Four-Armed Divine Emperor

What is happening now is nothing more than a repetition of the hegemonic behavior of the Alan people, a Zoroastrian ethnic group, who have always adhered to the "Way of the External King" towards their neighbors.

I have an army;

Your family has a granary;

Is there anything more coincidental than this?

This is not an exaggeration. There have been countless such precedents in history. Because of their cohesion, common cognition and the wealth of their ancestors, the Zoroastrians still maintained their huge size in the East Continent after the departure of the Witch King who led Alan's ancestors to establish an empire. They frequently engaged in internal strife, palace conspiracies and vendettas. They were like this to their own people, let alone outsiders?

In the past, messengers of the King of Kings often drove sun-wheel chariots, carrying sun flags symbolizing sacred fire, and traveled to various city-states and neighboring countries under the escort of slaves and warriors to demand tribute, annuities, vassalage, etc.

Therefore, the Alan people initiated countless wars. Although they generally won more than they lost, otherwise the vast Eastern Empire would not have survived to this day, there were also a few cases where they were attacked by the masses after their decline...

In recent years, the Alan Empire has been in political chaos and people's hearts have been depressed. In the west, the Golden Dynasty, which had lost its prosperous land,

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Control, that land full of rich vitality and killing. In ten years, the coalition forces composed of warlords, herdsmen, and inheritors defeated the Parthian army that had traveled a long distance in the Battle of Huangsha, and drove the Zoroastrian forces out of the Huangsha oasis.

Later, they were defeated by the Aegean city-state navy funded by the Kronos Empire in the Titan Sea. Not only did they suffer heavy casualties, but they were also forced to cede land and pay money, and give up the sovereignty of several commercial ports and several free city-states. Otherwise, the Kronos would have instructed the Aegean Navy to blockade the Alan people's ports in the Titan Sea and cut off their maritime trade with the Western Continent, which would have been a huge loss for the Alan people.

They are no longer the once glorious Zoroastrian Empire, having long lost their territory in Antoria. The main force there now is the Seven Shields Alliance, which consists of seven principalities. They control almost half of Antoria's land, except for the Endless Mountains, which they only control a part of. It is a neutral country that controls both the East and the West.

The current King of Kings has been on the throne for less than six years. During the fifteen years that his father and brother ruled, the Alan Empire moved its capital twice, had seven coups d'état, and replaced nine Grand Viziers. Troops loyal to the King of Kings launched attacks on the capital, suburbs, and local provinces, as well as on the troops of usurpers and rebels, twenty or thirty times.

There were countless cases of local warlords and governors ignoring the imperial authority, refusing to pay homage to the king, and openly violating the system and laws. There was even a general commanding troops on the eastern frontier who, out of hatred, openly fought with the commander of another border defense corps, and then annexed the other's subordinates and demanded that several surrounding provinces hand over all taxes and property to him to support the army. This was undoubtedly an act of blatant rebellion. However, because this general respected the will of the King of Kings (which did not harm his own interests), was respectful to the envoys of Iskhanfar, and was willing to obey (part of) the orders of the court, when the rebels in Samarkand were about to attack Iskhanfar, he took the initiative to serve the king with his legion. Apart from looting the rebellious provinces, he did not take the opportunity to expand his territory. Instead, he was valued by Iskhanfar, who awarded him noble titles and honorifics many times and rewarded him every year.

The "Padisa Serana," or "Queen" system, which had been abolished long ago in the Alan Empire, had been briefly revived during these fifteen years. His father had five queens in his eight-year reign, and his brother had three in seven and a half years. After deposing the last queen, the previous King of Kings felt that the system was unworkable and that there was a reason why their ancestors had abolished it, so he continued to have no queen.

Afterwards, his brother "died drunkenly" after a drinking binge, and even the Grand Secretary of the Palace of Wisdom (a respectful title for knowledgeable mages) was unable to save him. While still in a daze, the current King of Kings was promoted to the throne by his first Prime Minister, the Grand Vizier. Not long after, feeling threatened himself, the King of Kings used the eunuchs of the Iskhan Palace to kill the Grand Vizier. The current Grand Vizier is the third in command of the empire...

