Chapter 220: The Path of Seeking Knowledge

Paladins are typical heavy armored tanks.

Short legs are basically hopeless; attacks rely on stacking various divine arts and supernatural abilities, defense depends first on armor and second on class abilities. A normal paladin's holy armor synthesizes magical resistance, but the main force is divine power, while Li En uses the power of the Classical Oath.

Countering various evil spellcasters, supernatural monsters, demons, and devils—in short, a huge pile of strange evil supernatural lives—is the most painful and helpless job for a paladin.

Sometimes, don't blame the paladin's irritable law enforcement; hesitating against such opponents and taking one more spell might mean the person is gone.

For this reason, some frontline law-enforcing old knights appear increasingly irritable. When they see certain key points, like "mage," "mage," "mage," they immediately enter a stress mode of emptying their brains and magazines.

There's no way; for the countless branches of spellcasters, they can't distinguish them, nor is it necessary.

Kuku told Li En that resistance is never all-powerful; it only improves survival rates when forced to take a hit, but "having armor" and "having no armor" remain two different concepts.

"Uh. For ordinary spellcasters, I seem able to tank and kill them directly." With Li En's Ancient Oath Knight's buffs in this regard, treating it as the resistance of an ordinary Great Knight, it seems there's no difference.

Third-tier professionals are already the backbone of all industries; for many middle-aged professionals, this is the peak of their lives, and they naturally have what they should.

Li En was very satisfied with this improvement; at this stage, he had finally digested "Sul's Legacy" and obtained what he deserved.

Before, it was just digestion; now entering the era of creation, the progress ahead should be quite difficult.

The Path of Pure Good is notoriously stingy; it might take three to four times the time of a god's paladin, unless...

"Unless I go out again and encounter troubles of the level of 'Enemy of Humanity' or 'World-Destroying Crisis.' Ha, am I that unlucky?"

Laughing and laughing, Li En sighed and could no longer laugh.

This time, it's hard to say whether it's a hint given by a friendly person or a death trap targeting trackers; even great professionals encountering such traps might suffer mass casualties.

Especially the poetry collection the Whisperers were discussing at that time, which clearly concerned the Heroine and the Second Princess; if not the malice of fate, then it was the mockery of the schemer.

Li En pulled out the scrolls and book records found during the search; the snake's innate ability allowed him to decipher them easily, but the content was quite subtle.

"... I give my life to know who is the biological father of my child—Rama Sdar."

"He is Rama's younger brother; he seduced his sister-in-law while Rama was out working. Soon he will become the true master of that house, living in your house, playing with your women, beating his children. Sad, isn't it?"

"I give my life to know if my parents far away are still well? —Sophia Sdar."

"They are fine; two new acres of fields were opened at home, and their bodies are healthy, but after learning of your death, two years later they both died of depression one after another."

These are mostly things filled with malice, and they are the final records of some victims.

Their deepest innermost desires were activated... but merely asking after activating this desire had their life drained by the "Great One."

And the "Whisperers," acting as conduits and middlemen, were also full of malice.

In that basement, Li En found his target...

【Phenomenon: The Path of Seeking Knowledge】

【Its scale and duration are unknown; rumors say it originally began as a rather benevolent wish—'I hope all beings will not be limited by ignorance, and may their seeking eventually find answers.'】

【It is said that originally it was just a world-scale knowledge search network operated jointly by several large worlds; later, more and more worlds joined, forming a multiverse-scale knowledge network.】

【Its observation source is a phenomenon: namely, as long as a request is made and an equivalent price is paid, an answer can be obtained.】

【Note: Its 'Statue (Server)' is generally half an immortal life form and half a symbolic timer of local life, signifying life on the eternal path of seeking truth.】

【Attention! After a malicious existence was born, this phenomenon was completely twisted.】 【Attention!! This phenomenon is regarded as an extremely twisted evil cult in most of the multiverse; those exposed may face eternal pursuit.】

【So-called malicious Librarians appeared; originally devout knowledge contributors, they became exploiters of this 'phenomenon' for profit... They accumulated vast amounts of life and used the knowledge and life obtained through this authority to pursue everything.】

【Outer God: The Whisperer, part of the Path of Seeking Knowledge, or perhaps the remnant of a Great Librarian ascending to immortality; it accepts all comers, turning lands of life into lands of death. Its Librarians are quite active, frequently turning planets into food for 'knowledge'.】

Li En pieced together from the data that the most ironic thing about this knowledge was that the knowledge itself was also "knowledge" exchanged for by the museum curator's life.

He was probably the source of this matter; after obtaining "partial knowledge," he custom-built a "Statue," using corpse ghosts to replace the so-called immortals, and using an animated clock to represent "time and space (eternity)," satisfying the requirements in religion and symbolism.

He indeed successfully summoned part of the "Whisperer," or rather, connected a portion of the area surrounding the Statue to the Whisperer's Great Library, turning this area into a place of divine descent (Server).

And he himself apparently became the first victim; after obtaining the most desired knowledge of the "Whisperer/Path of Seeking Knowledge," he perished on the spot.

After this knowledge was fully recorded, there was even his signature.

The missing Deputy Librarian? That demon ghost made into a Statue is him.

Finally, once it operated normally, lost souls were constantly guided into it, becoming sacrifices here... This was not limited to this area; people in the entire city and its surroundings were constantly victimized. Li En saw numerous skeletons and ghosts, including dark elves and dwarves.

"Phenomena and truth itself may not have good or evil, but individuals exploiting this phenomenon absolutely do."

Just a possible immortality, a long life obtained by deducting the inquirer's life, could drive those "Librarians" mad, right?

"In a sense, we should thank the curator's self-destruction... otherwise, if this knowledge spread out, who knows what would happen."

Generating a large number of cultists? The number wouldn't be high, but they would probably be quite difficult to deal with.

After all, the source is just a "truth/rule"; how it is used depends on the individual... Who knows how difficult those Librarians who have eaten for hundreds of years or even several worlds are to deal with.

Even that monster, if the transaction was truly completed, would it stop talking when facing Li En with only one limb? This twisted "beautiful rule" itself is a threat to the world.

【Partial Truth Known: 48%】

And the indication that the Heroic Soul Atlas increased revealed that the incident back then definitely involved troubles of this nature.

Did a Great Librarian participate back then? Has he already died in the Dragon Calamity? But if they were completely wiped out, where did these local believers' scrolls and knowledge come from?

"Thirty years of history..."

What made Li En's scalp tingle was actually this: the Whisperer Reading Club existed here even when it was still a small fishing village.

Li En asked Talia to help check relevant personnel, especially the founders and long-term associates, but he didn't hold out much hope in his heart.

"Perhaps the person who sent the note actually expected me to trade an arm for a truth or something."

Li En sighed; he had already guessed some things, but it seemed he was powerless to solve them now.

And time was running out.

Queen Mariana was almost here.

(End of Chapter)