Shadow of the Evil God

"Is it winter now?" asked Ateh.

"In my time, there is no distinction between winter and summer," the priest denied.

"I don't know."

They both fell silent and climbed the stairs in silence, only the dry branches buried in the snow rustled under their feet.

"It seems the history of the Ice Age hasn't been passed down to later generations," Girola finally responded. "In fact, back then, this temple and the surrounding mountains were the last areas to be affected. Where you can't see, the land is covered not by ice and snow, but by layers of glaciers."

"And then it ended?"

"No, it was stopped," said the priest.

"By what?"

"I

Our God," replied Girola.

"Analik," Adehe said thoughtfully.

"There is much disrespect in the language of later generations towards our gods, Your Highness."

"I'm showing respect to it by not calling it the Terror of the East, Your Highness."

"But you know it's in our language

How much meaning is there in it,—life, eternity, the unquenchable flame."

"What happened after that suggests it has more meaning, unless you want to say that the Kuna people were burned to death by its unquenchable flame," Ateh responded calmly.

Jirola shook his head, slowed down his pace, and looked up at the gloomy sky.

"We have no other choice," he said. "What you're seeing now is only the early stages of an ice age. What you don't know is that our sun is just a shrinking shell, growing dimmer and fainter every day. The light and heat it provides to the world are becoming less and less, and increasingly scarce. If we don't take action, sooner or later, this ice and snow will no longer be the ice and snow you see, but a huge ice shell covering the entire world. That ice shell will accompany our world for eternity, perhaps even until the end of time."

Ateh pondered for a moment, her mind reeling from memories unrelated to her own or the deceased she had seen. "But this is just the Guna creation myth, some hadith written in scripture," she said. "The Guna saw Analik as the answer to all questions and the end of all inquiry, while the Franks of this era see it as the starting point of all disasters and the source of all ill omen. I can't tell who's right and who's wrong, because you're all just reading the hadith for yourselves, and none of you are truly trying to convince me."

Girola paused, lowered his head, and his gaze swept across the endless snow-covered mountains, finally landing on her.

"That is a very agreeable statement, Princess," he said. "I had expected you to recite before me the little devils whom the slaves worship as gods."

"For a priest, you are surprisingly open-minded," she said, "although you still tend to speak of slaves and human sacrifices rather than Franks."

Girola sighed deeply and said, "I have been wandering like a lonely soul for too long. As time passes, nothing is lost. Compared with my faith, the grief for my lover is lost even faster."

"So, the Kuna people really summoned Analik to deal with the ice age?" Ateh asked again.

"We debated this for centuries, and even when the capital was covered in ice and snow, we still couldn't reach a conclusion." Jirola said the matter had nothing to do with him. "Then I found this secluded coast, intending to be buried in the glacier alongside my lover's tombstone. When the ice and snow spread from the north to the foot of the mountain, I thought that was the end, but it seems the royal family finally made a decision. You already know what happened next."

"That is to say, you didn't call Analik without knowing anything." Ajie expressed surprise.

"There was much debate back then," Girola said. "Some believed we could simply rely on divine revelation to delay the Ice Age, while others believed the Ice Age itself was a test from the True God, and we shouldn't escape it. Of all the arguments, asking the True God to descend was the most blasphemous idea. However, it seems this method did resolve the Ice Age's omen, even if it also led to the extinction of the Kuna people themselves.

"I see," Ateh said. "Then can you tell me why I am the only one who is said to be a descendant of the Kuna people after a certain point in time?"

"You have the shadow of the past," said the priest.

"I have so much of the past in me."

"I'm not talking about those memories," Girola said slowly, "but something that is more closely related to you."

"I don't know...but, I do have a cursed twin sister."

"No, you're the only one," Girola denied.

Ateh didn't answer, but slowed down his pace and lowered his head to think.

"Why do you say that?" she continued to ask.

