Chapter 127: Flame (Part 1) (End) [VIP]
"His Majesty!"
Prime Minister Haruta hurried into the Star-Moon Palace and reported to King Isabel, who was enjoying a sweet moment with her daughter, "Civil war has broken out in the Sun Empire."
"civil war……"
Isabel was stunned, her beautiful face showing a painful expression as if she had been hit in the chest.
Taking a deep breath, the king stood up, handed his daughter Manina to the wet nurse and the officials, and ordered, "Immediately summon the ministers to prepare for a royal meeting. Haruta, come with me to the reception room next door."
"Yes, sir—"
The Prime Minister nodded and followed the King into the reception room.
…
As soon as he entered the reception room, the King immediately put away the gentle smile he only showed to his daughter and looked at the Prime Minister sternly: "What's the situation over there?"
"His High Priest, Yaris, has claimed that the current Emperor, Edmund III, has had his soul taken away by a demon from another world. To exorcise the demon, reclaim the homeland, and save the people, he has officially anointed his younger brother, Lucien al-Saintes, as the first monarch of the Holy Sun Empire. Lucien was crowned in Denos, and given the title of Emperor Aura I. Given the Holy Family's tradition of not pursuing secular imperial power, Lucien, after the coronation, announced his separation from the Holy Family and changed his name to Claude al-Shaw."
"So fast?"
"In fact, the relevant documents were delivered to me yesterday."
"Then why did you report it to me today?"
"because--"
The Prime Minister paused and said, "I have just received the official response from His Majesty King Edmund III on this matter."
"Are you on Edmund III's side?"
"Your Majesty, as Prime Minister of Brania, how could I possibly side with another monarch? I only reported this to you after receiving the official response from His Majesty Edmund III because I believe we must first understand the full picture before discussing this matter."
"Yeah?"
Isabel sneered, then declared forcefully, "I don't care what the truth is. Since His Highness Yaris has completed the coronation for his brother, Brania must intervene in this war and support the Holy Family!"
"Why?"
The Prime Minister looked puzzled and explained sullenly, "Intervening in this war, especially supporting the Holy Family's claims, will do Brania no good!"
"The reasons for rebellion put forward by High Priest Yaris are truly horrific and terrifying. If his reasons are proven true, we are indeed obligated to support the Holy Family. However, so far, his announcements about the otherworldly demon kings and mutated lizard monsters are all one-sided claims. We have not seen any witnesses or physical evidence."
"On the contrary, the explanation of this matter in the response document sent by His Majesty Edmund III to all nations is remarkably credible—His Highness Yaris, suffering from long-term illness, can no longer distinguish between reality and hallucination. The ambitious individuals took advantage of this opportunity to kidnap him and deceived His Highness Yaris, who was trapped in his own hallucinations and delusions—"
"None of this matters! None of this matters at all!"
Isabel interrupted the Prime Minister's ramblings, her eyes gleaming fiercely. "My request for Brania to intervene in this war and support the Holy Family is purely for personal reasons!"
"Because His Majesty King Edmund III proposed to you and you refused him?"
Haruta stood up and said in pain and helplessness: "Your Majesty the King has always been rational and calm, how could he suddenly become-"
"The personal reasons I mentioned have nothing to do with Edmund III's proposal."
Isabel interrupted the Prime Minister again and said with a wry smile, "Haven't you always wanted to know the identity and name of the First Princess Manina's biological father?"
"Could it be that—"
Haruta subconsciously took a step back.
As we all know, Princess Manina is a beautiful and lovely child with innocent big eyes and slightly curly golden brown hair, a sweet smile and rosy cheeks. Everyone who sees her will feel joy and happiness from the bottom of their hearts, imagining how beautiful and dazzling she will be when she grows up after inheriting the beauty of her parents.
The princess's mother, Queen Isabel, was indeed a beautiful woman. She was tall and elegant, with healthy rosy cheeks that no one could resist. Her long, light golden hair was combed neatly, and she was recognized as the most beautiful woman in Brania.
What is particularly rare is that she became the queen of a big northern country at a young age. No matter what difficulties she encountered, she always showed calmness, confidence, grace and ease. Her smooth and full forehead never revealed the haggardness of being entangled in state affairs.
It is rumored that the princess's biological father was a wandering bard. King U fell in love with him at first sight and secretly married him.
However, up to now, even the king's trusted officials have never seen the king's husband, and do not know his real name and specific appearance. Haruta can only guess that the king's husband has dark hair and is extremely beautiful based on the princess's hair color and the king's attitude.
(Dark hair! Extremely beautiful!)
