Under the infinitely high blue sky, the mirror-like shallow water extends to the end of the line of sight. In this incredibly vast world, anyone who is exposed to it will inevitably have a growing sense of insignificance.
Rosetta couldn't help but look around the place again, then looked away, and said with a hint of emotion: "Those Eternal Sleeper believers once described the power of the 'outside wanderers'... Someone mentioned The chosen people are qualified to meet directly with wanderers from outside the realm in a special space, but none of them have actually seen this place - is this the place they are talking about? "
"Absolutely - but Those believers have many misunderstandings about me," Gawain smiled. "They seem to have exaggerated my... danger, and since they chose to turn to Typhon, they will not use good words to describe my enemy. '."
Rosetta looked at Gawain very seriously. Although he was in a strange space and although he seemed to have no initiative at all, he still seemed very calm and completely here. There is no such involuntary feeling: "I am very curious - whether you, Gawain Cecil, or a wanderer from outside the territory...are you a human being in this world, or a wandering, god-like being?" Exist?"
Gawain spread his hands: "I just cooperated with you to defeat a god. I thought we already had the most basic trust between us."
Luo. Seta remained unmoved, and even his expression did not change. He just continued to look at Gawain.
"Okay, you can think of me as a traveler, a 'human being' similar to you, but with some special experiences and special abilities," Gawain sighed helplessly, his attitude even more... He said casually, "This way of understanding is more helpful for us to establish a friendly and mutually trusting relationship - don't think about 'outlander'. Most of the time, this name is just to scare those dark cultists."
Rosetta frowned, with a thoughtful expression on her always slightly gloomy face. After a few seconds, he broke the silence: "So, you brought me to this 'place' because you wanted to talk to What am I talking about?"
"Just a touch of contact - you know, since the outbreak of this 'war', the communication between Typhon and Cecil has fallen into a state of semi-stasis, which is very Danger, and now that the biggest threat has finally disappeared, I think we need to make a contact as soon as possible. This will help avoid any more... chaos between the two countries under a situation of high tension," Gao Wen said seriously, " After all, our armies are currently in a very chaotic post-war scorched earth."
Gawain's tone was very friendly, even with a sense of casual chatter, but Rosetta. But he could hear many profound meanings from these calm words. He took a deep look at Gawain and then said slowly: "This fire is burning bright enough - neither you nor I should want it to continue to burn. "
"It seems that we have reached a consensus on the general direction," Gawain looked into Rosetta's eyes, "ThenSo this is the basis for returning to the negotiation table - specifically how to put out this fire slowly, we will have time to talk slowly at the negotiation table later. ”
Rosetta’s expression remained calm, but she couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief in her heart. He knew that one of the worst situations in his many post-war deductions would not happen, although This may not be cheap, but it is better than a war that spreads to Aldernan. After relaxing a little, he couldn't help but look at Gawain twice, and said very bluntly: "To be honest, I still have it. Thought you wouldn't stop - for Cecil, this is a rare opportunity, Typhon is so weak at this moment, Aldernan is almost in front of you. "
Gawain was a little surprised by Rosetta's frankness. He glanced at the Typhon ruler in surprise and raised his eyebrows: "Then guess, why don't I do this? Do? "
Rosetta was silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice: "You can't eat the whole Typhon - this vast and densely populated land will only make Cecil fall into a quagmire after the war. I can't think of a better reason than that. ”
Gawain took a deep look at the other party, and he had to admit that Rosetta was at least half right.
He did think about letting the fire continue to burn, and even took advantage of it. The opportunity to go directly to Aldernan and merge the two human empires into one seems to be a very attractive and even exciting option - but unfortunately, the logic of the real world is not that simple.
As Rosetta said, Cecil could not eat the whole of Typhon, not even a third of it - Typhon was not a barbaric and backward southern territory, nor was it after the civil war. Ansu is as blank as a sheet of paper, and there are no "own people" in it like Victoria and Baldwin who were willing to sincerely surrender with the entire aristocratic system. It has entered a period of industrial development, and the official system is clear and strict. The modern empire, where the people began to become civilized, had a population of nearly 100 million in that vast land, a stable ruling order, an independent and complete cultural system, and countless people and officials loyal to the Augustus royal family... ...This is completely different from Ansu's concept back then.
The above points have not changed much even after experiencing this war.
On the other hand, Gao. Wen is also very aware of Cecil's own situation: beneath the surface of prosperity brought about by advanced technology and transnational trade, what is hidden is still a country that has just emerged from the shadow of civil war and is still doing its best to recover and construct in many areas. The wounds caused by the civil war and the divine disaster have only just healed, and the gaps in government affairs offices and staff across the country have barely been filled. The cleanup and elimination of the old aristocrats and civil war speculators has not yet ended. The last round of The food crisis has just been safely passed, and the current food reserves in the treasury... are not even enough to sustain this war until this autumn.
If we really want to fight, with the current situation of Typhon, Cecil's Army may not be able to survive. It's really possible to hit Aldernan - but that oneIt could be a quagmire big enough to drag Cecil into. The Typhons will not be defeated as easily as the nobles of the Southern Territory and the Holy Spirit Plains. The continuous small-scale conflicts will probably last until next year or even the year after that. A new ruling order cannot be established, and the huge new population will far exceed that of Cyprus. Cecil's Government Affairs Office is at its processing limit. A long period of being unable to make ends meet will drag down Cecil's weak reserves, and the consequent supply shortage and deterioration of social security will snowball out of control.
