People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

Despite the discrimination, everyone acknowledges Sarkaz's skill.

Moreover, we're all "friendly nations" now, so spending a little money to support a friendly nation and getting a "prophecy of reciprocation" in return is a win-win situation.

Only predicting a "bad ending"? What does it matter? If they actually see a good ending, they won't be happy! A life of luxury and supreme power is already in the present for them; do they need anyone to tell them? They are far more interested in "what might threaten their rule or even their lives!"

Like a group of shapeshifters, ever since they received a prophecy from the Cyclops that they would be "killed by the young Banshee Queen's talk therapy," they like to disguise themselves as all sorts of people and get close to Aphrodite to "spy on her," making the Logos operators a bit paranoid!

Well, after hearing Nast's arrangements, Ernst's first reaction was: Is it necessary?

Isn't this making a mountain out of a molehill?

Why does this feel strangely like a "Harkley Quarter dog rescue" story from another world?

It seems there isn't much difference. Mariam, that clueless kid, ran off into unknown territory, which is practically like walking into a minefield. Now Ernst is calling for rescue, which has caused a huge commotion and visibly increased the cost!

But judging from Nasti's tone, they had no intention of downgrading their setup at all. Entering the Icefield dungeon with full combat gear? Impossible! They'd have to be fully equipped and have a bunch of escorts ready to pounce!

Fighting is fun!

"Mr. Ernst, are you satisfied with this proposal?"

Nas asked the question with such certainty, it was as if she had the confidence to say, "If you're not satisfied, we can add more!" Tikaz may not have much else, but she has a lot of tricks up her sleeve. If Ernst thinks this isn't enough, then they'll issue a bounty!

Now, on the snowy plains of the far north, Mariam, a foreigner from Colombia, has vanished without a trace, like a lone wild goose. Frost chills the mountains, and the howling north wind obscures the sun. His Majesty, Grand Commander Ernst, has taken pity on this traveler from afar, and His Majesty, Grand President Nasti, humbly obeys the imperial decree! The Sarkaz hereby issues this decree for heroes: All chivalrous warriors from the four seas and extraordinary individuals from the eight wastelands, who can wield their swords to shatter the ice, use their magic to communicate with the underworld, or seek out traces, or break formations to avert calamity, may all join this righteous cause. If heroes display their extraordinary skills, find Mariam and return him to Sami, they will surely bring spring to the frozen valleys and reveal the true nature of the endless icy plains!

Nasti believed that countless Sarkaz would respond to the call for talent, and the endless ice plains of Sami would probably be so crowded that there wouldn't be enough room to stand!

Not to mention, there are so many extraordinary people from all over the world in Sarkaz, which can bring Mr. Ernst endless surprises!

Ernst coughed.

Having come this far, what else could he say?

"Satisfied, very satisfied."

He paused, then added,

“But Nastya, if I haven’t found the person by the time I’m done with my work here, I’ll go there myself.”

Nastya was immediately flattered:

"Really? But Mr. Ernst, you're so busy, why bother making such a small trip?"

“That’s too formal,” Ernst retorted, shaking his head with a firm tone. “I’m a humanitarian advocate, and matters of life and death are no small matter to me. Besides, I spearheaded the ice field exploration, and with Mariam’s accident, how could I not be there in person?”

"Besides, what trouble I've caused is nothing. It's Tikaz and you who have really been busy with this. I would feel bad if I didn't show up in person."

Ernst Road.

He had only asked Nasti to ask the lich to help deliver a message, but Nasti had gone to such lengths. He knew, of course, that this was definitely not because of Mariam.

This is them giving Ernst face.

Ernst has always been like this: if you respect me, I will respect you. But if you really don't appreciate my respect, he's not really that indecisive and won't make some "difficult decisions."

Don't believe me? Just ask the seafood in the sea.

Since Tikkaz respects him so much, he naturally has to take this matter more seriously.

Jim Hack could garner a huge number of votes by rescuing a dog; why can't Ernst use the same incident to amplify Tikkaz's "kindness"?

Ernst genuinely felt that if this were to happen, the publicity effect would likely far exceed their expectations. After all, it was ironic that if a good person suddenly did something bad, their reputation might collapse, turning them into a universally condemned "hypocrite." But if someone with a bad reputation suddenly did something good, people's perception of them might undergo a complete reversal, transforming them into someone "genuine" and "clearly distinguishing between good and evil."

Tikaz has done his fair share of bad things, and his reputation is terrible. Now, the opportunity for them to do "good" is right in front of them.

What a great whitewashing campaign!

Of course, Ernst also had some other thoughts.

Tikkaz has made a big show of things this time. Since we're already here, why not take it a step further?

How about we push the exploration of the endless ice plains a step further?

