Gun of Ashes

Chapter 548: Chapter 121 A Bigger World_2

So these people went madly, and after a few years, they brought back the forbidden knowledge about Secret Blood from the north.”

Oscar couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

”Even knight novels don’t dare to write like this... but it actually happened, though it’s been so long, no one knows if it’s true or false.”

”Then what does all of this have to do with you nation-builders?” Lorenzo asked.

Decades ago, if a priest had heard Oscar speak of the ”Gospel” in such a way, it would have been outright blasphemy, likely prompting the priest to fight this heretic immediately. But the times have changed, and Lorenzo doesn’t care about those things anymore.

”Because our origin is also the north... we’re very special, there are some things I can’t tell you,” Oscar said mysteriously, ”but it’s much like you, a few homeless people set sail from the north, they wanted to build an ideal country... thus the story began.”

Lorenzo’s expression changed suddenly, his gaze turning sharp.

”So what’s the deal with the book ’Ideal Country’?”

Books are a marvelous thing, a sort of miracle, and it’s these different miracles piled together that have constructed the great civilization of humanity.

The appearance of books allows knowledge to no longer be affected by time, able to be passed down from generation to generation. It is also due to the existence of books that humanity can record everything about itself, thus giving birth to ”history.”

Lorenzo thought a group of people were inspired by ”Ideal Country” to establish that ideal country, but now it seems they appeared even before that book.

”’Ideal Country’? Plato was also one of our members, though he’s been dead for a really long time, but his writings certainly solidified our ideals,” Oscar’s voice suddenly turned despondent, ”which is also why a lousy writer like me is honored to be a member of the nation-builders. They’ve always hoped I could write something too...”

Maybe out of embarrassment, Oscar didn’t continue with the last part of his sentence.

”Your recruitment criteria are indeed a bit strange...”

”So are you interested in joining?” Oscar suddenly asked.

Lorenzo was taken aback, seemingly not expecting Oscar to say that suddenly, and Oscar continued to press on.

”After all, you’ve already turned away from the Evangelical Church, and now the Purification Mechanism is also being somewhat unkind. Why not switch over to my side?”

Lorenzo looked at Oscar’s serious face, and after a long while, he smiled.

”Forget it; I’m a foreigner, belonging nowhere, and matters of the nation are still... too grand for me.”

”Isn’t slaying demons grand?”

Oscar asked in return, then patted Lorenzo on the shoulder.

”Lorenzo Holmes, you’re actually a great man too. Though you remain out of the limelight, you’ve always stood on the front lines against the demons, from the past until now, preventing many tragedies from happening.”

Lorenzo did not feel happy due to Oscar’s praise; he just felt his own insignificance.

After reading Shermans’ notes, Lorenzo realized he’d changed. Although such a short amount of time had passed, in Buscalo’s house, on the moving Iron Serpent, Lorenzo had been contemplating.

What exactly do I want to do?

Lorenzo knew very well what he wanted to do.

Eradicate all demons!

So... how to do it?

Yeah, how to do it? All along, Lorenzo had harbored a burning rage, never contemplating the deeper, more complex world, merely wanting to swing his sword in anger, slaying all demons.

Selyu was right. He was a madman walking on the path of destruction, but this endless slaying could solve nothing; demons would continue to appear.

It wasn’t until he saw Shermans’ notes, tracing the origin of the demon mystery, and searching for the root source of it all, that from that moment, Lorenzo began to delve deeper into these matters, realizing the world wasn’t just what he saw before him, but also what he couldn’t see.

The so-called ”demons,” the ”plague,” referred to as the ”Primordial Demon,” the ”patient zero.”

This world is shrouded in mysteries and falsehoods, and no matter how sharp the Nail Sword is, it can’t sever it all.

Lorenzo didn’t say anything, merely bowing his head in silence.

”The north... although it’s unclear what the reason is, it seems your origin and the origin of the Evangelical Church are the same place,” Lorenzo said.

Tracing everything back to its source.

”I don’t know, I only heard other members mention it like this... but, you’ve holed up in Old Dunling for too long, Lorenzo, how many years? Seven years?”

Facing the gloomy Lorenzo, Oscar said with a smile.

”Actually, the stories I write are all true... at least partially true.”

Under Lorenzo’s doubtful gaze, Oscar finally relented.

”Fine, apart from the artistic embellishments, I really did accompany Nordro’s fleet to many places. None of them are as advanced as Old Dunling, nor as powerful as Ingwig, but they are different places, and they are wondrous.

I witnessed whales cavorting over the sea, I saw grand glaciers collapsing, fought with the Cannibal Tribe in the rainforests of the Land of Abundance, and traversed countless countries. At one point, I even wanted to set sail towards the east, though it is distant and possibly a one-way trip.

Lorenzo, this world is vast, incredibly vast, and there are still so many things we’ve yet to discover, and while Old Dunling is advanced, basking in the glow of technology, ultimately, it’s only a city.”

At this moment, Oscar genuinely had the air of an adventurer; he had personally witnessed those views that only exist in books.

”Old Dunling is a microcosm of the world, but just a microcosm, not the real world.

In this city, you can’t find all the truths, just like the stories people sing or my writing. These are all second-hand, with varying degrees of artistic touches, thus losing their original form. Sometimes you have to see it all with your own eyes.”

Oscar stared intently into Lorenzo’s grey-blue eyes. Although Lorenzo didn’t say it, he sensed that Shermanes’ death wasn’t as simple as it seemed, carrying hidden tensions, but perhaps for some reason, Lorenzo didn’t want to tell him.

”If the Purification Mechanism finally decides to ally with the new Order to violently contain the Pseudo Holy Grail on you, we, Nordro, the Nation-Builders, will provide assistance. I’ve already plotted a route of escape. Once you’re out of Ingwig’s territory, leave the rest to us.”

On this matter, Oscar was unexpectedly confident.

”Route, what route?”

Lorenzo was somewhat curious. In Old Dunling, the Purification Mechanism controlled him tightly with different systems and facilities. If they wanted to hunt him, Lorenzo wasn’t sure he could escape alive.

”You’ll know when the time comes. We’ve invested quite a lot in this from Nordro.”

Lorenzo pondered shortly; having been a detective for many years, he still had this bit of acumen.

”Civil airship?”

The main transportation between Old Dunling and the outside world is railways, and the Midcourt Serpent system has long been firmly held by the Purification Mechanism, making it nearly impossible for Lorenzo to leave Old Dunling by railway once they focus their gaze on him.

Then it’s only the recently emerging civil airships. As a new civil item, the Purification Mechanism needs time to control it, which is the only loophole.

Lorenzo didn’t wait for Oscar to confirm his conjecture and stood up directly, preparing to leave.

”What are you going to do?”

”What do you think I can do?” Lorenzo replied with nonsense, ”The great Mr. Lorenzo Holmes, of course, is going to slay demons, and even if not slaying demons, he’s mostly on his way to slaying demons.”

Oscar looked at him and responded with nonsense.

”Can I write a knight novel based on you then?”

”’The Lorenzo Holmes Investigations’?”

”Actually, I was thinking ’Demon Hunting and Monster Slaying Chronicles,’ how about that?”

Lorenzo laughed, unclear if it was the ridiculous name that amused him, or something else. He paid no more mind to this bizarre, imaginative writer, pushed open the door, and disappeared into the curtain of rain.