"Go back now... From today onwards, all decisions will be made by you; I will no longer interfere..."
Whether it was the words of the bishop before him that touched something, or whether His Majesty Duoxia remembered something, the room remained silent for a long time, and His Majesty Duoxia's expression flickered and changed.
Finally, his once upright back suddenly went limp, and he seemed to have lost all his energy in an instant, as if he had aged decades.
Those once sharp eyes, like those of an eagle, now showed signs of exhaustion. In addition to fatigue, there was also a surging and uncontrollable shock and anger deep within them.
His hands were trembling, and he felt weak all over when he tried to stand up, and felt terrified when he tried to sit down.
In such a vast Human Federation, in such a boundless universe, he felt at this moment that there was no place for him to belong.
It's not that he has nowhere to live, it's that all living things have nowhere to go!
"Your Majesty, you mustn't! You are one of the spiritual pillars of the Human Federation, and it is thanks to your leadership that the Human Federation has been able to maintain order even in such a crisis. If you were to leave this supreme throne, the Human Federation would be utterly without a core of spiritual unity..."
The three bishops looked anxious and hurriedly tried to dissuade him, but before they could finish speaking, Duoxia waved them off.
"No need to say anything more, just do as I say..."
In Norton 4513, the Great Expedition Plan was in full swing, but the regent of the Pale Church, Duoxia, remained cold-hearted.
The heavy burden of government affairs was delegated downwards, and all power of decision-making and control was delegated to the Pale Church think tank, with even individual approvals no longer required.
This staunch humanist warrior, who had ruled the Human Federation for over a thousand years, suddenly abandoned all his obsessions for some unknown reason, delegating all power and becoming completely indifferent to the future and direction of the Human Federation and even the human race.
Some say that he has finally revealed his true colors. After all, he was originally the cruel and ruthless Archbishop of the Holy Lord Empire, and later served under the brutal Norton. Cold-bloodedness is the essence of his personality, and his so-called support for humanity for thousands of years is nothing more than the pursuit of power.
Some say that he could no longer bear the pressure of the continuation of the human race. The pressure of a thousand years had completely crushed his spirit, making him unable to issue orders or bear the heavy responsibility of the hopes of the entire nation.
Some even say he was actually a slave of the Pale God, Pale God Norton, feeling utterly lonely on the sun, summoned him up there to unleash his desires...
However, there are also rumors that claim that he believes the millennia-long war was all a conspiracy orchestrated by humans, and that all the struggles for the survival of the race were a man-made game. Therefore, His Majesty Duoxia believes that his millennia-long struggle was both laughable and pathetic, and thus he has laid down the ridiculous burden of ensuring the continuation of the human race in order to investigate the conspiracy behind it all.
The first two conjectures are reasonable and convincing, and even online public opinion is leaning towards these two opinions. Videos commemorating His Majesty Duoxia and videos mocking his lust for power are going viral online. Countless people are criticizing his lust for power, and the next video might be a montage of Duoxia's greatness, with comments full of praise and adoration.
Compared to the first two highly popular argument videos, the latter two conjectures failed to make any waves. There were only a few video creations, but the comments were mostly abstract nonsense, and they were categorized as abstract.
It must be said that abandoning the frontline struggle does have some benefits for humanity. At the very least, the internet industry, which was originally scarce or even declining, has seen a resurgence of hope in the current environment where the Great Crusade has begun, large numbers of immigrants have been moved to safe zones, and production requirements have been slightly relaxed.
However, it must be said that the human race is indeed an abstract concept.
Humanity faces annihilation, the Pale God sacrifices himself for righteousness, and countless people die in a thousand-year war. Under such dire circumstances, with all of humanity seemingly under the control of the Pale Church, it is astonishing that some people would still ridicule and mock the Pale God, ridicule the Regent, and even spread obscene rumors. This is truly more absurd than Duoxia being Norton's slave.
The bloodshed and violence could not erase the base nature of humanity; their malice had long been ingrained in their very bones.
But setting aside the depravity of human nature, isn't Norton also despicable?
The Pale Holy See, the Great Hall.
The same grand hall, the same location, but one hall was brightly lit and luxuriously decorated, with lifelike and enchanting pure silver murals on the walls, yet it was completely empty, except for a pure white monster sitting on a throne, with an old man dressed in brocade standing beside it.
The other hall was rather dim. The pure silver murals, which had not been repaired for many years, had oxidized to the point of developing black stains, even though they were wiped down daily, and had lost their original Divinity. The two sides of the hall were filled with Church knights wearing power armor, and people were constantly going in and out.
It was the same place, the same location, but the two sides seemed to be completely different worlds. People carrying various documents walked in, but could only enter the slightly dilapidated hall, unable to see even the slightest bit of the brilliance on the other side.
"Tsk! Sigh..."
A faint sigh echoed from the empty hall, seemingly filled with a sense of disappointment and frustration.
Norton, seated on his silver throne, glanced sideways at Abraham, clicked his tongue, and then shook his head with a knowing sigh.
There seems to be a sense of unfulfilled desire, and also a feeling of disappointment that the other person is not living up to expectations.
However, this scene solidified Abraham's suspicions.
Sure enough, that scoundrel was trying to tempt Abraham into making a mistake!
He knew it!
Before Abraham's grief and resentment had faded, a pointed remark rang in his ears.
There are always some people who think they are incredibly clever, but in reality, they are just trapping themselves in their own trap and are extremely stupid.
That so-called understanding of the essence of things is nothing but a series of traps... Don't you think so, Abraham?"
The words were not cold, nor did they contain any Existence Level of urgency, but they made Abraham shudder and almost fart out of fright.
Cold sweat instantly seeped from Abraham's forehead, which was Sixth Stage high, and the icy coldness made his heart, which had been dead for thousands of years, stir.
At this moment, how could he not know that it was that bastard Norton who was setting him up, Abraham!
He was blaming Abraham for not following the script Norton had devised...
Having been fooled several times before, how could Abraham not understand the deeper meaning behind this? But faced with such a accusation of betrayal and the likely threat of execution, what should Abraham do?
Damn it, the last time he was nearly killed during the resurgence, Abraham still remembers it vividly to this day. Even though it was just a ruse, it was Abraham who suffered the most!
But now Norton's questions were blatantly directed at Abraham; how could he refuse, and thus remain hidden like Elizabeth?
hiss!
Abraham suddenly realized, "That's right, why don't I just be like Elizabeth!"
At this thought, Abraham's old face immediately showed a look of shared hatred, his expression darkening, his tone angry. "Yes, Your Majesty! Humanity has always been so despicable, endlessly suspicious of the rule of my Pale Church and of Your Majesty's holiness. Even though Your Majesty has already granted them the power of eternal life, they are still easily misled by those on the internet who have no vested interest in them, readily believing their conspiracy theories that bring them no benefit whatsoever. I originally thought that a thousand years of war and a thousand years of spiritual cleansing would have slightly improved humanity's despicable nature, but I never expected that Duoxia has just..."
Abraham grew increasingly angry as he spoke, his words filled with a burning hatred for humanity, but the topic had already veered off course in an unknown direction.
Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Norton's cold voice.
"Enough, get out of here!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Ignoring his fine clothes, his neatly combed hair and beard, Abraham sat on the ground, bent his head down to his crotch, hugged his legs, and rolled out of the temple like a ball.
Norton stared intently at his retreating figure, his cold eyes unblinking, until long after the figure had rolled out of the hall, at which point he let out a soft sigh.
"Hmph, this son of a bitch is getting harder and harder to fool."