Deep Sea Hunter, but Deep Sea Titan

However, his sympathy for Father Andorn as a betrayed and victim in the Great Silence does not mean that he approves of Andorn's extreme actions in Lateran; these are two different things.

"Furthermore, I can't just decide the function of this machine so hastily based on my personal likes or dislikes, can I?"

"Could we expand the scope of this machine, allowing the weakened version of empathy to cover all Terrans? This way, we can use this machine to influence and guide Terrans, stop some meaningless internal conflicts among Terrans, and in emergency situations, it can still activate forced assimilation to serve Originium transcription."

The first half of Loting's sentence was almost exactly what the machine was originally intended for. The previous civilization originally planned to use the machine as a tool to assist in communication and prevent huge chaos during the reconstruction of civilization.

The second half of the sentence is Lothing's advocacy to extend the benefits enjoyed by the Sarkaz to all Terrans. As long as Terran civilization can develop, they can also enjoy the convenience brought by this machine. However, while the benefits are extended, it also means that shackles and cages will quietly be placed over the heads of the Terrans.

However, if one day we have to use the most conservative approach to execute Project Originium, then this machine will forcibly assimilate the Terrans on a larger scale, thereby reducing the amount of information transcribed from Originium.

“If the PCS system is reprogrammed, it is indeed possible. I originally planned to use it in conjunction with Originium to assimilate all races on Terra. If it is only to exert weak empathy and potential influence on all Terrans, then there is no need for this machine to run at its maximum power.”

Precys has now largely grasped Dr. Lotin's principles and policies. They have found a balance between the prophet and their former selves. While using the Originium Project as a last resort, they strive to ensure that the spread and assimilation of Originium can be completed almost instantly when the plan has to be executed. While using the legacy of the prehistoric civilization as a gift to the Terrans, they also make this legacy a shackle that binds them.

"However, in that case, all those Sarkaz might 'fall from grace'."

The so-called "fallen gods" are the Sarkaz being kicked out of the PCS system—or rather, the "laws" of Laterano—by the PCS system, causing a certain degree of atavism in them, and revealing the ancient Tikkaz characteristics in their bodies.

Or rather, let them return to their original state.

Precys herself doesn't care whether these people have horns or halos. When necessary, she will not hesitate to use the Terrans as sacrifices for the Originium Project, but she will not deliberately torture the Terrans for amusement.

Loting, however, harbored a mix of punitive and vengeful emotions, but he wouldn't let these emotions affect the actual consensus reached by the three of them.

"Then let us go visit that holy city flowing with honey and sugar. There can be no exceptions for the Terrans who enjoy our heritage, just like the principle of using quasi-public goods: whoever uses it pays for it."

After confirming that Lotin and the Doctor were orphans of the former civilization, the Agorians, who deeply revered the previous civilization, only thought about "how to become the most valued student of the ancient mentors." Kazdel was personally governed by Lotin, and the ruler of Kazimir was Lotin's student. The Iberian state religion's laws and doctrines prayed to the deep-sea Titans, and the Yan Kingdom also chose to politely respect the opinions of "Gonggong".

The Colombian president has also just completed a reprogramming process, becoming the shadow who governs the country.

The debugging itself could have been done remotely, but Lotin insisted on going in person. This was to give the Pope an ultimatum in advance, allowing him time to prepare the Sakorta people, so that the shocking fact that "they are actually a branch of the Gutikaz" would not be too much for them to accept, thus causing a sudden increase in the suicide rate.

Chapter 308: The Cactus Tart Pope

After the riots caused by the Deep Pool, the dessert shops in Hillshire not only greatly increased the variety of desserts, but also reduced the prices. This was all thanks to the safest land route in all of Terra. Hillshire has now become almost the largest transit point for Laterano goods in all of Terra, giving the newly formed Tara nation a rare foreign trade channel.

Previously, this route required Loting to periodically teleport over to deter the Sarkaz mercenary groups. However, after Loting became the Demon King of the Sarkaz, maintaining this route became much simpler. Scar Marketplace transformed into a legitimate security contractor, and the Sarkaz mercenaries were gradually absorbed and incorporated into the organization. The number of Sarkaz mercenary bandits in the wilderness has become quite small.

Most of them were laid off due to the need for Kazdel's reconstruction, while those who were unwilling to give up their mercenary work joined Scar Mall as security contractors.

For these Sarkaz mercenaries who live on the edge and have no guarantee of survival, Scar Mall, as a legitimate security contractor, at least has a modern employee system and basic employee benefits, and even compensation, something they never dared to dream of before.

Although the amount was lower than that of the established security contractors in Colombia, it was still much better than losing everything and ending up dead in the wilderness without a second thought.

