Shadow of the Evil God

As usual, as soon as Diana sat down, Altinya sent the servants away. After all, there were always too many secrets in their conversation.

The conversation began with recent political events, primarily to exchange insights and complement each other's shortcomings. Diana recounted today's meeting. The mess wasn't getting better. Who could fix it? No one, because some factions had sent representatives to the meeting with the sole purpose of exacerbating their own problems. Only war could resolve the current mess, and before war began, someone had to deal with these bizarre visitors.

Who would take the lead? Cesar? He had the skills to handle this mess, and he'd proven it at the first meeting, but he couldn't. This bastard's attention span was like a feather, easily blown away by the wind. According to Altinia, his first daughter had inherited his feathery soul and spirit, unable to focus on the same thing for long, especially something she considered dull and boring.

So who would take the lead? Of course, Diana herself, let her off the hook.

Diana no longer dreams. Even when she's not searching the wilderness for Firth's food, she stays in Sister Mira's library. Unlike her, however, Altinia still dreams. Not only does she enjoy dreaming, she also writes her dreams down in her little booklet at night.

The princess was happy to share her dreams with Diana. For example, the night before, she dreamed of the workshop's artillery, new tactics, and warhorses and heavily armored knights scattered and shattered in a roaring fire. But last night, she dreamed that something went wrong in the workshop, the artillery malfunctioned, and the knights of the old era completely overwhelmed their positions.

"I remember you've already found the spy in the workshop." Diana poured her a glass of wine. "You didn't send him to the interrogation room? Or are you trying to uncover a bigger conspiracy?"

Altinya shook her head slightly. "The teacher met with him twice, so I had to change my plans."

"When Cesar shows up, things always take unexpected turns," Diana said. "Especially what he does in private; it's even harder to predict than when I'm around. What does he think of these spies who are disrupting the workshop's operations?"

Artinya sipped her wine, as if weighing her tone. He stared at her for a moment, then examined the blood-red wine in his hand. A scarlet halo reflected on her face, making it look like it was carved from pink stone, with violet eyes embedded in it, reminiscent of a porcelain doll with gemstones in its eye sockets.

Diana knew that Altinia was considering her words, which meant this matter was more troublesome than she had imagined. But honestly, they both had their own stubbornness and willfulness. Altinia had recently been secretly preparing for the Dark Tide, and Cesar had kept the White Nightmare Legosius's seduction a secret from him. She had a mental prediction of what they would do.

From Diana's perspective, both of them were a real headache. Their character flaws, which would have been lethal to ordinary people, were masked by their abilities and skills.

Seeing that the princess was still thinking, Diana continued to summarize today's meeting and write down the minutes. In any case, maintaining one's own excellence was the best decision to make up for the mistakes of others. She usually didn't worry too much about the shortcomings of others because she had enough confidence in herself.

Just think about it, she was able to stand here, despite the influence of the Yesterlen School and her father, and to grasp these conflicted individuals in her hands. Wasn't it all due to her own excellence? If she only knew how to appease others, she would only become the next her mother, no different from her ancestors before her.

After listing the visitors who had stayed and the factions they represented, Diana then listed those who had recently arrived. After discussing the public guests, she discussed potential spies, pointing out that some people had spent too long in places they shouldn't have been, and that some areas had too much traffic. The Shawl Society, the Yestren School, and the various workshops, while all on their side, each had its own agenda, not only exchanging ideas with external forces but also secretly vying for power.

"Except for a few foremen who are troublemakers," Diana said, "most foremen in the workshops are easy to deal with. They want to maintain the status quo. As long as they are paid enough, they will be obedient like puppets. As long as the current order can operate stably, new nobles will be born soon, and the order in the workshops will be as stable as the old nobles and their serfs. As for those few foremen and some workers, he

We found the Shawl Society through the help of that officer and received their protection. Let me see..."

She started recording.

