Four-Armed Divine Emperor

A bad thought flashed through Grace's mind.

The other party's attitude, when she took the initiative to explain her background, but refused to even mention her "student status", was too...

Chapter 55: Return in triumph

After Al put down his glass again, he gave Grace an inexplicable smile.

The female mage's heart trembled, sensing that some danger was approaching.

"I have some questions...I need to trouble you." Al said softly. This was the second...third time he used psychic power to do this, and he was facing a wizard with extraordinary powers. He didn't know if it would cause some unexpected consequences.

“Maybe it will be more painful…”

"What?" The female mage was shocked. Before she could open her mouth, an unknown force instantly invaded her brain!

Grace's magic only provided a tiny bit of resistance before it was broken. She felt as if she was bound and wrapped up by an omnipresent force from all directions, from the outside to the inside, and from the inside out.

Everything about oneself, life and death, secrets, seems to be under the control of the other party!

Unprecedented fear spread in the sorceress's heart, but the terrible thing was that in such a situation, she couldn't even control her body's ability to express fear, and could only look at El with fear.

Before this, Al had found two Xerxes captives and experimented with this ability on them.

The first one was a pity that Al's method was a bit rough, causing the other party to suffer a massive intracranial hemorrhage and die suddenly after asking ten questions.

The second time he tried to improve this method, he felt much better. When asked, he said there was nothing serious, just some minor problems such as nosebleeds, dizziness, and unconsciousness.

Looking at Grace who had been completely controlled by his psychic power, Al thought for a moment.

What should I start asking?

......

After lasting for two days and two nights, the banquet ended. On the morning of the third day, the expeditionary force broke camp and headed west, escorting a large number of Xerxes captives towards Devangel Castle.

Most of the captives, numbering 10,000 (including the mountain servant army), were left in Muten. According to Ansuna's arrangement, they would serve as free labor to carry out some basic development of the Wall Plain under supervision, saving time for subsequent work.

Ansuna is already working on a detailed development plan for the Wall Plain. There used to be a population of more than 30,000 people gathered around Muten, but later the Xerxes forcibly relocated half of them and then replaced them with more than 6,000 Xerxes. Combined with war disasters and spontaneous migration, the population has dropped to less than 20,000. More than half of them have settled around Muten, and a small number are scattered across the plain in the form of villages and towns.

She planned to gather these scattered populations and build a new city closer to the east.

Chapter 67

The people that Wen used as ransom were first settled in the new city. After they were registered, they were assigned their destinations based on their abilities and property.

She and El had different opinions on a point about population. El had originally planned to grant the population that moved in according to the system of Brio to freemen, but restrict them to stay in the Wall Plain for a few years and prohibit them from migrating to the outside world. However, Ansuna believed that the blessing of "freedom" could not be spread so easily. She insisted on doing it according to the time of Xerxes - freemen would continue to be freemen, and slaves would continue to be slaves.

She convinced Al that excessive favors ultimately became less than favors. The suddenly liberated slaves might be grateful to their masters for their deliverance, but that gratitude would fade over the course of a year? Half a year? And then they would have to face the complexities of the territory.

The Blaeo and Xerxes, two races that have been enemies for nearly a thousand years, are almost evenly matched.

Although El was not worried about these problems, what Ansuna said made sense, so he decided to implement a more relaxed slave liberation policy for the migrated slave population, allowing them to obtain the status of free people through labor and contribution, which would in turn gain people's loyalty.

For example, all the captured dignitaries and military heroes of Xerxes would follow the expeditionary army back to Dverngeir, where a ceremony to present prisoners in recognition of their military achievements would be waiting for them. The Dverngeirs would even send some captives to the royal capital of Kalvik as a token of their respect.

After all, although this was a war between two lords, one semi-independent and the other nearly independent, at a macro level it was still a conflict between two old enemies, Blaeo and Xerxes. Adwin hoped to consolidate and improve his position in the country by making achievements against his old enemies, and conversely, the Devon Gaels could do the same.

It took five days to get here, and the return should have been faster, but because they were carrying captives and a large number of women and servants who had come with the lords who had come earlier to show their faces at the meeting, the speed was even slower. It took six days for Devangelburg to appear in front of people.

The leading team cheered, and the morale of the expeditionary force was boosted. Seeing that their home was just ahead, their pace became much lighter.

They had set out from Devangel and had been away from home for nearly a month. Now that they had won a great victory in the war, it was natural for them to return home in glory, receive the rewards they deserved, and enjoy the respect of their fellow villagers.

The castle gates were wide open, and thousands of people took the initiative to walk out of the city walls and onto the streets to welcome the triumphant army. The Xerxes' previous threats of war had once plunged the entire Devangel into an atmosphere of unrest. At the worst, the plundering cavalry even approached the Devangel Castle. The area where the core of the territory's government was located made the residents panic. If it were not for the long-term rule of the old patriarch, which was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, a large-scale exodus would have occurred.

