Enforcer Manual
Chapter 777 - 735: Mortal_1

Chapter 777: Chapter 735: Mortal_1

The master of the manor, calling himself Omelo, had served as a historian in the City of Kings, and his knowledge of Atlantis’ history was far deeper than that of most people.

"Because of a series of policies implemented by the king and the propaganda of the Tidal Church, there are few in the city who still remember what once happened here."

Omelo had prepared a cellar for the Paladin and others; it was spacious enough to accommodate up to a dozen inhabitants.

It would take some time to establish contact with the Fraternity refugee aid organization, and until their representatives arrived, the land refugees would temporarily reside in the manor’s cellar.

The Paladin was surprised that the king and the lord of the Tides had not discovered Omelo’s actions, to which Omelo explained that perhaps the sages of Atlantis had been protecting him.

The current King of Atlantis was named Zeruo, who, in the kingdom’s prime, had been appointed as the chief of internal affairs, his last order being to escort the princess and the vulnerable populations to a continent on the other side of the sea. However, Zeruo betrayed the king’s trust and submitted to the rule of the lord of the Tides.

In return, the lord of the Tides granted him a nearly eternal life, allowing him to rule over the lost kingdom for a thousand years.

As Omelo recounted these long-buried histories, "Zeruo founded the Tidal Church and established it as the state religion. Meanwhile, he held both the positions of king and Archbishop himself. The ’masterpieces’ that had occurred to us are expressions of his loyalty to the lord of the Tides."

In the strictest sense, they were no longer human, as under the influence of the lord of the Tides, they had become some other species never before recorded.

"Zeruo then ’revised’ history, shaping the Paladin as a Sinner who defied the will of the Deity, stubbornly pushing Atlantis into an abyss of irreversible doom. The ignorant royal family also became the driving force behind the whole affair. Therefore, their descendants had to suffer the punishment of the lord of the Tides on land, generation after generation, to atone for the sins committed by their ancestors. In the new history, Zeruo becomes the wisest of kings, whose resolution brought a glimmer of hope to the kingdom on the brink of ruin. Everyone must express their gratitude to him, and he possesses the power over life and death in the kingdom."

"The Emperor" attempted to understand the current legal system of the Sunken Kingdom. Not surprisingly, the legal framework also remained stuck in its thousand-year-old state and, most of the time, failed to be enforced fairly and justly.

The king could execute anyone at will, as well as strip anyone of their property.

Upon their arrival in the City of Kings, they witnessed a public execution in the square, where a believer of the Tidal Church was beheaded, and no one even knew what crime he had committed.

Despite the imminent threat of the Mechanical Army, Zeruo stayed in the royal palace, indulging in grand feasts, exemplifying the ultimate in royal decadence.

According to results retrieved by the operating system, Zeruo already had all the hallmarks of the last king.

At that moment, the voice in his mind appeared again, without warning, "RT4 has decided to act in three days. If you plan to infiltrate the prison to rescue the princess, that day would be the perfect opportunity."

After saying that, she complained again, "The technological level here is just too backward to be of any use. Can you believe it? They don’t even have an internal network set up. For long-distance communication, they still rely on fish and messengers. They’re practically primitives!"

In conclusion, she did not forget to mock Zeruo, "No wonder the refugees on land manage to disappear once they make it to the border cities."

"So what’s your plan? Help us rescue the princess and then hand her over to RT4?"

"Of course not, why would I help her?"

"Aren’t you with her? Didn’t you come here looking for the Secret Treasure?"

"I’m not with her at all, and I don’t care if she completes her mission or not. Mother didn’t ask me to do any of that."

"Mother?"

"The Emperor" thoughtfully guessed that this term probably didn’t refer to RT6’s biological mother, but was similar to the "Father God" that Diago mentioned.

But then, do mechanical creations also have their Deity of worship?

"When Mother is ready to see you, she will naturally appear before you."

"So, what mission did your Mother assign you?"

"To study and research."

"Study and research what?"

"What’s it to you, can you even control it?"

RT6 spoke brusquely.

"The Emperor" always felt that after the incident in The First Region, the brilliant Mechanic had become increasingly impolite when speaking to him, but perhaps this time her true nature was showing.

Previously, she had to be secretive due to her identity, but now that the entire Mechanical Army had been exposed, there was no need for her to hide anymore.

Seeing that "The Emperor" had fallen silent, RT6 realized that her tone had been somewhat too harsh and regretted it, so she answered his question, "Researching the potential of genetics, mechanics, and Spiritual Energy."

