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Chapter 474 The Great Silence

The language used to form a Spell heavily resembled an existing language which had existed thousands of years before it was born. The uncanny resemblance between the two languages made Chester wonder if the former was derived from the latter. Therefore, he created a thesis addressing the matter.

It was originally titled "Dragon Language: The Origin of Spells." It was the thesis that Chester had shown Basil back when they were still part of the Braxtein Kingdom. It was the reason why he had died mysteriously in Basil's past life. However, the truth behind the not-so-amazing history of humanity's great invention, Spells, was not what angered a certain group of people.

Everything had an origin. It was not a shame to have the origin of one's greatness from another's prided identity. In this case, inventing an inferior language that almost gave the same effect as Dragon Language was not something to be ashamed of. On the contrary, it was something to be proud of. It proved humanity's genius and innovative minds.

Chester would have been rewarded heavily if he had only talked about it, however, he had chosen to figure out the reason why humans could use Magic in the first place. Humans had Magic Circles. What a stupid thought it was indeed. One would simply laugh at him if not for the fact that he questioned the origin of the power of the Four Heroes.

Of the records he had managed to get in his hands, he couldn't find a single paragraph mentioning or even implying that the Four Heroes had Magic Circles, yet they could use Magic. At one point, he wanted to believe they were Gods, but many records stated they were just normal warriors before they invented Magic Circles.

Chester entertained that thought for a long time and it brought him to the origin of Magic Circles. Given the fact that the language used in Spells originated from the Dragon Language, it was not strange to think that Magic Circles imitated the way Dragon Hearts behaved. However, Chester knew it wasn't the case. Magic Circles behaved the way the Demon Hearts behaved.

Magic Circles were human's most groundbreaking invention. Given such history, would humans still take pride in it? Some people might find it hard to immediately answer. However, it didn't matter. Chester was insinuating something blasphemous given the statement he had given in the beginning. "How could the Four Heroes use Magic if they didn't have Magic Circles?"

Chester proposed a hypothesis. The Four Heroes might have Demon Hearts beating in their chests. One might question why he didn't consider Dragon Hearts. The answer to that question was simple. In the Age of Chaos, it was far easier to secure a Demon's corpse than a Dragon's. Besides, before knowing how to use Magic, securing a Demon's corpse was the extent of our ability.

The hypothesis that Chester proposed was hard to refute since the Four Heroes disappeared for a few years before reappearing and teaching Magic to humans. It was sensible to think that they were using that time to invent Magic Circles, but the same applied to the possibility of their trying their best to control the power of the Demon Hearts.

In the end, the Four Heroes used the power they had to defend humanity and the other races that cooperated later from the Demons. Regardless of its shady origin, it was still a good thing. A sensible person should think that way. However, as a community that viewed the Four Heroes as Gods, the Church couldn't accept it.

The Four Heroes were far holier and nobler than Demons. They couldn't have their names associated with Demons.

"Chester Cowdray, huh? No one on that heretic's side is sane, indeed. How dare he even thinks that our Gods lent the power of an inferior existence—Demons? Laughable, don't you think? We need to wipe that faction clean as soon as possible. It will only corrupt the minds of the correctly aligned people."

"Great Pontiff…many people already begin to suspect us. Given the fact that one of our executives even had cooperated with the Demons once, it is slightly difficult to convince the people."

"Do you know what to do when dogs don't listen to their owners?"

"That is…"

"Yes. Show them what pain is. Heretics have no place in our world. Pacifer's sympathizers shall fall alongside the Pacifer. Make it clear to the people."

"As you command, Great Pontiff."

Sitting on his throne in the Great Church of Azarthan, the Great Pontiff Jaheim Abremson grabbed the handrest of his throne so hard that his hands turned white. He didn't want to admit it but Basil had got them. From this point onward, whatever they did, they wouldn't have the people's sympathy. Luckily for them, they still had control over the people.

It didn't matter if the people were no longer sincere in supporting them. As long as they remained doing whatever they were doing, the Church's footing would remain the same. It was distasteful that they couldn't remain the holy community until the end, but they had no choice. They would do what they needed to do to prevail.

In another part of the world, the King of Braxtein Aldrich Agonheart Braxtein who seized the throne from his father was frowning as he looked at the two files he had in his hands. One of them contained Chester's thesis which was recently published through unknown means and the other was the tale about the wronged Clan, the Pacifer.