But no matter what, at least during the reign of this King of Kings, although the country continued to deteriorate, the rate of decline seemed to be slower than when his father and brother were alive. Just like the general who acted recklessly on the frontier and eventually became a role model of "loyalty to the emperor", the rule of this emperor was barely recognized by the Alan people, and they thought it was pretty good.

I can only say that it is all thanks to the support of peers.

Alan's decline is like Savage 6 falling into the Dark Ages, Ming Dynasty 4 disasters erupting, and the four Iron Hearts of France's initial debuffs still lingering...

But there is still a way to save it.

If there are a few wise and capable rulers with enough ability and skills, a little luck and a little opportunity, maybe the country can slowly rise; or the world will be in chaos, with many heroes vying for supremacy, and Alan's chicken-eating competition will decide the final winner through a brutal elimination round to rebuild the old empire.

As the emperor, the biggest vested interest group, he obviously only hopes for the former.

Perhaps the King of Kings does not expect to "save" the empire—the empire does not need anyone to save it!

In the hearts of the Alan people, their empire is like the eternal flame of Iskhanfa that never goes out, and will continue forever until the end of time.

What the King of Kings wants to do is "protect himself" and, as much as possible, lay a good foundation for him and his successors?

Regardless, the best way to strengthen authority and enhance one's prestige at home is undoubtedly through victory in a war. The Alan people are a belligerent people, otherwise where would their slaves come from? Just through trade?

The power of the former Witch King did not change their bodies like the Elf Queen, but it shaped their souls and their characters. The violence and aggressiveness of fire were deeply rooted in their blood.

They were beaten up by the Astar people because of bad luck and their opponents were indeed invincible, but it is impossible to say that they are not warlike or not good at fighting, as they were a tribe that was once expelled from the Assyrian River to the Alam Plateau and developed into a huge imperial army that continues to this day.

war.

Businessmen can make a fortune.

Soldiers can make meritorious deeds.

The nobles can obtain more slaves, land, and military merits, the priests can be satisfied and punish their "millennium enemies", and the emperor can gain prestige...

It couldn't be better.

No one would object.

And once you have this idea.

So, the first step is naturally to find one or more directions and goals to take action.

look around.

Don't think about the Golden Dynasty for now, although you can regain the country of yellow sand

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The benefits of the prosperous fertile land of power are huge, but the risks are also great. If the King of Kings loses another battle, he will probably have to ask himself if his life span is counted down.

In this case, going west is naturally not an option.

To the east, there are three directions: the upper, middle and lower steppes, the Bactrian mountains, and the Indian countries.

First, it's out of the question. It's too poor, even mages don't bother going there. Taking it over wouldn't yield much, except for slaves. Second, it's too difficult to conquer, and there's a risk of failure if you're not careful. The mixed-race descendants of the Asta and Alan people, along with the local mountain dwellers, rule the area in the form of tribes and principalities. They're hospitable, but also extremely vindictive, and will fight invaders to the death at any cost.

The last one is India. It is very rich and divided. There are dozens or hundreds of countries and city-states, large and small. But there is a powerful "Queyue Kingdom" blocking the way for the Alan people to go deep into India. The monarch of this kingdom is the direct descendant of an eight-ring wizard. There are a large number of extraordinary people left in the kingdom. If a fight breaks out, it will probably be a brutal war that can become a major event. Therefore, it is not within the scope of consideration.

After thinking about it...

north.

A guy who came out of the ravines and the novice village, who was cautious and honest, and tried to establish a "good" relationship with the big boss, fell into Iskhanfa's target selection.

From a secular perspective, the newly born "Romans" may have the cohesion and centripetal force of a new dynasty; they have an elite army that can unify the mountainous land and must have been tempered by blood and fire; they have a large reserve of talents eager to make achievements; they trade with the grasslands and the south at the same time, and their economy is developing rapidly... It is in the rising stage of its career and is a powerful kingdom with great potential.

Chapter 127: Ardabil (9)

But since they rose from a poor demon land, they certainly wouldn't have too many mages.

This is like a child walking down the street with a lollipop. If the situation is relatively orderly, it's fine. But if he happens to be found next to a bully who has recently been depleted and wants to eat something to replenish his nutrition, then...

139: The Mysterious Rome

"Come for gold, bury in gold" - Roman proverb.

Thurso—the Roman Republic, or whatever it was called—was a black hole to the outside world.

