Chapter 174: Twentieth Episode: Chapter 2 (1/2)

Chapter 174: Twentieth Episode: Chapter 2

Translator: EndlessFantasy TranslationEditor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The torch! This was an ancient means of communication. Tracing back to the histories of the torch in the Westland, people were led into mythical times when humans and God lived with each other. During those times, Westland was not really a legitimate country, and there were only cities and free towns. The torch was the primary method to transmit information regarding the enemies between the allied cities, and it was passed down only because of its efficiency.

Dulin's Tower of Heroes was a massive beacon tower. As the boundaries of the sky and the mist became more apparent under the illumination of noon sunlight, the giant beacon tower rose toward the sky, appearing like the incarnation of Titan's fury.

The surrounding mountains and fortresses had begun to respond to the battle alert by the capital immediately, the major military camps of the capital's home base had all signalled the soldiers to be on standby; in the few towns near Dulin, the local servicemen had also commenced their respective preparations, and each of the Equipment Officers had opened up the basement, locked for years by following the empire's Emergency Act strictly to prepare the official armors for the soldier reserves.

Within an hour, Titan's Military District One to the East of the capital's home base had started to assign their men for war. As the primary forces of Dulin's East, the Imperial Army's Military District One had five corps, of which forty-five thousand soldiers were scattered all around the plains near Fort Hanodt; almost instantly, Titan's Military District Two right next to the capital's East side had released orders to prepare for battle, resulting in the civilians being evacuated by ships from the military harbour on the shores of Shawob River. In addition, the fortresses and castles on the two sides of the river had also shut the thick gates closed.

This was followed by the Four Provinces of the Middle East, Five Provinces of the South, Three Provinces of the West, Four Provinces of the North, and Two Provinces of the East. The torch burnt in the nineteen military districts of the imperial armies. The torch had spread from the inner lands out to the borders in each direction, and had finally reached Andrew in the morning of the eleventh day of the third month. At this moment, His Imperial Prince O'Neil Andrew Morisette had missed the chance to witness the grand mobilization of troops, as he and his direct subordinates had already stepped foot into the Persian territories.

On the East shore of Kezlermark River, the Great Plains of Anatolia welcomed its new ruler with its vast lands. This land had experienced numerous wars since the establishment of countries by the society. From the Battle of Magnosia, where the Romans had invaded Anatolia back six centuries before the Church's year, all the way to the Eastern advancement of the Titan's Narcissus Knights in the late Church's seventh century, the history of Anatolia could be summarised with words such as invasion, resistance, internal conflict and crime.

Six centuries before Church's year, when the Ancient Roman Empire had still been cleansing the shoreline countries near Disin Sea, many small kingdoms on the Great Plains of Anatolia had already completed their transition from the production systems of the slavery era to the possession of home-grown resources. Other than that, gold and various luxuries were also selling well among the royalties and rulers. However, the peaceful wealth of this land had been the very cause of the many disasters to come.

The Roman warriors were the world's very first batch of pagans and were a bunch of Republicans. Their advancement had broken the conventions of the local religions, and had been established as one of the advanced Roman civilizations of the ancient times. Of course, these were the Romans five centuries before Church's years. They had traveled by foot on ground or traversed across the seas by narrow boats, and had even invaded the residential areas of Anatolia – Belgam, of which they had launched a deadly war without even greeting the locals beforehand.

The war between the Romans and the Anatolia Kingdom had carried on for three centuries. The expansion of the borders of the Ancient Roman Empire two thousand kilometers further toward the East had only been legitimate on paper as the Anatolians' opposition against Roman slavery and the fights toward independence had never stopped. What was more interesting was that the crackdown on the Anatolians had resulted in a wave of fame for the Roman soldiers. Almost every Roman soldier who had their names in the hall of fame had all did battle in Anatolia, just like Sura, who had annihilated Bendose Kingdom, Pang, who had slaughtered eighty thousand prisoners of the war, and Julius Caesar, who had conquered the entirety of Anatolia.

From the sixth century before the Church's year to the Church's year 133, it was the Roman era in Anatolia's history, and the aborigines of the great plains had gradually forgotten their respective dialects. They spoke with Romans' Black Sea dialect, and used The God of Light's religious letters, which symbolized slavery, as their official language. The religion worshipping The God of Light had overcome numerous obstacles in developing into a theological system with written texts and strong concentricity, which was by far the greatest contribution and symbol of this era.

A hundred years before the Church's year, many Roman cities had already established themselves as groups faithful to The God of Light. Among these cities, the faith of The God of Light had been the most developed in Anatolia, especially in the areas near the birthplace of The God of Light. At that time, Rome had already transformed into a military empire under the lead of Julie Caesar. More precisely, it had been a failing military empire.

