Chapter 189

176、 The Road Under Your Feet

Amon was taken aback and replied somewhat awkwardly: "Did they really build the shrine like that? I did appear there with Mourrin in my arms, and they actually carved a statue just like that. I don't care, this is the consequence of what I did, it's just that the consequences are a bit funny. "

Amon was a little stunned at first when he heard that the "god" on the altar of the shrine that Link had built in the city of Salem was actually the image of him holding Mourrin in his arms, but after thinking about it, he just smiled, not minding it or feeling proud of it. His view on this issue was not quite the same as that of ordinary people, and it naturally didn't matter if Link did not erect a statue for him, and he wouldn't blame him if he did, after all, wouldn't he dare to take responsibility for what he did?

Besides, he had already passed the test of endless life and death and had the ninth level of the power of origin, so there was nothing wrong with erecting a statue in the shrine, and the fact that Mourrin did not show up to cause trouble showed that she was not dissatisfied, as long as she was willing.

When Goliath had had enough of laughing, he said seriously: "As early as a few years ago, I tried to use the legendary Great Prophecy once, and realized that the Plains of Duc would become a thousand miles of fertile land, but it would also cause disputes between the gods and the surrounding countries. You and I both know the origin of the flood, and Enril has turned the Plains of Duc back into fertile land, allowing hundreds of thousands of people to live in peace, and is indeed praised by all. "

Amon snorted coldly and said: "I naturally know that if you had not led the people to resist the flood back then, Syah would also have been destroyed."

Goliath's expression had a touch of sadness: "I was one who was used by Enril, and I used to admire him so much. We had played two games of chess, and I myself was also a chess piece on the god's chessboard. Even I had used the Great Prophecy to come to this conclusion, so how could the god who started the flood not know? Enril is bound to let his people occupy that fertile land and fill the Plains of Duc with his shrines. "

Amon asked in a noncommittal tone: "Do you think he will succeed?"

Goliath looked up at the sky: "In Enril's vision, he only had to consider whether Marduc would agree or not. Although I was unwilling to serve him anymore, I still commanded the army to repel the army of Bablon, which was what I had to do. The Assyrian Kingdom sending the Giant Legion to suddenly cross the plateau and appear in the Plains of Duc should have been a well-prepared plan, and no one had expected it in advance.

The Assyrian Kingdom wanted to expand their territory, and their god was Enlil. Only now did I understand that Enlil's most important chess piece was the Assyrian Kingdom. His calculations are really good. No matter how many wise men there are on the continent, they are no match for him. This is what a god should be.

Amon sighed somewhat helplessly: "Of course Marduc would do it. There was a mage named Ussir who united the highland giant tribe and built the city of Marduc on the throat in the southeast corner of the Plains of Duc. Enril probably thought of this long ago, and the Assyrian Kingdom in the north also built the city of Enril. Judging from the local battlefield, Marduc would not be a match for Enril, and the Assyrian Kingdom would occupy the entire Plains of Duc from north to south, eventually defeating Marduc. "

Goliath smiled bitterly: "Judging from the situation at the time, this should have been a reasonable prophecy, but it was not the reality, and the high and mighty god Enril did not control everything. The biggest variable now is the emergence of Salem. You do not have the support of a kingdom like the others, but you have established a city in the middle of the Plains of Duc, which is beyond the expectations of the gods. "

Amon sneered: "Enril would definitely not want to see Salem appear there."

Goliath turned his head and said: "That may not be the case, the heart of a god is unpredictable, it depends on whether you are willing to build his shrine or not?"

Amon asked in return: "Honorable supreme mage, you were once the chief priest of the Enril Shrine, and now you are the chief honorary elder of the Hittite Academy of Magic, but you don't seem to have a good impression of the king of the kingdom, Enril?"

Goliath replied: "It's more than a bad impression, I know that there are many priests who do not give their hearts to the gods, they only satisfy their vanity and lust in the name of the gods on earth. But I am different, I once sincerely believed in the gods and devoutly waited for the gods to summon me.

I am not as lucky as you to have hugged the goddess in public at a young age. I have been a priest for so many years, but I have only really interacted with the gods once, and that was when the flood besieged Syah, when I heard Enril's voice in the shrine. It was a voice I had been looking forward to for many years, and it's funny to say that when I really saw him, I began to distance myself from him. "

Amon said: "Even you have distanced yourself from him, how can I let his shrine gain a foothold in Salem? I would rather have my statue hug the goddess Mourrin and stand on the altar for Enril to take a good look at. "

Goliath grinned. "Is that statue a silent mockery? You are still a little childish after all, and doing so is like being angry. Have you ever thought that maybe it's not worth it? The cost of stopping Enril's wishes may be great. "

Amon narrowed his eyes in the moonlight and said: "One must always persevere, and some things must be done even though they are known to be difficult, otherwise what is the point of living in this world?"

Goliath looked at him. "You have the shadow of Nietzsche in you, but you are not him."