"What you thought was your blood relative might be a shadow from the past," the priest said, gazing at her. "I believe it was that shadow that helped you break free from the curse. Otherwise, how could it have been born into the world?"

"But when I was ignorant, she was also ignorant."

"The reason a shadow is a shadow is because it can no longer survive in the world normally. It needs to abandon everything it has in order to be reborn. As it grows older, the things it has abandoned will gradually return to it."

"this......"

The priest cast his gaze further north toward the mountains. "Shadows from the past can return to the world in many ways, and rebirth is only one of them. Many people may not even realize who they are, Your Highness. But please consider this: those who master many things without a teacher may not be mastering new things, but merely reclaiming something they once possessed and then lost."

Chapter 107: Ambush

......

Cesar finally arrived in Gonzales. Even without counting the time they were nearly captured by the rebels, their journey was already a grueling one. From the moment they entered the mountainous region that marked Gonzales, the road conditions became extremely deplorable. The road was covered in mud and ruts left by the wagons transporting minerals. As soon as he got on the wagon, the jolting made him lose consciousness. Phils dropped her book and began vomiting by the window.

Later she simply got off the carriage and parasitized on his horse.

Gonzales is indeed a desolate place. Although Gonzales is also a mining area with a long history in Olidan, it has not been able to drive the local economy. The biggest difference between it and Noyen is that it has inconvenient roads and lacks a port conducive to trade.

There were no estuaries or rivers, nor was there a city lord capable and resourceful enough to open up trade. This place provided Olidan with a vast amount of mineral resources, a considerable contribution, but it did nothing to change its current state of poverty and desolation.

Cesar wasn't happy at all after seeing the magnificent Governor's Palace in Gonzales. Honestly, if this Governor's Palace were in Neuen, the people who built it would be thrown into the dungeon by the old count for squandering money. But in Gonzales, Cesar would never believe that the rebellion had nothing to do with the Governor.

Although there was no better or more suitable place to live in the whole of Gonzales than the Governor's Palace, Cesar politely declined Governor Formey's invitation and said that he would stay in the barracks.

Cesare claimed he couldn't live anywhere else unless he wanted to defy the Duke of Urbino's high hopes for him. As for what kind of relationship Urbino had with a young man recently exchanged as a hostage, what high hopes he could have, and what he should be told to do as he would a descendant of a family, he could only claim that they had hit it off immediately, had become close friends on the way, and that he bore the weight of the Duke's unprecedented expectations.

Anyway, in order to trick him into coming here, Ubino called him "little brother" many times on the way, so he was not completely spreading rumors.

Frankly speaking, he used rumors to build upon rumors, making the whole thing look like a farce. But apart from himself, the person involved, and Firth, the insider, who knew it was a farce? In order to borrow Urbino's name to facilitate his own affairs, he used the art of rumor-mongering to an unprecedented degree, just like what Mussari did - appropriately embellishing well-known deeds and fabricating unknown details.

Just as Cesare couldn't deny Mussari's story, Urbino wouldn't deny Cesare's either. After all, it was he who had filled him with a bunch of aristocratic officers who were waiting to retire to their homes and refused to obey orders. It was he who had sent him to the epicenter of the rebellion, where they had ambushed him before he even arrived. Cesare's current story was all about making his position in Gonzales more manageable.

After bidding farewell to the seemingly unreliable governor, Cesar didn't care to consider what Gonzales's upper town had to offer. He retreated to the barracks and began to study the troops and manpower he could deploy. He sat before the evening campfire, drinking the local coarse tea, while listening to the clerk's report. He then instructed the clerk, a fugitive from Neuen, to record each item in a copybook. His clerk's previous job was to keep accounts for a sausage vendor in the lower town, but the job didn't require much; anyone could read and write.

Compared to the man that Urbino threw to him, Cesar still felt that the professional accountant of the sausage supplier from Lower Neuen looked more friendly.

