CHAPTER 673: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TWO POWERS AND THE REASON

"Oh? Tell me more about their relationship, Sir Zuke," Aldrian said.

City Lord Zuke nodded.

"Almost everyone knows about this, since the news has already spread. His Highness, Crown Prince Ronwell Avilandis, is actually engaged to the young miss of the Valroy family," he said.

Aldrian raised his eyebrows. This was new information for him. The information crystal he had only showed the crown prince’s name, picture, and what kind of man he was in the eyes of the people.

Something suddenly became clear in his mind. He couldn’t help but smile.

"The relationship between the Barevisk family, the Valroy family, and the imperial family... I see, I see," he thought.

If the ones who could move the imperial family were the Valroy family, then now it all made sense. He now understood that his mind had been too preoccupied with the Barevisk family alone. He hadn’t realized that there was another major player here—the Valroy family.

His thoughts then shifted to the possibility that the ones looking for trouble were not the Barevisk family, but the Valroy family. He believed so, because now everything started to make sense and fall into place.

He remembered when he saw Vars’s memories, how even Vars was confused by the Barevisk family’s patriarch choosing to infiltrate the Barisan continent. Vars had thought it was related to the arrival of someone important from the Valroy family, which prompted his patriarch to make that decision.

After the Barevisk family obtained information about the Barisan continent, they passed it on to the Valroy family, which then spread further to the imperial family. Now, everything connected, and he believed this was the most probable explanation.

The only thing he was still uncertain about was the position of the imperial family. Did they fully support the Valroy family or not? Aldrian still wanted to know what was in the emperor’s mind.

From the information he had learned through the information crystal given by the information center, and from what City Lord Zuke said, the emperor was not someone likely to make such a reckless move.

Seeing that Aldrian seemed to be thinking deeply, the city lord continued.

"This news caused an uproar in the past. It had never happened before, I mean, a member of the imperial family forming a marital relationship with a family from a different star. Until now, they always chose someone from the noble families within the empire, which is why this news created such a sensation at the time."

"And it was with the Valroy family, the strongest family in the Akares Star. A union between the most powerful family in Akares and the most powerful empire on the Orian Continent, who wouldn’t be shocked and eager to see what comes of that?" he added with a slight sigh.

"Is there any reason the imperial family would do that? I mean, to betroth the crown prince to the young miss of the Valroy family?" Aldrian asked.

"Now, this is something only known among the nobles, but the engagement was first proposed by the Valroy family. And as for why the emperor eventually accepted their proposal, this has something to do with the Northern Star Cluster, or as it’s now called, the Fallen Star Cluster."

Seeing the confused expression on Aldrian’s face, the city lord knew he needed to explain further.

"The Northern Star Cluster, now called the Fallen Star Cluster, is a group of stars that’s considered ’fallen’ because the devils have completely taken it over. In other words, those stars are now entirely under their control and serve as their base."

"This star cluster is close to ours, and we sometimes engage in skirmishes in space or wherever we encounter them. Their influence has even reached this continent a long time ago."

Hearing this, Aldrian was astonished. A cluster of stars had fallen into the hands of the devils? Just how many devils were there? Hundreds of billions? Trillions? He imagined that if a great war broke out, the scale of destruction would affect not just space but also surrounding stars.

"I didn’t think Tarius’s influence had grown this vast and severe," Aldrian thought.

And this was only one star cluster. What about the other regions of this heaven? He couldn’t begin to imagine how far Tarius’s reach had already spread. And this still didn’t account for the influence of other invading gods.

Aldrian’s thoughts grew heavy. It looked like a large-scale purge across the heavens would be inevitable. He needed to cleanse this heaven of every trace of the invaders’ influence.

"Why does the Fallen Star Cluster have something to do with the betrothal? Because the Valroy family also proposed the alliance with the intent to support each other in case the devils decide to launch a large-scale war against our star cluster," City Lord Zuke continued.

"His Majesty might have seen it favorably, since our star is the closest target if the devils from the Fallen Star Cluster decide to attack."

"Did those devils really have plans to invade? Enough to make the emperor agree to this alliance?" Aldrian asked.

