Chapter 641.5: The "Divine War" in Memory
Instead of jumping to questions about Fizz, Matthew began by asking about the Abyssal Demon Fish breeding progress.
Noticing the calm thoughts Matthew sent over, Elona also exhaled slowly in relief.
In her mind, she concisely explained the education of the Abyssal Demon Fish, then shared her doubts and key observations:
"This little guy initially just learned fast, but soon displayed impressive wisdom."
"Within just a few days, he learned the common tongue and could communicate with us fluently."
"I suspect he has a unique talent, so I provided him with some life essence to accelerate his growth."
"Things started out well, but soon something went wrong."
"He suddenly passed out during class, yet his body showed no abnormalities. The doctors also found no injuries."
"Just as I was about to request higher-level medical support, he woke up and recounted a memory that suddenly surfaced in his mind."
"He passed out because he saw many goblins—and some indescribable beings..."
Indescribable beings?
Ordinary abominations wouldn't even begin to compare!
At minimum, these had to be ancient abominations!
Beings of that tier were already comparable to deities with minor divine power...
Hearing Elona's brief description, Matthew set aside thoughts of ancient abominations or worse horrors, and cross-referenced his memory.
"Like the sun?"
"One of the leading gods—is that Lathander?"
"Damn, didn't expect to find signs of that old enemy here..."
The first confirmed god already gave Matthew quite a shock!
"A hammer-wielding dwarf..."
"The dwarven gods acted too? Goblins really stirred things up..."
"Wait, those are elven gods? Were goblins really such a big threat?"
"Who's that? The God of Death!!"
"Shit! So the players were right? Most of the gods really did attack them together?"
"..."
Matthew could still joke earlier on, but now he sank into deep thought.
No matter what, the fact that the goblin empire provoked so many gods into collective action spoke volumes.
Either the goblin empire back then was so powerful that the gods had to unite to oppose it—
Or the goblin empire posed such a massive threat that the gods were forced to intervene immediately.
Logically, the second seemed more likely.
After all, the Material Plane had seen joint divine action before during various crises.
Perhaps this one just happened to take place in the goblin kingdom.
But if you set logic aside and just relied on instinct—
Matthew strongly suspected the first possibility was the real truth!
After all his speculation, secondhand memories were still too vague.
Smacking his lips thoughtfully, Matthew turned to Elona and asked:
"Can you ask little Fizz if he's willing to let me view his memories?"
Elona clearly understood the gravity of the matter. Without hesitation, she nodded and asked the very well-behaved Fizz.
To Matthew's surprise, the little fish barely thought before nodding decisively and speaking in clear, childish common tongue:
"I want to understand what happened. I want to know what my memories truly mean..."
Fizz's calm reply gave Matthew a whole new impression of the fish. He reached out and gently touched the trembling little head.
Threads of psychic power carefully surrounded Fizz's brain.
Matthew demonstrated extraordinary control, choosing not to forcefully extract memories.
This little fish had already given him several surprises. Matthew hoped to discover his secrets and see him grow into a major asset for Bay Territory.
So why was Matthew so sure the fish would join Bay Territory?
The reason was simple—even if the little guy were released and had endless luck and opportunities, he still wouldn't achieve a Luck stat of +5!
Unless... this little one chose Bay Territory!
Chose the faction that would one day raise countless sentient Abyssal Demon Fish!
Only then could he possibly reach such high achievements.
This wasn't Matthew boasting—it was backed by solid evidence.
In his observations and records—
Most people who joined Bay Territory saw significant changes in their Luck stat after some time spent learning, training, and working.
It wasn't just the usual "knowledge changes fate" story!
Some gained +1 Luck; others jumped by +3.
And the vast majority were positive increases!
As Matthew's understanding of fate deepened—
He increasingly sensed that Bay Territory, growing ever stronger, had begun altering the fates of others.
That thought flashed through his mind, and he quickly focused all his attention on Fizz's memory field.
Despite feeling discomfort, Fizz obediently stayed still.
Though newly born, he already had a clear understanding of his situation.
From the hunger-driven hatching and devouring of flesh—
To instinctive battling with other hatchlings—
To paying attention to magic TV, learning out of curiosity—
To calmly studying and reflecting, gradually mastering his body and suppressing inner urges—
He was on a steady journey of gaining knowledge and growing in mind and body.
Now, Fizz vaguely sensed that the chance to change his fate had arrived—and he had to seize it!
Sinking his attention into the memory region, Matthew delicately manipulated his mental power, weaving a fine psychic net to probe deeper.
Soon, he saw memories buried in the bloodline for thousands of years—or longer.
Dark clouds filled the sky, and thunder roared.
A sweeping storm blew in from the coast, filled with wild fury.
Matthew could clearly sense the source of that rage—it had to be the God of Storms.
Starting off with something that dramatic, huh!
His vision moved rapidly, but Matthew ignored the chaos and kept watching.
