Chapter 435 Kassadin's Great Crisis
The two people's discussion about Zaun's immigration policy finally came to an end with Nasus's complex sigh.
At this time, Kassadin, who had been listening to their conversation silently, finally couldn't help but ask: "Friends... Could it be that you are also leaders?"
"Yes." Taliyah no longer concealed her feelings in front of her comrades.
She gently spread out her palm and showed Kassadin her thread of faith.
“I am Taliyah, leader of the Shuriman Social Research Team.”
"It's you?" Kassadin was surprised: "The liberator of Beljung?"
The Shurimans love to sing praises of heroes, and after the slaves of Beljun were freed, Taliyah became their hero.
Therefore, on the northern coast of Shurima today, Taliyah has actually become quite famous.
Kassadin had heard of the name of the "Liberator of Beljun" on his way south from the north shore.
"Hmm..." Taliyah blushed. She didn't think this was an honor.
Most people regarded her as the liberator of Beljung, and although this was true, she was well aware of the troubles her heroic act had caused.
But Kassadin didn't think so much.
He was completely immersed in the surprise of meeting his comrades by chance: "When I passed by Beljum, I heard the comrades who took over Beljum mention your team--"
"Your mission is to conduct a social survey of all of Shurima, right?"
"Yeah." Taliyah nodded.
"So where are you going next?"
"From Vikaola, go deep into the desert, and then go to the southern mountains," Taliyah answered truthfully.
"Then I can lead the way for you!" Kassadin enthusiastically offered himself: "I'm a guide. I'm familiar with this area of Mo Nan."
"From Wikola to the southern mountains, if you want to investigate along this route, it would be convenient for me to go along the same route!"
"This..." Talia was a little tempted.
She looked toward Sivir tentatively.
Xiweier shrugged. "I think it's OK. I usually stay in the northern desert, so I'm not very familiar with the situation in the southern desert."
"Since he is trustworthy, it wouldn't be a bad thing to have another guide who is familiar with Mo Nan."
If it were in the past, she would definitely not agree to let a stranger join the team.
After all, no one in Shurima can be trusted.
But leaders are different. Regardless of their status or closeness, as long as they show their faith, they can make people feel at ease.
“Okay then.” Taliyah nodded secretly and extended her hand to Kassadin: “Thank you for your assistance, Comrade Kassadin.”
"You're welcome." Kassadin shook her hand gently and answered honestly: "Actually, I just want to contribute to the liberation of Shurima."
"It would be great if I could get a title of meritorious official by following you guys...haha."
As he spoke, he suddenly realized, "Oh yeah..."
"Comrade Taliyah, you just asked me about the Prophet's Cult. Is this a mission from the organization?"
"No." Taliyah shook her head: "In fact, we just want to rescue those slaves..."
As she spoke, Taliyah briefly introduced the whole story to Kassadin.
They actually have no conflict with the Prophet's Order.
It's just that the Prophet's Order bought those hundreds of slaves for some reason, which made them a little concerned.
"The plantations on the north shore have stopped buying slaves. There are many people in the desert and few oases, so raising slaves is simply a losing business. What's the point of this Prophet's Order buying so many slaves?"
"Isn't it strange?" Taliyah was a little worried about the fate of the slaves.
"This..." Kassadin's expression was subtle: "It's hard to say."
Anyway, this prophetic sect is full of evil nature, and it is almost like they have put the label of evil god believers on their faces.
Slaves who fell into their hands would most likely not have a good end.
"And that so-called prophet should be a real capable person." He also reminded carefully: "Now many city-states and tribes in the south of the desert have submitted to this prophet. If you want to deal with him, you have to think carefully."
Taliyah hesitated when she heard this.
At this time, Nasus woke her up: "Taliyah, don't forget your mission."
"All we have to do is save the slaves in front of us. Save those hundreds of slaves and settle them down, that's all - don't worry about other things."
"This... is it!" Taliyah also nodded secretly.
Yes. She came here to do social research, not to be a hero.
Moreover, being a hero cannot save Shurima:
She could have saved these slaves and then dealt with the Prophet's Cult, but then what?
