Clockwork Bride

Page 270

Finally, when Fenrir carefully examined Gustav's body, there was some good news: although Gustav's life essence had been drained, his soul was still there, lingering on his mutilated body parts. It was unclear whether he was lucky enough not to have it drained or if the enemy had just been killed by Red Leaf. In any case, Hayden had so much life essence he could practically give it away for free, so Fenrir quickly infused the body parts with a bit of Angela's aura to keep Gustav's soul alive.

If he repairs these pieces of flesh later, Gustav will be able to revive.

(At least one was saved today.)

Is this good news or bad news?

Fenrir shook his head. Although grief still weighed on him like thick water, Hayden could no longer dwell on such matters.

Then he turned to look at Momiji and the bio-preservation box next to her, only to see the ninja staring blankly at the box.

What is it that you're so engrossed in watching?

Since Gustav's life was saved, Fenrir turned to see what Red Leaf was up to. He wasn't worried that the factory workers would catch up immediately; they were busy dealing with the Black War God, and Hayden was never short of skills in hiding.

Strangely, Hongye did not explain the situation to him directly. Instead, she paused for a moment, hesitated, and then obediently made way for him, clearly hoping that Hayden would see for himself.

This is really unusual.

Fenrir became wary and bent down to examine the box closely. At first glance, the bio-preservation box didn't seem particularly special. It was grayish-white, two meters long, and resembled a coffin; its contents were completely invisible from the outside. Fenrir released his magic, attempting to penetrate the box and see inside, but was surprised to find that it blocked his power. It should be noted that Hayden's immortal magic was no weaker than that of a minor god. A box that could withstand his probing was certainly no ordinary object.

Fenrir then turned to an arched recess in the box and looked inside. There was only a simple sign with the following words written in the official language of the South American Smoke Mirror Company (Navartl):

[Lunch, Lord Miktikashiva, February 1st, please be mindful of the amount of souls allocated.]

No wonder Fenrir and Red Leaf were both startled when they saw the sign.

February 1st, that's next week, in other words, this box certainly won't contain leftovers. What is the goddess Mikkuri's lunch? Everyone knows she's a vampire, and a South American goddess at that, so of course she eats people. But Hayden also knows that the goddess Mikkuri isn't some barbaric, indiscriminate vampire. Even if she does eat people, she'll definitely be selective about her targets. So, who exactly is the poor soul in this box? That's a very interesting question.

Fenrir could take the box away for further study, but that might attract the attention of the Smoke Mirror Company. Thinking about it that way, he might as well muster his courage and open the box now.

"Hongye, keep watch for me. I'll pry open the box now; it's better than bringing back a time bomb."

The ninja wanted to complain when he heard this – Master, can't you just leave this box here and pretend you didn't see it and ignore it?

Unfortunately, Hayden wasn't that kind of person.

Fenrir reached out and touched the box, lightly tracing a few lines. This level of power struggle could have been earth-shattering, like his fight with the black war god earlier. However, now it required suppressing and constricting power, and Hayden handled it very well. He controlled the range, minimizing fluctuations, and his index finger, like a diamond scratching glass, lightly cut a small hole in Miktikashiva's protective force, using superb micro-manipulation skills to open the box.

At that moment, both he and Hongye saw the person lying in the box.

The person terrified Red Leaf, causing her fur to stand on end. Even Fenrir was startled and immediately assumed a fighting stance. The person lying in the box was truly terrifying! She possessed long, dazzling silver hair, which cascaded down her back inside the box. She wore the kind of white bodysuit used to restrain mental patients in hospitals, yet it still accentuated her voluptuous curves. Moreover, she possessed a dreamlike, ethereal beauty, otherworldly and otherworldly. Hayden had once experienced this feeling up close before the goddess Mikkuri.

However, there is something even more important than these messy details—this Sleeping Beauty, the Snow White lying in the box, for some reason, has a face that is exactly the same as the goddess Mikkelsen!