Each of them was targeted at a different audience. Chester's thesis was targeted at the intellectuals—the Mages—meanwhile, the tale about Pacifer Clan was targeted at the civilians who blindly believed every single word of the Church. Basil's motive wasn't hard to figure out. He didn't want to gain the people's sympathy; he wanted to shake the grip of the Church and the Empire which sided with it over the people.

The simple solution to this problem was to control the people with oppression. They could also try their best to convince the people otherwise but it would take time. Basil's increasingly growing influence needed to be stopped. They couldn't let their focus split. In other words, no matter route they chose, they would be at a disadvantage.

They would be able to anticipate Basil's next moves by oppressing the people and controlling them like puppets, but they would reveal their true colours to the people in return. In case they focused on softly solving the matter, they would give Basil time to devise a plan to crush them.

It was obvious what they would choose—oppression. The people already knew that. Therefore, the moment they got the information intended for them, they immediately prepared to quietly leave. Learning from their experience, none dared raise a voice. They remained silent and acted as if nothing happened.

"The people are awfully quiet regarding this propaganda. Have they learnt from their mistakes?" Aldrich said as he looked down at the people from the balcony of his palace.

"That may be the case. It is also possible that you no longer have Basil Pacifer's sympathizers in your Kingdom, Your Majesty," Eldridge answered, showing no emotion in his tone.

"What do you think about it, Eldridge? Does this information sway you?"

"I am afraid I don't get what you are insinuating, Your Majesty."

Aldrich hummed to himself as he caressed his chin. Silence descended upon the room and it made him feel lonely.

"For once, let me hear your thoughts as Eldridge Wein the Mage, not Eldridge Wein the King's Counsellor," Aldrich stated softly. "Supposed that what Chester hypothesizes is true, who is the strongest force in this world currently?"

"The Church."

"Why do you think so?"

"Because…they may have means to control Mages all around the world."

The Four Heroes who invented Magic Circles were said to be inspired by Demon Hearts. As the closest faction to the Four Heroes, there was a high possibility that the Church knew more about Magic Circles than the Mage community did.

Given their paranoid nature, Mages wouldn't hesitate to think that the Church might have developed a way to control them through their Magic Circles. Even if that wasn't the case, it might render their Magic Circles useless through unknown means.

The fear wasn't as baseless as one might think given the fact that Priests and anyone affiliated with the Church could use something akin to Magic without using Magic Circles. The Church claimed it was Miracle, the power of Gods, but what if they utilized an advanced form of Magic Circles which freed them from the fear of getting controlled by others?

The more the Mages entertained the thought, the more fearful they became of the Church. Even if their assumptions were to be proven to be mere paranoia in the end, the course of action they needed to immediately take was clear: get away from the Church and the Empire.

"Nothing happens on the surface, but there are hundreds of people missing already for the past three days. We managed to detain the civilians but we lost tens of Mages and Knights," Aldrich remarked. "What an amusing situation! Who knows silence is more fearsome than riots?"

With a smile, Aldrich turned Eldridge. The old counsellor still bore the same expression as he did before, but his heart was beating wildly. He had thought Aldrich wouldn't notice the disappearance of the people, but he was wrong. Aldrich was far too intelligent to miss that. Unfortunately, he had to report every single one of people's disappearances from this point onward.

"Pay close attention to the talented individuals. Seize them before Basil's influence gets over them. Make them my loyal dogs. Plant a Slave Seal on them! As for the civilians…we need people to do mundane jobs, so don't kill them. Plant a slave seal on them and make them work under us. We need to pay close attention to them."

"…as you wish, Your Majesty."

It was unfortunate that he couldn't get the talented individuals out of Braxtein, but Eldridge couldn't complain. A lot of bright individuals would die at the hands of Basil's faction, but at least the civilians were pardoned from that fate.

Aldrich had seen the significance of the civilian roles in the Kingdom, so he no longer ordered his subordinates to kill them mercilessly. Even at the expense of the Kingdom's bright individuals, saving hundreds of thousands by doing that was not a bad trade.

It was the best thing Eldridge could do. Even though he couldn't prevent Braxtein from its fall, at least he could ensure the lives of the civilians.

The world grew silent. It was as if no one paid attention to the information Basil had shared with the world. Of course, everyone knew what was truly going on. Silently, people changed sides. Thus, the great silence prevailed until the Church openly declared Basil and anyone associated with him its mortal enemy.