Chapter 36: One Man Destroys a Nation? You Call This Protection!?
Rowe had succeeded in sending Ziusudra away. He stayed where he was for a while, thinking, and did not rush to chase after him.
He wanted the old man to leave first.
To stagger their routes.
To minimize any possible impact.
Of course, Rowe also had no intention of returning to his own residence. If he went back now, Enkidu would absolutely cling to him, and he did not want to be delayed by that kind of warm trouble.
So he found an inn within the city and rented a room.
He rested for one night.
The next day, while the sky was still dim, he naturally woke up.
After transmigrating, Rowe had always kept strict control of his routine. If he was going to die, he wanted to die at the best moment and in the best way. Over time, that obsession hardened into discipline.
Even now, when he barely needed sleep, he still forced himself to fall into dreams at the right hour. When the time came, he opened his eyes and rose without hesitation.
He washed, tidied himself, and left the inn.
The morning wind carried the chill stored from the night. Rowe yawned, patted the dust off his linen robe, and walked forward along the empty street.
On ordinary days in Uruk, especially without festivals, it was rare to see anyone at this hour. The lamps were faint and the horizon hazy.
Rowe paused and looked back.
At the highest point of the city, only one place was still brightly lit, the royal palace where Gilgamesh often stayed awake into dawn. Rowe shook his head and turned away.
Sand swirled around his feet as he headed north, toward his first destination: a small city state attached to the Akkad kingdom.
During the trip, he also found the seal that symbolized the King of Uruk inside Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon. He examined it carefully, then resisted the urge to stamp every random object he saw and put it away.
The King's Seal held special authority.
On normal days, any major decision in Uruk needed Gilgamesh's approval, and he would bring out this seal to mark it.
Rowe might bicker with Gilgamesh all day, but he did not want to see strange rumors become part of the legend later.
For example, "Gilgamesh personally approved the birth of sows amid his busy schedule."
Or worse, some future storyteller twisting it into, "What does one do when sows are in heat? Seek Gilgamesh in Mesopotamia."
It was honestly funny.
Which was exactly why he had to stop thinking about it.
He inhaled, shoved the temptation back into the rippling gold, and looked ahead.
The yellow sand stretched without end. The once hazy sky had turned dazzlingly bright. Rowe had already left Uruk behind by a good distance, slowly nearing the small city state.
Yet before he even reached it, he felt something off.
Along the road, it was too quiet.
Rowe stopped and scanned the surroundings. Sunlight washed over the fields. Yellow earth crisscrossed with grass and scattered trees. Nothing looked wrong.
Still, the silence pressed on him.
He decided to ask someone first.
Rowe wanted to be killed, but even jumping into a pit required knowing where the pit was.
He closed his eyes, expanded his perception, and tracked the nearest human presence.
A group of merchants was moving down the road, donkey carts creaking under heavy loads. When they saw Rowe approach, dusty and alone, they did not make much of it. Countless merchants passed this route every day, and solitary travelers like Rowe were even more common.
As long as no one drew a blade first, the gods would bear witness, and the road stayed safe.
"You are heading onward?" one of them asked.
"Yes. I am going to the city state ahead."
Rowe named the place.
It was the city he had mentioned yesterday when he sent Ziusudra away. Different destination, same road.
The lead merchant, a rugged man with a brown beard and a white headscarf, frowned.
"Then I advise you not to go."
Rowe blinked.
"Not go?"
"Not go."
The merchant nodded, fear creeping into his eyes.
"People are fleeing from there. Many people have already died."
He spat to the side, then continued, voice lower.
"It is said the nobles in the inner city all died. Blue flames lit up everywhere. Nobles dying is no tragedy, they were arrogant bastards and we have swallowed plenty of humiliation because of them."
"But someone saw the culprit."
"A figure in demonlike armor, carrying a greatsword."
"They heard him say, 'The ruler of this city, his destiny is fulfilled.'"
"And then, 'In the name of Sage Rowe of Uruk, I toll the funeral bell for this city.'"
Rowe's scalp went cold.
How could he not understand what happened?
He had sent Ziusudra to scout the way and had even told him to be discreet.
This was his idea of discreet?
Using Rowe's name as well?
No. He had to stop this.
If it continued, his reputation would spread through every kingdom on the plain. Then he would not get assassinated. He would walk into a city and find the ruling class kneeling in a neat row.
After thanking the merchants, Rowe sprinted toward the city state without stopping.
Soon after, dawn was still young. Mist from the Euphrates drifted over the land.
From afar, he saw the city by the river, shimmering under sunlight like rippling water.
Beside the rising sun, faint sparks of eerie blue light danced among the rooftops.
Dong. Dong. Dong.
A huge bell echoed like something dragged out of ancient myth.
Rowe quickened his pace.
He could sense living people inside. If he could pull the target from Ziusudra's hands and explain this had nothing to do with him, he might still salvage a little of his reputation.
He was one step too late.
Inside the palace, sunlight cut through the window and illuminated drifting dust motes. There was no blood. No visible wound.
Yet the body on the floor was dead all the same.
Rowe stopped in the doorway, staring at the tall figure holding the greatsword.
"Where there is life, there is death. Where there is death, there is life."
"When the bell of fate echoes at the moment of conclusion, no one can stop it."
Blue flames crawled along the air like cold fire. The armored figure wore a pale mask with hornlike protrusions, cloak trailing behind him like a funeral banner.
He lifted the greatsword.
He brought it down.
The last person's thread of fate was severed.
"No, leave me some… leave some people…"
Rowe's words came too late to reach him.
Ziusudra turned his head and looked over calmly.
Rowe fell silent.
Destroying a nation with one man.
This was your method of protection?
Being so discreet that you erase every witness?
"Precisely."
Ziusudra's voice was righteous, almost serene.
"Being guarded everywhere means being unguarded everywhere. So being unguarded is the best defense."
"From this day forward, you shall strike awe into the nations of the northern realm."
"Who would dare to make a move?"
Make a move?
Who the hell would dare to make a move now?
[TL: You can also check out my newly released fanfic, Bleach: Ichigo Takes Over the Soul Society – just visit my profile if you want to read it.]
<><><><><>
[Check Out My Patreon For +40 Advance Chapters On All My Fanfics!]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]
[Every 100 Power Stones = +1 Bonus Chapter]
[Join Our Discord Community For Updates & Events]
[https://discord.gg/MntqcdpRZ9]