Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 1086: Chapter 1085: No Longer Sacred

Upon hearing Gawain’s words, Emperor Rosetta Augustus’ expression changed slightly, and he leaned forward a bit: "It seems you’ve already made an agreement with Talronde?"

"The Talronde Provisional Council is currently the only legitimate governing body in Talronde, under which dragons are recognized as lawful citizens. The Alliance Countries and Dragon Kingdom will mutually acknowledge this legitimacy—aside from this, any dragons who refuse to comply with the council’s administration, violate alliance agreements, fail to follow immigration regulations, and compromise the safety of alliance member territories are deemed to have no citizenship in any country," Gawain stated unhurriedly. "A dragon out of control poses a significant threat, both to us and to Talronde."

"...A frightening decision," Emperor Rosetta Augustus couldn’t help but comment. "The Dragonkin can make such decisions..."

"This is a race with which we’ve never formally interacted before. They possess a different mindset and historical culture compared to ours; in certain aspects, the gap between us and them is even greater than the gulf between us and the elves," Gawain nodded, conveying his impression of dragons. "Dragons far surpass other Mortal Races in terms of discipline, decisiveness, and the importance they place on contracts, but their ability to adapt to changes and learn new things might be the exact opposite. We need time to gradually understand and adapt to these new friends, and they must do the same."

At this point, he paused for a moment and continued solemnly, "This is also something we must always consider after establishing the alliance. Our allies span countries, races, and even previously known civilizational boundaries. Everyone grows in different cultural environments and must unite to face global survival pressures. We lack a process for historical assimilation, so inevitably, different ways of thinking will bring large and small frictions and even collisions. This collision cannot be solved by any major power through sheer force; it requires countries with strong regional influence to proactively take the lead—and these leading countries themselves must also have a united stance."

"It seems you’ve indeed contemplated this matter for a long time," after pondering deeply, Emperor Rosetta Augustus finally nodded. "I agree with your viewpoint—Typhon is also willing to take on its due responsibility in this matter."

Gawain smiled. "You see, open and honest conversation is indeed effective."

He then smoothly transitioned to the next topic: "Next...since we’ve just touched on the realm of gods, let’s extend this topic further. We have just wrapped up a war on gods, and as leaders of the triumphant nations, I’d like to hear your perspective on this war."

"My perspective?" Emperor Rosetta Augustus displayed a complex and inexplicable bitter smile. "My greatest viewpoint is that this type of war happening once is enough...such immense costs, such arduous battles, and our victory merely resulted in the eradication of a ’spiritual illusion’ we created ourselves. Apart from the fragments that can only serve as research material, the War God left behind only scorched, burning earth—He’s certainly not going to shoulder any reparations. The words ’triumphant nation’ you mentioned earlier sound more like irony."

"...Dragonkin have also proven through their own experience the same truth: using direct methods to attack gods and break free from shackles is likely not a good solution. The cost of this grows heavier with the development of civilization, and our current level of development seems to have reached a stage where the cost is too heavy. So, unless we have no other choice, it’s better to choose a more prudent path."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Rosetta Augustus raised his eyelids slightly: "Theocracy Authority Council?"

"Precisely."

"...I’ve heard this name more than once recently and have speculated about its mechanism and role multiple times. I can guess that you’re planning to make changes from the operating mechanism of gods but couldn’t figure out exactly what you’re planning to do," said Emperor Rosetta Augustus. "You’ve vaguely mentioned concepts like voluntary education, church regularization, and ideological liberation. So I’ve been pondering what their greatest commonality is."

"The greatest commonality is ’de-sanctification,’" Gawain looked into Emperor Rosetta Augustus’s eyes and finally said the word, placing it openly in front of a cooperative ally—although he never thought this collaborator would be Emperor Rosetta Augustus. At this moment, even he couldn’t help but marvel at the wonder of fate, how developments in the world are always so unexpected. "Since we all know where gods come from, then with a little reverse thinking, we can also figure out how they ’disappear.’"

