Chapter 1195

""This...""

Some citizens truly calmed down and began to reflect on Bai'e's earlier words.

Bai'e spoke with feeling: "My hometown Aolixie is a village forgotten by time. There the pleasant breeze is as fresh as mint, the wheat waves stretch wide enough to reach the ocean… I once firmly believed I would there enjoy eternal peace with neighbors and kin. How I wish to invite you all to see that secluded paradise! But I cannot—"

"Because everything she and he nurtured, everything I deeply loved, has already been swallowed by the Black Tide—I have no home!"

Bai'e lowered his gaze, a fleeting hint of sorrow passing through his blue eyes: "I will forever remember the day the Black Tide came: my father Xiluonimosi fought with his broken sword to the last moment for his children; my mother Aodata, so that I could stand here and beg before you all, had her chest torn open by the monster!"

"Lie Tuo Jia Er Ba, his arms drawing the bow, finally embraced his beloved young son Pisuo, and they both died; Pisi Thesi, the children's teacher, she desperately saved all the students, but the burning beams crushed her spine."

"But what of her daughter Liviya? Did she escape? No: she, Pisuo, and many other children, my closest childhood playmates… they were all swallowed by the Black Tide… turned into twisted creatures!"

"Until I resolved to swing my sword at them, to give them a dignified death, they still murmured to me—'What's wrong, Bai'e? Aren't we the best friends?'"

"This is the Black Tide, the threat now looming over Aohma. Kaines perhaps promised that the three Titans of Disaster have all fallen, and Aohma will surely return to the Golden Age—but now I must disappoint you. For I will tell you: even though the Demigod of Conflict has blocked much for us, 'it' is coming."

"That black-robed swordsman… the name 'Fire-Thief' has probably already spread throughout the streets. Now, Conflict sends a signal with its thunderclap, telling us: it has risen from the ashes and craves the divine fire."

——

Dragon clan.

"Or perhaps Aglaea has protected these people too well, so that these civilians still think the Black Tide is some distant threat."

Caesar's words carried a hint of mockery, he glanced displeased at Kaines below the stage: "... At this time, protecting the civilians well has instead become a disadvantage, truly ironic. Oh, right, I have a suggestion——"

Caesar suddenly sat upright: "Since they lack fear and understanding of the Black Tide, why not have all the men of Aohma personally go to the front lines? Implement a rotation system, each person each year must set aside at least one month for training and resisting the Black Tide. What do you think?"

Chu Zihang turned his head, his voice light: "That sounds like some kind of ancient corvée labor."

"This is the necessary cost of their Enlightenment." Caesar frowned.

"Costs often come with uncontrollable side effects." Chu Zihang said expressionlessly: "Which battle was the most brutal during WWI?"

"Why suddenly ask this?" Caesar, somewhat puzzled, still answered truthfully: "The Battle of the Somme, this battle's casualties exceeded 1.3 million, worthy of being called a meat grinder."

"Hmm, back then, as soon as French soldiers stepped onto the front line, the painfully built fighting spirit would quickly collapse under incessant artillery fire. At the time, the French commander-in-chief adopted the same approach as you, rotating troops regularly between front and rear, which both gave soldiers rest and allowed more units to gain combat experience."

Isn't that good?

Chu Zihang shook his head: "By WWII, those veterans rotated through the Somme formed the core of the French infantry. They retained a deep impression of modern warfare's artillery barrage—all soldiers still faced the enemy with WWI-era fear, and once fighting ignited, it was enough to tear open the wounds brought from the Somme that never truly healed."

Caesar nodded, understanding: "So, having all of Aohma's people rotate to the front lines could very well produce an entire city-state of people suffering from PTSD toward the Black Tide. When the day comes that the Fire-Thief truly leads the Black Tide to assault the city, they will not only be fearful, but likely incapable of any decent resistance."

"Yes." Chu Zihang lifted his gaze to the canopy, looking at the faces in the stands—some believing, some doubting—"If that day truly comes in the future, those who have never set foot on a battlefield might still be able to muster some fighting spirit… but that's a story for another time."

——

"Nonsense! If such a terrifying enemy is right before our eyes, how could Aohma continue to enjoy present peace?"

A citizen shouted a rebuttal, and Bai'e responded earnestly without evasion:

"Exactly! There's no sign of cessation in Aohma's fine civic life. Think about it, everyone—could this citizens' assembly be convened in peace merely because the danger has passed?"

"No! It's because the Golden Descendants stepped forward, holding back the disaster outside Aohma's walls—Aglaea used her golden threads to maintain and defend all that you enjoy!"

On the stands nearby, the citizens' gazes turned to Aglaea, who silently observed the debate; although Bai'e's remarks were splendid, she never uttered a word from start to finish.

"The Senate claims she will abandon everyone, solely because divinity is consuming her body and mind. But have you ever considered, those nobles instinctively reaching out to help her—why did they choose cold indifference, and push Aohma away from the fire‑seeking endeavor? That unspoken truth… that bloody truth, buried by greed, fear, and vanity, I will dig up three feet and lay it before your eyes."

Bai'e's gaze burned like a torch as he looked toward Kaines and the others who had remained silent on the stands:

"The Senate, bearing Aohma's long history and dignity, our once‑prided citizens' assembly—now it's crawling with vermin!"