Sharp, cold, merciless.

All the self-deception was torn apart in front of the word “coward”, and underneath was shame and embarrassment. The old president seemed to age ten years in an instant, his lips moved several times, but in the end he couldn’t say a word.

The overly young monarch had a mocking smile on his lips, and a gloomy coldness shrouded his brows and eyes. His pale fingertips tapped on the armrest, and the sound was unhurried, like a nocturnal owl staring down at the shivering mole hiding in the dark.

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“Let me guess, why did you choose to flee to Legrand now…..because the Holy Court intends to use you as sacrifices to solve the Black Death, am I right?”

The old president and Ari were silent.

“You have begged for mercy for so many years, even at the expense of betraying your best pupil, but in the end you found that in the eyes of the Holy Court, even if you wore the cross and memorized the holy book backwards, you are still heretics in their eyes. Tolerating heretics living even a second longer is their form of kindness.” The King said softly, “It is only when the lamb is about to be slaughtered that it struggles to get out of the cage.”

He sneered lowly, leaning back on the chair.

“What are your bargaining chips?” The King raised his head slightly, “Because you are very familiar with the Holy Court, because you know divination, you can spy on fate, and you can help an army win every battle. Perhaps, your biggest bargaining chip is that you know what the power of the Holy Court is? Am I right? Mr. President.”

“Yes, we know the Holy Court’s plan.”

The old president whispered.

“Tell me.” The King said coldly, “Whether you can survive depends on whether you have enough bargaining chips.”

His tone made it clear that if the astrologers did not show their worth, then he would definitely turn against them and chop off their heads immediately.

“Their plan is called…..”

The old president paused.

“Divine Blade.”

………………

There were two things that people were powerless to resist, one was the wheel of time, and the other was the power of gods.

When the two collide together, the former would crush against the latter, and the vortex would engulf and strangle everything that was as insignificant as ants.

And Bressi was deeply caught in such a whirlpool at this time.

After Ferri III was forced away, Bressi had undergone tremendous changes.

In the coronation ceremony, King Charles knelt down before the Pope and handed over the precious sphere symbolizing royal power to the Pope, symbolizing that he had fulfilled the promise of his ancestor and returned the earthly rulership bestowed by God to the supreme Holy Lord. Since then, the royal blue Bressi flag embroidered with tulips had added a new symbol——the golden cross.

The keener people realized the change of things when there was an extra cross symbol on the emblem of the royal family of Bressi.

As Ferri III said when he burned the palace, King Charles, who was crowned by the Pope, was just a weak monarch, no more than a puppet. The cross on his crown was the true master of the country.

When the carriage with the golden cross passed through the streets, people gave way one after another. The golden cross was the symbol of the Knights Templar.

As the battle swords of the Holy Court, they were the prestige of the Holy Lord and could not be touched.

In less than a month, the Templar Knights of the Holy Court entered various important towns in Bressi.

This change made Bressi’s local nobles feel uneasy

…………..

It was true that Bressi’s nobles believed in the Holy Court, but this was based on the condition that believing in the Holy Court could bring them more benefits. In the past, they were able to collude with the clergy, forcing the royal family to retreat step by step to gain more autonomy and establish their own kingdom within the kingdom.

Someone once said that Bressi’s royal family was actually an “island country on land”, which meant that with the support of the Holy Court, the lords had the same status as the monarch in his own territory.

Because of this, the nobles “piously” believed in the Holy Court.

But worshipping clay statues and truly dedicating everything to the Holy Lord were two different things. The clergy from the Holy Court took office as county lords in various places, which undoubtedly took away the power that originally belonged to the local lords.

King Charles was like a puppet, but the local nobles were unwilling to lose their interests like this. They gathered some bishops, and a wave of anger against the Pope arose in the country. They claimed that the Pope was doing this for his own ambitions, not for the Kingdom of God.

They had thought this would halt the Pope’s troubling activities.

However, they were wrong.

For more than a thousand years, the Holy Court had been like a silent and motionless chariot, capable of controlling various countries only by relying on its own prestige. Now, when the voices of opposition arose, the Pope, with his iron policy, drove the long-dormant chariot to let out its terrible rumble.

The local lords of Bressi, who were not reconciled to having their rights taken away by the church personnel, soon encountered the punitive power of the church.

That was a great army of knights, the platinum-golden banner they carried flowing like a tide. When the army of God rose from the horizon, it was as numerous as rolling dunes of sand. Shouting chapters from the holy book, the Templars trampled across the lands of the local lords in silver armor.

The war horses galloped past, crushing all obstacles in the dust, the pounding of their iron hooves shaking the sky and the earth.

Countless people witnessed with their own eyes on the battlefield, a bright cross appearing above the sun in the sky. Under the guidance of the cross in the sky, some people even saw an angel in armor appearing in front of the army on the battlefield. The angel swung his long sword and then disappeared. But the army guided by the angel was invincible, and all resistance was torn apart with little effort.

After many years, the Pope’s iron fist and the power of the Holy Court shocked the world once again.

The chronicler of Bressi called the battle in Bressi the “War of God’s Admonishment” after witnessing the phantom of an angel guiding the army forward.

Everyone knew that at this moment, the Holy Court had personally led a punitive expedition twice in history.

One was the “War of God’s Punishment” in Holy Spirit Bay a thousand years ago. That war directly destroyed the mighty Legrand and plunged the Rose royal family into endless civil strife. The second time was the current “War of God’s Admonishment” in Bressi, which directly wiped out all the voices of grievance against the Holy Court in Bressi. In the afterglow of the war, an unprecedented kingdom had revealed its embryonic form.

In this era, people believed that the outcome of wars was decided by the Holy Lord.

The Holy Court once again emphasized this point to the people with its two wars that shocked the world.

The capital of Bressi, the Cathedral of Acellia.

After the coronation of King Charles, the Pope lived here and did not return to the holy city.

The Pope, with his gray hair, stood with all the cardinals and archbishops before the statue in the nave of the Cathedral of Acellia. The cardinals accompanied the Pope, while the bishops of Bressi stood quietly below. The Pope looked up at the statue, and his figure looked a little thin under the large white robe.

“I am very happy that you have brought me good news.” The Pope opened a thick manuscript and spread it out flat, just like ordinary priests preaching the holy book to believers.

“Holy, holy, the battle of armies.”

Cardinal Cillian drew the cross on his chest. He was the person in charge of the Knights Templar, and he was the one leading the current war on the land of Bressi.

“Holy Lord bless us, His army is mighty and invincible. We have gained the true control of Bressi, Your Excellency.”

“It has not been easy to get to this point, my old friends.” The Pope sighed, looking around at the cardinals around him, “Some of us have returned to the embrace of the Holy Lord, and some have abandoned us. Today I have summoned you all to tell of a sad incident.”

“We await your teachings.”

The cardinals bowed their heads humbly, all of them were like servants in front of the Pope. Because the Pope was the closest person to God in this world.

“His name was Warwick Bligh,” said the Pope flatly. “Some of you may have heard that name. He was the most gifted of all our Blessed Ones. He was the embodiment of Saint Val on earth.”

“However, he died not long ago.”

The bishops were startled, and they all exchanged looks with each other.

