novelraw Chapter 19 : No Regrets
Chapter 19 : No Regrets
Chapter 19: No Regrets
“Divine Kingdom! Divine Kingdom!”
“For the Heavenly God!”
The promise of the “Divine Kingdom”…
for these people who had long lived in hardship and danger, held incomparable allure.
Under Priest Arou’s incitement, the warriors who had begun to hesitate once again reddened their eyes.
They launched an even fiercer assault toward Lei!
Some even tried to rush forward and grab him directly, attempting to restrain his movements with their bodies.
Facing these enemies who had suddenly become fearless of death and filled with fanaticism,
Lei controlled the flames to force back or burn to charcoal those who approached, while loudly rebuking them.
“Absurd!”
“After death, the soul only returns to heaven and earth!”
“What divine kingdom could there possibly be!”
“That is all a lie meant to deceive you!”
“The so-called Heavenly God you worship…”
“cannot even bestow true divine favor—how could it promise you a world after death?!”
But faith was ignorance, and the ignorant were incapable of understanding.
Thus, faced with Lei’s words, they neither understood nor sought to understand.
In their perception, death was the ticket to the Divine Kingdom, a promise of escape from the suffering of this world.
However, when over three hundred warriors charging at the front turned into charred corpses,
their longing for the Divine Kingdom ultimately could not overcome their fear of death.
“Run!”
“He’s a real demon!”
No one knew who shouted first.
The warriors of the Great River Tribe completely collapsed!
They dropped their stone spears and bows, scattering in all directions, disappearing into the forest in an instant.
Leaving behind devastation and burning corpses.
In the blink of an eye, only Lei remained here—
and Priest Arou, who had been mercilessly abandoned.
Priest Arou struggled to crawl away.
But his aged body had long lost the ability to move independently, leaving him stuck in place.
He looked at Lei, who was approaching step by step, and pointed at him with trembling, bony fingers, shrieking with hollow bravado.
“You… you cannot kill me!”
“I am a priest of the Heavenly God!”
“If you kill me, the Heavenly God will never let you go! You will suffer the curse of the Heavenly God!”
Lei’s eyes held only indifference.
“I will be waiting.”
Before the words had even fully fallen,
a flame flicked from his fingertips, instantly engulfing Priest Arou.
Priest Arou convulsed violently within the flames.
Very quickly, he turned into a pile of charred remains, along with his stubborn beliefs, reduced to dust.
Lei stood in place for a long time without moving.
The wind of the forest blew past, lifting ashes and carrying the scent of blood and char.
He looked at this vast yet ignorant tribe.
A thought began to grow within his heart…
He would not leave!
He would stay here!
Stay in this Great River Tribe that worshiped a false god!
He would personally… change this place!
He would spread the radiance of the ruler of the stars across this ignorant land, like sunlight piercing through dark clouds!
He would make these ignorant people
personally experience—and ultimately bow before—the true and great deity!
……
Wa and Ze returned to the royal city.
But this time, upon their return…
there was no longer the high-spirited vigor on their faces.
Instead, it was replaced by a heavy sorrow.
Wa looked at Ya, who had come to receive them.
Looking at the same sorrow in her eyes as his own,
he opened his mouth, his voice dry.
“Father… he…”
But the words that followed could not come out.
Just a few days ago, a messenger from their father had arrived at his city, bringing the sorrowful news.
Sun King Apollo did not have much time left.
How could this be possible?
In his heart, his father was like the sun in the sky that never set, possessing the youth and strength granted by the gods, destined to shine over his dynasty forever!
How could he…
how could he reach an end like a mortal?!
“That day would come sooner or later, wouldn’t it?”
Ya’s voice was soft.
“Ever since… the day En launched his rebellion, we should have known.”
At the mention of En, Ya’s emotions became extremely complicated.
In the beginning, En had been just like their father Apollo, dedicating himself wholeheartedly to the growth of the tribe.
When their father was busy planning the tribe’s future,
it was En, as the eldest brother, who cared for the young Ya and Wa like a father, leading the hunting team through life-and-death situations.
Until that day…
their father entrusted the authority of “farming,” which represented the tribe’s future, to Wa, and handed the responsibility of “animal husbandry” to her.
From that moment on…
when En led the hunting team back with full harvests, what greeted them was no longer the enthusiastic cheers of the entire tribe.
The tribespeople’s attention shifted more toward the vast fertile farmlands and the ever-growing herds.
Even within the hunting team, some began to long for the safer and more stable work of farming and herding.
Gradually, En became silent, withdrawn, and eventually walked down a path of no return.
……
A tear slid from the corner of Ya’s eye.
En’s death…
did not only bring pain to Apollo—it tormented Ya as well.
She often regretted that she had clearly seen En’s lonely and desolate figure when he was alone many times,
yet because she was immersed in the joy of gaining power and her own busyness, she chose to ignore it.
“Wa.”
Ya voiced the regret buried deep in her heart.
“En’s death… we are both at fault!”
She had always believed that it was she and Wa who had driven En onto a path of no return.
Ultimately leading to the tragedy of father and son turning against each other.
And forcing their father to divide his divine favor, accelerating the arrival of old age.
But Wa did not think so.
He looked at the weeping Ya calmly, without any trace of emotion on his face, and merely dropped a cold sentence.
Then, together with the ever-silent Ze, he walked straight toward the palace where their father was.
“If En had not rebelled back then…”
“you would already be dead, Ya!”
These words exploded in Ya’s ears.
She suddenly raised her head, staring in disbelief at Wa’s departing figure.
Wa… he actually thought this way?!
Wa’s feelings toward En’s death were indeed complicated.
He acknowledged En’s past care.
But he also knew that it was precisely because of En’s rebellion
that their father, who had been immersed in the illusion of “eternity,” was awakened and forced to face the reality of his children aging.
It was also because of En’s “sacrifice”
that their father later shared his divine favor, allowing them to enjoy divine grace and obtain new life.
Therefore, Wa held little regret in his heart.
Only the cold clarity of “the victor is king, the loser is nothing,” and a clear understanding of the transition of power.
……
Apollo leaned against a stone seat covered with animal hides, looking at Wa and Ze as they arrived together.
His gaze lingered for a moment on their youthful faces, a trace of emotion flashing in his eyes.
As he looked at them,
it was as if he saw a long time ago…
his younger self, who had just received divine favor, full of drive and only wishing for the tribe to have enough food and clothing.
Back then, he only needed to lead the tribe out hunting every day, without needing to think about so much.
Carefree, and truly happy.