Chapter 471: The Last Dragonborn

Lei En's expression was extremely cautious; after pondering for a long time, he finally said, "Changing faith, and changing the faith of tens of millions of people, a slip could bring disaster. What exactly are you thinking? Don't tell me it's a spur‑of‑the‑moment idea; this concerns countless lives, you should know better than I do."

"I understand," Ai Mi Li Si nodded, her eyes nonetheless resolute.

"I have been a wanderer since childhood, constantly thinking of restoring the kingdom, reviving the glory of the Zhuogengbao family. I've read the kingdom's histories countless times; the Dragonborn have ruled Kangjiatuo for three thousand years, and there have been too many tragedies, betrayals, bloody suppressions, brotherly feuds, revenges, and so on…" Ai Mi Li Si's expression turned bitter, feeling overwhelmed by her ancestors' experiences.

"And the root of all this lies in Him." She pointed to the sky.

Lei En understood that the "Him" she mentioned referred to the benevolent dragon god Bahamut; his complexion shifted, and he listened as she continued.

"The Dragonborn are merely the product of His failed Blood Soul Curse experiment," Ai Mi Li Si said calmly. "He created us, then abandoned us. Apart from granting a 'Dragon Summoning', He has not answered our prayers for millennia."

"To Him, mortals are worthless; He only cares about great dragons."

"Among Kangjiatuo's seven great families, only the Zhuogengbao family lacks divine protection. Forty years ago, Ma Er Ke dared to rebel because he learned this secret, and thus slaughtered the Dragonborn indiscriminately, usurping the throne."

"And He let the Dragonborn be killed to extinction."

"After the usurper's war, this matter is no longer a secret among Kangjiatuo's upper echelons; all great families are well aware, only the common folk remain in the dark."

"Even if I succeed in retaking the throne, without a deity's support I fear I won't sit on the Iron Throne for long before being toppled again."

Ai Mi Li Si's gaze became resolute, "If that's the case, it's better to pray to a god who can truly grant blessings."

"So you decided to worship the God of Magic?" Lei En asked.

"Yes!"

Ai Mi Li Si answered firmly: "Lady VijesCui is a righteous and benevolent goddess, and one of the strongest deities in the world. Her wisdom, her radiance, her divine power—I have long admired them and am eager to become Her follower."

Lei En nodded slightly; the God of Magic indeed, as she said, possessed both power and character, making Ai Lun E Si the most worthy deity to worship.

He himself was also a follower of the God of Magic.

Though only a shallow believer, praying once every ten days or half a month perfunctorily, he still held deep reverence for this great being who governs magic, knowledge, and wisdom.

As one of the Empire's three gods, She does not force belief upon the people; the vast majority voluntarily revere this Mother of Magic. Her doctrine is positive and uplifting, leading followers to good returns, especially Wizards.

Most Wizards are shallow believers, not particularly devout, but no one can deny that this goddess created Wizards and has guided them for millennia; she is absolutely the beacon on the Wizards' path to magic!

As a Dragonborn, Ai Mi Li Si is also half a spellcaster, and inevitably will choose to worship the God of Magic.

However, this is not a decision she can make alone.

Lei En sighed, saying, "Gods may disregard mortals, but mortals cannot disregard gods."

The Dragon God may ignore his followers, and the faith of these ten million people might be negligible to Him, yet switching allegiance to the God of Magic without His permission is a betrayal of the deity!

The mind of a god is inscrutable.

Abandoned and betrayed by mortals, losing the power of faith—if Bahamut feels his face is tarnished, that the Dragonborn have embarrassed Him, how will it end? Perhaps a divine punishment will descend, and He will personally annihilate the Dragonborn He created.

"By my estimation, He probably doesn't care either," Ai Mi Li Si whispered back. "If He cared, He wouldn't have watched the tragedy of those days unfold with open eyes."

"Are you certain?" Lei En replied skeptically.

Ai Mi Li Si hesitated, "I can't be certain, but I don't care." A smile appeared on her face. "As long as the mysterious lady accepts our prayer and becomes His follower, She will naturally intervene to stop 'His' punishment."

"After all, His divine power is far inferior to the goddess's."

