Thales once watched a lot of plays in the Mingye Temple next to the Grand Market - although most of his attention was on how to make money from the pockets of the audience who watched intently.
It has to be said that although the priests in Mingye all look nervous and wrap themselves up in a tight package, they talk about "my lord will return", "the world will eventually collapse for the second time" and "history is all lies" every day.
Crazy things like "The only one who can save the world is the True God of Night" ("Fortunately, they didn't say anything about 'the long night is coming, and there are dangers everywhere'"... Hey, Ryan, watch carefully, that fat sheep is about to turn around! - Right now
Beggar Tails watching the show.).
But the drama they rehearsed is really a good way for illiterate people after time travel to understand the world without spending money.
Well, maybe it's not that good - Tails followed Gilbert, remembering a scene from the play "Ming Ye's true body descended to the mortal world and personally saved the thirty-three princesses", and couldn't help but curl his lips.
Among those plays of various genres, ranging from ridiculous to cautionary, the one that left a deep impression on Thales was a scene called "The Day Disaster Comes, When the World Ends."
That's the final battle.
Thales still remembers that in those mainly black and red sets, there was a masked man in black clothes, holding a chain and a sickle, his steps were heavy, and the sound of footsteps surrounded the entire stage, and the music was always playing at this time.
It becomes gloomy and scary, often making the children watching curiously cry.
Wherever the men in black went, actors wearing various hoods to represent all over the world were crying, screaming, and falling down in droves on the stage.
He still remembers the chilling words in the behind-the-scenes narration like a crow:
"The disaster is coming! The disaster is coming! It will not let anyone go, nor will it let the world go! Until everyone is captured by the disaster!"
"Wake up, my compatriots, wake up, wake up! Disaster sweeps everything, the river of hell pours into the world, the sky collapses on the earth, the end of the world is imminent!"
"The gods are always on our side, the demons are with us, the emperor is behind us, and the heroes are in front of us! Only by fighting hard can we survive, and the dark night is eternal!"
"Compatriots! Disaster is coming! There is a saying in the dark night. The ferryman of the Prison River is not a hateful person, but the evil fruit of the inhuman demon flower can corrode the heart! I would rather hold a sword and follow the hero back home in glory than suffer such disasters.
Servants and minions!”
"This is the final battle, there is no distinction between each other, saints and mortals!"
"The final battle! Dark night covers the earth, and the disaster will surely dissipate!"
In Thales' unclear memory, in the neurotic drama, the so-called "disaster" character holding a chain and a scythe killed countless creatures until he was defeated by the alliance of the entire world.
But until the end, neither the priests nor the actors of the Mingye Temple explained what the 'disaster' was. Some children on the street also asked, and the priests always asked the children to say "Mingye is about to return, I
I was willing to serve" (i_shall_serve_when_the_dark_night_returns) before he was willing to give them a piece of maltose, and then said with a smile, "Disaster is the enemy of the world."
Thales, who was so absorbed in his thoughts, didn't notice that Gilbert had already led him to the steps of the second floor.
The three giant portraits of the King of Stars that he had seen when he first arrived were neatly hung on the wall.
"Lusaka Colvin was a famous portrait painter during the reign of Mindis III. His portraits pay attention to the combination of history, relying on the environment and movements to express the spiritual temperament of each character in the most similar way." Gilbert stood still.
Under the portraits of the three star kings, they were stunned.
"'Three Kings of the Stars', these are a few kings and monarchs in Colvin's masterpiece, just as His Majesty introduced you before."
A work by a famous artist? Only then did Thales raise his head and look carefully at the portrait in the middle of the wall - the young knight holding a gun and riding a horse. Judging from his posture, he should be moving forward and his seven-pointed star badge.
The previous glance was too hasty, and until today, Thales, who had only had time to observe carefully, noticed that this seemingly heroic knight had a curled spear, a damaged crown, and all the armor on
It was covered in blood, and the mounts also showed signs of fatigue. The knights behind them were all injured. Some were charging with shields, some were covered in blood, some had broken armor, some were supporting each other on horseback, and some even had only one arm left.
Under the setting sun in the distance, there are mountains of corpses and weapons everywhere. There are only a few people standing, decorating the tragic battlefield alone, with blood and darkness dominating the remaining tones.
Except for the young Knight of the Seven-Star Crown who seemed to be roaring crazily, the six people behind him all had lonely and sad expressions, but they still showed no hesitation and followed Tormund I, who was roaring with a gun in front, all the way forward.
Seeing this, Thales's heart moved, and he suddenly remembered the words of King Kessel V:
"That was Tormund I, the last prince of the Final Empire, the founder of the Stars, the 'King of Restoration'. His bravery in the Final Battle is still celebrated today."
"He is -" Thales' expression moved slightly and he looked at Gilbert beside him.
"Yes, 'King_of_renaissance' Tormund Brightstar," Gilbert replied with a profound expression: "In the final battle more than 600 years ago, among the surviving imperial commanders in the Western Front Theater,
The person with the highest status."
"He is also your ancestor, the founder of the Star Kingdom after the war."
Western Front Theater, surviving, commander of the empire, highest status.
