Dharma Ring: Selling dung beetles at the border

A person's life is made up of choices.

Perhaps just a small choice will tilt the growth trajectory a little bit, and then continue to grow in one direction.

Like an unpruned sapling.

Greg couldn't remember why he became like this.

It may be that he gave up in a swordsmanship competition when he was young, it may be that he failed during a hunt, or he didn't have the courage to crush a spider when he saw it.

When he was still young, the slight sting of that small failure, and the vague ridicule of those around him, stirred up his dignity.

And when someone laughs at him, he only needs to stare back at the person, and the person who dares to laugh at him will definitely have his mouth covered and be pulled up to apologize.

Whenever Greg senses his own weakness, his status as a famous family can help him deal with the ensuing humiliation.

Rather than working hard to develop one's own strength, being a member of the golden clan can solve problems more quickly and conveniently.

Greg thought that maybe this was the reason why he was weak.

But it's also possible that it's simply because his blood is impure.

Greg is proud of his golden status, but he is also humiliated because his strength does not match the golden name.

For a long time, Greg believed that he was not to blame for his weakness.

That must be due to the purity of the bloodline.

Whether it was the blood of his ancestor King Godfrey or the divine blood of Queen Malika, they were already quite thin by his generation.

Therefore, the decline of demigods is also inevitable.

Those who served Greg comforted him in this way.

Greg embraced the theory.

He believed that he was weak not because of his cowardice, but because of his thin bloodline.

Blood cannot be replenished by hard work. Just like those who serve themselves, no matter how hard they work, they are still slaves.

The ancestors of the golden clan are indeed inferior to each other from generation to generation, but even so, gold is still gold.

Greg used this reason to comfort himself and lived a life of drunkenness and dreams.

Until he saw Ratan and Rakad.

There is a strict classification of status in the border areas. Border tributaries are not as good as ordinary golden people, and civilians are not as good as knights.

Only knights who have made outstanding military exploits can be awarded the title of hero.

And even a hero is still far away from the king.

The origin of gold is the combination of kings and gods. That is the most supreme bloodline in the border area. In theory, they are all born kings.

Even if the bloodline is diluted, it is the diluted bloodline of kings and gods, and it is still much more noble than ordinary famous families.

In Greg's eyes, Latarn was nothing.

Latan, Rakad, and Lani, these relatives brought by the second generation King of Elden, Ladagan, are just a combination of heroes.

Radagan and Man Yue are both just heroes. At most, Man Yue is considered a queen.

The union of a hero and a king, even the first generation of children, will not be nobler than the last generation of a god and a king.

At least that's what Greg thought.

He thought the same way until Grek provoked Latane in the ring and was beaten into the dirt.

Even if he loses, he will still say that the other party cheated.

He couldn't attribute it to other reasons. Even if he had been beaten to pieces, he had to ignore the reality.

Otherwise, he would have been living a lie for the first half of his life.

Greg couldn't figure out why the lineage theory he had always comforted himself with failed.

Why are the last descendants of God and King inferior to the children of heroes?

He doesn't want to accept this result, he can't accept this result.

If he accepted it, he would admit that his weakness was not due to blood.

But no one cared about his thoughts or his inner struggles.

The greatest contempt is ignorance.

Even when Latan slapped him to the ground, it was Godwin he was looking at, not him.

In order to save his dignity, Greg knew to find other reasons.

Greg always believed that Latarn became a general and Rakad became a judicial officer, not because of their strength, but because they had a good father.

Greg also believed that no matter how arrogant these relatives were, even if the late King Godfrey had become a faded person and left the border area, the remaining power of the Golden Clan would still remain, and the position of crown prince of the Golden Tree Dynasty would still belong to Godwin, the strongest demigod. The descendant of King Furei.

Greg was deeply proud of the power of Golden Godwin.

Even if this power has nothing to do with him.

When Greg inherited the Great Rune, through a ritual, he could gain strength by having his limbs reattached.

Greg never felt that the limb grafting ceremony was so embarrassing, or he couldn't let himself feel that way.

He is a member of the golden clan and has inherited the Runes, the center of gravity. He is the orthodoxy of the border area.

Therefore, harvesting strength by appending limbs is like imposing taxes, which is reasonable and legal.

This is a necessary sacrifice in order to inherit orthodoxy.

Bloodline once again became his comfort, giving him a reason to justify all his actions.

The more intense the criticism from the outside world, the more paranoid he becomes - only paranoia can make him feel better.

Greg ignored the criticism of himself, obsessed with the feeling of becoming stronger, and longed for the approval of his ancestors.

He knew that his ancestors were long gone, the golden clan had declined and withered, and no elders would judge him anymore.

So Greg can safely look forward to the evaluation of his elders and fantasize about the approval of his ancestors.

Greg even deceived himself. He really no longer felt there was any problem with the limb replacement and was proud of his strong strength.

Whenever he feels threatened by a powerful enemy, the fear that his lies are about to be exposed will make him nervous.