Recalling that the year before Princess Manina was born, King U went to the Holy Land of Dinos for a month of prayer, during which he met with the High Priest Yaris several times—
(No way!)
Haruta felt like she was about to faint.
"Well, Manina's biological father is Lucien al-Saintes, also known as Emperor Diora I."
Isabel said calmly: "My Manina cannot be without a father, even though her father never fulfilled his father's obligations and did not even know of her existence."
"But……"
"E has the ambition to marry and annex Brania. If he wins the bloodline of the Nei tribe, he will definitely use this to threaten me and force me to marry Manina to his son! I love Brania deeply, and Manina is the most adorable child in the world. I will not allow anyone to sacrifice my son and my beloved motherland!"
At this point, Isabel let out a long breath and said firmly, "Haruta, if you can't accept this future like I do, please convene a clan meeting in front of the emperor and send troops to intervene in the civil war in the Sun Empire!"
…
…
"His Majesty!"
"What is it?"
Xiao Yun, who was discussing follow-up actions with Yaris on the map of the Western Continent, looked up and noticed that Malus looked extremely distressed.
"An enemy attack occurred in the outer city of Denos?"
"Edmund III hasn't yet dispatched troops to Denos, but I personally believe the current situation is worse than an enemy attack."
"What's the meaning?"
Yaris frowned slightly.
"Dinos, as a religious city, does not have strategic depth and does not have sufficient food reserves."
Malus said loudly: "Every road leading to Denos used to be very busy, but now only the most devout believers are on these roads. Ordinary pedestrians have become sparse, and traders and business trucks are even less... If this continues..."
"We've thought of this a long time ago."
Xiao Yun nodded calmly and said to Malus, "In fact, we are formulating a specific marching plan. I will lead the main force of the army back to Gaola within ten days, and you will stay in Denos, which has religious exemptions. - I personally hope that you will leave with me. Not all members of the priesthood support us, and Denos is gradually becoming unsafe. But you think he should stay in Denos. There is no place safer than the ninth floor of the Ziggurat."
"...So His Majesty has already made preparations."
Malus breathed a sigh of relief.
Xiao Yun and Yaris looked at each other and handed the newly drafted military transfer plan to Malus.
"This is……"
Malus lowered his head and quickly read the plan: "I understand."
"Go down and get ready!"
"yes!"
…
The news that the Holy Empire Army would withdraw from Denos within three days was officially announced, and the entire outer city of Denos was hastily surrounded.
Men were busy running around the military camp, carrying out the orders given to them.
In the bedroom of the Great Temple, the servants were also preparing to leave.
Yaris and Xiao Yun became the most idle people for a while.
"younger brother--"
"Um?"
"There's something I must tell you."
"What is it?"
"You have a u."
"ah?"
Xiao Yun was stunned.
Because Lucien could hardly find the figure of the u person in his memory, not to mention——
"But I..."
"Of course you don't know about this. This is my own decision."
Yaris gave a strangely calm smile.
"At that time, I thought you would never return to me. I wanted to find someone to bear your child as a lifelong companion and to carry on the family bloodline. Coincidentally, Isabel found me. She said she had unexpectedly fallen in love with a bard with childlike eyes at a private banquet. However, she proposed to the bard as a king, but he actually... Later, after much investigation, she learned the bard's true identity and hoped that I could help her get you."
"King Isabel of Brania..."
Xiao Yun took a breath of cold air.
Yaris nodded and said, "The first princess of Brania, Manina, is your daughter, and you are the rumored and unseen prince of Brania."
“…”
Xiao Yun suddenly didn't know what to say.
Yaris continued.
"Of course, I couldn't agree to such a thing, but she was incredibly resolute. She even considered sending troops to snatch you, the runaway from the very people I ordered to protect you, and hide you in the Star-Moon Palace. Even though I was mentally prepared for the possibility that you might never return to me, hearing such a declaration still... after much negotiation, I used your genetic genes, stored on the seventh floor of the Divine Tower, to make her pregnant with your child."
"Wait! My genes are stored on the seventh floor of the divine tower?"
"Is this kind of thing strange?"
Yaris asked back.
"Well……"
Thinking of the machine on the eighth floor, Xiao Yun shook his head helplessly.
"I didn't tell you this before because, on the one hand, you hadn't entered the Divine Tower yet and knew nothing about it. On the other hand, I was afraid that if you knew you had a biological child... But now..."
Yaris took a deep breath. "The situation is very unstable right now. We could lose everything at any time. If the war fails or even ends in disaster, you can go find her in Brania. She regards Manina as a unique treasure in the world and will take you in for Manina's sake—although she probably won't fall in love with you as you are now."
