Only God-Chapter 595 - 503

"I hope the outcome of the war won’t be so dire," said Maxwell.

The ministers left in the Royal City snorted derisively at Maxwell’s words. They ridiculed the Earl, saying he was senile, incompetent, no longer the brave man of his younger years. Some even treated the Earl’s words as a curse, secretly recording them to use as evidence in his trial to augment Maxwell’s punishment.

But as it turned out... the events that unfolded later did not align with people’s wishes but instead confirmed Maxwell’s words.

Nearly three months later, shocking news from the front lines reached the Royal City, throwing it into great political turmoil.

King Hudson III and his Crown Prince had been captured by the King of Kaelonde.

And the forty thousand troops that accompanied the King on his campaign were crushed by the Dwarves within a mere three months. Nearly ten thousand were killed or wounded, with more than nine thousand captured, leaving only just over ten thousand battered soldiers to return from the Helong Mountain Range.

The arrival of this dire news was so sudden and so bizarre that the nobles and ministers had no time to censor it before the entire Royal City was engulfed in violent upheaval that quickly spread throughout the Kingdom.

To add insult to injury for Golan, after the defeat of Hudson III, the Kaelonde Dwarves didn’t halt their offensive. They crossed the Helong Mountain Range, advancing into the heartland of the Kingdom, and under Hudson III’s name, they sent letters to the lords around the country demanding their surrender.

The King was captured, the army defeated, and the Dwarves continued their advance... A string of calamities pushed the Kingdom to the brink of chaos, with uprisings breaking out in various places, and everyone suddenly felt endangered.

For the people of Golan, this crushing defeat brought unprecedented shock and humiliation.

The Golan Humans had always looked down on the shorter stature of the Dwarves, and the unbroken record of victories in wars since the foundation of the Golan Kingdom brought them incomparable pride and arrogance.

Yet, those very Dwarves they despised had effortlessly routed the proud and arrogant Golans, even capturing their King, who became like a lamb to the slaughter.

The entire Kingdom suddenly found itself in a precarious situation where it seemed that Golan would soon become but a line in history, a name on the map. The crisis was to come at some point, utterly destroying Golan.

...

...

In contrast to the reaction of the Golan Kingdom, when news of the battlefront reached Kaelonde, the Dwarves were instantly immersed in national celebration.

Countless people cried tears of joy, shouting the name of Hiris, praising the great achievements of Kafu the Sixth. Crown Prince Mura held a grand festival for this occasion. Dwarves swarmed the Craftsmen Temple, the taverns were packed to the brim, and everywhere was filled with people cheering the victory and reveling in supreme joy. Even the rival Gold Silver Clan and Steam Artisans seemed to forget their longstanding feuds at this moment.

Kaelonde had never seemed so prosperous and jubilant.

In such an atmosphere of intense celebration, an unassuming foreigner stepped into the busiest city of Kaelonde.

No doubt, he was a Human by appearance.

The Royal City was not only the political center but also a major trade city of the entire Kingdom. Here, foreigners of different races were not uncommon, coming for trade, travel, or technological exchange.

So, what had brought this foreigner here?

No one could have guessed.

He had come to stop the war.

Xilan watched the scenes within the Royal City calmly.

Celebration was everywhere, praise was everywhere... Everyone was lost in the joy of victory.

However, the Dwarves who today celebrated the win of the war might tomorrow mourn its loss.

To Xilan, who had once ascended to Heaven, the current celebrations and praise didn’t hold much significance.

"They don’t know what they are about to face," Xilan mumbled to himself.

It was as if he had peered through the veils of time and glimpsed a corner of destiny.

The celebrating Dwarves did not notice this untimely foreign visitor.

He was like an unknown, solitary ghost, wandering seemingly aimlessly through the Royal City.

Xilan passed the splendid Craftsmen Temple and ventured into an inconspicuous alley inhabited by prostitutes and Wanderers.

Though it was his first time setting foot in Kaelonde, he navigated the alleys with ease, as if he had lived there for years, turning left and right until he stopped in front of a low door.

Raising his hand, Xilan knocked six polite times on the door.

Moments later, an ordinary-looking, bearded female Dwarf emerged, her face showing confusion at the sight of this unexpected visitor.

"Who are you? Which whore brought you here? How do you know the secret knock?"

The female Dwarf’s barrage of questions shot out rapidly.

She was the local wise-woman and Herbal Doctor who had long served the local prostitutes.

"Several years ago, did you happen to host a Dwarf named... Belvan?" Xilan asked gently.

The female Dwarf Saren first froze, then her eyes widened with shock and disbelief.

"How do you... know?"

"Who exactly are you? Which of the Divine beings are you?"

Saren asked, trembling.

She didn’t want to get involved in this conspiracy of the Gods, she wanted to live a little longer.

"I naturally know.

As for who I am..."

Xilan smiled slightly,

"No, no, I’m not a Divine. I am just a person, a peacemaker." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

After saying this, Xilan leaned forward and almost without hinderance crossed into the room.

Saren waited until he entered the garden before belatedly realizing that she should have stopped him from entering the house. Why hadn’t she thought of it just now?

It was as if... the thought of stopping him had been forgotten just earlier.

That hermit-like person had stirred up panic and fear in Saren’s heart.

This emotion could only be compared to the first time Saren listened to Yikabe’s Divine Revelation.

"What... what do you want to do?"

Saren asked, mustering her courage.

"I want to understand something about Belvan from you."

Xilan paused, then added,

"I have heard of him from a Prophet."

Of course, Saren would not know that the Prophet Xilan spoke of was Great Angel Schiller.

When Xilan returned to the Mortal World from Heaven, he had visited that Great Angel who discovered the Path of Divine Creation, and the latter had pointed out to him a figure of long-standing interest, that was Belvan.

Now, in the research on the Path of Divine Creation, Belvan was undoubtedly a pioneer.

Saren swallowed hard, carefully stroking her arm, where the jumping spider, which was Yikabe’s familiar, hid motionless inside the sleeve as if it were dead.

Of course, the jumping spider knew that the witch wanted to ask for its help.

"Ask for help? What help, it’s already good enough that I haven’t asked you for help."

The jumping spider thought to itself, staying completely still.

Saren wouldn’t know that it was even more afraid of the uninvited guest before her.

"Don’t worry, I just want to ask you some simple questions."

Xilan spoke slowly.

Saren nodded with difficulty; the hermit’s voice was somewhat refreshing.

After this, Xilan posed questions such as how Saren knew Belvan; what divination Belvan wanted, what dreams he had; what Saren’s divination results were, whether there were plans to continue following Belvan; and whether Saren understood the various secrets behind Belvan.

Faced with so many questions, Saren almost had an answer for each, and during the process, she noticed that the hermit bore no malice, gradually relaxed, and disclosed as many details as possible.

After the question and answer session, Xilan sincerely performed a gesture of respect.

"Apologies for the intrusion, may the Lord watch over you."

After saying this, Xilan’s figure slowly departed from the narrow garden.

Once the hermit left, Saren heaved a sigh of relief and flopped down onto the ground.

The jumping spider no longer hid inside the sleeve, it looked towards the direction Xilan left with lingering fear.

"Who was that man? Who... exactly is he?!"

Seeing the jumping spider, Saren asked nervously.

The jumping spider shook its head:

"Don’t know, not clear, it’s not something we should understand..."

Saren was startled.

Could this mean that the hermit had transcended the realm of mortals and stepped into the domain of the Gods?

If that were the case...

Saren mumbled dumbfounded:

"This person, truly like a Divine being..."