Chapter 433: The First General
As Paglio watched Chen Rui riding the wyvern away, he took out a bottle of emerald jade wine and took a sip, pleasantly spitting out a breath of heat. Indeed, Little Betty’s wine is the best.
The share of the spoils with a cunning vampire human was ultimately just a change of numbers. Anyway, the private savings of Master Poison Dragon was deposited with the vampire human, and he didn’t know if he could retrieve them by then.
However, these didn’t seem to be important. The important thing was that Master Paglio was no longer a lone dragon fighting now. There was a cunning human around him, Little Betty who was barely considered the main wife, and several other credible accomplices.
He felt that his life and memory in these tens of thousands of years had become particularly clear only within this 1 year or so, although all he saw at birth was eggshells.
By the way, I need to go back as soon as possible to protect that guy’s women. Paglio bottomed up the wine and rose into the air. The huge black shadow flapped its wings and became a small black spot in an instant, then he disappeared into the night.
Chen Rui rode the wyvern all the way under the guidance of the magic map. It took 4 full days to cross the Black Iron Mountain Range to reach the border of the Bloody Empire.
Despite being separated by the Black Iron Mountain Range, the Bloody Empire still built the Morro Fortress at the other end of the Black Iron Mountain Range. Perhaps it was a protection against the Dark Shadow Empire or other intentions.
Chen Rui passed the fortress smoothly as the mechanic apprentice “Richard”. Mechanics had badges that were all unique. It could show the name under the special inspection item of the Mechanic Association. It would be awful if he carelessly exposed the identity of the missing Demon Realm genius master, “Arthur”.
Chen Rui’s goal was what Earth Elemental King Moore said, Fertile Yuan Soil in Mountain Seckred in the far north. This treasure not only could help Moore advance to the peak stage of the Demon Overlord, but it was also one of the missing materials to make the artifact wand, “Secret Shadow”.
Secret Shadow could double the magic power of all elements, double the casting speed, and grant immunity to soul attacks. It also comes a [Limit Break Territory] that had a chance to ignore the opponent’s magic defense or immunity. It was truly the strongest weapon tailored for Zola.
However, the Dark Demons that infiltrated the Bloody Empire had not found the whereabouts of Mountain Seckred so far; it was as if no one knew about the mountain.
Of course… Dark Demon was just established for a short time. At present, the main focus was placed on the Fallen Angel Empire. Both manpower and strength in the other 2 empires were quite insufficient. They could only grasp some relatively ordinary news at most. There was no way to access some core confidential intel.
Now that Chen Rui came to the Bloody Empire, he naturally didn’t want to go back empty-handed… He thought for a while and decided to go to the Bloody Empire first to see if he could get any useful news. If there was no gain, it would not be too late to explore in the north direction..
Chen Rui came to a small town through Morro Fortress. He took a horse-drawn carriage all the way to the west and finally reached the necessary place to the capital after a few days: Town Essidor.
Town Essidor was originally unknown. After a war thousands of years ago, it became almost a household name in the Demon Realm.
At that time, the Bloody Empire Army of the Mammon Royal Family invaded the Wrath Empire of the Samael Royal Family. The army was invincible previously, but when they reached this tiny town that was in between the path to the capital, they encountered stubborn resistance that was dozens of times more than the previous fortress or city.
The first general of the Wrath Royal Family, Serei, led 10,000 old, weak, sick and disabled to miraculously block the onslaught of the 300,000 main force of the Bloody Empire. However, due to the lack of backup, the entire army was killed after 10 days.
Although the Bloody Empire Army conquered Town Essidor, it paid 4 times the price of the enemy. Then the Bloody Empire Army charged all the way and broke through the capital. The emperor burned himself to death. The Wrath Empire became history, but General Serei won the respect of everyone including the enemy. The Bloody Empire Lord even personally built a bronze statue for him.
To commemorate Serei’s bravery, later generations wrote the song, “Song of Essidor”, that had been circulated to this day. Last time, Athena sang this song to Chen Rui when they were facing a desperate situation in the Blue Lava Estate.
There was persistence and unyielding amidst the grief and desolation. This showed her state of mind at that time.
That scene, like the confession in the underground flames of Mountain Xilang, had been deeply engraved in Chen Rui’s heart. Athena was not as seductive and charming as Kia; not as strong and knowledgeable as Zola; and she did not have the beauty of Shea or Catherine, but there was no doubt that she was Athena; the one and only unique Athena. She was also the woman that he loved most.
