Military Commission itself was already in a precarious state.

Theresa is not without a way to turn the tide; in fact, it's quite simple. All he needs to do is push Theresa forward and put her in the spotlight, and the situation will take a dramatic turn.

The second of the Six Heroes, the Demon King and the General's renewed cooperation, and the reunion of the guardians of Kazdel—these titles still carry weight. Most Sarkaz are conservatives, and even with the grand scale of the World Summit and Ernst's widespread fame, there are still many among their compatriots who prefer to believe in the "Sarkaz Heroes" rather than the "Sarkaz Heroes" themselves!

But Therese did not do that.

It's not that he can't, it's that he doesn't want to.

He wasn't so weak as to resort to such means to save his own life! What he demanded was the future of Sarkaz, not his own life, death, honor, or disgrace!

Having Theresa repair the Shard Tower was a necessary step to prepare for obtaining the "original source stone - Anana," to break free from the giant hand known as the "Creator." He wasn't particularly concerned about whether he himself would survive this battle.

It's time to fulfill the promise he broke back then. He will stand in front of Theresa, clearing away all the thorns in her path, shielding her from all the storms, so that she can obtain that Originium, the [hope] they have been searching for with all their might!

"Tracys."

An aged voice suddenly echoed in the hall, and the phantom of the King of Carrion slowly appeared, speaking...

"Kazdelnia has taken off, did you know?"

Therese pursed her lips and nodded slightly: