Chapter 365 Those Who Want to Change the World (8400, Large Chapter Seeking Monthly Tickets~)

Twenty-two years ago, the southern part of the Kerbal Empire, on the front lines of the Silent Forest.

Beneath the gloomy sky, crimson flames spread through the dark green forest, illuminating the night front and filling the battlefield with the scent of charcoal and ash.

In the town that had been completely reduced to ashes, countless charred elf corpses were scattered haphazardly among the flames and embers. The incomplete bodies, some clutching their throats, others stretching their heads upward, as if drowning, desperately trying to breathe.

The elf settlement, bombarded with alchemical fuel bombs, was now being cleared by weary human soldiers. In this hostile forest, only scorched earth could be considered safe. Otherwise, aside from the disease-ridden and poisonous insects, even a blade of grass could silently extend sharp tendrils in the dead of night, piercing the ears of sleeping soldiers and scrambling their brains.

The Elf War, year four. The Kerbal Empire's First Royal Legion breached the third line of defense of the Elven Court, extending the flames of war to the Elven Court's directly administered territories.

And in this front-line camp, filled with the stench of corpses, the smell of burning, the scent of men's sweat, and the reek of blood, a young priest cautiously followed behind a general clad in black powered armor, his eyes darting nervously around this land filled with elven curses.

"The prized disciple of High Priest Antar of the Imperial Capital, brought here to gain experience, but his teacher said it's fine if he dies."

The general led the young priest before the deputy commander of the unit. He laughed and pushed the still somewhat timid priest forward, "Some time ago, I remember you saying you needed an accompanying priest? Here's one for you."

The priest raised his head and looked at the commander standing in the camp. His eyes were calm, and he stood as still as a machine, accepting the general's orders.

At that time, the soldier's hair had not yet turned gray, and he was full of the soaring confidence to seize victory and glory.

At that time, the priest's eyes had not yet become cold. Faced with the soldier's knife-like gaze, he would even lower his eyes subconsciously, not daring to look directly.

And this was the first meeting between the bounty hunter Mikhail and the oath-breaking priest Matvey.

Although it was said that it was fine if he died, no one dared to let the prized disciple of the Imperial Capital's High Priest wander the front lines at will. Matvey was given twelve soldiers as his guards, responsible for following behind the vanguard and treating the wounded soldiers.

The flames of war on the front lines ignited every day. To reclaim their homeland, the elves were constantly planning counterattacks. These long-eared people, with lifespans of up to one hundred and eighty years, did not have the low fertility rate of the stories. As long as they had a stable environment, their population growth rate was not inferior to that of humans, and in the forest, they were even more at home. The human side could only advance by burning the forest as they went, otherwise it would be impossible to move an inch.

The Kerbal Empire attacked the Elven Court for the super-large magic crystal ore veins in the Silent Forest. Since the Empire carried out magical industrial reforms, the value of magic ore, which was originally only needed by mages, rose all the way. Apart from the high-reserve ore veins around the Maya Territory in the north, there were no other high-value magic ore deposits in the Empire's territory.

For development, and also for wealth, the lords of the southern part of the Empire persuaded the royal family to launch this war. But no one expected the war to be so tragic. The Imperial army, fully equipped with mechanized equipment, thought it was invincible, and felt that the elven army would be easily defeated like the western barbarians, becoming their cheap labor slaves.

But the war had lasted for four years. The military and wealth invested by the Empire in it were enough to rebuild three imperial capitals. The financial burden caused by a large number of deaths made it difficult for the military to even issue pensions. The Elven Court even sent great druids to the southern towns of the Empire to launch the 'Emerald Disaster'. The frantically growing trees destroyed many cities and killed countless civilians. The poisonous miasma had not yet dissipated.

Riding a tiger is hard to get off, that was the current situation. But fortunately, the Empire's war potential was still stronger than that of the elves. After paying the price of almost the entire destruction of the southern industrial circle and the collective northward relocation of the Empire's industrial production areas, the Silent Forest had now mostly turned into scorched earth. The number of elves who died was three times that of the Empire, completely emptying the population of two generations of elves.

Victory was in sight. The current Elven Court had begun to migrate eastward, and some had even received the support of the dwarves to go deep underground. The current fierce attacks were, on the surface, to reclaim their homeland, but in essence, they were just to delay the Imperial army's pace.