Those who could stand here were aware of what the “Blessed One” stood for——every Blessed One was carefully cultivated by the Holy Court, and when necessary, they could be transformed into real angels. It was impossible for the Blessed Ones to die, because the Angels could not be killed!

But Warwick Bligh was dead.

“My friends, it’s hard to believe, isn’t it?” The Pope turned around, his eyes were extremely sharp, “The battles during these days have shaken some of you, and you’re starting to wonder if it’s really necessary to build a kingdom of God on earth. But if we can receive power from God, why can’t heretics get power from the forces of darkness?”

“The monarch of Legrand has completely fallen.”

“Darkness is reviving on the earth through the mortal kingdom of the human world. If we cannot establish the Kingdom of God, how will we save the world and fight against the darkness?”

He questioned sharply.

“It is the responsibility of all the apostles to establish the Kingdom of God.” Cardinal Cillian replied loudly, he still carried the scent of blood from the war on his body, and his eyes swept over the other people in the hall, “Only the fallen ones will be shaken by the blood of heretics.”

“Holy Lord above, He will return to the earth and bring us salvation.”

The bishops of Bressi were terrified. Cillian, who was in charge of the military affairs of the Holy Court, was the Pope’s right-hand man. He was the most loyal person in the Holy Court to the Pope. To some extent, he was also the sharpest sword in the Pope’s hands.

When the Pope succeeded his seat from the old pope, the situation was similar to now. The dialogue at that time directly triggered the unprecedented “purge of heretics campaign” that followed.

Could it be that this time, there would be a new purge?

“Peter, Kapal, Blair…..” The Pope slowly read out a few names, and the faces of those whose names were read turned pale.

The door of the hall suddenly opened, and the Knights Templar poured in, taking them down directly.

“Your Excellency! Your Excellency!” Bishop Peter whose name was read first turned pale as snow, and he struggled to say something.

But there was dead silence in the hall, and the cardinals in charge of the internal trials of the Holy Court were expressionless.

“I am regretful.”

The Pope looked with pity at Bishop Peter who was pushed to the ground.

“You have forgotten your true heart, and fallen with people like Ferri who have been excommunicated and still have no repentance. May the Holy Lord give you the final salvation.”

“God guides our way!” All the cardinals stood up, raising their arms high, “Holy crusade! Holy crusade! Holy crusade!”

“Holy Lord above.”

The Pope raised his hand and made the sign of the cross on his chest.

“We have taken back God’s rights from the Lamb of God, now, we shall truly establish His kingdom!”

1433, spring.

The winter snow from the previous year to this year was melted by the flames of war, and the melted water gathered into a blood-colored river. The storm between the Abyss Strait had gradually subsided, and the ocean currents have begun to change direction. The ship from the east coast of the Abyss Strait to Legrand would have a favorable time with smooth sailing.

In the Cathedral of Acellia in Bressi, the Divide Blade would be drawn.

………………

Hell, the castle of black stone and bone.

The Devil sat on the tower, the scepter of bone laying aside.

He drank slowly, and what he drank was a strong wine called “Night Rose”.

This was a special spirit from hell. After drinking it, it left the feeling of a path of fire burning down the throat, but the taste had a hint of bitterness, giving people the feeling of an elegant and lonely madman.

The departed souls of hell were the best brewer of this wine, because this wine used the spring water of hell, the fragments of souls. The water in the spring of the abyss was extremely cold all year round, and the water was very clear, able to freeze metal into pieces of ice. Only the departed souls could not be affected, but the wine brewed from this water was very strong.

The Devil added rose petals to it, and it looked as scarlet as blood.

For more than a thousand years, there have been times when the Devil would sit alone on the tower of the deserted Rose Palace, and pour himself a drink.

He drank this wine and waited for someone who was similar to this wine to return.

The crow, Mela, landed quietly some distance away from the Devil. Not even crows wanted to get too close to him while he was drinking.

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The Devil’s hand holding the wine goblet suddenly stopped in mid-air.

He raised his head, and his gaze seemed to be able to penetrate past the dark red sky and into the human world.

“It has begun.”

The wine goblet in the Devil’s hand suddenly disappeared. He stood up, and the wind blew his black swallowtail suit.

He left hell without hesitation.

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The moment he stepped into the Rose Palace, Ari shivered.

Before defecting from the Holy Court, he had also seen many gorgeous palaces.

The Pope’s sanctuary was full of motifs of angels and crosses, the place airy and light and brilliant. But while prostrated among the priests wearing holy robes, he only felt like an ant being observed under a magnifying glass. And in his beloved Bressi where he was born, when he was assisting the expeditionary force, he was once received by the old Bressi King. Bressi’s palace was resplendent and magnificent, the nobles walked about in splendid clothes with lace lapels and everyone kept uttering “Holy Lord above”, but when looking around at them all, he only felt sad.

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What nobleman, what king? They were but a flock of lambs bred by luxuries and hypocrisy.

But Legrand’s palace was quite different from them all.

Its lines were slender and sharp, like a knife or a sword. It was like a well-dressed knight, both noble and lonely. The Rose Palace was very quiet, so quiet that one could feel that there was always a lamenting wind passing through its corridors and domes. At the same time, it was also very cold, so cold that it seemed that the person who lived here was not the most noble person in Legrand, but a solitary night watchman.

This place was so ancient, a place where majesty and death rest upon all the magnificent reliefs.

“As expected of the heart of a dragon…..”

Ari heard the old association president beside him sigh.

“The dragon’s heart”, Ari repeated the words in his heart, suddenly shuddering.

The Master of the Households who led them stopped in front of a door decorated with rose reliefs. After getting permission, the Master of the Households pushed the door open.

Ari once again faced Legrand’s young monarch.

The King was sitting on the high-backed chair beside the desk, the hand with the rose ring on it hanging slightly on the armrest. The moment he saw the King, Ali’s pupils dilated slightly. Scarlet, black, turbulent swirls…..Ari almost wanted to raise his hand to grab at his hair.

The shattered picture flashed quickly in front of his eyes, as if he had forgotten something, only to be brought up again in his memory the moment he saw the King.

What was that? What did it symbolize?

As soon as Ari’s anomaly appeared, the King immediately picked up on it.

“Your complexion is worse than the last time I saw you, gentleman.” The King said, he looked at the old association president beside Ari, “Could it be that Bressi and the Holy Court have really fallen to this point, and can’t even feed and clothe a mere scholar?”

“Apologies, Your Majesty.”

The old association president bowed slightly, then took out a crystal pendant hanging from a silver chain from his pocket, and swung it in front of Ari twice.

Ari, who was pale as snow, took a step back, and finally broke free from those terrifying phantoms. Panting slightly, he immediately realized his impoliteness, and instantly bowed deeply to the King in apology.

“I already know the purpose of your visit.” The King said lightly.

“Thank you for your mercy in taking the time out of your busy schedule.” The old president was extraordinarily respectful, “Please give us a chance to make up for our past faults. Your Majesty.” His posture was placed very low. The King was younger than he imagined, barely an adult. But there was a kind of coldness and scrutiny that surrounded the King, which made people unable to underestimate him for his age.

Legrand was very fortunate indeed to have a true monarch like him.

“Faults?” The King smiled. “If you are referring to the Bressi expeditionary force you assisted and the assassination dream later, I don’t believe it can be counted as faults. Would I blame all the soldiers who fight for their lords?”

