Chapter 1410: Chapter 235: Now a Silver Peak Earl
"This is not a prophecy, but a fact, although not so terrifying." Ian frowned slightly. "The Empire indeed faced resource depletion due to fighting on two fronts, but itâs not to the extent of chaos."
"This is a strategic deception. You must lure the enemy deep... But Fiery Flame Land wonât believe my prophecy, theyâre not so easily fooled."
"Unless..."
Ianâs eyes turned stern. "You intend to turn the fake scenario into reality."
"It wonât reach that level, Prophet."
The staff of the Spirit Wisdom Institute shook their heads, calmly saying, "We also understand that Fiery Flame Land wonât believe your prophecy. Itâs not about deceiving the enemy."
"Sir, this is a prophecy aimed at the people. We want the people to believe we are at a disadvantage, that we are about to encounter a major crisis, that we are about to loseâ"
"Then we won." Raising his brow, Ian spoke softly. "Indeed. If the standoff continues, the people will grow weary, war-fatigued, and feel displeasure and pain from the fires of war."
"With that being the case, why not create a crisis that almost threatens everyone; according to Fiery Flame Landâs reputation in Naling Western Frontier, almost no one holds any illusions about their invasion, once attacked, it will inevitably lead to ruin."
"Under such fear, the originally numb hearts will be stirred, becoming sensitive and expectant, uneasy yet hopeful."
"If at this moment, someone surpasses a âprophecyâ, bringing a miraculous âgreat victoryâ..."
At this point, Ian smiled. "That would indeed be an extraordinary victory."
"But this is based on my prophecyâs accuracy and prestige."
"Yes. This is the sacrifice we are beseeching you to make..."
Having said so, all the staff from the Spirit Wisdom Institute and other government officials from the Empire aboard the skyship knelt partially to Ian. "Here is an edict from inside Setar Imperial Palace. Prophet, please have a look."
An imperial edict... isnât that written to me by Axel?
Ian silently took the golden edict and read its contents, his expression turning peculiar.
"Rehabilitate Teacher Hiliard... restore the Chehalorvo Family, return their noble title of Earl, release the ancestral land from the ban, and return all research materials to the Chehalorvo Family, along with..."
[Just make sure your senior brother doesnât openly appear in the Empire]
Without any text, a pure thought emerged from the paper, conversing with Ian: [I wonât care what he does]
[Similarly, my Silver Peak Earl, my nominal junior... as long as you uphold the Empireâs âgreat causeâ, as long as you still have the ideals originating from Inega II]
[Then thereâs actually no contradiction between us]
"Earl? A two-level leap in title?"
Ian raised his head, incredulous, looking at the empire officials before him, who seemingly knew about this long ago, and applauded, saying: "Yes, congratulations, Earl!"
"Given your achievements and status, the position of Earl is completely fitting!"
At this moment, apart from a sense of inherent absurdity, Ianâs rationale told him it was quite normal.
The Chehalorvo Family were originally Imperial Capital Earls, renowned for academia and relic development, not possessing actual lands; restoring honor and industry wasnât too difficult, it mainly depended on Ianâs qualifications.
And now, being confirmed as the Prophet, not speaking of the many materials and industries originally belonging to the Chehalorvo Family being locked by the Empire as top-level secrets, even if other families devoured them, at the mention of the word âprophetâ, they would voluntarily spit them out obediently.
An âeighteen and underâ prophet, who knows how long he could live, assets from an Imperial Capital Earlâs family, if not, itâs unnecessary to make an enemy over those assets!
Of course, what astonished Ian the most wasnât this, but Axelâs unbelievable gesture.
Rehabilitating the Chehalorvo Family wasnât a big deal; the real importance lay in returning the âresearch materialsâ... possibly relating to Echo research, is Axel genuinely unaware, or is he deliberately testing? Or does he simply not care?
And rehabilitating Teacher Hiliard made Ianâs head spin even moreâif Axel truly wanted rehabilitation, why not do it earlier, but instead wait until after Mahdi gains fame and is forced away by him personally?
And the subsequent words, as long as Mahdi doesnât appear, he wonât care... these words somewhat echo the sentiment when Teacher Hiliard roamed the Empire with few pursuing him; back then Axel treated his teacher, the First Knight, with the same attitude.
But why? This attitude of neither destroying nor drawing close indicates a massive secret behind it!
What exactly is this secret?
"It seems... he doesnât wish for The Unyielding Fortress to disappear, nor for it to die â thus in the Exotic Species Research Institute, ostensibly putting me at deathâs door, he actually used light beams to accelerate my departure, avoiding involvement from other Fifth Energy Level."
Though calm in appearance, Ian felt turbulent waves within: "Behind The Unyielding Fortress, there definitely lie secrets unknown to me now... indeed, the Empireâs Unyielding Fortress is incomplete, only the one in teacherâs hands is a complete Fifth Energy Level inheritance... where lies the disparity between them?"