Shadow of the Evil God

What would happen if it was put into Anglan?" Cesar said thoughtfully.

Diana looked up to the side and glanced at him: "I guess they will think that the king let the refugees into the city.

Yes, Mr. Cesar."

"You are so rude."

She sighed, "I'm trying my best to convince myself that those noisy refugee groups are of great use, but before there are any actual results, I can only use this kind of self-deception."

"Don't you trust your reliable classmates and friends anymore?" Cesar asked her.

"Perhaps my military training isn't high enough, and my vision isn't as far-sighted as hers. When it comes to judging whether something is feasible, I can't prioritize friendship over reason. And why did Altinya accept you as her teacher? I really don't understand."

"Maybe he thought someone would come and claim him as his teacher." He shrugged. "I can't just watch you hesitate like this."

"I'm not hesitant," Diana said decisively. "I don't think I need to take a secular person as my teacher."

"Worldly people..." Cesar said in a long voice with interest, "According to you, the monks of each temple are also worldly people? Remember the monk who followed Sagaros and left a lot of Holmonks debris on the ground?"

"Tsk, your path is completely unpredictable. It's never been taught by a monk, and you haven't held any monk's precepts. So far, I haven't figured out what's wrong with you, but I will find out sooner or later."

Chapter 158 Those Are Your Nephews and Nieces

"Is there anything noteworthy about these people?" Cesar asked her.

"Point out the person and I can give you some personal evaluation."

"Let's talk about the golden knight in the lead first."

"Count Verlar, commander of the kingdom's knights and a monk of Helgast, is incredibly devoted to bravery and honor," Diana said. "Better commanders employ more subtle strategies, but Count Verlar only cares about forming his army and facing battle head-on. Helgast's chosen one of the previous era was a legendary military strategist, but those who followed him have all been reckless men obsessed with bravery."

"That's a very lenient assessment of yours," Cesar said with a sidelong glance. "If every temple could produce a Chosen One in every generation, this world would be a very different place."

"The truth is, he defeated many enemies, but the casualties among the Olidan soldiers were also heavy," Diana said. "I don't want to dwell on my father's achievements. Let's take Garcia for example. Everyone knows he instigated an entire city to slaughter each other, but later he conquered several city-states without a single soldier. In some cities, the citizens even united to execute the governors who tried to resist, and presented him with the heads and the cities. If it were our General Villar, he would definitely not want to bear the bad reputation of Garcia."

"So Count Villars actually has a very good reputation," said Cesar.

"People in the secular world admire commanders who are brave and uphold honor. If a knight leader has strict discipline, he will naturally be even more popular."

"I've noticed that whenever you want to belittle someone, you'll bring up the term 'secular.' If the person you want to belittle isn't secular, you'll say that those who support and respect him are secular."

Cesar noticed that the corridor had fallen into a long silence.

"For now," Diana finally spoke, "Auldan and Domini support the same emperor. Although he is weak and incompetent, and power is held by his wife, whom the Imperial Chancellor forced into marriage, as long as this southern emperor remains, Auldan and Domini have a barrier against the rest of the empire. Throughout the war, Count Villar squandered many opportunities that could have been seized, while Garcia led his army northward, resulting in the vast majority of charters falling to the Kingdom of Domini. If it weren't for my father's bet on Noien, Auldan would have gained nothing in recent years."

She actually ignored his question without changing her expression.

Cesar watched Count Villar and his personal guard pass along the avenue. As Diana had said, he was incredibly well-known, a man of great courage, noble character, and abiding by monastic discipline. He led his knights in a vow to defend the borders of Olidan, bordering the Kasar Empire, fighting to the last man. He was a perfect man and a saint in the eyes of the people of Olidan. In contrast, those who revered Garcia were mostly mercenaries and military officers, and his own reputation was naturally even greater.

"According to what you said, our Princess could have gone to the Military Academy in Olidan for further studies," he said.

Diana shook her head. "It's all insignificant. The nobles of the southern empire can travel freely between the two countries and visit any noble officials they wish. Of course, the Imperial Princess's withdrawal from Domini's group of young nobles and her move towards Olidan's young military commander is a very subtle political signal, but by now, it's insignificant."

