Game Transmigration: Saving the World Again 1000 Years Later

239 Return

William sensed that his Ava State clone had formed a bond with him through the Holy Spirit figurine after returning to Currere. He was finally able to relax.

The Moonlaw City palace had made it back safely to Ava State thanks to the coordinates.

Although, with half the palace having been destroyed in the previous fight, it was questionable whether ‘safely’ was the right word to use…

But for now, the crisis was over.

William yawned at the thought.

Returning to Currere from the Moon Realm was like waking up from a long, strange dream.

Even the strongest of minds couldn’t withstand long-term exposure to the constantly shifting Moon Realm, especially in unclaimed areas.

It was like being surrounded by a never-ending, wildly spinning kaleidoscope, with deafening screams and whispers.

And if you’re magic-sensitive with a powerful mind, the environment could even change based on your thoughts. It was enough to drive anyone without experience in the Moon Realm mad. Even masters who had explored the realm before couldn’t escape mental damage.

It’s no wonder that the Obliteration Tower, an organization focused on Moon Realm research in the empire, had a rule that exploration must be strictly time-limited to protect the expedition team from the realm’s corrupting effects.

I’m finally back…

William let out a sigh of relief inside the Dawn Fortress.

Even though he didn’t use his mana in the battle that could be considered a war with the help of the Holy Spirit Disc, the mental strength it took to control nearly 100 clones at the same time was just as exhausting as facing four Void Sovereigns at the same time in Black Crow Gaze.

It was rare for William to feel tired, but he just wanted to get some good rest to recover his nearly exhausted mental strength.

Unfortunately, he had a lot on his plate.

There was the interrogation of the captured Tacma Church member, the analysis of the Moonanchor’s functions, the confirmation of the items labeled Origin of the Moon, the repair and maintenance of the weapons and equipment used in battle, the control of Mirror Shadow clones to help Remides stabilize the situation in Ava State, and being on guard for a possible Lady of Starvation invasion at Viper Scar…

I can’t rest yet, Presiding Judge…

For some reason, this sentence suddenly popped up in William’s mind.

“No matter what, take a break, Lord William,” someone behind William said.

He turned around. It was Blake.

The other party eyed his tired eyes and continued, “There are plenty of things that can wait. Leave the more urgent matters, like confirming Viper Scar’s situation, to me. Right now, what you need to do is get some rest.”

After all, you’re a mortal…

Blake didn’t finish his sentence.

Mortals could get tired, injured, and die—proof of their mortal existence and the source of their nobility.

William fell silent for a moment, before slowly nodding and saying, “Okay.”

…

William knew that Blake and Remides were keeping something from him.

They weren’t good liars. When he asked them for more information, their hesitancy was written all over their faces.

William had originally planned on questioning the two of them about Reason’s visit after they returned to Currere and comparing their answers.

But he didn’t confront them about it because he didn’t doubt their loyalty.

One had guarded Ava State for a thousand years out of a sense of duty, and the other had endured torture from the Moon Realm for a thousand years without giving in. If he still doubted the loyalty of these two Judges, he would be inhuman.

So William believed there must be a special reason or difficulty that was causing them to keep it from him.

Or maybe they just planned on telling him when the time was right.

As he walked to his bedroom, William couldn’t stop thinking about it.

At the very least, the worry about his mental state that Blake’s eyes had betrayed wasn’t fake. With this alone, he should give them more patience and trust.

Of course, this was only trust in their loyalty. After all, this world couldn’t be sustained by loyalty alone. Sometimes, the consequences of stupidity were even more tragic than betrayal.

Although Remides and Blake weren’t stupid and had a deep understanding of the Moon Realm, William had to be cautious.

After all, in his previous life, he had learned a lesson from office politics—don’t trust honest people too much. Sometimes, you can’t predict the stupid things they might do.

So it was hard to find the right balance of trust and vigilance with these two subordinates in order to properly resolve this matter…

Or should I take the initiative to find Valk and find out what happened from Him?

Being a leader is really troublesome…

William sighed.

…

The day would go down in history.

Moonlaw City, known for its impenetrable defenses, suffered its own demise.

The Riel Empire, working with the Moon Realm, used underhanded tactics to bribe Lord Ward Windsong of Isu City to breach the Mist Soul barrier and bring the entire Moonlaw City palace into the Moon Realm. Their goal was to assassinate all the leaders of the pro-war faction in Ava State and leave the High Elves without the protection of the Mist Soul.

However, the legendary Shadow Queen Remides and Lord Morton of Phoenix Fire City were able to fight their way back from the Moon Realm and expose the Riel Empire’s sinister plot.

This was the story that the Presiding Judge had helped come up with for the public.

Technically, this wasn’t a complete fabrication. It was just a selective telling of the truth.

No one doubted that they were telling the truth because thousands of Moonlaw City citizens had personally witnessed the palace being devoured by a shadow, leaving an empty void darker than darkness.

As the City of Mages, Moonlaw City had almost 70% of Ava State’s magic chanters, so many powerful mages went to the scene to confirm what had happened.

In Ava State, where modern magic principles were used in education, the citizens accepted such events surprisingly quickly.

When the dilapidated palace returned to Currere, Remides showed the Demon General Carnage’s corpse to the people. She accused the empire of their planned atrocities against the High Elves. She knew it wouldn’t be long before Ava State returned to her rule as planned by the Presiding Judge.

“Is this really good?” Morton, who was covered in wounds, asked as the spellblade shattered into pieces.

...

The Lord of Phoenix Fire City, who had witnessed the entire process, seemed to feel that something wasn’t right.

Remides waved to the citizens from the platform and asked, “What’s the problem?”

Regarding this, Morton slowly said, “Don’t you actually prefer returning to Judgment rather than staying in Ava State? After all, a Ranger represents freedom.”

“What are you implying?” Remides asked calmly at his insinuations.

“I’m just saying that you can’t be the ruler of Ava State while still being loyal to your former Presiding Judge. Otherwise, it would leave the fate of the High Elves in the hands of humans. Essentially, what’s the difference between that and surrendering to the empire?”