After overthrowing the Prophet's Cult, what should be done with the huge power vacuum they left behind, and the city-states and tribes that followed the cult?
What should she do if, in the process of dealing with the Prophet's Cult, she discovers that there are other evil forces colluding with them?
Keep killing all the way?
If we kill all the Shurima people and then walk away, will the world be at peace?
“What Shurima needs is not knights, but order,” Nasus said. “The most important thing you should do now is to complete your Shurima investigation report as soon as possible and bring it back to Zaun. Let your superiors decide when to liberate this land.”
"Yeah." Taliyah nodded secretly.
"I see." She figured it out.
It is enough to save these slaves and be a hero for once.
If they continue to ignore the tasks assigned to the investigation team by the organization and take unauthorized action against the local forces in Shurima, that would be a blind act of personal heroism.
"Thank you, Mr. Giant." Taliyah said gratefully, "Compared to me, you are more like a mature leader."
“Hmm…” Nasus looked complicated but didn’t respond.
"Okay." He picked up the giant axe and changed the subject: "Don't worry about the Prophet's Order."
"We go rescue these slaves and leave - it's that simple."
…
The next day, a few miles outside the city of Vikaula, in the yellow sand desert.
Nasus and his group were lying in ambush here.
Their plan to rescue the slaves was simple. They just waited for the Prophet's Cult to take the slaves away from Vikaola, and then robbed the evil god believers on the way.
This kind of "black eating black" thing happens all the time in the desert, and no one would associate it with the leader thousands of miles away.
Doing so can minimize the impact and prevent the situation in Vikora from becoming as out of control as it was in Berghun because of their appearance.
"Hey, big guy." Sivir and his men hid behind the huge rocks in the Gobi Desert, playing with the Charikar in their hands out of boredom.
She asked Nasus: "Have those evil god followers come?"
After more than a month of getting along, Sivir has realized that Nasus has a very sensitive nose and ears.
Even the leader who specializes in listening to the wind and determining the location cannot match Nasus's keen hearing.
He could even hear people's conversations ten miles away through the sandstorm in the desert.
Therefore, Sivir regarded her good teacher as a useful enemy detection radar.
“Almost there.” As expected, Nasus looked at the vast expanse of yellow sand without even raising his eyelids and said, “They have already left the city and are now heading this way—just as we expected, they are heading south.”
"Where are the slaves?" Taliyah asked concernedly.
“Don’t worry.” Nasus’s jackal ears trembled slightly. “From the sound of their voices, they seem to be in good condition.”
After saying this, he fell into silence again, as if he was listening to something quietly.
" What 's wrong?" Xiweier was a little curious.
“I was listening to the cultists’ conversation.” Nasus turned back to look at her. “I have to say, this is quite interesting.”
As he spoke, his eyes moved slightly, and he used magic to reproduce the conversation he had heard in everyone's ears out of thin air:
"We brought back so many sacrifices this time. The prophet will definitely reward our contribution." said believer A.
"Yes." Cultist B's voice was a little fanatical: "Perhaps, the prophet will allow us to participate in the sacrifice as well - I can't wait to merge with the great nothingness."
"This..." Believer C seemed to be a newcomer.
He asked carefully with some concern: "Participating in the sacrifice...what does it mean?"
"Just like those sacrifices." Cultist B replied excitedly: "Dedicate our bodies to the Void Spirits underground, and let the Great Void merge with us."
"What?" C, a believer, was surprised. "We have to make sacrifices too?"
"Of course." Both believers A and B answered in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Then what is the difference between us and these slaves?"
"Of course there is no difference." Cultist B replied calmly: "In the embrace of the great nothingness, each of us is equal. We will all be part of Him, brothers and sisters with the same spirit."
"This..." Cleric C still felt something was wrong: "Is this equality?"
"Of course! This is true equality!"
“People are not born equal. Some are rich, some are poor, some are strong, some are weak, some are smart, some are stupid.”
“The strong will always trample the weak, and the smart will always ride on the heads of the stupid. The poor will only be able to work like slaves for the rich all their lives, and will almost never be able to turn over a new leaf.”
"We will never achieve true equality if we remain alive as human beings."
“Human beings alone will never be able to solve the problems of human society.”
