You were made to farm, and now you're the emperor of an empire?

Chapter 181 Ushering in a New Era
“Father, you still haven’t let go of it,” Gale said after hearing those words.

Ulster's heart skipped a beat.

He couldn't let go of it, just as Gail couldn't let go of it either.

They both harbored resentment, and the more he talked to Gale, the more resentful Gale became towards him.

It's like an unsolvable knot.

“Father, I want the family legacy to continue,” Gale said.

“I will give it to you… Gale, I will give it to you, but not now. Get out,” the Archduke of Cracked Armor said weakly.

"Father……"

"go out!"

In Ulster's eyes, he was always an obedient child, even though the latter was over sixty.

Gail had no choice but to stand up and say, "Then, Father, I await your news."

He walked out of the bedroom, just as the door closed.

He heard the Grand Duke of Cracked Armor say, "Gail, you'll follow in my footsteps. We're so alike. What I face now, you'll face in the future, and then... I hope you won't forget how cheerful you used to be... don't forget you were my favorite child..."

Gail paused, then turned and bowed, saying, "Yes, I've remembered your words, Father. Goodnight."

"Good night……"

……

As night falls, darkness deepens.

He lay on his bed, quietly contemplating how things would develop in the future.

He will definitely have to step down.

The Duke's throne was taken by Gael.

Gale will definitely gather all the forces of the Cracked Armor family. He has the power to act, and it's legitimate. All the Cracked Armor offspring will have to obey his orders—including that child who caused quite a stir thousands of miles away in the valley.

He had many children, and they were everywhere in Dragon Castle, but he could only remember a few.

He thought he could keep a low profile and take care of him for a couple more years while he was still alive.

As a result, his development was too fast, which defied common sense.

Now we can only leave it to fate.

But even now, what he can't let go of is not the child thousands of miles away, but Gael, who will inherit the throne of the Grand Duke.

He was worried about Gail, and he was also worried about Payne.

The two of them were about to face an exceptionally difficult future.

They went their own way, shedding blood along the way, yet their efforts were not guaranteed to yield good results. Halfway there, they found themselves lost in the fog, the future uncertain. They wanted to turn back, but found no way back. Could they still persevere?
Ulster knew that while the darkness before dawn was terrifying for humanity, what was even more terrifying was not knowing whether dawn would ever come, and whether perseverance was even meaningful.

Ulster fell into deep thought.

It wasn't until the jewel on his chest alerted him to the presence of an intruder.

……

The blinds had been opened at some point, and the spring air was a bit chilly.

It was a figure crouching by the window like a wildcat, a black silhouette, its back to the stars, appearing abruptly there.

"Lord Cracked Armor greets you!" it said in a shrill voice.

“Are you one of Payne’s men?” Ulster asked.

But Pine had no reason to do that. Couldn't he have said it to his face?

"What is your purpose?" he calmly changed his question.

This guy is definitely not with Payne, he's sure of it.

"I don't enjoy being around people like you in your positions... You're always adorned with all sorts of gems—emeralds, cat's-eye, amethyst, amber, and mithril armor... Tsk tsk, forging mithril armor to fit your physique wouldn't be a small feat. Let me calculate, are they worth a thousand gold coins, or five thousand? But honestly, someone like you could carry ten thousand gold coins around without me being surprised. After all, you're incredibly wealthy."

It kept talking.

"You infiltrated Dragon Keep just to tell me this, spellcaster?" Ulster said.

"Please don't call me that. My spells are useless against you. Those colorful gems on you are blocking my spells. If you had a family tradition, you could dispel my spells with a single thought, but you've given it up. Of course, you can shout now. This is your Dragon Castle after all. If you just let out a howl, at least a hundred knights will rush in like madmen."

Upon hearing this, Ulster frowned and asked, "Are you a witch?"

"maybe."

"You shouldn't be here."

"This isn't something I wanted to do. I'm all alone, and I have to deal with a Black Iron Duke. It's really difficult." It jumped out of the window, its entire body black, and its footsteps were light and silent as it approached.

"Stop!" Ulster said.

It didn't stop, continuing, "Normally, a single word from the Black Iron Duke could have killed me without a burial place, but unfortunately, this is your last day in power. Who will listen to you now?"

Ulster's eyes were somewhat terrifying. "I told you to stop right there!"

"So who will listen to you then?"

It spoke fiercely, its movements incredibly agile, like a cat in the dark, pouncing straight at the Duke on the bed. With a flash of cold light, it thrust its blade at the Duke on the bed. A layer of silver light bloomed, blocking the thrusting force of the dagger, but not completely blocking it. It cut open the scalp, the wound so deep that the bone was visible.

The next second, a rare divine stone exploded.

It was immediately blasted away, or rather, it seemed to fly backward on its own. Its body skipped across the floor a few times like a stone skipping across water before disappearing out the window like a wildcat into the night.

