Rahman really did organize his men and dig through the night at the location Victor Wang had mentioned.
"King Deshret's Mausoleum… Our people have wandered around this area for generations, yet we never realized there were ruins hidden beneath it… But we haven't entered the interior yet. I've been waiting for you, my friends."
"Oh? We're 'friends' already now?" Paimon mocked.
"This young man said there were ruins here, and he was right. That means what he said afterward probably wasn't fabricated either."
"My name is Victor."
"A name that suits the desert well."
Rahman nodded dejectedly, called over a few trusted subordinates, then said to Victor Wang and the others, "The relationship between King Deshret and Greater Lord Rukkhadevata… If we truly misunderstood it for over a thousand years… I didn't sleep at all last night. I've been waiting for the moment the truth is revealed. Let's go—quickly."
"Yesterday it took forever to talk you into it, and now you're being so forthright. Didn't you ever suspect that these ruins might have been fabricated by us?" Paimon pressed relentlessly.
"We grew up in the desert. We're as familiar with King Deshret's ruins as our own homes. Just by looking at the exterior, we can tell this is absolutely not fake. Little one, stop mocking me already… sigh."
"My name is Paimon!"
"…Oh, my exalted king, tell us the truth. I am opening the gates of the ruins now."
Outside the ruins, there was nothing but yellow sand—sand upon sand upon sand. Inside, however, it was like another world entirely. The air was clean and fresh, and wherever bare ground was exposed, plants flourished. Green leaves formed dense canopies, brimming with vitality.
After closing his eyes to sense it, Alhaitham said, "There's no doubt this structure belongs to King Deshret's civilization, but the power flowing within feels far more like that of the Dendro Archon."
Rahman shook his head. "We don't have Visions. This alone isn't enough to convince me… I need more obvious proof."
The group stepped onto the ruin's guiding mechanisms, traveling through broken yet still majestic corridors. Trees appeared continuously along both sides—not only with green leaves, but even with cherry-colored foliage.
Dehya looked surprised. "The vegetation is extremely rich. This is different from every King Deshret ruin I've known."
Rahman shook his head again. "Although most King Deshret ruins contain only steel and stone, his blessings once included oases as well. This still isn't enough to convince me… Let's keep going."
After guiding them for some time, the ruin's mechanisms finally completed their task, leading everyone into a new space.
This area also belonged to King Deshret's ruins, yet bore very few traces of artificial construction. Grass covered the ground, resembling a small prairie—a prairie in the desert.
At the very center of this space stood a pale blue tree. Beneath it clustered lush pink flowers, and together they radiated a hazy glow of light, dreamlike in its beauty.
As they drew closer, they discovered a tomb hidden among the flowers beneath the tree. Facing it, Rahman grew agitated. "This bears King Deshret's sigil…"
"There are relics as well—memorial writings in ancient script." With just a glance, Alhaitham yielded the position of reading to the people Rahman had brought, turning his attention elsewhere.
"What does the text say?" Rahman asked his confidant, his voice trembling.
"Here lies our loyal priest, Kasala. His wisdom was a miracle among men, worthy of praise and song."
"That's all?"
"That's all, boss."
Rahman let out a sigh—whether of relief or disappointment, it was unclear. "It seems… we're still some distance away from the truth."
"Don't rush. Something still feels off. The elemental energy here is far too dense. The aura of life… Is it hinting at something?" Cyno pondered, rubbing his chin.
"This should be it…" Alhaitham had already found the answer. He deliberately explained to Rahman, "This set of remains contains hidden information that can be projected using devices left behind by King Deshret's civilization. You don't doubt King Deshret's technology, do you?"
"Let me see it—now!"
Alhaitham activated the mechanism on the floor before the tomb. A segment of information was projected as an image before everyone, conveying roughly the following:
King Deshret brought the "forbidden knowledge" that did not belong to this world into the desert. This act caused his people to suffer from Eleazar, and the land itself began to lose vitality.
Fortunately, the neighboring Greater Lord Rukkhadevata extended her aid. She gathered King Deshret's priests and constructed several temples in the desert, pouring divine power of life into them. Though this overexertion caused her form to shrink into that of a child, the calamity was miraculously contained.
However, King Deshret's civilization had already been eroded to the point where only Aaru Village remained. Without completely eradicating the forbidden knowledge, even the miracle brought by Greater Lord Rukkhadevata could not last. And so, in the end, King Deshret chose self-sacrifice.
"Greater Lord Rukkhadevata and King Deshret… weren't enemies at all…"
"So that was the previous Dendro Archon… She ended up becoming so small…"
The group murmured among themselves. The strongest reaction came from Rahman. Even though he had anticipated something like this, he still couldn't help crying out that it was impossible.
