Shadow of the Evil God

"At least she's a skilled mage, and she's devoted to the theory of magic," Cesar said, looking down at Fils, "even though she's quite unconventional in worldly matters."

"You're even more rebellious than me." Diana glared at him.

He shrugged. "I'm just skeptical," Cesar said. "But with Phils, maybe it's just her nature. On our way to Gonzales, she was blind to everything in the secular world. There were a lot of concepts she didn't even need to question; she simply ignored them, just like humans ignore the social bonds of wild animals, you know."

Diana shook her head slightly. "But Ferriers supported the stable rule of the Kasar Empire for a thousand years. The empire forged by the Chosen One in the ruins collapsed in less than a hundred years... Moreover, she completed an entire Age of Gods Tour alone. Even Nauzog only did so for her sake..."

Phils looked a little guilty, her eyes wandering, as if she was looking for a hole to hide in. She seemed to be unable to believe that these things had anything to do with her. Cesar gently hugged her, buried her face in his chest, kissed her forehead and eyes, and stroked her hair.

"Well," he said, "when I was in the dog pit, I was a far cry from what I am now. I used to think of spending the rest of my life with her in Itris, as her attendant and servant, because I didn't think there was anything wrong with that."

"A twist of fate..." Diana whispered.

"It doesn't matter what," Cesar said. "In fact, I trust my own plans more, even if they are just conspiracies and lies. But sometimes, as you walk along the road, you will end up in unexpected places." He reached out and held Diana's delicate hand. "When I wrote to trick you into coming here, did you ever imagine that things would come to this?"

"How is it possible..." she said.

"Of course, you came to me with the intention of exposing the liar."

She took a deep breath and said, "You are a liar now, Cesar. First of all, you deceived my ancestor who never loved anyone in his life."

"Okay, Diana," Cesar said, "considering that many of my promises have not been fulfilled, this matter does involve a lot of deception. Everything that has happened since then has been about making amends and taking responsibility. So given our current situation, we can first consider what difficulties you will encounter and then deal with them. If we can't deal with them, then unfortunately we can only consider making amends."

Diana stared at him. "I don't know how you can make it up to me," she said.

"Make up for what? Oh, you said that, okay." He said, "We can discuss making up for it when things really come to that point."

"You say it so easily because identity, status, name, and even surname mean nothing to you, Cesar."

"Well, to be honest, I wouldn't mind if that scribbled string of characters was my first and last name. If that's what you care about, Diana, I think..."

Diana stood up, put her hand on his shoulder, tilted her cheek slightly downward, and put her lips to his ear. "When I really consider calling you husband in front of everyone and establishing a family relationship with you, you will understand the seriousness of this matter, Cesar," she said.

......

As he walked out of the testing grounds, Cesar realized that he—how should I put it?—was reminded by a man who looked like a wizard but was actually a nobleman. He realized that while he could maintain this delicate relationship, if he wanted to make further political progress, this delicate relationship would come to an end.

, it can get pretty serious and scary.

The thought suddenly struck him as odd. Had he never considered love in terms of a social contract?

Yes, he had never considered it, but he should have realized it when he casually brought it up as a topic of conversation, when he himself didn't care but Diana took it seriously. The moment he understood this, he suddenly felt more troubled than ever before, and at one point he wanted to find a coffin to lie in until all the troubles disappeared.

In many senses, his love relationships are pastoral poems that have nothing to do with social contracts. They are the small houses he leaves for himself after his busy life. Although there are many losses and separations, many responsibilities and promises, they all exist only between individual people.

César was certain that, if he could put aside the current predicament, he was now at his most liberated and content. However, he also knew that the only one who truly cared nothing about the world was Phils. Both he and Diana were mired in the mundane world. The castle's underground chamber, shielding them from reality, was merely a dream house. When all was over, the reality that would confront them would further deepen his understanding of the crisis that comports with political identity.

Did Urbino abandon this relationship and plunge into a simpler, more ambiguous life with his lover? Perhaps. But Diana's mother, whom César had never met, would be doomed to tragedy. He didn't have the energy to dwell on her mother, but should he let their sweet dream end in tragedy?

Frankly speaking, he couldn't figure it out. After all, he had never tried to think about these things, but he didn't want to let go either.

Love can be lost, there is no doubt that it can be lost, and it can lose more than just itself.

"It's time to inspect the city defenses, Cesar," Diana said, leaning against the doorway. "To be honest, you don't have much time to spend dreaming with us in the basement of the castle. When it's time to wake up, you still have to go out with your sword in hand."

