The Lord Of Blood Hill

Chapter 636: I Do Not Need a Shadow

The coronation ceremony has no further accidents. Under the witness of many sides, Obilian becomes Lumir's fifty-fifth king.During the palace banquet, someone unexpected comes to find Henwell.

Looking at Octopus of Coral Reef, Henwell says, "What business do you have with me?"

Octopus says nothing and simply studies Henwell.

After Octopus stares at him for a while, Henwell frowns. "Do you want to kill me? Here? Do you know what the consequences would be?"

After a moment, Octopus shakes his head. "Although I want to do that, I am not your opponent."

"You truly are the strongest of the younger generation. It has been many years since such a heaven-defying talent appeared on this continent."

"I came to see you today because I have something to ask of you. If you can..."

Henwell waves a hand and cuts him off. "I refuse."

Octopus freezes. "You have not even heard what I want to ask."

Henwell says, "I know what you want. You want a duel with me. You want to die under my sword."

Octopus smiles. "You are that confident in your strength?"

Henwell nods. "Of course. Otherwise, I would not have lived this long."

Octopus asks, "Then why can you not grant my final wish?"

Henwell says helplessly, "Because there are many things involved. I do not want Lumir to hate me too much."

"Next, what Obilian needs to do is guide the people of Lumir into awakening their national consciousness."

"The best way to do that is to set up an enemy."

"Ika is too powerful, and Ogiro is too unpredictable."

"Peace Haven is the right size. It is powerful enough, but not so powerful that Lumir would feel despair."

"More importantly, Peace Haven only fights for its own interests. It will not recklessly launch a war just because Lumir hates it."

"That would allow Lumir to unite, while also preventing the situation from spinning out of control and suddenly breaking into a large-scale war."

Here, Henwell looks toward Obilian in the distance. "Your plan is good, but as I said before, Peace Haven only fights for interests."

"Under normal circumstances, I will not gamble with the lives of my people for some useless adventure."

"More importantly, whether everyone believes it or not, I am not someone who enjoys killing."

"If I have a choice, I would rather use peaceful means to resolve all the disputes before me."

"You want an honorable exit, but do not use me as your stage. For a long time to come, Peace Haven does not want to become Lumir's mortal enemy."

Henwell raises his cup toward the Western Federation. "My personal suggestion is that if Lumir wants to awaken its national consciousness, it should take that side as its opponent instead."

"Prince Dilio is preparing to establish a western Lumir regime with the Western Federation's support."

"This is a good chance for you to complete the construction of your concept of a nation. After all, suppressing a divided rebel army can be justified no matter how you explain it."

"More importantly, the western Lumir that is about to be established is weak enough compared with every side."

With that, Henwell turns to leave.

After taking two steps, Henwell suddenly turns back and asks, "Lord Octopus, I really want to know what made you betray Semson."

"You two were friends for decades. You went through all kinds of desperate dangers together."

"To you, the previous palace chaos was only a small storm."

"It was not enough to make you give up hope and turn to Obilian."

"To be honest, Obilian is a good leader, but he is not necessarily a good king."

"I think you understand what I mean. Comparatively speaking, the eldest prince is actually more suitable for Lumir's current situation."

Octopus shakes his head. "No. Dilio is much like his father. He is a qualified politician. He knows when to advance, when to retreat, what to keep, and what to give up."

"Perhaps if he takes the throne, he can move among the different sides and make Lumir's situation a little better."

"But that would only make him a young Semson. It would not change the essence of Lumir."

"That also means Lumir's ending would not change because he came to power."

"Lumir is already standing at the edge of a cliff. It does not need a man who only patches old walls."

"It needs a strong, bold king, one who dares to act, dares to change, and dares to take risks."

"Long years of balancing every side and ruling from the middle have made Lumir like a dying patient."

"Now, gentle medicine can no longer save Lumir. Only drastic medicine can."

"Either way, we die. In that case, we might as well try a road no one has tried before."

Henwell is a little surprised. "My apologies. I do not mean to look down on you."

"But to be honest, this seems unlike the kind of political insight you should have."

Octopus nods. "Indeed. I did not think of it. Semson said it. He told me this years ago."

"At that time, he gave me an order. When Lumir reached a crisis, I was to choose a more radical heir."

"At the same time, he warned me that one day in the future, even when he clearly should step down, he might still cling to power."

"When that day came, I had to stop him. I could not allow him to be corroded by power and drag Lumir into the abyss with him."

Octopus reveals a smile. "So, I never betrayed Semson. The one I have always been loyal to is him."

"But not the current him, whose eyes have been covered by the desire for power. I am his shadow. That has never changed."

"Only when he is about to merge with the darkness must I, as his shadow, correct his actions."

Octopus's smile carries helplessness, regret, pain, relief...

Henwell is silent for a moment, then says solemnly, "Lord Octopus, whether as King Semson's friend, his shadow, or a duchy guardian, you are qualified."

"That is worthy of admiration."

"Fortunately, someone like you is about to die. You are about to follow Semson in death."

"Otherwise, with your support, Obilian would grow even faster, and Peace Haven would need to be even more careful of the future Lumir."

With that, Henwell turns to leave.

Octopus calls out to him again. "Henwell! Have you prepared a shadow for yourself?"

"When you are corroded by power one day, who will be able to wake you?"

Henwell's steps stop. He does not turn back, and he says nothing. After a moment, he walks away.

For the rest of the banquet, Henwell no longer has the heart to take part.

Whether it is the truth Octopus spoke of, or the final question Octopus asked, both churn in Henwell's heart.

That is right.

If one day he becomes lost in power, wealth, and status, who will be able to make him clear-headed again?

When a person is dreaming, he does not realize he is dreaming.

In the future, who will wake him from the beautiful dream of power?

His achievements are unmatched, and his personal force stands at the peak of the world.

Who else can make him sober?

Henwell thinks of Newwood. He thinks of those predecessors who failed and were dealt with by Newwood.

Will there be a day when he too must face Newwood, who watches him coldly with a blade in hand?

Looking at the stars of midsummer, Henwell remains silent for a long time.

He does not know how much time passes before he lets out a long breath.

Silently, he says to himself, since no one can wake me, then I will make sure I never dream. I will remain clear-headed at every moment.