The "lunch" lying in this bio-preservation box is actually a 2P color Miktti Kashiva!

Fortunately, Hayden had seen something similar with Mickett before, and that experience had left a deep impression on him. So now, in a flash, Fenrir understood:

What's inside this box, what those War Gods wanted to steal, is the clone of Goddess Mikt herself, which she often ate!

...What exactly are they trying to do by being sent to steal this kind of thing?

And Mickett, you almost got your base raided, what are you doing now?!

There were just too many baffling situations, and Hayden was utterly perplexed. However, he at least knew what he should do. So Fenrir immediately gave the order: "Redleaf, you go carry the corpses. We don't need this box anymore; let's just take everyone back."

Hayden wasn't stupid; he knew there was definitely a risk involved. But if he were to let such a strange opportunity slip by, he might as well do nothing and just wait for the outcome.

And so, Fenrir, with his clones and Momiji, with the corpses of his teammates, slipped out of the cordon while the factory security guards were still chasing the Black-Clad War God. They dragged the old driver outside, who was still completely unaware of what was going on, and made a quick getaway.

They don't know yet (but they will soon find out) – at the same time, something terrible is happening on the side of the real goddess Mikk.

The chief god of the Smoke Mirror Company, the great Tescatlipoca, has finally begun to move His pieces.

323: Smoke Mirror

Earlier today, before midnight,

That is, when the [All-Round] team was about to infiltrate the factory, but not yet,

Miktikashiva, who was working peacefully in his office, suddenly received a communication from the chief god of the Smoke Mirror Company, their "respectable" chairman Tescatlipokka.

The message was quite abrupt; it demanded that all board members immediately forward the message to headquarters, as the chairman was calling an emergency meeting. Even with Mickett's composure, she couldn't help but first verify the message's authenticity.

Fortunately, forging communications with the true gods is extremely difficult, almost impossible, otherwise the world would have long been in chaos. However, precisely because of this, sometimes, to ensure information security, even the true gods have to personally (or at least use an avatar) gather together to communicate face-to-face. When the goddess Mikk suddenly convened an emergency meeting of the board members in the middle of the night, she pondered for a while, finding it strange, but ultimately concluded—this was probably Tescatlipoka playing his new trick.

The Mirror of Smoke, the Sun of Night, the Lord of the Present, Tescatlipoca, was by nature a god of unpredictability and elusiveness.

Fortunately, the board members of Smoke Mirror Company were almost all former gods turned new gods who had never been human before, so being called to a meeting in the middle of the night wasn't too much of a problem for them. So even though Micket was baffled and suspected that Smoke Mirror God was up to something, she still instructed her secretaries to prepare and then immediately teleported over.

The headquarters of Smoke Mirror Life Construction Company, the municipality of the god Tescatlipoca, is a mysterious large island in central South America called Aztland.

Since ancient times, the gods of South America have regarded this place as a sacred truce. Even though the South American gods used to fight and kill each other every few hundred years, with a god-king being killed and a bunch of lesser gods dying, and they were constantly scheming and plotting against each other, on this sacred island, everyone at least had to show some politeness and have some basic consensus, otherwise society would not be able to maintain itself.

Therefore, this island in the lake, and the city on it, are both incredibly magnificent and beautiful. The pyramid-shaped temple, where the god of the Smoke Mirror resides and where everyone holds meetings, occupies the city center (yes, South American gods also love pyramids, though theirs aren't pointed). It's easily visible from most parts of the city, towering above everything. This tower, along with the city's snow-white reeds, is Aztlan's most unique landscape. Anyone who dares to wield force in this sacred place will immediately be besieged and attacked by the South American gods. At least, that's the theory.

Miktikashiva and all the board members of the Smoke Mirror Company were summoned to the meeting room in this sacred temple tonight. Even before entering, Miktikashiva sensed that several board members were already there, and the gods in the room also noticed her. As soon as she pushed open the heavy door of the meeting room, several pairs of eyes immediately locked onto her.

