Chapter 1212 Oathkeeper: I“m Stunned!
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The mission [Return to the Historic Stage] has been completed!
You have received 1 Legendary Point.
Legendary Point: [The Awakener of the Primordial Ones]—Because of the activities organized by the Holy Accord, a group of Primordial Ones have been resurrected from death. You secretly helped with this, and you are one of the leaders behind the return of the Primordial Ones. Your behavior is likely to have a profound impact on the entire universe.
+25 Beiger Kellarmir Favorability
+25 Tripp Sunstrider Favorability
…
+25 Pangon Filet Favorability
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In his personal machinery factory, Han Xiao, who was buried in research, suddenly received a huge information dump from his interface, causing his expression to light up.
"The mission has been completed. Does it mean that Oathkeeper has succeeded?"
At this time, it was only a few hours after the players had gone offline. Han Xiao did not expect to obtain such good news right off the bat.
Oathkeeper had finally shown a response after losing contact in the Sanctums.
The mission reward for [Return to the Historic Stage] included one Legendary Point and twenty-five points of Favorability for all the resurrected Beyond Grade As.
Looking through the list, Han Xiao discovered the names of all these people were astonis.h.i.+ng, easily identifiable through the internet.
"People such as [King of War] Pangon, [Mage G.o.d] Beiger, [All-Knowing One] Tripp… all of them are famous Primordial Ones."
As the first batch of people to achieve Beyond Grade A, the characteristic was that their nicknames were relatively fierce compared to his generation, who had been deprived of many of the good nicknames.
Han Xiao discovered another advantage to having this mission reward statement, which meant that he immediately knew who was resurrected.
A portion of them were exactly those that had appeared during the Calamity of the Supers, which meant that the Holy Accord had played a part at that time.
Han Xiao counted the names and suddenly scratched his head as he mumbled, "The numbers don"t seem to tally…"
He remembered that the past number of resurrected Beyond Grade As was far higher than the current number.
At present, the notifications he received about Favorability were all from Primordial Ones. In the previous World Tree War Version, the Holy Accord not only brought over resurrected Primordial Ones but also others from history.
What was the reason for the fewer number of people resurrected…
Han Xiao suddenly had a thought.
Jayz had revealed the mechanism of the Sanctum Revivals last time. With this important information, he finally understood why the trajectory behind the movements of the Holy Accord in his previous life.
The Holy Accord had revived a group of Primordial Ones before Version 5.0, but some of them should have had differences, so they parted ways and ran out to induce the Calamity of the Supers. However, they did not reveal the secret of the Holy Accord. The remaining Primordial Ones continued to linger inside the organization, under Oathkeeper"s leaders.h.i.+p. It was likely that Oathkeeper discovered the secret behind the Sanctums, so he wished to grasp the lifeline of the Beyond Grade As and developed in secret.
During this period, the Holy Accord must have obtained news results, allowing them to revive more Beyond Grade As and used some method to persuade the rest to join in this plan, so the total number of resurrected this time was not the same as his previous life.
The Holy Accord thus developed silently like this until the World Tree version. It was only because they would be affected if the Universal Civilizations were destroyed that they exposed themselves and took part in the war, which shocked the explored universe.
"Oh, then it makes sense…"
In this manner, the nature of the Holy Accord in his previous life was similar to that of the Beyond Grade A a.s.sociation today, with similar goals in preparing for the futures of the Beyond Grade As.
"I estimate that this should be the storyline in my previous life…"
Han Xiao"s eyes sparkled.
While it was just a guess, it felt that he was not far from the truth.
Oathkeeper already knew of the true mechanism behind the Sanctum Revivals, so he and Kasuyi were no longer the only insiders. The plan he had set might have to undergo some changes, reaching a deeper level of cooperation with the Holy Accord.
Among them, the att.i.tude of Oathkeeper was important. Han Xiao had limited knowledge of him and thus did not know how he operated.
Right at this moment, Han Xiao"s vision was filled with black flames, and it condensed into a familiar figure.
Speak of the devil, I was still wondering when he would come knocking, but I didn"t expect him to be so quick… Han Xiao"s eyes sparkled.
