Way of the Knights

Chapter 793: Interlude: Dawn Council’s Conundrum

This day will be something that everyone will remember for their whole lives…

No, today isn’t some kind of ‘special’ day. In fact nothing was scheduled today. It was meant to be a normal day where everyone just casually spends their time minding their own business.

For some reason though…they could feel it. 

The sensation was prickling at their skin, making them a tad bit uncomfortable and wary. They can’t help but be extra careful today since they know, something’s about to happen. What that might be is still a mystery to them but their wise enough to know their place. 

—

At the center of the swirling galaxy that the Divine Realm is, there is a place hovering upon that vast, colorful and extremely elusive space. 

It is a small island – at least to naked eye it is. A grotto-heaven, which contained numerous things and beings. 

The island was akin to a paradise. An oasis to a dessert. Blessed by the Divine Light and the Laws themselves. It was a Holy Land where only a few people can access. 

Here, the sun never sets nor rises. It is perpetually dawn. A symbol of what they represented. 

All sorts of precious treasures could be seen in here. Each and every single one would make anybody’s eyes red with greed. Spiritual Ingredients, Ores, hell, even weapons of mass destruction are birthed here. 

Everything here has value. Yes, that includes even the smallest grain of sand. This whole place is treasure. One that has to be protected at all cost. 

Such responsibility though, fell into the hands of people who happened to discover this place first – the Dawn Council. More specifically, its founding members. 

See, this place has a rich history, spanning for eons. Many people came here, some even perished here, turning into nothing but nutrients for this land to prosper even more. This land has always been an important place for Humanity, for this very land became the sole supply of all manner and sorts of resources for the Divine Realm. 

It’s safe to say that without this place, Divine Realm wouldn’t exist. Humanity itself would cease to exist. 

The Dawn Council’s founding members were the ones to discover this place first. After discovering the secrets it held, they decided to protect it with their lives on the line out of necessity and responsibility. Of course, their duty has its own merits. 

Doing their job properly allowed to reach heights they never thought they could reach. In fact, the first Divine Knight to ever grace humanity came from the Dawn Council’s founding members. 

The prestige of their group spreads far and wide. So much so that they were elected as Humanity’s representatives – the Pillar and Leader of Humanity as a race. It’s a heavy burden to carry but they took it. They bore those responsibilities since if they don’t, who else will? 

Unfortunately, the Heart of Man has always been a fickle things. 

With plenty of resources being birthed under their gaze, the enticement of greed and obsession was palpable. The founding members weren’t at fault. They have clean intentions from start to finish. 

It is those who came after them that wasn’t…

Even though Divine Knights could live for an absurd amount of time, without shattering the barrier that Time and Space imposed on them, it’s impossible for them to live forever. It is a bit of a shame but it isn’t so easy to go against their fate. 

The founding members found themselves growing old. They were fine with that. Dying is something they’ve already expected. What makes things difficult about this is the fact that they needed someone to replace them. 

They thought that they passed on their positions to the right person. Well, in the beginning at least, they did. Unfortunately, the seed of greed is just too hard to suppress. It grew inside of them and things went terrible. 

No, there was no wars or any strong arguments. There was only calm and indifference, so much so that it makes one think that nothing changes. And that’s precisely what made things more complicated. 

In hindsight. That’s the point isn’t it? At the end of the day, a thief who announces their presence and their actions is just an attention-seeking retard. 

Schemes on top of schemes. That’s the name of the game. Careful, methodical, sly, decisive and oh so silent. This was the way to ensure they get what they want without raising a ruckus. 

In fact, their planning was so detailed and methodical that even if their schemes were caught, nobody could stop them. In fact, some were inspired to do the same. 

…which ultimately became the reason why the Dawn Council rotted from the inside. 

Surprisingly enough, even though the Dawn Council was elected as Humanity’s Leader and Representative, they aren’t the strongest force that Humanity possesses. If anything, they’re more like the commander of an army. 

They’re the leader, sure but they’re not the ones who will be out there on the battlefield. And judging how corrupt the Dawn Council as become, they will never be on the battlefield. 

Why would they? Who would risk their safety when they could just laze around and prosper? When they could just set up schemes and profit endlessly? Why settle for pain and glory when they could swim in riches and enjoy a safe and secured space that other people worked so hard to create? 

The current members of the Divine Realms are nothing but self-absorbed jerks. Snakes who can open their maws so wide you could fit an entire island in them. 

Their overwhelming greed and endless schemes made them, for the most part at least, untouchable. At the surface, the were the benevolent gods, people who claimed to protect humanity and all. They were even worshipped as such. In truth, though? They’re nothing but parasites. 

Their greed almost pierces the heavens. The false sense of invulnerability made them drunk lavishly in power that they did something stupid. 

And that stupidity born out of their carelessness, is now coming back to bite them in the ass. 

Of all the things they decided to lay their hands-on, they just had to pick on the most troublesome one – the Ancient Elysium Sect. 

The Ancient Elysium Sect has a longer history compared to them. They are a reclusive type of people shouldering a heavy burden in order to ensure Divine Realm’s safety. They’ve carried this burden even before the council’s foundation. 

Many people are aware of the Ancient Elysium Sect’s burden. In fact, the reason why they are worshipped is because of what they do. 

If the Dawn Council was Humanity’s Leader and Representative, then the Ancient Elysium Sect represents the barrier that secured humanity. 

Anything that the Ancient Elysium Sect does is never wrong. They will never be wrong. This statement had been passed down from ancient past until now. The Dawn Council is of course, aware of this. 

That being said, the current situation begs the question; Why did the Dawn Council decided to provoke the Ancient Elysium Sect? 

Well, the answer is simple. Jealousy. 

See, someone from the Dawn Council’s ranks brought up the fact that they even though they were the de-facto leader of Humanity, giants like the Ancient Elysium Sect makes them look bad. They’re just a leader in name, truth of the matter is, even without their existence, Divine Realm would probably be fine. 

That…really irked some people. Their petty pride were ruthlessly stomped on. 

It’s not like they’re naive. They were far from one actually. They already knew about this fact but hearing someone blatantly point it out is just too much to bear. 

So? What did they do? Scheme of course, that’s what!

The existence of The Exiles were never a secret to them. They’ve always known where the Allfather is. If they wanted to, they could’ve exposed his location to his enemies so that he’ll be hunted down. Did the council do that?

Of course not!

Heck, they even used it as a bargaining chip. They approached the Allfather and set up this little scheme. They were the reason why The Exiles managed to abduct that many people and force them to become lackeys. 

All of this, for the sake of freeing the Devil Emperor. 

The Allfather wanted to free him since he wants to fuse back with the main body and possibly contact the abyssals. The Dawn Council on the other just wanted an excuse to smear dirt on the Ancient Elysium Sect’s name. 

Before the Devil Emperor was freed, they’d swoop in, take the credit and get the Ancient Elysium Sect’s gratitude. They never planned on letting the Devil Emperor wreck havoc to their territory in the first place. They just wanted to ruffle the feathers of the sect. 

Well, how did that go for them? 

Horrible of course. 

Never in their wildest dream did they think that someone from the Ancient Elysium Sect was better at this game. Before they knew it, the situation already escalated into something out of their control. 

Now, all they could do is wait. 

Wait until the Ancient Elysium Sect visits them and hopefully get rid of the monsters who’s glaring at them at the opposite side of their gates.