Shadow of the Evil God

Isn't this the Alanti here?

Cesar saw Milava shake her head, then suddenly stood up and began pacing around the camp, as if trying to see who dared to interfere with his tracing of the past, but he found nothing. It seemed the beastmen were hiding deeper than they had imagined. At the end of his pace, Milava came to their side.

"The one I love is not here." The Emperor of the Frank Empire gazed at Arlandi in the distance, "I once wanted to keep her, but..."

"There are no records of Soler in later generations, Your Majesty," Cesar said tentatively.

"Like every boy, I once adored the one who raised me, but that was a childhood memory. Later, I fell in love with someone older and more magnificent than her. I could glimpse the majesty hidden behind history. But you people wouldn't understand, would you?"

Cesar needed a lot of detours to understand what Milava was talking about. He felt that this man's pride had reached an incredible level. He looked down on human women and wanted to have sex with civilization and history itself. What had hidden behind Alanti seemed to Milava a symbol of civilization and history.

"I simply love someone who can keep me warm by the fire, Your Majesty," he said.

Chapter 422: Past Glory and Tomorrow's Honor

"You are a person who loves people for their own sake, am I right?" said Milawa.

"I don't know what's so great about that," Cesar said.

"People generally love the illusions in their own hearts, so people like you are particularly rare. However, do you love to explore the darkness and shadows in people's hearts like the White Nightmare? I hope not."

"I'm also curious whether it's the woman herself that you admire, or the civilization and history behind her, Your Majesty."

"It seems you did some research before retracing our memories," Milava said without comment. "That's a good thing, for ignorance is a sin. If the deceived are slaves to the deceiver, the ignorant are slaves to the world. I see them as I see sheep in a pen."

"I came here only to retrieve some forgotten memories, Your Majesty. For this reason alone, the Franks of later generations are completely ignorant of your affairs. The Pantheon has erased everything."

"The Pantheons!" Milava shook her head and sighed. "Compared to the Beastmen with whom we have a feud, our fellow humans who pushed for our downfall are even more hateful. But compared to the Pantheons and their followers who fanned the flames of the empire's destruction, the other human race that started the war isn't worth caring about."

Cesar thought he had successfully diverted the conflict, but before he could continue talking about the Temple of the Gods, the Frankish Emperor changed the subject.

"If it were still the same time," Milawa said, "our conversation would have been very interesting—the Firstborn of the Beastmen, the remnants of the Kuna, and the Sasoulai who have come from afar. We would have hanged you all and let this Farran girl collect your bodies. But now, I care more about the Pantheon and its believers. As a cursed one, how will you treat the Pantheon?"

Cesar coughed softly and said, "I'm fanning the flames, supporting some persecuted sects to fight against the orthodox sects of the Grand Temple, and waiting for the right time to replace them."

"If I had listened to your advice back then, the empire's fate would have been very different." Milava nodded. "I was too hasty back then. I didn't carefully understand the position of each piece on the chessboard, nor did I consider all the ways to reach the goal in this game. Let's get on with this task now. You'll have another opportunity to serve me in the future."

Cesar heard a clue in the Frankish Emperor's words—Milavar seemed to be preparing a way to return to the mortal realm. But what would happen after his return? How would he maintain his so-called service and imperial power? Nowadays, not only the Frankish Empire and its imperial power, but even the royal power of the Frankish kingdoms was barely maintaining its existence. It was a shame it was too soon. Had Miravar returned a few hundred years later, he would have been able to admire this man standing on the podium, loudly preaching and rallying the citizens.

As for what exactly Milava had planned, Cesar didn't want to delve too deeply into it; it was too dangerous and of little use to him. However, Milava's suggestion that Cesar could serve him offered him the opportunity to climb the ladder. He was best at adapting others' ideas and painting blueprints, allowing them to become obsessed with his own visions, though he usually only realized his own blueprints.

"When capturing the Temple of the Gods, should I play with the black pieces or the white pieces?" Cesar asked himself using Milava's words.

