Chapter 1693: Magnanimous Blaze
Someone once told me that mercy was for the weak.
That gentleness was a sin, and that people need an iron fist as opposed to an open hand
I, vehemently, disagreed with that statement.
Mercy, the act of sparing someone for their wrongdoings, is a privilege of the strong.
In order to be gentle, one must understand the strength they can wield.
And in order for the open hand to be accepted, one needs to know the weight of their own fist.
In other words, kindness is something that has to be fought for in the first place, so you might as well be as strong as an ox.
...
What Serena had said wasn’t entirely wrong.
It she had just killed them in the cold blood, then that would mean none of the citizens of Emeberona would’ve had a chance to truly learn about what their leaders had done.
Well,not without a strong sense of doubt.
Even if this was a world where those with the biggest fist made the rules, not everyone was willing to accept such audacity without at least swearing some form of revenge under their breaths.
But since Serena had gone out of her way to spare and capture Hulna and Feroxxa, many of the latter mentioned allies and followers weren’t as inclined to immediately declare vengeance.
Especially now, since they learned that the noble warriors they had followed and believed in were nothing more than ambitious idiots themselves.
Or at the very least, were willing to sacrifice them for nothing more than vague ambition.
Either way, they weren’t happy with them now and were more than willing to listen to whatever Serena had in mind for them as punishment.
"One of the core tenants of our faith has always been that anyone, regardless of their past, would have a chance to come to our church and have the chance to earn redemption. To burn away their sins and be born anew like a phoenix rising from the ashes. Isn’t that right?" Serena asked her followers in a rhetoric manner.
Mumurs of agreement rumbled throughout the crowd, but one brave soul decided to push their luck.
"But what these two have done is unforgivable! How can we allow them to stay in Emberona after all they had done?!"
"A good point, my child," Serena answered the shouting soul in the crowd. "Which is why they won’t be staying in Emberona. Instead, the two of them shall be sent to one of the frontier monasteries, where they shall reflect for as long as this seal may hold."
As soon as the word, "seal", left Serena’s mouth, both Feroxxa and Hulna reacted as if someone had shoved fire ants down their pants.
"What?!"
"You-you don’t have the power to do such a thing!"
"That’s where you’re wrong," Serena replied with a cold tone of voice. "It’s not my power applying the seal. It’s theirs."
Serena raised her hand into the air, palms open as she channeled a bit of her innate aether into its center.
Seconds later, the [Fire Poker of the Hearth Tender] appeared in her hands.
The moment this ancient treasure appeared in Serena’s hands, the entire city let out a loud roar of shock and approval.
"Is that what I think it is?!"
"It is! It is!"
"I thought it was lost!"
As the holy treasure settled into Serena hands, she took a page from Zhen Liu’s book once more and used a bit of her power and the [Sacred Flame’s] power to change the end of the poker into resembling a burning hot brand with an unusual pattern at the end.
The moment this brand had formed, both Hulna and Feroxxa developed expressions of dread and fear.
"N-no! You can’t!"
"Just kill me. Just kill me!"
When one gets their cultivation sealed at a lower level, Grandmaster and below, it’s considered a tragedy to be sure but not to the level of causing screaming panic.
At the higher levels though, having one’s cultivation sealed is considered by some to be a fate worse than death.
Why?
Because of the crash out that can occur.
Having all of that power, all of that aether flowing in your veins, has a tendency of making one either incredibly humble in realizing the pains it took to get to that point...or incredibly arrogant and prideful to the point that they believe themselves to be the center of the universe and that their downfall is nothing short of an epic tragedy comparable only to an extinction level event.
And unsurprisingly, Hulna and Feroxxa were a bad case of the latter.
Hulna had grown accustomed to the respect his position gave him, of the deferral that others gave him because of all the power in his veins, and the deep pleasure that was rooted in his cultivation.
Feroxxa, on the other hand, was used to being feared, used to relishing the ability to take a man’s life as easy as he could breathe, and the surging violent power inside him gave him a strange sense of control over his life.
But now, in a couple of seconds, all of that was going to be sealed away.
Going from nigh invincible to incredibly mortal wasn’t a great feeling.
"And so, in accordance to the laws of the faith. In hope that you two will learn from your myriad of mistakes, in hope that you will redeem yourselves, I seal your cultivation."
"No!"
"Fuck!"
The two abbotts attempted to lash out against their bonds, attempted to free themselves or die trying...but they couldn’t.
When the [Flame of Ambition] took back its power, it had damaged their core cultivation to the point that they could be held in such a manner.
Hell, it was the reason why Serena was able to apply this seal in the first place.
[Nuh uh!]
[Stay still!]
But before the two fellows could try and escape the consequences of their actions, Goldie and Silvie held them down and gave Serena easy access to apply the seal to both of their chests.
A surge of aether washed over the defeated warriors as they could feel their channels becoming impeded and their once powerful bodies began to feel more and more mortal by the second.
Making the matter even worse for them, was the fact that their punishment was being cheered on by the people that had once looked up to them.
By the time the seal was completed, the two former warriors felt lower than they had ever been in this life or another.
They felt even weaker than they had back in their Novice says.
Needless to say, this sudden drop in power was...excruciating.
With the deed now done, Serena turned back towards the citizens to explain what she was going to do with the defeated Erupting Dawn princes.
The princes had half expected to get their cultivation sealed as well, and they were more than willing to prevent such a thing with bloodshed if needed.
However, what Serena had in mind was actually significantly more humiliating...and possibly fatal.
"And now, my dear people, I hate to disappoint you but I will not be exacting punishment or sealing the cultivation of these three princes from the Erupting Dawn Empire," Serena announced, much to the confusion of the people below and the prisoners behind her.
"Weh?"
"Why?"
"They should be burned alive for attacking us in the first place!"
"Hang them by their balls!"
"Instead," Serena continued while ignoring the cries for violent retribution. "They shall become the lynchpin in finally establishing peace and ending this war!"
"Oh!"
"Okay, that makes a lot more sense."
Hearing that they were going to be used political bargaining chips didn’t bring any form of relief to the Erupting Dawn princes. Instead, it helped to solidify the fear that they were feeling when they were initially told of their fate by the Kaijin Lord.
It was also in this moment that they realized something rather important.
"Did...did we get lured into a trap by that Kaijin Lord...just so that we could be used political bargaining chips?" Galban asked his brothers.
"I think that’s the case, yes," Lauvanne answered with a grim expression.
"Did we even have a chance at the start?" Lofarro couldn’t help but to darkly muse.
"In the upcoming weeks, I will be sending diplomats to the Erupting Dawn Emperor, detailing how their prodigal sons have been captured in battle. And instead of demanding a ransom, we shall demand peace!"
This was the most political leverage the theocracy had since the beginning of this war.
Even if the Erupting Dawn Emperor was a martial-obsessed warmonger, the man must’ve still had a heart for his children, right?
And even if he didn’t actually end the war for the sake of his flesh and blood, the reputational backlash alone would make the Empire’s allies think twice of working with them further and cause even greater internal divisions.
At least, that was the theory.
Either way, it was a better plan than just fighting a pointless war.