Chapter 395: Immortal Mortal
August 10, 358 of the Pandrian calendar, early morning, light rain.
Together with His Majesty Leon, I went to see Emperor Marius of the Bacchus Empire.
King Li Ang went there in a hurry, and he didn't even bring many guards with him.
I originally thought that Your Majesty was in such a hurry to go to the enemy's camp to meet the enemy's emperor in order to allow both sides to quickly reach an understanding in order to deal with a more powerful enemy. I thought that this negotiation would be full of cunning games and exchanges, just as Your Majesty had done many times before.
But unexpectedly, this was not a negotiation at all, but just a farewell between friends.
His Majesty Li Ang left in such a hurry just to see his friend who might die at any time for the last time.
He was a gaunt, frail old man who was about to die, and perhaps a drug addict - I smelled a strong smell of opium from him.
But His Majesty Li Ang said that this drug addict (the word was crossed out) emperor was both his rival and his friend, and the most powerful enemy in the entire continent...
I don't quite understand His Majesty Li Ang's definition of 'powerful'.
I have always followed His Majesty, and I know how terrifying Az Dahaka, also known as Kavala, is. I have always believed that gods and demons like Kavala are the most powerful enemies in the entire continent, but His Majesty Leon does not think so.
Your Majesty told me that Emperor Marius has always been a man who creates life for Bacchus, and a destroyer like Kavala cannot be compared with him at all.
His Majesty said that Emperor Marius was the most powerful emperor in the entire continent in hundreds of years, but he was born at the wrong time.
I don’t quite understand why a person who can’t even save his own life would be a person who creates vitality.
I don’t quite understand why this most powerful emperor who controls the most powerful country failed to unify the continent…
What exactly does His Majesty Li Ang mean by "powerful"?
——Excerpt from "New Pendor Battle Diary", written by Lisadilan Aino.
…
Early in the morning, Leon took Alina and Lisa Dilan to Seren Village.
Emperor Marius is currently in the village of Seren, which is currently the territory of the Bacchus Empire. The Bacchus military camp is not far to the north of the village of Seren.
In other words, Leon passed through Bacchus's camp and was behind the enemy army...
This was of course a very dangerous move, and Leon only brought his own Noldor Guards.
But Li Ang knew he would not be in danger.
Because he knew that since Emperor Marius sent Agathon to seek peace, he did not want to deepen the hatred between the elves and the Noldor, nor did he want the war to continue.
On the contrary, Agathon was the more nervous - he followed Li Ang closely with a team of people, not because he was afraid that Li Ang would suddenly do something weird, but to protect Li Ang's safety...
The Bacchus army is currently full of wounded soldiers, and many people probably dislike Leon. If something happens to Leon at this time, it will ultimately bring real disaster to both countries.
There are currently few residents in Salem Village. When the Bacchus Empire took back Karen Deer Castle, Anson took away most of the residents in this area.
Most of the houses in the village are empty and look a bit dilapidated.
But Leon was taken into a military tent by Agasson.
Emperor Marius did not occupy any house, even though most of them were empty - this was obviously due to years of habit. His large army did not enter the village, but camped to the north of the village.
This was probably to prevent large-scale military forces from entering areas where civilians lived, even though there were not many residents in the village.
Emperor Marius's tent was large but without any decoration.
It was basically the same as the military tent that Li Ang usually used - simple, inconspicuous, but very spacious.
Le Ang did not take off his sword, and no one asked him to do so. He just walked into Emperor Marius's military tent.
After entering the military tent, Leon saw a skinny old man leaning on a camp bed, wearing the armor of an Immortal officer and holding his champion helmet in his arms.
His small stove was still placed on the table in front of him, and an exquisite copper kettle was steaming on the stove.
After seeing Le Ang, Emperor Marius smiled waved to Le Ang gently, like an ordinary old man meeting a familiar younger generation.
It was as if yesterday's battle had never happened.
"Leon... you may have guessed that I originally planned to die on the battlefield. That is my best destination."
Emperor Marius now looked extremely weak. It seemed that yesterday's battle had exhausted his already limited energy.
"Your Majesty, this is still a battlefield, and you are still wearing the Immortal Armor."
Li Ang walked forward and sat in front of Marius as a junior.
Likewise, it was as if he had not charged towards Emperor Marius yesterday, as if yesterday's battle had nothing to do with the two of them...
Lisadilan and Agathon stood on both sides of the military tent door, one on the left and one on the right.
