Chapter 568: Chapter 50: Dusk and Dawn_2
*Who* was "he"? Neither the Lich nor Adelle had any idea, completely unclear about the situation. However, anyone who could anger Jones, who was always busy freeing slaves, and strip Andrew of his freedom, surely couldn’t be a good person. So, no one had any interest in finding out more. They all just silently watched Andrew pinned to the ground.
Andrew struggled constantly, "No... you can’t do this, you can’t. We still have room for cooperation, don’t we? Maybe we can change the way we do things, align our interests. That way, you won’t have to worry about me betraying you."
"Sorry, I think the proposal I just made best suits our mutual interests. And, I wasn’t asking for your opinion." Jones stood up, casually saying, "Take him away."
"Yes!" Several dwarves carried Andrew and Turuk away.
"No! You can’t do this! Can’t do this! I’m a former member of the Silver Moon Knight Order, even your foster father Gray has already pardoned me! You can’t do this to me!"
Clearly, no one listened to his words.
"Lord Jones, he’s too cunning. Dora will make arrangements to prevent his escape." Saying that, Dora hurriedly followed them.
"What exactly did you encounter inside?" Adelle asked softly.
"Nothing, it’s all over. This trip was very fruitful." Jones replied with a smile.
With that, Jones took one last look at the ruins before turning to leave.
The others followed one after another.
...
The wind blew gently.
In the sunset, the ancient forest swayed lightly in the wind.
The last rays of sunlight slowly disappeared below the horizon, and the boundless night enveloped the earth.
Nocturnal animals poked their heads out, quietly, silently continuing their usual lives, as if nothing had happened, as if nothing had ever happened.
The snow piled on the pine needles tilted and fell slowly, like water splashing up on a winter’s day.
In the night, the ice and snow melted slowly. The gap cleared was gradually filled again by growing weeds.
With Jones and his group leaving, the land returned once more to its former appearance. It continued slumbering, hiding Krimasha’s secret from ten thousand years ago, waiting for the dawn to arrive.
Would dawn come?
Maybe, maybe not, who knows?
But isn’t that what life is all about?
There’s nothing that is supposed to be, nothing that is impossible, and nothing that is predestined. Everything is in flux.
In a world full of change, everyone must use their own hands to carve out their own path.
When carving out their own path is done by an individual, that person becomes the protagonist. When it is done by a nation, that nation also becomes the protagonist.
We cannot know if they will succeed.
But when countless people head towards the same goal, falling one after another, even sacrificing their own lives, immense power is destined to emerge, a power that all beings in this world will take notice of.
Krimasha, which had vanished ten thousand years ago, had never truly fallen.
...
Silver Moon Year Five.
A seemingly ordinary year in a stormy era. Compared to the eventful Silver Moon Year One, Year Two, Year Three, and Year Four, Year Five was often unintentionally skipped by historians.
Why?
Because they only knew that the Giant Snake City Lord, Hydra Knight Jones Dracula, personally visited the Blood Elves, that the Red Soul Angel An enrolled in the Blood Elf Magic Academy in this year, but knew nothing about what happened in the unknown underground ruins on the border of Gustav, or what kind of agreement was made there.
As for Andrew An entering Giant Snake City, they knew even less.
In February of Silver Moon Year Five, after a week’s stay, Jones Dracula, the Giant Snake City Lord, led his delegation away from Luo Ge Xian Ni. Unlike the low profile of their arrival, when they left, the Blood Elf Queen personally saw him off and held a grand farewell ceremony.
Among the farewell crowd was Angel An. He participated as a magic apprentice. There were many magic apprentices participating, almost the entire Magic Academy’s apprentices went. In other words, Angel An was just a background figure at this time.
Of course, he didn’t mind. In fact, he was still troubled about how to navigate between the Magic Academy and his parents. His teacher, Magic Master Amos, offered Angel a low-paying part-time job—as his assistant in the lab. The benefit was free use of his lab. This temporarily solved Angel’s financial problems, making it look like he had real work.
Of course, it was only temporary; no one could guarantee how long this secret would stay undiscovered, including the demon following Angel.
In April, the Blood Elves and Giant Snake City formally reached an agreement, supplying Giant Snake City with a large amount of the much-needed Mordo ore.
In May, Lich Aileen of Giant Snake City announced significant progress in the development of magic tools. They had created tools that allowed ordinary humans to possess the power of top-tier human mages. More powerful and user-friendly magic tools would be developed in the future. Crucially, these tools were very cheap, so cheap that even mediocre human mages questioned their purpose in life.
In August, on the Ailuo Peninsula, King Arthur of the Fides Kingdom, who supported the White Bone Holy Light Court, first used the armed magic troops to launch a siege on the rebel forces controlled by Hell within his territory, achieving a decisive victory and killing the leader.
In September, October, and November, the core human forces supporting the White Bone Holy Light Court, including the Beishier Duchy, Isaac Kingdom, Allen Kingdom, and Bert Duchy, showcased their newly formed magic armies.
Human power experienced a revolutionary boost. This not only enabled the forces supporting the White Bone Holy Light Court to extricate themselves from their previously extremely passive situation but also inclined previously wavering lords to support the White Bone Holy Light Court.
After all, what’s more reliable than having power in your own hands? The lords desired direct power, while Heaven and Hell were left bewildered.
In a sense, Jones’ approach troubled them more than Gray’s did.
Did they have the power to offer the lords in exchange for their loyalty? Of course, but that would just lead back to the dilemma before the Fourth Epoch, a path they had long abandoned.
Returning to a path previously dismissed was no easy feat, especially for angels and demons who lived through all of history.
In December, Jones held a significant meeting in Giant Snake City. The attendees were lords from various nations. According to Jones’ proposal, they would start building a new trade and political structure, aiming to create a new positive cycle and form a new alliance.
At the same time, with Jones’ support, the Giant Snake City Magic Academy was formally established, open to the entire continent for enrollment.
Former Secretary-General of the Lich Council and current member of the White Bone Holy Light Church Council—Lich Aikleion became the first dean of the Magic Academy. Well... he might also be the only dean. As long as he didn’t voluntarily retire, he would always be the dean.
According to Jones’ requirements, he allocated eighty percent of the slots to humans who almost never studied magic, distributing the slots to various countries. After a separation of ten thousand years, humans finally stepped into the halls of magic once again.
This even sparked strong opposition from the residents of Giant Snake City at one point since there were almost no humans among the city’s residents. And Jones was unwilling to explain anything. Of course, Jones had enough prestige; even without explaining, he could quell this minor public opinion issue.
Thus, Giant Snake City, or rather its City Lord, Hydra Knight Jones Dracula, cemented his position on the entire Keltos Continent.
"Towards Krimasha Volume Eight: The Rise of the Hydra Knight" [End]