Breaking the Curse

Even a fool could tell how miserable he felt right now.

However... whether you feel miserable or not has nothing to do with me.

Take it or leave it; there are plenty of others who would jump at the chance!

"Lord Audis, you are quite advanced in years. There is no need to rush. Take your time heading to the West Gate. It does not matter even if you cannot take it."

"Your servant obeys!"

I immediately turned my head to look at Elmer.

"Lord Elmer, if you cannot take the North Gate, do not bother coming back."

Elmer froze upon hearing this, his face turning as dark as charcoal, looking absolutely wretched.

This was a blatant display of favoritism!

Yet he could say nothing in response. He could only nod with a stiff face and lead his five hundred men toward the North Gate.

Old Audis seemed to be enjoying the other's misfortune, stroking his wispy white beard and smiling cheerfully as he watched the Cromwell family army depart. He then gave me a nod and led his own family army toward the West Gate.

Suddenly, I remembered something and called out to him.

"Lord Audis, I heard you were praising me in front of Yuna, saying I was... more insidious than the Pope?"

Audis's smile froze, his hand jerked, and he accidentally plucked a strand of white hair from his chin.

"I... I..."

"Fine, I will settle this debt with you later. Off you go."

Looking at him as he stood there with a few white hairs trembling in the wind, a slight curve formed at the corner of my mouth.

Mmm, I was truly happy.

Serves him right!

Who told you to speak ill of me behind my back?!

Do I look like the type of person with deep schemes?!

I do not.

Because I am!

"Hilda, continue forward!"

"Yes!"

Ignoring the dark lines on the old man's face, the procession set off once more.

Shortly after, we encountered members of the Alvin family, followed by families of various sizes. Some had as few as fifty men, while others had several hundred. One group would pop out, then another.

Eventually, by the time we were less than two streets away from the Temple, a force of nearly five thousand had gathered, following the Saint's Carriage in a grand procession.

However, I was not happy.

The combined foundations of these families were terrifying!!

The military force these families had summoned in an emergency alone totaled over five thousand. In contrast, the regular number of knights in the entire Brilliant City was only just over ten thousand.

No wonder... no wonder the minimum defense force of Brilliant City consisted of four Guardian Knights and a knight order of five thousand.

Without a regular army of that size, it would be truly difficult to suppress these nobles.

These private armies were the personal forces of each family; some were mercenaries, others were private soldiers.

In short, if the nobility were allowed to continue developing like this, the Kingdom of the Moon would likely change hands sooner or later!

I took a deep breath and considered the matters ahead. In a short while, the procession arrived before the Temple.

At this moment, the merchants in the square before the Temple were still holding up their banners, not even dispersing in the middle of the night.

Clearly, these were not simple merchants; they must have been driven here by the nobles.

When they saw the grand procession of nearly five thousand people returning with the Saint's Carriage, and the two thousand dragons circling above their heads, everyone was stunned.

A deathly silence fell over the massive square!

"Everyone remaining in the square, kneel and surrender! Anyone who resists or flees will be treated as a rebel and killed on the spot!"

I had already discussed this with Hilda. Without needing me to say a word, Hilda rode forward and shouted the command.

In an instant, countless people looked at each other. Then, starting with the first person to kneel, a domino effect followed as over a thousand people fell to their knees.

I glanced at the peaceful Temple. The people inside probably did not yet know that the Garnet family had already rebelled alongside several other families outside.

"You, go call Nar out."

I looked at the bewildered Guardian Knight at the Temple entrance and ordered him to fetch Nar.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Although the knight guarding the entrance was still completely confused about what was happening, he executed the Saintess's order meticulously.

Soon, Nar emerged from the Temple, his youthful face still carrying a hint of confusion and chaos.

"Your Highness, when... when did you return?"

He walked up to the Saint's Carriage, appearing to be in a total daze.

This fellow is still far too young.

He has not learned a single bit of noble craftiness or guile.

"Nar, such a major event has occurred within Brilliant City, and you truly knew nothing at all?"

Hilda was stunned. Perhaps even she could not believe that Nar was clueless to this extent.

"I... I knew something happened. The merchants are protesting, and Bishop Lola was attacked and cursed."