This is not a good sign.

"Good night, everyone. Why are you welcoming me so warmly?"

But the goddess Mikkelsen walked in with a smile, looking completely unperturbed.

All other meeting participants had arrived, and one could see deities, both high and low, seated around a massive golden table. Gold is a mineral native to South America and holds special significance in their mythology, so it's quite reasonable that the meeting table for the gods was made of gold. These gods, of course, were the directors of the Smoke Mirror Company. However, Miktikashiva didn't take them too seriously. She was the most powerful deity in the Smoke Mirror Company. To Miktikashiva, the other directors were nothing more than bones in a grave. Even if they were gods, in her eyes they were merely pawns to be manipulated, points to be scored.

Only the Chairman, Tescatlipok, the god of smoke and mirrors, is Miktikashiva's only rival and her only target to compete against.

...That being said, Mickett wasn't stupid. She teleported over almost immediately after receiving the summons. However, now, apart from the Smoke Mirror itself, all the other directors were present and seated, and Mickett was the last to arrive, which was obviously a bit strange.

Mickett didn't believe in coincidences. What were all the other directors doing arriving early? It certainly wasn't to prepare a surprise party for her.

But Miktikashiva felt she wasn't afraid of any schemes. Seeing that the other directors were just staring at her without saying anything, she went and sat down on her own. Coincidentally, just as Miktikashiva sat down, the person in charge of today's summons arrived.

The main god of the Smoke Mirror, Tescatlipok, has entered the conference room.

Today, He appeared as an elegant man, pale as paraffin, as black as obsidian, and as pale gray as ashes. Entering the conference room, he politely nodded to the directors, his long, dark hair, a symbol of deathly beauty, cascading over his shoulders with each movement. He wore only a business suit, yet this attire exuded a more powerful aura than any formal wear, effortlessly placing him above all others. The deity's face conveyed the same feeling, breathtakingly handsome, requiring no makeup whatsoever.

But tomorrow, he might completely change his attire, donning the robes of a long-deceased monarch, or clad in armor forged from harvested souls, while simultaneously becoming gaunt and withered. In any case, no one can accurately describe Tescat Lipoca, for He is unlike any other South American deity. He is [Impermanence] and [Accident], the Lord of [The Present Moment], and as omnipresent and unpredictable as [The Night Wind].

It's unlikely that any of the board members knew why Smoke Mirror had summoned them today. Fortunately, Smoke Mirror didn't seem to intend to keep them in suspense today, and went straight to the point saying, "Good night, my dear compatriots. I have to urgently summon you today, please allow me to apologize first."

The beginning was fairly polite, with about half of the board members nodding in greeting to Smoke Mirror. However, most of the board members reacted rather coldly. After all, Smoke Mirror was hardly a likable god, and being urgently summoned in the middle of the night was something everyone was quite unhappy about.

Mickett was even more direct, raising his eyebrows and saying, "Stop beating around the bush, Chairman. Things have been turbulent lately, and everyone's business has been impacted. I'm afraid we don't have much time to entertain your whims."

Several directors nodded vigorously as Mickett spoke. Of course, most of them were originally from Mickett's faction.

Smoke Mirror, however, was not angry. Without even sitting down, He smiled and said in a smooth voice, "Hey, Miktikashiva, since you brought this up, that's good. Let's get straight to the point. You said things have been turbulent lately, and that's exactly what I wanted to talk about."

"Mithra Bodhisattva has developed the [Reincarnation] magic and skill chips, and markets around the world are now suffering a huge impact. We in South America are less dependent on foreign countries, so we can still manage for now, but I don't think anyone wants to sit idly by and wait for death. What should we do in the future? Which path should the entire South American pantheon take? I've brought a proposal today, and that's why I'm convening this board meeting."

