Chapter 285 Sergei’s Story
Sergei, feeling annoyed by Artur and Rini's shouting, interjected, "Hey, even though I feel guilty towards your mother, you can't just shout in my ears like that. After all, I am your grandfather!" Sergei grumbled.
Instantly, Artur and Rini lowered their heads and apologized, "Forgive us, Grandpa!!" They were taken aback by their own impolite outburst. After all, Sergei was not only the head of the House of Valya but also a renowned and powerful mage.
Sighing heavily, Sergei stood up from his chair and grabbed a piece of firewood, tossing it into the fireplace. Artur promptly stood up as well and helped Sergei disturb the embers in the fireplace, allowing the fire to burn the fresh wood and distribute the warmth evenly in the room.
"After the first mana species war, a power vacuum emerged within the human alliance. The ex-mana ruling families could no longer hold onto their previous positions of power, and even the Zietsman Clan chose to isolate themselves and disappear from the world.
At that time, the Gurru Committee hadn't been formed yet, and there was still a struggle over who would hold key positions within the human alliance. Everyone's focus was centered on one point—the military academy.
The military academy was the most important institution for the human alliance, as well as the strongest one. Whoever held a position in the military academy would also hold power within the human alliance.
PSA-Graduates may have prestigious names and positions within the human alliance. They are considered heroes who saved the human race from the clutches of the elven forces. However, the reality is that PSA-Graduates are merely a group of commoners who have no understanding of politics or how to lead.
They were once farmers, servants, or other lowly individuals who couldn't even read. Their shortcomings provided an opportunity for the ex-mana ruling families to regain their influence within the human alliance.
Although society views PSA-Graduates as heroes and the ex-mana ruling families as villains, the truth is that many PSA-Graduates owe their lives to mages from the ex-mana ruling families. Such debts need to be repaid, not necessarily in physical form, but through other forms of assistance.
Some ex-mana ruling families decided to gather their remaining power and form alliances with other ex-mana ruling families. The House of Spencer allied with the House of Badakar, and both families pledged their allegiance to the Milton family. They initially wanted to ally with the Gaht family, but unfortunately, Stent Gaht chose to retire and not get involved in the politics of the human alliance.
However, despite that, the alliance was declared successful because Milton was the second strongest individual after Gaht. With the wealth and connections possessed by the two ex-mana ruling families and the prestigious name of the Milton family in society, this alliance formed a new organization called the Alchemist Association.
To this day, the Alchemist Association controls the entire circulation of Mana Potions within the human alliance, regaining their power and becoming an indispensable part of the alliance.
With the disappearance of the Zietsman Clan, the territory assigned to them during the First Family Meeting became vacant without a ruler. Some voices suggested that the territory should be given to Gaht or other PSA-Graduates. However, other voices argued that the territory should be reclaimed by the human alliance and managed by the alliance.
But at that time, my father, the leader of the House of Valya, had a different plan. He wanted the territory to remain empty, and all the humans living there would be relocated to other regions and given land as compensation. He had an idea to transform the vacant territory of the Zietsman Clan into the largest mana field ever.
This mana field would become the central resource hub for the human alliance, providing abundant mutated animals and rare plants. Although it would take a long time, his idea received support from the human alliance.
To oversee the re-mana process (the process of transforming a territory back into a mana field), the human alliance formed a committee consisting of instructors from the military academy. These instructors would be responsible for turning the territory into a resource-rich land for the human alliance.
The new mana field that would be created was named the Great Southern Mana Field, the largest artificial mana field in the history of human civilization. And the committee overseeing the re-mana process was named the Gurru Committee.
However, behind all of this, my father had a hidden plan beyond the proposal for the formation of the Great Southern Mana Field. He knew that extracting resources from within a mana field would be a cumbersome task. Therefore, he wanted to establish a special organization with the purpose of harvesting resources from the Great Southern Mana Field.
The organization was called the Mana Field Miners. However, to perfect this plan, the House of Valya needed a partner capable of selling the harvested resources from the Great Southern Mana Field to the entire territory of the human alliance. The House of Valya needed a trading partner, and the most suitable choice fell on the Wuhan Clan.
For centuries, the House of Valya and the Wuhan Clan had a distant but not hostile relationship. Our territories were far enough apart that there were no conflicts between the two families. It was decided to establish an alliance, and in order to strengthen it, I, as the heir of the House of Valya, was married to the daughter of the Wuhan Clan leader.
The marriage between me and Ling was not based on love, but we both respected our respective positions and worked together to ensure the success of the alliance between our families. My father's idea became a reality, and each year, both families gained substantial profits, allowing us to reclaim our position in the seat of power within the human alliance.
Eventually, our first child, Cila, was born. At that time, Cila's birth further solidified the alliance between the two families. Unlike the Wuhan Clan, which had a patriarchal system for selecting heirs, in the House of Valya, a daughter could become the heir.
Therefore, if Cila were to become the heir of the House of Valya when she grows up, the relationship between the two families would enter a new phase. Just like the longstanding alliance between the Rangkuti Clan and the Mahdavi Clan, which had been established for hundreds of years, even before the first mana species war occurred. The two families could be considered as one family, with the blood of both families already intertwined.
This brought great joy to the House of Valya and the Wuhan Clan. Cila continued to grow up healthy, and her beauty became more apparent with each passing day. The beauty of her mother's face and my elegant white hair made Cila resemble an angel descending to Earth.
Until she reached the age to assess her Mana Flow Grade. There was no doubt that Cila's Mana Flow Grade would be excellent. Both her parents were mages with Heaven-grade mana flow. So, if Cila also obtained a Heaven-grade mana flow, it would not be surprising.
Both families even hoped that Cila was actually a Mana Child, whose mana flow was only delayed in growing into a constellation. Although most Mana Children were born with a mana flow that already formed a constellation, there were also Mana Children whose mana flow growth into a constellation was delayed.
However, with the technology to check the Mana Flow Grade, this could be known as soon as possible. Although not yet a constellation, the mana flow that a Mana Child possesses is undoubtedly Supreme-grade mana flow.
However, after the check was performed, it turned out that Cila only had Heaven-grade mana flow. But that was not what shocked both families and became the reason for their alliance to fall apart.
Cila had a Mana Womb.
Immediately, debates ensued. There was no one in either family who didn't want Cila. She had become someone capable of giving birth to Mana Children for generations to come. Who wouldn't want a woman with a Mana Womb in their family? This was an opportunity to have an entire elite force consisting of Mana Children!
However, the debates quickly came to an end. The Wuhan Clan had no legitimacy in claiming Cila. They were bound by their patriarchal family system. According to their family law, a child was the property of the father, not the mother. Therefore, Cila belonged to me as her father, not Ling as her mother.
Everything should have stopped there. But we never expected the Wuhan Clan to become so desperate to have Cila." Sergei shook his head at this point, his face wrinkling with frustration and pain.
Quickly, Rini grabbed a cup of water and handed it to Sergei. She didn't want Sergei's story to stop just because it was too heavy for him to speak. This story was thrilling, and there were even some events they didn't know about because they were kept hidden from the public.
After taking a drink, Sergei continued his story, "The Wuhan Clan, in their desperation, resorted to methods that were completely beyond our comprehension. They accused Cila of not being my biological child but the result of an affair between Ling and the leader of her team.
Who would believe such a crazy thing? Were they blind and couldn't see the white hair on my daughter's head? Were they all deaf and couldn't hear how much my daughter loved me when she called me father?
The Wuhan Clan had truly gone mad in their pursuit of the Mana Womb. But even more insane was my wife, Ling, who justified their claims! She even openly flirted with another man right in front of me!"