Masked Knight

The sixth mural caused Rody to be somewhat shocked.

The five previous murals showed Rody a vibrant Shaka Empire.

In the legendary ancient kingdom, the people had the right to freedom and equality. One could sit with the nobles and knights to decide their own destinies. There were no shackles from God’s teachings and there was no blind worshipping of Gods or consecration...

However, the scene of the sixth mural made Rody extremely surprised.

What Rody originally thought of as a fascinating Empire had suddenly changed its appearance.

At the top corner of that mural was like an illusory background. It seemed to depict the reflection of the ordinary life of the people from Shaka Empire. However, it was not as calm, abundant and equitable as Rody expected...

In the picture were farmers wearing tattered clothes while nobles in luxurious carriages ran over the barren land. The gallows were also in the picture. However, the people being hanged were no longer the priests but people in simple civilian clothes. The anger of the spectators and the pain of those hanged depicted in the murals were so realistic!

At the bottom of the picture was still the ‘Political Council’.

However, the Council was not as united and equal like what Rody saw in the previous murals. Everyone seemed to be squabbling with anger, greed, evil and many more. A variety of expressions were painted on the faces of the people there. The man standing on the tall platform in the middle obviously should be the Emperor of the Shaka Empire. The Emperor looked helpless and sad.

The King sighed. "Do you remember that I did not say anything when said that you admire my ancestor that founded the Shaka Empire?"

Rody nodded with a depressed expression. "I truly admire your ancestor! He dared give the power to others so that each layer of society could have equality and freedom. I cannot help but admire his boldness!"

The King shook his head and sighed. "Unfortunately, he was wrong!"

Without waiting for Rody to speak, the King indifferently said, "According to the historical records of the Shaka Empire, the existence of the Council lasted for less than a century. In the later part of the existence of the Council, such a political system not only did not bring any benefit to the empire but instead became the cause of the empire’s decline!"

"Why?" Rody shockingly asked.

The King gave a wry smile. His smile seemed mocking as he said, "Rody, don't you understand? Power can only exist in the hands of a few people! It is absolutely impossible for it to be evenly distributed!"

After giving a sigh, the King continued, "In the beginning, the Council did give people equal freedom and power. However, the Council later became a place where people from all classes competed for power! During the early days of the Shaka Empire, the Emperor did not successfully establish his own absolute authority! Although the Council had given the people freedom, it had also seriously undermined the prestige of the imperial authority! Look at this picture!" The King pointed at a mural on the wall. "The Council became a noisy place. At that time, in order to pass a small decree, the Council would debate for three days and three nights! Every decree of the empire could touch the interests of every class. For the sake of their own interests, they argued in the Council and fought each other! In the Shaka Empire, there was a famous joke about the Council. In one of the springs, in order to pass a decree involving the spring plowing, the farmers could refuse any labor to ensure the normal development of the agriculture of the empire. However, they quarreled at the Council for the entire year to pass that decree. By the time that decree was passed, winter had arrived, and the spring plowing was long gone…Haha haha."

Rody thought for a moment and suddenly asked, "Shouldn’t there be a representative for the civilians at the Council?"

"What is the use of that?" The King lightly replied, "A lot of things are not so simple when it comes to governing a country! For example, during spring plowing periods, farmers want to stay and work at home. However, nobles need manpower to build their manors. The armies need to replenish their military strength to defend against the threat of the other races. The King needs manpower to build walls and repair roads. Can you tell me who is right and who is wrong?"

Before Rody could reply, the King lightly continued, "Even the representative of the civilians in the Council was no longer a real civilian once they gained rights."

Rody was silent.

These things were too complicated and the young Rody could not fully understand these things.

After a while, he suddenly thought of something and asked, "What about the teachings of Gods at the time?"

The King nodded his head and lightly said, "When an empire started to become unstable, it was inevitable for outside influence to enter!" He pointed at the picture with the scene of the endless arguing at the Council and lightly said, "Do you see those people? When the rule became unstable, then the shackles of the spirits became necessary!"

