“The Eight Great Vidyarajas and the Vajra Warriors all support Mithra.” Guanyin Bodhisattva smiled wryly. “He is more popular within the army than we are; in fact, the entire army worships him.”
Now things are really messed up. The invincible "Reincarnation" is controlled by Mithra, who also holds military power. Hayden now understands even more why Guanyin Bodhisattva would ally with outsiders. Because she must have begun to feel fear.
Mithra's invincibility even instilled fear in other bodhisattvas and among his own people. This was because he had reached a state where he no longer needed the cooperation of others.
Guanyin Bodhisattva, Mithra's former collaborator, now has to make a choice: either become a dog from a collaborator of equal standing, or completely break ties and become his enemy.
Honestly, this is really sad.
Hayden couldn't help but think to himself, a long time ago, at least four hundred years ago, Guanyin and Mithra must have been friends, partners, and perhaps even very close. They trusted each other, so Guanyin would know Mithra's weaknesses and vulnerabilities... but now it's turned out like this.
Whose fault is this?
"【Reincarnation】is a long-term plan that Mitra proposed a long time ago. When he first proposed it, we all thought it was a good idea and agreed that Mitra should do it, but we never expected that it would be so terrible once it was officially running."
At this point, Guanyin Bodhisattva sighed.
“Although I said such things, Mithra has always been kind and compassionate, with the welfare of all living beings in mind. No one could have imagined that the situation would become this serious. Now the checks and balances within the group have been completely lost, and we must work together to have any chance of defeating him.”
The Bodhisattva's tone was a mixture of emotions, including sorrow, loss, and a deep compassion and love, as if it were addressed to all sentient beings, further highlighting the sense of sacred solemnity.
Hayden, however, disapproved of her compassionate expression and coldly retorted, "If Mithra were truly compassionate and loving, would the world be the way it is today?"
Guanyin Bodhisattva raised an eyebrow: "The world today is far better than the world four hundred years ago. Everything you enjoy today—whether it's the internet, air conditioning magic, effective medicines to cure plagues, or the delicious food from all over the world—is all built on the foundation of the modern society we created. We developed modern arcane magic and spread it throughout the world, increasing global productivity by more than a thousand times and the world's population by ten times. Otherwise, all of humanity would still be living in a feudal agrarian society."
“Well said,” Hayden retorted with a sneer. “Productivity today may be a thousand times that of four hundred years ago, and the population is ten times larger, but has the standard of living improved a hundredfold? Per capita productivity has increased, but most people are not doing well; they have only reached the level of being able to make ends meet. You have developed cutting-edge arcane technology, but fewer and fewer poor people can afford to learn it. You have invented effective medicines to cure plagues, but they cannot cure poverty. What have you used to create with this thousandfold increase in productivity? To help you amass 99% of the world's wealth?”
Guanyin Bodhisattva narrowed her eyes, and the sacred aura emanating from her disappeared: "I can understand your complaints, because you are young people of this era and don't know how hard life was back then. The world is what it is today for a reason. You just make rash judgments and act sarcasticly without understanding the world. Limited progress is still progress. It is already a great achievement that can provide food and clothing for most people in the world. It is an unprecedented feat in history. Don't be so ungrateful."
“I am very grateful,” Hayden said, standing up abruptly from the table in the reception room, his voice as clear as ice. “Fifteen years ago, my parents died in the last major pandemic. It wasn’t because you couldn’t make a cure, but because we couldn’t afford it. Although you weren’t directly involved, I am still very grateful!”
The distance shrank to zero in an instant, and the verbal sparring escalated into close combat. Hayden and Guanyin glared at each other. Hayden gripped his staff tightly. Guanyin, on the other hand, didn't need a weapon; she simply chuckled softly, her face filled with contempt—utter disdain for Hayden's lack of strategic thinking.
If this continues, Hayden might have to fight Guanyin Bodhisattva before they can even unite against Mitra. And what's even more frightening is that, considering this is New Sprout City, considering Karen, Angela, and his companions are all around, and considering the Peacock King is about to arrive, they might even win.
"enough."
So Karen finally spoke up, saying in a rational and authoritative voice, "Are you going to join forces against Mitra or fight yourselves first? If Mitra knew, he'd probably laugh his teeth out."
