This was an era that belonged to the ambitious. Opportunities and cunning conspiracies were like a raging river, sweeping from beginning to end for hundreds of years.
Like an invisible feather pen writing furiously in the depths of dark thoughts, a complete story gradually took shape in Brando's mind. The latter half of the story could be foreseen. In the center of the fog-shrouded ruins of the Final Battle, in the dark and silent temple, it did not matter what Her Majesty the Silver Queen saw, what happened, whether it was true or false, right or wrong, it did not matter now. Its ending was already predetermined. The four Holy Cathedrals and the Bugas would never let this matter have any sequelae, let alone let its influence be brought out of the Alcala region.
But the reason for this was not as sinister and despicable as the world thought it to be.
Because the leader of the Silver Folk, the master of the Silver Lightning, Elroy, had pressed his hand on the sacred oath and made an oath to the four sages, declaring that in the next era, the Silver Folk would fulfill their duties and take on the heavy responsibility of guarding and monitoring the world. This promise, in the eyes of the people of this era, may seem inconceivable, even too childish. It was just a promise, what could it mean?
The people of this era, from the nobles to the common people, believed in downright egoism. There was only naked interest between countries. Between kingdoms, between groups, between groups, it had long been a common occurrence. Conspiracies and betrayals ran rampant in the world, and this period of history was already hundreds of years old.
So they could not imagine.
They could not imagine that glorious era, and could not understand what a promise between the nobles was.
There was an era when Elroy spoke loudly in front of the Sacred Covenant. Every word he said turned into silver words that were inscribed on the Sacred White Slate. They were like shining silver nails that were nailed into the long river of history one by one. This was not for greed, but to prove right and wrong, right and wrong, black and white. As the Flame King Gretel once said: This is a righteous cause, an ideal in the heart, so it is worth protecting.
Everything they did was for the long-term survival of civilization and order.
Therefore, for a thousand years, the Silver Folk had promised that they would no longer intervene in mortal wars. They had built watchtowers at the borders of the civilized world that were more dazzling than the stars. Although Brando had once maliciously joked that the Bugas were monitoring the power of the mortals in the whole world, he knew in his heart that "their power has long been above the peak of the world, so much so that mortals have to look up to their aloofness. Even if mortals maliciously speculate that these wizards are manipulating the direction of history behind the scenes, they have to admit —"
The truth is that for a thousand years, the Silver Folk have never crossed the line drawn by Elroy.
There was a maxim among the wizards of Buga: "If a successor does not keep his word, it is a disservice to the noble deeds of his predecessors." In their eyes, the promises of the nobles were the most precious things in the world. Because it was too easy to destroy, once it was destroyed, it would be very difficult to find it again. William had lamented to the players more than once: "The lives of mortals are too short, so they are too short-sighted, and it is easy for them to replace those noble values with immediate benefits. It is difficult for them to understand that the gains do not make up for the losses."
After Tulman slowly finished the first half of the story, Brando looked up at him. He did not know if it was his imagination, but he felt that there was some deep sadness in the elder's silver eyes.
He could actually understand where this sadness came from.
On the battlefield ruins of the Final Battle, if everything that happened in that temple really proved that the Four Sages were wrong, or not so righteous, then it would cast a shadow over the sacred oath. If a successor does not keep his word, it is a disservice to the noble deeds of his predecessors. But what if all this was wrong from the beginning?
Now there were only two choices left in front of the Four Holy Cathedrals and the Silver Folk —
Either they admit the mistakes of their predecessors, and let the world undergo a thorough reform and baptism. After that, the Four Holy Cathedrals may disappear, but at least the truth will always exist in the world. But more likely, they would let the world sink into darkness, let conspiracies and lies obscure the light of reason, and let Wohnde become the biggest stage for ambitious people in the next few hundred years.
Or they would cover up the truth. Although it would tarnish their own hearts, the fire of civilization and order would still exist, and at least the world would not fall into a sea of fire. The War of the Holy Saints had ended a thousand years ago, and there was no reason to let the hatred of that era continue. That would be too selfish.
The Four Holy Cathedrals chose the latter.
At that time, other than the dragons and the wizard leaders of the Silver Alliance, there were also the popes and high priests of the Four Holy Cathedrals. These people were different from the corrupted vermin below. They were all true seekers of truth, so this choice was a great pain and torture for them. Because they knew it was a lie, but they had to use nobility as an excuse to cover up the lie. This was double the damage to the shining truth.
"Since the decision has been made to cover up the truth with lies, then everything that happened on the battlefield of the Final Battle should not appear in front of the world again." After a long silence, Tulman slowly said, "But so many upper-class nobles were sacrificed on the battlefield, and there must be someone responsible for this."
"This person …"
"Her Royal Highness."
"What about my grandfather?"