"The Shawl Society and the Temple Hospital provided them with assistance," Altinia finally said, "and the officer attempted to instigate them to destabilize the existing order. The Temple Hospital is most aware of the lethal and disabling nature of the workshop's work. With just a few well-timed speeches and demonstrations, the stable order of the workshop could be shattered."

"Then," Diana said, "the Shawl Order will gradually erode the already stable secular order and occupy the missing faith of each workshop. This is an extraordinary event. Although we are inseparable from the Shawl Order, who will take the lead will determine our future order."

"The first thing," said Altinia, "is that the teacher discovered that the steward is a member of a branch sect of Sagaros."

"This is truly remarkable," Diana said. "Cesar digs into the secrets of others like opening a brain and turning the pages of a book. Sometimes I think he understands the thought spells of our school. However, the Temple of Sagaros..."

"He wants to support this sect. He believes they have the ability to overthrow the order of the Grand Temple and even use the Eye of the Forge for our benefit."

"Since the birth of the Temple of the Gods, no branch sect has ever subverted the order of the Grand Temple. The pioneers' pace cannot be caught up, and the monopoly of knowledge has created a gap in the leading theological research achievements. These gaps cannot be made up at all." Diana said.

"You didn't know the Temple of the Gods so well before."

"The history is there, and it's not difficult to understand," Diana said. "According to the theological research of the Empire, Sagaros's philosophy is about change. The Grand Temple Order, which emphasizes orthodoxy, is actually contradictory to Sagaros's philosophy, and their decline is also related to this contradiction. However, the Chosen One of the Grand Temple of Sagaros is still alive. He has been able to defeat the opposition of the branch sects. Now, they have finally seized the opportunity for change sought by the nobles..."

"Teacher thinks the Great Temple of Sagaros is too conservative. Of course, I think so too. Compared with the many extreme riots in the empire's history, they are very conservative."

"Are you saying that the Temple of Sagaros should exist like the mage organizations in the Empire's prehistory?" Diana frowned slightly. "I can agree with that rationally, but if that's the case, the Temple of Sagaros will be the largest terrorist organization in this land. They'll be more troublesome than those mage organizations because they truly have a god backing them."

"But we're standing on the edge of a cliff," Altinia said. "Compared to the Undertow..."

"Don't talk to me about the Dark Tide anymore, Aya." Diana sighed. "Tell me, what qualifications does that branch sect have to subvert the order of the Grand Temple?"

"It's obvious, isn't it? There are only a few groups involved in this. Who else can represent the new order and change?"

Workers in the workshop, Diana thought.

"I must say it again," she said, "the vast majority of the workshop foremen want to maintain the status quo. As long as my promises are in place, they will obey like puppets. They know that there is a power vacuum, and as long as the order in Gonzales can be maintained, they will become the new generation of nobles to fill the gap. And then, well, these workers, what power gap does Cesar want them to fill? The gap is too small, and there are too many of them, and they will become more and more."

"The teachers don't seem to be trying to make up for the old deficiencies. These people may shape the new order."

"Order means power," Diana said. "You mean we should tear power into pieces and throw them everywhere so that they can pick up their own pieces and piece together an incredible order? I don't want to be too dismissive, but they don't need power, nor do they understand it. Even the White Nightmare can't imagine what these people would do with it. Most of the time, they are like children, and we need to guide their every word and action."

But this is indeed a huge change, Diana thought. In order to subvert the order of the Grand Temple, mock their conservatism and caution, and return all the oppression of the Chosen Ones for more than a thousand years, the branch sect of Sagaros wanted to ignite an uncontrolled flame.

How could it possibly be controlled? The history of the Kasar Empire recorded countless similar events. In her opinion, this branch sect was just one of those crazy wizard organizations! Not only that, they also had a god behind them.

She would rather the followers of Sagaros continued to adhere to the order of the Great Temple.