"I've never heard of such a thing anywhere…
In the past, all surviving descendants of King Deshret gathered in Aaru Village. We refused to believe our god could have been wrong, so even if the truth did appear, it was likely dismissed as a rumor.
To us, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata was always the culprit who stabbed us in the back when disaster struck…
If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, how could I believe that I raised my blade against my benefactor, and lived like that for so many years!
I… and my mercenary band… what have we even been fighting for all this time?"
"Rahman… that's enough," Dehya urged gently. "Not knowing the truth back then wasn't our fault. What matters is the future."
"I feel ashamed of what I've done… I'll spread the truth. I'll persuade everyone to believe that you are allies. I'll return all of your village guardians without exception. Your enemy is the Akademiya that has gone astray, right? We'll do our best to help—but give me some time. We'll meet again."
...
"Now that we have the power to deal with the Akademiya, all that remains are The Doctor and The Balladeer, who can be ignored for the time being. So how exactly should we proceed? Can someone draft a complete and reliable plan? That's the theme of today's meeting!" Paimon declared.
Paimon, Victor Wang, Lumine, Dehya, Candace, Alhaitham, and Cyno were gathered together for the first time. However, as the guardian of Aaru Village, Candace could not take part in operations far away in Sumeru City.
"Victor, you were the strategist of Watatsumi Island, right? Got any good ideas?" Paimon prodded Victor Wang.
"You're asking me? From the perspective of an outsider trying to start a war, the Akademiya is already a drafty, crumbling shack."
"How so?"
"Then I'll explain."
Victor Wang spoke slowly:
"First: Expose the truth behind the Sabzeruz Festival and stir public dissatisfaction in Sumeru City.
On the day of the Sabzeruz Festival, everyone wearing the Akasha awoke at the same time and suffered headaches. Even though they don't remember what happened, as long as they associate it with the Akasha, with the Akademiya, and with harm done to their health, a great many people will become dissatisfied.
Second: Publicize the Akademiya's god-creation plan and expose The Balladeer's true identity to further inflame public anger.
Let everyone know that the Akademiya not only intends to abandon the Lesser Lord Kusanali who has accompanied Sumeru for five hundred years, not only colluded with the Fatui, but even tried to turn a Fatui Harbinger into Sumeru's new god. Add a bit of publicity about all the 'good deeds' the Fatui have done, and people will fear such a new god taking the throne, fear the Fatui. Dissatisfaction mixed with fear will draw many to our side.
Third: Reveal the source of the Divine Knowledge Capsules and the fate of the mad scholars, adding fuel to the fire of public resentment. This could even shake the six Darshans within the Akademiya, or cause the Spantamad Darshan to defect entirely.
Only the Spantamad Darshan needs to connect to Irminsul for cultivation. When their scholars go mad, they are exiled, then captured by the Akademiya and subjected to inhumane methods to produce Divine Knowledge Capsules. Those mad scholars are the seniors, juniors, or even the future selves of Spantamad scholars. No one wants their friends—or themselves—to suffer such treatment.
Most coincidentally, the Grand Sage Azar himself belongs to the Spantamad Darshan. Once the people he deceived learn the truth—that he harmed his own Darshan—their anger will only grow.
Fourth: Expose the fact that the Lesser Lord Kusanali is imprisoned. With Nilou's cooperation, we should be able to gain the support of the Grand Bazaar.
Fifth: We have external support from the desert people.
Sixth: We have Cyno, the Mahamatra of the Amurta Darshan; Alhaitham, the scribe of the Haravatat Darshan; Tighnari, the genius scholar of the Amurta Darshan. I also have top-tier candidates to win over from the Spantamad and Kshahrewar Darshans. You are all elites of your respective Darshans. And I've also obtained some insider information—the sages of the Rtawahist and Amurta Darshans were imprisoned for opposing the god-creation plan.
With your connections within the Akademiya and those two sages, explain the pros and cons to the righteous, promise benefits to the greedy. Once the Lesser Lord Kusanali is rescued, everyone involved becomes a hero."
Paimon shuddered. "S-So scary! But when you put it like that… it really does seem like the Akademiya doesn't stand much of a chance anymore… as long as we can defeat The Doctor."
"However, this is a plan for a frontal assault. Once carried out, the Akademiya will very likely collapse entirely, and its relationship with the public will become extremely strained. And if we truly draw out all that resentment, a large-scale riot will be inevitable."
Victor Wang looked at the others, heavily hinting as he said, "So if there's a better solution, there's no need to worry about my ideas at all."
===BREAK===
Like the story and want more chapters?
Join and support me by joining my Patreon!
[email protected]/SiRoasa