Chapter 2667: The Other Capital Of Southern Region

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Southern Region, Blossom District, Sky Blossom City, TSR Guild Headquarters

"Divine Enlightenment."

Just as I had suspected, Tess approached me even after everyone else had fled, despite hearing me declare my plans for world domination, because after witnessing me cure those suffering from Divine Enlightenment, she had already chosen her side. A side where she would not have to sacrifice her loyal citizens and brave soldiers for some distant "greater good" that had no place for them.

The circumstances of Border City were dire, financially and otherwise. They were so strained that even the City Lord’s youngest child had to take on mercenary work just to earn resources for her practice, while the older ones juggled two or more jobs. One was their duty to the city, and the rest were taken on simply to earn enough to keep their realm progressing and prevent it from falling behind.

If even the City Lord’s children lived under such conditions, it was easy to imagine the hardships endured by ordinary citizens. All of this stemmed from the same cause. Border City received little to no budgetary support from the Southern Royal Family, yet was taxed more heavily than the Southern capital itself. The central government and other regions had offered aid, but as true Southerners, Border City had always refused it.

Not a single citizen resented the City Lord for her decision. To them, Border City was the living symbol of the Unstoppable Auriculean’s patience toward the Southern Royal Family, for how they repaid his loyalty. In their eyes, Border City was the true capital of the Southern Region, and so it was only fitting that it shouldered the heaviest taxes.

More than half of Border City’s population were the descendants of the soldiers who had once served under the Unstoppable General. Of the remainder many of them had personally served under the various City Lords of Border City during their time in the Southern Army. Even now, much of the younger generation of the city, were serving in the Southern Army alongside Tess’s Heir.

No matter their achievements or accolades, once they completed their duty to the Southern Region, they would always return to Border City to fulfill their duty to their home. Over time, a saying began to circulate throughout the Five Regions: the sun might forget to rise one day, but the card apprentices of Border City would never forget their roots or their duty.

Each of them returned to Border City not for wealth or fame, but out of loyalty and gratitude. Fulfilling their duty to the city was their way of honoring that bond. This, more than anything, was why Border City continued to exist to this day.

Another reason was that every direct descendant of the Unstoppable General had, without exception, proven themselves worthy of that loyalty. Time and again, they lived up to the faith placed in them. That was why, even after learning the truth about Border City’s circumstances, many soldiers who had once fought alongside them chose to immigrate there of their own will.

If I didn’t know better, I might have mistaken Border City for a cult. But that couldn’t have been further from the truth. It was simply that after experiencing what they had endured, one’s perspective on life inevitably changed. Priorities shifted. The things you once worked and fought for began to feel hollow, while ideas you might have mocked before suddenly felt meaningful and worth pursuing.

Border City embodied one of the most common transformations seen among soldiers who had faced true combat, those who had clawed their way back from the jaws of death itself.

Those soldiers often couldn’t put it into words, but they understood one thing clearly. Money and fame were not what they wanted to dedicate the rest of their lives to. Nor did they wish to remain tools for others to profit from, whether through wealth or reputation.

It was in moments like these that the experience of the Unstoppable General felt relatable to them. The choices made by the Unstoppable General at the end of his life began to make sense to them. They felt compelled to look closer, to understand his path. And if what they saw resonated, they would abandon the lives they had struggled and fought to build, and start anew in Border City.

It was this gathering of like-minded card apprentices, along with their descendants, that kept Border City alive despite all its shortcomings. Together, they continued to prove to the Five Regions a truth that had become a saying: The sun might forget to rise one day, but the card apprentices of Border City would never forget their roots or their duty.

The only person to break Border City’s long-standing tradition was Aurelia. Instead of joining the Southern Watch or the Army, she had joined the Bright Lion Gang. Considering the neglect and hardship she had grown up in the Border City, it wasn’t surprising that she lacked any strong attachment to those traditions. And yet, at her core, she embodied everything one would expect of a card apprentice from Border City.

I glanced at Tess and the members of her entourage. Their expressions were tense and contemplative as they waited patiently for my answer. Breaking the silence, I said, "Divine Enlightenment is one of the abilities of the False Herald’s origin card. It forcibly converts his enemies into his fanatic believers. The reason your people failed to find a counter or a cure to it is because it directly affects the victim’s will."

"No wonder... no wonder," an elderly card demigod among Tess’s entourage exclaimed, realization dawning on his face. "No matter how much I investigated, I could never locate the source of the change within them." He paused, then frowned deeply. "But from what I know, not even a Celestial can manipulate a being’s will."

Hearing that, I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Then, I quickly reined it in and apologized.

"Haha, sorry. But that’s honestly the funniest thing I’ve heard all day," I said. "That idea is nothing more than a small white lie, something passed down to keep overthinkers sane. Don’t blindly believe everything your predecessors said."

My smile faded slightly as I continued, more matter-of-fact. "With the right means, or enough strength, it’s entirely possible to bend even a celestial’s will to one’s whim. So, the notion that a being’s will could never be tampered with is simply untrue."

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