CHAPTER 460: CHAPTER 35: DIVERGENCE (3)_2

Gray was silent, the soul fire in his eye sockets dimming slightly.

"Have patience, child," the Observer continued, "I know your patience has always been good, but because of worry... please trust me, here ten years is equivalent to just one day on the Keltos Continent, it’s only been three years. Your two children will surely be able to hold the situation, and even if they can’t, the situation won’t be so bad that you can’t handle it when you return."

Hearing this, Gray suddenly froze, staring at the Observer without moving.

"What’s wrong?" the Observer asked.

"Did something happen to them?" Gray said, "You’ve never mentioned my ’two kids’ before, always just ’Richie.’ And before, when we talked, it was always said that ’Richie could handle it,’ not ’the situation won’t be so bad that I can’t deal with it when I return.’

At this, everyone present froze, hurriedly turning to look at the Observer.

"So, things are pretty bad now, aren’t they?" Gray looked at the Observer and said, "Richie is in great trouble, Jones is already helping Richie, but the situation hasn’t improved. Is that what you mean?"

The Observer was so frightened that he quickly coughed: "Uh... people always face difficulties in life, don’t they? No one can have smooth sailing all the time. You haven’t had smooth sailing either."

Vivian and Catherine both widened their eyes involuntarily.

"Can they really manage?" Gray asked.

"Of course they can, you have to believe in them, they are your children." the Observer replied with a smile.

"And Shelley?"

"Your wife is doing well, she doesn’t even know about your situation. Your son Richie is forging your handwriting to communicate with her. Hmm... I think that’s the best for her. After three years, when you return, she will feel like you just went on an expedition."

"That’s good."

...

Salted Fish Port.

Clouds danced in the sky.

Shelley lay quietly on Gray’s desk, gazing through the windows of the castle.

The evening glow dyed the sea with a fiery color. The fishing boats on the sea had all returned, and the workers at the port were bustling with loading and unloading goods. The scene was as beautiful as a painting.

Letting out a long sigh, Shelley closed her eyes and muttered to herself, "He said he’d come back, but suddenly it turned into an expedition. Black Dragon City has been breached, yet he’s still not back..."

Propping up her chin, Shelley tilted her head and murmured, "I don’t even know what the father and son are up to now. Maybe next time, I should go on the expedition with them? But there shouldn’t be a next time. The Black Dragon is the last enemy."

...

"Deal," Richie replied softly.

"Pleasure doing business, my Second Generation Lich King," the Demon Lord said with a smile, "The abyss army will immediately mobilize to serve you. Time is short, let’s start drafting the agreement details."

...

"What did you say? You reached an agreement with the Demon Lord?" In the same stone chamber, Jones was stunned, "Why didn’t you discuss with me first?"

"There was no time, the Angel Army will arrive soon, and we need to be prepared immediately. And the terms are very favorable, aren’t they?" Richie said nonchalantly.

"Do you really think these terms are favorable?"

"Aren’t they? They only want a piece of land. There’s plenty of undeveloped land on the Keltos Continent. They even accept the Dragon’s Peak. After we break through Dragon’s Peak, it will become a wasteland, with no humans living there. It’s like we’re just nodding our heads."

"And the second term? We have to join them in eliminating Heaven’s passage in this world."

"Even if they didn’t say it, we would still do it, if we can."

"So the real issue is the third term," Jones widened his eyes, looking at Richie.

The oil lamp flame crackled and burned, reflecting Richie’s cold mask.

"I don’t think there’s any problem with the third term. Making an agreement makes us de facto allies."

"And how do you plan to explain this to others?"

"We allied, it’s that simple. No need for further explanation, right?"

Richie showed an indifferent look.

Jones was almost exploding with anger: "Sorry, I can’t agree. At least I know if Father were here, he would never agree to such an arrangement."

"Why?" Richie asked back.

"You... do you really not understand?" After a long silence, Jones continued, "*When one resolutely fulfills the knight’s vows, that itself is the best interpretation of knightly spirit. As for the results, they aren’t that important.* Do you understand what that means?"

Richie stared silently at Jones.

Jones continued, "What demons preach is the exact opposite of knightly spirit. When a knight acknowledges an alliance with demons, no matter what you try to do with demonic power, that itself is the biggest betrayal of knightly spirit."

Widening his eyes, Jones looked at Richie. Richie seemed as if he hadn’t heard anything, standing quietly.

Jones was bewildered: "Don’t you understand the seriousness of this matter?"

"I don’t. At least in my view, nothing is more serious than the difficulties we are facing now."

"Are we to win a war, only to lose everything we’ve worked for? When we admit demons as our allies, how will we present them to the outside world? Are we also to accept what they preach? Denying Heaven’s limited justice doesn’t mean we have to accept the evil of demons. They claim that if we defeat the Black Dragon Clan, the entire Keltos Continent will fall under our control. But is that really the case?"

"Have we ruled as lords over this land? Have we set up churches everywhere like the old clergy? We haven’t done that. In reality, we’re merely allies with humans, our reach doesn’t extend to every corner."

"If we ally with demons, it indirectly acknowledges their ideals. They will freely walk in the Human World, and people will accept them because they are allies. The Abyss will gain a victory it hasn’t seen in the past ten thousand years, freely promoting their ideas in the Human World. That’s what they truly want!"

"Then, how will we justify the infinite justice we advocate? If we can’t justify it, how are we any different from the old clergy? Haven’t you thought about this? We’re indirectly leading people to evil, don’t you understand? This completely goes against what Father pursued!"

After saying all this, Jones was extremely agitated.

Richie still looked cold, without much reaction.

The two stood deadlocked.

"Brother," after a while, Richie said softly, "I understand your thoughts, but I still believe that only by achieving victory will there be a future. If we fall here, everything will become meaningless."

"But we won’t fall here," Jones said anxiously, "We just need to negotiate with the Black Dragon Clan, and be measured in our punishment. Elder Gjestav was right, not every Black Dragon participated in Father’s assassination. Not exterminating the Black Dragon Clan doesn’t count as our failure. On the contrary, indiscriminately killing all Black Dragons would be the real..."

"Enough! My brother!" Richie roared, "I already said, I understand your thoughts! This matter is settled for now! The agreement is signed, and this decision is mine to make!"

Jones widened his eyes, staring at Richie in a daze.