Chapter 438: Section 225: Divine Revelation of Justice
Seeing Chi Lai willing to offer help on his own initiative, the Dragon-man youth felt a warmth in his heart.
His brows relaxed slightly as he sighed and said, “To tell the truth, I am very disappointed.”
Chi Lai immediately showed a look of realization, “Is it about Hun Tong?”
In fact, it was not just Hun Tong that the Dragon-man youth was disappointed with, but also with himself.
But when it came to the secret of the treasure beneath the sea, the Dragon-man youth would not reveal it, nodding as he said, “Indeed, part of it concerns him.”
“Hun Tong is a noble of the Empire, a real Lord, who should uphold justice and draw a clear line against evil.”
“However, he took the initiative to trade with pirates, facilitating their debt settlements. Pirates were able to recoup their funds smoothly and arm themselves for more plundering.”
“Hun Tong is undoubtedly their accomplice!”
“Furthermore, during the previous chaos, he kept the Golden Shiny hidden until the very end, only taking action because the treasure was leaving the island.”
“When we left the island, he deceived us by selling us the flagship of the Bandage Mercenary Group. Next, he will definitely act against the victims.”
“Although the Bandage Mercenary Group mainly fought to preserve themselves during the melee, they were our comrades-in-arms after all.”
“Such behavior from Hun Tong is really disappointing.”
In actuality, the Dragon-man youth also felt guilty.
A thought lingered in his heart—if their side hadn’t taken the undersea treasure, and Hun Tong had obtained wealth, would he have spared the Bandage Mercenary Group? Or rather, if Zi Di had taken only half of the treasure? Leaving a portion for Hun Tong, indirectly benefiting the common poor?
As this thought brought feelings of guilt to his conscience, another voice arose in the youth’s heart: “Leaving the treasure behind would help these poor people? That’s too naive! Hun Tong is cunning and deceitful; he would never willingly offer his benefits. His strategy during the chaos was clearly to become the sole winner, devouring the other parties!”
“The survivors urgently need this batch of undersea treasure, just the activation of the anti-surveillance prophecy matrix consumes a lot of funds. The finances of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps are quite precarious, with no response to the ransom note, and the future is full of unpredictability and hardship. We must seize every opportunity to expand our own chances of survival!”
“Just like on Mysterious Monster Island, just like on Snake Rat Island, only by surviving can we carry out justice. Every life has the basic right to survive, and striving for such an opportunity to live, what wrong is there in that? First we must survive; that is the greatest justice!”
During the crisis of the naval battle at Snake Rat Island, the Dragon-man youth had his first realization of this truth, which not only convinced himself but also his companions, allowing them to overcome the difficulties.
However, at this moment, he found it difficult to employ this same reasoning again.
Because he inevitably thought, “If taking the undersea treasure for survival is just, then what about Hun Tong?”
From the perspective of a Human Race Knight: Hun Tong drove away the Fishmen, expanded the Empire’s territories, and indirectly served in the Empire’s grand strategy for battling the Beastman Continent, truly a hero of the Empire.
In fact, over these years, the Holy Bright Empire had introduced numerous policies, encouraging Nobles to actively expand, especially regarding the islands between the Holy Bright Continent and the Wilderness Continent.
It was because of such policies that Hun Tong attacked and took over Twin Eyes Island.
However, the subsequent content of the policies did not bring more help to Hun Tong, save for the tax exemption policy.
The Twin Eyes Island that Hun Tong took over was at a primitive stage, with scarce development.
If you put yourself in his shoes, you would understand how difficult it was for Hun Tong at the time!
Twin Eyes Island wasn’t a normal island; it had no soil, so nothing could be grown, no mineral resources, and it even sank into the sea every now and then. On top of that, Hun Tong was constantly harassed and attacked by the Fishman Tribe, and surrounded by various pirate groups wreaking havoc.
If Hun Tong, like a typical Lord, had tried to manage Twin Eyes Island, he likely would have been doomed. The island would either be reclaimed by the Fishmen or repeatedly looted by pirates. Even if not, under the double siege, Twin Eyes Island would become an isolated isle, gradually dying and sinking.
