Chapter 164: The Puppet King
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“What is elemental magic? The combination of sophisticated incantations and baffling rules? If it’s that difficult, how do we demon beasts perform it? We have not even inherited words.”
A warm voice was filling the hall, and the surrounding crowds were listening, attentively. The body was so gigantic that even its borders could not be seen. Closing its eyes, in a slow pace, the ice dragon was passing down its perspective on magic.
“The way of magic, “magic” is miraculous yet incredible, and “way” represents the rules and influence towards the reality, together, they indicated the altering of reality by utilizing some incredible means. Nowadays, a majority of the accomplished magicians are undoubtedly Human sorcerers, whose magic are derived from the Elves. Of course, compared to the Elven age which revolved around the four elements, they have very much improved, but the methods and techniques of research are passed down from their ancestors. This becomes obvious as they put emphasis on all sort of sophisticated incantations and ceremonies. But I have to say, those complicated stuffs are not needed.”
A melodious voice was heard, as if it was carrying the musical notes. The ice phoenix rested above the head of the ice dragon. Being the pinnacle of the ice spirits, her mere presence had given rise to a light snowfall in the air.
“Those long ears are a bunch of paranoids. They are sensitive and bigoted, insisting that magic is a craft work which could only be explained by words, they had created all sort of confusing runes, though they had actually made up something. Sadly, they had abandoned the origin of the magic from the very beginning.”
A thick voice filled with sarcasm and disdain had come in. The ice demon lion lay on the back of the ice phoenix. Although it was a giant itself, it looked like a kitten compared to the phoenix.
“The Humans are learning from the Elves, while the Elves are learning from nature….Hehe. The so-called nature, aren’t they some natural magical beings and elemental beings like us? Sadly, they have not realized the foundation, and ever since the moment they adhered to research instead understanding, they were getting away from the truth, further and further.”
“The will of Gods is actually divine art, while the wrath of demon lords could reform the world, even my beloved ice phoenix, Aiseia Liven, could summon a blizzard across the entire mountain with a single glare. Aren’t they altering reality by utilizing some incredible power?”
“Those long ear-ers always like to complicate stuff, just to lose sight of the foundation. Only by achieving legendary status suffices to condense one’s seal of will? Only by acquiring the holy-rank allows one to change the world with his or her will? Hahahaha, that’s ridiculous, going a big circle just to come back to the starting point, we could have done this since the beginning.”
“The warlocks carry alien bloodlines, and the unique tribes of all sort of talents, aren’t their miraculous powers considered magic? The definition from the Elves is rather bigoted.”
“So, all you young-uns, abandon those unnecessary complications and arcanums, they are not for you. What you need to do, is just to build up your will to change the world, something like this… liz slen nus!”
As the miraculous spell was lifted, the will of ice dragon descended, the tremendous force in the air could make one breathless, the boundless strength instilled fear in all livings on the spot, that, was the wrath coming from the ancient times.
“The might of Doom Dragon? What is that? I’m just awakening my own presence. I don’t care about the fear of those insects. When I glare, all weaklings must close their eyes. When I descend, all scoundrels must bow. When I am furious, all despicable ones must kneel down. My will, also my presence, I am the Doom Dragon, Akeseusith! Beneath my ice wings, is the land where the doomsday will befall.”
The gigantic dragon gave a snarl, declaring his presence, and the entire mountain answered this by trembling in fear.
“Everything originates from the soul. Listen to the voice of your soul, and you will discover your own magic, the arcanum that works best for you. That might just be magic, but when you have truly understood it, it could be any kind of magic.”
As the ice phoenix fluttered its wings, the snows in the air were turning into various forms, should it be snow meteors, snowflakes, or snow blades, luckily, they all would become just some adorable snow babies upon touching the ground. To one’s surprise, the snow babies were jumping around and started to build their own snowmen, they were alive!
“To go by the terms of those witless Elves, we have called this the premier magic, you may also call it as innate magic. It’s not something to be attempted by the ordinary sorcerers, but is absolutely worth-trying, for one has already condensed his seal of will, and thus is able to interfere the world with his will like a monster. Roland, you get it now?”
The snarl of the rowdy lion had made the world tremble, the reverberation of the sound had shattered the ice hills. The kings of the frigid nightmares were imparting to their youth the truth of the magic.
Finally, I had known why those little devils would always run away from the lessons, and why the three elders were so delighted now. As their only audience, my face had remained thoughtful, but I was actually pondering over it.
“That, can I ask a question?”
