I Have Infinite Skill Points-Chapter 599: Hell Monarch’s Signature Ability
Yulia once mentioned that the Hell Monarch possessed a personal Different Dimensional Space. Since they were about to confront the Hell Monarch, Wang Lan took the opportunity to ask, "What is the Hell Monarch’s personal Different Dimensional Space?"
No one understood the power of a personal Different Dimensional Space more than Wang Lan, as he also had one. However, his was more like a personal storage room. The entrance was too small and not suitable for combat.
Moreover, this personal space was merely categorized as spatial equipment; it couldn’t even contain the Time-Space Gemstone. In his previous life, Wang Lan had seen a popular anime series that vividly showcased the full potential of such a personal space.
The Divine Might Space—a realm that guaranteed invincibility.
"I am not particularly clear about the specifics of the Hell Monarch’s personal Different Dimensional Space," Yulia began, "but I specifically consulted the literature. The Hell Monarch committed a grave crime in the Demon World and was stripped of his physical body as punishment.
Therefore, when he was sent to the human world, he had no physical body, which significantly reduced the Hell Monarch’s strength. However, he found another way, capturing a Different Dimensional Space to use as a container for his soul.
Within this Different Dimensional Space, the Hell Monarch is akin to a god, and the laws within it can be altered according to his will. Nevertheless, our God’s Country possesses the Holy Grail, which contains Divine Power and can shatter the Hell Monarch’s Different Dimensional Space and injure his soul.
However, we can only injure him, not kill him, so we must use the Holy Grail to seal the Hell Monarch’s soul. Thirty years ago, the Pope used the Holy Grail to shatter the Hell Monarch’s Different Dimensional Space, and the Hell Monarch was severely wounded by the Unparalleled Knight.
After that battle, the Pope claimed that the Hell Monarch had been sealed within the Holy Grail. I even visited the Pope the day before yesterday to inquire how the Hell Monarch had escaped. The Pope’s answer was that he did not know.
At that time, he did indeed seal the Hell Monarch, and there were no signs of damage to the Holy Grail’s seal. It’s possible that only a part of the Hell Monarch’s soul was sealed back then."
"Although God’s Country has the Holy Grail, that was thirty years ago. Isn’t the current Pope already one hundred and seven years old? Is he still capable of fighting?" Wang Lan inquired.
The question caused Yulia’s expression to dim slightly; this was not just Wang Lan’s concern, but a concern shared by everyone. How much of the Pope’s fighting strength remained, now that he was over a hundred years old?
Thirty years ago, the Pope, then in his seventies, was already old, but his combat effectiveness hadn’t declined significantly. Now, his combat power was likely less than thirty percent of its former level.
"Even if the Pope is no longer able to fight, we still have the Saintess," Yulia said. "She has wielded the Holy Grail for twenty years. That should not be a problem."
"The Saintess? Isn’t that you?"
"Not at all, I’m just an ordinary nun."
Yulia’s eyes widened in surprise as she looked at Wang Lan, who felt a pang at her words. He had been hasty. Seeing Yulia bathed in Holy Light, supremely talented and breathtakingly brilliant, Wang Lan had subconsciously assumed she was the Saintess of God’s Country.
Someone this incredible claiming to be an ordinary nun? Wasn’t she raising the bar for ’ordinary’ a bit too high?
"I got too caught up in our conversation and neglected my manners," Yulia said, standing to leave. "I won’t disturb your meal further."
According to Western etiquette, it was impolite for someone to remain standing while others were dining, or for one to eat in the presence of others not partaking in the meal. Of course, this did not apply to servers and servants.
After Yulia departed, Wang Lan and Jiang Xinyu lifted the silver covers from their food, revealing exquisitely prepared and ample portions. Star Martial Warriors had appetites far exceeding those of ordinary people, so even God’s Country, known for its modest portions, had prepared more than enough food for them.
After dinner, Jiang Xinyu went to visit Xie Sisi. The hotel rooms were spacious enough, with each agent from the International Security Council having their own room, all luxuriously appointed.
Wang Lan sat on the edge of the bed, deep in thought. Arriving in God’s Country gave him a sense of not knowing where to start. For one thing, the Hell Monarch had been fighting with God’s Country for thousands of years, or rather, since before God’s Country even existed as such. The Hell Monarch surely knew God’s Country like the back of his hand. Finding clues about him quickly seemed unrealistic. The initial search would have to rely on the people of God’s Country to uncover and consolidate information.
Just how effective was God’s Country’s operational capability? Hopefully, it wasn’t like Vine Country, where surveillance camera coverage was less than ten percent...
With this thought, Wang Lan immediately picked up his notebook, activated the Xiao Ai avatar, and connected to the hotel’s network.
To get to the heart of the matter quickly, he first needed to understand God’s Country and what resources it had available. This investigation, however, led him to a state of near collapse. Is this really a country?
Although he had known God’s Country was a theocracy, with its Pope also serving as the head of state, shouldn’t there be some distinction? The role of politicians was to manage the state and its citizens, while the duty of the clergy was to believe in the God of Heaven and propagate the faith. But the leaders of God’s Country were clergy first and politicians second. Weren’t there any ambitious people in God’s Country? Given its current state, staging a political revolution seemed like it wouldn’t be too difficult.
