Chapter 275: Righteousness
Han Jin slowly stirred the huge ship in the air. Thick black mist filled the space below them like the shell of an enormous turtle, covering everything across dozens of miles. According to the rumors, the Abyssal Mages were not affected by the mist at all, but how do the humans from Fort Maxine live? It’s not as if they were from the Abyss!
“My Lord, if we fly so low, what if the Abyssal Mages attack us?” Ronning worriedly asked. At least a hundred Abyssal Mages were hiding inside the black mist, and even someone as powerful as Guevara had suffered a loss at their hands. Roning didn’t think this huge ship could be sturdier than Guevara.
“Master Jeddes, do you have any suggestions?” Han Jin turned toward Jeddes.
“Light magic can indeed stop the spread of darkness, but I would need at least a regiment of priests. A single person’s power alone is still too insignificant,” Jeddes quietly replied after observing the black mist below.
“If there is no better way to handle it… then I will do it my way.” Han Jin paused and took out the Soul Devouring Bead from his space ring. With a light tap, a streak of black smoke floated out of the bead and formed into Harley’s shape.
Since the ghosts and spirits inside the Soul Devouring Bead were connected to Han Jin’s mind, Harley moved without any further instruction. His shape rapidly expanded until an enormous skeleton that was several dozen meters tall stood in front of them. However, the black smoke also became extremely thin – so thin that it almost looked clear.
With a dull roar, Harley exploded into a wave of smoke which spilled toward the ground, eventually merging with the black mist below.
Han Jin slowly left his seat and walked beside Jeddes. He observed the scene below for a while before suddenly raising his head. “Is there anything you want to say to me?”
The shrewd Jeddes immediately understood Han Jin’s words and faintly smiled. “What do you want me to say?”
Han Jin shrugged. “I thought you hated all creatures of darkness.”
Jeddes stayed silent for a moment, then smiled. “Yes, I do find that Harley disgusting, but that doesn’t mean I absolutely need to comment on it. Haha… Nicolas taught me many things, especially during our last encounter. He told me he absolutely despised people who pestered him with pointless advice. In other words, he has been angry for a long time. I won’t make the same mistake again.”
Han Jin continued staring at the mist below and didn’t reply.
“In reality, nothing matters more than your character,” Jeddes slowly said. “I see many valuable qualities among your friends: honesty, naivety, kindness, righteousness… The fact that you chose this group of friends proves you have a pure heart. Harley is just a weapon to you, isn’t it?”
“Righteousness?” Han Jin smiled scornfully. Maybe because of the culture he had been raised in, but he had never believed there was true justice in the world. Countless stories had taught him that it was better to focus on a grand plan instead of committing a small crime, even if the grand plan was unjust!
“That is what matters most.” Jeddes’s expression became extremely serious. He felt the scorn in Han Jin’s voice too. “At least, you need to believe what you are doing is right.”
“If I believe what I’m doing is right… does that really make it just?” Han Jin replied with a smile.
“If you don’t even believe in yourself, why should others believe you?” Jeddes asked again.
“I understand now.” Han Jin nodded after a moment of silence, then shifted the topic. Some things were better conveyed subtly instead of bluntly. “You said that my friends were… honest, naive, and kind. Them? Could you tell me which one of them is naive?”
Cessacioun, Moxinke, and everyone else immediately turned around. The other adjectives were flattering enough, but for a group of adults, no one would want to be called ‘naive’.
But, Jeddes was not a person who spoke with empty words. Someone had to fit that description. As they looked at each other, their gazes all eventually landed on Moxinke.
“Why are you all staring at me?!” Moxinke angrily said.
“Because you are naive,” Cessacioun said.
“Also very dumb,” Reg continued.
“Very dumb and very naive!” Gibran summarized.
“You… you….” Moxinke was angry and flustered at the same time, but it was true that Cessacioun and the rest of the group had a quicker brain, and he was the one most often on the losing side of their frequent banter. It was true that when they had first met, Moxinke had been the bullying Cessacioun, but that was because Cessacioun hadn’t known him well yet. After a while, he couldn’t even get the best of Cessacioun anymore, and had frequently lost their arguments.
“Master Raphael, do you know how Lola formed her alliance?” Jeddes, however, did not think this was a joke.
“No.” Han Jin shook his head.
“You will find out once you truly defeat Zaganide.” After that, Jeddes closed his mouth and said nothing more.
Han Jin suddenly thought of something and fell into his thoughts.
