The Lord Of Blood Hill

Catherine's casual words leave Henwell frozen in place.

His mind begins racing wildly. Every scene he has experienced since arriving in Billie starts surfacing in his thoughts.

In the end, the faces of the Marquess of Nothing and Ulysses appear in Henwell's mind.

Then those two faces slowly overlap.

Henwell lets out a long breath, and Catherine notices the change in his mood.

She asks curiously, "What? You do not believe my father was an Iron Knight?"

After saying that, she rolls her eyes at Henwell. "Do not think you are the only genius. There are so many people on the continent. There are plenty of geniuses."

Henwell takes the chance to change the subject and gives a bitter smile. "Of course I know. I was just thinking of something else."

"When there are more people, the probability of geniuses being born naturally rises."

"Perhaps there is a genius with the talent to become a professional somewhere out there. Because he has no access to the extraordinary path, he is still a serf right now. Perhaps he will remain a serf for the rest of his life."

"Besides, I have never thought of myself as a genius. I merely worked a little harder."

Catherine stares at Henwell. "You are indeed a genius. The entire continent acknowledges it. You do not need to be modest."

"Perhaps you think every choice you made was blessed by luck, and that all your struggles merely brought you everything you have now."

"I know you have always wanted to open the extraordinary path and let more people walk it."

"But I must warn you now. Do not ever do that. Everyone will treat you as an enemy."

Henwell frowns. "Because there are not enough cultivation resources? Or because the noble class wants to maintain its lead?"

Catherine says, "Both. And neither. Those are indeed what people think, but they are not what truly binds everyone."

Henwell asks, "The Western Federation? The church and the empire?"

Catherine shakes her head again. "You can say that, but it is not precise enough. To be accurate, it is the gods."

"The gods do not allow this. They do not allow the extraordinary to become widespread. They set this rule, and they strictly enforce it."

Henwell nods lightly. "So that is how it is. However, as far as I know, the gods are all in their divine kingdoms and cannot interfere with the mortal world at will."

"They can indeed project incarnations onto saints in the mortal world, but that also comes with many restrictions, and their strength is affected. They cannot fully display their own power."

"There are also supreme professionals in the mortal world. For certain special reasons, those people specifically hunt down such divine incarnations."

"The gods do not directly interfere with the mortal world. They only use the strength of their believers in the mortal world to achieve their goals."

Catherine says, "It is not only the church. Even the empire is a force through which the gods interfere with the mortal world."

"Take the Lord of the Holy Spirit as an example."

"The Holy Spirit Church is the tool He left in the mortal world, while the Groias Empire is likewise the target of His projected power."

"The church is the executor of His faith, while the empire is His legacy. Members of the imperial family are the bloodline He left in the mortal world."

"The royal family here is also a branch of the Groias imperial family. Strictly speaking, we are also descendants of a god."

This is the first time Henwell has heard such information. He looks at Catherine curiously. "How do you know these secrets?"

Catherine says, "My father told me. Half a month ago, he suddenly called me over and talked to me about many things, including the origin of our royal bloodline."

"He also told me some rules. Some were left by gods, some were established by our continent, and some simply cannot be spoken to outsiders."

Henwell does not keep pressing.

He understands why Ulysses did this.

He must have wanted to leave important information for Catherine, his only living child, and tell her the secrets a king needs to know.

At that time, Ulysses had likely already planned his own ending.

Henwell believes that such a clever man must have arranged everything for Catherine, and Henwell does not need to interfere.

His main energy now must still be placed on the Western Federation and the Veil. First, he needs to find a way to get out of this place.

Over the next few days, the royal members of Billie go through strict review. Only after it is confirmed that there are no Veil plants among them do they begin discussing the pursuit of the Veil.

At this time, Henwell also receives news that his people are almost in position.

It is another year's Midsummer Festival, and many guests have arrived at Bloodhorn Arena.

Because the change at Sunflower Fortress more than a month ago led to the king's death, undercurrents now surge through the entire Billie Kingdom.

Yet none of the surrounding countries dares come over to test the waters.

That is because important figures from the church and the empire are still stationed here.

The core area of the entire Billie Kingdom is under a tense atmosphere.

Even service and entertainment businesses are heavily affected.

Places like the arena have remained closed for rest and reorganization.

The powerful and noble families of every side are also actively moving around, trying to determine who the next king will be so they can choose a side in time and obtain enough benefits.

No one notices that many unfamiliar faces have appeared at Bloodhorn Arena.

Moreover, the banner of a church Paladin is now planted at the entrance of Bloodhorn Arena, so no one is going to come looking for trouble.

Ruper, the acting city lord of Yinxin City, also comes to the arena today.

He will need to cooperate with Henwell on many matters next.

When he enters Bloodhorn Arena, he discovers a large number of Lord Iron Guards armed to the teeth.

There are nearly four hundred of these personal guards of Henwell.

In addition, there are many elite warriors wearing different styles of armor, though all of them bear the emblem of Peace Haven.

With doubts in his heart, Ruper enters the meeting room, only to be stunned again.

A burly man steps forward, spreads his arms, and gives Ruper a bear hug. "Flying Ant, long time no see!"

After the hug, Flying Ant studies him for a moment before reacting. He punches the man's shoulder. "Good lad, Fathead! I almost did not recognize you!"

Gevana laughs from the side. "Flying Ant, Kivel is a legion commander now!"

Flying Ant Ruper looks at Gevana. "Musician! You are not bad yourself!"

"Back during the Bloodgold Plain Campaign, you led troops in a hard charge against Ika elites. Your name was famous!"

Everyone who has come here is one of the young gladiators from back then. Now, all of them are senior commanders leading troops.

Even Chick, who has only recently returned to Peace Haven from the Western Federation, and Victor, the administrator of Peace Haven, have personally come over.

After everyone exchanges greetings for a while, Henwell pulls the conversation back to business.

"Everyone, there is something we must personally do next. I have already found the location of the Forge Furnace Training Camp."

Everyone falls silent.

To them, that place is a nightmare they cannot shake off.

Even now, they still wake from nightmares from time to time, dreaming that they have returned to that fragile, terrified period.

Henwell says in a low voice, "I believe you would very much like to go back and see our old school, and have a good chat with those instructors who taught us so carefully."

Henwell steps forward, draws his longsword, and thrusts it into the ground. "Let us go collect our graduation certificates."

In silence, everyone steps forward, draws their longswords, and thrusts them into the ground, forming a circle.

The boys from back then will now personally end the nightmare that has haunted them.