Chapter 23: Ambition and Revolution 5000
The spring festival had arrived.
At the Saint Lawrence Cathedral in the Imperial Capital, the aged Archbishop struck the ancient ‘Star-Moon Bell,’ and a melodious, crisp sound arose from it. The pleasant chime echoed throughout the entire Imperial Capital—the commoner districts, the noble districts, the commercial districts, the Royal Plaza. All the bell towers within the vast Three Mountains Holy City began to ring in response, allowing the soul-stirring sound to gradually spread, reaching distant places beyond sight.
Ringing the seasonal bell to welcome the arrival of a new season was a traditional custom of the Northern Empire and indeed the entire Mycroft Continent. In times past, only the rulers and clergy of various regions possessed knowledge. To let ordinary people know what season it was and what they should do, they would ring the great bell on the first day of the corresponding season, hold a festival, offer sacrifices to the gods, and widely proclaim the relevant knowledge.
The sound of the seasonal bell was unique. Each great bell had been blessed by the Seven Gods, containing a solemn and sacred power. When the three long and one short chime signifying spring rang out, a fresh, life-filled force spread along the ripples of the sound waves, blessing every person present.
Clang. The first melodious chime of the bell rang out, and the power from the gods blessed the multitude. Originally, this event would have been met with wave after wave of cheers and prayers. The Imperial Emperor would have walked out of the great hall amidst these cheers, ascended the high platform, and, as the sovereign of the nation, offered sacrifices to the earth beneath him, ending this brief yet sacred ceremony. But now, the people who should have been cheering excitedly all remained silent, almost as if by prior agreement. Millions within the Imperial Capital raised their heads, staring at the sky above the three mountains with shocked and bewildered gazes.
—What is that? Everyone wondered in confusion.
At that moment, a several-hundred-meter-long, deep blue fissure appeared high above the Imperial Capital. It was still expanding, and within a few breaths, it had become a colossal object spanning the Three Mountains Holy City. Accompanied by clearly visible ripples in space-time, the chaotic veins of the void began to manifest. Many people instinctively closed their eyes the moment they saw the scenery of the void, bowing their heads and wailing in pain. This was because their brains could not process this bizarre vista, completely different from three-dimensional space-time.
At the Morlai Palace, the great nobles, professionals, and members of the Imperial family who had been inside the great hall all left the building. They stood on the open ground outside the palace, and most of them looked up at the rhomboid space-time rift in the mid-air, which resembled an eye slowly opening, their pupils involuntarily contracting.
“That is—” an old mage, draped in a mage robe with the emblem of the high-ranking Imperial Royal Mage Association on his chest, exclaimed in surprise: “It’s the President’s magical energy fluctuation!”
“It is Master Nostradamus!”
And following the old man’s exclamation, the bell towers within the city began to play in unison—Clang. The second long chime of the bell sounded. The space-time rift high above the Imperial Capital stopped expanding. Around the massive rift, circles of complex runes began to appear. They expanded rapidly, forming magnificent and intricate magical patterns. Lines hundreds or even thousands of meters long, containing immense power, stretched across the void, forming a highly conspicuous three-dimensional—and even more complex—magical array above the Imperial Capital. With the formation of the array, the chaotic scenery within the original space-time rift immediately cleared up.
It was like a boiling cauldron of oil cooling down. The surging void calmed under the influence of a certain power, and the dizzying, chaotic scene gradually became clear. Clang. The third melodious chime of the bell sounded. In the sight of everyone still looking up, at the far end of the void, a colossal existence, resembling a fortress, began to emerge.
This was a massive fortress entirely composed of gleaming, silvery metallic cold light. It was a perfectly regular icosahedron, with the most advanced observation arrays, capable of even piercing space-time, engraved on each of its faces. It stood in the void outside the world, silently observing the chaotic scenes within the multiverse. Countless chaotic space-time currents tried to approach it, but dissipated like phantoms under the influence of magic.
“The Void Observation Station!”
