At night - 'I' wake up.
At the beginning of sublimation, the consciousness is hazy, immersed in the Great Source, and can only feel the endless light and heat impacting the soul, as if all the prayers and curses in the world are poured into the mind.
Days like this lasted for an unknown length of time, and amidst the unexplained chaos and countless divine roars tearing apart consciousness, 'I' gradually recovered my name bit by bit.
-I am the emperor, I am the Lord of the Helgamos Empire, I am the head of the Diamond family, I am the one who exterminates the orcs, the monarch who suppresses all darkness. I have killed enemy bandits on the battlefield and defeated an army with one man. I am one of the most powerful legends in the world.
—I am Israel Diamond, the heir to the God of Justice and Power, the original ‘one who ascended to the gods in human form’ in the Starfall Era.
[I am strong]
All the information gradually became clear in my memories. Immersed in the endless impact of information, I regained my self-knowledge. The individual 'Israel' gradually found himself again - but it is precisely because of this. , one by one, questions that are heavier and more obscure than 'Who am I' followed one after another.
—I am the successor of the God of Justice and Power, the protector of civilization, I am the creator, maintainer and improver of order. These are my identity and the most important step in my self-understanding. .
so.
Justice, what is it
Power, what is it
And what exactly is the civilization of order
When the question appeared in my mind, endless confusion arose.
—What is justice, the consensus among the majority
-What is power, the oppression of the weak by the strong
-What is the civilization of order? Is it the strong cutting off the weak, the majority subduing the minority, is it the victory of truth over ignorance
For a moment, I was speechless and unable to answer. Something too erratic could not be an answer at all. The more I thought about these aspects, the more 'I' felt that my consciousness was drifting away and I was in a trance, named 'Israel' The soul wanders in the infinite flame, gradually sinking into the eternal light.
If it were an ordinary person, it would definitely be like this, gradually being assimilated by the warm flames, quietly sinking into the ocean of flames, and becoming a part of the eternal and infinite source.
But the walls named memory, belief and will blocked the assimilation of the flame, and the brilliance that formed the core of 'my' belief shined, awakening the trance soul.
—Wake up, Israel. You have already gotten the answers to these questions, and you firmly believe in them.
Recall it.
So, 'I' recalled the past, and images from the long past appeared in my mind, making me feel like I had returned to a time more than forty years ago, when I was innocent and simple, and had no idea of the suffering in the world.
It was the end of the year 799, the year of decline.
At that time, I was still young, my father and brother were all here, my mother was gentle and kind, my ministers were courteous, the communication between nobles was elegant and appropriate, and the residents of the imperial capital lived and worked in peace and contentment, living a comfortable life, and completely unaware of hardships.
At that time, I firmly believed in justice and justice, honor and code. I firmly believed that the army was an iron fist to protect the people, and the nobility was a strong shield to protect the common people. I firmly believed that sacrifices must be rewarded, and efforts must be rewarded. A strong knight protects the weak people. , leading civilization to expand its territory in the black forest - I firmly believe in all of this, just like I believe in the truth, I regard it as life, even higher than life.
At that time, I was so proud and honored that I was born into the royal family. I thought that I was the guardian of all people. This was my natural mission.
—But I was wrong.
At that time, I was so naive and simple, and my beliefs were so weak and ridiculous - as a prince, I was born in a deep palace and raised by a woman. My father was the emperor of the empire, the lord of a great country, and my mother was a frontier. After becoming a nobleman, he controls the lifeline of the border. His brother is the prince of the empire. He has won the trust of the ministers and will definitely be a wise king.
Being in such a garden and such a greenhouse, my future is naturally full of light, glory and praise. They have educated me into a knight with the highest moral standards. They have also made me ignorant of the sufferings of the people and the sorrow of farmers - those are not things I need to know. , as the second son of the imperial royal family, I only need to become strong, protect my brother in the future, protect the glory of my bloodline, inherit the family name, and make Diamond's name shine like a flawless diamond.
I thought this was my future.
- Wrong - all wrong.
It all started on that afternoon at the end of the year 799 when Starfall fell. In the year of decline, lamentations were played in the imperial capital, all the flags fell, and the palace of Morlai Palace was filled with a bloody shadow. The biggest disaster in the Helgamos Empire for more than 700 years came - the orcs gathered all the people. The elite and strong men raided the Thomas Grand Canyon Fortress on the border of the empire. The emperor of the empire who was patrolling here was killed on the spot, and the prince of the empire who was supervising the army in the rear fortress was also assassinated and killed by the "orc strongman".
In the palace, shadows rose and fell. The eldest princess locked her door for three days due to excessive sadness. When she opened it again, she had turned into a corpse. The queen lost her husband, eldest son and eldest daughter in less than half a week. The whole person became crazy and was forced to be sent to the deep palace. The 'second son' who lost the protection of his parents, brother and eldest sister almost instantly, was forced to take over the banner of 'revenge'. The 'grieved' ministers and nobles joined forces and were sent to the front line to face the enemy head-on with the elite army of the Orc King's Court who were carrying the momentum of victory.
The strong and the weak, the powerful and the weak, justice and evil... everything was reversed in an instant. When 'I' rode a war horse in confusion and left the Imperial City with a small group of knights, what greeted me was that I was about to travel across the entire northwest plain. The iron hooves of the orcs, the 'Green Blood Disaster' that has poured down from the Tartarus Plateau.
