Chapter Forty-Two: Struggle

“...”

The Phoenix was stunned for a few seconds, then, as if truly sensing the call of its ancestor, it descended from the sky and landed about a hundred meters in front of the black dragon, tilting its head curiously to gaze at him.

“It seems that Academician Ding was right. This silly bird does seem to have a special fondness for me!”

Huang Ze was overjoyed and spoke gently, “Little bird... judging from your appearance, I suppose you don’t have a name yet. Why don’t I give you one?”

“How about I call you Little Pu from now on?”

Before the Phoenix could respond, the black dragon shook his head.

“No, that name’s too silly. You can’t carry that. You are destined to be a hero among birds, one who stands tall and commands the world. Your name must be grand and imposing!”

“Let me think... Ah, I forgot to ask your gender. Are you male or female?”

“...”

“Why won’t you answer? What’s so embarrassing about this?”

The black dragon pondered, “Or do you not even know your own gender?”

“Well, it’s not impossible... After all, you’ve been on your own since birth, without guidance from your elders, and you’re still just a subadult. It’s normal not to know such things.”

“How about this, you turn around and let me check for you...”

“Squawk!”

The Phoenix could not bear it any longer. With an angry cry, it flapped its wings and strode off, uttering indignant complaints.

“Hey, don’t go! Let’s talk some more, just a little longer...”

The black dragon hurriedly tried to keep the Phoenix, but it was determined to leave, flying back to its nest without a backward glance.

If it understood the law, it might even accuse the black dragon of harassment.

“Truly uncivilized... No humility, no self-awareness, can’t even handle such a small matter. Just throws a tantrum.”

The black dragon couldn’t help but shake his head and sigh, realizing that educating this Phoenix in the future would be a persistent and difficult problem.

...

“I suspect those dragon scales and feathers were most likely picked up by the Phoenix.”

The black dragon suddenly thought of this possibility and lowered his head to speak to the warriors in the pit, “Why don’t you wait here for a while? I’ll go to its nest and get our things back.”

“Alright, Mr. Huang, you can go without worry. Don’t concern yourself about us.”

Team leader Ma Zhiming lifted his weapon and smiled. “These weapons we have are designed with reference to the dwarves’ black powder technology, crafted specially with foreign materials. They’re practically semi-automatic magical arms, quite powerful. It might be tough to deal with level-three or -four creatures, but they’re more than enough for self-defense.”

“That’s good.”

The black dragon nodded, dug everyone out of the pit, and used his claws to dig some trenches and shelters for their defense.

Still uneasy, he marked the area with several sprays of dragon urine to claim the territory and ward off any foolish intruders, before finally flying off toward the Phoenix’s nest.

...

“Mr. Huang is just... so considerate!”

Watching the black dragon fly away, a soldier couldn’t help but exclaim.

“He really is,” agreed Ma Zhiming. “Even after transforming into a dragon, with power far beyond us humans, he’s kept his composure—always optimistic, approachable, thinking of others, placing his trust in his homeland... Such qualities are truly rare.”

“That’s right... Human nature is usually selfish,” another soldier chimed in. “Take our country, suddenly thrust into a strange new world. Faced with such special circumstances, all our compatriots should unite, overcome every hardship, and strive to establish a new and glorious future here.”

“But there will always be some who, for their own selfish desires, for unseen, intangible power and immortality, are willing to sacrifice their souls and betray their homeland to worship those so-called deities!”

“Why can’t they think for themselves what those native gods really are?”

“They’re no philanthropists or saviors—just the greatest exploiters, reactionaries, outsiders...”

“Silence!”

Ma Zhiming quickly interrupted. “Don’t forget, we’re in foreign territory now. Speaking recklessly of deities is blasphemy—it’s easy to attract their attention. If we anger them, we’ll be in serious trouble.”

“...”

The soldier froze, still indignant, but knew he couldn’t act rashly. He closed his mouth obediently.

He knew Ma Zhiming was telling the truth.

Indescribability is a property of the gods; these terrifying beings seem capable of monitoring every inch of land in foreign worlds. Merely uttering their names may draw their awareness.

If it’s the prayer or plea of a believer, they usually ignore it, unless the worshipper offers extravagant sacrifices, in which case they may bestow some grace to show their ‘mercy.’

But if it’s the act of a blasphemer, to preserve their own sacredness, the gods won’t tolerate it lightly, devising various punishments as the situation demands.

For minor offenses, one might be blacklisted and handed over to the local church for punishment—being declared wanted, hunted by church knights, enslaved for decades to atone, or even burned alive.

For moderate offenses, the person would be deemed a heretic, and in addition to the church’s pursuit, the gods might send their personal agents—angels—to hunt down and annihilate the heretic, both physically and spiritually.

For severe acts of blasphemy, beyond the above, the god might even enforce their own judgment, descending divine punishment directly...

However, due to the constraints of the world’s will, the gods’ power cannot interfere too much in the material realm.

Thus, even though Xia, this nation traversed from another world, is at odds with theocracy both ideologically and institutionally, no god has yet declared a holy war against it.

A lack of absolute certainty is one reason—after all, Xia remains stable and powerful, and no deity wishes to be the first to face the power of nuclear destruction.

Another reason is that Xia is simply too large a prize. The native gods cannot agree among themselves, and divisions over interest prevent any consensus.

Not to mention Xia’s abundant resources, vast lands, and tens of thousands of tons of gold—just the billions of high-quality souls and faith alone are enough to drive the gods to madness...

Therefore, the main strategy of the native gods toward Xia is to boil the frog slowly—causing internal collapse and decay so that, in the end, the gods can devour it piecemeal.

Naturally, Xia is not without a response.

On one hand, it cracks down hard on the spread of religious faith at home, exposing and publicizing the dark, reactionary nature of the gods, defining them as biological entities and denying their sanctity at the root.

On the other, Xia actively contacts and assists those intelligent species abroad who are suffering under the yoke of theocracy, spreading revolutionary ideas and theories to ignite sparks of rebellion, shaking the gods’ rule from outside.

Though the battles of physical force have not yet begun, the war of ideology and spirit is already raging fiercely.