Infinite Paradise
Chapter 82 - 69 Empire Queen Morgan Le Fay (Subscribe Please)

Chapter 82: 69 Empire Queen Morgan Le Fay (Subscribe Please)

Anna ultimately did not leave; after all, it was already night, and even with her excellent mobility, traveling at night was not only inconvenient but also dangerous. Thus, persuaded by Gawain, Anna decided to stay in the village for the night and return to the Imperial Capital in the morning.

Leveraging this opportunity, Le Cheng took the time to understand the current state of the Empire with Gawain and Anna.

First and foremost was the heavyweight contender, Morgan Le Fay.

In the legend of King Arthur, Morgan was one of the evil women behind the collapse of the Ancient Britain Dynasty, and also the mother of many of the Round Table Knights. She held a considerable aura of mystery and power.

However, in this world, Morgan had no relation to Caster and Gawain; she was the forty-second wife of Emperor Sigma.

Compared to the Empire Sigma has built, his private life was actually more enviable. Serving as Emperor for nearly two hundred years, he officially had forty-two wives on record, not to mention the casual relationships he had during his conquests. The actual number of women he had exceeded triple digits, including not only humans but also women from other races, such as Elves, Beastmen, and even Witches.

He was like the male protagonist of a harem novel.

Of course, for an Emperor, a three-digit harem wasn’t considered sizable, especially during such chaotic times. People generally believed that Sigma’s extraordinary power would be inherited through his bloodline. Thus, those who yearned for peace wanted Sigma to sire more offspring. This led to the need for the Catastrophe Angels to search across the world for his progeny after Sigma’s death, for with over two hundred years of history, even he himself forgot how many seeds he had sown.

But this is a digression; back to Morgan.

Sigma’s harem mainly consisted of three types: those attracted by his personal charm, those who willingly offered themselves for a powerful descendant for themselves or their family, and those involved in political alliances.

Morgan belonged to the latter, for she was a Witch.

Witches originated from humans but were different from humans. During the ages of twelve to sixteen, some girls would suddenly awaken special powers, such as gravity control like Anna. Since no one knew where these powers came from and sometimes the wielders couldn’t control them, it inevitably caused panic among those around them and led to ostracism and persecution. Gradually, these girls came to be defined as Witches.

Just like the infamously brutal witch hunts on Earth, at some point, led by the Church, Witches were designated as evil beings, relentlessly pursued and hunted down in the West Continent. It was believed that a Witch’s power was granted by Demons, and although they still appeared human, their souls had been replaced by Demons, which is why the Witches could unscrupulously wield demonic powers.

With the enactment of the Demon Ban Order, the Witches faced their doomsday. A large number of innocent Witches were slaughtered, some endured even more tragic fates, and only a few lucky Witches survived, thereafter living in utter darkness.

Fortunately, these days did not last long because... Khorne arrived!

With the descent of the Catastrophe Legion, people witnessed the real Demons. Compared with them, the harm caused by the Witches was negligible.

However, due to the previous Demon Ban Order, the nations suffered heavy casualties in their attacks on the Witches and were unable to put up a decent resistance against the Catastrophe Legion. The nations that had celebrated their success against the Witches were slaughtered in a blink of an eye, from Kings to nobles to civilians; no one was spared, many didn’t even leave corpses behind. The weaker nations were practically eradicated.

In a way, this was a form of retribution.

Of course, the Catastrophe Legion didn’t come to avenge the Witches; every living creature was an enemy to them.

Having just managed to evade human persecution, the Witches now faced the onslaught of the Catastrophe Legion, and their days did not get any better.

But precisely because of the previous Demon Ban Order, the Witches learned the importance of unity. Coupled with each Witch’s unique abilities, under the threat of death, they quickly became adept at controlling their powers, and astonishingly withstood the Catastrophe Legion’s assault.

When other human nations, the Church, and Alien Races were paying a heavy price yet still unable to combat the Catastrophe Legion, the Witches were already exchanging blows with them.

Of course, due to the previous persecution, the Witches did not show much compassion for others; they only defended their own territories, seeking survival in the cracks.

Until Sigma’s rise.

Sigma was well aware that to contend with the Catastrophe Legion, the Witches were a force he must enlist. But regrettably, due to the previous severe persecution of the Witches by humankind, conventional methods simply could not persuade them. However, Sigma was a man of action. After understanding the causes and consequences, he determined that the Church was the greatest obstacle.