Ever since the rebel ambush, he had become increasingly suspicious, feeling as if everyone was out to harm him. Therefore, even though he wanted to stay in the Governor's luxurious residence to relieve his fatigue, he would not leave the camp until he was sure the Governor was trustworthy.

On the one hand, he had to recruit people using Duke Urbino's military order, and on the other hand, he had to find out the origins of the rebels in this unfamiliar place.

He had to find out.

If Cesar had held some hopes for the Governor before arriving at Gonzales's fortress, he had become somewhat hopeless afterward. Even without mentioning the magnificent mansion, just the fact that Formey was planning to bribe him first made him realize that the Governor was more concerned with saving his position, and even his head, than suppressing the rebellion itself.

From their meeting to discuss Gonzales's current situation, to Cesar's farewell to Governor Formica and his return to the barracks, Cesar's questions were oblique and evasive, yielding no valuable information. This led Cesar to conclude that Governor Formica was likely unaware of the specific circumstances surrounding the rebellion and had not conducted any investigation. As the flames of the rebellion grew, even if the governor himself had not directly surrendered to the enemy, he likely contributed indelibly to its expansion through indirect acts of collusion, such as concealment of information and dereliction of duty.

If we ignore the countless monsters under the Earl's Castle, there is no doubt that Gonzales is more like a huge shithole than Noyen.

At first, Cesar didn't understand why the Governor had simply given him a bribe and left, seemingly unconcerned about his reaction. When Gouzi returned with the report she'd gathered, he discovered someone had spread the story of him watching Varedo lead his men into a trap. The rumor shifted from him acting cautiously to one of fear and inability to control his men, though the latter was certainly closer to the truth.

Cesar put down his teacup and pondered the matter for a moment. "What do you think this rumor is about, Knight Valedo?"

"I dare not say for sure, but the rumors have already affected Governor Vermeer's attitude, and I'm afraid they will also affect the morale of the troops stationed in Gonzales."

"Do you think the rebels at the time really thought so?"

Valedo's expression was serious. Although he always had a serious expression, at this moment, it at least proved that he had no other powerful people to turn to or rely on. "At that time, the rebels were worried that a large army would be waiting to catch them all, but this did not happen. Based on their intelligence, they must have already investigated our situation.

The fifty or so cavalrymen had no follow-up support at all. Compared to playing it safe, the latter is indeed more... "

This guy is good at mobilizing the emotions of his subordinates and colleagues, but he doesn't know how to

How can he speak without offending his superiors? No wonder he has such leadership appeal but is still frustrated.

"So the rebels think I'm just lucky, or even a coward," Cesar pondered. "Since I'm a coward... call the clerk to write a report. I'll ask Urbino to send us some supplies. This is a matter of great importance. Otherwise, he won't be able to see Gonzales succeed in suppressing the rebellion."

Seeing Valedo about to leave, Cesar stopped him again. "Go find a place to chat about the supplies and spread the word. Got it? There's no one better suited to do this than you."

Although Cesar couldn't have Gouzi identify every spy and informant among hundreds of people, it wasn't a problem for her to observe whether a person was trustworthy. Valedo was indeed trustworthy, and given his current situation, no one was more suitable than him to spread the news of Cesar's request for material support.

But in order to get the rebels to take the bait, he still had to make some more arrangements.

Chapter 108: Secret Meeting with Lover

......

Urbino sat in his easy chair, carefully examining his overly clean-shaven jaw. Compared to years ago, his beard was barely grown, and his hands were limp from no longer being on the battlefield or wielding a sword. As the nexus of power between the secular and the mage worlds, he had the responsibility of acting as a statesman at court, rather than the battlefields of his youth.

Sometimes he feels sorry for himself, but mostly he is content to survey the vast network he has built throughout his political career.

When he admired the many political achievements at his disposal, he would experience a sweet taste that was more fascinating to him than commanding soldiers and formations on the battlefield.