"You should argue this with the teacher," Altinia said simply. "I'm still pondering its pros and cons. You know, Annie, although it's fraught with unknown dangers in the long run, given the current situation, as long as I capitalize on it wisely, I can seize the upper hand. Other factions are still scheming against each other over espionage and bribery, fighting tooth and nail. In the blink of an eye, their own workshops have been reduced to rubble in a raging fire, and the workers have fled with their families. They won't even realize what's happened."

"You only see it as a war strategy." Diana frowned.

The princess nodded slightly. "Of course, isn't it a war strategy? Only by winning the present can we talk about the future. For this crucial victory, I can seize many opportunities that you can't imagine. Just like I admitted

He’s a teacher.”

Her beloved Princess Royal was as radical as ever. Diana had thought that by promising to stay with her for the rest of her life, she could suppress her overly radical spirit, express her own opinions when necessary, and explore a more stable path.

She never imagined that years later she would meet Cesar, an unpredictable man who became both her husband and her teacher. Sometimes he comforted her soul, leaving her unable to criticize him, but other times he acted so bizarrely that she wanted to hang him up and whip him. It was difficult to explain the contradictions.

Chapter 506 My Dear Husband, the Head of the Family

Diana finally nodded. "Okay," she said. "At least in the short term, they won't pose as much of a threat as the Dark Tide. Besides, I'm having a headache right now. There are some things I originally wanted to consider, but now I want to speak directly to you, so you don't constantly use the title of teacher as a talisman."

Altinya blinked and smiled softly. "Is there?" she said. "Maybe. What are you going to say?"

Diana's words were on the tip of her tongue, and she was about to frown again. Under different circumstances, the smile on this guy's face would have been a fitting farewell smile. "I can actually see it," she said. "You're not hoping that Cesar will only have you as his student. After all, with you as his precedent, there can't be no more. You're hoping that no matter how many come after you, you'll always have a unique position, just like I have many old classmates, but now only you and I sit at the same table."

"I don't deny it," the princess said. "Years ago, you had countless admirers and classmates, but all these years later, we're the only ones standing here, supporting and understanding each other. Our youthful experiences have been forever frozen in the moment we left school, and in the end, only you and I were able to make it this far."

Diana took a sip of her wine. She could have been more blunt. This guy wasn't looking for a relationship that would gradually change over time, but for something eternal and irreplaceable. Once she committed to a relationship, she would leave her mark on it, hoping it would last forever, irreplaceable, and that no one else could ever catch up, even after her death.

Many times, Artinya writes today based on her own death.

As the princess had said, they were close friends from school. Back then, they had other admirers and close friends, often referring to each other as companions, chatting about the past and the future in the gardens and before the palace. However, due to their respective identities and choices, Diana ultimately made a promise of a future with only this man, and he accompanied her all the way to this point.

In other words, it was Altiniya who chose the person she thought was the best, and used her own excellence to make this relationship irreplaceable, making it impossible for latecomers to catch up and forcing those who came first to withdraw in disgrace.

The memory of their childhood classmate was frozen between them, and all the meaning of the word was woven into it. As time passed, it would not change or fade, but would instead shine brighter because of Altinia's decision. Meanwhile, all the other classmates and old friends in Diana's memory would gradually fade, obscured by her own brilliance.

Just like them at this moment, the relationship between teacher and student will be frozen between her and that guy Cesar, and all the meanings of the word teacher and student are concentrated here.

Artinya wanted to bind the words teacher and student to her, to etch them into his soul, to make her the very essence of the relationship. Each of her choices and actions deepened the weight of the relationship, exploring its meaning until it became unchangeable, eternal, and irreplaceable. Then, she would be satisfied.

Although it is a heavy thought, considering the princess's status and skills, this idea is actually very possible to achieve, but...

"I know you're well-versed in the history and prehistory of the Cathar Empire," Diana said as they ate, as if they were just chatting about history. "You should know about the Frank Empire and its only emperor, right?"

"Impressive," said Altinia. "Historical chroniclers often ask us to consider the reasons for his failures, and generally speaking, internal strife was the main cause. We believe he excelled at expanding territory and was a brave man, but he lacked the ability to govern internally, and many of his decisions sowed the seeds of great disaster."

