Is it immortality of mind or immortality of body? Which is true immortality?
Is the essence of human existence the aggregation of consciousness, the survival of the body, or the bearing of memories?
After advancing to the Supreme, every problem seemed to become a philosophical one for Norton.
Just like his current inference that "a drop of ink pollutes the entire ocean," it is also a pseudo-philosophical paradox.
First, Norton is the only change in the world, so Norton feels that he will never die for any reason and that the most likely outcome is that he will be integrated into God's will and become the basis for His pursuit of change.
If God's consciousness, or existence, is transformed because of Norton, and Norton merges into God's will, then is God still the true God?
If Norton truly merges into it, becoming a component of God, then would that be considered death?
He seems to have merely lost his memories, the memories that constitute his own personality, but the essence of his soul has not dissipated; rather, it has merged with God and gained eternal existence.
If that's the case, would he be considered dead or immortal?
This brings us to the question we just discussed: what is the fundamental nature of human existence?
Norton didn't know what his existence truly was, but he knew for sure that he didn't want this kind of ending.
But he couldn't stop this gradual progress.
Neither Jonah on the sun nor the so-called God who created everything could stop him.
The world will always be filled with new deaths, which means that Jonah in the sun will one day truly appear.
But reality is God's creation, which means that He cannot escape it at all.
Isn't Norton's so-called enlightenment just a form of intellectual escapism?
The higher Existence Level, the more one can feel the terror of God.
Norton's so-called godhood was nothing more than becoming a body created by the ancient God, a body that Garden of Eden could barely bear!
And this was already the pinnacle of Garden of Eden!
The gap between the two was like that between an ant and the universe. Norton was helpless and could only start to deceive himself in an attempt to make a living.
Just as Norton's flesh and blood could be arbitrarily shaped by his consciousness, his self-deception was nothing more than an attempt to give his soul a false definition, thereby trying to allow the soul to be arbitrarily shaped as well...
When people become ruthless, they can even deceive themselves; that's Norton's current state.
But this also means that the Pale God, who has been extremely worried from beginning to end, has now completely torn off his cloak of fear, causing his mind to go completely insane!
The entire landscape of the Southern Continent was overturned almost overnight.
The Pressure that had always shrouded the entire Southern Continent, a pressure that had never been so powerful before, finally manifested for the first time.
It was a winter night in Norton's 57th year, nearing spring.
The imperial city of the Holy Empire was brightly lit.
The weather this year has been quite cold, with nearly a month of heavy snowfall in the depths of winter, the snow piled up to waist height.
Such frigid weather was last experienced in the Papal State during the era of the Old Mythology.
The rain that blanketed the city that year also marked the decline of the Papal State era.
And now, with this heavy snowfall in the depths of winter, does it perhaps signify the decline of the Holy Empire?
Perhaps, even without Norton's manipulation, the Holy Empire was already on the path to decline.
Night had fallen, but the vast and luxurious Anlan Manor, located within the imperial city, remained brightly lit.
As the hidden royal family of the Holy Empire, the Anlan Family, nominally the Speaker of the Council but practically on par with the Emperor, naturally didn't have to pay for electricity, which wasn't considered expensive in this day and age. However, their palace-like decor and rows of streetlights placed in deserted gardens for mere illumination still revealed the enormous expenses they could incur in a single night.
But so what? This is nothing more than the most insignificant plunder by the Anlan Family.
Compared to the electricity consumed by these streetlights, Speaker Anlan is more concerned about the plundering by others!
In the quiet study, one could hear the faint sound of pages turning; it was already late at night, and outside, the world was covered in a blanket of white, with snow still falling heavily.
However, the room of Speaker Anlan has long been heated, and it is now as warm as spring all year round.
Of course, this is also free.
Such a comfortable room obviously makes people work better.
At this moment, on Speaker Anlan's desk were his current work materials.
"This heavy snow has covered half of the country, and the death toll has reached more than 5.3 million. It has also created a migration of nearly 10 million people from north to south, with their final destination suspected to be the territory ruled by the Pale God. We request the Supreme Council to issue final instructions."
"Due to another rise in coal prices, coal miners have launched another strike, demanding higher wages on the grounds of rising coal prices. This is utterly unreasonable. We request the Supreme Council to issue final instructions regarding the demonstrations."
"Good news from the front lines: Our army has captured another city, but the inhabitants remain stubbornly resistant. With the withdrawal of the Pale Crusade, the city is now deserted. We request the mobilization of population to retake the city."