"Fortunately, the Great Void will eventually descend upon Runeland—"
“We can all shed our bodies and merge our souls into one.”
"By then, we will no longer have to endure hunger or struggle for survival. There will no longer be any inequality between , and there will no longer be oppression and bullying of one person against another."
"Because by then, all of humanity will cease to exist, and there will only be one individual left in the world - that is 'us'!"
"We are all the Great Nothingness, and the Great Nothingness is us!"
"We...will become gods!"
“…”
In silence, believer C seemed to be moved by the bright future he described.
Life is so hard.
Joining the great nothingness and becoming a part of God seems to be the best destination for mankind.
“…”
After listening to these conversations, Taliyah, Sivir and others were speechless.
They originally thought that this Prophet's Sect was just a common evil sect in the desert, with at most a special doctrine.
Unexpectedly, their teachings were not only unique, but also quite complete.
“There are reflections and analyses of social contradictions, as well as ultimate solutions.”
Although this solution of solving social problems by destroying human society is indeed a bit weird.
But the teachings of this prophetic sect are indeed perfectly self-consistent in terms of logic.
Since we cannot be equal as human beings, then we are not human beings. If all human beings can be integrated into a collective consciousness, there will no longer be oppression of one person against another, and there will no longer be any social contradictions.
"Are they... really just ordinary believers of the evil god?" Taliyah murmured.
Ordinary evil gods, such as the Spider God worshipped by Iris and Vladimir worshipped by the Scarlet Cultists, command their followers to offer sacrifices simply because they want to eat humans.
And these evil gods generally do not design overly complicated doctrines for themselves.
Because they are real gods who possess power powerful enough to make believers follow them loyally.
Therefore, evil gods do not need to tell stories to fool believers. They only need to show some small favors to make believers willingly offer sacrifices for them.
“But this Prophet’s Cult has devised such a complicated excuse for their sacrifice.”
“What’s the point of doing this?”
Taliyah and Sivir looked at each other, then looked at Nasus tentatively.
Nasus lowered his eyes, lost in thought.
He thought for a moment before saying, "I think there is only one possibility."
"What?" Talia and others asked curiously.
“Their teachings are not stories.”
"Their Lord, the collective consciousness of all things, the great nothingness that will eventually devour everything - perhaps it really exists."
"This... " Taliyah and Sivir couldn't believe it.
Are there really such gods in the world?
An ultimate collective consciousness that devours everything and can integrate everything?
“I don’t know.” Nasus shook his head. “As far as I know, such a special existence has never appeared before.”
Even though he was a Grand Secretary of the Shurima Empire and an Ascendant who had experienced thousands of years, he had never heard of any existence like this "Great Nothingness".
This made him wonder:
"Maybe I'm overthinking it. Maybe... their teachings are really just a story."
As Nasus spoke, the jackal ears hidden under his hood began to twitch slightly again.
He fell silent and listened carefully to the sounds coming from afar.
"What did you hear, big guy?" Shiver asked quickly.
“Nothing.” This time Nasus shook his head.
The believers did not continue to discuss doctrine.
Their discussion ended with a burst of urging: "Stop chatting and move faster!"
“Don’t forget, the Prophet will hold the next sacrifice ceremony on Mount Bairat.”
"We are already late. If we miss it, we will have to wait until the next sacrificial ceremony."
“…”
After hearing this, neither Taliyah nor Sivir reacted much.
After all, they had already decided to only rescue the slaves this time and not do anything else.
Where these prophet followers will go next, or where the so-called prophet will hold the sacrificial ceremony, has nothing to do with them.
but……
"Mount Byrat?" Kassadin, who had been just listening quietly to his companions' discussion, suddenly shouted excitedly.
He grabbed Nasus's robe regardless and asked, "Mr. Giant, what did those Prophets just say..."
"The place where the Prophet will perform the next sacrifice ceremony is Mount Bairat?"
“Yes,” Nasus confirmed.
There is no mistake in the ears of an ascender. What's more, he has a pair of dog...jackal ears.
"What's wrong?" Taliyah and Sivir looked over curiously.
Kassadin replied with a pale face: "I..."
"My home is on Mount Bairat!"
