"A long time ago, in ancient times longer than the age of wizards..."

"Sir, what was the era before the Wizarding Age?" Pony Wei asked curiously. The Stormrage Sword Master's easy-going attitude made him feel friendly, just like an experienced elder brother returning from a long journey. After the strangeness faded, he would call

People like it.

"Mavie, don't interrupt again, or I'll punish you by cleaning the stables." Mrs. Melissa warned Mavie, then picked up a snack and gave it to Kasha.

The little girl was so focused on enjoying the cakes that she forgot to express her opinion. She actually wanted to go clean the stables with her brother.

"The story is fictional. You have too many questions, so I won't tell you anymore." Victor smiled at the two little guys and continued:

"There is a family in a remote countryside of a certain human country. The father and mother live in the mountains and raise sheep for the village chief. Their only son works in a mine outside the village. During the rainy and snowy season of one year, the son who has been working outside for a long time finally comes back to reunite with his parents.

, but he is not alone, there is an uninvited guest."

"It was a man over fifty years old, with a sparse gray beard and equally gray eyes. He looked haggard, but he was tall and strong. His clothes were stained with blood, and he carried a two-handed battle axe. My father and

My mother was very afraid of this man. It was a bad thing to live in a remote place. Apart from a pitchfork, they had no timely protection from the militia. If this strong man was a robber, the whole family would be killed by him."

"The son explained the situation in time. It turned out that he encountered a pack of wolves on his way home, and it was this adventurer who saved his life from the hungry wolves. After the son showed the corpses of two wild wolves, the father and mother

Then we lowered our guard and asked the adventurers to go inside and take shelter from the rain for the night."

"In order to express their gratitude to the adventurer for rescuing their only son, the shepherd couple entertained him hospitably, preparing hot mutton soup and bread, and also brought out home-brewed fruit wine. In the cold and wet water season, nothing makes adventure more exciting than a warm hut.

People yearn for it, and if there is, it will be a hot meal and a jug of wine."

"With a full stomach and three full glasses of home-brewed fruit wine, the adventurer was satisfied. He sat on a chair near the fireplace and talked. The shepherd's family of three were full of interest in the guest's adventures and gathered around him.

Stand by and listen to him talk about his wild adventure experiences and his own heroic deeds."

"This older adventurer has a lot of experience, or he is a person who likes to brag. He said that he has been to a distant alien country and met the Rotel people... They are a tall alien intelligent species.

Blue skin, four arms, good at handling four sharp long scimitars, can easily chop up a bull buffalo. The adventurer and his companions accidentally broke into the Lotor temple and stole a god

The sacred objects enshrined in the temple.”

"Under the obstruction of Rolt's Four Swordsman, the adventurer and his companions fought hard and bloody, and finally broke through the siege and returned to the human kingdom."

"The shepherd's son listened with rapt attention and couldn't help but ask the adventurer, have all your companions died in the battle? Why are you the only one who is lost nearby?"

"The adventurer didn't speak, and his expression became unnatural. At this time, the shepherd was convinced that the guest was bragging, and a powerful adventurer would not be as miserable as he was. However, the story he made up was indeed wonderful, and the shepherds and his wife were willing to listen. They

Living in the mountains all year round, I felt lonely and longed to hear people talk about the outside world. The shepherd changed the subject and asked the adventurer, what is the sacred object of the Rolt people?"

"The adventurer was silent for a while, took out an inconspicuous stone from his pocket, and told the owner that this was the sacred object enshrined in the Rolt Temple."

"At this time, even the shepherd's son began to suspect that his savior was a big talker. Out of politeness and fear, the shepherd's wife asked, what is the use of this sacred object?"

When Ma Wei heard this, he lowered his head, covered his mouth with his hands to prevent Mrs. Melissa from seeing it, and said in a small voice: "I guess that adventurer is not a liar."

Everyone couldn't help but smile, and Victor smiled slightly and continued: "The adventurers told them that the Rolt people's sacred object is the fairy king's wishing stone, which can grant anyone's wish as long as they hold the wishing stone with both hands.

, make a wish silently, and your wishes will come true."

Little Mawei hurriedly hid his grasping hands behind his back, and secretly glanced at his grandmother. Seeing that she didn't notice his little movement, he listened to the story with peace of mind.

