Sword God in a World of Magic

Shang wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

For now, he decided to remain silent.

"Let me explain my conundrum with a metaphor," the Lightning Emperor said.

"Imagine you are a mortal and live in a village with 50 other villagers. You don't have any sort of real societal standards and norms, and the strongest person in the village is the leader."

"Now, imagine there is a council of five leaders since they don't want to fight each other for whatever reason, and you are one of them."

"One day, you find the offspring of a very powerful beast, which is far more powerful than any member of the council."

"You nurture it, and it follows you."

"Yet, it doesn't completely follow your commands, and you know that there is a chance that it might attack you and everyone else. After all, it is still a wild beast."

"But maybe, it will also help you."

"But also only you. What if it attacks any of the others in the village?"

"Right now, the beast is still a baby."

"So, what do you do?"

"Do you nurture it?"

"Do you kill it?"

"Do you ask the others?"

The Lightning Emperor drank another mouthful of tea.

"Everything about this beast screams risk at you. No matter what happens, it will be a risk. If it isn't one for you, it definitely will be one for the village."

"But you like the village. You live in the village. You are happy with the village."

"You don't want your beast to kill other villagers."

"But it very likely will."

"So, what would you do?" the Lightning Emperor asked.

focused on the Lightning

answer

Should he lie?

even

the skills to lie in front of a Mage

argue for the

reason, this

to the Lightning Emperor? After all, he was

give a neutral

would do, what someone else should do, what the village should do, or

the Lightning Emperor answered as

to do would be to send it out of the village," Shang

Emperor didn't show any

choice for the village is to either collectively raise the beast

Emperor

Is it worth the risk to nurture it for the eventual payoff? The person could become the leader of the village. Maybe, they could even leave the village and go someplace better with the beast's

Lightning Emperor's interest, but he let

as for what

let

the Lightning Emperor

has no

Lightning Emperor said

be

be stronger than the beast if I want to have any shot at reaching my goal. Even more, the beast's growth might even give

is stronger than me, it means my goal was

means I might as well

Silence.

at Shang

me to kill

that my own goals and priorities

"You are not me."

it doesn't mean that you should make

a bit extreme. Is your goal really

Shang said. "I sacrificed everything else,

are so many people in this world. Geniuses might be rare, but among billions, trillions, quadrillions, or however many people there are,

those geniuses, how many of

a thousand people left from one trillion people, that is still a thousand people that I have to

from being the