Manjushri looked back and smiled, his charm beyond words, and said with a smile: "If the illusion of information is performed by the divine arts, the world is like this, like the traces of birds in the air, like people are troubled, like they have woken up from a dream. Now that you have been freed from the sea of suffering, you should seek to establish all the Dharma from the non-dwelling source, and you want to ask, why don't you come with me?"

Renyun put down his glass and strode down the dunes. Those few people walked with Shi Shiran, but the human cloud couldn't catch up, and then turned into a lion with a roar and rushed forward, and soon disappeared on the horizon. The Scorpion King put down the Ice Scorpion and the Fire Scorpion, turned around and shouted, "Lion King, you just got out of the Nine Divine Realm, where are you going to run with these people?

The sound of Surabaya echoed across the desert, but the crowd had disappeared. Surabaya scolded in the direction where he disappeared: "This lion's temper has not changed, it is still so impulsive and so stubborn. I just got out of the Nine Divine System, and I don't know where the gods came from. ”

Then he turned and sat down, the fierce scorpion king's expression was a little gloomy, looking at the wine on the table as if he was talking to himself: "Where are these gods from? What are they preaching? It seems that there are unknown gods in this world! Without the guidance of the gods, it is too difficult to explore alone, but I don't want to turn back." ”

When the crowd left, the Scorpion King drank a few big sips of wine and raised his head and said to Amun: "Goddess Mu Yun has taken a fancy to you, all the gods are circulating, she did not hesitate to abandon her ex-husband Tumz for you, and even sent Tumz to the underworld to exchange for you, you will definitely be introduced to the Anuna Enlightenment God Department."

You are a monk on earth, and this is a great blessing for you. But how difficult it is to truly transcend eternal life, and I hope you can have this day. You weren't interested in the words of those gods just now, and I'm afraid you weren't even more interested in my scorpion's suggestion, anyway, you have already stepped into the Anunnaqi God System with one foot, so there is really no need to shake your faith because of this. ”

Amon smiled bitterly and said, "Don't you know my relationship with Enril, it was the flood he unleashed that destroyed my homeland, and I have bid him farewell, no matter what the sins of my people may be." ”

Surabaya sighed and said, "Then you want to join the Maldok side?" I heard that the goddess Mu Yun won the bet with Enriel, and she can freely enter and leave the god domain of Anunnaqi, and it is not impossible to introduce you to the side of Malduk. ”

Amon shook his head: "The path I want to seal may be different, I have the perception of my predecessors and my own quest, I have been thinking - why are the gods transcendent from eternal life, and what is the so-called god surname? I am just a seeker, and I don't want to join any god system. ”

These words are heartfelt, Amon is an outlier, he has never received any divine guidance, in the difficult exploration to solve the old madman and Bell's unsolved riddles, finally comprehended and mastered the power of the source, has achieved the eighth level of achievement, and experienced everything in Schrödinger's soul imprint, and even understood the examination of fate and the final judgment in advance. Before he became a true god, he could no longer need any guidance from the gods, and only needed to verify it himself, which was unknown to the Scorpion King.

Surabaya smiled: "You may think too much, no matter who you are, whether you believe in it or not, the gods are there." I have been a messenger of the gods, and I have been guided by the oracles, and I know how the power of the origin is different from what you have cultivated, so I only think about how to become a god who is truly beyond eternal life. Don't look at the great power of my power in the human world to fight against them, but the meaning of existence as a living being is not the same. I'll tell you one last thing, Storm of Destruction can't kill a god who is truly beyond immortality. ”

Amon replied unsurprised, "Thank you for the reminder, I've read the records of Destruction Storm, and it only says that it can even severely damage the gods, but not that its power will definitely destroy the gods. Is that the last thing you're going to tell me?"

Surabaya sighed and said, "I have made an oath that although the Amat who guided me has fallen, and I can no longer be driven by the Anunnaqi gods, the secrets of the gods still cannot be revealed. Unless I become a truly transcendent deity and have my own divine domain and divine lineage, I will not be able to tell you what that path is until the day when I can guide you.

It was a pact between the gods, and then I would be qualified to join it, so I would say those things to you. But you have a ready-made shortcut, and you don't have to pin your hopes on me that I haven't seen yet. Do you now understand why the Lion King went and why I ignored the gods? ”

Amon raised his glass and said, "The covenant of the gods has nothing to do with me, but in any case, I want to thank you for telling me this today! ”

This meal has been drunk for a long time, and the Scorpion King stretched out his arm for the first time to clink glasses with Amon and said, "You are wiser than I thought, and you have really seen through a lot of things." In order to thank you for listening to me today, I would like to give you one more promise, which can be regarded as a kind of hope. ”

Surabaya spoke unconsciously with the tone of a god, and in the legends of the Tianshu Continent, a divine envoy like him who had survived the endless trials of life could already be called a god, just like Best back then. And when they refer to the true gods, they use the title "true gods beyond eternal life", which is deliberately different.

Amon asked, "What kind of hope?"

