Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1482 - 1475: Each Has Their Controversy

Chapter 1482: Chapter 1475: Each Has Their Controversy

The three of them walked around the streets, trying their best to inquire about the war that year between the Kyushu Empire and the Ghost Race, but the answers they received were all different.

Some people said that the Kyushu Empire was defeated due to internal strife; those who wished to return home and those who desired to continue fighting engaged in intense disputes. Even their most revered Emperor Wu passed away because of this conflict, resulting in a humiliating retreat.

Others claimed that the Kyushu Empire was squarely defeated by the Ghost Race, leaving no room for doubt. The environment of Aximiya Island was extremely harsh, only the Ghost Race could adapt to such conditions; therefore, they were able to defeat the Kyushu army, which was superior in numbers and equipment.

However, this viewpoint was immediately contested by some, who argued that the invasion of the Kyushu Empire almost wiped out the Faceless to the brink of extinction, giving the long-oppressed Ghost Race a chance to breathe. In other words, even if they were not adapted to the environment of Aximiya Island, the Kyushu army still demonstrated formidable combat strength.

There were also those who said that the retreat of the Kyushu Empire was solely because Aximiya Island held no value worth occupying. After inspecting the entire Aximiya Island, Emperor Wu of the Empire deemed such a remote and barbaric land, even if conquered, would be very costly to govern, thus choosing to withdraw his troops.

As for the notion that hundreds of thousands of troops died, it’s entirely fabricated—an excuse made up by the Ghost Race to glorify themselves.

Of course, there were also the claims that Cheng Ziang had just heard, which was that the Ghost Race used terrifying witchcraft to directly poison hundreds of thousands of Kyushu troops, leading to the Kyushu Empire’s complete collapse.

The information from this type of claim was very uniform, basically involving the death of hundreds of thousands of troops, and that Emperor Wu of the Kyushu Empire also passed away due to such witchcraft.

These claims were essentially street rumors, the type that gets more embellished as they’re passed around, so Cheng Ziang also couldn’t fully believe them. And the Ghost Race didn’t have the habit of chronicling history, resulting in their poor understanding of the major events of the past.

To truly understand this war, the best approach would be to find historical materials in Kyushu. One very important reason why Kyushu is called the Beacon of East Continent Civilization is their keen interest in chronicling history, recording many significant historical events in detail.

Knowing that martial values prevail in Kyushu, yet still, there are scholars who earnestly record every major historical event, regardless of whether future generations can understand them or not, they have not given up, which must be said is a very precious spiritual heritage.

Cheng Ziang inherited the memory of the Shadow Edict, and this Shadow Edict was not simple; he was not only a Cultivator but also literate. Thus, through his memory, Cheng Ziang naturally learned the Kyushu script and noted down some historical books that the Shadow Edict had once read.

The history books of Kyushu have a very interesting feature—they are very fair and objective. Even in the case of the Kyushu Empire’s wars against other civilizations, the books faithfully record them, using the term ’Conquer’ to satirize these actions without embellishment.

The reason for this situation is mainly that the chroniclers are scholars, whereas those who waged wars are mostly Cultivation forces. These scholars detest the wars initiated by Cultivation forces, hence severely criticizing them in history books.

Their audacity to write so stems from the fact that most Cultivators, including the high-ranking ones, are nearly illiterate. As long as the history books don’t openly insult someone, these individuals fundamentally can’t understand them.

So, over time, the history books of Kyushu developed an offbeat writing style, seemingly praising an event while actually using sarcastic techniques to criticize it. Those with little education simply cannot discern this, and only the widely-read individuals can see the true meaning at a glance.

Therefore, from this perspective, if one wishes to understand the Kyushu Empire’s invasion of Aximiya Island, the history books of Kyushu are undoubtedly the best reference. Although such historical materials might still have limitations in perspective, they are undoubtedly much more reliable than street rumors.

However, at the moment, Cheng Ziang and his companions don’t have such resources, so they can only synthesize these claims, extract the consistent parts for comparison.

The three of them were busy until the afternoon when the sky was once again covered with dark clouds, looking like it would rain again, so they also had to hurry back.

