Chapter 667: Plain Dealing
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
Old Aram glanced at Sheyan as he scowled with his raspy voice.
"Do you really think you’re an omniscient god? Kuria possessed the bloodline of the Sun tribe, while Mbenga was an offspring of the Coiled Serpent tribe. Otherwise, without the Gundazan’s ancestral bloodline, albeit not the direct bloodline, how could he occupy that body for so long? As for me….."
Old Aram paused briefly at this point. This pause wasn’t about setting the mood with a change of tone, but it contained a special arrogance; like the clear difference between a monarch and his subject.
"I am....a descendant of the royal nobility of the Ndipaya dynasty!"
"A royal descendant?" Sheyan became slightly distracted, before regaining his senses and mused to himself.
"Indeed, how majestic was the Ndipaya Kingdom in the past. Its splendor probably wasn’t inferior to even the Mayan Kingdom. Undoubtedly, there must’ve been a powerful monarchy that ruled over the Ndipaya civilians. Moreover, religion also existed as an indispensable tool to brainwash his subjects. Even in medieval times, royal nobility and religious rule were extremely common and intrinsically related."
"As such, did the monarchy of royal nobility fall alongside the collapse of the ancient Ndipaya Kingdom? Before eventually...only religious authority remained! Where religious rule segregated into the current Sun subtribe and the Coiled Serpent subtribe. As for this feeble old fart standing before me, the fallen royal Ndipaya bloodline probably flows within him. No wonder he knows so much of behind-the-scenes information. This explanation pretty much tallies with everything else."
Old Aram glared at Sheyan, his eyes seemingly contained shimmering will-o-wisps. Then, he crooked his back and demanded.
"Now that you know everything you wish to know, it is your turn to tell me what you know. Should I find even a single world of deceit, don’t blame me for unleashing the vilest method of the jungle to deal with you!"
Afterwards, Sheyan no longer kept Aram in suspense and divulged everything clearly. At the last part, Sheyan started spewing a bunch of complicated and unknown sounding syllables to Old Aram, a sentence Mbenga pleaded that Sheyan relates to Old Aram before he died; probably a secret code of language between them.
As Old Aram listened to Sheyan, his face exhibited an array of multifarious expressions yet also filled with slight disbelief. Until he heard Sheyan’s rant of indecipherable syllables, did he become stunned.
After a brief while, he slowly mumbled.
"As it turns out…...that legend is true. The empire both thrived and was destroyed by that power. Ahhh I, a descendant of royal Ndipaya nobility, am actually the chief offender for this entire tragedy!"
While muttering these words, Aram’s countenance sunk with sorrow and blood even trickled from the corners of his mouth. Evidently, this emotional blow was so great, it inflicted heart-wrenching damages.
Observing Aram’s downhearted state, Sheyan sincerely asked.
"Therefore, I’ve already taken revenge for Mbenga and Kuria. From henceforth, the elites of the Ndipaya tribe have been eliminated, you no longer have to feel threatened. Thus, I want the sacred artifact you stole from the Coiled Serpent tribe that year! Because, I must obtain the powers of the ‘Stairway of the Sun’!"
When Aram heard Sheyan’s demand, he revealed a puzzled countenance and questioned with dry shakiness.
"You want…...the sacred artifact?"
Sheyan earnestly answered.
"Yes."
Old Aram chuckled raspily.
"Truly an individual more cunning than the rapacious crocodiles of the marsh. Indeed, many things can be swiftly deduced just from grasping a starting point. From our discussion, you spoke as if you personally experienced the majority of events, but....you miscalculated a single fact!"
Sheyan couldn’t help but blurt out.
"One fact?"
"The reason I aged so rapidly, isn’t because of some dog shit internal struggling, or whatever emotional turmoil. For Mbenga and Kuria to sacrifice their lives for me, it was their honor and glory! The true reason is indeed due to this so-called ‘sacred artifact’!" Fear and grief abruptly welled up in Old Aram’s cloudy eyes.
"Like a devil, it whispers unceasingly to my heart. It insatiably infiltrates my flesh and exacerbates the suffocating stench of death; timelessly and rampantly devouring my vitality! I’ve exhausted all means, alas I couldn’t expel it...however!! However!!"
Old Aram had deteriorated to the verge of insanity, as he ludicrously roared out.
"I never had the intention of subduing the sacred Coiled Serpent artifact! One warning passed down since ancient times – royal nobility must distance themselves from that damnable artifact. It was it, that actively sought me out. After sensing the imperial aura, it enticed me!!!"
This news instantly left Sheyan flabbergasted. Without a doubt, many terrifying notions could be inferred from Old Aram’s words, notions that surpassed even his most audacious ideas previously!
