Only God

Kaelonde Royal City, the largest city of the Dwarf race.

Even the other Dwarf Kingdoms that harbour animosity towards Kaelonde cannot deny the grandeur and splendour of this Royal City, with its palace spire towering into the clouds as if it commanded the world itself.

The Dwarves widely proclaim it as the King City, the City of Dominance!

Even those who despised Kaelonde couldn't help but feel proud of this city.

After Aler and others assassinated the King, they immediately declared martial law throughout the city. They issued announcements across the nation in the name of Prince Mura, claiming Kafu the Sixth was debauched, ruthless, disrespectful to the Divine, and deceived the public by fabricating victories. These tyrannical acts angered the great Gods, so they executed the tyrant in accordance with the divine will and pledged to elevate Prince Mura to the throne.

Each announcement was meticulously copied with fine ink, each inscription grandiloquent. These ambitious plotters clearly had great expectations, hoping that cities across the nation would submit to their rule upon receiving the announcement.

Kafu the Sixth brutally suppressed his people and launched a disastrous war to conquer Golan, failing to capture the entirety of the Helong Mountain Range, and deceiving... All of these tyrannies were confirmed facts. The plotters believed that Dwarves across Kaelonde would praise their righteous actions upon learning of these matters.

However, history's plotters often make the same mistake—taking everything for granted.

When Aler and his associates' proclamation reached across the nation, the response was meager; most Dwarves did not feel deceived by Kafu the Sixth, but rather saw him as a victim of a disgraceful betrayal, believing Aler and his associates were the actual deceivers.

Aside from the lands of the Gold Silver Clan, very few cities in the Kingdom recognized the rule of Aler and his associates; they not only refused to acknowledge Prince Mura's ascension, but even declared war against Aler and his cohorts openly.

"Defend the throne!" "For the glory of Hiris!" became the slogan of thousands of Dwarves overnight.

All this ran contrary to the expectations of Aler and his group.

Behind all this, of course, was the prompting of the Divine.

"Ha-ha! Those Gold Silver Dwarves still think we're here to help them!" Wine God Sibos laughed jestingly,

"But they don't know, we're not just helping them! We're helping their opponents, helping all Dwarves!

After all, we're doing a good deed, naturally, those Dwarves think they're doing good too, but sometimes, the more you try to do good, the easier it is to do bad and brew a poor wine."

Intoxicated in the aroma of fine wine, Sibos seemed to mock the shortsightedness of mortals.

The proud Storm God Utus frowned, seeming to dislike Sibos's remark, and shifted the conversation:

"How long will this unrest last? How long before these jumping jacks leave the stage?"

The Divine knew well that by jumping jacks, Utus meant Aler and his associates.

"Soon, it won't be long. They're already at their wit's end, just waiting for us to drive them mad."

Dream God Laren slowly spoke,

"It's just missing a big fire."

In fact, even though the Kingdom was dissatisfied with Aler and his associates for assassinating the King, leveraging their control of the Royal City along with the substantial strength of the Gold Silver Clan, seizing all governance powers in Kaelonde Kingdom was just a matter of time.

Regrettably, the Divine did not want to see such events unfold.

Aler and his associates thought they had the support of the Gods, but they didn't realize that the Gods did not wish to see their rule.

"So, whose side will Laiendos be on?"

Utus looked towards the God of Victory as he asked.

"Sometimes on this side, sometimes on that side."

Laiendos answered,

"In short, I stand on the side the Gods need."

The words of the God of Victory reflected the stance of this group of Divine.

"It seems this Kingdom is doomed."

Utus stated expressionlessly.

At this time, Dream God Laren spoke:

"This Kingdom was doomed long ago.

It was brewing internal contradictions even before we took notice; even without Kafu the Sixth, this Kingdom was doomed eventually.

What Kingdom lasts forever?

The seeds of destruction were already sown among the Dwarves; in the end, we are merely pushing it forward, like a rope-puller tugging a giant ship, a slave pushing a giant rock. Without us, this Kingdom would still face turmoil and would still perish."

Dream God Laren's words absolved Them from the situation, as many Divine nodded in approval, praising Laren's wisdom. Evidently, they all derived psychological comfort from this.

"Wait and see, Utus, I know you dislike those jesters, and we do too. We are merely using them; believe me, they won't last long on the stage. Our servants will push them off."

............…

Ever since the assassination of the King and the declaration of martial law in the Royal City, Belvan and the scholars had not left the Palace, nor had they seen Prince Mura again.

These days, after confirming that Mura and he were not in mortal danger, Belvan gradually calmed down and breathed a sigh of relief.

This was thanks to Aler and his associates controlling the Royal City, who had not rushed to eliminate dissidents because they had not yet seized all governance rights of Kaelonde.