Chapter 11: The Justice of a Youth
In the early morning, the melodious sound of a harmonica soothed the spirit. There were few pedestrians on the streets. This was Weissock City, the capital of the Eastern Marsh Kingdom, a city with a very slow pace of life.
Compared to the militarily developed Lehman Kingdom, the quality of Eastern Marsh soldiers was noticeably lower. A comfortable life, while happy, also dulled people's willpower.
Even the coastal Storm Kingdom was a cut above the Eastern Marsh Kingdom. If not for the Parliament mediating the Central Continent, the first kingdom to be destroyed would undoubtedly be the Eastern Marsh Kingdom.
It was often bullied in diplomacy and trade, but fortunately, the Parliament was fair enough, repeatedly helping the Eastern Marsh Kingdom seek justice. The Eastern Marsh Kingdom was an elegant 'lady'; not good at fighting, but its musical prowess far surpassed the other three great kingdoms.
Today, Weissock City was as usual. People rose with the call of the morning light. Just as seven o'clock arrived, the streets gradually became lively. Today was Weissock City's Holy Music Festival, a festival held only once every five years.
Travelers from other kingdoms would spend several hours on steam trains just to witness the Holy Music Festival with their own eyes. Tomorrow, in newspapers across the nations, this Holy Music Festival would undoubtedly be the headline.
Laughter and instrumental tunes were the main theme of the streets. In this atmosphere, people felt a genuine sense of relaxation and comfort.
On top of a towering domed building, a man draped in a black robe stood, looking down at the streets below.
"Kukulin Bai Ye."
The black-robed man spoke in a low voice. Under his loose sleeves, several finger-thick black tentacles writhed.
"You are troublesome, but you, far away in Angor City, can no longer stop us. Only when the Secret Art Masters are completely dead can the god's wrath be appeased. The Hyena Wolf Clan or humans will build a new empire on the ruins, an empire without Secret Patterns."
The black-robed man seemed somewhat desolate. A breeze passed, revealing a somewhat pale face under his hood. He pulled a stained stone slab from his chest. The moment it appeared, the black tentacles inside his sleeves coiled around it.
Crack~
A very fine spatial crack appeared. The black-robed man slowly pressed the stone slab forward. The spatial cracks around him became denser. In just over ten seconds, a large area of spatial cracks appeared above Weissock City.
The commoners naturally noticed this anomaly. In their view, the sky was splitting with cracks, and a black sun appeared above.
At the same time, inside the royal palace of Weissock City, over a dozen maids were attending to King Abel IX as he dressed. Today, Abel IX's attire was exceptionally splendid. As the king of the Eastern Marsh Kingdom, he was to appear at noon during the quinquennial Holy Music Festival.
"Cough~"
Abel IX coughed lightly, and the dozen or so maids immediately bowed and stepped back a few paces.
"My throat is a bit uncomfortable. Continue."
Abel IX was somewhat distracted. The Lehman Kingdom's debt still had no reply. That 'rogue' was clearly planning to default.
"Cough, cough, cough."
Abel IX suddenly coughed dryly several times. When the coughing stopped, he felt a strange relief in his chest.
"Your, Your Majesty, you, you."
The dozen maids looked at Abel IX with terrified expressions. Abel IX looked puzzled. Though slightly annoyed, he didn't show it.
For some reason, Abel IX felt his hands were wet. He raised his right hand. On the back of his hand and his sleeve, it was covered in black liquid. As this liquid dripped down, it formed sticky strands due to its viscosity.
"This is..."
As a king, Abel IX remained calm. He wiped his lips with his clean left hand, and sure enough, his hand was stained with the black viscous liquid.
"Cang Hun, go inform General Charles. Order all steam train stations to unconditionally let all soldiers and civilians board the trains. Go to Angor City, go to the Parliament, find Councilor Rose. Hurry!"
Abel IX could clearly feel his body going numb. Angor City was the safest place. Beneath Angor City was the underground city built by Emperor Okaz, which could accommodate at least a million civilians or soldiers. Angor City itself was easy to defend and hard to attack, and the underground city was the final line of defense.
"I never thought I would be the one to give this order. I hope the people are safe."
Abel IX was very calm. According to the secrets passed down through the royal family, he knew he was going to die. As a king, he did not fear death. What he truly feared was the destruction of his kingdom.
"Cang Hun, go quickly. The wrath of the ancient god is about to descend. Cang Hun? Cang Hun?"
Abel IX looked at the shadow behind the screen. Cang Hun was always there, guarding him.
Hah~
A beastly low grunt came. A completely withered humanoid monster walked out. Though its body was withered, it exuded a sense of power. The clothes on its body had long been semi-weathered, turning into tattered strips. More astonishingly, the energy within its body had decayed into black. Its gray pupils stared at Abel IX. This was the Cang Hun Abel IX had called. It had become a monster before Abel IX.
"I've put you in a difficult position. The Secret Art Masters are the first to be eroded. How could I forget this."
Abel IX smiled. Black liquid flowed even from his ear canals. The splendid clothes on his body became tattered, as if corroded by time for decades.
Boom!
Cang Hun pounced on Abel IX. Abel IX had no power to resist. His head was directly sent flying by Cang Hun, who had become a humanoid monster.
Abel IX's headless body staggered back a few steps, his arms hanging limply. Black liquid sprayed from the severed neck, continuously eroding the surroundings.
"Roar!!"
Cang Hun roared, the withered skin on both sides of its cheeks tearing open, revealing gray-yellow flat teeth.
The black viscous liquid rolled back, centering on Abel IX. His severed head was also pulled back.