That was indeed true. Compared to the current turmoil in Olidan, many things could be put on the back burner. Cesar watched the Knights of Olidan's Kingdom pass along the avenue, then, looking down, unexpectedly spotted Domini's eagle banner. The leading heavily armored knight, clad in black, towered in stature, riding a tall black horse. His helmet and visor were tightly sealed, making it impossible to see his face.

If this person carries a heavy and oppressive smell of blood, then the two young people behind him are radiant. The two, a man and a woman, ride handsome white horses and wear

The two knights, clad in silver robes, were a perfect match, their every gesture waving to the people around them. The man's toss of a rose to the crowd was met with cheers. It seemed everyone loved the legend of the knight and the rose, regardless of their nationality.

Cesar Look

He looked at Diana with a questioning look.

"Those two flamboyant fellows are your nephew and niece." Her voice was calm, cold yet tinged with a hint of teasing. "When they call you Uncle Cesar later, you must respond according to standard aristocratic etiquette."

He remained silent for a long moment. "It seems Dominy still prefers to support Evered IV," Cesar said after a pause. "Do you think these men would challenge me to a duel to kill the family traitor? Old Thane brought Noyen to join Olidan."

Diana shook her head. "With Dominic's early lead in the empire's southern territories, Noien itself has become insignificant. Dominic is wary of my father, Urbino, but when it comes to Count Villars and King Evered IV, who single-handedly created the current situation, they probably wouldn't even have the time to welcome them. As for the internal conflicts within your family, I think it's best for an outsider like me to refrain from commenting."

"I was hoping the man who owed me a favor in Gonzales would come over."

"If he wants to be buried early," Diana pointed out, "General Gonzales is already retired from the military academy. He rarely leads troops, and only brings graduates here for political showmanship. If you want him to repay your friendship, I'm afraid you'll have to go to Dominican Republic to meet him yourself."

"If I knew the teleportation spell," said Cesar.

"Yes, if you know the teleportation spell." She said casually, not responding to his question at all.

"So Aya really isn't coming?" Cesar changed the subject.

"You said ah...ah what?"

"Her full name is too long, I can't remember it." Cesar said casually.

"As you wish." Diana's lips twitched, forcing a forced smile. "Of course she can't come. Her following an unknown mercenary army around could barely be explained as the ignorance and curiosity of a princess who has never seen the world. But if she were to participate in a political meeting, it would be completely inexplicable."

"You don't mean to say that people think I tricked an innocent princess into leaving with my sweet talk, do you?"

"You are the cousin of the executioner Garcia. Like Garcia, you used the notorious mercenary army as your main force, and murdered the Governor of Gonzales through some unknown and cruel means. Not only that, you also forcibly expropriated local farmland, fortified Gonzales, and recruited the honest peasants to work as slaves for you to produce various military supplies. It was Garcia who brought the young princess to Dominican Republic. People originally expected a romantic story of a prince and princess, but instead, the executioner's cousin took her away and instigated her to join a group of vagrant mercenaries. Guess what people will say about you?"

Cesar remained silent. He found the difference between rumor and reality always exceeded his imagination. But now, before he had even established himself, and with Artinia still in need of political refuge, there was no explanation for this. If people later discovered her extreme character, they would think that he, her teacher, had corrupted her. Even if someone later recounted this historical event, they would interpret this statement as historical fact and pin the blame squarely on him.

"You know," Diana continued, "Garcia is old enough to be Aya's father. Your nephews and nieces are her age. Aya usually calls Garcia uncle. I don't think I need to say more about what happened next."

"It seems I missed the chance to have Her Royal Highness call me uncle." Cesar could only shrug. "How about we start with you, Diana?"

"You're not much older than me."

"You and my nephews and nieces are the same age, and we're all pretty much the same age," Cesar pointed out.

"No, we each call our own."

Chapter 159 Oh, Little Greyhound

.......

After completely failing to reach Irits, Cesar finally fulfilled another of his promises. In other words, after careful discussion between Fils and Diana, he successfully entered Fils's dream. He realized this when he found her ghostly form beside him. Reaching out to touch it, it felt like hugging a feather. Her form was almost translucent. The surroundings matched the nightmares that had plagued her for over a month.

This was the lake's bottom, or perhaps more than just the lake's bottom. The water was almost a dark crimson, murky and muddy. The roots of the aquatic plants, like millions of flexible hairs, layered and obscured his vision. For a moment, he couldn't tell above from below. If he hadn't been dreaming, he was sure he'd drown. He held Firth in his right arm, feeling for the ancient aquatic plants. He struggled upward, hoping to see the full extent of the nightmare that had plagued her for so long.