"Priest, we've discovered something ahead..."

A soldier came to report the situation to the young priest, and he, who had already adapted to the battlefield somewhat, at least not nauseated by the sight of corpses, nodded: "Take me to see."

Then, he saw two young elves, shivering and surrounded by soldiers, hiding in a tree hole.

"Two long-eared pups, ha, they don't even look ten years old. Sending them to the back can be considered a considerable war contribution!"

The soldiers laughed vulgarly: "Those big shots above like this kind of taste, it's really fucking weird!"

The priest didn't care about the soldiers' strange looks at him. He was also very clear about the strange tastes of the nobles and high priests in the Imperial Capital, but all of this had nothing to do with him. The young man noticed the fearful gazes of the young elves and felt a sting in his heart.

"By the Ancestor, war is cruel, but it has nothing to do with children."

Bending down, the priest knelt on one knee and took out a water bag. He wanted to feed some water to an elf child with slightly chapped lips, but the other party refused to accept it no matter what.

Elven gender differentiation only appears after the age of fifteen when hormones are secreted. Elves before the age of fifteen are all minors and have no gender. And elves of this age are more expensive in the Empire and easier to tame. This was the result of the Imperial Research Institute's research over the four years of the war.

But the priest never liked this kind of cold statement.

Legend has it that the Ancestral Dragon created the heavens and the earth, and its soul was divided into three, becoming the Three Dragons of Heaven, Earth, and Life. The Heavenly Dragon transformed into clouds, snow, wind, and rosy clouds, thunder and rain, the Earth Dragon transformed into mountains, rivers, seas, and islands, and the Dragon of Life was divided again, becoming thousands of races on the earth.

Everyone was a child of the Dragon of Life, a descendant of the Ancestor. All races were brothers, and elves were no exception.

In the end, the young priest successfully appeased the two elf children. It happened that the front line didn't start fighting at this time. They were stationed in the camp, preparing to wait for the follow-up troops to catch up, and by the way, hand over the two good things they had caught to the logistics.

But the priest didn't intend to do this. He wanted to pay out of his own pocket to buy these two elf children—he couldn't control the war, but at least he could save one if he could.

But in the middle of the night, the priest, who had not been asleep for long, heard an ear-piercing scream.

"Enemy attack!"

Hearing the sharp alarm, he quickly picked up his staff. In the battlefield, no one dared to take off their equipment to rest. Even their weapons were placed within easy reach. But before the priest could leave his barracks, several thin figures tore through the tent like ghosts, and sharp knives and arrows pressed against his heart and forehead.

And at this moment, the priest saw that the two elf children, who had been placed by him next to his room, were bleeding from one eye, holding an eyeball-shaped gemstone that emitted a dazzling purple light in their hands, suppressing the camp's alarm signal while also releasing poisonous gas, filling the camp.

And the elite elven assault troops had already rushed into the camp, and death spread rapidly amidst countless flashing shadows.

Dragged out of the camp and disarmed, the priest could see that the two young elf children, who used their own eyes as a disguise for the magic gemstone to infiltrate the camp, had only hatred in their remaining single eyes.

Everyone in this camp was killed, leaving only the priest alone. He was originally going to be executed after interrogation, but the two elf children said a few words in Elvish, causing the leader of the elven troops to spare him.

It had nothing to do with any feelings, just because he was the disciple of a certain big shot, and his value as a prisoner was extremely high.

The priest didn't know anything about what happened next. He was just imprisoned in a small cage in a daze, spending his time in a muddleheaded state until a few days later, when there was another fierce battle of shouting and killing, and he was snatched back by the Empire.

Coming out of the cage, covered in filth, he looked around at the surrounding land... corpses everywhere, all smelling of gunpowder. In the dark green forest, the traces of flesh and blood were so conspicuous and clear.

Everyone was dead, whether it was the commander of the elven assault troops or the two elf children, their incomplete corpses were scattered on the battlefield, and the exhausted Imperial soldiers with bloodshot eyes were still searching the battlefield, finishing off the elves who were still alive.

And until the very end of their deaths, all the elves' eyes were full of deep hatred.

"Ah, ah, ah..."

