BXBX NOVEL Chapter 290: The Past and Future
Chapter 290: The Past and Future
Marquis Gabrulain frowned deeply, "I never imagined that the main city of the empire's southern border would become so desolate in such a short time."
He glanced at the Prophet of Doom, Primo. The mysterious old man, currently leaning on his staff, surveyed his surroundings before lowering his hood to reveal sparse hair and a withered, aged face. This was the Marquis's first clear view of the prophet, who appeared utterly unremarkable---an unimpressive old man. His left eye was cloudy and lifeless, while his right was covered by a specially crafted metal eyepatch adorned with sealing runes.
Marquis Gabrulain asked, puzzled, "Prophet, what are you doing...?"
Primo replied calmly, "Let me see the future of this place."
The Marquis was taken aback. Could the legends be true? Could the prophet indeed see into the future? If so, that would be terrifying. With such a formidable ability, it would be impossible for anyone to defeat him, and he could easily secure an invincible position for himself.
As they spoke, the Prophet began to unseal his eyepatch. Upon removing it, layers of rune-inscribed bandages were revealed, and as these too were unraveled, the heavily sealed right eye was finally exposed. Unlike the left eye, this one resembled a fake, prosthetic eye, akin to a silver gemstone embedded in place, emitting a strange and indescribable aura.
In the next moment, a powerful force of time emanated from the gem-like eyeball, drawing the Prophet, the Marquis, and the two accompanying Heroes into a special domain. Within this domain, the surroundings rapidly shifted. Marquis Gabrulain soon saw hundreds of true dragons appear above Bachor City. The city activated its protective barrier, and countless Heroes desperately resisted.
However, dragon flames surged continuously. Eventually, under the joint effort of seven Dragon Kings, the Elven King, the Dwarven King, the Giant King, and about ten other monarchs, Bachor City's defenses could no longer hold and were utterly breached. The imperial garrison stationed there could not withstand the onslaught, and the battle was entirely one-sided, with the two forces being completely mismatched in strength. In the end, the conflict destroyed nearly half of Bachor City. The citizens of Bachor City had no choice but to surrender. At that moment, a figure appeared in Bachor City. This figure was very blurry, making it impossible to discern their true appearance.
At that moment, the progression and movement of the entire space came to a halt. All the scenes shattered, the domain was dissolved, and the four individuals returned to normal spacetime.
"This... what is this?" Marquis Gabrulain asked, "It seemed like I witnessed the fall of Bachor City. Is this the fate that awaits this place?"
The Prophet Primo, leaning on his staff, appeared somewhat weary, indicating that even for a being of his extraordinary caliber, forecasting the fate of such a significant city was no small feat.
"Indeed," Primo confirmed, "This is one possible future."
The Marquis couldn't help but inquire, "One possible future? Does that mean the future can change depending on circumstances?"
Primo nodded, "Exactly. The future is not a fixed destiny but the inevitable outcome based on various variables. If those variables change, the future can also change."
So, it turned out, the future could be changed. Marquis Gabrulain, being no ordinary individual, understood the Prophet's implication. From the future they just witnessed, it seemed the empire had dispatched a considerable force in a final effort to defend Bachor City. However, the city's fall was inevitable. Once Marquis Gabrulain grasped this, he would likely advise the Emperor to abandon the idea of sending elite forces to save Bachor City and instead focus on preserving more cities and core territories of the empire.
In other words, from the moment the future was revealed, it might have already begun to change. Marquis Gabrulain had become a new variable in the equation. If the Empire ceased reinforcing its troops or adopted different strategies based on the Marquis's persuasion, the ultimate future would inevitably change.
The Marquis, impressed, said, "Prophet, your abilities are truly formidable. With your assistance, the Demon King of Darkness City is nothing to fear."
Prophet Primo remained expressionless, but a sense of solemnity emerged. "Let me visit the battlefield to see what methods Darkness City employed to annihilate a million-strong army."
With a few teleportation spells, the group appeared above the battlefield. The ground was still littered with broken armor and weapons, but eerily, there were almost no signs of battle, not a single body, nor the stench of blood one would expect from such a conflict.
Marquis Gabrulain was puzzled, "Such a large-scale battle would surely have resulted in rivers of blood, with the stench lingering for months. It's surprising that there's no trace of it here."
