Chapter 37: CH 36

“Who is Merlot?” The crowd all looked confused, “And what do the thorns and vines stand for?”

One of the officers suddenly hissed and frowned. “Merlot…… Merlot….. Why does it feel a bit familiar?”

Regarding the old gods’ era, most people would only recognise it from the book as the only one. The remaining fragmented additions were scattered elsewhere and noted in the east and west, with various books. It was difficult to tell whether it was based on truth or pure nonsense.

Usually, people read a few books, and that’s about it. They would rarely search around and devour them all.

He was probably the most knowledgeable among those present about the true and false rumours of the Old Gods.

So when he muttered this, he drew the attention of everyone, even Oswald, who could not help but glance at him.

Seeing the officer frowning and pondering for a while, Oswald reminded him. “Does it look familiar, or does it sound familiar? It’s a big difference.”

A passing glance at a text might impress you when you see it again, but you might not be aware of it just by hearing it.

He said so, reaching out with his finger and rewriting the name on the ground in the present-day script. “It’s this Merlot.”

As expected, the officer let out an “ah” and slapped his thigh. “I’ve seen it before, but I don’t remember it very well……”

He looked down and thought for a moment before adding, “I think his name is only mentioned in one book, and there are only a few lines. That book is old and worn out at first glance, so I didn’t read it carefully…… It seems that the goddess Thenez created a child, named him Merlot and bestowed upon him the right to live with her in the Holy Lake of Annar.”

“And then what?”

“Nothing. There’s so little about him, obviously not a significant figure.” The officer stretched his hands. “All the gods in the Old Gods era died when the gods fell, including the gods they raised and those who lived in the temple with them. This Merlot must’ve been the same.”

The clue to the name came to an abrupt end. The group couldn’t stay in this place forever, so they had to put it aside for the time being.

Oswald ordered the two stones with the footprints and names to be taken with him, and the group headed back home.

The journey into the tomb had been thrilling and dangerous, but the trip out of the tomb had gone smoothly without a hitch.

The group knew their way back by heart, passing over the Eternal Waterfall and heading straight for the top of the mountain before descending to the foot of the hill.

They hadn’t really stayed in the underground gods’ tomb for long, but the long period of darkness that never seemed to see the light of day felt like years. To see the sunlight again, even if it was a rainy and gloomy day, gave them a sense of relief they hadn’t felt in a long time……

“The Tomb of the God of Light……” Oswald looked back at Whitehead Hill and thought it was a great irony. He wondered how Phae, who once represented supreme light and hope, would feel if he knew that he was trapped in such a place after his death. Any ordinary person in his position would be tormented to madness by such a fall and stagnation. He was afraid……

A God like that should be lying in this bright and vibrant world under the sun, even with his eyes closed and no longer conscious.

The elite squad members who were on watch at the foot still remained there, and all looked up with their necks raised when they saw Oswald descending from the sky with Kevin.

“Your Majesty, how did Commander Fassbinder –”

Oswald looked down at Kevin, lying in front of him, and said to the crowd, “Just too tired. The holy water has been obtained. Return to the city!”

With a long cry, the giant falcon led the long line and broke through the clouds……

There was a long river within the Jinshi Empire, called the Sousse, which began at the highest point of the Great Rift Valley in the city of St. Andis and passed through various towns in its streams, ending at a shallow bank in the Krow Plain just over the border.

At one point, there was a rumour that this shallow bank was the former Holy Lake of Annar, as described in the .

In any case, the Sousse River was a veritable source of life for the Jinshi Empire, and the Altar Pond on the altar in the central square of St. Andis led straight to it.

Oswald and the others collected a total of three flasks of holy water. According to the Priest, the lives of the empire’s people could be saved by pouring the water into the Altar Pond and letting it flow into the Sousse River.

To be on the safe side, Oswald only poured the holy water from one of the water pouches and issued a royal decree.

The people of the Jinshi Empire, who usually rely on the Sousse River as their main source of drinking water, lined up at the river’s edge in every town. Even the Wujinxuan Palace and the legion’s base camp received drinking water mixed with the holy water.

After one night, some people with extremely mild symptoms of sand petrification had already felt the effects of the holy water. The stiffened parts of their bodies gradually became more sensitive and not as hard to the touch as before. But because the effect was slow and subtle, some even wondered if it was a psychological factor.

But by the afternoon, when some people with petrified fingers could bend their joints to a small extent, the crowd was finally convinced that the holy water was really useful!

That day, the entire Jinshi Empire seemed to come to life from its downfall. The countryside, the towns, the streets, and the markets began to be filled with the sound of people again, and those who had survived were in a bright and cheerful mood as if the slightest movement could cheer them up.

