Endless Debt-Chapter 862 - 12: Division and Preparations for War (Part 3)

"Based on my deduction, I think it's more about reclaiming Xilin."

On his way back, Church had already prepared what he wanted to say, along with various deductions all ready.

"During the Blood-Red Night, the King of Slaughter seemed to be heavily injured, secluded in the palace receiving treatments from physicians. After losing Xilin, he hasn't had any offspring for many years.

Even if the King of Slaughter doesn't want children, the First Seat would compel him to do so. An heir would represent the rightful succession of royal authority. And now the King of Slaughter is old and frail, whereas Xilin is growing up. In essence, whoever controls Xilin controls the future of the royal power."

"But as Xilin gradually grows up, the First Seat's ability to restrict the Second Seat's power diminishes, even allowing the Second Seat to dominate the King's Secret Sword."

Church suddenly halted, recalling the secret war from years ago and the magnificent force commanding all things.

Overlord Xilin.

The youngest Seeker of Glory in history, and the most powerful one on the Order Bureau's records. With his strength alone, he almost swept through the Cultivation Room. If it wasn't for his reckless advance giving the Order Bureau a chance to besiege him, no one knows the final outcome of the secret war.

And in the many years after the secret war, the Cultivation Room still hasn't fully healed, with large areas remaining in a state of ruins, and Overlord Xilin's power continues to ravage it all.

Church said, "A new point of suspicion."

"The First Seat directly oversees the King of Slaughter, controlling the main body of the King's Secret Sword. All resources and power mainly lean towards the First Seat, and for any reason, the First Seat would never allocate resources to the Second Seat, let alone when the Second Seat, far from the Pillar of Royal Authority, loses most of his logistical support.

Even if the Second Seat can obtain ample support locally, how does he solve the problem of the Alchemy Matrix?"

Church hadn't experienced the secret war and had never seen Overlord Xilin's power, but Ivan had. This generation of chiefs almost all emerged from the secret war, and to this day Ivan still remembers the brutal nature of the war and the fearsome power of Xilin.

The secret war was also the battle that made the Order Bureau aware of the enormous gap between them and the King's Secret Sword in terms of the Alchemy Matrix.

Before the outbreak of the secret war, the Order Bureau didn't have much information on Xilin, knowing only his tier and Secret Power Faction, but not much else. During the secret war, the Order Bureau witnessed Xilin's power firsthand, a tyrannical overlord-like force that surpassed everyone's imagination, causing the sturdy Cultivation Room to crumble before him.

From that moment, the Order Bureau realized Xilin possessed an Alchemy Matrix that was far beyond this era.

"If from the Blood-Red Night onwards, a rift emerged within the King's Secret Sword, leading to a split, how does the First Seat allow Xilin to wield such power? How could he let this power drift to the Second Seat's faction instead of bolstering his own?

Especially since, after Xilin, why hasn't such power emerged within the King's Secret Sword?"

The two fell into silence, though they were not alchemists, nor did they understand the complex, profound Alchemy Matrix, they had basic knowledge.

Church asked, "Do you have any thoughts?"

Ivan took a deep breath, "Yes, but the thought is too terrifying."

"Tell me."

"Xilin's Alchemy Matrix didn't originate from the King's Secret Sword."

Silence descended again, but this time the silence grew more oppressive, the air seemed to solidify into iron, and cement filled their noses, causing a strong sense of suffocation.

"So where did he obtain such power?"

Church pondered distressingly, but immediately a nightmarish figure entered his mind, countless scarlet eyes stared at him, mixed laughter reverberating obnoxiously.

Church thought of it, just as he was about to speak, he was sternly interrupted by Ivan.

"Alright, let's not talk about it now."

They were inside the fortress-like Cultivation Room but felt chills crawling along their bodies, breathing icy shards.

Church murmured, "At least this terrible power hasn't continued."

He was genuinely relieved.

Ivan said, "The information you've uncovered is important. We now know the split within the King's Secret Sword following the Blood-Red Night."

"Not just that, I speculate, the secret war might have been instigated by the Second Seat," Church continued sharing his knowledge, "At the very least, everyone I've investigated was part of the Second Seat faction, while the First Seat's faction doesn't seem involved in the secret war."

Church said, "Our failure to notice this was quite normal, back then the King's Secret Sword appeared united on the surface, we regarded it as a cohesive entity."

"Did the Second Seat deliberately start the war?" Ivan didn't understand, "Why? This war even cost Xilin his life."

"I'm not sure, since the Blood-Red Night, the King's Secret Sword has been shrouded in an ominous cloud, internally they're riddled with contradictions and mysteries."

Church rubbed his temples, his journey through the Kagader Empire was not pleasant, many chaotic thoughts distracted him, "After the secret war, the Second Seat faction's strength was almost entirely depleted, and the First Seat faction also believed them to be wiped out."

"But they weren't entirely wiped out; they hid under the Great Rift, evolving into today's King's Shield Guard," Ivan commented.

"Depleting their strength to launch such a war merely to hide? To evade the First Seat's attention?"

Church speculated further following Ivan's words, but the logic was full of holes, he truly couldn't fathom their reasoning.

"After the secret war, the Second Seat faction's presence practically vanished, Xilin and the Fifth Seat fell, while the Second and Third Seats disappeared; the Deputy Director's suspicion might be correct, the so-called Shadow King is the concealed Second Seat."

Exploring the split within the King's Secret Sword and deducing the identity of the Shadow King was Church's work, and evidently, he performed better than the Order Bureau required.

"Is the Shadow King the Second Seat?"

Ivan pondered deeply, initially when hearing the Deputy Director's suspicion, he was skeptical, but now this possibility seemed very probable.

Church said, "As for Red Dog's purpose in negotiating, it's apparent they likely want to retrieve Xilin's body to replicate that kind of power."

"We won't agree, absolutely not!"

Ivan's stance was extremely firm, one Overlord Xilin was already enough.

"Indeed, we won't, and they know we won't, yet Red Dog still came."

Church didn't continue speaking, their gazes met once more, each saw the same answer in the other's eyes.

"Has the preparation for battle already begun?"

Faced with Church's question, Ivan stiffly nodded.