The higher royalties and the high-ranking military officers were concerned that their traditional statuses would be overthrown by abuse of a fully developed religious system. Therefore, under the orders of King Turatch of the Holy Empire of Rome, operations to persecute the followers of The God of Light had commenced in all the lands, and had been sustained for two hundred years, until the faithless brute Northern Yaran people invaded Rome from the Westland. As a result, the grand Roman cities and their Roman cultures had all been demolished.

The never-ending passion toward religions, the dazzling colors of arts, the constant conspiracies of the palace affairs and the insane invasion of the brute clans; all of these occurrences had forced the Roman ruler to accept The God of Light and its followers. At this time, the most critical issue of the entire Roman Empire had been the power struggles between the pagans and the faith of The God of Light. Other than that, constant military losses had caused the Romans to lose many of their colonies. Although the mighty empire eventually stabilized their defensive fronts against the barbaric Yaran people, the involvement of the Roman emperor and the central government had been totally excluded from the local government systems of the North, West, and even the shoreline areas of the Disin Sea which were not even the territories of Rome.

71 years before the Church calendar had come to existence, the worshippers of The God of Light had seized the opportunity to unify most of the Roman cities in the name of their faith, and had launched a war against the Persian pagans.

Differences between religions and races had fuelled the battle to a greater degree! Even if Church's first century was still been ruled by the Roman militaries of the faith of The God of Light, things never stayed the same for long. The faraway Ottoman people who had immigrated from the East had accepted the beliefs and religion of the True God, and had replaced the former ruler to establish a more formidable and militarized religious empire.

After a half-century-long war, the Great Plains of Anatolia had eventually changed hands. On the other hand, the great lands built by the Romans had also broken down in the hands of the selfish conspirators and local royalty. In the West of this ancient empire, the Gaul people had established the first Faran; the Titan people in the central lands had built a brand new powerful military empire on the abandoned lands which had been destroyed by the Yaran people; in the East, the descendants of the Roman Dynasty had gathered most of the young and aged, and had established a unified East Roman Empire. In order to distinguish the opposing directions of the East and West Roman Empire respectively, the heirs of Ancient Rome came to be addressed as the Byzantines.

With this, power had transitioned to the hands of the Ottoman Persians, who had just been united. Soon after the plans of the empire had been finalized and the delegation of tasks had been completed, Emperor Khalifa Ottoman had mobilized numerous formidable army groups, of which even the Western people had been shocked by its mere scale.

The battles of the Eastern invasion had closed it curtains with the annihilation of the Byzantines! However, the nomads from the far East had yet to halt their steps, and had commenced a new journey even before they had the chance to appreciate and assimilate the majestic culture of the nation they had just defeated.

We all knew that the victim had been the Titan Empire. Although the Titans had been engraved with the traditional fighting spirits of the Roman warriors, there was no way to deny the powers of Emperor Khalifa Ottoman, who had been the biggest figure during that time. Around four hundred years before the Church calendar, a hundred thousand Persian Cavalry had surrounded the entire central part of Titan, and had closed up on Dulin.

The rest, was history. The Narcissus Knights were the symbol of the birth of a new era, and the descending of a new legend and the Golden Lions of the Morisette ruling had originated from the Fierce Tiger Flag of Narcissus. With steadfast pace, a new system had been put in place and had allowed for the bloodline to be inherited until this day.

As for Persia, Emperor Khalifa Ottoman had been forced by the situation to end his Western advancement. Even though the presences of the Narcissus Knights were undeniably one of the factors of the war, the conflicts between the palace and the territories had been the main reason why the proud emperor had to give up on his advancement toward the West.

Emperor Khalifa Ottoman had died of recurring injuries, but there was another version of this story, he might have died due to internal strife in the palace. Nevertheless, his heir had given up on the full-blown offense against the pagans. Instead, he had begun to focus his efforts into his dictatorship of feudalization processes and the unification of politics and religions.

These faraway Eastern immigrants, who had been called the ”God's Cane”, had split the Great Plains of Anatolia into several territories. After a seven-hundred-year-long period of development, it had transformed into three major religious tribes.

The dignified Mogadishu were close relatives of the Persian royalties, and they possessed the most fertile lands and the most marvelous seas of the Eastern plains and the central lands; as the great king of the Northern plains. The head of Mirzai clan was also the leader of the local religion, as well was the owner of all the resources. However, this clan had been receiving huge blows from their nemesis, the Andrews. In addition, the clan unrests invoked by the royalties' crisis in the late seventh century had resulted in the Mirzai people losing their weaponry, and the protection of the small and middle-sized clans across the lands.

