Under the infinite blue sky, the shallow mirror-like water stretches to the end of the line of sight, and in this incredibly vast world, anyone who is in it will inevitably have a growing sense of insignificance.

Rosetta couldn't help but look around the place again, before retracting her gaze and saying with a hint of emotion, "Those Cultists of the Eternal Sleeper once described the power of the 'Extraterritorial Wanderer'...... Someone mentioned that the chosen ones were eligible to meet the extraterritorial wanderers directly in a special space, but none of them had actually seen the place – and that's what they were talking about? ”

"Pretty much—but those cultists misunderstand me a lot," Gawain smiled, "and they seem to be exaggerating my ...... Danger, and since they chose to turn to Typhon, they would not have used too good words to describe me as an 'enemy'. ”

Rosetta looked at Gawain very seriously, although he was in a strange space, although he seemed to have no initiative to speak of, he still seemed very calm here, and he did not feel at all involuntary: "I'm curious - you, Gawain Cecil, or the Wanderer...... Are you a human in this world, or a wandering, god-like being? ”

Gawain spread his hands: "I just teamed up with you to defeat a god, and I thought we already had the most basic trust between us. ”

Rosetta was unmoved, not even her expression changed, she just continued to look at Gawain.

"Well, you can think of me as a traveler, a 'human' like you, but with some special experiences and special abilities," Gawain sighed helplessly, and said in a more casual manner, "This way of understanding is more conducive to our friendship and mutual trust - don't think about 'extraterritorial wanderers', more often the name is just to deter those dark cultists." ”

Rosetta frowned, with a thoughtful expression on his always slightly gloomy countenance, and it took him a few seconds before he broke his silence: "So, what do you want to talk to me about when you brought me to this 'place'?" ”

"Just a touch - you know, since the outbreak of this 'war', the communication between Typhon and Cecil has been in a state of semi-stagnation, which is very dangerous, and now that the biggest threat is finally gone, I think we need to make an engagement as soon as possible, which will help to avoid anything more in the high tension between the two countries...... Chaos," Gawain said earnestly, "after all, our armies are currently in a very chaotic post-war scorched earth. ”

Gawain's tone was friendly, even with a certain sense of gossip and ease, but Rosetta could hear a lot of deep meaning in these calm words, and he glanced at Gawain deeply before he said slowly, "This fire is burning hard enough—neither you nor I want it to burn any longer." ”

"It looks like we've reached a consensus on the general direction," Gawain looked Rosetta in the eye, "and that's the basis for getting back to the negotiating table — how to put this fire out slowly, and we'll have time to talk at the negotiating table later." ”

Rosetta's expression was unmoved, but she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief in her heart. He knew that one of his many post-war theories would not come to the fore, and while it might not be cheap, it would be better than a war that would stretch to Alden. After relaxing slightly, he couldn't help but look at Gawain twice, and said very bluntly: "To be honest, I thought you wouldn't stop—this is a rare opportunity for Cecil, Typhon is so weak at the moment, Aldenan is almost right in front of you." ”

Gawain was surprised by Rosetta's bluntness, and he glanced at the Typhon ruler in surprise and raised his eyebrows: "Then guess what, why didn't I do it?" ”

Rosetta was silent for a moment before he said in a deep voice, "You can't eat all of Typhon - this vast and populated land will only make Cecil a quagmire after the war." I can't think of a better reason than that. ”

Gawain gave the other a deep look, and he had to admit that Rosetta was at least half right.

He did think about keeping the fire burning, and even took the opportunity to go straight into Aldenan and merge the two human empires into one, which seemed like a very attractive and even exciting option - but alas, the logic of the real world is not so simple.

As Rosetta said, Cecil couldn't eat the whole of Typhon, not even a third of it - Typhon was not a barbaric and backward southern border, nor was it a blank slate after the Civil War, and there were no "own people" in its territory who were willing to take a whole aristocratic system like Victoria and Berdwin at the beginning, it was a modern empire that had entered a period of great industrial development, a clear and strict official system, and a civilized people, with a population of nearly 100 million people in that vast land, It had a stable ruling order, an independent and complete cultural system, and countless citizens and officials loyal to the Augustan royal family...... This is not the same concept as Ansu back then.

The above points, even after experiencing this war, have not changed much.

On the other hand, Gawain is also very clear about Cecil's own situation: under the strong surface brought about by advanced technology and transnational trade, there is still a country that has just escaped the shadow of civil war and many regions are still doing their best to recover and build, the wounds caused by the civil war and the divine disaster in the previous dynasty have just healed, the shortage of officials and clerks in government departments across the country is still barely filled, the clean-up and suppression of the old aristocracy and civil war speculators has not yet ended, and the last round of food crisis has just passed safely. The current grain reserves in the state treasury ...... Not even enough to sustain this war until this fall.

If it were to be fought, with Typhon's current situation, Cecil's army might actually be able to reach Aldenan - but it would only be a quagmire enough to drag Cecil into it. The Typhonians will not be easily defeated like the original nobles of the Southern Frontier and the nobles of the Holy Plain, and the continuous skirmishes will probably continue until next year or even the year after, the new ruling order cannot be established, the huge new population will far exceed the processing limit of Cecil's government office, and the prolonged inability to make ends meet will drag Cecil's weak reserves, and the ensuing supply shortage and deterioration of social order will snowball out of control.

In more than a dozen calculations by the Archons, Neural Networks, Naretil, and others, the final conclusion was almost the same: Typhon could not be fully occupied or fully assimilated, Cecil would eventually exit the quagmire, and the only thing to gain from the two countries was the hatred that would last for about two or three generations, and the collapse of the prestige of the Supreme Council.

