Otherwise, you can find another savior.

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Soon, even the four-legged creature that had reverted to its tapir form started grumbling, as if mocking tide Jian. Enraged, he casually conjured a carrot and stuffed it into the four-legged creature's mouth.

Then he turned and greeted his master and Nikitich, who were sparring enthusiastically:

"Hey—stop hitting us! We need to get going! If we don't move now, we'll leave you all behind!"

This attempt to deflect the awkwardness only made Morgan and Artoria laugh even harder.

Taigong Wang was too embarrassed to continue laughing, so he could only shake his head in sympathy and try to change the subject:

"In short, if you want to get to the place I'm talking about, you have to cross the source of this winter's aura."

Chapter Ten Stumbling Blocks

"Could it be that the aura of winter?"

Shiomi, who wasn't really in an awkward situation, naturally asked about Taiko-no-Wang's next story as the group set off again.

“No, it’s just that the place we’re going to will pass through there.” Taigong Wang said, pausing before continuing, “passing through the stronghold of that superhuman individual.”

"An exceptional individual?" Morgan raised an eyebrow slightly.

Taigong Wang's tone remained relaxed: "Don't worry too much. After all, for Lord Tianxi and his party, being guided by the Flying Bear's dream and deciding to come here first through astrology to meet with me has already achieved its purpose. Solving the Beast's problem is closer to the work that must be completed."

The implication is that although the superhuman individuals possess strength and scale far exceeding that of other hostile life forms in this area, they are merely a huge stumbling block on the path that Shio and her companions must take.

"Of course, there are quite a few stumbling blocks like this, and hopefully we can eliminate them as much as possible before the showdown with the Beast," Taigong Wang added. "After all, when fighting wild beasts, having hyenas flying around can be a bit of a hindrance, right?"

“Personally, I really want to use the Marduk Axe in the form of a unified god to wipe out this area in one go.” Shiomi crossed her arms. “However, that would consume a lot of magic power, and it might cause irreversible damage to the planet.”

“That’s right.” Taigong Wang nodded. “I know that Lord Tianxi has the means to destroy such anomaly realms in one fell swoop, but if it affects the planet itself—”

This would awaken the planet's suppressive force to become an enemy of Shiomi.

The inhibitory force of primates and the inhibitory force of planets are two completely different positions.

"Let's go take a look first." Scáthach tossed her long hair. "I've just finished warming up and was looking for a suitable opponent to test my skills."

The Queen of the Shadow Kingdom exuded the aura of a fierce warrior, as if any target that approached would be instantly ignited by her and turned to ashes.

As they traversed the forest and gradually approached the location where the chill of winter grew ever stronger, they continued their journey.

"The weather suddenly changed? It's even colder than Northern Europe." Shio looked at the blizzard with extremely low visibility and walked through the snow, her steps uneven.

Scáthach clung to his arm, looking as if she needed his body heat to warm her up: "It feels somewhat familiar, more like Scandinavia—"

Before she could finish speaking, they heard lightning flash through the blizzard, followed by thunder.

"I was thinking about this on the way here. There are werewolves, giants, and even lower-class fairies from Britain." Morgan pulled his cloak tighter from the inside. "I should have had a feeling about what kind of extraordinary individuals Lord Taigongwang was referring to."

“Koyanskaya… can that Beast even reappear the Lostbelt King?” Artoria was taken aback.

A storm and thunder.

Although it was only a brief battlefield, it was still incredibly memorable.

After passing through the blizzard that acted as a barrier, when visibility returned to normal.

On the frozen forests of Russia, colossal beasts towering like mountains, wandering glacial monsters, and the figure of Ivan the Terrible reappear before everyone's eyes.

"I made that assertion just now because I heard about the other Lostbelts from your descriptions." Taiko's robes fluttered in the wind. "After all, they were enemies we easily dealt with before, so they are nothing to fear for you."

The Ivan the Terrible before us is not his true form, but a reconstructed entity created from the magic of this realm. Currently, he is stationed here as a guard for the core defensive outpost of the Lost Realm.

