Chapter 41: The Endless Cycle of Reincarnation |
He suddenly turned his head,
his gaze sweeping fiercely toward the personal guards he had brought.
“Who was it?!”
“Who shot that arrow just now?!”
“Get out here, this Duke commands you!”
Yet deep down, he was filled with confusion.
Those he had brought were the core members of Wa’s lineage.
Logically, there was absolutely no way they would do such a thing.
And yet—it had happened!
Duke Starshimmer was also stunned.
He had never intended to take Yula’s life either.
But at this moment…
He looked at the enraged Duke Spiritwind and his bewildered subordinates.
Then he looked at Yula, lying in a pool of blood.
A chill surged from the soles of his feet straight to his head!
He suddenly realized that they might have…
all fallen into an extremely terrifying trap!
And worse—they did not even know when they had fallen into it!
The mastermind behind this…
their calculation of the human heart…
was simply terrifying!
“Spiritwind! Calm down!”
Duke Starshimmer tried to regain control of the situation.
“Secure our men first and find the traitor!”
However, it was already too late.
“Duke Spiritwind has murdered the king!”
“The Wa lineage has rebelled!”
“Avenge His Majesty!”
The guards loyal to Yula and the Ze lineage, along with the palace soldiers who had rushed over, refused to listen to any explanation at all.
All they saw was Yula collapsed in a pool of blood, with an arrow piercing his chest!
Amid fury and panic,
they launched their attack without hesitation!
“Protect the Duke!”
“Counterattack!”
At the brink of life and death, Duke Spiritwind’s personal guards instinctively began to resist.
Duke Starshimmer’s forces were also dragged into the chaos, leaving them unable to disengage.
Outside the grand hall, it instantly turned into a battlefield!
Starlight and flames intertwined…
Roars and screams echoed without end!
This chaotic battle was no longer merely a forced coup—it had become the fuse that ignited a full-scale civil war within the dynasty!
……
Amid the chaos, no one noticed—
inside a towering structure within the royal palace,
two cloaked figures stood silently, overlooking the battle below.
Shan watched the intense slaughter below.
Watching those who should have been the closest recipients of Divine Grace killing one another, his body trembled slightly.
“Do you see it, Shan?”
You’s voice was terrifyingly calm.
“This is the fate of Apollo’s bloodline.”
“Desire, suspicion, power…”
“We only need to give a gentle push… and they will walk toward destruction on their own.”
“That arrow…” Shan’s voice was hoarse.
“It was one of ours.”
You admitted it openly.
“A ‘devout believer’ who craved power and whom we promised a future.”
“You see, the Divine Grace Technique is incredibly useful.”
“It can easily draw out the deepest desires in people’s hearts—and be used for our purposes.”
“But they were innocent…”
Shan had never imagined sacrificing so many innocent people just to satisfy his own hatred.
“Oh?”
“Innocent?”
A strange light flickered in You’s eyes.
“But when I was doing all this…”
“Were you not watching the entire time?”
“And now you suddenly remember that they are innocent?”
“I…” Shan opened his mouth, but no words came out.
You laughed.
The laughter grew louder and louder, becoming increasingly… mocking.
He laughed until tears came out.
“Hahaha! Interesting! How very interesting!”
“So this is what a Recipient of Divine Grace is!”
“The same hypocrisy, the same false righteousness, hahaha!”
His laughter grew increasingly piercing. Shan frowned, unable to bear it any longer, just as he was about to retort—
You suddenly stopped laughing and looked at Shan coldly.
“Then tell me, Shan.”
“How did Roland·Ze die?”
Shan’s pupils shrank abruptly.
He stared at You in shock.
“You…”
You cut him off, looking at him with ridicule.
“If one wishes to keep it unknown, one must not act in the first place.”
“Shan, did you really think that by watching me destroy the Solar Dynasty, your hands would remain clean?”
Shan stood frozen in place. He did not know how to answer… or how to explain.
And You left.
“The Solar Dynasty is about to collapse. The transaction between you and me is complete.”
Watching You’s departing figure,
Shan fell into deep confusion.
He had many things he wanted to say, but in the end…
“...Sigh…”
……
“Your Eminence.”
“An envoy from the Solar Dynasty has arrived and is currently outside the temple requesting an audience, claiming there is an urgent matter to report!”
A cleric hurried into the temple and bowed toward Lei, who was praying beneath the Divine Statue with his eyes closed.
Lei slowly opened his eyes, a trace of confusion flashing within them.
From their last parting, he could tell—
the Solar Dynasty had only grown more prosperous.
What matter could possibly require his intervention?
“Let him in.”
Lei’s voice carried a hint of fatigue.
“Yes.”
Soon, a travel-worn envoy with a sorrowful expression was led inside.
The moment he saw Lei, he immediately knelt, tears flowing before he could even speak, his voice choked with emotion.
“Great-Uncle!”
“I beg you, Great-Uncle, seek justice for my king!”
Lei’s heart sank.
An ominous premonition surged within him.
He forced himself to remain calm and let out a soft sigh.
“Rise and speak…”
“What has happened to the dynasty?”
The envoy lifted his head and cried out through sobs.
“It’s rebellion!”
“Duke Spiritwind and Duke Starshimmer have joined forces to rebel!”
“His Majesty… he…”
“He died by an arrow!”
Boom—!
In an instant, Lei’s mind went blank.
“You said…”
“The descendants of Wa and Ya have rebelled?”
His voice was hoarse, filled with disbelief.
“Yes, Great-Uncle!”
“You said…”
“Yula died… by an arrow?”
Lei’s voice began to tremble.
“Yes…”
“His Majesty… was pierced through the heart by an arrow!”
Faced with such shocking news…
Lei stood frozen, like a statue.
Only his slightly trembling fingers
revealed the turmoil within his heart.
How long had it been since Ze returned to the Star Sea?
The successor he had personally chosen—his own grandson—
had actually returned to the Star Sea in such a tragic way, one eerily similar to history itself?
After a long while…
Lei finally recovered from the immense shock.
An indescribable grief and rage
surged into his heart, reddening his eyes.
“Let’s go!”
He suddenly stood up, his white robes billowing without wind, an awe-inspiring pressure emanating from his entire body!
“Take me to the Royal City!”
“I will personally ask them what they think they are doing!”
“How long do they intend to let this endless sin continue?!”
He could not understand.
Why was it that Apollo’s bloodline…
again and again fell into these sins of fratricide and power struggles?
It was as if…
they were trapped in an endless cycle,
generation after generation, slaughtering one another!
He quickly entrusted the affairs of the theocratic state to several Cardinals, then, together with the envoy, sped toward the Solar Dynasty.