Then, I shall continue to become stronger, not for power, not for fame and fortune, but to protect. Chen Rui took a deep breath, and his eyes became more determined.
The carriage did not directly reach the station, but it stopped at the entrance of the Town Essidor. The people in the carriage went down. It was not that the services were improper, but there was a large number of troops at the entrance of the town to check the population who entered the town. There were also several staff who were responsible for registration.
Chen Rui was slightly surprised. In the previous town and even fortress, there isn’t such strict checking. Could it be something that happened?
It was his turn to be interrogated soon. The soldiers around were staring at him, and the lich registrant asked without raising his head, “Name, race, identity, destination.”
“Richard, Great Demon, mechanic apprentice, intends to go to the capital to test for mechanic qualifications.”
When the lich heard that he was going to take the mechanic test, he couldn’t help but raise his head and glanced at him more, “If you have nothing special to do here, it is best to go to the capital through Essidor as soon as possible.”
“Why?” Chen Rui asked curiously, but the lich waved his hand impatiently, motioning him to pass quickly.
Chen Rui felt suspicious. He followed the person in front of him all the way into Town Essidor.
He saw a huge bronze statue which was personally built by the Bloody Empire Lord at that time for Serei. Samael. The sculpture had a square face and a firm expression. He wore a broken armor, and he supported his body with a long and sharp sword. It was said that when General Serei died, this was his posture. A death with open eyes and in an upright stance. None of the soldiers of the Bloody Empire touched his body, they all detoured respectfully.
There were piles of fresh flowers in front of the statue today. It seemed that many people came to pay homage. There were plenty of people in the town. Moreover, Town Essidor’s guard force was several times larger than that of ordinary towns. Patrols move around from time to time.
Chen Rui wanted to find a bar to inquire about the news. Unexpectedly, all the bars in the town were closed. After spending a little money, he learned from an imp that today was the 2,370th year since the death of General Serei… also known as the Essidor Day.
Originally, this kind of death day did not require the army to make a big fuss, but since the Bloody Empire invaded and occupied the Wrath Empire, they encountered various resistant forces.
The Wrath Royal Family was the bravest and the best royal family in fighting of the Demon Realm. Although the emperor had fallen, they had never really succumbed. Especially on the death day of General Serei, many riots in the name of Serei caused a huge headache for the Bloody Empire. Every time during this day, the whole empire was under urgent martial law as the army interrogated and searched for suspicious people.
This situation was maintained until the current Bloody Empire Lord Raizen ascended the throne. Raizen also adopted brutal suppression from the beginning. It was Young Prince Teris who changed all of these. More than 100 years ago, Teris somehow actually convinced Raizen the Great to invite Gustav, the young patriarch of the Wrath Royal Family at that time, to be the first general of the empire. Raizen also named General Serei’s death day as the Essidor Day. Every 10 years, a memorial ceremony would be organized officially. Anyone was allowed to come to Town Essidor to mourn the hero general.
Sure enough, after coordinating with this conciliation policy, the turmoil of the Bloody Empire finally calmed down. Raizen the Great also showed extraordinary courage and entrusted Gustav with important tasks which made him the first general in a true sense.
Chen Rui nodded secretly. Teris’ means of “dispersing instead of blocking” was used effectively. Today happened to be the “official” memorial ceremony held every 10 years. No wonder there were so many troops to “maintain order”. As for the suspension of alcoholic beverages, firstly, it was to commemorate Serei, and secondly, it was to prevent drunk accidents.
At this moment, many people quickly gathered on the street. Chen Rui heard someone whisper, “General Gustav is here!”
The Wrath Royal Family, the first general of the Empire? Chen Rui curiously followed the crowd to the entrance of the town. He saw a tall and thin man in armor riding a black war horse. Under the escort by a small group of cavalry in red armor, he passed the checkpoint, then they all dismounted and walked in the direction of Serei’s statue.
Chen Rui’s eyesight was extraordinary. He had already seen Gustav’s appearance clearly. He had a long and thin body, high brow bones, and his facial features were as sharp as a knife, giving a sense of coldness.
It’s him! Chen Rui was taken aback. Gustav was none other than the Demon Overlord powerhouse next to the Bloody Empire’s Young Prince Teris at the Dark Moon auction last time!
At this time, Gustav had already walked toward this side. Many of the onlookers were from the Wrath Royal Family who came to attend the memorial ceremony. They bowed and saluted Gustav. Many of them followed Gustav’s guards and walked toward the statue.
