Witch, Fireball and the Evil God of Steam-Chapter 707 - 91: City of Truth

"Really? Did they really get so scared they wet their pants?"

Professor Karl had a booming voice, which immediately drew the disapproval of Mrs. Vince. She tore off a piece of roast turkey and stuffed it into Karl's mouth, "Keep your voice down, they can hear you!"

"Oh, forgive me, I was just too excited. It's such a pity I couldn't see Julius for the last time."

Karl restrained himself a lot, his mouth corners covered in grease.

Mrs. Vince was a culinary master, excelling at high-calorie dishes. Ethan thought she would make great friends with the Other Shore and Miss Keroy.

This time, even the black cat, who wasn't particularly fond of human food, pawed down a piece of turkey leg.

"So, are you here for the 'City of Truth' this time?"

After a hearty meal, Karl wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth with a napkin, "That's what I admire most about you. You've become a Saint at such a young age, yet you've never stopped your thirst for knowledge—keep this momentum going, and one day you'll put it to good use!"

"Is that book still here?"

Lindong sighed in relief.

"Of course, I rescued all the books in the collection!"

Karl said proudly. No one could lay a finger on their family's collection, not even the Church Court. He had long made up his mind that at worst, he would fight to the bitter end with those people.

He washed his hands, tidied himself up, and led the two upstairs. Opposite the bedroom was the library. He loved living here, where he no longer had to hide those important tomes underground or worry about being treated as a traitor hoarding forbidden books.

He had plenty of time to read and absorb the knowledge within. He remembered the position of every book in the collection and went straight to the bookshelf where "City of Truth" was as soon as he entered.

"This is a prophetic book, recorded by the first Scholar Saint of the Empire as he listened to the teachings of the God of Truth."

Karl handed the thick sheepskin book to Ethan. He would introduce the origins of this book to everyone interested in the "City of Truth," and after that, he would remain silent. Karl didn't want Ethan to be disturbed by others, as everyone should develop their own understanding and perception of knowledge.

There were many chairs set up in the library. Professor Karl would usually sit here reading his collection, which was the greatest joy of his life. Seeing Ethan take a seat, he picked up another book he hadn't finished the previous night, found a random chair under the adjacent bookshelf, and started reading with relish.

The first page of "City of Truth" depicts an illusory yet special city to its readers.

Lindong's memory was not wrong. It indeed depicted a modernized city, and from some detailed descriptions of the high rises, it was not difficult to determine that the material and technological level there were very advanced. The glass-window style architecture was identical to the modern society Ethan was familiar with.

Initially, the Saint who wrote this book thought it was a dream.

Ethereal yet incredibly real, and he would enter the dream world every following night.

Even rarer was that these dreams were continuous, and decisions made in one night would impact the next dream. Everyone he met in the dream would recognize him, and in their perception, he would disappear for a while when he "woke up," only to reappear when he fell asleep again.

But when Lindong last read these words, perhaps because she couldn't comprehend the city described in the book, she lost interest. Besides the city, the book also extensively mentioned the political landscape of that world, which brought profound influence on the Empire's later political system.

The City of Truth had no concept of a nation, with the city's supreme ruler being an institution called the "Democratic Assembly," which became the prototype for the Empire's Seven-Person Council. In the Democratic Assembly, there were representatives from the seven most important fields, with no concept of royalty or a King—the Democratic Assembly was the formulator of all policies.

The Empire struck a balance between the two, giving birth to an institution like the Seven-Person Council while retaining the Henry Clan.

From the book's text, it's not hard to see the author's admiration for the City of Truth's politics, culture, and technology. Although the residents of the City of Truth individually lacked the formidable power of Transcendents, each became indispensable fuel for the city. He could easily name dozens of completely different roles, and among those roles, the job content was markedly different.

Compared to such meticulous division of labor, the Empire's path of faith seemed much rougher. More importantly, after the scarlet plague in the Third Epoch, humanity's path of belief fell apart. They found it hard to gather the powerful Transcendents again, letting them each perform their duties and contribute to the Kingdom.

The author highly admired the dream city's vision, using the City of Truth as the ideal development direction for the Empire, continuously proposing ideas to the Henry Royal Family using it as a blueprint.

