Chapter 157: The Corpse of a God
First.
Aurielle’s mother had become a noble after marrying the Human Emperor.
That status alone discouraged most nobles from openly attacking her territory.
The second reason. was the actual reason and was far more dangerous.
The Stormhowl Mountains.
The colossal mountain range separating the eastern territories from the Endless Forest.
A region rumored to shelter ancient Overlord Beasts.
Along with forgotten races that had once ruled Valtharion before retreating deep into the forest.
A large portion of the Blackstone Mine extended beyond those mountains.
During Aurielle’s mother’s reign.
The miners had gradually expanded deeper into the mountain.
Until..
They disturbed something that should not have been awakened.
An Evolved Beast.
A monster possessing the strength of a Golden Knight.
Its appearance nearly plunged the entire Blackstone Territory into disaster.
Fortunately Aurielle’s mother possessed a high-tier magic scroll.
Using it she managed to kill the beast.
However it had also been her greatest trump card.
Although the beast died, the territory also suffered devastating losses.
Thousands of soldiers perished. The mines were heavily damaged. And the treasury was nearly emptied.
To rebuild everything she had no choice but to borrow gold from Baron Cedric.
At an interest rate high enough to become a lifetime burden for her territory.
"...Poor woman." Luke quietly sighed.
Everything he knew about those events had come from Aurielle herself.
Naturally he had also asked where her mother was now.
The moment he asked Aurielle’s expression darkened.
Yet she chose not to answer.
Over time Luke had come to understand her better.
He could tell she wasn’t hiding the truth because she distrusted him.
She was trying to protect him. Though he still couldn’t understand why.
Perhaps...
Whatever secret surrounded her mother was something Aurielle believed he wasn’t ready to shoulder yet.
So Luke also didn’t press the matter.
’She’ll tell me when she’s ready’ With that quiet thought.
He leaned back in his chair, gazing silently at the ceiling.
That incident was precisely why mining operations had been halted for many years.
Only recently had Luke ordered them to resume.
At the same time, prisoners convicted of serious crimes were being sent there as laborers.
Murderers. Traitors. And those guilty of unforgivable crimes.
If they died while mining Luke wouldn’t lose any sleep over it.
Of course he didn’t send every criminal there.
Petty thieves and those who had committed minor offenses received lighter punishments.
After all he wasn’t short on money.
There was no need to squeeze every last coin from the mines at the cost of innocent lives.
Everything could proceed slowly.
Leaning forward once more, Luke picked up his quill and added another task to the list resting on his desk.
• Deal with the Stormhowl Mountains.
Sooner or later...
He intended to explore that place as well.
Beyond those mountains lay one of Valtharion’s greatest mysteries.
The Endless Forest.
A place said to contain treasures beyond imagination.
Yet not a single major power dared venture too deeply into it anymore.
Surprisingly The Endless Forest wasn’t what Luke had imagined.
Instead of stretching across the surface. It existed beneath the world.
An underground forest.
Its gigantic trees bore shimmering purple leaves, while their towering trunks disappeared into endless darkness.
No one had ever discovered where the forest truly ended. Or how deep it reached.
Countless expeditions had ventured inside. Almost all of them met the same fate.
Complete annihilation.
The terrifying Overlord Beasts lurking within rarely allowed anyone to return alive.
Yet even repeated failures failed to discourage the Human Emperor of that era.
Because of a single legend.
A legend claiming...
The Endless Forest concealed a path across the Endless Ocean.
The moment that rumor spread. The entire world descended into madness.
Since the Endless Forest existed beneath every continent.
Every race believed the hidden path might lie beneath their own lands.
For centuries exploration parties continuously entered the underground wilderness.
None succeeded.
Eventually most races abandoned the search.
Until one catastrophic decision changed history forever.
A group of Demi-Gods decided to explore the Endless Forest themselves.
The announcement alone shook the entire world.
Everyone believed if anyone could uncover its secrets.
It would be them.
And...
They did.
The Demi-Gods discovered the corpse of a god.
A true god.
At first the world celebrated. Until the next report arrived.
The corpse had awakened.
Within moments...
Every Demi-God who entered the forest was slaughtered.
Not one survived. But the nightmare didn’t end there.
The dead god emerged from the Endless Forest. And stepped onto the surface.
The result was exactly what anyone would expect.
An entire continent vanished.
Every kingdom. Every civilization. Every living creature.
Erased.
Even the mighty Overlord races. Whose armies had ruled Valtharion current Era.
Failed to survive more than a few seconds.
Terror spread throughout the world.
For the first time in countless generations. Every race truly feared extinction.
And so they prayed. Prayed desperately to their gods.
Finally the gods answered.
Not by descending personally. But by sending their Apostles.
One after another Divine Apostles arrived upon Valtharion.
The battle between them and the dead god lasted for months.
Its aftershocks devastated the entire world.
Tsunamis swallowed coastlines.
Earthquakes split continents apart.
Volcanoes erupted without warning.
Tornadoes consumed entire kingdoms.
Floods, Droughts.
Every natural disaster imaginable struck the world.
That war reminded every living being of one undeniable truth.
The gods were not myths. Nor were they beings mortals could ever hope to comprehend.
Eventually the Apostles prevailed. The battlefield itself shattered.
The continent where they fought broke apart into countless fragments.
Just when everyone believed the nightmare had finally ended.
The dead god’s body dissolved into a vast crimson miasma.
The crimson mist spread across the shattered land. Pulling every broken fragment back together.
Before the Apostles could stop it.
The corpse sacrificed itself. A gigantic crimson fissure tore open the heavens.
And from that crack...
Came the demons.
Luke had been stunned when Aurielle first told him this story.
Even now he still found it difficult to believe.
A search for treasure. Had ultimately unleashed the greatest catastrophe in Valtharion’s history.
"The Demon Continent..." Luke quietly murmured.
The continent where the dead god had emerged eventually became the homeland of the demons.
From that day onward. It was forever known by that name.
Scholars later proposed countless theories.
Perhaps a god—or even an Outer God—had died within Valtharion during the previous era.
But Gods were immortal.
Maybe its consciousness had perished. But its divine body had remained.
Perhaps...
Its final purpose had always been to summon the demons into this world.
Although no one knew the truth. That single incident revealed one thing.
Something unimaginably terrible had happened during the previous era.
Something significant enough to drive the gods away from Valtharion.
After that disaster. The great races officially abandoned all large-scale exploration of the Endless Forest.
Even today only treasure hunters and reckless adventurers dared enter its depths.
And nearly half of them. Never returned.
Luke shook his head, pushing those ancient stories out of his mind.
There would be plenty of time to uncover those mysteries in the future.
For now...
He picked up the next report. It detailed the recent war.