"Combining all statements, it is basically certain that the Kyushu Empire did indeed suffer a defeat in the war with Aximiya Island, not a voluntary withdrawal. As for the casualty count of tens of thousands, I think there might be some justification to this claim," Baiyue said as she walked, holding a notebook and writing in it.

"Is there a possibility that during the embarkation back to the Continent, the Kyushu military encountered misnavigation and shipwrecks, leading to the demise of hundreds of thousands in the ocean? People on the Continent, waiting in vain, might have thought they all died on the island," Cheng Ziang analyzed while stroking his chin.

"That might have happened, but not to the extent of the death of hundreds of thousands of troops," Baiyue shook her head and said, "You must understand, the transportation of hundreds of thousands of troops across the sea would definitely not take place in one go, but in batches. So, if the ships encountered disasters, it is estimated that only about one-tenth may have perished, not all hundreds of thousands in the ocean."

"Could it be that the Kyushu military waiting on the island encountered a counterattack from the Ghost Race army, thus spilling their blood on the beach?" Cheng Ziang then proposed another speculation.

"This isn’t Dunkirk; you’ve seen it yourself, whether in the earlier or later stages, the Ghost Race’s military couldn’t confront the Kyushu Empire’s military. To say they waited to strike back during the Kyushu military’s withdrawal is indeed too difficult a task for the Ghost Race," Baiyue said earnestly.

"Could it really be a genetic weapon?" Cheng Ziang fell into contemplation.

"Don’t always think in the directions we’re familiar with," Baiyue glanced at him and shook her head.

"What do you mean?" Cheng Ziang asked.

"Perhaps it was just an ordinary infectious disease, like the Black Death or Cholera, a kind of virulent epidemic," Baiyue speculated with a shrug.

"Then how do you explain the Ghost Race not being affected?" Cheng Ziang scratched his head and asked.

"Thinking about it now, when you went to ask this question, you were obviously somewhat inebriated, thus lacking the most basic judgment," Baiyue sighed.

"Does that mean I asked the wrong question?" Cheng Ziang was immediately dumbfounded.

"Fine, now I’m asking you," Baiyue stopped in her tracks, closed her notebook, and looked at him, tilting her head, "According to the information gathered, the disaster occurred in the late stage of the Kyushu Empire’s invasion of Aximiya Island. What was the power layout of Aximiya Island during that period – have you looked into that?"

"Uh..." Faced with Baiyue’s gaze and question, Cheng Ziang showed a rare embarrassed expression, but it was hidden behind the mask.

"Let me tell you," Baiyue sighed again, then opened the notebook and pointed to the recorded text, "In the late stages of the war with Aximiya Island, the Ghost Race had been squeezed into a very small space, almost about to be eradicated by the Kyushu Empire. It seems you’ve forgotten one thing - during that time, the real master of Aximiya Island was Faceless, and the Kyushu military nearly drove the Faceless to extinction. That is to say, during this period, the Kyushu Empire had effectively taken control of the whole island and actively struck against the Ghost Race and the Faceless."

"What does that have to do with the plague?" Cheng Ziang spread his hands asked somewhat sheepishly.

"Don’t you understand," Baiyue opened her hands helplessly, continuing, "The reason the Ghost Race wasn’t infected isn’t because they are unique, but because they simply had no opportunity to be exposed to infection. Because the plague mainly broke out among the Kyushu military, and during that period, the Ghost Race was forced to huddle in the mountains, basically without any chance of contact with the Kyushu military, naturally avoiding infection."

"But if the bodies of these Kyushu soldiers were left on the island, wouldn’t that..." Cheng Ziang asked hesitantly.

"Taking the Black Death as an example, it is a highly infectious disease that kills at an extremely fast rate. Let’s assume an outbreak of the Black Death in a region, and then we quarantine this region. After a while, the epidemic in this region miraculously disappears, not because the quarantine was effective, but because everyone in that region had died, and naturally, the virus disappeared along with them," Baiyue said calmly, voicing a horrifying truth.