Hayden shut his mouth and sat down.
Then Karen looked at Guanyin and said, “However, of course, Hayden is absolutely right. I am not condemning your achievements four hundred years ago, but that was four hundred years ago. I do not agree that what you are doing now is correct, because you could have done better and made the world a better place, but because of your greed and arrogance, you have not used your power and wealth to benefit the people and the world.”
"Then you've really misunderstood a lot of things," Guanyin said coldly. "Have you ever thought about why we eight great bodhisattvas, despite possessing such great power, have been constantly busy accumulating, developing, and absorbing more power over the past four hundred years?"
Karen raised an eyebrow: "Of course I know. It's because you're afraid of each other, afraid of other bodhisattvas and other capitalist gods, worried that once other gods become stronger, they will take away everything you can have. Even if you've already satisfied your material needs, you still need to conquer each other to feel completely at ease. Because you're playing a game where only one person can win in the end. The supreme throne of the strongest cannot tolerate anyone else snoring beside their bed."
“This is just nonsense from the opposition,” Guanyin replied. “Actually, there is indeed a reason for this. Originally, only the eight of us Bodhisattvas and a few close confidants knew about this, but in order to defeat Mithra, we had to tell you as well. Let me start from here.”
At this point, her voice became serious and solemn again: "Do you know about the Outer God?"
……………………ah?
This unexpected question really took Hayden and Karen by surprise!
Outer Gods? Why are you suddenly bringing up Outer Gods?!
"Four hundred years ago, on the eve of the end of the war between the old and new gods, Mithra faced a moment of despair."
Guanyin Bodhisattva continued, her tone dry and monotonous.
"Back then, when the Old Gods were on the verge of defeat, he summoned the so-called 'Outer Gods.' That indescribable and terrifying power once drove Mithra to the brink of despair, shattered his fighting spirit, and exposed the flaws in his mind."
“Mr. Hayden, I hope your magical skills can help us rewind Mitra’s mental will to that moment four hundred years ago. Once we return to that time, we can easily defeat him.”
371: Split Up
Outer god?
Mithra?
Did the Outer Gods and Mithras encounter each other in battle four hundred years ago?
The amount of information that Guanyin Bodhisattva suddenly revealed was too much, especially since it was the matter that Hayden was most concerned about. His expression changed for a moment.
Even the slightest change in expression could be immediately noticed by Guanyin Bodhisattva, so she promptly noticed Hayden's unusual behavior: "Oh, Mr. Hayden, what's wrong?"
“It’s normal to be moved by what you hear about the ‘Outer Gods’,” Kallen said shrewdly, immediately picking up the thread without batting an eye. “We are the daughter and son-in-law of the Peacock King, don’t you understand?”
Although that wasn't actually the reason, Kallen's words were enough to appease the Bodhisattva, since she wasn't lying. The relationship between the Peacock King and the Outer Gods, the matter of the fallen angels—these were secrets others naturally didn't understand. But since the Bodhisattva knew about the Outer Gods, these words actually aligned with her original assumptions.
As expected, Guanyin nodded, actually thinking it was a good thing: "Since you all already know about this from the Peacock King, it will be easier for me to explain. In short, the so-called 'outer gods' are extraterrestrial gods from outside our known universe, completely different from the creatures on Earth. Some of the old gods, like your father, the Peacock King, fled from the outer universe a long time ago."
"That being said, apart from a few reports from the ancient gods, we previously only had a theoretical understanding of the Outer Gods. We knew that such a thing existed in theory, but the Outer Gods never interfered with our world—until four hundred years ago."
At this point, recalling the past, Guanyin Bodhisattva sighed softly.
"That was four hundred years ago, when Mithra led his army to attack the Japanese islands, about to overthrow Asmodeus, the last of the Old Gods. Asmodeus suddenly summoned the power of the Outer Gods. At that time, Mithra was already the strongest in the world, but he was almost instantly defeated by the power of the Outer Gods that descended from the sky. Later, it was only by the combined efforts of the eight of us Bodhisattvas that we managed to defeat the Outer Gods. But that battle was Mithra's greatest personal defeat, the only time he almost died when he was at his weakest, when his fighting spirit was almost shattered and his mental vulnerabilities were exposed."
