Alien world

Chapter 1827, Question 460: What is Meaning?
"You've always been so pessimistic."

Only after confirming that Aidan was not a competitor did Annan hand over the wine.

"Because it keeps getting worse."

He went from being the crown prince of the Supreme King to a wanted criminal, then died, and finally ceased to be human.

Annan held up his juice: "But from another perspective, so many setbacks haven't defeated you, so what is there for you to bow down to?"

"Talking to you really makes me feel good."

Prince Aidan clinked glasses with Annan and then drank them down in one gulp.

"Annan, I've come to say goodbye."

"Are you going to die again?"

Prince Aidan, taking this as Annan's way of asking "Where are you going?", replied, "I should return to the Chaos Cult."

"Haven't you given yourself away yet?"

Aidan shook his head. Neither the ratmen nor the demons knew about what he had done, and even on the Empire's side, only a few ministers knew.

If the news still leaks out, according to Annam, even the empire is hard to resist corruption, so I might as well join the forces of Chaos as soon as possible.

Annan had previously thought Aidan was an undercover agent sent by the Empire, but now it seems that wasn't the case.

"Did your brother tell you to do this?"

Aidan shook his head: "After I came back to life, I no longer have the surname Hernand, and I have no connection with the Kingdom of Paem."

"Is there something about the Chaos Cult that you can't give up?"

Aidan continued to shake his head, recounting how he joined the Chaos Cult.

Having been resurrected, Aidan was lost for a long time, having no connection to his past. When he was wondering whether to go to Liberty City, he met a bard who invited him to join the Cult of Chaos. He then joined the succubus queen Lilith.

Aidan's figure trembled in the firelight, like an unfathomable mist: "I don't know what I should do..."

"Of course, it's something more meaningful."

“Meaning… I don’t know what meaning is. Annan, don’t try to persuade me. The Chaos Cult is my first sect as a new person, and I don’t want to leave for the time being.”

Annan clinked glasses with him again, and the two empty glasses collided, making a clear, ethereal sound.

"You'll find it eventually. When that day comes, remember to tell me."

"I will."

"The bards are completely fooled by me. They call my name whenever they get into a fight, and they send me any news as well. Well... the news isn't important, the main thing is to let me know you're alright."

Aidan smiled, his smile warmed by the concern of his friend: "I will too."

Annan took the empty wine glass, returned to the campfire, put down his things, and said to the black-clad watchmen who were looking over, "Soldiers, let's go home!"

The soldiers, their hopes rekindled, stood up and stood silently and solemnly behind Annan, like a high wall protecting him.

Annan looked at Albek, who bowed his head and performed the rites of a monk.

"set off!"

The Blackwatch soldiers marched out of the dungeon in unison.

Annan, who was walking beside him, suddenly stopped as they passed a shadow at the edge of the hall and turned his head: "Commander?"

The silhouette in the shadows raised its head, revealing the legion commander's chiseled face, and tossed out a bulging money bag with a sound unlike the clinking of gold coins and gems.

Annan took the money bag and said, "Aren't you going to say something to them?" "I've wronged them. If they see me, they'll only remember the tragic past."

If the legion commander were an enemy, Annan would have used the harshest words to accuse him of betraying the Empire, the soldiers, and their families. But since he was practically one of their own, Annan could only comfort him: "A soldier's destiny is on the battlefield; you have not wronged anyone."

This once-powerful commander of the Eighth Legion turned and walked into the shadows.

"Annan, they are in your hands now."

Watching the legion commander's figure and footsteps disappear into the darkness, Annan withdrew his gaze and followed the soldiers.

Outside the courtroom, Peterson brought a row of carriages and waited for the soldiers to climb into them. Annan was the last to jump in, and the carriage convoy slowly set off, leaving the courtroom.

Beneath the tall pillars, a pair of eyes silently watched the convoy's retreating figures.

Watching Annan busily working on his "meaning," Prince Aidan recalled the words Annan had said to him before he died.

I looked up at the stars, so close yet so far.

"Is there anything more meaningful..."

……

Annan and Olmedo said they would return no later than tomorrow, and they did indeed arrive back in Liberty City at midnight.

On the way, he opened the money bag given to him by the legion commander. Sure enough, it didn't contain coins, but rather twenty bottles of mountain essence flowing with a thick, earthy-yellow potion.

Worth 40,000 gold coins, it's extremely valuable. Moreover, considering the impending war in Middle-earth, the prices of equipment and potions that can enhance combat power are rising, including mountain essence, which has become scarce and expensive.

This trip to the Montreal mountains was short, more of a wrap-up, like a mercenary receiving payment from his employer after completing a mission, oh, and returning the borrowed artifact.

Currently, he has secured a thousand death row inmates annually, twenty bottles of Mountain Essence, seventy-three former Blackwatch soldiers, and some unseen benefits not listed in the accounts. These include the Inquisition's friendship, the Legion Commander's favor, and Aidan's connections…

Overall, the court offers more benefits.

Who was it that encouraged Annan to infiltrate the chaotic religious sect?
……

Late at night, Annan recounted his trip to his older sister, Olmedo, and Lera, who was dozing off with a teddy bear and had a tanned complexion.

“Looks like you’ve done quite a bit…” Olmedo nodded in agreement, then changed the subject: “You won’t be running around like this again, will you?”

"Probably not..."

Annan hesitated for a moment; no one knows whether tomorrow or an accident will come first.

Just then, a messenger burst into the lounge, bringing a bombshell report: the Empire had launched a surprise attack on the Chaos Legion in Old Vale tonight, further destabilizing the previously stable situation.

"So fast?"

Olmedo stood up and went to the strategy room to examine the sand table.

Annan pushed his older sister inside and saw Olmedo standing in front of the sand table, planting the red flag representing the empire at the foot of the mountain range a few fingers north of Hell Mountain.

The sand table only had black, green and red flags. The black flags, representing the devil, and the green flags, representing the ratmen, were planted in large numbers in the center of the sand table, while the red flags were all located at the bottom.

Overall, black and red are the most prevalent colors – after all, the North is the main subject of the model.

The sand table in the strategy room was almost identical to Biros's map—after all, Annan had peeked at it quite a bit before.

However, among the green and black flags, three incongruous red flags were planted – those were the Empire's other three legions: the Crimson Guard Legion, the Silverwing Storm Legion, and the Ash Bone Corps Legion.

In fact, the situation was never stable. The three legions of the empire had been hunting in the north for a month.

(End of this chapter)