Several immortals who were originally serving as guards in the military tent also consciously retreated to a corner.
Alina looked around, shook her head, walked to the table, picked up the kettle and prepared to pour water for the two kings.
"In fact, the name Immortals was chosen by Justus. I originally planned to name this legion the Mortal Legion... Mortals will eventually die. But Justus said that this name has no deterrent effect at all, so he played a word game... In fact, the Imperial Mortal Guard is the true meaning of Immortals." (Note)
Emperor Marius stroked the tassel of the champion's helmet in his arms and smiled like a retired uncle next door: "I never thought that I was immortal. I am just an ordinary guard of the empire, a mortal who will eventually die."
Li Ang shook his head gently: "You shouldn't say such unlucky words..."
"I'm dying, Leon."
Emperor Marius said calmly: "Only weak people would paralyze themselves with auspicious words... I am not afraid of death, I will gladly accept my fate."
As he said this, he glanced at Alina and said, “Luciana, don’t pour the water, there’s wine warming on the table… How can you not drink when friends come?”
He called Alina by her original name.
Alina was about to bring two cups of water. When she heard this, she was stunned and turned to look at Li Ang.
Li Ang also turned his head to take a look, and then he caught a glimpse of a box of black paste on the table.
He could realize what it was.
Opium was indeed a commonly used drug by doctors in this era, and Anson usually prepared a lot of it, mainly for cough relief or to alleviate incurable diseases - in simple terms, it was to make people die relatively easily and avoid torture when encountering an untreatable serious illness.
So Li Ang nodded: "Indeed, we should pour the wine."
Alina was silent for a moment, then poured out the water in the cup and replaced it with the warm red wine in the copper kettle on the stove.
She then stood behind Emperor Marius, just as she had done in Siyuan City.
"Leon... In this world, there are too many people who desire immortality... If you conquer the entire continent in the future, will you try to make yourself immortal?"
Marius held the wine glass, added opium into his own glass in front of Leon, and then continued the previous topic.
"I'm not sure - I haven't conquered the continent yet. Who knows what the future will bring?"
Li Ang smiled honestly: "But like you, no matter what happens in the future, I will gladly accept my fate."
"Hahaha... shouldn't young people like you pursue 'controlling your own destiny' or 'changing your own destiny'? You actually accept the arrangement of fate like an old man like me?"
Emperor Marius laughed.
"Because I'm not a weak person..."
Li Ang also smiled and said, "What is fate? What we can change and what we cannot change, what has changed and what never changes, what I can choose and what I cannot choose, what I have control over and what I cannot control... All these results are fate... Of course I have to accept it, because that is the final result after I have done my best."
"Hahahaha...that's right! Only weak people would clamor to change their unfair fate..."
Emperor Marius raised his head and laughed even more happily: "It is because of humility that one desires power, and it is because of brevity that one desires immortality... People in the world always think that the so-called resistance to fate is a sign of strength, but in fact it is nothing more than unsatisfied desires!"
"It seems that you already know about Kavala? The King of Pendesan has been fighting against fate. What he wants is eternal power and immortality."
Leon realized that Emperor Marius probably knew something about Kavala, otherwise he wouldn't have been sighing all the time.
"I do know some things. I know that you have some connection with him... I guess the year or so you were missing was also related to him, right? Can you tell me about your experiences during that year or so?"
Marius nodded and looked at Leon, like an elder who was about to listen to a child's story about his travels.
"This story begins with the civil war between the gods of the Pendor continent and the Sindar elves..."
Li Ang began to narrate his experiences and the story of Kavala and the Snake Cult as concisely as possible.
…
"It seems that even if he is sealed in a distant temple, Kavala can still drive the Snake Cult to provoke a war between us. If the Snake Cult is not completely destroyed, there will never be peace in this world."
Emperor Marius was somewhat emotional after listening to the stories he had told for half the morning: "He pursued power and immortality to the extreme, and wanted to become the only god... He was the bravest coward..."
"Your Majesty Marius, I don't quite understand... If you say that Kairos and his son are cowards because they are afraid of death and they stir up disputes between elves and humans, I can understand that. But why do you say that such a terrible character like Kavala is also a coward?"
Lisa Dilan suddenly asked.
"Lisa Dilan, is this your name? I know you... your name was written by Cleon on the list of 'those who made outstanding contributions to the control of the Red Death', and I personally ordered that your charge of murdering the nobles be cleared..."
