Chapter 199 Destined
The emerald chandelier that descended from the dome of the Kite Heart Palace's council chamber cast a winding shadow across the long, expensive obsidian table. Duke Kamu calmly stroked the ruby ring on his finger, listening quietly as his colleagues slammed their fists and argued.
The slaves of Port Mauris erupted in rebellion, killing the local garrison commander and port officials. This was a full-blown rebellion. The Minister of War requested the dispatch of troops to Port Mauris to harshly suppress these slaves who dared to offend the dignity of the royal court. The Minister of Finance, however, citing the Empire's recent financial situation, sternly stated that the Empire lacked the resources to deal with a rebellion in a port city far from the royal capital.
Perhaps in the past, even the Royal City Army wouldn't have needed to be mobilized; the local regular army alone could have suppressed a group of lowly slaves. But now, the empire was plagued by external and internal troubles, even involving the gods—this was the most important thing. Duke Kamu's expression was gloomy.
……god.
Cassius II, flushed with alcohol, made a rare appearance in the council chamber. He unceremoniously propped his feet up on the long table and listened drowsily to the arguments. His face was even stained with bright red lipstick, and his wine-stained collar was wrinkled and wide open, giving him a dissolute demeanor. Queen Esmeralda, seated below him, wore a sullen expression as she lowered her head, flipping through a report, saying nothing. Only when the ministers gradually quieted did she slowly raise her head and glance at them with a stern expression.
"Both the Vatican and you have assured me that the culprit behind the White Tower riot has been imprisoned in the Inquisition." The Queen sneered and tossed a stack of newspapers onto the table. "Then what is this?!"
The editor-in-chief of "The People's Daily" has been firing on all cylinders. In most of the recent newspapers, with astonishing boldness and sharpness, he has unscrupulously denounced the crimes and corruption of the Port Morris authorities and the entire empire. He sympathized with and praised the rebellious slaves, calling them "pioneers of the future", calling for the abolition of slavery, and inviting "the oppressed people of the world to unite."
"...Just imagine!" the author declared so grimly, "Perhaps just because of a bedridden illness, an untimely snowfall, or even a simple nuisance from the landlord or the overseer, you could inexplicably lose all your property, incur massive debts, be forced into slavery, and completely lose all your human dignity and freedom... We can no longer remain silent. We must fight and protest!"
“—Even if I die for it, I can still smile and say before I die that I sacrificed myself for the greatest and noblest cause of human liberation.”
The head of the Imperial Censorate was covered in sweat, hesitating and unable to speak. He didn't want to offend the Ockensele Society, but he didn't dare to offend the queen even more, after all, the queen would really chop off his head.
A servant who suddenly broke into the council hall saved his life. The servant rushed straight towards the queen, holding a crystal ball in his hand that was specifically responsible for transmitting expedited military reports.
The face of the Herald of the Northern City flickered in panic in the crystal ball.
"The Far North nation of Ferros has officially declared war on the Silver Iris Empire!" His face was pale, his breathing was rapid, and he was clearly trying hard to remain calm. "Tens of thousands of troops are marching towards the Northern City and will be at the gates in about three hours. Lord Lunsbe has already set off for the border. Military supplies are in short supply, and we need—ah!"
There was a cry of surprise, and then the crystal ball went dark.
With the exception of Cassius II, everyone present had a grim expression. The vast majority of the land of the far northern kingdom of Forros is covered in eternal ice, completely uncultivable and even uninhabitable. This frost dragon, stationed deep within the snowfield, had long coveted the vast arable lands of the Silver Iris Empire. Several minor conflicts had recently occurred, even injuring the local Saint, Lancebe, forcing the Silver Iris Empire to expend considerable resources and manpower to reinforce its border defenses—after all, the other side also possessed a Saint.
This sudden invasion was not unexpected, but for the Silver Iris Empire, which was already short of money and supplies, it was still devastating news. The entire council hall seemed to be in an uproar, and for a while no one even cared about the slaves in Port Morris.
As the ministers were arguing fiercely, Cassius II finally opened his swollen eyes and pounded the table impatiently: "What are you arguing about? What are you arguing about? It's making my head explode!"
The Finance Minister hesitated for a moment, then tried to explain in the simplest and most understandable way: "Your Majesty, Forlos has invaded the northern city and officially declared war on our country - but we have no money."
"This is not easy." Cassius II yawned and muttered drunkenly, "Just give F, Fulros whatever they want! That Northern City is a lousy place! There's nothing to eat, nothing to play..."