The fact proved that the behavior style of Truth believers was consistent across epochs, with low emotional intelligence being almost a common problem for them.

As Ethan expected, after this author once again expressed his disdain for royal power to Henry I, the Empire's first King could no longer withstand his various remarks and strictly prohibited any proposals regarding the City of Truth.

That became the signal for the Truth Society to withdraw from politics and shift towards the educational domain.

Henry I did not think he needed someone to instruct him on how to build an ideal nation. What he needed was for the believers of the God of Truth to perform their main duties well—which was to serve in the Judicial Court and adjudicate the cases they held.

Since then, the writer became increasingly engrossed in dreams.

In his eyes, the ruler of the City of Truth was the embodiment of wisdom and reason; he even once believed it to be the model left to them by the God of Truth himself.

Faced with the warm reception of the Democratic Assembly, he naturally spoke candidly and thoroughly.

He talked about the rising Sixth Epoch Empire, about their beliefs, the glorious deeds of the True Gods and Middle-Level Gods, and... the Evil Gods lurking in the shadows, ready to return at any moment.

The writer also gained the information he desired from the Democratic Assembly, which included the trajectory of the era's development, the numerous world-sweeping wars, and the humans who, after the Third War, regrouped, learned from past lessons, and finally established this ideal nation.

However, the gates of the City of Truth opened only for him alone.

The writer had tried countless ways, hoping Henry I would accompany him, so that he could witness the city's charm, see the city illuminated by lights as night fell—without conflict, where people truly understand each other—but all his efforts failed.

In fact, even the members of the Democratic Assembly couldn't explain why he appeared there; they suggested it was a kind of special synesthesia.

The writer's arrival also confirmed another conjecture of the City of Truth's residents—that other civilizations and lives existed where they didn't know.

Thus, in the latter half of the book, a new plan unfolded between the writer and the Democratic Assembly.

The Democratic Assembly established a new agency, gathering top researchers to explore other dimensions. Both sides were eager to break down dimensional barriers and deepen their friendship.

The writer considered himself a Diplomatic Envoy, and when the starship from the City of Truth arrived above the Empire, he would personally welcome their arrival.

But the beautiful visions of both sides were ultimately not realized.

They seemed to fall at the final step before victory. In the writer's last visit, the research department made groundbreaking progress; based on the many pieces of information he provided, the residents of the City of Truth discovered the signal he sent from the Empire, which the Democratic Assembly described as "a lighthouse in the dark, guiding their direction."

Both sides believed it wouldn't take long before their meeting was no longer confined to dreams.

They would visit the Empire and meet with the then aging Henry I to hold talks.

The Democratic Assembly made many wonderful promises to him, but after that, he was never able to visit the City of Truth again. In the writer's final awakening, he witnessed the starship of the City of Truth set sail. Excited, he prepared thoroughly as soon as he awoke.

But victory ultimately did not come.

Until the end, the writer never knew where the starship, carrying their hopes, sailed to.

However, after reading the entire book, Ethan frowned. This was a story full of doubts. Under the writer's unilateral narrative, it seemed like a lovely fairy tale, perhaps only found in some space comedies where the details don't need to be deeply questioned.

He didn't believe in the "ideal nation" described in the book.

As long as the problem of resource distribution existed, a world where people completely understand each other and devoid of disputes wouldn't exist.

Moreover, the writer never reached anywhere beyond the City of Truth. According to the Democratic Assembly, after the Third War, most of the world's cities were destroyed in bombings, making this city the last bastion for humanity.

Also, at the end of the book, the most incredible situation appeared.

According to the writer's description, the technological level of the City of Truth was roughly equivalent to the modern society Ethan remembered. So why, in less than a decade after the establishment of the research department, did the residents of the City of Truth unlock interstellar-level navigation, even creating starships, which are inventions found in science fiction?

According to the writer's description, it was "a flying object comparable to a small city in the Empire."

This story, for modern people, is filled with a sense of disjointedness everywhere, but for the writer, living in a backward era, it was just right.

He never doubted the Democratic Assembly's motives, convinced until the end that it would be an epoch-crossing friendly exchange.

The writer passed away in the Imperial Capital, taking endless regrets to the grave.

But Ethan formed a different opinion.

He didn't know what the starship encountered during its journey, but...

Fortunately, they didn't reach the Empire.