Graham VII spent only a day to completely occupy the main city of the Berkeley autonomous territory. From then on, apart from a few individual small towns opportunistically plundered by other lords, most of the Berkeley autonomous territory's land had fallen into Graham VII's hands.
Before long, the people of the Berkeley autonomous territory began to laud Graham VII's sagacity and virtue. Drunkards in taverns openly discussed and exaggerated Graham VII's bravery and might.
Poets composed ballads from his story, with melodious tunes, easy to memorize.
"The gods granted Graham the power of thunder, his sword striking where it might, his Knight Legion impervious to blades and spears, 3,000 weapons sweeping across the land..."
...
In the tavern.
Several drunkards drank while listening to the poet's ballad. One of them belched, muddle-headedly asking, "Do any of you still remember Gilbert from the slums?"
"Gilbert?"
"Who?"
Others looked confused.
Gilbert's time as the slum boss was too short, and he always operated behind the scenes. Apart from his subordinates, almost no outsiders had heard his name.
"Heh heh."
The drunkard who brought up the topic was excited, bragging, "You wouldn't know, on the day Lord Graham attacked the city, I saw Gilbert kill so many soldiers! That scene was truly a river of blood."
"A river of blood?"
"Indeed, at least dozens of soldiers died by his hand, and that was in direct combat. His bravery, you absolutely cannot imagine."
"Really?"
"Of course it's true!"
"Come to think of it, why don't you tell us who Gilbert is?"
"Haha, speaking of that kid, he's considered a legend in the slums. He only took a few days to become the boss of the slums..."
Stories and legends were born and spread every moment. Unbeknownst to anyone, the power of a certain dimension silently traced its source.
This dimensional power was constantly searching for something around Gilbert's traces, yet everything was so natural, and the search yielded nothing.
At one stage, Mei had been a Planck Membrane Lifeform. This type of life form could freely traverse the Planck membrane and the real world.
Sosion's situation was similar.
He also possessed the ability to freely traverse a certain dimension and the real world. He called this dimension the Ālaya dimension. Within the Ālaya dimension, he could sense memory-linked information within a considerable range.
However, it was limited to one-way perception; he couldn't reverse relationships or invade others' thoughts. Even so, Sosion capable of entering the dimensional level was much stronger than his peers among Grand Travelers.
Graham VII's power originated from Sosion's favor. A mere Tier 1 power was easily granted by Sosion, a Tier 3 Transcender.
Naturally, by observing thought patterns through the Ālaya dimension, Sosion detected Gilbert's existence. At this point, a blind spot in perception emerged.
He couldn't read Gilbert's thoughts to find out who granted him power. That person was outside his observational range.
A high-tier item wielder?
Or perhaps a powerhouse from some Legion?
Things were getting interesting.
Sosion became intrigued.
"Playing with history, are we? This is my area of expertise. Let's see if I catch you first, or if you complete the masterminding of this entire Tier 3 battlefield from behind the scenes."
His lifespan was long.
He was confident he could match the opponent.
To unify the Tier 3 battlefield and complete the Main Mission, and then leave this world early: different Grand Travelers naturally employed different methods. Some preferred to conquer everything through royal authority, others preferred to unify faith through religion, and some believed in crushing foes with technology.
Manipulating history, quietly controlling and orchestrating everything was Sosion's favorite and most skilled domain. This wasn't the first time he had done this.
Little did he know that Mei completely disregarded him. Just considering the Ālaya-Vijñāna, Mei was the absolute supreme existence within it.
Though as her level increased, Mei no longer needed to rely on the power of the Ālaya-Vijñāna, this didn't mean she had lost the means to control it.
Playing games with the Ālaya-Vijñāna in front of Mei was no different from loudly plotting secrets in front of her.
It was sheer suicide.
Sosion thought Mei was merely playing with history. In reality, Mei's level was far higher than he imagined.
Mei saw not just history, but also causality and everything else.
The descent of supernatural power that hid the age behind it inevitably meant the fierce expansion of divine faith and religious power, allowing it to dominate the secular world.
Sosion had never issued any direct commands to Graham VII. However, for Graham VII to continue bathing in divine favor, he naturally became a follower of the god's faith.
Following Gilbert's departure, Graham VII quickly rectified his previous regret. He secured the loyalty of a Divine Apostle, and since this Apostle was originally a devotee of the god, Graham established the supreme status of the god in the Berkeley autonomous territory after seizing control.
The Alaya Supreme God Cult was thus born.
