William had just come out of the hut as he read the next stage of the quest. His attention was still partially on the system interface when he stepped outside.
Almost simultaneously, Rah’s figure came into his sight, who was now inspecting the other slaves. The scene immediately caught his interest.
William was confused. These slaves did not have the universal language ability, so how were they even conversing? The thought lingered in his mind for a moment as he observed them carefully.
As William walked closer, it turned out they were not talking. Rah was checking them out, and they were frozen like chickens, clearly intimidated by his presence.
Their expressions showed visible discomfort. He heard Rah speaking, "Are you guys seriously ignoring me?? Come on, don’t be like this!!!" His tone carried a mix of confusion and frustration.
"They don’t know the Vyker tongue, Rah," William stepped forward and said before the misunderstanding deepened.
"Hmm??" Rah looked at him, puzzled. His reaction showed that the idea had not occurred to him before.
"Why do you feel strange about people from other realms not knowing your language?" William asked with a chuckle. He found Rah’s assumption somewhat amusing.
Rah shook his tail slowly. "I just thought that you, that demon Clayman, and that mysterious but kind woman, all of you knew the Vyker tongue. I thought that maybe otherworlders must be familiar with our language." His reasoning sounded simple.
William’s brows tightened slightly. "I don’t know how Clayman and that lady knew the Vyker tongue, but my subordinates surely have no idea about your realm. I will try to find a solution for this when I have more SP," he said. His tone became more thoughtful as he considered the possibility.
"SP??" Rah asked, clearly unfamiliar with the term.
"It’s nothing. By the way, can you tell me what the cultivation realm of your father is?" William asked, smoothly shifting the topic.
"Ohh!" Rah looked down, trying to recall the information. He took a brief pause before answering. "Last time I heard someone speaking about the patriarch’s realm, it was somewhere in the Empyrean Realm."
William’s eyes widened. The answer was far beyond what he had expected. "When was this??" he asked quickly.
"A few hundred years back," Rah replied without much concern.
William remained stunned at the spot. It seemed like the completion of the next subquest would take a considerable amount of time. The gap in strength was enough for William to wait out.
"Never mind, let’s go," William said with a faint smile. He chose not to dwell on it for now.
Rah looked at that smile and immediately sensed that something was not right. Still, he did not question it. He nodded, and together they disappeared in an instant.
***
Riverdale Empire...
Sword Saint’s Mansion...
Ethan sat in a meditative pose, cultivating diligently like every day. His breathing was steady, and his posture remained firm. He let out a silent breath as he completed another cycle. His mind, meanwhile, was distracted with another thought.
A few weeks ago, he had found a parchment in the secret drawer of his master, hidden under his study table. The discovery had not been intentional, but its consequences were significant.
What was he doing with Klaus’s secret drawer?
The answer was simple. He was working as a spy for Yun Long, the Storm Dragon. The task had seemed trivial at first since the storm dragon was Klaus’s master; in fact, he was like a grandpa for Ethan.
Yun Long, during their last meeting, had told Ethan to spy on Klaus, specifically to check whether he was involved in any affairs with married women in the Riverdale capital.
The request had sounded unusual, but Ethan did not question it. Yun Long had also informed him about a hidden compartment where Klaus stored private journals and letters.
He had instructed Ethan to check that drawer regularly when Klaus and Brian were not present. Coincidentally, on that particular day, Klaus had left with Brian to meet Emperor Aurelius to discuss the emperor’s mission against the Clayman cult.
At that time, Ethan had quietly slipped into the office to check the drawer. He expected to find trivial things, as he did every time. However, instead of any love letters, he had found a particularly old and folded parchment that would shake him from the core.
That parchment was actually a document summarising events from 15 years ago, it talked about the holy sun empire and also quoted many spies and army officers. Ethan had no idea how such a document ended up in Klaus’s desk.
The Holy Sun Empire was known for its isolation from the rest of the world. The church controlled every aspect of governance, including trade, military, law, and its public.
That was one of the reasons Riverdale always monitored the church closely. There was a persistent concern within the Riverdale Empire that the church would gradually expand its influence into border regions, gain the support of the people, and eventually take control, just as it had done 15 years ago with the Solaris Empire.