Very quickly, Oathkeeper"s mental projection took shape, nodding at Han Xiao.
"We meet again, Black Star. I"ve returned from the Sanctum."
"It seems like you are planning to fulfill our deal today." Han Xiao"s eyes flashed, and he deliberately pretended, "Has the Sanctum Revival succeeded?"
Right now, he did not know how much intelligence Oathkeeper had gotten, so he did not wish to show off immediately. He planned to probe Oathkeeper with his words to see the knowledge of the other party.
"It has succeeded and was pretty smooth." Oathkeeper nodded.
"Oh, I didn"t expect this idea to actually work. How many were revived?" Han Xiao put on an interested expression.
"Dozens," Oathkeeper replied in a clipped tone. It was obvious he did not wish to reveal this intelligence to Han Xiao.
"Oh, the number is decent." Han Xiao was naturally aware of the figures, so he did not feel curious when Oathkeeper did not want to mention it. He then changed the subject. "What"s it like in the Sanctum?"
Oathkeeper pondered for a while before replying in an uncertain tone.
"It seems like being in a dream, with foggy consciousness. I felt like I experienced many things, but it seemed at the same time only a moment had pa.s.sed. The only clear impression I had was that I was within a boundless world with countless light cl.u.s.ters floating in my range of sight. Most of them would avoid me, as if there is some repulsive force in my body, but I can see different images within each light cl.u.s.ter…"
Hearing this, Han Xiao stroked his chin in deep thought.
Based on what Jayz mentioned, the light cl.u.s.ters could very well be Information Form ent.i.ties that contained different contents. A light cl.u.s.ter could represent a civilization or a Beyond Grade A or even a period of history. Nothing was set in stone.
"Is there danger inside?"
"I doubt so…" Oathkeeper hesitated.
Han Xiao remained silent for a few more seconds before smiling. "Let"s talk about the resurrection method for the Beyond Grade As of the Sanctum first. We agreed in the beginning that you would reveal all related information the moment the plan is completed. You won"t go back on your words, right?"
"Of course not, our understanding of the Sanctums is like this…"
Oathkeeper inwardly exclaimed that his chance was finally here.
Based on his plan, he recounted the relevant information previously acc.u.mulated by the Holy Accord, but he did not correct his erroneous guesses and concealed the reproducibility of the Sanctum Revival, deliberately describing it as a one-off method.
His explanation was also very simple, deliberately distorting the concept that the resurrection was due to a projection of the Information Form, instead describing it as a "cutting out" of the target information from the Sanctums, thus making it disappear. This categorized the Sanctum Revival as a one-time function.
Oathkeeper did not even disclose the source and purpose behind the Sanctums, leaving out information on the Universe Iteration and the Great Reboot, intending to make Han Xiao mistakenly believe that the Sanctums could only perform resurrections.
Oathkeeper babbled a lot of nonsense, which was totally different from what Jayz said. Han Xiao felt that something was wrong when he heard only half of it.
Their versions were totally different, so one of them had to be wrong. According to the situation of the Celestial Star Alliance and Jayz motives, the latter was more credible than Oathkeeper.
Thus, did Oathkeeper make a mistake himself, or was he lying?
Considering the behavior of the Holy Accord in his previous life, he was likely a scammer!
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, giving off a playful vibe.
He did not immediately refute but waited till Oathkeeper had finished speaking before he sighed and changed the conversation. "I"m curious, you just said that the existence of the Sanctum was related to the Information Form and that recovery is done through it. Does that mean that the Sanctums have recorded all Beyond Grade A information?"
"It should be the case…" Oathkeeper cautiously answered.
"Then I"m really confused. Why would the Sanctums store Beyond Grade A information?"
"Oh, I"m confused about that too." Oathkeeper tried his best to control his tone.
Han Xiao pretended to think and frowned. "I feel that the Sanctum does not appear to be a natural phenomenon but likely a product of someone or some civilization. Its role should not remain at just resurrection Beyond Grade As… What do you think?"
