“...... Every de Salion, at the moment of his birth, at the moment when he or she is crowned the Supreme Emperor, has a crucial choice to make. ”

The stunned Peter Fasa tried his best to calm his breathing, and fell to his knees motionless, looking at Eckhart II in front of him, who seemed to be talking to himself.

"It is to become unscrupulous, to use all means to extend the empire and family rule into the next generation, so that the banner of the Iron Crown will never fall;"

"Or inherit the last wish of the Dragon Kingdom, fight against the enemies of this world, and become the savior and eternal ruler of this world;"

"This seemingly the same result is actually a contradictory one—if you want to rule an empire, you must have enough allies and forces, but if you want to save the world, you must be the enemy of the whole world," Eckhart's deep voice carried a hint of sad sadness.

"My grandmother, Charlotte, taught me this lesson from her own experience;"

"So I prepared the plan for my own coronation - I calculated all the possibilities, the outcome of each move, the variables of every piece, the impact of every decision, the patience... The enemy who awaited me became interested in the game until he himself joined in. ”

"The victory of Broken Boundary Mountain has won back the time and prestige of governing the empire, and it has also made the empire relax its vigilance;"

"The indulgence of the church has won over the hearts of the people at the bottom, and they have also become rampant;"

"Wooing Ebolden to gain the support of wizards, and the free aristocracy and chamber of commerce grew to the point where they in turn affected the empire;"

"In this dynamic change, between gains and losses, I control everything in the empire, I hold all the pieces in my hands, but I find that it is still insufficient to face my enemies, so I ask myself, what do I need?"

"It was at that moment that I woke up, and I realized that almost no Supreme Emperor since Brandon I the Sage had understood. ”

"Firstly, if I will grant two wishes at the same time, then I am not destined to do so while I am still alive, and secondly, in order to defeat my enemy, I need to confuse him as much as possible, and at the same time need a little extra luck. ”

"So I indulged everything about the Azores, ignored the shipwreckage of the ocean-going fleet, turned a blind eye to the dragon king city north of the Broken Mountains, and allowed the centaur tribe to grow... Because sooner or later, it will eventually need these outside forces to wreak havoc on the Empire. ”

"It doesn't matter which card the enemy plays, the key is that the card he plays is what I left him, and I must not let the enemy's hole cards go beyond my expectations... This is critical. ”

"As for luck... Loren Turin, his presence is indeed more than I expected. ”

"When he first made his mark in the Woods, I just wanted Rut Infinit to take him under my command... The power to fight against the evil gods is always precious, but his ability to do more than that, so I instructed Corona to secretly train him and lure him to the glacial wasteland to test my enemies. ”

"I don't deny that I value him very much, just as I want his life more than once, it's an uncertain factor, a pawn that moves on its own, or it makes my game or it falls short, it's all in his thoughts. ”

"But in the end I decided to give it a try - he has grown so fast that he has become a thorn in the side of my enemies, a thorn in the flesh, and even if I don't push it anymore, Loren Torino is destined to go down the path of confrontation with 'him'. ”

Peter Fasha, who was so shocked that he opened his mouth wide, stopped talking.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the content is more than the truth heard in a lifetime... Even more scary!

Eckhart de Salion, with a frown on his brows, was as bright as fire, and a storm seemed to be brewing in his deep eyes.

"Brandon I has devoted his life to leaving enough capital for future generations to fight the enemy, and I will not give hope and burden to others, I will put an end to it on my chessboard. ”

"Conrad, Brandon... My children, I sharpen, train, and teach them, and I have divided the blood of de Salion in two, that each of them may inherit the best part of each of the two ancient bloodlines, but without dividing one from the other;"

Little by little, I suppressed their desires, nurtured their abilities, envied each other and depended on each other, and I gave Conrad a great burden and planted the seeds of ambition in Brandon's heart. ”

"My children... It didn't take long for them to understand the heart of all this;"

"The conscientious Conod will do everything he can to protect the Empire, so he must rely on his brother who wants his life at all times;"

"Brandon, who is ambitious and feels that everything is unfair to him... If he wants to usurp the empire and everything, he must defeat all enemies, and he will do whatever it takes to destroy my enemies. ”

"They'll be so close... As I envisioned. ”

"And I want to keep my plan going, I want to keep the pieces on the board moving... I have to tear down the last shackles on them... To the Empire. To the Eagle King of the Azorean Elves, to my children, to Loren Turin, to ... My enemy. ”

"The name of this shackle is Eckhart de Salion, the twelfth supreme emperor of the Sakran Empire. ”

"The Azorean elves ... They followed my plan perfectly, convincing them that my death would lead to the collapse of Sackland, from a mighty empire to several states of the Old Kingdom. ”

"These poor puppets and pawns... They can't see the chess players behind them, they don't know what they're fighting for, and they don't realize that they're being used, and they can't be more perfect. ”

"They think they are going to victory, but they don't know that the seeds of destruction are being planted, they want to save themselves, they want to save the world... It's a pity that they lack the necessary vision. ”

"Even in the world, even counting the people who once owned, there are only a handful; Brandon the Sage, the Dragon Empress, the Black Duke... And now the Duke of Byrne, Loren Turin - I don't know how he did it, this wizard always surprises me. ”

"But... It's one thing to be able to see, it's another to be able to do it. Eckhart II closed his eyes and sighed in a low voice:

"I'm looking forward to seeing him surprise me in the next games. ”

"It's a pity... I can't see it. ”

Boom ——!