“As Lord Taigong Wang said,” Shiomi said, looking at the reappearance of Ivan the Terrible. “Last time, the four of us joined forces to defeat Ivan the Terrible. But times have changed, and it’s no longer necessary to go through so much trouble.”

Morgan chuckled and brushed the snowflakes from Shio's hair: "Does my husband mean that we can just send one or two people, and the rest of us can stay here and wait for good news?"

“My wife knows me.” tide Jian reached out his hand to her.

Scáthach suddenly released Shiomi: "Don't always use the same old methods to solve problems. You still need to take matters into your own hands. Relying too much on power will make you forget your original fighting style. What will you do if something unexpected happens one day and you can no longer fight as a unified god?"

"Aren't you cold anymore?" Morgan teased cheerfully. "Artoria saw that you were terribly cold and was even going to lend you her cloak."

Everyone knew that the snowstorm wouldn't affect them; Scáthach was just posing casually, clinging to Shiomi's arm.

"So?" tide Jian pursed her lips.

Ivan the Terrible had already detected them and was ready to attack at any moment.

If we don't act now, everyone will have to join forces.

“I’ll go.” Scáthach raised her gun. “Lord Nikitich, come with me. My protégé will provide support and interference.”

The reason for this selection is that even if Scáthach doesn't speak, Nikitic will still rush forward.

That's what a warrior is.

"And don't always make Lord Tianxi do the work." Nikijic patted the four-legged creature's rear end, urging it to run off. "Taigongwang, why don't you do something once in a while?"

"There's really nothing I can do. I thought that as long as Lord Tianxi and the others were so capable, I could just sit back and strategize from behind the scenes," Taigong Wang said helplessly. "Work is indeed not easy."

"So, Lord Taigong Wang is such a lazy person?" Xi Jian tilted her head and looked him up and down. "Could it be that you only came out of seclusion at the age of seventy because you had never met a lord who could let you sit securely in the rear?"

Taigong Wang patted the black fishing rod in his hand: "How could that be? I was just thinking that if there were such fierce generals as Lord Tianxi and his party, why would I need to personally go into battle? But since we can't get through this easily, let me give it my all and show my strength so that everyone can rest assured."

Scáthach, holding her crimson spear, gazed at the two Servants.

“Then, let’s change our strategy slightly. Let Taigong Wang and Nikitich keep them occupied while I find the right opportunity to take care of that elephant.” Scáthach brushed the snowflakes off Shiomi’s clothes. “As for my beloved disciple, let her stay here and watch the show.”

No sooner had she finished speaking than Nikitich rode his white dragon straight into the sky, intending to attack from above.

Taigong Wang patted the four-legged beast, and the tapir transformed back into a qilin, its four legs treading on the air as it took flight.

“Although we’re supposed to be watching the show,” Shio said, placing her hand on Scáthach’s waist, “let me give my master some support… ‘God’s Forbidden Fire’.”

Like the enhancement he received in Atlantis, Scarhatton felt exhilarated. He bent down slightly and shot out like an arrow.

tide Jian silently began to count the time in her mind.

Chapter Eleven Spiritual Veins

"15 minutes."

Looking at her master, who was walking slowly towards them through the snow, Xijian calmly told him how long it had taken.

With the reappearance of Ivan the Terrible and the destruction of the individual, the area, which was originally covered in snow, was transformed as if spring had returned to the earth. In the blink of an eye, the ice and snow melted away, and the surrounding environment became no different from the area they had passed through before.

"It took longer than expected, making you wait in the snow for so long."

Scáthach was also troubled and gave Shiomi a very apologetic look.

“It’s not Master’s fault,” he comforted Scáthach by taking her hand. “It’s the exceptional individuals here. Compared to Russia back then, the biggest change is that their survival abilities have been enhanced.”

The unique feature of this Lostbelt is that it collects the records of the Lostbelt Kings and uses magic to recreate similar individuals.