"Frontline report: Our army is once again facing a shortage of military supplies. We request a re-coordination of the transportation of supplies to medical and combat units. (Commander-in-Chief's note: The medical equipment and firearms delivered have been thoroughly inspected; nearly 50% are substandard, causing heavy casualties on the front lines.)"
One by one, matters were presented in the form of documents on Speaker Anlan's desk.
Compared to that, the deaths of thousands of people from freezing and starvation in the slums on the outskirts of the capital are utterly insignificant and not even allowed to be placed on Councilor Anlan's desk.
However, even such a petition involving millions of lives was as insignificant to Speaker Anlan.
He picked up his pen and wrote nearly identical words on the covers of each letter: 'Appropriate repression, intimidation as the main approach. If they do not comply, slaughter them all!'
He then stopped paying attention to these so-called national affairs and instead reached into the drawer and took out a hidden document.
Compared to his concern for the poor who have no human rights whatsoever, he focused more on the Rothschild family, a wealthy and powerful family in the Southern Continent.
Times have changed. If there had been so many disaster victims in the Old Papal State, it might have caused great chaos, forcing the Pope to open the disaster relief granaries to provide relief.
But things are different now.
With the innovation of weaponry and the control of the army, even if the poor people of the Southern Continent gathered nearly ten million people, or even if they gathered a hundred million, it still wouldn't shake the Anlan Family's rule!
However, the Rothschild Family, which controls the economic lifeline of the entire empire, can truly influence the rule of his Anlan Family!
Therefore, although these three families cooperated with each other, they also checked and balanced each other, each wanting to annex the other.
Over the years, as the war progressed, Anlan Chief Anlan grew increasingly disgusted with the Rothschild Family's greed.
Therefore, he had already made all the necessary preparations over the years, just waiting for the final activation!
"Now, it's time." Speaker Anlan looked at the documents in her hand, a ruthless glint flashing in her eyes.
Its contents include detailed information about all members of the entire Childe Family, their locations, and their contact informants.
"If it weren't for the Childe Family's insatiable greed and their reckless actions on the front lines, the war against the Pale Crusade would probably have ended long ago. Now, however, you've repeatedly tried to control me in the council, even attempting to interfere in the nuclear issue and vainly hoping to gain fundamental control over this super weapon."
Such delusional behavior is truly intolerable!
The Holy Empire ultimately needs a true regent. Just as the current outrageous public opinion needs an outlet for its pent-up frustration.
Neither the War Machine of the Northern Continent nor the superweapons being developed by my Holy Empire can withstand the Pale God; they are no longer a threat!
The battles to come are simply a matter of who truly reigns supreme in Garden of Eden!
The Southern Continent, and indeed the Holy Empire, rightfully belongs to someone like me, a man of great ambition and vision!
Speaker Anlan's face was filled with greed, and he even muttered to himself, "I, Anlan, am not without a chance to taste even that unattainable, Pale God's dignity!"
Speaker Anlan's eyes were bloodshot as she crushed a glass of water on the table.
"What can Pale God do? My Anlan Family, standing at the pinnacle of the secular world, is no different from that so-called god. All the problems in this world can be easily solved by us!"
Now, my Anlan Family is only one title away from becoming God in the Southern Continent of the Holy Empire!
A tall tree catches the wind, and arrogance brings disaster. Those who possess power are truly God!
The current rulers of the Holy Empire have long lost the vision and Existence Level of the emperors or popes of the past; their thoughts, actions, and deeds are all driven by their own desires.
But that's precisely where they fall short.
In the past, emperors had the courage to fight back, but now they are as timid as mice, and don't even dare to fight back.
The moment the thought arose, an immense, unparalleled pressure suddenly descended upon Speaker Anlan, as if from the heavens, without warning or reason, pressing down on him in an instant.
Almost instantly, the spine of Councilor Anlan, who had just been so arrogant and wanted to take his place, exploded with a bang. His waist, hips, and knees were crushed, and he fell to his knees without any resistance.
Only then did a mighty thought, as powerful as divine retribution, sweep in with the Pressure of Mount Tai, directly into the mind of Councilor Anlan.
"I am for Norton, Pale God!"
From this day forward, all that has passed is but a void. All living beings of the Southern Continent are now under my control!
All life is now my servant, Norton's servant!
Those words, imbued with the overwhelming Pressure of life, seemed to carry boundless power.
The entire Southern Continent had been nurtured by the evil Norton using holy water for nearly a hundred years, and almost 80% of the people were no longer pure-blooded.
