A New Beginning, and- The Fifth Volume: Return from Beyond the Shore

500 chapters! A moment worth commemorating! The journey has been filled with both the mundane and the exciting, the ups and downs, and it's been quite an emotional one. I know that at this historic moment, everyone will be generous with their Monthly Votes and rewards!

In addition, a popularity poll for Volume 5 has been opened, so please participate enthusiastically!

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In the first year of the Holy Calendar, the Saint Emperor unified the West Saint Continent and adopted the Holy Calendar as the standard calendar.

In the 16th year of the Holy Calendar, the Saint Emperor passed away, the Western Holy Dynasty collapsed, and religious conflict began.

In the year 524 of the Holy Calendar, the religious war ended, the Rakshasa Divine Sect was defeated, and the Divine Law Cult unified the West Saint Continent.

On March 23, 2035 (Sacred Calendar), the Divine Law Cult was completely destroyed by the Revolutionary Army, marking the end of the era of religious rule.

On April 3, 2035 of the Holy Calendar, Blood Ash Emperor Nid Bradwich was crowned by the Goddess of Protection and officially ascended the throne. The Blood Edge Dynasty replaced the Divine Law Cult and became the new overlord of the continent.

This is a history that has been embellished into legend.

After two hundred years of forbearance and preparation, the chosen revolutionary Nid Bradwich, raised the banner of rebellion, leading an army of miracles to challenge the corrupt Papacy. Overcoming numerous setbacks and sorrows, his abilities were recognized by the heavens, and the goddess herself led reinforcements to become his main force. When the Blood Ash Emperor finally achieved his great feat, the goddess even performed miracles, creating the Eden Canal, which became the economic lifeline of later generations, and the Blood Crystal Palace, which could not be replicated by later generations, to commemorate his achievements.

The above is the version circulating among the people. As for the specific historical facts, only the people involved know them.

Nid stood in the highest chamber of the Blood Crystal Palace, overlooking the Gloria City, which was being rebuilt.

He wore the silvery-white Crown of the Saint Emperor on his head, which shimmered in the glow of the blood crystal.

He never imagined that he would be fully recognized by the Crown of the Saint Emperor. In fact, he never thought he would succeed in the end.

Thank you, Blood Emperor.

Thank you to Blood Emperor's friends.

Thank you, Sister Xue.

Thank you, Miss Xiao.

Thank you, Yu Jie.

Thank you to everyone who died or survived.

All I could do was mix all the sadness and joy together and swallow it down.

Saleh and the others often said they had changed, but Nid never realized it.

Is it really a change, or just growth?

The establishment of the new regime was just the beginning; the real battle was yet to come.

Governing a country is a more challenging task than building one.

Am I capable of shouldering this heavy responsibility now?

"... No, it's not about whether I can handle it, it's 'I must'..."

With a slight tightening of the hand gripping the windowsill, the face of someone from the past appeared before my eyes.

Please look at me, Sister Xue.

Having chosen this path, I will see it through to the end.

I am no longer that pathetic puppet I once was.

I am now a king revered by all.

"Hey, Nid, I've wanted to ask you this for a while now."

"What's wrong, Saleh?"

Several division commanders—now founding fathers—came directly to the royal court. They were qualified, given that the new policy was still undergoing intensive adjustments and there was a mountain of work to be done.

I guess I asked that question casually to distract myself and relieve my tension.

"My sword?"

"Yes, I haven't seen you take any of them since the war ended."

"You mean this? Of course, it's according to the agreement, given to Sister Ye and the others."

"So that's how it is... What?! Hey, Nid, are you kidding me?!"

"It's fine to call Nid in private, but in formal settings you must call me 'Your Majesty'."

"--Whatever happens, happens! Your things are national treasures now, you're just going to give them away like that?"

"What they want is not the weapon itself, but the fragments of the Emperor Slaying Sword inside. This is all I can offer them in return; you need not say more."

"Well... whatever you say."

Saleh shrugged and stretched.

"Oh, right, there's one more thing, I think it's best to mention it to avoid any misunderstandings later..."

"Um?"

Everyone looked up and saw that Nid was taking off his clothes.

"Nid, what are you doing? You're definitely fit, but we're not interested in—wait, wait, wait?"

Well, how should I put it?

As he took off his coat and unbuttoned his undershirt, some... foam-like stuffing fell out from his abdomen and shoulders. At the same time, Nid's originally broad "shoulders" suddenly narrowed, and his eight-pack "abs" disappeared. Then he unbuttoned the hidden buttons on the inside of his pants, and the same stuffing fell out from the trouser legs, making his legs instantly thinner.

Under the stunned gaze of the founding fathers, Nid calmly took out makeup remover, splashed it on his face, and then wiped it off. The paint that made his skin look rough and dull disappeared, revealing fair skin. Whether it was an illusion or not, his straight nose and beautiful mouth seemed smaller, and his eyes appeared larger.

Nid was an extremely handsome man; this was a consensus among everyone.

After being rescued from the Cathedral of the True God, he seemed to have become even more handsome, and even his original masculine good looks changed, leaning towards androgynous beauty.

At the time, everyone thought it was a change in his/her aura that made him/her feel different, without giving it much thought.

They were nearly unconscious when Nid finally removed his breast wrap and spoke in his real voice.

"The torture I endured back then... to be honest, it was incredibly brutal. My body was so badly rotten inside and out that it required a major overhaul and reconstruction to survive. Although Miss Sin Annihilation, who rescued me, had the ability to reshape the body, she didn't know much about the male body and used her own body as a template... By the way, didn't you guys really notice all this time?"

"""""""..."""""""

