875 Zions: Unintended Consequence
It was a courtroom built from precious purple stones polished to the point they acted like mirrors.
The ceiling was painted with the almost legendary tale of the previous war. The Zion Ancestors had fought alongside Abyssals in the Centuria Sector and made great contributions.
Dozens of finely carved pillars supported the courtroom.
A huge red rug made of precious skin from a Celestial ranking beast was laid out from the door until the steps leading to the throne.
On either side of the rug were grand chairs with different standings for the officials.
At the top of the shining stairs was a huge throne made of a glass-like substance. It was filled with a strand of blue energy. But the energy strand was so strong that it caused the huge throne to look blue.
This blue throne was a testament to the great prowess of the Zions. The strand of energy was capable of destroying anyone as strong as the Zion Emperor himself in a single strike!
If this single strand was shot at the Abyss Empire, the whole Abyss Empire—the Emperor, the Sovereigns, the provinces, tens of billions of Abyssals—would perish.
The same if this energy strand was shot at the Solar System. It'd take only a few seconds and everything would vanish.
Despite being seated on such a powerful throne, Zion Emperor was insanely paranoid.
"What are they hiding? Did they find a prince as their backer?" The five-foot tall, slender, purple-skinned Zion Emperor asked as he shifted in his throne.
"We are unable to verify, your majesty." A four-foot-tall beautiful female Zion stood up and replied. "But it's unlikely any prince will support them."
"Why not? Even Seventh P-Prince has opposition, doesn't he?" The Zion Emperor gnashed his teeth.
It was such a rudimentary question from an Emperor that the entire courtroom fell silent. The officials looked at each other with complex gazes.
This bastard was never meant to be their Emperor. His elder brother was the choice of both the previous Zion Emperor and the people.
But this bastard managed to pimp away his wife to the Seventh Prince and got his favor.
Facing the Seventh Prince of the Jai Empire, what can the Zion Emperor say? He shut the fuck up and gave the throne to his younger son.
But the Zions did advance by leaps and bounds thanks to the Seventh Prince's grace. Of course, it wasn't really Seventh Prince remembering them and 'helping' them.
He casually threw some alms and they managed to grow so much thanks to those insignificant alms.
So, despite the great dissatisfaction among the Zions against the Emperor, they more or less accepted him.
But the wise ones had a feeling that perhaps the Zions would soon face a catastrophe and this Emperor would lead them straight into the depths of despair.
The Seventh Prince didn't really care about them nor did he ever talk to them. So, if a crisis does happen, then they're on their own. The only other possibility was for their Holy Matriarch to gain the favor of the prince and let him save them.
"Hey! Why is everyone silent?! What if the Abyssals got the backing of another Prince? We'll be in trouble! I might be assassinated!" Zion Emperor yelled.
"…Your Majesty, while your worries are very much reasonable, the Abyssals are too weak for any Prince to even look at. They don't have anything to offer. Materials, treasures, knowledge, they have nothing that can attract a Prince." An Official said in a dry tone.
Zion Emperor blinked twice and said in a confused tone. "Huh? Isn't his wife beautiful? He can always give h—"
"Your Majesty, the Abyss Emperor isn't such a man." A female Zion stood up and said with a hint of contempt.
Were they all grateful for how much they'd grown thanks to the seventh prince? Of course, they were. From being on par with the Abyssals at their peak to growing a step beyond. This was a dream come true. But would they respect this man as a man? Of course not.
Suddenly, a messenger rushed into the room and bowed. "Your Majesty, according to the latest intelligence, the corpses of the Blood Heirs we found in the battlefield were fake. They never appeared in the first place!"
An uncomfortable silence settled in the courtroom as the highest ministers and officials looked at each other.
A few months ago, the Blood Heir group slaughtered a city-state. Sure, it had only one level 9. But it had hundreds of level 8s.
The group's deeds were so famous that the Zions had to intentionally suppress their fame lest Abyssals gain any allies. Especially the Veyan Kingdom that ruled above them all.
If they got the news, they might recruit the Blood Heirs into a war against the Alliance.
So, hearing that the Blood Heir group's corpses were fake, the Zions got into thinking.
"They're either waiting in other provinces to block us or they're teleported to somewhere else. That'd also explain why the Abyssals have an interstellar teleportation formation in their capital." A Defense Staff commented.
"Somewhere else? It should be their second stronghold. Damn Abyssals. They fooled everyone and are building up their power somewhere else." Zion Emperor cursed and waved at the Zion Envoy.
The Envoy bowed, waiting for the order.
"What's the deadline for the Abyss conquest?"
"Two years."
"Too late. Make it one. If they do it faster, there will be more rewards." Zion Emperor said. "And provide them appropriate support."
"B-But sir, we already used the strand of death energy. It's already too much!" The Finance Minister nearly cried.
It was a strategic item and what did they waste it on? Abyssals!
If the owner of the Death Energy strand knew how his power was used, he'd perhaps turn them all into Undead.
It was an utter waste of resources!
"I don't care! Abyssals must be exterminated. Haedon…gives me a bad feeling." Zion Emperor said.
No one agreed with his words.
But they didn't know that if Varian didn't exist and Zion Emperor didn't urge them to act against the Abyssals, Zions would've been extinct in the near future.
Even now, if they didn't push the Abyssals and gave them breathing space, Abyss Emperor had plans to save a portion of his race and develop them to a point where they could destroy the Zions after getting the legacy.
Due to the sudden war and urgency shown by the Fairies, his plans couldn't be implemented.
Ironically, the irrational Emperor as they called him, was saving them from an assured extinction.
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A/N: End of Volume. I'm not sure how this volume went, honestly. I welcome your feedback. There are two volumes left in this Saga. Thanks for reading :D
