Chapter 42: Who Was the Beginning of Sin? |
Outside the Royal City.
The Recipients of Divine Grace from the three bloodlines of Wa, Ya, and Ze
were now gathered together, clearly divided.
The Recipients of Divine Grace from the Wa and Ze bloodlines glared at each other, hatred burning fiercely in their eyes.
If not for others holding them back, they would have already torn into each other.
As for the Ya bloodline represented by Duke Starshimmer,
they were awkwardly positioned in the middle.
They tried their best to maintain the fragile balance, persuading both sides to calm down and seek the possibility of negotiation.
However, resentment that had built up over decades—
“If it weren’t for that despicable arrow back then!”
“The throne should have belonged to our Wa ancestors!”
“You of the Ze bloodline are nothing but thieves!”
Someone from the Wa bloodline shouted angrily.
“Bullshit!”
“The victor becomes king!”
“How dare you slander the Ze King!”
“On the contrary, you people now dare to commit regicide!”
“That is the true act of treason!”
The people of the Ze bloodline immediately retorted.
Duke Ilo, Yula’s eldest son,
his eyes were bloodshot as he stared fixedly at the opposing Duke Spiritwind, roaring—
“Spiritwind! You traitor who committed regicide!”
“All of us from the Ze bloodline will never share the same sky with you!”
Behind Ilo, the Recipients of Divine Grace of the Ze bloodline
immediately shouted in unison, their voices shaking the heavens.
“Regicide!”
“Regicide!”
Duke Spiritwind’s expression darkened. At this point,
he knew any explanation would be pale and powerless.
So he simply cast everything aside,
and poured out all the dissatisfaction he had suppressed for years!
“Yula is worthy of being called king?”
“If Ze hadn’t used underhanded means back then, this throne would have long been in the hands of our Wa bloodline!”
“You are the true usurpers!”
“It was you who first betrayed bloodline and honor!”
“You’re talking nonsense!”
Duke Ilo flew into a rage, raising his hand as a blazing fireball formed and instantly blasted toward Duke Spiritwind!
“Hmph! A trivial trick!”
Duke Spiritwind snorted coldly. A brilliant starlight barrier instantly condensed before him, steadily blocking the fireball.
And with Ilo making the first move,
the fuse of battle was instantly ignited.
The long-suppressed emotions on both sides erupted, and they charged at each other with furious roars!
Flames and starlight collided violently!
Roars and screams rang out in unison.
“You thieves! You robbers!”
“Regicide! Regicide!”
“Stop! Stop right now!”
Duke Starshimmer shouted in vain.
Unfortunately, this chaotic battle was no longer something a mere Recipient of Divine Grace like him could stop.
Thus, he could only order the Ya bloodline’s Recipients of Divine Grace to retreat, to avoid being swept into the chaos.
Otherwise, if it turned into a three-way melee, things would become even more troublesome.
Just as the battle reached its peak,
and casualties on both sides continued to rise—
a furious shout filled with authority and sorrow suddenly resounded across the entire battlefield.
“Stop this at once—!”
Immediately after,
vast starlight poured down like a river of stars,
instantly enveloping the entire battlefield!
Under the bathing starlight, the wounds on both sides began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.
That warm yet powerful force
forcefully soothed everyone’s rage,
bringing all movement to a halt.
The figure of Lei appeared at the very center of the battlefield, like a deity descending into the mortal world.
At this moment, his face was ashen.
His gaze swept across every Descendant of Apollo present, filled with disappointment and anger.
“For the sake of a mere throne—”
“you disregarded blood ties like this?!”
“Even… committing the grave sin of killing your own kin!”
His voice trembled with emotion.
“You…”
“Do you still remember that you are descendants of Apollo?!”
“Why must you endlessly pass down the hatred of the previous generation to the next?!”
Under his pressure and questioning, many Recipients of Divine Grace lowered their heads in shame, not daring to meet his gaze.
Lei’s eyes first fell upon Ilo.
“Ilo!”
“You invited me here—was it so I could personally witness how the descendants of Apollo slaughter each other and bring disgrace upon their ancestors?!”
Ilo immediately knelt down, tears streaming uncontrollably.
“Great-Uncle!”
“My father died unjustly!”
A sharp pain struck Lei’s heart, and he closed his eyes helplessly.
The last time they met had been at Ze’s funeral.
At that time, Yula had respectfully called him Great-Uncle. Who would have thought that would be their final meeting?
He then turned to look at Duke Spiritwind, his voice heavy with grief.
“Spiritwind!”
“Why did you commit such a heinous act?!”
“Even… using arrows!”
“Have you forgotten…”
“how Wa fell?!”
Duke Spiritwind looked at Lei’s heartbroken expression.
The grievance and fury within him intertwined.
There was no longer any respect on his face,
only ridicule and resentment remained.
“Great-Uncle!”
“Ha! You ask me?”
“Have you forgotten?!”
“That bow and arrow—!”
“The bow and arrow that took the life of Ancestor Wa and changed the fate of the dynasty—!”
“It was you!”
“You were the one who brought it back to the dynasty with your own hands!”
His voice was sharp, as if bleeding.
“If you hadn’t brought back the bow and arrow, Ancestor Wa wouldn’t have died!”
“Ancestor Ya wouldn’t have been disheartened and left, only to die in a foreign land!”
“There wouldn’t have been Ancestor Ze’s guilt and obsession afterward!”
“And there certainly wouldn’t have been decades of resentment between our Wa and Ze bloodlines!”
“None of what happened today would have occurred!”
He stared fixedly at Lei,
his eyes filled with undisguised accusation.
“Great-Uncle!”
“Anyone here has the right to accuse me!”
“But you—!”
“You have no such right!”
“Because you are the source of… all this tragedy!”
Boom!
Duke Spiritwind’s words
pierced deeply into the most buried wound in Lei’s heart—and tore it open, bloodily.
Lei staggered back as if struck by lightning.
His face instantly turned deathly pale.
He stared blankly at Spiritwind.
At the same time, he saw the agreement and resentment in the eyes of those descendants of the Wa bloodline around him…
So this was what they had always thought…
So in everyone’s heart…
he was the true culprit!
“Haha… hahaha…”
Lei suddenly laughed. The laughter rose from low to high, filled with endless desolation and self-mockery.
“So that’s how it is…”
“So you all… hate me…”
“Hahaha!”
“Yes! That’s right!”
“If I hadn’t brought back the bow and arrow…”
“Wa wouldn’t have died! Ya wouldn’t have left! Ze wouldn’t have borne sin!”
“None of this would have happened today!”
“So it turns out… I am the one…”
“who created all these tragedies… the source!”
All the guilt he had carried,
all the avoidance he had clung to,
all the truths he had buried beneath faith—
at this moment…
were laid bare under the sunlight, with nowhere left to hide!
All the pillars of his spirit
collapsed completely in that instant.