"From the signs, yes. They seem to have been preparing something big over the past decade, and it looks like they were waiting for the right moment to invade. The peak of the tension was when that thing—the one Your Excellency fought in the sky—appeared. The devils started making their move, but it seems they canceled it after you defeated that eye," City Lord Zuke answered.

"By the way, Your Excellency, thanks to you killing so many of the devils that day, their influence on the Ancient Blue Gate World has been greatly reduced. Some of their higher-ups even fled. Based on our estimates, they escaped to the Fallen Star Cluster. It seems they were truly afraid of Your Excellency’s strength."

"Because of that, the devil territory on this continent has been shrinking. We took advantage of the situation and began launching attacks. Now, the devils or what’s left of them are almost entirely under the control of this continent’s cultivators," he added with a smile.

Aldrian nodded. He now understood the entire situation, his visit here had truly been fruitful, providing him with many important pieces of information. He smiled at City Lord Zuke.

"You seem to know many secrets and what happens behind the scenes, Sir Zuke. Judging from your name and status, I’d guess you hold a high position in the Hazerdolf family," he said.

"Yes, Your Excellency. I’m one of the grand elders of the Hazerdolf family, assigned by the patriarch, Duke Hazerdolf, to serve as the city lord of Avon City. Because of this city’s importance, he appointed me—one of the three grand elders—to oversee it," City Lord Zuke said with pride in his tone.

Aldrian smiled as he picked up the tea and took a sip.

"Your Excellency, if I may," City Lord Zuke said carefully, "I have some questions regarding the Barisan Continent. I hope Your Excellency would be willing to satisfy my curiosity."

"You may ask, Sir Zuke. After all, you’ve already been helpful in providing me with so much useful information," Aldrian replied.

City Lord Zuke nodded and looked at Aldrian carefully.

"Your Excellency, are you truly only at the low Pseudo-Immortal Establishment Stage? I mean no offense, but according to the information I received from the information center, the strongest person on the Barisan Continent is only at that level, and that is just one person, and that person is you."

"This has sparked a lot of debate since yesterday, because that information sounds too absurd to be true."

Aldrian simply smiled before stretching out his hand. A golden energy surged from his palm, and City Lord Zuke’s eyes trembled the moment he saw it. His very soul quivered, affected by the energy, and he instantly recalled the reports from members of the associations, the descriptions of a strange energy that could only be described as "suppressive to others."

Now he finally understood why.

His body and soul felt as though they wanted to prostrate before this energy. In the presence of that energy, he felt unworthy even to stand.

Aldrian then withdrew the energy.

"How is it?" he asked.

"I see... My mind and knowledge have truly been opened today. There are still many things I don’t understand, and someone like Your Excellency is beyond my comprehension," City Lord Zuke replied, a tremor lingering in his heart.

Now he was certain, the reports from his informants and the information from the information center were true. What he had just sensed was unlike anything he had ever felt before. And yet, it was also true that Aldrian was only at the low Pseudo-Immortal Establishment Stage.

That strange golden energy... it was the first time he had seen anything like it. It made him wonder, how could someone like Aldrian have appeared in such an isolated continent?

Aldrian and the city lord continued their conversation, exchanging information and discussing the topics Aldrian wanted to know about. As for matters concerning the Barisan Continent, Aldrian also shared some knowledge, since what the city lord wanted was only general information.

These things would eventually become known anyway, once he permitted access to the continent. So he didn’t mind sharing a few details that weren’t included in the information center’s records.

After speaking for another hour, Aldrian felt it was enough and decided to take his leave.

"It has truly been an honor to receive you here, Your Majesty," City Lord Zuke said as he escorted Aldrian to the carriage.

Now that he knew Aldrian’s true status and that the Barisan Continent was under his rule, City Lord Zuke had changed how he addressed him.

"Still," he added through voice transmission, "I hope Your Majesty might show mercy to the imperial family... if they truly did deliberately involve themselves, and if they held any harmful intent toward you or the Barisan Continent."

Aldrian simply smiled as they approached the carriage.

"Well, that depends on them."