It wasn't a good habit to pray to the gods and Buddhas when things didn't go well. Not only was it easy to be deceived, but sometimes an incorrect explanation would bring about even worse results. But in a mysterious land, it was normal to ask a brilliant mage to use prophecy magic when encountering something difficult to solve. After all, this was a world with magic and gods.
For a political entity, it was even more basic to have a group of mages who were good at prophecy. Because no one could guarantee when they would encounter a mysterious event that couldn't be judged by common sense. At this time, they could only ask these professionals for help. Sometimes, when they were confused about the vague path ahead, they would also look for such people to guide them.
However, not all those in power liked these people. The struggle between divine power and monarchical power had always been a mysterious and difficult problem to solve. Of course, divine power here didn't just refer to ordinary gods, but to the power to interpret mysteries in general.
It would be easier to accept if these people could be made to serve politics and control what they said. But mages were never easy to control or coerce, especially a group of people who knew prophecy magic.
When the emperor of the military state was young, he didn't have much experience and didn't get his way everywhere, so it was easy for him to listen to this group of people. But as he grew older and became more confident in doing things, he gradually stopped coming into contact with these people. On one hand, it was also because he didn't like the feeling of having to do things according to other people's words. On the other hand, as long as these people spoke, whether good or bad, it would definitely come true.
"When a prophecy is spoken, it becomes part of the construction of the future." This was what mages who knew prophecy often said. Knowing the future didn't mean that one could seek good fortune and avoid disaster; sometimes, actions to prevent the future from happening would instead promote the realization of that future. So as long as it was a ruler in his right mind, he would understand that he couldn't rely too much on this group of people.
He had been estranged from this group of people for a long time, and it wasn't until Duke Becker mentioned it today that the old emperor remembered that he had raised a group of rice worms. At the same time, he frowned. Prophecy wasn't just about the future. If it was about the past, one could get clear information about people, times, places, and things, even if the price was high. But the point was that the answer wasn't necessarily what the person who asked wanted.
Looking at his old opponent sitting on the throne hesitating, Duke Becker said loudly, "I will bear the price that should be paid. I only need Your Majesty's help. Please ask the witches for me. "
In order to prevent their words from becoming a political weapon, the old Emperor strictly restricted their freedom to interact with the outside world. In the history of the military state, it was not the first time that the witches had tried to use their prophecies to change the order of succession to the throne, the state policy, and the direction of war. And every time, there was a political motive behind it, and it wasn't just a simple one.
Although he was called a coward emperor by others, he had been on the throne for decades and had long been honed into a wily old fox. The witches didn't dare to comment on his national affairs, because that was the experience gained from the countless corpses of their predecessors.
Any noble who tried to get in touch with the witch in private would be met with the Emperor's fiercest fury. Regardless of whether he was in the wrong or not, he would beat him up first. Thus, even Duke Becker, who was a political enemy, didn't want to step on the old emperor's bottom line, which was why he made such a request.
Even though he didn't like those strange women, the old emperor still agreed to Duke Becker's request. This was because he himself was not sure how to treat the two mages.
The weight of the word "demon king" to an emperor wasn't like the weight of the common folk in taverns who listened to the tales of heroes told by bards. It wasn't just an existence for the brave to crusade against. That was a heavy word that could shake the country, even though most of the upper echelons of the military state were pretending to be ignorant. But as an emperor, he had to be prepared for a rainy day, even for the worst.
Of course, when it came to Duke Becker's request, he would carry it out without holding back, rather than ask the question that was on his mind. According to his experience, those women who listened to too much were prone to worry about personal gains and losses, which interfered with their judgment, and often didn't answer the question. This also made the old Emperor realize that what people wanted to hear was never the truth, they just wanted to hear what they wanted to hear.
Under the protection of the military state's Praetorian Knights, the old Emperor walked to a four-story Magic Tower in the middle of the palace complex. There were layers of Golden Praetorian Guards here, both to protect the people in the tower and to keep an eye on them.
When His Majesty arrived, the leader of the Praetorian Guards immediately ordered his subordinates to remove the layers of barriers and clear a path. At the same time, the doors of the Magic Tower opened from the inside, and the contemporary witches stood at the door to welcome the emperor.
Witches, in the Land of Enchantment, referred to female magicians with special bloodlines. In the Kingdom of Vida, they referred to a group of bloodlines that were especially good at prophecy.
In order to maintain the power in their bloodline, not only did they have strict criteria for choosing a spouse, sometimes they might even choose a close relative. Men, on the other hand, would only appear in their lives when they needed them. Other than that, the witches were like caged birds, kept in the Magic Tower. They were protected and away from the interference of the mortal world, thus weakening their prophecy abilities.