Cesar looked at her, speechless. "We shouldn't just think of the wasteland as a long, torturous journey," he suddenly said. "Many of the sights are terrifying, but their grandeur is something we've never seen in the real world. Did you know that Firth—no, your ancestor Firth—would meticulously describe every path she'd walked and every scene she'd seen?"

"I'm not quite sure..." She sighed softly, "Perhaps the fact that she wrote such a long coded manuscript does have such a meaning, but we just want to find out those hidden past events."

"We should ride the dragon to record and witness it," Cesar said. "It's not just about trekking, but recording it all, placing it in scrolls of true knowledge, and sharing it with Finnie below the castle. I've always felt that the earth shaking caused by a real dragon's breath is the most magnificent sight I've ever seen. If she could be awake and see that scene, instead of just listening to our dry narration, her feelings would be completely different. If you record it as a scene, appreciate it, and place it in beautiful scrolls, you will also feel that our journey has a different meaning."

"That sounds good, but why..."

"I just think that before that moment comes, we can still get to know each other again and again and fall in love with each other again, just like losing and then falling in love with someone better. The deeper this feeling is, when we face choices in the future, some things will not be easily forgotten because they are too fragile and illusory."

Chapter 245: So Frivolous

"I'm just warning you about the weight of certain things, Cesar," Diana emphasized. "You do act like an ideal lover in some matters, but I don't think you want to take on other things. After all, it seems like you've never considered them. We all have experiences of loss. If you still haven't thought it through and still don't want to take on the responsibility, I will naturally find another way."

She was right. It seemed that, in realizing this, Cesar discovered that there were certain kinds of loss he couldn't accept. When he realized he was going to lose her, and that she had walked away on her own accord, the love he had once held as a joke suddenly changed, becoming incomparably deeper.

He knew that they were now dreaming a vain dream in the castle. He also knew that Diana would not continue dreaming forever, that this would eventually end, and that he would be devastated after it ended. This feeling was very clear, just like watching Phils gradually disappear and being unable to do anything.

Cesar had imagined this happening, and it might have happened if Diana hadn't saved her.

Frankly speaking, even before he was Cesar, he had already thought about escaping from the social contract of love. He felt that it was like putting a collar on himself, and although it was invisible and intangible, it would definitely tie him up firmly, tied to a certain place, unable to take a step out, like a domesticated dog.

But now, he hesitated, unable to move forward in front of this man who said he would definitely put collars and chains on both sides. He couldn't explain the difference between this moment and many moments in the past. Maybe it was just a very cliché reason - he suddenly fell into a situation where he couldn't take a joke.

Cesar lacked experience and didn't know how to deal with this, so he decided to rely on the most old-fashioned method. As long as he allowed this playful love to have more pure satisfaction, gradually overflowing, full enough to overflow the dream and permeate the hardship of reality, the problem would no longer be a problem, and the burden would no longer be a burden.

He thought that although Urbino saw his own reflection in him, and he also vaguely saw a foreshadowing of his future in Urbino, he didn't want to become another Urbino. Indulging in those fleeting loves, like those fleeting dreams of longing, there was no need for choice or hesitation. Losing and gaining were equally natural, like picking up beautiful shells on the beach, picking up one and then throwing away another.

He thought that Urbino's choice must be due to his disbelief that a pure love story could ever exist. Rather than putting a collar and chains on himself, he should simply savor the fleeting yet most beautiful part of love. Once he realized it was about to sour, he could find the next wonderful love. That way, no matter where he was, Urbino could always savor the sweetest part of a love story, while discarding the bitter part for others to savor.

"Guess what I'm thinking?" Cesar asked Diana.

"what?"

"I'm thinking, during the day we rush about for wars, city defenses, and territory. And if we're still alive, we'll certainly rush about for family, empire, politics, and even larger wars. But at night, no matter what night it is, we can travel on long roads never before traversed in this world. That first day was a vast forest as ancient as time itself. Endless giant trees formed corridors, each taller than the Kuna's towers. The worgs sacrificed to the dragon by the lake, and the entire earth shook. And the night before, thousands of stone pillars stood tall in the abyss. We hunted on them, rested beneath them, explored and lost ourselves in the ruins of the ancients, conversed with ancient, unknown memories, and kissed beside a spring that had flowed for a thousand years. This kind of journey will not change because of anything."

Diana frowned slightly. "Why can you describe the wasteland so..."