Having probably anticipated the inevitability of a future battle with Chaldea, Koyanskaya, after analyzing Russia's combat records, devised a corresponding enhancement strategy based on her massive size.

Even if we don't expect to defeat Chaldea, we should at least slow down some of their forces.

As Shiomi watched the battle, such speculations gradually took shape.

"As Lord Tianxi said, before the Lostbelts that had been severed disappeared, Beast recovered information on the special life forms and Lostbelt Kings from those places," Taiko said. "They recovered Yaga from the Russian Lostbelt, giants from the Norse, and even lower-class fairies from Britain."

Shiomi crossed her arms and said, “Judging from this pattern, perhaps Koyanskaya originally planned to retrieve things that were valuable to her from the seven Lostbelts in order to build the Lost Familiars for this area.”

“But plans can’t keep up with changes.” Morgan reached out and stroked the reeds growing from the ground. “Based on the different depths of the Lostbelts, the Hidden Ones initially judged that Chaldea would gradually cut off the Lostbelts in order from shallow to deep, and try to improve their combat power in the process.”

“However, the biggest variable in all of this is my wife.” Shio nodded. “The alien god and the hidden ones do not know your true identity, nor do they know the origin of our relationship.”

Using BB's access, enter the now-empty British Lostbelt and send Shiomi back to the distant past of six thousand years.

This step completely disrupted the Hidden Ones' plans.

I never imagined that someone could live for six thousand years, let alone what kind of being that person could become.

“Before Koyanskaya was severely injured by Orion and completely retreated here, she should have retrieved something in the Atlantic Lostbelt,” Artoria added. “But since she didn’t witness the defeat of Zeus, the great god of the Lostbelt, she probably couldn’t recreate Zeus or the Olympian gods.”

Taigong Wang smiled and said, "To be honest, even if Ivan the Terrible were defeated, he would have quickly regenerated a new individual through the spiritual veins and then continuously depleted the attacker's strength."

"But why hasn't it reappeared? Did Taigong Wang's prediction fail?" Nikitich expressed his doubts.

“It’s not that I guessed wrong, it’s that there are capable people on Chaldea’s side.” Taikoubou looked at Shiomi. “When did you realize this?”

“It was only a few minutes after the start of the battle that Ivan the Terrible reappeared and became aware of the connection between him and the earth's spiritual veins.” Shiomi shrugged. “This is Koyanskaya’s territory, and the spiritual veins are under her control.”

Therefore, Shiomi used the experience she gained while fighting in Atlantis to interfere with the spiritual veins here.

Of course, it could also be described as encroachment.

After all, they were doing something on someone else's turf.

"Unfortunately, it was just a forced intervention, temporarily severing the spiritual veins from Koyanskaya's control, and it couldn't create the re-creation bodies and the Lost Familiars." Shiomi looked at her hands. "To completely seize control of this land, we must defeat the Beast's main body."

The problem is that if that were the case, there would be no need to continue the encroachment.

The implication is that even if the problem of the constant appearance of hostile alternate members and re-emergence is solved, it is still impossible to use the spiritual veins to summon the Servant to manifest.

Whether it's changing the alien realm's rejection of human Servants or utilizing the spiritual veins, it's all inextricably linked to Beast itself.

It's like a vicious cycle where cause and effect are reversed.

“If we want to change the environment and summon more Servants, we must defeat the Beast; once the Beast is defeated, there will be no need to summon Servants.” Shiomi shrugged, looking helpless.

Taigong nodded repeatedly: "However, neither the retinue nor the manifestation of the weapon shares information with the domain ruler, but the spiritual vein is different."

"Will the other party notice?" Shio raised an eyebrow.

Scáthach smiled: "Then can we use this area to cut off the territory we control, build defenses, and lure Koyanskaya to take it?"

“Your plan is very reasonable, but I would like to make some modifications.” Taigong Wang continued to nod in affirmation, and he began to draw a simple map on the ground. “That is, Lord Nikitich and I will be responsible for holding this land that has been cut off from the spiritual veins. Lord Tianxi and his party will travel northwest along the route, from where there is a road deep into the heartland to subdue the Beast.”