"You seem to be playing with the blood-red pieces," Milava said, "but you're closer to black, so we should play with the black pieces. Although black pieces are always rebels and murderers in the story, these measures are necessary to return to my original position."

"I'm just a small lord in a remote area," Cesar said nonchalantly. "In the southernmost part of the Frankish kingdoms, in a place called Neuen."

Sevra remained expressionless, Ajeh was smiling, and only Aya, who was born in Neuen, could not control her expression. She was forced to lower her head and concentrate on eating the meat, as if all she saw was the roasted pig on the plate.

"Land and soldiers are enough," Miraval said unconcernedly. "When the empire was about to collapse, I knew my fate was irreversible. I commanded my skilled knights to lay down their armor and return to the mortal world, passing on their loyalty and will after my death. Have you ever heard of warriors who came from the countryside and farms, yet were more capable than those battle-hardened generals?"

That was truly remarkable. While Cesar instinctively thought of Cecia, a deeper consideration revealed that every Frank who displayed remarkable military prowess was worthy of suspicion. Even Garcia and Urbino were suspect. The only ones who stood out were the Templars of the Casar Empire, such as Old Clefas.

When Milava returns to the mortal realm, will he somehow awaken the loyalty and resolve of these warriors? Is the Pantheon's suspicion of the demise of the Sethia family a factor? Over the years, Cesar's exhaustive investigations have failed to uncover the true cause of the Sethia family's downfall, yielding no clues. If this matter involves Milava's knights, or the Pantheon's manipulations, his unsuccessful return makes sense.

This was not a power struggle among the nobles, but a means arranged in advance by the Temple of the Gods to investigate and eliminate Milava.

"In recent years, wars have continued, people have been displaced, and noble families have been frequently exterminated," Cesar said, tapping his finger. "It's hard to say how much of the legacy from those days remains."

"The will of the warriors will never die," said Milava. "Even if they are reduced to ash, I have a way to raise them from the ashes."

Although Cesar wore a confused expression, as if he didn't understand what Mirava was saying at all, his heart was already deeply moved, because these words immediately reminded him of Nauzog, the beastman who had engraved his will and existence into the Age of Gods.

The Frank Empire rose to prominence amidst fierce battles with the Beastmen. It would be a lie to say they didn't know about the Beastmen warriors whose death could be ritually resurrected. It would also be a lie to say they didn't want to explore the secrets of their return to the world after death.

"Your words carry the glory of the past," Cesar complimented.

"The glory of the past should be the honor of tomorrow," said Milawa. "Do you know that there was once an era older than the Kuna people? A benevolent will guided humanity from the beginning of time to establish civilization, embrace glory, and become the ruler of the world, like the mother of all mankind. But at a certain point, those cursed ancestors of the Kuna people slaughtered her and established their own empire. Obsessed with internal rule, they forgot to explore the world. We could have built cities in the deepest parts of the ocean, roamed freely in the sky, spread our footprints across the world, and even occupied the entire wasteland."

The beginning of time? A true dragon? Is Milava saying the ancient Kuna killed a premature true dragon? Library Master Zavulon claims he's the only one left, but he never mentions where the other premature true dragons died. If the ancient Kuna killed their ruler, that's quite interesting.

From Zavulon's words, it had been acting as a hidden guide and manipulator, perturbing the origins of the Kasar Empire like a puppet's strings. From beginning to end, no one knew its identity. But from Milava's words, another immature dragon stood at the forefront, making the exact opposite choice and taking the opposite path from Zavulon.

At first it seemed to have achieved much more than Zaburon, but then...

Why would Milava tell him this?

At first, Alante paced around the camp, then came up to them. Cesar noticed that she had been listening to their conversation for a while, but she didn't say anything. Only when Milava mentioned it did she look at him and whispered something in a sweet, soft voice.