Rody’s eyes looked sad as he agreed. "Yes! Although religion is a spiritual shackle, in a sense, it is also a spiritual poison! The people in pain especially needs this anesthesia!"

The King sighed. "Unfortunately, my ancestors did not see this! In my opinion, at that time, what the Shaka Empire needed most was a powerful centralized authority. It required a powerful imperial authority that all other forces would submit to! The Council that emphasized equal rights turned the internal affairs of the empire into a state of disunity. With the fierce feuding, the Emperor could only stand at the side and watched helplessly."

"What happened then?" Rody frowned.

The King sighed. "The Emperor then ordered to disband the Council, ending the Council that symbolized freedom and equality of the Shaka Empire!"

Rody’s expression changed. "Really? That was not a good thing!"

If it was simply understood that the Emperor abolished the council to cease the endless struggling, then that understanding was wrong!

Sure enough, the King noticed Rody’s eyes revealed admiration and asked, "Earl Rody, can you understand the crucial point?"

Rody sighed. "If things were as how Your Majesty presented them to be, this abnormal council should really be abolished. It was not necessary to withdraw their powers. However, it was not so easy to take back the power that had been given out! According to Your Majesty, the Emperor of the Shaka did not firmly establish his own absolute powers then. Could he suppress the representatives of the various classes after abolishing the Council? If that was not properly handled, I am afraid it would invite more trouble!"

The King nodded. "You really understood it…"

"What does this mean?" Rody pointed at the seventh mural on the wall.

The seventh mural showed a scene full of activities.

Countless people were carrying woods and stones with various methods. They gathered together as if they were in the process of building a huge building.

In the background of the picture was a tall mountain. There was a spiral mountain path that led from the bottom of the mountain to the top. Countless people were hard at work, transporting the construction materials to the mountaintop.

The mountain seemed to pierce through the clouds. It was surrounded by fog, making it faintly discernible. At the top of the mountain were craftsmen busy working with a variety of tools. Rody was surprised that there was actually a tall tower being built on top of the hill.

The tall tower had a unique cone shape. From the progress of the work so far, the tower looked alarmingly tall.

The King sighed. "Do you see those words down there? Those words say, ‘The construction of the Sky Tower1! The start of the blasphemy to God!’"

The King sighed when he saw Rody’s puzzled expression and explained. "In the history of the Shaka Empire, the teachings of Gods were forbidden. However, after many years of development, teachings of Gods had become very influential!"

Rody nodded. "But what does this have to do with the Sky Tower?"

"There was a huge connection!" The King sighed. "The teachings of Gods in the Shaka Empire was becoming more influential. The controversy over the existence of Gods had always been constantly debated and thus created a fuss. There were even calls for the abolishment of the law prohibiting the teachings of Gods. It was at that time that the Emperor of the Shaka Empire suddenly gave an order to build the Sky Tower. That tall tower was supposed to directly reach heaven in order to prove that God did not exist in the sky and that the teachings of Gods were just lies."

"What?" Rody was stunned. He showed an unimaginably disbelieving expression as he said, "He spent countless manpower and resources to build a tower just for this reason?"

The King gave a wry smile. "We will never completely know what truly happened. Now, we could only find whatever little that remains."

Rody looked dumbly at the mural on the wall and sighed. "No matter what, if God truly exists...then the tower certainly could not have been successfully built!" He then secretly thought. At the very least, right now, I have never heard of the existence of Sky Tower in the Roland Continent!

"That’s right!" The King sighed. "From the start, the powers that believed in God strongly opposed the construction of Sky Tower. There were already many people from all classes who had believed in the teachings of Gods and fiercely opposed to the Emperor’s methods! They believed that that was a blasphemy against Gods! They declared that the sky was God’s territory. Anyone attempting to reach the sky was a blasphemous sinner and would be punished by God."

"So did God carry out the punishments?" Rody had a complicated expression.

The King smiled bitterly and replied, "At the very least, the Shaka Empire was destroyed."

