Legacy

The momentous war between the Unholy Hymn and Ryan came to a close in an even more momentous manner. No one could have imagined that the final outcome would be the disappearance of an entire kingdom. The people of Ryan had retreated to Liuyan City, suffering over twenty thousand casualties—Ryan's most catastrophic defeat in history. This time, it was not merely a defeat; due to the cowardly and foolish conduct of the Ryan Emperor, Ryan experienced the first collapse of morale in its history. In the past, generals had led charges from the front, fighting to the last person against all manner of monsters and demons. Yet this young emperor leading the troops had fled first, directly triggering the rout of the auxiliary legions. In the end, it was only thanks to the paladin legion turning the tide that they avoided complete annihilation. The Githyanki had arrived one hundred and thirty thousand strong, accompanied by over sixty red dragons. If the spatial turbulence generated during the Kingdom of the Unholy Hymn's ascension had not detonated the Astral portal along the way, millions of Githyanki might have poured through. Even with the Astral portal destroyed, those one hundred and thirty thousand Githyanki were more than enough to wage a war of total conquest. Yet after Ryan retreated into Liuyan City to hole up, the Githyanki simply pitched camp, felled timber, and built ships. Then, contingent after contingent, escorted by red dragons, they began migrating overseas. "According to the latest intelligence, the Githyanki have entirely migrated overseas, and Ryan showed no intention of retaliating. They just stood by and watched the Githyanki depart." Harvey delivered his report to Anbaixiu with great caution. He was rather nervous, as Anbaixiu had locked himself in the laboratory for over two months ever since returning from that battlefield. In Harvey's view, Anbaixiu was in a dark mood over Mister Misfortune's departure, which was why he had shut himself away. Reporting the latest developments required extreme delicacy so as not to upset his teacher. Anbaixiu looked at him with puzzlement. "What are you trembling like that for? Did our business lose money recently?" Harvey hurriedly replied, "No, not at all. Sales of daily necessities are fairly steady. The Unholy Hymn wasn't our market anyway, so the impact there was minimal. In fact, because of this major upheaval, sales of the Fountain of Youth have shot up considerably. Everyone feels endangered now, and even minor lords with little money are buying a bottle just in case." The Fountain of Youth could restore a seasoned warrior's youth for a short period—a life-saving trump card at a critical juncture. It had practically turned into strategic war materiel. "Mm, make sure the books are balanced. Right, you mentioned just now that the Githyanki went out to sea? That's strange. I've heard most members of that race can't swim. Going out to sea? Could they be looking for other dragons?" Harvey asked in surprise, "Looking for other dragons? Do they want to ally with dragonkind?" Anbaixiu nodded. "It can't be ruled out. After all, they have several dozen red dragons with them. Originally, the different types of dragons had fierce conflicts between one another and were only forced together by the Demonic Dragon Tyrant. Even then, each dragon kept to itself, ruling under the motto of 'one dragon per city.' Later, Arthur Ryan led heroes to slaughter most of them, forcing the surviving dragons to band together and flee overseas. Only then did dragons begin living in groups, and the barriers between different dragon kinds diminished significantly. "Now, a flock of outside red dragons has gone looking for the overseas dragons. Perhaps those dragons might truly be willing to acknowledge these distant kin... Wait, something's not right." Anbaixiu suddenly stood up, pulled out his Necrotic Codex, and sent a message to Bone Dragon Eldest Miss. Moments later, the reply came: "I cannot say." Anbaixiu fell silent. What he had asked Bone Dragon Eldest Miss was: "Is Tiamat planning to help dragonkind break the covenant signed with Arthur Ryan back then?" Though she had said nothing directly, her answer spoke volumes. Anbaixiu closed the Necrotic Codex and said to Harvey, "I was tricked by Tiamat. No wonder she acted so strangely before. The Dragon Goddess of Evil wouldn't deliberately violate the rules of the devils. It turns out she was merely diverting my attention to make me think she truly lost. In truth, the moment those red dragons descended, her plan was already half accomplished. "She didn't bring those red dragons and Githyanki to seize territory. She did it to help dragonkind break the restriction forbidding them from entering the continent." Harvey was dumbstruck. This was no laughing matter; if dragonkind could return to the continent, wouldn't the whole world be thrown into chaos? Harvey quickly asked, "Teacher, how is that possible? Can we stop it?" Anbaixiu said helplessly, "How would I know? Unless we know the covenant's core terms, there's no way to deduce how to break it or find a way to stop it. But who knows the contents of the covenant now? "Those red dragons must be the key. Astral red dragons aren't bound by the covenant. Tiamat only needs to replicate that trait across other dragons. As for how she'll manage it—perhaps blood transfusions, breeding a new generation, or other more complex methods—none of that should be difficult for the Dragon Goddess of Evil. "Whichever method it is, Tiamat must have prepared for it long ago. Unless we can slaughter all those Astral red dragons right now, nothing we do will make a difference." Harvey said anxiously, "But if the dragons return to the continent, everyone will suffer." Anbaixiu consoled him, "What's the rush? Even Ryan isn't panicking, so why should we worry? Relax. You and I are just ordinary denizens of this world. Don't always think of yourself as the