Chapter 615: 615:The Rise Of Arcadia
Duke Lancelot quietly stared at Ethan’s serious expression for a long moment after the two entered the private chamber together, and the moment the heavy doors slowly closed behind them while the guards stationed outside stepped away to maintain privacy, the atmosphere inside the room immediately became much heavier and quieter than before because both of them clearly understood that the conversation they were about to have was not something ordinary people were allowed to know casually.
The room remained silent for several long seconds while Duke Lancelot slowly walked toward the large window on one side of the chamber and folded his hands behind his back while staring toward the distant military camps outside, where endless rows of soldiers could still be seen preparing for the upcoming war beneath the darkening sky.
Only after remaining quiet for a while did he finally turn around slightly and ask in a calm but serious voice, "What do you want to talk about?"
Ethan slowly stepped forward before coughing lightly as if organizing his thoughts properly, and after hesitating for a brief moment, he finally spoke with a deep frown resting on his face.
"Father-in-law," he began slowly, "I want to know what the hell is actually going on here because I seriously don’t think the four major Empires are acting on simple greed or temporary ambition just to forcefully swallow Arcadia by hook or crook."
His brows furrowed more deeply while his voice gradually became heavier.
"This whole situation has already gone far beyond my understanding, and the more I look at everything happening around us, the more I feel like there’s another hidden layer beneath all of this that people like us aren’t being allowed to see."
Ethan slowly clenched one fist unconsciously while speaking.
"There’s information I simply can’t penetrate no matter how much I think about it, and honestly speaking, going into a war while remaining blind about the real reason behind it doesn’t sit well with me at all."
Duke Lancelot silently stared at Ethan for another long moment after hearing those words, and although his face remained calm outwardly, traces of hesitation could still faintly be seen in his eyes as if he was carefully considering whether revealing such information was truly a good idea or not.
Eventually, he slowly let out a tired sigh.
"Would knowing the truth really change anything?" he asked quietly while rubbing his forehead slightly. "Honestly speaking, I think it would be better if you didn’t know."
But Ethan immediately shook his head firmly before the Duke could continue further.
"No," he replied without hesitation.
His voice became much more serious than before.
"I want to know."
Then after pausing briefly, Ethan looked directly toward Duke Lancelot with a firm expression.
"No matter how dangerous the road ahead becomes, I can’t keep fighting wars without even understanding the real reason behind them because if I’m expected to risk my life and drag my people into this chaos, then at the very least I deserve to know what exactly we are fighting for."
The room became silent again after Ethan finished speaking, and Duke Lancelot quietly looked at him for several moments before finally sighing once more while slowly sitting down upon the nearby chair.
"Alright..." he muttered tiredly while leaning back slightly. "You really are stubborn as ever."
Then after remaining silent briefly, the Duke finally lifted his eyes toward Ethan again.
"You want to know why this war is truly happening, right?" he asked calmly.
Ethan nodded immediately.
"Then listen carefully," Duke Lancelot said while his expression gradually became much more serious than before.
"There may be several different reasons behind this war, and politics, greed, territory, influence, and revenge are all certainly involved to some extent, but the biggest and most important reason is actually much simpler than all of that."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"Arcadia lost the umbrella protecting it."
Ethan frowned slightly after hearing those words.
"The umbrella?" he repeated slowly.
Duke Lancelot nodded calmly.
"Arcadia’s Ascension Realm expert died."
The moment those words entered Ethan’s ears, his expression immediately stiffened slightly even though deep inside he had already started suspecting something similar after witnessing that terrifying shadow rising from the Imperial Capital earlier and flying toward the battlefield during the godlike clash in the heavens.
Still...
Actually hearing it confirmed directly felt completely different.
Ethan slowly narrowed his eyes.
"What exactly happened?" he asked quietly.
Duke Lancelot folded his hands together while slowly organizing his thoughts before finally speaking again.
"The Demon War originally began because of internal problems on the Demon side," he explained calmly while staring toward the floor thoughtfully, "but that conflict also gave Arcadia an opportunity to expand rapidly because while the Demons focused most of their attention toward fighting humanity, Arcadia took advantage of the situation and continuously swallowed frontier territories while increasing its influence over nearby regions."
His face gradually became darker while speaking further.
"And during all of that chaos... the Ascension Realm expert supporting Arcadia finally started losing his sanity."
Ethan frowned deeply.
"Crazy?" he repeated in disbelief.
"Yes," Duke Lancelot answered firmly while nodding slowly.
"Everyone who reaches the Ascension Realm eventually becomes somewhat insane because after living for thousands of years while watching generations rise and fall endlessly, very few people can maintain a completely stable mind anymore."
He slowly looked upward while speaking.
"Think about it carefully. Endless loneliness. Endless waiting. Endless stagnation. Endless disappointment."
His voice became heavier.
"No matter how strong someone is mentally, after surviving for thousands of years while remaining trapped at the same stage without being able to move forward, cracks eventually start appearing in their minds."
Then his fingers slowly tightened together.
"And the cruelest part is that after reaching Ascension... most people become completely stuck there because reaching true Godhood is unbelievably difficult."
The room remained quiet for several moments after that.
Eventually Duke Lancelot continued speaking again.
"This war made him believe he had finally found a chance to ascend higher because the massive conflict, endless death, and shifting fate of nations seemed to create some sort of opportunity for him."
"But as time passed, the results he wanted never came."
