Who hid My Corpse!

Chapter 140: 32 Key of Order Chapter 140: 32 Key of Order Hearing Kude say he was going on his own to find the Bishop, Gerard immediately shook his head, “No, that’s too dangerous.”

Kude looked at Gerard and asked, “Do you think it’s dangerous because you believe something has happened to Bishop Hallman?”

“I think it’s quite obvious,” Gerard said.

“It’s been ten years, and the Five Great Bishops have never shown themselves, even though Lyra has already become like this.

They haven’t taken any action, so I can only assume that there’s a problem with them.”

Kude fell silent for a while before shaking his head, “My opinion is the opposite of yours.

I think the Bishop hasn’t encountered any problems yet.”

Gerard furrowed his brows but didn’t immediately ask aloud, just waiting for Kude’s explanation.

“Because most of the rules of Lyra are still functioning, even before we came back from Rhein, the orders we received were to kill you within the rules, even willing to make a deal with the Bishop from Rhein,” Kude slowly started.

“To me, this is the most direct evidence that the rules are still in operation.

And Gerard, have you ever thought about it, if the Bishop wanted you dead, would you still be alive now?”

Gerard’s expression changed slightly, “You mean…”

“I don’t know if you have heard of this saying that the will of God can influence His followers.” Kude continued, “I don’t know how it is in other Churches, but in Lyra, our God worships machinery and rules.

Therefore, the entire Lyra is like this, the will and power of Lyra transfer from the Sky Tower to the four divisional towers and then from the four divisional towers to the entire Lyra, thus the whole of Lyra can receive the blessing of my Lord.”

Gerard nodded slightly, he knew this part.

“Among this, there’s a fact that ordinary people can’t confront the power and will of Lyra directly; they must do it through a divisional tower, and those who control the divisional tower and can directly connect with Lyra are only the Five Great Bishops,” Kude slowly said.

“In other words, setting aside my Lord Lyra, the power of the Lord Bishop is limitless.

They’re not just like other church bishops who only hold power and wealth; they genuinely have the capability to influence every region under their jurisdiction…

as avatars, in mechanical terms, as nodes.”

As Kude spoke, he noticed a flicker of confusion on Gerard’s face and realized his explanation might be a bit too complicated.

So Kude started to gesture with his fingers on the ground, which indeed helped Gerard understand, considering the Pioneer Force, where Gerard was previously, didn’t have much depth in this area of study.

Under Kude’s simple demonstrations, Gerard quickly grasped the concept—”God (main tower) influences the Bishop (sub towers), the Bishop (sub towers) influences the people.”

“I understand,” Gerard nodded.

“You can continue.”

“That’s essentially it,” Kude said.

“We now know there is a problem with Lyra, but identifying which specific aspect is the problem is key.

Regardless of where the issue lies, we can see that the Bishop’s position, receiving from above and initiating below, is the most crucial part, so I say we definitely need to find Bishop Hallman.”

Gerard looked at Kude and said, “But you just said you think Hallman isn’t in trouble.”

“At least not entirely in trouble, the evidence is…

you’re still alive.” Kude seriously said, “Because the Bishop can set the rules, if he wanted you dead, he could have easily done so by making new rules to execute you.

Though it’s not easy, ten years is more than enough time.

Yet in these ten years, such a thing has not happened, which clearly indicates…”

Gerard finally understood Kude’s point and gently completed his sentence, “He’s still on my side.”

Standing on my side.

A simple phrase, yet it wasn’t so simple in Gerard’s heart.

It meant that over these ten years, he hadn’t been entirely alone.

Such a thought naturally stirred significant ripples in Gerard’s mind, which Bai Wei also noticed.

…Interesting, is he under the impression that he hasn’t lost everything yet?

Bai Wei pondered in his mind but didn’t voice it out, just quietly observing.

“If he wasn’t in trouble, why hasn’t he shown himself for ten years?” Gerard asked again.

“That’s the point we need to clarify, because not only Bishop Hallman, including the Archbishop of the Sky Tower, all Five Great Bishops haven’t shown themselves in ten years, which can only mean…” Kude stretched out his hand and solemnly tapped on the circle representing the Lyra God, “there’s been a problem here, causing the Five Bishops to focus more on ‘receiving above’ and relax ‘initiating below’, which explains the issues Lyra has been facing for ten years.”

Kude raised his head and looked back at Gerard, who now understood his point.

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“The ‘above’ is still stable (basic rules are intact), ‘below’ is chaos (a variety of changes).”

“I understand,” Gerard nodded.

“So the Bishop is key…

then I’ll go with you.”

“No,” Kude again refuted.

“That’s too risky.”

Gerard furrowed his brow, “Just now you said that you think the Bishop is fine.”

“Yes, but that’s just ‘what I think.’ Even if Bishop Hallman truly is fine, the situation is becoming worse by the minute.

