Chapter 810 Don’t want to eat? Then don’t eat at all
"…your only friend."
Aleister repeated Pomponazzi's words.
She held up the red wine glass, and her slender fingers slid gently along the wall of the glass.
She wanted to laugh. "So, you killed your friend's descendants, took away his queen and children... and his country?"
Although Aleister had never met Queen Louise or Valentine VIII outside of the ascension ceremony, she understood the personality of the Moon Child... or rather, the personality of all the transcendents on the Path of Love. Aleister could immediately guess what they had been through.
If there were a big data statistics for the promotion ceremony in this world, Aleister could be sure that... among the rejection paths of the Full Moon Ceremony, the total BAN rate of the Path of Love would definitely be in the top three.
The first one should be the previous adaptation path, after all, it was a notoriously difficult one.
——If you are not afraid of death, why are you an adapter!
Once you put your own survival as the top priority, it will naturally not be a good thing for your teammates.
Now that the Lord of Scales and Feathers has obtained the warrior profession, and with the support of the power of the Pillar Gods, he has transformed a large number of extraordinary people who originally belonged to other paths but whose philosophies were in the controversial area where different paths overlapped into adapters. The philosophy of the Adaptation Path has changed from "surviving in vain" to actively "fighting for living space", and the reputation of the Adaptation Path should also improve to a considerable extent.
To the extent that other paths are unpopular, the path of love should now be strong enough to at least maintain the second place and fight for the first place!
"That's because they're on the wrong path."
Pomponazi's expression remained unwavering. "It was not me who first abandoned the Star and strayed from Bashir's path, but they. No one has more authority to say this than I, for I have been the one who has watched over this path since its inception.
"Of the many nations that splintered from the Herasil Empire, only Star Antimony's rulers were born commoners. Not only the king and officials... except for myself and the principal, who gave up power after the founding of the nation, even our second elected Red and Black Prime Ministers were born commoners.
"Those who are capable will be rewarded with more work, and strength is paramount. Anyone can find a stage to showcase their talents at Xingtan, as long as they truly possess the ability. Those with talent will be given a stage to hone their talents, and those who cultivate their abilities will take over.
"'Even the most ferocious and dull beast has the potential to ascend to godhood.' This is the essence of Star Antimony alchemy, the will that Bashir persevered throughout his life. Even after ascending to the dream world, he still firmly believed in this concept—believing it to be the most correct path, the path that would bring the country the greatest prosperity..."
"…Because of the Herasil Empire."
Aleister rested his chin on his left hand and said softly, "After all, this is the reason why the empire was destroyed."
In the last days of the empire, the vast majority of capable people were not given positions that would accommodate them.
It wasn't even an era of competition or internal competition; rather, there wasn't even any competition—bloodline determined everything. No matter how hard they tried, a fifth-level transcendent of commoner origin couldn't hold a candle to a third-level transcendent of aristocratic origin... because the former were merely individuals, while the latter held connections and power.
While the common people split into numerous organizations and engaged in internal strife, the nobles' shared interests united them. Any attempt to deprive the nobles of their power would trigger a fierce counterattack from all of them... It could be said that the true rulers of the empire were no longer Heracles, but the nobles of the Heracle Empire.
In this case, talent is no longer talent... but a real threat.
Because even without these talents, the empire would still be an empire, powerful enough to be indestructible, unshakable, and inviolable.
But with these people, unstable voices will appear within the empire.
"—So the empire was destroyed."
Pomponazi replied calmly, his words revealing a certain wisdom: "Short-lived people's thoughts are limited by their vision. Bashir was born in the last days of the empire, so he naturally believes that the root of all social contradictions comes from the rulers' neglect and rejection of talent. It is precisely because of this that he attaches great importance to the selection of talents and is wary of the consolidation of power."
“But back then… after his death, Xingti almost immediately fell to the brink of collapse.
"Because every faction within the kingdom was incredibly powerful. Bashir even actively fostered their ambitions and lust for power, which prevented Valentine II from subduing them upon his initial ascension. Every faction was preparing for their own ascension, collaborating with one another to achieve this goal. At the time, Black Eagle and Narcissus still existed, and some factions even chose to communicate with them in order to gain power over the others.
"Back then, internal strife within Xingti was even more intense than it is now. A decree could be rescinded within two days of being issued, as the person who issued it would be fired and replaced by someone more powerful.
"The extraordinary people above are fighting fiercely, even resorting to physical violence. Meanwhile, the common people below have no idea which laws they are following, or whether any of them have expired. Everyone lives in a state of confusion. No one can clearly say what they plan to do in the future, or what they cannot do now."
"It wasn't until then that we finally understood... it turns out that a country, besides being strong, also needs stability. The first generation of Star Antimony was stable because Bashir subjugated everyone. But once he left, chaos ensued."
"—This is actually because the system proposed by Valentine I, while well-thought-out, is still imperfect."