On the Arabah Peninsula to the South of the plains which sat atop Kumamala Sea, the self-proclaimed alliance of the Arabah clans had several kings. They were all descendants of the aborigines, of which their territories encompassed the entire area stretching from Anatolia to the vast Persia Coast. This clan had failed to establish itself into a sovereign state throughout the battles in history. The cruel desert and harsh living conditions had forced them to surrender themselves to Rome, and then shiver under the iron hooves of Ottoman Persia! The Arabah people had always been dreaming of the records regarding the ancient Syrian Kingdom on the historical remains, as they strongly believed that it was the ancestor of the people of Arabah. Therefore, the King of Arabah had always been the most firm and cunning centrifugal figure of the Empire of Persia. When the Holy City of Baghdad West was struck by internal conflict, the King of Arabah had also been the first to announce his detachment from the clan alliance of the Empire of Persia.

”Actually, after so much has been said, we've yet to reach the most important point!” Figg Andrew Tibotty took a sip of the Persian mint tea, ”Since the faith of The God of Light and the faith of the True God could coexist with each other for some time, it's perfectly reasonable for me to believe that this coexistence can be brought back! It's just that further studies and investigations are required in terms of the details and strategies.”

O'Neil Andrew Morisette leaned comfortably on the Persian chair while being massaged by a few brown-skinned lady servants.

The Titan Prince gradually opened his eyes, and spared a glance at his very confident brother, ”I beg to differ … while our empire may seem as if it had expanded its borders all the way to the great plains and has total control of the territories, I've seen through the reality of areas which we have claimed to be under our control! If it wasn't for Mogadishu seeking our help, we can't advance a single step, let alone those things that you've mentioned!”

Figg shook his head, ”This is bound to happen! I've made it to Baghdad West more than ten years ago, and it'll be the same now! Instead, you must take note that the Persians these days are no longer those Persians whom we've fought for four hundred years, they are now just a bunch of pathetic people who have lost their emperor and fallen into a pit of endless racial massacre and territorial chaos.””Oh!” Oscar exclaimed, ”Speak softer, brother, if the Mogadishu King happens to hear our conversation … he might very well change his stance!”

Figg stood up while grinning. He carried his younger brother, who was lying on the chair up to the balcony, and extended his arms toward the warm sky, ”Come! Take a good look, look at what we've conquered!”

Fort Istantine, which had been established by the factions of Roman nobles, sat atop the so-called ”palace peak” of the Ancient Roman Empire. Throughout three hundred years of development, Fort Istantine had always been the largest construction site of the world, of which its constructors had been the Romans, Ancient Syrians, Byzantines and lastly the Persians who were the conquerors.

In the histories of the Mogadishu clan, a visionary king named Ahmed Fort Istantine was born. The king had ruled for as long as half a century, and had been the one who had rescued the cultures of ancient Rome and the faith of The God of Light from the hands of the followers of the True God. He had built a massive archaeological park in the middle of the city, which was now known as the Ahmed District.

Other than that, there were the most important palaces and religious architectures of Mogadishu.

Looking downward from Saint Sophia Church situated at the ”palace peak”, the entire Fort Istantine would be within one's scope of vision. Due to the pagans' involvement, the cemetery engraving the very last Byzantine cultures had a peculiar exterior. Amidst the Roman buildings, there were the serene Persian residential areas which were surrounded by rubber trees. The towering Sultan Ahmed Mosque stood right beside the constructions of The God of Light near the sea coast. The old churches and monasteries in the city had long been abandoned, and some had even been renovated into the busy markets or the steamy pools.

When the Persian named Sadi had been describing the peculiar city of Fort Istantine, he had written along the lines of ”Amidst Caesar Palace, spiders form their webs. At the peak of Oprahseb Tower, the night birds chirp.”

O'Neil Andrew Morisette was observing the massive city seeming as if it had come from the future through time travel.

The trading activities on the sea and its strategic location near the Western kingdoms had brought immense business opportunities and wealth to Fort Istantine, and had also acted as the proofs of Mogadishu's prosperity.

”So … from what I see, Mogadishu has ulterior motives other than just purely seeking an agreement!” Oscar redirected his gaze from the sky, and had already given up on further observation, ”I don't know how the Persians will see my marriage with the princess, hadn't they gotten use to addressing the Andrews as their nemesis? It's the same for us as well.”

Figg Andrew Tibotty shook his head softly, ”Many Persian scholars have pointed out that this race idolizes the strong. While they are instilled with strong desires of invasion, they possess marvelous adaptability at the same time … this was the evidence that the formidable Persian Empire had been built up by the immigrants.”

”Emperor Khalifa Ottoman?”