Just as Cesar was groping for the tendrils, he suddenly encountered something completely different: a hand. The moment he touched it, it immediately grasped his hand. This touch was firm but light, making him think it was the person boating on the lake in Phils's dream, or perhaps a different Phils.

A trace of curiosity surged in his heart, and then a sudden shock spread throughout his body. The hand suddenly opened and turned.

In the blink of an eye, he was grabbed, holding his waist and pressing his arms and the girl in his arms to both sides of his body.

Cesar felt like a small animal struggling in the hands of a strong man, being held tightly and lifted out of the water. The next moment he was hanging upside down in a field of roses.

Amidst the crimson lake, a massive hand, reeking of burning, gripped his waist tightly. He saw a humanoid creature, only the upper half of its body, floating in mid-air, its towering form like a cast iron sculpture. It was hairless, its features consisting solely of a pair of hollow eye sockets, which gleamed with a furnace-like red light. Up close, it resembled some kind of demon in a mechanical shell. Its shell, freshly plucked from the lake, was emitting a vast cloud of boiling water.

He suddenly remembered the monk he had met at the Governor's Mansion. At that time, there was a huge shadow behind that person. He thought he had prepared a countermeasure, but now it seemed ridiculous. Because he realized now that these beings on the Tao would not take action on the secular level.

"How rare..." A deep voice rang out from the body, sounding infinitely distant. "If you cherish a mere phantom so much, why not throw her into the furnace with you?"

Cesar was still struggling, but suddenly stopped, feeling that every moment was extremely long.

The other party once again emitted an infinitely distant roar, as if the mountains and the earth were resonating. "The Path of Sagalos can reforge you into one, shaping her life with your flesh, blood, and soul. You are her, and she is you. We live and die together, without any distinction. Will you accept my offer?"

He struggled to shout out, "Are you forcing me, or negotiating?"

"Those who enter the furnace must observe the commandments and dedicate themselves, refining the filthy dregs of flesh, blood, and soul to forge divinity. Do you understand? The lake behind you is your dream, but now you are in my eyes. Where you are is the iris of my left eye. This iron body is but a tear of mine, a red tear that fell into the depths of the furnace during my rebirth. I can crush you with just the closing of my eyelids, letting your shattered consciousness evaporate into mist on my tears. But I will not. I sympathize with your story and the story of this shadow. This is your only chance."

Cesar could only stare at it in a daze, trying to understand its incomprehensible words. "Who summoned you?"

The voice grew heavier. "You are a being that even your own brothers and sisters have turned their backs on you. Besides this shadow, is there anyone who loves you? Since there are no earthly things worth cherishing, why do you hesitate?"

Cesar understood immediately. "I knew it was my two nephews and nieces..."

"You're obstructing—!"

The small boat that Phils had mentioned again and again when she woke up was slowly floating across the lake. The sky suddenly became pitch black, but it was more like countless shadows rising from the edge of the lake, covering the entire lake in an instant, forming a hemispherical hole that sheltered them.

The infinitely distant sound emanating from the shell ceased, and the giant, almost humanoid, suddenly disintegrated, dispersing like dust in the wind. In the blink of an eye, it vanished, and Cesar, holding Firth, fell into the rosy lake. He had no idea what had happened to the monk of Sagaros. He only saw a slender figure in a black robe approaching with a small boat. Because of the veil, Cesar couldn't see the person's face, but their posture was unusually leisurely, as if they were simply paddling on the lake for fun.

"It's been years," the person said. A melodious female voice, like the sound of a distant zither, "you look much more miserable now than you did then. You were already quite broken back then, and now it's getting worse. What do you think? Or do you think being crushed by the debris from a furnace has some artistic value?"

Cesar took a breath, straining to expel the burning and pressure of the hand barely grasping him. He lifted his eyes, trying to see the person's face clearly. But then she reached out a shadowed finger and touched his chest. In an instant, Cesar felt a saw blade pierce through his bones, nerves, and internal organs. A silent beastman let out a hoarse howl, almost piercing through his body.

He coughed violently and convulsed several times.

"Is silence the way you treat the reunion with an old friend?" She said in a sad and solemn tone, "I have been waiting in the Kasar Empire for almost a thousand years, and you remain indifferent. You even show up so far away from the empire's borders..." She blew on her hand, and the shadow lingering around her palm dissipated, revealing her porcelain-white skin.