De-sanctification—upon hearing this word, Emperor Rosetta Augustus instinctively narrowed his eyes.

He had pondered the true operational core behind Gawain’s grand plan for a long time. He had perused all the books Gawain had written and was familiar with every argument within them. Emperor Rosetta Augustus understood every decision Gawain made over the years and continuously summarized principles from them. Regarding the theocracy Authority Council, he had virtually seen the whole picture—except for one key word, a hinting "key."

Now, he finally knew what that key was.

"Will this be effective?" He asked Gawain with an unprecedented serious attitude. "Relying solely on de-sanctification?"

"Of course, it’s not just relying on one method, but it will be the most significant factor among them," Gawain explained. "After analyzing the principles of divine creation and operating mechanisms, we have confirmed that it’s the ’ideologies’ of numerous believers shaping and influencing gods over the long term. And this ideology’s foundation is ’attributing everything to the gods’—it’s precisely because everyone firmly believes that a matter is within a god’s authority, that corresponding authority manifests as actual gods. Therefore, disrupting this process is crucial..."

"Blindness and ignorance lead to the formation of such ’ideologies,’" Emperor Rosetta Augustus proactively continued the topic. "Because people don’t know the truth about a matter, nor have they ever heard of any logical, foundational method explaining unknown phenomena, they naturally direct their answers to an existence that doesn’t require explanation..."

"Yes, the key lies in ’thinking,’ active ’thinking,’" Gawain nodded. "Only when thinking becomes a habit will people first think about the logic behind an unknown field when confronted with the unknown, rather than attributing it all to a sacred and omnipotent existence. And this thinking...must be based on a certain degree of educational dissemination, while also requiring control over church influence."

"But wise individuals are always the minority," Emperor Rosetta Augustus tried to identify the impractical aspects within this theory. "There is no perfect state where everyone can think rationally, nor can you guarantee that educational dissemination will have an ideal effect on everyone—the more likely scenario is the emergence of countless half-knowledgeable fools and numerous boastful ’tavern scholars,’ whose thoughts have nothing to do with truth. The actual distance between knowledge and their minds may be wider than the Endless Sea. These types of people..."

Emperor Rosetta Augustus displayed a subtle expression, clearly indicating he was not only speculating about these outcomes but also deeply understood them. Gawain immediately thought about why Emperor Rosetta Augustus’s depiction of these phenomena was so accurate—

Because in fact, Typhon’s educational dissemination project started even many years before the Cecil Clan did, although due to "taking some detours," they were not as successful in this matter as the Cecil Clan. However, long-term accumulation has already allowed Emperor Rosetta Augustus to see many ’unexpected effects’ after educational dissemination.

Gawain laughed, his fingers gently tapping the armrest of the sofa beside him: "Tavern scholars, verbal experts, folk scholars, paper philosophers, one drink and they can discuss magic symbols with you, two drinks and they’re ready to discuss math and physics, three drinks and they have the confidence to explain the fundamental laws of our world to you, even daring to challenge all authorities."

"That’s the most brilliant assessment I’ve heard," Emperor Rosetta first showed a look of surprise, then couldn’t help but smile, "but I must admit your summary is very thorough. Are these people...what you call ’thinkers’?"

"Aren’t they?" Gawain suddenly withdrew the teasing expression from his face and seriously asked back, "Aren’t they thinking?"

Emperor Rosetta instinctively frowned: "They..."

"They are thinking, although their thoughts aren’t very accurate, yet no matter how many drinks they’ve had, none of them tried to attribute these issues to some extraordinary and almighty gods — because ’everything attributed to the omnipotence of gods’ is fundamentally contrary to thinking. When they boast in the tavern and alleyways, they are exploring what they consider ’knowledge,’ not some divine decrees. You might find these people shallow to the point of being laughable, but you should see, they’re at least attempting to understand the world with their own eyes, not those gifted by gods."