Rody shook his head. He no longer talked as he continued to the next mural.

The next mural was relatively simpler. It was also a scene that Rody was most familiar with—war!

Swords, surging smokes, and powerful armies...And entangled in the warfare were not just the humans!

There were the legendary dragons that resembled the Mystic Dragon that Rody met at the cave of the southern mountains of the Radiant Continent. There were also the legendary Elves. Those Elves looked similar to humans except they had a sharper face and longer ears.

The picture did not explain who was fighting against who. Instead, it showed that several forces were fighting endlessly.

The King sighed. "That was the first large-scale war recorded by the Shaka Empire! A civil strife broke out in the empire and several races began to fight. That war lasted for almost a hundred years!"

"Who won?" Rody asked abruptly.

"Humans!" The King replied quickly. He then laughed as if there was a deep meaning. "Humans has always been the leader of all races. Although humans did not have strong bodies like the Dragons or magical talent like the Elves, they have something that the other races do not have. That was wisdom!"

Rody sneered. "Isn't it stated in the teachings of Gods that humans were created in accordance with Gods’ own image before Gods created the other races in the world. Humans then became the masters of the world." Rody paused for a moment and then asked, "How did that war break out?"

"Only God knows!" The King’s tone did not sound good.

Rody did not frown nor did he have any dissatisfaction with the King’s vague answer. He simply said, "I am afraid that God is the really the only one who knows."

The two of them looked at each other and laughed knowingly.

Rody continued to look at the next mural and suddenly asked, "What does this mean?"

The next mural showed a ruin. The building was burning in the fire as the smoke rose towards the distant bloody sun. Although it was a simple picture, it gave off a sad feeling.

"The remains of the empire!" The King lightly said, "The sentence below means 'the remains of the empire'!"

Looking at Rody's puzzled demeanor, the King continued, "After that war, the Elves’ nation was completely annihilated! The Dragons also entrenched themselves at the northernmost part of the Roland Continent!"

"I already understand…" Rody’s said in a pondering tone. "Although humans won the war, the Shaka Empire had completely collapsed from the war...An empire that originally possessed the entire continent was almost dead."

The King smiled and said in a sad tone. "Sky Tower was destroyed before it was completed. At the same time, the brilliant culture and civilization of the Shaka Empire were also destroyed."

"What about the empire? Did it still exist then?"

"It existed! But at the same time, it didn’t exist!" The King laughed bitterly. "After the war, it could be said that the empire was on the verge of collapsing! At that time, if God’s religion was the only influence that the Emperor could rely on, then it was not for anything else but because God's religion could paralyze human minds and make them endure the hardships and poverty. They would willingly put on the shackles of slavery. It was also during that era the teachings of Gods openly became a religious belief!"

Rody suddenly laughed. His laughter was filled with mockery. The more he laughed, the louder it became. Finally, his eyes unexpectedly shed tears!

Finally, he could not help but shout, "What kind of bullshit theory was that? Freedom and equality brought poverty, hunger, and war, while peace and tranquility were obtained from shackling the souls! Why did those people willingly enslave themselves to God? Why were those Gods, high and almighty, receive human worship?"

The King lightly replied, "That was because the Gods were 'benevolent' and 'great'. Gods said that humans were evil from birth. Thus, suffering in the world was inevitable. Those who want peace needed to worship Gods. Devotions were required to exchange for peaceful souls. The price for ‘peaceful souls’ was not expensive...The blessings of the priest and also 'peace after death' could be obtained with a bit of 'atonement tax'."

"But why? Why do people blindly believe those lies?"

"Because of despair!" the King answered. "People would believe all kinds of lies when the world was in darkness and when sufferings had become norms."

Rody closed his eyes and frowned for a moment. He suddenly opened his eyes and said, "Let us get out of here!"

The King smiled and asked, "What’s wrong? Are you not going to see the murals behind here?"