"Your Majesty is drunk, please go back and rest." Just as the ministers looked at each other, the queen suddenly stood up and rudely interrupted the vague mumbling.
With a cold face, she signaled the servant beside her to help Cassius II down. However, the latter pushed the servant away without warning, stumbled and casually drew the long sword from the waist of his personal guard, Knight Commander Ialos, and pointed the tip of the sword at the queen's nose amid the exclamations of the crowd.
"I, I, what did I say wrong? You bitch, why are you not letting me speak?!" He was drunken and mad, brandishing his sword recklessly. The sharp tip of the blade immediately ripped through the exquisite carpet and tore the ornate and intricate curtains into strips. The silver-helmeted knight standing beside him had a grim expression, but he didn't dare to rush forward to grab the sword.
Being insulted by the king in front of all the ministers, a trace of exhaustion, sadness and pain flashed in the queen's eyes, but she still stood upright and grasped the sword of Cassius II with her bare hands without hesitation, and hot blood immediately gushed out.
In the silence, Cassius II seemed stunned. He lowered his head blankly, watching the blood flow down the grooves of the sword blade, staining the small piece of carpet under his feet scarlet - this time Esmeralda successfully snatched the sword from the king's hand and threw it to the knight commander beside her.
"You are drunk." She let the blood flow down her fingers and said very calmly.
…
The professor, far away in Port Morris, found himself in a rare situation where he had to admit that he had made some poor decisions.
The duration of the "rejection reaction" caused by devouring the soul of the god of night and death is somewhat beyond imagination. Not being able to see means being unable to absorb information from the outside world, and also means being controlled by others - at least since he became blind, a certain big devil has been forced to live a "good life" of going to bed early, getting up early, and eating three meals a day regularly for almost a week.
This would have been unthinkable in the past. But now, whenever his former assistant coach announced that his workday was over and it was time for a break, he had no way to deal with him.
—What else can I do? Whimper and whine at people and roll around like a spoiled child?
He had always been a man who would do anything to achieve his goals, but that guy simply wouldn't budge. The savior always smiled and coaxed him to eat and wash himself with gentle words, even shoving a toothbrush filled with toothpaste directly into his mouth like he was dealing with a little kid—then coaxed him into bed, tucked him in, and looked creepy as if he was about to read him a storybook and sing him a lullaby.
The long period of darkness and the forced good work and rest schedule made the professor easily sleepy. He would often think about the overall situation in his mind and orally describe his work, but he would be massaged until he felt sleepy again. He would curl up next to someone and fall asleep, and it was not until the next morning that he woke up again.
In this situation, the professor couldn't help but think of the proposal to consume the soul of the God of Night and Death through near-death. The reason was ready: the first congress of representatives from all walks of life in Port Morris was about to take place, and he didn't want to participate in such an important occasion blindly.
But the Savior was keeping a close eye on him. If he committed suicide under his nose - it was not impossible, but Nova did not want to challenge this guy's bottom line unless necessary. Who knew what kind of crazy thing he would do.
"So the good idea you came up with is to let me...'kill' you?" Azuka slowly raised his eyes to the people, his expression dark and difficult to read.
"It's not about killing, it's about creating a near-death experience," the professor added seriously, frowning. Losing his vision had significantly impaired his judgment, and he couldn't tell if the other person was angry or not. He simply chose to reason with him, "You're the most suitable candidate—first, you're strong enough to carry the power of Samuel's soul and prevent any unexpected situations. Second, I trust you enough not to let me die."
"You know I'm right." His unfocused, smoky-gray eyes were calm and cruel, like the barren surface of lunar soil. "We don't have much time to waste. This is maximizing efficiency—and Samuel's soul has lingered in my body for too long. Who knows if other variables might arise?"
“…”
Nova frowned when he didn't get any answer and continued to persuade, "Regarding my 'previous life' and why I later became a 'tyrant' with extremely extreme actions, I have some speculations about this."
"Besides some schemes I don't understand yet, I suspect that devouring the fragments of the god's soul will gradually affect my sanity." He threw down a thunderous blow with an expressionless face: "You are right. Devouring souls will only drive people crazy, no matter how powerful my soul itself is."
The tyrant's extreme behavior is caused by fate and the future, but is also influenced by the gods - tyranny comes from the sea god Odras, arrogance comes from Zephyr, the god of light and glory, madness comes from Analene, the goddess of love, and cruelty comes from Samuel, the god of night and death.
——So he had to die.
Death is the inevitable end of the mad scarlet tyrant.
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