A Core Ship From The Start

However………

“So why are we unable to act?”

Faced with Lorena’s reply, Duanmu Huai wasn’t upset at all. Any mission involving NPCs would invariably come with hiccups, he was used to this by now.

“I’m terribly sorry, Sir Knight, it’s a long story……”

“No matter, we’ve got time.”

Are you going to talk for an entire year or what?

Then, slightly embarrassed, Lorena started explaining to Duanmu Huai.

Simple version: a split within the church.

This all began some time ago when demons attacked this country, and the church naturally went into battle to eradicate the demons. In the early intensity of the combat, many members of the church’s clergy were injured fighting the demons, losing limbs. They had no choice but to step down, and the situation at that time was very tense.

However, at that moment, a stranger appeared offering to help those who had lost limbs, to create prosthetics making it possible for them to rejoin the battle.

The Church accepted his proposal. Those clergy who had lost limbs in the battle against the demons were fitted with mechanical prosthetics and once again entered the fray.

No doubt about it, these prosthetics were incredible. In the end, thanks to everyone’s efforts, the Church successfully repelled the demons. But then … an unexpected crisis emerged.

Among the clergy who had received the stranger’s operation and been fitted with prosthetics, many started to change their beliefs. They came to believe that through mechanics and steel they could get closer to the deity, as opposed to simply through training and prayer. At first, the church didn’t think much of it, figuring as long as their faith in the deity remained, minor disagreements about the interpretation of faith could be set aside for the moment.

Following this, for whatever reason, those clergy with prosthetic limbs all started congregating at the side altar over at the other side of the city. According to them, they were going to communicate with the deity through mechanical means. The Archbishop tacitly approved, because these individuals had already sacrificed a lot for protecting the city and its people. If they wanted to do this, then let them.

However, after this… things started to gradually go downhill.

Those self-titled members of the “Mechanical Church” cut themselves off from the rest of the believers, starting to propagate their belief that “flesh is only a burden, only by committing ourselves to steel can we communicate with the deity.” The church was somewhat anxious, but helpless. No matter what, it was an internal dispute regarding their doctrine, they couldn’t possibly annihilate them over it. Not to mention, the monks of the Mechanical Church had all been major contributors during the previous war. The Church had no intention to hastily start an internal conflict.

The present situation is: the Church and the Mechanical Church each control one-half of the city, with the river in the middle defining the boundary. Normally neither would trespass on the other’s turf. More than that, it is heard the monks of the Mechanical Church are seriously taking care of the people’s problems, so the Church sees no need to interfere.

However… all this is based on the premise that the Mechanical Church is a peaceful organization.

If they did indeed create that horrifyingly bloodthirsty puppet, and dispatched it here to carry out killings, that’s another matter entirely.

But as it is a matter of great importance, the church dares not act rashly.

“………Therefore, while the Archbishop has ordered everyone to bolster their defenses, her plan is to negotiate with them……”

And what good will that do?

Having listened to Lorena’s explanation, Duanmu Huai rolled his eyes. This place had become filled with soul shards, clearly indicating something terrifying had happened, leading to the city’s destruction.

“Since you guys can’t make a move, let me take care of it.”

“Huh? But………”

“As you already know, the puppet that showed up yesterday appears to be connected to Ogis in some way. Even if it weren’t for your problem, we’d still trace it to the end anyway.”

Having said this, Duanmu Huai glanced at the mission prompts from the system. Although they found the white-haired puppet, there were no prompts indicating the completion of the mission, meaning that the problem was far from solved. That white-haired puppet was not the real mastermind behind everything.

After everything had ended, it was late at night. Lorena had arranged for both of them to rest in the guest rooms of the church. Duanmu Huai chose not to sleep on the seemingly soft and comfortable bed, instead opting to sit leaning against the wall. Unless he was back on the space station, Duanmu Huai would never leave his power armor. Fortunately, after equipping the power armor, Duanmu Huai’s body felt completely integrated, almost as if he himself had become mechanical. His metabolism was less noticeable.

But… what would he become?

Duanmu Huai looked up towards the star-filled sky through the window. The truth is, ever since he came to this world, he had always been busy with tasks and challenges everywhere. All this was based on the impending chaos and the threat of the Subspace Chaos Evil God. He knew very well that regardless of what he did on this planet, it would not significantly affect these machinations of Evil Gods. For them, this planet was nothing more than a playground.

Therefore, the enemies on this planet weren’t formidable. The reason why the Evil Gods sent these low-grade monsters wasn’t because of the lack of strong warriors, but because the relatively low level of civilization of this planet limited their level and strength.

However, in the vast Star Ocean, Duanmu Huai would face not only the Chaos Warriors – a simple threat, but also spaceship wrecks, fallen Star Warriors, chaos fleets, and alien invasions. Interdimensional wars would make the present chaos on this planet seem like child’s play.

The battles taking place in the Star Ocean far surpassed the wars of the Medieval Ages on this planet.

In the game, despite the presence of many players, there were still numerous casualties and losses. But now, with only him here, what effect could he have?

Duanmu Huai immersed himself in his tasks in order to avoid overthinking. He simply needed to mechanistically accept and complete tasks like in a game without contemplating too much. But, in the quiet of the night, when his mind began to relax, these complicated feelings crept back.

“Master?”

While Duanmu Huai was lost in thought, a voice suddenly sounded from beside his ear. Turning his head, he saw Ogis perched on him like a kitten, her ruby-red eyes shining with brilliant light as she gazed at Duanmu Huai.

“You seem to be troubled?”

“I’m just thinking about the future, it’s somewhat vexing.”

“The future??”

At Duanmu Huai’s response, Ogis slightly tilted her head.

“Yes.”

As he gazed at the puppet girl in front of him, Duanmu Huai reached out to gently stroke her head as he spoke.

“In the future, we will encounter powerful enemies. They will be everywhere and almost impossible to eradicate completely. They are extremely strong and resist destruction… honestly, sometimes I wonder if this is the right decision. Maybe, I should abandon all of this, find a place to spend the rest of my days in solitude, not causing trouble or meddling in these complicated matters…”

Duanmu Huai wasn’t lying. Given his experience, he could absolutely find an uninhabited beautiful star and live comfortably until the end of his days.

In any case, with the universe being infinite and the battles with the Chaos Evil Gods starting at a base of hundreds of years or even lasting tens of thousands of years, was it necessary?

In the game, players need not worry about this, because they are always pursuing something.

But reality is different. When you are actually transported to this world and learn the truth about it, making a tough decision becomes much more difficult.

Should he challenge the Evil God with passionate fire? Or should he choose to capitulate and relish in comfort?

For Duanmu Huai, it was indeed a challenging choice.

While Duanmu Huai contemplated, he suddenly felt warmth on his cheek. Turning his head, he saw Ogis gazing at him.

“I don’t know what master is thinking… but, I know master is helping me. So, I also want to help master. No matter what, I will always be with master.”

“Thank you, Ogis.”

Heaving a sigh of relief in response to Ogis’s words, Duanmu Huai closed his eyes and fell into a slumber. Ogis, watching the sleeping Duanmu Huai, thought for a moment before leaning into his embrace.

Soon, the moonlight gradually enveloped the two, silhouetting them and casting the room back into silence and darkness.