Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'-Chapter 1263 - 263: Empire Line: Toward the [Spiritual Deer] Ending (58)

Clang.

The sound of swords and knives falling to the ground woke the two from their conversation. Li Aozi suddenly turned his head, only to see Oshen standing on the high ground not far behind him, staring at them blankly.

"Oshen..."

"You said Morphederia is a sinner?"

Oshen muttered, his eyes full of disbelief:

"Absurd, it's simply absurd. How could Morphederia, who personally created the society that destroyed him, possibly exist?"

"It's not absurd at all. If you'd read Earth's history, you'd know there was a man named Shang Yang who was torn apart by the very punishments he designed. A creator's creation can destroy the creator himself; this is a common pattern in Earth civilization."

Meganiros said calmly:

"If you don't believe it, then why would the High Court Society build a weapon specifically designed to kill its own kind? Doesn't it know that if Gaia and Perjalai knew what it did, they would rally allies to attack? No, it's precisely because the entire society would collectively spearhead an attack against it that the High Court had to abide by Morphederia's command, trusting in her wisdom and betting everything on her."

"I have always emphasized that Morphederia was never dull. On the contrary, in that era, her wisdom far exceeded that of any of you Spiritual Warriors. Moreover, she was an exceptionally brilliant scholar who was fond of knowledge."

"Have you not noticed? Although the Dominating Universe seemingly never achieved major victories before Leoz came to power, it also never faced defeat, which is precisely the cleverness of Morphederia—she maintained a perfect balance. If victories were too frequent, the Primordial Abyss would assign more war tasks to Morphederia, thus preventing her from acquiring more resources for growth and learning."

"Leoz and Oshen, both of you served Morphederia. Haven't you noticed that the resources at your disposal were excessively abundant compared to other universes? So much so that you dared to launch expeditions without reliance on deity-level combat guarantees, never lacking in resources."

"This is the aid Morphederia procured from the Primordial Abyss, a wealth sufficient for you, Leoz, to sweep through the three Destroyers. So even if the society truly lost control, Morphederia wouldn't worry about the fall of Haines."

"Nonsense, utter nonsense, everything you say is nonsense!"

Oshen's expression was full of agitation:

"I don't believe what you're saying! Lord Morphederia just hasn't matured yet, with a pure and kind heart; how could she do such things..."

"So you don't think Morphederia possesses the wisdom to perform such intricate maneuvers?"

Meganiros said leisurely:

"Or are you, Oshen, like Leoz, thinking that Morphederia has always been incompetent?"

This statement left Oshen completely speechless; he clenched his fists, looked around, and could only say one sentence:

"I am not..."

His tone lacked confidence, and his expression betrayed his thoughts.

After several seconds, Oshen finally said:

"I have always believed that our lord is young and hasn't matured yet..."

When he said this, even Meganiros couldn't hold it back anymore; he pointed at Oshen and exclaimed:

"For lubrication, I'm truly impressed—you call a Starry Abyss Main God, who is millions of years your senior, 'young'? You and Leoz's combined ages barely match Morphederia's existence time!"

"At that time, I was already demoted to an Evil God by Leoz! What could I do? The recruitment tasks proposed by Lord Leoz, the centralized governance, internal purges, and the removal of Morphederia's influence—I was the core supporter of Morphederia, yet I witnessed our lord day by day falling into slumber, not even able to attend to our audiences at times. What choice did I have?"

Oshen grabbed his hair, fell to his knees, growing increasingly emotional, and gradually showing signs of collapse. By the end, his voice began to tremble: 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"Do you know what we thought back then? Everyone said, 'Lord Leoz is a Cannon Fodder Deity; he only wants to turn everyone into Cannon Fodder Deities. Following Leoz would only turn us into cannon fodder.'"

"We are Spiritual Warriors, not Cannon Fodder Deities. We do not fear death, but we fear our sacrifice being meaningless!"

"But, how could we have expected that Morphederia personally nurtured the Secret Society, never mind that Lord Leoz could truly resist Gaia—for over a hundred billion years!"

"So, if you had known Morphederia's true colors from the start, would you have refrained from remaining loyal to her? Would you have chosen to follow Lord Leoz, who was genuinely accomplishing things?"

