As if struck by lightning, Xilǐ'er shook his head repeatedly:
"No, Your Majesty, that's not it... I actually..."
"What are you actually?"
The King of Domination interrupted Xilǐ'er and asked:
Are you saying the real Xilǐ'er has long since turned to dust? Are you saying you're just Xilǐ'er's armor?
"Are you saying that you only chose to join the Eternal Domain and become a member of the fight against the Blood Corpse after confirming the fall of the kingdom and the death of the Duke Frostblade's family from the Corpse Tide?"
"Yes..."
Xilǐ'er felt his thoughts read at a glance and stammered, not daring to answer loudly.
"Yes, but no."
The King of Domination's response was astonishing, like a meteorite falling to earth:
"Have you ever wondered how Xilǐ'er, just an ordinary Initial Tier knight, was able to develop sentience in his armor over such a long period of time?"
"Have you ever considered that with so many items freed from the Amber Dragon Collection, what qualifications do you, as a weakling at the Initial Tier, have to be personally appointed as Knight of Conquest by me?"
That's why I said, 'It is and it isn't' --
"You are Xilǐ'er, the knight Xilǐ'er who was personally appointed by Duke Frostblade 289 years ago."
"During the long years of imprisonment, your body decayed, but your soul did not perish; instead, it became attached to your armor."
"You don't think you're Xilǐ'er just because you inherently believe that Low Tier can't do such things."
"But let me tell you, it's possible for Low Tier to do it, because the person who bestowed this title upon you nearly three hundred years ago was none other than me!"
"Each of my knights bears my mark. While it may not have any specific use, it can enable you to do things beyond your rank under certain circumstances."
Hearing the King of Domination's almost meticulous explanation, Xilǐ'er, who had been hanging his head, suddenly raised it, revealing an expression of disbelief and trembling eyes:
"But, but, Duke Frostblade... the entire family was clearly fighting against the demons..."
The King of Domination's tone carried a hint of helplessness:
"As for Duke Frostblade, that's just a disguised identity."
"More than six hundred years ago, there was a great internal strife in the kingdom. At that time, the human king needed some capable generals to quell the rebellion. So I used my powers to alter the memories of a group of Blood Corpse, making them forget their identities and become soldiers and minor nobles under the king's command."
"The vast majority of those Blood Corpse died in battle after battle. Only one of them, who was a little smarter, won a few major battles, eventually obtained the title of duke, and established his own family."
"Since then, I have infiltrated the kingdom and become the true ' Duke Frostblade '."
"Those on the surface are just vampire nobles under my command. Oh, by the way, do you remember Flos?"
Stunned, Xilǐ'er for a moment and asked:
"You mean the Eternal Army of the Twin Kings Palace?"
The King of Domination, who lingered in his mind, nodded:
"Yes, he was the first Duke Frostblade. After sitting in that position for thirty years, I faked his death and brought him back, and replaced him with a new guy."
" Flos acquired a territory for me within the human kingdom, so I promoted him to duke in my lineage."
"This kind of thing became the norm after that. The Duke Frostblade kept changing, but I was always the one in control behind the scenes."
Xilǐ'er asked incredulously:
"But, you, are you really..."
"Yes, my real name is Grand Duchess Vanessa of Domination."
"I am a vampire, and most of the high-ranking officials in the Duke Frostblade's Territory are vampires."
"This territory is nothing more than a pasture in our eyes."
Xilǐ'er shook his head, seemingly unwilling to believe the truth before him:
"But ever since I was knighted, there have been constant battles between the demons and the Duke Frostblade's Territory..."
The phantom of the King of Domination nodded:
"That's natural. The demon race itself is nothing more than a disorganized bunch, so it's perfectly normal for internal battles to occur."
"My secret was leaked to two clueless blood relatives, who then joined forces to attack me."
"Being within the human kingdom, I cannot freely use the power of the Blood Corpse, so the battle lines are naturally retreating step by step."
"However, I also know that the war ended a year after you went to other territories to seek help, and naturally, my useless relatives returned empty-handed."
Xilǐ'er, recalling the history he knew, asked again:
"But in the end, the Duke Frostblade family still..."
"That's right. At the time, the identity of Duke Frostblade had already aroused suspicion among some of the kingdom's high-ranking officials. After all, as a short-lived species, humans always give birth to some silly ones."
"It's strange enough that a family could stand strong for nearly five hundred years without the help of elves or any other species."
"You may not know this, but the main force of the demons that led to the destruction of the Duke Frostblade's Territory was those Blood Corpse I left behind in the Demon Realm."
"..."
Xilǐ'er was speechless. He stared blankly at the King of Domination, as if expecting the other to further destroy his worldview.
After a long silence, he finally spoke in a hoarse voice:
"But there are still so many people in the Duke Frostblade's Territory..."
The King of Domination nodded:
"Yes, I transformed them all into Blood Corpse. Otherwise, where do you think the vast population of the Eternal Domain came from?"
" Xilǐ'er, don't judge everything I see by the standards of humans and short-lived species. You think humans turning into Blood Corpse is death, but in the eyes of a born Blood Corpse progenitor like me, it's a form of evolution."
Xilǐ'er felt as if his worldview was collapsing. He was first told that his true identity was that of a human vassal of a vampire grand duke, and then he was told secrets that almost no one in the world knew.
His mind was a complete mess at that moment.
Am I human?
Undoubtedly, perhaps in the first few decades of one's life, that was true, but no matter how you look at it now, it's definitely not.
He himself is not human, his lord is not human, his subjects are not human, his enemies are not human, yet his belief is to fight for humanity.
Isn't this absurd?
Xilǐ'er raised his head blankly, gazing up at the massive phantom of the King of Domination:
Why, why are you telling me this?
"Because you asked, and of course, others have asked, but I usually choose to modify their memories."
The King of Domination's tone made it sound like he was talking about something trivial:
"Because I traded you away as a bargaining chip, and you just happened to ask the question at this moment."
"As a trader who abides by contracts, I will no longer alter your memories."