The priest lowered his head in pain, and he made a hoarse sound... What is kindness, what is cruelty? What is the right thing to do, and why is wrong wrong?

If being kind to the enemy is being cruel to oneself, then why must the two sides, both children of the Ancestral Dragon, fight to this point?

The priest couldn't understand this point at all, or rather, he could understand the conflicts of interest, but he didn't understand why the Ancestor would allow such a world to exist.

Therefore, he could only ask a deep question.

"Ancestor... why is it like this?"

Twenty-two years later, outside of Maya Territory in the north.

After the Imperial southern industrial circle was badly damaged due to the Elf War, the emerging industrial nobles, led by the Maya family, accumulated a great deal of wealth, and even vaguely became the local emperors of the north. There were even rumors that the Maya family was planning to divide the land and establish themselves as kings.

Did all of this have anything to do with the Dragon Ball War that the others were currently engaged in? Of course.

Because all people and things in the world are not isolated islands, they are all connected to each other.

"Lieutenant Colonel Mikhail, long time no see."

Standing in front of the bounty hunter, Matvey, whose burns had not yet healed, stood up straight. His eyes were indifferent and cold, and his words were clean and neat. Facing the familiar person in front of him, his tone carried a faint sense of nostalgia: "I didn't have the opportunity to say hello when we were competing for the Dragon Balls. This should be our first reunion since the end of the Elf War."

"I remember, the soft-hearted fool back then, my twelve brothers died, and you were the only one who survived."

The gray-haired veteran looked at the Second Prince beside him. The young man with golden hair was surprisingly calm. He controlled the giant beast Leviathan to stop attacking the mountain and even nodded slightly to Mikhail.

Suppressing the doubts in his heart, the bounty hunter frowned and looked at Matvey. He said in a deep voice: "After you were disciplined, you returned to the Imperial Capital not long after. After a few years, you defected from the church... When I talked to other people back then, everyone felt strange, thinking that you had excellent talent and were a direct descendant, and that the discipline would not affect your future promotion. Why did you defect?"

"Thinking about it now, you had already joined the royal family at that time and became the dog of the Second Prince's faction."

Back then, the supreme commander of the Elf War in the southern part of the Kerbal Empire, General Kommel, was the younger brother of the Second Prince's mother, Empress Isabel. Mikhail had a clear memory of that man, especially that speech about 'Glorious War', it was almost vomit-inducing.

"If you have to say so, I won't deny it."

Matvey calmly admitted to Mikhail's extremely malicious sarcasm. Hearing this, the bounty hunter was slightly stunned, and then his eyes became even more disgusted.

"Yesterday, it was you and Zhuri fighting, right? I didn't expect that the waste that was as soft as noodles on the battlefield back then would be so desperate now—didn't you not even kill children back then? Now that you've turned around, you're so skilled at killing."

This was satirizing Matvey's reversal of his gun and attacking the hunter boy Fent earlier. Mikhail had been paying attention to Matvey's reaction, wanting to use spicy words to provoke him, and seize the opportunity to leave when the other party's emotions fluctuated.

But he was disappointed to find that the other party did not waver in the slightest.

"Stop talking nonsense, Mikhail, my partner is monitoring your every move in the sky, you can't escape no matter what."

Saying so, Matvey's tone was as hard as a rock: "The reason why we don't kill you immediately is just because we think you are an object that can be fought for."

"You were also a party to the Elf War back then, and I know your wishes very well. I think our goals are quite consistent."

Mikhail's face froze, and then he narrowed his eyes, staring at the two people flying in the sky. He seemed to want to sneer, but in the end, he just snorted coldly.

"That's right, Lieutenant Colonel Mikhail."

And this time, it was the Second Prince, Kommel Kerbal, who spoke. Although his tone still carried a trace of instinctive, supreme authority from the Divine Dragon Royal Family, it was indeed full of sincerity: "The launch of the Elf War back then caused the Empire to suffer a great loss of vitality, and the south turned from prosperity to decline. I witnessed all of this with my own eyes and saw the limitations of this country."

"It is clear that we have absolute material and technological advantages, but the Empire has never been able to defeat the long-eared people in the forest—I used to be confused about this, but later I figured it out."