He was smiling and his voice was very soft and gentle as well.

Just as Ari breathed a sigh of relief, he saw the old president kneel down slowly and press his forehead to the cold ground.

“Indeed, when two countries are at war, soldiers and weapons are not the ones at fault. Our fault is betrayal.” The old president raised his head, “Back then, we betrayed Eleanor, and this is our fault.”

Betrayal, Eleanor…..Ari couldn’t understand what his mentor was saying.

The smile on the King’s face disappeared, and the chill gathered in his eyes. He said softly: “Yes, you betrayed my mother.”

The killing intent condensed in an instant.

Ari looked at the King and then at the old president, and finally knelt down.

“That was the worst choice we made.” The old president whispered, “We are sorry to Eleanor, we betrayed her trust.”

The King was expressionless.

The dark-haired queen mother sat on the black stone tower.

She flicked the arc knife with her fingers, letting the wind blow at her long hair. She hummed an old tune under her breath, the folk song of Kriya. On the night that Duke Johan became the King’s Defender, the Queen Mother Eleanor hid in the darkness, taking a distant glimpse at the Kriya bard in the crowd.

Folk songs were ancient and passed down from generation to generation.

………………

The old president would always remember the girl with black hair and green eyes.

She was his best student.

At that time, he was not the president of the “Association of Prediction and Fate”. He was just an astrologer who was unwilling to be controlled by the Holy Court but was also afraid of the Holy Court. He hid anonymously in Kriya which was surrounded by mountains. Among Legrand’s thirty-six states, Kriya was actually the youngest one. The Kriyans originally lived in the mountains. They adore art and peace. They were an ancient mountainous ethnic group in the south of Legrand.

But in such a chaotic world, peace could hardly last long.

William III ascended the throne amidst the flames of war.

At that time, the father of William III and the Duke of Buckingham, Charles the Lion was murdered, and Queen Isabel married Duke Bedell, the brother of Charles the Lion. Duke Bedell’s father was killed in a failed attempt to compete for the throne, and this had always been a thorn in his heart. After marrying Isabel, Duke Bedell immediately extended his hand to his nephew’s throne.

After the Duke of Bedell married the old queen, his power swelled. Compared with him, William III and the Duke of Buckingham were just two too young brats.

It was a civil war that swept across the land of Legrand.

The royal family concentrated all their efforts on suppressing the rebellion, and the border lords took the opportunity to conquer and occupy each other’s lands. Kriya, which was originally just a free city-state, became involved in the flames of war. The peace-loving Kriya was caught between two great lords and suffered from the flames of war.

Eleanor loved her homeland deeply.

During that time, the old president watched Eleanor perform divination again and again, wanting to know what the future of Kriya was, and why Kriya had to suffer such hardships. The old president also divined, he saw the blood and fire, saw the holy war crushing everything in its path, all the insignificant people were just dust under the torrent.

Was this their fate?

At that time he thought so. As astrologers, they evaded the deadly pursuit of the Holy Court, like blind mice being carried forward by fate, they could only follow the flow.

“Fate can also be changed.”

Eleanor said so. When the border lords led troops to plunder their lands again, Eleanor divined the route they would take. She picked up the spear and put on the armor. At first, she was alone, but gradually more and more people gathered behind her.

At that time, there was no woman more beautiful than her in Legrand.

When she charged out of the raging fire wearing armor, all the light of the world seemed to concentrate on her person. Her beauty was like the tip of a lance that had been burned by a raging fire. She was fiercely beautiful, but also beautifully mad. An astrologer, leading a band of desperate men to fight like wolves.

Finally, the border lord and Eleanor who led  a group of farmers and herdsmen faced each other across the burned valley.

In the firelight, she was the incarnation of the goddess of war.

The lord was frightened and withdrew with his army.

The crowd cheered and raised their swords high. The young dark-haired woman dismounted and laughed with them. At that time, people flocked to her like a flood, and braided thorny vines from the fire that was yet to be extinguished, weaving it into a simple crown. A very old Kriyan man placed the crown of thorns on her head.

From that moment on, Kriya had her own queen, and their queen’s name was Eleanor.

She was the queen chosen by the Kriyans themselves.

They loved her like she was their only god.

On the night of Eleanor’s coronation, the old president bid her farewell.

“My dear child, you proved to me that fate can indeed be changed.” The old president handed her a note, “Compared to you, I am a coward who can only run away. Now that you have set foot on your own battlefield, then it is time for me to set foot on my own battlefield as well.”

The teacher and his student parted ways on the ridge where the flames of war continued to burn, and agreed to meet again on the same battlefield in the future.

After leaving Legrand, the old president followed the other astrologers who went to the Holy Court, crossed the Abyss Strait, and came to the Holy Court Sanctuary.

It took him ten years to unite all unwilling astrologers to establish a second alliance under the names of “Prediction” and “Fate”.

When the association was formed, he wrote with joy for the first time to his pupil:

“…..We will wait for the day of the turning point. At that time, those who read fate will no longer be dominated by fate, we will fight against it instead. I invite you to join us.”

………………

“But you have broken your oath.”

The King said coldly.

“Yes.”

The old president said bitterly.

“It is difficult for people to always keep their oaths.”

Especially in the Holy Court, day after day, personally witnessing the power of the Holy Court which was strong enough to defeat any courage. This was enough to reduce any brave man to a slave who lived in fear, and did not think about struggling until the moment of death.

“It is difficult for people to always keep their oaths?”

The King repeated this.

He suddenly wanted to laugh.

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It was difficult for people to keep their oaths? Then, the Rose family who persisted for a thousand years, the alchemists who turned themselves into skeleton warriors…..what were they?

In this world, there were people who stuck to their oaths for decades. There were also people who were generous, but in the end it was just a moment of bravery.

“You’re nothing but a coward.”

The old president wanted to say something, but the King interrupted him coldly.

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Since March, many people have noticed a disturbing phenomenon: the gunpowder craftsmen, blacksmiths, and military engineers around them would suddenly be picked up by a carriage with the rose symbol in the early morning of a certain day, and then no longer appear in front of their eyes again.

If it weren’t for the fact that their family members could still receive a letter every two weeks, people would almost think that they had collectively offended the King and were executed at the guillotine.

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Saige’s husband was one of these military engineers who had been transferred away. After worrying at the beginning, she gradually got used to not knowing where her husband worked. In any case she could still receive letters from her husband every two weeks, and her husband’s income of one pound a month——and this was not a small sum.

One must know that her husband’s annual income was only ten pounds under normal circumstances!

This caused some wives to complain about their useless husbands: “Why did I marry such a worthless guy like you! Why couldn’t you be chosen by the King like Saige’s husband!”

So, don’t know when it started, but blacksmiths, gunpowder craftsmen and military engineers began to wait eagerly, hoping that one day, a carriage with the rose symbol would stop at their doorstep.

The overseas spies in Legrand were very puzzled:

The number of gunpowder artisans, blacksmiths, and military engineers recruited by Pureland I was enough to prepare for several wars, but what the hell, no matter how hard they tried to inquire and snoop around, they couldn’t find out where exactly Legrand’s “military heavy industry department” was located.

Over time, this had become an unsolved mystery in the eyes of Legrand’s overseas spies. Some people even privately speculated whether Legrand had reached some terrible agreement with evil supernatural forces and those people who had disappeared had actually been used as sacrifices.