"This is what I mean by the greatest effect of universal education and the liberation of thought — it can’t turn everyone into scholars, nor can it teach everyone the correct logic of thinking, but it can instill this common sense: everything in the world can be logically explained, knowledge can change humanity’s understanding of the world. On this basis, they will think, and thinking itself...is the greatest shake to the gods."

Emperor Rosetta’s expression finally turned serious, as he pondered over these questions he had never considered under Gawain’s guidance. This was an angle he had never attempted, as someone born an aristocrat and accustomed to overlooking the entire Empire as a ruler.

He finally gradually understood Gawain’s intention and slowly nodded: "I think I get it now..."

"You don’t fully understand yet," Gawain leaned forward slightly, looking into Emperor Rosetta’s eyes, "Typhon’s universal education has been ongoing for years, even though its progress has been slow, years of accumulation must have built a considerable foundation — but have you investigated the patterns behind these data? Investigated the ratios of devout believers, shallow believers, and general believers among the literate population, investigated the influence of churches between areas with well-developed education and those with underdeveloped education, investigated the frequency and probability of communication between priests and gods in different areas — have you done such investigations?"

"...No," Emperor Rosetta shook his head after brief contemplation, "I’ve never considered from this perspective."

"That’s where the issue lies, Typhon has done many things, even earlier than Cecil Clan, but many things haven’t been systemized," Gawain sighed, "Since we’re now entering the same alliance, I’m willing to help you in this aspect, of course, correspondingly, I also hope you’ll open up your data in this respect — not open to me, but open to the theocracy Authority Council, this is essential for our research into divine mysteries."

"I think that’s not a problem." Emperor Rosetta agreed to Gawain’s request without much thought — he seemingly didn’t realize how valuable those unique large-scale social data accumulated by the royal family over decades were; this wasn’t due to shallow thinking or momentary oversight, but because in this era, related fields hadn’t been researched at all...

Gawain nodded, his face bearing a sincere smile.

Emperor Rosetta then fell into contemplation. After a full half-minute, he finally broke the silence.

"So what the theocracy Authority Council should do is not publicly attack any church, nor propagate any negative image of gods," Emperor Rosetta said while pondering, "The theocracy Authority Council itself will not ’declare war’ against any deity."

"Yes, this will avoid accelerating any ’countdowns’ to the greatest extent and alleviate many member countries’ concerns — after all, though monarchies and theocracy are naturally opposed, the rulers of various kingdoms must still consider domestic church forces," Gawain nodded, "In fact, not only will the theocracy Authority Council not declare war against any deity, it might even help them with some ’promotion’..."

"Promotion?" Emperor Rosetta didn’t quite understand Gawain’s meaning for a moment, he seemed puzzled.

"Priest secularization, doctrine popularization, gods becoming celebrities, and ultimately — belief systems turning into entertainment," Gawain’s lips curved slightly, "We won’t create any negative images of gods. On the contrary, we might even make them shine brightly in magic shadow dramas, magazines, novels, and over this process...gradually no longer mysterious, no longer sacred."

Emperor Rosetta stared at Gawain, seemingly listening to something fantastical.

He then took a deep breath, his expression becoming more complex and colorful than ever: "...You are the most daring...almost to the point of being frightening person I’ve met."

When he said the word "person" at the end, he seemed to hesitate for a moment, but he didn’t use any other word to replace it.

Gawain noticed Emperor Rosetta’s barely perceptible hesitation but merely responded with a smile: "Don’t you think this plan is worth trying?"

"If I weren’t an Augustus, I might have been scared by you," Emperor Rosetta made a small joke, then his expression became serious, "I’m in."

Gawain smiled and raised his glass: "The joy of struggle against heaven is endless."

Emperor Rosetta paused for a moment, savoring the phrase that sounded strange, gradually smiling as well and raised his glass: "The joy of struggle against heaven is endless."