"If you have the chance in the future, you can tell Milava this to his face," Diana said. "I mean, point out how bad he is at governing the country."

"Let's talk face to face?" Altinya said gently, "I don't think so. The hatred from that time will never be easily let go."

"Unless this person is still young and merely foresaw the empire's fall, he doesn't truly feel hatred. Furthermore, he's also been following a long path with his historically nonexistent teacher, thus forming a kind of kinship with you," Diana said, looking at the princess. Was she attracted to people with extreme personalities? She couldn't help but wonder, or was she, in fact, also extremely extreme?

Artinya fell silent.

"Of course," Diana said. "Neither of the two people I asked knew what the specific path was. Only Cesar himself knows. But I'm certain that the phantom of history appearing today will surely cause huge waves. The fact that the Chosen Emperor, Mirava, has reappeared means that he was not completely defeated back then."

......

As she approached the testing grounds, Diana sensed the aftermath of a powerful spell, a mere aftermath like an invisible storm. The storm swept through the corridors, condensing on the towering stone pillars and the black curtain-like stone walls, leaving sharp marks like needles. Mortals couldn't see these marks, but the intensity of their inscriptions was enough to make anyone nauseous and experience a splitting headache.

She raised a hand and smoothed the marks on the corridor, feeling like smoothing the wrinkles on the skin of a dead body, and walked all the way to the open door. At this time, the aftermath of the spell was still echoing around, and the reality was still there.

The surface was silent, just like the moment of deathly stillness after a thunderclap.

Diana tried to remain calm and observe the situation. She first saw Cesar, who had slit his wrist with a knife. A stream of blood dripped down the wound and landed on Brother Mira's open palm. Cesar turned his head and smiled at her, but the spell had already reacted with his blood.

A binding spell, centered around his blood, expanded a second time. Before the expansion, it resembled a sturdy bundle of ropes, but afterward, it defied all conventional description. Several crimson geometric shapes emerged from the void, slicing through the spatial barrier and forming two irregular geometric forms that hung high above the testing ground, creating two independent, smaller spatial structures. One contained Ajeh, the other contained Sevra.

Ajeh was trapped within the void of the geometric object, half-kneeling on the ground, unable to rise. Her ferocious wolf face roared, but no sound escaped. Sevra was pinned between two invisible walls, before and behind her. She gripped her blade, trying to find a gap in her spell, but every time she cut through a geometric surface, countless irregular ones gathered around her, ultimately trapping her in the irregular geometry formed by hundreds of broken surfaces.

As a mage, Diana knew that Sister Mira viewed the world geometrically, and her magic was based on this. However, they didn't usually use spells of this scale, especially since she was just warning her companions.

At the same time, as Cesar's mage, Diana also knew how his blood could be used, but she never said it. After all, she knew that once this guy...

She sighed and looked around, noting that the testing ground had sustained some damage. Broken glass littered the ground, and the blood of beastmen and Kuna spilled everywhere, soaking the carpet red. Sister Mira stared wide-eyed at the crimson liquid gushing from Cesar's palm. The blood, summoned by the spell, gathered into numerous arcing streams, gurgling towards her palm.

Diana stretched out her hand, muttered a spell, and pierced Cesar's palm with her fingertips through the scarlet blood. The man immediately took a big step back, and Brother Mira also closed his palms and let out a long breath.

"This is an incomplete spell," Brother Mira said to Cesar. "Your blood completes it."

"I just wanted to..." Cesar glanced at Diana, "Uh, try."

"Try?" Diana stared at him in disbelief. "Is this something you can try? How many times have you tried?"

"Only tried it a few times in the graveyard," he said. "I've broken through a few obstacles. I think just now was a obstacle, too. These two guys started fighting again."

