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He fabricated a story when he met him.

He claimed that by studying the history of the continent and making deductions, he had inferred the existence of a group that managed humanity.

Thus, he said he had ‘personally obtained information’ revealing that Duke Iranard was one of their members.

It was no wonder that Duke Iranard thought of Teslon as a person with astonishing intuition and a wise mind, seeing him spout off everything he had heard in his previous life as if he had deduced it all himself. Considering Teslon’s martial prowess and youth, it was too much to eliminate him. As expected, Teslon was accepted into the Sages of Silver.

The person from his past life who provided this information was none other than…

‘Jade Arclight, the Mage of Light.’

This was during the time when Demon King Repenhardt was expanding the Antares Empire, and Teslon, the Wandering Fist King, couldn’t abandon his homeland, fighting fervently as a vassal of the Vasily Kingdom.

At that time, he learned about the Sages of Silver from his comrade, Jade.

They were said to know all the secrets of the ancient world.

They were the true successors of the great Silver Age.

They were the ones who knew a history unknown to present-day humanity.

Through Jade, who was also a member of the Sages of Silver, Teslon heard the true history. And it was something that shook the pride and foundation of humanity to its core.

The great Silver Age was not dominated by humans. The owners of that magnificent civilization were elves, who possessed the World Tree, and dwarves, who ruled the earth.

So, what did humans do during that era?

If those great ancients were not the ancestors of humanity, then who did humans consider their ancestors?

This truth, it is said, was unknown even to the Sages of Silver. And that alone was a terrifying question enough to shake the identity of humanity. Hence, the Sages of Silver had manipulated history over the centuries to protect human pride.

One such manipulation was the term ‘Silver Age.’

Teslon had once wondered why the ancient era was called the Silver Age. If there was an ancient civilization called the Silver Age, shouldn’t there also be a Golden Age, a Bronze Age, or an Iron Age? Why did the Silver Age suddenly pop up without any other counterparts?

It was through Jade that Teslon finally learned the truth.

Originally, even a thousand years ago, old books had specific names for ancient civilizations. These names were given by humans, elves, and dwarves who lived in those times.

That civilization was called thus:

The Eldras Civilization and the Alhatrans Civilization.

Anyone proficient in ancient languages could interpret the meanings of those words.

Eldras meant ‘Blessing of Eldia.’

And Alhatrans meant ‘Grace of Al Port.’

It was clear to anyone that the names of those ancient civilizations bore the names of the gods of the elves and dwarves.

It was the Sages of Silver of the past who manipulated this. They burned ancient texts and altered history to erase the names of those civilizations. It was a massive operation spanning centuries, but as humanity flourished and grew stronger, the Sages of Silver were ultimately able to complete their task successfully.

To erase the truth, they needed to present an equally plausible lie. Hence, the term ‘Silver Age’ was introduced.

– The ancient elves, unlike the elves of today, had short ears and all had dazzling silver hair. From the murals in the dungeons, it was evident that the ancient elves simply looked like tall humans with silver hair. Therefore, most explorers of ruins did not find the term ‘Silver Age’ odd when looking at those murals. Additionally, the metal predominantly used by the ancient dwarves, both then and now, was tin and mithril. Of course, unlike the current dwarves, they alloyed mithril with other minerals to create superior metals, but the color was clearly silver. Hence, most relics were silver in color, and researchers naturally accepted the term ‘Silver Age.’

In this way, the Sages of Silver had been manipulating information from the shadows for countless years to protect humanity’s psyche.

When Teslon first heard all this from Jade, he wasn’t particularly shocked.

At that time, Teslon still had the straightforward mindset befitting the successor of Gym Unbreakable. In other words, he was quite ignorant. He thought, “Who cares about the past? Elves and dwarves are insignificant now.” So, when he fought against Repenhardt, he simply thought, “If I take him down, everything will be fine.”

However, after being reborn and inheriting Repenhardt’s superior intellect, he reflected on his past life and understood why the Sages of Silver went to such lengths to hide history. He had become wise enough to comprehend the significance of belonging, tradition, and ancestors to humans.

‘And… I also realized what mistakes the Sages of Silver made…’

In front of Stefan or Philanence, Teslon scolded them, telling them not to reveal the truth due to their positions. However, he personally thought that what the Sages of Silver were doing was excessive.

In his previous life, the early Antares Empire devastated the continent at an astonishing speed. And it wasn’t merely due to Repenhardt’s powerful magic.

The Sage of Silver manipulated history to preserve the pride of humanity. Consequently, humanity, brimming with pride, succeeded in subjugating other races and seizing control of the world. The Sage of Silver undoubtedly acted in a way worthy of being called the guardian of humanity.

However, their interference had now turned into excessive overprotection.

Due to the extreme manipulation of information by the Sage of Silver, humanity had become ignorant of other races.

Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, Trolls.

Although they had now fallen to the status of slaves, they once contended for dominance over the continent with humans. These races harbored the potential danger of reawakening the power of their ancestors at any moment.

Yet, humans dismissed them as inherently inferior beings and no one sought to learn about them. The ideological manipulation aimed at boosting human pride had gone too far, resulting in humanity becoming mentally complacent despite ruling the entire continent.

This was the reason why, in the early days of the Antares Empire, human kingdoms crumbled so easily. The other races invaded with terrifying momentum, but humans scoffed at the idea of mere slaves posing a threat, and they all perished as a result. By the time the Antares Empire was established and humans finally realized the truth and heightened their vigilance, three kingdoms had already fallen.

‘In the end, we utilized our numerical superiority to achieve victory, but the damage was immense…’

At that time, Daos, who had been reviewing the reports, called for Teslon.