Although it’s not yet time to establish new rules, those who want to kill you are already blatantly ignoring the rules,” Kude explained.

“So, no matter what, you shouldn’t show yourself, and besides, this is my job.”

“Your job?”

“Yes.” Kude smiled.

“‘Skeleton Corps’ primary job is to maintain stability, and maintaining stability isn’t just about stopping violations when they arise.

It inherently involves the capacity to connect directly with the Bishop, even directly with the Lyra, when things get out of control on the lower levels.

This key’s true purpose is this.

Of course, it should have been my old superior’s duty, but he has clearly abandoned this responsibility along with the old rules, so it must be me now.

It’s necessary.”

Gerard was silent for a moment, then said, “I am also a member of the ‘Skeleton Corps’; you can let me do it.”

“Don’t joke, Gerard, you and I both know that your destiny has always been the Night Star.”

“The Night Star is gone.”

“Aren’t you still alive?” Kude smiled again, then his expression became serious, “I’m not kidding, nor am I trying to show off.

I’ve carefully considered this, and this job must be done by me, not just because I’m a member of the ‘Skeleton Corps,’ but because… you’re better suited to stay behind.”

“What do you mean?” Gerard asked.

“What will I do if you go alone?”

Kude didn’t answer the question directly right away; instead, he briefly paused, then softly said, “Gerard, I can actually feel that the series of actions you’ve taken since returning to Lyra…

resemble self-destruction.”

Gerard’s pupils slightly contracted.

“Whether it’s the times you’ve clearly taken action or today, when you forced the truth out of a ‘Skeleton Corps’ colleague with your chainsaw sword, these aren’t things you would have done before, and they’re different from the order and rules you’ve always advocated.

Your methods are becoming more radical, more insane.”

“Of course, I can’t blame you for this, because only today have I understood what you’ve been facing all these years.

The fact that you’ve kept your sanity for ten years is already surprising to me.”

“So I’m also wondering if the situation has really reached that point, where the former keepers of order become crazier, more radical, operating as if driven to self-destruction to salvage things?”

While speaking, Kude raised the oddly shaped key.

“So I decided to go prove it.

This is the last safeguard set by the Lyra for the Skeleton Corps.

It allows every member of the Skeleton Corps to meet the Bishop, to directly face the Lyra, then let the ultimate order end it all.

If I succeed, then it means that the order is still in effect.

In that case, Gerard, you can also end the pain of these ten years, and all the injustice, all the darkness you’ve experienced will vanish.

The order will restore everything to you, and the world we take pride in will still be functioning as expected.”

Kude paused, lifted his head, and looked directly at Gerard.

“But if I fail, that means even the last lock of order has broken.

I don’t know what that scenario looks like, nor do I know how to face it, as all my training has taught me how to operate under rules and order…

but I wouldn’t need to worry so much anymore, because if such a scenario does happen, I’ll surely be gone, because I am that last broken…

Order Lock.”

Gerard watched Kude silently; he finally understood that Kude’s decision wasn’t impulsive, but was one he had thoroughly considered and still chosen to make.

He was about to verify the last order with his life.

“Don’t look at me with that expression, Gerard,” Kude said.

“If that day really comes, I won’t be the worst off because I will already be dead.

And do you know what you will face?

The old order collapses, the old rules fail, your enemies will target you with new rules to kill you, then the entire Lyra will be your enemy, and the predicaments you face will be even greater than now…

So I want to know, will you still try to stop this runaway train then?”

The two men, one older one younger, locked gazes in the darkness, with only the lamp light at the door providing illumination.

Leaning on that faint candlelight, they watched each other, their figures swaying in the pupils’ reflection like the flickering candle flame.

Gerard was silent for a long while, then softly said: “I will.”

Kude smiled, “That’s why I said, you should stay behind.

The once Night Star rampaged in the deepest depths of the Polluted Land, where there are no rules, no order, yet they haven’t managed to kill you.

So you know how to face such situations.

But I can’t, I don’t have the courage to face that kind of world…

I am the Skeleton Corps, born to maintain order, and should die for the final order, so we should both do what we are best at.”

After saying this, Kude stood up, stretching himself as if relieving a burden.

“Alright, I should go.

If we keep talking, the day will break, and I still need to get my axe back.” Kude waved his hand and turned gallantly to leave, “Around this time tomorrow I’ll go find the Bishop…

who knows, there might be nothing wrong, maybe the Lord Bishop just overslept.

We’ll chat then, and everything will be resolved, ha.”

Gerard didn’t speak; he just quietly watched Kude walk away into the distance.

Then he turned back, gave Gerard a deep look, his lips slightly moving.

“Take care.”

Then he turned and left, walking alone into the darkness that the candlelight couldn’t reach.