Surabaya said meaningfully: "You are a rare genius in the world, but don't forget the famous spell of that goddess, if one day you are injured like a human cloud and leave the Anunnaqi god system, and I have become a true transcendent god and established my own god line. You are welcome to become the gods of this lineage, I wanted to talk to the Lion King about this, but unfortunately he ran away. ”

Amon replied, "Thank you for saying that, but I'm not human. You may have misunderstood my relationship with Mu Yun, I am just fulfilling my promise to the goddess, and it has nothing to do with whether she loves me or not. ”

The Scorpion King shook his head and said, "If the day of bad luck really comes, it's hard to say, I wish you good luck!"

Amon lowered his head and smiled bitterly, "Even if Goddess Mu Yun really has such a spell, and I have already experienced enough suffering. ”

Surabaya stood up and patted Amon on the shoulder and said, "It's not easy to be young, don't forget what I said today...... Your little friend has been here for a long time, it seems that there is something wrong, let's solve my own troubles first. ”

The Lion King's three roars were really powerful, and although Surabaya cast a spell to protect the ice scorpion and the fire scorpion from being harmed, the two demon scorpions are still unconscious. Surabaya picked up the two concubines and left, and the quicksand surged under their feet and disappeared strangely. Amon turned back to the distant mid-air and said, "Medanzo, how long have you been here? ”

A white cloud swayed and fell, the crystal shuttle was put away, and Medanzo staggered towards the sand dunes, and sat on the chair that Surabaya had just sat on, gasping for breath. Amon looked at him and smiled: "The wine is in front of you, why are you drunk before you drink it?"

Medanzo said with a bitter face: "O god Amun, fortunately I came late and was far away, the roar of the Lion King was so powerful that I almost didn't fall, and I barely managed to stabilize myself in the air." ”

Amon pointed to the banquet in front of him and said, "They are all gone, don't waste wine and food, eat and drink first, I see that you look very tired." ”

Medanzo picked up the wine and tasted it, and exclaimed, "What a wine, a peerless wine! The Lion King really knows how to enjoy it." ”

The two of them enjoyed the almost untouched banquet, and only after they had eaten and drunk enough did Amon ask, "When did you arrive, and what did you see and hear?"

Medanzo replied, "I flew from afar at the roar of the Lion King, and then the strange fellows passed by, and I heard everything they said." What kind of characters are they? They speak weirdly, they don't put on a show, but they feel like they're more like gods in their bones!"

Amon said quietly: "Don't ask them who they are, just stick to your own beliefs and verify your own path." ...... Instead of following Moses and them to the plain of Duc, you came to me on this road, and what has happened to you?"

Medanzo sighed: "O god Amun, your people are simply a whirlpool and a magnet, no matter where they go, it is surprising that nothing happens!"

...... After Moses and the others left the border of Eju, they crossed the Syrian Desert and entered the Duk Plain along the eastern shore of the inland lake, which should have been the safest route. Because the western shore of the inland lake was a trade route between Eju and Hati, there were now towns, farms, and garrison checkpoints, and it was also the area where Amon was to fight Celia, and further onto the Duk Plain, and there were large swamps that were difficult to navigate.

Moses and the others passed from the eastern shore of the inland lake, close to the valley of the Eudea River, and although there was a very rough road, they could reach the plains directly after crossing the mountains. By this time, the Duk Plain had already attracted explorers from the surrounding countries, but it was difficult to see a crowded place in such a large wilderness, at least a year ago.

But when Moses and his people climbed over the mountains on the shore of the lake and came to the mouth of the valley leading to the plain, a newly built walled city, or a small half-built city-state, appeared in front of him. It was a resting place and trading market for explorers and warriors who slay monsters, and Moses and the others could have rested and bought supplies before setting off, but they were stopped by the "army" sent by the "city-state".

Moses and the others had only sixty men, while the other side had 800 warriors with various weapons, including the giants of the plateau who could fight well and form an army. Moses was surprised and stepped forward and asked, "We just want to go deep into the cultivators of the wasteland, and we are not enemies of you, like other explorers, we will exchange supplies and pay taxes in your market towns, why do we gather so many warriors to stop it?"

The city-state under construction was actually called Malduk, and the lord of the city was a short plateau giant named Yusir. He sent to Moses, "You are a family of miners from the town of Duk who have escaped from Eju, and you have two options if you want to enter the plain of Duk. Either stay in my city and profess your faith in Maldok and take an oath in the temple, or if you wish to return home through here, you must promise the gods that you will build a temple for Maldok where you stand, and perform a ceremony to summon the gods to descend. As a pledge, you will leave the leader behind until the promise is fulfilled. ”

Medanzo knew Yusir, he was the leader of the Plateau Giants United Tribe who kidnapped Princess Xiaoqian in the first place, and was actually sent by Princess Xiaoqian to the Duk Plain to establish a city-state, and at that time he also extorted a large amount of supplies from Akkadian Town. The city-state is now stuck on the choke point on the eastern shore of the inland lake into the Duc Plain.