Emperor Marius looked at Lisadiran and said, "You are a brave and fearless assassin... and an elf with a long life, so you may not be able to understand."
"Because he is afraid of his short life, he is afraid of losing power, he is afraid of being abandoned by the gods, he is afraid of being forgotten after completing his mission... He is afraid of everything, so he will pursue making himself the only god - even if it plunges the entire world into turmoil, even if it frames his comrades who supported him to become the Supreme King, even if it destroys everything... Such a person is not a mortal, but he is indeed a coward."
Li Ang explained: "Even though he is sealed now, he still hasn't given up his pursuit, so he is a brave coward..."
"The fire in the Noldor Forest was set by Kairos and his son. Although they were forced to do so, they were indeed cowards. So I gave their heads to you."
Emperor Marius continued, "But I know that the blood of their father and son is far from enough to quench the anger of the elves. The imperial soldiers burned the forest. This is a fact, and I can't explain it. So I can only fight this battle with you... I originally planned to either die on the battlefield or repel your attack... Because I know that these two results will prevent you from continuing to attack Bacchus."
Li Ang nodded, it was indeed the case.
Before the forest was burned, Leon took great pains to persuade the Noldor elves not to act impulsively for the time being. If Leon did not fight this battle with Bacchus, the elves would all take revenge on their own, so this battle must be fought.
But if Marius died in battle, and died in Leon's charge, then the Bacchus would certainly unite to resist Leon's troops, and Leon would have to retreat even if he won a great victory - Marius obviously understood Leon, and with Leon's character, he certainly would not fight against a defeated army.
Of course, if Marius had repelled Leon’s attack yesterday… then there would be even less to say.
"However, now that you have won a great victory and the Empire has paid a heavy price, you should be able to listen to my explanation calmly... We should not continue to fight, otherwise the real enemy will only take advantage. I know you want food, and I can give you the food from Boshi City."
After Emperor Marius finished speaking, he looked at Leon, then at Risadiran: "Do you accept it?"
Li Ang looked at Emperor Marius and smiled: "If you had won yesterday, you would definitely continue to march to Changhe City and then negotiate peace with us, right?"
"Of course...if you were me, you would do the same..."
Emperor Marius said as if it was a matter of course: "No matter what, I have to consider the interests of Bacchus..."
"That's true... Then, what happened in Dilingang?"
Le Ang also knew that Emperor Marius was telling the truth, and if they could get food, there would be no need to continue the attack.
The Fierce Lion Territory had been badly beaten before, and what it needed most now was to recover its vitality. If it weren't for the burning of the Noldor Forest, Leon would definitely have continued to engage in real estate in Changhe City and would not have sent out troops at all - who would want to fight a battle without confidence?
"The news I got is that the Snake Cult's fleet appeared near the Imperial Harbor, and the families of Kailos and Antonius, that is, Kailos's wife and other tribesmen, also followed the Snake Cult fleet back to the Imperial Harbor..."
Emperor Marius sighed and said, "Soon after, a terrible disaster occurred in Imperial Port. A strange man wearing a mask caused the annihilation of the Imperial Port garrison in an instant. It is said that General Ivaylo betrayed his country and surrendered to the enemy. Imperial Port was basically occupied by the Snake Cult. Moreover, they should have started to march north."
"Ivaylo, the serf general who was born into a pig-farming family... Would he betray his country and surrender to the enemy? I'm afraid he had no choice but to do so in the face of a desperate situation... General Sura is not here. Has he gone to Dilingang?"
Li Ang turned around and looked, but didn't see Sura.
"Yes, Sura is not my subordinate. He just helped me as a friend. His mission is to deal with the Snake Cult. The Shadow Wolves have already set off , and the Phoenix Knights are also on their way."
Emperor Marius nodded and said, "If you stop attacking the empire, I will take all my troops to Imperial Port... I have said that I will die on the battlefield. That is my proper fate. I am a mortal who is bound to die. I do not need immortality... But I want to use this dying body to do something truly useful."
If Marius died in the Imperial Harbor, all the people of Bacchus would unite against the Snake Cult and resolutely resist it...
Li Ang filled in Marius's unspoken intention in his mind.
This is the immortality of the mortal, the immortal mortal.
"Then let's withdraw our troops. Your Majesty, take care..."
Li Ang picked up the wine glass and drank the last glass of wine with his friend.