Ajehe remained silent, and Cesar felt that this was an unexpected disaster.

She brushed her fingers across his throat, lifted his jaw to lift his face upwards, and then gently lifted it, revealing a tense wolf face. Cesar felt indescribable as he saw Ajeh being pulled out of his body.

Thousands of jagged ropes were wrapped around his body, tearing and writhing on his skin.

"Oh, little greyhound, have you learned anything different lately?" she sighed. "Have you learned to sit down and wag your tail docilely, or to beg for food from different owners? If I gave you another chance, would you bite me again, thinking you could tear my flesh and soul apart?"

"I wonder how much of this is a Faceless imitation, Firielth," Ajeh suddenly said. "How can someone who has lost most of their existence still act as if they still have a lot of emotions?"

Chapter 160: Being an Immortal Boatman to Row My Boat

她似

He almost laughed, "I never understood why you had to find the scraps you lost. For this, you would rather end your life and give up everything you have to start over again - it seems really boring. But now I understand, you don't care.

They don't understand why we should abandon the primitive and ignorant things we are born with, nor do they understand how important it is to eliminate the invisible darkness in our souls. Does this mean that you should sink to the bottom of the lake and sing and dance for your sweet love?

"You are not much different from those Kuna people whose memories are incomplete, only the direction of the incompleteness is different, Ferriers."

The boating Ferriers tapped her finger on Ajeh's chest, and the wolf girl suddenly shattered into pieces, a bloody mist splattering like heavy rain, flowing all over the boat. "If you'd like to do it again," she said, picking up a piece of meat and placing it on him. Then she picked up a bone and piled it on the meat to form a small tower, "I wouldn't mind letting you do it more often. Although I admire you, this is my dream after all. I will try to awaken you from your delusions about your own souls and see the true nature of you beastmen—that invisible darkness."

She put Ajeh's bones and flesh on his body piece by piece. As a baby's cry gradually became stronger from the pile of body tissues, Cesar was horrified to see the incomplete body of little Ajeh gradually taking shape.

He had recently speculated about the existence of Firth, but he had never imagined the person on the lake could be such a being. Brother Sagaros's previous attempt to throw him into the furnace had already made him despair; his further words were just meaningless stalling rhetoric. And now, this Great Firth was completely beyond his comprehension.

What was she doing? Reshaping the life of a living being?

"Shh..." said Ferriers, gently patting Ajeh's gradually forming cheek, as if caring for a baby. "Be quiet, child, and don't cry like those human babies. You struggled out of a pile of bloated corpses."

"Don't you care about the Flame Queen's prophecy?" Cesar breathed hard. He hadn't known when his dreams and perceptions had become indistinguishable from reality. He knew that passing from dreams into otherworldly realms was a common path for both monks and cultists; the only difference was their destination.

Was there still a way to break free from this little boat, to escape completely into those boundless and strange realms beyond this world? Even if that meant never dreaming like the others, it was better than being trapped in a place where death was certain.

The words Cesar racked his brains to find served their purpose, and only after he finished did Ferriers slowly nod. "I don't deny that," she said. "All prophecies are a kind of hope, meant to make up for people's shortcomings in this world. I may be immortal, but my vision in this world will become increasingly limited, and I will no longer be able to judge the things I once could see. Indeed, many times I have to rely on ancient prophecies. However, the forces in the north of the empire today do not need me to judge, nor do they need ancient prophecies to make up for them. When a seed called hope is no longer needed, it can't even sprout and bear fruit when the signs appear..."

He hugged the shadow of little Ferriers tighter. A sign? What sign was she talking about?

"Since you're still holding me so tightly, why don't we get to know each other again?" Big Ferris said, tilting her head to one side, almost level with the lake surface. "I just happen to need a boatman who can withstand the curse. Compared to being thrown into the furnace, being an immortal boatman to row me to the end of time might not be such a bad thing..."

Her words were suddenly interrupted, because the shadow covering the lake was suddenly torn apart, and a ray of red fire shone through, then turned into thousands of strands, piercing through the haze of the entire lake.

A massive metallic eye cast its gaze through the gap, like a steel sun falling to the earth. A piercing bell's chime, echoing from a distant source, rapidly approached, transforming into a deafening oscillation. One after another, pitch-black or silver-white, humanoid forms descended upon Firiels's dream, their forms shimmering with red light and billowing with smoke, as if they had leaped from molten iron.

