Alien Knights

Saladin was silent for a moment, then said to Ilam: "Let him come to me here."

Twenty minutes later, the students of the Hall of Truth were asked to leave, and only Saladin and his guards were left in the huge hall.

When a man dressed in black appeared at the door, Elim subconsciously reached for the scimitar at his waist, but he quickly returned to normal.

Saladin looked up and down at this mysterious young man. Under the loose robes, only his skeletal body was left, and his pale face was almost the same as that of an entombed corpse.

Saladin stared at the sleeve of his throat and suddenly asked: "Where is your right hand?"

The expression on Throat Bone's face was calm: "A little accident happened."

Saladin hummed slightly and then said, "Sit down."

Throatbone came to the sitting carpet under Saladin and slowly sat down.

"Concerning the rebellion in Kantiyari, you did a good job." Saladin stroked his beard and said, "In just seven days, the rebels were wiped out. This was a very successful victory."

Changing the topic, Saladin added: "But according to the report of the soldiers cleaning the battlefield, not only the rebels, but also the residents of Cantyari City have disappeared. I still clearly remember the original text of the report - The food in the pot is still steaming, children's toys are scattered on the ground, and even livestock, cats and dogs are nowhere to be found, what is going on?"

Throatbone said softly: "Your Majesty, those who betray the empire, whether they are soldiers or civilians, will inevitably die. As for the way of death, does it matter?"

"Bold!" Ilam drew out his scimitar and shouted angrily: "How dare you talk to the Caliph like this?!"

Saladin stopped Elem and said with a smile: "What he said is true. What matters is the result."

Saladin looked at Throat Bone and asked again: "I heard that after you dealt with the matter in Kantiyari, you went to the north again?"

Throatbone nodded slightly: "I found some old friends to catch up on the past."

Saladin looked at the empty sleeve of his throat: "It seems that your old friend is very enthusiastic."

Throatbone laughed: "Yes, very enthusiastic."

After saying this, Throat Bone reached into his pocket, took out a stack of books, placed them in front of Saladin, and said, "I have read all the books you lent me last time."

"Have you read them all? That's a book that a university candidate can take a year to read!" Saladin said with a surprised look on his face.

Throatbone touched his knuckles: "I have very little time to sleep and eat."

Saladin picked up a book and looked at his throat bone: "I want to test you."

"Please give me a question."

"The rise of city-states is the cornerstone for the gradual demise of barbarism and the continuation of civilization. It represents the relationship between people, from the purely material level to the spiritual level."

"Volume 7 of the History of Taylor City-Suran Luoduo Civilization, page 75, last section."

Saladin raised his eyebrows and picked up another book: "The stars have never been the paint on the picture. They move and shine, symbolizing every change in the world."

""Keyusu Astronomical Theory", the opening chapter of Chapter 15."

Saladin clapped his hands and exclaimed: "Amazing!"

"The first time I met you, you couldn't even recognize the words. In such a short period of time, you were able to read through works in four languages ​​without any obstacles!"

The throat bone did not look happy at all: "Reading and using are two different things."

Saladin leaned forward and said with interest: "What? Are you confused?"

Throatbone took out a book from the stack and placed it in front of Saladin: "I want to talk to you about this book."

Saladin looked down and saw the words "Confessions" written clearly on the cover of the book.

"Augustine's works use meticulous techniques to dissect various aspects of human nature and compare them with divinity." Saladin was a little surprised: "Are you interested in this book?"

Throatbone said slowly: "I have always wanted to figure out a question, what is a human being? What is a god?"

Saladin frowned and said, "This question is too broad. You must be more specific."

"Then let me put it another way. Is it possible for a human to become a god?"

Hearing these words from his throat, Elim was furious again: "You blasphemous villain, if I hear another blasphemous word from your mouth, I swear to Allah, I will pull out your tongue!"

Throatbone shrugged towards Saladin: "Your Majesty, if this is a taboo, then just pretend that I didn't ask anything."

Saladin pondered for a while and then said: "This is the Hall of Truth. The voice of truth should not be silenced, should not give in, and should not compromise."

Elim shouted anxiously: "Your Majesty!"

Saladin said firmly: "Using power and violence to force the truth back into people's mouths will only cause it to sprout and take root and become deformed."

Throatbone nodded with satisfaction and said, "Then, Your Majesty, let us continue discussing this topic."

Saladin thought for a while and said, "I don't think humans have a chance to become gods."

"What's the reason?"

"Three reasons, body, ability and spirit."

"Let's talk about the physical body first. The human lifespan is really too short. We start learning from children, then to youth and middle age. We finally learn something in old age, only to find that we have already stepped into the grave with one foot."

Saladin opened his helpless hands and said mockingly: "That's why the emperors of the past dynasties thought about immortality every day, and that's why alchemists and alchemists caused a trend."

Throatbone interrupted him and said: "If a person has broken through the shackles of the body and achieved immortality..."

Saladin smiled and said: "This is impossible. Birth, old age, illness and death are human beings' destiny. No living thing can escape from this law."

The throat bone emphasized: "I mean, assuming that the human body is no longer bound, the life span is almost eternal."

Saladin looked at the throat bone for a long time, and finally said: "If that is really the case, it is impossible for humans to become gods."

"Why?"

"The second reason is ability. A human being with a long lifespan is more like a passerby in the long river of history. Perhaps by chance, he can change a period of history or even a world, but he can never change the truth or affect the world. The laws of the universe.”

The throat bone interrupted him again: "Suppose again, if this person has the power to control the wind and rain and change nature."

Saladin waved his hands and smiled: "To control the wind and rain? Change nature? Haha, do you know what you are talking about? There is no need to discuss this issue at all."

The left hand of the throat bone firmly grasped the seat cushion and raised his voice: "If a person has infinite life and extraordinary power, can he become a god?! Answer me!"

"You madman!" Ilam yelled and was about to rush forward to teach the throat bone, but Saladin held him back.

"Unfortunately, my answer is still impossible."

Saladin's words made his throat bristle with anger.

"Why?!"

"The last reason is spirit...perhaps the word spirit is not accurate, and the word realm may be better."

"realm?"

Saladin raised the thumb and index finger of his right hand and twisted them together: "In the depths of the Agu'er Desert, there is a kind of gray sand ant. They are very small, one is no bigger than a grain of rice."

Throatbone said impatiently: "What does this have to do with my problem?"

"Listen to me." Saladin continued: "Every generation of gray sand ants will mutate with a very small probability, and a brand new species will be born - giant jaw chelicerate ants. This new ant can spray venom. It is so powerful that it can even crush rocks and roll up gravel with its jaws. All other ants obey the giant-gnathed chelicerae and worship it as a god throughout the nest."

The throat bone fell silent, and he vaguely guessed the deep meaning of Saladin's words.

"After local nomads discover this strange creature, they will deliberately breed this kind of ant in order to obtain giant jaw chelicerate ants."

Saladin continued: "Do you know why nomads get giant jawed chelicerate ants? Because of an emerging form of gambling - ant fighting. The bookmaker sets a good gambling handicap and odds, and the gamblers place good bets and breed them. People select strong and aggressive chelicerate ants, put them together, let them fight and kill, and then wait and see which one survives to the end.”

Saladin looked at the throat bone: "To the gray sand ants, the giant mandible ants are gods, but to the gamblers, the so-called gods are just 'gambling tools'."

He sat there with his throat in shock, staring into nothingness, muttering something in his mouth.

After a long time, Throat Bone suddenly stood up, put his right hand on his heart, made a standard disciple salute to Saladin, and then left the Hall of Truth without looking back.