Continuing like this would only lead to being worn down to death by the Dragon Knight Corps.
Kevin Cromwell's expression darkened, and he did not swing his sword again at the incoming spears.
His body flickered!
Whoosh!!
He evaded the lock of the spears and raised his sword once more!
Seeing this, the red-haired girl, who was already prepared, suddenly flapped her wings!
Just as the greatsword was about to strike down, she flew directly in front of Kevin Cromwell.
His movement did not falter.
He swung down with all his might!
Boom!
The clash of fist and sword instantly ignited a massive explosion of energy!
The knight was knocked back dozens of meters, falling toward the ground again.
Aigie Noah was also forced back nearly a hundred meters, a deep sword mark appearing on the part of her fist that had transformed into a dragon claw.
Blood dripped down, but she did not seem to care.
A dragon's pain tolerance was second to none on the continent; even a severed arm would be nothing more than a source of pain to her.
As the dragon claw reverted to a human arm, the wound became even more visible.
The sword mark stretched from the front of her fist, along the back of her hand, all the way to her elbow.
At its deepest point, the wound reached the bone, but thanks to the powerful self-healing abilities and skeletal toughness of the dragon race, such an injury would slowly recover in less than an hour.
"Aigie Noah, how is the injury?"
As Aigie Noah retreated, Yuna hurried forward to ask.
After all, she was a member of the dragon race; if her injuries were too severe, her Highness would certainly have to give an account to the Dragon King later.
"I am fine."
Aigie Noah stared with a solemn expression at Kevin Cromwell, who had fallen to the ground and begun his stalemate against the spears again.
Always serious, stern, and proud, she did not approve of the scene before her.
A dragon's pride was reserved for the strong.
Kevin Cromwell was a strong man.
And seeing such a strong man reduced to having only the power to resist through such grinding tactics made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.
But no matter how uncomfortable it felt, this was a human civil war.
Her purpose here was simply to follow the orders of that Highness.
Enhanced by magic arrays and the inertia of the dive, every thrown spear reached speeds of nearly five hundred kilometers per hour.
Such speed was not difficult for a Heavenly Punishment Knight to handle.
The problem was the sheer number of spears.
They were relentless, wave after wave, firing at him without pause.
The area covered by the spears accounted for almost his entire range of movement.
If he wanted to flee now, it might actually be possible.
After all, trying to stop a Heavenly Punishment Knight was exceptionally difficult.
But he did not flee.
On the contrary, despite knowing he would be worn down to death in this situation, this human still did not leave.
Aigie Noah observed for a moment, and once she was certain Kevin Cromwell could no longer break free from the spear attacks, she couldn't help but sigh.
"He has already resolved to die."
Yuna had been observing Kevin Cromwell's condition from the beginning, and hearing Aigie Noah say this, she nodded.
"Yes. If he wanted to escape, even a thousand members of the Dragon Knight Corps could only follow him closely but never kill him."
If this situation were on land, and they were facing a thousand knights without even a single Guardian Knight among them, Kevin Cromwell could have wiped them all out at a slight cost if he wished.
Unfortunately, no matter how great his skills were, he could only be worn down to death now.
Thinking of this, Yuna looked back at the massive circle in the sky.
This was already the tenth wave of spears.
A total of over ten thousand spears had been thrown.
The ground around Kevin Cromwell was littered with spears piercing deep into the earth.
The ground, palaces, and castles around him had been almost entirely destroyed.
The spears used by the Dragon Knight Corps were about three meters long and weighed one hundred and twenty pounds.
Even with half of them buried in the ground, over a meter remained exposed.
A spear weighing one hundred and twenty pounds hitting the ground at nearly five hundred kilometers per hour carried immense force.
With such power, even a Heavenly Punishment Knight would be killed or crippled if hit by just one.
This left Kevin Cromwell with almost no space to dodge, forcing him to stand his ground and continuously swing his greatsword.
If two thousand Dragon Knight Corps members had come this time, Kevin Cromwell would likely have already collapsed.
Aerial superiority was truly terrifying!
As a Guardian Knight, Yuna considered herself quite strong.
But if she were targeted by these thousand dragon riders with this tactic, she might not even last five waves.