"You can call me Her Queen Your Majesty private from now on, but announcing the truth publicly would cause confusion among the people, wouldn't it? Perhaps we should consider choosing a new queen... What's wrong with you all?"

""""""Making knitting ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"""""

Finally, another major matter has been resolved.

Speaking of which, the West Saint Continent is probably the place I've stayed the longest since I transmigrated, and also the place where I've gained the most.

They acquired a reserve of 700 million lives (although many have already been used up), completed their super evolution, and Xiao Wu and Haoyue also became much stronger because of a certain black and white cube girl, and also obtained some interesting things.

Hidden within Nid's equipment are fragments of the Emperor Slaying Sword.

It means nothing to me, since I don't rely on weapons much, but it's very meaningful to Xiao Wu and Kogetsu.

"Hmph~ Hmph~ Hmph~"

Haoyue tenderly wiped her beloved sword, Snow Moon, humming a strange tune. Surprisingly, Xiao Wu didn't offer any criticism of Haoyue's off-key singing. She herself scrutinized her beloved black and white twin pistols repeatedly. Both the longsword and the pistols looked more... how to put it... outwardly, there was no difference, but the aura was clearly different, a kind of solidified power compressed into a single point. Anyway, if I were to take a sword strike or a bullet, I definitely wouldn't allow it.

The effects of the fragments of the Emperor Slaying Sword are truly amazing.

No wonder I haven't seen them much these past few days; they've been tinkering with this thing, somehow extracting the fragments and integrating them into their respective weapons... I don't really understand it.

I stepped out of my room, stood on the balcony, and gazed at the magnificent Blood Crystal Palace, lost in thought.

My current team consists of... me, Haoyue, Xiao Wu, Givinia, Sin Annihilation, Little Ying, Little Butterfly, Sick Spider, eight people in total. Sick Spider is a ticking time bomb, Little Ying Little Butterfly are unreliable, and of the five of us who are truly reliable, Givinia's identity has not yet been exposed, so she cannot completely leave the organization and act openly. Therefore, the actual fighting force is still the trio of Ye Yue Wu plus Sin Annihilation.

I also need to think about my future plans.

The organization's top brass... Blood Fiend is dead, Madam is dead, Huang Huo and Anubas are in the same boat as me, Yusuo Zai out of the picture. Neumann seems to be a shut-in, so...

"Yu He, the Void Realm, Gustav..."

The Law of Money, the Void Axis Manufacturing, No Supernatural Ability.

The economic hegemon, the strongest spatial being, and the strongest creature on land.

It seems that the Void Realm is there to maintain the Void Space on the far side of the moon, and the organization's headquarters are permanently located there. Gustav also has to handle various affairs within the organization, so...

"Yu He?"

He'll most likely be the next one to be matched up.

But "The Law of Money" doesn't sound like a combat-oriented strategy at all. How do we deal with him? Where do we find him? Should we take the initiative or wait for the enemy to attack?

Everything is uncertain.

But I have more confidence than before.

If Xiao Wu, and I team up, we wouldn't be afraid of Yu He even if we ran into him head-on.

In the room--

Xiao Wu lowered her gun and extended her hand.

As she moved, Killing Intent of crimson malevolent energy seeped from beneath her skin, brimming with intense, violent power. She frowned, suppressing the surge of rage within her, and withdrew the Killing Intent.

So, Ye has been accompanied by such a dangerous power all along? Even as a demon herself, she was amazed by its ferocity and rage. Ye had been harboring such a thing since she was very weak. It's truly amazing that she has been able to endure until now.

As for that guy...

Haoyue snapped her fingers, and immediately a dazzling white light—holy light—emanated from her fingertips, like a small, high-powered light bulb. She snapped her fingers again, and the holy light went out; she snapped her fingers again, and it lit up again, then went out, then lit up again...

"Enough! It's blinding!"

"Tch~~ How can we not make good use of such a nice gift from someone?"

Good.

This power was given to them by a woman named Anubas.

At first, they were very skeptical, but Ye said that she was her inside agent in the organization, and this was confirmed by Givinia. In a delicate atmosphere, the two signed a power transfer contract and received most of the power of the Rakshasa True Word and the Truth Incantation.

In this way... although I wouldn't dare say I'm as strong as Ye is now, at least I can put up a fight against higher-ups.

If they encounter higher-ups again, the three of them can easily handle it by attacking together, right? Even if two higher-ups come at once, Ye can deal with one while Xiao Wu and Haoyue work together to restrain the other, and they won't be at a disadvantage.

The road ahead seems to be brightening--

--Just when everyone was thinking that.

We overlooked a problem.

Some things cannot be solved with violence.

The situation started when I discovered that Little Butterfly was missing.

"Little Butterfly? Where are you?"

I called out to her, but Little Butterfly, who would usually run to my side immediately, didn't appear, or even answer.

A strange unease suddenly welled up inside me.

"Little Butterfly? Little Butterfly? Mommy's here, come quick..."

It's finally here.

But instead of Little Butterfly, Sick Spider came.

"Hey, have you seen Little Butterfly?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing!" The Sick Spider looked exasperated, her cute little face scrunched up. "She dragged me downstairs to play some kind of chess game, then suddenly said she was thirsty and wanted to get some drinks, and now we still haven't—"

I rushed downstairs before she could finish speaking.

"Xiao Ye?"

"Ye! Where are you going?"

Perhaps sensing that something was amiss, the two men immediately followed us and ran together to the first floor of our temporary accommodation.

The Sick Spider said that Little Butterfly had gone to get a drink.

As for drinks... they're in the kitchen!

My heart was pounding, as if electric currents were coursing through my skin. Oh no, what was this ominous premonition? Little Butterfly was one of the few things I truly cherished; if anything were to happen to her—