"Do you know, knight?" she smiled. "Do you know how our world came to be today? In the beginning, all tribes listened to the words of the Mother, but later, the cursed ancestors found the cursed God. They believed the blasphemous words of the alien god and felt that people should not live like this. Other tribes were unwilling to follow the Kuna people, so they slaughtered the Mother and wiped out almost all other tribes, leaving only the Franks as slaves to be sacrificed to the alien god. A kind teacher told this legend to my sister and me, and told me that the Kuna who slaughtered the Mother was called the Wise Man."

Cesar forced a smile. After this conversation, the purpose of Alanti and Milava's exploration of the Tomb of the Wise suddenly became clear, but the dark history involved far exceeded his imagination. Was he now walking in the Tomb of the Wise, continuing the path that Milava and Alanti had taken?

This matter is becoming more and more troublesome.

As for a kind teacher... where does a kind teacher come from? Alante doesn't need a teacher at all. She herself is the teacher of her and her sister Ferrieres.

Cesar remained silent, but he noticed that Alante had spread her fingers slightly apart, making a gesture that no one else could understand. He said so because he could understand it. It was the same gesture Alante had always made to Cesar when he was little, summoning him like a puppy to lick her feet whenever she needed him to soothe her.

First, this was a remnant of memories controlled by Milava. Alanti's consciousness was clouded, and he was unaware of their identities, nor did he know that he was in a history that had already passed away. Second, the identity of Cesar did not appear in later generations. He was almost certain that the person who was beheaded and offered to Milava was himself, a pitiful boy.

Finally, according to the remnant of Ferriers' words, the school servants who accompanied Alanthi back then all met a bad end. Even those around Alanthi were replaced by servants and knights assigned by Milava. So, why was she now making this gesture to him—Milava's knight—?

Cesar glanced at Alante with the timid eyes of the little boy he remembered, earning a meaningful smile. He understood now that Alante had killed little Cesar's body but taken his soul, like a pet. Furthermore, she had later replaced the knight's original consciousness with him, like a spy within the ranks of Milava's loyal knights.

Whoever Milava arranged to watch over her, she would use him to replace that person's consciousness.

These two emperors and empresses truly have their own unique characteristics. When Alante becomes the leader of Remnant Memory, Cesar will have a serious talk with her about this matter.

Chapter 423: Deep Love and Having Deeply Loved

"Although this is just a story, and its veracity is still debatable," Milawa said, "the key to this story is that it explains the path for me. I understand from this story that if we continue to follow the path it reveals, we can not only explore the deep sea, occupy the sky, and conquer the wasteland, but we can also travel to other lands by ship, conquer them one by one, build our own cities, and spread our footprints to places beyond our sight. Even protecting the abyss is just a small problem that needs to be solved."

Cesar noticed that Milava's words made Alante frown slightly. It seemed that Milava's current statements were inconsistent with his previous views. His current account was a reflection that gradually emerged after his death. Back then, he seemed to believe the story without a doubt, but now he was saying that it was just a story, and even its authenticity was questionable.

Did Alante tell him this story? Was it because Alante told him that he believed it so firmly?

He nodded, but didn't press the issue. Instead, he shifted his focus. "You seem to be saying that traveling to other lands by ship is more difficult than exploring the deep sea, occupying the sky, and colonizing the wasteland, Your Majesty. Didn't those outsiders come from other lands by ship?"

Milava paused, as if realizing his insight. "You've hit the nail on the head, Knight. I'm sure you've heard of the relationship between the Wasteland and the Real World, knowing they were once one. You think the Wasteland rose, the Real World fell, and then the world became what it is today, but you're mistaken. No, we now only exist, trembling in the ruins of the past."

"Ruins of the past..." Cesar muttered to himself.

Arlandi still wore her unchanging gentle smile. She said, "At the beginning of time, the sinking world was covered with scars. It was the benevolent will at the beginning of time that healed some of the scars of the present world, allowing us to crawl around like insects in this lush land."

Miraval paused again, as if somewhat dissatisfied with Alante's insistence on telling her story, but now she was only a memory. He shook his head, but did not refute Alante. He simply said, "Now, I want you to imagine, Knight, if we go too far, we will come to places where the scars have not yet healed. When we find that the Sanctuary Abyss spreads across the outside world like cracked land in a drought, crisscrossing and leaving us with no way to go, how can we travel through them to other lands?"