Honestly, he didn't consider himself guilty of any wrongdoing when he transferred the city of Noien on the basis of a halfhearted promise, called on the barbarians to attack the Kasar Empire, and aided the southern forces, who had absolutely no chance of unifying the empire, against the northern forces. It was the threat of the Kasar Empire that forced them to adopt the secessionist plan, and it was the damage done to Count Thane by the Kingdom of Dominy that compelled him to intervene.

In these political decisions, the most vicious enemy was the Kasar Empire, which coveted the territories of various kingdoms during the unification, and the most despicable ally was the Domini Kingdom, which had always had an interest in the Gonzales region. Under these circumstances—strategically planning to strike first and gain the upper hand—Olidan was forced to make a series of subsequent countermeasures.

The future is ultimately unpredictable. For now, the continuation of the entire plan for the Kasar Empire depends not only on Olidan but also on the efforts of Domini. However, Domini's king is a pitiful creature, having ascended the throne before reaching adulthood. He possesses a low intelligence and a lack of mental maturity, and is obsessed with his renowned queen. He considers her not just his wife, but perhaps even his young and beautiful mother, deferring to her opinions on everything.

This led to Domini gradually becoming a plaything of the Borgia family.

Even more unfortunate was that the Borgia family's wisdom depended entirely on their old patriarch. Without mentioning Neuen, the old idiot was perfectly normal. But when Neuen and Count Thayne were mentioned, the old idiot flew into a rage, rendering Domini's court politics even more foolish. However, such is politics: if you hang out with pigs, you eat slop; if you hang out with dogs, you gnaw on bones.

As the Duke of Livaren, he picked up Noien from Dominy, naturally in order to make the old idiot of the Borgia family stop thinking about Noien and quickly put the new king born from their family on the throne.

As Urbino pondered, he reread Cesar's letter. He found it persuasive, as he could discern the many implications behind the report. While it was ostensibly a request for aid, based on Chief Musali's account and the current situation in Noien, he believed the sender had already devised a strategy for the aftermath.

He stood up and took a quick look in front of the mirror, making sure his appearance would not disappoint Miss Lycia. After all, he was old and had a child, and was not as young and energetic as Miss Lycia, who was still young.

Although Miss Lycia was almost the same age as his daughter and was his eleventh lover in recent years, political marriages were generally like this: first, they gave birth to children who met all the requirements, and then they each lived their own lives and found their own lovers, freely pursuing their own love affairs as before marriage.

Compared to the young man who flirts with a bunch of women at the same time, he is at least loyal. He will focus on loving one lover until he falls in love with another lover, and then he will toss and turn in the difficult decision, sleepless nights, thinking and deciding which one he loves more between the two, and finally choose the new one.

Urbino adjusted his flowered light blue silk dress and combed his still-thick, smooth hair. He stared into the mirror, maintaining a polite smile for at least a minute before turning back.

"Before you go off to meet your lover, could you please tell me why you gave away the supplies I ordered, Father?"

Urbino rubbed his throat and reached out to stop the panicked man from running into the bedroom.

He waved his hand to the guards in the room and asked them to leave, then he breathed a sigh of relief.

"You used to knock and ask, Diana," he said.

“There has to be some way to express dissatisfaction.”

"I thought you

I will no longer interfere in Olidan's affairs."

"I've just been busy with the Origin Society's affairs lately."

"went well?"

"It was completed successfully, which means I can get back to taking care of things here at Olidan."

"You're still so young, why bother running around for things you don't have to get involved in? Besides, you're a mage, you need more time than us ordinary people!"

"Even if I set aside half of my time to study magic, it would be enough to trample on the heads of this generation, father. Moreover, don't you understand that once I lose the support of the school and worldly resources, even if I increase my remaining time tenfold, it will not be enough to make up for what I lack?"

Urbino rubbed his throat again. Did being exposed to his political career from a young age have any influence on Diana's character?

The gradual marginalization of the Yesterlen School within the Origin Society was largely due to their apathy towards political struggles. Even when they later approached Olidan, they had no desire to participate in the court's power struggles. Instead, they sought to emulate the University of Denton and establish themselves as an academic group focused on research.

