Chapter 365: Decisions (Part 3)

  "Which is more valuable, the lives of tens of millions or the life of one person? Even an idiot who can't count would know the answer to this comparison." Lord Bolgan glanced at the pale-faced female Chancellor and sighed. "Personally, I don't wish for this either, but under logical and value-based considerations, this is the only choice we can make. I'm sure you understand this as well..."

  "And even if he disagrees, he won't escape the fate of The Black Star's Final Judgment. It would be better to be a hero remembered for ages. Just persuade him that way."

  Persuade him? Persuade him to his death? Even for the greatest hero, death is still death.

  Sitting in the carriage returning to the Duke's mansion, the young female Chancellor's mind was also a blur, with countless things colliding and churning inside.

  Only she knew best why he had gone to the Whispering Woods back then. If it came to responsibility, she felt that this responsibility should be borne by herself. But unfortunately, many things in this world are not just about what you're willing to do. That Leaves of the World Tree had almost no fusion within her body. Both Elder Lloyd and the Pope had determined that only a body that had fused with the Leaf and the Sunwell could possibly succeed.

  She saw clearly the subtle look in Lancelot's eyes when he interjected. What "it's impossible to forcibly capture him"? That was just an excuse to lull him and herself into a false sense of security. As a fellow politician and leader, she knew these tricks all too well. She was certain that after she left, they would definitely discuss a plan that included her as well. But unfortunately, she couldn't resist in the slightest.

  The reason was simple. She wasn't just a woman; she was the Chancellor of this Empire.

  Thoughts like "for the people," "for the responsibility to the nation," and such had once been the beliefs that supported her, but now she only felt tired, a weariness that seeped into her very bones and heart, a weariness from being crushed by these things.

  "Don't disturb me. I want to be alone." Dismissing the guards and the scribe, she returned to her bedroom alone.

  She sat there dazedly for a long while. She opened the wardrobe and took out a set of clothes from the bottom drawer. It was a somewhat worn set of clothes, but it was washed very clean. Wrapped with the clothes was a sword, a very, very thin Anka sword.

  She picked up the sword. Feeling the hilt she hadn't touched in a long time, she took a step, thrust, turned, and twirled beautiful sword flowers in the air. She didn't stop until a slight sweat appeared on her forehead. She then stopped, looking at the clothes spread out on the bed and letting out a long sigh. The tattered, ordinary adventurer's outfit looked so out of place amidst the surrounding luxury, yet it made her so nostalgic, making her unable to resist the urge to change into these clothes and leave here, to no longer care about the fate of the empire or the grand scheme of the world...

  A sudden knock on the door startled her from her contemplation. She shouted towards the door with anger: "Leave. Didn't I say not to disturb me?"

  "Is that so? I'm truly sorry then." The person outside not only did not leave but directly opened the door and walked in.

  "You?" Sophia's pupils suddenly contracted, and the sword in her hand was subconsciously raised. She never would have thought that the person who walked in was Marquis Inham, and what she was even more surprised about was that someone was following behind Inham. It was Sandro.

  She didn't call for the guards. If these two really wanted to make a move, no amount of guards would be of any use. Moreover, at this time, these two, who should have been sworn enemies, appeared here together. Their purpose could not be just to deal with her.

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  "My lords, I heard The Black Star has emerged. As Necromancers, you shouldn't really be here, should you? Or did you come to find me for something?"

  "Of course, we have business. Please tell me, what exactly happened in The Radiant Citadel?" Inham asked, looking at Sophia. At this moment, he looked extremely anxious, his hair and clothes in disarray. His usual elegant and composed demeanor was long gone.

  "Isn't it obvious? Someone has finally taken up your Necromancer's artifact, The Black Star," the Chancellor replied, while her mind was also rapidly calculating. The Lich King has now appeared. With the identities of these two as Necromancers, they are undoubtedly enemies. How should she respond? How could she find a way to notify Commander Roland?

  "Please don't be perfunctory with me. Answer me. Who was the person who took up the hilt?" Inham's voice was a bit hoarse, the whites of his eyes were full of red bloodshot veins, and the muscles on his face were twitching. He could explode with the uncontrollable emotions at any moment, completely different from his usual self. "Don't force me to crack open your head and extract your memories. This is the maximum patience and courtesy I can maintain right now."

