The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

Linde had no idea what the two were discussing about humanity's last hope deep within the sea of ​​consciousness. However, given the current situation, if the pollution problem in the depths of the sea of ​​consciousness wasn't resolved, not only Anjou and Capet, but the entire continent and even the whole world would be affected.

Even after the projection of the God of War was dragged back into the depths of consciousness, the erosion's influence on this world did not end. In some areas, a strange disease even broke out. Those infected initially exhibited symptoms such as neurasthenia, anxiety, and hallucinations. Subsequently, their rationality gradually disappeared, they could not distinguish between reality and illusion, their skin turned pale, their pupils became dilated, and finally, they went insane, turning into fanatical followers of certain evil gods or even directly becoming fanatical believers of the God of War.

Even more bizarrely, this type of disease appears to be contagious. The language, behavior, and even certain patterns of the infected can trigger mental breakdowns in healthy individuals. Studies have also shown that fear, anxiety, and helplessness among the infected are among the triggers. In short, this disease, which has been dubbed a "mental plague," is spreading rapidly in some underdeveloped areas and is showing a strong trend of impacting major cities.

Infected individuals have appeared not only within Cape County but also among the elves.

So Linde came to solve the problem of erosion.

Linde specifically consulted 550C about whether he could return to the depths of his consciousness.

In fact, everyone, including the tower, who entered the depths of the sea of ​​consciousness was an illegal intruder, and Linde, being one of the only two people with legitimate qualifications, naturally had to step forward at this time.

After all, you can't expect your little sister to come in and save the world, can you? Besides, Lind has other plans for his little sister.

"How did you get in here?!"

In a fit of rage, Alberto grabbed Lind by the collar and yelled, "Do you know that once you're in here, there's no going back?"

To be honest, Alberto almost cried when he saw Lind. According to Cassius, the Governor of the North had also contributed to Anjou's current stability. If the Governor of the North were to enter the depths of his consciousness, what would happen to the real world?

The only thing that could break Alberto's defenses was Anjou's affair.

"You're so agitated over such a small thing?"

Lind simply pulled Alberto off his arm and said casually, "I'll find a way back, so you don't need to worry."

Not only Alberto, but even Anastasia standing next to him was stunned, and a hint of surprise even appeared in Alberto's eyes.

“Nice to meet you, Governor of the North of Capet. I am Anastasia, the temporary administrator of the Tower.”

Anastasia saluted Lind using the etiquette left over from the post-Golden Age. Lind subconsciously wanted to raise his hand to return the salute, but in the end he nodded instead. However, Anastasia noticed this small gesture.

Anastasia fell silent, seemingly understanding why Lind had said he would find a way back.

How do you plan to get back?

Alberto didn't care about anything else and asked Lind directly.

Linde did not answer directly, but said, "Unfortunately, the method you used to intervene in the sea of ​​consciousness is a one-way ticket. Without any protective measures, it is impossible to return to the sea of ​​consciousness."

Linde looked up at Cassius and the soldiers of Anjou: "Regardless of whether your consciousness can return, how many of your bodies have not disappeared due to the side effects? Only your body was preserved by that bard, right? Not to mention you yourself, you should know better than me whether you can go back or not."

Alberto looked at Cassius, who could only nod silently. If someone was in a state where their consciousness was separated from their body, they might still be able to survive. However, most of the soldiers here were probably already dead. Not to mention that even if Alberto's body was intact, he had already established a connection with the Anjou Ancestors, or rather, he had become the Anjou Ancestors, and was actually already dead.

Upon hearing this answer, Alberto's surprise turned to disappointment, but he quickly composed himself. After all, as Linde had said, Alberto was now one of the ancestors of Anjou, and he had completely integrated into this consciousness, making it impossible for him to go back.

Alberto had already prepared himself to die here, and the other party had already done more than enough to help stabilize the situation in Anjou. Even if he couldn't return to the real world, there was nothing to say.

Just as everyone was about to exchange information again, the black sludge below suddenly began to surge again, and Anjou soldiers were constantly being swallowed by the black sludge. Not far away, a huge mass of black sludge was slowly moving towards the group.

"It's a God of Contracts who has been corrupted!"

Anastasia shouted, "We've been completely taken over! We have to think of something!"

Lind snapped his fingers and said, "That's exactly why I came here."

......

Meanwhile, in the real world, Lilith was watching her older brother lying quietly in the middle of the biological pool she had built.

As mentioned before, this bio-pool built to resemble a tower can allow people to enter the deep sea of ​​consciousness, but without any experiments, there is no way to guarantee its safety.

Even though it was built and inspected under the guidance of 550C, Lilith still felt uncertain, because if her brother fell, then according to what he said, she should take over next.

Moreover, the entire continent is currently in chaos due to the previous projection of the God of War, and for safety's sake, the old man is even actively reducing his strength for defense.

If Lilith were to take the blame, the burden would be far too heavy for her to bear; she certainly couldn't handle it.

Having already taken the blame for the Augustinian family once, Lilith really didn't want to go back to that time. So Lilith kept praying—though she didn't know who to pray to—hoping that her brother could return safely.

Beside the biological pool was a group of veterans who had been conscripted.

From the moment the War God projection appeared, the newspapers in Cape were constantly reporting on it, so everyone in Cape roughly knew what was going on. After all, the War God projection was moving into Anjou. At first, no one took it seriously, until Linde started recalling the retired veterans.

Of course, this is not mandatory. Linde made it very clear when he recalled them that what they would face next was a god, or rather, a being whose status was probably no less than that of a god, a projection of the god of war.

After all, Cape had already reported on Anjou's tragic situation. Although the projection of the God of War was resolved in the real world, it still caused immeasurable impact. Even after it was resolved, something called a mental plague appeared and even spread to ordinary people.

If left unchecked, Capet will eventually descend into madness, just like those other countries.

This is a fight for all of humanity.

However, responding to the call to arms meant being prepared to die, because Lind had made it very clear in the call to arms that this was likely a war from which there was no return.

The mobilization order issued by Linde was actually quite long, but many veterans couldn't understand its description of the current situation or even the crisis facing the world. They only saw the last sentence of the mobilization order: "The Governor needs you."

Many wounded and retired soldiers, upon seeing this message, took the train directly to the capital. The number of veterans recruited was far greater than Linde had anticipated, and even some ordinary people were asking if they were qualified to come to the capital.

At this moment, Lucanos, standing beside the biological pool, said, "The Governor has sent a signal. Everyone, you may proceed to the depths of the Sea of ​​Consciousness."

On the vast biological pool, besides these veterans, there were also many active-duty soldiers. Upon hearing the command "Attention!", both active-duty soldiers and veterans straightened up as if by muscle memory.

"Everyone, get into the pool, lie down quietly, and do not make a sound!"

Seeing a veteran take the lead, these soldiers, with a kind of resolute determination to die, stepped into the liquid that could connect to the depths of their consciousness.

Meanwhile, Deborah, leading the researchers from the tower, saluted the group of soldiers who had entered the depths of their consciousness: "Humanity will remember your contributions."

Deep within his consciousness, with a snap of his fingers, more and more doors appeared around Linde.

Squads of soldiers marched in orderly formation to Lind's side.

The active-duty soldiers were more heroic and imposing, while the scars on the veterans' bodies had disappeared, and even their disabilities had been restored. Compared with the active-duty soldiers, the veterans were even more menacing.

These soldiers suddenly found themselves wielding various weapons, all classic weapons that had served in Linde's army.

"bring it on."

Linde stood before the soldiers who kept emerging from the portal of light, spread his arms, and said, "Let's end this."