Ulster lay on the collapsed bed, staring blankly at the blurry ceiling.

His eyesight has deteriorated significantly, and now it's even tinged with a bloodshot hue.

Blood was flowing, life was fading, and he suddenly understood something.

The explosion attracted a lot of people. He could vaguely see two people rushing in, one with seaweed-like blue hair and the other with fiery eyes.

They ran toward him.

“Father…” “Ulster…”

"Someone is attempting to assassinate the Grand Duke!"

"Who did this?! How could such a thing happen in Dragon Castle?!"

"Imperial Physician! Bring the jade! The Grand Duke has been poisoned!"

"Scholar Iher, quickly administer the antidote to the Grand Duke!"

"It's...it's too late...the poison has seeped into the brain, this can't be solved by bloodletting..."

Amidst the shouts, chaos, and screams of terror, everyone was in complete disarray.

In his final moments, Ulster remained remarkably calm.

Surrounded by the crowd, he spoke slowly and with difficulty: "Scholar Iher, take paper and pen, and write down what I have said: I appoint Gael as the next Duke of the Cracked Armor..."

Everyone knew that this was the last will and testament of the Lord of Cracked Armor, and all the noise subsided.

“Some things have long been settled, but now…the verdict can be overturned. I confess to the gods now that I wronged…Moya. I am an incompetent…monarch. I ordered Gale to harm them, but they…had no intention of rebellion. Gale…you must…restore their family’s…honor…” Ulster said haltingly.

"Father, who is it!" Gale cried, sobbing uncontrollably. "Who is the assassin! I will never let him go! Never!!"

He was like an angry old lion, his anger overwhelming his reason, even making him forget the family legacy he had craved for decades.

“No… assassin… you must go… restore Moya's… reputation…”

“I will do it, I will do anything! Father, tell me, who wants to kill you!” Gale’s expression was terrifying. He saw that his face was pale, blood was flowing, and black threads were spreading from the wounds, like a spider’s web spreading across his skin.

“Scholar Iher! I ask you, who murdered my father!” His eyes were bloodshot, determined to get to the bottom of it.

Scholar Iher was terrified. He recognized the traces left by the dagger and the evil poison, but could he say so?
He felt deep down that this was impossible, but the facts were right in front of him, so how could he deny them?
"A witch! It must be a witch who murdered the Grand Duke! Witches are skilled at murder! They are adept at using poison! Despicable! Shameful!"

Some people also recognized the source of the poisons.

Who else in the world could infiltrate Dragon Castle silently and murder the Duke?

Scholar Iher was even more alarmed. He sensed that a colossal conspiracy was now shrouding Dragon Castle.

Ulster's lips moved slightly, but he couldn't make any decent movements.

Scholar Iher saw it all, but he couldn't explain; he had neither the qualifications nor the ability to prove that it wasn't the work of a witch.

The Grand Duke with the broken armor looked somber, his eyelids feeling as if they weighed a ton.

The toxins were eroding his brain. He was drowsy, knowing what Payne was about to do, but too weak to stop him, and too indifferent to think about it.

Finally, he closed his eyes and could never open them again.

From birth to death, it's a cycle, a circle.

When he was born, he seemed to hear many people talking, and their voices grew closer and clearer.

Now that I am dead, it seems I can still hear many people talking, but their voices are getting farther and farther away, more and more faint.

He felt like he was standing at the starting point, about to start all over again.

……

"Who is the darling of the times? There is only one answer! It is me! Duke of the Black Iron Lands—Ulster Riftarmor!"

That was when he was young, carrying a large bow on his back, full of vigor and ambition.

……

"Witches, I have been searching for you for a long time. Your hidden power is terrifying, no weaker than any Black Iron Duke. You can help the Conqueror and become his court witches, and you can help me too. My Dragon Keep can accept you. Come and help me! ... What do you mean my time has not yet come?"

“Ulster, since you want to ask, then I will give you its vision. Sooner or later, you will be able to see those things. You have eyes that can split armor, and you can see things that ordinary people cannot.”

Standing before the magic mirror, all his ambitions were revealed, all his desires were seen through, as if he were naked.

……

“The Cracked Armor family is supposed to maintain the order of the conquerors… What should I do? This era no longer has the soil for pioneering. A child from the Raging Tide family is coming to visit. Duke Tuwen doesn’t like the child? Then let him stay here. I will raise him and treat him as my own son.”

That year, Payne was seven years old. On his first day at Dragon Castle, he was chasing Gale across the grass. The tall and imposing Payne stood in the hall watching that scene.

……

"Witch! Witch! Give me a prophecy, give me a prophecy, when will the new era begin?"

"It will come...it will come sooner or later...a new era is coming towards you, it is approaching you."

"When will I be able to welcome it... no! It should be that it welcomes me!"