In more than a dozen deductions conducted by the Archons, Neural Network, Naretir and other parties, the final conclusion is almost the same: Typhon cannot be completely occupied, nor can it be completely assimilated. We will eventually exit this quagmire. Apart from several years of economic stagnation or even regression, the only gains for the two countries will be hatred that will last for about two to three generations and the collapse of the prestige of the Supreme Government Affairs Office.
If this war could be postponed for a few more years, perhaps the situation would be different - but the real world does not have so many "ifs".
But this is only half of the reason why Gawain chose to prevent this "fire" from continuing to burn.
“Have you ever thought that even if I can’t swallow Typhon whole, I still have many other options?” He raised his head and looked into Rosetta’s eyes, “For example, I can dismember you. Empire, I can also support a puppet regime in Aldernan, and I can also block and divide Typhon's economic cycle. This is far simpler than occupying a country..."
He did not explain specifically what he would do. How to do it? He just mentioned one general concept after another. While Rosetta was thinking seriously, Bertila, who had been silent since just now, suddenly couldn't help but speak: "It turns out there are so many ways. What? I didn’t expect that..."
Rosetta glanced at Bertila subconsciously, with a strange expression on her face: "You are also the ancestor of the Augustus family. One..."
Bertila looked very serious and sighed with a tone that had seen through everything: "That is all in the past."
Rosetta. Forcing himself to turn his gaze from Bertila back to Gawain, he looked into the other person's eyes: "You mentioned this, I don't think it was to threaten or warn - it is too superficial for you. "
"Yes, I just want to show one thing - the future can get very bad, but none of us want to go in that direction," Gawain nodded, "Those things I just mentioned If you look at it from Cecil's perspective, both methods can bring great benefits, but the price is the overall loss of all mankind - there will only be long-term antagonism and contradiction between Cecil and Typhon. Many generations will live in suspicion and mutual discrimination, and the damage caused by this relationship may never be repaired; the development of mortals as a whole will be slowed down, because the wings of one of the once most promising nations have been clipped. , and other countries...may have everyone in danger..."
"There is also a very important point," Rosetta suddenly spoke, interrupting Gawain's words, "The kind of order that you have been actively promoting to the outside world and trying to achieve - a community of mortal destiny, will go bankrupt because of Cecil's actual behavior in reality. "
Gawain was startled for a moment, and then slowly smiled. It was no longer a polite smile, but a kind of happiness from the heart.
" That's right, if I do that, I'm afraid no one in the world will ever believe in the concept of 'mortal destiny is a whole'," he said with a smile, "What about you? Do you agree with my concept? "
"...It seems that you really want to create that kind of order," Rosetta was silent for a moment and said in a solemn tone, "an order that treats all mankind as a whole. ..."
"First of all, not just all humans, but all mortals - including every race on the continent of Loren, and even those intelligent creatures outside the continent," Gawain said with a serious expression. Di corrected, “Secondly, it’s not that I want to create this order—it’s that it is a natural fact and the natural law of this world. ”
He spoke slowly, and a breeze suddenly blew between the vast water surface and the sky. The wind wrinkled the water surface, and under the slightly swaying vast water surface, scenes of images appeared. Suddenly emerged——
That was the battlefield overlooked from the air. It was the devastated defense line of Winterfort after the war. A shocking crack covered with lava and black crystal-like scorched earth spread from the plain to Winterfort. On the main peak, rising smoke can be seen everywhere on the vast land, and further away in this picture are cities and villages, as well as quiet winter woodlands and snow-covered farmland...
This The picture continued to zoom out, until it was impossible to distinguish the details of the specific country. It finally stopped, stopping at a perspective of the vast land shrouded in clouds.
Rose. The tower stood up and subconsciously looked at the earth reflected in the water below. He instinctively thought that this perspective should be wider - but it stopped at this distance, and even the wasteland of Gondor could only Half seen.
“This is the land we live in – when you look at it from the air, all the cities and villages are gone, and the dividing lines between countries are even more so. There is no way to talk about it." Gawain's voice came from the side, awakening Rosetta from her thoughts. "Of course, we still need the concept of country and the concept of individual, but on this basis, all of us... They are just residents of this land.
“We are facing a common world, facing all the benefits and challenges of this world, we are facing the gods, and we are also facing the demonic tide that will come back at some point and those who An unknown threat. Before today, this might have sounded ethereal to you, but today... the shockwaves of Ares' disintegration have only just swept through the rooftops of Winterhold.
"And you should know. , what we have to face...Not just God of War.
“We also have many gods, many who have protected us and continue to protect us now. They cover the entire world, affecting not only the human kingdom, but also the elves and dwarves. , goblins, orcs...
"We successfully defeated a god today, but you can see the price with your own eyes - how many other countries in the world can do similar things like Typhon and Cecil? ? This... you should also know very well.
“That’s why I say that all mortals are a community of destiny when facing a ‘world crisis’ such as gods and demonic tides - this is not decided by me, but by this world, and by the entire world. A part of the natural laws of the world."
Gawain stopped, and the breeze blowing in this space gradually stopped, and the image reflected under the water disappeared little by little, turning into the endless blue again. , Rosetta finally exhaled softly, and he glanced at Gawain: "Thinking about your identity as an 'outside wanderer', I feel even weirder now... You care about this even more than the residents of this world. "The world."
"That's why I said don't think about 'outlanders' for the time being - I don't stay in this world just because I find it interesting," Gawain smiled and shook his head, " In addition, what I just said is not to persuade you, nor is it to show you my 'concern' for the world. As I said at the beginning, this is just a 'contact', and we need such a private meeting. Contact is not at the negotiating table, not in a formal meeting, but just a 'chat' that does not need to be made public. I am here to tell you some of my own thoughts. As for how much you can understand, or how much you are willing to understand... then. It’s your business.”