Chapter 8

Although he had only spent less than a day with this nominal great-great-great-great... great-granddaughter, Gao Wen still formed a very deep impression of Rebecca and more than once suspected that the child's head had been clamped by something when she was little...

Logically, it shouldn't be the case. Even if we ignore the elite education that noble children must receive, her identity as a spellcaster almost proves her intelligence. After all, not just anyone can casually conjure a huge fireball...

In contrast, the others were not in the mood to pursue Rebecca's thoughtless speech. Even Hedi, who was usually very strict with Rebecca, was now only filled with deep concern: "You mean... the monsters that appeared in the Cecil territory are those from seven hundred years ago?"

Gao Wen sighed: "From the look of your unfamiliarity with those monsters, it seems they haven't been seen for several hundred years."

"The wars with monsters after the pioneering period are already history," Hedi shook her head lightly. "Although there are records in history books, the most recent ones date back at least six hundred years... According to my knowledge, the monsters that roamed out of the ancient empire's wasteland indeed troubled Ansu for a long time, but ever since the elves helped humans build those Sentinel Towers, those monsters became nothing more than a legend..."

Gao Wen frowned slightly: "Sentinel Towers... The things built by elves shouldn't have such easy malfunctions."

"This matter must be reported to His Majesty the King," Rebecca suddenly clenched her fist and said with a serious face, "Monsters that disappeared hundreds of years ago suddenly reappeared within the empire's territory. Someone must quickly send the information back. Moreover, the Cecil territory suffered heavy losses from this unexpected disaster. We... We must seek help from the royal family..."

Gao Wen thought about his "own" past achievements and confidently smiled, saying, "Don't worry. With the Cecil family's status in Ansu and the influence I left behind, I'm sure the Holy Sunil City will spare no effort to help you rebuild the territory."

However, upon hearing these words, Hedi and Rebecca's faces did not show any signs of relief but instead became abnormally strange.

Gao Wen was puzzled: "Um... What's going on?"

Could it be that after seven hundred years, the legendary founding Duke Gao Wen Cecil's name is no longer recognized in this country?

"Ancestor..." Hedi's face looked extremely bad. She bit her lips several times before finally making up her mind, "Actually, there were some things I wanted to tell you in the tomb, but... I just couldn't bring myself to say it."

Gao Wen had a vague idea of what was coming but still nodded: "Go ahead, I'm listening."

"The glory of the Cecil family is no longer what it used to be. Although you are still considered the legendary founding Duke by the kingdom, ... " Hedi glanced at Rebecca with some difficulty, "But the current heir to the family title, Rebecca, is only a viscount. This Cecil territory... is the last piece of land the family has."

Gao Wen was dumbfounded: "... What? I remember when I 'died' I was already a duke, and the title was hereditary. The territory extended all the way to the Holy Spirit Plain... What did the later descendants of Cecil do? Did they assassinate the king or rebel?"

Hedi lowered her head in shame: "... Seven hundred years can bring many changes, for the family and for this country. Ansu is no longer the First Dynasty but the Second Dynasty. The Cecil family is no longer a pillar supporting the royal family but a disgraced and exiled family."

Rebecca took over from Hedi: "A hundred years ago, the last king of the First Dynasty, Darian III, died of a sudden illness without leaving an heir. At that time, the royal family was already fraught with internal conflicts, and even Darian III's own right to inherit was controversial. After the king's death, the queen and the regent failed to control the situation, leading to the 'Fog Month Uprising.'

"The royal family members with collateral inheritance rights fought for the throne in the Fog Month of 635 Ansu. In the third week of the Fog Month, the court struggle escalated into a civil war, and the royal family members and the great nobles supporting them began direct military confrontations— the Cecil family was also drawn into it...

"The root of the problem was Marquis Gruman. At the time, the Duke of Cecil was already old but still very healthy, and his relationship with his eldest son, Gruman Cecil, was very tense. Gruman, probably sensing a crisis, secretly planned and participated in the civil war. Because he had not yet inherited the family's power and lacked sufficient influence, Gruman turned to the legendary ancestor...

"I remember, I let him take my shield, right?"

Hedi nodded and continued for Rebecca: "Gruman first placed the Duke of Cecil under house arrest, then took your holy relic, the Shield of the Protector of Ansu, from the ancestor's tomb. He then announced support for Prince Tosh, the heir to the Cecil family. In March of the same year, Prince Tosh was assassinated, and Gruman quickly announced support for Prince Fidic. In April of the same year, Prince Fidic committed suicide after a military defeat..."

Gao Wen: "..."

