Chapter 853: The Ancient King

Lin Qiye had just taken two steps when a figure appeared behind him and patted his shoulder.

“Your Excellency, the Dean,” Merlin smiled at Lin Qiye, “Are you going to find that tyrant?”

Lin Qiye nodded, “Yes, what’s the matter?”

Merlin shrugged, reached out and grasped the air, and a small magic circle opened in his palm. Moments later, a copper-colored deep green fragment fell into his hand, which he handed to Lin Qiye.

“Take this with you,” Merlin said slowly, “It might be of help to you.”

Lin Qiye took the copper fragment and examined it carefully in his palm. The fragment was about the size of half a hand and appeared to be a piece broken off from some circular emblem, roughly one-third of the original badge. Its surface was interwoven with complex and mysterious patterns, looking ancient and full of historical significance.

“What is this…” Lin Qiye looked at Merlin in confusion.

“This is a fragment I found during my travels across the world in those ancient times, from the ruins of the Kingdom of Uruk. It may be related to that individual.”

“Your Excellency Merlin, do you know about Gilgamesh?”

“To some extent,” Merlin smiled, “To explore the essence of the world and pursue truth and knowledge, one must have extensive experience and knowledge. I have personally traveled to those ancient civilizations that once existed in the world but ultimately returned to dust, and I have discovered some unknown secrets from them…

That individual, along with his Kingdom of Uruk, was also one of my research subjects.”

Hearing this, Lin Qiye’s eyes brightened slightly.

He sought out Gilgamesh to learn about past events from his words and deduce the cause of his illness. Now that Merlin was aware of Gilgamesh’s past, it naturally saved him the trouble of slowly piecing things together.

Lin Qiye immediately sat back down on the small stool opposite Merlin.

“Your Excellency Merlin, if you have time, please tell me about Gilgamesh,” Lin Qiye said earnestly. “After the fog descended, the records of Uruk’s ancient myths in the Great Xia became very vague, and I couldn’t obtain any important information from them.”

Merlin smiled, “Some matters involve the secrets of the gods, which of course cannot be recorded in history…”

Merlin extended his hand and lightly sketched in the air. Moments later, a magic circle opened automatically, and images began to flow and intertwine within it, forming different scenes.

The first image depicted an ancient and magnificent city-state standing on the wild earth, like a pearl in the wilderness, shining with the brilliance of civilization and wisdom.

“Around the 27th century BC, an unprecedented powerhouse emerged from the ancient Uruk Empire, the legendary hero king, Gilgamesh. With two-thirds of divine blood, he possessed strength and wisdom beyond the mundane, and smoothly became the fifth king of the Kingdom of Uruk.

He was a tyrant unlike any seen in Uruk’s history. Under his oppressive rule, the entire kingdom existed in a high-pressure environment. However, due to his absolute control over the kingdom and his extraordinary wisdom, the national strength of Uruk also surged at an astonishing rate.”

As Merlin manipulated the magic circle, the scene shifted. Two figures slowly descended from the sky above the ancient city-state, ruling over the Kingdom of Uruk.

“Gilgamesh made this kingdom the most powerful entity on land. The fortunes of Uruk soared like a towering pillar, shaking the foundations of the nearby divine kingdoms. Thus, two celestial beings were sent down, claiming to rid the world of the tyrant Gilgamesh, but in reality, they aimed to cut down Uruk’s fortunes.”

“Cut down the fortunes?” Lin Qiye asked in confusion upon hearing those words. “Is it really possible to cut down a nation’s fortunes?”

“Of course. The fortunes of a nation are key to its continued prosperity. Generally, truly ancient and powerful nations have means to protect their fortunes, but at that time, the Kingdom of Uruk did not possess such means…”

The scene in the magic circle shifted again. Inside the ancient city-state, a young man draped in royal robes had sharp eyes like swords. Amidst the worship of the masses, he ascended to greatness, wielding a golden sword, and fought against the two celestial beings.

“To protect Uruk’s fortunes, Gilgamesh, with his demigod body, clashed head-on with the two celestial beings and ultimately emerged victorious,” Merlin paused before continuing, “However, when the two celestial beings left, they left behind words: the day Gilgamesh dies of old age will be the day Uruk’s fortunes are cut down…

Gilgamesh was merely a demigod. Although his combat power was astonishing, his lifespan was undoubtedly that of a mortal. One day, he would grow old and die, and without the protection of the tyrant Gilgamesh, Uruk would become mere prey for the divine kingdoms.”

In the magic circle’s illusion, a wounded Gilgamesh sat weakly on the throne after battling the two celestial beings, his gaze fixed on the sky outside the palace, as if pondering something.

“Later, Gilgamesh embarked on the path to seek immortality,” Merlin’s fingertips lightly traced, and the magic circle quickly flashed through a series of images. “He climbed to the mountain peaks in search of divine herbs and descended to the depths of the ocean in search of treasures, but ultimately found no way to achieve eternal life.

He could only rely on divine medicine to barely maintain his life, but eventually, he reached the end of his lifespan.”

In the illusion, the grand and luxurious palace was empty. The aged Gilgamesh sat alone on the throne, his wrinkled hands tightly gripping the sword of kingship embedded in the throne’s armrest, his eyes fixed on the sky outside the palace, as if on guard against something.

But ultimately, as his life burned to its end, he still lost his breath…

He died, yet his eyes remained open. Those angry, unwilling eyes still gazed at the sky that towered above all beings. This lonely and unyielding king, until the very last moment of his life, continued to guard his city-state.

“After his death, the two celestial beings arrived as promised. Just as they mocked Gilgamesh’s death and old age, the sword of kingship that Gilgamesh had held in his hand flew out on its own, and in an instant, it severed the head of one celestial being…

That was the last thing the king of this city-state did for his city.

After losing one celestial being, the other celestial being was taken aback, thinking it was a trap left by Gilgamesh, and immediately left the mortal realm… It wasn’t until much later that the divine kingdom sent someone down again to cut off the fortunes of the Kingdom of Uruk.

In the end, the Kingdom of Uruk still faded into the long river of history.”

As Merlin’s voice fell, the illusion in the magic circle also vanished. Lin Qiye sat quietly in front of him, lost in silence.