Ming Dynasty and New Rome and Infinite Magic Machine

Chapter 1591 Script
"So, the reason I'm here today is to give you all a look at the script."

Upon hearing this, Croissus, the "old man" Apollonia referred to, remained expressionless, but Apollonia could clearly see his eyebrows twitch slightly—a subtle gesture she had noticed since childhood.

"He seems quite disdainful?" Shangluo asked.

"Yes, that's exactly how he is. He thinks he's the leader of the Oracle, after all, he's old enough to be my great-grandfather. The Oracle is made up of the 'smartest' and the 'dumbest' people. Those who become high priests are all smart, while those who become Pythia prophets and their candidates are all the 'dumbest' people."

Is that really the case?

"Ah ha, do I really look stupid? Or is Grandma Sofia stupid?"

At this point, Sophia glanced at Shangluo and smiled at him—she wasn't looking at Apollonia, but rather at an "over-the-shoulder view" behind Apollonia, as if she were looking at the location of the camera behind her. Shangluo exchanged a glance.

This 106-year-old woman possessed extraordinary sharpness of vision, and her sensitivity to inspiration rivaled that of many spiritual practitioners—far surpassing even the young Han who was currently hovering around Shangluo. This was because Han Xingzhi couldn't discern that Apollonia was speaking at all.

She seemed to be somewhat more capable than Yanqiu. Yanqiu knew Apollonia was speaking, but she couldn't hear clearly and didn't know her exact location.

Grandma Sofia, however, saw far more than anyone else. She was also far from being "stupid," as she seemed remarkably adept at dealing with Apollonia. Earlier, when they were struggling at the ticket counter, she simply swept Apollonia into her arms and gagged her from both sides.

[Ah] Shangluo understands now. [Is it generally believed that people with spiritual perception look stupid?]

“That’s right,” Apollonia replied. “Because the Pythian prophets see so much, they sometimes fail to interpret what is before them, and thus sometimes appear foolish. Many people never escape this state in their entire lives. However, as they grow older, many are able to adjust the relationship between their intuition and reality—and then they are able to handle everything properly.”

Are there many people who can do this?

"Not many, and even if you could, there's no need to show it. After all, if others expect you to be 'stupid,' you can take advantage of their oversight to achieve your own goals, so there's no need to emphasize it. However, statistically speaking, the vast majority of Pythia throughout history have indeed been unable to communicate effectively with others."

【how about you? 】

“Me? I don’t have that problem, because I’m the opposite. Living on this planet isn’t easy. I remember all the people who used to chat with me when I was little. Victoria came often, Fahrenheit came frequently, and Grandma Sofia was here every day.”

Sophia smiled in the direction of Shangluo.

"Mother, what are you laughing at?" Chloess asked in surprise. "Weren't we discussing the script? Are you distracted again?"

"Really? What were you discussing just now?"

Why are you asking so many questions about things between girls?

"But I seem to notice that you seem to be talking to thin air?"

Ah, it seems he can notice things a little? I can promote him to Xiao Han's level now.

"The air seems to be talking again?" Chloess felt increasingly surprised, but he still couldn't perceive the world he couldn't read. "Anyway, Lady Apollonia, you came here for such a trivial matter?"

"That's right, I just came to check out the film set."

“Oh, that’s really…” Chroisus paused for a moment, “We will definitely cooperate fully.”

"I hope you mean what you said."

"Definitely, definitely serious." His face beamed with barely suppressed joy, and his eyebrows shot up.

Shangluo could tell that Apollonia seemed very reluctant to have Apollonia interfere in the affairs of the Oracle. If Apollonia had come to provide specific guidance, it would likely have provoked fierce resistance from him. But hearing that Apollonia was only here to handle some minor matters—that was good, very good. This meant that Apollonia wouldn't return to interfere with the Oracle.

What was he thinking? The Roman Empire was about to fall; what use was he holding onto the oracle?

“Think about it from another angle—he doesn’t have many years left to live anyway. He has to enter Cybernia in the next year or two, otherwise he’ll just end up in the freezer of the Bone Storage Group. The longer he holds on, the more time he can have with the Oracle. That’s only natural. Besides, he’s actually quite capable. He handled all the resource borrowing we did before, and he didn’t say anything.”

Chroixus did indeed covet the power of the Oracle. However, to have attained this position, he was certainly no fool; he was among the most astute of the intelligent.

Why does he always have that strange expression? Why does he always raise his eyebrows?

"Alzheimer's disease, loss of dementia."

【? ? ? 】

"Yes, Chroisus has symptoms of dementia and brain atrophy. After all, he is really too old. He no longer has the spiritual nourishment to sustain him. His brain has reached the point of exhaustion at his age of over eighty. So sometimes he can't 'hold his temper' and his facial expressions are not well controlled. He will reveal his inner thoughts."

Wait, he won't be in the chair.

“No,” Grandma Sophia said. “He’s already wearing diapers.” [Alright. Please pass on my best wishes for his good health.]

Romans were, after all, just mortals. Even mages who possessed extraordinary powers were still mortal in their physical constitution. Their life expectancy was seventy or eighty years, and Chroisus was already approaching that limit. However, within the priesthood, he remained the best candidate, so unless he himself requested a replacement, he wouldn't be replaced.

The rest is up to the film set – when shooting a film here, they at least need to clearly explain to the site manager what they want to film.

Although such matters are not usually handled by important figures like Chroixus, it is always good to consult him on matters of the temple, given that his primary function is that of a "temple keeper".

Shangluo actually knew about this—when filming the Wuzhuang Temple segment, Journey to the West also had to clarify things with the temple.