Now, with the arrival of this Pressure, almost instantly, everyone in the entire Southern Continent was forced to prostrate themselves on the ground, utterly powerless to resist.
Even the remaining pure-blooded humans were all forced to prostrate themselves under this Pressure of life, a profound sense of despair welling up within them.
The old story of the Pale God forcing back nine million soldiers was once a source of amusement for the people of the Southern Continent, used to mock the Pale God for his unrealistic ambition to gain divine status through boasting.
But now that this magnificent power is truly before them, they can no longer laugh.
Are you serious?
Not to mention the poor, who can't even smile, the nobles of the Holy Empire today are all grieving and gaunt.
Speaker Anlan, whose body was almost crushed, now had a broken spine and shattered knees, and was kneeling on the ground in a twisted posture.
His spine was completely shattered, his chest cavity was flat, and he was kneeling with his lower body while his upper body lay on the ground as if he had no bones.
If he weren't a Vampire, he would probably be dead by now.
But his identity as a Second-Generation Vampire has kept him alive to this day. His head, which is firmly pressed to the ground, is lying face down, and his eyes, which are almost bursting from the pressure, are filled with endless fear and panic.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it! It's true! The legend is true! That Pale God really does possess such power! Has he truly already enveloped the entire Southern Continent with his might?"
No, no, no... This is impossible, this is impossible! If he possessed such immense power, he would never have agreed to relinquish power back then!
"Is He lying to me? Is He lying to us?" (He knew there was Pressure, but he didn't know it could cover the entire Southern Continent.)
Just moments ago, Earl Anlan was confident of victory and dreaming of a bright future, but now he lay limp on the ground like a helpless pig or dog, filled with despair and endless fear and hatred.
He hated God's injustice, for his efforts had failed at the last minute. Just when he was about to truly seize power and develop the nuclear weapon that could absolutely threaten the Pale God, his home was suddenly taken away. He hated even more the Northern Continent, which had been developing its so-called War Machine from beginning to end, yet had made no move to do so!
If the War Machine had been delivered much earlier, they wouldn't be in their current predicament.
It was so sudden; Norton's appearance was truly unexpected.
The sudden arrival of these rulers of the Southern Continent left them completely bewildered, utterly at a loss for what to do!
This Pale God Norton is like someone who's sick; he says whatever he wants and does whatever he wants. Who can stand it? Who can guard against him?
Earl Anlan's eyes were filled with despair, and his eyeballs even burst, oozing blood and tears.
With great difficulty, his body, which was lying prostrate on the ground, stretched out his fingers, which were so tightly pressed down that they could barely move. With all his might, he finally wrote a message on the floor with his own blood.
'Scientists... North... Nuclear...'
As he exerted force with his fingers, his outstretched palm twisted and shattered at a speed visible to the naked eye under the immense pressure.
Its eyeballs finally gave way and burst outwards, spurting out a pool of bloody plasma.
However, he relaxed all resistance in his body, letting himself be pressed to the ground quietly, feeling the powerlessness and the sudden, immense pressure.
Suddenly, he burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha... I see... I see..."
Now he finally understands why the kings of the Holy Boya Empire, the Aodelan Empire, and other countries in the past ultimately chose such a tragic end.
Why would the former Boya Empire Emperor Yalian XIII set aside his millennia-old hatred and ultimately choose to collude with the Church?
What made it even more difficult for him was that the Pale God, who possessed such great power, had always been willing to be a coward, even defiling himself.
Now it seems that what he did was not a self-defamation at all, but clearly an equal disdain for everyone in the Southern Continent, and he had been doing whatever he pleased all along!
And now, this devil, who has always acted arbitrarily, wants to rule again, so he has reappeared.
These clowns, who acted recklessly while the devil rested, believed that the devil was incapable of killing, and thus suffered such a great loss.
This is a tremendous irony to Earl Anlan's entire life's struggles!
All his efforts were nothing but bubbles that could be burst at any moment before that Pale God!
No wonder Kuba would rather imprison himself than God, and no wonder royal families throughout history have reacted this way. This kind of true god, who has his own desires but does not control himself at all, is truly an unparalleled and enormous danger!
Speaker Anlan was in utter despair, yet also utterly ridiculous. His resentment drove him to use his last strength to write down the researchers' words.
This was not greatness before death, but merely revenge against a powerful God.
If that Pale God were ever truly intimidated or even killed by that super weapon, his feelings before death would surely be incredibly satisfying!
This true capital, Councilor Anlan, a man who considered himself the true God of the Southern Continent, was like a sycophant on his deathbed, only able to find solace in his own fantasies.