Moses and the others couldn't break through, so Medanzo infiltrated the city of Malduk as a wandering hunter and found the lord of Yusil to "catch up". He woke up in the middle of the night in Yusir's bedroom, and forced the lord to let him go with a short blade around his neck.

Yusir said with a crying voice: "Fearless warrior, that is not only the order of Princess Xiaoqian, but also the oracle of the great god Marduk! Even if you kill me, it is useless, and besides, if you kill me, you will not be able to escape." ”

Medanzo was surprised: "Oracle of Marduk, what is going on?"

"I don't know what happened, but I built this city-state and served as the lord and chief priest here, with the support of Princess Konishi and the kingdom of Baron. After the temple was completed, I led the priests in the ceremony, and that night the god Marduk spoke in my soul. The gods told me that the miners of Duk Town were going to pass through here, and that they would promise not to build statues for any god but Malduk, or they would not be allowed to pass through. ”

The situation was beyond Medanzo's control, and he immediately rushed back to discuss it with Link. They devised two plans, either for John to lead the Link's men and horses to fight and break through a road to take Moses and the others there, or for Moses and the others to turn around and bypass the western shore of the inland lake to avoid the control of Maldok City.

The former option was too costly, and the city-state built under Aesop's auspices was beginning to take shape, and the warriors there led by John were not afraid to fight the city of Malduk, but they also had to suffer the loss of both sides. The latter option was a difficult one, with Moses and the others passing through territory controlled by the city-state of Syria, and crossing the inland lake through impassable black fire swamps. The two decided to make two preparations, with Medanzo exploring the road first, while Link rushed to the area around Durk Town to get John ready to respond.

Link returns to Duk Town, only to learn that an accident has happened there as well. At the foot of the Assyrian plateau, north of the town of Duk, a large group of plateau giants suddenly appeared. They did not look like the inhabitants of the mountain tribes, but they were obviously well trained, carried with them all kinds of equipment and supplies, and quickly set up camps and fortifications, forming the rudiments of a city-state with surprising speed.

This is obviously not a scattered and spontaneous behavior, they are strong and strong, the materials are neat, and the deployment of personnel is extremely orderly, just like the legionnaires and logistics quartermasters who have been trained for a long time.

The settlement they established was less than a hundred miles away from the city-state built by Link, enclosing the fertile fields and cultivating wasteland on the spot, and also occupying the mines where the people of Duke Town had mined Shenshi and iron ore, and organizing people to mine the core and iron ore of Shenshi and iron ore by hand, and smelting refined iron on the spot, obviously in preparation for large-scale migration and advancing to the entire Duke Plain.

Link's city-state occupies the largest stretch of fertile land on the Duc Plain, and of course there was conflict after the outsiders took over the mines. Fortunately, Link and the others had already built strong walls, and under Aesop's rule, they already had a population of thousands and a strong foothold, otherwise they would not have been able to compete with each other.

With Link and Medanzo both absent, Aesop avoids conflict at first. Later, John came with thirty-six guards, gathered the warriors trained by Medanzo into battle formations, and demanded that the other side withdraw from the occupied mines, and there were two battles, neither side took advantage.

So they began to negotiate, and the other party believed that the mine was terra nullius, and John presented the title deed of Duk Town to prove that it was not ownerless, and that it had been mined since ancient times, and roads had been built and veins had been excavated. The other party said that the miners of Duke Town had long since disappeared due to the punishment of the gods, and they refused to give up the most precious mines on the mainland. In fact, both sides understand that it is the most important strategic base based on the Duk Plain to annex thousands of miles of fertile land.

John gathered the warriors and fought them again, and found that it was no problem to rely on his own city-state to hold on, but it was impossible to repel those people, so he sat down to negotiate again. John had no support, but the men of the opposing side were gradually increasing, and they came through the Assyrian plateau, building stronger walls around the settlement, and the first permanent structure to be built was the temple of Enriel.

It was obviously disadvantageous for John to continue the offensive in this situation, and Aesop made another suggestion in due course.

Aesop used to lack a strong labor force to mine ore and cores, and the current inhabitants are not the miners of Duk Town, but mainly cavemen, absorbing the scattered tribes in the surrounding area, as well as wandering explorers from the surrounding countries. They had to plant land to feed themselves and build city-states, and they simply couldn't spare enough strong labor to mine such a large area.

So Isolt suggested that the two sides cooperate, as long as they recognized that the mine belonged to the people of Duke, the other party could organize a strong and powerful plateau giant to engage in heavy mining work, and in return, they could leave behind sixty percent of the ore and cores mined, either smelt the iron ore and take the sacred stone themselves, or let Aesop buy it at a fair price on the mainland.

This was a good idea to have the best of both worlds, and the other side was accumulating strength, and did not want to have a full-scale conflict with the trocave wildlings and other tribes that already had a foothold, so they agreed to this cooperation condition, and temporary peace was restored on the Duk Plain.

But Aesop also knew that this apparent peace and quiet could not last long, and looking at the situation of the other party, it was obvious that he had been planning for a long time, that is, to use the settlement at the foot of the Assyrian Plateau as a base and advance towards the entire Duk Plain.

**

(To be continued)