God’s Country had no conventional military; its army had only one name: the Holy Knights! Three hundred thousand Holy Knights were responsible for all of God’s Country’s defense, including repelling foreign enemies and maintaining law and order. In Jade Country, a single city, including its garrison, city defense forces, city management officers, and auxiliary police, would have fifty to sixty thousand personnel. But God’s Country was an entire nation! And those three hundred thousand also had to fulfill all military roles. Such a defense system was truly bizarre. What was even more bizarre was that while God’s Country had laws, their legal code was known as the Divine Covenant. As for surveillance cameras, there were none; they were considered an infringement upon the citizens’ human rights. Yet, this nation, with such an imperfect legal system, societal structure, and division of labor, was somehow one of the most developed countries in the world. This completely upended Wang Lan’s understanding.
In Wang Lan’s view, a developed country like God’s Country should have comprehensive healthcare and strict industry regulations. But it had neither. However, it possessed something other countries lacked: faith. In almost every other country, people worshipped money. But in God’s Country, they worshipped God. A magical Array was established throughout God’s Country. This Array had no offensive or defensive power; when activated, it simply emitted a brilliant light. Every Christmas, God’s Country would activate this Array. Those bathed in the Holy Light would feel peaceful and joyful, and even the most heinous criminal would experience a flicker of kindness in its presence. Perhaps it was this Holy Light that elevated the moral character of the people of God’s Country to such a high standard. Law serves as a restraint; when morality reaches a level where laws become unnecessary, the completeness of the legal framework and the perfection of the system seem to lose their importance.
And the edicts and decisions announced by God’s Country were even more fascinating. If there was any dispute or anything incomprehensible, they would just say, ’This is God’s command,’ and the edict would be implemented? Damn! How had Jade Country, with its thousands of years of civilization, never encountered such a marvel? If the ancient emperors had known about God’s Country’s Array, they would have probably moved heaven and earth to obtain it, right? If this was a form of manipulation, how did the people of God’s Country still possess complete and independent personalities? This could only be described as a kind of... subtle, imperceptible influence. But God’s Country’s Array was ineffective against the Hell Monarch. And such a flawed system, with its porous defenses, made it all too easy for the Hell Monarch to thrive. Expecting the people of God’s Country to help him find clues was less realistic than hoping the Hell Monarch would voluntarily appear and challenge the Pope to a one-on-one fight. Hmm... historically, it seemed the wars between the Papacy and the Hell Monarch had indeed often started that way.
Wang Lan propped his chin on his fist, letting his thoughts drift uncontrollably.
His thoughts drifted to how, with Eastern wisdom, conquering God’s Country wouldn’t require much effort at all. It felt like any minor scheme could bring it to its knees... His mind was wandering... Wang Lan knew he shouldn’t entertain such dangerous ideas... but he couldn’t help it. God’s Country seemed to have thrown its gates wide open to the world, welcoming other nations with an almost inviting posture. And it still hadn’t been conquered?
Jiang Xinyu, Xie Sisi, and Xu Xiangwen entered. They paused when they saw the shifting expressions on Wang Lan’s face. But even as they hesitated, Wang Lan had already reined in his errant thoughts.
"You’re here?"
"Did we interrupt your thoughts?" Jiang Xinyu asked.
"No, I just saw something interesting," Wang Lan replied. "Look at the state of God’s Country; they are almost defenseless against the whole world... Hasn’t anyone thought about swallowing up God’s Country? Although God’s Country is affluent and developed, their combat ability... is pitifully weak."
"And here I thought you were pondering something significant," Jiang Xinyu said. "Didn’t you pay attention during history class in high school?"
"Uhh... I don’t remember much." Wang Lan couldn’t recall why, but his memory indeed held no explanation for God’s Country’s situation. But Wang Lan would never admit to not paying attention in class. A top student like him? He didn’t have weak subjects!
"Don’t you know that in the era of monarchies, emperors in the West required the Pope’s coronation to ascend the throne?" Jiang Xinyu explained. "Although God’s Country has no defenses, powerful nations surround it. Any country that wants to attack God’s Country must first conquer the neighboring nations."
"What era are we in now?" Wang Lan asked. "If God’s Country’s surrounding nations wanted to deal with it, they should be able to do so easily, right?"
"Now we get to the issue of religious faith," Jiang Xinyu continued. "Eighty percent of the citizens in the neighboring nations are believers, including those in politics and the military. Would these countries dare to lay a hand on God’s Country? The moment an order to attack was given, their own ranks might instantly revolt."
"Really?" Wang Lan mused. "If it were Jade Country, we’d have at least dozens of ways to take down God’s Country without spilling blood."
"That’s even less likely now," Jiang Xinyu stated. "None of the five great powers can make a move against God’s Country. Thirty years ago, White Eagle Country almost took action but was stopped by the other four great powers. And apart from the Five Great Powers, who else possesses the capability to annex God’s Country? Anyway, let’s not talk about this anymore. We’re on their territory, after all."
"Understood." It’s just that the world is truly amazing, always full of unexpected things, Wang Lan thought.
Putting aside this train of thought, the four of them began discussing their plan of action for the next day. Just as they had found some clues and were deep in a heated discussion, the door was knocked once more.
"It’s Yulia, accompanied by a big-bearded man in red clothes," said Xu Xiangwen, having checked with his Heavenly Eye.
Wang Lan went to open the door and then ushered the two inside.
"Yulia, why are you here at this hour?"
The man with the big beard did not speak, but the warm smile on his face looked very comforting. The man with the Big Beard, who seemed to be the more senior of the two, stood slightly ahead of Yulia. He remained silent, possibly due to a language barrier, with Yulia apparently serving as his interpreter.
"This is the Righteous Bishop of our God’s Country," Yulia translated. "He is slated to succeed the Pope soon, so he came to pay you a visit and ask if you require any assistance."
