Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

Chapter 2021 History of the Two Kingdoms

Adam finally finished replaying Philippe dʼAubignyʼs memories.

By the time he opened his eyes, an entire day had already passed in the outside world.

He was seated on the couch in his private chambers at City Hall, one hand pressed against his temple as he slowly massaged his head.

A dull ache lingered in his mind.

It was not unbearable, but after absorbing such an overwhelming amount of information, Adam could not help but feel slightly disoriented.

Philippeʼs memories had not simply contained a few decades of experiences. They had contained the life of a man who had lived for thousands of years.

Adam had witnessed the rise of the Valouis Kingdom, its wars, its prosperity, and the gradual transformation of its founder from an ambitious young man into a paranoid old man obsessed with immortality.

More importantly, he had absorbed a vast amount of knowledge. One by one, Adam began sorting through the memories.

The spells, the rituals, the arcane knowledge, there were countless fragments of magical knowledge buried within Philippeʼs memories. Some were immediately useful, while others were a little advanced for Adam to implement at his current level.

Still, the knowledge was now his.

Among them, Adam paid particular attention to Philippeʼs arrangements for rebirth. The idea of transferring oneʼs soul into the body of another being was something Adam found deeply disturbing. But at the same time, he could not deny that the ritual itself was fascinating.

It was an incredibly complex arrangement that Philippe had spent years preparing. Adam carefully stored that knowledge away.

Then came something else - Philippeʼs experience as a ruler.

Adam had witnessed how the man had built the foundations of an entire kingdom from nothing. He had watched him establish laws, manage conflicts between nobles, distribute land, strengthen the military, and maintain order over a rapidly expanding population.

Philippe might have been a despicable person, but Adam had to admit that he had been an exceptional ruler.

By the time he finished sorting through everything, he felt as though he had personally lived through thousands of years in a single night.

His head throbbed. Fortunately, the Lotus was there, as it always was.

A faint, soothing sensation spread through his consciousness. The chaotic memories gradually settled, and the pressure inside his mind slowly faded away.

Adam let out a long, heavy sigh. Then he waved a hand, and a pile of books and parchments suddenly appeared before him. These were the documents he had found inside the secret vault.

Now that he possessed Philippeʼs memories, Adam could finally understand much more of what had been written within them.

And so, he began reading. One document after another passed through his hands. Eventually, he learned what had happened after Philippe dʼAubignyʼs death.

The Valouis Kingdom had not remained united for long.

Philippeʼs decision to take two wives had created a division within his own family. Each queen had given birth to her own line of princes, and as Philippe grew older, the hostility between them had only worsened. After his death, that hostility finally exploded.

The kingdom descended into civil war.

The descendants of the two queens fought for the crown, each believing that their own bloodline had the rightful claim to the throne.

What followed was nearly a century of war. Generations of soldiers died on the battlefield. Cities changed hands numerous times. Noble families were divided.

Brother fought against brother, while fathers watched their sons march off to war for a conflict that had begun long before they were even born.

By the time the fighting finally came to an end, the Valouis Kingdom had been deeply scarred.

Neither side had truly emerged victorious.

Instead, the two branches of Philippeʼs family eventually went their separate ways.

One remained in the Valouis Kingdom.

The other crossed beyond the Lamiyan Mountains and established a new kingdom…

The Edavane Kingdom.

From that point onward, the two kingdoms became bitter rivals. Their shared blood did nothing to bring them together. If anything, it only seemed to make their hatred worse.

For generations, the descendants of the two queens remained at each otherʼs throats. Countless wars were fought, and old grudges were passed down from one generation to the next.

Adam leaned back against the couch, his expression distant and thoughtful.

Perhaps it was a curse, he thought wryly.

Perhaps slaughtering an entire race to establish the Valouis Kingdom had eventually brought about consequences that Philippe could never have anticipated.

Or perhaps it was simply the result of Philippeʼs own decisions.

After all, the second great seed of tragedy he had unknowingly planted had been within his own family.

Two wives. Two bloodlines. Two groups of descendants who believed that they alone deserved to inherit everything Philippe had built.

Whatever the reason, one thing was very clear - after Philippeʼs death, neither kingdom ever reached the same level of prosperity and stability that the Conqueror had achieved during his reign.

The Valouis Kingdom continued to exist. So did the Edavane Kingdom. But the golden age had ended with Philippe the Conqueror.

Adam slowly closed one of the parchments and stared at the pile of documents before him.

The more he learned about the history of the two kingdoms, the more complicated everything became.

Philippeʼs conquest had led to the near-extinction of the indigenous people. The survivors had apparently waited for thousands of years before finally taking revenge.

The Valouis Kingdom had fallen into civil war. Its descendants had established another kingdom beyond the mountains.

And somewhere along the way, the entire land had become what it was today - a secret plane filled with monsters, vampires, and countless mysteries.

Adamʼs eyes narrowed and he wondered, Thereʼs something Iʼm missing.

But what exactly?

The sun… the moon… the 108…

The existence of the Transcendent Rank…

He let out a heavy sigh as he ran his fingers through his thick, dark hair. He shook his head and thought to himself:

Iʼll find more answers on the other side of the mountains.

He turned toward the entrance of his chambers, his lips curling into a faint, expectant smile.

Several moments later, a knock was heard from the outside.

”Lord Councilor, your party is ready for deployment.”

”Enter,” Adam said in a gruff voice.

The door opened, and five adventurers entered, their expressions slightly tense and their postures straight.

”I am called Leah, my lord.” The orange-haired woman stepped forward and offered a respectful bow. ”At your service.”

Adam hummed in acknowledgment as his gaze swept through the party. Two elves and three humans, including Leah.

And he was already familiar with two of the humans.

Michael, who had been nervously sweating, felt the new Councilorʼs gaze and stiffened. When he dared to glance at the man, he found that the latter was looking at him with a smile.

What the fuck!

Michael was horrified.

Why is he looking at me like that?!

Donʼt tell me… is he… is he…

It canʼt be!

Michael gulped hard and subconsciously clenched his butt cheeks.