With their basic needs met, the Sarkaz mercenaries were required to abide by the rules and regulations of Scar Market. They no longer needed to rob and plunder to supplement their livelihood. Moreover, in order to expand its market, Scar Market attached great importance to changing the image of the Sarkaz mercenaries as disorganized and undisciplined. They even set up extra bonuses for groups that maintained good discipline during missions.

Therefore, the only toll for this route now is one gold coin per transport fleet. Compared to the previous situation where it was necessary to spend a lot of money to hire a security contractor or risk one's life by running naked, the safety and cost of transportation have been greatly reduced.

Lateran was undoubtedly a beneficiary, reaping substantial trade profits. Following the Council of Agor, Lateran's current Pope, Ivangelist XI, confirmed that this sea route was personally protected by "Nautilus," or Lotin.

"Lord Nautilus will visit us sooner or later."

This white-haired, long, whip-like white-bearded Sakorta is none other than the current Pope of the Lateran Church, Ivangelista XI, who is currently enjoying a plate of uniquely flavored cactus tarts.

"Your Holiness, have the Iberians already offered tribute to the Deep Sea Titan, begging him...?"

"No matter what, we will protect Lateran to the death."

A radical papal knight voiced his opinion, and Evangelista allowed these papal knights to express their opinions freely when they were around him, but these opinions rarely influenced the pope's judgment.

"It is an undeniable fact that the benefits of the law are limited to Lateran."

The identity of the Pope means that Ivangelista has access to a deeper truth than his compatriots, the truth of Lateran and the truth of the law.

At the victory conference for the joint war against the Seas in Agor, Lotin and the Doctor presented their claim of a prehistoric civilization to all of Terra, and the machine known as the Law, which was revered as life by the Lateran Church, was a creation of their civilization, namely the Personality Cognition and Synchronization System (PCS).

"Lord Nautilus also wants to unite Terra, but in a way that is more unacceptable to us."

Pope Ivangelista still remembered the situation after the wanted criminal named Arturo was extradited back to his country. Arturo had been able to evade justice in Letania thanks to the protection of the Twin Queens, but after Nautilus brought blessings to Letania, the Twin Queens immediately agreed to extradite the wanted criminal back to Lateran.

The wanted criminal is currently undergoing labor reform under close surveillance at a monastery.

This shows that Nautilus's will is almost impossible to defy or stop for a certain Terran nation.

Yesterday, the Pope faced this divine being alone in the machine room of Lateran, the most sacred and mysterious place in Lateran, filled with the noise of radiators running. The machine before him was the god and law of Lateran itself. In the distant past, when the Sarkaz were still the Tikkaz, the desperate struggle of cannibalism led this machine to accept them.

The divine favor made their situation completely different from that of the Sarkaz, another descendant of the ancient Tikaz. They were originally Tikaz warriors who carried the hopes of the tribe, but they relied on betraying their own people to achieve self-preservation by coldly observing from the sidelines.

When the Great Quiet occurred, the Vatican once again turned a blind eye to the devout Liberians, not even sending a single symbolic volunteer force.

The divine machine was calculating something, and then it instructed the Pope to prepare to face its creator. According to its calculations, obeying its creator was clearly the option with a greater chance of survival.

"If Lord Nautilus wishes to judge Lateran for the stain of betrayal, there is nothing we can do."

Evangelista's thoughts returned to the present, and he had no doubt that Nautilus would consider being angry at Lateran's complete lack of action during the Great Silence—yes, not action, but no action at all.

"All we can do is face our mistakes and bear the consequences."

The principle of non-interference with the Great Tranquility is the result of legal calculation, and the Sakortadists have always chosen to fanatically and blindly follow the results of legal calculation. Yesterday's calculation means that the PCS has overturned the previous calculation results, and the Sakortadists will eventually taste the bitter fruit of blind faith in the law. The Pope is powerless to do anything about it and can only accept it with the utmost sincerity.

However, Lotin wouldn't really go so far as to kill Laterano just for that reason; he simply prevented the Lateranos from enjoying the paradise all to themselves.

"Your Holiness!"

The radical papal knight was astonished by the pope's remarks. Lateran's faith in the international community had always been a neutral one, neither humble nor arrogant, yet the pope was already prepared to kneel and beg for mercy just upon hearing the name of Nautilus!

Before the Pope could speak, several papal knights who had attended the meeting in Argoll grabbed him. They knew all too well how terrifying Nautilus's power was, and the recent defeat of the extraterrestrial demons had further proven his absolute strength. Resistance was destined to be meaningless, and they preferred to believe that Nautilus would not easily drive people to their doom.

"Judgment Day has come, voters of Lateran, welcome the coming of the Creator."

The Pope had just put down his cactus tart when the Seventh Chamber of the Papal Court sent a request for permission to visit Lateran, Rhodes Island.

Evangelista had long known that Rhodes Island, as a pharmaceutical company, was just a facade; the real Rhodes Island was an ark carried by the three creators.

