Nietzsche had traveled to many city-states on the continent and experienced many wars. When he became a supreme sorcerer, he observed many wars in an almost cruel way. He secretly made cold and meticulous statistics of casualties and discovered a problem that had been overlooked.
The death rate of a level one swordsman seemed to be a little higher after going through a long and continuous battle. Although it was lower than that of an ordinary warrior, it was clearly much higher than that of a level two swordsman. This was not proportional to the difference in strength between them. For example, in a war involving tens of thousands of people, Nietzsche calculated that the casualty rate for ordinary warriors reached 35%, the casualty rate for first-level warriors reached 20%, the casualty rate for second-level warriors was only 7%, and the casualty rate for third-level warriors was only 5%.
This result was obviously abnormal. As practitioners of body arts of the same level, the difference in strength between a first-level warrior and a second-level warrior was not that big, and the difference in fighting skills was even smaller. Crazy 'Ole continued to study this problem, looking for battlefields. He went wherever there was a large-scale bloody conflict. He was like a bloodthirster.
Gradually, he discovered a detail. First-level warriors who were well-versed in controlling their strength were prone to "illness" after a long period of fighting. They were troubled by all kinds of diseases and injuries, and even old injuries that had existed for a long time. This was easily overlooked in the cruel environment of the battlefield. If they relied on their extraordinary willpower, strong physique, and a little bit of luck, these people would often advance to the second rank of swordsman if they managed to pull through.
Crazy 'Ole followed this clue and did more research. He found that second-level warriors would be troubled by physical factors before they could advance. Most people thought this was a normal phenomenon in the practice of body arts. Ordinary people's bodies could not adapt to the extraordinary strength, and they needed a strong will to persist in training until they reached the second-level of body arts. Only then could they strengthen their bodies to adapt.
This view was not wrong, but no one noticed the unusual regularity. Crazy 'Ole, however, concluded that this was an inevitable test in the practice of body arts, which manifested in the exposure of all the hidden injuries in the body. If one's body was not strong enough, he could not pass this test. But if he appeared on the battlefield, the situation would be serious. It was not just a matter of passing the test.
First-level warriors who rushed to the frontline were naturally not nobles. They were all civilians who were lucky enough to practice body arts and were recruited to the frontline. They had to appear in the fiercest places of battle, and they needed military achievements to change their status. Therefore, the high number of casualties did not attract too much attention.
Crazy 'Ole called this test "the purity of the body". Thinking of all the tests one had to face in the process of practicing magic, Crazy' Ole guessed that there must be something in common and regular. He told his student Bair about it. Now, through the results of Bale's research, he had awakened the power of two sides in Amon and confirmed it with this child.
Crazy 'Ole's words enlightened Amon. He no longer worried about his condition. After all, this was not the first time he had been tested on a battlefield. Crazy 'Ole added, "You have to pass this test before the disaster comes. I was worried if you could make it in time. I didn't expect you to take this step. I'm relieved now."
Crazy 'Ole mentioned the disaster again. Amon couldn't help but ask, "What disaster? Isn't Maqi's death a disaster? " His neighbor was killed in front of him. The disturbance in the town and the tears and worries of Maqi's family were already a disaster in Amon's eyes.
Crazy 'Ole shook his head, "Now is not the time to tell you. You will soon face another disaster. The day of your departure from Duc is coming."
Amon was surprised, "Leave Duc? That is not allowed by the town law! And I'm not a supreme sorcerer yet … And what about my father? "
Crazy 'Ole sighed, "Don't worry about that. It's useless. Everyone here has his own destiny, and you have yours. In fact, from the moment you extracted the Gods' Tear and Fayol claimed that you offered it to the goddess Isis, you were destined to be punished by the kingdom. "
Amon did not understand, "The kingdom's punishment?"
Crazy 'Ole sneered, "Dusti and Shog will pretend that they don't know, so they won't be held responsible. It was you who offered the Gods' Tear to the goddess Isis! But now Maria should have arrived at the Temple of Isis and become the Adoratrice. The news of how she got the Gods' Tear in Duc must have been made public.
The Hittite Kingdom will not protest in public, nor will they pursue the matter. But there must be people who are dissatisfied in secret. A miner extracted the Gods' Tear but did not report it according to the law. Instead, he offered it to the Shrine of the neighboring Hittite Kingdom. This is a serious crime! If we don't punish him, how can we prevent similar things from happening again? If we can't punish Rod-dick, why can't we punish you? "
Amon frowned, "How will the kingdom punish me?"
Crazy 'Ole said, "Find another crime. You will be beheaded if you violate some law or oracle. Otherwise, how can you warn the others? That's easy to figure out! "
Amon took a deep breath. "Decapitation! When? "
Crazy 'Ole said, "Rod-dick hasn't left Hittite yet. I'm afraid the news will get out. But to punish you, we have to wait until the news of the Adoratrice's ascension to the throne is announced. Then an emissary will be sent from the capital. It should take more than two months. Soon … But you don't have to worry about being beheaded. I have some old friends here. I will arrange your departure in advance. Start preparing for your long journey now. Don't tell anyone! "
Amon's expression changed to one of panic and helplessness. "Am I going to leave Duc? Leaving my father and you … "He was just a boy who had never traveled far. He did not know what to do when he heard the news.
