At first, Soshyan, who had been looking at the planet, did not respond immediately. It was not until more than ten seconds later that he straightened up and stretched out his right hand to turn the hourglass on the tray upside down.
As the fine white sand began to flow away, he slowly spoke:
"You only have so much time to convince me."
Am'ke didn't ask what would happen when the time came, but just asked another question.
"Your Highness the Phoenix King, are there any survivors in the expeditionary force?"
Soshyan looked at him, then chuckled.
"Yes, yes, but I plan to make them work as hard labor for the rest of their lives to pay for their sins."
"Please release them, Ke'shan is willing to accept all the conditions you propose."
"you sure?"
"I am sure."
"They are only more than a thousand people."
"Even if there's only one."
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha--"
Soshyan laughed dryly, and then sighed:
"The Greater Good is indeed kind, but it is so hypocritical that it is disgusting. It has clearly sent millions of lives to hell, but it is hypocritical to the few who are alive."
"This is not hypocrisy. It is precisely because the sacrifice of millions of lives is a huge mistake and tragedy that even if there is only one survivor left, we must make up for it, otherwise this tragedy will only be forgotten."
"Hmm... Am'ke, an ether, but can what you say represent your home world?"
"Can."
"Tsk tsk tsk."
Soshyan raised his hand and shook his fingers.
"Lying is not what an ether should do! You can't. The envoy sent by Gu made it very clear to me when he came back. The ether that truly represents your family's world very clearly rejected Gu's request, and
He said it very forcefully, I would rather be a piece of jade than a piece of cake...ah, very strong-minded, I admire this kind of integrity very much, and I plan to help you."
Am'ke always behaved calmly in response to such almost threatening words.
"If His Highness the Phoenix King really wants to destroy us, based on the strength of your fleet, the moment we discover your fleet, Keshan will have been wiped out."
Soshyan snorted lightly, did not continue the topic, and asked instead:
"You agree, but your compatriots don't agree?"
"The Ether Council agrees, and everyone else will agree."
"Why do you represent the Ether Parliament?"
"Based on this."
Am'ke shook the Blade of Honor in his hand and saw that there were strands of hair of slightly different colors tied with strings, 22 strands in total.
It turned out that before leaving, Am'ke suddenly asked all the members of the Ethereal Council who came to see him off to cut off the ends of their own hair whips and give them to him. Everyone was confused at first, because the Ethereals would not cut their hair after adulthood, which was quite unreasonable.
So it was a symbol of the length of their lives, but when Ammonium'technetium silently cut off a tuft of its own braids, other ethers followed suit.
"All members of the Ether Parliament, cut off their hair and give it to me as proof. I, Am'Ke, represent the entire Ke'shan at this time!"
Soshiyang nodded slightly.
"Okay, in that case, you agree to my conditions, right?"
"Yes, just hope that those captured personnel can be released, no matter how many."
"Then you must also know the first point of Gu's request, which ether Ke'shan is going to send?"
Am'ke met Soshyan's gaze.
"Down below."
"you?"
"Yes, I will apologize to the victims on behalf of Ke'shan."
Soshiyang chuckled and glanced at the hourglass from the corner of his eye. At this time, only half of the fine sand was left.
"Why is that you?"
"Because it was the Ether Parliament that mistakenly launched this war. Based on the analysis afterwards, we can basically infer that it was not the indigenous people who attacked the colony. This is our responsibility and mistake, and we will naturally bear it."
"Mistake? Afterwards?"
There was a smile in Soshiyang's words, but there was no warmth in his voice. Then he stretched out his hand to summon a projection ball and projected the images of Savage Ada and Comoros Ada.
"I believe that your survivors must have told you some... clues that you can analyze. You must have had doubts when making decisions. But when you found that the world was not powerful and was very rich, you took action.
After greed, the facts are no longer important. How to occupy that world is the key, right?"
Am'ke was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"Yes, we were deceived by an easily defeated opponent and huge rewards."
"So, is this the so-called Greater Good?"
"no."
"Oh? So what you're saying is that you have deviated from the Greater Good?"
"Yes, the moment we launched this war, we deviated from the Greater Good, and the consequences that followed will naturally be borne by us. The long-term war has made everyone, including the ethers, become more radical.
and adventure.”
"Ha, is it because of the long war? Then how do the Arrakans explain it?"
Am' Ke was speechless and could only remain silent.
"well."
Soshyan sighed and shook his head.
"I also learned a lot about your Supreme Being. To be honest, I am very disappointed. I thought it was such a high-minded talk or far-sighted thought, but in the final analysis, it is nothing more than an expansionism of those who follow me will prosper and those who go against me will perish. It seems like
Under the tolerant shell is an exclusive heart. It is true that I admire your non-superstitious collectivism and dedication, but similarly, this does not mean that you can make everyone accept this voluntarily. The Arakans are
The best example... I often listen to the lectures of an ancient sage, and I have a lot of experience. Do you know what he thinks of non-believers? Anyone who is superstitious and does not believe must declare what he knows to him with true sincerity.
Those who cannot understand the truth of the matter should not force it to be explained. All living beings are confused, just like those born blind. If you try to force it, it will be like bumping into a wall and falling into a pit."
After a moment of silence, Am'ke said slowly:
"Reality always forces people to do things against their will. As long as it is beneficial to the people and the greater good, we are willing to accept such consequences."
"Do you really want to take responsibility? Apologize, kneel down?"
"it's me."
"I don't think it should be you."
"Why?"
"This responsibility does not belong to you. You must not approve of this war."
"I had the responsibility to dissuade him, but I failed in my duty."
"The people who decide this war should be left to decide.
Ammon'ke thought for a moment and said meaningfully:
"What's the difference from you? What you need is just a form to win people's hearts. In that world for so many years, we have never seen the power of the Eternal Royal Court coming in or out, and we have not even discovered it during the attack.
.Presumably they do not actually belong to the Eternal Royal Court, but our attack forced them to ask for help from His Highness, and His Highness could just take advantage of the situation and bring them under his command. This is the most important thing, isn't it?"
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Soshyang laughed several times and put his hand on the hourglass.
I saw the last few grains of sand stopping at the edge of the leak hole, but they did not move even a micron.