A very simple strategy of dividing forces.

While forcing Koyanskaya to regain control of the land's spiritual veins, they also actively sought to engage in battle, preventing her from attending to both ends.

“Eh…” Shiomi looked speechless. “Shouldn’t it be Lord Taikomochi and Nikijic working together to defeat the Beast, while we’re responsible for cutting off control of all the spiritual veins?”

“Haha, it’s not impossible. If Lord Tianxi really has this intention, then it’s fine.” Taigong Wang was amused by Xijian’s teasing. “After all, Yuanshi Tianzun has already told me that the Beast here is neither Daji nor the Nine-Tailed Fox, but an existence that imitates its form of existence.”

Taigong Wang did not have a particularly strong obsession with defeating the Beast.

This was also something that Yuanshi Tianzun told his disciple because he didn't want Taigong Wang to neglect his duties.

"No, I was just saying." tide Jian scratched her cheek. "Let's do as Lord Taigong Wang said."

"Then, before you all depart, take this." Taigong Wang took out an exquisitely crafted bronze plate from his sleeve.

The Tai Chi symbol, the Four Symbols, and the Eight Trigrams are engraved on it.

"What is this?"

“A magical artifact for long-distance communication,” Taiko-Wang said. “Once this is activated, we can communicate at any time. I have some things I'd like to explain to Lord Tianxi from this place. With this, even if we split up, our important matters won't be delayed.”

Chapter Twelve Primates

Therefore, following Taigong Wang's proposed route, Shiomi and the others parted ways with the two and began to travel further north alone, searching for a way to penetrate deeper into the interior.

But before that, we need to test the costume that Taigong Wang mentioned.

After arriving near the canyon area mentioned by Taikomochi, Shiomi activated the Mystic Code as instructed before they parted ways, and it activated successfully, projecting the figures of Taikomochi and Nikitich.

"So it's similar to Chaldea's communication method," Artoria said in surprise.

“Technology is simply a way of achieving miracles in a different form than magic,” Shiomi said. “As human technology develops, the scope of magic will become narrower and narrower. Even if the existence of the fifth fictional element is proven after the Age of Gods recedes, it will not change the fact that mysticism is declining.”

"Lord Tianxi is right. Originally, according to the plan, the retreat of the Age of Gods should have been an inevitable trend on a global scale. Gods, fantasy species, and even fantasy life forms would gradually retreat from the world, returning to the inner sea of ​​the star or heading to the outer reaches of the world," Taigong Wang said. "The physical rules of the planet would also gradually stabilize and become more suitable for humans as primates, which is the right direction."

"The right... direction?" Shiomi was surprised.

"As mentioned before, YHWH allowed Goetia's ideas and guided him to carry out a creation called the Burning of Humanity."

Clearly, Taiko-no-Wang intended to use the topic initiated by Shiomi as an opportunity to elaborate on his points.

“Although this creation was denied by other gods, in a world pervaded by divine order, even the freedom of humankind to breathe would belong to the gods. That’s why the Goddess Nuwa used the fragments of Lucifer as a base to create you,” Taigong Wang said. “Or rather, she created an embodiment of ‘denying divine order’.”

“You’ve mentioned this before,” Morgan reminded him.

"What I want to say is that the burning of humanity is not the destruction of mankind and the world, but a kind of salvation in a broader sense." Taigong Wang continued calmly, "For YHWH, it is meaningless to be attached to mankind in a certain time and place. Destroying it from the beginning and then recreating it, placing the world under the order of God, is a more thorough salvation."

God and man have completely different values.

What is a natural form of salvation for God is a catastrophe for humanity.

The heat that burns without anyone noticing, becoming a band of light, may be what is called compassion.

Even if, in the end, human history could continue, it would become something like the Ship of Theseus.

Is this recreated history of humankind, or is it the true history of humankind?