Chapter 388 — The Mystery of Amber's Origins

Gao Yang was silent for a few seconds, then slowly raised his head and said quietly, "Take the royal capital, and surely we'll find someone to ask."

"Oh..." Amber murmured, but half a second later she caught on, and let out a startled cry. "What?!"

"The war has begun," Gao Yang sighed softly. "Whether we want it or not, it has already begun."

The stone cavern of the shadow laboratory fell quiet, broken only by Clement's low, muddled mutterings and the occasional sound of Tyr's tendrils stirring the pool. After a long while, Suo Jilin finally looked into Gao Yang's eyes and said, "Behind this war there are darker clouds than the war itself. Those cultists of the End of All Things are looking forward to this civil war—this you already know."

"Of course I know," Gao Yang nodded slightly. "But this war is already unavoidable. The hidden peril of the Second Dynasty was planted the very day the Duke of the Northern Frontier put a bastard on the throne. For all these years, the peace of the kingdom has been sustained only by the Moen royal house's endless concessions and the mutual checks among the several dukes. In other words, so long as the royal family no longer intends to compromise, and the grand dukes no longer intend to keep the balance, the foundation of that peace will collapse at once... This force, dammed up for a hundred years, is immensely powerful. Neither you nor I can stop it."

Suo Jilin sighed, and could only admit that what Gao Yang said was the simple truth.

Gao Yang did not speak further, but silently turned over in his mind the things Clement had said.

The End of All Things looked forward to this war, for it would supply precious "raw material" for one of their "undertakings."

Gao Yang had failed to pry out what that "undertaking" actually was, but through circuitous questioning, his investigations of the End of All Things over some time, and his knowledge—surpassing that of others—of the truth behind the fall of the gods and the shifts in Druidic faith, he could roughly infer what the Cinder Shadow cultists intended, and what the "raw material" they demanded might be.

After that, Gao Yang questioned Clement about many more things, and in the course of it confirmed that he held the rank of high bishop within the End of All Things as a whole; beyond that, he also gathered a great deal of intelligence concerning the cult.

The interrogation lasted nearly the whole night.

In the end, Tyr released his "control" over Clement.

As tentacle after tentacle withdrew from the cultist's body, the flesh and blood of his entire frame began to collapse and disintegrate beyond all control; he toppled like a wax figure melting away, and in the end nothing remained on the spot but a heap of clothing soaked in viscous matter, and a few brittle, porous shards of bone.

The man who had killed Francis II and lit the first flame of Ansu's civil war died a wretched death beyond words.

"It really is quite disgusting," Tyr glanced down at the edge of the pool and could not help sticking out his tongue, "just like a deep-sea slime monster..."

"Put away all those tentacles of yours first," Gao Qi said, frowning at the siren. "Honestly, your look is no less of a shock to ordinary people than a deep-sea slime monster."

(Taking advantage of my birthday, I'd like to announce some news—many of you probably know already... My wife is pregnant! Three months along! Next year there'll be a little eyeball running around!

But her pregnancy reactions have been severe, and her health is poor right now. I have to look after things at home, so my energy may not keep up, and updates will be affected somewhat. I'm adjusting my schedule and writing habits—I should be able to guarantee no hiatus, but if the occasional double update becomes a single one, I hope you'll understand... Right now I'm the only one caring for the household, and I truly can't keep up with everything.

Finally, =I hope my wife's health improves soon.)