Ever since he had woken up, Anthus had never left the heavily guarded walls of the military zone. Of course, this was an arrangement that Sandora had made out of consideration for his safety. However, most people didn't like having their freedom restricted. The apostles might be able to stay in the same place for ten thousand years just because of an order, but the ancestors obviously couldn't live according to the apostles' behavior. Sandora was the type of person who was overly concerned. She had probably neglected this point. Furthermore, she had been busy recently. The group of ancestors had been locked up by us for such a long time as if they were under house arrest …
The scenery outside the military zone was completely different from the inside of the high walls. The latter was a heavily guarded and rigid military base. The Imperial Army, who had extremely low requirements for their personal lives, naturally wouldn't spend any effort to set up entertainment facilities in the military zone. However, outside, the civilians of various races had brought over the best and most unique things from their world. While doing their best to display the unique culture of their world, it also formed a never-ending, dazzling exhibition. The further we left the military zone, the more prosperous the scenery became. This was the exact opposite of an ordinary city. I reckon that none of you have ever seen a bustling city outside the city center. Thankfully, the City of Shadows had a convenient teleportation system. Otherwise, this would definitely be considered an abnormal development …
"Oh, so the outside is such a bustling place." The ancestor named "Lu" was probably younger and more active than the others. She was a little confused at first, but soon found that the outside world was much friendlier than the heavily guarded military base with weapons everywhere. So, she soon turned into a pure sightseeing mode. Under her lead, the others slowly relaxed as well. We walked through the first commercial street, passing by dazzling shops along the way. Residents from various worlds had opened countless shops, restaurants, and entertainment outlets here. Rather than saying that this special commercial street was a place for ordinary citizens to meet their daily needs, it was more appropriate to call it a "showcase" that was half government and half civilian. You could find that all the shops here were labeled as' foreign specialties'. Next to the blacksmith shop that sold traditional swords might be a starship rental shop that supported credit card purchases. Above the night elf's potion shop, there was a registration point for a certain intergalactic exploration team. We also saw a magical driving school that offered driving lessons from four-wheeled carriages to four-engine intergalactic private yachts. The person in charge of the driving school was a dark elf girl from an ancient magic plane. She studied at the Empire Academy as a shadow magic student and later graduated with 16 types of starship driving licenses. She was a top student. The reason why I knew her so well was that I was more or less one of the directors of the school. It was impossible for me to not have an impression of this kind of top student who could graduate as a top student. A friendly reminder: Icetis was such a top student. When she graduated as the Goddess of Light, she was famous in the divine realm.
Finally, we came to a very special place, a place that claimed that as long as you had money, you could buy anything and do anything: the Fairy Void Consortium founded by the strange Fairy Void Consortium.
Speaking of which, I hadn't seen the magical Fairy Void Consortium for a while. It seemed that her consortium was operating normally. But now that she had just started to develop, the so-called Void Consortium was just an empty shell with a big name. Because I saw her personally distributing promotional materials in the open space in front of the consortium's headquarters, as if she was struggling at the beginning of her business.
The Ancestors were attracted by the materials that the Void hawker was giving out. I glanced at it from afar and realized what was going on: Phyllis was promoting civilian spaceships, and this kind of thing was exactly what the Ancestors wanted.
"Forgive us. We have spent most of our lives on starships. Navigation, engines, and spaceship structure, these things are almost all we had when we were alive." As an old captain, Anthus was more mature. He didn't join in the fun but quietly watched with me.
Phyllis didn't see me for a while. She was completely immersed in her business. She could tell that the ancestors, led by Lu, were just spaceship enthusiasts and not potential customers. She greeted them for a while and then continued to work, letting the ancestors study the materials on the automatic display board. She grabbed a passing low-level ghost and was enthusiastically promoting her excellent goods. She didn't see me until Anthus and I got close.