Amon suddenly asked again: "The Kingdom of Assyria and the Hittite Kingdom believe in the same god, Enril, what is the relationship between the two countries?"

Goliath replied: "The relationship between the two countries is very tense, and the potential conflicts are very intense, many of which are precisely because they believe in the same god. Both King claim that they are the real incarnation of Enril on earth, and if it weren't for the fact that the strategic focus of the Hittite Kingdom over the past few decades has been to get rid of the control of the Empire of Eygut, I'm afraid a war would have broken out with Assyria long ago. "

Amon frowned. "Both kingdoms believe in Enril, but claim that they are the true faith. If they start fighting and killing each other, what will the gods think?"

Goliath looked at the dark swamp jungle. "Is the Enril in their eyes the real Enril? At least in my eyes, there is another Enril. I once wrote secret letters to both Gilgamesh and Rod-dick, hoping to establish a peaceful city-state before foreseeing the changes that would take place in the Plains of Duc, but it didn't work, and it was actually impossible to succeed. Now you have done more than I have, and have established the city of Salem, but it has become the center of the conflict. "

Amon: "Even without the city of Salem that I built, would the Plains of Duc not have bloodshed and strife?"

Goliath shook his head. "It would have, and even if there were no gods, the kingdoms on earth would not have given up the struggle. … Amon, you have even embraced a goddess, and your own achievements are already equivalent to many of the legendary gods, so in the eyes of the gods, how do you think they would view the strife in the Plains of Duc? "

Amon was silent for a long time, as if thinking hard, and only after a long time did he reply: "How people coexist is decided by people themselves, and it may not be the will of one person, but it is the sum of the will of all people. If all people are seen as one person, then the strife in the world is the inner conflict of this person, the struggle and entanglement of countless selves, just as people often have all kinds of contradictions in their hearts, and will feel all kinds of depression. … This may be a realm that only the gods have, and I can only describe it and not prove it, because after all, I am not a god yet. "

Goliath nodded and said: "We are just talking about it, if it is really possible to transcend all this in training, perhaps many gods cannot do it. … Amon, I am willing to help the city of Salem against the invasion of the Kingdom of Assyria, but I also need your help. "

Amon: "If you have something to say, just say it, there is no need to mention help."

Goliath: "I will send my student Raphael to follow you and help you open the way in the swamp, it will also be a kind of experience for him."

Amon: "As long as he does not find it difficult and dangerous, then he can follow me to open the way."

From beginning to end, Goliath did not open his mouth to ask Amon what was the source of power that the gods had mastered? This made Amon deeply admire Goliath. It seemed that there were almost no unexpected disturbances in this world that could shake Goliath's heart. Goliath had his own beliefs and path, and the so-called love was not just about status and wealth in the world …

… …

A large number of people recruited by Syah arrived at the eastern shore of the inland lake, at the southern end of the Charcoal Marsh. Amon had already left, but a path had appeared in the swamp, winding around areas that were difficult to pass through, cutting away thorns to fill in the low-lying areas, and extending into the depths of the swamp, just wide enough for two people to walk side by side.

There was no need for maps, no need for people to explore the way, people laid the roadbed with gravel and dry soil, uprooted the bushes and thorns on both sides, and filled in the swamp. Using the trees cut on the spot as fire, the soil on the road was baked into a half-dry state, and continued to push forward, building a solid road that could allow two carriages to walk side by side.

Not to mention how the people were rushing to build the road, Amon was moving forward in the depths of the Charcoal Marsh, standing on the shoulder of the King Ironback, El Mar. El Mar's huge body was more than ten feet long, and compared to the average Ironback, its body was relatively thin, and the place its belly swam through was just the width of two people. No matter what the terrain ahead, the big Ironback crawled past, leaving a path behind it.

Looking ahead, Amon was holding a very special staff or weapon, which was Humbaba's tusk. He stood on the back of the King Ironback and gently waved the tusk, like a warrior's scimitar or longsword. A faint golden light swept past, and the strange rocks in the way were turned to dust. When it encountered a low-lying area, a strange power surged, and the soil in the distance rolled up to fill in a passage.

El Mar waved its front claws from time to time as it moved forward, the sharp shadows of its claws turning into cold glints, uprooting the bushes and throwing them to the sides, and its long tail constantly fell from the air, slapping the road behind it. Raphael walked behind with his staff in hand, and the impassable Charcoal Marsh was now a passable path under his feet.

Raphael volunteered to follow Amon to clear the way. He also wanted to see how this legendary figure of the continent would create another miracle, but at first he didn't find anything strange. The sword light emitted by Amon's tusk was the martial technique of a ninth-level supreme warrior, and the mud that surged up to fill in the swamps and depressions encountered along the way was the simplest low-level earth elemental magic, which almost every supreme warrior who had undergone the Second Awakening of Power could do. Amon's power was nothing more than extraordinary, and for him, these were just ordinary means.

But as a day passed, Raphael began to feel surprised, and as the second day passed, this surprise turned into shock, and by the third day, this shock finally turned into deep admiration.