At that time, I did not understand the conspiracy. My heart was filled with righteous anger and the spark of revenge. I firmly believed that this battle would be won. The empire, united as one, would be able to drive away foreign enemies and promote the country's prestige. And I could also do something for it. Parents and brothers take revenge and comfort their spirits in heaven.
Until reality crushes the fantasy to pieces.
The burning anger was completely extinguished by the frosty ice water.
I was running along the road leading to the front line with the knights, and I saw a village.
The village was burnt to char, with no ruins left. When the villagers in simple clothes heard the footsteps of the knights, they fled like frightened birds. They looked frightened and looked humble and ridiculous. The knights beside them laughed rudely. But after a period of unexplained doubts, my heart suddenly felt as if it had fallen into an ice cave.
- This is within the empire, far away from the front line; this is the hinterland of the empire, there are no orcs; this is within the territory of the empire, there are no enemy rear areas - In this case, why are the villages of the empire burned down and the people of the empire displaced? !
I roared angrily and wanted to ask the villagers forward, but when the villagers saw me coming, they knelt down in despair and closed their eyes, as if the knight who came was not to protect them, but to bring death and fear. Devil, some even stretched their necks actively, as if to make it easier for me to draw the sword.
"No, what I want to ask is why, why do you..."
The knights held me back. These numb knights, with sarcastic smiles on their faces, but who could never really laugh. Their expressions were uglier than crying, blocked my move to ask the villagers. They asked me Pulled away from the burned village.
"It must have been caused by the defeated troops. Your Highness, don't take it too seriously. We still have to be on our way."
"Yes, after so many years, these villagers who still live around the border should have gotten used to it... If they haven't moved away yet, they deserve it."
"Sigh, our ending may not be better than these villagers. At least they can eat some tree bark. When we get to the front line, we may be eaten by the orcs as snacks."
"Let's go, let's go. Alas, these young men who don't know the sufferings of the people have been there for so many years. What's surprising..."
The knights' chatter was mixed with complaints, explanations and helpless self-mockery. An older knight stopped the small commotion. He said to me quite calmly: "Your Highness, such a village is on the border. There are not even a thousand but eight hundred people in the surrounding area. If you can’t sympathize with us, we have to get to Clay Fortress before winter comes, otherwise..."
At that time, I did not listen carefully to the knights' subsequent explanations.
I just saw that the villager who closed his eyes in despair, after seeing us leave, after seeing us leave as demons that bring death in his heart, the villager who took the initiative to stretch his neck actually cried loudly - his The cry was shrill and plaintive. The cry seemed to be asking why they were not even given an easy death to escape everything. Why were they allowed to live after depriving them of everything? They were so miserable and desperate, without any hope. alive.
I received a good education, and my father always told me that citizens are the cornerstone of an empire.
They pay taxes, serve, and give everything for the country. The empire's army confronts the orcs on the front line. Every bit of food and every resource consumed is obtained by the hard work and sweat of countless citizens. It is precisely the residents, farmers, hunters and craftsmen in thousands of villages and towns who have selflessly sacrificed everything for the empire. This has allowed the frontline soldiers to withstand the fierce attacks and invasions of the orcs again and again for hundreds of years. .
However, such citizens are being plundered and insulted by their own people. The citizens who have worked so hard and sacrificed everything are being burned, killed, and looted by the defeated army because they are weak and have no strength. They are reduced to venting their fear and hatred. The subjects of failure depression, and it sounds like, more than once, they suffer, again and again, at the hands of their own people.
I can see that in the eyes of those villagers, in addition to fear, there is also unforgettable hatred - they hate the empire, hate the soldiers, hate the invading orcs, and hate everything, including this world.
It shouldn't be like this.
The relationship between the strong and the weak, the protection and dedication of glory, should not be like this.
"Israel, this is the truth about the Empire."
Teacher Nostradamus - He is also in this knight squad. The middle-aged mage was riding a horse, side by side with me. He said calmly: "Years of war have caused the weak to be endlessly exploited and squeezed. The frontline soldiers also suffered heavy casualties. The service standards have been lowered again and again. From a good family with an innocent background, Even today, ruffians can wear armor, but it is not surprising that once the poor people cannot meet their needs, they will be destroyed."
"But even so, the nobles at the rear are still singing and dancing, holding dinner parties for one inexplicable reason after another, and eating up enough wealth for frontline soldiers to support them for a month in one meal, and the ruthless royal family can even teach you such a thing A simple prince—what a joke.”
The pungent language stung my heart. I was extremely angry at that time, but it was not the pain of being ridiculed... Nostradamus is my teacher. He has been teaching me since I was a child, but today He had never told me this before, told me the truth about the Empire, and I felt deeply betrayed.
But the teacher laughed at my naivety - he didn't say it before, couldn't say it, and didn't want to say it. He was just the prince's teacher, just an ordinary Jiyi Mage. Above him, there were other royal mages, and others. A powerful person at the extreme level, he has no rights, no strength, and his life experience is an ordinary person among ordinary people - he doesn't even have a surname. He relies purely on his own efforts to get to where he is today.
So of course he knew that it was meaningless to talk to a confused prince before, and it would even put himself in disaster... Unless this confused little guy grew up, he had the consciousness and belief, and wanted to control himself The fate of becoming...
"Israel, you need to be emperor."
Second update.
(End of chapter)