Kingdom's Bloodline, page 623
“What are these?”
Thales frowned. He subconsciously reached out and wanted to open up the ‘book’ made of metal.
*Smack!*
“Do not touch it!”
Thales felt pain at the back of his hand. In his shock, he quickly pulled his palm back. He noticed that the person who smacked his hand was actually the little nun called Niah.
Niah extended her arm, just like how she used to all the time. Thales could slightly see the ferocious face hidden underneath the veil.
It looked like she had executed the move countless times to warn people who wanted to touch the metallic book.
In the next second, however, when the young little nun realized who she had smacked, she was instantly taken over by panic.
“I…”
Niah lowered her head as she muttered, “Sor-Sorry…”
Thales could only smile awkwardly. What else was he supposed to do? Let Doyle come in and drag her out, then behead her? He sulkily withdrew his left hand, which had been acting out of bounds.
But Melgen helped him handle the situation soon after.
“This is the metallic nameplate discovered in King Anzac’s tomb.”
“King Anzac?”
Thales’ eyes moved a little.
“Hold on for a second, I’ve read about this name somewhere…”
Thales started to utilize that small head of his as he recalled the time he spent in the study room in Dragon Clouds City.
Yet, Melgen did not give him the chance to show off his memory and his knowledge as she immediately interrupted him. “He was one of humankind’s kings during the era of multiple kings. He was a royal in-law of the ancient chauvinistic countries.
“When the final defense line crumbled, the Iron Blood King died in battle, Northland fell to enemy power, and the ancient chauvinistic countries vanished. Meanwhile, during the era where the Ancient Orcs marched south en masse, it was King Anzac who called the people to arms with loud cries. He overrode all objections, united the kings of men who were fleeing toward the south, formed the conference of the allies, defended their forts, and waited for the opportunity to strike…”
Thales hummed at the perfect moment. He remembered the founder of the multiple kings’ conference and the icon of the era of multiple kings. But when he looked at the metallic nameplate on the table, his expression became a little strange.
“King Anzac…
“Did you… raid his tomb?”
Priestess Melgen’s expression froze soon after that. “Not us.”
She sounded a little displeased.
Thales coughed as he continued to speak sulkily, “Of course not.”
‘All of you are just… good, naive, and innocent buyers and collectors, right?’
“And this…” Thales turned his attention toward the sheets of metallic nameplates. He watched Niah turn the pages like she was used to doing it. A few scenes appeared briefly on the pages.
Walls crumbled. Outposts were blown to bits. Countless men were beheaded and slaughtered.
Gigantic shadows approached in a flickering manner. They carried human heads and weapons while they approached a group of soldiers who had nowhere else to run.
The king on the cover sat beside a round table. He waved his arms while giving a vehement speech.
“Long ago, before papers and printing machines even existed, human beings recorded all important events and histories on special sheets forged from special alloy in order to not forget these events.”
Melgen remained seated in the same spot as she continued to speak softly, “According to my knowledge, that tradition is still being kept, including some of the places in Northland.”
Thales remembered.
When he was still back at Northland, it was rumored that the White Blade Guards’s ‘Legend of the White Blade Guards’ was written in that form. However, Thales never understood it. It had been over centuries since the White Blade Guards’ establishment, so the records of the White Blade Guards must be over tonnes. Could that dead face lift it with his thin arms and legs?
In the distance, Gilbert, who was shocked, wanted to come forth without losing his elegance. He could only crane his neck and look while he remained in his seat. Thales could see his shock for seeing the metallic nameplate from his eyes.
“At the beginning of all beginnings, before the world had been fully explored, while beliefs were still fragmented, when human beings remained small and insignificant…”
Melgen spoke in a calm and slow pace. Nun Niah cooperated with her as she turned the pages.
The crowned kings on the page of the book were tiny. They stood back to back among a group of gigantic shadows.
“That time, those who surrounded humans were powerful, foreign species. They were bloodthirsty orcs who admired their ancestors and marched south to expand their territory, the elven countries who believed in nature and who reigned supreme, and the dwarven kings who worshiped metal and fire, and who were ambitious.
“There were even great dragons and disastrous beasts…”
Thales suddenly moved. “Urk… what?”
Melgen had to stop again. She sighed and said, “They found evidence in some archaeology expedition showing that, long before the pictures and words of mankind existed, our world was dominated by many gigantic beasts.
“Their size cannot be imagined.
“The great dragons were their leaders.
“They went across the skies and lands freely and without hesitation. They ruled over the mountains and the seas, had the entire world as their hunting ground, using living beings as their slaves, and took everything from small, insignificant living beings to show off their boundless might.”
It was only then that Thales understood.
Niah turned to another page.
