Chapter 780: Chapter 402: The Mythical Prophecy and the Empire’s Decline_2

This left Louis somewhat speechless.

The people from the land of merchants truly run wherever there is profit.

They are not even afraid of getting caught in the quagmire of war.

Oh no, these people are willing to take the risk of the guillotine as long as there is a hundred percent profit.

Especially when it involves the interests of nations or even the future of the continent, they won’t hold back.

With the involvement of national forces, more and more information is coming through various channels.

In just one day’s time, third-party forces outside the nation and the church began to step in.

The Adventurer Guild was the first to respond to the call.

They are the number one war hounds on the entire Star Continent.

Now, the Adventurer Guild is already in contact with his false identity, Caesar, and saying they plan to move Adventurer Island soon.

Clearly, they intend to nail their headquarters directly in Lokeshi, fully playing their role as disruptors.

Once the Adventurer Island moves over, the likes of the Mercenary Guild substitutes will have no choice but to follow.

One can imagine just how chaotic the Lokeshi Empire will become.

After the maidservants on the royal side had prepared the things Louis needed, it was finally time for him to depart.

Before leaving, Louis went to see Beatrice.

She was still slumbering in the inheritance ceremony of the Eye of Truth, unable to awaken.

Louis gently caressed her face, leaned down to kiss her forehead, then left the bedchamber without looking back.

Her existence was his reason for returning.

And now he was going to protect the empire where she resided.

On this day, the Prince of the Empire emerged once again.

His target, the Lokeshi Empire, to suppress the Demon King Army.

...

Location: Lokeshi Empire, Remonam Palace

The Remonam Palace is a place specifically for former emperors of honor to handle state affairs.

In the past, it was bustling, often busy until midnight before resting.

But at this time of night, with the night deep, it should have been the time for everyone to rest.

However, the office in Remonam Palace remained brightly lit.

Tal Griffin sat quietly in the seat of the former emperor, overlooking the Imperial Capital through the window.

His fingertips gently stroked a portrait.

In the painting was a boy with a bright, sunny smile.

A flash of agitation crossed his eyes, but it ultimately turned into a dead calm.

It was his son.

The "unlucky one" who died years ago under the great sin experiment.

Of course, no one dared to call the child unlucky directly in front of him, the father, but those who knew the story likely said it a lot in private.

In a daze, he recalled many years ago.

Back then, he and his wife hadn’t fallen in love, even though they married; it was merely a union of shared blood for the sake of mutual interests.

At that time, he told his wife, "I am a refined egoist, and so are you. Let’s not let nonexistent love sully our noble interests."

And so, they entered the marital cathedral under such an atmosphere.

Perhaps because of their connected interests, they got along quite well after marriage.

Sometimes, he thought that a touch of sincerity in this mutually understanding union for interests was quite good.

Their goal was quite pure, actually.

To live better for themselves, and if having a child to bind local resources and consolidate interests helped, then all the better.

But the situation wasn’t as good as they’d imagined.

They didn’t have a child for a long time.

Until the prophecy of the founding myth was fulfilled on them—

The outside world knew that Lokeshi’s founding myth began when Cyan Griffin, the Elector, raised the flag of rebellion.

The Thirteen Houses were initially gathered under the Griffin Family, establishing the earliest system.

Later, as the Lokeshi Empire grew, the Thirteen Houses gradually split to form their separate identities.

But only the successive Patriarchs of the Griffin Family knew that the Lokeshi Empire was destined to "rise in chaos and fall in chaos."

This news was now buried deep in Tal Griffin’s heart.

Those were a few words left by his ancestors.

"Brave descendants of the Griffin, Lokeshi was born of destiny and will die in destiny."

"When the wail of the Celestial Flame Bird rings again, the empire will reach its end at sunset."

"This is irresistible, beyond human reach, ordained by the will of the stars."

"But with the stars covering the sky, the sunrise will still greet the dawn."