Crazy 'Ole patted him on the shoulder and said, "My child, you will grow up one day. I have taught you so much. Do you think it's just for you to be a clerk in Duc? The world is big. Don't forget your promise to me. Unravel the secrets of the gods. As for here, I will arrange everything. When the storm is over, you can come back. "
Amon said, "I can come back? Well, that's good! But I … "
Crazy 'Ole interrupted him, "But you haven't learned more, have you? I will try my best to record everything I know and give it to you. The rest is up to you. I not only want you to unravel the secrets of the gods, but also to prove this path yourself. So I don't want you to take the wrong path. I have already taken the wrong path. Even if I become a ninth-level sorcerer, it will be the end. Now, I want to remind you of three things. You must remember them, and don't ask why. "
Amon was a little stunned, "Tell me, I will!"
The three things Crazy 'Ole told him were very special.
First, no matter how strong Amon would become in the future, he should try not to kill people directly. It was not that he could not kill people, but he should try to avoid killing people directly. There was a big difference between the two. If he had to hurt people directly, including living beings, he should try to use as little force as possible to achieve the same effect.
Second, no matter how big the disaster was, he should try not to make people hate him. If it was inevitable to make some people hate him directly, then he should make more people feel grateful to him and respect him from the bottom of their hearts.
Third, if the above two points brought him confusion and went against his beliefs, or if he had no choice between life and death and had to kill people directly, he could stop thinking about it and not feel conflicted.
It was easy to remember these three points, but difficult to understand. Amon blinked his eyes and thought for a long time. Since Crazy 'Ole did not allow him to ask why, he asked another question, "You want me to avoid killing people directly, but why did you kill Maqi that day and use so much force?"
There seemed to be a deep helplessness in Crazy 'Ole's eyes, "These are the things I want you to remember. As for me, it doesn't matter anymore! Child, do these three points give you any sense of familiarity? "
Amon shook his head, "I can't remember. It's the first time I've heard of it."
Crazy 'Ole said, "It's also the first time I've told someone this. It was mentioned in Bair's message, but he didn't explain why. Amon, give me that branch of yours for a few days. I need to rework it. "
Crazy 'Ole changed the topic. The branch was, of course, Amon's iron rod. Amon gave the rod to Crazy 'Ole. When he got home, he thought about what they talked about today. He was not only worried about the disaster in the future, but also curious and yearning.
He was silently preparing for the long journey. In fact, there was nothing to prepare. He did not know where he was going, and he was more concerned about what would happen to his drunkard father after he left. He had to take the Aquaticore with him, and he planned to keep the other twenty parangons, enough for his father to use for several years. Crazy 'Ole promised to take care of things here. After all, he could come back again, so there was no need to worry too much.
The three things Crazy 'Ole told him to remember were mentioned in Bair's message, but when he recalled Bair's message last time, he did not mention them. It seemed that at least he did not tell Amon everything. What else did he keep?
A few days later, Amon's "illness" was cured. All the ailments disappeared naturally. That night, Amon was sitting at home. For some reason, he felt that every muscle and every pore in his body was so comfortable. Even his every breath was so joyful. This was the body that truly belonged to him. Only in this way could he use the awakened power in his bloodline without any awkwardness.
He had passed the test of "body purity", and his body arts had advanced to the second level. According to Crazy 'Ole, Amon should continue to practice second-level magic. Amon wanted to go to the Charcoal Forest, but since that was the case, he went to Crazy 'Ole's house to tell him the news and ask him how to practice second-level magic.
When he came to the gate of Crazy 'Ole's yard, he felt something was wrong, as if there was an invisible force blocking the gate. As soon as Amon touched the force, he heard a voice in his ear, "Mr. Nietzsche, is the man outside the boy you were talking about?"
It was the voice of an old man, not from the town. Then Amon heard Crazy 'Ole's voice in his ear, "Yes, Goliath, he is Amon."
It turned out that Crazy 'Ole had a guest, Goliath. Amon had never heard of this name. Amon only heard the question and the answer, and then there was no sound. The force in front of the gate had no intention of letting him in. Obviously, Crazy 'Ole and Golier didn't want Amon to hear what they were talking about, nor did he want him to disturb them. Amon stood in the corner of the yard and waited quietly.
Not knowing what Crazy 'Ole and the guest were talking about, Amon suddenly heard Goliath's voice saying agitatedly, "Nietzsche, please don't offend the gods in front of me. I have my beliefs, my beliefs, my principles. Please stop talking about the prophecy of the catastrophe!"
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