Aleister nodded and added, "He's personally too powerful, so he doesn't want the system to constrain him. But his successor may not possess such power, so they may not be able to draw enough strength from the system to protect themselves."
Aiwass had learned this history in Avalon before - but it was used as a negative example of "what would happen if a multi-path transcendent held a high position" to warn the people of Avalon.
Although Avalon's authoritarian rule had caused much chaos and suppressed national development, these terrible things had never happened. Even during the time of Prince Lloyd or the Hanged King, there had never been such chaos.
"So, at that time, the principal and I took action together... and repressed them, recognizing Valentine II and granting him the dignity of a king. This is why the nobles still respect and fear the Black and Red Prime Minister to this day."
Peng Bonazi sighed, his expression complicated. "Since then, Xingti's rule has gradually stabilized."
The expression on his face looked like a sigh, loss, and sarcasm.
"What now?"
Bayard said leisurely, "Do you regret it? Do you think you were wrong to hand over power to Valentine?"
"You don't know me very well, Lady Bayard."
Pomponazzi shook his head. "I'm not suited to authority... Material power holds no allure for me. If I truly desired to obtain Star Antimony, there would be ample opportunity. Besides me, the 'Principal' is the same—for us, ruling a country as a king is not much different from shepherding a flock of sheep.
"It's more of a job than a pleasure. When you transcend the mundane too much, looking upon those mortals becomes only a weariness... What they argue about, what they fight for, what they strive for with all their might, what they pursue their whole lives, what they pass down from generation to generation—all of it is nothing but vanity. In the face of great time, all that was once brilliant will wither like a flower.
"I've only lived a few hundred years. Elves who have lived longer are likely to be more indifferent to such matters. This is perhaps why the Theocracy has been able to maintain its neutrality."
"—Isn't that the case with you?"
"I...have something I want to pursue."
Aleister was silent for a moment, then answered softly.
At that moment, she had some distracting thoughts in her mind:
Today, Aiwass and Aleister are able to move forward with such determination and enthusiasm largely because the world is facing numerous crises.
The Fallen Angels descend, the Tail Rings spread, the Ring Angels plot, and the secret that will lead to the end of the world in the future.
As the saying goes, even if the sky falls, there are always tall people to hold it up... But what if they are the tallest tall people?
They had no choice but to push forward. For this incredibly difficult goal, even if they burned everything, it might still be unattainable. So how could there be room for slacking off or daydreaming?
But……
When the final enemy is defeated, the war to end all wars will be over.
What would Aiwass do then?
Will he return to his shattered daily life? Will he really still have a daily life? Or will he abandon his unnecessary emotions and shed his excess self to become a celestial being or a pillar god?
As a child of the moon who also walks the path of love, Aleister seemed to understand Pomponazzi for a moment:
If Aiwass ascended to become a god, and she was abandoned and cut apart... perhaps she would be much crazier than Pomponazzi.
"So, you gave power to Valentine II and took power away from Valentine VII... because you didn't want to play the game anymore?"
"I don't want to wait any longer."
Pomponazzi spoke frankly, his tone unusually sincere and heartfelt: "Today's Valentine I is worse than he was before. The path of the Knights of the Golden Stone has not yet been reached. Today's nobility is still the nobility of the founding of the country, and the number of extraordinary people among the people is starting to increase to such an extent that they can't find jobs. The truly talented are once again being marginalized."
"The founding of Star Antimony relied on the common people, and now the common people of Star Antimony are once again facing the same predicament as the Empire. History continues to repeat itself, and the development of the world is like a circle with no beginning or end. Even if I try hard and can tear it down and start over again, reset everything... what's the point of just patching it up like this?
"Even if Xingtan can slowly reform to resolve these problems, after the changes are complete, it won't be Xingtan anymore. It won't be the Xingtan that Bashir and I fought for. Why should I protect it?"
"...You don't want to unite with other Moon Children and rebuild the Hellasl Empire," Aleister suddenly understood Pomponazi's true purpose, "You simply want to destroy Star Antimony!"
“Indeed, I intend to destroy Xingti—but so what?
"I want to kill it while it's still alive, not just a corpse. I want to destroy it before it's too ugly for me to look at, so that at least future generations can have hope. Let them mourn the star and recall its former glory, instead of acting like after the empire's fall, as if everyone can step on it and analyze its destruction from a high position.
"Without my sponsorship, help, and protection, Xingtan would never have been born. Since Xingtan of the past was born because of me, let Xingtan of today die because of me."
The blond, red-eyed youth spoke slowly and clearly, "Although the principal has extensive experience, he has made no contribution to the founding of the kingdom. And I am at least the founder of half of the Star Antimony Kingdom... I believe I have the power to end it."
"Xingtan belongs to me and Valentine. But now Valentine is no longer Valentine, but I am still me.
“So, it’s mine.
"This isn't about taking...it's about giving back."
Still the same, the second chapter will be released at 2 o'clock!
(End of this chapter)
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