Gwen finally knew the truth behind the curse of the Augustus Family.
The truth was more bizarre than he had expected.
As an insider of the incident, Meghul III believed that the escaped God's Eye had fallen after entering the bloodline of the Augustus Family. After being diluted and degraded by the bloodline of the mortals generation after generation, it had become a mental pollution without divinity. But Gwen dared not be so optimistic.
After all, he knew about the ancient deicidal war, knew that the gods had returned to the world time and time again, and knew that the power of the gods was actually the projection of the collective will of the mortals. After grasping so much information, he did not think that the God's Eye that had entered the bloodline of the Augustus Family would simply disappear.
It was just that he had no way to verify anything now. Even if a member of the Augustus Family was standing here, with the current technology, Gawain did not know how to verify the status of the 'God's Eye', so he could only think about it.
Meghul III did not hear Gwen's last whisper. Recalling the Aulandale incident 200 years ago, the non-human Pope of the Dream could not help but sigh. After half a minute of silence, his voice came again from the fluctuating mass of starlight. "Your Majesty, this is all I know about the curse of the Augustus Family."
Gwen also woke up from his thoughts. He looked at the former Pope and nodded gently. "It's all very important information, very valuable."
He paused for a moment before continuing, "It's truly a miracle that you were able to survive the Auland Dale incident back then."
"Everyone underestimated the sturdiness of the ancient ruins. Some incredible ancient technology made its core and bottom almost indestructible, and the collapse of the upper area completely concealed the fact that the interior was intact." Meghul III's voice had a hint of emotion. "At that time, Typhon was in chaos due to the collapse of the imperial capital and the casualties of the upper nobles. They could only spend most of their energy on rebuilding order and moving the capital … What's more, with the technology at that time, they could not confirm the situation at the bottom of Aulandale.
"As for us, we had a backup passageway that allowed us to evacuate from the exit of Aulendale. However, we knew that with the current situation, only death awaited us if we were to leave. We hid in the underground palace and relied on our stored supplies and the small amount of supplies we could gather from the ruins of the upper city to survive the first few months. After that, we slowly began to send people out to investigate the situation. After many years, we repaired the middle and lower levels of the underground palace within the solid framework of the ancient facilities and built a new dome under the collapsed area … It was really not easy. "
"I can imagine." Gwen nodded and asked. "I'm thinking about something. Back then, you used the 'evil god' to negotiate with Emperor Typhon, convincing him that the thing beneath Aulandale was not a god, but an evil spirit. He believed it, but after that, the Augustus family would definitely not let this matter go. Even if it was to investigate the sudden curse they suffered, they would find a way to find out the truth of the Aulandale incident. Do you think they finally found out what was beneath Aulandale? "
Meghor was silent for a few seconds before he slowly said, "I think they should have investigated a part of the truth. They roughly knew that the curse they suffered actually originated from the gods.
"The reason is simple. Not all the priests of the Eternal Sleep stayed in the underground palace. When the Aulandale incident occurred, some of them were active outside. It was inevitable that some of them would fall into the hands of the Augustus family in the future. When the core and higher echelons of the church are buried beneath Aulandale, these clerics won't know that we're still alive. Losing their psychological support, many of them will give up everything for the sake of survival. "
Gwen knitted his brows and said in a deep voice, "That is to say, the Augustus family knew that it was the gods who brought the curse on them. To a certain extent, they knew that the gods were gradually going crazy, and knew that the gods were essentially counting down to the end of the world."
"Those priests who were arrested would probably reveal this part of the truth, but it's hard to say how much the Augustus family would believe." Meghul III replied. "They may treat it as the nonsense of the cultists. Of course, given the existence of the curse and the various evidence of the Aulandale incident, they may also believe the priests to a limited extent."
"The main religion of the Typhon Empire is the God of War. Other than that, there are also churches of the God of Commerce, the God of Blood and the God of Death operating on a small scale." Amber suddenly said. "The Typhon royal family has not made any obvious moves to suppress or restrict these churches, but they also do not have any form of support or intimacy."
Gwen could not help but look at Amber. Before he could ask anything, her answer was exactly what he needed.
After a moment of thought, he asked, "Are there any members of the Augustus family who are openly believers or have undergone any form of baptism?"
"No." Amber shook her head. "At least not in the information we gathered. But we can't rule out the possibility of secret baptists, although the probability is very low."
Gwen pondered as he asked, "Before the Aulandale incident, were there any religious believers in the Augustus family?"
"I don't know about that." Amber shook her head. "The Military Intelligence has not specifically investigated this. But this information is not confidential. We should be able to find some clues from the official information of the Typhon Empire … "
"I can answer that." Meghul III suddenly interrupted. "Yes, and not just one. Before the Aulandale incident, there were members of the Augustus family who were baptized by the God of War. The number was not many, and most of the time it was a symbol of the exchange of interests between the royal family and the church. But there were indeed baptists."
Gwen gently exhaled.
"Then we can assume that after the Aulandale incident, the Augustus family no longer allowed their members to become believers." He said softly. "As for the fact that they did not crack down on the churches in the country … this is not surprising. This may be due to social needs and national interests.