Thales immediately grasped the keyword.
"Commander of the Empire? Which empire? What is his identity? In addition to the Western Front Theater, are there other theaters? Who are Tormund's enemies?"
Gilbert had become accustomed to Thales's learning method of interrupting and asking questions (or even refuting) at any time. He smiled unconcernedly and said:
"Of course it's the one and only 'empire' (the_empire)."
"The only empire?"
"Yes," Gilbert took a breath and showed a nostalgic smile: "You know, Mr. Thales, our known world was originally a vast land shaped like an arm. And we, the stars,
The original place is at the position of the wrist——"
Thales raised his head suddenly: "What?"
He interrupted Gilbert in shock: "A—a whole piece of land? The Eastern Continent and the Western Continent separated by the Sea of End—"
But Gilbert just smiled and raised a hand, indicating that he should be quiet in front of the portrait of the late king.
"Listen to me, the answer lies in the final battle."
But Thales had already figured out an answer in his brain that was not far from the truth.
The Battle of the End, wait a minute, the ocean between the two continents is called - the Sea of Ending?
Two continents?
Thinking of this, Thales couldn't help but complain: "Gilbert, uh, you don't want to tell me that a powerful outside creature invaded our world with a legion, and then we were defeated in a fierce battle.
It intended, but accidentally broke a magical well and exploded the world into two continents?"
Gilbert's smile faltered: "What?"
"Then the one to the west will still be called Kalimdor——"
"Shh-" Gilbert smiled helplessly and interrupted him: "My little gentleman, you do have the ability to write novels and make up stories. If it weren't for your identity, you might be able to be an excellent singer.
of a traveler or a poet, but now we are in a history lesson."
Thales shrugged, closed his mouth, and put a piece of newly recovered memory into the depths of his brain - still related to the girl with chuunibyou.
Gilbert looked at him patiently until Thales stopped making any sound and became solemn in front of the portrait of his ancestors before continuing to explain:
"More than three thousand years ago, after humans realized the extraordinary power, super-level and extreme masters emerged one after another, and the military's combat power and equipment continued to strengthen. After many years of friction, wars and alliances, nearly two thousand two hundred years later,
Before that, mankind finally merged into a whole, victorious in wars with other races year after year, and became the master of the known world on the continent."
Gilbert showed reverence and admiration, his eyes wandered, and he said quietly:
"They established a huge country that spanned the whole sea, intimidated the continent, and touched almost every corner of the known land. The Ludor people, the Northlanders, the Nieda people, the Kelunsa people, the Red Earth people, except for a small part of the Far East
People, almost all human beings are under its protection and rule."
"They did not decide on the name of the country or the name of the dynasty. The highest ruler named himself 'the emperor' (the_emperor)."
"That unprecedented country—it's called the_empire."
Thales took a slight breath, but what he felt in his heart was no glory and pride, but only sadness and sighs.
War shapes the state, and the state shapes the war ("war_made_the_state,_and_the_state_made_war") - he silently added in his heart what he learned from the master's book in his previous life.
Integration and war, to put it simply, how much war, how much blood and killing is needed to create an unprecedented giant country?
But Gilbert's expression immediately darkened:
"After nearly a thousand years of empire rule, a new race that was so powerful that it was almost terrifying was silently born among humans."
"They are immortal, indestructible, unparalleled in strength and energy, and even the most powerful ones cannot resist them. Even true gods and demons cannot compete with them. What's even more frightening is that they have completely different characteristics from humans and even other races.
His thinking and behavior principles are unreasonable, unruly and crazy, and difficult to communicate with."
Thales stiffened slightly.
The nervous figure in blue clothes and brown hair seemed to appear in front of him again, his mouth opening and closing: "Stand on the sky, surpass the gods, look down on all living beings..."
Thales came back to his senses and saw Gilbert sigh:
"They are like disasters. When they come to the world, they continue to bring chaos and disaster, blood and killings - the once great empire gradually declined under heavy blows, and even finally perished."
New race?
Born among humans?
Unreasonable?
Disaster?
Thales remembered something, and his heart began to beat irregularly.
"By the time of Tormund I, which was the century when the Imperial Calendar and the Ending Calendar alternated, the Empire had been destroyed for more than three hundred years, and the world of humans and races returned to chaos and division."
"And the 'Final Empire' that Tormund is in is just a remnant built by the remnants, bearing the name of the empire. It is another country with completely different systems, territories, and people."
"Historians have traditionally called the former great empire 'the ancient empire', and the latter weak empire 'the final empire'."
"The final empire, in the year 1609 of the Imperial Calendar, that is, the year when the Final Battle took place, was just a medium-sized country in the world. The spiritual heritage and orthodox name of the ancient empire brought not glory and inheritance, but
It’s burden and hatred.”
"In the past, the vassal land was full of ambitions, the vassal tribes were ready to move, and the numerous countries were eyeing it."
"Although it inherited the glory of the ancient empire, in the end the empire made enemies everywhere, had constant wars, heavy tax burdens, years of civil strife, a mediocre emperor, and a decline in rule."
"Seeing the glory of the empire will end in the 1509th year of the imperial calendar."