"Because we are saving, not escaping. Because if the Beastmen can regard the journey to the wilderness as a pilgrimage, and the wilderness as their other home, then we may be able to do the same. If our love is born at night, in dreams and wilderness, then nothing in the daytime will and should affect it."

"You and I, we are not creatures living in the wilderness," Diana reminded him.

"You and I, during the day, are living beings in reality, but at night, we must be living beings in the wasteland. It's like you are the eldest daughter of the Duke's Mansion during the day, but you are a wizard exploring the wasteland at night."

"It's just about exploring carefully in the horror and the unknown, Cesar," Diana reminded him again.

"In the real world, we are also carefully exploring horror and the unknown, Diana. But in the wilderness, at least we can focus on the people around us. No matter what our real situation becomes, we can continue to travel in the wilderness as we do now."

She pursed her lips and said, "If that really happens, how could I still be able to walk..."

"Why go? We can ride our mimic dragons and soar through the night sky. Maybe we can find better horses in the future, and you will definitely master better spells. We can also pray where the real dragons sleep and watch the earth shake beneath us. We can also explore more ruins of the Kuna people and talk to their remaining memories. Then you can see

"If the gods' gaze were to pass over the wasteland, we would find another cave and wait, playing Castari for months on end. By the time we woke up, only one night had passed."

"You always make things sound too good to be true," Diana accused him softly.

"I think that even if there were family disputes, power struggles at court, larger-scale wars, and more troubling political affairs, we could still wake up in the wilderness hand in hand, undisturbed by no one, and ignored by no one. When we record what we've seen and heard, and show it to her, or to others, it will be like bringing the fresh air of the evening forest to our gloomy little cottage. It won't end all the troubles of reality, but it can at least tell you and me that dreams can bring us to reality and soothe our souls."

Diana sighed. "I've been having a hard time distinguishing this ridiculous dream from reality, Cesar."

"I've taken great pains to tell you that you don't need to worry about whether I'm a burden, Diana. If it weren't a burden, you wouldn't have to worry about it."

"Did you just make up these excuses?"

"Yes," Cesar shrugged. "I just made it up. Because of what you said, I was worried that one day you would stand in front of me and tell me that it was over. So I decided that we should get to know each other again, fall in love again, and then give this journey even more irreplaceable meaning."

"How can we meet again, fall in love again..." she whispered, but she still followed him up the porch steps to the castle terrace. The rain continued to pour down relentlessly in the darkness, the entire world submerged in an endless ocean. The sky seemed like an upside-down sea, ready to fall and sweep everyone into the abyss.

"I think, from a letter to a conversation that started as a joke, this is getting acquainted again; from the endless dream-like journey in the wilderness to returning to reality, this is falling in love again. If you feel that the original reason is not sufficient and the joking love cannot last long, we can throw them away again and again and replace them with better ones. As long as you feel that I am better now than then, and the reason now is more sufficient than then, we will keep falling in love with better people." Cesar said.

"I never knew anyone who was better at making promises and saying sweet words than you," Diana repeated. "I've put a lot of effort into trying to sober myself up a little."

Cesar reached out and placed his hand on her braid. She had tied her hair into a bun after her bath, to study the manuscript, to explore the spell she had just received from the remnant of memory. But with a touch of his finger, like the gentle touch of snowflakes, her hair fell loose again. The curls flowed over her shoulders and back like a flowing veil. She rested her elbows on the railing, clasped her hands lightly, and tilted her face towards him.

The wind, carrying heavy rain, stirred her long hair, making it flutter on her cheeks and ears. Her gaze passed through the rain, looking at his hands, cheeks, mouth, and then his eyes.

"Just like now," Cesar touched her cheek with his finger, "it's over between us, because that letter was just a joke of acquaintance, and the journey in the wilderness was also a joke of love. The letter was full of deception and blood, and the journey in the wilderness was long and anxious. The whole process was just two fish confusedly looking for comfort in the desert. It will end, it must be normal. Then, two other people met here."

"Why?" she asked.

"Because you said that love that's just a joke will inevitably end, and I said that whether it's smiling and greeting all the guests at the wedding ceremony or for more distant family affairs in the future, I can not only handle them properly, but also regard them as just a daytime trouble. Relying on this promise that is not sure whether it can be trusted, two people fell in love here. What do you think?"

Diana sighed, gently took his hand, and stroked it against her cheek. "I need to think about it. After all, I just met you, and I really don't know if it's reliable," she said. "Besides, your hair is wet in the rain. You look like a barbarian chief."