As he spoke, he seemed to notice something was amiss and turned his gaze toward the five thousand ragtag troops behind us.

"These... these are not the knight orders?"

"Of course not. They are the private armies of the nobles, here to help Her Highness suppress the rebellion!"

"Suppress the rebellion? Has someone actually rebelled?"

Only at this moment did a look of realization dawn on Nar's face, replaced suddenly by a serious gaze.

"Who would be so bold as to dare rebel?! Your Highness, please give the order! I, Nar, shall bring these people to justice!"

This boy is a bit too oblivious.

I pressed a hand to my forehead in exasperation, and Hilda also shook her head helplessly.

Only Nar remained bewildered.

"Fine, first take some men and secure all these merchants. Do not let a single one escape!"

"Then Your Highness, the rebellion..."

"The matter of the rebellion has already been resolved. Go on."

"Oh..."

Nar scratched his head, then suddenly remembered something.

"Your Highness, Bishop Lola has been cursed and remains unconscious. Please go and see her immediately."

"I will."

Returning this time, my primary goal was to suppress the rebellion, and the second was to save Lola. She was my most capable subordinate and also a friend.

The future glory of the Kingdom of the Moon could not be without her.

I stepped down from the carriage and entered the Temple.

I was met by Camilla, whose face was etched with exhaustion. The moment she saw me, her eyes brightened instantly.

"Your Highness, you have returned."

"Mmm. How is Lola's condition?"

"It is not optimistic. Her internal organ functions have already begun to decline."

Camilla kept pace with me, explaining Lola's condition in detail.

"The curse Bishop Lola was struck with seems to be a type of dark magic. Ordinary holy magic cannot dispel it, and the priests in the Temple have no good solutions."

"Have you tried?"

"I have. However, without knowing exactly what the curse is, I can only delay the deterioration of her condition. I cannot cure her."

"I see."

As we spoke, we reached the Temple guest room. As soon as we entered, a massive figure suddenly lunged forward and knelt before me with a loud thud.

"I am useless! I let Bishop Lola be assassinated! Your Highness, please punish me!!"

This sudden kneel from the old bull startled me.

Beside me, Camilla looked at the old bull with a helpless expression and whispered in my ear.

"Your Highness, this bull has been like this ever since Bishop Lola was attacked. You should probably punish him a bit, otherwise, I fear he will be consumed by guilt for the rest of his life."

"Mmm... Sake, tell me exactly what happened."

Even with the old bull kneeling, I still had to look up at him. One could imagine how massive this fellow's body was.

"Your Highness, that day... Bishop Lola went out to handle some business, and I followed. It seemed she was heading to the Moonlight Bar. But before we reached the door, someone suddenly rushed out and bumped into her. I felt something was wrong, but I was too late to stop it."

A flicker of guilt crossed the old bull's face.

"Then... Bishop Lola collapsed. Before she lost consciousness, she told people to notify you."

"I understand. Sake, you must indeed take responsibility for this. I gave you many instructions before I left, yet you were still negligent."

"Yes, I failed in my duty! Please punish me, Your Highness!"

"Then... I shall fine you half a year's wages. Do you accept?"

"I do! Even if you wanted my life, I would accept! But... Your Highness, please do not take my life if you can help it. I still want my wife to give me a few more calves... If I die, my wife will have to marry someone else..."

A tauren's wife being cuckolded by a tauren?

Wait, when did I ever say I wanted your life?

Listen to yourself!

What kind of talk is this?!

And having calves?

"Fine, stop talking nonsense with me. Move aside; I am going to see how Lola is doing."

"Ah, rest assured! I have been guarding this place these past few days. No one can do anything to Bishop Lola!"

I rolled my eyes at the bull and turned to enter the room.

As soon as I entered, a heavy scent of medicinal herbs wafted through the air.

It seemed Camilla had spent a great deal of effort to keep Lola alive.

I walked straight to the bedside. Lola was currently dressed in only a white robe, covered by a thin blanket. Her pale face was completely devoid of color, looking like a sheet of paper.

Even her red lips had turned an ashy white.

It was clearly a very dangerous situation.

Without wasting any words, I reached out and touched her forehead.

"Healing."

In an instant, a white light surged from my body, flowing through my palm and into her.