"Ah, it's His Majesty the Emperor!" The beautiful mature lady dressed in black exclaimed in surprise. The low-tier ghost that she was pulling over also flashed and bowed. I couldn't even tell the gender or appearance of this low-tier ghost, but it was obvious that this ghost was rather weak. As an undead, it didn't have much experience. It was likely that this ghost had come to the City of Shadows with its superior or family, or it was simply a tourist.
"Oh, don't be shy. I brought someone out to play." I waved my hand at Phyllis. I couldn't help but place my gaze on the low-level specter. When specters were relatively weak, it was difficult for them to come into contact with physical objects. They would involuntarily pass through everything they came into contact with, such as walls, tables, and ceilings. The weakest specter would need a medium to pick up an apple. A specter like An Weina would be an Undead Lord in the Undead society, or even an existence on the level of a God of Death (pseudo).
That was why I was curious about the purpose of Phyllis promoting transportation to such a ghost. After the spaceship took off, it would stay on the launchpad because it would pass through the cockpit and the hull …
"Think about it. Although you have become an undead, the Empire has never said that undead can't enjoy life, right? Since you have to walk under the sun and live in peace with other living races, why can't you live a more leisurely life? " Phyllis seemed to want to show off her sales skills in front of me. She was trying her best to persuade the bewildered ghost to buy a private spaceship. "I suggest you choose this small intergalactic private shuttle. It has a short learning period and is currently one of the most popular private transportation tools in the Macro World. Imagine sitting in a spaceship and galloping freely in the endless starry sky … "
I finally couldn't hold it in anymore. I pointed at the low-level ghost who had to use all his strength to pick up the brochure. "Actually, he is trying his best to synchronize with the shuttle. He also has to maintain an awesome posture as if he is sitting on a chair. If he flies a little slower, he will leak out from the back of the spaceship …"
… Then, there was no then.
"Your Majesty, do you have a grudge against me?" Phyllis asked seriously.
"I just can't stand you deceiving your customers!" I said sternly.
"I never lie when I do my marketing. The customers just want to buy it." Phyllis raised her eyebrows. "Yesterday, I sold a sports car to the same ghost."
"… He didn't cause you trouble today? How can a low-level ghost sit in a moving car! "
"No." Phyllis didn't feel pressured at all. "I also sold him two brochures, 'As a Spirit Creature, How to Fly at the Speed of a Car' and 'How to Maintain a Sexy Posture on a Chair While Holding the Steering Wheel' …"
I was speechless.
I practically dragged my ancestors away from this place that seemed incredibly dangerous no matter how I looked at it. My instincts told me that the Void peddler named Phyllis had already embarked on the path of a deranged and unscrupulous merchant. You wouldn't have enough money to spend when you were with her.
"That was …" Anthus could tell that I was familiar with Phyllis, but she obviously wasn't a member of the Imperial Army. So, he asked curiously.
"You don't have to care about a profiteer." I shrugged. "Speaking of which, it was thanks to that profiteer that we were able to find your wrecked ark. That's why she was able to set up a Void Financial Group here."
"Very interesting, very interesting." Anthus smiled faintly. His eyes lingered on the bizarre scenery around him. To be honest, most of the things here were still incomprehensible to the ancestors. They didn't understand the language, the products, the culture, and the strange races. There were many more things that they didn't understand here than the military zone. But the ancestors obviously liked the atmosphere here. Lu led the others in a circle before returning. She had a happy expression on her face. "It's much livelier than I imagined. I thought that you had turned the Empire into a lifeless place. Now, we are much more at ease …"
I felt that this sentence was a little strange, but I didn't have time to think about it. I just smiled and nodded. "This is the place of the spawn tribe. Of course, it's livelier. The Shiring Apostles aren't used to this kind of chaotic life. They prefer to train all day in the military camp. The spawn tribe and the Imperial Army are stationed in separate places because their living habits are incompatible. "
"Spawn tribe … huh?" Anthus's expression changed subtly before returning to normal. "Yes, you are now fundamentally different from these mortals. I heard that you are called Gods. For us old guys, it's really hard to understand."