—
[Book of Alaya · Chapter 02: · Holy Son · Prince · Fragment: On the day of the holy birth, the god descended with a Divine Revelation. The Pontiff sensed it, and Graham VII followed the guidance, finding a youth: this one being the Holy Son...]
The most dramatic element was that the Holy Son's identity was the last remaining bloodline of the Berkeley family. On the night Gilbert massacred the Berkeley family, he had escaped.
When Graham VII found him, he was just an ordinary child wandering the market, scavenging for scraps to eat, ragged and pitifully destitute.
Graham VII paid no attention to his lineage, only stating: "From this day forward, you are the Alaya Holy Son, one of Graham's future heirs."
To this, the youth trembled and quickly nodded.
—
[Book of Alaya · Chapter 20: · A Blood Debt Must Be Paid in Blood: ...]
In future, scholars developed different interpretations when studying the Book of Alaya. One party believed the book documented the very beginning of the Alaya Supreme God Cult's founding, and the events recorded carried predictive qualities.
Another faction believed the Book of Alaya had long been altered through historical changes. The events recorded were not predictions but historical facts later embellished by successors to glorify the religion.
Regardless, one thing was certain: a blood debt must ultimately be paid in blood. This became the most complete portrayal of Graham VII's entire life.
During the same period, characters resembling mythological heroes appeared across the land one after another, as if the chapters of mythology were being rewritten. Heroes raised war banners to conquer in all directions, and Divine Apostles, flourishing with the rise of religion, replaced the gods in name.
—
Ten years passed in a flash.
A mournful cry echoed from a dimly lit prison cell. Following the sound of a baby's first cry, a woman in the cell gave birth to a baby girl.
...
"Get out of the way!"
"Move aside!!"
A group of fierce-looking soldiers rushed past like arrows through the street. The weight of their armor caused the very ground to tremble. The commoners barely managed to scatter in time.
"What's going on?"
BANG!
The leading soldiers kicked open a courtyard gate and stormed in, radiating a heavy killing aura. To their surprise, they had rushed into an empty void.
"No one here?"
"Are the intelligence reports accurate?"
"Absolutely. We've been monitoring this rebel stronghold for a while."
Immediately, a sense of dread washed over them.
SCREECH!
A sharp metallic scraping sound echoed from behind. The soldiers spun around to see a figure cloaked in black robes calmly closing the door.
Then, he drew the dagger at his waist.
"!!!"
"The rebel leader, Gilbert!!"
The moment the figure raised his head, the soldiers finally saw his face. In that instant, they shuddered, overcome with extreme panic.
They were only supposed to wipe out a small outpost. They never expected to confront the rebel leader head-on. This likely meant their doom.
Gilbert was a titan who had stood against the royal family and the church for over a decade without fear. How could ordinary soldiers possibly be his match?
A moment later, the courtyard was strewn with the corpses of soldiers. blood stained the ground, pooling into dark puddles. Gilbert wiped his blade clean.
He instructed a nearby youth.
"This stronghold is exposed. Move everyone and change our location."
"Understood."
Visad nodded.
Visad was a stray boy Gilbert had taken in years ago. At that time, he was nearly beaten to death by a farmer after being caught stealing the family's last grain.
Gilbert rescued him, naming him Visad. After years of tempering, Visad had become a competent rebel soldier.
Since the person in charge of this stronghold was Visad, Gilbert decided to handle the situation personally. He valued Visad highly and didn't want to risk any careless mistakes.
The rebel members emerged from a dark underground room, quickly moving supplies to relocate. Gilbert looked at their faces, a slight ripple stirring in his heart.
"Twenty-five years..."
It felt like a single blink of an eye.
Twenty-five years ago, Graham VII had seized the Berkeley autonomous territory. Amidst the turmoil of history, Stella's young life vanished silently like dust.
Since then, Gilbert had persisted solely on an obsession for revenge, unwilling to let Graham VII feel even a fraction of the pain he endured. Even in death, he would not find peace.
The demise of the Berkeley family marked the beginning of an era. The land fell into chaos, and heroic figures rose. Religions erected divine banners, and Divine Apostles replaced the gods in name. Kingdom after kingdom collapsed.
It must be said that Graham VII was a leader of great strategic vision. He seized the opportunity to occupy several territories, and ten years after annexing Berkeley, he established the Graham Kingdom.
