Myths Reawakened

The crowd glared at the traitor, wishing they could take his place!

Forest’s skin was as thick as a brick wall. Far from being ashamed, he took pride in his betrayal and proclaimed “Long live the Queen!” with no hesitation, willingly standing by Douglas as a lapdog. While making his grand show of loyalty, his eyes fixed on the Death Knight, intrigued.

“Members of the Tulip Families, the Queen has extended an invitation to you all. Is anyone planning to be absent?”

Douglas took two steps forward, positioning himself half a horse length behind the undead horse to show respect for the knight. He looked icily at the demoralized captives. With the chosen knight as a mighty support to lean on, even legendary mages had to fall in line.

Though they weren’t entirely without means of resistance—for example, both Bourne and Bedfrith had suspected more than once that the Death Knight in Londan was different from the one in Palis. However, the cost of testing the theory was too steep. Neither wanted to be the first in line.

They were legendary mages who believed in freedom of faith, after all. It was an understandable reaction. Legendary mages from the churches, on the other hand, would risk their lives at such critical moments.

Seeing everyone averting his righteous gaze, Douglas craved power with greater fervor. He fantasized about what he would do if he had his own pocket chosen knight or power that surpassed chosen knights.

The fantasy came and went quickly. He soon woke up—one shouldn’t bite off more than they could chew or make too big a step at a time. There was no need to rush and no way to rush anyway.

“Since no one objects, please attend the banquet on time. Don’t be late. That crucial day will determine the future of all your families.”

Douglas gave a signal, and several Gold-ranked mages entered to distribute invitations to the banquet. Even Forest, the traitor, received an invitation.

Ten minutes later, at Douglas’s command, the two newly appointed Vice Ministers stepped forward and seized Bourne and Bedfrith from either side. At the end of the day, they were legendary mages. The banquet was two days away, which was plenty of time to cause trouble. They couldn’t be allowed to run loose.

Bourne had a helpless expression as the shackles were fastened, sealed by the Francans without resistance.

In the past, when Planck was sealed and beaten, Bourne had laughed at him mercilessly. Now, it was his turn. As a legendary mage, the seal couldn’t really stop him, but there was no point in resisting when the game was already lost. If he didn’t want his dignity, the Death Knight would take it from him.

In comparison, being shackled was already a favorable treatment from the Queen. He should count himself lucky.

Riding on his undead warhorse and striking a pose with Shadow Nightmare, Wayne saw the situation settle and came to look forward even more to the banquet in two days. Did the Queen think she had this in the bag? Be patient. The good time was yet to come!

Seeing the portal open and the Death Knight preparing to leave, Douglas hurriedly presented the banquet invitation. If he didn’t give it to the knight now, he would have to make a trip to the Great Cemetery in the Western District tonight. Then his backside would hurt again.

The invitation was written in the Queen’s own hand. Wayne glanced at it before waving and corroding it with Death energy.

As a fake chosen knight, he couldn’t grow his power as quickly as Auston. To fully tap into Shadow Nightmare’s power, he needed his own strength as a foundation.

During the Hexagram and Silver Cross stages, Wayne’s Death Knight disguise was average in combat power—better than some but worse than others, thoroughly mediocre. Even fighting a legendary mage had been difficult. When facing a legendary mage’s vitality field, he had to merge with the Book of Greed to secure victory.

Not anymore. A Gold-ranked mage was fairly strong. With the perfectly balanced Golden Triangle as the foundation, Wayne could unleash much of Shadow Nightmare’s power. He wouldn’t be worried even if he had to duel the Headless Knight in Palis!

Of course, that was only a thought. The underground catacombs held not only the Headless Knight, but a whole host of demons. He had plans, but wasn’t ready to act on them just yet.

“Tell your queen that I’ll attend the banquet on time.”

The undead warhorse stepped through the portal, and the tattered cloak of Death energy vanished into the darkness.

The Death Knight’s departure eased the oppressive atmosphere somewhat. Relief washed over everyone, especially the two newly appointed Vice Ministers.

Alnwick and Charlee were talented low-level workers with no promotion opportunities. They only achieved their current positions because of the Windsor royal family’s support.

Born in Franc, they had heard much about the Death Knight dominating the Palis underground catacombs. The skeleton was incredibly powerful, and his interference was the reason why Franc’s world of magic was this chaotic, with a tangled mess of faiths.

Every church could meddle in Palis, but none dared to sweep the underground catacombs. In the end, Palis fell and remained in chaos.

Windsor’s Ministry of Magic was spearheaded by the Queen as the Minister. Franc’s Ministry of Magic... had no minister.

Several vice ministers of different faiths formed a committee, and each had veto power. It was evident how messy things were in Franc.

***

The Queen ultimately didn’t exterminate the Tulip Families, at least not in the physical sense. After Bourne and Bedfrith were taken away, the remaining rabble scattered.

Clutching their invitations, they swore to change their ways and surrender their power as soon as they returned home, and they swore to be absolutely loyal from now on, never getting any ideas again. If the Queen told them to go east, they wouldn’t run west. If the Queen told them to attack Franc, they wouldn’t even bare their teeth at Prussia.

Douglas watched the scene unfold with a sneer. After disembarking from the cruise ship, he led everyone back to Buckingham Palace to report to the Queen.

