Rise of The Anti God (Web Novel)
chapter-83

"Hoho, I don't want you to get disappointed in your own skills since my condition is impossible to cure. Actually, if I do take any medical treatments it would simply aggravate my condition. So, there is no need for you to take any trouble. I simply wanted to see you because of how close you were to Lily. Her face just lights up whenever she talks about you and even praises your sword skills to the extreme. Most of all, I thank you for there for her when even her own family only causes her misery." The Ancestor said in a plain tone but in his eyes, there were flickers of various emotions.

Damien was surprised that a powerhouse like him was looking at him in such high regard. He could see how much the Ancestor cared for Lily and he knew the Ancestor probably didn't even have to thank anyone in his time as an Ancestor before.

"Your Highness doesn't have to thank me for anything. As her friend, the least I can do is to help her. So, please allow me to still check up on your condition. Maybe you never know, I could be of some help." Damien said in a sincere tone.

"Cough...cough…" The Ancestor suddenly coughed up blood and Damien's brows knit together realizing that probably the Ancestor does not have much time left. He knew the Ancestor must have been holding up blood in his lungs for some time to not alarm Lily.

The Ancestor sighed, "Fine. But don't tell Lily about my condition. I don't want her to worry anymore. I have never seen her smile genuinely for the past few years till she met you. And I would not like to see that smile disappear. She has been like a granddaughter to me and I have watched her grow all these years. Even her father was like a son to me but I failed to protect him. I have never been more disappointed in myself."

The Ancestor had a rigid expression as his eyes crinkled thinking about how even with all his power he fell for vicious schemes because of his greed.

Damien saw how the Ancestor's expression changed when he talked about Lily's father.

'Seems like Lily's father's death wasn't simple.'

Damien nodded, "Of course, this will stay between us. I also only wish for her happiness."

The Ancestor gave an approving look at Damien and smiled with a veiled expression.

Damien didn't tarry any longer and proceeded to examine the Ancestor as he asked, "Your Highness, I am going to use my ethereal energy to inspect your internal organs. Please do not resist."

Damien wanted to send in his ethereal energy to examine the Ancestor's body and usually one would only let people whom they trust let them infuse their ethereal energy into one's body.

The Ancestor nodded, "Of course, go ahead and try your best. Even if you find it impossible to treat, there is no need to feel bad. Your intention to help me itself is more than enough."

Damien immediately sent a strand of his ethereal energy into the Ancestor's body as it flowed through his internal organs. It didn't take much long as Damien opened his eyes with a thoughtful expression.

"Well, it's as hopeless as I said right? No need to worry about it too much, I have long accepted my fate." The Ancestor said with a pronounced sigh.

Damien slowly looked at the Ancestor and asked, "Your Highness, who poisoned you with such frightening poison?"

Damien was shocked to find that the Ancestor's internal organs had been eroding away slowly due to a strange poison in his body that seemed to be eating away at his vitality.

The Ancestor then said with a rueful smile, "The whole continent might look up to the Xeton Empire as the greatest and most exalted empire of all times. But only I have experienced their malicious schemes first hand. In fact, their schemes run back centuries ago when our Rong Empire first fell from its height of prosperity and grace. The Gale Empire is also in cahoots with them. Only the Lancaster Empire seems to not involve themselves in any underhanded schemes as far as I know."

Damien narrowed his eyes, "Your Highness meant to say that centuries ago, it was not some natural disaster that wreaked havoc upon our Rong Empire?"

The Ancestor said in a tone filled with pride, "500 years ago, our empire may not have been the strongest but it was the most prosperous empire with how rich and fertile our lands were. Xeton Empire was still known for its strength but that's all they had. People from various lands would visit our empire and even brag about it. But it all came to an end when the Xeton Empire and the Gale Empire joined hands to set off a disaster from within our empire through some means to steal our rich deposits of Blue Spirit Stone. The deposits were huge enough that it could sustain an empire for thousands of years."

Towards the end of his sentence, a resentful glint flashed through his eyes.

Damien was a bit surprised that these distinguished empires would be so underhanded to steal the precious resources of another empire. He then speculated that maybe that is how they were able to maintain their standing to date.

'Heh, no matter how dignified they show themselves to be, in the end, they are just lowly dogs.' Whatever admiration Damien had for these empires instantly vanished.

He knew that every empire would have corruption and petty schemes. But he never expected them to be so greedy, especially the Xeton Empire when they even have a supposed god residing in their lands.

Damien didn't say anything as the Ancestor continued, "We could only watch helplessly as it was too late when we found out. But we couldn't even call out on their schemes unless we wanted an all-out war to break out. We could only swallow our anger and stay silent to survive because of which it was only recorded as a natural disaster in the history books. That was centuries ago and after that, they didn't even bother themselves with our weakened empire.

But when Lily was born and the rumors spread about her special constitution, it all began once over again. Even all three empires got restless but they still held themselves back because of me and Lily's father who was an eminent genius during his time. They only politely asked for Lily's hand in marriage to which obviously Lily's father Roland refused. We both didn't want to force anything upon Lily and wanted to let her find and marry the person she loves."

The Ancestor paused for a moment and said with his head down, "It was 10 years after Lily was born when the Xeton Empire requested me and Roland to join them for an expedition in an unknown land in their empire where there could be many precious resources yet to be discovered. We were suspicious why they wanted both of our help when they had their own experts.

But they said they wanted the required manpower to fully explore the unknown area as it was quite big and we could also get to keep whatever we find. As we didn't find anything else suspicious, I was blinded by greed thinking about the potential gains we could have to sustain our weak empire and even decided to ignore my hatred for the time being. But only when we entered that unknown land did we find that it was all a trap to kill both of us."

The Ancestor had a woeful expression as he continued, "But it was too late and Roland sacrificed himself to protect me from a strange venomous plant that filled the air around it with enough toxicity to even kill Heaven Ethereal Realm experts within minutes. But I was exposed to it for a short moment and it reduced me to my current state.

Rage coursed through my veins making me want to go on a rampage but Roland's final words held me back telling me to look after and protect Lily. I had to return to our empire with my head down, unable to let out my anger even when the emperor of our empire died. Yet again I had to close my eyes and stay silent to prevent any war."

The more he heard the more Damien felt that these so-called exalted empires were even worse than the lowliest of the animals.

"So, they planned to kill Your Highness and Lily's father to pressure our Rong Empire to give Lily up for marriage, and came up with this ridiculous plan of holding a tournament to prevent any fights between them on who gets the girl." Damien said in a scornful tone.

The Ancestor coldly harrumphed and said in a resolute tone, "They can only dream about it. As long as there's a breath left in me, I won't let anyone marry her against her will, especially the descendants of those despicable dogs."

Damien was silent for a while and then said with a serious expression, "Your Highness, the reason you refused any treatment was because any medicine you took only aggravated the leftover poison. Am I right?"

The Ancestor nodded, "That's right. I have never seen or heard about such a menacing poison before and even the most prominent doctors could only shake their heads upon examining my condition. I bet even the Xeton Empire doesn't have a cure for it and even if they had, they obviously wouldn't leak any rumors about it."

Damien then said with a smile, "What if I tell Your Highness that not all hope is lost."