Cesar remained silent. He realized that Alante, while serving as Queen and accompanying Milava, had told him a highly subjective story. Milava not only believed it, but also found her own faith in it. Later, he gradually placed his faith in her, so much so that his pursuit of and love for Soler also shifted to Alante, along with this faith.

He didn't know how many twists and turns they had gone through, but he knew that Milava had finally wavered. He began to doubt the story and the person Allandi was. Despite this, he didn't doubt the belief that the story brought him, and he continued to pursue...

Chasing something ancient?

This is really interesting. Cesar found that he wanted to seal the ancient object and retain the living people cursed by it, but Milava's pursuit was completely the opposite. What Milava wanted was not a living person, but the myth that brought him faith, the phantom behind the story.

"I thought," said Milawa, "that the Kasar Empire had sailed across the ocean from another land and arrived in our land. They undoubtedly mastered the means of sailing across the abyss. At that time, the Kuna people were still crawling on the ground, obsessed with ruling their own people, but they had already built cities on our land. What does this mean? It means that the continuation of the war is inevitable. As soon as I can get out, I will use all means to flatten their city, force them to hand over everything, and then return their homeland."

This idea is very direct, Cesar thought, but he didn't know what Artinya would think when she heard it.

The Kasar Empire had drifted across the oceans because numerous politically motivated mage groups had committed one evil after another, ultimately sinking the entire continent. Therefore, they no longer had any homeland to speak of. However, there was no need to dwell on this. Letting Milava indulge in her own imagination was for the best of everyone present.

"Actually, the Kasar Empire has also been crawling around this land for over a thousand years," Cesar said tactfully. "I guess they don't really want to go to sea again. That voyage must have... cost them a lot."

"Excellent! This means someone needs to show everyone the way forward," Milawa said decisively. "Those who don't want to see change will always be hesitant. Even those who have changed before will settle down and be unwilling to take risks again. I must tell everyone to do everything we can and challenge everything we can."

This guy is also a radical and war-hungry person.

Emperor Fran raised his glass and, with a touch of nostalgia, went to toast and converse with the soldiers he had lost. Seeing Milava slowly walk away, Alante made a subtle, almost imperceptible gesture to Cesar. Cesar didn't know what the gesture meant, but he guessed it was the sign language they had agreed upon later. Since Milava had walked away, she must have wanted to discuss something with him privately.

塞萨

Er pondered for a moment, then walked towards Milava, "Your Majesty, there is something very personal I want to tell you. In all my remaining memories, I have always wanted to meet the Queen's sister. You know why."

Milava had observed him and must have witnessed his obsession with Ferriers several times. He didn't respond at first, chatting with a soldier for a few words. After a while, he casually instructed, "Feriers lives deep in the rear camp and rarely sees anyone. Let her sister take you there. Remember to pay close attention to my queen, especially the stories she tells the soldiers. Don't let her incite you."

"You seem..."

Cesar paused mid-sentence, waiting for Milava to respond. He watched as Emperor Fran bit into a roasted pork leg and slowed his voice.

"She was a master at inciting others," Milava said. "During those final days, some loyal soldiers couldn't tell whether they should obey me or her. They looked to me as their leader, but believed she was guiding me and everyone else. Some even suspected I was wavering, not her, and accused those who had always followed me of being blindly loyal. Even if she is only a memory, you must be wary."

It seemed many of the soldiers at the table had doubted Milava, yet they still considered him their leader. They believed that even a leader must follow the path Alanti had foretold like a prophet. Just then, a red-haired general, seemingly from a remote tribe, came up to the table with crucial news of the year. Milava immediately stood up and joined him for a long, private conversation.

Cesar felt that the man's face looked familiar, and he thought of Cecia but was not sure.