In the distant sky, a massive figure wreathed in white flames collided with a huge floating metal warship.
Boom!
A burst of blazing white light erupted!
The destructive force, carried on a roaring wind, swept across the field with terrifying intensity.
Matthew couldn't help but smirk as he observed the crumbling warship, and muttered softly:
"Tch... clearly never fought a god before."
"These guys not only have loads of lackeys, but their solo combat power is ridiculous."
"If you don't have someone who can take the hit, even a floating city's just a toy to them!"
Matthew had personally learned that lesson—he was the one getting smacked.
But he hit back too—otherwise, Lathander wouldn't have gotten so pissed.
Matthew still ground his teeth at that reckless brute.
That bastard had destroyed three of his floating cities in a single battle with that domineering style.
Though Matthew drove them back, the cost was enormous.
Thankfully, this was only a memory—Matthew's own future hadn't reached that point, and might never.
He kept watching the sky and soon saw a massive congregation of figures.
Dozens of gods, large and small, stood in clear formation on either side of the sky.
Below them, a vast tide of figures charged straight toward Matthew's position.
With one look, Matthew identified many Thunder Guard units and elite Cole Elven Professionals.
Clearly, the dwarves and elves had committed everything!
And the gods—rarely seen in person—were all overseeing the battle.
Even the boldest fool wouldn't dare retreat or hide now.
Matthew knew the dwarves and elves well, but the goblin troops fighting them felt unfamiliar.
He squinted at the huge golems and battle puppets, his eyes lighting up with curiosity and excitement.
"15-meter tall steel golems? What material are they made from?"
"Damn, they grabbed that wyvern mid-air..."
"They're structurally integrated, yet that fast too?"
"Legit Death Reaper 2000 battle puppets? They're mowing down dwarf warriors like grass!"
"And they coordinate? Battle puppets with tactics?!"
"Wait, are those goblins..."
"Are those goblins manually piloting the golems and battle puppets?"
"And now there's artillery? Looks a lot like dwarven tech..."
"Did the thick-browed dwarves steal their tech back in the day?"
"Huh? That thing looks like a mobile Mislok combat platform."
"Did the Cole Elves get Mislok tech from capturing goblin prototypes?"
"Magic rifles? They had them this early?"
"The lack of progress over the years... maybe someone's been suppressing the tech."
"This really takes the guilt off our shoulders in Bay Territory."
"If it scares our enemies, it's something we ought to develop!"
"..."
Even from this distance, Matthew's incredible vision and analytical mind let him see everything clearly.
Compared to the goblins' advanced mechanized forces, the dwarves and elves looked outdated with their armor and weapons.
But those two races held the overwhelming numbers—over five million troops combined.
It was a literal sea of people.
The goblins had far fewer—only around 400,000.
Their units were stronger and of higher quality.
But fists can't beat numbers, and they began to falter under the tide.
Matthew felt himself pulling away from the battlefield, heading toward an unknown area.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Violent waves from the sky sent showers of terrifying debris streaking with red trails overhead.
Even knowing it wasn't real, Matthew felt awe at the blazing wreckage.
This immersive memory experience was more vivid than reality.
He could even faintly feel the panic of the Abyssal Demon Fish who recorded it.
Just as Matthew thought the memory was about to end—
He witnessed something that left even him stunned!
Tens of thousands of debris chunks plummeted toward the ground.
A massive mechanical arm, brimming with dazzling electric arcs, reached out.
The falling metal scraps were drawn into its palm.
They gathered into a huge metal sphere before it.
Matthew quickly turned his gaze toward the source of the giant hand.
A colossal Mechanical Titan stood before him.
Its body pulsed with overwhelming electric energy, covered in deep battle scars.
A glowing red wound in its abdomen revealed broken parts and fire.
Yet the Titan's aura and sheer force still left Matthew in awe.
"I can't believe it! Mechanical Titans really exist!"
"And the goblin kingdom made it—to fight gods?!"
"If the players knew this, they'd regret not digging deeper into goblin ruins!"
Before Matthew could think more, the terrifying Titan hurled the metal sphere at the oncoming blaze!
The spinning electromagnetic arcs accelerated it violently.
Boom!
The two forces collided with massive force.
A roaring fireball expanded rapidly.
A shockwave of unimaginable power blasted outward.
The huge sphere shattered into metal fragments.
Countless red-hot metal shards rained from the sky.
It was like a storm of fire!
The charging fiery figure halted momentarily under that tremendous blow.
Lathander narrowed his eyes at the 200-meter-tall Titan, radiating even more sunlight.
Matthew was just about to witness the forbidden scene: "Lathander vs. Mechanical Titan"—
When the entire vision went dark.
He was now in an underground tunnel.
Boom!
Explosions and violent tremors rocked the earth. Even deep underground, Matthew could feel them.
He showed a trace of disappointment at missing Lathander's ultimate display.
But what came next made him just as excited—
He saw what the goblin ruins looked like before they were destroyed!
It was breathtaking!