"I don"t know about this either. This shouldn"t be made by a civilization. The three Universal Civilizations should not have such capabilities, and it would be even weirder if it was in the civilizations before. It should be some sort of s.p.a.ce Wonder…" Oathkeeper had no choice but to follow the conversation, secretly only inducing but not refuting directly lest he revealed flaws.
Hearing this, Han Xiao stroked his chin, pretending to seriously a.n.a.lyze the issue. He slowly said, "Let"s a.s.sume the Sanctum is a s.p.a.ce Wonder in the Information Form, with the function of recording the information of the Beyond Grade As… Then, when those Beyond Grade As are resurrected, will the information be refreshed? If that"s the case, while you might have clipped out the original record in the Sanctum, a new and updated copy would be placed within the Sanctums, so you still can clip off another copy when you next enter, right?"
"This…"
Oathkeeper was struck dumb. This a.n.a.lysis was justifiable, not allowing him to be able to explain.
If he objected, there was no basis since he had only been to the Sanctums once. This Black Star was truly a cunning fox and would immediately suspect him.
But if he did not object, he would make Black Star feel as though the Sanctum Revivals could be repeated indefinitely, which would run counter to his own intentions.
This annoying man was too difficult to fool!
After thinking about it for a while, Oathkeeper could not come out with a reb.u.t.tal, so he could only reply in the depressed tone. "I did not think that far."
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and spoke in a teasing tone. "So, you were lying to me just now. It seems like I need to re-evaluate our agreement."
"Cough, cough, I really did not think of this possibility. How could I be lying to you?" Oathkeeper hurriedly defended himself.
"Hehe." Han Xiao let out two mirthless laughs, putting his hands behind his back and walking around Oathkeeper before saying, "If I"m correct, those resurrected Primordial Ones have experienced a drop in strength and have also lost a few of their abilities, right?"
"That"s right, they… wait! How did you know‽"
Oathkeeper widened his eyes.
Only a few of these Beyond Grade As had discussed this in private, and those Primordial Ones would not have had contact with Black Star. In just dozens of minutes, how did Black Star learn about this?
"I know more than you think." Han Xiao leisurely strolled as he continued. "I"m not sure if you have heard the terms "The Great Reboot" and "Iteration"?"
Oathkeeper paled in horror, taking back two steps abruptly as he stared at Han Xiao in disbelief.
"How do you know of such things‽"
His entire being was dumbfounded, his mentality torn to shreds. He lost control of his ability for a moment, and the remote projection fluctuated violently as if he was about to disintegrate at any time.
Oathkeeper was once again mind blown!
Only he had entered the Sanctum this time, so there was no possibility of a traitor. How did Black Star know of all this?
Who betrayed me, or who did I betray?
Could it be that Black Star has placed eyes on me, allowing him to observe everything that I do‽
In that case… did I really betray myself‽
In his shock, Oathkeeper lost his wits and shuddered. Han Xiao"s image in his mind became even more mysterious and unpredictable, making him extremely awed.
How much did this fellow actually know? He even helped to a.n.a.lyze my bullsh*t just now. Turns out, he was just laughing at me!
As he admired Oathkeeper"s distraught look, Han Xiao dealt the finis.h.i.+ng blow.
"I paid out in good faith, and I hoped that you would treat me honestly, but it seems like you don"t really treasure my friends.h.i.+p at all."
He was actually unsure how much information Oathkeeper had, but he felt that everyone who entered the Sanctum would obtain the basic concept of the Iterations. This was just Han Xiao scamming him, but it had a miraculous effect in scaring the guy out of his mind and soul.
This is good. In this manner, the initiative is firmly held in my hands.
Han Xiao maintained his posture of being almighty, looking down at Oathkeeper.
"Why, you think I don"t know what you"re thinking? You intend to monopolize all the exclusive intelligence, so as to fleece me into giving you resources to aid your growth, right?"
Oathkeeper was shaken.
All his schemes were seen through by Black Star. At this moment, he felt as though he was naked in front of him, his secrets laid bare.
He had guessed the possibility of failing to scam Black Star, but he had never expected that Black Star would break him in this manner, directly smas.h.i.+ng out all his hidden secrets and shattering all his lies.
At this moment, Oathkeeper stood there in a daze, only thinking of finding a hole and burying himself within.