"Years, decades, more than ten years, several decades... You will see it, and it will see you. All you need to do is wait. When that time comes, you will naturally recall these words..."

That was him conspiring with the witch.

……

“I have sent Aaron to find that route, the route the conquerors took when they left.”

"You shouldn't do that! You'll disturb the demon in the fog!"

That was his test.

……

"Aaron is dead. I saw the broken shield; it drifted by."

"A high-ranking guardian knight comparable to the first duke, capable of defeating dragons, has met such an end. Ulster, I hope you can still stay true to yourself."

That was his regret.

……

"The conqueror brought back three artifacts from the land of the fallen gods and entrusted them to his followers for safekeeping. This act determined the future fate of humanity."

"The conqueror named his era, this era, the Iron Age. And in the future, the Iron Age will eventually pass."

"The conqueror assembled a formidable army and built sturdy, towering ships, ready to launch an expedition. He set out declaring that he would fight to the ends of the earth, conquer all, and when he returned, he would save his people, shatter all shackles, and deliver humanity from the mire of suffering, allowing them to advance without hindrance—but those grand visions and bold pronouncements ultimately vanished in the winds of the Dark Sea..."

His memories of wasted time began to become disordered, and those events faded in the decades that followed.

……

"Ulster! Ulster! Open your eyes! Your time has come! Embrace your time! The witches need you! The grand ambitions you've longed for are right before you!"

He heard those words coming from the void.

"My time has come... the time I've waited my whole life... no, I didn't wait, I gave up halfway... because that period of time was too long..."

……

Ulster really opened his eyes.

Those eyes reflected everything like a magic mirror.

He saw the pirates holding a grand feast, with tens of thousands of pirates surrounding a chosen pirate king who was leading the charge with his battle axe held high. The ocean was surging, and warships were flying in a dense, rapid stream, rushing madly toward the land.

The view shifts, revealing a vast northern land where rivers are frozen and forests are blanketed in snow. The King of Winter sits alone on a high platform, situated in the eye of a blizzard, where the raging forces seem poised to tear him apart.

Looking further north, in a terrifying ice field, at the end of the world, there is no sign of life, only cold and desolation, filled with deathly silence. An ice wall stands, behind which non-human creatures hide and multiply, waiting for the wind and snow to spread.

Looking eastward, the Great Khan of the Barbarian Kingdom roars across the plateau. There is only one king, and tens of thousands of horses gallop across the grassland. The riders are skilled horsemen, move freely, and are brutal and bloodthirsty, burning, killing, and looting.

Looking further south, deep shadows lurk among the mountains and valleys, giving rise to monsters that await an earthquake and the eruption of molten lava to return them to the earth.

In the southeastern fjord, the remnants of an ancient empire reside. Astrologers intently observe the trajectories of the stars in the sky, calculating the correct positions and times. They believe that when the stars align, the gods will unleash their divine power, and the earth will undergo dramatic changes.

The castle, perched atop the tail of the Dust Serpent, stands proudly, facing the towering waves. A colossal creature from the depths of the ocean awakens from its slumber, its body resembling a mountain range beneath the sea.

In the overseas lands, dragons soar through the skies, their numbers few; dwarves languish, clinging to life, defending their fortresses; the mythical ancestral tree is afflicted, forcing elves to leave their homeland and drift across the ocean.

Further in those directions, there are vast ruins, magnificent buildings destroyed, and traces of human activity eroded by nature.

The Oak Duke guards the mountains and seas, where the dark, underworld-like ocean surges and stirs up billions of roaring spirits.

On the other side of the sea, dark clouds loomed, lightning flashed, and the vast expanse stretched beyond sight, concealing immense terror.

The whole world was laid bare before him; it was all so grand and vast.

Suddenly remembering something, I turned my head to look.

Look at an inconspicuous place in the earth.

In that remote and wild river valley, a young man swung his hoe, bent down and sowed seeds, and tender green wheat seedlings instantly sprouted from the soil beside him.

That vast field holds boundless vitality.

The wheat seedlings grew vigorously and rapidly, quickly developing leaves, jointing, heading, flowering, grain filling, and ripening...

In the blink of an eye, everything changed the moment he stood up.

The vast expanse of golden wheat fields has already taken shape.

It gleamed in the sunlight, and the wind rustled through the wheat fields.

He wore a laurel wreath, had a beautiful and strong physique, a calm expression, and moved with composure and elegance.

He stood quietly, gazing at the countless ears of wheat. Though dressed as a farmer, he possessed a noble and majestic air.

Bathed in sunlight and the wheat field, he was surrounded by faint halos, like divine rings hanging around him, seemingly illuminating the entire world.

……

Those vast vistas, seemingly boundless, eventually came to a standstill.

Click!

The world in Ulster's eyes shattered like a mirror.

He had some realization.

A new era is constantly approaching him.

The way to usher in that era was the end of his life.

(End of this chapter)