“So, what are they doing? Treating soldiers as disposables to test the Demon Realm's high magic density?”
Baroque watched the projection as they carved messy patterns onto the soldiers' bodies.
Then, they threw the soldiers into demon territory and watched them get burned by the magic.
“Have you gone soft in the head from living too comfortably as one of the Four Heavenly Kings?!”
Samuel yanked Baroque's ear and pointed at the Silver Legion in the projection.
“The things those bastards are carving onto their bodies are runes from the Holy See, do you understand?!”
“You mean what they're carving onto themselves is meant to suppress magic?”
Baroque's brain finally caught up. Did staying around Lin Ling for too long cause one's intelligence to deteriorate?
The image of Lin Ling floating around with her usual silly grin popped into his mind.
...
“Forget it. I can't think about that.”
Baroque punched himself right in the face, dispelling the silly giggling echoing in his mind.
“They're in a real hurry right now.”
“So those guys are experimenting. They are increasing the output of Holy Light magic, using human lives to slowly develop a suppression rune that can withstand the dense demonic magic.”
Looking at the enemy camp's behavior, Samuel felt that if she were in charge, she would have torn that damned commander's throat out herself.
“Have they succeeded yet?”
Baroque crossed his arms, looking at the mountain of corpses piling up at the border in the projection.
“Probably soon. Those armored pricks have already started carving them onto their own bodies.”
“What about our plan? We can't just let them waltz right in.”
Baroque raised his hand to turn off the projection.
“We don't know the full extent of their capabilities, but since they're connected to the Holy See, I can't let my subordinates take this risk. I have to go personally.”
Baroque didn't reply. He carefully studied the armor worn by those soldiers.
Noticing the strange emblem on the armor, Baroque recalled the name of this army.
“These guys are Camillaya's Silver Legion.”
This made him furious at Samuel's proposed action.
“You want to go alone? Are you insane?!”
“Samuel! Every single one of them is decked out in magic equipment! You might actually die there!”
The Silver Legion—Phelan had records of them. They were a force of about three thousand who never acted alone, and it was said that the interiors of their steel armor were carved with countless magic runes.
Samuel looked Baroque dead in the eye, waiting for his approval to carry out her mission.
“Sigh, you're always like this.”
“This time, I'm going with you, Samuel. Don't forget, you have a family too.”
Baroque looked at Samuel and pulled the golden-haired lioness into his embrace.
“I must ensure your safety, my wife...”
At this moment, a heavy downpour was washing over the capital.
“Furni, Cary has made his move.”
Karl sat in his chair, reading the letters in his hand, though there were far fewer of them than usual this time.
“Yes, those guys couldn't hold back any longer.”
Furni stood by the window, gazing toward the distant palace.
“Even the Silver Legion has been fully deployed. It seems Cary is truly desperate now.”
Karl smiled, then lifted his teacup.
Furni turned to look at Karl. Seeing him sipping his tea so leisurely, she said,
“The old Emperor is dying. He won't survive this downpour.”
“I expected as much.”
“But, Furni, what kind of role are you playing in all of this?”
Karl set down his teacup and stared into Furni's eyes as she looked back at him.
The usual lethargy in Furni's eyes had vanished, her golden slit pupils shining with striking clarity in the darkness brought by the storm.
“Karl, we've known each other for so long. You should know what I'm thinking.”
“You don't favor the First Prince, do you?”
Karl picked up his tea again. Looking at his reflection in the liquid, his smile finally faltered.
“So, you want to use the demon race to wipe out the nobles' military forces?”
...
He thought of Keith at the border, and the massive army the nobles had provided for him.
“You need to face reality, Karl.”
“The First Prince will pay the price for his greed. This country does not need a tyrannical king.”
Furni's words struck Karl's ears like a clap of thunder from outside.
Staring at the cold guardian dragon before him, Karl knew he couldn't treat her words as one of her usual jokes.
The guardian dragon of this nation had truly abandoned the First Prince.
“What I must do is protect this country, and the First Prince is currently a factor that will lead to its destruction.”
On the back of Furni's hand, the contract belonging to the Original Hero glowed faintly, as if confirming whether she was abiding by its terms.
Outside, the rain poured down harder, as if delivering a grand proclamation.
Inside the palace—
“Your Highness Kainster, you'll get soaked standing there.”
Zona watched Kainster standing on the balcony and cast a protective spell to shield him from the torrential rain.
“Zona... Father is dying.”
His voice trembled.
“Your Highness, you're scaring yourself again.”
“No, it's real this time.”
Kainster watched as several speeding carriages rushed into the palace grounds.
He had a premonition that the destination of those carriages was undoubtedly his father's palace.
“Pack up. We need to leave the palace and hide for a few days. Remember to bring some supplies we can distribute to the people.”
Kainster walked into his dressing room. When he emerged, his luxurious attire had been replaced by clean, simple cloth clothes.
“My older brother will return to claim the throne. When that time comes, take the money Father gave me and hand it over to Bishop Karl.”
Kainster spoke as if writing a will, placing a storage crystal containing a vast amount of gold coins into Zona's hand.
“With my brother's personality, he will definitely kill me and seize the money Father gave me.”
“Zona, can I trust you?”
There was no fear of death in Kainster's eyes. Instead, they were filled with deep contemplation as he pondered what else he could do.
“Bishop Karl didn't dare accept my money while I was alive because he was afraid—afraid that I wanted to use the Holy See's help to usurp the throne.”
“So, Zona, if I die, let Bishop Karl take my money to help the people. If my brother becomes the Emperor, everyone will suffer greatly.”
Thinking of his brother's temperament, Kainster shook his head.
Zona looked at the prince in front of her, feeling deeply puzzled.
“Then why don't you fight for the throne? Wouldn't you be able to help the people much better that way?”
“You're mistaken, Zona. The nobles are the key to the struggle for the throne. And a weak, uncontrollable prince would never be their ideal choice.”
“Alright, let's go.”
With those final words, Kainster crushed the emergency teleportation stone in his hand.
Barely a moment after Kainster vanished, a soldier pushed open the doors and stepped into the palace.
“Your Highness?”
The soldier looked around urgently, only to find the palace completely empty.
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