Therefore, he wants to hunt down warriors, attack powerful faded ones, eliminate all enemies that may threaten him, and then take the enemy's power into himself.

He was struggling to maintain this false sense of security.

Until Du Juan attacked the city and Ge Fulei arrived.

He was overjoyed to see his ancestors. He saw the most prestigious king in the border area, his most admired ancestors, and the hope for the revival of the Golden Clan.

Then he heard his most admired ancestor say:

You are too weak... You have lost all the dignity of the Golden Clan...

For a long time, Greg found various excuses to avoid that fact, and every time he had to face that reality, he would add another patch.

Latarn was a despicable and deceitful guy, so he lost, and he was crushed by the Valkyrie because the other party's bloodline was nobler.

Even if he escaped from the royal city and could only dominate the borderlands, he was still Golden Greg, and his ancestor was the greatest king.

Without strength, he only had the hope that his ancestors were strong.

The mind shrinks into darker and darker corners, and the walls that defend it become stronger.

Just like the persecuted pagans, the more they are ostracized and ridiculed, the more united and pious they become.

When such a strong heart was suddenly shattered, when the only comfort disappeared as the wound was opened, and when he was personally denied by the ancestors he admired, Greg collapsed.

At first, Greg was just stunned.

He didn't respond for a long time, and it took a long time to confirm that the ancestor was really Godfrey, and that what he said really meant that.

Greg wanted to cry, but the men in the city were still watching, so he couldn't cry.

He is the monarch, the golden Greg, and he cannot lose his voice and suffer like a child.

Greg hid in his room silently, sealed the door, and saw no one.

He was locked up like this for three days.

The war in Stone City has been extinguished, and reconstruction work is in full swing.

The return of Godfrey diluted the soldiers' resentment towards Greg, and even the ugly Greg became less annoying because of his bloodline.

People believe that King Gefulei will take back his throne, and Gerik is a golden clan after all. Sooner or later, these Gerik soldiers will get the order and return to the royal city.

So some officials began to care about Greg.

They sent people to knock on the door of Greg's room, served wine and food with concern, and wished Jin a long life.

But there was no response from the house.

Greg was no longer in the room.

Officials found Greg among the rubble of the battlefield.

Everyone was silent when they discovered Greg.

Greg was performing the limb-receiving ceremony alone.

Greg's body became even more bloated and huge, almost the same as a mountain demon.

A shadow fell over his back.

Three pairs of broken dragon wings were attached to his back, and countless arms clasped the roots of the dragon wings as a supporting frame.

Greg's back was bulging high, and four dragon heads protruded from his back. His empty eyes rolled irregularly, and the dragon heads squirmed.

Lord Greg... The officials were worried about Greg's strange form.

I am the Golden King, the lord of Stone City, and the lord of Nimgefu. Greg murmured.

He suddenly roared:

I can do whatever I want!

The dragon wings stirred up a storm and slowly brought Greg's bloated body off the ground.

Greg flew high into the sky of Stone City, with four dragon heads spitting fire backwards, and one accelerated and disappeared into the horizon.

========

Tops covered his head with a painful expression.

He has tested all the magic, but still hasn't gotten the correct answer.

Whether it is the expansion of protective barriers or his original research on defensive magic, they have encountered bottlenecks.

Tops wanted to develop a defensive field that could defend against magic, prayer, and even physical attacks, but the magic circle he designed could never achieve the desired effect.

What is it? What did I miss? Topps couldn't understand. I should have already analyzed all the college's information. Whether it's Kallia's magic or the college's magic, it has been analyzed. Why can't it be realized... …”

Topps flipped through Radagan's notes, and there were some parts that he still couldn't understand.

He murmured to himself: Radagon is the hero of the Golden Tree. Does he still need to analyze faith and prayer? Is the Golden Law what makes his understanding of magic so unique...

Tops shook his head, rejecting the idea.

During the time when Kallia and the Golden Tree were enemies, Kallia had a great understanding of the power of the Golden Tree. Both the Golden Tree and Kallia had means of defense against spells. This knowledge had been transferred to Topps. collected.

Tops felt that neither the Golden Law nor the magic of Xingyue was the key.

The theory is still missing one element, a key element... Topps muttered.

But he couldn't think of what it was.

Is it because my experience and intelligence are too low that I can't imagine or understand... Tops covered his head.

His qualifications are indeed not outstanding.

He wanted to study the field of defense not only because he didn't like competition, but also because he couldn't understand all the strange magic.

Many of the magics in the academy were too difficult for him, so Topps chose to study in unexplored fields, perhaps because it was an easier path.

What Tops fears most now is that the bottleneck he encounters is hidden in those obscure magic scrolls that he cannot understand.

If so, it means that his research has come to an end and it will be difficult for him to go further.

As expected, I still have to go back to the academy... Tops smiled bitterly.

The reason why Rhea Lucalia Magic Academy has become a holy place for magicians is due to its historical heritage.

