Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 41 As long as the stars remain, the empire will endure.

"The empire sank, the heavens and the earth crumbled."

"The Triumphant City, the imperial capital with a history of more than 2,300 years since the time of the kings, which witnessed the rise and fall of two empires, was completely buried at the bottom of the End Sea with the final sinking of the empire."

Gilbert's compassionate words even affected the guards on both sides; Thales could clearly feel their hands, which were resting on their sword hilts, trembling slightly.

Gilbert pressed Thales' shoulder and looked at the young knight on the wall who was always roaring and charging, yet seemed to never reach the end.

"And Tormund I... at that time he was not yet king, but the last remnant of the final empire."

Thales could feel the weight in Gilbert's hands, and then the former foreign minister silently began to recite a line from Cahill's Poems:
"Heroes raise the flag, kings wield the spear, the empire has fallen, and the world is without light."

"Ten years of bloodshed and fire, a victorious return, yet we can never go back to the homeland we fought so fiercely for. The imperial family is gone, the nobles are all dead." At this point, Gilbert said, lost in thought:

“Thales, my little sir, can you imagine that feeling?”

Thales stared blankly at the undeterred Tormund.

The young knight looked so brave and fearless that he shone even on the brutal battlefield.

Will he realize then that he will never be able to return to his hometown?
Before Thales could reply, Gilbert sighed, "No, at least I can't."

Thales didn't speak, but he had a strange feeling in his heart.

"The living beings are filled with fear and despair, where can they go?"

Thales calmly recited the last two lines of the poem.

Fearful living beings.

In his imagination, a magnificent and splendid city appeared, but it was slowly sinking. Everyone was fleeing for their lives, shouting in panic, but they could only helplessly watch the seawater engulf everything.

Just then, Thales suddenly raised his head and asked with a heavy and slightly resentful tone:

"What about those people?"

"Hmm?" Lost in remembrance of the King of Restoration, Gilbert turned his head and looked at Thales with a puzzled expression.

Thales looked at Gilbert, calming himself down with a composed gaze.

“It’s not just the imperial family and nobles, it’s not just knights and soldiers—they were all participants in the war.”

“But there are also countless people living on that land, farmers, merchants, old people, children,” the boy said calmly, “people of all kinds, regardless of status, race, or social standing, who were inevitably drawn into this war, everyone.”

"During war and when the land is sinking, they are more innocent than the disaster, the emperor, the nobles, or anyone else."

"But they are the very reason for the empire's existence—didn't any of them manage to escape?"

Gilbert stared at Thales, his eyes narrowed, as if he were seeing Thales for the first time and was looking him over again.

“Just like your grandfather who had compassion for the common people, Mr. Thales,” Gilbert sighed, “you have a compassionate and loving heart.”

Show compassion for the common people?

Those who can use the word "sympathy" probably never place themselves on the same level as the "common people".

As for compassion and benevolence?

Thales shook his head silently in his heart.

But Gilbert immediately lowered his head, his eyes filled with disappointment: "No, the whole world, in the end, the empire, from the princes and nobles to the common people, all sank into the sea."

"The fact that only Tormund and his army remain proves that the final empire and even the ancient empires were not legends, but real entities that once existed."

Thales lowered his head, closed his eyes, and gently exhaled.

Just then, Gilbert's hand on Thales' shoulder suddenly tightened, and he uttered the following words, one by one:

"At that time, Prince Tormund was merely one of the least favored illegitimate sons in the final imperial family."

Thales was jolted!
Thales turned around abruptly and looked at Gilbert in disbelief.

He knew why Gilbert was saying those things.

"Not to mention titles, territories, or property, he is not even entitled to inherit a surname. Even the title of 'prince' is merely a formality."

Gilbert looked at Thales with unwavering eyes:
"He has even less than you do now, and his situation is a hundred times more perilous than yours."

Thales stared blankly at Gilbert, then at the bastard king on the wall.

Gilbert shook his head, removed the hand from Thales' shoulder, and continued:

"The final battle has been won, and humanity and the entire civilized world are celebrating this great victory. The world's politics are also undergoing dramatic changes."

"In the East, Feng Wang Chenjian, carrying the hopes of the Far East people, overthrew the old dynasty and established the Su Ye Dynasty."

“Amma Mimo Hampur raised the banner and began to spread the fame of the Hampur dynasty among countless believers.”

"In the West, the hero Nekaru Ex was crowned king amidst cheers from the crowd, and the powerful and proud Kingdom of Exter was born."

"But compared to this..."

Gilbert looked at Master Colvin's painting with a serious yet pitying expression:
"The final empire that inherited the glory of the empire lost all its land and people overnight, leaving only its last bloodline."