These words, while unexpected, were also somewhat predictable. Mickett hadn't anticipated that Smoke Mirror would suddenly call a meeting to discuss this matter, but it didn't matter. Smoke Mirror wasn't one for direct confrontation with powerful opponents; he'd always been a cunning strategist, a conman, or at best, an assassin. Even in the midst of chaos, Smoke Mirror certainly wouldn't wage war. Today, he'd either suggest that the entire company support Mitra from now on, wagging his tail to the future victor; or he'd suggest that the company declare neutrality in the upcoming world war (whether he could actually do that was another matter). Anyway, Mickett didn't think he would…

“I propose that, in order to prepare for the impending world war, our entire company should transition to a military-style system in advance.”

"Smoke Mirror" said, a sharp glint in his eyes.

"Start investing in new cloning technology in the lab, increase production lines, and raise the blood sacrifice quota—use everything we have to fight the Mitra Group!"

324: The true colors are revealed!

Based on readers' suggestions, I will try to use "Smoke Mirror" instead of names like "Tescatlipoca" to refer to the gods of South America, otherwise their names are just too long... like Hippetotek, Miscovatl, just the names alone could fill hundreds of words in a chapter, and even I get dizzy looking at them. So I'll try to use more interpretive translations and alternative names.

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"I propose that, in order to prepare for the impending world war, our entire company should transition to a military-style system ahead of schedule. We should officially begin using the new cloning technology in our laboratories, increase production, and raise the blood sacrifice quota—use everything we have to fight against the Mitra Corporation!"

Smoke Mirror spoke with a straight face, his expression full of integrity and sincerity.

However, the other company directors and the other South American gods, including Mickett, who heard His words now looked at the smoke mirror with extreme suspicion. Almost all the gods now wore expressions that said, "What kind of scheme are you playing?" and they didn't even bother to hide their suspicion.

There's no way around it, because that's just the kind of guy Smoke Mirror is. Deceiving people isn't just a habit for him; scheming might have become part of his life.

Many gods enjoy playing pranks and deceiving people, especially among the ancient gods; almost the entire world has its share of masters of deception. However, not every ancient god who enjoys playing pranks and deceiving people possesses the darkness and bloodlust of someone like Smoke Mirror.

"Smoke Mirror, how dare you say such a thing?"

Sipettotique—the South American god of skinning, plague, and gold, often simply called "Lord Skinner"—is quite direct and blunt in his criticism. He is a major god who governs the eastern regions of South America, on par with Mikt, who governs the north. Moreover, Lord Skinner is an ancient god, as old as Smoke Mirror, so his criticisms of Smoke Mirror are naturally quite blunt.

"Four hundred years ago, when the new Mithra gods had just risen and were conquering the world, Quetzalcoatl advocated that all of us South American gods should first unite and then ally with other old gods around the world to fight against the new gods. But you betrayed Quetzalcoatl without saying a word, and then, when we were in chaos, you said that since we were already in such a mess, it was impossible to win, so we might as well join the new gods' camp and protect our territory."

"Back then, we couldn't think of a better solution, and you volunteered to take on the mess, so we made you the leader, and later you became the company's chairman. Now that Mitra Group wants to conquer the world for the second time and completely unify the world, you're saying that the company should do everything it can to resist Mitra. What's wrong with you?"

The words of the Skin-Peeling Master can be considered to have expressed the sentiments of most of the directors present.

Almost all the board members of Smoke Mirror Company are old gods who have turned into new gods. Four hundred years ago, when Mithra led the new god revolution of capital, it was Smoke Mirror who betrayed the originally warlike leader, Quetzalcoatl, and led the old gods of South America to swear allegiance to the new god camp.

Of course, none of them are fallen angels. The conflict between the fallen angels and the new gods at that time was almost irreconcilable. The only exception is the Peacock King, who is both a fallen angel and still holds a high position in modern new god society.

Therefore, Smoke Mirror is a fraud, an assassin, and a schemer. Although He is indeed very powerful, the strongest among the South American gods, people do not truly admire or love Him; at most, they fear and revere Him, and they do need Him.