To find a suitable successor, the Yestren School used numerous prophetic spells to select a mage and demanded that Urbino and her bear a child. This child was Diana, the present Diana. As a successor, she met both the political needs of both parties and the academic requirements of their school. To put it bluntly, she matched the talents and abilities predicted by the mages through a series of prophetic spells.

Urbino had never understood how prophecy could be used in such matters, but after consulting the Kingdom's Academy of Sciences, he learned a metaphor: it was to use mathematical formulas to calculate parental inheritance, just like breeding livestock.

It's hard not to suspect that the Kingdom Academy of Sciences has a deep bias against mages.

For these reasons, Diana was the most remarkable of her generation. Her talent was undeniable, and her beauty, a blend of both her parents, captivated everyone, earning her the title of Prom Queen every time. She inherited Urbino's eyes, a cool, transparent light blue that resembled shimmering ice. Her hair, said to have come from a branch of the ancient Kuna people, was a soft, light green ribbon, flowing freely to her waist. She always wore a polite smile, and her voice was gentle and slow, like the melodies of a zither, making her a delight to listen to.

But Urbino knew that her greatest inheritance wasn't superficial; it was his political vision, his political aspirations, and the inherent arrogance he never expressed. It was said that in order to produce a child in accordance with the prophecy, the Yestren School cast a spell of extremely severe consequences on her mother, leaving her half-dead and gravely ill since she gave birth.

Although Ubino did not care whether the wizard of Yestren was dead or alive, after all, his true love could only be reserved for one person, and that person was always changing, but he personally suspected that this incident had seriously affected Diana's mind when she was young.

Because she couldn't have normal contact with her mother, Diana began to contact and observe her father, that is, he, the Duke of Livalen Urbino, who had been advising on the splitting of the Casal Empire since the completion of the political marriage.

Back then, Urbino had thought she was quiet and sensible, so he hadn't paid much attention to her silent gaze. But now it seemed that her precocity had made her realize too early what he was doing. The waves of refugees migrating from the north had also made her realize too early the close connections between some seemingly unrelated things in the world.

“But this shipment is important,” Urbino said. “Are you unaware of Gonzales’s rebellion?”

"Of course I know," Diana said. "I also know that this is because Governor Vermeer was only good at scheming and amassing wealth, not governing. He concealed the mess for years before it could no longer be contained. And now, you've handed the Gonzales mission to a small-time country nobleman with nothing but a vain reputation. You've sold all the supplies I ordered just by reading a letter. Isn't that a bit too casual? Even if you leave this matter to me?"

Chapter 109 Prove everything with actual results

“You want so much, Diana,” Urbino said. “If you would only take over a little of the court affairs, I would not be in such a difficult position.”

"It seems your good mood won't last as soon as I show up," Diana said. "But you should know how awkward it is to be stuck on the wall. You're called the successor school, but it's just a vague title. You're called the Duke's heir, but you can only move towards the path of court nobility. What I did was no different from anyone who doesn't want to accept the arrangements of others."

"That's not the right thing for me to say."

His daughter, from across the table, studied his expression. "It's truly inappropriate. After all, you're the most worthy noble in the kingdom, one His Majesty finds most satisfying," she said, then began to outline the facts. "You gave up your military power and returned to Livalen. Now, you've rejected invitations from various families, forsaking the opportunity to expand your family's power and the chance to produce a legitimate, pure-blooded heir to the domain. You've indeed accepted all the kingdom's arrangements. But there's a problem—you're His Majesty's best friend, a classmate who's shared a bed with him since childhood. You're the person he relies on most, like a single soul in two bodies. No matter what happens, His Majesty will always have your back. I can't see myself that way."

she was

I have been observing and judging their correspondence since I was a child.

"Well, what good are all those supplies you've gathered?" he asked. "They've been sitting there for months."