And the “Legrand No. 1 Military Heavy Industry Department”, which the overseas spies tried their best to find to no avail, was officially constructed in less than two weeks.

It must be said that the undead skeletons were definitely the best construction team in the world. There were so many of them, and they didn’t need to rest nor wages, and worked day and night, resulting in the progress of the construction practically leaping by the day. Moreover, their inhuman nature——the ability to fall apart and put themselves back together again——allowed them to do many things that human workers could not.

For example: Four skulls could work together to bite the same stone slab and fly into the air, quickly building a dome…..

In just two weeks, Mr. Architect at the Lunatic Academy of Sciences found himself finally with the first satisfactory construction crew he had come across. The skeletons absolutely obeyed all his requirements, and all the buildings in the heavy industry base were neat and square. Such that after the construction of the base was completed, when the skeleton team was handed over to the chemist brothers, the architect was particularly reluctant to part with them.

The skeletons were also very reluctant to part with their “contractor” Mr. Architect.

After sleeping for so long! It was the first time someone cared about whether their bones were intact, and it was also the first time someone used iron nails to repair their damaged bones…..

The Rogers brothers fell silent after learning from Captain Skeleton, who was shaving his face with his palm bones, why they were so reluctant to part ways.

——They wondered if they should tell these straightforward Mr. Skeletons that the architect was actually obsessive-compulsive, and he didn’t really care about the upkeep of their bones, but just couldn’t stand the skeletons whose bones were incomplete or falling apart always ambling in front of his eyes…..

After the completion of the heavy industry base, the military industry officially began to operate.

After the initial period of shock, the workers gradually discovered:

Hell was really a huge treasure trove that had not been discovered and developed.

Here were mines of the oldest rocks quietly buried and left undiscovered. The only problem was that the rock formations in hell were harder than the rock formations in the world. Fortunately, it was the supernaturally strong skeletons, not humans, who were responsible for the mining. They only needed to be responsible for the exploration and design of the mining project.

A huge blast furnace was erected on the banks of the river of departed souls.

At the beginning, the blacksmiths felt that with their apprentices not having come with them together, it would be difficult to complete the heavy blacksmithing process alone. But soon, they found that they now had assistants 10,000 times better than their apprentices who lazed about all day long.

In the previous industrial base construction and ore mining, a group of skeletons looked particularly pitiful. They didn’t look like humans, but were transformed from magma lizards. Their short limbs made it difficult to perform tasks that require more dexterity. But to the blacksmiths, they were downright adorable!

“Gera! Make it hotter!”

A bare-chested blacksmith yelled, waving the hammer in his hand and beating it down again and again.

A skeleton lizard next to him raised its head halfway. Hearing his words, it opened its mouth, and a ball of fire flew into the furnace.

“Nice job!”

The blacksmith praised loudly.

The skeleton lizard he named “Gera” flicked its long, bony tail happily. If one ignored its ferocious appearance, this action was actually quite like a puppy that had received praises from its owner.

The blacksmith couldn’t help but take the time to pet its flat skull, thinking in his heart that he might as well fire his own apprentice in the human world, since the boy always acted as if all his energy had been hollowed out by the ladies of the brothel when he was only simply asked to pull the bellows.

Rumble——

The sound of an explosion came from a distance, but the blacksmith was used to it, and he just continued to swing his hammer. To the left of the Iron Casting Department was the Gunpowder Research Department, which was never quiet these days.

“Thank Captain Tom.”

The blacksmith grumbled.

Tom was the person in charge of their Iron Casting Department. Thanks to Tom and other department heads for their hard work, that group of madmen obsessed with explosives finally avoided playing with their “hobby” during their rest times at night.

As if they wanted to be woken up suddenly by the sound of an explosion while in bed at night!

In fact, the blacksmiths privately nicknamed the people in the Gunpowder Research Department “Explosive Maniacs”, and the two Rogers brothers were well-deserved as the “Head Explosive Maniacs”.

The two Rogers brothers, the deans of the Lunatic Academy of Sciences, had no problem risking killing themselves by playing with explosives in cramped spaces, not to mention that they now had such a large piece of hell at their disposal. Under the leadership of the “Head Explosive Maniacs”, the gunpowder craftsmen experimented with gunpowder of different proportions and formulas one by one, as if they were simply only setting off fireworks.

The person in charge of recording the data for them was the royal scribe selected by the King. The poor little powder-faced civil servant had gone from trembling like a leaf in the beginning, to now fluttering the quill in his hand expressionlessly.

“Group A, experimental items: effective distance, explosion strength…..”

“Group B, experimental items: different ratios, saltpeter concentration 66%…..”

“Group C, experimental items…..”

Boom, boom, boom.

Amid high or low explosion sounds, the special black stones used to test the power of explosive gunpowder on the testing ground shattered piece by piece.

On one side, Bran, who smelled of gunpowder, recorded their experimental results on paper with his ashy hands:

“…..The proportion of saltpeter in military gunpowder should be best stabilized at about 75%, in the proportion of other components sulfur should be 10%, and charcoal should be 15%. The gunpowder of this formula has a temperature of 2100 degrees when it burns, and each gram of gunpowder can produce a powerful gas in the range of two hundred to three hundred cubic meters……”

“…..Gunpowder with a low saltpeter ratio formula is suitable for mining, fireworks, etc.”

“I believe it’s better to use different powders for different firearms…..”

While the experiment was going along smoothly, a new conflict arose between the Gunpowder Research Department and the military engineers.

“I said before! The power of artillery is not limited to the power of explosion! There is also stability! Stability! The power of gunpowder is too strong for the barrel to bear, and it will explode directly. Are you going to bomb others or yourself with this artillery!” The head of the Military Design Department, a young Mr. Raul confronted Malley angrily.

“That’s something you should solve!”

Malley shot back without hesitation.

“We have solved the problem of the power of the explosives. If the cannon can’t bear its strength, that’s your problem!”

“We’ve thickened the chamber walls!”

Mr. Raul was so mad at Malley that his face was flushed and he yelled angrily.

“It turns out that the only thing you can do is to thicken the iron?” Malley sneered, and he patted his scrap papers, “With your level, you are only worthy of having a guillotine.”

Malley dropped the new gunpowder and walked away, leaving the engineers of the Military Design Department so infuriated they nearly fainted.

“They are just guys who study gunpowder! What do they know about cannons!”

A military engineer slapped the table and cursed angrily.

“What are you grumbling about! Don’t you feel ashamed enough?” Raul gritted his teeth, “Wrought iron, cast copper…..try any material and test any new ideas…..F**k, a gunpowder smelter actually came and accused us of being incompetent in our own field!”

Under the leadership of the young department head, the group of military engineers rushed out of the office with their sleeves rolled up, and flocked to the Iron Casting Department.

The blacksmiths struck iron rhythmically, determined not to participate in the competition of this group of lunatics.

The entire military heavy industry department could be described as a chaotic zoo.

Mela the crow perched on the castle, looking at this bustling scene, moved to tears.

“Idiot…..”

The Devil cast an exasperated glance at Mela who didn’t feel that anything was wrong at all, and scolded in a low voice.

He sat on the spire of the blackstone castle, holding the bone scepter, and habitually blocked the occasional prying eyes from the lords of other territories in hell.

