dognovel Chapter 426 The Long Night
Chapter 426 The Long Night
The civil war in the empire ended.
The eldest and second princes, who possessed enormous power and fought for the throne with an arrogant attitude, eventually left the stage meaninglessly, just like the scenery on the stage.
Seventy percent of the country was completely transformed into a volcanic belt of swirling lava, and all the people who once lived there were swallowed up by the burning earth.
The victor of the war ultimately gets only a broken, rotten shell full of holes.
Of course, no matter what a country located in a corner of the continent becomes, it has no impact on the world - after all, this kind of thing has actually happened countless times on this continent where humans have lived for a long time.
No outsider will care about what happens here, because what happens here will not affect their lives at all... No matter how much suffering and sadness the people here experience, it has nothing to do with them.
No matter how long the night is, the sun will rise again tomorrow.
——It would be the same even if everyone here failed to realize their wishes.
……
The original Armand Empire is now in name only.
The only territories that were not affected and destroyed by the earth vein explosion were the border territories, which had long ago completely eradicated the hidden earth vein jammers, and the Dukedom of Booker, which was still severely polluted by spiritual energy and had almost all of its jammers out of order.
Maybe Duke Booker did such an unreasonable and crazy thing because he had noticed something at that time...but no one knows the truth now.
The empire, which originally had a vast territory, now only has these two territories left to be destroyed.
The only area suitable for human habitation is the border area.
"...Look at it in a positive light. The magic source stone production area of the empire is still there. And the food produced here is enough for the surviving people of the empire to survive. Or you can just attack Corinth directly and take over that place."
"Although Mr. Kuran's words seem to be mocking us...but he is indeed right."
However, apart from these unpredictable disasters, there are still some fortunate things worth mentioning.
The first thing to say is that the third prince Roland Armand had safely returned to the border territory long before the empire's earth veins were fully detonated.
According to the mercenary leader Kulan who escorted him, they had suffered countless attacks along the way and were almost wiped out and died in an unknown place.
But fortunately, a person who had met them once before helped them at the critical moment, allowing them to successfully enter the safe area before everything was irreversible.
However, that person disappeared after sending them back, and there was no way to contact him again.
"The royal bloodline is still there, so the legitimacy of the empire can still continue."
The heir of the Scott family, who had managed to escape the disaster because he was in the border territory, had already led the other surviving nobles in swearing allegiance to the third prince.
After all, they have lost all their territories now and have almost no way out - if they are unwilling to surrender, then the only option left is to leave the empire.
There were not many candidates for civil service positions around the Third Prince, and in the future reconstruction of the empire, there were indeed many positions suitable for these people to contribute.
Although it is indeed somewhat unacceptable to let these opportunists profit in the end, the empire, which is already riddled with holes, has no other choice.
"Then let's arrange it this way. Armand VIII's coronation ceremony will be held on the first day of the new year, and the location will be in the city of Moti, which will be rebuilt into the new imperial capital in the future... Luo Lan, do you have any objections?"
"No, the empire doesn't have the spare energy to organize a grand ceremony right now, so the relevant matters will be left to my sister to arrange."
After such a huge change, Roland, who was originally just a teenager, grew up rapidly.
Having cast aside his immaturity and youthfulness, he has now begun to show some of the bearing and demeanor of a ruler.
——Being young and talented, he may really be able to lead this country to rebirth from the ashes.
"Leave it to me... Oh, how ironic."
"Imperial sister...I'm sorry."
"It's okay. Although you and I are not actually related by blood, I will still play this role well before you officially become the emperor."
Such a major event as the new emperor's enthronement should not have been initiated and organized by an outsider who was not a real princess.
But now, the person who should have witnessed this ending with his own eyes did not get such an opportunity.
……
Apart from the fact that the empire still has a future to move forward, there is actually something that is not good news.
That is Aarons Moti, who personally destroyed all his political opponents and fulfilled the promise he made at the time, and is actually still alive.
...But the problem is that he is just "alive" now.
“…Still no response.”
"It's been more than a month! Why..."
"There is nothing wrong with his body functions. His breathing and heartbeat have always been normal, and his eating and excretion needs are no different from those of ordinary people, but—"
There is no self-awareness in Aarons Moti's body now.
It has been nearly two months since Shiratori returned to the border territory from the battlefield in the imperial capital, but Aarons, who fell into a coma during the battle, has never woken up.
After returning to the base, Jiang Yue immediately conducted a detailed medical examination on him - but the final result disappointed everyone.
...Except for losing an eye, he had no other health problems and was even much healthier than the average person.
"It's not just me. Ms. Yalu and Ms. Zhu Ying have also used their own abilities to check many times. But you should have known the result a long time ago... It's always the same."
Jiang Yue no longer had the heart to call others by nicknames. The only expression on her face was exhaustion that was too severe to be concealed.
Because she hadn't rested at all since she came back - after discovering that Aarons' consciousness had fallen into an abnormally dormant state, she had been trying to awaken that consciousness in various ways.
But no matter how hard she tried, she ended up in failure.
"Are you really treating the young master seriously? It's been over a month now...if you keep going on like this his body will start to weaken!"
"…If you are not satisfied with my approach, go and try it yourself. I don't have time to argue with you about such meaningless topics."
"Old woman, you better know what you're doing... I have things to take care of, bye."
Aarons' silence with no signs of waking up not only made the women close to him more worried and frightened, but also created cracks in the originally solid relationship between them.
