Enforcer Manual
Chapter 769 - 767: Remnants_1

Chapter 769: Chapter 767: Remnants_1

"The Emperor" ultimately failed to find the whereabouts of the Tidal Church crew in the town. He vanished into the fog of the streets, forever disappearing from this world.

Yet some say he returned to the domain of the Tidal Church.

That place lies in the central sea region encircled by the archipelago, only known to the Believers of the Tidal Church, whose methods to get there remained a secret from those reserved as sacrificial offerings.

Moreover, they never encountered the High-level councilors who made it to the islands.

The town’s investigation yielded almost nothing, and "The Emperor" gradually realized that even the town’s residents seemed to accept their role as "flesh," always ready to be tied to a fishing boat and sacrificed to the lord of the tides. When the Believers of the Tidal Church came to their town and called their names, it was more of a release for them.

They looked no different from the residents of Silvermoon Harbor, but they were like walking corpses.

Whenever he mentioned leaving the island to live outside, they showed an utmost terror in their eyes. The awe of the lord of the tides had long been written into their genes and blood, rendering them unable to bear any grudge against their Master even in the face of death.

"The Emperor" noticed this subtle detail: both the townspeople and the Believers of the Tidal Church referred to their deity as "Master" rather than Father God.

After returning to the inn, he could only rest in the town for a day while waiting for Diago’s Father God... to recover from his back pain.

He felt he might be the first deity in the world to be troubled by backaches.

The fierce battle at sea made "The Emperor" acutely aware that delving into the Misty Archipelago would require support from the "Father God."

The disappearance of the red orb above the clouds finally gave them a sense of time in the town.

It was just after nightfall, and most of the townspeople had returned to their homes.

"Thump thump thump, thump thump thump—"

The sudden knocking interrupted "The Emperor’s" thoughts. When he opened the door, he found an old man in a gray robe standing at the threshold, his hair unkempt as if long neglected. The old man looked cautiously around the room before stepping in, once he made sure that only "The Emperor" and Diago were inside.

Earlier, "The Emperor" had seen the old man at the town’s market from afar, concealed in the shadows. They had no interactions.

If not for his cybernetic eye automatically recording the old man’s information, he might not have been able to recall these details.

"Paladin, that’s my name."

The old man’s voice was deep. He was the first man they had met in town who had a name. "I heard you’ve been inquiring about the Tidal Church around town, so you must be with that group, aren’t you?"

"That group?"

"A few days ago, your comrades occupied several coastal towns. They repelled the assault of the Tidal Church and are now searching for a way to infiltrate the Church," the old man stated with certainty.

It was crystal clear, "The Emperor" and those other outsiders who had invaded had all turned into iron lumps.

"I’ve seen your ships. They can still soar over Tianshan. I suppose they have large spaces inside, capable of accommodating many people," continued the old man as "The Emperor" connected the dots.

The "comrades" he mentioned were likely the robots within the steel fortress, also revealing that aside from themselves, other fleets had broken through the sea monsters’ defense and successfully reached the Misty Archipelago.

He had no idea where this mechanical fleet came from, as even the intelligence department of the United Government was completely oblivious to their existence before this.

The laser weapons used by those mechanical beings and the equipment installed on the airships seemed to be even more advanced than military tech.

"The Emperor" deliberately chose not to clarify the misunderstanding and instead asked, "Why do you ask?"

"If your ship can hold the town’s residents, perhaps you could take them with you on your journey home, delivering them to the outside world?" The old man’s tone was urgent, filled with pleading. "In return, I might be able to help you find the way to the Tidal Church."

He had been observing "The Emperor" from the shadows for quite some time before finally gathering the courage to approach him.

As far as he knew, those of his kind stationed in other towns were not amicable towards the locals, and they had done something to the people of the town. The residents’ bodies began to slowly undergo Transformation; their skin was replaced by metal, their flesh devoured by machinery, ultimately turning them into cold, mechanical creations like those beings.

He heard these rumors from a few Tidal Church Believers who had fled after defeat, apparently thoroughly terrorized by the mechanical monstrosities.

Hiding, he imitated the machines’ manner of speech and extracted much information from the mouths of the Believers.

