The ancestors were carefully locked up in cages by their children who had become gods. They became a group of spiritual idols for others to look up to. They could not interfere with the affairs of the Empire, nor were they allowed to come into contact with the 'lower civilizations'. This kind of resurrection … Is it really good for them?
I suddenly felt that it was a mistake to bring the ancestors out today, a huge mistake. Their position, that unique position, meant that they could not view everything in the City of Shadows peacefully like the other ordinary races.
The minions gave Anthus a huge shock. Perhaps he did not feel it so clearly when he was in the base. After all, he could only come into contact with the Shiring Apostles there. However, outside, he saw people called 'minions', 'vassals', and 'servants'. They lived in the City of Shadows and served the 'gods' as servants of the Empire. They were mortals like him.
The Shiring Apostles would not bully the 'lower civilizations'. Of course, the Empire did not discriminate against 'lower lifeforms'. However, at the same time, the Xiling Empire was definitely a society with a clear hierarchy. The apostles treated all mortal species the same, not because of moral 'fairness' or some other 'virtue', there were only two reasons for this type of treatment: the rational apostles didn't have the time to think about something as meaningless as' racial discrimination ', and they even more so didn't have the time to divide a group of similarly weak mortals into ranks.
Would you divide every ant in your yard into a combat power ranking?
Of course, the Shiring Apostles did not have the subjective view of other races as ants. They were willing to coexist peacefully with all intelligent creatures that could be their allies. However, the truth was that there were only two classes in the Empire: gods and mortals.
Not only the Xiling Empire, but the Galactic Protoss and Huron Protoss were also the same. In fact, no matter which corner of the void one was in, as long as there were many intelligent races living together, and there was an overwhelmingly powerful high-level civilization, such a situation would occur. This had nothing to do with morality and justice. This was a situation that would become a fait accompli once it appeared. Throughout the entire void, the only difference between these classes was whether the civilization at the top was friendly enough. The Schilling rulers of the Old Empire were viewed as tyrants by countless races. The current New Empire was more amiable, but that was all. The minions of the Empire were well aware of this, and they were happy to accept the current peaceful and stable situation. They were mortals with ordinary bodies, and standing on the class of the minions was an inconsequential fait accompli. Just like Pandora, who was 1.2 meters tall, she was naturally categorized as a child, while others naturally had to buy adult tickets. It was a fait accompli, and even if Pandora blew up every ticket-selling gate in the world, she would still be 1.2 meters tall …
The minions were happy to accept this division. After all, the Empire would not oppress them, and no one discriminated against them. They could do what they could and get what they deserved. If they wanted, they could also befriend their own "gods" (although it was a little rigid, the Shiring Apostles were considered kind gods). They even had the chance to drag out the Schilling Emperor who was out for a stroll and have him treat them because the Emperor was richer. They could all do that, but they were still mortals, and they were still gods.
But for Anthus, the ancestor, the situation was different.
He was a mortal, a spiritual symbol that God kept in a cage to worship every day. He could see mortals like himself living ordinary lives outside the walls. He knew that he should be like those people, but the children that he had created with his own hands forbade all of this.
Because they were the ancestors.
"We are completely different from you." Anthus looked me in the eyes. "You know what I mean, and I know what you are thinking. You want to treat your creators well, but this kind of treatment is unbearable. I am a soldier, and I used to be a leader. I can't stand to do nothing, and I can't stand to be kept in a cage like a rare animal. And … to be honest, the Schilling people are extinct. Our civilization is now in your hands, and we are just a few ghosts of a race that died many years ago. You have brought these ghosts back to the mortal world, and you have put us in an awkward position. "
"I know, I know …" I nodded, but I didn't know what to say. I had thought about it a lot, and I could understand it all. The plight of the ancestors, their awkward position, the house arrest of the Shiring Apostles, and the loneliness of a person who had been resurrected after the extinction of his entire race. Well, maybe not alone, but there were only a few ancestors who had returned to the mortal world. How was that different from being alone? What they were after was not their own survival, but their own civilization. But the civilization that they were familiar with was now gone.
The Empire was a foreign thing to them.
If Earth was destroyed, and you were resurrected by aliens, then you would live on a strange planet where even the sun was light green. You would be locked in a lab every day, and your only value in life was to occasionally answer a few questions from the aliens like "what was Earth like in the past?" You would see many similar creatures outside the lab, and they would be treated as pets by the aliens. Then, no matter how good the environment in the lab was, what was the use? To the ancestors, the super-evolved Shiring Apostles were probably even more foreign than the aliens.
And the identity of their "ancestors" forced this contradiction to an irreconcilable degree.
