Chapter 682: 528 The unacknowledged king
"The Mystic Island transformed into Faerie, its end I shall reveal."’
"’Welcome back the innocent with open arms’."’
"’This is the city of the unfathomable bottomless queen’."’
"’Piling up like rain, accumulating like dust, melting away like snowflakes, vanishing like lies’."’
"’Our dreams once placed on high shelves, still rest within the queen’s palm’."’
"’But merely bide a moment longer, for after two millennia, the Son of Salvation shall appear’."’
"’That which joins fairy and human together, the Son of Salvation shall save the world’."’
"’Even if at first faint like a glimmer, unnoticed and unrecognised, still like a moth drawn to the light’."’
"’Town of Iron, Sea of Coal’."’
"’When repelling disaster, the pilgrim is to be received’."’
"’The chosen staff to guide him, foreign travel to witness, the Son of Salvation finally reaches the throne’."’
"’He who sits upon the throne is the true king, please don a bloodstained crown’."’
"’Thunderous like wrath, wailing like fire’s lament, the six bells tell the tale, here begins the way of the true king’."’
"’Chased by the Red Disaster, bitten by the Dark Disaster’."’
"’A slight delay in our toil? It matters not, we descend from free fairies’."’
"’Hope has never sufficed, we earnestly yearn for a radiant tomorrow’."’
This prophecy, once mentioned in Tintagel Village, is what had led to the spreading of the tale of the prophesied child throughout the Faerie Britannia, making Altoria seen as the savior in the fairies’ eyes, the one fated to dethrone the false king and crown the true.
Due to the prophecy’s relevance to herself, Altoria’s concern for it was naturally the highest, certainly much more than Reiger’s.
And it was this that began to worry her upon learning that she must travel to Norwich.
"’Town of Iron, Sea of Coal’."’
"’When repelling disaster, the pilgrim is to be received’."’
Reiger recited these two lines of prophecy and looked towards Altoria.
"Are you worried about this?"
The so-called "Town of Iron, Sea of Coal" undoubtedly referred to Norwich.
Apart from being a port city, Norwich was also a renowned Refining City.
Generally speaking, fairies detest iron; to them, iron is as poison, but if it is forged into daily goods or used in construction, the fairies do not overly reject it.
The iron used in everyday items or construction is specially processed by the Earth Clan fairies, skilled in metallurgy, making them the only clan among the six great fairy families to consider iron as a treasure.
Given this context, as the Earth Clan’s territory, Norwich naturally became a Refining City, dedicated to forging various weapons and tools of iron.
In light of this reality, nowhere else but Norwich could be "Town of Iron, Sea of Coal" mentioned in the prophecy.
As for "When repelling disaster, the pilgrim is to be received," the meaning of this prophecy could also be reasonably guessed.
After all, it is now common knowledge that Norwich faces the threat of ’Disaster’.
At present, the ’Disaster’ is still accumulating, yet to erupt.
But the prophecy suggests that when the prophesied child arrives in Norwich, the accumulating ’Disaster’ might just ignite.
The prophesied child will repel the threat brought by ’Disaster’ and commence a pilgrimage, to be welcomed.
This is the content of these two lines of prophecy.
It is precisely because of this thought that Altoria felt apprehensive.
"If it truly unfolds as said in the prophecy, wouldn’t my visit to Norwich potentially be undesirable?"
This was the very issue Altoria wanted to discuss with Reiger.
She feared that her arrival might hasten the real threat of ’Disaster’ to Norwich, which was already on the brink.
The moment she arrived in Norwich, as foretold in the prophecy, the ’Disaster’ accumulating there would burst forth.
When it did, Norwich could suffer severe losses.
"I think you’re overthinking it," said Reiger, shaking his head. "Didn’t the prophecy also say? You will repel the disaster and be welcomed, proving that Norwich will ultimately be fine."
"But that doesn’t mean there won’t be any sacrifices," Altoria countered worriedly. "Alberon told me that the scale of ’Disaster’ amassing in Norwich is vast, that even by the standards of any past ’Disasters,’ it’s considered a very potent one."
"Can I really repel such a formidable ’Disaster’?"
"Even if I do, can Norwich truly remain unscathed without any loss?"
This was undoubtedly an unrealistic fantasy.
"I’m not sure what Morgan is thinking, she knows that ’Disaster’ has appeared in Norwich, yet she neither sends troops to conquer it nor orders the fairies to evacuate. What is she really pondering?"
At this point, Altoria felt quite indignant.
On the other hand, Reiger’s expression was filled with indifference.
"She probably thinks that the life and death of the fairies are of no consequence, right?"
Hearing this, Altoria fell silent.