The commander of the Imperial City patrolling guards rushed to the Emperor again at noon that day with a ridiculously urgent report. “Your Majesty! All the houses on the two main roads, Long Rattan Street and Little Blue Orchid Street, have been opened! I heard laughter coming from several houses! Hahaha!”

And with a series of ” haha,” he was hit with a parchment scroll in Oswald’s hand.

“You’ve been given a holiday at noon, so go to the Priest Institution and take some medicine before you come back and act idiot here.” Oswald hurled without a word of kindness.

The two garrisons to the west and north also sent back urgent military reports indicating that those soldiers in the garrison camp who had been sand petrified were also beginning to show signs of recovery and were in good condition, expecting to return to normal soon. Mio’s letter was as lengthy and stinky as a shroud, and the second half was a page of praise for Kevin and Oswald, so much so that it made Oswald’s teeth sore.

To be honest, the young emperor was actually in a good mood, even though he still looked tense and patronising.

The insect plague had not yet been fully resolved, but the Jinshi Empire, having the holy water, was full of energy. At nightfall that day, the people of the Imperial City even held a spontaneous prayer service in front of the Holy Altar in the central square.

Almost everyone who could walk came. After three cries in the direction of the Wujinxuan Palace, where they repeated the rituals of the new emperor’s accession, they gathered around the statue at the centre of the altar.

In the centre of the Altar Pond stood a huge columnar relief depicting the three main gods of the olden times, the latter gods and a powerful lion.

Although Oswald did not mention the tomb-digging in his royal decree, he did mention the holy water of the god of light, Phae.

The people, relieved of the danger to their lives, bowed down in reverence towards the side of the statue of Phae on the giant pillar, thanking the god of light for his divine presence and his blessing across millions of years.

Oswald stood atop the high tower of the Wujinxuan Palace, propped up on the ledge with both hands, overlooking the crowd gathered in the shadow.

When he first sat on the throne, he did not feel that there was anything to fight for or look forward to in this position.

His upbringing had shaped his character to be very self-centred. He liked to do everything himself, hated putting his hopes in others and being pinned down, and even felt at one point that the position of emperor meant taking on the safety and future of other unrelated people, which was too much of a hassle and boring.

But at this moment, when he saw the whole city cheering for a moment, he suddenly felt that a heavier weight on his shoulders didn’t seem so bad.

While everyone was very happy, one person was very unhappy.

This man was none other than His Excellency Kevin Fassbinder, once the God of Light Phae and now the commander of the Bronze Army.

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Whether it was the Emperor’s heavy dose of ecstasy or the repeated healing of his wounds in the god’s tomb that took so much energy, Kevin slept for even longer than the last time. He slept for a whole week, and his bones got really soft.

When Kevin opened his eyes, the effects of the drug had not yet worn off, and he stared at the heavy ceiling of the palace with a blank “who am I, and where am I” look on his face for a while before rolling over and sitting up.

As soon as he moved, he heard every joint in his body creak like a rusty four-wheeled wagon.

Luckily, he was awake. He would have been paralysed if he had slept any longer……

Kevin laughed, squinted his sleepy eyes, and raised his hand to rub his sore neck.

As soon as he raised his hand, there was a clattering sound, like metal on metal. His wrist was probably softened from sleep that it felt heavy and hard to move.

Anyway, it was weird!

Kevin frowned and glanced at his left hand. Instantly, all sleepiness was gone, and he was awake for good.

“Which little beast gave me handcuffs and shackles?!” Kevin thought he must have been asleep and still dreaming. Maybe he was dreaming of that night in the dungeons of the Beifeicu Empire again!

But soon, all his memories returned to him – before he fell asleep, he was still in the main hall of the Tomb of Phae, and that bastard Oswald dared to set him up with a load of ecstasy.

Kevin: “……” Heh.

Did it even need to be said who had put these handcuffs and shackles on him?

At that moment, he especially wanted to rewind time and return to the Holy Lake of Anar millions of years ago. He would have grabbed Thenez and Faesar and given them a thorough brainwash: Who told you guys to be idle and make bean-like people everywhere. Look at your dear brother’s weak appearance now. The offspring you guys created is simply going to turn over the sky, okay…..

Unfortunately, he didn’t have the power of a god and was no different from an ordinary person except that he couldn’t die, so he could only stare at the handcuffs and shackles and silently vomit a mouthful of blood in his heart.

No, I have to find some tools to use.

He muttered this and then scanned the room carefully.