Diana knew he would do this. Ever since she'd discovered his blood could supplement certain spells, she'd tried to avoid mentioning it. Emotionally, she didn't want him to treat her this way, and considering Cesar's personality, it was entirely predictable that he'd use blood as a spell ingredient.

It was crazy, everyone around her was becoming more and more of a headache for her lately.

"These two need to calm down." Brother Mira said, "Do you mind if I take them away for a while?" Diana looked at the two guys locked in the geometric body, only to see that one of them had sat down cross-legged, as if it had nothing to do with him, and the other one was leaning against the geometric surface with his arms folded, looking as if nothing had happened.

"Time passes very slowly in the recent wastelands," Diana nodded. "Let these two stay there for one night. A month might pass at the shortest, a year at the longest. The sword has arrived, so we can discuss how to deal with Dong Ye later." She extended her hand, clasped it with Sister Mira's, and muttered an incantation. Before Ajeh and Sevra could react, they had vanished, reappearing in the ethereal wasteland as shattered geometric shapes.

After sending away two troublesome people she didn't even want to lecture, things finally calmed down a bit. The scene of the wasteland flashed by, and Sister Mira had already floated into it and disappeared. The mute girl beside her stared with wide eyes, but she didn't know how to express her opinion, so she could only watch anxiously.

Diana gestured for her to remain calm. "They will be safe, my dear," she said with a smile. "Now that you hold the sword of great importance, would you mind resting here for the night? Once this is done, I will provide you with everything you need for your journey."

She took Aya's hand, holding it firmly and firmly, and led her past some broken tables and glassware, showing her the devastation her mistress had wrought. Seeing this, the man felt guilty, and before he knew it, she had dragged him to the servants' sleeping area. She had created this area for the Holmunk to rest, but since she hadn't figured out how to create the Holmunk yet, it made sense to use it as a sleeping area for the servants.

After whispering a few words to the mute woman, Diana closed the door to the servants' quarters and returned, for she still had unresolved problems. Her beloved ancestor was floating in the sky, bathed in a star-like blue light. Cesar's daughter was leaning over the table, reaching toward the starlight, clearly shaken. Honestly, the girl wasn't noisy. Of course, a child endowed with bloodline memories and innate intelligence couldn't be as blind and ignorant as a human child.

Diana glared at Cesar and told him to pick up the broom and sweep the debris off the ground into the corner. Then she came to Phils' side.

The rune line had always been her most important symbol, and now it finally appeared on Phils. It was already late at night, and Cesar had just put down his broom when he began a shadow puppet show in the light, drawing his daughter's attention and hands.

"What do you think?" Cesar asked her. "Phils wants to receive the blessing of the past, and it looks like it's almost done."

"It's okay if she gave it to herself." Diana sighed, "But you really brought me too many surprises today."

"Someone has to keep an eye on those two guys," Cesar said, "otherwise there's going to be bloodshed."

"It has nothing to do with them."

"Oh, then I guess what it is." Cesar said, and a cushioned bench suddenly appeared. He held her shoulders and let her sit down with a smile on his face.

Diana crossed her arms and glanced at him. As soon as the hand shadow disappeared, the girl was reaching out to the stars again.

Seeing that she didn't say anything, Cesar made another shadow puppet gesture to comfort his daughter. However, the girl lost interest in an instant, slipped from his arms, and ran to the door. A white cat half a person's height was standing at the door, holding a wooden sword. Seeing the girl rushing towards her, it immediately jumped up in fright.

"Dear," Cesar said, looking at the man and cat running away outside the door, "Do you think it's normal for a girl to like a cat more than her father?"

"Your tricks are childish," Diana said calmly. "Don't interrupt me. How much trouble have you gotten yourself into lately?"

"That's about the workshop and the graveyard, that's all."

"Your summary is quite interesting." Diana pulled his arm and made him sit on a low stool. Then she picked up the small wooden stick on the table and knocked it against his head, making a clanging sound. "The sound was quite crisp. I thought your head would sound like hitting a paste bucket. I already know what happened, so there's no need for you to repeat it. But if the fire you set burns down our territory, I will definitely throw you over to suppress it and deal with it. Do you agree?"

