"It"s definitely a novel idea, Daneel, but take care - in a way, you"re fostering violence in order to achieve a greater goal, and this is typically how dictators are made. With lofty goals in mind, they feel that the journey doesn"t matter, and often, they find that it is these people who they stop paying attention to who rise to topple them and take their place. I"m not saying that you are going down that path, but already, from what you"ve told me, you have encouraged it - if you hadn"t stepped in, the village might still have been a peaceful place. Perhaps, historians of the future will argue that you are not as just and rightful as everyone thinks of you to be because of these actions of yours. I know the truth, but I"m just warning you, in case you hadn"t seen it in this way - often, it is the habit of those in power to look down from above and only focus on the parts that they wish to see, while ignoring those things which might seem insignificant and inconsequential when thought of in terms of the big picture."
In the Chamber of Golden Lightning, two men were standing in front of each other, with one wearing the regal robes of a king, and the other donning the austere ones of a priest. The shade of the latter was constantly s.h.i.+fting, for some reason, and his face was also half shrouded in the hood that came with the robes. As for the former, likenesses of multiple G.o.dbeasts, including dragons, leviathans, and even, in a particular corner, chameleons, had been embroidered, giving him a unique look that would definitely not be seen anywhere else on the continent, at least in this age.
Daneel continued to listen to his master, even though the man was practically repeating the same thing over and over again, in different ways. Others might have seen this repet.i.tion and gotten irritated, but he knew that the man was only speaking so much because of the care that he felt for him - his master had almost never lectured him even when he was on the continent, so if he was taking this opportunity to talk about it so extensively, then it must definitely be something that was weighing strongly on his mind.
It was only after he was done that Daneel smiled and gave the reply, in an even tone.
"I know, master, and thank you for the warning. You already know that I came from the slums, myself, so those people who might seem inconsequential to others are actually those that I care about the most. The others might be able to fend for themselves, but if I do not help these people, then who will? Anyway, coming back to the topic at hand, you say that I have enabled that person with ambition and caused the events that are befalling the village right now. I see it in this way - I merely unearthed a threat that would definitely have arisen at a later date in a much, much bloodier fas.h.i.+on. You and I know that those with ambition will find the tools to help them along their path even if they are not given to them. In this case, I made sure that I gave the one which does as less harm as possible while still allowing the man to show his true colors, so in a different way, it can also be said that I"m helping the village. I"m not denying that he is causing suffering, but from his actions, the others will learn a lesson that will help them survive the rest of their lives. I also see it in this way - I am the teacher who is allowing a weak student to commit a mistake, even though I can stop him in the process, so that both he and the rest can learn from the experience and never repeat the same. Also, through these events, they will be empowered to lead a better life, and for that gift, a bit of suffering is necessary, and it is even nothing compared to what they have been going through all these years, by living in extreme poverty just so that they can stay off the grid. Even now, I can see the plans of the one who has led the coup easily - currently, he only intends to stop working, and have the others work as slaves, so what it actually means is that he will still feed them, and will only have them work a few extra s.h.i.+fts, which is something they have all done before anyway when nature was against them. I have thought this out perfectly, master, but again, thank you for your advice."
Master Jonah smiles in response as he heard this, as he had always known that his disciple was one of the most meticulous people he had ever met in his life.
However, it looked like he did have something else to say.
"People like these often relax after gaining power, but slowly, they tend to start using it in ways that are more and more in line with their true self. I understand that the little girl"s actions are key, but before she moves, what if he starts raping the woman? Or killing those who oppose them? Or punis.h.i.+ng those who aren"t working as hard, to set an example? What will you do, then?"
This actually made Daneel chuckle and respond, saying, "Oh, you don"t need to worry about that - I already have a plan to stop actions like that easily. Suffice it to say that things will not go in that direction for as long as I want, and there is no one who has a say in that except me. Now, then, coming back to the Church- what news did you find out?"
Daneel"s smirk made his master laugh out loud, but it was a hard laugh, in which he saw the harsh life that the man was living.
He had already learned that the Mainland had a cutthroat environment that was much, much harsher than anything that existed on the continent of Angaria, and that his master had to continuously push himself and reach greater heights if he wanted to be in a position in which he could find out intel that he could send back home which could make a difference.
