This was a spacious study.
Countless ancient, elegantly bound classics, scrolls, and manuscripts were arranged neatly on the bookshelves.
The room was filled with a scholarly atmosphere.
It did not look like a place for handling government affairs, but rather the private collection of a polymath.
Lin Hong and Lovella followed a female official to the door of the study.
The official stopped silently, bowed to indicate they should enter, and then closed the door behind them.
Inside the study, a middle-aged man sat quietly, reviewing official reports.
As he stepped into the study, Lin Hong instinctively wanted to spread his perception.
It was a habit developed over many years to sense his surroundings.
However, at the very instant his perception was about to emerge, the man sitting on the sofa seemed to sense something.
With a hint of faint confusion, he lifted his gaze and glanced over.
In the next moment, Lin Hong felt a sudden numbness crawl over his scalp.
His hair stood on end, and he immediately yanked back the perception that had just left his body, causing his spiritual sea to vibrate for a brief second.
He felt as though he had encountered the strongest being in this world.
With just a single, indifferent glance, it felt as if he were facing a bottomless, suffocating abyss.
The middle-aged man sat there quietly, yet he seemed faintly connected to the entire study, the vast palace beyond it, the Imperial Capital, and even the entire empire.
Every movement he made seemed to pull at an unspeakably majestic power.
‘If I were still at my peak, I would naturally have nothing to fear. I could even look down on him.’
‘But now? I might as well be an ant.’
Lin Hong had no doubt that if he had been even a second slower, his little maneuver would have been impossible to hide and would have been clearly captured by the man.
“Evan?”
Lovella bowed respectfully, but she sounded slightly confused as she called out in a low voice.
She had felt her brother go stiff for a moment.
“I’m fine, Sister. I just felt a bit dizzy all of a sudden,” Lin Hong said, lowering his head to hide his expression behind the gesture of bowing.
This time, he wasn’t faking it.
He had retracted his perception so quickly that he had actually made himself dizzy.
“No need for such formalities, children. Come and sit down.”
A warm male voice rang out, dispelling the invisible pressure in the room.
Lin Hong and Lovella expressed their thanks and, following the man’s gesture, sat down on two other sofas.
Only then did he finally get a clear look at the Emperor who ruled the nation.
Alfred Aurelian was a man in his early forties, in the prime of his life.
His face was resolute, with sharp lines that looked as if they had been carved by a chisel.
Even though he was only wearing casual clothes and leaning back relaxed, a natural aura of majesty radiated from him.
At this moment, the monarch who ruled over a vast territory looked at them with concern and asked, “Don’t be so restrained. Do you feel any discomfort? What did the court priests say? How is the recovery of your injuries progressing?”
He did not act like an emperor but rather like a concerned elder from next door.
“Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. The priests have already performed the Healing Divine Art on Evan and me. Combined with the potions, we are no longer in any danger,” Lovella said with a slight bow, her etiquette perfect.
“Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I am the same,” Lin Hong added.
Although he was usually lazy, he clearly couldn’t be casual in such a setting.
He could only follow her example and return the greeting.
“Haha, that’s good. Otherwise, if your father learned that his two precious children were nearly slaughtered on my home turf, he would probably write me a letter on many pages of parchment just to scold me.”
“Or perhaps he would rush back to the Imperial Capital with his sword to cut me down? In the end, I’d probably have to let him take away countless crates of the capital’s specialty spirits to calm him down.”
Hearing this, Lin Hong blinked, feeling a bit surprised.
‘I didn’t expect Duke Wien, young Evan’s father, to be so close to the Emperor. They’re at the level where he can write letters just to scold him?’
This clearly involved stories from the previous generation or even further back, which were not mentioned in young Evan’s memories.
“This was the work of evil cultists and other lowlifes. Father is a man of great integrity; he would never take his anger out on Your Majesty,” Lovella replied immediately, her tone respectful and steady.
“Haha, you have been like your mother since you were a child—far too sensible and serious.”
Emperor Alfred laughed and shook his head.
Then, the smile on his face gradually faded as he clearly intended to get to the point.
“What happened last night startled you, and it is a disgrace to the empire. Whether for public or private reasons, I owe you an explanation.”
“Lovella, you should also be aware that the Imperial Capital has not been peaceful lately. This is because certain parasites that have entrenched themselves and sucked the empire’s blood for years must finally be cleared out.”
“I have been working with several high-ranking officials to implement this, but this has also caused gaps in the capital’s defense network…”
“Some things that were originally suppressed and lurking are now starting to stir. They are very difficult to deal with. Even the area around Sessie has been infiltrated by unclean things.”
Lin Hong felt a bit bored.
He listened haphazardly, not having much interest in these matters.
Lovella was handling the conversation appropriately, so there was no need for him to speak.
He was happy to stay quiet, keeping his posture upright while his mind sank into his consciousness to communicate with the mysterious panel.
‘Xiao Er.’
The ancient panel emerged in response, emitting a spiritual glimmer.
Lin Hong inquired, wanting to understand the secret manuals he had seen earlier.
Even though he had only caught a glimpse, he was extremely interested!
The mysterious panel responded, revealing some information.
These secret manuals had significant and extraordinary origins!
They were created by some of the most powerful beings in this world.
A significant portion had ancient roots that did not belong to this era and had been excavated from the dust of history.
[Some of the secret manuals were not created entirely by the human race. They belong to ancient races, such as the Elves and the Dragons.]
[Regarding this part, the versions in the Shop are reverse-engineered and completed versions. They possess universal applicability, meaning humans can also practice them.]
‘Then you really are something,’ Lin Hong thought with a strange expression. He was becoming increasingly curious about this thing’s origins.
‘One more question. Why are there secret manuals specifically targeting the God-favored?’
Lin Hong’s expression was odd.
After all, logically speaking, the God-favored were blessed by gods and were their representatives in the human world.
They should be firmly on the side of the world’s natives.
Of course, when this thought occurred to him, he almost laughed.
After all, he had once been ambushed and killed by the combined forces of this world’s native gods and the Evil Race!
Besides, hadn’t a living example appeared last night?
A Shadow-favored, according to the mysterious panel, was a representative chosen by the God of Darkness in this world.
However, they were not yet a true God-favored; they needed to compete, and the final winner would be the true God-favored.
Therefore, some among them sought shortcuts, cooperating with the followers of the Evil Race to assassinate the opposing Radiant God-favored to earn merit.
Lin Hong found it somewhat amusing.
He was only asking casually to see if he could fish out some secrets.
‘So, I’m curious. Shouldn’t the God-favored be the backbone of the world’s defense, standing firmly on the side of the natives to resist the erosion of the Evil Gods?’
[Not necessarily.]
The mysterious panel responded this way and then refused to say another word.
‘Those two words are quite meaningful. They make one think of many things,’ Lin Hong complained inwardly.
However, he didn’t care much.
After all, he was not originally from this world.
He had come to this universe by chance and was ultimately just a passerby.
He only had three goals in this world: kill the Evil Race, kill the Evil Race, and kill the Evil Race.
This was an innate blood feud.
He would show no mercy to anyone who voluntarily associated with the Evil Race.
There was no need for a reason to slaughter them.
As for the native gods of this world, logically, he shouldn’t have been their enemy.
They could have even been teammates, given they shared a common enemy.
But there was nothing to say now.
The debt of his death was irreconcilable.
One could only say that the cunning Evil Race dared to disguise themselves as his teammates, so there was no choice but to settle the score.
“Evan, Evan?”