It was an obvious fact.
Queen Morgan only ruled over the fairies and did not care about their life or death.
Otherwise, she would not have branded every fairy in Fairy Country with a curse, forcibly harvesting Magic Power, even if this would lead most of the fairies down a path of slow death, she would remain indifferent.
What she cared about was the land of Britain in Fairy Country.
What she loved was also only this nation, not the fairies living within it.
"Fairies are not worth saving."
In a way, Morgan was also a proponent of this view.
That’s why her rule was so heartless, so brutal, and so fearsome.
"Even if she doesn’t care about the deaths and injuries of the fairies in Norwich, doesn’t she care about the ’Disaster’ itself?"
Altoria raised this question.
"The accumulated ’Disaster’ won’t just disappear with the destruction of Norwich, will it? Won’t it still pose a threat to Britain?"
It was well known that once the ’Disaster’ erupted, after Norwich was destroyed, other places would be next in line.
If the ’Disaster’ continued to accumulate, it would eventually endanger the whole of Britain, the entire Fairy Country.
Could Morgan really ignore this situation?
Certainly not.
"I think, when things get dire, Morgan will take action herself," Reiger’s eyes flickered as he spoke: "Perhaps she is also waiting for the ’Disaster’ to erupt, and once it does, she will immediately unleash the grand magic under her control to eliminate the ’Disaster’ in one go."
Altoria was momentarily taken aback, then her eyes widened.
"Doesn’t that mean Morgan is watching the ’Disaster’ unfold, treating Norwich as a fuse to ignite the ’Disaster’?"
Altoria finally saw through this point.
"That’s correct," Reiger nodded, saying: "Rather than wasting troops to slowly root it out, that witch would certainly prefer a one-time solution, nipping the threat to Britain in the bud."
"Norwich exists as a sacrificial piece for this reason."
"As long as the Earth Clan isn’t entirely wiped out, with the fairies’ capabilities, building another Norwich is not difficult at all."
As for the fairies who would die in the process, what did that matter to Morgan?
After realizing this, Altoria fell completely silent.
"What?" Reiger, as if seeing through Altoria’s thoughts, said: "Does it not sit right with you?"
"...Yes." Altoria didn’t deny it, or perhaps felt there was no need to deny it in front of Reiger, nodded while saying in a grave voice, "Is having such a queen really a good thing for Britain?"
"Whether it’s a good thing or not, I don’t know, but I do know that no one loves Britain more than Morgan," Reiger spoke indifferently: "She may not care about the survival of fairies or what happens to this nation, but she will certainly protect this land, even if it means sacrificing everything."
That was the essence of Morgan.
Otherwise, the Morgan of pan-human history would not have gone utterly mad when she could not become the queen.
The Morgan of Fairy Country Britain was still Morgan, the reason she hadn’t become the notorious Poisoned Concubine from pan-human history was simply that she had become queen here.
This was also clear to Altoria, who now possessed the memories of King Arthur.
But precisely because she was clear on this, Altoria felt compelled to say.
"Such a queen will not be recognized."
This was not something Reiger would deny.
Those in Fairy Country Britain who truly viewed Morgan as their queen, who recognized her as queen, were definitely in the minority.
Among the Elf Knights, Gawain always had his own convictions and was not blindly loyal; Lancelot was even closer with Aurora and followed her every command, so it was estimated that only Bawan Xi truly regarded Morgan as the queen.
Among the clan heads of the six major clans, Aurora already had other intentions, Spurgen was superficially obedient but duplicitous behind the scenes, Mourine flat-out ignored Morgan’s commands, the clan of the king was straightforward in its rebellion, declaring hostility towards Morgan, and with the disappearance of the Clan of the Mirror, a prophecy was left behind branding Morgan a false queen. As a result, only Woodworth remained loyal to the queen.
As for the thirty ambassadors and a hundred officials gathered in the royal palace, the high echelons of Fairy Country, they were typical fairies, their nature so vile it was disgusting.
Should Morgan reveal even the slightest weakness, the first ones to rush forward and stomp her to death would certainly be these fairies.
So, it was certain that Morgan was not popular.
But—
"What others think does not matter, what’s key is what you think," Reiger looked straight at Altoria, saying: "If you also do not recognize her, do you have the determination to overthrow her and take the throne?"
Altoria fell silent once again.
This time, after her silence, Altoria said no more.
Reiger watched her leave with such a demeanor, closing his eyes, his heart filled with a myriad of emotions.
Regarding this trip to Norwich, Reiger actually had his own thoughts as well.
If the development of Norwich followed the same path as in the original story, then he might be able to resolve his longstanding doubts on this journey.
That is, the relationship between Morgan and himself.