We agreed to set sail, so you'd become the ruler of the deep sea?

Chapter 410 I'll End All of This

"【The Omniscient Sage】..."

Seeing the man appear out of nowhere, the Lord of Cinder in this memory did not launch a direct attack on him as he would later do.

She merely glanced at him with blank, lost eyes, as if she had lost even the will to seek revenge.

The King of Cinder at this very moment.

He was remarkably similar to Augustine, who lost his fleet years ago.

Both kings lost what was most important and cherished to them.

Moreover, such heavy casualties were all caused by their decisions and actions.

even……

The King of Cinder is in an even more dire situation.

Augustine only lost his Black Sail fleet; his Pirate Duchy still existed, along with his twelve apostles.

But the current Lord of Cinder has plunged the entire nation into an eternal freeze.

It's fair to say he's lost everything!
So, just like Augustine back then.

th.

This is the most accurate reflection of the King of Salvation's current mood.

What difference would it make to him if he succeeded in taking revenge on the Omniscient Sage?
The Great Yan Kingdom will not be restored to its original state as a result.

His people could not possibly come back to life.

And this time.

Xia En, who was observing all of this, realized a problem.

The current King of Cinder has fallen into a situation very similar to that of Augustine.

Could this whole thing really be a coincidence?

Xia En vaguely remembered.

Back then, after Augustine's crushing defeat, his enemies could have easily killed him immediately.

But the other party did not do that. Instead, they gave Augustine chance after chance until they completely shattered his confidence.

In the end, they even allowed Augustine to return alive to the Pirate Duchy.

This behavior was tantamount to wantonly toying with Augustine, the king of pirates, and taking pleasure in his misery and despair.

And this moment is just like that moment back then.

The King of Cinder was also manipulated by the Omniscient Sage.

The Omniscient Sage did not kill the Lord of Cinder directly, but instead allowed the living Lord of Cinder to suffer a long period of regret.

The two have so many similarities.

So much so that it was hard for Xia En not to think about it more deeply.

Think about it now.

The fact that Augustine challenged the "Filthy Fate" is itself shrouded in many doubts.

How could the Outer God, [Hui Siming], appear in the [Seven Seas World]?

And Augustine even found His location?

Or.

That was merely a projection of the [Filthy Fate].

There is another possibility.

The being that Augustine challenged was not actually the [Filth God], but someone disguised as it.

For example...

The omniscient sage before us?
This guess sounds incredible at first glance, to the point of being absurd.

However, combining all the information available at the moment makes it a very reasonable speculation.

at this time.

The Omniscient Sage spoke in a devilishly seductive tone.

“King of the Great Yan Kingdom, not all your people have died, but some of them have retained their vitality.”

"Do you... want to save them?"

Upon hearing this, a faint glimmer of light appeared in the King of Cinder's eyes.

But soon, the light dimmed.

Although the Lord of Cinder was in despair, he had not completely lost his mind.

He knew very well that the "Omniscient Sage" before him was the culprit who had caused the "Great Yan Kingdom" to fall into its current state.

The words he uttered at that moment could not possibly be a well-intentioned reminder.

It's more likely to be an even bigger trap.

but.

Even though the Lord of Cinder did not ask, the Omniscient Sage still spoke.

"let me tell you."

"The way to save your people is very simple."

"That is……"

"Burn down the rituals you have set out with your fire."

"At that time, the power of the flames will be transmitted to all parts of the Great Yan Kingdom through the ritual, freeing them from their frozen state."

"How is it? Is it simple?"

Upon hearing this, the King of Cinder's lifeless eyes flickered slightly once more.

He raised his head and asked in a hoarse voice.

"So, what's the price?"

The Omniscient Sage chuckled: "Good question."

He didn't hide anything and answered directly.

"The price is simple, it is..."

"A portion of the great flood that you painstakingly sealed away will break free."

"It swept across the rest of the world, engulfing those kingdoms and continents."