Lei En shook his head; he still thought it too risky.

The God of Magic's divine power is indeed far greater than the Dragon God's, with at least two levels of divinity apart, yet the faith of ten million people might be insufficient for the goddess to act, risking offense to a likewise benevolent Dragon God.

He is unclear about the relationship between the two deities, thus cannot judge.

Whether the Dragon God would become angry is also unknown.

The probability of both events occurring simultaneously stacks, making the chance of the Dragonborn receiving divine punishment very small—perhaps less than one‑tenth; even a one‑percent chance is not worth the risk.

Yet Ai Mi Li Si seemed very confident, prompting Lei En's curiosity: "You seem to know something?"

"Yes." Ai Mi Li Si did not conceal anything, speaking softly: "Prince Pedro recently told me a piece of information—his brother, Prince Duolang received a response from Setarina. That deity, on the day we set out to land in Kangjiatuo, was warned by a greater existence."

Lei En was somewhat startled by this.

Prince Duolang is the supreme ruler of the Mo Er Si Principality, and also holds the title of Divine Chosen of the 'Poison and Serpent God' Setarina, able to communicate with the deity at any time.

Setarina is one of Kangjiatuo's seven gods; her divine power is subtle, and she leans toward the evil camp.

The great existence that dared to warn Her need not be questioned—it was certainly the God of Magic!

As for the warning's content, it was merely to tell Setarina not to meddle in mortal wars, though that was redundant; the God of Magic was unaware that the Mo Er Si family had always been loyal to the Dragonborn, and even Prince Duolang conveyed the deity's response to Ai Mi Li Si.

Half a year ago, when the Weizelan Six-person Council decided to aid the Dragonborn's restoration, the teacher had already reported to the God of Magic.

However, the report stated that Fu Kong Cheng of Weizelan had no intention of altering the faith of Kangjiatuo's seven gods, and asked the goddess to explain this intention to the seven gods, essentially to "communicate" with them.

Communicate, not warn!

Those are completely different matters.

No wonder when the Dragonborn army conquered the Principality of Laoberdil, their worship of the "Beast and Strength God" Grolsh showed no sign; a few million believers meant little to Grolsh, not worth antagonizing the God of Magic.

The protector of the Fei She Principality, the River God Oshenna, has few followers, so he values Fei She more, yet that day when he seemed about to descend in avatar he hesitated, like a difficult birth, probably just putting on a show to scare mortals.

All of this bears the shadow of the God of Magic.

Lei En instantly understood; the God of Magic clearly has more designs on Kangjiatuo!

He suddenly realized he had still underestimated the deities' influence on mortals; when he initially decided to help Ai Mi Li Si's restoration, he had considered the deities' reactions, and the Six-person Council deliberately discussed this, asking the God of Magic to intervene and "communicate" to avoid misunderstandings among Kangjiatuo's seven gods.

He hadn't expected it would be like inviting wolves into the house, living up to the saying: too young, too naive.

The teacher should have known long ago, but restrained by the deities' majesty did not reveal it; perhaps only he realized it later within the Six-person Council.

It was Ai Mi Li Si's keen perception that caught this point, deciding to seize the opportunity.

Lei En sighed inwardly, "This woman is quite formidable!"

"Have you prayed to the goddess?" he asked tentatively. The Soul Eye saw that Ai Mi Li Si's soul fire had not changed; she was not a follower of the goddess.

"Not yet," Ai Mi Li Si whispered, "I'm afraid He would notice."

Deities are very sensitive to changes in a follower's faith fire; although the Dragon God might not mind, during the Dragonborn's restoration period He would likely keep an eye on Kangjiatuo, and Ai Mi Li Si, as the initiator, might have landed on His 'special attention' list.

"Not praying is correct; this matter can only be handled by the Six-person Council, conveying the divine decree in the middle," Lei En said.

Ai Mi Li Si beamed, "Will you support me?"

Lei En nodded helplessly, sighing, "This isn't for me to decide; the goddess's Willpower, I, a mere mortal, can only obey. How could anyone dare oppose?" Before Ai Mili Si could reply, he asked, "How do you plan to carry it out? Changing one's own faith is easy; changing others' faith is difficult, let alone the faith of millions."

