“It's truly astonishing,” Mo Tan exclaimed from the bottom of his heart, “Their rise was no accident…”,Despite Feimigeer's lack of fondness for the Sun Dynasty, Mo Tan was still moved by those who had poured everything into surviving. Every life possesses a strong instinct for survival, but to carve out a place from nothing in the Northwest Continent back then, and to establish a firm foothold under the watchful eyes of countless powerful enemies, could no longer be described by the mere word 'luck'.
On that land where the cost of 'living' was far higher than 'dying', the founders of the Sun Dynasty created a miracle.
“Of course, it wasn't an accident.” The azure Giant Dragon shook his wings, remarking to Mo Tan, who was nearly blown away, “Despite completely different identities, backgrounds, races, knowledge, and abilities, they all seemed to possess the same tenacious will, and a resilience that even Giant Dragons couldn't match…”.
After expelling the envoys of their former homeland, the newly independent pioneers showed no slackness and were unwilling to settle for the seemingly promising status quo. They seemed to have long lost their sense of security. To ensure they could sleep soundly every night, these crazy individuals weren't even willing to stop and catch their breath…
They incited wars and amassed great wealth.
They befriended distant powers and attacked nearby ones, annexing populations.
They cultivated military strength and formed armies.
They planted spies and anticipated their enemies' moves.
They did everything others did, and they also did things others hadn't even thought of.
Abel Lincoln, the fourth chief executive of the Sun Dynasty, a man with extensive agricultural knowledge, announced the abolition of the slave system, which had been in place for countless years, on his first day in office, promising that the word 'slave' would never exist again, at least on the land of Ondhill.
This Elf, who had once been a slave for seven hundred years in a family and was left permanently disabled after a failed escape attempt, shed tears of joy on the day of his election. His roar from the high platform back then was later carved into every brick, every building, and every statue of a chief executive in Ondhill City.
“Look up at me! Look at this Old Man who is about to enter the earth, a slave with the brand of shame on his face! If any of you think you can do better than me, step forward! If not, then let the absurd words 'slave', which have been passed down for countless centuries, go to hell! All of you, stand up!!!”
In front of all the solemnly standing citizens, Abel, who had just been elected chief executive, knelt on both knees, his eyes red, and roared, pointing at himself: “I! Will be the last person to kneel on this land!”
This was Abel's first and last speech. He fulfilled his lifelong wish, and after uttering that roar, which would even change the entire continent in the future, he stopped breathing…
Abel, who served as chief executive for only five minutes, was called 'Slave King' and 'Saint King' by the people of the Sun Dynasty. He was the shortest-serving, most contributing, and most courageous leader in the dynasty's history.
“That's how they rose,” Feimigeer said with a bitter smile, “In later wars, the slave armies surrendered in droves. Many would rather risk their lives to escape and die on the land of Ondhill. I have to admit, Abel was a great man.”
Mo Tan nodded in agreement. The Old Man who changed the course of history with a single roar seemed to be giving a passionate speech right before his eyes, roaring with his hair and beard bristling. Abel Lincoln was destined to become a great monument, even Death, who was about to embrace him, trembled before this man finished his last word…
“This world is absolutely unfair. No one can decide their birth, talent, or health—these innate things,” Mo Tan sighed softly, “But this world is also relatively fair, because effort will always be rewarded, even if the two are completely disproportionate. To reverse the absolute injustice of countless future generations by one's own power, that is more than just 'greatness'…”.
【You have unlocked Character Codex: 'Slave King - Abel Lincoln', Civilization Attribute: Knowledge +1】
The system's prompt sounded at the opportune moment…
“I admire you.” Feimigeer suddenly grinned, “Someone as smart as you must have already guessed that the Dragon Kingdom of yesteryear, now Giant Dragon's End, is inextricably linked to the Sun Dynasty, yet you haven't changed your stance just because you're talking to a Dragon.”
Mo Tan, however, shook his head and smiled, “I can tell you wouldn't mind, Feimi, otherwise you wouldn't have helped me with such an objective history lesson. Hatred cannot be a basis for denying greatness; prejudice is meaningless in the eyes of a clear-headed person.”
At the same time, he tried to ignore the large vegetable leaf in the grinning Dragon's mouth…
“You are the clear-headed one.” Feimigeer sighed, “You know, it took me hundreds of years to be able to look at hatred objectively.”
