The Great Wheel of Life

Yusewood's abnormality bothered Faust quite a bit, and he kept questioning the veteran on his way back.

The concept of the great wheel of life was something Faust had heard of several times before; it was considered common knowledge in occultism, though it was rarely mentioned.

The so-called great wheel of life was the balance established by all life in the entire world. Legend had it that on the outside of this world, the circuits of the great wheel of life contained the soul of every living being; whether born or passing away, nothing could escape the operation of these circuits.

In short, it was the concept of reincarnation.

However, because no human had ever been able to break through the firmament to reach the starry sky, this remained merely a hypothesis.

That was until the fairy confirmed the legend.

【Actually, the son of man was able to perceive and interfere with the circuits of the great wheel of life in the Age of Gods. But later, because of the actions of certain defiant ones, the great wheel of life became a taboo. Among the children of man, no one possesses that knowledge anymore.】

Faust nodded.

"Then what's the deal with the loophole in the great wheel of life you mentioned?"

【A loophole is a loophole. Under the operation of the wheel of destiny, it is something that should not exist. To some extent, it can even be compared to a witches' feast... Of course, there is a fundamental difference between the two. A witch is a darling of fate, but a loophole is an error that needs to be fixed.】

Understood—one was legal, the other illegal.

Faust wanted to press further, but the fairy suddenly spoke in a cheerful, energetic voice.

【Mephisto doesn't know!】

Usually, when Mephistopheles acted cute like this, it meant it truly didn't know.

Faust didn't dwell on it; he would learn what he needed to know sooner or later. The urgent matter at hand was to beat the rebellious hearts of the Midwinter Kingdom's vassals into submission. This was extremely important.

Since the territories of the Qingxi Kingdom and the Midwinter Kingdom were not yet connected, Faust currently wanted to integrate the original southeastern border of the Empire into a tight-knit union. This would be of great benefit whether it was for receiving aid from Imperial allies or participating in the upcoming encirclement war.

The prince immediately called for Viviana to organize the royal guard of the royal capital. With weapons and equipment provided by the Second Empire, any humanoid creature could have their combat strength forcibly raised by luxury gear that armed them to the teeth.

Although in a world of extreme heroism, a legion might not play a critical role other than serving as a background or a stepping stone, someone still had to garrison the lands, right?

Yusewood's efficiency was quite high. Three days after Faust gave the spell mark to his royal sister, she had already set up a teleportation circle within the Qingxi palace.

The teleportation circle maintained by Lola could only transfer three to four people at most.

This was already impressive; after all, it was a forbidden art that crossed spatial distances. If one wanted a large-scale teleportation capable of moving an entire legion, that wasn't something a single high warlock could achieve; one would have to find the ruins of a star gate from the Golden Age.

Faust was also prepared to return to the Midwinter Kingdom. There was nothing left to do in Qingxi. With the imperial civil war hanging over him like the sword of Damocles, there wasn't much time to waste; every second counted.

However, just before he was about to leave, Faust was utterly surprised to find that his mentor on the path of the martial saint also intended to join the team.

"Teacher Mistoria, didn't you say you didn't plan to involve yourself in the struggles of humans?"

Faust was quite surprised. Although he had already coaxed Mistoria into his kingdom, he didn't yet have the ability to command her.

The Prince of Qingxi felt it was only a matter of time, but he hadn't expected it to happen so soon.

The elf lady, holding her sword bag, stared directly at Faust with her golden eyes.

"Can humans live for a hundred years... no, can they live for another eighty years?"

Faust shrugged. "I don't think they can."

The path system of this fairy tale world was versatile as a source of supernatural power; there were all sorts of mystery traits—if you could think of it, it existed.

However, there was one area where it was quite poor, or perhaps even considered a taboo.

That was the matter of longevity.

Almost every powerhouse in occultism enjoyed eternal youth, but their lifespans didn't increase much. Even a Saint who reached the pinnacle and practiced good health would only have a lifespan of one or two hundred years at most.

Meanwhile, for a race like the elves, the average lifespan was eight hundred years.

As for legendary high beings like the Lady of the Lake or fairies, the concept of a lifespan didn't even exist. They were born with the same longevity as the heavens, immortal and indestructible.

Mistoria nodded. "Yes, a hundred years is too long for a human. Even if I were to wait, it would be agonizing..."

The elf martial saint took a step forward, meeting Faust's gaze.

"You are the contractor of the primordial fairy, and you can achieve such illustrious deeds. I am certain you are the prophesied person. Therefore, to make it happen as early as possible, I hope you can establish as many merits as you can and then head to the Zhexuan Kingdom as soon as possible."

Faust said in surprise, "Is that really okay? I welcome your joining, Teacher, but your principles..."

"It does indeed go against my principles, but if it is for the sake of Princess Irithea, then all principles become insignificant."

In Faust's memory, Mistoria, who was indifferent and only interested in food and combat, only showed expressions of admiration and longing when mentioning her own princess.

Then, the elf martial saint immediately became dejected, filled with regret and self-reproach.

"If it weren't for the sacrifice of Her Highness, how could the Zhexuan Kingdom continue to exist? But we... we useless people can only stand by helplessly, waiting for the Day of Prophecy."

"I am no longer willing to continue through these years of self-abandonment. I must do something."

The Prince of Qingxi nodded.

"Alright, I understand. I will eventually go and face that great fiend troubling the Zhexuan Kingdom. But the Zhexuan Kingdom has been closed off for so long; what exactly happened in the elflands?"

Faust was already fairly certain that the Princess of Zhexuan, the "Dawn Maiden," was the 【witch】 from "Sleeping Beauty." Currently, a "true love's kiss" was indeed the condition to wake the Sleeping Beauty, but what kind of powerhouse was the curse of the Zhexuan Kingdom?

It couldn't be another disaster caused by a dragon, could it?

When asked for such critical information, the flaxen-haired elf lady's face turned pale.

"That is a nightmare, the end, the... false god that has remained unchanged in Zhexuan since the beginning."

She might as well have said nothing.

Regardless, gaining the formal assistance of the elf martial saint was an unexpected joy for Faust.

As for the Zhexuan Kingdom, since Mephisto said there was no rush, Faust naturally wasn't in a hurry either.

He would leave it alone for now!

Returning to the Midwinter royal capital through the teleportation circle, Faust immediately set out on the path of reconquest.

The current prince, even without boarding Zilliax, was strong enough to rival a 【hero】 based on his own abilities. For remote small countries, a 【hero】 was practically the ceiling of combat power.

Furthermore, reclaiming vassal states didn't require a bloodbath; showing enough military force as a deterrent was sufficient.

Viviana went without saying; unless there was an accident, the knight girl would always follow behind Faust.

And Selena and Lola were currently in a honeymoon phase... or perhaps they would always be, wishing to be inseparable. In short, no matter what was said, it was impossible to separate them.

He would just let them drain him dry.

Since this also counted as training for the 【witches】' paths, Faust allowed it by default.

Add to that the newly joined Teacher Mistoria—two genuine 【witches】, one high warlock, and one elf martial saint.

Faust's reconquest team was starting to look like a bit of a galactic warship.