In that same year, Gilbert, who was surviving as a wandering mercenary, established the rebel army. Over the next fifteen years, the army absorbed those with a deep hatred for the Graham family and those persecuted by the Alaya Supreme God Cult, expanding rapidly.
Recently, Gilbert had led several uprisings within the Graham Kingdom. Although they failed to achieve total victory and were suppressed by the Kingdom and the Church, it proved the rebels were a significant threat.
The only regret was that since Gilbert's heart turned to ashes, his power seemed stagnant, unable to break through to Tier 2.
This time, Gilbert had a more important task.
Covering Visad's withdrawal was only part of it. Another was that this stronghold was the closest to the capital of the Graham Kingdom.
Today happened to be the founding day.
The entire nation was celebrating.
According to the royal decree, Graham VIII would today accept authority from Graham VII under the Pope's supervision, becoming the second King.
Gazing toward the capital, Gilbert seemed to hear the fervent cheers. He had a sudden premonition and whispered: "My life is coming to an end."
Mei manifested.
"It's just that you're walking toward your death of your own accord."
Gilbert responded.
"As long as that death has meaning."
With that, he opened the door and left.
Mei remained, meeting the gaze of Visad, who had overheard the conversation. Visad's eyes lit up as he asked: "Are you the god who protects the rebels?"
Visad wasn't seeing Mei for the first time. Most of the time she appeared out in the open, unconcerned if others saw her.
The rebel army's strength was evident, similar to the bloodline of the Graham royalty and the Alaya Church. Thus, the rebels suspected Gilbert received a boon from some god.
Mei gazed at Visad, seeing the desire surging deep within his eyes—a craving for power. Her assessment was that he was an interesting person.
Unlike his submissive manner in front of Gilbert, Visad now showed no attempt to conceal his ambition and greed, his eyes shining as he pleaded with Mei.
"Can you grant me power as great as leader Gilbert's? I'll become even stronger than him and lead the rebels to overthrow the Graham Kingdom!"
Mei smiled as she asked back: "Do you think my power is so cheap that just by pleading, I will descend with a boon? Or do you simply overestimate yourself?"
Visad's hands clenched, filled with intense resentment.
"I'm willing to pay any price."
"Any price you pay is worthless to me. If you wish to seek power through faith, I think the Alaya Church would suit you better."
Visad wanted to say more, but Mei had already vanished. A look of resentment, mixed with jealousy and rage, appeared on his face but quickly disappeared.
Acquiring status and wealth through power was the pure desire of this commoner-born boy. He had that classic sense of envy.
But he also possessed a sense of principle.
He had once considered turning to the Alaya Church. By betraying the rebels, he would surely receive rewards. But he felt he couldn't betray Gilbert's kindness.
In the end, his inner loyalty triumphed over his greed.
BOOM!
A loud explosion resounded, and dust billowed in the distance. Visad's face changed instantly.
A sharp blade light tore through the air, perfect curves rippling and twisting space as slashes split a house in two. Even stone was fragile against this destruction.
Gilbert was calm, easily evading the dense net of slashes.
"It seems our luck is good."
Three armored swordsmen stood with an imposing aura. One spoke: "We thought this was just a small outpost. We didn't expect to catch a big fish like the rebel leader, Gilbert!"
Gilbert's gaze swept over them. He understood they were just Tier 1 Graham royal swordsmen—manageable.
The rebel army's biggest disadvantage was their lack of high-level combat power. The divine favor granted to the Graham royalty and the Alaya Church seemed to be a systematic power.
Even ordinary people who trained had a chance to become stronger.
Gilbert's power couldn't be taught to others. To this day, he didn't understand the nature of his own power; there were too many unknowns.
Fortunately, as far as he knew, only two people in the Graham Kingdom could match him: Graham VII ten years ago, and the Pope of the Alaya Church.
Graham VII was old now, almost a cripple. On the contrary, the Alaya Church's Pope was someone Gilbert was extremely wary of.
If he hadn't guessed wrong, the Pope had already entered the Tier 2 realm. Gilbert had once glimpsed the Pope from a distance and ultimately decided not to act rashly.
So,
As long as it wasn't the Pope acting, three Tier 1 swordsmen wouldn't be enough to pose a threat to Gilbert. There were differences in strength even within Tier 1.
Gilbert's gloomy, lifeless gaze fixed on the speaking swordsman, and his figure vanished into thin air. Before they could even consider how to react,
SPLURT!
Warm blood suddenly spurted from the side of the swordsman's neck.