It was obvious that he hadn"t achieved this yet, though, because he had not been able to find out about the agreement between the Church and Arnold, but that was clearly not for lack of trying.
After a few seconds, with a sigh, his master spoke.
"A year. And that is the upper limit- it can be shortened, too. The Bishop has commissioned the seventh division of the Judgement Corps for this mission. You already saw a portion of them when they invaded Angaria - they are a squadron completely comprised of Peak Heroes, and they are formidable even on the Mainland, possessing ways of combining their power and using attacks that can decimate tens or even hundreds of kilometers of land in one fell swoop. Originally, they were only going to be deployed after the continent was taken into the control of the Church in order to carry out the purge as they are the most efficient ones to do this job, but now, I don"t know what strings the Bishop pulled, but she was able to pull them back from a mission they were already on so that they could set their sights on our home. Right now, the data regarding the continent that was collected on their disastrous visit is being a.n.a.lyzed carefully so that the same thing which happened when they arrived will not repeat - the Will of the World will not be able to oppose their power when they return, so you need to keep that in mind. Apart from that, the only reason for the delay is that a large number of resources and personnel had had to be used for that ma.s.s teleportation, and many were lost during the subsequent fight and a.s.sault from the beasts of the sea before they could leave. Now, the Bishop is actively pulling resources that have already been a.s.signed to other tasks for this mission, and according to my sources, she is making quite a lot of progress. The timeline that I give you is based on these factors, and a few more. Originally, it would have been double this, but you"ve really p.i.s.sed her off… h.e.l.l, she even killed a thousand prisoners before she could satiate her anger, and they"re gossiping that those people"s screams could be heard throughout the vast dungeons of the Church. Those were Axelorians, Daneel, and I wished I could move to save them, but I could do nothing."
Daneel took in a sharp breath as he heard this.
Those were the people he had failed, and sadly, he was powerless to help them.
The lives of their fellow countrymen were in his hands, though, so he could only comfort himself by saying that he would not fail when it came to them.
A year. He had been hoping for a little more than that, but it would have to do.
Letting out that breath, he went through the list that he had made before, again, and realized that anyone else would have been panicking by this time if they found out that they had to do so much in just the span of a year.
A year might feel like a long time to live through, but it was nothing for Heroes and Champions, or even Warriors who might seclude themselves for such a period in order to gain a little bit of strength, or master some or the other technique. In such a short period, how could Daneel change the current power level of the continent to go up against hundreds of Peak Heroes, all of whom were even trained to work together flawlessly?
For others, it might have been hopeless, but he… Was a World Dominator, and equipped with the system, this would not be the last miracle he would be pulling in this world.
With a nod, Daneel was about to continue the conversation, but he paused as he got a message.
Seeing him do so, his master chuckled and said, "Developments in your plan? Go ahead-we can talk later. I need to leave, too, anyway. Someone recently brought up an inquiry regarding why I"m not being used to the fullest for the a.s.sault, even though I came from the very continent which has made the Church suffer such a crus.h.i.+ng defeat. It"s almost like the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds went forward and forgot about the days and days of interrogation that I went through where I told them everything that I could about my homeland, and acted as a perfect traitor through and through before gaining permission to rise through the ranks as a normal cadet. I"m thinking that it"s high time that I abandon the idea of being safe, and just accelerate my rise by being ruthless - I"ve been tempted to do that for a long time. Don"t worry, I"ll be safe - it"s you on whom everything is riding. Good luck, and, oh… I really love the term G.o.dking."
Flas.h.i.+ng a wide grin, Daneel"s master disappeared, leaving him alone in the empty Chamber in which even the Emperor was not present as the man was currently lying in the arms of the Queen among a bed of flowers while being told lovingly about all of the b.l.o.o.d.y conquests that they had been through together.
Sighing again and wis.h.i.+ng his master luck, he returned to the sky above Eastcliff village, where Eloise greeted him with a warm smile.
Smiling back, he looked down, while she spoke beside him.
"She"s moving, finally. I called you because it seems that we are in the final stage. All the communication eyes are ready. This…will definitely be a grand spectacle that will go down in history as the turning point of Angaria."
Nodding in response, the King said:
"Indeed. Today…Angaria enters a new age. Sovereigns, it is my pleasure to be with you all on this occasion. Now…raid the Head"s stash, "cos we"re going to need all of that wine after we"re done!"