Chapter 79: Divine Punishment (3)
After the meeting wrapped up, the First Prince tucked the crown into his arms and headed off to find the Second Prince.
The Second Prince was lounging in his room, looking as though he was not the one who had plunged the country into crisis.
He seemed like a complete dimwit, utterly oblivious to reality, sprawled out in infinite comfort.
“Hm? Brother! What brings you to my humble abode? The meeting must’ve wrapped up safely, huh? I probably don’t need to know the details, right? You must’ve handled everything like a champ.”
The Second Prince spoke languidly from his bed, without a scrap of remorse. His voice was just a blissful denial of reality.
Hearing his clueless words, the First Prince replied calmly.
“How’s your health?”
“My health? My limbs are still throbbing. Shockingly enough, I’m not fine after my arms and legs were shattered!”
The Second Prince said it as if it was a normal inconvenience. But the First Prince knew the deal. He’d heard everything from the guard taking care of the Second Prince instead of the doc.
The truth was, the Second Prince had recovered ages ago.
In the six-month treatment period, he was back on his feet after a mere month. The rest was just him chilling in his room, using his injury as an excuse to slack off.
So, the First Prince could deliver his chilling line.
“Go on a pilgrimage of atonement.”
“What? Why me?”
“Why? You really have to ask?”
As he choked down his rising anger at his oblivious little brother, the First Prince spoke evenly.
“Because of your screw-ups, this country, this land, and our people are suffering from famine and disease. You need to go on a pilgrimage of atonement to ponder your mistakes. Only then can this country recover.”
“Why in the world should I? I’m the Second Prince of the Arcad Kingdom! I can grab whatever I want! Isn’t the real issue that sword and that girl that are out of my reach?”
The First Prince nearly exploded at the utter nonsense spilling out of the Second Prince. Yet, he kept his cool and articulated his thoughts clearly.
“The kingdom’s in such dire straits that we can’t even collect taxes properly, and food production is a mess. The treasury’s tapped out from buying food from the surroundings, so you need to set out on that pilgrimage of atonement, stat!”
“No way! I’d rather kick the bucket than do that!”
In a moment of impulse, the First Prince slapped the Second Prince’s cheek.
“Ow! You hit me?! I’ve never been touched by Father, even!”
“Father has made a colossal mistake! He spoiled you rotten! Look at you! A big baby who can’t tell right from wrong!”
Overcome with anger, the Second Prince lunged at the First Prince, but the First Prince easily subdued him and pinned him down.
“Father is in agreement. He’s sending you on a pilgrimage of atonement! He won’t recognize you as part of the royal family until you own up to your sins and get forgiven by the Goddess of Life!”
“What?! No way that’s true!!”
“I hope you grasp just how serious the mess you’ve made is, you foolish brother.”
And so, the Second Prince was banished, setting off on his pilgrimage of atonement.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
The First Prince rallied all the remaining troops and gathered every survivor from the towns and villages. The number was in the thousands.
“Is everyone here?”
“Yes. We’ve gathered every last survivor from the villages and cities. But our food stockpile has its limits, so we’re racing against the clock.”
“Got it. I’ll wrap this up as quickly as possible.”
The First Prince climbed onto the platform and faced the assembled people.
“I’m First Prince Shtur. I’m the one who ordered everyone gathered for this matter.”
“Oh, your Highness! You’re so dependable. But what’s the King up to? Why is it you giving instructions and not him?”
“Father… has collapsed.”
“Excuse me?”
“He blamed himself for my brother’s foolishness and collapsed. That’s why I’m stepping in.”
“I see.”
Given how fond the King was of the Second Prince, this must have truly rattled him.
“I apologize for the suffering my foolish brother has caused the people of this country. Once that fool finishes his pilgrimage of atonement, this land will breathe life again, though it might take ages.”
“So we’re all at death’s door, huh?”
“That’s why I’ve come up with a plan.”
The First Prince pulled something from his robe.
A silver crown.
This crown was a treasured artifact passed down to the King of the Arcad Kingdom.
“This crown is a cherished treasure of our Arcad Kingdom’s kings, symbolizing the right to rule the world. Its value is beyond measure.”
“Why’re you suddenly pulling out something so precious…?”
“I plan to use this crown as collateral to borrow land from other nations.”
“What?! How can you even…”
“In a situation like this, we have no choice. We must use whatever we can. If offering this crown as collateral helps our country survive, I won’t hesitate!”
The First Prince’s declaration left the people and officials speechless.
“The value of this crown should be able to secure enough land for all our people to survive. I’ll do my best to grab the widest and best land from our neighbors. So you all, please hang in there!”
And with that, the First Prince rode off with a few guards in tow.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
The Arcad Empire… Ahem, the records call it a kingdom, but considering its scale, it was way more of an empire.
The diversity of its peoples and the difference in its land compared to other countries of the time spanned two to six times greater.
Honestly, when you think about how the countries of that time were mostly city-states, the Arcad Empire, which controlled a bunch of those city-states, had every right to claim the title of an empire.
Ahem, I’ve wandered off topic. Back to the tale.
The Arcad Empire’s downfall was shockingly fast, taking just about a year.
Despite being the nation with the most extensive land and population back then, the Arcad Kingdom crumbled within a year, hit head-on by horrific famine and pestilence.
Some say the Goddess of Life was behind its downfall, but… to be real, the credibility isn’t that great. Just think about how much the Goddess has given to the subraces and humans.
What kind of monumental screw-up could have turned the entire land into a wasteland? It’s a thought that crosses your mind.
Well, in time, the land kinda got its act together and became a vast plain again, suggesting the Goddess of Life had offered a little forgiveness.
Not long after that, nomadic tribes began to flourish in the plains where the empire once stood.
The name of that tribe was─
– An excerpt from a history lecture in the academy.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
The boy, once a prince, set out on a journey without a destination.
Inside him lay an endless anger. Anger towards his brother who had kicked him out on this pilgrimage of atonement, anger towards his father for not stopping him, and anger directed at the agent of the Goddess of Life—the root of all his troubles.
Bearing this aimless fury, the boy wandered his lonely road.
There were plenty of dangerous moments, and there were times he nearly met his end… No, he’d actually died multiple times, yet death kept turning him away.
As time slipped by, the boy grew into a young man. Still, the pilgrimage dragged on.
Because not a single speck of remorse resided in his heart.
And so, he had yet to earn forgiveness from the Goddess of Life.
If he couldn’t even acknowledge his own wrongs, how could he expect to be forgiven by the Goddess? He’d been a fool, convinced everything in the world belonged to him.
And so, the young man kept wandering.
Sometimes he was cut down by monsters; other times, he was killed by guards who found him suspicious.
Yet the young man’s journey continued.
During this time, he began to feel the fluctuation of his life force due to the curse he was under.
Seeing his severed arm reattach itself, while blood mysteriously flowed back into place, was a bizarre sight.
Having watched such scenes repeatedly, the young man instinctively learned to control the life-force-rich blood.
He began realizing he could replenish his dwindling life force by drinking from the blood of others or by sharing his own blood with others, bringing them to a similar half-dead state as his.
With the Arcad Kingdom fallen and its land transformed into a wasteland, its people dispersed under different names in new lands, the young man—the last Arcadian—wandered the world.
He would come to be known as the Wandering Arcadian.
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