Chapter 554 — The Duty of the Sacred Covenant

The situation at the Great Wall was even graver than Duke Pei Yi had first imagined.

The elves were an ancient and proud race—proud, not arrogant. A long cultural heritage and formidable innate powers had made them as confident as the humans of Gondor in their day, and filled with a certain sense of responsibility. Ever since the fall of the Gondor Empire, when half of the continent's civilizational bipolarity had collapsed, the Silver Empire—driven by the sense of duty that befits a great power—had become the guardian of the Great Wall and the watcher over the Wasteland. For seven hundred years they had scrupulously discharged the duties set down in the Sacred Covenant. Duke Pei Yi knew very well that unless something truly catastrophic had befallen that barrier, the proud elves would never have sent envoys to warn the nations—and to ask for help.

The Grand Duke watched Emperor Luo Yan's expression, and from His Majesty's face he knew the Emperor had already confirmed the truth of the elves' words. He turned to Shiva. "Your plan is to reinforce the barrier—but how, precisely? And what, precisely, do you need from us?"

"We intend to install amplification devices near several of the principal Sentinel Towers," the elven envoy said. "We have the technology for such devices, but not enough hands or resources—and even with enough hands and resources, we would not have the time to distribute them along the entire Great Wall. The Wasteland across the middle of the continent blocks all transport; coming from the Silver Empire to the north of the continent requires a long detour. We reached this place within half a month only by riding giant eagles—but giant eagles cannot be used to haul large quantities of goods."

At this, Luo Yan Augustus finally spoke. "Tifeng is glad to go and repair that barrier—it is our lifeline as well, after all. But what of the other nations?"

"We have already sent messengers to every human kingdom," Shiva said. "The messenger sent to the Augurey Tribal States should have arrived days ago. The messenger sent to Ansul set out earlier than we did, and should have arrived by now as well."

"The Augurey Tribal States have kept watch on the Great Wall for many years; they will likely respond to your warning swiftly. But Ansul..." Emperor Luo Yan said in a low voice. "That country is mired in civil war. I do not know whether they can still fulfill the duties of the Sacred Covenant."

"...We had received word of that," Shiva said after a moment's silence, his tone regretful. Thanks to the Great Wall communications network, the elves were reasonably well informed about the whole continent, and news of the Ansul civil war had reached the Silver Empire as early as half a year ago. "We are grieved by it. The descendants of former allies should not stand so opposed to one another... But whatever is said, the safety of the Great Wall concerns the life and death of civilization. They ought to know... this is no time to continue a civil war."

"As you say, the people of all four human nations are descendants of the Gondor Empire. The ancient glory of our forebears should not be tarnished by prejudice and short-sightedness. I believe that glorious blood still flows in the veins of the Ansulish—so long as they have not wholly forgotten all of this, they will know what must be done," Luo Yan Augustus said gravely, then rose to his feet. "And as for Tifeng... we will fulfill the duties of the Sacred Covenant and go to repair that barrier."

The elven envoy rose and bowed low before Emperor Luo Yan. "You are worthy of the name Augustus."

Luo Yan nodded. "Please, envoys, go and rest for now. I must discuss the specifics of supply movement and personnel arrangements with my advisors."

The elven envoys withdrew under the attendants' guidance, and for a time only the Emperor of Tifeng and Duke Pei Yi remained in the reception chamber.

The Emperor settled back into his chair, his upper body sinking into the shadow of its high back. "Pei Yi, do you believe the situation at the Great Wall has deteriorated to such a degree?"

"The elves would not jest about such a matter—and given their manner of doing things, unless the barrier had deteriorated to a certain point, they would not have come to the human nations for help."

"I thought as much," Luo Yan said with a slight nod. "The astromancer mages have reported abnormal changes in the sun, and the border garrisons have witnessed strange movements at the Great Wall. The evidence is all there; it cannot be ignored."

"Then we truly are going to..."

"Fulfill the Sacred Covenant, without question," Luo Yan said. "I have seen the diagrams the elves brought. The repair work assigned to Tifeng will be divided into two parts. One lies in the southwest—I will dispatch Duke Severn there. The other lies in the northwest, near Winterwolf Keep—I will go myself."

Pei Yi was taken aback, surprise plain on his face. "Your Majesty, you mean to go in person?"

"Indeed," Luo Yan said with a slight nod. "That tower is where the late sovereign of Tifeng held his ground and met his death. Therefore I must go myself."

It was a reason no one could argue against.

Seven hundred years ago, when the four nations had but lately been established, the territory of humanity was nowhere near as safe as it is today. To hold back the Wasteland ever seeping outward, the elves and the various nations had joined forces to build the Great Wall as it now stands. One of its key nodes lay on Tifeng's northwestern frontier—the Sentinel Tower at that key node had taken three full years to build, the last of all the Sentinel Towers to be completed, and the final step in closing the entire Great Wall. For that final step, Tifeng had paid the most bitter price of all.

When the sections of the Great Wall were activated one by one, and the chaotic demonic energy and the endless horde of malformed monsters in the Wasteland were held back upon that scorched earth, the power of the demonic tide launched its greatest counterattack. The chaotic demonic energy and the malformed creatures, with nowhere else to go, surged toward the last gap in the barrier and joined battle with the allied human and elven forces on Tifeng's northwestern border. The counterattacking legion of malformed creatures even came once to the very foot of the Sentinel Tower, and to slow the advance of the malformed host, to buy the elven artificers time to activate the tower, the entire Royal Guard knight order led by the late sovereign of Tifeng—the King himself among them—died at the foot of that tower.

"An Luo and the Winterwolf Legion she commands will be responsible for my safety," Luo Yan said unhurriedly, regarding the old Duke before him. "And while I am away, the affairs of state shall be in your hands, Pei Yi."

Meeting the deep gaze of the Emperor of Tifeng, Pei Yi Wendell drew a long breath.

"I will not fail your trust, Your Majesty."

Duke Pei Yi departed.

Only the ruler of Tifeng remained in the room.

Luo Yan Augustus sat in that broad, high-backed chair, his face expressionless as he watched the fire in the hearth not far off. The flames leapt and danced without cease, and within their ever-shifting light and shadow two hazy phantoms suddenly rose up, drifted down to the floor along the firelight spilling from the hearth, and came step by step before Luo Yan.

They coalesced into human form—golden hair, pointed ears, identical faces.

The Twin Oracles of the End of All Things laughed softly and said to the Emperor before them, "You see, we told you—that wall was going to fail, and the problem the Silver Empire cannot solve... they have indeed come to you."

Luo Yan looked at the elven twins before him without expression. "You seem not to care in the least that you yourselves are of the Silver Empire."

The elven twins were still smiling. "Our cause transcends the concept of nations. From a certain angle, are you not the same as we are?"