# Chapter 37: The Way of the King
Just as the two legendary mages were blushing with excitement like children over their discovery.
Just as Joshua continued to lead the Black Dragon and Flame Demon, sweeping across the Abyss Black Sea Great Plains in search of targets.
The Northern Empire's ruler, Emperor Israel Diamond, wearing an inconspicuous black ordinary garment, had brought his two sons to a vast plain in the eastern part of the Empire.
It was late at night. The three rode horses, advancing slowly through the darkness. Even when the Emperor tried his best to restrain himself, he still exuded a majestic aura as vast as a mountain. Because of this, the wild beasts, monsters, and even some horse bandits roaming the grasslands abandoned any thoughts of attacking and obediently retreated to their lairs. Behind him, the Second Prince Di Mo Er, with a cold expression, rode alongside the somewhat cautious Seventh Prince A Er Wa, following their father on horseback.
This great grassland located in the southeastern part of the Northern Empire once bore a rather famous name in the distant past—the Plains of No Return. Because from an ordinary person's perspective, this vast land seemed utterly boundless, with no surrounding mountains to serve as reference points. Additionally, legend had it that a meteor had once fallen here, causing compasses to malfunction. Thus, anyone unfamiliar with the area who rashly entered would undoubtedly become lost in this grassland that blurred direction and sky, never to return.
But not anymore.
Because of the Second Expansion Decree three hundred years ago, countless knights and fallen nobles, carrying their ambitions and desires, along with numerous refugees or adventurers unwilling to live ordinary lives, came to this land. They poured their life's efforts into building villages and towns, gradually expanding the Empire's long border, transforming the once "Plains of No Return" into what the locals now affectionately called the "Green Sea Grassland."
As vast as an ocean—this was the best description for this grassland. But even on such a plain, there were uneven places. Before the Emperor and his party now stood a suddenly protruding hill. Legend said that beneath this hill lay the meteor that had fallen long ago, and similar hills numbered nearly a thousand across the entire grassland. But Israel clearly paid no attention to this. He simply rode his horse, bringing his sons to the hilltop. So both the Second Prince and the Seventh Prince hurriedly raised their heads, watching their father's back, waiting for what would come next.
The Emperor did not say much. He simply raised his hand, standing on the hilltop, and said: "For ordinary people, this is indeed meaningless behavior. But for an emperor, all of this is my responsibility and my fault."
"Why do they argue? Why do they compete? Why must one side exterminate the other after their defeat?"
Without paying attention to Di Mo Er and A Er Wa's strange expressions, the Empire's ruler's eyes held not a trace of condescension. Like an ordinary person, he gazed at the fishing village and said softly: "Because of interests. You can understand such trivial matters without me saying so, but ultimately, it's because people's desires cannot be satisfied."
"And as an emperor, as a ruler, one should satisfy the people's desires. If they want food, let them be full. If they want clothing, let them be clothed. If they want peace, annihilate their enemies for them. If they want to advance, provide them with the ladder. The emperor governs tens of thousands of subjects and holds the greatest power in the world, so the emperor should also bear the greatest responsibility in this world."
Speaking words completely contrary to the thoughts of all kings and rulers across the world, the Northern Empire's ruler said calmly: "In this fishing village, these ordinary and somewhat tedious struggles are a microcosm of the entire world. The same things happen on every piece of land beneath the sky. How to resolve them, how to make them never happen again—this is the question my teacher Nostradamus and I have spent half our lives contemplating."
"A Er Wa, there are countless wrong things in this world. You can solve one matter, but you cannot solve them all. Di Mo Er, selfishness is the reason all cooperation breaks down, and it is one of human nature's traits. Not everyone is a sage."
Looking at his two sons who still didn't fully understand, Israel shook his head. He knew that some of what he was about to say might be too early for them, but the Emperor always felt he didn't have enough time and couldn't help wanting to tell them.
Coincidentally, Di Mo Er also couldn't hold back and spoke up.
"Then as an emperor, what should one actually do? How can one change all this?" The young man asked urgently. After speaking, he realized his tone was inappropriate, but at this moment, the Second Prince had no mind to correct his manner of speaking. Instead, he stared seriously at his father. He had a feeling that he had never truly understood his father.
"As an emperor, what you need to think about should not be superficial rightness or wrongness, foolishness or wisdom. Instead, you should see the essence through the phenomena."
Hearing this, Israel chuckled softly. He said calmly: "Since everything stems from interests, then as long as national strength is developed, as long as productivity is greatly enriched, and everyone can satisfy their most basic desires, then the vast majority of conflicts in the human world will cease to exist."
"If you want to stop it, establish laws. If you want to eradicate it, develop national strength."
"This is the king's way of thinking."
Looking at his two sons who seemed to be pondering, Israel felt both gratified and somewhat helpless. He knew that making these two young ones truly understand his ideals might take a long time. Moreover, they had both overlooked another matter.
That was that in this world, there were not only kings and commoners, but also "powerful ones" who possessed great strength within themselves, each one equal to an army, a city, or even a world.
Merely becoming emperor without having strength was useless. Besides the way of the king, they also needed to learn more about the "powerful ones," but those were things he wasn't familiar with. Because before being a legendary expert, he was first the Empire's emperor. His strength was not pure enough; he didn't understand certain concepts well enough.
And throughout the entire Mycroft Continent, there was probably only one person whose strength was pure, without any impurities.
Thinking of that person who should now be in the Abyss, Israel couldn't help but smile. He knew that no one was more suitable than that person to be his children's teacher in the aspect of "powerful ones."