Chapter 2: Sand Flame
The true royal family of the Sand Flame, the Penir family, has been annihilated, their bloodline severed.
Of these two pieces of intelligence, the first is correct, and the second is wrong. The [Penir Ring] obtained by Su Xiao has a characteristic: once all members of the Penir family die, this ring will shatter.
The Penir family has not yet been completely wiped out. 'Coincidentally,' the Maosheng God was devoured. It must be known that the Penir family has another title: the clan that devours gods.
During the previous negotiations, according to what King Peru revealed, the first Sand Emperor did not form an alliance with a neutral deity. The Sand Flame also had no true faith in any god. The first Sand Emperor did not ally with a neutral deity; instead, he led his army to besiege that neutral deity and captured it alive.
Occasionally, they could drink fine wine infused with divine energy, and a single feast would satisfy them. The Penir family knew how to distinguish this, so they imprisoned that neutral deity, forcing it to continuously supply divine energy.
To ensure this deity did not die from energy depletion, the first Sand Emperor devised a plan: to make the deity's existence public, allowing the common people of the Sand Flame to worship it to a certain extent, thereby providing a trace amount of faith power to keep the deity alive.
The result was that the first Sand Emperor succeeded. The special constitution of the Penir family was preserved, sparing them the need to spend a fortune buying minuscule amounts of divine power from the Maosheng God.
After generations of rule, a false king emerged—the father of the current Sand Emperor. This false king was ambitious. He allied with Uuno, who had already risen to a high position, and an unpopular family, the Brave Skull Clan.
After forming this alliance, the false king still felt he was no match for the Penir family. So he approached the Maosheng God, reasoning that the Sand Flame's deity would eventually die, and the Penir family would need a new god to provide energy to sustain their powerful special constitution. The next imprisoned god would be you, Maosheng God.
Maosheng God knew this was not a threat but a fact. So he contacted King Peru, Spring Steel Sheep, to act as a bridge, allowing the false king and King Peru to negotiate.
King Peru's initial thought was, "Is there such a good thing?" Back then, the Kingdom of Peru was being beaten so badly it could barely find its way north, so he immediately agreed to the false king's alliance.
The false king, Uuno, and the Brave Skull Clan stormed the Rosai Palace at night, besieging the Penir family. They thought victory was assured, but they were nearly crushed into pulp. The Penir family was overwhelmingly powerful; they didn't need guards for protection—those guards were just for show.
The Maosheng God and King Peru's reinforcements arrived in time, and the false king ultimately won. Afterward, everyone associated with the Penir family, along with historical records, was purged. This is why large gaps appear in this world's history.
After the false king ascended the throne, he did not form an alliance with Peru as agreed, causing King Peru to turn against him.
Was King Peru fooled? Of course not. Not many years later, the situation on the central battlefield shifted. Due to the mysterious disappearance of all Penir family officers, the Sand Flame's front lines collapsed. From then on, the Sand Flame never gained an advantage in the central battlefield.
Based on Su Xiao's investigation and speculation, this is the blank history of the Sand Flame Kingdom. Usurpation is not a glorious act, so the false king naturally covered it up. The one who helped him achieve this was the Sand Flame's deity.
This is the most miserable god Su Xiao has ever seen—even worse than the homebody Moon God by a few degrees. It didn't provoke or offend anyone, yet it was locked up and frequently drained of divine energy.
After the Penir family fell, this deity practically soared. The false king valued it greatly and cooperated with it. Through various methods, they erased everything related to the Penir family within the Sand Flame Kingdom.
How the false king died, Su Xiao couldn't uncover. His only son is the current Sand Emperor. Everything after that is what happened after Su Xiao arrived in this world.
When the Sand Capital demanded the Holy Maiden from him, he sensed something was wrong. More importantly, he later obtained the [Penir Ring].
At this point, Su Xiao still didn't suspect that descendants of the Penir family were within the Sand Capital. But after the Maosheng God was 'eaten,' he recalled the Penir family's other title: the clan that devours gods.
The Sand Capital demanded the Holy Maiden from him, and the Holy Maiden was closely tied to the Maosheng God. At that time, only the Sand Emperor, Uuno, and Karos had the authority to make such a demand.
Through simple elimination and speculation, among the Sand Emperor, Uuno, and Karos, there might be a descendant of the Penir family. The answer was clear: it was Karos, Penir Karos, and her sister, Penir Camilla.
In Su Xiao's perception, Penir Camilla's behavior was very strange. She seemed to be the Sand Emperor's pawn, yet she was Karos's sister. How could a descendant of the Penir family be at the Sand Emperor's mercy? That didn't add up.
Su Xiao didn't know the specific plans of the Penir sisters. He hadn't stayed long in the Sand Capital, so what he understood was more about the Penir family's secrets and the hidden history between the two kingdoms.
Just as Su Xiao was pondering, Bubu Wang hurried back.
"Woof."
"Only the Karos sisters are in the Rosai Palace? No ambush?"
"Woof."
"Strange."
Su Xiao couldn't figure it out. Were those two sisters just waiting for him in the Rosai Palace like this? If so, it was no different from delivering their heads.
Don't forget a crucial point: Su Xiao was the one who captured the Holy Maiden, and she had stayed in Segona City for a while. When the Sand Capital so forcefully demanded the Holy Maiden, Su Xiao naturally took precautions.
"Woof."
Bubu Wang barked again, and Su Xiao paused mid-step. Because Bubu Wang said that in the bedchamber of the Rosai Palace, there were only two people: Karos, who had turned half into a monster, and the paralyzed Queen Camilla. Yet together, they emitted dozens of different auras. This was likely related to the Penir family's special constitution.