"After the adventurer finished speaking, the way he stared made the shepherd family realize that their chuckles made each other unhappy. The shepherd's son wisely asked, what kind of wish did the adventurer make?"

"He just wanted the topic to continue, even if it was to satisfy the adventurer's habit of bragging. The shepherd family was ready to listen and marvel, but the adventurer's face began to turn pale and he calmly said that he had already made a wish

, no longer willing to talk more."

"This actually aroused the curiosity of the shepherd's wife. She asked in a roundabout way if anyone else had made a wish, such as the companions mentioned by the adventurer."

"'They are all dead.' The adventurer was silent for a long time, and a hoarse voice squeezed out from the gap between his teeth. The expression on his face was very strange. It was obviously a calm expression, but it gave people a feeling of loneliness, regret, and...

fear."

"I know that the adventurer must be a high-level knight." Pony Wei shouted loudly. This time, Mrs. Melissa did not propose the punishment of cleaning the stables.

Victor continued: "The adventurer suddenly threw the wishing stone into the fireplace. The shepherd's first reaction was to use iron pliers to pick out the wishing stone. Unconsciously, the shepherd family began to believe that the wishing stone was

Really, maybe they have wishes that cannot be realized. The shepherd said that if the guests don’t want the wishing stones, it is better to give them to them.”

"The adventurer didn't say anything and quickly said goodbye, regardless of the host's polite request to stay and the darkness and freezing rain outside. Before leaving, he warned the shepherd family that the wisest choice was to throw away the stone."

"After the guests left, the shepherd's family breathed a sigh of relief. They laughed at the adventurer in various ways as a liar. They couldn't tell the story anymore and had to run away. However, the wish grew in the shepherd's heart like weeds in spring.

He jokingly said, 'I want a bag full of gold,' while his hands were tightly holding the wishing stone."

"Then what? A bag of gold appeared?" Ma Wei looked at the Stormrage Swordmaster intently and asked curiously.

"No, nothing happened." Victor shook his head, shrugged his shoulders and added: "At least the bag of gold won't magically appear on the table, in the cupboard, under the bed... The shepherd family soon forgot about it.

After making a wish, in the second year of the Earth Season, the son returned to work in the village's mines, just like in previous years, and their lives seemed to have not changed much."

"However, more than ten days later, the village chief came. He told the Shepherd couple that when the mayor was inspecting the mine, he accidentally fell and was in danger. In order to save the mayor, their son fell to the bottom of the mine and died of his injuries. Shepherd

The couple was distraught, and the village chief comforted them with a few words, dropped a bag full of gold, and left the shepherd and his wife."

"The story ends here."(Note 1)

The room fell into a brief silence, and little Kasha, who was sitting on the Pope's lap, said crisply: "This story is not funny."

"It's really not that fun." Ma Wei muttered in a low voice, imitating an adult and shaking his head.

"Mavey, have you forgotten my warning? Go clean the stables!" Mrs. Melissa stood up, held the little boy's ears, and walked toward the door.

Four-year-old Kasha jumped down from her grandfather's lap and ran while laughing happily: "Brush the stables, go and clean the stables..."

Only Victor and Clement were left in the living room. After a moment, the Pope nodded and commented: "It's a wonderful story...The changes caused by a wish are unknown."

Victor smiled and said nothing, his eyes introverted. The Pope thought for a few seconds and finally said: "I admit that the great prophecy about the Black Hoof tribe was performed by me... but I can't see clearly the changes caused by it.

There is nothing that can be done to prevent it, including the fall of Lion August... I don't want things to turn out like this, but there is nothing to regret... Gombis has one less king and one more Stormrage Sword Master."

Victor stood up, stroked his chest and saluted: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for telling the truth and relieving my confusion. The August family always thought that His Majesty the Pope conspired with Nachtigal and used a great prophecy that caused the death of the late king.

."

Clement nodded and asked: "Your story describes the changes in fate. Do you want to know whether the last great prophecy was for August or for Stormrage Sword Master himself."

Victor solemnly said: "For myself."

"You are not a legendary priest. It is difficult for me to explain to you what great prophecy is like?"