The speed of the spears was simply too fast.
The earth continuously emitted violent roars, the sounds of the spears hitting the ground merging into a single, indistinguishable string of crashes.
Dust rose in clouds, only to be blown away by the gale-force winds carried by the spears.
Gradually, the steps in front of the inner city were shattered, the ground began to crumble, and cracks appeared in the foundations of the inner city walls on both sides.
The people of Medi City and the knights gathered outside the city watched this scene in horror.
Seeing this, Yuna raised her hand, signaling the Dragon Knight Corps to temporarily stop their throwing.
All the dragon riders immediately changed direction and began to circle above Medi City, maintaining their speed while staying in a formation that could lock onto Kevin Cromwell at any moment.
The dust slowly settled, revealing the battered Heavenly Punishment Knight.
A thick layer of dust covered his once-shining silver armor.
The red cloak on his back had been torn to shreds by a spear during his evasions.
The greatsword he held was covered in nicks and chips of various sizes from the repeated clashes.
At this point, the sword might not even be sharp enough to cut someone.
Except for the spine of the blade, the edges on both sides were almost entirely chipped away.
His resolute face was now covered in grime, making him look like someone who had crawled out of a pile of ash.
Sweat slid down from his forehead, turning black with dust before it even reached his cheeks.
His arms trembled slightly, a sign of exhaustion caused by the excessive force used to counter the spears repeatedly.
"Lord Kevin Cromwell, stop this. The Dragon Knight Corps is everywhere; you cannot win."
Vide steered the skysoar dragon to fly directly opposite Kevin Cromwell, and Yuna, sitting on the dragon's back, spoke to persuade him.
Facing Kevin Cromwell, who was already resolved to die, Yuna did not actually want to kill him.
The man before her was the only Heavenly Punishment Knight who served as the face of the Kingdom of the Moon.
As the strongest knight in the country, it would be a tragedy if he truly died in this internal strife.
His grave should be on the battlefield against the demon army, not in Medi City.
However, facing Yuna's persuasion, Kevin Cromwell only glanced up at her before looking down at the broken sword in his hand.
After a moment, he shook his head and threw the sword aside.
"Yuna, when you take my corpse back to see the Highness, please bring a message for me."
Yuna's brow furrowed slightly; she did not speak, only watching Kevin Cromwell.
Kevin Cromwell stopped looking at the skysoar dragon and instead reached out to grab a spear embedded deep in the ground.
Clang!
These spears were not made of special metal; they were ordinary metal spears, and most had snapped or been destroyed after such powerful impacts.
A few, however, had managed to remain intact because they hadn't hit a hard object directly.
Kevin Cromwell pulled out an intact one.
From this, one could see that Kevin Cromwell's initial combat had been somewhat effortless.
Even while fighting off the spears, he had been able to observe which ones remained undamaged.
Unfortunately, no matter how strong a single person's power was, it was impossible to withstand such attrition.
Yet he did not turn to flee, and he barely even tried to dodge anymore, simply taking the hits head-on.
If Kevin Cromwell had fought while retreating, he might have actually caused some damage to the Dragon Knight Corps.
But that was all.
The overwhelming power of aerial superiority was enough to leave a Heavenly Punishment Knight without the means to strike back.
Holding the spear, he pulled out another one.
"Please tell the Highness that her policies will destroy the Kingdom of the Moon. I will watch it all happen from the Altar of Heroic Spirits."
Kevin Cromwell swung the spears, seemingly testing the weight.
Then he turned his head to look at Yuna.
"The Highness's ideas are known to all the nobles in the country. Perhaps some are indeed vermin who cannot let go of their power, but I believe at least many of them are genuinely worried about the future of the Kingdom of the Moon."
Stepping back to his original position, Kevin Cromwell had even abandoned the idea of fleeing.
Holding a spear in each hand, his expression was incredibly calm.
"The Highness suppresses the nobility perhaps because she has seen some of the filth within, but she has forgotten that the Kingdom of the Moon... is supported by the children of the nobility."
"Without the children of the nobility, who can maintain order?"
"Without the support of the nobility, commerce cannot even sustain its development."
"Without the efforts of the nobility, this country will eventually perish!"