"The elves fought bloody battles and risked their lives for their own race and land. This spirit of nationalism is a more advanced ideology than our Empire—the vast Empire is not essentially one, but we self-divide into southerners and northern barbarians, western mountain people and eastern bumpkins—they are a unified whole, but we are a divided and contradictory group of people, and not 'glorious Kerbal Empire citizens'."

The Second Prince spoke eloquently, and when he said this, his face became gloomy: "This is why we cannot completely defeat the elves. This country has no cohesion at all, and everyone is fighting on their own—and my purpose is to change all of this and recreate this Empire with the power of the Ancestor!"

"Tch."

To this, Mikhail just wanted to laugh, he even laughed out loud. The man whispered: "The country that can't even afford pensions is still talking about cohesion here... The only reason this country still exists now is because no one has risen up and raised the banner of rebellion."

"Yes."

Matvey was extremely calm and directly echoed. He and Kommel didn't think there was anything wrong with this statement: "That's why we need to change, isn't it?"

"I have changed. I killed the past me, changed my own cowardice and naivety, and next, I should try to change the surroundings and change this world."

"So you go to be the dog of the royal family?" Mikhail remained unmoved.

But Matvey retorted: "What about you? You've been mediocre for so many years, just making money as a bounty hunter? You are loyal and righteous, but in the end, you still bet everything and ran over to make a wish, without making any plans at all, betting on a one-in-ten-thousand chance?"

"Ha, it's as if the royal family will let you change... Wait."

Mikhail originally planned to continue to delay time with words, looking for an opportunity, but suddenly, he noticed something. The bounty hunter turned his head in shock and looked at the smiling Second Prince: "You said you want to make a wish? Isn't this a conspiracy of the royal family? This is a private matter between the two of you..."

"That's right, the royal family doesn't know, I stole the Dragon Balls."

Saying so, Kommel stretched out his hand, and in an instant, the Dragon Ball hidden in Mikhail's arms, engraved with strange book totems, suddenly became illusory and dissipated, and then re-condensed in the hands of the Second Prince. He smiled and said: "The Dragon Ball acknowledged me, that's how I took it out of the treasure house."

"Now the Dragon Ball War has begun. Probably tomorrow, the Night Shadow troops sent by my father to kill me, the traitor, will arrive in the north—but by then, everything will have already ended, and I will present him with this gift."

"Surrender, Mikhail."

To the bounty hunter who had fallen into silence, the Second Prince said magnanimously: "After I become emperor, I will definitely change this Empire and bring a new order to this land—I don't have to hide it from you, if Zhuri hadn't suddenly gone rogue, the Maya family in the north would also be my allies, and there is another Dragon Ball holder whose Dragon Ball I secretly gave her, and she absolutely doesn't mind joining my command."

"Except for you, Vika, who represents the church, and the mountain boy who accidentally got the Dragon Ball, I myself have already obtained four Dragon Balls, and that mountain kid has already died first. As for the Zhuri who went rogue and was seriously injured, he is not worth worrying about. You and Vika are the only remaining threats."

Speaking softly, the Second Prince, who had been treating people with a frivolous appearance for many years, but secretly collected four Dragon Balls, revealed a confident look. He confidently stretched out his hand and invited Mikhail, who remained silent: "Join my command—let us change this Empire and the world together!"

"I swear to the Ancestor—Kommel Kerbal's life will be devoted to making this country better!"

The oath was sonorous and powerful.

In a world where the Ancestor still performs miracles, no one dares to betray an oath made in the name of the Ancestor. This is a vow of God that is destined to be kept.

At this moment, everything fell silent.

The giant Leviathan stared at the gray-haired man standing on the hillside.

And the middle-aged veteran, the strongest bounty hunter, lowered his head in confusion.

—Why did I come here and participate in this war for wishes?

Isn't it just to change this country, to change this world?

Kommel and Matvey, he was very familiar with these two people. Although he could say spicy sarcasm, it was precisely because they had both personally experienced that hell twenty years ago that he understood that the other party's beliefs were by no means false.

Changing this country, although the methods they wanted to use were different, the goal was the same. As long as there was the Ancestor's blessing and wishes, then all the problems could be overcome.

In this instant, Mikhail suddenly recalled the battlefield of the past, where comrades died miserably because of meaningless wars, and he was powerless, only able to pick up the blade and liberate them.