"The more you say, the more you err; knowledge often brings disaster, these words and actions must not be spoken to anyone."

"The evening bell tolls the death knell of the twilight sun."

"The great progeny of the Extreme Cold shall be consumed by the fire of jealousy."

"The first light of Dawn will bring the end, and a new sun will rise."

"When the Sin King and glory reunite, it will be the time of fate’s rotation."

"Struggle to the utmost of your ability to the end, my children."

"May the will of my god always protect you."

These are the words that every Patriarch learns from the previous generation after ascending to the position.

He was also entrusted by the former clan leader to memorize these words verbatim, without a single mistake, and pass them on to the next generation.

Initially, he did not believe them.

He did not know how many secrets were hidden behind the birth of Lokeshi back then, but he felt the ancestors were making a fuss over nothing.

Or perhaps he never believed that the prophecy would happen to his generation just by chance.

But with the rise of humanity, on a certain year, month, and day, the Eternal Fierce Sun became the afterglow of the sunset, and the Fiery Sun Church lost the protection of the gods, falling as the setting sun.

But that was after a thousand years since the founding of the Lokeshi Empire.

No one expected that the massive entity known as the Fiery Sun Church would disintegrate in such a short time. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

When the prophecy was fulfilled upon the gods, the leaders of the Extreme Cold Giant Elephant could not stay calm.

But over time, seeing no new prophecy emerge, they relaxed their guard.

Until many years ago, his wife, who had not become pregnant in a long time, showed signs of pregnancy amidst their prolonged collaboration, with newfound joy between them.

And this, was the beginning of the tragedy.

In the third year after the child was born, a young boy was sent to the Imperial Capital of Lokeshi.

That was the earliest Great Sin: Envy.

When envy appeared in another child’s life, Tal had a sudden premonition that his child was chosen as a sacrifice to fate.

At that moment, he felt like it was all a joke played by fate.

In reality, as time passed, both he and his wife gradually got used to having another person accompany their lives.

Even if they weren’t deeply in love before, that child’s birth was undoubtedly surrounded by love.

He regretted it.

He didn’t want the child to become a victim of the prophecy.

The great ones of the Extreme Cold Elephant, only two types of people in the family can be called that.

One is those who’ve been Electors all their lives but never ascend to the throne.

The other is the Griffin Patriarch who ascends to become an emperor.

So this prophecy clearly referred to his and his wife’s child.

That night, he and his wife discussed it for a long time.

Originally, they neither revered ghosts nor gods, nor did they believe in prophecies; they believed more in their own power to change everything.

But as the Celestial Flame Bird produced a new prophet, their fear grew day by day.

The Celestial Flame Bird doesn’t always produce prophets.

In fact, throughout most periods of history, the prophet of the Celestial Flame Bird was more of a symbol.

But each time a prophet appeared, it often signaled the coming days of turmoil in the empire’s affairs.

When the prophecies began unraveling one by one, he was forced to reveal to his wife the secret the Extreme Cold Giant Elephant had hidden for years, in a state of fear.

And this was among the regrets of his life.

He only remembered the series of potential tragedies depicted in the prophecies and forgot the warning "the more you say, the more you err; knowledge often brings disaster, these words and actions must not be spoken to anyone."

His wife had been one of the top female figures within the Extreme Cold Elephant.

Upon hearing this matter, she unhesitatingly rejected the empire’s plan to keep the Great Sin amongst their own.

Not only that, but she also didn’t hesitate to harshly criticize those who proposed the plan at that time.

She plainly stated, "Lokeshi’s future hasn’t degraded to the point where it needs to gamble its fate on the sacrifice of children."

Later... later, while representing the family to deal with some disaster, his wife encountered an accident.

It was a demigod-level disaster, and of the most dangerous kind.

No one expected the accident to erupt in such an unexpected way.

The next time he saw his wife, it was on the hospital bed.