But it didn't end there. Hedi had more to say: "After that, Gruman approached a uncle of Darian III. With his excellent oratory skills, he formed an alliance, but in the following month, the Northern Duke Buren Wild suddenly pushed a young man onto the stage and declared him the illegitimate son of the previous king. The Northern Duke then used this as leverage to participate in the civil war and ended it in the Fog Month of 636 Ansu. On the eve of the end of the civil war, Gruman tried to declare allegiance to the new king again, but before he could issue the statement, he was attacked by both sides on the battlefield and died from multiple wounds.

"After that, it was the Second Dynasty of Ansu. Of course, the term 'Second Dynasty'... is still a sensitive topic."

At this point, Amber, who had been listening quietly, suddenly said, "The whole farce lasted only a year but completely reshuffled the kingdom's order... Who in the entire continent doesn't know this history?"

"Because the one who ascended to the throne was an illegitimate son, this war was privately called the Illegitimate War," Hedi said, "Many great noble families were involved in the civil war, so a considerable number of families were implicated. But this was still part of the noble rules. Moreover, the country was extremely chaotic at the beginning of the Second Dynasty, and the new king needed to restore order, which required the power of the old nobles. Therefore, most families were not completely eradicated, except for..."

"Except for those who jumped the highest, right?" Gao Wen's lips twitched uncontrollably. This entire history made him, who had observed the world for tens of thousands of years, feel extremely uncomfortable. He could only sigh that life is indeed more exaggerated than novels—novels at least follow basic logic, but how could Marquis Gruman be so talented, "I guess there's no one more troublesome than Gruman Cecil?"

"After that, the Cecil family never recovered," Hedi lowered her head, "The family's fate might have been worse, but your reputation and the efforts of the old Duke managed to preserve the family's bloodline and the last bit of foundation. But from then on, the name 'Cecil' could never be the center of the kingdom again, as you can see..."

Gao Wen followed Hedi's gaze and looked at Rebecca Cecil, whose head seemed to have been clamped.

Rebecca noticed Gao Wen's gaze and turned her head: "Ancestor?"

"Family misfortune, family misfortune..." Gao Wen covered his forehead. Although he was not the true ancestor of the Cecil family, the glorious achievements and bizarre deeds of Marquis Gruman were so shocking that even just listening to them made him sigh, "And that wastrel even lost my shield..."

Hedi and Rebecca: "..."

The ancestor cursing the great-grandfather again; it's best for the younger generation to remain silent.

Fortunately, Gao Wen was not a true party to the events, and he quickly adjusted his mindset—this was seen by Hedi as a broad and astonishing magnanimity—and then shook his head slightly: "Forget it, dwelling on the past won't help the current situation. No matter what, those reappeared monsters are a huge threat to the human world. The king of Holy Sunil City can ignore the already declining Cecil family, but he cannot ignore those monsters, so he must also take us, who survived this disaster, seriously."

Hedi nodded vigorously: "You are right."

After that, Gao Wen lost the desire to speak. The dim and narrow underground passage dampened everyone's desire to converse, leaving only the need to speed up and continue on the journey.

Fortunately, the straight underground passage could quickly traverse the entire Cecil territory, and the nearest exit was not too far from the castle. After traveling for some time, Gao Wen judged by memory that they had reached a suitable exit.

Thanks to the blessing of earth elements, the ancient tunnel steps did not collapse at all, and the exit was not completely buried by soil and rocks, which was quite fortunate. After clearing some tree roots, vines, and loose soil blocking the exit, fresh air finally blew on everyone's faces.

Re-emerging into the daylight.

Knight Byron led the soldiers out of the cave first, and after they sent a safety signal, the others followed one by one. Rebecca climbed out and immediately took a deep breath, then happily whispered, "We're out!"

Gao Wen followed Rebecca to the surface, and his excitement was no less than hers, perhaps even greater.

A vast world.

His first reaction was to look up at the sky.

Unfortunately, it was night outside.

But it was also thanks to the night that he could see the starry sky of this different world for the first time.

A faint white light was already visible on the horizon, and the approaching dawn made the stars in the sky appear sparse and dim, as if shrouded in a layer of mist, hazy and distant.

Completely unfamiliar stars.

The white light on the horizon was getting brighter, and the night was passing, with dawn approaching. Every person who had escaped from the underground tunnel was immersed in the joy of surviving a disaster, and Gao Wen, with a peculiar joy and excitement, faced the direction of the rising sun, spreading his arms as if to embrace the sun of this new world.

Then he saw a huge, luminous arc, emitting a faint light mist, gradually rise above the horizon, spreading its light across the world.

That was not the sun.