“In such circumstances, Hun Tong painstakingly managed, changed tactics, created a commercial atmosphere, made pirates feel safe to launder their goods on Twin Eyes Island. In doing so, a tacit agreement was reached, asking the pirates to lay off as much as possible, to allow space for internal and external travel.”
“With safer trade routes and a large number of cheap goods brought by the pirates laundering, Twin Eyes Island successfully attracted various Guilds to settle in.”
“Hun Tong also successfully repelled the Fishman Tribe, revitalizing the stagnant waters of Twin Eyes Island.”
“This was a strategy for survival. If Hun Tong didn’t do this, the likely outcome would have been defeat.”
“If that counts, isn’t Hun Tong also just?”
“So, is Hun Tong a righteous man?”
The Dragon-man youth asked this question of himself.
He shook his head secretly.
“Hun Tong colluding with pirates, oppressing former comrades (the Bandage Mercenary Group), and scheming against the properties of the citizens, is clearly not just.”
“But is there a possibility that later on, Hun Tong will enforce and uphold justice, and become one of the noblest of Empire Nobles? Provided the conditions, could he become a real Lord full of glory and virtue?”
“Then, all his previous misdeeds, would they just be bearing humiliation for a burden, simply survival strategies, sacrificing small immediate justice for the sake of a greater eventual justice?”
The Dragon-man youth felt as if he was standing at a crossroads.
Next, he had to choose the road he would take.
One road was called “The Possible Justice of Hun Tong”—for the sake of far-reaching justice, one could sacrifice immediate justice and succumb to evil.
In short, to become a future “great” good person, I could accept being a “minor” bad person now.
“Is that acceptable?” the Dragon-man youth asked himself.
“By doing this, could it make things easier for oneself, could it greatly increase everyone’s chances of survival?”
The Dragon-man youth thought of those spies in intelligence agencies.
Some spies, in order to infiltrate deeper and strike at higher ranks of the enemy, would selectively betray their own side’s interests, even killing their own comrades.
“But can justice act in this way?”
“Can justice be measured in terms of trade, calculated so clearly?”
“Can the cause of justice be weighed so simply?”
“Don’t I have a shadow of Hun Tong in me?”
The youth’s profound introspection brought with it interrogation, lashing his soul like a whip, time and again.
His heart was filled with confusion.
He looked at Chi Lai and voiced his most profound inner doubt, “What is justice? How should one seek and follow the path of justice?”
Seeing such a youth and hearing this question, Chi Lai couldn’t help but space out for a moment.
“So similar, too similar!” he exclaimed deep within his heart.
He really was so much like his former self!
Chi Lai pondered for a while and did not directly answer the Dragon-man youth’s question. Instead, he said, “Squad leader, I cannot give you the most direct answer to your question, as I am but a humble believer.”
“Here, I wish to share with you my experience of receiving the gaze of the divine, of being bestowed with Divine Arts. It might provide some help to you.”
The Dragon-man youth immediately became interested.
In the previous chaotic battle, Chi Lai had used Divine Arts, causing the Golden Cannon to unleash extraordinary power.
This scene left a profound impression on everyone on the battlefield.
Chi Lai slowly began, “I came from a poor background, but because of my exceptional talent, I was noticed and became a member of the Imperial Navy.”
“A noble young master intended to seize someone else’s inheritance, deceived a naive girl, and planned to use despicable means to defile her, to win her affection.”
“My companions and I overheard this plot by accident, and even though I did not know the girl, I decided to intervene.”
“My companions tried to discourage me, reminding me of the noble young master’s influential background.”
“But I didn’t heed their advice. I foiled the noble young master’s plot and revealed to the girl his malevolence and venom.”
“Furious with humiliation, the noble young master used his family’s influence to frame me.”
“When I was thrown into jail, with no one to save me, when former friends chose to abandon me and even gave false testimonies, kicking me when I was down, my heart was also filled with confusion.”