“Ask, I know you must have a lot of doubts, as our theory of magic is totally different compared to what you were exposed to in the past.”
“My son, relax your mind, we are not frightening. In a sense, we are even relatives.”
“As I have spoken, the etiquette in the world of Humans mean nothing for us. Speak out.”
Nodding my head after getting an affirmative answer, I decided to point out something I had been watching since the lesson begun.
“That, I am somewhat obsessive and afraid I will have a sleepless night without knowing the answer to this…”
The gaze of three highest ranked beings had rendered the air frozen, in fact, the air was actually turning to ice, and thus, I finally posted my question.
“Why must the three of you stack on top each other like the Buddhist arhats? Do you think this is cool? And that, I find this interesting out of the blue, can I stand at the highest point? I am very light.”
“Is this even a main point?!”
The gigantic dragon gave a slight quiver, which had triggered an earthquake.
“You two fools, what’s with this three-sages pyramid posture? And even forming a group of four heavenly kings with that old tortoise in the lake? I have said that this posture is disgusting!”
“This mentality is exactly the same as the old Mist King. A Mist descendant definitely. But…no way! No one should stand on my head.”
“Lion head! Why are you standing on our heads then? Have you proposed all of this just to stand on top of us?”
With the two members at bottom retorting with the same voice, there came the joyous time of watching their silly bickering.
“Sigh, please mind your reputation before the juniors. Besides that, did you not perceive anything?”
In a twinkling, the ice phoenix flickered as a stream of light and reappeared in front of me.
“…One has to be serious in choosing a nickname, and more serious in thinking of the opening line. Puff, what’s with this Doom Dragon? That’s too embarrassing, “I am the Doom Dragon, beneath my wings…” Alright, my lord, please curb your dragon rage, this name is fantastic, and doesn’t sound like the idea of a sophomore[1] at all.”
“Not knowing what ‘sophomore’ means? It is reputedly the moment when one being is so handsome that the rest could hardly bear the sight of it. Indeed, that is one’s precious moment, the moment when one shines the brightest, which always brings out an excitement whenever one looks back. I suppose the nickname ‘Sophomore Wings’ is meant for you…You like it?! That’s awesome, Lord Sophomore Wings!”
After creating the name “Lord Sophomore” out of fun, I turned to the lion head before me, smiling and waving my hand.
The invisible cold air appeared to be dispersing. There was no spectacular spark of magic, and no stirring bang, just the turquoise ice crystals whirling in my palm.
“Alright. Thanks for your enlightenment, seniors, I have found it, to think that it was always within me…”
In a sense, I had gained a lot, the three pinnacles of the ice had led me to a new path, a path which was absolutely different from the conventional elemental magic, I could not wait to try out the new abilities I had mastered.
Just when I was crowing over my new insights, the silver ring on my finger started vibrating. The arriving news very much displeased me.
“Damn brat! Unfilial son! Imbecile! I will kill him!”
—
As the vultures of war were hovering in the sky of the Northland, some changes had taken place within Antoin, amidst the army.
Under the cover of the dark night, some figures in black cloaks had snuck into the castle, they were then guided by the royal attendants into the castle, furtively. Should they be gone with smiles before the daylight, everything would be different.
“Will of Mist. Haha. Never surrender? Bah!”
The scorn of men in black cloaks could still be felt in the air, but on a nearby windowsill, a young couple was whispering, and their vision could penetrate through these buildings.
“How could this be? Haven’t we pledged to protect the damn fatty?”
“Hmph, he had believed in no God, would he believe us?”
“Damn, how could this be? This has gone beyond Roland’s prophecy. Should I wipe out all of them?”
“Would it help? Unless you slaughter the damn fatty on the crown, no envoy could be sent off. Not really, even you have slaughtered him, that wouldn’t help. We’d better get in touch with Roland, ahh…it’s meaningless now, if my prediction doesn’t go wrong, very soon, this news would spread across the world and astonish all.”
“How would Roland be if he heard this news? To think that the thing he had protected with his life was trodden under the feet of others, yet its head was spat on, he must feel terrible.”
“What else could be done? You should ask what else the Northland could become! In a sense, Roland had been always fettered by morality and some evident rules, should he be on rampage…not only the Northland would be completely different, but the whole world will not be able to stop him either.”
As predicted by Margaret, the news had shaken the world on the very next day.