Gilbert had appeared behind him at some unknown point, drawing his dagger from the man's throat before vanishing once more.
He specialized in stealth and concealment. Direct confrontation was clearly irrational; assassination and ambush were Gilbert's most skilled methods of slaughter.
"!!!"
The other two swordsmen clearly hadn't expected Gilbert's methods to be so bizarre. As an assassin, practically everyone who had seen Gilbert act was dead. The Kingdom and the Church only knew Gilbert's appearance; they knew very little else.
Disparate strength!
Unbeatable!
The two swordsmen made a quick decision. One of them decisively pulled out a crystal, about to crush it. Unfortunately, Gilbert gave them no chance for a life-for-life trade.
SWISH!
The blade light flashed.
Blood spurted from both swordsmen's necks. Gilbert held a severed hand in his, and he pried the crystal from it.
"Just what I'll need later."
This was a masterpiece of the Church, an artificially created supernatural power of immense force. Once released, the power within the crystal was enough to destroy everything within a five-meter radius.
Visad rushed over.
"Leader, are you okay!"
"Fine."
Gilbert instructed: "You retreat first."
Visad was surprised.
"Aren't you coming with us? The Kingdom and Church reinforcements will be here soon. Staying here alone would be very dangerous."
"I still have something to do."
Gilbert didn't explain further, turning and heading towards the capital. Visad looked at Gilbert's back and didn't ask anymore.
...
"Quick, quick, quick!"
A merchant caravan hurriedly controlled their carriages as they fled, carrying loads of local products to the capital to sell. They needed to arrive by mid-day, or they'd miss the founding day celebration.
"Hurry up! Something seems to have happened in the town. If they blockade it, we won't get out!"
CRACK!
The horsewhip cracked loudly. The convoy slowly set off, rushing and galloping. They finally reached the capital by mid-day. After a strict inspection, the convoy was allowed to enter.
Entering the capital, a scene of bustling celebration came into view. Amidst the crowd, Gilbert gazed at the palace, a stark contrast to the celebration. He vanished in a blink.
...
The baptism ceremony quickly began, and everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion. The national founding celebration seemed to have affected everyone, immersing them in the joy.
The Church's devotees stepped onto the stage first, presenting the Graham Kingdom's brilliance and glory to the gods and pleading for greatness and blessings to be bestowed upon the future Graham VIII.
Outside the palace, the fair-haired, blue-eyed Alaya Holy Son, clad in knight's armor, scanned the surroundings with a gaze as sharp as a blade, responsible for ensuring the ceremony proceeded smoothly.
Even in such a heavily guarded environment, no one detected anyone sneaking into the palace. Gilbert, as if in an empty space, stealthily made his way to the palace tower.
The elderly and weak Graham VII reclined on a soft rug, looking with satisfaction at Graham VIII, who was undergoing the Church's baptism below.
"Your Majesty, the prince's heroic posture truly reflects your former brilliance."
"Haha, of course. That's my son."
Graham VII's voice was weak, and even speaking left him slightly breathless. He watched his son, about to be crowned, a smile he couldn't suppress on his face.
Silently, the court attendants' flattery and praise ceased. Graham VII noticed something was amiss, until an icy voice came from behind.
"I've approached you this closely, and you haven't even noticed. It seems you truly are old, and have lost your former bravery."
Graham VII was startled. He turned his head and saw a very familiar face. Gilbert hadn't even concealed his appearance, openly revealing his face.
Gilbert's desolate gaze fell upon Graham VII.
"Graham VII, long time no see."
Graham VII's hand trembled slightly. As Gilbert said, he was truly too old, old enough that he couldn't even stand up.
A Tier 2 being about to expire.
It seemed his power couldn't help him extend his lifespan.
Graham VII lacked his former bravery and decisiveness. He forced down the terror in his heart and asked Gilbert: "What do you want? This is the palace! If you dare to..."
Gilbert directly ignored the threat. He had come with the resolve to die, completely uncaring of his life or death. His composure left Graham VII increasingly uneasy.
Gilbert looked down at the baptism ceremony, speaking coldly: "You've realized your ambition and hegemony, established your kingdom, and even have a son who's no less impressive than you were at your peak. I think you must treasure all of this immensely, more than even your own life."
"..."
Graham VII's body trembled. He knew what Gilbert was about to do. He tried to struggle to his feet, only for Gilbert to press down on his shoulder.
He stared at Graham VII, enunciating every word.
"A blood debt must be paid in blood, Graham VII."