“Since then, although the power of the Outer Gods has never appeared in our world again, Mithra has always been preparing for war with the Outer Gods as their hypothetical enemy, and has devoted a great deal of effort and energy to this.”
Guanyin Bodhisattva spoke very simply, because she didn't need to explain too much to Hayden Karen; it was enough to persuade them to help.
Hayden and Karen, however, felt increasingly confused as they listened.
The Mithra Group fought against the Outer Gods four hundred years ago? And they even defeated the Outer Gods once by working together with eight Bodhisattvas? Is that true?
Hayden Karen didn't know just how powerful the Outer Gods were, but judging from what the Peacock King, the Feathered Serpent God, and even Lilith said, they should be even more terrifying than the Eight Great Bodhisattvas combined...maybe?
The couple looked at each other, realizing that they themselves didn't really know the answer.
Finally, Karen said to Guanyin Bodhisattva, "My father never told me about this."
"Because the Peacock King was unaware of it," Guanyin Bodhisattva calmly explained. "At that time, the Peacock King was suppressing the remnants of the old gods in Africa. We all know that he, like Asmodeus, is an old god from beyond the heavens, and we would not casually inform him."
That makes some sense. However, after a moment's thought, Kallen couldn't help but retort, "So, this is the 'reasonable justification' you're talking about? This is why you eight bodhisattvas, despite possessing the strongest power in the world, have been busy accumulating, developing, and damaging the Earth's environment to extract more power over the past four hundred years—because you've been busy preparing to fight aliens, preparing for war, and deploying missiles in space for the past four hundred years, so you haven't had time to create a better society and can only make the people below suffer first?"
The truth of this history is simply too ridiculous; even Kallen finds it hard to believe. And if it really is true, then what Kallen said earlier is entirely correct—why are these Bodhisattvas, already the strongest on Earth, still so busy trying to become even stronger for the past four hundred years?
Because they were afraid—not of each other, but of foreign gods from another universe. And because of this fear, they turned the world they ruled into a living hell, plunging the people into poverty and suffering.
"It's not as exaggerated as you say."
Guanyin Bodhisattva could see through Karen's implied meaning and her complaint, and immediately shook her head.
"The matter of the Outer Gods was originally known only to the Eight Great Bodhisattvas, the Eight Great Vidyarajas, and a small number of confidants within our group, and even the Bodhisattvas did not all agree with Mithra's views. I disagree with spending so much effort preparing for a war against an alien that has never appeared again... But that's getting off topic."
"The key point is that Mitra's invincible will was most vulnerable and easily attacked when he was in that state four hundred years ago. As long as we use time magic to pull him back to that state, we can easily defeat him. That's why I want your help, and you should understand the cause and effect now."
Understand? They could understand it, but Hayden and Karen were both feeling a bit numb. Moreover, what Guanyin Bodhisattva told them was very different from their original understanding of the Outer Gods.
"Although I don't want to elevate this to a philosophical level,"
After a while, Hayden said, trying to control his voice.
"But using time magic to involve a super-powerful being like Mitra, even just reversing time to kill him, could potentially cause very serious spacetime turbulence—of course, this is just my speculation, because no one has actually done this yet. But if it really happened, many people and things could be deleted or replaced by different versions... For example, accidentally creating a world where neither I nor Kallen exist, or a world where feudal gods still rule, which would be a bit too ridiculous."
Guanyin Bodhisattva nodded: "There may be such a risk, which is why we need to use time magic to precisely pull his mental state back to that point in the past, change only this key point, so that everything that exists will not change, and only Mithra's hegemony will collapse."
Karen and Hayden exchanged a glance, and then Karen said, "My husband and I need to talk to each other alone for a while before we can give you an answer."
“I understand, please proceed.” Guanyin Bodhisattva said calmly, “However, we still need some time to prepare this time magic, and we have less time left than you may think. Therefore, I must know today whether you are willing to join this alliance.”
"Why would you need to think about it all day?"
Karen shook her head, then grabbed Hayden and led him to another room.
There was only one thing she wanted to discuss privately with Hayden:
Do you think Guanyin Bodhisattva's plan is reliable?