There was still a loud explosion and the roar of beams falling to the ground outside the door, but Peter Fasa was unaware.

He was desperately trying to restrain himself not to scream at what Eckhart II had said.

In this short moment, he felt as if the door to the "truth" of the world had opened to him, but he had no clue because it was so different from the world he knew.

Not centaurs, not dwarves, not Azorean elves ... Not even a monster of the North.

"W-What is that?" said Peter Fasha, trembling, subconsciously asking, "Your enemy... What is the enemy of this world?"

As soon as he opened his mouth, he regretted it.

Damn it... This kind of thing, these truths... Is it your own little night watchman who should ask?!

Peter Fasha, you don't want to die?! Even if you want to die, once someone else finds out that you know all this, Edward still has ......

Syllable!

A rough and gentle palm gently held his face, slowly lifting the frightened face.

Feeling the warmth of his palms, and the bright red eyes that stared at him, Peter lost his mind.

Whether it's rumors or memories... He had never seen such a gentle expression on the face of Eckhart II, His Majesty the Supreme Emperor of the Empire.

"My enemy, the enemy of this world, is a will from the void. Eckhart whispered:

"A thousand years ago, this will destroyed the Dragon Kingdom, and even almost succeeded in ruling the entire world, but it fell short in the end;"

"This is my fate, and the fate of the entire House de Salion—we have the blood of a dragon in our veins, and I must not accept a ruler who is above the whole world, treating us as puppets and dolls. ”

"If there is, I must destroy it, destroy it, so that it will never appear above my head again. ”

"Or... Replace it once and for all, both. ”

"This is the truth, the first and the last—this monster hiding in the shadows, the enemy lurking in the Void World, no longer planning to bring the whole world under its control, to erode the whole world with its will, to turn the whole world into his playground and sheepfold. ”

"Then the whole world will live in its consciousness and mind, and its every move will be controlled by it, and death or pain, happiness or joy, will only be thought of at its heart, or even a little thought. ”

"And I'm going to put an end to it, to put an end to this mess once and for all, to put an end to all this. ”

"That's my plan, I've spent my whole life... No, I should say that since the time of the Dragon Kingdom, all those who feel this threat have exhausted everything they will achieve, and I just happen to be closer to that goal than all of them!"

With some long-suppressed emotion, Eckhart II spoke faster and more excitedly, and in his pupils, it seemed as if a fire was really burning.

Peter Fasa's breathing became more and more confused, and his cheeks flushed, as His Majesty the Emperor held the palm in front of him, and at some point it had grabbed his throat.

Eckhart was slightly stunned, stiffly let go of his right hand, and froze in place: "Sorry......"

"No... Ahem, ahem... It's nothing, Your Majesty, it's just ......" Coughing violently, the frightened and frightened Peter Fasa slowly raised his head:

"But why are you telling me all this?"

This was the only question that puzzled Peter's mind at the moment.

If His Majesty is unwilling to leave, why should he tell himself the truth, to a mere night watchman......

"Are you trying to make me ......?" Peter's eyes lit up at the thought of something.

"No! quite the opposite!"

Eckhart II interrupted abruptly and stared into Peter Fasha's terrified eyes: "I am not allowed to say a word about all that I have said. ”

"If it is really necessary, you must keep this secret forever until the day you die!"

Alas?

In that case, why tell yourself?

Peter, who heard this order, was full of doubts, but still nodded instinctively: "Yes, obey!"

"I heard... When you were at Ebolden, you had the nickname of a 'watchdog'. Eckhart muttered, "Be my watchdog, Peter Fasa - keep this secret forever, forever... Never tell anyone until the day you decide to betray your loyalty to me. ”

"Guarding the truth of this world, guarding this plan, keeping the secret in my heart forever, this time, maybe our last battle with the enemy, I must make sure that the whole plan is foolproof. ”

"So... If there really is any variable, Peter Fasha... You're the last trump card I've left behind - do everything you can to make the plan go the way I want it to!"

Trembling, Peter Fasa lowered his head little by little.

Even now, he couldn't believe what he heard... It's all true.

So... Trust yourself so much... Tell yourself the truth... His Majesty the Supreme Emperor, who saved his life from the enemy, ......

“...... What do you need me to do?"

Eckhart II slowly got up, and a majestic and magnetic voice sounded in his ears:

"Now... I need you to leave the dormitory alive, the Heavenly Dome and even the Imperial Capital—to get the news of my death to Brandon de Salion. ”

"Then you just need to stay by his side, don't interfere with anything, live as much as you can, watch the curtain open quietly, and let this chaos go to its apex. ”

"The rest of the thing... Those loyal ministers with different intentions will do it for me, and my lovely children will play their next role. ”

"And I... It's time to meet the 'demands' of the Azorean elves. Facing the gate, Eckhart II sneered: "If you want to make people obedient, you have to give them what they want." ”

"Friends, relatives, courtiers, allies, enemies... Probably so, isn't it? ”

Peter Fasa couldn't say a word, tears were already pouring out of his eyes.

No matter how emotionless you are, even if the other party tells you so much of the truth, even if you give yourself a heavy burden, even if you ......

But... He was the emperor, the emperor he had sworn allegiance to and fought for him;

Now, I want to watch him die, and at the hands of the enemy!

Seeing the crying Peter, the slightly startled Eckhart, suddenly... Laughed.

"Don't be sad for me – on the contrary, you should be happy for me. Eckhart smiled: "It is not difficult for people to choose how to live, it is really difficult to ......"

"How to die. ”