protagonist. When disaster strikes, the big figures will step up to hold up the sky." Knowing one's own limitations was a virtue; a world-ending catastrophe like this was not something two divination wizards could solve. When the time came, the various kings would naturally summon the realm's heroes to stand against dragonkind. Though he had not received any actionable advice, seeing Anbaixiu so composed calmed Harvey down considerably. His teacher was right: if the sky collapsed, the giants would hold it up. And wasn't his teacher one of those giants? He would wait until his teacher couldn't hold it up before worrying. Unaware of Harvey's irreverent thoughts, Anbaixiu continued, "Any other major news?" Harvey quickly replied, "Oh, the Ryan Emperor has returned to the imperial capital. Word is that someone has demanded the emperor take responsibility for this catastrophic defeat, and the people of Ryan are locked in fierce arguments over it." "Impeaching the emperor? Who has such guts?" Anbaixiu asked. "William Garrison. He was the commander of the paladin legion back then, a legendary paladin, currently one hundred and three years old. He used to be the commander closest to the royal family and had been in semi-retirement. It took the Ryan Emperor personally leading the campaign to pull this veteran back onto the field. Nobody expected that this diehard royalist would one day impeach the emperor for incompetence." "William Garrison." Anbaixiu had little impression of the name; the man was probably a very low-key legendary powerhouse. However, Anbaixiu recalled on the battlefield that the shield of Holy Light deployed by this legendary figure was incredibly formidable, parrying most of the Githyanki's attacks single-handedly—a true iron fortress. Anbaixiu remarked with feeling, "When even royalists rebel, Ryan must truly have suffered a crushing defeat this time." Harvey agreed, "Indeed. I heard Alan Watson's speech on the battlefield was recorded and is quietly circulating within Ryan's borders. Even adventurers have carried the rumor all the way to the desert. It looks like Ryan is on the verge of fracturing from within." Anbaixiu shook his head. "It's not that simple. That rumor is probably something those adventurers made up out of thin air." "Huh? Why do you say that, Teacher?" Harvey asked, puzzled. "I spent centuries as an adventurer. Don't you think I know their nature? If a nobleman marries a wife, the rumor that trickles out soon claims the heirs are butchering each other and the house is falling apart. Ninety-nine percent of adventurers love embellishing reliable news and concocting elaborate dramas in their heads. "Alan's speech happened out of the blue. Who would be ready with a memory crystal to record it? The only possibility is that the young emperor was also giving a speech at the time, and the people of Ryan were recording the emperor's impassioned rhetoric, only to capture Alan's speech by accident. "Such a crystal would either be destroyed or kept in secret royal storage. Who could copy it and leak it outside? With so few hands touching it, an investigation would easily track it down. My guess is that Alan's speech simply couldn't be kept quiet, and once everyone heard about it, the first rumor-monger imagined someone had recorded it, the second imagined the memory crystal was leaked, and the third imagined every person in Ryan received a copy." Harvey stared at Anbaixiu in awe. Was that how it worked? The gap between him and his teacher really was vast in every respect. After that, there was no other major news worth mentioning—at most, the Dwarf Kingdom heard of Ryan's defeat, prompting the dwarf king to joyfully declare a fifty-percent tax cut for the year, earning the heartfelt gratitude of the entire realm. With the news exhausted, Anbaixiu produced a thick notebook and presented it solemnly to Harvey. "Take this. Read it carefully, and study it well." Harvey opened the notebook and saw detailed records of how Mister Misfortune had applied the power of fate during the ascension of the Unholy Hymn. It was exceedingly thorough; just a few glances filled Harvey with profound insights. Harvey gasped, "Teacher, this... this is far too precious!" "This was Vladimir's wish. In his final days, the only thing he couldn't let go of was his life's research. So I did my best to record this information for him and spent the past two months compiling and organizing it. Vladimir walked much further than I did on the path of a divination wizard. What he mastered belongs to an entirely different path from mine, and I cannot learn it, so I am passing it to you." Harvey immediately felt the notebook grow impossibly heavy in his hands. He hesitated. "Teacher, I... I'm afraid I won't be able to do it." Anbaixiu walked over, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Don't sell yourself short. Harvey, your talent is far greater than mine. Frankly speaking, when it comes to raw talent, Vladimir and I combined couldn't hold a candle to you. I spent a lifetime mastering the Dice of Fate, and Vladimir spent hundreds of years mastering the threads of fate. "Yet you became a divination wizard just by flipping through some books, and after Vladimir taught you only once, you could already touch the threads of fate. You possess talent that makes both of us jealous. So cherish it. Don't pull any sickening nonsense like a genius dying an early death. Even if you achieve nothing else in this life, you must pass down Vladimir's knowledge. Do you understand?" "Teacher, I understand. I will give it my all," Harvey said, letting out a breath of relief. "So you weren't overcome with grief these past two months, Teacher, but organizing notes. I was worried sick." Anbaixiu scoffed, "Ridiculous. I'm a lich. Since when am I so sentimental?" Harvey looked at the glowing jar on Anbaixiu's desk and kept silent. Inside, Mister Misfortune's soul fragment was meticulously preserved.