Hayden immediately shook his head: "I don't think it'll work. Putting aside the theoretical feasibility of magic—I just held back from complaining—think about it carefully. Guanyin Bodhisattva is the strongest capital god besides Mithra Bodhisattva, right? If I really help her turn back Mithra's time and kill him, then once the past is rewritten, reality is reorganized, and the changes to the time setting are fixed..."
Karen immediately understood what he meant: "It is very possible that after reality is restructured, we will find ourselves living in a world ruled by a super Guanyin Bodhisattva."
To be honest, it might be quite funny, and it's a classic twist in the time travel genre. But if it actually happened, Hayden and Karen wouldn't find it funny at all.
“Actually, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I think a super Guanyin Bodhisattva might be easier to deal with than a super Mitra.” Karen frowned. “However, her plan is indeed unreliable, and it has made me even more certain that none of these Bodhisattvas can be relied on. What principles, ideals, and ideologies they spout, but in the end, the reason they want to exploit and fight is still fear, still because they want peace of mind. They’re no different from primitive savages, or ancient warlords.”
But then again, even if things were done this way, these bodhisattvas would probably never be at peace. Because ultimately, violence is inherently indeterminate. Even if you exploit and oppress to the point of absolute violence today, so what? What if tomorrow an ultra-absolute violence, ten times more terrifying and violent than your absolute violence, flies in from another world? How can something be absolute? How can you be at peace with it?
The stacking of boxes is infinite!
“Mithra Bodhisattva is unreliable, and Guanyin Bodhisattva is unreliable too. But at least we’ve obtained one very useful piece of information. It turns out that the Outer Gods have already demonstrated their power on Earth, and the place where Asmodeus summoned the power of the Outer Gods was Japan.” Hayden paused, then pondered, “But the Bodhisattvas’ understanding of the Outer Gods is vastly different from ours. What’s going on? Have they made a mistake?”
Karen shrugged: "Perhaps the Outer Gods aren't actually as powerful as the fallen angels say. Ancient legends and their own memories are all unreliable."
Hayden frowned: "But your father said that too."
Now Karen was also stumped. After a while, she reluctantly continued, "...According to Guanyin, at least the power of the Outer God can defeat the Bodhisattva Mithra from four hundred years ago, and even the eight great Bodhisattvas from four hundred years ago, working together, struggled to defeat him. Although technology has been improving and the Bodhisattvas of today are stronger than those of four hundred years ago, I guess the strength of this Outer God is still quite useful."
…There was something Kallen didn't say to Hayden, but she actually thought it was a good thing. She had never liked Hayden's idea of using the power of the Outer Gods to solve problems. If the Outer Gods were too powerful, it could become the next problem after the God of Capital. But if the Outer Gods were only as powerful as the eight Bodhisattvas from four hundred years ago, then Kallen wouldn't need to worry too much!
Hayden, in fact, knew what his wife was planning. He disagreed, but didn't intend to point it out. Anyway, after this discussion, the couple had a clearer idea of what to do next.
“Hayden, infuse me with your time magic techniques.” Karen gestured. “Leave the technical data as well. I’m going to work with Guanyin and the others to play this time-reversal trick. Failure is to be expected, but if we happen to succeed, it will be a good opportunity.”
Hayden nodded: "Then, while Mitra's main force was tied down by you, I went to Japan to find Asmodeus and the power of the Outer Gods... I thought you didn't like this plan."
“Of course I don’t like it!” Karen glared at Hayden sternly. “I only agreed to your plan because the situation is really terrible right now, and because I trust you! I trust that you, whom I believe in, won’t mess things up! That’s why I’m backing you up, providing backup, and even helping you to divert Mitra’s main force and attention!”
Hayden shrank back, suppressing a laugh: "Then we can only try our best on both sides, and not mess up our own situation."
And so, Hayden imparted all his time magic techniques and related information to Karen, and then went to prepare for his trip to Japan.
Karen absorbed the technical information Hayden had given her in five minutes—Karen had that kind of ability—and then ran to Guanyin: "I agree to join your plan, but I want Hayden to stay in New Sprouts to guard the city. I have all his magical techniques here, so it won't be a problem for you."
Guanyin Bodhisattva did not doubt her because of this. On the contrary, she looked at Karen Hayden with a different eye: "You two are truly in perfect harmony, trusting and caring for each other very much."
