"Your Majesty, the Emperor of the Aodelan Empire in the Southern Continent has sent an invitation, wishing to invite you to the Imperial Palace to participate in the current Aodelan Empire's military parade as a sage of the old era, and to witness the transformation of the times."
Norton remained seated on his throne, engrossed in his book.
After becoming a god, he seemed to have completely lost his former desires. Not only did he no longer need anyone to serve him, but he even stopped taking off his planes.
Now, he spends his days and nights reading books and newspapers, appreciating the prosperity of the Southern Continent through words.
His unusual behavior truly alarmed Abraham.
Your Majesty already lacked much humanity, and now that you've broken free of your seal, you're even more frighteningly calm, like a true god devoid of emotion and desire—it's chilling!
It seems that the millennium-long ban had sealed away Norton's humanity to the point of extinction, which is truly terrifying.
Back then, Kuba and Shenyin they felt that God's desires were too great and that it was bad for the Garden of Eden.
But now, when it comes to Abraham, he's afraid that His Majesty Norton has no human desires!
Having desires is a good thing, because it proves that one ultimately has weaknesses. Now that Norton is becoming less and less driven by desires, it makes him harder for Abraham to control.
Abraham ran swiftly, then knelt down, using the momentum to slide to his knees before Norton, who sat enthroned on the throne.
Norton remained expressionless and calmly closed the newspaper along with the copy of " Lustful Woman of the Court " that was tucked inside, then looked indifferently at Abraham kneeling before him.
This is indeed a wonderful era.
The liberation of thought and the Renaissance brought about new heights in literary works.
With the classic " Boule de Suif " (actually written by the royal uncle) preceding him, and the genuine royal uncle " Lustful Woman of the Court " following him, Norton was truly amazed!
The spiritual world that had been depleted over the past thousands of years was now being fully replenished, and he was so engrossed in it that he lost track of day and night.
This did waste some of his time, causing him to miss out on witnessing the prosperity of that era.
"Your Majesty, King Miles XIII claims that he is willing to appoint Your Majesty as the sole God of the Southern Continent, and to use the power of the entire nation to legitimize Your Majesty's legitimacy! At the same time, through this military parade, Your God's legitimate status as God will be thoroughly proclaimed, and Your Majesty will be granted the title of Minister of State, so that we may jointly govern the Aodelan Empire!"
Your Majesty, Miles XIII showing great sincerity; would you like to go and take a look?
Abraham reported the contents of the invitation he held in his hand with some surprise, becoming more and more shocked as he read on.
Emperor Miles XIII of the Aodelan Empire was truly an unfathomable man.
Other powerful and wealthy families, though they invited Your Majesty, at most offered respectful words and brought some precious gifts. Apart from that, they showed no sincerity whatsoever. Instead, their words were full of probing and exploration of Your Majesty.
And yet, Miles XIII immediately offered His Majesty half of the governing power, and instead of inviting him for tea, invited him to watch a military parade. Such behavior is truly... baffling.
Upon hearing this news, even Norton, whose mind was completely absorbed in his book, was stunned.
What the heck? They want me to co-govern the country with them? What kind of logic is this?
No, was he a real emperor? How could an emperor personally delegate his power to others?
Will world power be so unpopular a thousand years from now?
If it's the same invitation as before, Norton probably won't pay any attention to it and will continue to bury himself in developing his own God's Name and biological experiments.
But now, the invitations—whether for watching the military parade, for using His God's name, or for jointly governing the country—all piqued Norton's curiosity.
It's rare to see an emperor so devoted; Norton genuinely wanted to see him!
"Thump... thump... thump..."
Norton's pale, slender fingers tapped on the golden armrest of the throne. After a moment of silence, he finally nodded slowly.
"This Miles XIII is quite interesting."
I, Norton, have been resurrected for a long time, yet I know nothing about this Southern Continent. Now, I might as well go out and see the current prosperity!
Abraham, prepare the carriages, for I shall go to the palace of the Aodelan Empire to have a look!
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Abraham was overjoyed upon hearing this.
His Majesty Norton, who had sat on the throne for three years in a state of celibacy, finally became curious, and this behavior greatly surprised Abraham.
This proves that his Norton desires are rekindling, which is a good thing for a man!
After breaking free from its seal, the Progenitor Norton finally ventured out.
"Father, why are you doing this? Isn't this handing over our power to someone else, and to that terrifying creature that supposedly resurrected from ancient times! You... you are committing utter treason!"
