Chapter 276: Chapter 20 Satan Ye Ponders Again

The purpose of Yila and her companions on this trip was to awaken the mechanical bodies within the ruins, those ownerless, dust-covered mechanical bodies… or rather the mechanical bodies that Favignano couldn’t awaken in the past.

Taking those young beastmen girls home was just a side task.

The so-called “ruins,” although widely featured in many novels, animations, and films, don’t represent a world where “technological progress relies on archaeology.”

Even though comparing the key to activating the mechanical bodies, the Divine Tears and Artificial Divine Tears, to USB drives from ruins made it seem like ancient technology was highly advanced, the truth wasn’t like that.

Technology always advanced… whether it was farming tools or systems, they evolved with the times, accompanied by the silence of the gods, as humans and all sentient beings found their own paths.

Before that, before the creation of hoes and rakes, people obtained food by praying, or rather, by pleasing the gods who would then bestow food, homes, knowledge, wives, and husbands.

Ruins typically represented nations once blessed by the gods, which perished with the end of the divine era… But this wasn’t the official stance.

In human books of this world, there was no way to verify if the divine era truly existed, as the lifespan and disregard for history made it so.

Was there really an “era when gods were active,” or was the relationship between gods and life always like this from the start? This has always been debated.

However, among the elves, there were some documents that could indeed prove the existence of the divine era…

Yila always trusted the existence of the divine era, or rather, as long as the disputants saw these ruins and the marks left on these broken walls, they wouldn’t doubt that it was all the work of the gods.

Although the opponents claimed that “these were altars built by humans, symbols of the development of human magic, and hence the architectural styles differed from other buildings of the same era.”

In the end, academic disputes and belief disputes… are hard to define as right or wrong.

“Hilena, are you really okay?”

Satan Ye looked worriedly at Hilena, who appeared dazed and disoriented… Seasick on the ground, she might feel better after some time, but now she needed to endure some leg weakness.

“It’s nothing, Prince Satan Ye. I just need…a bit more time to recover.”

Forcing a smile, Hilena responded while supporting herself with the surrounding trees, following Yila and Satan Ye, weaving through the forest… According to Yila, the ruins were deep within this forest.

Yila learned about the ruins because Favignano had agreed to check them out during a break while they were fighting each other… In other words, Yila’s intelligence source was Favignano.

How Favignano learned about this, no one knew… With his personality, it might have been a dream that led him to take a random look, only to actually find ruins.

Then they explored happily together.

“If you’re feeling uncomfortable, you can rest back on the ship.”

Yila turned around and said this, but the moment he mentioned “ship,” Hilena’s face, which had slightly eased, turned a bit paler again… Indeed, asking her to return to the ship was a bit too much.

“I mean, you can wait for us at the port, there’s no need to specifically accompany us.”

At Yila’s additional suggestion, Hilena shook her head miserably, saying, “Thank you, but there’s no need. I’m actually not feeling particularly bad now… At least my head doesn’t spin anymore.”

*Hopefully…*

*Thinking this, Yila could only smile wryly and sigh. Then he saw a familiar scene.*

He hesitated and stopped, saying, “Seems like this is the place, if my memory serves me correctly…but…”

But there were only vines around, without any sign of a cave… Oh, maybe it was covered by vines?

“First Wing Pillar*Crimson Dragon*Wing Spread.”

With Yila’s words, crimson wings spread from his back, and at the same time, scorching flames flowed synchronously…accurately burning all the surrounding plants without letting the flames spread.

“We’re here.”

Yila said, looking at the dark tunnel leading underground that appeared before the three of them, “Through this cave, you’ll reach the other side of the mountain…that’s our destination.”

Nodding in trust, Satan Ye and Hilena followed Yila.

The cave was very dark, but the wings on Yila’s back constantly illuminated their surroundings, allowing… Yila himself to see the path in the cave clearly, though Hilena and Satan Ye didn’t need it.

In this world, magical creatures typically had the standard abilities of Dark Vision or Dim Vision, meaning the Illuminating Wings of the Governors, which lit up the night sky, were also key to the empire’s victory.

This showed how the ancient nobles, struggling together for a thousand years despite various disadvantages, were extremely formidable early in the empire’s war with magical creatures.

*Naturally, it deteriorated later… It’s really lamentable.*

They walked through the bright cave, occasionally startling swarms of moths, bats, or small insects flying everywhere, making their scalps tingle.

However, not a single creature or any bat droppings stuck to their bodies… Those things were burned to ashes by the intense flames the moment they fell.

The sound of their footsteps remained clear amid the screeching and crackling sounds.

“Mr. Yila… You once said that if the mechanical bodies could be activated, the war might have ended differently.”

Satan Ye asked out loud, “Then, did my father know that the Artificial Divine Tears could activate those mechanical bodies? Or was he too busy to come and try again?”

Regarding this question…

“He certainly didn’t know.”

Yila said, then shrugged and pointed at himself, “But I knew at the time, though I didn’t tell him… From this perspective, I wasn’t much of a friend.”

This scene felt somewhat absurd, as Yila had killed Favignano himself, yet he still called him “friend” without hesitation, and… Favignano indeed always considered Yila a friend.

“Hmm… Actually, Mr. Yila, your actions are quite normal.”

Yila smiled helplessly at Satan Ye’s words, tapping her forehead, saying, “But if it were the other way around, your father would probably have told me without hesitation… At least in this regard, I feel I owe him.”

“Hmm…”

“…”

*Satan Ye: I don’t quite understand men’s friendships… But, is this just friendship?*