Alice in the Land of Steam

Kenos had not expected that his inquiry would lead to such a major event. He was stunned for a moment and could not help but ask back: "What did you say?"

For the usually serious and cold King of Curses, this was an extremely rare loss of composure.

Saint Toumi did not blame him, but repeated it in a calm tone without changing a word, as if to indicate that this decision would not be changed by anyone's doubts: "The world is about to change, and humans should prepare early. I intend to select four people from among you to unify the cities and establish a kingdom. I will spread the glory of the goddess and the fourteen queens to the lands of all races, so that all spiritual people in the world will come to worship."

He looked at Kenos deeply and said, "This is a crucial step for animism to be recognized by the world. It is also a necessary step. You should understand that without animism, there would be no human beings today."

After saying this, everyone immediately understood the teacher's determination and knew that there was no room for negotiation on this matter. He was not discussing with them, but only giving an ultimatum. The teacher rarely acted on his own, but each time he acted on his own, he proved himself to be right. For example, at the beginning, when humans gradually showed signs of rising due to the birth of the extraordinary path and the establishment of the Spirit Prayer Society, but had not yet become completely powerful, he ignored the opposition of others and repeatedly rejected the dragon clan's solicitation. He was unwilling to become a vassal of those arrogant dragons and participate in the struggle for continental hegemony. For this reason, he even fought a battle with the dragon clan.

The outcome of that war and the compromise of the Infinite Dragon God Bahamut proved that his insistence was justified. Humans won precious time for their development, while also firmly expressing their neutral attitude and gaining the trust of allies such as fairies, wind elves and dwarves.

In the eyes of the believers of the Spiritual Prayer Society and those who have been blessed by the saint, the teacher seems to be a prophet who can always make the right choice and never make mistakes. But is this really the case? Is there really someone who can predict the future and accurately grasp the various trends of history, as if he has received the revelation of the goddess? Only the twelve disciples who are closest to Saint Tomi know that their teacher is also a human being, not a god, and as long as he is a human being, he will make mistakes.

In the eyes of the Cursed Ring King Kenos, this was undoubtedly a hugely wrong decision, which could even lead to serious consequences and endanger the future of mankind, so he could not sit idly by.

"I cannot agree with your decision, sir."

Kenos said frankly, with a serious expression: "The current situation on the continent seems peaceful, but it is actually very fragile. Humans are the key node in it, and are also the third force that other races are most wary of and afraid of. At present, any radical actions by humans may break this fragile balance, causing war to come back and harm lives again. This is such an unwise behavior. I sincerely worry about you and hope that you can reconsider and make a cautious decision."

Among the remaining eleven disciples, many nodded secretly, thinking that what Kenos said made sense, and Fei was one of them.

Compared with other races, humans have many inherent deficiencies, but their advantages are also obvious: they are clever, hardworking, good at summarizing and passing on experience, always united when facing foreign enemies, and pay great attention to studying technology and pragmatism. What's more terrifying is that humans also have the strongest fertility and reproduction ability among almost all intelligent races. They originally lost 70% of their population in the millennium-long continental melee, but recovered to their heyday in just 50 years of recuperation. This is an unimaginable miracle for dragons and giants who have difficulty conceiving, the three major elves with a high infant mortality rate, and even fairies who rely on magic to reproduce naturally.

These potentials ensured that the weak humans at that time did not completely sink in the melee of various races, and after the extraordinary path brought by Saint Tumi completed the last piece of the puzzle, it laid an unparalleled war potential. The current humans have initially acquired the power to confront any race head-on. If they are given another fifty years of peaceful development, I am afraid that the long-standing battle for continental hegemony will usher in its first winner.

However, why have other races never thought of temporarily joining forces to strangle the rise of humans in the cradle? On the one hand, it is because they have many contradictions among themselves, and even a short-term alliance is difficult to achieve; on the other hand, it is because humans at this time do not make them feel a real threat, but just a little tricky.

This is determined by the special political system within the human race. At this time, humans have not yet formed a large-scale national political system that can integrate all populations and resources. They are only loosely united in the form of city-state autonomy. Although these city-states all respect Tumi as a saint and are willing to follow the call of the Spirit Prayer Society to fight against foreign enemies, there is still competition within them, and even political tendencies are inconsistent: in addition to the common allies of humans, some cities tend to dragons, some cities tend to feather elves, and some cities have already established trade relations with mirror elves in the deep sea...

This was the result of the deliberate indulgence of the Spiritual Prayer Society, in order to create an illusion to the various races that humans could disintegrate internally, thereby dispelling their hostility. When the various races were wary of humans but also tried to win over humans, the human weight had the weight to determine the tilt of the scale.

In the past, as a leader in the religious sense, the Spiritual Prayer Society has always tended to keep the scales balanced and thus establish a fragile peace. However, the new measures proposed by Saint Tomi will undoubtedly break this balance. When the originally scattered and autonomous city-states unite under the call of the saints, the hostility that has long been eliminated will surely come back, triggering a war that no one can bear.

What particularly worried Kenos and his disciples was that their teacher's words vaguely revealed an intention to actively seek external expansion. After all, although the goddess and the fourteen young girls were the creators of the universe and the protectors of all living things, their deeds were not spread across the continent. Except for the humans who had truly received their grace and were willing to place their faith in them, other races had their own legends and traditions. In particular, many races' gods were still active on the world stage, such as the infinite dragon god Bahamut of the dragon race, the sky god Losonov of the winged people, and the sea prince Mafina of the mirror elves. If the goddess's teachings were to be spread to these races, it would be tantamount to launching a religious war.

If so, how is it different from betrayal?
Not only did he betray the allies who had come together out of trust, but he also betrayed that long-standing oath.

