Chapter 87: The Interrogation (2)

Chapter 87: The Interrogation (2)

(AN: In the previous chapters, I used the black squares to indicate simultaneous translation, but starting from now, I will prioritize readability and write in a more natural conversational style.)

“First and foremost, I would like to ask, what is the reason for your invasion? Why are you launching such an offensive against us?” Marcellus asked.

“Allow me to express my thoughts first. Personally, I was opposed to the invasion from the beginning, and I still am. There are many others who also oppose it. However, we couldn’t stop it... The predominant war faction within our ranks believed in a noble cause—to rescue our fellow compatriots—and that’s why it came to pass.”

Then the white armored soldier began to explain the reason behind their invasion. It traced back to an event that unfolded over a millennium ago, involving her ancestors.

Long ago, her ancestors had conquered the Shisha Continent, a vast northern landmass. They mercilessly eradicated nearly all intelligent life, including various human races, that dwelled across the plains, establishing their dominance as one giant nation. And as they grew, they began to invade the great forest that was said to have once existed on that continent in order to make the plains their own.

In that long-forgotten forest, there resided numerous gods. Despite being well aware of this fact, the invaders proceeded with their assault on the forest, and the reason for that was because.... this blue-skinned human race, called the Khan race, had also given birth to a number of gods of their own while in the process of unifying the entire continent. These gods ruled the great nation directly, and drove the people to war.

The battle between the gods of the Great Forest and the Khan race was said to have been dominated by the Khan race from beginning to end. The gods, who resided within the vast forest, were unable to unleash their full power to protect their sacred home, resulting in continuous defeat at the hands of the Khan race’s gods.

In a similar vein, the gods’ kin also suffered repeated defeats. While they engaged in hunting as predators and clashed over territories, they lacked the efficient methods employed by the human species to effectively annihilate their enemies.

Furthermore, the Khan race ruthlessly felled the trees of the Great Forest, clearing land for their settlements, seizing the habitats of the creatures, eradicating unwanted species, and domesticating those that served their purposes. The Khan race’s territory expanded further, and only the sacred peak, known as the spiritual mountain, remained in the heart of the Great Forest. The remaining gods and their kin took refuge there.

And so, the final battle commenced. Leading the Khan race, the gods encircled the spiritual mountain and began their advance with the aim of annihilating the great forest gods completely. As the Khan race advanced, burning down the trees of the spiritual mountain, an unforeseen event unfolded. The gods of the Great Forest, who were expected to put up fierce resistance, united as one and made a determined breakthrough toward the south.

Moreover, the gods, who had restrained their power until then, completely disregarded the damage to the spiritual mountain in their bid to break through the encirclement. They slew the Khan race’s gods and their leaders, who were in the south, then continued their descent, crossing the sea to escape from the continent.

Unaware of what was happening in the south, the Khan race’s army finally reached the summit of the spiritual mountain. There stood a single massive tree, the true guardian of the Great Forest, known as the “Divine Tree of the Spiritual Mountain.”

The Divine Tree posed a question. What reasons justifies such barbaric acts? Why are innocent creatures living peacefully slaughtered without cause? The gods of the Khan race responded, it is for our own prosperity. They saw no wrong in killing pests that hindered their progress.

Upon hearing their defense, the Divine Tree spoke. Then let me return the favor in your own manner. I shall curse the creatures that ravaged and destroyed the Great Forest for all eternity.

With those words, the Divine Tree began to wither away. The abrupt and seemingly inconsequential end of the ruler of the Great Forest left the gods of the Khan race astonished. They proceeded to uproot the Divine Tree entirely, setting it ablaze until nothing remained but ashes, which they callously discarded in the surrounding area.

But I went off topic. The leaders of the Nonaris Republic, fully aware of the risks involved, hurried the development of battleships capable of intercontinental expeditions. Throughout history, they had exhausted all available options, such as soil improvement and crop breeding. Yet instead of overcoming the crisis, the situation only worsened. Their only remaining option was to obtain food from other continents.

Their ambitious development project, upon which their survival depended, bore fruit, and they succeeded in creating battleships. Simultaneously, a method to keep the sea dragons in check was devised, enabling safe navigation. The preparations for the invasion were finally complete.

“There were voices among the republic’s council members suggesting that we should obtain food through peaceful negotiations and trade instead of invasion. However, those voices were silenced. It was rejected on the grounds that it would take too long to acquire a sufficient amount of food that could reach the entire population... Perhaps war, plunder, and dominance are instinctual for the Khan race,”

“It’s a profound matter of karma,” the white armored soldier woman added with a wry smile. With the preparations in place, the Republic’s council members commanded the invasion. Their fleet set sail to the south, launching attacks on the cities of the newly discovered Enzo continent without any declaration of war, mercilessly pillaging and massacring its inhabitants.

The reason for slaughtering the people was not because the Khan race was inherently cruel, but rather because the curse of the Divine Tree had made their bodies fragile. Without their advanced technology in the form of armored suits and superior firearms, they would have been easily overpowered, even by the Enzo’s human children. The Khan race had become remarkably frail, far from what one would expect from a human species.

The vast lands they acquired by burning down cities and crushing villages were transformed by the Republic’s army into farmland. There, crops that had been genetically modified were cultivated to be sent back to their homeland. The wheat fields we witnessed were created to alleviate the suffering of the people on the famine-stricken Shisha continent.

“After securing sufficient farmland, some of the opposing members of the council proposed ending the war around this area. They suggested focusing on defense while employing a strong military force to pursue assertive diplomacy. However, the Khan race couldn’t shake off its bad habits... the desire for conquest resurfaced. They incited the notion that by fully dominating the continent with this momentum, not only would the Shisha continent be saved, but they could also abandon this barren land and migrate to a more prosperous territory. And foolishly, the people supported the continuation of the war.”

In the aftermath of the catastrophe triggered by the death of the gods, the concept of war for the Khan race living on the Shisha continent had always involved internal conflicts, where they fought amongst themselves for dominance. That is why they became so obsessed with expansion through invasive warfare, forcefully subjugating other races. It felt as if they had reverted back to the formidable Khan race that existed in the time when their gods were still alive.

This was the reason why the invading army....or rather, the Republic’s army, had launched an invasion and continued to occupy the Enzo continent. While it may sound noble to say that the lives of the people on their continent were at stake, for the inhabitants here, it was an incredibly selfish motive.

I couldn’t help but feel slightly sorry for them, having to suffer due to the sins of their ancestors, but it’s all because of their insatiable desires for more than enough land that the famine befell them. Also, because of these people, I was forced to march into the jaws of death every time. There is no room for sympathy for them.

Perhaps the reason the flaming projectiles didn’t rain down on the wheat fields when we fled was that they didn’t want to harm the crops. It was a relief to understand why we weren’t attacked. With such thoughts occupying my mind, I continued to listen to the conversation between Marcellus and the captive woman.

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TN: I really didn’t expect this. Like how one comment has said long before in one of the chapters, I thought that a reincarnated individual with a mission like our mc was the one who made the technology, or maybe even multiple individuals.... But then again I was questioning how they would remember their past lives if our mc doesn’t.

Still this situation seems logical enough, after all war and necessity was the leading factor for humanity’s advancement

TN: From now on I may be using terms like firearms and guns or even Tanks, but only if the mc changes the terms he’s speaking with.