Chen Rui’s mind moved, and he mixed amongst the crowd that was moving forward. In his mind, he always had a doubt, or it should be called speculation. Now, he could activate his [Analytical Eyes] to confirm it.
Gustav came to the bronze statue, stopped, took the fresh flowers from the hands of the guard, and placed it in front of the statue. Then he knelt down on one knee, closed his eyes, and many people behind followed suit. However, the guards didn’t stop these people who followed. Perhaps they were used to it.
Chen Rui slowly approached closer and squeezed into the front row of the crowd. He finally entered the effective range of the [Analytical Eyes].
Race: Wrath Royal Family.
Comprehensive Strength Assessment: A + (S). Physique: A (S), Strength: A + (S), Spirit: B (A), Agility: A (S).
[Analysis]: Fire attribute.
No doubt, the data was exactly identical.
This “exactly identical” person was the mysterious Demon Overlord powerhouse from Town Lupin in the Blue Lava Estate who almost killed Chen Rui, then gave Athena a pair of legendary grade wristbands- Bridget!
This may explain why Bridget “liked” Athena’s singing at the time.
The Song of Essidor.
The first general of the Bloody Empire is actually from the Bloodfall!
Water Elemental King Lambost once said that the sacrifice of so many lives in Town Lupin was not only for the recovery of Dark Elemental King Hegel, but also for someone who needed dark power to break through the bottleneck.
Dark power… Dark mastery?
Also, breakthrough the bottleneck… devil fruit?
Looking at the Wrath Royal Family powerhouse, who once used the name “Bridget,” a new bold guess gradually became clear in Chen Rui’s mind. At this moment, Gustav had already finished his mourning. He stood up, and he suddenly looked back in the direction of Chen Rui. It seemed that this Demon Overlord powerhouse had keenly sensed the gaze behind him.
Chen Rui was taken aback. After determining the identity of “Bridget”, his gaze just now involuntarily carried a trace of hostility. Gustav actually discovered him among so many people. The opponent’s spirit power sensation is surprising. The [Analytical Eyes] shows that Gustav is a strength trainer, and his spirit power is only merely at the Demon Emperor level!
Perhaps, this is not only the sensing of the spirit power, but also a kind of subtle instinct after experiencing numerous battles.
He is really a difficult enemy to deal with.
With Gustav’s gaze, everyone around him immediately cast their gazes along. Soon, Chen Rui was “discovered” and became the focus of everyone’s attention.
A guard immediately caught Chen Rui over. Gustav took a look at Chen Rui, “Who are you?”
Although this voice was different from Bridget, the feeling made Chen Rui more certain. His voice can be changed with a certain skill or item just like masking the true face, but my intuition cannot be wrong. It is him!
Chen Rui showed an extremely nervous look, “General forgive me! I’m a mechanic apprentice, and I was going to the capital to take the mechanics test. I happened to be here to mourn General Serei, and I was a little curious about the general…”
Gustav didn’t give him a chance to explain, and he said coldly, “Tell the people behind you, don’t affect my mood on this day, otherwise…”
Chen Rui only felt that the 2 sharp rays of light penetrated his entire being. He was indeed a little nervous. His heart immediately matched with the violent beating. It seemed that Gustav had misunderstood that he was some kind of watcher.
Perhaps the life of Gustav, the first general of the empire, was not as good as outsiders imagined. Chen Rui immediately lowered his head and did not speak again. This coincidentally diverted his gaze so as not to arouse suspicion.
Many contemptuous, angry, and hateful gazes around him immediately cast over him, making Chen Rui feel uncomfortable.
“Throw him out of the town,” Gustav gave an order to the guards, ignored Chen Rui, and continued to turn around to face the bronze statue.
The guard violently grabbed Chen Rui’s neck and dragged him toward the entrance of the town. Chen Rui naturally did not resist. He just lamented his unluckiness: I just came in from here and I was thrown out again. Why don’t you throw me toward the capital direction?
After Chen Rui “landed” smoothly, singing sounded in the direction of the town. The tragic Song of Essidor echoed in the sky; it was utterly desolate.
Feeling the sorrowful atmosphere, Chen Rui’s heart was touched as if he was still in Town Lupin. He couldn’t help closing his eyes slowly just like Bridget did that day.
Teris must be the mastermind of the Bloodfall without doubt…