Karen was somewhat inclined to criticize Guanyin for thinking that way—could this level of marital relationship really make you feel so much trust and love? Is there something wrong with your values, or has the world gone mad somewhere?
However, she held back and instead asked another question: "Bodhisattva Guanyin, you previously said that you disagree with spending a lot of effort preparing for a type of alien that has never appeared again, so aren't you worried that the [Outer Gods] will reappear and pose a threat to our world?"
"Although we are both Bodhisattvas, we are much stronger now than we were four hundred years ago," Guanyin said quietly. "Technology has been constantly improving, and we are always better now than before. In the past, we had to use all eight Bodhisattvas together to barely defeat the [Outer Gods], but now two or three should be enough. Why be so fearful and worried?"
"Besides, the tentacles of the Outer Gods haven't reappeared in the past four hundred years, not even a shadow of them, so there's no need to worry about them all the time and get caught up in it."
At this point, Guanyin sighed, somewhat saddened: "Mithra made this mistake, otherwise he wouldn't have lost control to this extent."
Karen actually had some different opinions on this, but she didn't intend to say them outright for the time being.
Leaving aside the anti-Mithra New God alliance, let's return to Hayden's perspective.
He said he was going to Japan to find Asmodis, but of course he wasn't going to be foolish enough to just walk straight there. After all, Japan was a place Hayden, like many others, had only ever seen online and had never actually been there.
Fortunately, Hayden always had many reliable companions around him. For example, the female ninja Momiji—she was originally from an ancient Japanese god clan from four hundred years ago. Without her guidance, Hayden wouldn't even know where to look for clues.
For example, Abigail Hecate. She was originally a fallen angel priestess from a feudal era and inherited much knowledge from Hecate; perhaps she also knows about Asmodeus…
As Hayden pondered this, he continued making preparations, planning to go find Abigail next... but he forgot about another potential ally.
"Hey, son-in-law."
Just then, the goddess Hela staggered over, smiling and waving at Hayden.
"I heard you're going to Japan to find the Old Gods King? Would you like your mother-in-law to give you some valuable advice and lessons?"
372: Rickshaw Upward Algorithm
Hayden's female ninja, Akika Momiji, hasn't been in a good mood lately.
As everyone knows, Momiji was once a member of the retinue of Emperor Mara, in other words, a relative. She was a member of the old feudal gods of Japan and a noblewoman of samurai descent. She was once a courtier who was qualified to meet Emperor Mara directly.
Although the samurai lineage of the old Japanese gods has vanished, and Momiji is well aware of this, she has never acted like a noble lady, even obediently serving Dakini Ten as a ninja—but she still possesses a sense of honor. Even in this era of new gods, Momiji continues to strive to live like a samurai.
The new god of capital greedily pursues profit, while the old god of feudalism obsessively pursues honor; both have their own pathological aspects. For a samurai, honor meant being proper in speech and action, and gracefully fulfilling the tasks assigned by the lord.
So, Momiji would occasionally take the initiative to ask Hayden for missions. Only by obtaining and completing missions could Momiji have a chance to earn honors for herself under Hayden, the new monarch… So, how well did Miss Momiji actually fare in this regard?
It's alright, I'd say.
The time before last, Hayden asked Momiji to help investigate dark elf spies, but Momiji's tracking and surveillance... well, it wasn't exactly successful.
Last time, Hayden sent Koyo with him to South America, and then put her in charge of looking after the child (Isham). Well… Koyo didn't cause any trouble. In fact, Hayden even thought he should give her credit for taking Isham away from the bio-factory.
But Hongye still felt that this was neither a merit nor an honor, at least not enough to wash away her past failures. Her concept of honor and her stubbornness were completely different from those of modern people.
So after returning from South America today, Hongye drooped her fox ears, collapsed in her room, curled up in her own blankets, feeling depressed.
What an indescribable loss of composure! If this continues, she won't even have the face to go home and face her fellow villagers. I just want to curl up in bed and never come out again! Waaah!
Hongye remained in this dejected state for about two hours until Hayden ran over and knocked on her door: "Hongye, how are you feeling? Are you able to go on the mission?"
The fox ninja immediately poked his head out from under the covers and obediently replied, "Anytime, sir!"