An invisible barrier enclosed the King’s arsenal: prying eyes were forbidden here.

In fact, the Devil never thought that he would not even allow prying eyes. He had wanted nothing more than to let the other fellows in hell know that this place had recovered.

But, it was really…..alas!! Which hell lord ran a territory the way His Majesty did? Hell’s army of death and human workers calling each other brothers and sisters. If this news was spread, how could hell maintain any face?

His Majesty was really good at throwing difficult problems at him.

Thinking about this, the Devil raised the bone scepter again, and casually pointed it in one direction.

Several fearsome bolts of lightning flashed across the dark red sky and fell into a dark abyss. In the abyss, an ancient being grunted, and couldn’t help cursing that damn lunatic for having become even sicker in the head recently.

………………

While the hellish military factory was put on the right track, the Rose Palace.

After reading the letter from hell, the King rejected the military design department’s request to have him declare that the guillotine was superior to the burning rack, and at the same time acknowledged their attitude of experimenting with various new designs.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

The Master of the Households looked at the King reviewing those letters from hell, and thought sadly, it was over, from now on, Legrand would be reduced to a carnival of lunatics step by step…..

He imagined the future where Legrand was dominated by lunatics from top to bottom, and reported to the King with lingering sorrow: “The astrologers have arrived.”

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The Devil’s guess was not wrong.

The King indeed wanted to promote Legrand’s industrialization in a special way from the very beginning.

After the “Rose Crisis”, in order to consolidate the power of the throne and weaken the power of local nobles, the King once ordered his financial officials to compile the tax file of the entire Legrand. The compiled tax file was later nicknamed “Doomsday File”. At the King’s behest, it became a law that the national tax reports were regularly assembled. At that time, the King began to gradually understand the economic situation of his country step by step.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

It could be said that the current Legrand had begun to possess some germinations of a new era.

From the 11th century until the 13th century, Legrand’s political situation tended to be stable. The Rose royal family had gradually recovered from the previous losses. With the efforts of the successive monarchs, Legrand had gradually moved from being divided up by a large number of vassal states to reunification. Under the rule of a stable regime, the economy had gradually recovered.

From the mid-to-late 13th century to the 14th century, cities began to be built rapidly. Chroniclers call this period the “urban rise” period. Basic traffic arteries in Legrand appeared, and rural residents began to flow to the city center. Against the background of the rise of cities, in the southeast of Legrand, businesses that had been suppressed due to the teachings of the Holy Court gradually developed, and guilds prospered, among which the wool textile industry was the most prominent.

If there was no outbreak of the Black Death and the series of subsequent events, as well as with Legrand’s economic development proceeding on smoothly, it was not impossible for Legrand to be able to grow and prosper step by step, and finally enter a new era smoothly.

But history had no ifs.

The outbreak of the Black Death and the Holy Court’s plan to establish the Kingdom of God interrupted this gradual development.

Since history had deflected due to the existence of otherworldly power, the same method could be used to make it take another path that was more dangerous and had greater possibilities.

At first, the King wanted to start with the alchemists.

The Duke of Buckingham told him in his letter that in the Rose Palace, there were actually a batch of notes left by the alchemists of the legendary era. They left the knowledge they had learned to the later generations, but the former Legrand royal family had no spare power on the one hand, and on the other hand, they were wary of the Holy Court and were unwilling to expose their cards too early, thus they had not employed its uses on a large scale.

The King had the scientists from the Royal Academy of Sciences and the Lunatic Academy of Sciences study the notes left by the alchemists, which were indeed of great help to them.

But just like what the Devil said, if Legrand wanted to rely on Legrand’s own power to further combine alchemy and science to promote industrialization, the time required was too long for the current situation they were in.

They needed additional, preternatural powers to accomplish this miracle.

The only partner-in-crime was only hell.

The alchemists of the legendary era were right in their evaluation of the Rose family.

These dragon slayers had always been unscrupulous schemers. So long as the goal could be achieved, who cared if they joined forces with hell? However, if the opportunity came up, they would also not hesitate to turn against hell. To some extent, what the Devil once said was true.

The King, the Duke of Buckingham, William III…..All members of the Rose family were more suited to hell which was full of chaos and conspiracy than the kingdom of God which people commonly saw as full of justice and light.

In the Rose Palace, the King opened his eyes.

The black mist in the bedroom had receded, and the room was silent. The King got up and walked to the glass window, the pale moonlight showering on him. He raised his hand a little tiredly to massage the center of his brow.

——For the final victory, there was nothing that could not be used as a pawn.

After pondering for a while, the King returned to the desk and began to write a new order.

He needed some engineers with enough experience. Thanks to the Northland rebellion some time ago, the military engineers of the army have not had time to return to their homes yet, and now he only needed to select some good enough talents from among them. Besides that, he needed more blacksmiths, carpenters, chemists, gunpowderers, etc…..

Legrand’s best two chemists were in the King’s Lunatic Academy of Science, but two chemists couldn’t be expected to complete such a huge project on their own, could they?

Following the “Legrand First Pathological Research Department”, the second branch of the Lunatic Academy of Sciences was finally tp be established.

The King paused, and filled in the letter of appointment:

Legrand First Military Heavy Industry Department.

——Yes, industrialization promoted in this special way was undoubtedly a deformed sector produced by special means in a special period. It was born in the flames of war, and its ultimate purpose was to serve the war effort.

After signing his name, the King paused suddenly when he finished writing.

The moonlight poured into the room like frost, and a bright red rose was quietly placed on the King’s table under the combined illumination of the candlelight and the moonlight. Worn on the dark green rose branch, a bone ring——almost exactly the same as the one one the King’s finger.

Just almost.

The King picked up the bone ring, turned it slightly, and saw the words engraved on the inside of the bone ring clearly:

“Pride and Uncertain Judgment”.

This was what the Devil brought to the King, a true gift from hell.

……………………

Perhaps, chroniclers should remember these two names:

Bran Rogers and Malley Rogers.

They were a pair of brothers.

In fact, the Rogers brothers were from an alright family background, and they had also received a good education.

Originally, they were supposed to become knights and possess a smooth future, becoming two respected…..lower nobles. But poor old Sir Rogers, one day when his castle tower was almost burned down, discovered that his good sons had gone astray someway along the way.

——They didn’t like exquisite armor, nor did they like sharp long swords, but indulged in a pile of bottles and jars, and hung out with pyrotechnic craftsmen all day long.

This really broke the heart of old Sir Rogers. Unfortunately, even though he tried his best, he couldn’t pull his sons back onto the right path. In the end, he could only send them to the seminary, hoping that the almighty Holy Lord would be able to influence them for the better with His mercy.

But the facts have proved that the Holy Lord failed to save this pair of lost lambs.

The dean of the seminary drove them out of the gate of the seminary in an almost heartbroken manner: Oh, Holy Lord! Why did the peaceful Trinity Seminary produce such lunatics?!

If this trajectory continued, the two Rogers brothers were destined to become what people called “scum”——they wasted away the family property left by the old Sir Roger for nonsensical things like black powder, did not engage in proper business, did not believe in the Holy Lord, and were even arrested for causing a fire hazard and thrown into prison.

The turning point in the fate of the two brothers came on the day the King entered the gloomy prison.