"Actually, I used to live as a mortal, just a few years ago …" I rambled on. I knew that what I said was not convincing. The ancestors did not care about "mortals" and "gods." They were the "mortals" who created "gods." This was the crux of the problem. Other than that, there were a lot of other things that were worth struggling with. Each of them was much more complicated than when I was smashed by the Empire from the sky a few years ago. In the end, I could only wave my hand. "Okay, let's not talk about me. As for Sandora … I will talk to her. She is just a little too nervous now. She will probably wake up if someone reminds her. She should listen to her husband. You can wait for a few days. I can promise you that you are not just an object for people to admire. You have a very important role and a very important mission … "
"Such as?" Anthus interrupted me.
I racked my brain. I had to think of an idea that would make the ancestors feel like they had something to do. It was not easy, because in fact, they really had to face an arrangement that was not very friendly to mortals. After understanding the situation in their homeworld, the ancestors would be given immortal bodies, just like the other clans who had been promoted by the Empire. However, they would not be allowed to be with the servant army. They would be "protected" in the deepest part of the Royal District. Day after day, year after year, they would forever be a group of living spiritual idols. They would be "visited" by countless Shiring Apostles respectfully until the end of time … This was Sandora's arrangement.
From the perspective of the Shiring Apostles, this arrangement was "not a problem."
I had just heard about this. Of course, I knew that this arrangement was terrible. However, I did not have the time to object to Sandora. Recently, there were too many things to deal with. Now, it seemed that Anthus had already vaguely sensed the terrifying stubbornness and ruthlessness of the Shiring Apostles. He more or less knew how he would be placed. Because of this, he was seriously anxious. So, I had no choice but to cancel Sandora's plan in advance. She would understand anyway.
"Oh, right. I couldn't have remembered if you didn't mention it." After all, pressure always gave people motivation. After racking my brain, I really did remember something that I had almost forgotten. "We are looking for the coordinates of our homeworld. You know about this, right? But all the devices that recorded the coordinates of our homeworld have been destroyed. We did not find any clues on the ark wreckage. We also did not find any traces on the world barrier of that universe. So, our last hope is you … "
"Us?" Anthus pointed at his own head. "We are different from the Shiring Apostles. A mortal's brain does not have the ability to record the coordinates of the Void. That kind of abstract concept can burn a mortal's brain with just a footnote."
"No, I don't need you to remember the coordinates. I only need you, the old crew, to give a rough description of the worlds that you temporarily stopped in." My train of thought had finally straightened out. This was something that Tawil had mentioned in a report that he had given me the day before yesterday. It was probably going to be put into practice in the next few days. "I know that when you fled, the Shiring Apostles were not yet formed. But at that time, the Galactic Protoss were already the overlords of the Void. Their expeditionary forces had reached unimaginable places — perhaps even our homeworld. You should still remember the universes that you passed through when you fled, right? Slowly recall what they were like. Even the vaguest description will do. Then, we can ask the Protoss to search through their database. After a thorough search, we will definitely be able to find some clues about our homeworld. "
"Oh, it's just like writing a memoir." Anthus finally revealed a comfortable smile. "I dare not say anything else, but I am very confident in my memory. See, this is much better. At least we know that we have a mission to accomplish … "
I suddenly thought of those retired people who could not sit still anymore. People who worked hard for their entire lives would never be able to sit still. After retirement, old people could not stand the idle days and had to find something to do. The old captain in front of me seemed to be like that.
His crew was probably the same. His ancestors who came from the era of exile would definitely not be satisfied with a life of leisure. Sandora and I had not thought this through from the beginning.
"In a few days, I will be going to the Divine Realm. Before that, I hope that you can summarize a rough summary of the information. Hmm, time might be a little tight. Let's summarize as much as we can on our first trip. Searching for our homeworld is a long-term plan. I reckon that we will have to exchange information with the Divine Realm regularly in the future. It will keep you busy for a while. Also, if we really locate our homeworld, you will have to act as the fleet's guide. That place is very unfamiliar to us. "
Anthus suddenly stood up and saluted with the vigor of a young man. "Understood. Guide the fleet and accept the mission!"
I was stunned for a moment. Then, I knew what I had to do. I couldn't refuse or be polite. I had to act like a superior. "Then, I will leave this important task to you, Captain Anthus."
Finally, the two of us looked at each other and smiled. I felt that I had finally made the right decision. The old man in front of me had finally regained his vigor. Then, I suddenly remembered something. I rummaged through my dimensional pocket and said, "Wait a minute. I just remembered that we found this on the ark wreckage. Take a look and see whose relic it belongs to."
As I spoke, I took out a small crystal pendant.
It was the pendant that we had found in the central control room of the ark wreckage. The woman in the pendant was guessed to be a relative of one of the ark's commanders. I had kept it for a long time, but because it was an inconspicuous item, I had almost forgotten about it after a long time. Now that I had been chatting with Anthus, I suddenly remembered it.