"Then you must be an arrogant and nosy noble lady, who just lost her love and is full of melancholy. Why don't we use a kiss between strangers to make you feel a little better."

Cesar took a half step forward and held her in his arms. Diana obediently accepted his embrace that was like breaking bones and the repeated light pecks and bites on her lips. When their lips parted, she pressed her fingers against his lips.

"That's frivolous," she said. "Go check your war camp, my Lord Chief, and you're going to break my bones."

"You have to exchange this for a long enough kiss, young lady." Cesar frowned and said, "It has to be longer than any kiss you had with your last lover, otherwise you won't be able to remember only me. Which is more important, the new love or the old love? Tell me."

"Fair enough." Diana raised her eyebrows. "I hope you don't miss a step and fall to your death later, leaving behind no trace of your name."

Chapter 246 Do You Want Me to Carry You Back?

The rain was still dark and eerie, but Diana's elven face and icy figure, cast in the darkness, seemed remarkably white in the faint morning light, briefly tinged with a blush. Her hips were round, her waist slender, her hair waving like waves. Her chest rose and fell in his embrace, like a wet white snake drenched in rain. She tiptoed and kissed him, a kiss so different from his own, completely different.

Their lips parted briefly, and Cesar kissed her neck gently. He felt her sigh softly in his ear, her hands caressing his chest. He left a clear kiss on the side of her neck, then they kissed slowly again. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close to him. She clasped her hands around his back and the back of his head, breathing hotly in response.

The touch of lips grew long, then painful from sucking and biting, the slightest touch sending shivers down his spine. He took her slippery tongue in his mouth, savoring it, sucking it slowly, then biting it gently. He felt her deft tongue lick and soothe his swollen lips, so he licked hers in return, then they brushed their lips together, teasing each other lightly, rubbing against each other, letting strands of glistening saliva drip down.

When their lips parted, Diana gasped for a long moment, her chest heaving and her heart pounding. He knelt at first, kissing her neck and collarbone, but she held him tighter, her hands clasped at the back of his head. His nose slid across the soft crevices of her dress, gently digging under. He brushed his lips against the soft, tender flesh, his teeth touching the soft, firm spot, first kissing, then nibbling, then licking and savoring with eagerness.

By the time she could no longer stop herself from bending over, her face was flushed and her lower body was soaking wet. If it hadn't been for the heavy rain pouring down on the terrace, someone would have noticed.

"Do you want me to carry you back, miss?" Cesar asked her softly, "Just think of it as me returning the extra part I asked for."

"You're asking for too much, barbarian," Diana breathed slowly. "Next time we kiss, I'm going to prepare a spell that Finnie often uses, because no one knows how far you'll go. You're the most unrestrained and unmeasured person I've ever met."

"That's not necessarily true." Cesar kissed her slightly exposed shoulder.

"What's not certain?"

He removed his lips from her shoulder and whispered in her ear, "I mean, we don't necessarily need children, don't you?"

Diana's heart skipped a beat and seemed to stop beating for a long moment before returning to normal.

Cesar put his arm around her waist and helped her down. When they reached the testing ground, he kissed her soft lips as a farewell. After she'd caught her breath, Cesar leaned close to her ear again and said, "Although love in the social contract doesn't necessarily require offspring, I suspect the family lineage you're referring to does. I don't know if you're more concerned about your child becoming a victim of the school, or if you're more concerned about preserving your family and bloodline. Whichever you choose, it's up to you. But if it's the latter, we might have to protect one more person."

"You're thinking too far ahead, Sasha." Diana said softly, her voice as light as a breath. "You don't even know if you'll be standing at the wedding ceremony then."

"I haven't told you my name yet."

"I can predict the future," she retorted.

......

Although he wanted to inspect the city defenses, it was too dark today, so Cesar decided to do some things that needed to be done at night. He walked out of the castle in the pouring rain, passed through most of the fortress, and walked down the muddy dirt road until he finally reached the prison of the Gural Fortress.

The heavy rain slightly alleviated the oppressive heat of northern Olidan, but as soon as he entered the prison and walked down the steps, Cesar wanted to go back out and get wet. From the torture chamber on the side came a horrible, stifling heat, a mixture of sweat, charcoal, and rotting flesh, so stuffy that he felt dizzy for a moment.

He twisted his throat, glanced at the dog who seemed to be indifferent, and wondered how heat-resistant this guy was. But he couldn't figure it out, so he took off his shirt, threw it aside, and walked in shirtless.