Rody shook his head. "No, I don't want to see anymore. It is not necessary to continue looking at the murals. Those murals would simply recount the fall of the Shaka Empire and the rise of the God’s religion. After that, it would be about how history was tampered with and how lies were used to hide...Those things are not worth looking at!"

The King softly asked, "Rody, do you know why I brought you here to see these?"

Rody’s eyes flashed. He suddenly narrowed his eyes to look at the King in front of him.

Rody was very clear that the things he saw that day were not something that could be revealed. The historical existence of the Shaka Empire was already covered up by the teachings of Gods. And this place had already become ‘non-existent’. If Gods learned about this secret, Sauron Kingdom would suffer severe disaster.

The King then whispered, "Rody, if it was only to deal with the dwarfs, I would not bring you here today...However, in order to deal with the Gods religion or those influential people behind the Gods religion…"

The King then lowered his voice and said, "I have never believed in God, more so those lies in the teachings of Gods. I do not agree with the other thoughts of my ancestors except for one thing which I am certain of. Mankind’s destiny should be decided by mankind! To deal with the Temple, the Sauron Kingdom has joined forces with the other kingdoms on the Roland continent. Even though we may not win, but at least we are not afraid of them. My only worry is..."

At that moment, the King looked back at the murals on the wall.

"Even such a powerful empire like the Shaka Empire was toppled. What can a small kingdom like the Sauron Kingdom do?" The King showed a fearful expression as he asked, "Do you know how the Shaka Empire finally fell?"

Rody shook his head.

The King sighed. "If you do not want to see the other murals, then perhaps you can just skip to the last one!"

"The last one?"

The King nodded and suddenly pointed down. "Take a slow look and pay attention. In a short while, the picture will appear!"

Rody was aroused and he lowered his head to look at where the King was pointing.

The mercury below seemed to move...

Waves gradually appeared from the calm surface of the water. A picture then appeared from the ripples...

There were a few humans with spears, swords, and shields. Despair, anger, and sorrow could be seen on their faces. Standing in front of them was a man with white robes. With a single glance, it could be seen from that person’s clothing that he was the Emperor of the Shaka Empire.

Their anger were directed towards the sky.

In the sky, amongst the clouds, was a faint silhouette. The face and shape of the silhouette could not be seen clearly.

At the background of the scene was the half-built tower.

The Sky Tower!

After that, the picture started to change.!

A strange scene appeared in the world in the picture. One moment there was luxuriant snowfall and the next moment there was howling wind with torrential rain. It was then followed by raging fire for a while and moments later, clear blue skies. The body of the Emperor of Shaka Empire seemed to shine.

Rody’s heart stirred as he strongly suppressed his inner shock.

That was because he was surprised to see the shocking truth from that constantly changing space.

Domain!

To be able to change the rules willfully is the sign of a Domain Master!

What really shocked Rody was that although the picture was very simple, it obviously showed a war!

Mankind once had a war against God?

A war had broken out before between mankind and the creator of this world, God?

Rody’s mouth turned dry as he could not help but wait for the picture to change...

Immediately, the whole surface of the water shook and the ripple gradually dispersed. The water became calm again and the picture disappeared.

"What happened?" Rody looked up and hurriedly asked.

"That is the end!" The King lightly said, "Don’t you know about the teachings of Gods?" The King sighed. "Although the teachings of Gods are lies, among the lies will occasionally be some truths."

"What did you see?" The King asked.

"Just the surface of the water." Rody closed his eyes and pondered with an astounded expression. He then said, "The world was corrupted in the presence of God and the earth was full of sins. God said, ‘For rebelling against God, I will take back what I have bestowed! So, it will rain continuously for fifteen days and the earth will be flooded'."

Rody then dryly said, "I originally thought that that was just a myth of the legend, but it looked like the world being flooded was true."

The King then lightly said, "I have always thought it strange that the followers of Gods would leave behind the legend of the flood after erasing the history of the Shaka Empire. Now, I realize that it is a warning."

"Perhaps it is." Rody nodded. "It is warning for mankind that if we once again rebel against God, he will destroy the world again."

