He raised his head, his gaze as cold as frost. “It is true that the support once helped the young tree. But when the support begins to strangle the tree, the gardener's duty is to tear it down.”
The Green Mist King stood up and walked to the window, looking out at the Royal Capital, which was completely sealed off by Moon-Shading boards.
“She once protected us, guided us, and loved this land in her own way. But she is still the source of the curse. Every child born in Solitude must be registered with a Night Companion, every window must be nailed shut with Moon-Shading boards, and every moment spent alone is a tax paid to death.”
The Green Mist King turned around to face the Azure Sky King. “We have treated these instruments of torture as a habit for far too long. If our nurturer has become an obstacle, then that obstacle should no longer exist.”
“How do you plan to deal with her? By relying on some Hero...?”
The Azure Sky King cut himself off as another thought struck him.
Collaborators.
Who were the collaborators?
“So you sought out the demons?” The Azure Sky King's eyes widened. “Have you lost your mind?”
“Oh,” the Green Mist King corrected calmly, “they approached me first. Besides, they are vampires.”
“Who cares if they are demons or vampires? Those monsters won't keep their word! They will only turn Solitude into a massive feeding ground!”
“I know,” the Green Mist King replied with absolute certainty.
These words left the Azure Sky King stunned.
“Devils never keep their word. But those who deal with devils never do so out of trust.” The Green Mist King sat back down in his chair. “All I want is an opportunity, and I have long had my own plan. They want the Hero's life, and they have promised to help me deal with the Witch once they succeed.”
“We are not enemies with the Hero,” the Azure Sky King's voice dropped.
“Do you remember what the Hero did when she was in the other kingdoms? She fought Witches.” The Green Mist King leaned back against his chair. “Of course, the Hero will not be our enemy. On the contrary, she is our friend.”
The Green Mist King looked at the documents on the table. Within them lay a massive millstone of his own careful calculation, one large enough to grind all participants to dust.
“They think they are harvesting the wheat field beneath the moon, but they fail to realize the farmer is standing right behind them,” the Green Mist King murmured. “I want both the vampires and the Witch to die there.”
“You want to use the Hero?” the Azure Sky King asked. “She is not your pawn, and she has nothing to do with Solitude.”
“You are too weak, Little Brother. If the Hero survives, all the better. But no matter what, the New Moon's curse will finally end by my hand, and a new order will arrive,” the Green Mist King said.
The Azure Sky King stared at his elder brother, his eyes filled with nothing but estrangement.
“This is not order.” The Azure Sky King shook his head, a profound sorrow practically seeping from his words. “This is a sacrifice.”
“Has Solitude not been sacrificing all these years?” the Green Mist King countered, his voice finally wavering with emotion. “Every lone traveler swallowed by the moonlight, every child who cannot sleep alone, every pair of strangers bound together just to survive, every village devoid of livestock, birds, and insects—which of these is not a sacrifice?”
The Green Mist King stared directly into the Azure Sky King's eyes. “The only difference is that in the past, we sacrificed to the curse. Now, I am turning the sacrifice toward ending the curse.”
“This is the sacrifice to end all sacrifices.”
The Azure Sky King stood in mute, helpless silence.
He realized that it was impossible to convince the man standing before him.
“I won't let you do this.” The Azure Sky King turned around and marched toward the door. He had to mobilize the Silvervein City Patrol, recall the Royal Mining Seal immediately, and at the very least, stop the execution of the border blockade.
However, stepping through the door was a large contingent of the Royal Guard.
Guards clad in black light armor stood in pairs, blocking the exit.
They blocked the Azure Sky King's path.
“Do you think they can stop an Archmage?” The Azure Sky King paused and looked back at the man behind the long table. “Or are you planning to kill another king?”
“Protection,” the Green Mist King corrected, his expression unchanging. “The purge of the nobility in Silvervein City and the aftermath of the New Moon Sect have not yet settled. It is not suitable for you to maintain contact with external communications right now. The Royal Capital will keep your seals safe for you until the calamity at the border has ended.”
“And what if I refuse?” Mana began to surge around the Azure Sky King, causing the surrounding temperature to plummet instantly.
The Green Mist King did not even release his mana; he simply sat there calmly.
“You wouldn't want two Archmages to reduce the entire Administrative Hall to rubble,” the Green Mist King said. “That would cost many lives. At least half the city would vanish.”
The mana flickered at his fingertips for a long moment before the Azure Sky King finally let his hands go slack.
Before being escorted out of the meeting room, the Azure Sky King turned his head one last time to look at his elder brother behind the long table.
“You think you are saving this country, but you are only preparing a gallows for yourself,” the Azure Sky King said.
“Be it a rope or a blade,” the Green Mist King picked up the contract cylinder sealed with blood wax, “as long as it can strangle the moon, we will use it.”
The heavy oak door closed once more, shutting away all the arguments and brotherly affection behind it.
The Green Mist King sat back down at the long table. Picking up his quill, he pressed the royal seal heavily onto the final sealed document.
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