"Overnight, the illegitimate son, who was originally insignificant, became the sole supreme leader of the non-existent empire."

"Tormond had nothing: land, people, supplies, or wealth. Apart from the six knights by his side, he had only two thousand men left, wandering aimlessly in unfamiliar land, with no hope and a bleak future ahead."

"At the age of twenty-four, he moved among numerous forces and lords, using every means at his disposal for even the smallest amount of food, supplies, territory, or weapons. He went from groveling to arguing with reason, from using flattery to plundering, all to maintain the independent survival of his subordinates and the last vestige of dignity of the empire." "The lonely Prince Tormund struggled daily amidst war, intrigue, ambition, and power, striving to survive amidst ridicule, mockery, exploitation, and malice. At only twenty-six, his hair was already streaked with white."

Gilbert put his hands behind his back, his eyes filled with reverence.

"'The final prince of the final empire'—this was the mockery and ridicule he received from people on both continents at the time."

Thales stared intently at the handsome prince, without uttering a word.

"Ten years passed, their numbers dwindled, and their hope dwindled. Finally, after a battle that left them with heavy casualties, their desperate subordinates, clutching the bodies of their fallen comrades, surrounded the gaunt Prince Tormund, weeping and demanding answers from him:"
What's the point of continuing this struggle? The empire has fallen, not an inch of land remains; they are like rootless duckweed, embers of history, destined to vanish without a trace.

"Why fight at all!"

Why not just give up?

Thales was slightly startled and looked at the prince. The ancestor's eyes were no longer the same.

When you have nothing left, when everything is gone, what are you fighting for?

Gilbert looked at Thales' expression, sighed with pity, but then revealed a resolute look and expression:

“Thales!” He addressed Thales by his name for the first time, seriously and without any formality: “Listen carefully to what I’m about to say.”

That night, facing the questioning of his subordinates, Tormund, with tears in his eyes, removed his battered armor, pointed to the countless stars in the sky, and recited the most important oath of his life!

At that moment, Thales saw the guards on both sides stand straight, heads held high, and the sound of armor clashing filled the empty hall.

Gilbert, with a resolute expression and solemn tone, uttered the words:
"As long as the stars remain, the empire will endure."

Thales took a deep breath.

Stars—stars, if they still exist?

Empire—Thales pondered the meaning of this phrase—eternity?
The middle-aged nobleman had barely finished speaking.

The soldiers and guards throughout the hall began to stride forward with force in response to those words.

"Boom!"

Then, they all swung their fists and slammed them into the shield with the gold and silver nine-pointed stars!

"boom!"

The spacious hall was instantly filled with crisp echoes!

Shocked by history and stunned, Thales took a step back in fright.

"Thales!"

Before he could react, Gilbert suddenly squatted down, placed his hands on the boy's shoulders, looked him straight in the eye, and said seriously:

"Please do not underestimate yourself, the blood in your veins, and what they represent."

"Your existence and that of Canxing represent the golden age of humanity, a great ancient empire, a magnificent final empire, and the most powerful proof that it still endures in the world!"

By this point, Gilbert's eyes were filled with excitement, and his hands were trembling, which made Thales inexplicably panic.

He continued loudly:
"That day, September 27th, the 10th year of the End Calendar, was the founding day of the Star Kingdom."

"Prince Tormund, who swore an oath by pointing to the stars, took 'Star' as his surname and became the founding king of the Star Kingdom, Tormund I."

"In the decades that followed, the Star Kingdom became the most powerful nation in the Western Continent! Together with Exter, it was known as the 'Shield and Blade of the Western Continent'."

"The empire rises from the ashes, re-established in the name of the stars! Glory continues, greatness is reborn!"

"When Tormund Star is mentioned, no one remembers the former 'Final Prince' anymore."

He was hailed solely as the 'King of Revival'.

Gilbert twitched his mustache, his eyes burning with a fierce light: "The motto of the Starry Sky family is born from this!"

Thales looked somewhat awkward.

Although he also felt sorry for Tormund's story.

But looking at the fervent Gilbert before him, he still found it difficult to empathize with that emotion.

Do the stars exist only for the sake of the former empire?

This founding spirit is wrong.

Something must be wrong.

A sense of incongruity and unease washed over Thales.

However, seeing Gilbert's burning, expectant gaze and the noticeably heavier breathing of the guards on both sides, he could only grit his teeth and nod emphatically.

Thales frowned, uttering the sentence slowly and deliberately:
"As long as the stars remain... the empire will endure forever."

Just then, a furious, sharp rebuke rang out!
"enough!"

Thales and Gilbert turned their heads simultaneously, only to see Ginny Barkley, her face grim, looking displeased at the teacher and student on the steps.
"It's time for dinner."

She said coldly.

(End of this chapter)