The Adventures of an Overpowered Knight in Another World

Chapter 686- Ruins Of An Ancient Kingdom (2)

Unlike most, the Queen did not lose her calm because she had absolute faith in her knight.

”Things can’t go on like this. The Organization’s interference has reminded us that we know very little about our enemies. We need more information.”

Reinhardt listened quietly to the discussions of the rulers of the world.

He agreed with the Queen. To defeat the demons, to defeat the Organization, they needed more information about the enemy and the world they were living in.

When the room fell silent, he spoke again.

”There is one more thing.”

The attention of everyone present returned to him.

”The First Division discovered ruins belonging to an Ancient Kingdom deep within the Tainted Lands.”

”Ancient Kingdom?” Several rulers frowned immediately.

Reinhardt nodded. ”We explored only a small portion of the ruins before the labyrinth incidents began occurring all across the Tainted Lands. It was for this reason that I told Erza to hold off on the exploration of the Ancient Ruins”...

”However, from what little we have explored, we discovered traces of a highly advanced civilization. What’s more, it connects back to an age more than one thousand years ago. The Era of the Seven Gods.”

The atmosphere shifted instantly. Everyone’s eyes, whether they were physically present here or not, went wide.

The term Era of the Seven Gods was all just a myth by now. The time period between the current era and the Era of the Gods was so far apart that barely anything from that time was left behind.

If not for the few records that survived the passage of time and the Altars, even the existence of the Seven Gods would be doubted.

That said, what humanity knew about the Era of the Gods was very little.

A period of unprecedented prosperity and advancement. Just thinking about it made them envy such a time.

The shelters and most of the advanced devices and technologies they had today came from the knowledge and diagrams left behind from that era.

Even the Labyrinths and Shelters were something that the people of that era, called the Arcanists, had created.

Reinhardt continued. ”The laboratory we explored recently was merely one of many ancient facilities hidden within the Tainted Lands. If we truly wish to uncover the truth behind the demons, the Organization, and the so-called human demonization... then the answers may very well lie inside those ruins.”

Everyone in the meeting fell silent. They all understood the gravity of those words.

Having lived for so long without trying to understand the truth of the world, they were finally starting to understand how wrong they were and how severely they had underestimated the enemy.

This was a foe who had survived since ancient times, the calamity that brought down even the Era of the Gods. Trying to fight them without knowing anything about them was sheer arrogance.

”The Queen of Solaris and the Divine Paladin are right. To fight the enemy, we need to learn more about them.” The king of Aetherion agreed.

”The human demonization is something that far surpasses our wildest imagination. We need to stop the Organization and destroy such vile methods.” Spoke the Arch Queen of Vesperia.

Seraphina, listening in to the discussion, nodded her head.

The King and Queen of Nocturnium, Drakmore, Paradoxis, Rune... one by one, everyone gave their approval.

By unanimous agreement, the investigation of the Ancient Kingdom ruins became the Dawnbringers’ highest priority.

”By the way, what is that weapon that engulfed the Sixth Division? I have never heard or thought of such a weapon existing. The aftershocks reached all the way to the borders of my kingdom.” A ruler spoke.

At those words, the attention returned to the weapon that had almost annihilated the Sixth Division.

”I believe it was a bomb built during the ancient era.” Reinhardt replied

”A bomb, you say?”

”That’s right.”

It was not like bombs didn’t exist in this era. However, compared to the bomb that detonated on the Sixth Division, the bombs of today would be like firecrackers compared to an antimatter bomb. The technological gap was that big.

”I believe the people of the ancient era were creating such bombs to fight against the demons.”

Scenes of the Labyrinth he had visited with the Third Division, briefly flashed in his mind.

The room fell silent. Then another ruler spoke.

”If ancient humanity truly possessed weapons capable of threatening demons, then shouldn’t we try to recreate those weapons?”

”He is right. From the Divine Paladin’s description, it appears to be a powerful weapon. If humanity can possess it, we will have another trump card to fight against the demons.”

The conversation was steadily progressing from trying to build an ancient bomb to trying to acquire it. It was then that Solaris interjected.

”There is something all of you should know. A few years ago, Solaris discovered a shelter that had surfaced near its territory.”

Her sudden words drew everyone’s attention. Even Reinhardt glanced at the transmission device from which her voice was coming. He knew very well what she was talking about.

”Inside the shelter, we found a weapon. No, calling it a weapon would be wrong. We simply found a schematic for what should be called a super weapon. The people who created it named the weapon Vermis Ultima”...

”After investigating it, we came to understand what we believe is the true meaning of this weapon: The End of All Things.”

Hearing those words, several rulers widened their eyes, including the heroes present inside the room.

The Queen continued.

”The design described a bomb powerful enough to annihilate entire demonic armies, level the land, and destroy all kinds of powers. However, our current era’s technology is far too behind compared to the ancient era. Even after years of research, progress has been painfully slow.”

The Queen sighed. It did not take a genius to connect the dots.

”Are you telling us that the bomb that went off was the Vermis Ultima you speak of?”

The Queen did not hide anything. ”I am not sure. The researchers of my kingdom tell me that this weapon possesses power that is too great. From the scale they described, it could easily engulf an entire kingdom.”

Once again, everyone sucked in a deep breath of air. Especially the heroes and knights who were present back at the scene.

They had witnessed the devastation caused by a weapon of that caliber. It had obliterated the labyrinth, which was indestructible to the technology of today, and leveled dozens of miles of land.

The scale was big enough to fit multiple cities.

However, now, the Queen was saying that there was a weapon capable of unleashing even more devastation.

A weapon that could engulf an entire kingdom. Just thinking about it made all the hairs on their body stand on end.

”Whether it is the same weapon or not, the fact is that the Organization, or rather the demons, possess such a weapon. We cannot ignore that.”

”That’s right. Queen of Solaris, how could you hide such a thing from everyone? The importance of such a weapon is too great for humanity.”

”Right, by trying to hide this, you have put humanity in danger.”

Frantic and afraid, the rulers of various kingdoms started blaming the Queen, forgetting their standing for a moment.

”Everyone, calm down. There must be a reason why the Queen of Solaris decided to reveal that information now. Besides, are we all even deserving enough to blame her for withholding a technology from the Ancient Era when we have all done the same?”

The king of Aetherion spoke. His words caused the rulers who were flipping out on the Queen to come to their senses and reflect on themselves.

The nations of humanity might show an allied front. However, that was only on the surface. Deep within, there were countless complex relationships and politics.

Nations trying to compete with one another or gain a status similar to the Six Great Nations. And technologies from the Ancient Era often became the deciding factor in all of it.

To say that they were all withholding some of the technologies from the Ancient Era would not be a lie.

After that retort, they had nothing to say.

”The King of Aetherion is wise,” the Queen of Solaris spoke.

”I was afraid that the weapon would be misused, which is why I never brought it up during the previous summits. However, now that the enemy has shown their cards, I feel like I should not hide it anymore”...

”The reason why I brought this up, is because I want to share this technology with everyone and invite researchers from every kingdom to contribute and help in creating the weapon. The researchers of my kingdom told me that the power of Vermis Ultima is simply too great for a single nation to create.”

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A/N- (In many mythologies, the worm represents the absolute end of the cycle. The creature that eats the corpse of the world after it dies. Calling the bomb Vermis Ultima means ”The Last Thing to Feed.” It signifies a weapon of absolute finality, implying that after it drops, nothing will be left.)