"But just this year, that race and those disasters have attracted many believers and followers all over the world, and with unprecedented power, they officially declared war on the entire civilized world!"
Thales was slightly shocked.
With clear logic, he had already caught several logical errors in this narrative, but he did not speak out immediately, but endured it.
What exactly is a catastrophe? What does it mean to be born from a human being?
Since you have such power, why not continue your efforts after the destruction of the ancient empire, and wait until the final empire to officially declare war?
Since it is completely unreasonable, why do they want to recruit followers and believers like a true god?
If they have completely different thinking from humans, why would they declare war? Conquer the world? What a joke!
This is simply a story full of flaws!
But Thales realized that this was not deliberately misleading by Gilbert, but that there was a lot of information that Thales could not understand at the moment.
Just like the secrets of the bloody years before.
"Those disasters," Thales swallowed and asked slightly nervously, "What are they?"
Gilbert was not surprised by Thales' question, but he did not notice that Thales' tone was less confident and steady than usual.
He sighed: "After the end of the war, all news and sources about the 'disaster' are blocked. This is a secret agreement between the gods, demons and humans, and it is also a countermeasure to prevent their numbers from increasing."
"As many years passed, the horror of the disaster gradually dissipated, and their names and existence were gradually forgotten by many people."
"However, as the only blood descendant of the king, you will have to know this sooner or later."
Gilbert took a deep breath and said seriously: "Those disasters were once humans or members of other intelligent races. But desire, greed and ambition drove them to become aliens who have lost their essence. Although they
Most of the time they are almost indistinguishable from us, and even hide among us, but they are a truly alien race."
"In the eyes of the people and most people, these disasters have a common name."
Gilbert cleared his throat, his face was solemn, and he enunciated the words one by one:
"Magic Master."
At that moment, Thales used all his strength to control his body and prevent it from shaking too much.
"In their eyes, magicians are just another type of superpower that seems to be on the same level as the powerful ones such as Terminator Knights and Superpower Warriors."
Gilbert's eyes were cold, and he continued: "But only the countries and temples participating in the End War know that these so-called magicians have caused trouble to history for thousands of years, accumulated blood debts, and ended the two generations of empires.
, a terrible 'disaster' that almost destroyed the entire world!"
"Only when they try to kill a magician will they find something wrong and notice the clues - by then it's often too late."
"Because of the magic master, those disasters are immortal, immortal and indestructible."
"Young sir," Gilbert said solemnly, "If you unfortunately encounter a magician in the future, protect yourself first. After you are safe, try to seek help... We have a set of measures targeting the weaknesses of magicians to fight against them."
Touching the wound on his right hand, Thales' expression remained unchanged, but his teeth were trembling slightly - I am afraid that he has already seen those "disasters".
Although Thales was filled with doubts, for the sake of his own safety, he must not ask questions too hastily - who knows what might be revealed in his desperation?
But it's still wrong... If the magician is such a terrifying existence, why do they still come to fight for the small gang? The Star Kingdom just allows their Blood Bottle Gang to grow in the stars?
Another doubt.
So many doubts.
Gilbert paused here, seeming to wonder why Thales didn't speak and ask. But he didn't have too much doubts. Instead, he closed his eyes and thought about something. After a few minutes, he softly spoke:
"There is no need to doubt their terror - the power of those disasters is too strong. More than 600 years ago, under the leadership of strong men, our most powerful and daring army and their minions fought in blood and madness
Infinitely. After breaking through the outer perimeter, the most elite knights and warriors surrounded the disasters, but they could only die in droves."
Thales thought of the play in the Temple of Dark Night. On the stage, all the actors fell down on the path that "Disaster" walked.
"The gods came to the world one by one, and then fell. The demons also climbed onto the ground, and then destroyed. The strong men of all races rushed to the battlefield and then died."
"The war lasted for many years, and after paying a heavy price, we studied their weaknesses and finally defeated those disasters."
Thales clenched his fists, and Asheida's lonely words seemed to ring in his ears: "We lost."
Gilbert's words interrupted his memory of Asheida:
"But the power of those cursed disasters is really too terrifying. In the final pursuit and decisive battle above the extreme realm, those cursed disasters, those bastards who can almost destroy the world -"
Thales, who was carefully observing Tormund's charge, shuddered and suddenly knew the next story.
Gilbert spoke the next sentence calmly:
"It sank the most fragile piece of land in the center of the continent that connected the four directions. All the creatures and materials on it were destroyed."
"After the land sank, the aftermath of the energy spread, pushing the entire continent in two directions. In just five years, the ocean formed was bottomless, splitting the known land into things.
Two continents and countless islands.”
"This is the famous 'Great Fission' (the_great_fission) more than 600 years ago."
"The_final_war (the_final_war) ends here."
Gilbert exhaled a long breath, and his next words stunned Thales for a moment:
"That piece of land sunken into the sea encompasses the entire territory of the final empire."
"The Final Empire."
"It ends here."
——————————————
Wu Jian scratched his head: We haven’t told much of the story yet, so why did it suddenly reach 200,000 words?
By the way, let’s spread the word: - book club group 397147168