”Yes!” Figg smiled at his younger brother, ”The clan which had been legitimately unified the Arabians, and they were the real worshippers of the True God. As for the Ottoman Persians, I can only say that this is a group comprising of a number of races which had come together only for mutual benefit. Whenever they encounter any crisis in their lives, they would choose to either compromise, or avoid the issue. The previous invasion was nothing more than an extreme method of a fight for survival.”

Oscar had some knowledge, but he was not familiar with the histories of the Ottoman Dynasty of Persia nonetheless.

”Rumor has it that … the Ottoman people had been chased away by the Eastern people all the way here?”

”That's right!” Figg nodded sternly. ”I can't imagine how powerful the Eastern Dynasty had been during those times!”

The Andrew Commander pointed at a decoration at the balcony, which was an invaluable colored horse, ”The Eastern Dynasty had utilized its formidable military prowess to exile the nomads out from their original homes. It was probably the world's largest migration.”

Oscar looked in the direction of the East. He sighed softly, ”That's right … it's unbelievable! The Easterners had exiled the Ottoman people, while we had almost been conquered by the clan of refugees!”

Figg patted his brother on the shoulder, ”Don't worry! We have switched positions with the Persians. Right now … we are the real conquerors!”

Oscar laughed, and turned toward the servants at the balcony, ”Whom among you can speak the Titan language? Even Roman Latin is fine!”

The servants chuckled. They were all mature Persian ladies, and were quite close with the Narcissus Knights in the city.

The Andrew family had set up the command center of the Eastern advancement group in Saint Sophia Church. While Byzantine had been the powerhouse in Church's first century, this church had been considered as one of the wonders of the world. The elegant dome had made Saint Sophia into one of the most symbolic architectures, as well as one of the most important buildings of all time.

….. Ever since its construction, this fifty-six-meter-high building had been the root cause of the political conflicts, as it is still today. Although the stationing of the Narcissus Knights had brought temporary peace to the Mogadishu clan, who had been struggling for survival, the Roman Vatican had insisted it be brought back to its original state.

There were not many historical remains of the faith of The God of Light. Even though the Mogadishu clan no longer had the chance to emerge victorious on the battlefield, the king of the clan had still stood by the religious principles. He did not think that the mosque which had persevered throughout several centuries was still a territory of The God of Light.

This very point was the greatest difference in ideals between the Vatican and the Andrews. Andrew had been willing to preserve the state of Fort Istantine for the sake of harmony, but the Vatican had been dreaming to revive the majesty of Byzantine.

After arriving at Fort Istantine, O'Neil Andrew Morisette had never expected to be welcomed so warmly by the civilians. As the ruler of their nemesis Andrew, the people had not believed that the young man, full of the spirit of battle, would be willing to compromise with his long-time nemesis. However, reality turned out to be the other case. The Narcissus Knights had defended against the attacks of the alliance of the Kingdom of Arabah from Southern East, and had retained their offensive position toward the direction of the Holy City of Baghdad West.

The cavalry troop of the Titan prince entered the heart of the city through the gates, formerly the entrance of an arena. Showered by the cheers of the pagans and the colors of flowers, they made their way into Topkap National Palace. The internals of the palace had been replaced by dazzling Persian decorations by the local rulers, but the massive dome and the Roman exteriors still resulted it to be addressed as the ”final glory of Byzantine”.

O'Neil had hold a grand ball in the imperial hall of Topkap Palace. He had extended invitations to almost every high-ranking leader of Mogadishu, including even the leaders of several major religions. The guests and masters sat on the spacious Persian carpets, and spectated the singing and dancing while enjoying the local delicacies of wine.

Figg had introduced his younger brother to the local Mogadishu King. He did not know how to describe his own father-in-law either, and he only knew that middle-aged man with crescent-shaped mustache plastered a demeanor as stern as a statue made of gold or diamond.

Before meeting him, Oscar had conveyed the intentions of his visit. He realized that he did not despise the Persians as much as he thought when he started speaking.

The Andrew family head said to the Mogadishu King, ”I want your daughter.”

The Mogadishu King responded to the Andrew family head, ”I have nineteen daughters, how many do you desire?”

Figg and the Narcissus soldiers all laughed aloud, as well as the Persian nobles, who were familiar with the language of Titan. Oscar was the only one who was in shock. He did not understand the situation as the soldiers of his family had countless blood baths with these people who did not eat with cutlery. However, all of them seemed as if they were old friends who had not met since a long time.

”Now, don't frown! Let's be merrier!” Figg wrapped his arm around a slim dancer in front of his younger brother, ”We are conquerors! You must keep this in mind! At the same time, you will fall in love with the fact that … we are fellow conquerors!”