Era of Heroic Spirits: I Was Exposed by Alaya

Under the curious gazes of countless onlookers, the young King of Qin sat nervously upon his throne.

Once everyone had left...

Nameless stood before him with a gentle smile. "How do you feel?"

"Ah, Master... No one in the court cares about me. They all treat me like a mere child," the young Ying Zheng sighed softly.

Freshly crowned but lacking any authority, everyone obeyed only Lü Buwei—his foster father.

To them, he was nothing more than a puppet.

"That's perfectly normal."

Nameless took a step forward, instinctively raising his hand to pat the boy's head—but then remembered he was now the King of Qin and stopped mid-air.

Yet...

Contrary to expectations, Ying Zheng tilted his head slightly upward and actively nuzzled into his hand!

"..."

Zhuge Liang watched this unfold and chose to lower his head in silence.

This was bad.

Truly, catastrophically bad.

He had intended to showcase the Emperor's flawless, invincible majesty to Britain—but instead, this happened.

Was this the dignified and awe-inspiring Qin Shi Huang?!

This was nothing short of a public execution of his darkest history!

Mordred, too, widened her eyes, glancing back and forth between the screen and the expressionless Emperor.

Had Alaya made a mistake?

How could this be?!

How could Qin Shi Huang, the unparalleled emperor who stood against U.S., be so utterly adorable?

The barrage of comments had long since exploded, with countless people frantically posting phrases like "Ah, I am dead" and "From today onward, this shall be the mass grave of Ah Wei."

There was no helping it—the contrast was just too strong, making it impossible to resist.

In the conference hall.

The entire group wisely maintained their silence, fearing they might provoke Qin Shi Huang's wrath.

Amid this eerie atmosphere, the video continued to play.

Nameless paused slightly, then reached out to pat the young Qin king's head with a smile. "Zheng, as a ruler, you need only remember one thing. Achieve it, and you shall be the First Emperor of the Ages!"

"Please enlighten me, Master," Ying Zheng bowed respectfully.

Nameless spoke softly: "To establish the heart of heaven and earth, to secure the destiny of the people, to carry forward the lost teachings of the sages, and to usher in peace for all generations!"

"Master, could you elaborate?"

Ying Zheng's eyes brightened, as if glimpsing a radiant future.

"Heaven and earth have no heart, but man does. To establish the heart of heaven and earth means to replace the will of heaven with your own—justice, benevolence, and righteousness—acting as heaven's executor."

Nameless stood with his hands behind his back, exuding an ethereal transcendence. "To secure the destiny of the people means to grant them stability, allowing them to truly live."

"To pass down the wisdom of the sages, and to create peace for all generations!"

Under his simple explanation.

Ying Zheng pondered deeply. "Master, I understand now!"

All the vague thoughts that had once clouded his mind became crystal clear in this moment.

Ying Zheng suddenly smiled brightly. "Master, you may not know this, but I never originally wished to become the Qin king."

As a hostage stranded in a foreign land, his earliest dream had simply been to escape back to Qin.

Even after meeting Master Nameless and choosing to follow him in learning the Sword of Emperor, he had still been uncertain about his future.

Upon ascending the throne and commanding the mightiest kingdom under heaven, he had remained somewhat lost.

But now, he finally understood what he must do.

"Tell me," Nameless smiled.

The young Ying Zheng straightened his posture and declared: "The mighty of this world stand aloft, unbound by mortal laws. I shall establish the heart of heaven and earth, acting as heaven's executor."

"Year after year of famine leaves the land strewn with corpses, countless lives hanging by a thread. I shall secure the destiny of the people."

"The Hundred Schools of Thought rise and fall, waging wars to promote their doctrines, plunging the world into endless conflict. I shall carry forward the lost teachings of the sages."

"Since the fall of Western Zhou, centuries of warfare have left the feudal lords locked in perpetual strife. I shall usher in peace for all generations!"

"Master, will you walk this path with me, to forge an era of peace and prosperity?"

His body trembled slightly, but his gaze remained fixed, awaiting the answer with nervous anticipation.

Then.

Nameless smiled and bowed. "The road ahead is long. I would be honored to walk it with the Qin king."

Their exchange instantly detonated the barrage—

-[This dialogue is absolutely legendary—so cool! The First Emperor wants to replace heaven's will with his own and bring peace to all generations!]

-[May all under heaven flourish like dragons, forever basking in peace and prosperity!]

-[First Emperor FTW! Nameless FTW! This conversation is downright electrifying!]

-[So damn cool! From the common people's perspective, His Majesty truly deserves the title of First Emperor of the Ages!]

-[I think I finally understand why Qin Shi Huang burned the books and buried the scholars alive!]

...

At the dining table.

Gilgamesh, expertly dipping beef into the hotpot, glanced at the screen. "As expected of one who stands on equal footing with me. Such words are beyond ordinary men."

"To establish the heart of heaven and earth, to set the destiny of the people, to continue the lost teachings of past sages, and to open eternal peace!"

Merely speaking these words made one realize the immense difficulty they entailed.

"So, why do you so casually come to my house to freeload meals?" Souma rolled his eyes.

He had just been eating hotpot alone when this guy suddenly showed up, acting as if it were his own home and helping himself to the food.

"Don't forget, you still owe me 220 million. What's wrong with eating one meal? The fact that I haven't seized your house as collateral is already out of consideration for our friendship!"

Gilgamesh glanced sideways at him with his crimson eyes, deliberately picking a slice of marbled beef from Souma's plate.

Hmm, delicious!

It was proof that food always tasted better from someone else's bowl.

"..."

Souma was too exhausted to retort.

Shouldn't you, of all people, maintain the lofty demeanor of the King of Heroes?

What's with this act of being Fuyuki City's friendly neighborhood citizen?

Souma felt that Fuyuki City was becoming increasingly unbearable. It seemed he'd have to pack up and flee overnight with the brat in tow.

He turned his gaze to the LCD screen.

The impassioned dialogue made his memories involuntarily drift back to those days.

Such was fate—the naive young boy had finally embarked on the path known as Qin Shi Huang, a lifetime of struggle that even pained Souma to recall.

"I never expected you to have such a relationship with Qin Shi Huang as well. So why treat me so differently?"

Gilgamesh glared at him coldly.

Compared to other Heroic Spirits, he had suffered the worst treatment.

"No, no. Alaya will probably release related exposure videos in the future. Then all the fans you lost in Unlimited Blade Works will come flooding back!"

Souma picked up a slice of beef and placed it in Gilgamesh's bowl.

"Really??"

Gilgamesh didn't believe a single word he said.

Back when they were targeting Merlin and watching Vow in the Snow, Souma had also assured him that he wouldn't appear.

Yet in the end, it was his female counterpart, Angelica, who showed up!

"Of course it's true. If I'm lying, you can stab me with Ea!" Souma replied without hesitation.

That timeline was when Gilgamesh was at his most charismatic, after all.

"Fine. I'll temporarily believe you this once, you bastard."

Gilgamesh looked at him with undisguised disdain.

His crimson eyes were filled with distrust.

If his dark past were to be exposed again, then don't blame him for not holding back!

The two continued watching the video while eating hot pot.

On the screen, the scene began to shift.

After the young Qin King ascended the throne, he gradually consolidated his power as he grew older.

His younger brother, Lord Chang'an Chengjiao, who had once competed with him for the throne, led an army to attack the State of Zhao—only to rebel midway!

***

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