"I'll take care of it," Cesar said.

"Tsk, properly handled? Don't think I don't know what kind of order exists in your world. Do you want me to tell you again, in our land, are people truly born different? Also, the Kuna people's dynastic order has shown no signs of collapse since its establishment. If it weren't for the appearance of the alien god Analik, they would have almost been unbroken for eternity."

"It's because you're sure you'll say that that I'm putting things first..."

Diana knocked him on the head again, glaring at him reproachfully. "And, my dear husband, head of the family, next time you disappear without a word, remember to bring the spell I've prepared for you. Once activated, you'll be wearing my custom-made clothes and shoes, bearing my custom-made family crest, and with custom-made patterns embroidered on the sleeves and collar. You can't just rip the clothes off the dead when you go out."

"I will remember, dear."

"How many sets of clothes and shoes should I bring you?" She placed the small wooden stick on his head and then put it away. "Forget it, I'll think about it later. Although I've checked with Ajeh and Sevra and compared their statements to understand the full situation on their side, I'm still unclear about your side. It seems I can't go to Milava to confirm, so you should tell me quickly. I need to check with Finny later."

Chapter 507: Yisili, You Have No Brains

......

"Uncle Garcia hopes you'll show up at the barracks more often. You already attend fewer military meetings than I do."

Isley handed her manuscript to Saino, suppressing her curiosity and asking him questions. In previous years when Garcia was present, she had never seen Saino so erratic, as if he was the Isley with many ulterior motives, and Isley was the Saino loyal to his family duties.

"Everyone has their own private affairs," Saino said. "Even if I told you, you wouldn't understand. Besides, do I need to be involved in suppressing the rebellious nobles in Olidan? By the way, have you found your head?"

Isley felt he was mocking her. "No," she wrote. "It's been sealed with a spell, and I can't find it. But it must be in Cesar's castle. Where else could it be?"

Saino remained unmoved. "Even if your Uncle Cesar couldn't bear to see the army wipe out the noble rebels and started the war early, his castle would be the last target. He might even surrender before we could attack. No matter what you think, the army can't just charge Cesar and raze him and his castle to the ground."

If she could still speak, she would have pretended to cry in grievance, but now, she could only poke the manuscript hard, imagining that the paper under her pen tip was the thick skin of her two uncles.

"But you haven't appeared much lately," she wrote, restraining her thoughts.

Saino studied the torn paper for a moment. "Don't try to play it on me, Isley," he said. "I didn't ask you to do that when you were on the run. You were always chasing your Uncle Cesar around the mountains, complaining to me that you had crossed most of the Asylum Abyss, knowing we were cooperating with the eastern empire, yet you were still trying to connect with the western empire. Only after you lost your head did you remember where your home was. Guess what you'll do if your story gets out? You better not mess with me."

"What will happen?" Isley wrote the words in large letters, expressing her indignation. If she could speak now, her voice would be so shrill that it could cut through human skin. "What will happen if this gets out? Tell me. How can I know if you don't tell me?"

"Don't try to be so tactful. How old do you think you are now?" Saino said. "Besides, if this gets out, Her Majesty the Queen, who loves you the most, will probably not protect you. My dear sister has broadened her horizons after meeting the Empress of the Empire. She thinks you are a disgrace, and so am I. Only Garcia is the brother she can be proud of."

"So, we're both worthless," Isley wrote. Black smoke surged from her broken neck, threatening to burst out. It was a good thing she had no head now, or else she'd suffocate trying to hold back her laughter.

"In the eyes of our Queen, you've accomplished nothing over the years, and I've only guarded the family palace. We've become insignificant country folk," said Saino, frowning. "When we first moved from Neuen to the capital, she avoided discussing her past in Neuen. Now she's gone to the empire and is chatting happily with the Queen there. I think I'm about to become her old castle and mansion in Neuen."