If the war had been postponed for a few more years, perhaps the situation would have been different – but there are not so many "ifs" in the real world.

But that's only half of the reason why Gawain chose to stop this "fire" from continuing to burn.

"Have you ever thought that even if I can't swallow all of Typhon, I can have many other options," he looked up and looked into Rosetta's eyes, "For example, I can dismember your empire, I can also install a puppet regime in Aldenan, and I can also block and divide Typhon's economic cycle, which is far easier than occupying a country......

He didn't explain exactly what he would do, but just said one general concept after another, and while Rosetta was in serious thought, Bertila, who had been silent since just now, suddenly couldn't help but speak: "Is there still so many means?!" I didn't even think ......"

Rosetta subconsciously glanced at Bertila, with a strange expression on his face: "You are also one of the ancestors of the Augustus family anyway......"

Bertila had a serious expression and sighed in a tone that had seen through everything: "That's all in the past. ”

Rosetta forced himself to turn his gaze away from Berthira and back to Gawain, who looked into the other's eyes, "I don't think you're mentioning this as a threat or warning – it's too superficial for you. ”

"That's right, I'm just trying to show one thing - the future can be bad, but none of us want to go in that direction," Gawain nodded, "The means I just mentioned, if viewed from Cecil's point of view, can bring great benefits, but at the cost of the whole of humanity - there will be only a long antagonism and contradiction between Cecil and Typhon, many generations will have to spend it in suspicion and mutual discrimination, and the damage caused by this relationship may never be repaired; The progress of mortals as a whole will be slowed down as one of the once most promising kingdoms has its wings cut off, while the others ...... Maybe everyone will be at risk......"

"And an important point," Rosetta said suddenly, interrupting Gawain, "the kind of order you have been actively promoting and trying to achieve, the community of mortal destiny, will be bankrupt because of Cecil's actual actions in reality. ”

Gawain was stunned for a moment, then laughed slowly, no longer a polite smile, but with a heartfelt pleasure.

"That's right, if I do that, I'm afraid no one in the world will ever believe in the notion that mortal destiny is one," he said with a smile, "and what about you?" Do you agree with my philosophy? ”

“…… It seems that you really want to create such an order," Rosetta said in a solemn tone, after a moment of silence, "an order that treats all of humanity as one......"

"First of all, not just all human beings, but all mortals—including every race on the Loren continent, even those intelligent beings outside the continent," Gawain corrected with a serious expression, "and secondly, it's not that I'm trying to create this order—it's a natural fact in itself, a natural law of this world. ”

As he spoke slowly, a breeze suddenly blew between the empty water and the sky, which blew the water, and beneath the slightly swaying expanse of water, scenes suddenly emerged—

It was a battlefield seen from the air, the devastated Defence of the Winter Castle, a shocking chasm of lava and dark crystal-like scorched earth that spread from the plains to the main peak of the Winter Castle, and the smoke rising from the vast expanse, and beyond the picture were cities and villages, as well as quiet winter woodlands and snow-covered farmlands......

The picture was zoomed out until it was impossible to discern the details of the specific realm, and it finally stopped, on a cloud-shrouded perspective of the vast expanse of the land.

Rosetta stood up, subconsciously looking at the earth reflected in the water beneath his feet, instinctively thinking that the perspective should be a little more wider—but it stopped at this distance, and could only see half of the Gondor wasteland.

"This is the land we live in - when you look at it from the air, you will find that all the cities and villages are gone, and there is no way to talk about the dividing line between countries," Gawain's voice came from the side, awakening Rosetta from his thoughts, "Of course, we still need the concept of the state, we need the concept of the individual, but on this basis, we all ...... It's just the people who live in this land.

"We face a common world, we face all the blessings and all the challenges of this world, we face the gods, we face the tide that will return at some point, and the threats that are yet to be known. If I said this before today, it might still feel ethereal to you, but today...... The shockwaves of the disintegration of the god of war had just swept across the rooftops of Wintercastle.

"And you should know that we have to deal with ...... It's not just God of War.

"We still have many gods, many gods who have sheltered us and who continue to protect us, who cover the whole world, and who affect not only the kingdom of men, but also elves, dwarves, elves, orcs......

"We have succeeded in defeating a god today, but at the cost of what you have seen with your own eyes—how many other kingdoms in the whole world can do something similar as Typhon and Cecil? This...... You should also be very clear.

"That's why I say that all mortals are a community of destiny in the face of 'world crises' such as gods and demon tides—this is not my decision, it is determined by this world, and it is part of the natural laws of the whole world."

Gawain stopped, the breeze blowing in this space gradually stopped, the image reflected under the surface of the water disappeared little by little, and turned into an endless blue again, Rosetta finally exhaled softly, he glanced at Gawain: "Thinking of your identity as an 'extraterritorial wanderer', I feel more and more strange now...... You care about the world even more than the inhabitants of it. ”

"That's why I said don't think about the 'Extraterritorial Wanderer' for the time being—I'm not staying in this world because I'm feeling interesting," Gawain shook his head with a smile, "Besides, what I just said is not to convince anything, nor to show you that I 'care' about the world, as I said at the beginning, this is just a 'contact', we need such a private contact, not at the negotiating table, not in a formal meeting setting, but just a 'small talk' that does not have to be public." I'm here to tell you some of my own thoughts, as for how much you can understand, or how much you are willing to understand...... That's your business. ”