Dragon Monarch System Chapter 1031:- Path of Redemption

"Not even your uncle had killed this many." Aditya’s kill tally stood nearly three times above his uncle’s.

The meaning hung heavy in the air. Since his uncle, after slaughtering 10 million, failed to endure the Heavenly Tribulation from Peak 6th-order to Beginner 7th-order, what odds did Aditya face with over 30 million kills under his belt?

The moment this truth sank in, despair overwhelmed all the girls. "I just reunited with my son."

"I don’t want to lose my baby again." Elena buried her face in her palms and burst into tears.

"Mom, please don’t cry." How could he harbor grudges against this woman? Her calling him "baby" still melted his heart completely.

A soft hug from Aditya quickly soothed her.

He glanced at his women, seeing even them barely holding back their emotions.

"Come on, it’s not like I am dead." Those words earned him sharp, freezing glares from all three, silencing him on the spot.

'Did I say anything wrong?' He couldn't grasp why the trio unleashed those glares in unison. Their flawless timing made him suspect they'd practiced it during his absence.

"You girls are worrying too much."

"We will start making preparations in advance."

"I am still just a Beginner 5th-order. You girls are worrying and crying about something that won’t ever happen." Unlike his uncle, Aditya wielded teleportation and gravity powers. Plus, the Dragon Palace and Goddess of Alchemy stood by him. Backed by such assets, he refused to doubt surviving the Heavenly Tribulation.

After Aditya laid out the full explanation for the girls, calm gradually returned to the group.

"Mom, how did Aunt die?"

"Ren’s mom also met the same fate as the mother-in-law and died during childbirth." No wonder Ren shone so brightly in cultivation. He'd surely gained his father's talents, though his father outshone him still.

Aditya’s mother stepped up to the girls and clasped their hands.

"Dragons are the strongest creatures in this entire world. Even a mortal Dragon is between 10 and 100 times stronger than a mortal human, depending upon their bloodline."

"This also means the childbirth of a Dragon is also between 10 and 100 times more difficult than the childbirth of a human. This difficulty only increases when a powerful dragon and a female of a different race try to have a child."

"This difficulty increases even more when the male dragon is a divine dragon."

"And you girls will have it even more difficult because Aditya is already this strong despite being just a beginner fifth-order cultivator."

Her mother's words struck the three girls, filling them with sudden anxiety.

Aditya grew tense as well upon hearing it. 'Mom, do you really have to scare them like this?' Survival during childbirth loomed as a threat, and now mere conception felt like an impossible barrier.

He wasn't the type to dislike children. Truth be told, kids held a special tenderness in his heart, and from his first life, he'd dreamed of his own.

'But what’s the use of having children if it’s going to cost my women their lives?' Absolutely, he adored children and yearned for his own, but never at the expense of his beloved women.

"The reason I’m saying all this is not to scare you all. But to prepare you, girls, for what is about to come."

'Your timing is way off.' Aditya and the others shared that exact sentiment.

"Don’t worry. I am here. I will guide you all through this difficult journey." She hadn't broached the sheer hardship of conceiving Aditya’s children.

She and Alen had strived for kids over nearly 2000 years.

Boris and his wife endured almost 20,000 years of trying before Alen arrived, followed later by Ren’s father.

And heaven knows how long Aditya and his wives might labor.

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Scene Change______

"My first son lacks the authority and temper that a ruler should have." Alen fully recognized and embraced this flaw. As Emperor, his softness betrayed him, devoid of a true King's temperament.

Truthfully, before his younger brother's death, Alen harbored zero ambition for the Throne. The Duke's seat contented him perfectly.

"My second son had my temper, but did not inherit my decisiveness that a ruler should have. He was too focused on cultivation and becoming the First Person to reach a 9th-order cultivator."

"My first grandson is too ambitious for the throne and is willing to do anything to protect his position. For the sake of the Throne, he harmed his own blood and sided with outsiders."

"As I see it, the only one fit to claim the Throne is my second grandson—the very person you banished yourself," Boris declared the final words while eyeing Alen, who could only hang his head even lower.

"Father, we cherished Ren as if he were our own son. Without his brother and sister-in-law, we nurtured him like our flesh and blood." Ren's betrayal, from the boy they adored and raised as their child, struck them to the core. This treachery ensured a permanent gap between Aditya and them.

It might require ages for that gap to bridge. Or perhaps normalcy would never return. Ren had robbed them of the irreplaceable privilege of raising their own child and witnessing his growth.

Due to him, they lost five and a half vital years of Aditya’s life. During that time, Aditya transformed into another man entirely. They weren't present when he needed them most.

"We placed utter faith in him, and he exploited it fully."

"That stemmed from your excessive softness." Boris’s sharp remark silenced Alen completely. Deep down, even Alen recognized the truth in it.

"When I brought up you two brothers, despite loving you both above all, did I hold back from being tough on you?"

"Balance demands both kindness and firmness. Yet you and your wife tipped the scales by pampering Ren excessively, pushing the Celestial Dragon Empire toward civil war."

"After 100,000 years without one, civil war looms now. The previous clash occurred when my grandfather faced his brother, who sought Empire-altering changes that would eventually doom it."

"Every casualty... every life lost in this war... you’ll shoulder part of that burden too. Half of it falls on you."

Never before had Alen felt such crushing weight. Not even as Emperor had it pressed so heavily.

Boris gazed silently at his son, awaiting words or a firm choice. He offered Alen an opportunity. A shot at atonement and reclaiming his faded honor.

Alen fixed his eyes on the floor in quiet thought, his mind racing.

Faced with choosing his blood son over the one he raised like kin, he’d always pick his own. ’My son suffered greatly from my failures.’

Alen balled his fists tight and met Boris’s gaze boldly. Fear and doubt had vanished from his expression.

"I’ll bear it all. For the greater good, for redemption, and for my son’s tomorrow, I’ll shoulder this burden."

"I’ll take the burden of all casualties."

"I’ll take the burden of all deaths."

"I’ll take the burden of all casualties and deaths on Aditya’s side."

That declaration shattered Boris’s composure, jolting him to sit straight. "Ren’s supporters are traitors with no path to forgiveness. Their deaths are their own doing. They chose and paid dearly."

Yet Alen’s path to redemption continued. Post-war, he must aid his son in total restoration. Every Empire damage demands repair. He won’t cease until the last stone is reset and war’s wounds fade from Celestial Dragon Empire citizens’ hearts and souls.

"Excellent!" A gentle smile finally graced Boris’s face.

’Foolish boy of mine, with this fire and resolve earlier, none could’ve manipulated your mind.’ Thankfully, though delayed, Alen had transformed. He discovered his purpose, fueling unyielding determination to fulfill it.

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