Chapter 78 Birthday: Vow (End) [VIP]

The white light gradually dimmed.

Yaris gently held his brother's hand and said, "Brother, Maga has the 'Dark Night Mentor' in charge of security. You can return to Gaola and prepare for more important undertakings without worry."

"But--"

Xiao Yun remembered what Yaris had said.

(The "Dark Night Mentor" already had ambitions to rule the world. 7 had repeatedly infiltrated the Human Empire to spy on it. His soul had long been marked by the Dragon Emperor, and he was often unconsciously controlled and acted for him.)

Is he a trustworthy partner?

【he……】

A sneer appeared on Yaris's lips.

I don't trust him, absolutely not. But now, I must pretend to trust him, to confuse the Dragon Emperor and make him temporarily relax his relentless pressure on us, buying more time for our rebellion plan.

[But this way, your situation will be even more dangerous than before! ]

It doesn't matter... The Dragon Emperor still desires my sincerity. Therefore, for the time being, not only will He not activate the mark on "Dark Night Mentor," He may even use it to send reminders, allowing "Dark Night Mentor" to better than anyone else identify the lizard monsters among the crowds, thereby gaining my trust. This is His way of trying to make me understand that before Him, all our struggles and resistance are doomed to failure, and any temporary victories we achieve are due to His mercy. He can toy with our fate as freely as a master toys with a bird!

He is simply——

He wants me to fall into despair and willingly obey Him. We will take advantage of His arrogance, unite all resistance forces, and achieve impossible success!

Yaris lowered his head and gently touched his brother's forehead.

You are the key to this struggle, the hope of victory. Promise me, no matter what happens in the future, even if He threatens you with my life and the lives of all the civilians in Magha, you will continue to move forward fearlessly! If He finds that the threat of massacre works against you, even more innocent people will be held hostage! And if you ever give in to the threat of massacre, even just once, and refuse to give in, the relatives and friends of the victims will hate you more than they hate Him.

【But……】

[Don't compromise! Never compromise at any time! Even if He threatens you with the thing you least want to lose, you still can't compromise!]

【……】

Xiao Yun's heart was filled with mixed emotions of bitterness and sorrow, and he choked up while holding Yaris's hand.

[…I will never let the tragedy of a city massacre happen! Never!]

"I'm so sorry..."

Before hearing the whisper from the corner, Xiao Yun had already noticed the arrival of the magician.

He glanced at Yaris who was sleeping lightly against him.

"It doesn't matter……"

Yaris opened his eyes, sat up straight, and told the magician in the dark: "Lucien is also your master. You don't have to avoid him for anything that needs to be reported to me."

"Yes, sir."

The black figure of the magician gradually emerged. He was wearing an ordinary black cloak, and the magic crystal on his chest was flashing a strange dark red.

"Owner--"

"Go ahead."

"News has come from the coastal areas that Alfonso has built a prayer tower within the Barakanya Palace. Queen Freya will reside there until she gives birth to a royal heir."

"What are the attitudes of the Barakanian nobles and commoners towards this matter?"

"Most of the nobles accepted the new order, with a few pinning their hopes on the queen's unborn child. The common people remained silent on the matter, as Alfonso's ascension to the throne hadn't increased their tax burden. Furthermore, Alfonso's plans to renovate the city, focusing on slum remediation and rebuilding the city's sewer system, secured numerous orders for the construction and commerce guilds, providing more job opportunities for the common people. Most of the lower and middle classes of Barakanian society held him in high regard."

(She was able to grasp the principle of 'infrastructure boosts the economy, increases employment, promotes a virtuous cycle in the domestic economy, and indirectly serves the people' without any guidance.' She is indeed the one chosen by my brother.)

Xiao Yun thought with great interest.

"...if things continue to develop steadily and steadily at this pace, Alfonso will soon be officially crowned and begin his own dynasty."

Yaris raised his hand and signaled the magician to retreat.

…

After the magician left, Yaris took out a map, spread it out, and drew a line between Gaura, Maga, and Barakaniya.