Hearing this, "The Emperor" became even more perplexed by the old man’s presence. "If that’s the case, why are you doing this? Aren’t you afraid I’ll turn you into a mechanical monster too?"

The Transformation the old man mentioned was clearly the mechanical plague they encountered in Silvermoon Harbor. Now it could be confirmed that the plague was brought by this mechanical fleet that appeared from nowhere, aiming to transform humans into their own kind to fill their ranks for the ongoing war.

"Because compared to the curse we carry, bodily changes are nothing at all."

The old man clenched his teeth and declared with a resolute look in his eyes, "As long as I can have freedom, I wouldn’t mind becoming a machine or even a stone."

He pulled out a book whose pages had yellowed.

In the small town, books were forbidden; anyone found privately holding books would be executed.

This had always been the code enforced by the Tidal Church. To some within the Church, books could expose people to undesirable thoughts. The residents of the town, who existed merely as sacrifices, had no need for "thoughts"; that wasn’t something they should contemplate.

All he needed to do was ensure his body was healthy enough to complete the sacrifice in a robust state.

This book, the last remaining in the town, was the culmination of the old man’s life’s work. He might have been the longest-living person in town, having been fortunate enough to dodge every selection for sacrifice, which allowed him to record everything he had witnessed on the island in this book.

If one day he were to die, his thoughts and observations could continue in this way.

As for Paladin, that wasn’t his real name either.

Like all others in the town, his parents hadn’t named their child and had been chosen as sacrifices when he was very young. They had boarded the fishing boat that set out to sea and never returned.

When he came across the name "Paladin" on a stone tablet on the island, he was deeply moved by his deeds.

Paladin had once been a General of the kingdom and a hero in the eyes of the people.

The remnants of the tablet detailed how General Paladin had led his fleet in the sea to a decisive battle against the horrors that lurked in the ocean’s depths.

The war had engulfed the entire kingdom, but even after humanity had exhausted all its power, they failed to conquer the sea. General Paladin’s fleet was completely destroyed, and he sank into the bottom of the sea along with the land he so dearly loved.

Today’s Misty Archipelago is the remains of that civilization.

"They destroyed Paladin’s monument and burned all historical documents. Since then, those horrors have become the masters of the survivors," said the old man, recounting all he knew.

Over his lifetime, he had explored every corner of the Misty Archipelago, piecing together an incomplete story from the fragmented remains. He kept this secret, not daring to share it with anyone.

He had also gradually understood the reason they were deprived of names and existed as sacrifices.

It was a curse bestowed by the "deity".

Even after Paladin and his followers had died, their descendants on this land couldn’t find peace.

The Lord of the Tides used this method to show all who would rebel against Him the consequences of their actions.

It was a curse that lasted for a thousand years.

So ancient that the people of the island had long forgotten the events that had taken place on their land; so ancient that they had come to accept their fate, stripped of name and identity, perpetuating this curse as sacrifices forever.

The "Emperor" reading the words of the book felt an emotional turmoil he had not felt in a long time.

He had heard legends of lost ancient kingdoms, but historians generally believed those civilizations to be fictional, never having actually existed in this world.

Yet here and now, he had unexpectedly encountered a remnant of a lost civilization on an archipelago whose geographic location was unknown.

The old man hoped to draw courage from Paladin’s deeds, but all he could do was to record everything he knew. That was the greatest act of rebellion he was capable of.

Unfortunately, the "Emperor" held a pessimistic view about the old man’s efforts.

Over the course of a thousand years, the descendants of the warriors had been thoroughly domesticated by the Lord of the Tides, no longer capable of entertaining the thought of taking up arms.

And while they talked, a group of unwelcome visitors arrived in the small town.

The glaring lights scattered the darkness.

The people from the Tidal Church had come.

The town’s residents obediently left their homes and gathered in the town square, including the elderly and the children. Their eyes were dull as they lined up neatly, like merchandise waiting to be selected.

The Believers shone lights on each person’s face, followed by someone taking out a list.

Due to the recent war, their Master required more sacrifices.

Those whose names were called showed no resistance, and their faces even lacked the negative emotions of fear and unwillingness.

They just stood there as the Believers bound their arms behind their backs with ropes.

This was their life, the entirety of their existence.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.