Could this really be a battlefield? The Marquis was filled with doubt.
Primo once again unsealed his right eye and released his special temporal domain, but this time, instead of foreseeing the future, he traced back to the past. They clearly witnessed the entire process of the Blood Moon's emergence. The extreme horror and indescribable presence could even permeate through the flow of time, directly into the domain.
"This... this is..." Prophet Primo said gravely, "A sacrifice to an Evil God?"
At that moment, Primo witnessed the Blood Moon's full formation and its role in the demise of the remaining Heroes, the Guardian Knights, and the two dukes. Eventually, the vast Blood Moon was sucked into a tearing rift and vanished from this world, heading towards the depths of the cosmos. During this process, Primo glanced into the rift and could distinctly sense a consciousness beyond mortal comprehension, transcending elements and time and space, sweeping across this area. In that instant, Primo felt as if his psyche had been heavily struck. His complexion turned exceedingly pale, and he spat out blood, promptly ending the domain and the visions of the past.
"Prophet, are you alright?" asked Marquis Gabrulain, visibly alarmed.
"Incredible. Even within the retrospective time, being noticed by that entity could result in such terrifying consequences." Primo appeared somewhat weakened as he supported himself with his staff and said in a deep voice, "As you've just seen, the Demon King did not directly participate in the battle. He merely used some means to summon an Evil God and conducted a ritual for it."
Marquis Gabrulain's face turned pale with shock, "A ritual for an Evil God? So, the two dukes and the others..."
"They all became sacrifices to the power of the Evil God, used by the Demon King," Primo explained. "However, the Empire can actually be reassured. The power of a god is not so easily borrowed; such a force cannot be summoned a second time."
That explained everything. Such a feat, causing an army of a million to vanish, would have been beyond the capability of any being in this world; only those who have stepped into the realm of the divine, those referred to as gods, could accomplish this. It was surprising that the Demon King had such means. It's one thing for the strength of ordinary deities to be borrowed temporarily, but for him to directly summon and utilize an Evil God was an incredibly bold and risky move.
However, as Primo mentioned, Evil Gods represent uncontrollable chaos. Although the Demon King successfully summoned an Evil God this time, the ritual and altar used for the summoning are unlikely to be reusable, so there's no need to worry about the enemy summoning another Evil God on the battlefield.
"There's one more thing," Prophet Primo said. "I suspect that the true Demon King is not among the Three Dragons of Darkness City. Those three Dragon Kings are likely just a diversion, cultivated by the Demon King to attract attention."
Marquis Gabrulain was even more astonished, "What is the reasoning for that?"
"The Darkness Three Dragons are strong, but they don't stand out among the top-tier Demon Kings. With their strength, they might not even make it onto the leaderboard of Demon Kings, so it's improbable that they could orchestrate such a grand scheme," Primo explained. "Moreover, I noticed a special being who wasn't mentioned in any official reports. If I'm not mistaken, this dragon is the real Demon King!"
Marquis Gabrulain urgently inquired, "Are you sure? What does he look like? What are his abilities?"
If this were true, it would be both astonishing and terrifying. Has the Demon King been concealing his true might from the Empire all along? This might be the primary reason why the Empire has continually underestimated its enemy and suffered defeat after defeat.
Primo shook his head, "He was too vague."
"Why is that?"
Primo chuckled coldly, "There's only one possibility: he also possesses the power of time, and it's incredibly strong!"
"But it doesn't matter," he continued. "When it comes to utilizing the power of time, I won't lose to anyone... Even if he has the power of time, he can't compete with me."
With the information gathering nearly complete and the prophet having sustained some injuries, plus considering this place is currently under the influence of the Demon King's forces, it was deemed unwise to linger any longer. They needed to withdraw quickly.
One of the accompanying Heroes stepped forward and Primo instructed, "Go to the Chaos Forest and investigate the Demon King's main city. Do your best, but don't overextend, your safety is paramount. With your abilities, even if discovered, you should be able to escape."
"Yes!" responded the Hero named Jason, brimming with confidence as he accepted the task.
The prophet and the Marquis then promptly vacated the area to avoid being targeted or ambushed by the Demon King. With this intelligence and the aid of Prophet Primo, the empire could finally regain some informational advantage. This would significantly increase their chances in the upcoming confrontations with the Demon King."