The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 1198 - 643: The Last Emperor’s "Self-Condemnation Edict", The Priestess Appears!
At this moment, there were few people left who knew about the plan, the Royal Family had long since stopped intervening with the Liao Clan, only retaining a few magicians who, in the guise of ’priests,’ lived above the Liao people in the ’La Garden.’
"In the fourth century... the Great La Ba finally gained God-level strength, but as the world was too vast, and the Divine was unknown, the plan presented some flaws, making it no longer easy to control It.
If there were ample time, perhaps we could have used decades or even centuries to perfect It, but... the fate of Qi Country has come to an end!"
...
Inside the temple.
On the light screen, the narration of the last Emperor came to a long pause for the first time.
Zhao Douan and others, too, emerged from their breathless concentration, exchanging looks, seeing the shock in each other’s eyes.
A four-century-long plan...
A god-creation movement that could be called madness...
"Qi Country still had such secrets... no wonder..." Pei Niannu stood in a daze, seemingly recalling certain long-forgotten past events.
Some old doubts were resolved.
Zhao Douan, however, was struck with fear:
"If Qi Country had lasted a bit longer. If the Royal Family had truly mastered a god, then..."
Perhaps, Yu Country would never have emerged.
A conception for millennium could indeed have a slim chance of achievement.
"I understand now." Yu Xiu was stunned for a moment, then suddenly enlightened:
"So, the Crown Prince’s apparent mission of transporting palace treasures and transferring the foundation of the Imperial Palace was actually a facade, with the main goal being to pin the hope of restoring the country on the Great La Ba!"
Zhao Douan took a deep breath, staring at the light screen, and spoke:
"But it seems, he failed."
Those divine servants outside are the answer.
...
On the light screen.
The last Emperor, having calmed his emotions, spoke again with eyes filled with sorrow:
"Great Qi’s defeat happened too fast, everything happened too fast. While the court’s ministers deceitfully assured the Emperor that the unrest in various regions was minor and could be easily quelled, those regions had already been lost, and the rebel’s army was at the gate of the city."
"It was only at this time that Father told us brothers this great secret. It is evident that now, the Great Laba God is the last hope."
"Now, I have reached the Liao Clan, while the rest of my brothers are yet to arrive, or perhaps have perished on the way.
Even the secret of the Laba God might have been exposed, hence, I can no longer wait.
Today, in haste, I have ascended the throne, and have resolved to make a desperate attempt, even though the court’s chief magician said there are risks of failure in forcibly harnessing the Laba God, but at this juncture, with the country shattered, there is no retreat!"
The last Emperor’s gaze suddenly hardened as he stared sternly and indifferently at those before the light screen, as if conversing with them across a span of six hundred years:
"Soon, I shall personally attempt to harness the Great Laba. If successful, this image will be erased, and there will still be hope for Qi Country."
"If I fail..."
The Crown Prince, who had ascended to the throne just a day ago, took a deep breath, seemingly somewhat desolate:
"At that time, the thousands of loyal imperial guards in La Garden can go and make a living for themselves."
"The downfall of Great Qi was due to the Emperor."
"I have sinned against all the lands."
"If all the lands have sinned, it is my doing."
"This is my confession of guilt!"
Slam!
The light screen suddenly retracted into a slender line, then drew back into the Jade Ball.
The image ended!
Yet Zhao Douan and the others remained unable to return to their senses for a long time.
A while later.
"There’s another Memory Stone that might contain the subsequent events!"
Yu Xiu took a deep breath, gazing at the second, slightly smaller Jade Ball.
Zhao Douan hesitated not, his mood inexplicably heavy as he grasped it, then set it down.
He infused it with mana to begin the image.
This time, the image unfolding in the air was very blurry, seemingly held by someone, the entire scene swaying.
One after another, "magicians of the court" in strange robes shouted something in terror, though it was unclear, only faintly audible words like "Your Majesty," and "out of control."
The magician holding the Jade Ball was mingling among his fellows, running, before exiting the temple, the scene then revealing La Garden from six hundred years ago.
The sky was a thick blood-red, clouds covering the firmament, vaguely churning into what seemed to be the contour of a pained human face.
On the ground, thousands of armored guards gathered in La Garden, staring upward in terror, not understanding what was happening.
Then, suddenly, the enormous face in the sky disappeared, replaced by two gigantic voids.
Coldly gazing down below.
Then, in the courtyard, thousands of guards, irrespective of cultivation, simultaneously bled from the seven orifices, dying silently, collapsing to the ground.
The civil servants standing near the altar followed suit, dying with dreadful screams, their flesh and blood absorbed by the altar itself.
The magicians at the temple’s entrance fell one by one in succession as well.
The one holding the Jade Ball seemed to have a cultivation far superior to the other magicians, and while the rest perished, he struggled to persist.
Stepping, one step at a time, inward, placing the Jade Ball he held somewhere.
Then he released it, unbelievably began walking back out of the temple, showing on the light screen an old man with a full head of white hair, frail and aged.
He wore the most ornate magician’s robe, his face obscured, only the thin silhouette receding into the distance was visible.
Finally, upon stepping out of the temple, the court’s chief magician suddenly burst into flames, turning into a blinding "sun," rising fiercely to collide with the Evil God above.
Then, ripples of golden hue spread across the blood-red sky.
A fierce gale ensued, snuffing out the light screen.
...
Inside the temple.
Zhao Douan, Yu Xiu, Jin Jian, Pei Niannu gathered quietly beside a stone pillar, silently watching the two Jade Balls on it.
Their hearts heavy and oppressed.
Such a short fragment of footage, yet it was as if they had watched a three-hour epic movie.
Every individual was overwhelmed with an indescribable emotion.
"Phew..." Zhao Douan was the first to break the silence, letting out a strong exhale, rubbing his brow:
"Qi Country’s downfall was not unjust. Yet, what concerns me more now is, where is the key?"
Yu Xiu and Jin Jian were instantly reminded.
Indeed, they had been delayed for quite some time, though they uncovered a massive secret, the true objective of their infiltration had yet to be achieved.
"Let’s search for it..."
Just as Yu Xiu suggested a meticulous search, suddenly, they heard innumerable strange noises from outside the temple.
The three reacted simultaneously, rushing to the doorway, peering outside, shock reflected in their widened pupils!
Under the starlit sky, on the open ground below the altar, countless divine servants like an iron torrent stepped forth, engulfing the entire clearing, their crimson eyes converging like a sea of light.
Such a terrifying number, certain to exhaust and overwhelm them all.
And on the altar, at the forefront of the massed divine servants, stood a "female detective" garbed in a luxurious robe, black hair cascading, her skin tinged black, exuding a mysterious aura, wearing a bizarre white bone mask, holding a priest’s staff, quietly staring back at them.
"Damn..."
Zhao Douan’s heart sank instantly to the abyss.