"This is …" Anthus' expression stiffened. Then, he slowly extended his hand. But when he touched the pendant, he retracted his hand as though he had been electrocuted. It was as though he couldn't believe that the thing in front of him was real. I stuffed the pendant into his hand. "Looks like this belongs to you."
"Ah … Yes, it's mine." Anthus held the feminine accessory that didn't match his burly figure. "It's my Annaena. It's my Annaena … I thought it was destroyed. I didn't expect to see it again … Thank you. Thank you …"
"Pardon me for asking, but Annaena is …" Although I had already guessed it, I couldn't help but ask.
"My wife," Anthus said softly as he gently wiped the corner of his eyes. "We have been separated for a long time."
When we were checking the ancestors' remains, we didn't find anyone who matched the woman in the pendant. Hence, the woman named Annaena should have passed away a long time ago. Judging from Anthus' reaction, it might have happened before the ark crashed.
"The ark fleet went into exile and split up at the same time. In order to increase the survival rate of our civilization, we split up small colony troops along the way like we were sowing spores along the way. We sent them to search for worlds that might be suitable for survival. Annaena was an ecology expert in one of the colony troops."
"Wouldn't such a colony troop never return?" I couldn't help but ask. Our ancestors' ark fleet was rather backward. They hadn't mastered accurate navigation technology back then, and the fleet didn't know how to stop at all. They were like a fleet sailing at night in the pitch-black ocean. Every ship only had one command: 'Forward'. Once the colony troops left the Order Field, it was equivalent to being dragged into the endless darkness, with no possibility of returning. "That's how it was.
Everyone in the colony troop knew that it was a one-way ticket. "Anthus smiled bitterly and nodded." But someone had to do it. In order to preserve our civilization, we had to try every possible plan. If the ark fleet was completely destroyed, at least the colony troops that were split up in advance were also a tiny sliver of hope. It was also because of these colony troops that the people of the ark fleet could move forward without hesitation. Mortals are such strange creatures. As long as there is a tiny sliver of hope, no matter how tiny it is, we will not be afraid of death. "
Anthus lowered his head and stroked the crystal pendant with nostalgia. "Anna was my hope … I always believed that she led the colony troop to find a stable world. I believed that she would be able to live the rest of her life in peace. Even if the probability was one in ten thousand, I still believed so. It was because of this' belief 'that I led the crew to the end."
"As long as you don't witness the scene of hope being destroyed with your own eyes, you will cling to that tiny sliver of hope until the end." Icetis' voice suddenly rang in my head. She had been silent for a long time. She had finally returned to her senses. "Mortals … are always such weak yet tenacious creatures. God can't stop worrying about them."
"Why must a family be separated?" I pouted unhappily. "The colony troop should be formed by families. It doesn't feel right to have a portion of people stay on the mothership while their families are sent to the colony troop."
"Because I was the captain." Anthus shook his head calmly. "And Ahna was one of the only ecologists who met the requirements at that time. Remember what I said, the weakness of mortals. If we want to keep the fleet in order, the captain must make sacrifices. The first emperor had two sons who were sent to the colony ship. We took the sacrifice as a matter of course. And if we think about it from another angle … to the people who stayed on the ark fleet, it might have been a form of hope. At least I could comfort myself by saying that Anna had safely found a new home. That was a popular method of self-consolation on the ark. We would even hold a fake celebration to celebrate the safe arrival of the XX colony troop in the new paradise. It was just to give the people who stayed a little hope. "
"Captain!" Lu's voice suddenly came from the side, interrupting my conversation with Anthus. I saw the other ancestors walking over, and the little ones that had been playing with them happily landed on me. A few of the little ones that were familiar with the 'terrain' quickly found the bag of candy and started to search for food. Life was really simple and straightforward.
"Retreat. Prepare to return," Anthus straightened his body and said to his subordinates.
Lu blinked. "Are we not going to continue our tour? There are still many places we haven't seen. "
"We have a mission," Anthus said simply.
I noticed that the others weren't the least bit upset about the 'interruption of sightseeing.' Instead, they were happy when Anthus mentioned the word 'mission.'
We should have done that a long time ago.
After sending the ancestors back to the military zone, I let out a breath of relief. Icetis finally showed up to show her presence. "How was it? You almost went overboard, didn't you? I already reminded you once when you revived the ancestors."
"You knew that the ancestors would have psychological problems?"
"I didn't live for so long just to waste my time. I have seen more changes in species and the rise and fall of the world than your hair!"
I knew that the female pervert couldn't help but start bragging after a long period of silence. I didn't bother to respond to her. I just looked up at the clear sky.
Let's go back and write a letter to Xing Chen. Let's set a date to go to the God Realm before this female pervert causes me to have a nervous breakdown.
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