"I told you, when you say 'old guy', don't mention me!" Lu glared at Anthus angrily. It seemed that the technical director and the old captain had a good relationship a long time ago. The two didn't have a strict sense of superiority and inferiority.
"We have seen enough here. Take us to another place." Anthus waved his hand at Lu and looked into the distance. It was in the direction of the World Tree. "I heard that is the embassy of God? I'm curious. When we were alive, we didn't know that 'God' really existed. "
I looked at the empty-handed ancestors and finally became curious. They came to the business district and didn't buy anything. Were the ancestors used to being thrifty or were they really not interested in shopping? I remembered that they all had consumer cards that could be used in the City of Shadows.
"There's nothing to buy." A sturdy but slightly short middle-aged man smiled honestly. I knew that this ancestor's name was "Eglon." "I'm just looking around. Don't we have daily necessities in the base?"
I looked at the few elders. They were all smiling in satisfaction, and the atmosphere seemed to be quite good. It seemed that they really weren't interested in the goods here, so I waved my hand. "Alright, let's go to the temple area to take a look. However, you might have a bit of an impression of the Gods …"
Through the public teleportation point in the city, we quickly arrived at the temple area. The ancestors were stunned when they saw the enormous cliff in front of them that no longer looked like a tree trunk.
"This is the World Tree, the control center of the surface world. The capital of the Empire is located in the inner world. The miscellaneous affairs of the surface world are entrusted to a Protoss. So, this temple is similar to a property management department." I waited for the ancestors to come back to my senses. I pointed at the giant tree in front of us and explained, "Oh, that's God over there, and her little friends …"
Jingle led a large group of little things that glowed with green light out of the tree trunk. I quickly introduced the little things to the ancestors. Sensing that her "owner" was nearby, Jingle immediately flew over. She hugged my face as if there was no one else around and rubbed it hard. Then, she skillfully crawled into her shirt pocket to look for candies. The little things that came with Jingle noticed the ancestors standing next to her. They exclaimed softly as they flew up and down around the ancestors, chattering non-stop, "Mortals! It was a mortal who had come with His Majesty! Hello! "" Are you here to worship the temple? Are you friends of the emperor? "" Maybe you are Jingle's friends! "" Jingle didn't greet them, so it shouldn't be them. Colleen is very smart! "
The little things flew around the ancestors happily. They could vaguely sense that the latter had the same power as the Goddess of Life. That was why they were especially close to the mortals they met for the first time. However, the overly enthusiastic little things seemed to scare the ancestors. They had never seen such creatures before.
"What … What is this?" Lu finally reacted, but she didn't dare to move around because of the little things flying around. She could only stand there and exclaim in surprise. I helplessly took out Jingle, who was looking for candies in her pocket. She had already found a candy and was using her teeth to tear open the wrapper. I pointed at the little things and then pointed at Jingle, who was tearing open the wrapper of the candy. "As I said earlier, this is a God. Hmm, the smaller type. They are called the Goddess of Life."
The ancestors: "?"
"Also, when I resurrected you, I used their power. So many Goddess of Life were summoned here for the resurrection experiment." Although they soon became completely playful — I was too embarrassed to say this last sentence.
Anthus knew a little about his own resurrection, but this was the first time he had heard about the details. The other ancestors had only woken up a few days ago, so they didn't know much about it. I looked at the happy little beans around me and decided to take this opportunity to tell them everything that had happened during the resurrection experiment. It would be good to leave them with a good impression of the Gods.
After a series of exchanges, the ancestors finally gained a true understanding of these tiny Life Goddesses. For the first time, the little ones also learned that the dregs they had left behind two days ago had been collected by someone in order to resurrect these "big mortal friends." The relationship between the two sides instantly became much closer. So, it didn't take long for me, the middleman, to be left to the side, while the ancestors and the little ones chatted happily.