"Once the civil war officially begins, the land route between Gora and Maga will be cut off in a very short time. Therefore, if I cannot leave Maga and join you in Gora before the civil war begins, I will travel south by sea to Barakhania or Kukuchia, then head north across the Lente Sea to Gora."

"Assisting Alfonso in establishing a nation in the coastal areas appears to be fulfilling my promise to him, but the underlying calculation is to prevent Gaula from facing a military blockade after the civil war begins. Gaula has the Kaz River, which leads directly to the Lente Sea. As long as the waterway remains open, even if all land routes are cut off, Gaula can still obtain a steady supply of personnel and materials through Alfonso, who controls the coastal areas."

"Brother, you've thought it through."

, and can’t afford to lose.”

Xiao Yun nodded.

"Of course, your trip to Kucukia to gain Alfonso's approval was beyond my expectation."

Yaris looked up and said gently, "I originally planned to send Alfonso away before I died, to prevent him from becoming too ambitious and murderous, and endangering you in the future..."

“Brother, you…”

Feeling.

Yaris continued to share his plan with Xiao Yun.

"The current King of Monglis' mother and wife are both Edmund's direct blood relatives. Therefore, before the civil war officially begins, we must find a way to control Kairusha's illness and send him back to Monglis. We can use Kairusha's prestige within Monglis to contain Monglis and prevent the Monglis cavalry from intervening."

Xiao Yun felt a little reluctant.

According to the report, Kairusha is now very ill and has lost his memory, and is unable to—"

"I feel just as badly as you do, but if King Munglis were to be deceived by Edmund and send his steppe cavalry into the empire... given his usual greed and cruelty, he would definitely transform the steppe cavalry into lizard monsters as well, and then..."

"—You make a lot of sense."

"The northern nation of Brania doesn't border the Sun Empire, and 7 pursues a policy of non-interference in other countries. Queen Isabella even rejected Edmund's marriage proposals twice... After the war begins, Isabella, who advocates non-interference in other countries, will not become our ally, nor will she be Edmund's friend..."

"The same applies to Brania's neighbor, Rus, a northern nation and a steppe nation. Rus and Monglis share a border, with significant amounts of disputed territory. As citizens, the Rus value a traditional, simple steppe lifestyle and dislike the Central Plains culture promoted so vigorously by the current Monglis Queen Mother and Queen. Therefore, Rus is unlikely to support Edmund, who has a close relationship with King Monglis. However, upon witnessing evidence of the lizard monsters slaughtering civilians, they may offer us the necessary assistance out of a shared future for mankind..."

"As for the coastal states—"

"Alfonso will help us unite them, right?"

Xiao Yun asked.

Yaris nodded. "Although it seems we're currently at a complete disadvantage, as long as we withstand the initial wave of attacks and reveal the horrors of the monster invasion to the world, we can gradually break through the situation and gain the support of the people from a moral high ground."

"It's a pity that we will soon be separated again..."

Xiao Yun held Yaris's hand with melancholy: "I'm really worried...what if..."

"Don't worry, even if I'm caught by Him, I won't die. He needs me."

"But……"

Thinking of the perverted dream that Edmund had publicly boasted about, Xiao Yun couldn't help but speak in a heavy tone: "He will break your hands and feet, cut your skin all over your body, torture you, and make you need help from others even for the simplest things like drinking water and turning over..."

"It's okay. I don't care."

Yaris smiled and said, "I was originally a weak person. Without the personal care of servants, I couldn't even dress myself or comb my hair. Being turned into a living dead by "He" and unable to move below the neck has made me calmly accept the current situation of being cared for like a baby..."

"Yaris..."

Xiao Yun couldn't help but hug him tightly, as if this action could protect him from all harm and misfortune.

At this moment, there was suddenly a sense of unease in the air.

Xiao Yun looked towards the source of the vibration vigilantly.

"who!"

"It's me, Ulysses."

Ulysses appeared in front of the two men, panting.

"I, I just came from the capital..."