So, the next moment they had changed from the despised “scum” to the deans of the Lunatic Academy of Sciences with a high status. Since then, they have received the King’s full support and were able to continue the various experiments that they were once unable to complete due to limited conditions. Originally, they thought that this was the biggest turning point of their destiny.

However, their honorable Majesty told them with his actual actions:

No, that’s not quite it.

“Caw, caw.”

A crow flew over the Rogers brothers’ heads, screeching harshly.

The wind full of sulfurous and choking scent blew on their faces while Bran and Malley with a group of excellent gunpowder workers gathered from all over Legrand who were now the Rogers brothers’ assistants stood on the black ground for the first time. In front of them was a huge, half-built base.

Oh, Holy Lord! What did they see!

Under the dark red sky, on the black rocks, the skeletons waved their iron tools to knock down the stones, and then another group of skeletons moved around transporting the rocks with enthusiasm. At a speed impossible for humans, they quickly built neat and tidy buildings one after another.

Having arrived one step ahead of them was the architect Mr. OCD Germophobe from the Lunatic Academy of Science. He was standing on a big rock, directing these moving skeletons at the top of his lungs.

All those who had received the letter of commission from the King finally accepted a chilling fact:

What the Master of the Households said when he picked them up was not a mistake on their part——the “Legrand No. 1 Military Heavy Industry Department” on the letter of appointment was really located in hell.

Literally hell, and not figuratively.

“Oh my god…..”

The Rogers brothers were quite calm, but the other people behind them couldn’t help but let out moans of exclamation——now they understood why they were personally escorted by the royal knights after receiving the letter of appointment to the meeting place.

That was not “escorting”, that was preventing them from escaping halfway.

Now, their person was already in hell, and they had nowhere to escape even if they wanted to.

The King’s handwritten commission gave them no option for retreat.

Bran bowed his head and opened the letter that the Master of the Households gave him. The Master of the Households told him to open it only when he arrived at the place. After reading it, Bran gave the letter to his brother.

He turned his head and looked at the others.

“See that pile of rocks over there?”

Bran pointed to an area of black rocks, and said to the assistants who were still shocked at where they were.

The assistants nodded.

“Very good.” Bran nodded slightly, “Gentlemen, if we can’t develop a gunpowder that meets His Majesty’s requirements with such abundant resources and excellent conditions, then…..the neat pile of black stones you see now will be our guillotine.”

After reading the letter, Malley further added: “Mr. Skeleton has already kindly helped us write our names on each stone. If you are interested, you can also find out which stone belongs to you. “

The captain of the skeleton team, whose shoulder blades were nailed with iron nails, came over at this time. It was in charge of greeting the gunpowder research team.

In order to prove what Malley said, Captain Skeleton nodded again and again, and he showed a friendly smile to his “brothers-in-arms”——but, for the sake of hell, don’t tell the skeleton that when it moved its jaw into a smile just how creepy it actually was.

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Clack, clack, clack.

The bones of the skeleton army moved and collided, playing a rhythmic tune.

In this “friendly” and “joyful” first meeting, the King’s Legrand No. 1 Military Heavy Industry Department officially began construction.

What joy!

AN: Tyrant: The first friendly meeting between the human world and hell went smoothly.

Skeletons: ? ? ?

Gunpowder workers: ? ? ?

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“Would you like to inspect your territory?”

After the Devil straightened up, there was a scarlet cloak on his arm. While he spoke, the nightmare carriage had come out of the black mist.

Just as the Devil was about to stretch out his hand to make an invitation, the nightmares let out pleased low cries, and ran to the King with brisk steps, making a “clack, clack, clack” sound.

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In the last trip to hell, they played no small role in the hunting plan of the King and the Devil. If the nightmares hadn’t led the King through the rain of brimstone and fire so brilliantly and cleverly, and sent the King to the Devil, the final victory would have been difficult to determine.

The nightmares bowed their heads in front of the King, offered their horn to the King, and stole the chance of extending an invitation to the King from the Devil.

Their horns were a little cool to the touch.

The King’s expression softened slightly, and he stood up, acquiescing to the Devil’s proposal. The skulls on the carriage made a cheerful “chattering” sound, and the Devil secretly cursed these top-notch bootlickers in his heart, shook off the scarlet cloak, and put it on the King.

“I am glad of your allowance. My dear Majesty.”

The Devil helped the King into the carriage, and said with a smile.

The black mist surged, and the carriage drove into the dark world.

While the nightmare carriage disappeared into the darkness, Eleanor stood in front of the tower window, looking in the direction of the King’s bedroom.

“You know His Majesty has made contact with hell? You actually don’t object?”

Charles asked in a low voice.

“Why should I object?” Queen Eleanor’s voice was a little cold, “there is no difference between the mortal world and hell, if there is any place that can bring some help to my child and make him happy, so what if it’s hell?”

She paused.

“Sometimes, dark creatures that are rejected by people are much simpler than humans themselves.”

Charles was silent.

He knew that William III and the Duke of Buckingham had made a lot of sacrifices for the sake of the country and the future. In Eleanor’s heart, she still couldn’t accept that her child had such a painful past, right? For the sake of victory, sacrificing so much happiness from the child, for a mother, it was still a difficult thing to accept.

In the night, a black crow flapped its wings and flew over.

The crow landed in front of Queen Eleanor, bringing the letter from the astrologers.

After the first imperial conference of glory, the King’s Black Wings did not disband, but became the Local Civil Response Committee——in fact, they were the King’s intelligence service. During the time when the King left the Rose Palace and went north to suppress the rebellion, this organization was temporarily handed over to General Johan.

After officially becoming “The Defender” and inheriting his father’s title, General Johan had more responsibilities to deal with.

So the King selected a highly talented commissioner from among the Black Wings to serve as Chairman of the Local Civil Response Committee——privately known as Crowhead. And in the Rose Palace, after General Johan, the person who took over the Black Wings became the Queen Mother Eleanor. She had more outstanding talents than General Johan in this regard.

“They have landed.”

Queen Eleanor whispered.

“Hopefully they will know what is the smart thing to do.”

A cold light flashed in Eleanor’s eyes.

Charles knew her character all too well…..he hoped those astrologers didn’t have any other motives, or they might face the sword of the warrior queen.

From the moment the astrologers set foot on the land of Legrand, their every move would be under the watchful eyes of the Legrand royal family.

The King’s “Black Wings” had begun to show its ability to monitor Legrand.

Here, nothing could be hidden from the King.

……………………

Hell.

As soon as he walked out of the gates of hell, the King heard a strange melody, which was completely different from all the music he had heard before. From the notes to the rhythm, there was an absurdity and evilness that did not exist in the world, like countless bones colliding with each other——indeed, countless bones were in fact playing music together.

The carriage stopped on a lake of sulfurous fire, and in front of the King, countless skeletons stood neatly lined, like a huge army waiting for inspection.

But the army of undead that seemed to be able to sweep the entire world was holding no swords or spears.

The skeletons at the front held some antique musical instruments, and their dexterous bony fingers pressed and pulled the organ and strings. Behind them, some complete skeletons beat their shoulder blades with their metacarpal bones to make strange sounds, and the less complete ones used their skulls as drums for their comrades to strike…..

The King didn’t know what to say for a while.

