PS. Some people are debating the protagonist's identity. Let me emphasize here: the star warriors are not truly human in the full sense of the word. They are a hybrid creation of subspace and high technology. The protagonist is a true, complete human. He does not undergo genetic modification, just as an emperor does not need genetic modification surgery. Similarly, the protagonist's slow growth is precisely because he is not a "tool."
"This is a story from thousands of years ago. The first Phoenix King, Ainario, fought alone against four Chaos Daemons to guard this world and create opportunities for the Elf Grand Magus and Dragon Tamer - Kaledo." The lake fairy pointed to the scene first: "You must have heard of this story."
"Yes." Ryan was familiar with the story.
After the ancient sacred portal collapsed, endless Chaos Demons flooded into this world. Dwarves, lizardmen, and elves resisted the Chaos Demons together. While dwarves and lizardmen could still resist, elves were the first to collapse. This race, originally enjoying the sanctuary built by the ancient sage Ossuan, was not adept at combat and was also a race with low fertility.
Thus, as elves neared extinction, the adventurer Ailariao sought help from the Phoenix Lord, the main god of elves, Asuyan, in tears. After his pleas went unanswered, he decided to sacrifice himself by entering Asuyan's Sacred Flame...
Ailariao succeeded. His body was reshaped in the Sacred Flame, becoming the eternal Phoenix King.
Initially, Ailariao, with his extraordinary powers, indeed led the elves to successive victories and reclaimed lost territories. However, the number of Chaos Demons was endless; they could never be fully eradicated. As his wife, the Eternal Queen, also died in the war, Ailariao drew the Cain Sword, symbolizing power and curse, and continued to battle the Chaos Demons with his dragon knights.
The Cain Sword was indeed powerful, enabling Ailariao to continue winning victories. However, it's important to emphasize that Chaos Demons cannot be annihilated; they return to subspace upon death and come back restored.
Even with the aid of the Cain Sword, the elves could not escape their doomed fate. At this time, the Elf Grand Magus and Dragon Tamer - Kaledo proposed a plan - to create a magical vortex that would absorb all the chaotic energy needed for the Chaos Demons to descend into the world. Without energy support, the Chaos Demons could no longer exist in the world.
Initially, Ailariao rejected the plan, but as the elves continued to retreat, Kaledo took a desperate gamble and restarted the plan. Out of a sense of duty and being corroded by the magic sword into madness, Ailariao still led his dragon knight army to assist Kaledo.
The war was unimaginably brutal. Almost all the dragon knights died, and in the end, Ailariao faced and killed four Chaos Daemons one by one, dying from severe injuries himself... But his efforts were not in vain. Kaledo completed the plan, and the magical vortex absorbed the chaotic energy from the world. The demons, losing the chaotic energy that supported their existence, dissipated. Then, the ancient sage's servants, the Slann mage-priests, used "Great Warding" to close the portal.
This magical vortex is today's - Great Vortex.
This was the true first Chaos invasion.
"Chaos Demons, from subspace, they are powerful, unstoppable, and bring endless and merciless destruction wherever they go. Even if we can defeat them once or twice, they will always return. Do you know why, Ryan?" the lake fairy continued.
"Because... as long as subspace exists, these beings will exist." Ryan looked at the image of Ailariao, finding it hard to imagine what kind of will the first Phoenix King, already deeply corroded by the magic sword, had to fight against four Chaos Daemons alone.
Chaos Daemons are the ultimate creations of the Chaos Gods, or rather, they are part of Chaos itself, their strength beyond human imagination, with weaker deities being no match for them.
"Yes, as long as subspace exists, Chaos Demons will exist." The lake fairy's bright gaze turned to Ryan beside her, her thin lips lightly saying: "But subspace is made of energy, which in itself comes from the desires, emotions, beliefs, and thoughts of any living being in the physical universe. Any minor activity beneath the scalp can cause fluctuations in subspace, and these fluctuations are energy."
"Therefore, subspace is Chaos, and Chaos is subspace."
"As long as there are living beings, as long as there are emotions, any emotion, it will disturb and provide energy to subspace, and we can never escape from subspace, so we can never escape from Chaos."