  "Tell her. Little girl. He has already used this method to ask many people. It's just a pity that even the people who escaped from The Radiant Citadel don't seem to have seen who the person holding the hilt was. All I know is that it's not the person I was worried about..." Sandro looked much more relaxed than Inham. "But I'm also very curious. I imagine Lancelot and Magnus should have seen clearly, right? But it would be somewhat troublesome for us to go and ask, so we can only trouble you to tell us."

  Sophia sighed softly, looked directly at the Marquis, and said flatly, "It's your son."

  "What..." Inham's voice was trembling.

  "Congratulations, the person who became the Lich King is your son. At least, that's what Magnus and Lancelot told me. I think at this point, they had no reason to lie to me."

  "What... how is that possible..." Inham was not only trembling in his voice, his entire body began to shake. It wasn't that he didn't hear clearly. His eyes were fixed on Sophia's lips, and he could see even the slightest muscle change clearly. He heard the composition and vibration of every syllable very distinctly. Most importantly, this answer had long been faintly emerging in his own heart.

  When Javi didn't use the teleportation scroll to go to Erathia, he already had a faint sense of foreboding. Then, when he received no news of Javi among the people who escaped from The Radiant Citadel, Inham had long foreseen this outcome. He just found it truly hard to believe. He himself had ridden a gargoyle to get close to the army of the dead advancing towards Diya Valley and had also directed an eye-golem puppet to get close. But needless to say, the puppet itself was made with Necromancy, and even he himself was almost erased of his sanity by the aura of The Black Star. He had tried every possible way, and only now was the hope he held shattered by the news he heard with his own ears.

  When Sandro heard this news, he frowned. He seemed to want to say something, but still didn't speak.

  Inham looked up at the sky and let out a mournful cry. When he looked down again, his face was already streaked with tears. All the emotions that were about to explode just moments ago had vanished into thin air. Even his vitality seemed to fade from his eyes, leaving only exhaustion. In the span of a single breath, he seemed to have aged decades.

  A clamor of footsteps sounded from outside, approaching. A group of guards rushed in, surrounding Sandro and the Marquis. Their intrusion had already been detected when they first entered. Numerous guards had all drawn their swords, and two mages were preparing spells.

  "You have no more use for the Robe of the Lich Lord. Give it back to me now." Sandro said flatly. Inham, without a word, took off the robe that had been draped over his shoulders and tossed it to Sandro.

  "What do you plan to do now?" Sandro asked. The two of them didn't even glance at the surrounding guards and swords, as if they were all just air.

  Inham shook his head slightly, still not speaking, and just unrolled a teleportation scroll. The surrounding guards shouted in unison, immediately about to make a move, but his gaze remained hollow and weak.

  "Stop. Let him leave." Sophia waved her hand. Even in her daze, she didn't think these guards could truly handle him.

  The blue light dissipated, and Inham's figure disappeared from the room. The guards stared blankly at the remaining Sandro, then at the Chancellor, at a loss. They were not completely incompetent; at least they could sense that these two were not people they could handle.

  "Mr. Sandro, is there anything else?" Sophia looked at Sandro.

  "Little girl, the Pope and Lancelot came to find you. I imagine it wasn't just to tell you all that you're on the brink of annihilation. Even the elven race participated in your meeting. I imagine you must have discussed something. I'm a bit curious about that." Sandro only then glanced at the surrounding guards, who were watching him like tigers. "Tell all of them to get lost."

  Sophia remained silent, not speaking, her gaze flickering. The surrounding guards grew even more tense, but not a single one dared to act rashly.

  "Even if you don't say it, I can probably guess. You should know that what Magnus knows isn't necessarily more than what I know. After all, I am the one who has been guarding the hilt for so many years." Sandro looked at Sophia and slowed his speech. "Since I came to you to ask questions, you should know the reason. Or, to use Inham's words from just now, don't lie to me and don't be perfunctory."

  After contemplating for a long while, Sophia let out a heavy sigh and waved to the guards in the room: "You all go out. And... these two are guests I invited. Don't be too flustered. And what happened today with these two is not to be leaked."

  After a long while, Sandro nodded, extremely grave. "It's just as I thought. These people..."

  Sophia's expression was utterly exhausted. This short narration had drained her of all her energy. "I have no way out now. I'm too lazy to care about anything anymore. Go and tell him to find a way to escape quickly. Escape the continent, go to the Far East..."

  "Then where is he now?"

  "Whispering Woods. He went to ask the elves for help to heal Gru. Lancelot sent a few people to follow him."