This foundation is not only reflected in the books and notes passed down by magic masters from generation to generation, and the high-quality environment brought about by the gathering of a large number of talents, but also has some more practical benefits.

The Magic Academy has a magic array that covers the entire academy. The magic array can improve people's wisdom and give magicians inspiration.

With this formation, even Roma has the opportunity to explore deeper mysteries.

However, Topps believed that even with the blessing of the magic circle, his talent would not be as good as Se Lian's.

So he planned to ask Se Lian for advice first.

When Wuming left, he also took the Falling Star Beast with him. Se Lian had been sulky all day, but he really had nothing to do.

You said he would leave as soon as he left. Why did you take away the Star Child? Se Lian asked Tops.

Didn't he give a reason? Tops comforted Se Lian.

There is certainly a good reason for Wuming to take the Falling Star Beast away - simply because the Falling Star Beast has not yet been fully tamed.

Although Wuming enjoyed the ride, he was always careful to keep a close eye on the Falling Star Beast, and would not let the Falling Star Beast leave his sight for too long. When he went out, he tried to keep a distance that allowed him to return to the Falling Star Beast at any time.

Falling Star Beast's laser is very impressive. This thing is really crazy and may be more harmful than Grek and Suzu Hunter.

Another reason is that the Falling Star Beast runs really fast, and Wuming can shorten the distance as quickly as possible.

Se Lian said unhappily: What is there to be wary of, the son of the star?

We can't understand the Star Child's thinking. If it really attacks suddenly, it's not impossible. Tops said.

I mean, if you are attacked, you will be attacked. Don't you want to see the Star Son attacking others? Se Lian said.

Tops was silent for a moment, looking at Serian's body that occasionally became illusory, and he did not dare to say that you are amazing, noble, and that your soul and body are not afraid of being killed.

Topps changed the subject and asked Se Lian to see what was wrong with his magic circle.

It's a pity that this crazy talented woman can't help Tops this time. Faced with Tops's problem, Se Lian can't answer it.

Ser Lian looked at the magic arrays of Tops:

I think your research field has gone beyond the general field of academic magic. Maybe you should look more at magic in other fields.

What about? Topps asked.

He devotes all his energy to his own field, and his understanding of other magic schools is relatively poor.

Celia's magic. Selian said, In addition to the return magic of Kallia and the Golden Tree, I heard that Celia also has secret magic that can defend against spells. It may be your inspiration.

Isn't Celia... already destroyed in Galid? Tops said.

Yes, there are only ruins left. Se Lian said, But apart from the academy, what schools of thought don't have only ruins left? Whether it is stargazing or studying, you must always be diligent in exploring.

Tops heard that Galed was full of corruption and was afraid to go there. He asked Se Lian with luck:

Don't you know Celia's magic?

Some, but not much. Se Lian said.

Topps became happy:

You can teach me first. Maybe I can get inspiration and don't have to go to Galid - what kind of magic do you know?

Pyroxene meteors, meteor showers. Se Lian said.

Topps felt something was wrong:

Isn't this the magic of the academy?

This is the magic of Olivenis Classroom, Master Lusette's classroom in Olivenis Classroom. Master Lusset is from Seliya, so this can be considered Seliya magic. Selian used it skillfully Induction.

Tops facepalmed.

This was certainly not the so-called secret spell he wanted.

Se Lian spread his hands:

I have only heard Master Lusette mention Celia's night spell, but I have not learned it.

You're so eager to learn but you haven't learned anything yet? Topps looked at him sideways.

I heard that dark night magic is a magic that can sneak up on and assassinate fellow magicians. Se Lian said.

Topps suddenly remembered the accusations of Seren, the Block Witch - she was accused of killing fellow magicians.

That's right, how could a lovable woman like you do something like that? Of course you don't have the magic to assassinate a magician... Tops murmured to himself.

I think it's enough to just kill them head-on. There's no need to make a sneak attack. Se Lian added.

Tops was stunned and stared at Se Lian. After a moment, he suddenly shrank his head and took a few steps back, his voice trembling:

You...won't kill me, right?

No, don't worry about that. Se Lian said.

Topps breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, I can't do research now, Se Lian said.

You mean you will still kill when you can do research? Tops was afraid.

It depends on the situation. Se Lian said, No one can guarantee the future, right? I never imagined that the world would become what it is now.

When Topps heard this answer, he had no choice but to accept it with a grimace.

Anyway, if the stars don't turn, Se Lian won't be able to do her research, and he will be safe.

Let’s talk about what happens next.

Tops was comforting himself like this when he suddenly saw Se Lian rushing towards him and throwing him to the ground.

Se Lian put his hands on the ground, locked Tops between his hands, and pressed against him.

What are you doing? Topps looked at Se Lian who was standing above him, panicking. Did you just lie to me to let me down my guard? Are you going to kill me now?

Don't come out. Se Lian only said this.

She got up off Tops and walked out of the protective barrier.

Only then did Topps realize that Se Lian had pushed him into the protective barrier area and activated the talisman's magic circle.

At the same time, flames fell from the sky.