The image on the screen faded, and new subtitles floated up on the display:
[The war ended at an unimaginable speed.]
[The Legion on Mendoker-I was annihilated in an instant by the fully prepared Salvation Knights. The light of antimatter engine explosions illuminated the entire sky of the planet.]
[It is hard to imagine that the Legion, which previously pushed the battle line forward steadily, was actually this weak... The leading vanguard couldn't even light the beacon fires under the siege of the Grand Knights. Holy Light flashed in tandem with the light of antimatter engine explosions. The [Salvation] Pathstriders who participated in this war all felt the Holy Light vaguely shining upon their hearts—]
[They took a solid step forward on the Path.]
[Although the [Salvation] Path remains broken and un mended, it still draws Imaginary Energy from the void between imaginary domains through the broken spacetime pipes, constantly granting it to these Pathstriders practicing the way of [Salvation].]
[After the war ended, Herta held a Round Table meeting on Mendoker-I to reward military merit, and met with the leader of the native civilization on this planet—a potential Pathstrider who did not give up hope even when facing the despair brought by the Antimatter Legion, praying for [Salvation]...]
[As the Envoy of [Salvation], Herta enlightened him, granting him the grace derived from [Salvation], allowing him to step onto the [Salvation] Path and truly bathe in the glory of [Salvation].]
[He was grateful for this and smoothly submitted to New Belobog. Under the governance of several Salvation Knights arranged by Herta based on military merit, he began to rebuild his home.]
[According to the plan, the Synthetic Labor Corps will arrive at Mendoker-I in a few system days.]
[With the help of New Belobog's new materials and advanced construction methods, this planet will thoroughly recover its former prosperity within a few months and try its best to connect with the galaxy, returning to the great chessboard of the Star Sea as a subsidiary planet of New Belobog...]
[The Salvation Knights boarded the airships and returned to New Belobog.]
[The expedition ended, and everyone returned with a full load.]
Looking at the text on the screen, Ron wasn't surprised in the slightest; everything was within his expectations.
For things to become like this now was simply a matter of course. There may be many ways to practice a Path, but the one that allows for the fastest progress is definitely practicing the extreme philosophy, using firm resolve to walk the most rugged shortcut...
If the Salvation Knights had chosen the moderate approach—developing steadily while attempting to provide a certain amount of help to worlds harassed by disasters in the Star Sea, only offering a helping hand while ensuring they wouldn't have problems themselves—they definitely wouldn't have been able to achieve the current situation.
Although they would still be able to move forward on the Path, they absolutely couldn't do what they are doing now: allowing so many Salvation Knights to advance rapidly, seizing such a vast amount of power from the Path.
However, the practice of extreme philosophy naturally has its pros and cons... Although it looks like everything is so beautiful right now—New Belobog's military operation returned with a great victory, all participating warriors took a step forward on the Path with their strength improved, and they even recovered a planet ravaged by the Antimatter Legion, expanding the map several star systems away...
But Ron was clear that all of this was a superficial, temporary beauty.
It looks like the profits are good right now. If they can continue to fight stably, the Salvation Knights of New Belobog might be able to constantly battle the Antimatter Legion, constantly improving their strength, like a snowball rolling bigger and bigger...
Eventually clearing the disasters in the entire Star Sea, with every Salvation Knight obtaining unimaginable power, just like the Knights of Beauty who ran rampant across the Star Sea back in the day.
But, the price behind this also exists...
War with the Antimatter Legion will always result in casualties. The population of New Belobog is scarce; one death is one less person. However, this is definitely the minimal price.
If this was the only price, such a war could continue indefinitely. If Ron could still operate in the simulation, he would also make trade-offs and choices...
But the problem is, the price is not just this.
Looking at the text on the screen, Ron sighed slightly.
"'Submission' (归顺)... The simulation game actually used this word?"
Ron's golden eyes were somewhat complex: "Have they already started colonizing..."
The situation in the simulation is now very clear. As the supreme leader, Herta defined the levels of military merit for war, and acquiring the territory of a saved world is impressively on the list—
Then, can these wars against the Antimatter Legion still be counted as [Salvation] wars in the pure sense?
Although the [Salvation] Path in the simulation affirmed their actions and gave them the Path's gifts, that is all it is...
Ron knew clearly that this kind of war would eventually change its flavor due to the returns being too high.
After all, although the Salvation Knights are practitioners of the [Salvation] Path, they are only Pathstriders, not Aeons. They are not bound by an extremely strong prime mover of the Path.
Under such circumstances, they might be noble enough now, but they definitely possess selfishness...
If this kind of war is to be fought until the Antimatter Legion is completely wiped out, how many planets in this Star Sea will be colonized by New Belobog? How many civilizations will "submit" under New Belobog's rule?
And how many Salvation Knights will obtain glory and wealth they could never possibly achieve in a lifetime? Amidst the corruption, can they maintain their noble hearts?
And after so many civilizations "submit" to New Belobog, when the time comes for war, will it be the Salvation Knights taking the field personally to practice the concept of [Salvation], or will they rely on armies cobbled together from subordinate civilizations to fight?