"After all, even in the present Cecil Empire, there is still the main faith of the Church of Holy Light and several other small scale churches."
Gwen's last sentence was just a casual remark, but Meghul III thought of the fully armed "war priests" of the Cecil Empire who were loyal to the Emperor. The surging starlight and cloud around his body could not help but shrink.
Gawain, on the other hand, could not see Megall III's expression through the shimmering starlight. He tapped his finger on the armrest of his chair as he pondered. "Things are getting interesting …" he murmured as if he was talking to himself.
…
After exchanging some sporadic questions, Meghul III left.
In the spacious study, there was only Gwen sitting in front of the desk and Amber standing in front of Gwen.
"I guess I've heard a big secret tonight." Once there was no one else present, Hu Po immediately stretched his body without any scruples. As he stretched, he muttered, "It seems that the relationship between the Augustus Family and the Eternal Sleepers is really... complicated."
"Reality is always so bizarre. It is more beyond our imagination than a bard's story," Gwen said indifferently. "So now, Rosetta Augustus is accepting the Eternal Sleepers in the country on a large scale … this matter is even more dramatic."
"After all, the Aulandale incident was 200 years ago." Amber blinked. "For most ordinary people, it is already 'ancient' — an ancient story buried in the depths of the archives. For the modern Emperor Typhon and the Eternal Sleepers, it can only be a story."
"You sound more and more like me now." Gwen could not help but look at Amber with a smile.
Amber immediately bared her teeth, but she did not spout out a bunch of obscenities as usual. Instead, after a short moment of contemplation, she said, "Speaking of which … according to the intelligence brought by Meghul III, the relationship between the ancient Tidetide Empire and the gods was more complicated than we first thought."
"They had the ability to build advanced devices that could accommodate and control the power of the gods, but they used this technology to build an altar to welcome the gods …" Gwen's expression was slightly serious. "Melita Pânia once said that without breaking the shackles of the gods, but mastering super-advanced technology in advance, it would only bring disaster. I have been thinking about the deeper meaning of her words. The ruins under Aulandale … seems to have answered some of my questions."
"It's a pity that the ruins are really gone this time," Amber muttered regretfully. "The Eternal Sleepers blew it up from the inside again before they left. Those secrets will never be known again."
"Perhaps one day we will have other ways to dig out those secrets." Gwen shook his head. "But now, at least the Eternal Sleepers brought a lot of information. There must be something valuable in it."
…
After a night's rest and a whole morning's final evaluation, Sir Gorosh and the group of advisors he led once again came before Gawain Cecil.
Gwen sat in his favorite high-back chair and watched the dragonkin take their seats opposite him. The clerk and assistant were ready at the side. His expression was calm and indifferent.
The information given by Meghul III last night had given him a lot of thinking and deduction about the future. But what he had to pay attention to was not only Typhon and the "eye" of the God of Dreams. Now, he calmed himself down and prepared to continue the unfinished negotiations with these powerful dragonkin from the Northernmost Mountains.
Sir Golos first bowed to Gwen, then cleared his throat and said in a frank and courteous tone, "Your Majesty, first of all, thank you for your reception again.
"We have carefully considered the many projects and future ideas you proposed yesterday. In terms of conclusion … please forgive my rudeness. I personally prefer a straightforward and frank way of speaking.
"The Duchy of Holy Dragon is not ready to engage in full commercial contact with Cecil, especially in the mining development, joint venture colleges, and infrastructure construction. The dragonkin have no intention of doing so."
Gawain raised his eyebrows slightly at an imperceptible angle.
Sir Golos said that he was straightforward and frank, but in fact, he was quite tactful. But no matter how tactful his words were, it could not change the meaning of his words.
Everyone present understood that the dragonkin had rejected more than seventy percent of the terms of the many projects proposed by Gwen yesterday.
And it seemed that their attitude was firm. This was the result of careful consideration. It might even be a decision made after contacting the Dragonblood Archduke through some means. It was not something that could be changed or reversed with just a few words.
But driven by curiosity, Gwen could not help but ask, "I want to know the specific reason."
Sir Golos and Asalena looked at each other, then turned to meet Gwen's gaze seriously and frankly. "Your Majesty, the dragonkin are sincere and frank about this exchange, and I believe you are the same.
"We are all looking for new friends in this vast world, for a common and bright future.
"The Duchy of Holy Dragon has a saying: A lone climber has courage, a group climber has courage and wisdom. The dragonkin are not as closed off and exclusive as the outside world thinks. In fact, we are happy to make friends, but we make friends who can climb the peak together, advance and retreat together.
"Your Majesty, in the past thousands of years, the dragonkin have rarely stepped out of the mountains in the north, because nothing that happened on this continent could arouse our interest. But now, we have opened the door. This is our initiative. We opened the door to find an ally. The dragonkin hope that all of this can be built on the basis of equality, respect, mutual benefit, and honesty."
Gwen looked quietly into Sir Golos' eyes. Two seconds later, he suddenly laughed.
"Of course," he said very happily and easily. "Then let's discuss another plan."
His attitude was very calm, as if he had already expected this.
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