Chapter 512: The End of Days

TL: Rui88

Arvis worked to calm his senior colleague, preventing Aldridge from completely losing his composure in front of MacDonald.

“My apologies, Marshal MacDonald. The pressure from the Star of Calamity has been too great for me during this time.”

Aldridge said, his face flushed with embarrassment.

MacDonald made a soothing gesture with his hand, showing that he understood his feelings.

The old scholar continued, “I picked up those materials again and made some new discoveries.”

“New discoveries?”

“Yes, it was a journal left behind by a priest of some ancient civilization. It described a strange dream of his. According to the meaning expressed by the journal’s author, it was a vision of the end of days after the 10th appearance of the Star of Calamity.”

“A vision of the end of days? The extinction of human civilization?”

“Although it was not stated explicitly, it was close enough. Allow me to describe it to you in the Gabella tongue.”

Next, Aldridge recited in a tone like that of a poetry reading:

“When for the tenth time it appears between heaven and earth.”

“The Great Destroyer comes from the other world to this realm, through a gate that does not exist.”

“He creates His kin upon the earth and forges His army from steel. They wield weapons that spew fire, slaughtering all creatures of flesh and blood…”

“The kin celebrate their victory, erecting stone pillars across the land in sacrifice to Him.”

“A vicious black fog spews from the tops of the pillars, shrouding the sun, moon, and stars. Nauseating black water flows from the bases of the pillars, invading rivers, lakes, and oceans. These profane things create countless plagues and monstrosities among mortals…”

“Under the blight of the Great Destroyer, the world descends into chaos…”

“The minds of men are eroded, their thoughts twisted, noble morals are abandoned, perfect order is trampled. The age of heroes and wise kings is over, the civilizations of old are gone, never to return…”

“The noble become lambs to the slaughter, while the once-gentle folk turn into savage beasts, viciously pouncing upon their former masters…”

“An epoch of utter chaos has arrived…”

“This is both destruction and… unfortunately, the part that follows is lost.”

The old scholar’s description was like a chant, presenting a terrifying picture of the apocalypse in the form of a ballad.

MacDonald’s face was grave. “Are these descriptions the scene after the Demon Race attacks the human world?”

Aldridge nodded. “Yes. Is not ‘Destroyer’ the very term used to describe the demons in various myths of the human-demon war? Is not the ‘gate that does not exist’ the very passage that was sealed by the gods? On some future day, the Gate of Sealing will open once more, and the alien race from the other side will invade our human world again, just as they did in ancient times. And our human civilization will face a catastrophe of extinction.”

Yes, MacDonald thought, if the future world was truly as described in the old scholar’s ballad, how terrifying it would be.

Letting his thoughts wander slightly, a panoramic view of the disaster formed in his mind…the ancient Gate of Sealing reopens, humanity’s ancient enemy reappears. On the one hand, they have armies like steel, defeating humanity time and again. On the other, they wield vicious sorcery, polluting the skies and seas with their filth, thereby eroding the minds of men. Under this dual assault on body and soul, the order of the human world begins to collapse, morality begins to degenerate, righteous heroes are spurned, wise kings are betrayed, and the hierarchy of high and low is completely overturned. What’s worse, humanity might mutate under the influence of the black fog, black water, and other filth into monsters that know only slaughter.

This was not a natural disaster, nor a war between nations. Compared to the picture above, those things were like a mere scratch. This was the end for all of humanity, the collapse of an entire civilization. The future world would be one of endless darkness.

As MacDonald pondered this in silence, he broke out in a cold sweat without even realising it.

Just then, a glimmer of light flashed through his mind, which had been muddled with fear.

This glimmer of light made him think of another possibility for the prophecy.

“This… isn’t this a bit too alarmist?”

MacDonald said with a frown.

“What, you do not believe it?” Aldridge and Arvis asked in unison, their tone somewhat anxious.

“Oh, no! I believe the prophecy, after all, you have proven that disaster accompanies every appearance of the star. What I mean to say is…”

The old marshal chose his words carefully.

“If a prophecy is too specific, it makes one less inclined to believe all of it. So, could it be that the content of the prophecy is just a description, an exaggeration, an embellishment?”

“And the prophecy itself is a metaphor, a symbol. It should be interpreted abstractly… For instance, this prophecy you have verified, could it not simply symbolise a ‘great invasion,’ and to expand on that, an ‘invasion of the human world by a race other than humans’?”

“And this non-human race is not the legendary demons that no one has ever seen, but rather those who live on this continent, who are neighbours to humanity…”

“What?”

“Orcs!”

The moment MacDonald answered with the name of this race, he saw a certain emotion flash in Aldridge’s eyes.

It was the pride of a scholar, or perhaps the conceit of a scholar, as if to tell him…I am the chief scholar of the Scholars’ Tower, this is the knowledge I have verified over the better part of my life, is it your place as a general who only knows how to lead troops and fight wars to correct it?

MacDonald, of course, would not get angry over this. He was past the age of getting angry at the drop of a hat. He also knew the temperament of these scholars, and besides, the man was the most famous scholar in the Empire. Knowledge was always to be respected.

It was Aldridge’s junior colleague, Arvis, who let out a soft laugh, easing the somewhat awkward atmosphere.

“An interesting deduction, Marshal MacDonald. It makes sense when you think about it. Given the customs and social systems of the Orcs, if they were to invade the human world and impose their ways upon humanity, it could indeed be called the collapse of order and the end of civilization. But…”

He looked at MacDonald and said gently, “Have you considered whether the Orcs possess such great capability?”

MacDonald nodded. “They do…I mean, when the time is right. And I have seen this possibility.”

“Oh? What possibility?”

“Due to my position, I have some understanding of the situation surrounding the Empire, including the Great Plains to the north of the human kingdoms. As far as I know, a new King’s Tent has been established on the Great Plains. The Zalg clan is strengthening its power, striving to restore the glory of its ancestors.”

“Have you ever considered what a terrifying power would be born if the new King’s Tent were to unite all the Orc tribes on the Great Plains?”