Meganiros said slowly:

"Don't think about it. Over the years, I have come to understand the nature of the old order of the Starry Abyss. Even if you knew all of this was Morphederia's fault, you would still support her."

"Because you are in the same class faction with Morphederia—all Dominators, and to you, Leoz, even if he reaches the top, is just an Executer. His origin and innate deficiencies have destined him to never be on equal footing with you."

"In the Starry Abyss, only class and death are insurmountable."

He looked at Li Aozi and said:

"As a former Speaker of the Society, my ideological awareness might be too progressive for you. I think these Spiritual Warriors are willing to cooperate with you not because they truly agree to build a new world with you, one without class, racial differences, and where gods are naturally equal."

"If there comes a day when they work with you, it's not because they have suddenly awakened or had a change of heart, but because they have also fallen to be the subjects of rule, exploitation, oppression, and discrimination. Now you exist as a class, a group; it is these contradictions and fears that make them need you."

After speaking, he looked at Oshen:

"Lord Oshen, am I right?"

Oshen pressed his lips together.

Li Aozi also looked at Oshen, without any expectation in his eyes. In fact, he had already been well aware of this.

He had been an oligarch, familiar with Earth's history, culture, and literature. Many things Li Aozi had long understood.

Just as Meganiros said, the Spiritual Warriors rebel against Lai Anding not because they intend to avenge the oppressors but because they lost the treatment of oppressors and the privileged class, tasting for the first time the flavor of cannon fodder.

That's all there is to it.

"Yes, that's what I think."

Oshen ultimately decided to be candid:

"We, the True Martial Party, were all Spiritual Warriors, most of us battle heroes, wielding powerful mandates, enjoying supreme honor. Even the Chief God had to acknowledge our important status, and now we've fallen to be like those without a Divine Country, Divine Right, Godhood, or even a name. Who can be content with that?"

Meganiros shrugged:

"See, I told you it's like this. These stubborn, outdated conservatives are always this way, tough but compromising, always longing to preserve their status, but once they fall from class, they start to whine."

He patted Li Aozi's shoulder: "Let's go, Lord Leoz, we need to deal with this sword."

"... At first, that's what I thought."

However, Oshen didn't stop there; he kneeled, pressing his palms on his legs, and continued:

"Up until I came to Oxiulia, I had always felt that seeking help from Leoz was just to restore our former glory, a temporary compromise. Once the goal was achieved, we could push that usurper tyrant out."

"But everything changed when I attended the coronation ceremony."

"Leoz governs Oxiulia in an orderly manner; the people are affluent, the roads are safe, the entire nation is open and inclusive. People trust the Emperor, even knowing he has no extraordinary power, even though he does not possess the strength to resurrect the populace, even though he is not the legitimate heir—but they know who is truly good for them."

Oshen's lips moved, his voice low and hoarse:

"For many years, the Primordial God Clan has been arguing endlessly about orthodoxy, bloodline, and inheritance. The offspring of the Chief God are destined to become the Chief God, Spiritual Warriors are born to serve and fight for the Starry Abyss, the weapon of maintaining dominion. It's as if someone changing their identity would cause a terrible accident."

"It is because of these trivial reasons that real talents are buried. As a result, we lost six Chief Gods, six Abyssal Outer Universe territories. Our land withers year by year, the people of Starry Abyss weep year by year. Lai Anding resides in the rear, unthreatened, never shedding blood or injury—is this truly the Starry Abyss we want to protect?"

Oshen raised his head to look at Li Aozi:

"Yes, most of us indeed rebel against Lai Anding because we lost our past pride and privilege, but Lord Leoz, the vast majority of people in this world are not the same; we can entirely seek common ground while reserving differences."

"It's true to raise a flag against losing class, but it's equally true to build a new world where more people are no longer oppressed by the old order."

"Lord Leoz, this is our driving force forward. What has been your reason for fighting all along?"

"To restore honor? To legitimize your Godhood? Whatever the reason, I think everything you've done up to now has made it clear, hasn't it?"

Li Aozi had not yet replied, and they all turned to look at the distant high ground—the pale silver vortex gently tore open a rift, tearing open the Divine Country border in the most brutal way, stepping into this space from outside calmly.

"The breath of Ether."

Meganiros immediately straightened up:

"Those Earthlings have arrived, prepare for battle."