Chapter 530
Chapter 530 - 510: Times Have Changed
1,438 words
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8 min read
"...How could this happen? Those ungrateful bastards! They dared to plot a great rebellion! Your Highness, rest assured, once our reinforcements arrive, we will immediately launch a counterattack!"
"Uh, no need... uh, thank you for your loyalty, knights, but we have assumed the responsibility of the royal family, and our mission should take priority..."
The little prince, facing the sea of bowed heads, was so frightened that he quickly retreated.
But after the initial shock, he glanced at his sister and guards behind him, trying to seek help... only to receive a fierce glare in return.
He quickly pulled himself together, and following the prepared script, comforted, rallied, and praised the "loyal knights."
Although his words were stiff and emotionless, it was enough. After a few polite refusals, Catherine, with a face full of "respect and gratitude," stood up first... this act had come to an end.
A distressed prince and loyal knights, it’s a classic and entertaining scene, but if someone really knew the truth behind it, they wouldn’t take it seriously.
The times have changed, and the royal family of the Holy City has long lost its power. If they still held real authority, the Holy City would not have become a battleground overrun with chaotic influences.
What’s the reason? Simple, the exit of the Great God Glory Crown was the turning point...
"Since the departure of the Great Ancestor God, our descendants have faced many difficulties, but fate has not abandoned us. It led us to this place; the south will be our land of resurgence...."
The current royal family can only talk tough.
King of Battle, Glory Crown, was the real ruler of the Valastalod world and once the most powerful of the 7 Great Gods. His fall was disastrous.
Unlike most other worlds, the divine right of Valastalod’s 7 Great Gods is prominent, governing every aspect of this world. At that time, the power of kings naturally bowed to the divine right.
The main nations of the continent claimed to have the bloodline of the Main Gods... Considering the Main Gods’ long history, thousands of years of unbroken bloodlines depended on luck, and the chances of a pure bloodline were slim. Most claims were of "inheritance" or "adoptive sons."
But they were once blessed by divine grace, with the powers, bloodlines, and divine grace exclusive to the Main Gods forcibly bestowed upon the heirs or divine artifacts of the royal family. This not only solidified the authority of the royal family but also made the divine right always prominent in the mortal world.
As the world’s largest country, the royal family bloodline of the Holy City was naturally tied to the strongest Main God, Glory Crown.
However, in reality, everyone knew that the "descendants of God" bloodline had been severed twice, and mysterious, wild heirs had taken their place.
As long as the Glory Crown remained, new heirs must claim to be His children... or rather, only by acknowledging this fatherly connection could they have the chance to contend for royal power.
"...Times have changed..."
After leaving the tent, most knights still seemed nervous. After all, just a year ago, the prince and princess before them were unattainable nobles; even though they were now forcing smiles, their desolation and confusion could not be hidden.
On the other hand, Catherine cheerfully laughed, whistling. Her appearance as a "loyal official" just moments before seemed like a mere joke.
The fall of the Glory Crown made the royal family of the Holy City the first victims.
Their divine grace and power had significantly diminished, divine artifacts turned to scrap, and the church of Glory Crown, which they had once relied on, had become a tantalizing target for outsiders and other churches... After thousands of years, the wealth and divine artifacts amassed by the once world-ruling royal family had become too great.
But it doesn’t mean they have become worthless.
Such as Catherine, who still possessed the Holy Fire ability, and the royal family’s "Shield of Glory" and "Crown Spear" remained among the world’s highest-tier offensive and defensive abilities. However, their evident decline meant they could no longer maintain control.
"...That sister is right, are they good people? Should we follow them?"
Prince Tai Y Stewarts, the twenty-sixth prince, was a chubby little boy with baby fat still visible on his face. After the knights left, he felt somewhat joyful and happy... Along the way, it had been a long time since anyone had paid any attention to them.
However, his sister, the twenty-nine-year-old Princess Lena, was not as simple as her eleven-year-old brother.
"...Quite the opposite, they are even more dangerous than the villains who chased us out before. They treated us kindly simply because they think... cough, cough, cough!" The frail princess started coughing incessantly after a few words, unable to finish her sentence.
"...They think we are useful. But no matter what kind of use we have, we probably won’t like it." The brown-skinned female knight, who served as a bodyguard, also spoke up at this time, and her status was obviously not ordinary.
After the fall of the Ancestor God, the first to suffer were His nominal descendants.
The reason was nothing more than being unfit for their positions, lacking in power, coupled with the guilt of possessing a treasured artifact... The last point was the most important.
The power of the 7 Great Gods was what the outsiders most desired to obtain, as it was a complete world defense system. Who wouldn’t want to have such a set for their own home?
But other powers like the Holy Fire, Moonlight Protection, Sealing Skills, etc., were not difficult to obtain in large quantities of low- and mid-grade items, with high-level difficult ones found within the Church, which could be bought or plundered.
However, the "Divine Grace of the Crown" inherited by the royal family of the Holy City through their bloodline was extremely limited in number... In the shortest amount of time, several members of the royal family possessing Divine Grace disappeared mysteriously.
With the already limited defensive power and combat capabilities of the knights, maintaining order in the Holy City was difficult. The most reliable and powerful ones were naturally protecting the important figures of the royal family.
As for those princes and princesses far down the line of succession? They were not even within the top 100 on the protection list, so they had to fend for themselves.
Moreover, there were internal rumors in the royal family that some young princes and princesses had been used as bargaining chips for the outsiders, used to purchase "boat tickets" and seek refuge... It was hard to say if this was true, but the disappearance of their brothers and sisters was an indisputable fact.
As a result, quite naturally, members of the royal family unwilling to become "bargaining chips," "commodities," or "treasures" tried to escape from the bustling Holy City... Most of them disappeared after leaving.
This group combination was able to run smoothly to the border, partly because the weak and young combination didn’t receive much attention, and also because they were lucky.
But more than that, they knew how to "borrow power."
"...Please invite the Rainbow Prophet over and tell him that we need his wisdom and eyes."
The Rainbow Prophet was the most mysterious among the seven Great Gods and also the most determined to escape.
Controlling the powers of fate and miracles, He made a Doomsday prophecy sixty years ago, and He vanished silently before the war, which was considered a mystery for the ages.
Many believers claimed that He had not left, and that the incredible "miracles" and "Sons of Destiny" all over the world were His divine signs, but He had long stopped responding to the prayers of the believers, and the truth of His power seeds disappearing all over the world was undeniable.
Although He seemed to have left, there were still some followers left in the Church among the mortals.
These people became extremely active in the past sixty years, serving as "Rainbow Prophets" guiding the Sons of Destiny... But upon closer inspection, there was not a single reliable savior they had guided!
This time, the two Highnesses managed to successfully reach the border thanks to the power of a Rainbow Prophet.
He made an incredible prophecy and guided the group to this remote place full of trees.
"What kind of prophet is that, just a blind old man, how could there be a successor of the Sun God in this trashy place with only trees and more trees!"
— End of Chapter 530 —