The world should not be like this, his heart roared at that time. As a soldier, he felt that war and death were not unacceptable, but it shouldn't be this kind of war, this kind of death.

Mikhail still remembered Matvey's tearful appearance after being rescued. The young priest at that time asked everyone in a bitter and sad tone, asking, is this painful and mutually tormenting everything the purpose of the Ancestor's creation of all living beings?

The answer in Mikhail's heart at that time was naturally 'no'.

Because he remembered the answer in his heart that day, he felt that the person who would shed such tears might be worth believing.

Above the sky, the silent prince and the always calm priest looked down at each other, waiting for the other party's answer.

"One last question."

After a long ten seconds, Mikhail slowly raised his head, and the exhausted old soldier asked softly: "After you become emperor and change this Empire... can you guarantee that your descendants will be like this too?"

"...I will educate them, but this kind of thing..."

The prince was slightly stunned. He was not even the crown prince yet, how could he think about the question of his descendants after he became emperor and died? So he couldn't help but hesitate, and then slowly shook his head: "At least it will be better than it is now, right? I may be able to rule the country as a monarch by establishing a constitution, but I don't know what the future will be like..."

"...So, you never thought about it. Sure enough, as long as the emperor still exists, this problem is unsolvable."

Slowly raising his head, Mikhail's voice carried a hint of sadness: "Perhaps you can indeed become a wise ruler, but what about the next generation? What about the next generation after generation? Do we still have to repeat this cycle?"

"I don't even know what kind of order I want, but it's definitely not like this, a 'change' that doesn't change the medicine!"

Without any hesitation, the bounty hunter reached into his arms and grabbed the Dragon Ball engraved with 'Jormungandr', his eyes became fierce and firm in an instant.

"Kommel and Matvey, I reject your invitation!"

"Is that so? What a pity."

With a long sigh, without any hesitation, Matvey and the Second Prince, who had prepared for battle earlier than Mikhail, launched an attack at the same time as their divine dragons.

The giant Leviathan let out a roar, but before the roar resounded through the heavens and the earth, the bounty hunter was shocked to find that countless semi-transparent and overlapping 'human figures' appeared around him, firmly imprisoning every part of his body.

"What, what is this power? Leviathan? But how could Leviathan—"

"This is Leviathan, but it is also not Leviathan."

Kommel had no intention of explaining Mikhail's doubts, he just drew his pistol from his waist and aimed it at Mikhail, who was pressed down by layers of human figures.

—Leviathan, the sea monster, derived from the legend of the ancient Sumerian goddess 'Tiamat', the huge serpent monster born in the land of Hebrew, whose initial image was a coiled serpent symbolizing the vortex in the sea.

However, Leviathan's form is changeable. As the prototype symbolizing the 'sea monster', its derivatives are sometimes a seven-headed serpent, sometimes a mountain giant beast like a whale, and sometimes a coiled serpent wrapped around the sea, spitting out flames with scaly armored crocodiles.

It is jealousy, it is distortion, it is a vortex.

Naturally, it can also be 'human', it can be 'country', it can be 'a giant beast composed of humans'.

Just like countless myths and legends, using the name 'Leviathan' to give meaning to the giant beast with countless images.

Hundreds of years ago, a scholar used this name again in his book and used it to compare 'country'.

《Leviathan, or the Matter, Forme, & Power of a Common-Wealth Ecclesiastical and Civil》

Also translated as, 《De Cive》

The power of human beings, if dispersed, is so fragile. Human groups without cohesion are as fragile as biscuits. Therefore, human beings have always united and gathered, just like the fish in the sea gather into huge schools of fish, protecting themselves.

However, when the school of fish becomes a whole, then some fish must be protected and some must be sacrificed, just like a hero can raise a sword to protect the masses and grow dragon scales to oppress the masses.

But even so, human beings are still so tirelessly creating such giant beasts, creating 'Leviathan' composed of human beings. It initially represented families, represented tribes, represented city-states, and in the end, they created their ultimate creation—a giant beast that can give everyone a sense of belonging and cohesion.

'Country'.