These palm-sized Goddesses of Life were cute to begin with. It was beyond my imagination that they would have such a high level of affinity with each other.
Only Dingdang didn't join in the fun with her little sisters. This little one still had a bit of a conscience. She preferred to stay with me. This was probably the result of her daily feeding. Anthus didn't join in the fun either. Although he was curious about the little things, he was still an old captain. Whether it was age or experience, he was much more mature. So, Jingle, Anthus, and I found a place to rest and chat in the temple square.
Of course, as a bound equipment, Bryndis was also with me. It was just that this female pervert had no interest in our conversation at all. She was just playing dead in my body.
Everything in the temple square was a "natural creation". The street lamps around the square were made of fluorescent flowers, the houses were natural treehouses cultivated by the elven priests, and the benches were natural "benches" formed by the roots of the World Tree poking out of the ground. We sat on one of these "benches" and took deep breaths of the wondrous fragrance that permeated the entire temple district. Clank lay on my shoulder with a blissful expression as she licked her candy. Anthus looked at his subordinates who were chatting with the other Life Goddesses. "It's been a long time since we've had such peaceful days …"
I knew that he was recalling the days when he was in exile. Back then, he was on tenterhooks on the spaceship. Every day, he would hear reports of mass casualties. He was worried that a catastrophe would come to his ark. How could those days be compared to the peaceful days before him? But I noticed that Anthus didn't look too happy when he sighed. I was puzzled. "Are you not satisfied with the current situation?"
"No, I'm very satisfied," Anthus said in a low voice. "It's just that I think of those who didn't live to see this day …"
"Those who failed to resurrect … There's nothing we can do about it."
"No, it's not just them." Anthus shook his head. "The other people on the ark, those who didn't manage to escape from their homeworld, and those who died on the road to exile … Now, only a few of us are left."
"That's … Maybe it's a little rude to say this." I struggled for a while, but I finally couldn't take it anymore. "You guys seem to be dispirited because you've lost your goals."
"That's how it is. Why 'seem'?" Anthus smiled bitterly and spread his hands. "What goals can we have? What can we do? Yesterday, I was trapped in the bathroom for an entire hour. Some of us couldn't even open our own wardrobe. What else can we do?! We are a bunch of primitive people who were resurrected from the stone. The children we created are now Gods. Do you know that? They are Gods. And we are a bunch of primitive creatures who might choke to death just by drinking water. You don't need any ancestors. You just need to ask us a few questions, then lock us up in cages like birds and feed us! What can we do? What do you want a bunch of primitive people to do? How many minions do you have? How many servants do you have? Can we go and be your minions? At least give us something to do! "
Anthus got agitated as he spoke. He couldn't help but raise his voice. But he quickly calmed himself down and sighed heavily. "I'm sorry, I was too agitated … Something bad has happened over the past two days … I know it's not your problem, it's us."
I finally understood why I'd been feeling so uncomfortable for the past half a day. The ancestors had been touring the city under my guidance. They all seemed to be smiling, but they had only been watching from the beginning to the end. There was an inexplicable sense of disharmony around them. This sense of disharmony came from the 'isolation'.
They couldn't blend in.
To be more precise, they couldn't blend in with the upper echelons of the Empire. Sandora didn't allow them to touch the lower echelons of the Empire.
The military zone was a heavily-guarded royal city, a cage that locked the ancestors in. Outside the royal city was a world that they could barely accept, but they knew very well that even the world outside the royal city wasn't theirs.
In a moment of desperation, Anthus said, "Can we go and be your minions?"
If they were minions, "ordinary people" like the servant army, they would probably be more comfortable. Among the many vassals of the Empire, even the weaker races had a place, but the ancestors couldn't even have one.
They were the ancestors, the ancestors of the ancient times of the Empire. The Xi Ling apostles did not allow their creators to come into contact with or even integrate with the "lower species". They wanted to place their ancestors at the top of the tower of the imperial city, even if the latter did not like that position.
It was like raising birds.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