What Ah Ming did seemed simple at the beginning, but in the end, it became the most complicated thing. Uprooting bushes, smashing lun stones, filling in the swamps, these were not magical, ordinary people could do it, the only difference was the speed of the means. But the Supreme General, the ninth-level supreme warrior, and the top powerhouse of the continent were doing such trivial things. Once he started, he didn't stop. For several days and nights, not to mention rest, even the speed of his advance did not change.

Some areas were very complicated and difficult to clear, while some areas were relatively easier, but Amon commanded El Mar to move forward at the same speed, neither too fast nor too slow. This was not fighting on the battlefield, where there was neither the enemy's pressure nor the soldiers' shouts of encouragement. It was so lonely and boring in the endless jungle swamps. Endless repetition of the simplest of tasks, but using a power that could shake the entire continent, was almost unbearably dull.

Raphael had never seen anyone in such a boring situation who could do such a boring job so calmly without getting tired of it, as if they would never stop. Another three days passed, and Amon didn't even say a word.

Raphael couldn't describe his feelings. He vaguely saw the shadow of his teacher, Goliath, in Amon. When the flood besieged Syah, Goliath also walked around the city silently for many days, holding a staff in his hand to preside over the defensive formation, and constantly operating magic to strengthen the city walls to block the flood. When the flood receded, he could barely stand.

But Ah Meng's situation was different from Golier's back then. There was no sense of crisis, nor was there anyone's eagerness. There wasn't even a need. He was doing it on his own in the uninhabited swamp. The road stretched on, winding for an unknown length. The gloomy Charcoal Forest seemed to be an abyss with no hope. Amon continuously used martial arts and magic, and his endurance and concentration were beyond the reach of ordinary supreme warriors.

Raphael didn't stay idle behind. Since he volunteered to help, Goliath also sent him. Before setting off, Amon gave Raphael a task: to deal with any accidents that might appear at any time in the swamps. Amon concentrated on opening the road and didn't want to be disturbed. Now that there were many monsters in the Charcoal Swamp, if they launched a surprise attack, Raphael would deal with it.

Ordinary beasts would have been frightened away when they heard the noise, but some of the more aggressive monsters would occasionally attack, but Raphael would easily deal with them. The most troublesome monsters along the way were the giant water demons that lived here. Some of them were thicker than the mouth of a bowl, and would become fierce after being disturbed.

This kind of giant water demon could swallow an adult, and its powerful body could entangle a strong bull to death. It was very difficult to find them lurking in the swamp, and it could catch people off guard when it suddenly sprang up. Raphael had to use detection magic at all times. In six days, he encountered more than a dozen fierce giant water demons. Although they couldn't be a match for a supreme mage, following them for six days and six nights in a row made Raphael tired.

Seeing that Amon had no intention of stopping, the young supreme mage finally spoke: "Supreme General, I suggest you take a break. You can only last long with tension and relaxation. It's more efficient than exhausting all your strength at once."

Amon smiled and said: "You're right, that's why I haven't been doing my best. Although the current speed is much slower than opening the road at full strength, in terms of continuous effect, it's the highest efficiency. "

Raphael exclaimed: "Supreme General, you've exceeded my expectations. You're not only powerful in terms of strength. Although you haven't done your best, I'm worried that El Mar can't take it."

Amon: "El Mar is a mutant Ironback King, it's innately powerful and incomparable to humans."

Raphael still advised: "That depends on who it's compared to, it can't be compared to you, Supreme General. At this speed, it's impossible for it to persevere until the road is completely opened."

Amon said without turning his head: "Your judgment is correct, I didn't intend to let El Mar help me open all the roads. My plan was to walk at the same speed to the other side in one month. El Mar would collapse from exhaustion when I was halfway there. I just want it to be exhausted, to have a good experience, and to take this opportunity to let it experience a kind of test. "

Raphael: "If El Mar is exhausted and unable to move forward, it will be very dangerous to stay in the Charcoal Marsh."

Amon smiled again: "That's why I promised Goliath to bring you here. With the protection of a supreme mage like you, El Mar should have no problem recuperating and recovering in the swamp. You stay in the swamp to protect it, I'll continue to open the road alone. "

Raphael was stunned: "So your plan is to open the back of the road by yourself, and only let me and El Mar help the front half?"

Amon said meaningfully: "No, no, no, this road is one in my eyes, there's no such thing as half or the other. You're helping me open the whole road. Supreme mage, leaving you in the middle of the Charcoal Marsh just to protect an Ironback, isn't that an insult to your noble status? "

Raphael hurriedly explained: "No, if this is the help you need, I'd be happy to."

Amon looked down at El Mar, who was still struggling to open the way, and for some reason, suddenly changed his mind. He turned back and said: "Then let's rest for a day, you're tired. We'll open the road at this speed, walk for six days and rest for one day, and we should be able to reach the other end in a month. "

Raphael said: "I can still hold on."

Amon smiled: "You're really tired, El Mar has already reminded me, we'll rest for a day."