Kerbal Empire, Second Prince Kommel Kerbal, the Dragon Ball he summoned was not 'Sea Monster Leviathan'. He chose to abandon all the innate divine power of Leviathan in myths and legends, whether it was the great power enough to stir up the sea or the demon symbolizing jealousy, he abandoned them all, and then equated it with the country of 'Kerbal Empire'. That's how he summoned this 'Dragon of Humanity' that only the royal bloodline can summon.

At this moment, the incomparably huge Leviathan showed its true appearance—that was a giant 'school of fish' composed of countless semi-transparent human figures, semi-transparent souls. All the heroic spirits from the Kerbal Empire, this country that occupies most of the world, had a part of their power invested in this beast. Its power was not to mention Mikhail, a mere human being, even Jormungandr was firmly suppressed in the spirit world and could not move.

Kommel's magic gun had already begun to charge, and the holy light summoned by Matvey had also begun to bloom with brilliance.

Death was approaching, and time seemed to slow down countless times.

Until this moment, Mikhail finally understood that he really had no chance of winning at all, and his path would end at this time.

There are still many, many things that I haven't done... I can't die. If I die, who will support the old people whose sons died in the war? Who will support the wives and mothers who have lost their husbands and sons? Who will take care of the children whose fathers have died and cannot receive education?

This world may eventually be changed by someone, but those people who only I will care about, they... what will happen to them?

Although there were countless unwillingness in his heart, something suddenly felt unlocked in the depths of Mikhail's heart.

...Yes.

At least, the war is over.

Facing death, the veteran sighed and then showed a relieved smile.

—Finally, I can face what has been tormenting me.

The shadow of a war without glory covered the earth, countless comrades died tragically in a strange foreign land, facing one bereaved family after another alone, enduring grief, facing this world alone, unable to start, unable to change, until his hair turned gray, wrinkles appeared, and the world still hadn't changed in the slightest.

Those years of walking in blood became Mikhail's nightmare. The war that took place in the elven forest twenty years ago may have long ended, but the war in his heart had not stopped, and it lingered in his soul at all times.

Dreaming of wishes, pouring everything into 'collecting Dragon Balls', wishing to the Ancestor for this small hope, was his last redemption.

This is probably the mercy left by the Ancestor. The wishes of the Dragon Balls allow all desperate lives to have hope to pursue.

Then, try to change the world.

—Come on, death, I'm ready.

Bursting out all the magic power in his body, in the last instant, Mikhail finally broke free from Leviathan's shackles and pressed his magic power on the Dragon Ball, unsealing the terrifying destructive desire in his heart that he had been restricting at all times, that was intended to destroy the entire old world.

His wish is to create a new order?

If that were really the case, then he would probably have agreed to the Second Prince and Matvey's invitation earlier.

However, Mikhail's true wish in his heart was to destroy the entire old world!

Then, new things will naturally be reborn from the flames that burn everything to ashes, just like after the Ragnarok brought by Jormungandr and other beasts in the past, there will still be a new dawn.

That's why he was able to summon that most ferocious and evil serpent of destruction that brought about Ragnarok!

"Jormungandr—eat heartily!"

Laughing loudly, Kommel's magic gun bullet pierced Mikhail's heart, and Matvey's holy light hammer also shattered his head.

However, before the corpse fell, the final order had been issued.

"Then, pass everything of mine on to Zhuri and Vika—tell them the truth!"

Thus, in the next instant.

The black giant serpent, with a roar that shook the mountains, rushed out from under the man's feet, its head reaching into the clouds in the sky.

The world-devouring serpent swallowed its summoner and the Dragon Ball. The huge object that appeared out of thin air between heaven and earth faced the Leviathan that was waiting in full battle array in front of it, and the pale yellow Heavenly Dragon hidden in the clouds, and let out a roar that shook the clouds in the sky.

And in the distance, next to the town of Maya Main City.

The white-haired little girl, holding a human head and hiding in an unmanned shed, looked into the distance.

What was turning in her crimson eyes was an increasingly active 'curiosity'.

"What's wrong, Aura? Let me see."

Suddenly, there was spiritual power that shook the atmosphere, and a young man's voice with the same curiosity was emitted.

Hearing these words, the girl nodded obediently and then raised the human head in her hand and looked at the place where the battle broke out again.

In fact, if Su Zhou hadn't come, Mikhail would have been the protagonist...

Large chapter, asking for monthly tickets~