Clement frowned. Sun elves were originally legendary creatures with higher status and had their own destiny. However, for the Stormrage Sword Master who was unwilling to bear the fate of the elves, this was a problem.

This is a huge burden. Clement was not optimistic about Victor's resistance before. Even the great prophecy of the church could not help him solve the problem. The personal will of the Divine Knight could be suppressed for a while. After Sylvia's death, Victor

It is inevitable to follow the sword master Draven and go to the Everfree Forest to pursue his fellow elves.

However, Victor's strange ability to control the color of his eyes shows that he persevered and achieved results. Clement could not understand the mystery, but he was willing to help him.

"Wishes and destiny... This has hit the point of the great prophecy." The Pope nodded and continued: "If you hope that things will change in the direction of your wishes, you will inevitably pay a price, even for something as simple as drinking water.

Pick up the cup first."

"Simple wishes are easy to come true, but the more difficult the wish, the greater the change in fate. Just drink the water yourself and pick up the cup. Let the servant fetch the water. The water he brings back may be mixed with poison."

Victor blinked and said, "Your Majesty, you mean... loopholes?"

"It's a crack." Clement added: "The crack of fate... The great prophecy is not a magical skill in the general sense. It is a ritual. The whole process may take more than ten years to complete. I targeted the black-hoofed centaur.

When I cast the Great Prophecy, my initial wish is to make them decline. First, I need to see the changes in the future so that I can complete the ritual step by step and achieve my original wish. The future I see is like a block of ice.

On the river, every piece of ice represents a possibility for the future. When I see the declining fate of the black hoofed centaur, I have to carefully choose the path to the ice floe from the cracks, but no matter how I choose, the others

The ice floes of fate will collide with each other due to the changes in the cracks, thus changing."

"All I can do is to minimize the impression of change. Even so, I can't see all the ice floes of fate, for example, Adam Neo West quietly promoted to the legendary realm...for the original wish

This is not a bad thing in itself, the great prophecy did not reveal this fateful ice floe to me."

"The burden of the wish is very huge. I only predict the decline of the Blackhoof Centaur tribe. I will never directly predict the death of Orogar. This will increase the difficulty of realizing the prophecy. In the great prophecy, I saw the story of the Battle of Whitewater Fortress

Inevitability, that is the price that needs to be paid for prophecy. As a result, Sylvia's identity was exposed. Fortunately, otherwise the August family and Sylvia would probably take the opportunity to annex the Kingdom of Dodo, and Lord Sasan would have no intention of doing so.

Tangled with black-hoofed centaurs.”

Victor pondered for a moment and asked tactfully: "Your Majesty, Orogar died in the end...at the hands of the Radiant Knights and Turnans."

Clement shook his head and smiled bitterly: "I cautiously made a suggestion to the Radiant Knights not to pursue Orogar. After all, this is the first time I have used the Great Prophecy Technique, and I did not predict the destruction of Orogar and the Black Hoof Tribe.

.However, Testiel believes that the ritual of the Great Prophecy has been completed, and the Knights of Radiance and Lord Sasan need a glorious victory."

Victor's expression became serious and asked: "Your Majesty, will the great prophecy be interfered or used by outsiders? Not long after Orogar's death, the White Tail tribe of the Sidon Khanate gave birth to two centaur gods.

One of them was soon promoted to a legendary orc. And this sudden orc war... you must have some doubts about these changes that have taken place."

Clement said: "There is indeed someone who can interfere with or use the great prophecy...the one in the church in Pinghu Town."

Victor's expression froze, this was not the answer he wanted to hear, so he asked bluntly: "What about His Majesty the Pope? Can he interfere with the great prophecy?"

Clement responded slowly: "I don't know more about the Pope's lineage than the Trigoval family. But in the field of great prophecy, I can tell you clearly that His Majesty the Pope has not used it.

The great prophecy interferes with my great prophecy."

Victor asked slightly surprised: "Your Majesty already knows about Judge Trigoval's request for favors from me?"

"The Trigoval family publicized this matter everywhere, and the cardinals who originally wanted to take back religious law enforcement rights from Trigoval began to hesitate." Clement nodded and said calmly: "This makes

My situation has become embarrassing... You should know that I was the one who took the lead in proposing opinions on the establishment of the tribunal."
To be continued...