Because this is the same question that Grand Secretary Wen raised earlier: with this flying demon king here, where is the imperial court?
The same is true here. Flying demons are causing trouble in the oracle. Are all the people in the oracle dead?
“Hmm,” Chroisus read the script first. “This script seems to have some problems. In the very first scene, there’s a murder in the Oracle’s Office. The victim died without any trace, as if he had died suddenly. Later, through various means, Wang Lingguan was brought in from China to investigate the case, and the final conclusion was that the murderer used a [Death Curse] to kill the person—why couldn’t the Oracle’s Office have reached this conclusion themselves? Doesn’t that make the Oracle’s Office seem weak?”

“If I tell you this, it will be a spoiler. Do you want to hear it?” Apollonia asked.

“Yes. If possible, I would also like to know why the Oracle failed in this process. Because everyone will be watching this movie. If the Oracle is portrayed as very weak here, it seems to be detrimental to the Oracle. Lady Apollonia is the pillar of the Oracle, and you obviously know this as well.”

"Then, shall I give you a spoiler? Actually, the Flying Yaksha is a member of the priesthood of the Oracle."

“Great!” Chroisus immediately approved. “That’s it, it’s perfect. I like it.”

"Why?" Shangluo asked in surprise. "I thought this was the part we needed to discuss. Why can't they be the victims, but they can be the villains?"

Apollonia shook her head: "Because these people are very concerned about their image. It's a loss of face for others to come and go as they please on their territory. If they could be the villains and possess great magical power, they would be very willing. Rome, in general, is a place where strength reigns supreme. The Oracle, the Senate, and the Muses are all vying for leadership of the empire by using their own strength. In recent years, the Oracle's position has become increasingly marginalized, which is actually a good opportunity to demonstrate the Oracle's power."

Being a villain is acceptable as long as it makes you appear stronger—in fact, it might even be better. The allure of a villain lies in their strength, and powerful villains are often quite charismatic. Because when you're strong enough, everything you say seems to make sense.

Just like when the "Wuzhuang Temple" scene was filmed in Journey to the West, it didn't matter whether Zhen Yuanzi injured the four of them; what mattered was that he had great magical power.

However, compared to the "Wuzhuang Temple" episode, Zhen Yuanzi is at least a positive character, while Flying Yaksha is a pure demon.

The oracle didn't even consider this, it must have been blinded by greed—but in Rome, this tactic did indeed work.

"May I ask again, who exactly is the Flying Yaksha?"

“Oh,” Apollonia thought for a moment, “is this something I can talk about? Do you really want to hear it?”

"Yes, of course I'll listen."

"If I had to say something, then the Flying Yaksha is actually an ancient god: an incarnation of Taranis."

Taranis, the Celtic god of sky and thunder, is the chief deity of the Celtic pantheon. He is one of the most powerful gods outside the Roman pantheon and the revered lord of Ireland (Arryn). The Flying Demon is portrayed as Taranis's human incarnation, a collective consciousness of Celtic shamans. Ancient shamans foresaw a bleak future, so they collectively sent Taranis's divine power into the future. The Flying Demon is actually the abode of these souls; he came here for revenge.

He was found by the Oracle in the form of an infant, and he learned magic with the aim of destroying magic. With his immense talent, he gradually ascended the path to power within the Oracle. However, many people stood in his way, and he used the shadow of Erin to kill them.

“I see.” Chroixus nodded. “That was indeed a powerful character. But what I want to ask is, what was the final outcome?”

"In the end, his identity was revealed, and he began a final battle with Rome—however, he was already half Roman. He had lived in Rome, and although he possessed immense strength, his life ultimately became no different from that of a Roman. He finally broke with Rome because he realized that he could no longer advance through normal means, and could only turn to crime. He rallied a large resistance force outside of Rome, and many of his powerful followers declared war on Rome. But in the final battle, the Roman part of his soul made him hesitate—he was ultimately killed by the King of Rome. After his death, to suppress his malice, his body was divided into three coffins: one of gold, one of silver, and one of iron."

His body was enshrined in a golden coffin belonging to the Flying Yaksha, and the golden coffin was kept in a secret location as a top secret. His weapons were buried in a silver coffin, located at a place where ley lines converged, but this was also kept secret. The iron coffin was placed outside as a memorial to Rome's recognition of him.

“I understand.” Croissus realized the origin of the story. “The prototype of this story is actually Attila the Hun, the king of the Huns?”

“Yes, that’s it,” Apollonia replied. “We think it’s quite fitting to replay some of the past during this period of Rome’s fall. And a villain based on a historical archetype like him is more motivating. In particular, he shares Roman characteristics with Attila, which is their most similar point—of course, we know that Attila didn’t have any struggles stemming from Roman characteristics; he was a pure invader. So it’s a kind of political propaganda: a powerful ancient god was subdued by Roman civilization and ultimately died at the hands of the strong, reconciling with his Roman nature before his death. We call this ‘making dumplings.’”

“Making dumplings is good, making dumplings is good.” Chroisus nodded. “I really like this plot. It calmed my emotions and showed the greatness of the civilized world. Movies are propaganda, so they should be made like this.”

"So, you agree?"

"No, no, no, there was no reason for us to disagree. We would have obeyed your orders unconditionally."

"You say nice things, but if we don't read the script to you, you won't cooperate with us."

"Yes, yes, you're right. But I have a few minor, immature opinions about this script, and I wonder if I could mention them?"

"Hmm? What's your opinion?"

"Exactly, could you clarify the priest's identity? The oracle has many priestly positions, some for life and some for non-life. As a foreigner who was taken in, he should theoretically face a promotion threshold unless he's adopted by the Romans. Therefore, I think we should add a foster father character to the script. What do you think? If you're willing to join, the oracle is willing to sponsor 5%—no, 15%—of the filming budget! If we can use actors we recommend, we'll even invest 20%. What does Lady Apollonia think?"

(End of this chapter)