The Omniscient Sage stared at the Lord of Cinder, a distorted smile curving his lips, his voice carrying an indescribable eeriness and malevolence.

"The lives of the people of the Great Yan Kingdom, and those innocent people around the world..."

Which side would you choose?

"I'm really looking forward to it."

As he spoke, the Omniscient Sage paced around the Lord of Cinder.

It looks like a poisonous spider weaving a large web.

What he said was even more scathing.

"Oh, right, I almost forgot to remind you."

"You don't have much time to hesitate."

"In just half an hour, your people will be completely corrupted by the [Filthy Secret Power]."

"It can never be the same again."

Then, the Omniscient Sage added insidiously.

"You should have figured it out by now, right?"

"After being contaminated by the [Filthy Secret Power], their physical bodies will remain in this state forever, neither decaying nor perishing."

"But the souls within those bodies are actually conscious."

"That is to say."

"They are actually watching what you are doing right now."

"If you don't save them."

"Your people will be imprisoned in such deformed, cold bodies for all eternity, never to be freed."

"Until...the end of time!"

These words stirred up a violent storm in the heart of the Lord of Cinder, who had been feeling utterly hopeless.

On one side are the citizens of the Great Yan Kingdom, frozen in ice and transformed into filthy monsters.

On the other hand, there is the goal he has strived for for decades.

It also costs the lives of countless innocent people around the world.

The weights on either side of this scale are incredibly heavy, so heavy that it's impossible to abandon the other.

And now.

The King of Cinder was forced to choose between the two, and one can imagine how suppressed his feelings were at that moment.

He asked hoarsely, "Why did you do this?"

The Omniscient Sage replied with a smile.

"I've already said it, I just want to see a genius as brilliant as you fall into utter despair."

"Whenever you make that face, I feel as intoxicated as if I've drunk mead."

The Lord of Cinder said coldly, "You really are a complete madman!"

The Omniscient Sage then smiled and said, "Thank you for the compliment."

"So now, what's your choice?"

The Lord of Cinder frowned, his eyes filled with pain and struggle. His lips trembled slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but was swallowed up by endless silence.

The King of Cinder looked around.

The citizens of the Great Yan Kingdom, now frozen into ice sculptures, seemed to be watching him through the frozen ice.

Those eyes were like sharp needles, piercing the King of Fire as if he were sitting on pins and needles.

It was like layers of shackles, tightly binding him.

But gradually.

The King of Cinder's gaze gradually hardened.

"Since all of this started because of me, it is only right that I end it all."

After saying that, Lord Cinder turned and walked toward a corner of the city.

Not long after.

The blazing flames then ignited in the city and quickly spread throughout the entire Great Yan Kingdom.

The ice that had enveloped the entire city began to melt rapidly.

And saw this scene.

The historical "omniscient sage" suddenly burst into a strange laugh.

"Hey! He believed it! He believed it!"

"Does he really think those civilians can go back to normal?!"

"No, Lord of Cinder, you can't save anything!"

The people of the Great Yan Kingdom who had been freed from the ice had temporarily returned to their original appearance.

However, the [filthy secret power] within the ice had completely seeped into their bodies, becoming indistinguishable from their flesh and blood.

in a blink.

The bodies of several civilians suddenly underwent a terrifying transformation.
Some of them grew countless long white hairs.

Some of the bones made a chilling "crackling" sound, as if they were being twisted arbitrarily by a pair of invisible giant hands, thus contorting them into another bizarre posture.

Some even sprouted slippery tentacles that wriggled bizarrely.

They rampaged through the town's streets, wreaking havoc and emitting inhuman roars.

The voice seemed to come from the depths of hell, sending chills down the spines of anyone who heard it.

but.

The King of Cinder seemed to have anticipated this situation.

He seemed to know all along that his people, corrupted by the [tainted secret power], could never return to their original state.

What he is doing now is simply freeing them from this torment.

This led to the great fire that later consumed the entire Great Yan Kingdom.

And suddenly.

Shane thought of something else.