Miles XIV stood behind Miles XIII, angrily slamming the paper and pen on the desk to express his rage.
Not only was Norton puzzled by Miles XIII's invitation, but even Miles XIV and no one else in the country understood it.
"Enough!" Miles XIII turned around from behind his desk with a gloomy expression, looking at his eldest son, who was already in his twenties but still acted like a child. His face was frighteningly cold.
"What do you know? The Southern Continent may seem peaceful on the surface, but it's actually turbulent. The Duchy of Kate has already seen its third popular revolution, with various parties trying to overthrow the imperial rule and repeatedly instigating public protests, which have been met with brutal suppression by the empire. The Madrid Empire is already discussing relinquishing imperial power and adopting a constitutional monarchy. Although my Aodelan Empire may seem peaceful on the surface, the large number of nobles and families who have been fattened up by the ship slave trade over the years are becoming impatient and are starting to oppose the empire in every way!"
In addition, various countries are eyeing each other covetously, and the division of their maritime interests has reached a breaking point!
The countries of the Southern Continent may appear calm on the surface, but a great upheaval is about to erupt!
Otherwise, why would I hold a military parade? Isn't it to demonstrate the power of the empire?
The same applies to sharing half of the rule of the Aodelan Empire with that Pale God! We use half of the rule to lure that Pale God to ally with the royal family of the Aodelan Empire, pushing him to the forefront to draw the fire!
If he is truly incredibly powerful, then my Aodelan Empire will naturally achieve ultimate victory amidst the turbulent times with his arrival.
If it is not as powerful as rumored, it can still serve as a source of vitality and cannon fodder on the front lines, and can also rally the support of the vast number of believers in the Southern Continent, thereby causing chaos within other countries.
"That's incredibly stupid! You're practically inviting trouble."
What if that Pale God truly possesses divine power, and after seizing control of my Aodelan Empire, he is insatiable and slaughters my entire royal family?
Even if they don't slaughter my imperial family, but simply seize power completely, then my Miles Imperial Family will truly be doomed and will find it difficult to rise again!" Miles XIV roared, his fingers unconsciously scratching the skin of his thigh as he roared.
Her legs were covered in tiny red spots, as if she had been bitten by mosquitoes; they were so numerous and they looked rather nauseating.
"Hmph!" Miles XIII snorted coldly, his eyes filled with icy intent.
"The actions of that Pale God in Sak City are exposing the true nature of my Aodelan Empire! If we let him run rampant, my Aodelan Empire will ultimately still be ruled by him. If we send troops to besiege him, then my Aodelan Empire will instead be in direct conflict with this Pale God."
If it truly possesses divine power, I fear the Miles Imperial Family will ultimately be slaughtered by it.
Both of these choices carry absolute risk, and the outcomes are exactly the same.
"Since that's the case, why not take a gamble, fight it out, and use half of our ruling power to bring this Pale God into our camp, transforming our adversarial relationship into one of cooperation against the other nations of the Southern Continent?"
As he spoke, Miles XIII's face grew increasingly grim, and he began to criticize his own son.
"I have always taught you that you should broaden your horizons and not be bound by them! You should also have lofty ambitions! You will be the ruler of a country, a person who will stop at nothing for the country. But now you have become like this because of the slight relinquishment of power. This is extremely disappointing to me!"
Even if you lose power, you must have the confidence to regain it!
This is the true character of a member of the royal family!
Miles XIII, frustrated and disappointed, launched a series of attacks on Miles XIV.
Perhaps she saw that her son's face looked too pale, or perhaps she felt that she had spoken too harshly.
Miles XIII finally sighed and changed the subject of their conversation.
"Where have you been gallivanting off to this day? Why are you covered in red rashes?" Thirteen-year-old Miles's gaze swept over the dense red spots on his son's legs, and a hint of anger began to rise in his voice.
"This... this... it's nothing... just a minor skin problem!" Miles XIV's eyes darted around, his earlier anger now replaced by a cold shower.
"Tell the truth!" Miles XIII was instantly enraged. His eyes widened, and Miles XIII's face turned deathly pale. He could no longer hide the truth and blurted out, "I... I... I went to see Queen Bella..."
"You bastard!!! She's your aunt!"
The furious shouts echoed through the palace, revealing the decadence of the upper echelons of the Southern Continent.
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(Waaaaah, I didn't get perfect attendance this time!)