I closed my eyes, carefully sensing the flow of this power.

The energy swirled around Lola's forehead for a moment, then slid down her spine toward her liver, where it lingered briefly before being completely consumed.

The brain and the liver?

"Camilla, what kind of curse targets the brain and the liver?"

"The brain and the liver?"

Camilla pondered for a moment before speaking.

"As far as I know, there are not many curses that act on the liver, perhaps only a dozen or so. And among those, only one can also affect the brain."

"Is it fatal?"

"This curse is lethal, and it works quickly. Generally, after it takes hold, there are only a few days left."

It seemed the Garnet family truly wanted her dead!

"Healing. Healing. Healing."

I cast three consecutive rounds of healing. I could clearly feel the holy energy flowing through her body, nourishing and restoring the vitality of all her internal organs, and lingering at the focus of the curse.

Before long, I could clearly feel that the power of the curse within Lola had been mostly exhausted.

"Healing. Healing. Healing!"

I cast another triple burst. As the holy energy from the second set was consumed, the curse within her had weakened to the extreme, yet the root remained.

After a brief moment of thought, I controlled the remaining holy energy to envelop the curse in her brain and move it down to her liver, condensing the two curse forces together.

"Camilla, do you have a knife?"

"I do. What does Your Highness intend to do?"

Camilla reflexively handed over a small knife. Without a word, I immediately sliced open Lola's abdomen. Following the skin, I reached my hand inside and grabbed the point where the curse had condensed—the liver.

Then, I slid the knife in and directly cut away that portion of the liver, pulling it out and tossing it onto the floor.

With a sizzle, the liver condensed with black energy hit the ground, emitting a cloud of dark smoke like hot oil splashing on the floor.

At the same time, I could feel a bizarre power trying to burrow into my body through my palm.

But in the next instant, the holy energy filling my entire body immediately eroded that power.

The force only gave a token struggle before completely losing its vitality.

"Healing!"

I placed my hand on Lola once more. This round of healing restored her liver and the wound.

Except for the blood on my hands and the sheets, it was as if everything that had just happened was a mere illusion.

"You can... actually do it like that!?"

Camilla was completely stunned.

She was likely thinking that this seemingly fragile Saintess did not even blink in such a situation, daring to reach her hand inside to touch the source of a curse.

It was likely unheard of.

"As long as it can break the curse, any method is a good method."

I offered a brief explanation and watched as color gradually returned to Lola's face and her breathing became steady.

The heavy stone in my heart finally dropped.

As long as Lola was fine, this incident could be considered a great victory!

I let out a long sigh of relief.

From the initial ambush until now, every step had been according to plan, culminating in ensuring Lola's safety.

The entire plan was now complete.

Under the absolute power of two thousand skysoar dragons, any resistance was futile!

The only variables were whether Lola's condition could be stabilized and how much sacrifice would be needed to quell this rebellion.

Fortunately, the world was not filled entirely with fools, nor were there many who were truly loyal to the end.

At least, those mercenaries were not particularly loyal.

Such a ragtag bunch had saved me a great deal of trouble.

However, what on earth were those people thinking?

Did they really plan to rebel with such meager strength?

It seemed the long years of peace in the Kingdom of the Moon had made them forget the terror of war!

"Hilda!"

"Your servant is here!"

"Immediately take command of the remaining knight forces in Brilliant City. Arrest all knights who participated in the rebellion and throw them into prison. Strip them of their titles and holy knight ranks, and await further disposal!"

"Yes!"

"Nar, lead two hundred knights to the West Gate to assist Lord Audis. Once the West Gate is secured, proceed immediately to the North Gate."

"Yes!"

I turned to look at the leaders of the various families.

"I will remember what you have done tonight. You may all return."

They looked at one another, but in the end, they said nothing and departed.

I shook my head as I watched them leave.

I truly have too few people I can use; besides Hilda, there is only Nar.

Even Camilla is not suited for leading troops. Even if I wanted to split my forces for simultaneous operations now, it would be very difficult.

"Ligeia, take the two thousand skysoar dragons and come with me."

"Your Highness, where are we going?"

I looked toward the East Gate with an expressionless face.

"The Garnet family... estate!"