Compared with the hell he had seen a few times before, the dead silence of this piece of hell was gone, and it could be said to be full of vitality now.

——And a little too much vitality.

The Devil stretched out his hand and led the King down from the carriage.

At the moment of the King’s arrival, the skeleton symphony performed more and more passionately like soldiers who finally waited for the arrival of their inspector. Beside them, lakes of sulfurous fire turned into gorgeous fountains. Golden sulfur erupted from within, like dazzling trees of fire, and even changed their height along with the melody.

They worked together to play a grand hymn.

The melody was magnificent, as if the soldiers who had been sleeping for many centuries were able to serve their lord again.

“What is this? Hell’s symphony orchestra?”

The King looked at the skeletons who were working hard, and asked with a smile. Everything in front of him was absurd and weird, but it could also be called strange and beautiful.

“Your very own hellish symphony orchestra.”

The Devil corrected.

His Majesty was born a king, and the people would always want him to be brave enough, wise enough, strong enough, invincible enough. But who wanted His Majesty to be happy enough? But a king, who possessed power and glory, should he not be surrounded by joy as well?

“Then why didn’t I know before that hell is so good at welcoming?”

The King asked back.

“Well, you know.” The Devil said briskly with a smile, “Seducing people to fall is our specialty in hell, so how about it? My dear Majesty, do you now feel that hell is more of a blissful existence than the mortal world?”

He flourished his hand like a conductor.

The skeletons played the last high note, and they bowed neatly before the King——if this was a human army, the scene should be very grand and spectacular. But they were only skeletons, so it appeared a bit ridiculous.

There was a sound of flapping wings, and a crow landed on a stone beside the King.

“Hi, Mela.”

The King still remembered the crow’s name.

Mela was jumping on the boulder, flapping inky wings in an imitation of human beings saluting their king. Before the King could be amused by it, the Devil bent down and grabbed its wings, lifted it up and threw it behind him: “Please don’t pay attention to this fool’s faux pas.”

“Alright, enough.” The King put away his smile, “St. Val’s blood brought this place back to life?”

“You are so cold and heartless. I originally thought the current atmosphere could be called romantic? My dear Majesty.” The Devil protested.

“Hellish romance?”

“Of course. Well…..” The Devil bowed to the King, raised his hand and tapped his left chest like a knight saluting, “Actually, we are here to swear allegiance to you.”

When the Devil bowed, the skeletons all knelt down on one knee in unison.

“You have executed a lackey of the Holy Court, and the war between you and the Holy Court has just begun.” The Devil chuckled softly, “However, if you think about it, you also know that it is difficult for Legrand to stop Bressi from becoming the Kingdom of God on Earth. The time you have is so short, what do you plan to use to give Legrand the power to fight against the Holy Court in the shortest possible time?”

“The alchemists? They left too little.”

“The astrologers? You see, Your Majesty, you can’t even trust me, let alone those guys who used to work for the Holy Court?”

“Your mad scientists? If you and them are given enough time, I believe that you can indeed accomplish an unprecedented great revolution…..But the Holy Court will not give you so much time.”

……

The Devil knelt down on one knee, and he looked up at the King: “So, now is the time for hell to serve you.”

Behind him, the skeleton army was silent, and even Mela stopped flapping its wings.

“What do you want?” The King looked into the Devil’s eyes, and he asked slowly.

“Enough blood, from angels, from gods, from the Holy Court…..anything is fine.” The Devil laughed and stretched out his hand. “You see, we have a common enemy. We are on the same front, aren’t we?”

“That’s not necessarily the case.”

The King answered, but also reached out his hand.

The Devil kissed the back of the King’s hand.

Mela flapped its wings, and the skeletons played the cheerful melody again.

More than a thousand years have passed, and the Devil once again led his army to fight for his King.

………………

As the Devil said, hell had a knack for how to seduce people to fall. After the majestic symphony, the skeletons set up a huge stage and performed a wonderful play for the King. The actors included but were not limited to skeletons, demons, ghosts, and the remains of strange creatures.

These plays that the creatures of hell have arranged for the King were enough to become classics in the world in terms of artistic level alone.

The departed soul of an opera singer sang loudly on the stage. It wore a complicated classical costume from hundreds of years ago and uttered elegant lyrics. Behind it, the skeleton warriors rode war horses, fighting fiercely together as sung in the lyrics. The defeated skeleton was quickly broken into a pile of bones and thrown high from the stage.

The bones were quickly put back together under the stage, though.

“Can the current hell allow ordinary people to enter?”

The King asked suddenly.

The Devil stood behind the King, who was also enjoying the opera on the stage. Hearing the King’s question, he gave an affirmative answer: “If there are not too many people.”

“I see.”

The King’s eyes swept across the lake of fire and brimstone.

“Why do I suddenly feel that you have long planned to have hell work for you? Is that the case, my dear Majesty?” The Devil asked perceptively.

“It shouldn’t take too long for skeletons who don’t need to rest to build a factory, am I correct?”

The King confirmed the Devil’s guess with a question.

“…..Are you planning to build a hellish military factory?”

The Devil looked at the King speechlessly.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

For a moment, the Devil, who was famous for his eloquent tongue, couldn’t find any words to describe his feelings right then…..

What the hell, shouldn’t a normal monarch be more interested in the power and immortality of the skeleton army?! How was it that when it came to His Majesty, they were only relegated to construction workers who didn’t need wages or rest?

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Astrologer?

The King immediately thought of the young astrologer he had met when he went to Moon River Fortress. It was not the first time that the King had dealt with astrologers. General Johan’s fiasco was related to the participation of astrologers, and the assassination of the King himself before the outbreak of the Black Death also had the hand of astrologers.

Clark began to explain the King.

When he was still in the “art capital” not far from the Holy Court, he met some astrologers.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

The Holy See “protected” the astrologers on the surface, allowing them to live in the cities around the holy city and granting them limited freedom. Clark’s rejection of the Holy Court was also partly out of sympathy for his friends who were in a state of semi-imprisonment.

Back then, Clark was just an ordinary painter with neither force nor power. After offending the Holy Court, he was able to escape successfully thanks to the help of these astrologer friends. They sent him a warning in advance, and later helped him divine a safe escape route.

Before receiving the letter from them, Clark thought that his poor friends might have died in the imprisonment of the Holy Court a few years ago.

It was clear that Clark wanted to help the astrologers who had saved him.

However, it was difficult to make a reliable guarantee for a group of astrologers from the Holy Court just based on his weak words. The astrologers also took this into consideration, so they really just wanted to ask Clark to deliver a letter to the King for them and say a few nice words.

The King and Charles exchanged a look.

After handing over the letter nervously, Clark withdrew.

What happened next was not up to him.

The letter from the astrologers reflected their solemnity. The envelope and letter was extraordinarily fine and exquisite, with dark patterns of star trails, and the seal of the “Association of Prediction and Fate” was stamped squarely on it. Clark was just a painter and couldn’t read the meaning of the words, but in the eyes of the King and Charles, it already possessed another message:

This group of astrologers who escaped from the Holy Court——assuming they really escaped——did not have an ordinary status.

“Your Majesty?”

Charles spoke in a questioning tone.

“Association of Prediction and Fate…..” The King picked up the letter, looked at the seal on it, and frowned slightly.

“That’s the second organization of astrologers.”

