Chapter 272 History
"So you just left that guy in Port Morris?!" Ole stared at the black-haired tyrant in disbelief, even doubting whether the other party was in a clear mind.
Jophiel Ialos, Knight-Captain of the Kite Heart Guards, the last remaining ray of light from the old king. After his previous king and queen were executed together in Kite Heart Square, he attempted to assassinate the tyrant, but was reported by his former colleagues who had sworn allegiance to the new king. He was then escorted to the throne by the slave general, Greven.
The tyrant, in a rare act of leniency, offered him two choices: to cut off his own arm as punishment and continue to serve the country after signing a soul contract, or to die. Without hesitation, he committed suicide before the throne, choosing to follow his former master.
That guy is a confirmed royalist. Putting such a person in the People's Party's stronghold...
Ole couldn't help but glare at Azuka, his expression filled with grief and anguish, as if he was looking at a treacherous minister who fawned over a tyrant emperor every day - this guy didn't even know how to stop him.
After hearing the tyrant's secret, the professor calmly turned a page and said, "Oh."
Only after being glared at so hard that two holes seemed to burn through his face did he finally raise his head and nodded seriously at Ole and Mashilin: "Thank you for your hard work these days."
Ole: “…”
"It's not that hard. We've long been accustomed to this kind of life. At least we have enough food to eat and warm clothes, and we have a group of good soldiers under our command." Maxine smiled carelessly, but Ole found that the red-haired girl's attitude towards others had become much more approachable. "But you should take care of yourself. I see that your eyes seem a little swollen..."
Could it be that she's been overusing her eyes? She wondered vaguely, "I can't have just cried all day. Ah, my lips seem a little unusually red too..."
The topic was quickly diverted to a completely different topic. Knowing the tyrant didn't intend for them to get involved, Ole sighed. The familiar tiredness of his heart made him less angry. "Forget it, that guy definitely has bad intentions anyway. Just know it yourself."
The Silver Helmet Knight, the Land Freedom Party, and... the tyrant's cousin? The assassin couldn't help but tut a few times. In such a short time, how many people did this guy pick up in his lair?
While he was still complaining in his heart, the reconciliation between the two sides had entered a new stage.
"...Wait." The assassin's expression gradually grew serious. "What do you mean, you found the gods and where are they trapped now?"
"Remember the Great Prophet Magnus?" Azuka calmly looked at his friend, "And the shortest, most confusing prophecy he left behind."
"'All fates return to the abyss,'" Orel repeated, his arms folded across his chest and a frown on his face. Suddenly, a thought struck him, and his eyes widened. "Could this be taken literally? Does it mean the gods are truly trapped in the 'abyss'? Are those legends true?!"
"Although it was only a brief moment, I did sense that the divine power I left within my soul fragment suddenly vanished without a trace at some point," the young god said expressionlessly. Although he was getting closer and closer to the truth, he didn't seem happy. "The final resting place of the divine power was at Asaqi Peak."
——His hometown, where all the stories begin.
Ole silently lowered his arms that were lazily folded across his chest.
"How much do you know about King Corentin?" He suddenly brought up a seemingly unrelated topic.
In his previous life, he had deliberately avoided mentioning the genocide of the Natalin people, fearing that it would cause his friend grief. In this life, two people of the same tribe, separated by fate for three hundred years, were reunited.
"If you've been paying attention to the interactions between the Shadow Chasers and the Natalin people," Azuka raised an eyebrow, "you'd know there's a subtle... discrepancy between the information they hold."
Well, it wasn't just a subtle difference—he had heard stories of elders in the tribe chasing people down in a rage, brandishing their canes.
From the perspective of the Shadow Chaser, the Mad King was a complete lunatic who had abandoned his people, but the stories that had been passed down among the Natalin people were more detailed and specific, mixed with admiration, pity and sighs.
"Because his soul's essence was damaged, he was indeed mad," Azuka said quietly, "but he also never betrayed his people, so the Natalin people didn't want to blame him."
"That old man once told me something," Orel whispered thoughtfully. "On the eve of the 'Seventeenth Day's Reign, King Corentin privately summoned the elders of the tribe and told them that the divine seal of the Storm God Utoska had appeared on him. This should have been a good thing, as Utoska had been missing for a long time. However, King Corentin seemed worried and secretly collected sea charts to Asaqi Peak. And then not long after, he went mad."
"...He did utter many blasphemous words in his madness." Azuka frowned slightly. "For example, he proposed sacrificing the entire tribe in order to achieve eternal life. But his condition was already very poor by then, and no one believed what he said. Only a few elders in the tribe heard about it from their elders in their childhood."