Cheers and flower petals were thrown to the triumphant troops. Nobles, warriors, and even the most ordinary conscripts proudly puffed out their chests and enjoyed the admiration of the crowd, because this victory was indeed won by their own hands. The captives were detained in the middle of the team. Prince Adwin was qualified to ride in a carriage alone in the team, but the others did not receive such good treatment. Their hands were tied with ropes, and they were surrounded by enemy soldiers in front, behind, and on both sides. The people of Devangel taunted and laughed at these invaders who were so aggressive not long ago.

Some people made small lumps of mud and water and threw them at the noble captives, mocking them:

"Take it! Take it! Xerxes! 'This is our soil and water!'"

This story uses an ancient allusion. When the Zoroastrians were strong, they attacked from all sides, conquering cities and territories. Whenever the messengers of the King of Kings arrived at a country, they would demand that the locals offer earth and water as a sign of submission. Later, when they tried to do this with the Iron Kingdom, they hit a wall. The messengers were executed in two ways and then sent back to the army of the King of Kings:

Having their stomachs stuffed with dirt and stones, and dying in severe colic; and being immersed in a water tank and drowned.

Then the king of the Black Iron Kingdom led his troops to resist the Zoroastrian army that was marching westward. Although he failed, he also caused huge casualties to the enemy and won a precious opportunity for the subsequent counterattack.

This was also one of the reasons why the rising Ashtar Empire launched a massive eastward expedition under the command of the emperor.

Many of Xerxes' captives were furious at being humiliated by civilians. The prince could sense the situation outside through the noise while sitting in the carriage. Although Devangel had promised not to harm the nobles during the negotiations, he could do nothing about the situation and could only pretend not to see it.

Soon, the army returned to the camp, and the main people, such as nobles and officers, followed the female knight to the Devangel family's mansion.

There was a small episode on the way.

Several young men, accompanied by a group of servants and other followers, blocked the road and demanded to see their respective fathers - the two uncles that Ansuna had previously ordered to be imprisoned.

The female knight didn't want to be too harsh on these "youngsters" and just drove them away.

Chapter 56: Offspring, Offspring

Ansuna easily drove away her peers, but she also officially exposed the fact that she had imprisoned her two uncles. Many of the nobles who accompanied her became hesitant.

They came to celebrate their victory and share the glory. They came to get the spoils. Now it seems that there is a conflict on the side of the master. The niece who has gained power immediately attacked her uncles.

Chapter 68

, they are in Devangel, it is impossible for them to turn around and hide back in the territory at this time.

So which side to support is very...

For them, it is very important and they have almost no choice.

Take the expeditionary warriors who were ordered to drive out the descendants of Ansuna's two uncles, and turned a deaf ear to their insults that "Ansuna imprisoned her uncles and intended to seize power." Hundreds of military officers of all ranks and military honors gathered closely around the female knight, and you can see the attitude of this expeditionary force, which accounts for more than half of the entire Devangel military force, towards this matter.

They had just annihilated Adwin's main force with almost no losses, and their morale was high, or in other words, "domineering". It was foreseeable that the main military positions and commanders of the expeditionary corps would be promoted by at least half a level after returning this time, and all of this was brought about by the female knights - and, most importantly, El behind Ansuna.

Without El's support, it would be impossible for a woman like Ansuna to do these things.

After realizing this, the Devon Gael nobles chose to remain silent. After all, we are here to celebrate, so it doesn't matter who organizes it. Just pretend that nothing happened. Not to mention that this is Devon Gael's own family affair, just say that a "near-god" has intervened, and they, the secular lords, must be respectful and bow their heads, and submit to the victor anyway.

So the whole team arrived at Devon Gale's mansion in an atmosphere where most of the people were enthusiastic, a small number of people were forcing themselves to smile, and a small number of people were silent and quietly mixed in the team.

To be on the safe side, the warrior guards loyal to Ansuna (El) entered first, and quickly took over control of the entire mansion without bloodshed while the servants were still celebrating their victory.

Ansuna glanced at the nobles who came after the war and whose positions were unclear, and asked her guards to carry two people covered in black robes into the mansion first. She waited until El came out of the carriage holding the child, and then followed El in.

The others were left outside to wait. Everyone looked at each other in confusion. Someone in the crowd couldn't help but whispered:

"Lord El is holding... a child?"

There was a murmur.

"No way?"

"Too fast! Too fast!" This is what people who have guessed are close to the truth.

"Magic, is the power of magic so amazing? Then I..."

The noble who said this in amazement suddenly had a flush on his face and his eyes were filled with excitement.

The people around him immediately gave him looks of either sympathy or ridicule. In the past, he would have drawn his sword and challenged a few provocative targets to a duel, but now he didn't care about all that at all. He only thought about how to ask Lord El to save him with the power of the White Tower.

"I remember Ansuna stayed in the floating city..." Someone else muttered softly, imagining some love, hate and vengeance that happened in the past.

But no matter what, if the child El was holding was really as people speculated, the child born by Ansuna for El, then the outcome of this political - which couldn't even be called a "struggle" - was almost doomed.

I'm afraid that if even the old patriarch himself knew about this situation, he would be ecstatic and announce that he would make the bloodline born by his granddaughter and an outsider the heir, so that the Devengale family would have the "blood of the wizard" flowing in its veins in the future.