Jiangyue and Zhuying have obvious differences on the treatment plan, while Xiaye and Karin have been questioning those ineffective experiments... The originally calm discussion has turned into a quarrel as the anxiety continues to escalate, and it has even tended to escalate.
If Aarons doesn't wake up, they will sooner or later break up completely in an unstoppable conflict.
“…I certainly know what I’m doing.”
Seeing the furious Aries slamming the door and leaving again, the sage's tired eyes revealed a trace of sadness that was hard to conceal.
There was nothing wrong with Aarons' body, and his soul was still in his body... Everything was apparently normal, but he couldn't wake up.
There may be some problems that you don’t understand yet, and there may not be any solutions at all.
"…If that's the case, what else can I do?"
……
What is most difficult to accept is the subtle changes in public opinion from all sides during this period.
Aarons should be a hero of the empire - he not only defeated the two princes who attempted to usurp the throne, completely eliminated the aristocratic forces that had been eroding the empire, but also saved the life of the third prince in a huge disaster, allowing the empire to continue its original orthodoxy.
But a problem also arises - his achievements in the new emperor's succession to the throne are indeed a bit too exaggerated.
The issue of being too successful and thus endangering one's ruler is a very sensitive issue in any world. It quickly changed from a topic of conversation among the people to a major event that everyone began to pay close attention to.
"If Aarons is allowed to take charge of the government, the young emperor will surely become his puppet, and the empire will become his private property."
No one knows where or from whom this conclusion was originally drawn, but it has indeed caused unrest among many people who are concerned about the future of the empire.
The reason why the empire has become the dilapidated state it is in today is originally due to the power struggle between the royal family and the great nobles.
If Aarons starts fighting for power in the future, the emperor will inevitably fight with him openly and secretly...but the empire, which has lost most of its territory, can no longer withstand another turmoil.
When this sense of crisis spread from the common people to the army and the nobility, some people who were worried about the future of the empire finally stood up and publicly expressed their thoughts.
——They hoped that Aarons would not hold any important position in the court of the new Emperor Armand VIII, and would voluntarily hand over a series of super weapons he owned, and finally live in seclusion as an honorary noble.
"Ha, ahahahahahaha...my husband has risked his life for so long, and in the end...is this the result?"
For the Empire, such a request is actually very reasonable. Those who proposed this idea do not necessarily have any selfish motives.
But these cold and heartless words completely chilled Claire, who had been trying to suppress her sadness.
"…We should have left this kind of country to fend for itself from the beginning!"
Even though the senior military officials who originally had close ties with Aarons tried their best to change the public opinion, this demand eventually became the consensus of the civilians, the nobles, and even most ordinary soldiers.
Most of them just didn't want the disaster to happen again.
...However, when the news that Aarons had been in a deep coma for two months accidentally leaked from the base to the outside world, those unquestionable but overly simple thoughts immediately turned into a huge wave of malice.
- Please ask the new emperor to issue an order in the name of the emperor immediately after he ascends the throne, to abandon all treatment for Aarons Moti, to posthumously recognize him as the highest level of honorary duke, and to enjoy a state funeral.
When a formal petition with thousands of signatures was handed to Loran, who had not yet officially ascended the throne, the young emperor also felt deeply frightened.
"Impossible...I would never do such a thing!"
"But Your Majesty, if you go against the will of the people from the very beginning, the empire will really have no future... Those ordinary people are already worried about their future fate. If you ignore their thoughts, it may lead to even greater disasters."
With high-sounding yet extremely ugly words, those people lightly turned a hero who should have been respected by everyone into a sacrifice for a stable future.
...Because they are afraid that disaster will happen again, it is better for those who may bring disaster not to exist from the beginning.
"...How can I accept such an unreasonable thing!"
"Do you really want to watch these innocent people face such a disaster again? Do you really want to make enemies with those citizens who hope for peace just for someone who may threaten the stability of the empire at any time?"
Justice, public opinion, morality, rationality, and the future.
As long as one person is sacrificed, the majority of people can achieve happiness - the scales of justice have actually clearly tilted towards one side.
"Your Majesty, we all know that you are a benevolent monarch who values friendship and loyalty, so you don't have to come up with an answer so quickly... If Aarons Moti can wake up before you officially ascend the throne, you should let him leave the country."
Only then did Roland finally understand where that unspeakable feeling of powerlessness came from.
This is not the selfishness or malice of some individuals, but the will of a huge collective, a country - this chaotic, simple, emotional but powerful thought cannot be easily changed by one or two people who can think independently.
So the answer is clear.
It's not that there are dark villains who are jealous of the heroes' achievements, nor are there powerless mortals who are afraid of the heroes' power... It's just that this country doesn't need living heroes.
"……I see."
But what did the hero do wrong?
Should he not have saved the country, or should he not have existed in the first place?
If this is also what is called fate, then who weaves the fate of the hero?
Thinking about this question that might never be answered, the young emperor began to seriously look for the path he wanted to take.
——So that this unfair ending will never happen again.
……
……
“So this is the two sides of human existence at the same time—creating all kinds of possibilities, but also arbitrarily denying the possibilities of others.”
“The battle among humans is not to determine what is right or wrong, but to gain the qualification to move into the future.”
"But, do those denied losers really have no meaning in their existence?"
[——What should those who are knocked down again and again by failure, but stand up again and continue to move forward, be called? ]
Perhaps, only they themselves know the answer.