Yarra's Adventure Notes-Chapter 1367 - 153: Comparison of Strengths

"Could it be the Triclops?" Shiela also covertly glanced at Saen, and from their appearance, it was impossible to tell if the two had communicated through the Soul Fire. However, from Shiela’s slightly helpless voice, it could be felt that she might not have received a response. Shiela contemplated for a moment, then shook her head and said, "That’s impossible, they aren’t Undead, and the Triclops have long been extinct, so they couldn’t possibly be Triclops."

"Do you know the current state of the Triclops?" Catherine asked with some surprise. "You’ve been slumbering in this world; how could you possibly know the current state of the Triclops?"

"Among the Undead, there are many from the Third Epoch, and there are quite a few here," Shiela pointed out, gesturing toward the surrounding Undead who were oblivious to the gravity of the conversation, still merrily frolicking, "Some of them have retained memories about this, unlost. Through them, of course I can know that the Triclops had nearly gone extinct with the end of the First Epoch, and the few that remained perished along with the goblins at the close of the Second Epoch. Since the Triclops have already become history, how could they be Triclops?"

"There’s always a possibility for exceptions, and the matter of the Triclops is no different," Catherine shook her head with a light sigh, "However, from your reaction, it seems you truly don’t know their identities."

"Sigh, we indeed do not know, and I think you may be misunderstanding something," Shiela said calmly, having seemingly recovered from her fluster, "No matter what their identities are, it’s irrelevant to us since there are no Triclops here, not a single one."

"That’s true, there are only Undead here," Catherine said with a smile, "I hope you can forgive my over-sensitivity, as it directly relates to many important decisions."

"But I find it very strange," Shiela inquired, "If you were really that oversensitive, why didn’t you raise this question when you met Saen?"

"One leader being a Triclops doesn’t prove anything; it could merely be a coincidence," both Catherine and Shiela almost simultaneously turned their gaze towards the two pretending to be nonexistent. They found Pannis and Saen lying on a stone table, writing on its surface with alcohol, surely only Vern, who had a slight understanding of the Divine Script, could communicate with Saen in such a way. Catherine and Shiela looked at each other with a knowing smile, saying helplessly, "Let’s not worry about them anymore. One Triclops might just be a coincidence, but if both leaders are Triclops, especially since we’ve only met two leaders, it’s hard not to ponder over it more, as we certainly do not wish the World of the Dead to become too entangled with the Triclops."

"It seems that the Triclops have a rather bad reputation in the Fourth Epoch of the Yarran World," Shiela said with a wry smile, "Feels like they’re the common enemy of the world, should we be glad that we’re already Undead?"

"Of course, the reputation is bad," Catherine said bluntly, "Do you think that three beings who hope to use you to destroy the entire Yarran World, to make the whole world as silent and dead as this place, wouldn’t be considered a common enemy of the world?"

"Such a thing is impossible," Shiela said, glancing at all the Undead in the tavern, then asked in a low voice, "Do you think, these Undead, even if someone instigates them, would really go to destroy the world?"

"Why couldn’t it be possible?" Catherine retorted, "No matter how you look at it, there’s an insurmountable barrier between the living and the Undead. For the Undead, destroying the world of the living is not an unimaginable thing, much like that incident over a hundred years ago."

"First, the numbers," Shiela raised a blurry finger, without hesitation, "The number of Undead is only in the millions, while the Yarran World, from the information we’ve received, is very large indeed, and the number of living beings is in the billions. With such a disparity in numbers, even if we truly wished to kill all of you and destroy your world, it simply couldn’t be done. Not only could it not be done, but if the war continued indefinitely, it’s the Undead who would ultimately be destroyed."

"However, if there really are only a few million Undead, the number of living beings might indeed seem very large compared to the Undead, but a significant portion of them are not suitable for combat," Catherine’s tone was firm, speaking aggressively, "Even if there are hundreds of millions of intelligent creatures, the proportion truly suitable for combat is lower than you can imagine."

"Do you think that all the Undead are suitable for combat?" Shiela countered, "You’ve seen quite a few Undead on the way here, from The Door Home. Do you really think those ordinary Undead you met are fit for battle?"

Catherine closed her mouth and said no more. Indeed, as Shiela mentioned, many of the Undead seen along the way were not fit for combat. The reasons for this unsuitability weren’t merely a matter of strength; even the weakest of the Undead were slightly stronger than ordinary humans, and so it wasn’t a question of lacking strength. What truly made them unfit for battle was the lack of a will to fight, like civilians in a war, who even when armed, wouldn’t engage in battle. This situation differed from the one over a hundred years ago, when the Undead had no consciousness and attacked the living purely on instinct. Thus, those who now appeared to be civilians could confront the elite troops of the living head-on, for they knew no fear, panic, retreat, nor the concept of death. If war were to truly break out now, the proportion of battle-ready Undead would top out at most half, which, while still a substantial ratio, and numerically more than any force in the Yarran World, would be outmatched by the united might of the entire Yarran World, both in elite and regular troops. In the end, the Undead could only expect defeat, and likewise, the living would pay a heavy price, leaving no victor in such a war.

Therefore, if Shiela’s words were credible, Catherine believed that the Undead probably didn’t intend to wage an upfront war. Even if there were some plots, they couldn’t overcome the hurdle of the insufficient Undead numbers. As for whether Shiela’s words were true, no one could give a definite answer, and one could only observe with their own eyes.

"Alright, I’ll admit, on the premise that what you’ve said is true and credible, your first reason is quite sufficient," Catherine said after a moment of silence, finally nodding, "It’s indeed impossible to destroy the world of the living with just a few million Undead. So what about the second reason?"

"The second reason," Shiela raised a second finger, still questioning, "Have you considered why we would want to destroy this world?"