"Actually, no one forced Darius, but one day, he suddenly came to us —"
"And you agreed?" Brando asked in a low voice.
"Of course not." Tulman shook his head. "But your grandfather said something to us …"
"He said that you can't let Princess Constance bear this responsibility. She knows too much, and there are too many suspicious points in the whole incident. She can't afford to be suspected. More importantly, she is now the leader of the group of nobles who have also entered the Holy Cathedral. If you have decided to cover up everything, then you must appease each and every one of them. So, not only can she not be a sinner, she must be a hero. "
"Your grandfather looked at us with his head held high, and his eyes flashed with a light that I still can't forget. Then he slowly said, "You have sacrificed too much for this, and I can't let all of your efforts go to waste. So, let me do it. Here, only I have the right to do it."
"After saying this, he turned and left the tent."
Brando quietly listened to these words and did not speak for a long time. He only felt a strange emotion surging in his heart. He blinked his eyes, and his lips were a little dry and bitter.
This is a noble's career, how can I let others monopolize it?
There is such a man, whose silence contains too many meanings. Although he did not say a word, looking back on the past, he could answer the questions that most people in this world did not dare to face with a clear conscience. He did not let down his own beliefs, and also did not let down his beloved woman. That required not only courage, but also extraordinary wisdom. This man, is his grandfather.
This is a life without regrets, one can't help but yearn for it.
"Next up is the trial?" Brando asked bitterly. He originally thought that his achievements had surpassed the figure in his memory by a lot, but now it seemed that it was just a child's play. This thought made him feel ashamed.
"Next up is the trial." Tulman replied in a deep voice, "That trial … Those who truly understood the truth knew that it was just a child's play. There weren't many who dared to face that lie, so there were only a few who were present. Most of the others were missing their seats. So most people think that it is a secret trial, but the truth is not like that. This is the last dignity left for your grandfather. "
"But as a good friend of your grandfather, I was present at that time. After the trial, your grandfather should have been secretly executed, but because of the reason you know, he was only relieved of all his duties and reputation, and secretly sent back to Erouine."
"After that, almost no one has heard any news about him."
"In fact, in the whole of Wohnde, there are only a few people who really know that your grandfather is still alive. These people, including the high priest of the previous generation of the Holy Cathedral, chose to self-destruct because they could not bear the torment in their hearts. "
"Do you know?" Tulman suddenly said: "At the end of the trial, the Supreme Being of the Holy Cathedral of Fire, the teacher of the current Holy See of the Holy Cathedral of Fire, turned around and whispered something to me —"
"'Today, how can we still pursue the truth and right?'"
This sentence set off stormy waves in Brando's heart.
At that moment, he suddenly understood why the whole continent fell into complete darkness sixty years after the War of the Holy Saints. Even the Third Holy War was called the most chaotic and the darkest war of the mortals. In the following hundreds of years, it was an era of intrigue. Opportunities and cunning conspiracies were like surging undercurrents, sweeping from beginning to end for hundreds of years.
With the advent of the Slate War, the Wizards of the Light were also forced to put down their pride and join the war of the mortals. In that war, the sky and earth changed, blood flowed like rivers on the earth, and the order of the past completely collapsed. Then, the eternal night came, and the power of dusk fell uncontrollably on the earth.
The surging torrent of history, at this moment, was like a long river that flowed endlessly, surging towards him without stopping.
The lock on the dusty Pandora's Box finally opened in Brando's heart with a click.
'We are all sinners.'
'The light of civilization has been extinguished at this moment. Next, it will be a long winter night. Perhaps in my lifetime, I will not see it light up again.'
Although the Four Holy Cathedrals covered up all the secrets of the final battlefield, you could lie to everything, but you could not lie to yourself. In the hearts of Valla and his legendary teacher, the believers' belief in justice and truth was uncontrollably shaken. The Holy Cathedrals had lost their reliance on justice and glory, and everything they believed in naturally became a castle in the air. The confusion of the higher-ups inevitably spread throughout the Holy Cathedrals. This confusion, after brewing for nearly half a century, uncontrollably turned into a kind of panic.
If people realized that everything they had insisted on before was wrong, then what was the point of their persistence?
Furthermore, was the world created by the Four Sages really so correct?
"This is the source of everything." Tulman laughed bitterly. "The bitter fruit is self-inflicted. It turns out that we made the wrong choice from the beginning. After that, according to the original plan, the dragon and the Holy Cathedral of Fire made a private exchange and Constance became the Queen of the Empire. This was not only to appease the nobles, but also to compensate your grandfather. However, her merits and demerits were selectively downplayed by the Holy Cathedral of Fire. After all … it was impossible for them not to have any complaints. "
"But what we did not expect was that everything that happened in the Alcala region had an equally huge impact on the princess, who was still in her youth at that time. What we did not expect was that she eventually obtained the inheritance of the Dark Dragon. "
"Later, we found out that before returning to the country, she had met your grandfather once. At that time, she asked your grandfather if he was willing to correct the mistakes of history with her."