Kevin Cromwell's chest rose and fell rapidly, but by now, he had almost completely regained his composure.
He let out a long breath, closed his eyes, and relaxed his mind. When he looked up again, his eyes were filled with grief and indignation.
"What the Highness is doing now is breaking the spine of the Kingdom of the Moon and destroying its stone pillars. Now strife is everywhere, and those who work for the country are filled with resentment. Those nobles even have to use these methods to protect themselves. If this continues, the country will no longer be a country."
"Yuna, please tell the Highness that I, Kevin Cromwell, have never had any intention of harming her, nor have I ever thought of apostasy or treason!"
"My only wish is to see the Kingdom of the Moon become brilliant once more."
"If you share my thoughts, then come with me to see the Highness. As long as the Highness rescinds her orders and stops making things difficult for these pillars of the state, I am willing... to resign from my position as a Heavenly Punishment Knight and serve as a mere foot soldier, dying for the Kingdom of the Moon!"
"If you think I am wrong, then take my corpse and deliver my words to the Highness!"
Hearing Kevin Cromwell finish his speech, Yuna slowly closed her eyes.
She finally understood why the once-respected Knight Kevin Cromwell had become like this.
It was true that the Highness's current hatred for the nobility was an emotion that came from her very core.
She understood Kevin Cromwell's meaning perfectly.
Currently, the entire Kingdom of the Moon relied on the nobility for support.
Order in various regions was managed entirely by local nobles.
Without these nobles, the order in those regions would inevitably collapse.
Although Yuna's Von family was not a great family, it was not an ordinary minor family either.
Growing up, she had seen plenty of filth among the nobility, but she also understood that the Kingdom of the Moon was indeed supported by nobles like them.
Perhaps many of them had already rotted, but at least some were truly willing to sacrifice for the Kingdom of the Moon.
If the Highness were to work hard and deal only with the corrupt nobles, no one would say anything; in fact, some nobles would even support her.
But now, the Highness was condemning all nobles regardless of their merit.
Although she had not yet made her final move, this step-by-step pressure had already begun to make many nobles anxious.
If not for this, this rebellion would never have reached such a massive scale.
Yuna understood all of this very well.
However, she did not have the slightest intention of joining Kevin Cromwell.
Because she was different from Kevin Cromwell.
She believed that the Highness would surely make the Kingdom of the Moon rise again.
Because she could see the changes in Brilliant City over the past six months.
She often patrolled the streets, especially since her duties were mostly in the area of New City.
By interacting more with ordinary people, she understood better that the current Brilliant City was gradually regaining its vitality.
Hilda's trust in the Highness was a form of blind faith.
Cain's trust in the Highness was out of professional duty.
Nar's trust in the Highness was because of his loyalty to the Holy Church.
But Yuna was different.
Those three rarely interacted with commoners, especially with the people of New City.
But she had been almost single-handedly maintaining the construction of New City.
She and that sickly man, Augus Di Clapham, often walked into farmers' homes to see the lives of ordinary people.
She had watched step by step as those displaced refugees gradually gained houses that sheltered them from the wind and rain.
They had jobs that allowed them to eat their fill and dress warmly, enough money to decorate their homes, and families to be with.
Not just in New City, but even within Brilliant City, the smiles on the faces of ordinary people were more frequent than before.
In just six months—only six months—the Highness had transformed Brilliant City and New City into this.
What if she were given ten years?
Twenty years?
Fifty years?
She didn't ask for the entire Kingdom of the Moon to be like this; if even half of the major cities became like this, the brilliance of the Kingdom of the Moon would arrive.
"Lord Kevin Cromwell, I would like to ask you a question."
Yuna slowly opened her eyes and looked at Kevin Cromwell.
"What do you want to ask?"
"Have you... ever been to New City?"
Kevin Cromwell's brow furrowed slightly.
He wondered if there was a trap in this topic, but he still shook his head and answered honestly.
"No. A city full of refugees, even if it is called New City, what could it possibly be? One only needs to think to know how miserable that city must be..."
Before Kevin Cromwell could finish, Yuna's voice suddenly rose as she loudly interrupted him.
"You are wrong!!"
Yuna's response instantly left Kevin Cromwell stunned.
"I am wrong?"
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