The scene of flowers blooming and birds singing along the Imperial Avenue was witnessed by Miles XIV, the true ruler of the Empire, who stood atop the highest tower of the Empire.
The massive palace advanced, destroying the roads, and the jade-carved and gold-inlaid carriages exuded the aura of the people's hard-earned wealth.
The arrogance of those imperial families, their flamboyant behavior and outward appearance, extinguished the last glimmer of hope in his eyes.
"The empire is utterly corrupt..."
Compared to five years ago, the now 95-year-old King Miles XIV is heavy with age, and the aura of death emanating from him is almost completely enveloping him.
Even when he looked up at the scene below, his cloudy, bloodshot eyes were filled with a hazy mist.
His time is up.
If it weren't for his unwavering ideals, he might have died peacefully in his eighties.
However, the scenes of his parting from his father in the past became clearer with age, rather than more hazy.
Even during his light sleep each day during this period, he would dream about his father.
The state of the Gothic Empire in the Northern Continent was actually quite similar to that of Miles XIV.
The Gothic Empire was not founded on pure blood. Although it was a branch of the Southern Continent, its methods of mass slaughter in order to establish the nation, as well as its ultimate goal of overthrowing the Pale God, all contributed to the fundamental illegitimacy of its rule.
Not to mention the internal division of imperial power, with various remaining nobles and capital fleeing to the Northern Continent acting arrogantly and forming their own systems, and his squandering of the nation's resources to build three million War Machine.
The entire Gothic Empire was a mess, a chaotic tangled mess, and under his rule and oppression, it endured decades of slaughter and distorted development. The only reason it could continue to exist was thanks to the financial support of the Eternal Life Society and the three million War Machine it had built.
The Gothic Empire's political system is already teetering on the brink of collapse!
Now, only one final battle remains—a battle for which Miles XIV has prepared for decades, a battle that has slaughtered tens of millions, even hundreds of millions, of people —the War of the Gods' Fall!
Regardless of victory or defeat in this Godfall War against the Pale God, the already struggling Gothic Empire will inevitably disintegrate.
And Miles XIV will also meet his death.
Therefore, this is the final war, a war in which the Gothic Empire and Miles XIV are destined for destruction once it begins.
But Miles XIV never regretted it until his death!
"I agree..."
Looking down at the magnificent carriages and the extravagant procession of nobles adorned in gold and silver, Miles XIV seemed to have lost his last bit of strength, and spoke softly in utter dejection.
"You are very wise. Only the Holy Lord Empire Church system of the Mythical Era can permanently maintain the stability of the human race."
If that Pale God hadn't appeared out of nowhere, Garden of Eden would probably still be under the rule of that Holy Lord Empire.
A figure loomed indistinctly in the shadows behind Miles XIV, but the two scarlet eyes and the gaunt figure clearly identified it as a Vampire.
"Cough cough cough... That sounds nice, but all you really want is to be the Pope."
If it were Duoxia who said this, perhaps I would agree, but you are different; I can see your ambition.
The emaciated and weak Miles XIV sat in his wheelchair, coughing and sighing softly, his mind in turmoil.
Although his words were soft, they provoked the Vampire behind him to become angry.
"You're wrong. I can choose not to be this so-called pope."
All I want is for this Garden of Eden to be completely stable.
The teacher has changed!
His current cowardice and unwarranted kindness have diminished his former resolve! Everything we do now is a necessary sacrifice, but our teacher, because of some personal tragedies, has begun to stand behind that Pale God!
I disagree!
The Garden of Eden should be a Godless Garden of Eden! The Garden of Eden should be humanity's own Garden of Eden! There should be no insurmountable class above us; this ever-changing, fickle god is the real culprit behind the chaos in the Garden of Garden of Eden!
No matter how well a pig lives in captivity, it is still a beast that is raised by humans and can be slaughtered at will!
These were the ideals my teacher instilled in me, but now he himself has begun to abandon them.
He raised me, he raised us, and now he himself is abandoning us, all for his utterly ridiculous notion of 'individual happiness'.
The teacher is sick; he has developed a mental illness.
The passage of time has made him forget his roots and begin to compromise!
I will not agree.
The demolition of pigsties may cause a large number of pigs that cannot forage for food to starve, but it also removes the threat of slaughter from their heads. Even if foraging for food is extremely difficult, this is true freedom.
"Hmph, that sounds nice, but in reality, it's just moving from one pigpen to another, and a more desperate and worse one at that!" Miles XIV sneered.
"Otherwise, what are you going to do? Continue down the imperial path, or the nascent capitalism of the Holy Empire? Or follow the path laid out by that Pale God?"
None of these paths are viable. Even the political and legal system that the Pale God is currently implementing in the Southern Continent will ultimately lead to the path of capitalism—that's obvious!
The more a person gains, the more they want. With abundant wealth, they desire more power. With more power, they desire immortality. If they lack nothing, they will want to transcend all beings and become a second Pale God! Just like the current members of your Gothic Empire's royal family.
The more desires one has, the more unstable one becomes. This is why the ancient Holy Lord Empire extinguished humanity and relentlessly consumed human lives.
Only when a person is oppressed to the point where even survival becomes a problem will their only desire be to survive!
And this is the fundamental reason why the Holy Lord Empire has been able to maintain stability for a thousand years!
Human greed is the most unpredictable factor in maintaining this stable situation for thousands of years, and only the thoroughly oppressive system of the Holy Lord Empire in the past could truly extinguish humanity!
Therefore, I need you to completely eliminate all the powerful and influential figures of the Northern Continent at this banquet, not only for the upcoming Godfall War, but also for the future development and stability of the human race!
Jacob's blood-red eyes gleamed, it was hard to tell whether it was a kind of spiritual fanaticism or intellectual madness.
"Whatever, I'm just a pawn anyway."
Miles XIV neither confirmed nor denied this.
In the darkness of night, shadowy figures loomed around the imperial city.
Judging from the occasional glimpses that appear, it seems to be the War Machine that the Northern Continent has been working hard to build all along.