"I don't think we're going to lose this war."
"But so far—"
"There is no sign of defeat at the moment."
"We should prepare for the worst."
"You are too pessimistic. You shouldn't always think about the unfortunate future and ignore the hope of victory."
"But...I..."
Yaris trembled slightly.
"I don't have the ability to foresee the future, and I don't know what will happen in the future, but no matter what happens, I will never abandon you! Even if we have to escape, I will take you with me! No matter where we go! I will never let you fall into His hands."
Xiao Yun said firmly: "You said that we are not only brothers by blood, but also share a common destiny, and are connected by soul."
"I feel both relieved and frightened by the way you look now."
Yaris sighed: "No matter what, with Manina's relationship, at least we don't have to worry about Brania sending troops to help Edmund."
"Indeed."
Xiao Yun analyzed carefully, "Kairusha is leading the grassland coalition south to aid us... Regardless of whether Alfonso can convince the coastal alliance to send troops, he won't let them become our enemies... Brania, as a northern nation, borders Dalavia, which is responsible for garrisoning the northern border. Once it is confirmed that Brania will not become our enemy, Dalavia can mobilize more forces to support us..."
"Although it may be a bit excessive to say so, the fact that the First Princess of Brania is my daughter may be fate's best gift to us. Of course, the whole thing may also be a deliberate arrangement by you, brother."
Xiao Yun added.
Upon hearing this, Yaris said calmly, "Everything is arranged by fate. I just followed the flow of fate and turned the accident into a gift, and then pushed the gift to a position that is beneficial to me."
"All right."
Xiao Yun looked at Yaris complainingly: "Sometimes I really want to dig out your heart to see how many secrets you have hidden in it."
"If you could see my heart, you'd see your name written all over it."
Yaris said without hesitation.
"Yaris——"
“I often feel that my life is one long dream, and that the end is that I wake up from the dream rather than die.”
Yaris said calmly and clearly: "If one day I completely disappear from your world, don't be sad, I just..."
“What are you talking about!”
Xiao Yun interrupted him harshly, "We are only separated temporarily and will meet again soon! If you say something unlucky like death to me again, I will not be able to help but knock you out and forcibly take you to Gaola like a dragon kidnapping a princess and hide you in a heavily guarded castle! In fact, I don't object to you staying in Denos, but only because I can't find a safer place than the ninth floor of the divine tower! Not because I can bear to be separated from you!"
"Don't be angry, I know I was wrong..."
Yaris apologized to his brother hypocritically, with a cunning glint in his dark eyes.
Xiao Yun was speechless.
"...You'll dare to do it again next time, right?"
Yaris nodded, saying without any guilt, "You don't have to worry too much about my safety. He has ordered that we be captured alive. He fears our death more than anyone else. If even one of us dies before He captures us, all His years of hard work will be in vain."
"I know, but I still don't want to hear anything about life and death from you."
Xiao Yun said distressedly, "You always talk about life and death in such a casual tone, as if you've lived a long time and experienced death time and time again, as if you can anticipate your own death and accept the fact of your impending death with a calm and detached attitude... This kind of you makes me feel very sad and scared..."
"younger brother……"
Yaris reached out, hugged Xiao Yun's head, and said softly: "If that day really comes, if it really comes to the last moment, I will never hide it from you, and I believe you will forgive me..."
"I will never forgive you, ever!"
"Okay... but no matter what, you should get ready to leave. After I send you off, I will immediately fast and bathe and then hide in the ninth floor of the sacred tower."
"Um."
Xiao Yun agreed softly.
Yaris silently let go of his brother: "Actually, there is something I...I have been hiding it from you..."
"What is it?"
"My eyesight is rapidly deteriorating. I can still see things clearly under strong light, but maybe next time we meet... so..."
He didn't continue speaking, but stroked Xiao Yun's face with trembling hands, from forehead to chin, from earlobe to nose tip, as if he wanted to remember his brother's face forever in this way.
"...Losing my eyesight isn't necessarily a bad thing. This way, I'll never grow old in your heart."
Xiao Yun pretended to be relaxed when he spoke, but in his heart...
(System, do you have any way to cure him?)
[Feel sorry--]
(Why? You’re not…)
[Sorry, his situation is beyond LA's capabilities.]
(Why? What’s going on with him? He…)
[Feel sorry--]
(What else can you say besides sorry!)
[……sorry. ]
(Sorry, I was too impulsive.)
Xiao Yun asked the system from a different angle.
(Can the machine on the eighth floor cure Yaris?)
[cannot. ]
(Why?)
[The host might as well ask Yaris himself about this question.]