The term "unknown area" sounds like it symbolizes "accidents," "danger," and "trouble," and unfortunately, Ernst dislikes all three.

Tikaz's abilities are undeniable. If we can use their help and this rescue opportunity to fully explore this "unknown area," it would be a win-win situation!

Terra filled in another batch of map gaps, the World Summit achieved another transnational collaboration, and the Kazdelnia and Tikaz gained another achievement as ice field explorers in addition to their rescue efforts. Ernst was also able to figure out the details of the "Varusita's Egg" mentioned by Kal'tsit when describing "Sami"—the stargate used to communicate between Terra and Titan.

That thing is the root of the threat posed by the demons in northern Terra, and Ernst would like to personally go there to find its location if possible.

Not for any other reason than to give that evil spirit who learns nothing but the underhanded trick of sneaking into Terra's back door a big shock! To give its young (?) mind a little amber-like shock!

I'll ride my bike to the bar, saving where I should and spending where I should. Domestically, I'm all thumbs and putting out fires, but externally, I'll be ready to strike hard!

Haven't you ever seen what a dark hand looks like?! A demon? I'll make you fly!

Once the [Demon] crisis is completely resolved, even if we can't repair and utilize the stargate that the previous civilization crashed, at the very least, we'll have eliminated one of the [Three Great Mountains] that had been weighing on Ernst's head since the beginning. For all of Terra, that would be a great thing!

Nastie didn't know Ernst's thoughts, but even if she did, she wouldn't feel the slightest bit of aversion.

Ernst may have had other political motives, but what does it matter? Politics permeates every corner of life; that's just how it is. Without sufficient benefits, why would anyone work for you?

Not everyone has the same relationship as Tikkaz and Ernst, with countless debts of gratitude that can never be repaid!

Not to mention, Ernst's plan is reasonable and a normal "free ride". It will not make Tikkaz pay anything extra, and it will benefit him, Ernst, the World Summit and even the whole of Terra. Why not?

If it were anyone else in charge, wouldn't they all praise Ernst as "great"?

"Then I'll wait for you, Mr. Ernst, in Sami."

Nastie bowed deeply to Ernst.

"Thanks you."

"I asked you for help, so I'm the one who should be saying thank you."

Ernst shook his head, somewhat amused and exasperated.

Nasti didn't refute anything, but straightened up and slightly raised her hand to wipe her slightly moist eyes.

She said goodbye to Ernst, turned around and left, looking back several times as she went. It was clear that she didn't intend to stay in Laterano any longer and planned to go straight back to Kazdelnia to arrange her work.

Stepping out of the room, Nas tightened her clothes and subconsciously glanced up at the sky, suddenly noticing that the sun wasn't very bright anymore.

It's not as warm as inside.

Chapter 1023 The Unknown Threat

Today is the third day of Christensen's journey through the universe.

For most people, after the initial excitement of going to space wears off, they often begin to find the uninhabited deep space boring.

Unfortunately, there is absolutely nothing here. Even the Twin Moons, which seem to be the closest to Terra, are still incredibly far away, to the point that it's impossible to reach them without a horse running. Not to mention that there are no horses at all in Christensen, nor are there any Kurantas to replace them.

Although the rocket had surprisingly ample power, it lacked a secondary acceleration capability and was not equipped with a landing pod or any other equipment to allow Christensen to land on the moon. She could only remain inside the not-so-spacious rocket cabin, slowly moving her body around in near-Earth orbit, in sync with Terra's rotation.

During this process, normal people often become irritable and anxious, and may even begin to feel fear and aversion towards the starry sky.

Humans are social animals, after all. Living in a place where there is no human presence for a long time and the surroundings are almost entirely unchanging darkness requires a certain amount of courage. Especially for someone like Christensen, the first astronaut to break through the isolation layer, because there were no precedents to refer to, theoretically speaking, she couldn't even be completely sure if she could return to Earth safely and intact.

The longer astronauts spend in this state of anxiety, the more likely they are to develop mental health issues.

But Christensen is clearly not a normal person.

As a "cosmic enthusiast," she was truly full of energy, at least during the three days the shapeshifter observed her.

She was so full of energy that even the shapeshifters were curious about where she got so much energy!

In the morning, before the sunlight streamed through the cockpit's observation window, she would proactively open her eyes and begin recording her daily log. At night, after the last rays of sunlight disappeared, she would study the unchanging darkness of the universe for hours by the cockpit's lights before finally closing her eyes to sleep after countless yawns. Her days were packed full; she was always pacing back and forth in the cockpit, seemingly very busy, but the shapeshifters had no idea what she was busy with.

Even the shapeshifters were somewhat speechless.

