Ch.297The Empire’s Last Stand. Arius Underground City (3)

June 11, 1203.

At last, it was over.

The ground city of Arius had been built by Viktor’s and Iron Walker’s party members, along with hundreds of thousands of foreign workers and 1.3 million Arius citizens.

The now-empty underground was filled with concrete to prevent ground subsidence, while well-laid infrastructure brought light to the streets and clean water flowed inside buildings.

This was the achievement of citizens who, just a few months ago, had been arguing about preserving traditions or leaving the cramped, dark underground.

“Lions leading sheep will always defeat sheep leading lions.”

Simon said this, praising this great achievement himself.

Some might call it self-admiration, but building a city for over a million people in just 2-3 months was certainly an accomplishment worthy of pride.

Viktor stood on the platform and addressed the countless people looking up at him.

“It is thanks to your diligent labor that we were able to build such an enormous city in just three months. I express my deepest respect for this. You will live in this city, blessing those born here and mourning those who die. This is like a blessing I bestow upon you. No evil force shall ever touch this city.

Behold your newly forged homeland. This is not the grace of the sun. It is a great achievement you have earned with your own hands. Even if the sun goes dark and the moon shatters, you have created with your own hands this homeland that will never change. Who could deny that this Arius is a historic landmark? From the strongest to the weakest, all carried bricks and cement to build skyscrapers, power plants, and hospitals to create this city.

Remember the old days. When you lived breathing in dust among tombs and graves. It was your determination never to return to those times that created your present. This is the same goal as the new empire I will establish. A city built by the dedication of all people will be the cornerstone for an empire maintained by the dedication of all.

Stand tall and hold your heads high, citizens. You have achieved greatness. Tell your descendants that you yourselves are the architects and designers of this city. That your parents and ancestors came out from the narrow underground to the vast surface and gained glory and honor!”

As the speech ended, the priests shouted:

“Thanks be to the Sun God who gives us hope!”

“””Long live the Sun!”””

With countless cheers, Viktor’s speech came to an end.

With the Holy Spirit of the Sun dwelling in the city, no power of darkness would dare touch this blessed place.

People regretted the departure of the god, but none tried to hold him back. This was the ideal human behavior—knowing when to rely on god and when to believe in oneself and stand independently.

“I have given them hope and strength to live. Now it’s up to them what they do with it.”

Viktor said this as he embraced his now-adult wife.

The warmth transmitted solidly. Like Viktor, they too would form families with their loved ones, fill the empty rooms in vacant buildings, and prosper even more.

The Sky Warden rose once again and departed without looking back.

Not because they didn’t miss the people, but to let them live on their own.

Also, those who were leaving knew the future of those who remained.

A city and nation built not by the power of one person but by the labor of many would, like a great tree with deep roots, overcome any trial.

“Head for the Pale Forest! Set the course!”

“Adjusting thruster angle!”

And so the Sun God, who would become Emperor of the Empire, began heading toward the Pale Forest.

To engrave in his soul the last and most beautiful sight of this Hyacinth.

*

“So they built a city?”

“…Yes. It was a joint project between Turianic Industry and Layer Archive, but…”

“You fool! The important thing is that he could bring about cooperation between Turianic Industry and Layer Archive!”

“I-is that so?!”

In a monarch’s office, the voice of a ruler berating his incompetent subordinate echoed.

In truth, building a city in just a few months was an astounding feat, but the fact that it was being led by the Sun God was even more absurd.

In the end, the monarch could only grind his teeth in frustration without gaining anything substantial, and while blaming his incompetent subordinates, he revealed his hostility toward Viktor who was staying on the Hyacinth continent.

“Don’t make me laugh… Whether it’s the sun, moon, or the four great gods, I am the master of my country… No one can take my throne from me!”

Had Viktor heard this, an imperial death beam would have immediately descended upon the monarch’s head, but fortunately, Viktor did not hear these arrogant words.

Several months had already passed since the revival of the Two Moons Faith, and the political situation across the 13 continents was changing rapidly.

Considering that events that completely change a person’s fate can happen in just a day, a few months was certainly enough time to transform the world.

Not just the Hyacinth continent where Viktor was currently staying.

Having secured the combination of science and humanities through Turianic Industry and Layer Archive, Viktor was producing an enormous number of followers. Already, tens of thousands of cities had permitted the Two Moons Faith within their borders, and thousands of nations had designated it as their official religion.

-The founding of the Victorian Empire.-

This was likely the issue that had the continent’s prominent rulers most on edge.

Not the reconstruction of the Nariaqi Empire, but the founding of the Victorian Empire. The birth of a new universal empire named after Viktor, the Sun God, was a politically very sensitive topic.

Among the most talked-about aspects was the plan to return the sun and moon to human form and build 13 massive lighthouses to illuminate the night.

Originally a closely guarded secret of Turianic Industry, the truth revealed to bring Layer Archive under their wing spread across the entire continent in an instant. Viktor knew about this but didn’t take any measures to conceal it, believing there was no longer any value in keeping it secret.

Surprisingly, the followers of the Two Moons Faith actually celebrated this method as “the only way to save the sun and moon.”

This was due to the nature of the sun and moon—there was strong sympathy for them, who had endured the horrific punishment of eternally burning and eternally freezing for hundreds of thousands of years. Additionally, the slogan “an empire maintained not by the sacrifice of two but by the dedication of all” gained support not just from followers of the Two Moons Faith but across the entire continent.

Especially for the poor and lower-income classes, who struggled to find jobs regardless of where they lived, couldn’t make ends meet, and often suffered from paranoia that someone else might replace them.

And here, the slogan put forward by the Victorian Empire caught their eye perfectly.

Even the most ignorant couldn’t have missed news of this magnitude.

-An empire maintained by the dedication of all.-

Just as extremism seeps into the impoverished masses, the longing for “a society that needs them” manifested most intensely among the poor and common classes.

The middle class content with the current society, and the upper class unwilling to relinquish their privileges—what happens when anger toward them becomes a driving force?

Revolution.

Popular revolutions, often represented by the slogan “Can’t live like this anymore, let’s try something new!” typically have a very low success rate, and even when successful, often cause nations to falter due to retaliatory politics and the limitations of the masses. But now the situation was somewhat different.

The followers of the Two Moons Faith, who had been sharpening their knives for 1,200 years, shared the same goals.

Why had the Two Moons Faith been permitted in tens of thousands of cities and designated as the state religion in thousands of countries?

This was give and take.

“We have achieved the impossible! Long live the Sun! We will be loyal subjects for the future empire!”

“Let’s build lighthouses to light the lamps! This world will now run on the dedication of all, not the sacrifice of two!”

The masses shout, and the priests clamor.

Faith advances like waves, and conviction rushes in like a flood.

Year 1203 of the Extinction Era. The extinction that had lasted for 12 centuries was slowly coming to its final act.