After Ma Er Ke usurped the throne, he ruled the Zhuogeng Fort Principality and renamed it Wangling.

He dared not spread Ge Luo Shi's faith openly, only quietly erasing belief in Bahamute, but the effect was minimal. The people of Zhuogeng Fort Principality have worshipped the Dragon God for over three thousand years; their customs, social habits, and customs are all tied to dragon worship, not something that can change in a few decades.

"I haven't figured out the concrete plan yet," Ai Mili Si said thoughtfully. "I know it's hard, but I've prepared for the long term: gradually altering the people's customs, reducing dragon worship, building temples and schools, spreading the goddess's radiant wisdom, popularizing knowledge among the common folk, letting children experience the charm of books and magic, and walk the path of a Wizard. This will be a century‑long plan."

Lei En couldn't help but look at her with admiration.

Universal education, a century‑long plan—this sounds familiar!

If Ai Mili Si can achieve this, it could truly reverse the people's faith in Bahamute and turn it toward the God of Magic.

"You will succeed," Lei En sincerely wished, a smile on his face.

Ai Mili Si was pleased that her idea was accepted and added, "Lei En, I need your support. As Weizelan, the Speaker, become the Title: Duke of Augustus, so that the people of the Augustus Principality can openly worship the goddess, making her one of Kangjiatuo's deities. Once the faith spreads northward into Zhuogeng Fort Principality, it will eventually replace 'Him'."

The internal century‑long plan combined with external infiltration, a two‑pronged approach, will greatly shorten the time needed to change the faith.

Lei En's eyes widened instantly; Ai Mili Si had thought it through thoroughly.

"Fine," he agreed. "I will accept your investiture and become the Title: Duke of Augustus." A domain of such size is hard for anyone to refuse.

"Excellent!" Ai Mili Si's face broke into a smile.

"But there's one thing—have you considered it?" Lei En asked pensively. "After you switch to the goddess, what about the dragon‑born bloodline? If you no longer worship 'Him', are you still a true dragon‑born? And the Dragon Summon—must that be abandoned as well?"

The Dragon Summon is a Legend Grade item; only dragon‑born can sound it to forge a pact with a great dragon.

Ai Mili Si's smile faded.

She remained silent for a long time, her expression shifting, before finally saying, "All these years I've been searching for a way out for the dragon‑born families. It wasn't until I met you in the Empire that I saw a clue, and after landing in Kangjiatuo I gradually resolved my mind."

"What decision?" Lei En pressed.

"As long as we can continue to rule Kangjiatuo, the Zhuogeng Fort family doesn't have to be dragon‑born." Ai Mili Si said, as if expending all her strength, shedding the heavy shackles borne for millennia.

Lei En was startled in his heart.

Since humans were afflicted by the Blood Soul Curse, innate talents waned and lifespans shortened; every human is born with the Blood Soul Curse, which has made almost all humans start from the same baseline in supernatural power, truly making everyone equal at birth.

But there are a few rare exceptions—namely, the dragon‑born.

Dragon‑born are giant dragons cloaked in human skin, inheriting the Red Dragon bloodline, naturally possessing talents far beyond ordinary humans, the highest of talents, stronger than pre‑curse humans, unquestionably among the world's top bloodlines, comparable to the few rare elf branches spoken of in legend.

Although dragon‑born have some drawbacks, they are negligible before such overwhelming talent and power.

Countless people are willing to pay an even greater price, or commit even dirtier, more vile deeds!

Lei En knew clearly that Ai Mili Si's voluntary renunciation of the dragon‑born bloodline must have come after long turmoil and weighing, requiring great courage.

He fully supports this decision.

From a moral standpoint, Lei En cannot accept it; it exceeds his own limits.

Since Ai Mili Si voluntarily gave it up, that's fine.

Lei En looked at her belly; the tiny newborn soul was still growing, and this child would be the world's last dragon‑born.

Ai Mili Si gently stroked her lower abdomen, her face full of affection, then looked up at Lei En and solemnly said, "The Zhuogeng Fort family will no longer be a dragon‑born family in the future, but I hope to become a Wizard family and the legal heir of the Augustus Principality."

(End of Chapter)