In the past, no matter how closed off this place was, no matter how backward it was and how isolated it was from the outside world, at least people outside, such as some provinces in the north of the Alan Empire close to the Serso Mountains, still had some understanding of Serso, which could be regarded as their "neighboring country" geographically.

Merchants and travelers, whether doing business or otherwise, would at least have to have some understanding of the local area, including which kingdom it was, what to look out for in each country, its specialties, wars, the internal environment...

But after the curtain called "Rule of Mages" fell, a sky curtain rose from the mountains, enveloping everything here. No matter whether they were businessmen or "tourists", they could no longer detect any information happening on the mountain.

Even those from big or small forces, such as spies from the official side of the Alan Empire and spies from local powerful forces, could not get a single clue from it. Al had defined the valuable information beyond the intelligence that they could know.

If you want to understand Rome and know what's happening in the mountains, you have to go through people as a medium.

But even if they sneaked across the city of Constantinople, avoided the sentries and cavalry, and infiltrated the interior of the Roman Republic, as long as they had the slightest contact with anyone, they would be exposed and arrested.

This resulted in the country called "Rome" appearing in the north, whose appearance and details were unknown to outsiders.

The curious Alan people who knew about this speculated that the wizards who had grandly established a kingdom in a demon-poor land were probably conducting some extremely absurd "experiments" in it, both on the social and physical levels.

But it was definitely not a good thing, so they first used strict systems and the army under their control to seal off the entire mountain range, cutting off contact with the outside world. Only the north was said to be attacking the barbarians on the grassland and capturing slaves.

This is not speculation.

Mages are also human beings. They cannot become completely extraordinary until they reach the seventh ring realm. Even the great mages of the White Pagoda have lovers, enemies, blood relatives, disciples, and so on.

Some mages devote themselves to academic research and immerse themselves in the vast ocean of books; some mages are extraordinary and pursue the mysteries of the starry sky and imagine the fun of the heavens.

These are relatively popular and "noble" hobbies.

But some extraordinary beings may be lustful, licentious, cruel, or even treat ordinary people as playthings...

This is nothing.

Compared with the number of mages, the much larger base of mortals is enough to support such an extraordinary group to do whatever they want. Moreover, such unscrupulous mages can only be considered a minority, and they are subject to triple constraints from mentors, academia, and floating cities... unless they don't care at all.

For example, among the many separatist forces of all sizes in the prosperous and fertile land of the Yellow Sand Oasis, there is a famous "Women's Army". Its founder is a five-ring wizard who majored in the school of Shaping and came from the floating city of Ionia. When he traveled through this land, he rescued a group of captive female slaves and allowed them to follow him and rely on the power of the extraordinary to protect themselves.

If you come here, this is a wizard who travels around the world and rescues innocent people.

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Just a story worthy of a bard's recitation.

But this extraordinary person suddenly had an idea and began to collect a large number of women - only women, or beautiful eunuchs. He established a "warlord army" under a pseudonym. Its entire staff, from bureaucrats and commanders to soldiers and laborers, were made up of women.

After that, he expanded with this female army. Similarly, his team only accepted women or men who had been castrated by their female relatives to satisfy the wizard's evil taste.

Everyone in the entire army is the extraordinary man's harem reserve. Whenever he is sexually interested, even on the battlefield, he will ask the female general commanding the war to give orders while he violates the woman's body in public, or gives vague military orders while letting her perform oral services for him.

He would also hold a boy who had been castrated by his mother while letting his biological mother work for him. Later, he led this army to join the Yellow Sand Kingdom's expedition against the Parthian Legion of the Alan Empire. After the battle, his subordinates suffered heavy casualties, and the wizard lost interest. Just like completing a game, he announced that the army would continue to exist, and found an oasis for the women and eunuchs to settle, and then patted his butt and left. Many of the deeds were even described by the wizard with a mentality of showing off and sharing fun when he participated in the coalition, which is why they were widely circulated.

One leaf knows autumn.

This shows how ridiculous the actions of extraordinary people can be from the perspective of ordinary people when they want to have fun.

Besides, the Roman Republic was said to have more than ten or twenty mages.

Once the border is blocked, there is no communication with the outside world. Because this is a land poor in demons, few spellcasters will take the initiative to pass through Serso, and it is basically completely isolated from the outside world.

