Mu En continued to let his thoughts wander, and the question that puzzled him the most came to mind.
The Fallingstar Beast, like him, did not originally belong here; it was an alien species from a starless, lightless sky.
He hadn't forgotten this "fellow villager."
"But why would Fallingstar Beast appear in the Castle in the Sky world?"
Mu En searched her memory again and again, trying to recall if there was any connection between the two.
This search actually led him to uncover some clues.
Firstly, the Volucite can influence gravity, causing the entire city to levitate in the air; the Fallingstar Beast can also manipulate gravity, using various Gravity Sorcery to control rocks, and the two overlap in the field of "gravity".
Secondly, Farum Azula, the " Castle in the Sky " of the Elden Ring, was destroyed by a meteor; and the legend of the destruction of the Laputa civilization is also related to a meteorite, which is the second connection.
(Interview with Hayao Miyazaki: Laputa may have been hit by a meteorite)
Thirdly, and most directly, the clue comes from the experience just now.
The Fallingstar Beast he encountered was originally sleeping deep within the mine, but it was awakened after the Levitation Stone Necklace triggered a resonance within the mine.
Moreover, apart from Dola, who was holding the Volucite, the monster showed no interest in the other humans present.
"Its goal is the Volucite," Mu En concluded.
A bold hypothesis gradually took shape in my mind.
Seven hundred years ago, the Laputa civilization reached its peak, with hundreds of Castle in the Sky like Laputa floating in the clouds.
(The ancient civilization of Laputa was once extremely prosperous.)
They mined and refined Volucite on a large scale, using them as the core energy source to power cities and various types of machinery.
The energy fluctuations emitted by the Volucite attracted the attention of the starless night sky.
For alien beings that feed on minerals and are filled with gravity and stellar energy, high-purity Volucite crystals might be an irresistible delicacy.
And so, destruction came without warning.
Countless meteorites (actually juvenile alien species from outer space) suddenly fell from the sky, catching the Laputa people completely off guard.
After the initial chaos and heavy losses, the Laputa quickly launched a counterattack against the extraterrestrial visitors using robot armies and energy weapons.
A brutal war that swept across the entire world, a fierce struggle that raged between the sky and the earth, thus began.
The sky was dark, the sun and moon were obscured, and only gravitational rays and Heavenly Fire raged across the surface of this planet.
The war lasted for an unknown period of time, but the Laputa people ultimately emerged victorious.
Most of the alien species were killed, and a few juveniles fell into a deep slumber, scattered and hidden deep within the earth.
But they also paid a heavy price: their technology was lost in the war, their population plummeted to the brink of extinction, most of their floating cities crashed to the ground, and the entire planet was reduced to ruins.
(The opening scene of Castle in the Sky shows that the Laputa did not voluntarily give up the sky, but fell for unknown reasons.)
The survivors realized that continuing to rely on the Volucite could lead to another catastrophe, so they were forced to abandon the last vestiges of Laputa, destroy all Volucite technology, and return to the ground to create a secluded civilization that was completely detached from the past.
Fortunately, the War of the Volucite was much more environmentally friendly than the Seven Days of Fire; they didn't have to endure a thousand years of filth and apocalypse like the people of the Valley of the Wind.
So—the alien species that destroyed the Laputa civilization were actually the extraterrestrial beings?
Is that really the case?
Finally, Mu En stopped thinking.
All of the above are merely inferences and imaginations, lacking empirical evidence.
History is in the past, and whatever happened is irrelevant to the present.
Mu En was worried about was a more real threat.
Since the Fallingstar Beast has been discovered here, its adult forms may also be sleeping in some mine.
Who knows, one day it might be enraged by humans mining everywhere, and then unleash a bloodbath.
Mu En would not allow such a thing to happen; every human being was a potential source of his Rune.
All the answers must lie within that Castle in the Sky.
Only Laputa could possibly preserve the records of an ancient civilization, its technology, and the truth about this war.
If the guess is false, at worst it's just a waste of effort.
If his guess is true, then he will have to make other plans.
Even if it weren't for intelligence gathering, but simply to prevent other forces from acquiring this weapon of war and using it against him, he would still want to get his hands on Laputa in advance.
After clarifying her thoughts, Mu En calmed herself down and began to deal with the specific tasks at hand.
He activated the Blessing Link and spoke directly with Pazu.
It has to be said that Mu En finds this form of communication, the spiritual connection, increasingly convenient and effective.
When you want to speak, you can communicate sentence by sentence, and when you're too lazy to explain, you can "package" your thoughts and throw them at the other person, just like when a professor Incantations, which greatly improves communication efficiency.
Pazu stood on the treetop platform, his body suddenly freezing.
Sheeta noticed his unusual behavior. " Pazu?"
"N-nothing—it was the Erdtree talking to me just now." The boy blinked, his expression somewhat blank, as if he had been shocked by something.
That was the vision of the future kingdom that Mu En envisioned, built upon the power of the Erdtree.