"My grandfather, he … refused?"
Tulman nodded. "But he also kept his promise. He never revealed a word of that conversation in his life. It was not until after his death that we received a letter from him."
Brando only knew that his grandfather had written a letter to these Bugas before his death. He suspected that the same letter might have been sent to the Holy Cathedral of Fire and several other major Holy Cathedrals.
"From that letter, we learned the true thoughts of the Cruz Queen. It turned out … she wanted to become the Dark Dragon."
"Become the Dark Dragon?" Brando's heart skipped a beat.
"Not only that, we don't know what she saw in the Holy Cathedral, but she must have seen more than the nobles. She seemed to believe that what the Four Sages had done was a complete mistake, so she was determined to correct this mistake — whether it was for the sake of ruling the world or to uphold what she thought was right."
"This is …" Brando asked in a low voice. "The origin of this war, right?"
Tulman nodded slowly.
Brando was silent for a moment. "You knew all this a long time ago?"
"A little earlier than you," Tulman smiled bitterly again. "But we can't be sure if this is the true thoughts of the Queen. After all, she has been enduring for decades. She seems to be waiting for an opportunity, but no one knows what that opportunity is. "
"Why didn't the Holy Cathedral of Fire stop her?" Brando only realized that he had asked a stupid question after asking this question. He saw Tulman looking at him helplessly. The person involved back then was the current master of the Holy Cathedral of Fire — Valla. Presumably, Valla was still in deep confusion like everyone else. If the Holy Cathedral of Fire could not confirm that everything they did was right, then what reason did they have to stop the Silver Queen?
What a sin.
Brando couldn't help but groan. "So, you didn't choose me, did you? What right do I have to stop Her Majesty? "
"Of course you have, little one," the old man winked at him playfully. "Don't think I don't know what cards you have in your hand that you haven't played yet."
Brando immediately understood what the other party was talking about. Cruz's eldest son. At this moment, he suddenly felt that he had shot himself in the foot by letting that guy stay. He couldn't help but say helplessly, "Well, having a trump card is one thing, but the difference in strength is another. What right do I have to sit in the same position as Her Majesty?"
"That does seem to be the case, but what she has done is too crazy. Not everyone in the Imperium will support her. You can always find supporters, can't you? Besides, you are the descendant of Darius. No one is more suitable than you for this matter. Perhaps this is the will of the heavens, little one. "
"And then, you Bugas will stay out of it?" Brando replied with some annoyance. "It's good to be clean and honest, but if you still care about your own feathers at this time, you are fishing for praise. Not to mention, you are the ones who caused this trouble."
Hearing this, the old man's face darkened.
He slowly shook his head.
"Sigh, you don't understand, little one. The Four Holy Cathedrals are confused, but aren't we the same? Ever since that incident, we are no longer sure that we have made the right choice. There are already a lot of voices in the council asking us to stay away from the affairs of mortals as much as possible to avoid repeating the same mistakes. This time, secretly helping you build a fleet is already the best we can do. "
Tulman was speaking very sincerely, but Brando didn't accept his explanation. He replied, "But if even you can't be sure whether you are wrong or right, how can I be sure that standing on the opposite side of Her Majesty is definitely right? Don't tell me that in your eyes, I don't have the slightest persistence for justice in my heart? "
"No, you are different, little one. Anyone can say that they are wrong, but you can't, because you are the descendant of Darius." Tulman looked at him and said word by word, "The noble act itself can never be wrong. Even if we doubt our own choice, we will never think that those who sacrifice themselves for justice have the persistence for their ideals in their hearts."
"Do you understand?"
The old man patted Brando's shoulder. "The long night of civilization is coming, and the flame will be extinguished in the ashes. But under the embers, there will still be a flame. Perhaps our generation will never see it reignite again, but to you, it must be reignited and passed down from generation to generation, right?"
"And this, is the mission of the pioneers you are pursuing —"
After hearing this, Brando couldn't help but fall into silence.
He looked to the west, and the red sun was slowly sinking below the mountains as if it was announcing the arrival of the cold night.
However, in the dark night.
Who would hold up a torch that sparkled like stars?
He looked up, and the image of the silent old man in his memory was unusually clear and distinct. At the same time, the prophecy of the future that Tulman spoke of also floated in his mind …
'XVI: THE TOWER —
The lost moon has taken away the light
'XX: JUDGEMENT —
The light has lost.
'XVII: THE STAR —
The silver generation has been lost on the earth, walking forward in the darkness and obscurity.
'VIII: STRENGTH —
The coincidental meeting of the emperor and the fool.
'IX: THE HERMIT —
The rusty clockwork is being reset.
'XXI: THE WORLD —
The sword that changes fate.
…
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