Cesar surveyed the torture chamber in the blazing light of the brazier, distinguishing the two interrogators, one fat and one thin. Before them stood the same prisoner he had been holding since arriving at the fortress.

This was a curious prisoner, seemingly unperturbed. Even hanging upside down from the cell ceiling, his expression remained impassive. The two interrogators would be demons in any cell, but here they were sweating profusely, their faces tormented. The portly one was simply going through the motions. He pressed the iron to the prisoner's chest and laboriously shifted it, looking like a painter working late into the night, painting a wall.

Cesar saw the prisoner remained completely unresponsive. His skin sizzled for over a minute, emitting a stench of burnt flesh, yet he showed no sign of reaction. Meanwhile, the interrogator was exhausted. Finally, unable to even lift the red-hot iron rod, he tossed it into the fire and sat on a bench, wiping the ash and sweat from his face.

The man wiped his sweat and sighed, looking like he wanted to collapse in his chair and not move.

"I don't understand the prisoners from the north, sir," said the thin interrogator next to him. "The Knights just threw the captives here and left them alone, but they insist on asking us to find out something. Please explain it to us, this is something that humans can do.

Love?"

"How long have you been doing useless work here?"

"It's been at least a month, sir," the thin torturer said. "The Knights forbid us to kill people, so we can only watch as they do it. We use daggers, needles, water torture, branding irons, and even ropes to pull on bones. We've tried everything the master taught us. After the torture, we watch him dying and unresponsive. Then, as soon as we close our eyes and open them again, a night passes, and he's the same person he was yesterday, untortured. Honestly, I think even if we kill him, as soon as we close our eyes and open them again, a night passes, he'll inexplicably come back to life."

The injury healed? It doesn't look like it, so what is it? It sounds like it's going back in time, and the time of the physical body is fixed at a certain moment?

"Who do you think needs to deal with this person?" Cesar asked him.

"Master, or just the priest, any temple will do," said the thin torturer.

"Where did the Knights get such a prisoner?" Cesar asked patiently.

"Where were the Knights fighting at that time?" the thin torturer muttered.

"They're chasing bandits in the northern jungles!" the fat interrogator coughed. "I don't know why they're so interested in a gang of bandits. They're going to take their heads and pretend they're imperial soldiers, but nobody's going to believe them. Why not go to a village in the north and capture and chop off everyone who doesn't have black hair? Wouldn't that be a better way to achieve military merit?"

"Do you think the problem lies with that gang of bandits, or with the jungle to the north?"

Chapter 247 My time no longer has meaning

"You'll have to ask the Knights about that, sir," the thin torturer said. "If I were to ask, the bandit's lair is more or less a place where people can stay, it depends on whether you can get familiar with it. But the jungles and swamps to the north are definitely not."

Cesar thought these two were quite honest. "Did the Knights give any explanation to this man?"

"Lord Kildee thought he held a great secret," said the thin interrogator. "He was the one who had this fellow brought here. At first, Lord Kildee was quite enthusiastic, coming over every now and then to question him, but then he suddenly lost interest and forgot about him and went to pack up his uniform and dress uniform."

This Guild was quite honest. He had arrested someone who looked suspicious and interrogated him. Suddenly, news arrived from the royal capital, Anglan, and he completely forgot about the matter of Gural Fortress. It's unclear whether it was because of the people's cheers or because of the long-lost lover of his dreams. Since Count Villar had treated his son like a dog and let him bite, then, at the very least, Guild was the least scheming of Villar's descendants. There was no need to worry about him setting a trap.

Cesar dismissed the interrogator and summoned Gouzi to retrieve the invisible assassin's blade. Despite the meticulously crafted handle, when he grasped the scimitar, his fingers felt numb, as if a nerve-paralyzing toxin had rapidly spread. He had to stab the blade into the bloodstained table and pull on a thick leather glove before he could regain control.

"We have no grudges against each other," he began, "but I am curious about what you are. If you wish to exchange your freedom for a friendly attitude, I can release you in the name of the new master of the fortress. If you do not wish, I can also let you experience the feelings of ordinary people."

"I wish you would kill us with our own sharp blades," the prisoner suddenly said. He looked very young, but his voice was hoarse, like an old man.

Cesar paused in thought, then put the scimitar down again. He truly didn't want to touch this thing. To a mage, the Ritual Stone would be fatal, to him, it would numb his nerves, and to the Faceless, it seemed only a minor discomfort. After weighing the pros and cons, it had to be handled by Gouzi. To appease her, he'd been bleeding her frequently lately.

"Are you the Invisible Assassin?" he asked.