NOVPUBChapter 183: Chapter 182: Source of the Mist
Chapter 183 -182: Source of the Mist
Just as he left the temple, several obvious explosions occurred to the south of the city, sending flames reaching to the sky and lighting up the pitch-dark horizon. There were also faint cries and shouts coming from the east side of Fafu Street. Tonight was destined to be anything but peaceful.
Luckily, he had already resurrected all the players and equipped them with two vehicles. Now Zhang Zhiyuan, Zhou Zhi, and Cui Zhen’en had rushed to the southern district, while Anthony and Qianyuan Meiko headed to the eastern district. Apart from investigating the situation, they were also there to exterminate any potential heretical cultists to prevent the chaos from spreading to the vicinity of Yeni Temple.
“Why have these heretical cultists suddenly decided not to hide?” Ailuodi wondered. “Even if they manage to occupy Magnificent Castle, the news would surely bring a real army from the Old Continent here to encircle them, right?”
The City of Defense’s military, although also referred to as an army, was nothing compared to the kingdom’s mainland army, which was directly under the royal family. The latter had a large fleet that could support overseas operations; once the fleet arrived, they could level Magnificent Castle without even needing to come ashore.
“I don’t know, but the enemy must have been plotting this for a long time. Let’s get in the car first.”
“Where to next? South City or East City?”
“No, let’s head to the lord’s mansion first,” Chaoyang shook his head. “If it falls, the city guards will be like scattered sand. Hey—” he turned to Leisk, “you come with us!”
“Am I driving, or are you?” Ailuodi asked.
“You drive, I’ll handle the weapons.”
The angel quickly reached the SUV, leapt into the driver’s seat, and immediately felt everything familiar coming back: dashboard, gearshift, clutch, and throttle were all present, and even the seat had been changed to a spring-cushioned leather chair. The interior was countless grades higher than the old jalopy they had before.
Leisk, half pushed and half pulled by Chaoyang, was seated in the back and looked around with some bewilderment. The last time they met, they had also tinkered with a car of steel, but it was far inferior to this one. Though he knew nothing about this mode of transportation, it didn’t stop him from sensing the stark difference between the two. The space inside the car was vast, much more spacious than a horse-drawn carriage, and the seats were very soft. One could even lie down for a nap without any discomfort. The only issue was the more comfortable and luxurious the fittings were, that meant the heavier the weight, plus with a metal body, he seriously doubted this thing could outrun a person on foot.
After all, there were no special tracks for it to run on in the city.
Chaoyang closed the car door and patted Ailuodi’s shoulder, “Let’s go.”
The latter released the clutch pedal and stomped on the gas. The diesel engine roared loudly and the vehicle suddenly accelerated, throwing Leisk back against the seat cushion!
Even on the terrain of half sand, half mud, the wide tires didn’t slip much, but instead, carried the two-ton vehicle as if it were on level ground. Soon, they had entered the gravel road.
Leisk was astonished.
This sharp steering, this surging power… not even eight horses combined could achieve this! Only a steam construct could compare to it. Yet, this vehicle wasn’t a construct — he could feel no rhythm of construct energy around him.
“Didn’t anyone see you as you were coming here?” Ailuodi asked curiously.
“How could that be? On the way from Fafu Street to Central Street, you can see residents who were awakened everywhere. There were dozens, if not a hundred,” Chaoyang said indifferently, “But only by doing so can we get to the beach the fastest. I’m too lazy to care about that much.”
After finishing speaking, he looked towards Leisk, “Tell me about the god you follow… If the Mist God is indeed a Latter God like you said, why would it summon the fog to shroud the entire New Continent?”
“And the disaster of the City of Defense,” Ailuodi added. “According to what Dane said, the city was suddenly engulfed in fog, causing a large number of refugees to flee, with casualties that are still difficult to count, right? It’s no wonder people see the Envoy of Mist as an Evil God.”
Leisk looked out of the car window at the outlines of building after building, remaining silent for a long time before speaking up, “Because the New Continent isn’t really new at all, its level of development and progress were much stronger than the Land of Hope that lies across the sea.”
“The Land of Hope… are you referring to the Old Continent?”
“Exactly, back then the Old Continent’s status was just like the current New Continent… a new field in the midst of being pioneered. Many adventurers crossed the sea, settled there, started to build towns and ports. According to the Divine Oracle Stele, there was a time when human kingdoms spread throughout the world, and the development of both continents was vibrant with life. Ships could be seen off the coastlines, until the Evil God was summoned into this world.”
This was… astonishing news that left one speechless! Chaoyang blinked in surprise, not only were Dane and Judy unaware, but even the Panlogical Machine had never revealed such history! All historical records began with the Old Continent.
“And then what?”
“At first, people just thought those influenced by the Evil God suffered from hysteria, but they soon found that the hysteria was not only contagious but could also further twist reality. The stele didn’t record what happened afterwards; perhaps the situation deteriorated too quickly, or perhaps the stele was destroyed in the chaos. In the end, the dozen or so kingdoms scattered across the New Continent were all annihilated, the infiltration of the Evil God’s power nearly spread across the entire continent.”
Chaoyang pondered, “I can understand a disease being contagious, but what do you mean by twisting reality?”
“Simply put, if you fall ill and lose control of your nerves, and those who see you also lose control of theirs, then when a large group of people around you loses control, buildings and machines start to decay, monsters from dreams appear in reality, and any absurd delusion could potentially become real,” Leisk said with grave seriousness, “The only way to eliminate this effect is to forget—only when you can’t see it, can’t remember it, does the hysteria stop spreading; only then can people avoid being perpetually trapped in fear, to the point where they cannot do anything.”
“So the purpose of the covering fog isn’t to stop people from exploring the New Continent, but to conceal the past disasters?” Chaoyang said with some disbelief. According to the theory of the Latter Gods, such concealment is a result that many people could achieve only through collective prayer.
However, in order to truly achieve concealment, not only must there be barriers in the field of vision, but manipulation must occur in memory as well! Otherwise, even if people no longer set foot on the New Continent, they could still spread the disasters through various written records.
“So, the incident of the City of Defense was because…”
“I wasn’t involved in that, but the essence is the same. Either the followers of the Evil God were too active, or the actions of a segment of the population had already crossed the line, making the chances of birthing an Envoy of the Evil God too high. To avoid the worst-case scenario, we had to summon the fog to cover it up, letting those involved completely forget the anomalies that occurred in the city,” Leisk was no longer hiding his mission, “But we are not divinities after all; we can’t make everyone forget about the City of Defense. Fortunately, the public has come to regard the Hidden Mist Sect as a Heretical Cult, and the risks of venturing into the City of Defense to uncover the truth have been greatly reduced.”
By now, Chaoyang had come to understand everything. Why there was a thick fog on the night of the train robbery… why neither the Miners’ Brotherhood nor the fleeing slaves remembered Leisk’s existence…
Because his mission was to make people forget.
Perhaps there are still many followers of the Hidden Mist Sect like Leisk hidden in different cities, observing the threats of the Evil God to the world. Once it surpasses a certain threshold, they will bring the fog, engulfing the city.