Mo Tan shook his head, saying with some helplessness, “I think I'm more like a lunatic…”
“Then you must be an excellent lunatic~” Feimigeer only took his new friend's words as a joke and continued, “In just a few hundred years, the Sun Kingdom of Ondhill had become the strongest power in the Northwest Continent. However, the inherent unease and the subtly growing arrogance gradually consumed them. Slowly, the Sun Kingdom became unable to tolerate any existence that could threaten them, even if the other party was completely peace-loving…”
Great power and successive successes were enough to intoxicate anyone, even a nation, and could transform even the most resilient person into a fanatic.
Mo Tan, who had anticipated this, lowered his gaze and softly asked, “The Dragon Kingdom?”
“Too many.” Feimigeer shrugged his wings, “The Dragon Kingdom was just one of them. They only declared war on us at the very end. Before that, almost two-thirds of the entire Northwest Continent had already been annexed and assimilated.”
Mo Tan couldn't help but click his tongue in wonder, “How strong were they, exactly?”
“Victory Knights, invincible; fire weapons roaring, no one can stand; Saint Relic Thousand Incantation Mage Group, swallowing heaven and earth; soul-forgers fearless, light and shadow strike.” Feimigeer said in a deep, rhyming tone in the common tongue, “This was a popular little poem in the Sun Kingdom at the time: Victory Glory Knights, Firearm Demolition Engineer Corps, Saint Relic Thousand Incantation Mage Group, Soul-Forging Kingdom Guard. Almost no one was their match.”
“And then?” Mo Tan looked around at the ruined city, which stretched beyond his sight, and guessed, “Did the Dragon Kingdom and they perish together in the end…”.
“Perish together?” Feimigeer sighed bitterly, “No, they didn't. Arrogant Dragons never truly regarded other races, and their internal opinions were never unified. The result was that we, who were listed as the second to last target, were almost immediately dealt a heavy blow by the Sun Kingdom. In just two days, after sacrificing one-tenth of our kin, we disintegrated and fled in all directions. Meanwhile, the Dragon King, who was seen as inactive by all Dragons at the time, led the Golden Dragon clan in a desperate fight, buying time for other Dragon clans… Thirteen days. Seventy percent of the Dragons escaped the Kingdom, while the entire Golden Dragon clan fought to the death, with no survivors.”
A strange sadness welled up from the bottom of Mo Tan's heart, but it didn't affect his emotions in the slightest. It was the memory within this race's bloodline.
【Can this game… achieve such a level?】
Feeling that hint of unreal emotion in his heart, Mo Tan found it hard to believe. At least in his understanding, this kind of 'simulation' that wasn't based on the five senses had already exceeded the scope of a game.
Forcing himself to calm down, he asked Feimigeer, “Then how did the Sun Dynasty… No, where was the Sun Dynasty's last target?”
He remembered that the other party had said the Dragon Kingdom was the 'second to last target', and the Sun Dynasty had completely defeated it in less than half a month. So, the existence that could completely destroy the latter could only be…
“Tian Zhu Mountain.” Feimigeer said in a deep voice, “Whether then or now, it can be said to be one of the most mysterious forces on the entire continent, and it is also my current dwelling place, Tian Zhu Mountain.”
Tian Zhu Mountain…
The place that gave Mr. Cordova his unconventional race.
The existence that once saved the Forest Sprite race countless years ago.
The only force unaffected by neutral organizations' blacklists.
Mo Tan instantly recalled a lot of information about it. In a conventional storyline, this would either be the most solid backing or the biggest BOSS, but would this book really unfold that way?
Scratch that last sentence…
“Is it convenient to talk about?” Mo Tan was genuinely curious.
“I'll say it's convenient to talk about~” Feimigeer nodded slightly, “You have Dragon blood, so you should at least know how our enemies perished…”.
The Sun Dynasty had shattered the Dragon Kingdom, which brought their confidence and arrogance to a tipping point. Thus, the last mysterious, peace-loving power remaining in the Northwest naturally became their target.
Unify the Northwest Continent, establish the strongest dynasty in history, and flatten Tian Zhu Mountain!
From the Grand Chief Executive of the Sun Dynasty down to every commoner, this was their thought…
They thought everything would go smoothly.