There is no exploitation, no oppression, everyone is equal, and one can earn a prosperous life and even extraordinary power simply by relying on one's own hands.
There is no need to pray to idols, no need to pay protection money to lords; justice and blessings come from visible rules.
Pazu was stunned. As a mechanical apprentice during the Industrial Revolution, he had never dared to imagine a world like this.
His greatest wish was simply to one day build his own flying machine and find Laputa to clear his father's name.
But now, a voice tells him: You can expect more.
"Yes!" Pazu clenched his fist. "I will make sure everyone understands!"
A branch hangs down from the tree canopy at the edge of the Mu En platform, extending to the ground.
Pazu and Sheeta, hand in hand, stepped onto the platform one after the other.
The branches supported the two as they descended slowly, like an elevator, smoothly taking them back to the intersection.
The townspeople were still gathered in the southern part of the town, but dared not approach the Erdtree.
Upon seeing the two children return safely, they immediately swarmed around them.
" Pazu! That tree—that deity, what exactly is going on?"
"What was that golden light just now? My illness was cured instantly!"
Did the gods say anything? What do we need to do?
A barrage of questions came flooding in, leaving the previously confident Pazu bewildered and unsure which to answer first.
"Quiet down!" A rough shout cut through the noise.
Master Duffi pushed through the crowd and slapped Pazu on the shoulder.
"What kind of noise is this!" Duffi looked around at everyone. "According to the old rules, call a miners' meeting and let Pazu explain himself!"
The workers responded enthusiastically.
Valley Town has no town government; when major issues arise, the miners gather to hold meetings and discuss them.
The crowd began to move westward from the town, where there was an abandoned foundry that could accommodate hundreds of people and was also where the workers usually held meetings.
Seeing the crowd disperse, Mu En stopped paying attention.
He trusted the boy's eloquence; if he could persuade someone like Dola, he should have no problem conveying his ideas to the townspeople.
Immediately afterwards, he spoke with Dola.
" Dola."
The air pirate woman, who was fiddling with military equipment, trembled and immediately stood up straight. "Lord Erdtree, what are your orders?"
"I need you to keep a close eye on military movements; I know you have ways to monitor radio communications."
Dola nodded and said, "Yes, I will have my sons take turns listening in 24-hour shifts."
"Very good. Also, hand over the complete design blueprints for the ornithopter. In exchange, I will give you a corresponding reward."
Mu En specifically emphasized the word "reward".
This was his principle; he wouldn't take anything from his followers for free, not even something as semi-coerced as Dola.
If you offer faith, I will guarantee your basic survival and health; if you perform meritorious deeds, I will bestow blessings and enhancement.
Fair trade and transparent pricing are essential for establishing a stable and long-lasting hierarchical relationship.
Dola's eyes lit up.
award!
The "reward" mentioned by the gods is certainly not something mundane like gold and silver treasures; it's more likely the blessing or " Incantations " mentioned earlier.
She agreed almost without hesitation, "Understood! The blueprints are on the Tiger Moth; I'll take some men to retrieve them right away!"
"Go quickly and come back soon; I have important business to entrust to you."
At Dola's command, the air pirates jogged northward along the edge of the canyon, where the Tiger Moth was hidden in a nearby mine.
As for taking the opportunity to escape?
Dola hadn't even considered the idea.
Escape? Escape to where? Continue being a precarious air pirate, chased all over the world by the military?
Dola may be greedy, but she's not stupid.
Serving a god who truly possesses divine power and receiving rewards is an opportunity that others would kill for.
What's more, the key she's been longing for—the key to unlocking the legendary treasure of Laputa —is still in that little girl's hands.
After watching Dola's Gang leave, Mu En began to plan his next move.
He originally chose to settle in Valley Town with the intention of developing his faith step by step, just like he did in Valley of the Wind, and building a solid base.
Integrate the human resources and industrial technology here to carry out reforms, and then use this place as a "model pilot" to tell everyone that the gods have descended and will create a bountiful divine kingdom.
But now, things have changed.
The energy provided by the Volucite was so enormous that even maintaining its size required energy, but this was not the Valley of the Wind, and it did not need to consume so much energy to fight the toxins.
Unless the number of believers exceeds one million, it cannot be compared to the Volucite Mine.
Therefore, he plans to accelerate the pace of development.
Since we don't lack energy, we can be more aggressive, for example----
Mu En paused for a moment here.
For example, conquering the country from the top down.
With unparalleled power, he attracted talent, infiltrated the government, dismantled the old system, and ultimately seized control of the entire Northern Kingdom.
And ample energy will serve as a solid foundation for all of these plans.
Of course, this takes time and requires the right people to help you complete the plan.
Mu En already has a suitable candidate in mind, but she doesn't know if she will have the opportunity to win them over.
"If it's that guy, he should have enough ability and ambition—hmm?"
A subtle tremor came from deep within the root system.
What a coincidence?
Mu En was somewhat surprised; it seemed he had found that uniquely shaped little stone trinket.