Chapter 387 — The True Clouds of War

"Never mind..." Gao Yang quickly waved his hand, then looked at Clement. "Can I ask him now?"

"Any time," Tir nodded slightly. "But try to be precise with your wording — that way you will get answers more efficiently."

Gao Yang grunted in acknowledgment and came before Clement: "Is Francis II truly dead?"

The skin on Clement's face twitched, and a low, hoarse voice came from his throat: "I killed him... with my own hands..."

Gao Yang continued: "Prince Edmund is your accomplice? Is he controlled by the End of All Things?"

"Edmund... Moen... needs the throne of Ansu. He is a... collaborator of the End of All Things..."

"A collaborator, not someone controlling someone else..." Gao Yang frowned. Getting confirmation from Clement that Prince Edmund had killed his father was astonishing, but beyond the astonishment he felt mostly confusion. "What does Edmund want? Just to usurp the throne?"

This was the part he could least understand. Francis II was advanced in years, and Prince Edmund was first in line to the throne; a prince of such outstanding talent had no need to take such an extreme step. Why had he insisted on making such a shocking move after Francis II's border negotiations, and even go so far as to cooperate with the cultists of the End of All Things?!

Perhaps because this question was somewhat more complex, Clement hesitated for a few seconds before slowly answering: "...Edmund... does not merely want to be king of the Second Dynasty... he wants... the glory of the First Dynasty, he wants... Ansu at its zenith. What he wants is... true kingship."

Clement muttered a few more words under his breath, then a strange smile appeared on his face: "A naive and foolish pawn..."

This was surely the End of All Things cultist's true assessment of Prince Edmund.

Hearing Clement's answer, not only did a thoughtful look appear on Gao Yang's face, but even Suo Jilin beside him instantly thought of many things.

"True kingship..." The high ranger's brow furrowed as he looked into Gao Song's eyes. "So that is why he had to do these things after breaking away from the royal capital?!"

Gao Yang merely sighed, and then a thought occurred to him at once.

He immediately asked, "Is Silas Loren in on this?!"

"Silas Loren... serves... Edmund Moen..."

Just as I thought!

Silas Loren's allegiance was not to the king! It was to Edmund! But why?

Perhaps... perhaps what that Duke of the Eastern March truly served was "Moen," the true royal authority of Ansu, and not the puppet royal house backed by the northern families?

Gao Yang reasoned through Silas Loren's position according to the logic a great noble of this age might possess, and after a long spell of silent contemplation, he suddenly posed a new question: "Has the border peace accord been signed?"

"It has..."

At this crucial answer, Gao Yi drew a faint breath, and after a few seconds of deliberation put the final, decisive question: "Beside the Emperor of Typhon... are there also your people?"

Clement's face twitched violently, and he squeezed a single word from his throat: "...Yes."

"I understand now..." Every doubt had found its answer, every puzzle seemed to unravel at a stroke. Gao Cen had always been able to sense the cloud of war hanging over Ansu, but now at last he saw the truth of that cloud. "Edmund, and you lot as well—what you want was never a war between Typhon and Ansu... What you want is a second Ansu civil war!!"