In the previous memory scenes, the people of the Great Yan Kingdom maintained their human dignity and did not transform into such filthy creatures.

Think about it now.

This is most likely because they have lost their memories of when they were monsters.

Or.

In the minds of the common people of the Great Yan Kingdom, their condition was normal and they had not undergone any mutation.

That's why the memories presented are the same as before.

at this time.

What the omniscient sage reveals may be the true history.

As the Lord of Cinder's flames burned ever brighter, they spread throughout the entire nation.

Outside of the Great Yan Kingdom.

The great flood, which had been imprisoned by solid ice, began to gradually loosen.

The intense flames collided violently with the ice.

In an instant, the whole world was illuminated by this sudden conflict, with blinding firelight and cold blue light intertwining.

It bursts forth with dazzling light and shadow effects.

The ice crackled and popped under the intense heat of the fire.

More and more bodies of water resumed their flowing state and rolled away into the distance.

Upon seeing this, many legendary experts fell silent.

They all understood what this scene truly meant.

In order to liberate his people, Lord Cinder released the Great Flood that had been sealed away.

—This is exactly the same as Shane's guess!
This resulted in the Seven Seas World being submerged by seawater.

Countless kingdoms and creatures perished in this catastrophe.

This also ushered the world into the post-flood era.

"That's right, that's the truth."

The Omniscient Sage's shrill laughter rang out.

"You all think the Lord of Cinder is the chosen one? A great hero who will save the world?"

"Hahaha, this is absolutely ridiculous!"

"Wrong! You are all wrong!"

"This man is actually an executioner who slaughtered 70% of the world's population."

"His sins are far, far greater than mine."

"And his purpose in doing so was simply to bury his own country with his own hands!"

Although the Omniscient Sage subtly changed the concept, turning the Lord of Cinder from a victim into a perpetrator.

But there is one thing he did say correctly.

If Lord Cinder had not broken some of the seals, the world might not have been submerged by the Great Flood and would not be what it is today.

For a while.

Many legendary figures looked at the Lord of Cinder with complicated expressions.

And to this.

The King of Cinder neither denied nor defended himself, but stated it directly.

"This is indeed a crime I committed, but I do not regret it."

"If I had another chance, I would still do the same thing."

"Moreover, the ritual of the Omniscient Sage already contained a backup plan left by you."

"Even if I didn't do this, I'm afraid you would still have unleashed this massive flood that would sweep across the entire world, wouldn't you?"

Seeing the King of Cinder's calm expression.

The Omniscient Sage suddenly found it extremely boring.

"I didn't expect that you could still pretend to be indifferent even now."

"It seems that these thousands of years have made you grow a lot."

"But what about this next one?"

With another gentle tap from the Omniscient Sage.

The memory scene in front of everyone started fast-forwarding once again.

And the final pause.

The scene depicted was one where the entire Great Yan Kingdom had been burned to ashes.

Obvious.

This should have been the scene following their previous memories.

However, due to the intervention of Edward, Shane, and others, the entire scene underwent unpredictable changes.

All that could be seen was the Great Yan Kingdom, which had been completely burned to the ground.

The ground was littered with still-burning embers, charred ruins, and corpses.

King Cinder sat alone in the collapsed palace, like a lonely sculpture.

It's like a silent tombstone.

And at the same time.

The remnant souls from various parts of the Great Yan Kingdom gradually emerged from the ruins.

They carried resentment, anger, and unwillingness, and came together to form a powerful yet eerie force.

Above the ruins of the Great Yan Kingdom, these remnant souls intertwined and entangled, forming a massive, ever-churning vortex of souls.

Within the vortex, various lights flickered, along with some indescribable colors.

They collided and merged with each other, producing a series of low, rumbling sounds.

The narration of "The Omniscient Sage" then began.

"Born from the ruins of the Great Yan Kingdom is an unprecedented and terrifying undead."

"But when it was first born, it was very weak."

"The Lord of Cinder could have destroyed it completely now, but he didn't..."

(End of this chapter)