If he had not been a person favored by God in this life and the religious leader of all Natalin people, and had not had many opportunities to interact with the older generation, these seemingly true secrets would have been buried in the dust of history long ago.
Ole couldn't help but scratch his hair in frustration. His head felt like it was swelling and aching, and he couldn't think straight. He just wanted to throw all his questions to his friend: "If the abyss is behind Asaqi Peak, do you think King Corentin deliberately led his people to flee in the direction of Asaqi Peak?"
It was a complete mess. His intuition told him the truth was somewhere in there, but he just couldn't grasp that flickering point of light.
His friend did not answer rashly, but looked in the direction of the tyrant: "Professor, what do you think?"
...Wait, that's right! Ole thought with great delight. This time, besides Azuka, they also have this tyrant who is famous for his wisdom!
"He once told you that your birth was carefully planned by him." The black-haired young man tapped the paper with the tip of his pen expressionlessly. "According to the information you provided, the Storm God Utosca was only over a hundred years old at the time. He did not join the other gods in the abyss at the end of the century. Therefore, when the other gods lost their bodies and lived on as spirits, he was still able to walk the mortal world in a physical body."
"...But the fear of death still lingered in the Storm God." He silently gazed at the last remaining orphan of the Natalin people. "According to divine history, he had a close relationship with the goddess of fate, Lamodo. Utoska likely learned how to seize the body from him, so he had a wild idea and decided to create a 'character' for himself."
"He has a body, so his progress is faster and simpler than that of the gods. However, faith in the Storm God is not mainstream, so Utoska can only seek a suitable candidate within the tribe. King Corentin is the first target—perhaps this is what King Corentin meant by 'sacrificing the entire tribe for eternal life.' After all, the 'protagonist' is surrounded by disasters, not to mention the gods themselves, with ulterior motives. King Corentin's soul was damaged after he learned the truth and his faith collapsed, ultimately becoming a madman."
The professor's voice gradually trailed off, his smoky grey eyes staring into space, as if he were staring into the eyes of the Mad King from over three hundred years ago. "He deliberately traveled to the Asaqi Valley, probably intending to lead the gods into an extremely dangerous abyss. However, his soul burned out along the way and he died not long after. However, he somehow managed to thwart the Storm God's plan."
"Perhaps it was the Asachi Valley's unique geographical location near the abyss that deterred Utoska from acting rashly. Perhaps it was the exiled Natalin people who could not withstand the turmoil and needed to rely on faith to survive. Perhaps it was some other information we don't yet know that made him calm down and continue to wait. Utoska disappeared for nearly three hundred years, which is why there are so few historical records about him." Nova pondered for a moment. "The question now is, what made him decide to bring you into being?"
Marcylin opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say. She glanced at her friend's face—she couldn't tell anything. The savior was as quiet as a statue.
"Excellent, brother. This proves once again that our fathers are scumbags." Orel took a deep breath and patted his friend's shoulder in a casual manner. "As for King Corentin..."
He didn't know what to say about this story filled with conspiracy, hatred and sacrifice. It seemed that anything he said would seem frivolous. The love, hatred and vengeance of more than three hundred years ago seemed too far away from them, and yet they were all immersed in the lingering warmth of the dead heroes.
"His actions indirectly prove that the Abyss is indeed behind Asaqi Peak." The assassin concluded dryly, "It's a good thing you brought all the people out."
"The Great Prophet Magnus." The professor beside him suddenly said without warning: "Maybe he is the key. Find him."
Everyone was stunned for a moment. No one knew how this person's thoughts jumped to this level. Azuka was the first to react. He frowned and said, "Do you think he told Utoska to have 'me' born?"
The professor looked him in the eye calmly: "It's just a guess."
It was a fantastic idea indeed—but upon closer thought, it seemed to make some sense. Azuka simply agreed, "Okay, I'll arrange it."
Nova nodded with satisfaction and turned to look at Maxine beside him: "Ms. Maxine, there is one more thing I hope you can understand."
Mashilin was stunned for a moment, and was inexplicably flustered by the man's serious attitude: "Ah...ah?"
"Based on the overall situation, I believe we should postpone our plan to go to the Abyss. Therefore, unless there are special circumstances, the divine seal on you cannot be processed for the time being." The black-haired young man looked at her seriously. "You are Azuka's friend and an important partner. This is essentially putting you in danger. Is there anything I can do to compensate you as much as possible?"
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