Of course, the prerequisite for doing so is that Ai'er agrees to leave his offspring in a remote and barren land of Thurso.

.........

Just as the outside world guessed, after all, all the conditions have been put on the table openly.

Ansuna and El walked into the banquet hall where he had held formal exchanges when he first came to Devangel.

There were only three people in the room.

The old patriarch was leaning lazily on the first seat, and on the carpet in the middle of the hall, two naked women were hugging each other, rubbing their ears against each other, and panting from time to time.

The old patriarch had a rosy face, holding a wine glass, staring at the two women polishing each other without blinking. He didn't even notice when Ansuna and El walked into the house. It was not until Ansuna took Elsa from El and called "Grandfather" with mixed feelings that the old patriarch suddenly came to his senses and dropped the wine glass in his hand without paying attention. El on the other side instantly opened his psychic stance and was alert for two breaths before realizing that there was nothing wrong.

The old patriarch was simply old, so old that he was distracted and dazed, and couldn't even hold a wine glass steadily.

Only a month had passed since their last farewell. On the surface, the old patriarch's face looked much rosier, but Al's psychic sense suggested that his energy and spirit had weakened somewhat since their last meeting. If this happened to a young person, it might be due to some reason, but for an already aging man...

That means the other party may be nearing the end of his life.

"My child, Ansuna, this, this is that child? Your child..."

The old man first saw Ansuna, and then his eyes fixed on Aisha who was in her arms.

He even ignored El who was standing aside. However, El felt a little guilty now. He slept with the granddaughter of the old patriarch, took the legion, and now he had to help Ansuna come back to seize power and swallow up the entire Devangel territory. What he promised Ansuna was only to have a son to inherit the family name in the future.

To the master of the house who respected him very much,

Chapter 69

For an old man, Al had gone a bit too far. Fortunately, he had now joined the ruling class, and his moral conscience was his, and he still had to do what he had to do.

"Yes, my child, grandfather, the offspring I bore to Lord Aiel."

Ansuna nodded. There was nothing to hide. From the old patriarch's words, she knew that her grandfather knew about her pregnancy.

That's true. After all, he has been able to rule the territory for such a long time, fighting openly and secretly with various forces. Even if he is old and senile, it is impossible for him to have almost all the military forces of the territory and the elite of his family come out in full force, and then hand it over to others without any backup or monitoring. Such a person cannot sit in this position for so long.

The old patriarch nodded repeatedly, and at this time seemed to have regained some clarity of mind, and asked again:

"Boy or girl?"

His steps were a little unsteady, and the two naked beautiful women did not dare to move at this time. Instead, they lay on the ground, trying their best to reduce their presence, so there was no maid to support them.

Ansuna looked back at El, who nodded slightly to her. The female knight then walked forward with Elsa in her arms, and took the initiative to come to her grandfather and help him to his seat and continue sitting down.

She also showed Aisha to the old patriarch.

"It's a girl, but... my Lord has promised me that he will leave behind a descendant to inherit the Devon Gale family name and pass it on."

"Ah...that's good, that's good."

When the head of the family heard that it was a girl, he did not feel disappointed at all. What was important was the promise that came later.

"Thank you, sir." The old patriarch suddenly looked at El, as if he had just noticed his existence, and tried to stand up by holding on to the chair, but Ansuna quickly helped him up.

"You defeated a powerful enemy for Devengail and left behind an heir... I am truly grateful."

He insisted on saluting El, but it was too much trouble for Ansuna to support him with the child in her arms, so El simply used his psychic power to gently send him back to his position.

"This is me... ahem, I like Ansuna very much, it's nothing."

The old patriarch's words sounded a bit sarcastic to Al, but he really thought so. Even according to the research of the White Tower wizards, the bloodline of a spellcaster cannot inherit abilities other than "innate legacy", which in Al's view are genes, intelligence and the like.

For example, there is talent in magic, but in the eyes of ordinary mortals, having the blood of a spellcaster flowing in one's body is still a highly respected trait.

This is a widespread phenomenon in the world of Il, an extended worship of the power of wizards. This concept is most serious among the Zoroastrians, whose noble families often marry within their own families, especially the heirs of the oldest "Wizard Kings", who must have a holy blood marriage in every generation.

"Can you, can you promise me two things? Very simple, Ansuna, my lord?"

The female knight turned her gaze towards El, and the man pursed his lips.

"You said."

"Don't kill those two idiots... They're useless and foolish. Leave them alive. Even if you leave early, they definitely won't have the guts to oppose your offspring."

As expected, the old patriarch pleaded for mercy for his two remaining sons.

And Al had no intention of killing these two opponents who could not cause any hindrance, so he nodded and waited for the old patriarch's next request.

He took a breath and his face suddenly turned red with a certain joy.

"Let that guy, let that guy! Adwin, let him lead the horse for me, once, once is enough!"

He said this request excitedly, his bent back straightened up, and his cloudy eyes became clearer.

Al thought for a moment.

"it is good."

Then please bear with the prince.

The opponent lost so badly that he didn't want to press on and the conditions he offered to the opponent were quite generous - at least for now, if they lost, they would immediately cease fighting without paying any further price.