“Well done, Sage Restin.”

“Yes, Guardian Daos.”

“Then, you may withdraw.”

After bowing his head, Teslon recited the designated slogan.

“Then, everything is for the protection of humanity.”

Disappearing with a flash of light, Daos also solemnly received the slogan.

“Everything is for the protection of humanity.”

Daos’s figure completely vanished. As the pillar of light extinguished, the hall was once again filled with darkness. Teslon, left alone in the darkness, gazed at the empty space where Daos had been and muttered bitterly.

“Protection of humanity… But all the actions you have taken in the name of preserving human pride and dignity have ultimately made the current humans weak and foolish…”

* * *

Three months had passed since the death of the former King Gotrin I and his heir, Telion. Now, the Kingdom of Crovence was divided into two factions.

The first faction supported Carsus von Fernando.

Led by the Fernando ducal family and the Marquis of Brozen, this faction, backed by local lords and noble families, claimed that Carsus was the true king. With two Aura wielders under his command and an army of fifteen thousand, Carsus was currently the closest person to the throne of Crovence.

The second faction supported Yubel Ren Crovence.

This young man, eighteen years old this year, was born to the former King Gotrin I and his concubine. Yubel, whose maternal family was the Feonin family, the kingdom’s greatest merchants, received the support of the merchant-born nobility, and a few conservative nobles who valued royal tradition also lent their hands to Yubel. Despite the blemish on his lineage, it was an undeniable fact that Yubel was the only legitimate son of the former King Gotrin I.

However, with no Aura users under his command and a great famine sweeping the land causing mercenaries to leave, Yubel was left with only about three thousand troops, putting him at a considerable disadvantage in the war of succession.

Yet, the reason Carsus could not yet call himself king was because Prince Yubel’s side possessed the Crovence crown and the royal seal.

The King of Crovence had to own the crown and seal and hold the coronation ceremony in the sacred hall of the palace, Brastina, to be recognized as the true king. While Carsus had subdued the royal capital Crotene and controlled the sacred hall, he had yet to obtain the crown and seal.

But even this was only a matter of time.

The Carsus faction had contacted the Taoban Trading Company, spending a large sum of money to secure military provisions, preparing to resume the war. In contrast, Prince Yubel’s faction had no further resources. Everyone watching the war of succession already predicted Carsus’ victory.

“So it was already a fight won…”

In a reception room of the gray stone tower, Count Piterran examined a document with a troubled expression. This middle-aged man, with brittle-looking brown hair and blue eyes, was part of the Brozen Marquessate faction on Prince Carsus’ side. Due to his territory’s proximity, he had been tasked with scouting the movements of Prince Yubel’s forces, who had retreated to the Viscounty of Delphia.

The document in his hand contained information from his spy infiltrated in the Viscounty of Delphia. It detailed how Prince Yubel’s side had acquired a new ally, securing a vast amount of military provisions.

“After all the effort to cut off their funds, what is this now?”

Count Piterran clicked his tongue.

They had experienced firsthand in the early days of the civil war how terrifying a weapon money could become when given to merchants. Hence, the Carsus faction seized the opportunity brought by the great famine, even receiving help from the Principality of Chatan, to cut off the flow of funds to Prince Yubel’s merchants. Confident that there was no way for them to secure more provisions, a sudden ally appeared supplying grain?

‘Tch, what luck you have, Prince Yubel.’

According to the information, the amount of provisions was worth a staggering 100,000 gold coins. If such provisions reached Prince Yubel, it wouldn’t turn the war in his favor completely, but it would certainly become a significant headache.

Count Piterran’s mind worked quickly.

“I don’t know how they found such an ally, but I can’t just sit back and watch.”

It was a basic principle of warfare to cut off supplies. Moreover, such a quantity of grain was a considerable treasure in the current Crovence Kingdom. They couldn’t simply let such a valuable resource go. The Carsus army was also struggling with supplies.

‘If I can seize this much provision, the credit I’d gain would be significant, and my position would rise considerably.’

Though initially surprised, he realized it was an unparalleled opportunity. Delighted, Count Piterran began formulating a plan.

The Carsus army also traded grain with the Taoban Trading Company. Hence, they couldn’t attack while the Taoban Trading Company was managing the grain.

Therefore, Count Piterran decided the attack would be after Prince Yubel’s side received the grain from the Taoban Trading Company and passed through the western gateway city of the Crovence Kingdom, Kadvar. With the entire kingdom suffering from famine, the grain from the Taoban Trading Company was literally everyone’s lifeline. If they antagonized the Trading Company, it would likely upset other neutral nobles.

“Hmph, cowardly bastards.”

Count Piterran muttered a curse as he thought of the neutral nobles. To him, they were as detestable as Prince Yubel’s forces for not participating in this sacred war to support the true king.

Those maintaining neutrality were primarily families of Aura users, like Sir Hartsbergen, the commander of the Royal Knights. Currently, there were five Aura users in the Crovence Kingdom, and three of them remained neutral in the civil war.

Their stated reason was that they had sworn allegiance to the king and could not support either side until a proper coronation. But Count Piterran had a good guess at their true intentions.

‘They must feel secure because they are Aura users.’

When ordinary nobles declared neutrality, they would naturally incur the displeasure of whoever became the king. However, Aura users were precious at a national level. Unless they were enemies, the king would have no choice but to embrace them. Knowing this, they confidently declared neutrality to preserve their family’s power.

Grumbling, Count Piterran continued devising his ‘provision seizure plan’. Then, he called for his attendant and gave an order.

“Tell everyone to prepare for deployment!”