"I remember you once told us that the fourteen great and noble kings bestowed the power of the kingship on human beings in order to end disputes and maintain peace, not to make us humans repeat the mistakes of the past after we become stronger." Kenos stared at his teacher deeply, his light brown eyes showing deep thoughts and sincere exhortations: "I have already made a promise, how can I go back on it?"

Dispute, peace, preface, betrayal... Kenos' words suddenly reminded the saint of a distant past.

He still remembered how he had crossed the vast universe, endured endless loneliness, and finally arrived at the holy land of his dreams. In that city buried by ruins and forests, he sought a glimmer of hope from the descendants of the goddess, just to realize his ideal. Time often drowns everything, but he still remembers that past clearly, even every sentence and every word, and naturally the oath that Kenos said was no exception.

The old proverb says that if you want something, you have to pay for it. If you want something, you have to pay for it. There is no real value in just hoping for it, so the price you pay cannot be measured. A vow can be different for different people. Some people may think it is cheap, while others may think it is expensive. It may also be different at different times. It may seem cheap at the time, but it may seem too expensive to accept later.

Tumi was once the former, but now he is the latter. He spoke slowly, his voice as heavy as a rock, without revealing any emotion: "Times have changed, and it is not the same thing. The peace you think of is very fragile, Kenos. It will come back sooner or later. It is just a matter of time."

"Then I can be sure that it is better for it to come later than earlier." As the first disciple of the saint, the Curse Ring King did not give in. He was a stubborn person with his own ideas and persistence in his heart: "If it comes later, it is nothing more than other races who cannot bear to see the rise of humans and become disloyal. At that time, we will resist with justification and will not worry about being condemned by the world and betraying our old oath. If we take the initiative to invade now and bear the crime of destroying peace, who knows how many people will be disloyal and unwilling to go with the prayer meeting? I think this is a very serious consequence and must be paid attention to."

"Having lost the initiative, we have fallen behind." Tumi's old face showed no expression, and he said calmly: "I heard that skilled hunters always actively look for prey and drive them into their encirclement. Only the most clumsy hunters will guard the trap and wait for the prey to fall into the trap. Don't you understand this principle, Kenos?"

"I heard that impatient hunters often lose opportunities to win, while experienced and calculating hunters never miss their targets. Is it possible that even a wise man like you can't see through this truth?"

Kenos used the same metaphor to refute the saint's point of view, but soon he realized that his attitude seemed a bit tough, and it was not the tone a student should use to talk to a teacher, so he softened it a little and said sincerely: "Teacher, I really don't understand why you are so impatient and want to start a war even if you don't hesitate to break your promise? Time is on the side of mankind. The longer it drags on, the more advantageous it will be for us. If we expand blindly, I'm afraid it will only backfire."

"You are wrong, Kenos. Time is never on the side of humans."

The saint looked at him deeply and said, "Seven days ago, I had a dream."

Dream?
All the disciples, including Cenos, were stunned. Seven days ago, the saint had given them an order and summoned all the disciples to the Great Temple for a meeting. But what did this have to do with the dream?

Before they could think, the saint continued, his tone deep and complex: "In that dream, I saw a catastrophe that destroyed the world. The sky was covered by gray fog, the earth was barren and silent, and everyone fell into cruelty and madness. In order to compete for the remaining resources, the survivors killed each other until no one could stand up... I am sure that such a disaster cannot be survived by humans today. Only by concentrating all available resources: magic power, population, food, land and even water, can we help us survive the catastrophe and rebuild our home on the post-apocalyptic earth."

He stared at his twelve disciples and said word by word: "The world is about to change, and humans should prepare early."

This was the third time they had heard this sentence. They had not taken it seriously the first two times, but this time they felt an unprecedented sense of heaviness and suffocation, as if a disaster was about to happen, which would destroy the existing civilization and materials, and then cause slaughter and despair among all living beings. Only saints who were inspired by fate and could foresee the future could see through the fog, make preparations in advance, and lead their people through the disaster.

But when they came to their senses, they found it a little ridiculous because... it was just a dream.

"Are you afraid just because of a dream?" The Cursed Ring King Kenos looked at the person he respected and admired the most in the past fifty years with an incredulous look, as if he had just met him for the first time. "Just because of a dream, are you going to betray your oath with the kings, take the initiative to provoke a war, and let your believers and people give up this hard-earned peace, Lord Saint Tomi? Please tell me, are you just kidding?"

He used a name other than "teacher", which showed that the grief and dissatisfaction in the man's heart had reached the limit. He had heard that many rulers of other races became foolish and cruel once they reached old age, so he was extremely fortunate that the teacher leading mankind at this time was a restrained and tolerant wise man. But perhaps all similar things in the world have common characteristics, but he was born dull, so he could not see through it.

Will time always change everything? Chenos couldn't help but wonder.

However, facing the doubts of the student who had followed him for the longest time, Saint Tomi sighed deeply, with a hint of disappointment and loneliness in his voice: "It's you, Kenos, who knows nothing."

He said to the astonished Kenos, and to the other students who were either shocked, confused, terrified, or thoughtful: "What if I tell you that dreams are not illusions, but revelations of fate, a prophecy of the future?"

"What if I told you that I have always been able to see through fate, see many seemingly true and false scenes, and use them to gain unimaginable wisdom and enlightenment?"

"What if I tell you that it was the dream you think is absurd that led me to leave this planet and go to the Holy Temple of Heaven in the distant universe to seek hope from the descendants of the Goddess?"

The saint's sigh echoed faintly in the stone study hall for a long time, "Everything in the future has been determined long ago."

"It's just that the time has not come yet." (End of this chapter)