After a lengthy conversation with the general, Milava ordered the soldiers at the table to leave and vanished to the other side of the camp. He seemed to be fighting in the shadows of memory, observing those who had once doubted him, so he wouldn't be unsure how to approach them when he awakened them in the future. In the end, only Cesar and his men, along with a few bewildered soldiers, remained in the camp. These were likely those who had once been completely loyal to Milava.

And Alanti.

Cesar glanced at Sevra and the others, realizing no one wanted to get involved in his affairs. He had no choice but to follow the increasingly enigmatic Queen of the Fran Empire. Of course, he was accompanied by the Faceless One, whose memories were completely lost. This guy could see the truth around him.

"Milavar seems a little shaken." Alranti's gentle voice reached his ears. "Did you say something carelessly, my dear knight?"

Cesar hesitated, unsure how to answer Arlanda. But then she continued, "It's sad that those soldiers who once doubted me now completely trust and obey me, while those closest to me are filled with fear and wariness of me."

As Alante spoke, she approached the carriage. Cesar was forced to act as coachman, following her instructions. He drove north through most of the military camp before finally finding the camp where Ferrieres was staying. Once they reached the shade, Cesar wanted to descend to see Ferrieres, but Alante told him to get back inside. The wind whistled as the queen, dressed in luxurious attire, lazily leaned against the carriage, ordering him to kneel at her knees.

Cesar thought about what Cesar would say back then. "That's not appropriate, Your Majesty would..."

"Even if Milava kills you, it will only mean another person carrying your soul," said Alanti. "From the time you were a young squire, you've already taken on three bodies and two genders. You've been a boy, a girl, a knight, and a squire. And yet you still worry about your own death? As long as you remain in my hands, your life, death, and existence are no longer under your control."

"Then I..."

She raised her eyebrows, pulled out a dagger, and before he could react, pierced his hand and nailed it to the seat. "You're getting on my nerves, dear. Do you know what you should say now?"

Cesar looked at his hand. Although he didn't feel anything, the dagger that suddenly pierced his body must have left a deep impression on the Cesar of that year.

"Then what should I do?" he asked, "Should I offend you like I did last year?"

"Offense?" Alanti shook her head, confusion in her eyes. "I still love Milava deeply after all these years. Since I haven't fallen in love with someone else yet, there's no question of betrayal. Maybe I have to wait a few more decades, dear. When one day I find myself needing another person, then it will become that I once loved Milava deeply."

"An unknown boy on a country road?" Cesar asked her. While he could be considered colluding with Alante to deceive Milava, there was no rule prohibiting him from inquiring about Alante, who was being deceived by Milava. Perhaps this was double agency? He had no intention of siding with either side.

"Unknown boy..." Arlandi pondered this sentence for a moment, then suddenly raised his head, "You are the one in my bedroom back then..."

Cesar saw the glow of magic emerging from her fingertips, and it seemed that some conflict must be happening here.

Chapter 424: Holy Father Soler

"No," Cesar shook his head, "I came here just to know something, mistress."

Arlandi's attitude softened slightly. "Tell me, dear, who sent you to greet me?" Her voice was as gentle as ever, but he could hear the threat in it. This man was far too unpredictable for a mage. Without the Ritual Stone, he needed to be treated with caution.

"It's you."

"Myself..." she said and fell silent.

"You've lost everything after all," he said. "Although you believe you won't die, how can you believe you won't lose anything? The same thing has already happened to your mother. If you become an ignorant woman, how will you face your own loss and forgetfulness? And how will you face the child you've taken everything from?"

"My ancestors were very resistant to it at first, but when they lost it, they all felt lost to some extent. This is not surprising," Alanti said softly.

"You're different," Cesar asserted. Though she hadn't said so much, he was adept at spinning a long, drawn-out argument out of a single sentence. "You yourself once told me," he chose his words carefully, "that you embraced it like a revelation born of your own birth. No one enjoys it more than you, and no one relies on it more than you. Your ancestors lost it like a double-edged sword that had pierced them before, but you lost it like you lost your heart."