The King sighed. "God wanted to destroy the world, but the Shaka Empire had definitely not acquiesced. They had resisted. There were also some quite powerful humans...It was said that during the ancient times, there were some humans who were very powerful...Yet, they were still exterminated by God. The earth was flooded, and the culture of the Shaka Empire was completely destroyed. The splendid cultures of humans were erased, and the history of the Shaka Empire was completely erased! So, in the history of this world, the word 'Shaka' never existed."

Rody thought for a moment and suddenly asked, "How was that last mural left behind? If the earlier murals were left behind by Your Majesty’s ancestors, then the last mural must be a kind of sorcery. Besides that, according to your words, the world was flooded. How was this place preserved?"

The King sighed. "Did you see the Emperor of the Shaka Empire in that picture? He was the last Emperor of the Shaka Empire. He was the one who left behind that last picture. He did not die in the war against God. He was also the one who preserved this place."

The King paused for a moment and then said something that shocked Rody. "My ancestor, the last Emperor of the Shaka Empire was a Domain Master!" The King looked at Rody and continued, "At the time, if the records were correct, he was also mankind's first Domain Master!"

The King continued to speak. "The flood could submerge the earth and destroy civilization. However, it would never be able to destroy mankind. God also did not have any intentions of annihilating mankind. Next came the 'dark ages'. Mankind once again went through muddled warfare and developments. The teachings of Gods became a common religious belief on the continent...You already know what happened next. The rest of it could be learned from the existing books."

Rody did not care about the King’s last words as he was still engrossed in the King’s earlier words.

The first Domain Master!

Earlier Rody had already got a little bit of hint from the picture. He had already guessed that the fluctuating space represented a 'domain'.

"Your Majesty, what else did that ancestor leave behind?"

The King looked at Rody with a strange expression. "Rody, he did leave behind something. However, before I answer your question, you have to answer mine first!"

"Alright!" Rody did not hesitate to agree.

The King stared at Rody and asked, "My question is, are the rumors true? Did you really kill three Dragon Paladins? In that case, if I did not guess it wrong you have already reached the realm of a Domain Master, right?"

"Yes." Rody nodded. There was no meaning in hiding this from the King anymore.

The King nodded in satisfaction. He looked at Rody’s eyes and said, "Well, my ancestors left behind a guide...but it only has two phrases."

Rody’s heart began to beat faster as he waited for the King to reveal the answer.

The King suddenly gave a bitter smile and said, "However, I cannot understand the meaning of those two phrases."

"The first phrase is: Domain Power is the Greatest Path."

"The second phrase is: Does God really exist?"

Rody was stunned.

If the first phrase was a little strange, then the second phrase was ridiculous.

'Does God really exist?'

It would be a different story if someone else had said those words. However, the one who left behind those words was the last Emperor of Shaka. He was personally involved in the war between mankind and God. He had personally fought against God but finally he actually asked whether 'God really exists'.

'If God does not exist, then what was he fighting against? Was it air?'

Rody suddenly felt exceptionally peeved and could not help but started cursing.

The King also had a helpless expression. "Do you know where my ancestor went after leaving behind those two phrases?"

Before Rody could ask, the King pointed at a mural on the wall.

He pointed at the picture with the Sky Tower and said, "My ancestor went there!"

"The Sky Tower?" Rody frowned.

"Yes!" The King smiled with a profound meaning. "I forgot to tell you. The Sky Tower can still be found but…"

"But what?"

The King looked somewhat perplexed as he replied, "But that place now goes by a different name."

The King looked at Rody’s eyes and opened his mouth to say a single word.

"Temple!"

Rody was silent since he left the cave. He seemed to be busy thinking of something.

The King sighed and gently patted Rody’s shoulder as he whispered, "I understand your current feelings...I also felt this way for many days after seeing that. No matter who, he would have such a reaction after seeing that."

After leaving the cave, the King immediately brought Rody outside to the Royal Garden.