"The four basic emotions of humanity have produced four Chaos Gods. They are Hate, Hope, Joy, and Despair, also known as the Blood God Khorne, the Master of Deception Tzeentch, the Prince of Pleasure Slaanesh, and the Father of Decay Nurgle."
"Besides, the remaining emotional energies in subspace are projected as deities, such as Charlemagne, representing the concept of the human race, me, symbolizing the eight virtues of knighthood, and Yurik, symbolizing courage and strength."
"Like the four Chaos Gods, we are also formed from the emotional projections of subspace. The difference between us and the Chaos Gods is, if Chaos symbolizes destruction and nothingness, we symbolize existence and physicality."
After saying these, the lake fairy gave Ryan a sly smile: "You must understand, right? My champion?"
"Yes, I understand, my lady. This reaffirms my resolve to serve you," Ryan respectfully answered.
"I'm pleased to hear that. Let's continue, my champion," the lake fairy paused, then continued: "Even though we share many similarities with the Chaos Gods in essence, I still have to say, the power of the Chaos Gods is unmatched by us because as long as beings generate emotions, they will provide energy to the Chaos Gods, whereas we need faith, prayers, temples, and churches to guide us to gain energy... but even so, the energy we can gain is still far less compared to the Chaos Gods."
Ryan now understood why Yurik, the White Wolf War God, one of the most powerful in combat among the deities, was at a disadvantage when facing the first Chaos Everchosen "Unifier" Morkar.
This situation is despairing.
"The only good news is, the four Chaos Gods are not very interested in the material world; the Chaos realm in subspace is their eternal battlefield, where they focus their attention and compete, especially with the existence of the Great Vortex preventing most Chaos Demons from directly entering the material world in physical form, further reducing the Chaos Gods' interest in the material world." Holding the Holy Grail in her hands, the lake fairy lifted it above her head: "But corruption and degeneration spread in the material world, mortals seeking power and pleasure will attempt to embrace Chaos in hopes of blessings from the dark gods, although we have shown the living a bright path, yet this path is relatively narrow, as you know, Ryan, my champion, people's instincts always tend towards getting things without effort, choosing the easier path."
"Hehe~ That's true, my lady," Ryan said with a bitter smile.
"Chaos is eternal, mortal perseverance is brief, these victories are fleeting, but we still need to fight, for our own survival, when another Everchosen unites all the northern barbarian tribes, Chaos Demons, and corrupt mortals to march southward, the world will face a terrible test again, and I have a feeling, this test will be unprecedentedly difficult," the lake fairy sounded very worried: "This Everchosen's power is unprecedentedly strong."
"He has already collected four of the five Chaos artifacts, and I am no match for him." The lake fairy held the Holy Grail, her beautiful face slightly clouded: "Facing this embodiment of evil, no spell can harm him in the slightest... perhaps Charlemagne can barely confront him, but I am not good at close combat."
"Charlemagne? Lady, are you talking about Emperor Charlemagne? But he... he's a human, isn't he?" Ryan was puzzled.
"He is human, he is also a deity, when countless people of the empire chant his name in battle, when he becomes a symbol and faith of humanity, he also becomes a deity, do you understand what I mean?" the lake fairy smiled cunningly, looking at Ryan.
"I understand." Ryan got it, when countless mortals' emotions converge in subspace, Charlemagne will gain energy, becoming a deity.
After these discussions, the silence fell between the deity and the human again, the lake fairy not rushing, giving Ryan time to think, and her champion, both in soul and body far surpassing ordinary humans, need not worry about being unable to bear the revelations of a deity.
She suddenly felt that Ryan was the best gift subspace had given her, satisfying her in many ways, his potential and endless possibilities gave the lake fairy more hope for the future.
"The Everchosen of Chaos needs a lot of time to unite all the barbarian tribes and conquer those Chaos Demons, Ryan, my champion, what we need to do is accumulate strength, and gradually weaken the dark gods, to shake their grasp on the future," the lake fairy continued: "Do not rush, my champion, what you need to do is to manage your territory well, I will arrange some things."
"I will follow your command, my lady, but I hope I can achieve my goals through my own efforts," Ryan humbly offered his opinion.