It was because the Church had too high a sway over public opinion, guiding the thoughts and speeches of ordinary people, that led to the tragic experiences of the Witches.

So he took a drastic move, leading his own troops directly into the heart of the Church, slaughtering the already dying organization, and capturing some of the bishop-level figures, making them publicly admit that the persecution of Witches was an injustice fueled by false charges.

After a few such actions, the Church’s authority was completely swept away, but Witches were not entirely acquitted, as some ideas were deeply entrenched and difficult to change easily. Similarly, the Witches did not forget that it was not just the Church persecuting them, but also a large number of ordinary people.

However, even if the Witches did not completely side with Sigma, most of them accepted Sigma’s goodwill.

After the establishment of the Empire, while continuously extending goodwill and various economic and material aids to the Witches, Sigma also redirected public opinion, promoting the fact that the Witches fought against the Catastrophe Legion, gradually resolving the contradictions between the two sides.

In fact, without the Church’s meddling, aside from a few stubborn voices, most people actually held no hostility towards the Witches, and for those stubborn ones, Sigma showed no mercy and firmly eliminated them.

After years of effort, the Witches finally officially pledged allegiance to the Empire, and Sigma’s policy of securing internal affairs before dealing with external threats was a resounding success.

With the addition of the Witches, the Empire ushered in an era of true glory.

At the same time, to appease the Witches, Sigma did not forcefully incorporate them, but instead reorganized them into a new force—the Catastrophe Messengers.

He even married the then Witch leader, Helena, made her the Queen, and handed over full command of the Catastrophe Messengers to Helena.

Since then, the Witches were utterly loyal.

The Catastrophe Messengers and the Emperor’s Forbidden Army became the two most loyal forces to Sigma, and from the moment of their establishment, about two hundred years ago, not a single person has betrayed.

Sigma also said that as long as he lived for a day, the position of Queen would always belong to a Witch. Even if he died, the leader of the Catastrophe Messengers must be a Witch... This order was even inscribed into the Empire’s laws.

Because Witches did not live much longer than ordinary people, Queen Helena passed away after a reign of forty years. After that, Sigma married the second Witch leader as the Queen, and by the time it was Morgan’s turn, she was already the fourth one.

Of course, by the time Morgan became the Queen, Sigma was already very old, barely able to walk, let alone go to battle. Of course, there couldn’t be any love between them, and the marriage was more of an agreement—a consolation from the Empire to the Witches, and also a display of the Witches’ loyalty to the Empire.

Even after that, when a new Emperor ascended to the throne and Morgan was no longer Queen, her position as the leader of the Catastrophe Messengers remained unshakable.

Now, with the Emperor deceased and the Empire in turmoil, Morgan was the one maintaining the situation, including overseeing the King Selection Ceremony and welcoming the Divine Envoy.

Upon hearing this, Le Cheng roughly understood that instead of being Queen, Morgan’s current role was more like that of a Regent King.

"But isn’t there anyone who opposes this?" Le Cheng asked curiously, "After two hundred years, people’s views on Witches may have completely changed, but to have a woman rule over them, there must be some discontent."

Gawain gave a bitter smile and nodded, "You’re right, there are indeed voices opposing the Queen’s regency from within the Empire. After two hundred years, a lot can change, and the shining Empire is not free of corruption; this is also one of the internal concerns of the Empire."

"Two hundred years is quite impressive."

Le Cheng spoke approvingly. In his view, no regime could maintain its original beliefs for over a century, and within just a few generations, it could become corrupt. The fact that the Empire had lasted two hundred years was probably due to two reasons: one was that Sigma, the founding Emperor, was still alive, and the other was the threat of the Catastrophe Legion.

Without either of these factors, the Empire today might already be completely different.

Then, Gawain earnestly said, "Of course, those opposing voices are not important. At least for now, the Queen’s governance is quite decent, and we, the Emperor’s Forbidden Army and the Catastrophe Messengers, will execute the Emperor’s commands without hesitation."

Le Cheng smiled, "What if the new Emperor disagrees? The Emperor’s Forbidden Army and the Catastrophe Messengers, the Empire’s strongest two forces — one loyal only to the former Emperor, and the other loyal only to the former Emperor and the Queen — the new Emperor is bound to be upset, isn’t he?"

"..."

Gawain was momentarily speechless.

After a long sigh, he finally said, "This is also why I would choose Caster. His experiences and his heart are very similar to the Emperor’s; he grew up through hardships and has a kind and strong heart. If he could become the new Emperor, that would be perfect."