Although the civilizations that submit to New Belobog must all be practitioners of the [Salvation] Path, and in a broad sense, they will eventually practice the extreme philosophy of the "Sword of Salvation" and become Salvation Knights, they are ultimately not true New Belobogians...
Can the Salvation Knights of New Belobog truly maintain their noble style while marching across the Star Sea, instead of gradually becoming "Noble Lords" who direct the situation from the rear, manipulating armies cobbled together from other civilizations to grind meat against the Antimatter Legion on the front lines?
After all, war is cruel when one has to walk onto the front lines personally.
But once one only needs to stand in the rear to command a battle and receive profits without paying the price of fresh blood, war is no longer war...
War becomes a business of competing for benefits. The majority of the profits are taken by the upper echelons, while the vast majority or even all of the costs are borne by the bottom layer.
If it really reaches that step... New Belobog will no longer be the saviors practicing the [Salvation] Path.
Just like the IPC—among them, there are many who practice the Path of [Preservation], but they don't have much pursuit of preserving the world; instead, they are very interested in making money in the name of Preservation.
At that time, the Salvation Knights of New Belobog might become existences who sit in the far rear under the name of [Salvation], directing frontline troops to fight the Antimatter Legion, calculating in their hearts how many civilizations they "saved" and how much profit they gained after a battle ends...
Ron felt his scalp tingle just thinking about it. Although the current state of New Belobog is very good—it could be said it has never been this good—Ron always felt that the future seemed to be sliding little by little into the abyss.
If he were still alive in the simulation, then as an Aeon with constraints, he could rely on the method of restricting the Path's gifts—this extremely simple way—to restrain the behavior of the Salvation Knights. But now that he is already dead, and the [Salvation] Path is still in a broken and terrible state, the development of the Salvation Knights can only depend on their own consciences and what Herta does.
But Herta's method made Ron very uneasy... Theoretically, with Herta's wisdom, she couldn't possibly be unclear about what consequences doing this would bring in the end.
Although the Salvation Knights of New Belobog exploded with one hundred and twenty percent combat power under the motivation of military merit, and possess high enthusiasm, this is only a temporary gain. It will have to be paid back in the future...
Ron thought she would choose to cooperate with the Company and the Family, then steadily advance the battle line, fighting the Legion normally, liberating stricken civilizations, then eating away at the Legion's power little by little, and using the Envoys of the Company and the Family to secretly assassinate one Lord Ravager after another.
Although this is very troublesome—just the rounds of exchange at the negotiation table would make one rack their brains and waste their breath—it is ultimately relatively stable and can be counted as a pretty good choice.
But Herta insisted on abandoning the steady choice and chose the more radical option...
What on earth is she thinking?
Ron couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he thought. Looking at the fading text on the screen, a new scene floated up:
Herta was sitting at the very end of the Round Table in the Round Table Hall—this was the seat of the First Knight, and naturally, the position belonging only to Herta, the Envoy of [Salvation].
The Round Table Hall was incomparably quiet; the remaining eleven seats were empty.
It was not currently a meeting period. The Grand Knights were all busy with their own affairs. Only Herta sat here, slowly swinging her legs on the high chair while looking at the vast star map displayed on the table, falling into deep thought for a time.
There were many red markers on the star map. These red markers represented planets and civilizations invaded by the Antimatter Legion. Herta had marked these planets and planned marching routes for several Salvation Knights, enough to thoroughly exterminate the Legion attempting to destroy civilizations in these areas.
But what she cared about at this moment was not these Legions... She lightly swiped on the screen, moving the star map a short distance, zooming out the perspective, and moving to a Pulsar System very close to the Jarilo Star System—
Herta placed a white skull marker on it, signifying that the enemy in this star system needed to be treated seriously.
There was an injured Lord Ravager here... Among the four Lord Ravagers who faced New Belobog previously, [The Star Howler] and [The Iron Tomb] were erased by Ron's sword. [Phantylia] was found and obliterated by Herta in the days prior. Only [Fenghuang], because he ran out of the star system to fight Sampo, successfully survived.
But even though he survived, he was still heavily injured from the battle with Sampo... He can be counted as the Lord Ravager with the most detailed intelligence known and the worst condition right now.
Herta frowned slightly, thinking. Her feet swung in the air, finally pausing slightly. The frown on her face also relaxed at this moment—
She had made a decision.
The bell rang, commanding the armory... New Belobog entered a state of war once again. The fleet filled up with fuel and prepared to set sail. Herta's gaze remained fixed on the skull marker on the star map.
The grand army moved out again, but this time the mighty Salvation Knights were no longer the main force of the war...
Far away on the Azure Star, several star systems away, a special airship set sail alone, flying toward the fleet of New Belobog at the fastest speed, about to merge with the fleet...
This time, Herta wanted to take the field personally.
The image on the screen faded, and new subtitles floated up:
[Amber Era 2199, May 3rd, 5:13 PM. Lord Ravager [Fenghuang] (The Burning Wind) fell.]
[Vast Holy Light drowned half the star system. Herta successfully completed the hunt of the heavily injured Lord Ravager. [The Destruction] Nanook lost another fierce general.]
[The Path of [The Destruction] split once again.]
---o---