"I was once in a Shadow World where my mission was to lead the demons and help them overcome their crisis. Living among them, I gained a deep understanding of their culture and characteristics."

As the headmaster, I have a responsibility to guide students whenever they are lost.

This has always been Lan Qi's professional attitude.

If Duchess Chloris were here as a high-ranking noble from the Imperial City to engage in intelligence trading and cooperative negotiations, he might not say much.

But she chose to consult him as a student.

In that case, Lan Qi would simply tell her the answer.

"Is that so?"

It was a reason that sounded casual yet surprisingly logical.

The only problem was this absurd Shadow World… what kind of even more absurd history would have to occur for such a scenario to emerge?

Unfortunately, it was like they had a problem in front of them, and Lan Qi could only write out the answer, but he couldn't use subjective inferences as evidence to convince everyone.

"I understand. I would also like to ask Mr. Locke for his views on the current situation of the Protoss Empire."

Duchess Chloris continued to ask.

She was certain that the man before her possessed unique wisdom, talent, and charm, but these alone were not enough to earn her support.

Because she was also gambling, wanting to become someone who could influence the situation, vision and foresight were indispensable.

The answer to this very difficult and general question could reveal a person's spirit and overall perspective, and would determine how much she was willing to bet on Locke McCarthy.

However.

Faced with Chloris's question, Lan Qi still showed no signs of distress.

"The apparent enemies are the Aeserothian Kingdom and the Northern Kingdoms. People who are willing to be your enemies openly are often not that dangerous. If you really want to fight, integrating the power of the Rebirth Church is enough to win."

He leaned back casually, interlacing his fingers, causing the office chair to creak.

His understanding of the current situation in the Northern Continent mainly came from his research after arriving in the Protoss Empire, and even more so, from his understanding of the Northern Continent after the war broke out a year later.

"The key is that the northern Theocracy's attitude is currently ambiguous, and they even seem indifferent to the turmoil on the southern shore. They have always appeared neutral, but in reality, they are more dangerous than the Northern Kingdoms and the Aeserothian Kingdom combined. They are the true behemoth waiting to profit."

"Further north, whether it is the territory belonging to the ancient creatures, or the several countries that have split from the original demon territory, are also extremely powerful, but geographically they are too far from the Protoss Empire, and are also isolated by natural disasters and terrain, so the short-term threat is not that great."

"If those demons threatening the northern part of the empire were artificially created, it can be determined who wants to provoke a war in the Northern Continent. The real threat should be this invisible hand, some force is manipulating the situation in the Northern Continent, wanting to mutually deplete the strength of humans and other creatures, until they preserve their strength until the end, able to completely control the victory."

After listening, Chloris nodded. She obviously knew this as well, or could infer it through the information she already had, which coincided with it.

"But shouldn't this just be a hypothesis? More like a hypothetical enemy?"

Chloris asked.

They returned to the crux of the matter.

How to prove existence and convince more people.

"Human lifespan is too short. Relying on history to set limits for the future is limited. If you don't look far ahead, you may face incomprehensible horror. We don't really need to prove their existence. We just need to figure out what is right and wrong."

Lan Qi continued,

"Personally, I think if the Protoss Empire really wants to conquer the Northern Continent, the approach from the very beginning was wrong."

"In fact, the Northern Kingdoms and the theocratic closed forces ruled by religion have no good relations. The existence of the Theocracy itself is very strange. From the beginning, the Theocracy should have been framed and then the Northern Kingdoms bypassed to launch a blitzkrieg against the Theocracy, dragging them down first. This would allow for both offense and defense, with the Northern Kingdoms as a buffer in between."

"Now it is obvious that someone wants to consume the Protoss's national power for nothing, and then use this as a fuse to trigger even greater turmoil."

He analyzed earnestly.

"Stop, stop, this conversation cannot continue."

Chloris raised her hand and said.

"..."

Even Xiduo on the sofa beside her sat up straighter, looking at Lan Qi.

No, she didn't want to ask you how the Protoss Empire should properly conquer the Northern Continent, you're being a bit extreme!

But Chloris smiled with obvious interest.

Lan Qi's views were obviously somewhat different from what she had imagined.

But it was indeed arguing from another direction that this war was of no benefit to the Protoss Empire.

He actually saw through things very clearly, but his way of thinking was somewhat different from ordinary people.

"So, Headmaster Locke, do you think the Protoss Empire really has a chance to unify the Northern Continent?"

Chloris seemed to want to know Lan Qi's final answer before ending this topic.

"There's no chance."

Lan Qi closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Why?"

Chloris seemed more concerned about Lan Qi's final reversal.

His previous words were full of conviction, but now his conclusion contradicted them.

"Because I am an anti-war advocate and will not let this happen."

Lan Qi opened his eyes again, and his emerald-green eyes were still so clear, naturally filled with consideration and compassion, the gaze of a saint only for the creatures and suffering he saw.

Even without words, he seemed to be telling Chloris—

What he wanted was world peace.

Although Chloris felt that this person's definition of peace might be a bit demonic, inherently on the abnormal side.

"..."

She pondered, hesitating for a long time.

In fact, the answer she thought was that there were too many unknowns in the far north. If the empire and the north were fighting, a long-lived hero who had lived for thousands or tens of thousands of years, so long that even his name had been forgotten by history, might suddenly appear, and any situation could be reversed at critical junctures.

The Northern Continent did have such beings.

Just like the ancient blood race of the Southern Continent.

There were no signs and no way to prove it, but they existed.

But for the current Northern Continent, these long-lived creatures, as huge random factors, were a real threat to those behind the scenes who wanted to manipulate the situation in the Northern Continent, so before they came to the forefront, they would want to control the situation in secret as much as possible and force out all the uncertain factors first.

But as it seems now, this young man named Locke McCarthy.

His very existence.

Was no less random than those ancient heroes hidden in the world.

Dear Father, please give Xi Xi some monthly tickets.

(End of chapter)