Abel IX stood frozen in place. His skin was dry and cracked all over, his long black hair fluttering. His right pupil had turned deep red, while about half of his left pupil was still normal, being rapidly eroded.
Abel IX raised his right arm and lightly pointed his index finger forward.
Puff~
A ripple spread through the air where Abel IX had pointed. The next moment, his left pupil also turned deep red. He completely lost consciousness. The king of the East had fallen here.
Bang!
Cang Hun's body suddenly exploded, scattering into large pieces of withered fragments. This was the last dignity Abel IX granted him. Cang Hun was proud and would not want to become a monster.
Inside Weissock City, outside the royal palace, this city of music had turned into a living hell. Screams were incessant, roars never stopped. One by one, completely withered humanoid monsters leaped between buildings. Some stood on high ground roaring, while others were in the streets, slaughtering civilians.
Above the royal palace, the black-robed man sat on the edge of the roof, expressionlessly watching the scenes below. When he saw a little girl, only a few years old, have her head crushed by a humanoid monster, his hand trembled almost imperceptibly.
"I did all this. Go ahead and despise me."
The black-robed man was smiling. He would not offer even a single word of defense for his actions. Slaughtering living beings is evil, regardless of the purpose.
The black-robed man was named Gru. He was born in a small village outside the border, a village that didn't even belong to any kingdom. No kingdom was willing to accept such a remote and impoverished place.
Gru's belief was that even if he became a demon, he would take back all the Secret Patterns. The combination of Secret Patterns and steam technology would bring absolute destruction. One generation of civilization had already paid the price for this.
Years ago, when Gru first discovered this, he thought it was impossible. But after several near-death explorations, he verified it. This was a disaster that had truly occurred.
After confirming this, young Gru tried every possible method and finally found an official from the Storm Kingdom. The result was that the other party received him politely, listened solemnly to his description, but when it came to evidence, young Gru was speechless. He had only seen visions, and only by chance entering a certain place was he able to verify those 'visions.' Gru could provide no evidence.
That kingdom official solemnly told young Gru that he would take the matter seriously and report it to his superiors. Hearing this, young Gru was overjoyed. But months passed, and his major discovery caused no ripples. The newspapers still reported on the progress of combining Secret Patterns with steam.
Young Gru was somewhat angry. He sought out that kingdom official again, repeatedly emphasizing the seriousness of the matter. The other party still appeared very 'attentive.' When Gru was leaving, he was given 15 gold pounds to investigate the matter.
Holding the 15 gold pounds, young Gru felt very conflicted. Although the other party had always been smiling, giving him 15 gold pounds felt like shooing away a mangy dog that kept coming to beg for food. Gru wasn't doing this for money. He just didn't want to see people die because of this. That was all. That year, Gru was only 17. He liked drinking milk to grow strong, liked dogs, and liked pretty girls.
Another two months passed. The news in the newspapers still hadn't changed. Young Gru sought out that kingdom official for the third time, as he was the most powerful person Gru could reach.
The result was that Gru was thrown into prison that very day, charged with stealing 15 gold pounds from a town official and attempting to incite chaos. For this, Gru faced a 15-year prison sentence.
Gru escaped, fleeing to the Eastern Marsh Kingdom. He didn't change his name. For a 17-year-old, he still believed he hadn't done anything wrong, and he didn't think all kingdom officials were like that curly-haired fat pig.
Seven years later, Gru resigned from his position as Inspector General of the Eastern Marsh Kingdom and mysteriously disappeared. At the time, this incident even alarmed King Abel IX. The Inspector General was no small figure; it was a second-rank position in the kingdom, a decision-maker whose influence could affect a city's development.
The more he knew, the more he realized how fantastical it was to take back all the Secret Patterns and prevent the combination of Secret Patterns and steam technology. Driven by power, profit, and prestige, it was impossible to stop.
This was only Gru's brief youth. When Gru joined a millennium-old organization and held a high position, that was when he truly began to shine.
...
Angor City, inside the residence of the Saint Councilor.
Su Xiao flipped through the documents in his hand. These documents had been retrieved from the Parliament by Puri in his capacity as Acting Councilor. The stack of papers he held came from the Storm Kingdom and the Eastern Marsh Kingdom, all recording information about the same person.
"Elvis Gru. It seems you are the one."
Su Xiao handed several documents to Bubu Wang. Bubu Wang was skilled in reconnaissance. He had the best chance of finding the mastermind, Elvis Gru.
"Woof."
Bubu Wang barked, meaning the person in the photo looked quite handsome, definitely capable of charming thousands of young maidens.
Bang! The study door was slammed open. Puri, drenched in cold sweat, rushed into the room. He placed both hands on the desk, panting heavily. He picked up the teapot on the table, took several big gulps, and then let out a long sigh.
"Kukulin, I have something to tell you."
"Hm?"
"The Eastern Marsh Kingdom... has fallen!"
Puri swallowed his saliva. One of the four great kingdoms, the Eastern Marsh Kingdom, had fallen in just a few hours. If not for his special intelligence channels, Puri wouldn't have believed it. Today, the Eastern Marsh Kingdom was supposed to hold the Holy Music Festival. Now, no need for holy music; it was time to play a dirge.
"Oh? When did this happen."
Su Xiao extinguished the cigarette in his hand, his expression unchanged.
"Just this morning."
Puri looked Su Xiao up and down. In his view, any normal person would be shocked upon hearing the news of the Eastern Marsh Kingdom's fall.
Su Xiao was certainly surprised that a behemoth like the Eastern Marsh Kingdom could fall in a few hours. As for being shocked, not really. He had once witnessed a world collapse, everything turning to dust.