(I……)
Taking a deep breath, Xiao Yun asked cautiously, "Um, that machine on the eighth floor of the Divine Tower... I mean, it can scan and back up my body, and naturally..."
"It's useless. My illness... almost all illnesses... are caused by my genes. That machine can't do anything about it."
Yaris looked at Xiao Yun quietly: "It's almost time, we should also--"
“—Excuse me!”
The servant suddenly walked into the room, bringing Lance, Richard and Kelly, who were supposed to be guarding Maga City at the moment.
"How could you..."
Xiao Yun was shocked.
Yaris was also surprised. "He has officially taken action against Maga City?! What's happening to the residents of Maga City now?"
"Your Highness, don't worry. All the residents of Maga were safely evacuated in batches half a month ago."
"That's good……"
Yaris breathed a sigh of relief.
Kelly continued, "The Emperor has indeed sent troops to attack Maga City, but because the city was well prepared, and the lords of the surrounding territories, led by Duke Alfred, do not support the Emperor's use of force against Maga City, Maga City is currently only besieged from two sides and is not in danger of falling."
"Is there really no danger of falling?"
Xiao Yun was worried that they would only report good news and not bad news.
Lance laughed. "If Maga City was in danger of falling, how could the three of us have escaped Maga without getting hurt?"
“…”
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yun looked at the three people and found that although they were dusty, there were no wounds or blood on their faces or bodies. "I will believe your words for now."
"Wait a moment!"
Yaris suddenly spoke up: "Even if it's not in danger of falling, the city of Maga is still under siege by a massive army. Why did you leave Maga and come to Denos at this critical moment?"
"It means 'Dark Night Mentor'."
Kelly said cautiously, "Three days ago, he appeared before us and asked me to come to Denos... He said His Highness couldn't live without me. Lord Lance said he and Richard could send me to Denos and take me on a new mission."
"Accept new tasks?"
Xiao Yun looked at Lance speechlessly.
Lance stretched and said casually, "Your Majesty, don't you know yet? Barakaniya officially announced four days ago that it would send troops north to intervene in the civil war in the Sun Empire. From what I know about the master, the advance troops should have reached Lake Lilia by now and engaged the dog emperor's army. - Maga City no longer needs Richard and me!"
"...Wait! What did you just say? Barakaniya officially announced the dispatch of troops four days ago?"
Xiao Yun showed a look of astonishment
Lance didn't realize the seriousness of the problem at this time, and said lazily: "Yes, the master has already sent troops."
"How do you know—"
"I received this."
Lance took out the mercenary group's token.
"so--"
Xiao Yun looked at Yaris: "Alfonso has already taken action, but he didn't send anyone to inform us, and our intelligence network hasn't received any relevant information?!"
Yaris's expression was also solemn. "In order to keep abreast of the situation, I have placed mages in various countries and established an intelligence network spanning the entire Western Continent. Logically, such a serious mistake shouldn't have occurred... Besides... given our relationship with Alfonso, there's no need for him to hide his support for Maga City from us..."
"And 'Dark Night Mentor'."
Xiao Yun touched his chin and said, "This old guy has been elusive lately... and now he suddenly asked Kelly to come to Denos..."
"you mean--"
"Well, I suspect we've been tricked."
"Calculation?!"
Lance was shocked: "What do you mean?"
"It means to adjust—"
Suddenly realizing that people in this world didn't understand the concept of "luring the tiger away from its mountain lair," Xiao Yun quickly changed his words. "He first used the false news that Alfonso's advance troops were about to arrive in Maga to let you down your guard. Then, he had the 'Dark Night Mentor,' whose mind He had controlled, trick Lance into sending Kylir to Denos! Then, Edmund's army took advantage of the opportunity—"
"When 'Dark Night Mentor' lied to you about needing Kylir, he likely used a small amount of hypnosis on you, lowering your rational judgment and making you trust him even more."
Yaris added calmly.
"So shameless!"
Lance cursed and pulled Richard away.
"Let's go! Let's go back to Maga immediately!"
"I suspect it's too late."
Xiao Yun said sadly: "Three days is enough time for a lot of things to happen."
"So what do we do now?"
"I originally planned to lead the army back to Gola. Since the situation in Maga is critical, I decided to take a detour to Maga first, lift the siege there, and successfully join forces with Alfonso's army heading north before heading to Gola."
"Brother, you must immediately organize the army and set off."
Yaris urged, “Magarh is a beautiful place like a mother to me.”
"Maja is also my mother and my hometown. I swear that I will never let anything bad happen to Maja."
Xiao Yun made a solemn promise.
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