At present, both of them needed to take a good breather.

The King sighed and said, "Rody, you absolutely cannot tell anyone about what you saw here today! This includes Miss Nicole. I mean anybody!"

The King dispatched someone to escort Rody back to the Summer Palace. Everyone noticed Rody's silence. When faced with Mouse’s questioning looks, Rody just barely smiled and gently embraced her without saying anything. He then walked back to his room.

Rody immediately noticed something wrong the moment he closed the door. He heard a sound coming from behind him. He immediately sneered and turned around as he gently stretched out two fingers in a pinching motion.

His fingertips caught a thin blade. In front of him was the mysterious female Dragon Paladin, Arslan2.

"It’s you again!" Rody let go of the blade and coldly said, "I let you go that day. Why are you here again? What is your purpose this time?"

As if ignoring the strength of the mysterious enemy, Rody slowly walked to his bedside and lazily lied down. He lightly said, "You better have something to impress me. Otherwise, I will not let you go this time."

Arslan smiled and playfully flicked the blade of her sword in her hand. She narrowed her seductive eyes to look at Rody and said, "Have you thought about my proposal that day? Prometheus is waiting for your answer. Are you going to be his ally or enemy? What is your answer?"

Rody coldly replied, "Ally or enemy? Hmph, do you have the ability to threaten me?"

Arslan’s eyes flashed with a trace of anger. She slashed and shot out a blade of wind towards Rody. Rody who was lying down on the bed suddenly flashed and instantly disappeared.

With a loud crash, that big bed Rody was lying on was split into pieces by Arslan's blade of wind.

Rody’s voice suddenly came from behind Arslan. At some point in time, his hand had already gently gripped Arslan’s neck. He coldly asked, "Why must you always damage my bed every time you are here?"

Arslan instantly turned stiff as she felt her neck gripped by the cold hand of the other person.

Suddenly, Arslan issued a series of frivolous laughter and put down her sword. "Well, kill me! But will you?"

Rody raised his eyebrows and gripped harder a little as he asked, "You think I wouldn’t?"

Arslan coldly said, "As a Domain Master, you naturally have this ability, so why are you still talking nonsense? Just do it!" After that, she even deliberately leaned back onto Rody’s body.

Rody was silent for a moment before he suddenly let go of his hand. He then slowly went to the front of Arslan and stared at that female Dragon Paladin with strange bright eyes.

"Today, your arrival is timely!" Rody slowly said, "I do not have the mood to kill anyone today."

Arslan smiled scornfully and asked, "Will you give me your answer now?"

Rody sighed and suddenly asked, "Can you tell me why the Dragons are cooperating with the Temple? All this while, I thought that dragons do not have any dealings with humans. Why do the Dragons want to intervene in human affairs?"

Arslan showed a complicated gaze and fiercely looked at Rody. "This is none of your business!"

"It is my business!" Rody sighed. "But we can discuss this later. Now, you can help me to convey a message to Your Excellency Prometheus."

Rody hesitated for a moment as he looked at Arslan. He then slowly said, "I am willing to go to the Temple to meet him!"

Arslan did not look surprised. She simply looked at Rody and coldly smiled, "As expected, Prometheus said you will not refuse."

Rody had a strange feeling and he said, "Oh? He anticipated this? Is he not afraid that I will refuse and then kill you, a Paladin of the Temple?"

Arslan gently smiled and replied, "If you want to kill me, you would have done so last time!" Having said that, she raised her cloak and instantly disappeared.

"Another illusion!" Rody muttered. "These people really love trickery."

Rody looked at the damaged bed and shook his head. He lied down on the ground and looked at the ceiling.

The place where Sky Tower was had become the Temple. There was also ‘Domain is the Greatest Path’.

This mystery is getting weirder.

Translator's Notes:

1. Sky Tower. Literally, ‘exceedingly high tower’.

2. During the last few chapters, in the raws Ars.Lan’s name had a dot in the middle. However, it was missing in this chapter. And so, I decided to use Arslan instead.