Then you can do whatever you want without worrying about attracting outside attention.

Things like the right of first night and indulgence in wine and women are too mild.

Even if there are kingdoms of worship, kingdoms, festivals, kingdoms of men and kingdoms of women... it's not surprising.

Although judging from the situation in Constantine, if Constantine is average, then the Roman Republic does seem to be a truly well-governed country...

But who knows?

Perhaps those wizards have already poured potions into the water source on a large scale and used the civilians of the entire kingdom as experimental subjects to conduct some test.

Such rumors were indeed spread in Thurso during the rise of Aiur and in the northern province of Alan today. After all, this is also a "lesson learned" by the people of the mainland about the extraordinary people.

It is believed that there is a big conspiracy behind the sudden emergence of the Mage Kingdom, which quickly expanded to unify the entire Thurso. A group of "radical crazy mages" intend to find a place where they can conduct some crazy experiments without restraint without the attention and constraints of the White Tower order.

What is "crazy" for a mage is even worse for a mortal.

It was when Al was chatting and making up for his lessons with the wizards he had converted that he learned that a disaster similar to the "Resident Evil" had actually broken out in the world of El. In the icy and snowy Uslev Tsardom today, a wizard who studied the dead and magic potions had done a "resurrection of the dead" operation and created a monster called "night ghost" that spread in the north. These guys would track living things based on "temperature", and their bodies were hard and not afraid of ordinary swords. They were also contagious to the dead they killed or touched.

This caused panic among the people, and finally the White Tower stepped in to resolve the matter, giving Mrs. Usli, who was not yet the great empire it is today, a large sum of "compensation", which became a major factor in the rise of this country.

......

But no matter what, the mages who actually control Rome are either really "ruling" or simply treating this place as a playground or a laboratory.

A "giant" player who is absolutely, absolutely, absolutely a heavier weight than Thurso is coming to weigh up this little brother.

The demon-poor environment of Serso makes it impossible for a seventh-ring mage to stay here for a long time.

These true extraordinary people are absorbing the free magic power in the world every moment. They do not drink or eat, and try their best to accumulate enough magic power in their bodies. However, once they enter Serso, this behavior will be interrupted. They will turn to consume their own accumulated magic power and lose the constant supply of external magic power. They are also at risk of being surrounded and killed by mortals here.

A mage who has reached the sixth ring wants to pursue advancement to the extraordinary level, so naturally he cannot waste time on a poor magic land. Therefore, perhaps, just perhaps, Serso's highest combat power is that of a fifth-ring mage.

But for the Alan Empire, this is just...

140: Skinning

In a woodland in the northern part of Shirvan Province.

A group of mounted warriors in black armor brought several captives to a secret stronghold.

A young soldier wearing heavy armor with a double-headed eagle pattern engraved on his breastplate had been interrogating the first batch of prisoners for a long time.

Next to the camp where the prisoners were held, there were more than a dozen crosses driven into the ground. Some of them had people tied to them, and one was very conspicuous:

From a distance, it looked like it was covered in blood, a fiery red. Only when I got closer did I realize...

It was a skinned, "naked" person.

The eyelids of the "naked man" were also cut off, and his two bulging eyeballs were staring at the sky, unable to close. Judging from the occasional movement of his eyeballs—

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——This scene is really scary when it happens to a skinner.

He is still alive.

This scene immediately frightened many captives who were still cursing on horseback. They were thrown roughly in front of the young warrior, but no one dared to complain. Instead, they subconsciously huddled together, nervous and uneasy, carefully observing their surroundings.

Only the most senior captive was still shouting:

"Barbarians, you will regret anything you have done in this punishment except surrender to the Banner of the Lord of Hosts, the Bather of Eternal Fire!"

The warrior simply looked at him indifferently, not saying a word immediately. Instead, the captive lost his patience and continued shouting, "You want to know about the Holy Descendants? Kill me! You won't get a single word from the nobleman—Soldiers! And the lower classes! Think of your families... All the torture and humiliation we endure today will turn into the wrath of the empire, poured down upon the barbarian homeland tenfold and a hundredfold!"

He emphasized his position while threatening other captives: "Your castles will be destroyed, your men will be killed, and your women and children will be made eunuchs!"