However, whether it was because of the enclosed environment or because of their own abilities, the witches' way of thinking was very different from normal people. This was one of the reasons why the old Emperor didn't want to come into contact with these women.
The ones who came out to greet him were all unfamiliar faces. One thing they had in common was that they were much younger than the people he knew. Basically, the witches raised in such an environment all lived very long lives. But the older ones didn't want to come out. Did it mean that they didn't welcome his arrival? As for the younger group of people, they had different thoughts.
"Your Majesty." The witch in the lead bowed gracefully.
"Where's Sophia?" Although the old Emperor had guessed what they were thinking, he still asked.
"Teacher and the others don't want to get involved in this matter, and even forbade us from helping. But Your Majesty took us in because you want us to be of help at a critical moment. There's no reason to refuse. So I brought the sisters who are willing to contribute. Besides proving that we can also take charge, I also hope to contribute to the Kingdom of Enchantment. "
Although these words sounded like a little girl who was anxious to prove herself in front of the adults, the old Emperor understood the meaning behind her words. However, the old Emperor understood another layer of meaning. They were unwilling to be left out and wanted to make a difference.
To be honest, he didn't dislike his subordinates' enthusiasm. But the disadvantage was that very few people could control their own behavior. Most of the time, such people didn't even know they were stepping on a red line. Therefore, all the witches who had this kind of mentality in the past were burned by him after they made a mistake.
Seeing such people among the younger generation, the old Emperor didn't waste his breath to warn them. He only hoped that they wouldn't step on the red line too early, or another young life would be lost.
Without saying much, the old Emperor took the request written by Duke Becker from his personal attendant. After confirming the content again, he handed it to the witch in the lead.
In fact, the best situation was for the questioner to directly meet the mage who used the prophecy spell, because the questioner's strong emotions were also the key to improving the quality of the prophecy spell.
But in a situation where he didn't want the two sides to meet, using a hand-written letter to make a request was a compromise. If there was a middleman transcribing the letter, there probably wouldn't be a need for prophecy spells. It would just be a waste of materials.
The witch in the lead respectfully took the document from the Emperor's hand and stepped aside. The old Emperor walked into the magic tower with only two trusted knights. It wasn't that he was arrogant or that he trusted these witches. It was that the only function of this magic tower was to increase the accuracy of the prophecy spell. There were no traps or offensive magic arrays.
To put it simply, this four-story magic tower had no lethality. It was targeted at things that were more ethereal and intangible.
But the old Emperor only found the current witch's respectful attitude amusing. If it were any other old woman, it would be polite of her not to show any disrespect. How could she possibly lower her head and speak so humbly?
The old Emperor was familiar with the place and came to the room where the ceremony was held. Just like in the past, every time he came here, they had already prepared everything that was going to be held. It was like a show of strength, telling him that they had already foreseen everything.
He moved to his usual seat, which was a small magic array where he could watch the whole ceremony without affecting it.
Just as the young witches were about to start the ceremony, another group of people walked in. They were wearing black veils and black robes, old and doddering. They staggered to the front of the old Emperor. None of them spoke first. They just looked at a certain someone with a gloomy expression.
The old Emperor had long honed his face into an iron bastion. How could he be afraid of being stared at by a group of old women? But it was necessary to show some respect to these old witches. Several of them had helped him at the beginning of his ascension to the throne. They had even taught him when he was young. So the old Emperor said, "Granny Sophia, I'm so happy to see that you're still quite healthy and safe."
"I'm also happy to see that you're about to die."
Even if his beard was white, this witch who had taught him could still make him unable to raise his head. As for the curse, the old Emperor didn't care. He said, "I've lived a good life. And I've outlived a crown prince. Now my grandson has waited long enough. I've worked hard to maintain this country my whole life. I dare not say that this country is more powerful than my father's time, but at least it hasn't declined. And I won't regret when I die. The future will naturally be troubled by the future. Whether I die or not, I'm really not afraid. "
"Idiot. If you want to die somewhere else, don't die here. If you die here, it'll only give that stupid grandson of yours an excuse to court death. "
"Granny, you're …"
While the old Emperor was astonished, the strong maids who served the witches in the magic tower moved boxes of magic materials used for prophecy offerings from the storehouse into the ceremonial room. They piled them up and placed them in the sacrificial positions. At the same time, the black-robed witches who came with Sophia also embedded magic stones in specific positions, activating the second and third magic arrays to protect the Emperor.
This lineup reminded the old Emperor of an unconfirmed rumor: a certain master of prophecy had his eyes crippled because he got involved with those two witches. Henceforth, his magic power was cut off.
Then … had Granny Sophia already foreseen who he might provoke this time?
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