Hearing the words of the Skinner, the Smoke Mirror wasn't angry. He tossed his jet-black hair and retorted, "Was I wrong back then? We couldn't defeat Mithras, and I did preserve our territory. As your leader, I ensured that South America remained under our control for four hundred years. Shouldn't you thank me for that? The price was simply that we went from being local god-kings to international capitalists. In reality, we live much better now than in the feudal era. Was I wrong?"

That's right, and that's what makes Smoke Mirror so despicable. He first sets the house on fire, then leads everyone to put out the fire, build a new house, and divide the spoils—of course, we all know who gets more and who gets less—but anyway, without Smoke Mirror, the gods of South America might really have all died out four hundred years ago. That's why Smoke Mirror has been the chairman for four hundred years, and everyone still hasn't killed him and replaced him.

"My betrayal of Quetzalcoatl back then was entirely in accordance with the natural order of Aztlan. The old sun, aging and weakening, should be killed and given way to the strong new sun. The fact that the old sun, Quetzalcoatl, was careless and was ambushed and defeated by me is simply because he was incompetent. We chose to submit to Mithra, the new sun, back then because he was at his peak and powerful."

"However, the current situation is quite different."

Smoke Mirror's tone had been light and casual, but it suddenly turned serious and cold as he spoke.

“You’ve all seen the live broadcast of Mitra’s Reincarnation magic. If that Reincarnation magic is fully developed, it will become the order of a new world, creating new nature and principles. We could bow down to Mitra before for our own land and order, and we can still do that now. But what do you think we’ll have left if we bow down again this time?”

Now the board members, both minor and major gods, finally understood why Smoke Mirror had urgently called this meeting. It was only then that many South American gods realized the gravity of the situation. Many of the lesser gods, slower to react and lacking in foresight, exchanged bewildered glances, their expressions turning serious.

Because the directors of the Smoke Mirror Company are not only almost all Old Gods, but also Nature Gods among the Old Gods. Their essence is mostly the spirit manifested from various natural forces and phenomena in South America.

The concept of "natural spirits," though seemingly weak, is actually all-encompassing. Originally, most natural spirits were simply beings without intelligence. In their primal state, they were rather dull, lacking human-level thinking abilities, more like bewildered wild beasts. However, in ancient times, people in almost every region worshipped these natural forces and phenomena, offering sacrifices to them. It was through absorbing these blood sacrifices that natural spirits gained the secret fire and wisdom of humankind.

Nature gods are not weak. Even low-level nature gods can be the embodiment of mountains and rivers, while powerful nature gods often originate from significant natural phenomena within the cultural sphere. However, without a continuous replenishment of their secret fire, nature gods will gradually weaken, lose their wisdom, and eventually revert to their former state as ignorant, animalistic spirits. If the natural environment undergoes significant changes, these changes will also be reflected in the nature gods.

Following this line of thought, imagine if Mithra Bodhisattva really unified the world, used "reincarnation" to rule the world, and created a new natural order and environment... then what would happen to these nature gods in South America?

"Imagine if Mithra unified the world and stopped the blood sacrifices, removed environmental pollution, purified the traces we left on the world, and created a so-called blue and clean Earth... Even if Mithra were to abandon us after we've served our purpose, and still give us the Secret Fire and let us control our own territory, what would our situation be then?"

"Smoke Mirror" said, a mocking smile appearing on his face.

"In the best-case scenario, we will be brainwashed by the new natural environment. Just like the Mitra Group's corporate slaves who have had personality correction chips implanted, our personalities may be corrected by the nature of the new world."

"What's the worst-case scenario? Maybe we'll be replaced by a new natural environment. Maybe the forces of nature will manifest a new spirit, maybe that new spirit will be similar to us, or very different, but in any case, it will definitely not be the 'me' we are now."