A man with a crown on his head stood at the forefront of the city. Many shadows of men stood right beside him, armed with weapons. Some of them wore long robes, some of them held staffs…
“And among the human beings was a group of advisors. They made plans and strove hard to fight for a chance for humankind to catch their breaths based on their experience and wisdom. They did their best to work in the tents of the tribes, in the palaces of the nobles, and in the high towers of the cities.
“They are the same as Duke Caso by the side.”
In the distance, Gilbert’s face turned a little darker.
“At that time, the treacherous environment had practically forced human beings, who had the lowest status and the weakest strength, to the brink of destruction.”
Niah turned to another page.
The carvings on this page hooked Thales’ attention.
A blurry shadow appeared in the picture of the sun in the vast sky. That shadow looked down from the sky and reached out to the king and his warriors.
“Then, the gods looked down, and they decided to show compassion to the weak.”
Melgen’s words sounded more and more profound.
“Prophets and messengers of gods were born into the world one after another. They pointed out the paths for the future for humans and spread the beliefs toward the gods.
“And part of the people I speak of accepted the gods and their beliefs, and they were very sincere and modest.”
Melgen raised her head.
“The others were doubtful. They even regarded it in disdain, and they even objected to it.”
Thales shuddered. He then saw Niah turn to the next page.
Under the sun, the man wearing a crown stood in the middle. There were a few groups of men standing at his sides. The two groups of men at the end of each left side and right side were the most eye-catching. The men on the right side were bowing in respect to him, and they looked respectful and modest. Meanwhile, the people on the left side stood with their backs facing him, and they had different movements.
Thales’ expression started to turn solemn as he looked at two completely different people on either side of the king.
Melgen continued to talk.
“The people on the right built temples, took their place among the people, and educated the people.
“The people on the left gathered together, formed their own group, and found other paths.”
Melgen suddenly changed her tone.
“And these are beliefs and magic, priests and wizards, temple churches and magic towers that appeared later. This is the beginning of the division.”
Thales, who managed to think things through, could not help but to speak, “What?’
He looked at Melgen. Melgen only smiled slightly.
“Now, do you know why only theology lessons will mention the mysterious magic which had disappeared in the past?”
Thales found it a little difficult to believe.
The old priestess became serious as she said seriously, “Belief and magic come from the one same source. The two are dependent on each other, and are both utterly important to each other.”
Thales stared at Priestess Melgen in a daze. He had countless thoughts rampaging in his mind.
Melgen did not stop talking. She seemed to possess the momentum of a tall and imposing mountain. Even Gilbert could not help but sit up straight in a proper and strict manner.
“They were initially brothers. They both received visions from the gods.”
Melgen slowly sighed.
“However, the eldest son was loyal, and the youngest was rebellious.”
Melgen’s words sounded respectful in a very vague manner.
“But they worked hard for a common goal before this: the survival and growth of human beings.”
Thales listened to her words in shock and bafflement. ‘This is yet another perspective on the matter.
‘Beliefs and magic, religions and wizards are the same source, you say?’
“The eldest son of the gods molded the spirit of humankind. They brought to them the beliefs to protection and salvation, causing humans to abandon their weaknesses, disperse their fears, left behind tenacity, and created bravery.
“The youngest son of the gods brought powerful weaponry to humankind, allowing them to handle their battles with ease in the victories that were yet to come.”
As Niah turned the pages around, multiple scenarios on the metal nameplates were projected into Thales’ eyes.
Fleeing. Feasts. Mobilization. Marriage. Celebration. War. Funeral.
And so on.
But the two groups would show up occasionally.
The people who bowed would always sing out loud at the ceremonies and banquets. The people who turned away would always show themselves on the battlefields and the forefront of the cities.
Thales looked at the carvings which seemed simple and yet carried deep meanings, and he furrowed his eyebrows.
“Both sides collaborated with each other without a word, and when they worked together simultaneously, humankind gradually rose to power, and they began to strike back.”
Melgen slowed down in talking.
The old priestess took a deep breath in, and she felt overwhelmed with mixed emotions.
“Finally, on Quiquer Iceland, in the battle of the world where both sides brought everything out of their sleeves and bet on their futures…
“King Anzac and the remaining six other kings of the human race charged into the tens of thousands of heavy infantry orcs together with their three thousand cavalry units, who had the sincerest beliefs and who faced death with a smile.”
Thales was instantly stunned!
This story was…
“They never returned, but with the price of their lives, they managed to kill the greatest Holy Chief of the ancient orcs.”
Niah reached the last few pages.
The king was covered in wounds, and he held his precious sword while he lay quietly at the center of the battlefield. However, those huge figures who held human heads in their hands were long gone. Only countless minuscule figures tugged at the horses and held spears to surround the king. They lifted the flags and stood around him respectfully.
And the clouds had already dispersed in the sky so that light could shine on the battlefield.