"I understand." Alante fell silent again, staring at the dark curtains of the carriage. "I've thought about losing it, of course," she said slowly. "But I feel it in my soul, differently than it did in the souls of my ancestors. Our coexistence is more perfect, and we have no resistance to each other. I feel it's a part of me that I was born with, and perhaps it will remain rooted in my heart forever."

"When I found you, you had forgotten so much," Cesar said. "I don't know whether your ancestors could let go, but you clearly couldn't. You told me yourself that you wanted me to help you find everything you'd lost, especially your deep, unfounded love. The love and compassion you feel now from Milava will be just as profound as the loss and resentment you'll feel when you find you can't remember those memories and love..."

Her lips moved slightly, "Where is my child?"

"As far as I know, your child with Milava was not born normally. The bloodline inherited by the later Yesterlen School is far inferior to yours, and the manifestation of the ancient will is completely different from your time. An unknown entity named Dongye replaced my wife's mother and became the helmsman of the Yesterlen School. Their consciousnesses coexist in her body. The former is the woman seen by outsiders, while the latter can only curl up in her eggshell and mutter to herself."

"My mother named me Dongye when she was pregnant with me," Arlandi murmured to herself. "It seems that in the future, not only was my ancestral will torn apart, but I myself was also torn apart. A part of me was swept away by it and infiltrated into the bloodline inheritance. Those unreliable heirs will have their responsibilities taken over by the incomplete me."

"Did your mother name you so early?"

"When I was a fetus, I scolded my pregnant mother and made her obey my orders and take various potions to prepare for my birth," said Alanti.

Cesar paused. "When you were a fetus? A fetus has self-awareness?"

"My self-awareness was forced to emerge under the watchful eyes of my many ancestors," Alanti explained. "At that time, I and the ancient will in our bloodline... how should I put it? By my generation, I'm almost reaching the ultimate goal. The enlightenment of my wisdom began long before I was born. Everything is for the purpose of fulfilling a certain goal. As long as I reach the deepest part of the Tomb of the Wise, I can end everything and possess all that has been passed down from ancient times to the present day. But now it seems that I have failed..."

"Can you let me take a look? I want to bring these memories back to you, mistress."

Arlanda looked at him melancholy, silent. So Cesar reached out and grasped her slender, girlish waist. Despite the effects of the Tao, the pink flush on her cheeks and neck still startled him. Her growth had been astonishing even then, but now the robe had stretched, barely covering her upper body. The silk lining enveloped a pair of white, rabbit-like breasts, each almost as large as her head, round and full, rising and falling slightly with each breath.

"I no longer feel that love that came without reason," Alanti said sadly. "My memories are like a false skin covering my flesh, but that ancient will is not there. This place isn't reality, is it? Is this a remnant of memory? Is everything over?"

"If you wake up from your residual memories, you will lose even this little bit of memory," Cesar said. "I came here to trace the curse upon you and to reach the deepest part of the Tomb of the Wise. Whatever you knew back then, I hope you will tell me. I will pass these memories on to the awakened Alanti, and then I will lead you through the path you were unable to travel."

"You are a man who is good at making promises and seducing people," she whispered to him, resting her head on his shoulder and stroking his face with her hand.

I admit you are charming. Even so, even though the ancient will considers you indispensable, I feel that your temperaments are incompatible with mine. You try to coax the truth out of me with flattery, while at the same time trying to bring tears to my eyes and cause me pain, and I may not necessarily want to do the same to you.

"I know that," Cesar said calmly, "I've heard from Milava that you're acting like a prophet, deceiving people. You can say we repel each other if you insist. But I think that since you can tolerate Milava's arrogance, then..."

"No, that's not right, my dear. Milava is a pitiful, loveless child." Arlandi extended her hand, and with a flick, a curtain unfolded. Cesar was startled to see the carriage, driverless, slowly advancing, carrying them through a mist. She lifted the curtain and saw a tall, cloaked figure spurring his horse forward, urging it faster and faster. Following closely on another horse was a handsome young man, albeit reluctantly, in high spirits.

His frown deepened, "That person is..."