After all, he didn't intend for Christensen to discover his existence, so he mostly stayed at night, after Christensen couldn't stay awake and fell asleep.

But that period of time was too short—or more accurately, too short a time for him to observe the outside world.

There's nothing to see late at night, and just looking at the same old stars, no matter how beautiful, gets boring after a while.

The shapeshifter, Youwu, wasn't exactly an artistic person. He couldn't possibly imagine the civilizations inhabiting those planets, their environments, and the stories they created from a single glimpse dropped from deep space. He couldn't even be bothered to think about such things.

If you try to look down at Terra, you won't even see the shadow of the land because of Terra's rotation. All you can see is the ocean behind Terra and the huge chasm that looks like a scar and an eye.

That thing was even less interesting, and, to be honest, the swarm of shapeshifters actually sensed a "threat" from that crack.

Almost nothing on Terra can truly harm a shapeshifter. Even the Cyclops' prophecy confirms it—not even the Banshee Queen's spells can harm a shapeshifter in the slightest; they can only be "talked to death" through comical "talking therapy." The shapeshifter swarm has attempted suicide and withstood natural disasters throughout its long lifespan, but even natural disasters cannot completely destroy its life; they only kill one or two of its clones, never completely eradicating it.

But that insurmountable barrier gave him a feeling that "getting close will mean death."

After silently noting down this detail and preparing to tell Ernst when he got back, the shapeshifter's interest in the "Nighttime Universe" was truly gone.

So today, after much deliberation, he finally decided to confront Christensen.

Anyway, Ernst never gave any instructions that he was not allowed to reveal his hand.

"As you can see, we are here to protect you."

The shapeshifter swarm recounted their origins, how they boarded the rocket ship, and their purpose, before shrugging at Christensen.

To the surprise of the shapeshifter horde, Christen's face showed little astonishment, but rather a mixture of helplessness and relief.

"Well, I actually guessed that Ernst wouldn't just let me go up to the sky so easily."

"No wonder I've felt like someone's watching me these past few days."

The shapeshifter swarm raised an eyebrow:

You won't blame him, will you?

Christen shook her head:

"How could that be? Saria used to do things like that all the time—she'd agree to watch me perform, but she'd still sneak over and put a can of pepper spray or a stun gun in my bag. I never blamed her for it."

Nine Christensen's statement was perfectly reasonable, but the Shapeshifters' rebuttal was even more so:

"But you designed a set of Originium Arts countermeasures specifically for Saria in the Rhine Lab headquarters office in Trimont, Columbia."

Christensen was taken aback, her expression seeming to say, "How do you know such a thing?"

The shapeshifter remained silent; he had seen that expression far too many times.

The most recent instance was during the Battle of Londinium, when he singled out the Duke's spies hiding in the city of Londinium one by one. Their expressions were far more exaggerated than Christen's; they were snotting and crying, their snot and tears all tangled together, making the shapeshifter lose even the desire to copy them.

Who is he? He is the undisputed king of intelligence warfare in Terra, the leader of the Shapeshifter syndicate! Aside from the Preservator, no one can defeat Prisus, who has cheat-like abilities and can see through the entire map!

6. Having received Ernst's request, he had already thoroughly investigated what Christen had done over the years, without even expending much effort.

Seeing that the group of shapeshifters remained silent and offered no explanation, Christensen pouted in frustration.

Without a doubt, she suffered a setback.

"Ernst doesn't have Originium Arts, so I can't counter him."

Finally, she offered this somewhat forced and stubborn explanation.

The shapeshifter shrugged.

He wasn't really that concerned about whether Christensen was wary of Ernst; he just didn't want Ernst to think that he was the one who caused it.

He certainly didn't buy into Kristen's "the glory of the pioneers," but he was very susceptible to Ernst's rhetoric. He didn't want Ernst to misunderstand and think that he was trying to sow discord between Kristen and him.

"Since you want to observe, let's do it together. I happen to need someone to help me out."

Christen said, but the shapeshifter immediately shook his head:

"We don't want it."

“We have never made any contract with you, nor have we promised you anything. We only accepted Ernst’s commission.”

“If you really need someone to help you, you can spare one of your own to help you, instead of thinking about ordering us around.”

"The Sigma Shapeshifter said sarcastically."

Christensen's lips twitched.

If she could be in two places at once, would this even happen?

She suddenly felt that Ernst had another reason for arranging for the shapeshifters to follow her.

This guy is really stubborn and won't listen to reason. The manipulative tactics that Christensen used to employ are completely ineffective against him!

"Then what are you going to do?"

"We're planning to go out and take a look."

The shapeshifter looked out the window, its body beginning to dissolve.

Before Christensen could react, he disappeared from the cockpit.