"So that’s why you used me."

"The Emperor" suddenly understood.

Before his entire body had been replaced with machinery, he was once the foremost Psychic of the United Government.

"We each took what we needed, and you didn’t lose out. The prosthetics I provided for you are perfectly compatible with no side effects. Take the recent events as an example, if it weren’t for the prosthetic body I gave you, you would have died ten times over already."

Even without seeing face to face, "Emperor" could imagine RT6’s proud demeanor. She snorted and said, "Don’t think being a Six Stars rescuer is any great shakes. You’re just among the better ones of humanity. There are many out there who are much stronger than you."

"The operating system tells me you’re PUAing me."

"Who cares about PUAing you? I’m just telling it like it is. Take your current situation, for example. Managing to defeat His messenger would be an overperformance for you. If you were to face Him, you wouldn’t even have the chance to escape! It seems you haven’t learned the lesson from The First Region. You’re not even a match for that botanist. I can responsibly tell you, the Lord of Tides is much more powerful than the ’deity’ that botanist serves."

Although the atmosphere of the conversation wasn’t exactly friendly, this was the first time they had discussed matters other than "work".

Combining the reference RT4 made to him, "Emperor" suddenly understood why RT6 was upset about The First Region, though he found the reason to be somewhat subtle.

RT6’s mission was to research the possibilities of genetics, machinery, and Spiritual Energy, and his existence is the result of the integration of Spiritual Energy and mechanics. Even the "Conceptual Armament" proposed by the Spiritual Energy Research Institute was born from a template based on him.

And his direct confrontation with Triss could have potentially destroyed RT6’s research results in an instant, tantamount to smashing the years-long research outcomes of a scientist right before their eyes.

"Sorry, I’ll take that into account in the future."

"Who— who needs your apology? With my skills, I can make another one like you at any time if you’re smashed!"

"Yet this time, you didn’t stop me... Besides, we’ve encountered messengers sent by the Lord of Tides on land before. It was merely a bit larger in size, maybe not as formidable as you imagine."

"That’s clearly because you took advantage of others’ power, hiding behind them. At that time, RT4 lost three airships just to kill one messenger!"

RT6 raised her voice, and refuting "Emperor" seemed to have become a hobby of hers.

"Emperor" had long realized this and had mastered the way of communicating with this genius Mechanic. Of course, he knew the disappearance of that messenger was the handiwork of "Father God" mentioned by Diago, and he hoped to understand the connections between all these through RT6.

It seems every deity has their messengers.

Triss for the deity of vegetation, the sea monsters for the Lord of Tides, RT4 and RT6 for the deity of machinery, and the Spirit Troupe that lured him to the Misty Archipelago.

If one were to establish a hierarchy of power, these messengers would all belong to the same level.

And he, as well as the shadows who were his equals, were slightly inferior to these messengers.

"Emperor" recorded his conclusions, and then posed a question that had been on his mind for a while, "So, who is stronger, ’Father God’ mentioned by Diago or the Lord of Tides?"

"I don’t know."

"Emperor" resorted to provocation, "I thought there was nothing you didn’t know."

"His case is special; even Mother has always avoided discussing Him."

Through "King"’s consciousness, she had come to know the true identity of that deity, but unlike any deity she knew of, that person named Song Lan seemed no different from an ordinary office worker on most days. "King" had been by his side these past days and couldn’t figure out anything.

What puzzled RT6 even more was that not long ago, Mother had ordered RT4 to evacuate Sector Seventeen. It seemed She wanted to avoid conflict with Him as much as possible.

"That is to say, your Mother and the Lord of Tides are on the same level..."

"Nonsense!"

The conclusion drawn by "Emperor" seemed to be a great affront to RT6, who corrected, "The mere Tides don’t even require Mother’s intervention. What truly concerns Mother is the being that created them!"

She remembered Mother saying that the beings that created the Lord of Tides and the deity of vegetation were like tumors corroding their world, and one of RT4’s missions was to cleanse the world of this malign influence.

This made "Emperor"’s line of thought come to a halt; his theory was overturned.

"Are you saying that even the Lord of Tides is just His messenger?"

This realization suddenly made his status extremely awkward.

By that calculation, had he not slid down a rank, becoming equivalent to T4 level?

And RT6’s status was elevated by default, becoming a being two levels above him.

RT6, as if seeing through "Emperor"’s thoughts, consoled, "Don’t worry, for a mortal, you’ve done quite well already."