Sophelia had entrusted the task of disciplining the Tulip Families fully to Douglas, no longer concerning herself with it. However, she had one condition: avoid bloodshed as much as possible. The Tulip Families should learn their lesson, but not physically disappear.

Douglas found the Queen soft. If he were in charge, he would’ve purged and reorganized the Tulip Families fully to make them remember loyalty at all times. However, he was neither the king nor a co-ruler. His opinions didn’t count.

In his plan against the Tulip Families, Douglas had placed the hardest opponent, the Lando family, last after careful consideration. At the banquet in two days, he would show Auston the might of a chosen knight.

He could already see his victory!

“What a pity that the Church of Darkness’s Holy Maiden hasn’t found the Darkness Knight, or having two chosen knights present would make it a truly secure victory,” Douglas murmured to himself, leaning back against the back seat.

On second thought, the Darkness Knight’s absence had both pros and cons. From Queen Sophelia’s perspective, the Death Knight alone couldn’t apply maximum pressure to the Life Alliance and the Church of Heavenly Father. The royal family would still have to step in personally.

From Douglas’s perspective, the royal family being personally involved saved him the effort of persuading the Queen to attempt divine blood evolution.

While he was lost in thought, the convoy of black luxury cars plunged into darkness. The wheels turned but remained in place. The driver hadn’t noticed anything unusual, nor had Douglas. Even when the door beside him opened, and a figure sat down, he realized nothing at all.

The newcomer wore a black suit with a white shirt and a black tie. His shoes were polished to a shine. He wore pristine white gloves on both hands and an expensive watch on his wrist. He was the mysterious man who had invaded the Lando Estate with a cohort of demons from hell and the Book of Hell.

After many days, he made another appearance.

“Prince Douglas, the scent of desire on you grows ever stronger,” the mysterious man marveled. “You have a magnificent soul and are destined to fall to Hell. On behalf of the great Lord of Pride, I welcome you.”

He took the Book of Hell out, stroking the cover while murmuring in a low voice—it was unclear whether it was an incantation or a praise for his great faith.

A mass of black energy emerged from the Book of Hell’s cover, forming a pale face in the air. The sickly pale face was chillingly ghostly, with dark purple veins crisscrossing under the skin and vibrant, insidious red lips. The upper half of the face was covered by a carapace mask, with six slanted eyes arranged symmetrically on two sides.

It was the standard aesthetic for Hell.

The mysterious man cast a spell, injecting the face formed by the black energy into Douglas’s body, with Douglas none the wiser. He was still formulating his grand plan. With his increasingly amplified desire, he came to have vague ideas targeting Queen Sophelia. Not just his wife, but he was also going after his son and daughter, who had divine blood, and himself.

A Prince Consort who didn’t want to be King wasn’t a good husband!

Douglas fantasized about the various possibilities before he suddenly came to a realization with a shudder. He frowned at the mysterious man beside him. “Frank, what are you doing here? Does Her Majesty have further instructions?”

“I’ve made another breakthrough with my research, and I want to present it to Her Majesty at the banquet. However, Her Majesty is too weak and still tries to be merciful to the Tulip Families...”

Frank, Windsor’s expert in Hell, the sole member of the Turner family, a reclusive researcher, and the mysterious man who had been pulling strings, whispered in Douglas’s ear like a demon, “You know why the Queen is acting weak. It isn’t because of the Tulip Families, but because of the man named Auston Lando.”

“Auston was the Queen’s lover, and they were once deeply in love. He has enormous sway in the way the Queen governs the nation...”

“Why has the Queen been so cold to you, even allowing you to leave Londan for so many years?”

“Prince Douglas, you know the answer. The Queen hasn’t forgotten about Auston. Your union was nothing but a political marriage. The affection is all false...”

No man could tolerate such words, much less Douglas, who had already lost his reason. He found the demon’s words sensible, and his hatred for Auston peaked at this moment.

“Go. Show Auston at the banquet in two days. Defeat him and prove to your wife that you’re no replacement for Auston, that you’re better than him.”

Frank murmured until Douglas’s face twisted with rage. “However, as far as I know, Auston has a secret. With your current power, it’ll be difficult for you to defeat him.”

“I have the Death Knight!” Douglas proclaimed in a hoarse voice, drenched in cold sweat like he was enduring a great pain.

“That’s the Queen’s ally, not yours. Besides, not even the Queen trusts outside forces. How much power would be left for you?”

“Cheap trust is worth nothing. Prince Douglas, you can only rely on yourself.”

Douglas felt lost.

With a faint smile, Frank stroked the Book of Hell. “Remember that I’ve made a breakthrough with my research? You can use it to defeat Auston, but it requires divine blood—and it has to be evolved divine blood. Do you know what you must do?”

“Sophelia...”

Douglas’s brows furrowed. Black energy seeped from his forehead, and his twisted features looked barely human.

“You love her so much, but she’s so cold to you. Have you not figured it out yet? You only care about power. All these years, you’ve only stayed low because you wish to reach the pinnacle of power.”

Seeing Douglas’s struggle, Frank calmly dropped the final bombshell. “Ah, I forgot to inform you. According to my investigation, Prince Edward and Princess Elizabeth’s biological father isn’t you...”

“It’s Auston!”

The revelation rumbled in Douglas’s head like a thunderstorm. His eyes turned crimson with a red glow. His two eyes duplicated and gradually divided into three symmetrical pairs.

The energy of Hell condensed around him. An artificial demon familiar was thus born.