"Is there something going on with Edmund?"

"His Majesty wasn't angry when he first woke up, and was even in a good mood. But this morning, he flew into a rage in the audience hall, scolding everyone. With the help of Lias and the others, I barely found a moment to leave the palace and come here to report on his recent situation."

"This morning?"

Xiao Yun and Yaris looked at each other.

The attack by the alien monsters occurred between last night and early this morning.

"really……"

"—What happened?"

Ulysses asked.

Xiao Yun then told Ulysses that the two servants Edmund left in the Little Palace of Love had turned into monsters from another world and attacked Yaris and himself.

After listening to the story, Ulysses broke out in sweat on his forehead.

He said in fear and anxiety, "This is terrible! Even the Little Love Palace is so unsafe! What about other places... my motherland... my beautiful motherland... Is my motherland about to fall into a hell infested by monsters? Can we still stop it?"

"It doesn't matter. We will win."

Yalishi paused and emphasized: "We will definitely win."

Afterwards, he told Ulysses that he had reached a full-scale alliance with the "Dark Night Mentor".

"ah……"

Ulysses couldn't hide his shock, clutching his cloak tightly with both hands. "Your Highness, for the sake of my country, I don't mind abandoning the principles of the White Mage and borrowing the power of the Black Mage. But he... he's an untrustworthy fellow. Allowing him and his minions to enter and exit the Little Love Palace is too dangerous! We can't let a venomous snake into the bedroom just to drive away a dragon!"

"Lucien and I both knew we were dealing with a venomous snake."

"But--"

"Stop complaining."

Yaris said lightly, "Although 'Dark Night Mentor' is a venomous snake, he does have some skills. Next time you see him in the Little Love Palace, you might as well take the initiative to talk to him and ask for his guidance. You are smart and hardworking. With his guidance, you will definitely become a strong contender for the next Grand Mentor of the White Mage Guild in a very short time, and serve Lucien and me better."

"……I see."

Ulysses sighed in frustration and retreated into the darkness.

…

…

Three days later——

"...Brother, you have stayed in Maga for too long. You must return to Gola."

"But--"

"It's okay, I'm safe now."

Yaris gave a delicate smile.

"Of course, before you leave Maga, I must share something with you."

"What?"

"this."

Yaris raised his hand and a servant came forward, holding an exquisite jewelry box.

There are two exquisite mithril rings in the box. The ring faces are of a charming goddess carved with a variety of gems and precious metals by the skillful hands of craftsmen. The goddess's hair turns into wings and is connected to the rings.

"This is--"

"The goddess of love and justice."

"Two different goddesses?"

Xiao Yunduan looked closely at the ring faces and discovered that the goddesses on the two rings did have slight differences in appearance.

"Love and justice are both beautiful things that people desire but struggle to obtain. Therefore, in the belief in the twin gods, the goddesses of love and justice are depicted as the twin daughters of the goddess of dawn and the sun god. People firmly believe that no matter how dark the situation, as long as they believe in love and justice, they will surely wait for the moment when light dispels the darkness."

"Which one do you choose?"

Yaris asked.

Xiao Yun thought for a moment and picked up the ring with the goddess of justice on the ring face.

"In the name of justice?"

Yaris smiled and put the remaining Goddess of Love ring on his index finger, explaining softly, "These two rings are made according to the size of your ring finger. I can only wear it on my index finger. But this is just right."

“Just right?”

"Um."

Yaris lowered his head, touched his lips to the goddess of love on the ring, and said, "Look, the ring on the index finger is more likely to come into contact with the lips."

"Then I'll try wearing the ring on my index finger too."

Xiao Yun held up the ring of the goddess of justice in his palm and prepared to put it on.

Yaris suddenly reached out, took Xiao Yun's ring, and gently and solemnly put it on Xiao Yun's ring finger, muttering: "You must always wear it, and use it as our oath and bond."

"I swear I'll never take it down without your permission."

Xiao Yun looked straight into Yaris's eyes, as if he was the real oath ring.