Lightning Is the Only Way

Gravis remained sitting on his throne alone for several minutes as he just thought about his options.

'I have no idea what I can do better. I've already tried everything, but it just wouldn't work. Yet, there has to be a solution, and it should have something to do with Humility.'

'Humility, huh?' Gravis thought, unsure of what exactly it meant.

Gravis was pretty sure that he had used Humility as well as possible up to now. After all, he had allowed everyone to underestimate him, not showing his power at all.

'Yet, that has also not helped me much. The marauders still killed me. Even fleeing is impossible due to the powerful beasts that surround this area.'

Gravis continually scratched his chin in thought. 'What to do? What to do?'

BANG!

The roof of the castle was blown apart as three Unity Realm Cultivators looked at Gravis from high up.

"Would you have ever believed that this day would come?" the young man in the front asked with an arrogant voice.

Gravis didn't answer as he continued thinking.

Seeing that Gravis hadn't answered, the young man sneered. "Are you denying reality, oh great king?" he said with a sneer. "Do you believe us to be beneath your notice? You might have an impressive Battle-Strength, but you can't fight all three of us at once while still being at the Initial Unity Realm."

Suddenly, Gravis perked up. "What did you just say?" he asked in surprise.

"Are you deaf?" the young man shouted. "I said, as long as you are in the Initial Unity Realm, you can't fight the three of us. So, do the smart thing and capitulate. Don't force us to kill your entire Kingdom."

Then, Gravis' eyes widened in realization.

'I see!' he thought with excitement as he finally cracked another part of the puzzle.

'They think I am in the Initial Unity Realm. However, how is that even possible? My Will-Aura is far stronger, and I'm also at a higher Realm. So, either I should appear as someone without any Cultivation to them or as someone far more powerful.'

'Yet, these guys are not idiots. They wouldn't believe that I am a mortal. In fact, in both cases, they would become incredibly wary of me. After all, this would only show that I'm far more powerful than them.'

'However, even when seeing me, they are still arrogant and believe me to be in the Initial Unity Realm. How would that be possible?'

'The Law of Humility!'

Gravis silently smirked to himself.

'This body already knows the Law of Humility, and it's passively activating it to make it seem like I'm in the Initial Unity Realm.'

But then, Gravis sighed.

'Sadly, I still don't know how I'm supposed to use this to my advantage. After all, I can't control the usage of the Law of Humility. Theoretically, if I had the control, I could just appear like an Energy Gathering Cultivator in front of the Marauders, making them ignore me.'

'Yet, I can't control it. I always appear to others like I'm in the Initial Unity Realm.'

'So, what can I do?'

"Stop wasting my time!" the young man shouted with frustration. "Do you capitulate or not!?"

Gravis looked at the young man with absent eyes.

'Humility, huh?'

'Well, I don't fully understand Humility. Otherwise, I would have already comprehended the Law. Therefore, there have to be facets of it that I just don't know yet.'

'You want Humility? I'll give you the most extreme form of Humility!'

'I'm going to become a pushover!'

"I capitulate," Gravis said.

The three Unity Realm Cultivators were shocked when they heard that.

"Could you repeat that?" the young man asked in surprise.

"I capitulate," Gravis repeated. Then, he stood up from his throne and walked down.

In the end, Gravis sat in one of his own advisor's seats.

"You are the king. This Kingdom is yours, and I will follow whatever you say," Gravis said.

The young man looked at Gravis with a complex expression.

"I had already heard about the downfall of the South-Cold Kingdom a week ago," Gravis continued. "I knew that you would have three Unity Realm Cultivators in just a couple of days."

"Yet, instead of attacking you while you were still building up your strength, I killed everyone that knew about it and waited here for you. I have killed your genius in the past due to my own greed, and it has brought me now to my downfall. Karma has been sown, and I have to reap it now."

"There is no reason in resisting the power of Karma. I have committed a sin, and I must pay for it now."

"I realize this now, and instead of committing another sin by fighting you, I decide to sacrifice my own status and life to right this wrong."

"Go, sit on the throne. This Kingdom is yours," Gravis said as he bowed to the three Unity Realm Cultivators.

The Unity Realm Cultivators talked to each other with voice transmissions.

Some seconds later, the young man sat down on Gravis' old throne and looked down at Gravis.

"I don't know what brought on this change of heart, but I'm not a tyrant. You have seen the error of your ways, and I can appreciate that. However, you have still committed a grave mistake, and you must pay for it for the rest of your life," he said.

Then, the two other Unity Realm Cultivators appeared around Gravis.

"As a show of trust, open your Spirit Space to my two generals," the young man said.

Open one's Spirit Space.

This was handing one's life over to another.

However, Gravis didn't resist and let them enter his Spirit Space.

What did he have to fear? If this body died, he would just restart, and if they entered his actual Spirit Space, they would just be consumed by the Void Lightning.

The two generals entered Gravis' Spirit Space, and their eyes immediately opened wide in shock.

This Spirit Space was too big!

Did this mean that Gravis was an Early Unity Realm Cultivator!?

The two immediately jumped out of Gravis' Spirit Space and informed their king.

The king's face transformed into a grimace.

"What is the meaning of this!?" he shouted.

"Your majesty," Gravis said with a smile. "Nothing has changed. I am willing to pay for the Karma I have sown. If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't need to put on such a play. I have the power to defend myself, but I'm not using it. Take it as proof that I'm willing to follow you."

The three of them talked some more, and in the end, the two generals entered Gravis' Spirit Space again.

If they wanted, they could kill Gravis right then and there.

Yet, they only looked around and pocketed all the wealth Gravis had in his Spirit Space.

Then, they left.

"Are you satisfied?" Gravis asked with a smile.

The king was still uncertain about Gravis' motives.

What Gravis did made no sense.

He obviously had the power to kill the three of them, but instead of killing them, he simply capitulated.

Why?

Did he not care about his status, his freedom, his wealth?

The three of them had already become frightened deep inside.

They knew that Gravis could kill them.

They shouldn't have underestimated him!

"Why are you giving up everything when you have the power to keep it?" the king asked.

"Life," Gravis answered with a smile. "My rule is iron, but it does not inspire loyalty. With my power, I can force this land into following my every word, but what is the point of that? If people are not willing to follow me, what is the point of my rule? If people are not willing to follow me, I'm not a king, but a slaver."

"In comparison, the Red-White Kingdom follows your majesty with all of its heart. You are a king, while I am a slaver. You are more fit to be king than I."

"And today, I have repaid a part of my debt. Today, I have shown you that you can't underestimate anyone, no matter how weak they appear. If I hadn't been willing to turn over a new leaf, none of you would have left alive."

"Take this as a lesson from an old slaver that is willing to help the king to grow."

The three Unity Realm Cultivators talked to each other some more.

Then, the king looked at Gravis with a relaxed smile.

"I thank you for your lesson," he said. "It is a valuable one indeed. For teaching us this lesson, I am willing to forgive your previous transgressions."

"That is too kind, your majesty," Gravis said with a bow.

"Are you willing to follow me as one of my generals?" the king asked.

"More than anything, your majesty," Gravis said with a deep bow.

The war had never happened.

Instead, Gravis' Kingdom embraced a new king, loved by all.

The people were happy.

Yet, Gravis felt uncomfortable.

'I'm so not used to acting like a pushover,' Gravis thought. 'Life? Karma? Lesson? Ugh!'

'But if I need to act like this to overcome this trial, sure. After all, it exists to teach me something.'

'Let's see how this goes.'