The war they fought at the Praire River was only the beginning of a series of wars. After all, upon hearing the news of their defeat, the Yin Beasts and Nightmares from beyond the Empire poured into it.
Even though a lot had been killed, four Demons had survived, not to mention Su Daiyu and Su Zi. So, problems persisted continuously.
In the end, Krune had made a mistake, thinking that if he was too bloodthirsty, he wouldn't be a solution to the source of suffering in this world. Then again, none of the two was a solution, causing him to rack his brain, trying his best to do everything in his power.
With the Emperor dead, he had become the Emperor naturally, being a Star Imperial Meister and what not. So, he worked in bettering the living conditions of everyone, improving medicine, culture, art, etc.
Anything and everything to ease the lives of people, he did that. But, there was no such thing as absolute suffering. Everything was relative. So, despite bettering the living conditions of everyone in the Empire, the creation of Nightmares was more or less the same as before.
Three decades of being the Emperor, he arrived at this conclusion. He then gave up the throne to someone from the Imperial Family, personally making trips to the Demon City to kill the Demons.
He thought that at least eradicating the Demons would solve his troubles. He did kill them, a lot of them, in fact.
Su Daiyu died during one such battle. However, Su Zi survived, for she was special, surpassing in strength to even that Ancient Demon, giving Krune endless troubles.
Finally, when he was around 70 years of age, he managed to kill her, suffering from enough injuries that it was a wonder how he managed to survive. He had been in a coma for a decade after that, only waking up today.
"Liu Heng…" Wang Hao entered the room, tearing up upon seeing the old man. "I thought you would never wake up again."
"Haha." Krune smiled wryly, telling him, "I had to complete my mission no matter what."
He then gazed at the other party, noticing that he looked like a youth, having not aged past that. As an Imperial Warlock, he only grew in strength with the passage of every day, having now grown to become one of the strongest in the world.
Of course, the other person was Chen Xue. Both of them had attained a status as legendary Yin Beasts, capable of wielding more powers other than what they possessed as Imperial Warlocks.
Roar!
Suddenly, followed by a loud roar, the Yin Dragon arrived, standing near Krune's manor, muttering, "Why did you never have children, Liu Heng? Our contract would end with your death."
"It should be enough. Thank you for your services," Krune replied. After all, the number of County Arms users in the Empire was at its peak now.
Every single variety that he could think up had already been created. There was no more use in creating any more County Arms. After all, there was even a reserve of every County Arms in the Liu Clan's storage, enough to ensure County Arms users would never become extinct.
"Then, I'll be taking my leave now," the Yin Dragon said before flapping its wings to take flight. With every County Arms user using their abilities, it had been growing in strength, finally attaining a qualitative change, growing its wings before being able to accumulate power within it.
It was no longer a Yin Beast but had surpassed all legendary Yin Beasts in the world. After saying its piece, the Yin Dragon vanished into the skies, seemingly intending to travel the world and make a nest in a remote region, only intending to return when the world needed its presence.
"It seems I'm done here." Krune took in a deep breath, gazing at everyone, seeing the figure of Wang Hao, Chen Xue, the current Emperor, his students, etc. tearing up immediately.
"Keep the world peaceful. That's all I've ever hoped for." Saying so, Krune closed his eyes, utterly exhausted, losing all signs of vitality immediately.
Gooong!
Suddenly, a deep sound coursed through the capital as a massive Cloud Whale appeared in the skies, stirring up fierce gales. It gazed at the skies, unleashing a mournful scream.
Immediately, every police officer, possessing their respective Cloud Whales, kneeled on the ground, bowing with heartfelt gratitude. "Director, watch over us from the heavens."
The Emperor teared up as he slowly got up, giving a royal decree, "We'll create a statue before the Imperial Palace to honor this legend. Begin preparations immediately."
"Yes, your majesty!"
…
"It's… done?" In the void hovered a wisp, its ethereal form flickering weakly, utterly exhausted, looking around in confusion.
"Congratulations on returning." The Land Spirit manifested as his human form, clapping its hands. "You've done well in solving that world's sufferings."
"Did I…solve it?" Krune stared blankly, asking, "How?"
"Where there is life, there is both joy and suffering. This is a natural facet of life, something that could never be changed," The Land Spirit said. "So, eradicating sufferings from that world would have only been possible when you annihilate every living being there. However, you're only increasing the suffering to reach that point. That's not a solution."
"Then…" Krune frowned, confused even further.
"Your death was the answer." The Land Spirit pointed at him as it continued, "In every life, you passed on your karma through others, carrying it from one reincarnation to another. Before you realized it, you wielded considerable weight on that world's fate."
"Your actions, the extent you've affected and changed that world, etc., everything played a part." It continued, "Whether it was your enemies or your allies, everyone was affected by your actions. So, you could say the karma you spread around had connected with everyone."
"At the time of your death, they were all affected by it. Your allies mourned at the loss of a legend but praised your feats of legends while your enemies heaved a sigh of relief, for their most troublesome foe had passed away. Though..."
It said, smiling, "Irrespective of their reasons, at the time of your death, the world itself was at a state of peace, though temporarily.. But that was enough, for you had cleared the sufferings of this world."
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