"I will give you this opportunity," the lake fairy extended her jade-like finger and tapped Ryan's face, her smile blooming before Ryan's eyes: "I know what my champion wants to do, I will support you, but will not interfere, the gods have long been dissatisfied with me for overly involving in mortal affairs, and I believe you can do it."
The lake fairy's smile seemed magical, Ryan felt a bit dizzy, but he immediately calmed down: "Thank you very much."
"Alright, it's about time." The lake fairy nodded: "Staying here too long is not good, we have plenty of time to communicate, remember to leave a room for me in your castle, I will visit often."
"Of course, I will follow your command, my lady." Ryan stood up, knowing this pleasant meeting had ended.
"Do you need me to send a lake god prophet to assist you?" the lake fairy stood up, extending her warm and jade-like small hand towards Ryan.
Ryan took her hand, gently kissing the back of it, then smiled: "No need, my lady, thank you for your generosity, but I have my ways."
After saying that, psychic energy gathered around Ryan, and he disappeared in a dazzling white light, leaving the lake fairy's divine realm.
Watching Ryan's disappearing figure, the lake fairy's smile faded, her eyebrows slightly furrowed.
Her chosen champion, Ryan, was excellent in many ways, very much to her liking. With him, she could visit the material plane anytime, anywhere. He could purify corruption, combat evil, and she believed Ryan would definitely become a core force under her command in the future.
However... the lake fairy could feel that Ryan had his own ideas and demands, she could not fully sway his thoughts, her control over him was actually not strong, he did not need her help and guidance in many matters, naturally lowering her control.
This did not meet her needs, especially since Ryan was so important to her, she needed to strengthen Ryan's loyalty.
Now many forces had already appeared around him, the holy paladins of the Justice Church, those annoying witches, the empire's Griffin Duke, Marinburg's prince of commerce, and that disgusting dark elf.
...Right, Ryan, although already twenty-five years old, had not yet married.
The lake fairy immediately set a bottom line, her chosen champion, Ryan - Makado's wife must not be anyone other than her followers!
The long meeting ended, and Ryan left the lakeside alone, then took his entourage and the Antrell siblings towards his territory.
The meeting between the lake fairy and Ryan was unprecedentedly long, many knights were curious about what they discussed, but Ryan always smiled without answering, and no one dared to ask further.
Following the road of the Kakasong Duchy, the group finally reached Ryan's territory - Baron Jean.
The scenery gradually changed.
The warm sunlight shone on the road between the fields, the lush fields were filled with countless serfs happily praising the gods, the woods and bushes were full of ripe fruits, a clear stream quietly flowed along the road.
Clusters of barns and windmills stood on the plains, the air filled with the scent of wine and grass, and the fragrance of the soil, along the way only peace and prosperity, richness and singing remained.
The distant mountain peaks revealed their true faces amidst layers of snow, the blue sky clear without a cloud.
"This place is simply a paradise on earth." Looking at the scenery along the way, Ryan felt the bright sunshine, speaking to Julius.
"Ahead is your territory - Baron Jean, and further ahead is the Duchy of Winfort." Julius said.
Duke Winfort's internal governance ability was really strong, a valley plain already rich and safe could be governed so prosperously by him, here one could not see the pain of oppressed serfs, nor the hostile gaze towards outsiders, seeing the appearance of the Grail Knights, Ryan received cheers and praises from countless serfs, making him momentarily proud.
He immediately warned himself not to be arrogant, the tasks awaiting him were still heavy, Winfort Duchy's prosperity and peace did not mean the entire Brittany was like this, along the way, hunger, desolation, and war still prevailed.
"Whinny!" Just then, a horse's neigh came from the front of the team, a ranger knight was charging at a... windmill? on a armored warhorse.
"For the lady! For Brittany!" The ranger knight rode his warhorse, holding a lance, charging towards the windmill.
Ryan wondered what was going on? A real-life Don Quixote?
"Boom!" In everyone's sight, the windmill suddenly exploded into pieces, a cyclops charged out from inside, its five or six meters tall figure roaring: "Aaaaah!"
"Prepare for battle!!!"
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