"Look what you've gotten yourself into," said Ferriers. She reached out and clasped his face, and instantly, Cesar felt his heartbeat like thunder. The pressure in his skull suddenly increased, his eyes bulged and oozed blood, and his mouth opened involuntarily, emitting a stream of blood-red mist. Something unspeakable was pouring into his body, penetrating his soul, driving him to a hysterical madness. He felt the shell of his consciousness shatter, as sharp spikes penetrated his heart and merged with him, demanding that he obey a series of incomprehensible rules.

He could not resist the commandments etched into his soul. His will was a plaything in the hands of the mages. He was delirious, as if observing the outside world through a mist. He saw countless tendrils rising from the rose-red lake, entangled with the burning crimson foreign objects. It felt like witnessing a vision before death.

"Hold on to these two guys on you, don't resist my pull!"

For a moment, Cesar regained consciousness, like a drowning man finding breath. He was being dragged backward, falling through the endless darkness. But he was still dazed, unable to discern where he was falling. He felt like he was dying, or had already died, but he wasn't afraid. He simply hoped to save the two people on top of him as he fell.

It seemed like an eternity had passed before he felt himself sliding slowly through a wet swamp.

Okay, although he didn't know what kind of swamp this was. He felt his scalp itchy, raised his eyes, and saw that it was Diana who was dragging him forward by the hair, as if dragging a

A heavy wooden board with two unconscious figures resting on it.

Soon, Cesar finally leaned against a rustling, ancient tree. One root was as tall as a house, and climbing it felt like climbing a hillside. The trunk towered over the mountains and the city, its width like a towering tower. Black trees, seemingly standing for millennia, filled his view, forming dark corridors. No human presence was visible, and the silence was extraordinary.

"The Crimson Realm is pulling you in, but I've brought you into the Wasteland," Diana breathed. "Whether it's the monks of Sagaros or my ancestor, as long as you stop dreaming normally, finding you in the Wasteland will be like looking for a needle in a haystack."

Cesar grunted. He protected the two translucent figures in his arms from falling through the tree roots as he leaned back against the trunk and sat up. "What's the wasteland?"

"It's just a name. To put it in terms you can understand, it's a layer of thorns entangled in the various alien realms, and its interior is as intricate as a maze. Cultivators who follow the gods can enter the alien realms directly from their dreams, but others will walk into the wasteland and use wedges to chisel open the cracks between the various alien realms."

"Are you saying you are thieves?" Cesar asked her subconsciously.

Diana glared at him coldly. "The good news is that my little ancestor will no longer be plagued by nightmares. The bad news is that you won't be able to dream normally either. One of them is a sourceless stream, and the other is a fledgling stripped of its feathers shortly after growing up. If you want either of them to survive, you will spend every night searching the wasteland for their ownerless souls and filling their empty essences."

"Okay, I don't have any objection to this, but what about the reality?"

"Due to the stalemate between the various temples, no one will cause too much trouble in the real world, nor will any temple be willing to pay such a high price to draw the unreal into reality. Anyway, as long as you don't reveal your relationship with Analik, they will not put aside all their grudges and kill you first."

"Your ancestors couldn't be monks in the temple, right?"

"This is a political issue," Diana replied. "Fyriels can only stay in the northernmost part of the empire. Given her current nature, if she were to go south to participate in the Succession War, the vast majority of the temples would fully support the southern nations, with a determination no less than they would put aside their grudges and annihilate you."

"Then how can I make little Ferriers no longer be a sourceless water?"

Diana sighed. "Wake up, Cesar," she said. "See the mark on your forehead where the spike of the Discipline pierced it? It'll take me a long time to fix your brain."

He reached out and touched his forehead, which was riddled with holes. "There's always a way... What if someone who truly unified the divided Kasar Empire asked Great Ferriers to do this? According to the ancient contract..."

"Personally," she said calmly, "I hope you'll at least wait until our Princess dares to call herself Emperor before you say this."

"Well, you're right," Cesar said with a weak sigh, "Do you remember my two nephews and nieces? They were the ones who led the monks of Sagaros into my dreams. This matter can't be said openly, but from now on, we'd better find a way to solve their problem. Even if we can't solve it, we must be more vigilant."