This wasn't just Smoke Mirror spreading alarmist rumors, or at least not entirely. Many directors' expressions turned grim upon hearing this. Because the hypothesis Smoke Mirror proposed was indeed quite possible, and even these powerful figures dared not say just how likely it was.

So, the rain god Traloc, who governs the water, storms, and agriculture of southern South America, spoke up. His skin was a serene blue, he had fish fins, and he spoke slowly and deliberately: "Smoke Mirror, your prediction is indeed correct. But we still need to face the biggest problem—can we win?"

“Mitra’s willingness to reveal [Reincarnation] to the world before the official start of the war shows that he has such great confidence that he doesn’t care if his trump card is seen. Or perhaps [Reincarnation] is not his biggest trump card at all, which would be even more terrifying.”

"If we can't win, it's better to surrender and perhaps survive than to resist Mithra and inevitably die. After all, we might not be eliminated."

Some people certainly thought Rain God's words were foolish. In fact, many directors seemed to think so. There were even a few snorting sounds of disgust and mockery in the meeting room. But on the other hand, some directors clearly supported Rain God's viewpoint. After all, they didn't want to start a war and court death.

"Of course there's a chance to win. Although I wouldn't dare say it's a sure thing, and you wouldn't believe me anyway, there's still a chance."

Therefore, the smoke mirror answered,

"Our unique mass-production cloning technology, life customization technology, and blood sacrifice technology—if it comes down to cost, they are never inferior to Mitra's [skill chips]. The only real weakness we have over Mitra is our insufficient combat power."

"But then again, we're not going to go it alone against the Mitra Group. As everyone knows, the Mars Group and Wotan Corporation are also resisting Mitra's world unification plan. If the three of us can unite our forces, we shouldn't lose, at least for the time being, right?"

"As for the terrifying [Reincarnation] magic in Mitra's possession, it is indeed the biggest problem right now, and it might even make him surpass all of us. But since the New Yatu incident last year, I have actually been working hard to develop a brand new great life magic based on our Aztland culture!"

Smoke Mirror, with passionate words, clenched his fists and spoke loudly and eloquently.

"Once I complete this research project, we will obtain absolute power equal to [Reincarnation]! Combined with the other two major companies, we will surely defeat the Mitra Group this time!"

He said so.

However, none of the other board members present believed him. Especially the last part, which really gave off a conman vibe. Now, most of the other board members had expressions of "I don't believe you for a second," even the gods from Smoke Mirror's own faction were no exception. After all, such vague and rambling talk was a classic fraud tactic.

The author went even further, saying, "If you're really developing this technology, that's great. But your credibility isn't so good that we'll believe everything you say. Talk is cheap, so hurry up and show us some concrete evidence, at least show the board of directors the development progress."

The entire board of directors basically agreed with the suggestion of Skinning the Lord. After all, the Smoke Mirror is a god who enjoys lying and deceiving people, and no other god would believe what He says without evidence. Even if evidence were presented, everyone would probably only believe half of it.

...In other words, even if they know that the Smoke Mirror likes to lie, they will still believe half of it as long as there is evidence.

Therefore, it's clear that Smoke Mirror is truly a unique and peculiar figure among all the world's chief gods. He's the only chief god in the world who seems mentally unstable, disliked by everyone, yet hasn't been replaced by his subjects in a rebellion. The main reason is that he's too intelligent, and constantly inventing new things and coming up with new ideas. That's his specialty, and the main reason why the South American gods have always kept him as their chief god.

Now that the Skin-Peeling Lord has pointed out this problem quite bluntly, the Smoke Mirror isn't unhappy at all. On the contrary, the smile on His face has deepened: "Of course I'm happy to show everyone the development progress and research plan. Evidence is definitely necessary."

"However, before we show it to everyone, there is one small problem we must solve."

As they spoke, Smoke Mirror suddenly turned to face the person directly across the conference table, looking at Mikt Tikahiva, who had barely spoken throughout. At the same time, Mikt also realized that Smoke Mirror's long speech was probably not what it seemed.