The "salvation" that the Laterans, especially the Sarkaz, had longed for arrived in such a dramatic way.

Chapter 309: Exile from Paradise

It was a rainy day, but the shipping route from Hillshire to Lateran remained busy.

"Do you think this sea route was truly under the personal protection of Nautilus?"

On the "Honey Route" leading to the newly formed nation of Tara, a newly arrived Sakorta driver is asking the convoy's Cataclysmic Messenger in the passenger seat about the truth of this route.

The convoy's messenger was an Iberian-born Liberian woman, a female college graduate of only two or three years, yet she was indeed the most well-regarded messenger on this route.

The messenger of natural disasters laughed. Every new pilot who sails this route asks her the same question: "Does the Brass Ghost Nautilus exist?"

"If Nautilus had never existed, I probably wouldn't be alive today. Several Sarkaz mercenary groups that were rampaging along this route, engaging in banditry, were wiped out in an instant."

“I remember that night a Sarkaz mercenary group had their eyes on Nautilus’s truck convoy. So Nautilus picked up the heavy anchor by himself and headed toward the mercenary group’s camp. I heard a deafening explosion, and then no Sarkaz mercenary dared to approach our convoy again.”

The messenger of natural disasters told this story countless times to new drivers. At least for her personally, this opportunity gave her a stable, safe, and well-paying job, so she was happy to tell the drivers the story of Nautilus.

"But, would Nautilus, who can intimidate so many countries and has dealt with the Sea Heirs and the demons, really protect such a mere sea route?"

As soon as the driver finished speaking, he noticed a huge shadow looming over his truck. Only when the shadow gradually dissipated did he see the full form of the bronze giant that had cast the shadow.

The driver panicked and slapped himself, then hurriedly threw a gold coin he had prepared beforehand out the window. The coin miraculously disappeared after landing. Nautilus received the tithe, and he would continue to ensure the safety and smooth flow of the route.

"Oh my, what good luck! To be able to see Nautilus directly on the sea route is a very good omen."

Nautilus brought unparalleled safety and stability to this route, so it's understandable that experienced sailors on the "Sugar" route regarded it as a symbol of good luck.

For this messenger of natural disasters, the extremely bizarre, seemingly man-made (which it actually was) natural disaster nearly cost her her life, and this was the unexpected event she encountered while traveling with Nautilus on his behalf.

However, this natural disaster was not caused by Nautilus, and she had chosen to be employed by Nautilus herself. Moreover, Nautilus had protected her and her caravan during the disaster, so she considered seeing Nautilus on the sea route to be a symbol of good fortune.

The bronze giant trudged down with heavy steps, stirring up mud that churned like ocean waves, and silently passed by the shipping route, heading towards the so-called "holy city".

The Lateran garrison was already heavily armed and ready on the walls of Lateran, but they did not actually intend to attack Lotin. They knew the devastating consequences such reckless behavior would bring to Lateran. It was more of a statement, like the Colombian federal army's guard force, showing that they took it seriously.

Rainwater flowed down the Lateran walls, which had stood there since their construction, and the Pope himself stood on the walls, holding an umbrella, waiting for Lottin's arrival.

The bronze giant raised its hands above its head and carried the Doctor and Precyth to the city wall, with Kal'tsit holding a black umbrella over them.

“Our hasty visit has indeed caused His Holiness the Pope trouble, but the Pope’s preparations are so thorough, as if he knew we were coming.”

"Your Holiness is truly grateful for your trouble."

The Doctor greets almost everyone with a smile, which is why most Rhodes Island operators think of her as a cheerful and optimistic person. However, this kind smile is often just a means and tool for the Doctor; she only reveals her true feelings to those who are important to her.

"Welcome to Laterano, Doctor of Rhodes Island. It's just a pity the weather isn't very good today."

"Otherwise, our meeting would have gone even more smoothly."

The kind-looking old man, Sakta, still had a sturdy face. He gestured for a papal knight to escort the Doctor and Precys to the papal chamber to sit down and have a detailed discussion.

“We are not here to negotiate, Pope of Lateran. The PCS system has never been your property.”

As before, Precys played the bad cop, and it was only a matter of time before the truth of the law was revealed to the public, so she did not specifically avoid mentioning the PCS system.

“Let’s make things clear right here, Your Holiness.”

The brass giant seemed even more spirited in the rain, and his deep, resonant voice was loud and deafening to the people beneath him.

"The era of the Sakortas monopolizing paradise should end, and the Sakortas should wake up from the dreams woven by fictitious laws and gods."

The giant's searchlight-like eyes dimmed even the aura of the Sakotas. Lotin's gaze swept over the devout warriors on the city wall; they were angry and astonished, yet dared not make the slightest move.

“The law is not your property, and Lateran has no right to enjoy its benefits alone.”

