Chapter 482: A Legacy of Fire and Lies
On the other side of the world...
In the lands of the Empire, a massive announcement ..broadcast across every corner of the nation ..was made by the High Command under Aegon Valerion:
"The Empire has claimed victory in its first clash against the Ultras!
Ten thousand imperial warriors triumphed over thirty-five thousand of the demon’s hounds!"
Celebration swept through the Empire. The people, long starved of hope, finally breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the first good news in what felt like an age.
And behind the scenes, pulling every string, was none other than Prince Aegon Valerion.
He stood at the forefront, basking in glory, while maneuvering carefully from the shadows.
As the remaining eighty thousand soldiers of the Empire’s army were being mobilized and equipped, a long meeting was underway behind sealed doors.
Present were Ser Alon, several key figures of the Empire, and of course, Prince Aegon himself.
It was there the prince made his next declaration:
"The imperial campaign will proceed as planned. The mission must be completed."
This decision came immediately after the report from the vanguard fleet arrived. Aegon didn’t hesitate for even a second .. which surprised many, and angered one in particular.
"Did you not hear what the report said just moments ago, Prince Aegon?" Ada Starlight’s voice rose sharply.
"They faced an army three times their size! They barely survived after losing eight thousand soldiers!
And you want them to keep marching forward?!"
Even the two thousand survivors were in shambles, barely able to stand, let alone fight.
Taking everything into account, Ada could not stay silent. She had to speak out.
But Aegon remained unmoved.
"Lady Starlight, I would ask you to consider this .. this is also their decision."
Pointing to the fact that the surviving vanguard had chosen to move forward on their own, the prince reaffirmed his stance.
"You asked if I had read the report. Now let me ask you in return—did you?"
With cold logic, Aegon presented the facts:
"The world just witnessed the birth of a legend akin to Abraham Starlight.
Your brother, Frey Starlight, decimated the enemy’s forces nearly singlehandedly."
"True, we lost eight thousand.
But the elite, led by Bloodmader, remain in peak condition.
In other words, the vanguard still retains enough strength to continue the mission."
"There’s no need to waste more time, nor send reinforcements.
What they have is enough. My decision is final."
With unwavering authority, the prince declared once more:
"They will carry out their mission to the end."
In the face of Aegon Valerion’s cold, calculated logic, there was little Ada could say. The prince had results on his side .. and so long as he continued to deliver, few would dare question him.
That’s why Ser Alon remained silent.
With a mere ten thousand men, Aegon had snatched the Empire’s first victory in the War of darkness. A small force that had crushed a vastly superior enemy army. And he did so while preserving the bulk of the Empire’s main force for future battles.
Aegon had proven his strategic brilliance and cunning.
And yet, Ada could not help but wonder ..
Was it truly wise to view this as mere strategy?
After all, the vanguard’s survival had nothing to do with Aegon’s tactics. It wasn’t his plan that turned the tide ..it was her brother.
And that... was the problem.
No matter how much she thought about it, there was no way Aegon could have known that Frey Starlight possessed that much power to begin with.
There was no way he could have anticipated that her brother would perform such a miracle.
Without Frey, the vanguard would’ve been slaughtered. The prince’s strategy would have collapsed instantly.
In truth, what was happening now could only be described as luck. Pure, blind luck.
But Ada didn’t believe in such a thing. Not in this world.
As she stared at the prince’s cunning smile, a lingering thought echoed in her mind:
Just what kind of man was Prince Aegon Valerion?
And what secrets was he still hiding?
Only the future would reveal the answer.
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As the world continued to shift with every passing second, far from the clamor of court and war, a solitary figure remained isolated .. cut off from everything.
The Emperor, Maekar Valerion.
He was no longer the blazing beacon of power he once was. The signs of age had begun to show clearly on his face. A faint beard covered his jaw, and the sparkle of his prime had dimmed.
Now, the Emperor was treated as a weapon of mass destruction ..a last resort to be unleashed only when the time was right.
And so, he spent his days alone, in complete seclusion, within a room no one was permitted to enter.
A frozen chamber, soaked in frost and silence.
At its center lay a strange sarcophagus of pure ice.
Often, Maekar sat with his back against it, whispering to himself in strange, disjointed words.
Sometimes they were aimless, like a man lost in thought.
Other times, they were utterly hollow .. meaningless ramblings spoken to no one.
His mighty spear, Sunfire, rested beside him, along with the legendary Fume Knight shield .. great weapons only he had the right to wield.
And yet, even with such power at his side...
The Emperor sat still. Alone.
Waiting.
Staring at it, Maekar recalled a few old, beautiful memories .. ones that made him chuckle like a madman, all alone.
"Now that I think about it... I used them against you that day,"
"I fought you with everything I had, and yet, you defeated me so easily.
That... really stung, back then."
He sighed lightly, continuing his monologue as if speaking to an old friend.
"Did you ever know, old friend, that we’re just fragile creatures, living our insignificant lives in some forgotten corner of the universe?"
"We’re nothing more than a tiny fragment of an endless cosmos, A cosmos crawling with monsters ..
monsters so mighty they make me,
the man once hailed as the strongest,
seem like a meaningless fool."
His voice drifting, Maekar gently tapped the surface of the icy sarcophagus with an annoyed expression.
"What’s that? You don’t believe me?
That’s awfully rude of you, my friend..."
"But let me tell you something ..
I met one of them."
His eyes dimmed with unease, the memory still vivid.
"He was... strange. Unlike anything I’ve ever seen.
He taught me things ..bizarre things ..
including the method I used to recover your body, my friend.
So be grateful. Be thankful.
And don’t you dare doubt me again."
Gazing up at the frozen ceiling above him, Maekar remembered the encounter with that strange being.
Without a shred of doubt, he was not human.
"I wonder... what kind of monsters walk among us without us even realizing it.
The thought terrifies me, my friend.
I don’t believe we humans will ever reach that level."
"Ah... but you were different. You were special. The best of us ..
I truly believed you could reach them."
"But you let me down, my dear friend..."
Resting his forehead against the front of the sarcophagus, Maekar cast another glance at the man sleeping within.
His features hadn’t changed much.
He had closed his eyes long ago, peacefully .. without resistance.
His hair had turned completely white, a side effect of the power that preserved his body.
He looked like a slumbering king .. departed from life after giving it everything he had.
At that moment, Maekar finally rose to his feet and stepped away.
"You betrayed me...
You left alone...
and abandoned me behind..."
"Abraham."