At its root, the chaos on the continent was all caused by greed for power! The ordinary people of the continent wished for a unified nation that could stop the constant and pointless slaughter, and the middle class like small landowners and merchants also hoped for the same thing so they could conduct their business in peace. However, the lords that controlled the military would never want that.
Within their own territories, they were the absolute kings who could have anything done with a single command! If a unified nation was founded, their power would no doubt be greatly reduced. It was only natural; no one would be willing to become a vassal after living the life of kings.
The Church’s position on this matter had always been inconsistent, which was why Jeddes was not very happy with the Pope’s policies. On one hand, the Pope wanted to spread the glory of the God of Light and to reclaim the Church’s former glory, while on the other, he feared that Nicolas might become too powerful and turn against the Church. Thus, the Church might one day fully support Nicolas, and then try to stop Nicolas on the next, maybe even resorting to supporting Nicolas’ enemies. This was too unpredictable, and the Church had overlooked the fact that none of the powerful rulers of this continent, those who stood at the top of the food chain, would be willing to bend their knee to someone else. In the end, the conflict between the Church and Nicolas had reached an irreconcilable point. On a side note, Lola had only respected and supported the Church because of Nicolas’ threat. If she and Nicolas switched positions, wouldn’t she make the exact same choices as him?
In reality, Jeddes had sensed that Nicolas might declare war on the Church as early as when he had seeked help to explore the Land of the Dragon; he simply hadn’t expected for war to come so soon and so suddenly.
After his near death experience, Jeddes’s state of mind had drastically changed. He now believed the lords and nobles of this land could no longer be trusted, because their interests were too complex to decipher. Instead, he shifted his attention to the ordinary people that the powerful rulers had neglected. Unlike the nobles, ordinary people had only one simple interest: peace. All they wanted was a safe world to live in. Thus, he had stressed the importance of righteousness to Han Jin. What would be the most righteous course of action? Ending the chaos on the continent.
Now, Jeddes was on the opposing side of the Pope. The Pope had always believed that the Church could only maximize its power on a chaotic continent. Jeddes used to agree, but now, he had realized that the Church’s so called ‘power’ was founded on the slaughter and enslavement of countless common people. In his mind, this was the most shameless interpretation of the teaching of their god!
Of course, Nicolas could also be considered righteous under that mind set, but Jeddes was still a faithful believer, so he could never work with a king who had used and destroyed the Church. Because of that, Nicolas was now the representation of evil in Jeddes’ eyes!
Guevara and Gail looked at each other after listening to Jeddes. Clearly, both of them understood his subtext. Majordomo Gail’s eyes flashed as he was pondering something, while Guevara only stroked his dragon’s spear with a smile on his face.
When it came to philosophy, Han Jin was still an amature and could never compete with the three seasoned veterans. Besides, the matter was too complicated, and not something that could be understood after a few words of advice. Gail didn’t say anything because he held a different opinion, while Guevara didn’t speak because he wanted Han Jin to understand on his own.
“My Lord, look there!!” Suddenly, a general pointed below and shouted.
Something was happening inside the mist. A whirlpool was forming below, and the black mist in its center had all been cleared, exposing a confused Abyssal Mage, who was still wondering why the black mist had left him, staring at the sky.
Han Jin raised his eyebrows, and little Gold Bolt immediately let out a crisp screech and dove out of the ship. The one hundred or so Thunderbirds all quickly followed behind him, covering a sizable patch of the sky with their wings. The Abyssal Mage finally realized something was wrong and desperately tried to escape into the black mist, but strangely, no matter where he ran, the black mist would part for him. Thus, even though the Abyssal Mage tried his best to enter the mist, he received no protection.
Streaks of lightning soon landed on the Abyssal Mage, and after a deafening explosion, he was turned into a pile of bloody scraps.
A lone ninth-grade Thunderbird’s attack was no joke, let alone the combined attack of one hundred Thunderbirds. Even a top-grade professional could not guarantee they could survive an assault like that.
Little Gold Bolt circled around in the air for a while before flying back to the ship. He was still fanatically chirping as if to express his unhappiness at the fragile target.
Ronning stared at the Thunderbirds with his eyes wide open. He knew that Thunderbirds were ninth-grade holy animals, and that he couldn’t even defeat one by himself. On top of that, the Thunderbirds had acted too uniformly, as if they were a single entity. They were almost like an army of professional soldiers!
As soon as the Thunderbirds had circled back to the ship, an enormous spear made out of air shot out from the black mist, aiming straight at the ship. Immediately after, a wave of various spells poured out of the mist, all aimed at the ship as well. These were the other Abyssal Mages trying to avenge their friend, all the while testing the ship’s defense.