It was probably one of the chambers in the palace, not even close to Oswald’s, but the interior was brighter and less sober than that one, and it looked like a place for a young man.

The handcuffs and shackles Oswald had made for him were quite humane, as they were not tied to the bed, and the chains were long enough to allow him to move freely around the room but not out of it.

Kevin rolled out of bed, not bothering to look for his shoes, and walked around the room barefoot, unceremoniously rummaging through the cabinets.

“What are you looking for? If it’s something that can pick locks, like a small thin stick or something, then don’t bother. There isn’t any.” Oswald’s voice suddenly rang out, sounding lazy, with a deep, slow tone and a trailing-off tone that was not as cold and hard as it used to be.

Unfortunately, it sounded provocative in the sense of “hey, you can’t hit me” to Kevin’s ears.

Of course, this was mainly due to Excellency Fassbinder’s subjective additions.

“I say,” said Kevin, turning over a cabinet, straightening his back and leaning in a very lazy position with his elbows on the top of the cabinet, “Don’t think that because you’re the Emperor, I won’t dare to smack you. .”

His Majesty was standing in the doorway, personally holding a silver platter with delicious smelling food and even a glass of fruit wine. He gestured with his chin at the chains snaking around the room and said, “I knew you’d dare, so I locked it beforehand.”

Kevin shook the chains in his hands, “What? Can a few chains keep me locked up?”

Oswald curtsied and gave a respectful “please” with his free hand, “That’s not necessarily true, but I was mentally prepared for the possibility that you could break the chains with your bare hands.”

Kevin: “……” He couldn’t really take it off with his bare hands right now.

“Okay.” Kevin rolled his eyes in disgust and lazily dragged the chain back to the bed, pulling a piece of it in his hand and playing with it as he asked, “Tell me what’s wrong with you that you’re treating me in such an extraordinary way? I even opened the temple door to get the holy water for you, dear Your Majesty. Are you a fish that forgets in the blink of an eye?”

Oswald stared at him for a moment and said, “Do you know how long you’ve been asleep this time?”

Kevin glanced out the window, it was still raining heavily, and he couldn’t tell the day, “How long?”

“Seven days.” Oswald said, “The dose of ecstasy I gave you was actually very small. I asked the physician; it puts people to sleep overnight at most. But you slept for seven whole days. Do you need me to tell you why exactly?”

Kevin scowled.

“If I’m right, you fell asleep the last time because you woke up from being down there, the equivalent of coming back from the dead. Even then, you only slept for three days and three nights back and forth before recovering, whereas you slept for seven days this time.” Oswald narrowed his eyes and said casually, “Your walk through the god’ s tomb was even more draining than your death. I don’t believe you hadn’t anticipated it beforehand.”

Kevin lifted his eyes and opened his mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by Oswald again, “Do you remember what you told me before you left? When you said you were going to the Tomb of the God alone, you sounded as relaxed as if you were going for a meal, and what happened?”

Kevin shrugged, still unconcerned, “I did make it to the holy water, didn’t I?”

Oswald didn’t bother to argue with him. Instead, he said, “I bet if I don’t lock you up, you will dare to wake up today and continue playing around tomorrow.”

Kevin wept and laughed, ” Am I sick, or do I lack something? What’s the point of playing with my life.”

Oswald agreed, ” You do lack.”

Kevin: “……”

He literally wanted to grab something and smash the emperor’s noble face. But unfortunately, every single thing in the room that could be used for attacking had been confiscated by Oswald.

He used to think that the boy was just twisted, a little unnaturally paranoid and extreme at certain times. Now it seemed that this was not a twist but a psychopath!

Did the Jinshi Empire’s people have sea flooding their heads? Letting a freak become the emperor would get people killed……

“You won’t be able to unlock it if I don’t say so.” Oswald lifted his chin and said, “Resign yourself to your fate. When you have rested enough, I will naturally unlock it for you. You still have those wounds on your body on these two days.”

Kevin: “…… I’ll sort you up when it’s unlocked. You really get more lawless the older you get.”

“I had them make something. There’s a roasted rabbit and roasted gooseberry. I remember you seemed to like both of those before.” Oswald was about to enter with a silver tray.

Instead, Kevin leaned very rascally on the bed, patted the wooden cupboard next to him and said lazily, “After all that roll around the tomb, I need a bath and dip in the hot tub, or I can’t eat.”

Obviously, there was no way he could get a hot tub out of his bedchamber to bathe in, so he had to go out.

Oswald gave him an expressionless look up and down and said, “Sorry, you’ve just had a bath this morning. Didn’t you even notice that you had changed out of all your clothes?”

Kevin: “……”

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