Even Dragons couldn't stop them, let alone a mysterious force that hardly meddled in worldly affairs and wasn't even that large in scope.
Then, on the very day the Victory Glory Knights, serving as the vanguard, set out…
Disaster struck.
The process was incredibly simple…
Something like a meteor fell from the sky, directly crashing into what was once the Ondhill Wilderness, which was then the largest unyielding city on the continent, Ondhill.
And then…
It was gone.
“Gone?” Mo Tan was dumbfounded.
“Gone.” Feimigeer nodded calmly, “The rest is this, what you see, the ruined city of Ondhill.”
This meteor evasion is a bit too smooth, isn't it?!
Did it just end the Sun Dynasty completely?!
No epic battles, no feigning weakness, no baring fangs, no pride leading to defeat…
Just a meteor falling down, with a clang, and Ondhill was gone?
Did the programmers run out of inspiration or something!?
Although he wasn't the designated Roast , Mo Tan still felt a bit choked up at this moment…
“Did everyone in the Sun Dynasty just evaporate?” Mo Tan asked with a twitching mouth, “Just smashed out of existence?”
“No, the thing that crashed evaporated.” Feimigeer shook his head, “It's impossible for a vast Sun Dynasty to have no survivors, but Ondhill, as the core of everything, was instantly destroyed. All high-ranking officials, including the chief executive, died, and the forces that had been forcibly annexed earlier took the opportunity to rebel. In short, that once-grand empire became history in a very short time.”
【You have unlocked Story Codex: 'The Fall of the Sun Dynasty', Civilization Attribute: Knowledge +1】
Feimigeer rolled over, lying horizontally like a reclining Buddha, and laughed, “I spend most of my time on Tian Zhu Mountain. It's been too long since I met a Dragon descendant I could talk to properly. It's rare to open up like this. If you have time, go to Dragon Soul Town to pay your respects, after all, that's where countless of our kin fell. Of course, Giant Dragon's End is a bit too dangerous for you right now, so it's better not to go.”
【You have triggered a side quest chain: 1. Go to Dragon Soul Town. Quest Reward: 1200 optional experience points】
Mo Tan was stunned for a moment, then nodded to Feimigeer, “I will go.”
“Hmm~ Mr. Cordova and I will be returning to Tian Zhu Mountain tomorrow.” Feimigeer scratched his belly, “It's getting late, you should rest early.”
Mo Tan had just nodded, preparing to log off, when he suddenly remembered something…
“By the way, Feimi, have you seen my two friends come this way recently?” Mo Tan felt that Ya Ya and Jia Deka should be arriving soon, so he immediately asked Feimigeer.
The Giant Dragon blinked, “Speaking of which, when I was napping yesterday, it seems two people did come over. Do you see those dark-skinned Orcs over there?”
Mo Tan had noticed the dark-skinned Orcs in the distance earlier and asked curiously, “I saw them, are they…?”
“It seems they were blown up while chatting with one of them.” Feimigeer mused, “The commotion was really loud then, I almost woke up.”
You sleep really soundly!!!
“Heh… heh heh…” Mo Tan gave a dry laugh, “Then those must be the two. I wonder about those few…”
“Medium rare. The Great Priest has already treated them.” Feimigeer chuckled, “It's nothing serious. They're sleeping outside just to avoid being mistaken for roasted meat and gnawed on by their companions in their sleep…”
Mo Tan felt completely helpless and asked, “Where are those two now?”
“The second tent from the outside.” Feimigeer raised his neck, “Mr. Cordova and that red-haired Orc kid are in there too.”
In there too?
So they haven't logged off yet?
“I'll go take a look.” Mo Tan immediately said, and after bidding farewell to Feimigeer, who was planning to catch up on some sleep, he hurried over.
He should have sent those two a message when he logged on. Cui Xiaoyu and Huo Yan Yang never got along well, and he didn't know how they were doing now. And if they hadn't been blown up by Jia Deka or bitten by Ya Ya, he could at least warn them quickly.
But when he listened closely, there was a burst of laughter inside.
“Brother Cui… Brother Ke, I'll follow you from now on!”
“Mr. Cordova is truly a great support!”
“Woof!”
Pulling open the tent, Mo Tan immediately saw the four smiling people inside…
And a large pile of equipment, items, and potions on the ground.
“What are you guys… did you go on a group robbery?”
Chapter 68: End