“Once they lost their greatest Holy Chief, the ancient orcs who were without a leader lost.”
Melgen raised her head, and she raised her voice so that she could be heard clearly. “Hence, the battle that had launched the wars that lasted for a generation was known as the Holiness Exorcism Campaign.”
Thales fell silent.
Niah was panting heavily when she laboriously closed the metallic book with various inscriptions in it.
She shut the book that only had dozens of pages but recorded King Anzac’s grand life, which was over one thousand years ago.
“Once the Holiness Exorcism Campaign was over, the days of old was over, and the boldness of the orcs was no longer terrifying. The rule of the elves fell into decline just like that, and the arrogance of the dwarves vanished completely. The fear brought by the Great Dragon and the disastrous beasts were, in the end, categorized as legends that cannot be proven.”
“Hence, the foreign races went into seclusion all over the land, and the belief in gods spread through the land.”
There was a distant expression on Melgen’s face when she looked at the setting sun outside the window. “The flourishing age of humans was about to arrive.”
Chapter 528: Fight Between the Eldest and Youngest |
Niah closed the metal nameplate and laboriously put it back into the luggage.
In the short silence, Thales thought about the story on Anzac’s nameplate, or rather, the story Melgen told using the nameplates.
The old priestess redirected her gaze from the setting sun outside the window and waited for him patiently. She seemed to have expected a silent moment like this.
“Beliefs and magic originated from the same source. Holiness Exorcism Campaign led to the rise of humanity?”
Thales kept repeating this story, but what flashed through his mind was his first meeting with Asda.
“Wizards pursued the truths of the world. They used all kinds of ingenious methods and wisdom to take advantage of the natural resources and energies in the world, to create an even more beautiful world.
Melgen looked at him and spoke slowly, “But this is just the beginning.”
The old priestess’s tone contained a hidden and faint sympathy. “Since the foreign enemies had gone away, divergence gradually rose.
“The attitude towards the gods and beliefs caused the eldest and youngest son to go in separate ways in the end, and they gradually became increasingly estranged.”
‘So, they used the eldest and youngest son as their explanation?
‘It’s so embarrassing for them to come up with a similar explanation so similar to Abel and Cain’s.’
Thales sighed secretly.
“When the eldest and youngest son of the gods face up against each other, one is full of loyalty, and the other is rebellious.”
‘Those who do not know…’
“…will think that this is Artanis'[1] hatred toward the zergs,” the prince criticized quietly. Melgen, who had a sharp ear, frowned. “Artanis? Who?”
Thales raised his head, and he smiled innocently and sincerely. “Nothing. It is just one of the jokes from Northland…”
Melgen pursed her lips, and the corners of her mouth curled up to make her look sharp.
Very soon, the old priestess returned to her lecture mode. “So, for thousands of years, under the gods’ observation and human practice, the eldest and youngest son, beliefs and magic, churches and wizards, were always in conflict with each other between their paths and beliefs.”
“Wait a minute?”
Thales narrowed his eyes at the perfect moment and interrupted. “So, according to what you say, the divergence between beliefs and magic is because the believers believe in the gods and the wizards do not?
“Can I understand it this way? The believers trust in the gods when it came to things they cannot understand, and the wizards only trust themselves?”
Melgen did not reply immediately. She looked at Thales quietly, and her eyes showed fluctuating emotions.
She remembered that two days ago, when she came to the temple blessed by God and visited Vicar General Stylia Nydis, who was looking for books and preparing for Thales’ class full of bright hope, while she also sent regards from Head Ritual Master Liscia, she unintentionally saw that he had grabbed Light Shines on Miles, which had one thousand and twenty-four verses of the temple’s classical hymns. She also remembered that she was there to inform him that the role of giving lessons to Prince Thales cum Duke of Star Lake would be replaced by her.
She could still remember the vicar general’s disbelieving shock and his well-controlled rage at that time.
Certainly, as one of the vicar generals in Constellation, Stylia Nydis was young, promising, and had a bright future. Since he had preached to many nobles and high officials, and inspired many of his disciples, he would not miss any chance to read the holy scriptures of Sunset for the future King of Constellation to spread the grace of God and glorify the hold works of God, just like what Bishop Layden did for Tormond the Second and Bishop Clement did for Mindis the Third.
However, for those who were lucky enough to be showered with Sunset Goddess’ grace and blessings were too used to the bright light shining in front of them, so much so that they had forgotten where grace came from.
They even forgot that the believers of the gods had to face trials and challenges from everywhere.
Stars shone brightly in the clear sky, but only after sunset.
“This is the most commonly seen, and also the most dangerous misconception.”
Melgen smiled gently, and she nodded to the price gently and politely. “Especially for those who do not have a chance to understand, but made up their minds to hate this belief after they heard about some rumors.”
Thales frowned.