This parchment contained intelligence that had originally been delivered to the emperor 15 years ago.
At that time, the church was still trying to stabilize its control over the newly conquered empire. Most of the loyalists of Solaris were being executed publicly after being declared infidels. The executions were carried out without hesitation.
This was done to send a clear message. Anyone who opposed the church would face severe consequences. Around that period, the church had also released a map marking lands they claimed belonged to the Light God Lux.
That map included disputed territories that were either part of no man’s land or belonged to the Riverdale Empire.
The no man’s land region was forcefully taken by the church. However, when it came to Riverdale’s territory, a direct conflict broke out between the newly formed Holy Sun Empire and Riverdale.
The clash lasted for a week. During that time, the Riverdale empire’s western frontier was also attacked by the cults of Demon Lords Amon and Belial.
Soon after, Pope Winston was appointed as an elder in the Astral Warden Council.
In the end, the Riverdale emperor had too much at stake and chose to compromise by relinquishing certain territories. This event marked the beginning of a new political phase in Riverdale. The emperor’s authority was questioned, and a strong opposition emerged under Daniel Dalton.
This particular document described one of the incidents from the period when the holy sun was waging an invasion on the eastern territories of the empire.
During that week-long clash, several soldiers died on both sides. One specific company consisting of 100 imperial soldiers from Riverdale, led by Company Commander Nevin Kaiser, an SSS-rank warrior, was reported missing. The disappearance of an entire unit raised serious concerns.
A few days later, several soldiers from Nevin’s group were found dead on the outskirts of a forest. Their bodies were retrieved and returned; however, 20 soldiers, along with Nevin, were still missing.
The martyrs’ families were compensated with 10 gold coins each, while Nevin’s kaiser family received 50 gold coins as compensation for his sacrifice and the empire’s failure to deliver the body back. At first glance, the report seemed ordinary.
However, the disturbing truth came later, as the document quoted one of Riverdale’s spies deployed in Holy Sun.
A few days afterward, the conclusion of the battle between the two empires, in the imperial capital of the Holy Sun Empire, a procession was held. Several heads of Riverdale soldiers were displayed publicly as a symbol of victory. It was meant to instill fear and reinforce the authority of the church.
Nevin Kaiser’s head was placed at the center. The knights of the church mocked the fallen, spat on their heads, and turned them into a spectacle for the public.
Ethan’s blood had boiled while reading this. Even though those soldiers were not related to him, he felt a deep sense of anger and discomfort.
He read the letter again, unable to accept it at first. But the second time, one name stood out clearly, Nevin Kaiser. Kaiser was also William’s surname.
Realization struck him immediately, but uncertainty remained. He contacted Leila and asked her to investigate further. A few days later, Leila returned with confirmation that shook him completely. Nevin Kaiser and William Kaiser were brothers.
Ethan was deeply affected by this revelation.
It took him several days to decide whether he should inform William. The emperor had deliberately hidden this incident from the public to avoid public outrage.
Ethan wanted to tell William, but he hesitated. He was uncertain about the consequences. What if his actions led to something irreversible? This doubt stayed with him until Leila said something that changed his perspective.
"What if you were in William’s place and Sister Nancy was the one treated like that? What would you do?"
That question settled everything. Ethan knew his answer.
He would not hesitate. He would rip the perpetrators to shreds and make them feel hell.
Leila’s question pushed Ethan to realise it.
This was not his revenge. This belonged to William, and he had no right to stand in the way of it.
So he made his decision. He handed the parchment to William, slightly altering the truth to present his master in a better light. Ethan, on the surface, wanted things to stay calm, but inside, he wanted William to burn the church to ruins.
Ethan suppressed that thought, shaking his head before continuing his cultivation.
"ETHAN!!!" Klaus’s angry shout echoed suddenly, throwing him off guard for a moment.
—————
Ps: William was never informed that he had an elder brother; his adoptive parents had observed William’s nature from a young age. They knew he would try to take revenge for his brother after growing up, but they never wanted to burden him with that truth.
They wanted him to live a good life; they even saved the compensation of 50 gold coins so that he could live a good life after them.
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