[ Sleuweir Kingdom announced an unconditional surrender, indicating their willingness to be ruled by the Beastman Warchief, thus recognizing Eymond Bloodaxe. My stepfather, King Feimer Carson had even held harsh negotiations with the Humans within his territory, for their troops to be withdrawn immediately, or else it would be perceived as an act of aggression. ]
“Shameless! How could one be so shameless, those countries are coming to his rescue! Aggression?”
“Can this be possible? The people of Mist have no history of surrender over thousands of years. Despite numerous times of being on the verge of annihilation, they had survived. This news must be false, the Mist Kingdom never surrenders!”
Reinforcements from all countries were pretty much in the dark. A moment ago, they were coming to rescue of their allies, in a twinkling, they became the intruders. Should this war continue to be fought? What was the purpose of our blood and sacrifices?
The people of Sleuweir, were feeling even more devastated, when they had decided to fight until their last breath, their king had however given in. Imperceptibly, they had become the people of a subjugated nation, yet they had to banish their liberators.
That was the deepest despair. The people of Mist, who was always proud of their unyielding spirit, had never suffered such humiliation. For the first time, they fathomed betrayal, despair and disgrace, severely. “Even staining the face with mud doesn’t feel so dirty!” Some people said so, while some people, had committed suicide on the second day, never would they accept such sickening truth that their country had surrendered.
Being so adamant that they would rather break their bones than bowing, they might be seemingly foolish, but that was the backbone of this race. And also, it was why they could stand up again every single time they were defeated. It was impossible for them to consider surrendering, even amidst the darkest impasse. Even though the Mist Kingdom had fallen three hundred years ago, they were able to rebuild another Mist Kingdom.
“You can kill me, but you will never make me kneel! The people of Mist knows no bowing, we won’t give up and won’t be slaves!”
For many years, whenever they dealt with invasion from Beastmen, Devils, Elves and other countries, whenever they reached the blind alley, this was the battle cry of the people of Mist Kingdom. They would risk their lives to fulfil their promises, and also due to this trait, they had been standing firm in the north of the continent.
This time, the pain and sufferings while battling the Beastmen were beyond endurance, but that didn’t deprive the people of Mist of their resolve to fight until the very end, No matter how hopeless the circumstances had become, they always believed the final victory belongs to them, and their countries.
Being in such a blind alley, however, they could still talk about the past and the present, and chuckle “You call this a dead end? We had experienced it for countless times!” They still believed they would achieve victory, the knights would protect them, and the royals would lead them to the victory of glory and pride, once again.
“Those northern men know no despair, they are stinky and stubborn, just like the frozen stone in the Northland, there is no way they could be subdued.”
The people of Mist considered this comment from the southern men as a compliment, no matter how many difficulties lay in front of them, they would never learn about despair, as they were confident that they would be victorious in the end.
The World had always presumed the people of Mist would never surrender, but a letter of surrender delivered from the king in the distance had written a new chapter of history, the very first time, the people of Mist was deprived of their desire for victory, seeing that bewilderment and disappointment in their eyes was simply heartbreaking.
Some people had chosen to commit suicide in disappointment, while some had looked upon the man above the throne with hatred.
“We won’t surrender, the Mist Kingdom won’t surrender, that man doesn’t deserve to be our king! If the news is real, he is none other than a puppet king.”
Right after that, another news had reached the ears of the entire Northland, staggering the whole world, but it had helped the people of Mist to regain their confidence and hope.
“I’m the descendant of Mist, Roland Mist. I now declare Feimer Carson as a puppet king, and all the decisions he made have no credibility. Henceforth, I will make a crusade order, a vow of crusade! We will all raise the war flags of Mist, I hope all the people of Mist will fight along with me, to crusade against the puppet king! The Spirit of Mist. Never surrender!”
Colloquially, it means:
“Damn it, what’s spoken by that bastard doesn’t count, Feimer, you scumbag, just wait, I will take down your head!”
The notice was short and was not properly legislated, but very soon, the people of Mist in the Sleuweir had torn down their previous national emblems and the king’s portrait, and replaced with the new one.
Would they not know his facial features? His statue was in the centre of all the city square. For so many years, he was never apart from all his brothers.
Above the flag which had been risen again, it was still the same old fortress, standing firmly in the gale, but this time, the people were cheering a name.
“The Mist King Roland, our king has returned, our real king has returned, we have not surrendered! The people of Mist, never surrender!” (to be continued…)
[1] TL Note: In Chinese, the word “sophomore – 中二” roughly means, immature but pretend to be cool and competent. Or as the japanese would call it, chuunibyou.