“Where is justice? Where does one seek justice? Do I deserve such an end for upholding and executing justice?”
“Is it my fault, or is the world’s?”
“Is it my mistake, or is it justice’s mistake?”
“More ironically, I heard the latest news about the girl. She had given herself to that noble young master voluntarily. It was the result of the pressure applied by the noble family, to completely clear the noble young master of suspicion and dishonor, using ‘pure love’ to maintain the nobility’s honor.”
“The girl testified against me, accusing me of coveting her beauty, of wishing to plot and scheme to wreck her close relationship with her beloved.”
“I fell into a state of utter despair, filled with hopelessness about life and the world. I had no intention of remaining in this world and decided to end my own life on the night I made my last prayer.”
“I thought this would be the last prayer of my life.”
“I thought this would be the least devout prayer of my life.”
“I questioned my Lord, asking what justice truly is, why had I fallen to this depth, whether justice even exists in this world.”
“And then…”
“I heard a great voice, the voice of my Lord.”
“He said: ‘Chi Lai, my child, you must know: justice lies on the edge of the sword, beneath the mouth of the cannon, within the hearts of men.'”
The Dragon-man youth’s face showed a mix of shock and envy, “Divine Revelation?”
“Yes, this is the revelation from the divine,” Chi Lai took a deep breath, “Although it’s but a single phrase, I comprehended three Divine Arts.”
“They are: Justice Blade, Justice Cannon, and Mark of Righteousness and Evil!”
“Justice Blade is a large-scale enhancement Divine Art, which can double the melee combat effectiveness of allies.”
“Justice Cannon amplifies the cannon itself, augmenting it with the divine energy of justice, causing its power to surge.”
“The most central Divine Art is the Mark of Righteousness and Evil. It can tag a target as an ‘evil enemy’ or a ‘righteous ally.’ Once this tag is made, our attacks will have greater lethality against the enemy, and be ineffective against allies. Our Healing Magic will receive a significant boost when cast on allies and will inevitably fail on enemies.”
Despite the short time they had spent together, Chi Lai shared all the details of his three Divine Arts with the Dragon-man youth.
The relationships between people can be very mysterious at times.
While Chi Lai did not feel an instant connection with the Dragon-man youth, their relationship had developed rapidly in just a few short days.
“After receiving the Divine Revelation, I no longer thought about suicide. Having received my Lord’s compassion, I had found my answer.”
The Dragon-man youth’s eyes became vacant as he murmured, repeating the contents of the Divine Revelation, “Justice… lies on the edge of the sword, beneath the mouth of the cannon, within the hearts of men.”
Then the youth looked puzzled, “I can’t fully comprehend the meaning of this phrase.”
Chi Lai just laughed, “I couldn’t either at that time, and the same goes for now.”
“That is perfectly normal.”
“Because we are not gods; we are humans. To understand all the meanings of a Divine Revelation the first time receiving it is not something we can achieve.”
“In front of the divine, we should maintain humility.”
“So when that noble family tormented me and sold me as a slave, I calmly accepted this fact.”
“And in my life as a slave, I worked hard to grasp the meaning of the Divine Revelation, gradually gaining a lot of insights and understandings.”
“But I do not wish to give these insights to you, my fellow believer.”
“Because my life experiences are not yours.”
“I believe that our meeting must also be arranged by the divine. The Divine Revelation given to me is not just mine; it is also yours.”
“In the life to come, try to understand this phrase.”
“Contemplate it with your own life. As long as you adhere to the path of justice, you will surely resolve the doubts in your heart and find your own answer!”
ps: This very important, mainly serving two purposes. 1) To analyze the concept of justice once again and further reveal the theme of ‘The Redemption of Justice’ in the second volume. 2) To clearly describe a pivotal moment in the heart and mind of the protagonist, the Dragon-man youth. Yesterday’s writing was not very good, so I simply paused, reducing the need for revision, and what I wrote today is roughly the limit of my current ability. I do not rule out the possibility of revising it in the future as my abilities improve.