Throughout the evolving history human civilization, and keeping in mind the primitive era of Ndipaya civilization, objects of worship were normally tangible and sensual objects. For example, the sun, moon, stars, oceans, mountains, reproductive organs and so on.
Only after culture stabilizes within civilizations, did deities of worship evolve further, manifesting in more artistic and splendorous forms. For example Heavenly Emperor Zhen Wu of daoism, the Jade Emperor, Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva of buddhism and satan of devil worshippers...
From the Sun subtribe’s worshipping of the sun, Sheyan inferred that the object of worship the Coiled Serpent tribesmen bowed to, was that of the skeletal corpse of a great serpent, its fangs or others. Yet now, it was no longer difficult to deduce from Aram’s speech.
"The sacred artifact of the Coiled Serpent tribe, is most likely an authentic, living Coiled Serpent! And this diabolically terrifying serpent dwells beside Old Aram, rapaciously absorbing his vitality all the time! Causing this supposedly healthy chap to degrade into a hunchbacked old fart."
Reflecting on that, Sheyan’s eyes flickered with a strand of dread and subconsciously glanced towards that staff held by Old Aram all the time.
An exceedingly old-fashioned staff, supposedly crafted with an unimpressive looking, coiling tiny serpent around it!!!
Seemingly sensing Sheyan’s gaze, that grey and unremarkable looking tiny coiled serpent lifted its head, and spat out its red, bifurcated tongue. Then, it lazily coiled back and reverted to its utterly harmless state.
At this moment, Sheyan realized that when the tiny serpent coiled back, it positioned its tail coincidentally beneath its lower jaw; looking as though it was swallowing its own tail.
"This….is the sacred artifact of the Coiled Serpent tribe?" Sheyan inquired unhurriedly.
"That is correct." Old Aram revealed a despondent countenance, as though he wanted to cry but couldn’t. "After being bitten by it, I became infected by its venom and was reduced to a puppet incapable of any resistance. I cannot extricate myself from its control. Alas, my only solace amidst this misfortune, is retaining my freedom unless I attempt to expel it, or when it becomes hungry."
Sheyan contemplated a little before asking earnestly.
"Which means, You don’t mind at all if I were to take away this sacred artifact?"
"That is something I yearn for even in my dreams!" Old Aram exclaimed in excitement.
Sheyan lifted a finger and continued.
"I have one final question, you must reply honestly."
Old Aram nodded.
"Only if it is to my knowledge."
Sheyan pondered before starting.
"What are the ceremonial specifics involved in absorbing powers from the ‘Stairway of the Sun’ ?"
Old Aram recalled a little before answering.
"According to the records left behind by my ancestors, a grand religious ceremony will be held during the roundest full moon. According to the legends, the sun god forbids one from drawing power from the ‘Stairway of the Sun’. only the brightest of full moons can cloud the eyes of the sun god….."
Following Old Aram’s complying explanation, Sheyan gradually understood the supreme secret of the Ndipaya race.
"Under normal circumstances, the dried leaves of the ‘Stairway of the Sun’ will be grinded to powder, before being inhaled into the body. At the initial phase, not even one from ten individuals who experience this process can survive. Even if one did, he will be overwhelmed with the lust of blood, transforming insatiable and berserk; not knowing pain nor exhaustion. Moreover, animals and individuals slaughtered by those madman would turn crazy like them."
"Only a minute handful can bear the divine powers of the sun god and survive; thereby obtaining indomitable might, transforming into invincible monarchs that led the armies of the Ndipaya kingdom."
"During the later period of the empire, a brave Ndipaya warrior accepted the trial of the ‘Stairway of the Sun’. Alas, he failed in the end. Everyone thought he had died and buried him beneath a monumental tree. Instead, he miraculously survived and obtained invincible might. Furthermore, he was clear that in his rigid state of utmost despair, he was bitten by an unremarkable looking tiny serpent. Then, like a miracle, the venom of that serpent rescued him from that nightmare of a rigid death...."
"That warrior was the primogenitor of the Coiled Serpent tribe – Jörmungandr! As an absolutely formidable yet shrewd warrior, he didn’t divulge this secret to anyone. Instead, he covertly rescued berserking warriors who had accepted the powers of the ‘Stairway of the Sun’, demanding they swore fealty to the coiled serpent god."
Gradually, this secret force led by Jörmungandr inflated in strength, ultimately forming a force that could contend against the Sun religious faction. Moreover, during that period, the imperial monarchy had long felt that a sole religious faction could threaten the royal regime. Hence, the imperial monarchy began supporting the Coiled Serpent tribe."