The Black Crown, which was taken by a tribe of Gutikaz without permission, has now been put on their collars by Lodin himself. However, this descendant of the Gutikaz, the Sarkaz, also enjoys unprecedented peace and prosperity under Lodin's protection.

Another group among them illegally accessed the PCS system, willing to betray the Tikkaz tribe that placed their hopes on them in order to survive. They are the present-day Sarkaz.

"Lord Nautilus, do you mean to drive us out of Laterano?"

"This isn't a necessary measure, but I can certainly do it."

When asked a question by the Pope, Lottin responded directly with a threat.

"We intend to distribute the computing power of the laws, namely the PCS system, across Terra at a lower average level, and reclaim the administrative authority destroyed by the PCS system in the name of the prehistoric civilization."

"As for the daily lives of the Lateran people, we have no obligation to interfere. We came here specifically to visit His Holiness the Pope so that the Papal Court would have the time and energy to develop a plan that would cause as little turmoil and chaos as possible."

Lothing was indeed very dissatisfied with Laterano's inaction during the Great Tranquility, but he didn't hate them enough to massacre them on that basis. His punishment was to banish the Sarkaz from Paradise.

They sang lofty songs of universal unity, yet when the enemy of civilization actually appeared, they remained aloof. So Lothian expelled them from the paradise called Lateran, so that they could no longer rest easy under the protection of the law.

He genuinely considered that suddenly revealing the truth would be unacceptable to the Sakorta people and could lead to a surge in suicides, so he approached the Pope in advance to discuss a solution that would be easily accepted by everyone.

In other words, what Lotin can talk about is when and how to implement the plan, not whether the plan will be implemented at all.

"Then, please give us a precise figure for how much time you need, Your Holiness. As for the specific plan, we can discuss it thoroughly over this period of time."

Lotin's tone was quite polite, but the papal knights found it even more chilling than the most tyrannical and direct ultimatums they had ever heard.

The Pope closed his eyes, and silence fell over the city walls, broken only by the patter of raindrops and the harsh scraping of brass.

“We will gradually reveal the truth over the course of a year. After a year, Lord Nautilus will only need to take over the law immediately, whether we are truly ready or not.”

“We will make the believers in Lateran realize that it is a shameful and selfish thing to monopolize the benefits of the law, and therefore we need to spread the gospel of the law in order to return to Paradise.”

To be honest, the Pope originally thought that Nautilus's anger was more serious than he had imagined. Fortunately, the Iberians only intended to watch with schadenfreude. The Iberians, busy rebuilding their homes, really had no time to deal with a bunch of cowards who were terrified by the Sea King. And Nautilus did not go on an unreasonable killing spree, but merely banished them from the paradise that had been given to him as charity.

“It’s a deal, Your Holiness. You know how much I value contracts and promises. I will be visiting Lateran frequently during this time, and we will have many opportunities to exchange ideas.”

The brass giant's response drowned out the sound of the rain, echoing for a long time on the city walls.

The Pope watched intently as the bronze giant disappeared into the dense rain before speaking to the heads of the Lateran papacy:

"Prepare to face the truth of the law, the Sarkaz, and Lateran, my fellow countrymen."

Chapter 310: Returning to Familiar Places

After taking control of the Sarkaz, reaching a consensus with Precyth regarding the Originium Project, and recovering the Blue Tree, the sarcophagus energy, and the PCS system, Lotin was finally free from the pressure of rushing around Terra as a firefighter to deal with some pressing global problems.

Some of these problems were addressed by Lotin simply because they were threats he himself could not escape, while others were because he collected tithes from taxpayers and therefore had to fulfill his promises and contracts. Of course, some problems were both, such as the threat from Haisi.

The Sea Kings regarded Lothians as mortal enemies and adversaries, while the Iberians were willing to pay ample tithes in exchange for their protection, even going so far as to change the content of their laws and the offerings of the state church to the deep-sea Titan Nautilus.

In any case, there were no longer any pressing problems for Lotin to solve. He felt a long-lost sense of relief. His revenge was complete, and his power was strong enough to do as he pleased on Terra—although he almost never abused his power on ordinary people who had no power and were simply living honest lives. With most of the threats he had faced most resolved, he could finally relax and do some things that reflected his personal interests for a long time to come.

“Mr. Nautilus, you said you want to learn the theoretical knowledge about Originium? Even with the Black Crown’s assistance, this may take a lot of time and may be more difficult than W learning advanced Originium gunpowder.”

When the doctor heard that Lotin wanted to learn about Originium theory, he did not refuse, but objectively explained to him the difficulty of this attempt.

"Of course I know that. I now have access to Originium, and I must understand its specific principles in order to make it work more effectively."

Luo Ting said that he has plenty of time now and is willing to learn from the most basic related disciplines little by little, even if it takes several years or even decades, he has that much patience.