A voice sounded, and the Queen Mother Eleanor pushed open the secret door of the study and walked in. On the surface, the Queen Mother Eleanor died more than ten years ago, and she was not suitable to appear directly in front of people, so the King specially set up hidden secret doors for his mother in some places of the castle.

She seemed no stranger to the role of astrologer.

Meeting the King’s questioning gaze, Eleanor chuckled in a low voice. She took off a cat’s-eye gemstone ring she was wearing on her hand, and turned it over to let the King see the runes on the back of the gemstone.

——It was the same symbol as the badge of the “Association of Prediction and Fate”.

“You were one of them?”

The King asked, he was not surprised that his mother also possessed the identity of an astrologer.

The letter left by the Duke of Buckingham explained that Queen Eleanor went crazy because she used a secret method to see the outcome of William III’s gamble. At that time, the King guessed that his mother might also be an astrologer.

“Yes, child,” replied Eleanor, “I was one of them.”

“Once?” The King picked up on the key information.

“A not very interesting story.” The Queen Mother Eleanor said lightly, “However, at least before I left, there were still some of them who could be trusted. But…..I suspect that some of them turned their backs against their oath.”

Speaking of this, a terrible storm seemed to gather in Queen Eleanor’s green eyes.

“Perhaps you would like to introduce us to the ‘Association of Prediction and Fate’?” The King gently diverted his mother’s attention.

Eleanor sat down, turned the ring on her hand, and said slowly: “Not all astrologers were willing to be enslaved by the Holy Court. Therefore, except for the Astrologer Association supervised by the Holy Court, the unwilling astrologers formed a second alliance. Under the name of ‘Prediction’ and ‘Fate.’ The main goal was——”

“To wait for the day of the turning point.”

………………

On the sea at a distance from the port of Koszoya.

A ship with sails painted with star trails was blown by the tide, causing the hull to undulate slightly. On the ship, a young man leaned on the railing and looked at the distant sea. He looked very tired. For two consecutive weeks, all they saw was the sea. At this time, they were finally not far from the land.

But as the ship approached Legrand, the young astrologer became more and more anxious.

He once met Legrand’s King outside Moon River Fortress. That meeting had left a deep impression on him. Before that, when he was divining fate, he once saw a scorching sun rising from the abyss, shining on the earth in an irresistible power. At that time, he didn’t know whether the scorching sun belonged to Bressi or Legrand, and he even specially alerted General Karl.

At that time, General Karl decided that the scorching sun must belong to Bressi.

Of course he also hoped that the scorching sun belonged to Bressi.

However, as the situation changed, General Karl, who firmly believed that Bressi would conquer the earth, followed the deposed Ferri III and retreated to the ice and snow in the extreme north. Under the leadership of the new King Charles, the great Bressi Kingdom presented its crown to the Holy Court.

The scorching sun predicted didn’t favor Bressi.

There was a cough from behind.

“Ari.” An old voice sounded.

The young astrologer hurriedly turned around: “Mr. President, why did you come out?”

The president of the Association of Prediction and Fate, Mr. Meade had a wrinkled face, hunched back, and leaned on a birch cane. He looked as if he was nearly a hundred years old. But in fact, he was less than sixty years old. Every time he saw the old and tottering appearance of the president, Ali couldn’t help feeling sorrowful in his heart.

In name, they were guests protected by the Holy Court, but in fact, their situation in the Holy Court was not much better than that of serfs.

“I came out to take a look.” The president sighed, leaning on the railing, looking in the direction of Koszoya City. Legrand’s royal navy patrolled so closely that they didn’t even dare get too close to the coast.

“Mr. President…..” Ari hesitated, “King Legrand, will he really accept us?”

Ari was the student of the president and knew some details that others on the ship do not know. Before setting off for Legrand, the president announced to the others that he saw the hope of the astrologers in Legrand, so everyone worked together and escaped from the Holy Court at a considerable cost.

But in fact, the results obtained by the president’s divination were very vague.

It only vaguely pointed out that the fate of the astrologers was in Legrand, but this fate may be a good turning point, or it may mean that they would eventually die in Legrand. Both were possible.

However, hope was needed to allow everyone to survive the hardships along the way.

But to be honest, he was very worried.

After hearing that Legrand had stopped the spread of the Black Death with the “monarch’s touch”, as an astrologer who also belonged to the mystical arts, Ari immediately understood that the young king must have received some help from non-human forces. This meant that the monarch probably also knew what good deeds astrologers like them did in the war.

That one did not seem like a tolerant and benevolent monarch.

They defected this time out of survival, but it might possibly only send them to a dead end.

“I have no idea.”

The president shook his head.

“However, this is where the day of turning point lies.” When Ari was feeling disappointed again, the president said, “The king of the world will be born here.”

“The Holy Court has been studying the prophecy of the king of the world for so many years.” Ari hesitated, but still raised the question that he had hidden in his heart for a long time, “They think the king of the world refers to the supreme Holy Lord, who will descend in person. Mr. President, the rules of astrologers are to observe the changes in history, and to obey fate to obtain blessings. I am a little worried, whether the interpretation of the Holy Court is truly correct.”

This suspicion had been in his heart for a long time, and it had always made him feel afraid.

If the “king of the world” in the prophecy was really the God of the Holy Court, then everything they have done was tantamount to a dead end.

“Where does your confidence come from?”

“Legrand is the place where the dragon is buried. ‘The red dragon has seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns on its seven heads. Its tail dragged a third of the stars in the sky and fell to the ground’. These were the words left behind by the Revelation, the legendary red dragon inhabited Legrand and was finally buried here. And the seven crowns of the red dragon eventually fell into the hands of the founder of Legrand, the Rose family.” The president gave an astonishing answer.

“If the prophesied ‘king of the world’ finally appears, I think it will not be the Holy Court, but Legrand.”

“The crowns, the dragon’s bones, the power and authority, the king of the world…..”

There was a gleam in the president’s eyes.

“Fate is on our side!”

A sharp bird cry echoed across the sky.

Under the gray sky, a goshawk circled with its wings outstretched. It suddenly retracted its wings and swooped down like an arrow. Ari stretched out his hand, and the goshawk landed firmly on his arm, stretching out a leg tied with a secret letter.

The president unfurled the letter.

As soon as it was unfolded, a shocked expression appeared on the president’s face.

“What’s the matter?” Ari immediately asked, “Did King Legrand reject us?”

“No.”

The president answered slowly.

He stared fixedly at a pattern at the end of the letter. Ari took a closer look and recognized that pattern at a glance as the symbol of their “Association of Prediction and Fate”. And under the symbol, there was a name:

Eleanor.

………………

Rose Palace.

While waiting for the secret arrival of the astrologers, the King’s bedroom was suddenly overrun by black mist. He raised his eyes in no surprise.

“Good day, my dear Majesty.”

The Devil saluted the King with a smile. After that time St. Val died in hell, he had disappeared for a while. The King guessed that the Devil also had his own purpose in that hunt.

In a way, they worked well together——in the villains colluding together kind.

“What are you doing here?”

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

The King closed the book and asked.

“Can’t I simply care about Your Majesty?” The Devil complained, “Isn’t my image too biased in your eyes?”

The King looked at him without saying a word.

“Okay, okay, just one little thing.”

The Devil immediately changed his tune and stopped joking.

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