At this moment, all the great nobles and professionals with some knowledge couldn’t help but exclaim, causing waves of commotion. They recognized what this steel fortress at the far end of space-time was. It was the magnificent structure that took three hundred years and the reigns of four previous emperors to complete. It marked the farthest frontier of the Empire’s territory, a wonder capable of directly observing the void and cognizing the multiverse—the 【Void Observation Station】!
When the mages realized this, they turned their heads.
“Achievements overshadowing the ruler? No rewards left to give? People always say this to me. Nostradamus’s achievements have reached a peak. He thwarted the Orc Shaman Corps’ plans three times, almost single-handedly blocking several of the enemy’s most secretive surprise attacks. He helped me—that is, the Imperial Emperor—defeat the other princes and seize the supreme position of the Empire. Moreover, he has trained hundreds of noble and commoner mages.”
“He presided over the construction of the teleportation network connecting all parts of the Empire, causing many disgruntled nobles to reluctantly suppress their rebellious thoughts. He oversaw the construction of the latest generation of the Imperial Capital’s wide-area space-time anchoring magical array, and left a backdoor for himself in it.”
When he said this, Israel’s tone carried a hint of sarcasm: “At that time, many people submitted memorials, saying that Nostradamus harbored ulterior motives and sought to subvert the Imperial Royal Family. It’s not surprising they thought that way, after all, the teacher had the potential to advance to Legendary at any time. If he truly mobilized all his influence, then even if he couldn’t overthrow the Empire, severely weakening the Royal Family was a certainty. So they wanted me to execute the teacher, claiming he was no longer useful. Even after the teacher finished what he wanted to do and stopped any further actions, resting peacefully and playing chess with me, they still said he was trying to lurk in the shadows, plotting conspiracies.”
The ruler of the Empire stopped walking. The warrior noticed they had arrived in front of a palace. Israel scanned the ancient, mottled stone walls of the palace’s outer layer, revealing a nostalgic smile: “This is the palace I lived in when I was still a prince. It was here that the teacher explained the path of Transcendence to me. Although he is a mage, he had long understood that Arcane Power and Life Energy are essentially one and the same, both being different derivatives of some higher power.”
“Joshua.”
He turned his head, looking at the warrior, a strange light flickering in his eyes. The Emperor said: “People always tell me that the path of a monarch is one of solitude. I must make numerous sacrifices for the power in my hands and the throne beneath me. From then on, I cannot have familial affection, friendship, love, or respect. Everyone must serve my interests, and I cannot trust anyone. I must regard everyone as subordinates and tools. Only then can I govern a vast empire and ensure the continuation of my power.”
“But I say: To hell with that.”
Israel Diamond, the contemporary Emperor of the Northern Empire, the heroic sovereign who defeated the Orcs, spoke thus, his face calm: “I am a Legendary. Who I trust is my own business. How I rule as Emperor is for me to decide.”
“My power comes from my strength. It has nothing to do with that nonsensical rhetoric. Power is merely an extension of my fist.”
These words carried weight. Perhaps in the entire life of this Emperor, no other statement could be truer than this one.
Joshua’s lips curled slightly. He squinted his eyes and said softly, “That’s a rather willful thing to say.”
“It’s only natural.”
Israel snorted, as if the warrior had stated something obvious. He raised his head again to look at the sky, his gaze seemingly able to pierce through the clouds and heavens, fixing on the stars in the sky: “Lord Radcliffe, after witnessing the memories of the gods from the Era of Radiance, I understood many things. For instance, the power among men is so dull and uninteresting, while the stars beyond the sky are so vast and boundless. I want to change this world, to promote the revolution the teacher wanted to spread, so that everyone, regardless of wealth, poverty, nobility, or lowliness, can have the possibility of reaching Transcendence.”
“Even if it means shaking your position as Emperor?”
The warrior asked thus.
“A pointless question.” Israel shook his head. He asked directly and bluntly: “I am willing to trust you, Lord Radcliffe. Are you willing to help me?”
The Emperor extended his hand.
Joshua gazed at him, at the man whose fate he had changed, at the man preparing to change the fate of this world, at this ambitious man intent on starting a great revolution beyond his original destiny.
The warrior bared his teeth in a happy grin.
He grasped his hand.
“With the greatest pleasure.”