Chapter 154 Methods

When a deity wishes to destroy the regime of a human kingdom, they typically resort to two methods: natural disasters and man-made calamities.

Unless that nation is exceptionally powerful—capable of easily overcoming natural disasters and eliminating man-made calamities—deities will generally not consider employing military means, forming coalition forces, dispatching angelic legions, or descending personally to deal a devastating blow.

Some of the powerful arcana empires in history were brought to ruin through such means.

However, the Xia Kingdom is probably not yet qualified to receive that kind of treatment.

Fairness aside, despite the fact that the Xia Kingdom's current national strength is more prosperous and powerful than the vast majority of civilizations in the material realm, this superiority is largely borrowed from the momentum of the barrier. With high offensive capabilities but weak defenses, it is no exaggeration to describe it as formidable in appearance only.

Once the barrier vanishes, there would be no need for an invading army; artificially instigating a few natural disasters would be enough to easily crush it.

There is no helping it—the duration of the Xia Kingdom's development has been far too short, and its technology tree is not particularly robust, still lingering in a rather tender stage.

Setting aside its helplessness against terrifying natural disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions, even simple severe cold, scorching heat, floods, and droughts can inflict massive disruption upon the production and daily life of the Xia Kingdom.

This is precisely why Academician Ding was so panicked and anxious upon learning that the barrier would disappear within three years; for the Xia Kingdom, this truly threatens to be a catastrophic disaster.

Fortunately, the Xia Kingdom has neither sat idly waiting for death nor fawned upon those deities, begging them to spare its life. Instead, it has begun taking preventive measures. Not only has it started making large-scale use of the Black Dragon's golden dragon blood to help its citizens complete a transformation in life form, but it is also desperately trying to import several World Tree saplings from the Night Elves.

The World Tree is an immensely powerful and miraculous botanical species. Its existence can effectively regulate the climate while preventing and reducing the occurrence of earthquakes.

World Trees with some age to them can even shelter tens of thousands of square kilometers of land. Therefore, if they can truly secure some World Tree saplings from the Night Elves and find ways through technological and magical means to accelerate their growth, the Xia Kingdom will naturally gain an extra layer of insurance when it comes to resisting natural disasters.

Of course, this is still far from enough. The impact of the barrier's disappearance on the Xia Kingdom is bound to be all-encompassing. To truly gain a firm foothold in the material realm and endure for eternity, everyone—and the Black Dragon—must put in even greater effort and hard work.

Take right now, for instance. Huang Ze must extract some genuine intelligence from Kyle's mouth so that he can make targeted preparations to prevent that God of Light from launching a sneak attack from behind, which would inflict massive losses upon the Xia Kingdom.

Yet look at this Kyle; she actually used "I don't know" once again to prevaricate him. Naturally, this left Huang Ze somewhat annoyed.

"I believe that the God of Light keeps you on a very tight leash."

"After all, the power of you angels is formidable, and you have always claimed virtues such as light and justice as your own. If your thoughts cannot be properly controlled, it indeed easily leads to various problems."

The Black Dragon knew that getting angry would not solve the problem, so he simply said in an icy tone, "...That was in the past. Now, the God of Light has lost control over you, and your memories are clearly still relatively intact. How can you not answer my question?"

"You must remember... you served by His side for so many years. Even a dog ought to know its master's temperament; how could you possibly have no substantive information at all?"

"...I do not know."

Kyle continued unhurriedly, "Black Dragon, I am starting to believe that you truly are a pseudo-dragon, lacking awakened ancestral memories and completely ignorant of common sense."

"Since I have already sworn an oath, my answers will inevitably be truthful!"

"Even if that truth is merely relative to my own understanding."

"First of all, regarding the questions you asked... why my Lord took no follow-up actions after the Xia Kingdom clipped one of my angels."

"How could I possibly know that? Setting aside the fact that I have completely severed my connection with Him, even if I hadn't, He would never tell me the reasons behind it or His subsequent plans."

"As for what methods and schemes He might employ against the Xia Kingdom, I am even less likely to know."

"Deities are inherently unfathomable, let alone the fact that my Lord's attitude toward the Xia Kingdom is far more serious than at any other time. His thoughts and intentions are naturally beyond my ability to fathom."

"As for the Church of Light..."

Kyle paused for a moment before continuing, "I had never heard of this thing beforehand. It is very likely not something concocted by our Heaven's Mount. Otherwise, why wouldn't I have contacted them in advance to provide cover for me... and thus avoid the fate of being captured alive by the people of Xia!"

"The Church of Light wasn't created by you?"

Huang Ze was startled. As far as he knew, this Church of Light had a very strong presence within the territory, spreading everywhere like rats. Without deities supporting them from behind, how could they have grown and expanded so rapidly?

"In my understanding, that is the case."

Kyle stated with certainty, "Before I set out from Heaven's Mount, we had no idea whatsoever that there was an organization in the Xia Kingdom devoted to my Lord. It was most likely infected by the radiance of my Lord and formed spontaneously."

"...After all, all living creatures yearn for the light, and all lost lambs long for guidance."

"Cut the utter bullshit; did you eat all those light-hating creatures in nature?"

The Black Dragon reflexively retorted, "Since you've already betrayed your faith, stop hanging that religious drivel on your lips; it sounds rather sickening."

"I haven't betrayed my faith!"

It was my faith that betrayed me!

Kyle's expression suddenly grew agitated, yet she only spoke half her sentence, causing the Black Dragon to narrow his eyes slightly. He suspected that the angel's condition—or rather, her thoughts—had suffered a relapse, and that she was still harboring affection for her master and longing to return to His embrace.

"Can deities manufacture natural disasters without limit?"

Huang Ze felt that Kyle's cognition still seemed to have certain limitations; asking her directly like before probably wouldn't yield any answers. Therefore, he changed his strategy and began probing indirectly.

"Does this count as another question?" Kyle asked with some hesitation.

"Sigh... I feel our previous method was flawed. Given that many questions are deeply interconnected and are actually large systemic issues, it is best to ask them all at once to get a clear and thorough understanding for greater efficiency."

"Otherwise, going back and forth one by one not only shatters our train of thought but also wastes a lot of time."

The Black Dragon suggested, "So how about this: we have twenty minutes left, split fifty-fifty. The first ten minutes are my turn, and the remaining time is yours."

"..."

Kyle looked at the Black Dragon expressionlessly for a moment, but finding herself helpless against him, she ultimately agreed.