The Demon King is unfathomable

Chapter 626 The Beginning of the Slaughter

The crimson sunset stretched the shadows of the wheels long.

Prince Colin's carriage, carrying Miss Ophia Castellón, who did not belong to this city, departed without a word, leaving without a trace.

The group met up with Ms. Elfit in the suburbs.

At the very moment everyone departed, a fast horse, foaming at the mouth and carrying devastating news from the front lines, crashed through the gates of the already turbulent capital.

Inside the summer palace hall of the National Assembly, members of parliament were still arguing heatedly about the budget proposal for the front lines and how many more soldiers needed to be conscripted.

Just as everyone was arguing, the heavy oak door was pushed open from the outside, and a weary Regiment Commander Antoine, his muddy military boots stomping into the meeting room.

That haggard face, bearing the marks of frostbite and despair, instantly gripped the throats of all the councilors present, causing the argument to cease involuntarily.

Although he had no intention of interrupting the gentlemen's argument, Antoine had no other choice at the moment.

His Adam's apple bobbed, and he finally spoke in a slightly trembling voice.

"Langwei City...has fallen."

The conference room was deathly silent.

Then, gasps of shock rose and fell.

The panicked shouts and the commotion nearly lifted the dome of the Summer Palace.

"By Saint Sith!"

"You've just thrown away the northern gateway to the Golden Plains like that! What are you all good for?!"

"Antoine! What are you doing here? Where is your Sixth Militia Regiment? Did they also suffer a defeat?!"

A pair of sharp eyes were fixed on Antoine's face.

The older member of parliament stood up, his eyes fixed on Antoine's nose.

Soon, everyone realized why Commander Antoine, known as the "Iron Wall of the North," was here!
He should be on the front lines holding off the Rhodes' attack!

Faced with those sharp gazes, Antoine felt embarrassed and momentarily ashamed to face the people sitting at the conference table.

To be honest, he did have the suspicion of deserting his post and taking opportunistic measures.

However, he resorted to this desperate measure out of sheer desperation.

With only 30,000 untrained recruits under his command, it was impossible for him to defeat the royalists and the allied forces of the kingdoms behind them.

The fall of Longway almost sealed the fate of the Sixth Militia Regiment.

However, despite the perilous situation, Antoine's heart was not filled with despair, but also with a glimmer of optimism.

After all, the allied forces of the kingdoms only united behind the royalists under the instigation of the Academy, and now they are still standing behind the royalists, merely out of the inertia of decision-making.

As soon as the Academy shows signs of weakness in its war with the Empire, the allied forces of the kingdoms will immediately fall into internal divisions.

Even if they hadn't fallen into internal strife, it's unlikely they would have gone to any lengths to take Roland City and fight the National Assembly to the bitter end for the sake of the Devalo family.

The National Assembly will eventually reach a compromise with the Devalo family, which would be the best outcome for both sides.

This was also the long-held plan of Marshal Fayette and other Chartist figures, and the initial demand of the Encyclopedists. As someone close to Marshal Fayette, Antoine was well aware of this.

So, here comes the problem——

Since everyone will eventually return to the negotiating table anyway, what is the point of risking one's life on the front lines?

Not to mention that he will be facing Charles de Vallo, who is very likely to be his future emperor.

If he had the same good luck as Commander Wilt, that would be fine, but the real problem is that both sides are blinded by rage.

In the end, despite giving it his all, he was not treated with the courtesy of a gentleman, but was instead handed over as a gift by the National Assembly.

This is why Antoine was willing to risk a court-martial to return to Roland.

Once people start weighing the pros and cons, they can no longer exert their full efforts for the benefit of everyone.

However, Antoine cannot be blamed for this.

At least he felt that he couldn't blame himself, and he didn't think it was surrender or a betrayal of the revolution.

He always had a very clear understanding of his own position; he was just an ordinary person. It was only by chance that he became the officer who stormed the royal prison, and then fate pushed him here.

The title "Iron Wall of the North" was not self-proclaimed, but rather forcibly imposed on him by the National Assembly in order to set an example.

However, this blunt truth will certainly not convince the people present. On the contrary, it will completely enrage these sloppy guys who are just as careless as him, making them do even more irrational things.

In order to divert the public's anger elsewhere, Antoine had no choice but to bite the bullet and speak.

"Gentlemen! Please be quiet! Let me finish speaking... As for my Sixth Militia Regiment, I assure you that the lads are in good health and are still fighting on the front lines, currently under the command of my most loyal adjutant, Lord Marmont!"

This statement alone was clearly insufficient to appease the members of parliament present.

As he spoke, he pulled a stained letter from his pocket and displayed it to the agitated crowd.

"As for me, I've come back to deliver a message—"

"What message could be more important than the front lines?!"

Before the congressman who had previously attacked him could even sit down, another excited roar interrupted his speech.

The man who stood up was a member of the stonemason faction; his grumpy, hard face was as unapproachable as a rock.

Antoine turned to look at him, meeting his gaze directly into those angry eyes, and raised his voice in response.

"This letter in my hand is it! It was written by Earl Clement, who captured Longway, and it will determine the fate of all of us!"

The stonemason's representative narrowed his eyes, sensing weakness in those words.

"What do you mean?"

"It means exactly what it says!"

Seeing the increasingly hostile look in his eyes, Antoine went all out and spilled out all the information that Commander Wilt had told him.

"Of course, sir, I understand your dissatisfaction with me. After all, you don't know who Earl Clement is, so you can stand here and criticize me without a care in the world! But it's alright, I can tell you! How cruel that butcher is when he treats his enemies!"

"After capturing Longway, he did not spare a single prisoner in their eyes! Three thousand unarmed civilians were taken to the riverbank and executed by him and his royalist soldiers, simply because they were supporters of the National Assembly!"

"On the contrary, his prisoners of war were not treated so cruelly! Do you understand what I mean? I left my brothers behind and returned here for your sake! In order to prevent you from misjudging the situation, I had to bring this letter here personally!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the conference hall erupted in an uproar.

The two councilors who stood up were even paler than before, clearly shocked by this bloody and devastating news.

Not only the two who stood up, but also the other councilors sitting next to them, all wore expressions of utter astonishment, as if they had seen a ghost.

Three thousand people!
Although the number of dead on the night of the revolution's victory was far greater than that, massacring civilians and dying in battle are clearly two different things!

Some people even began to suspect that this guy was exaggerating the enemy's brutality in an attempt to justify his desertion.

But even so.

They couldn't question Commander Antoine's statement, since they hadn't been to the front lines, while he had.

Moreover, this was a hero they had personally promoted, and they did not refute his position.

The whispers gradually turned into a clamor, as people exchanged bewildered glances and argued about this sudden and shocking turn of events. Facing the noisy meeting room, Antoine waved the envelope in his hand and continued in a booming voice.

"Gentlemen, I do not want the same tragedy to happen in my hometown. Therefore, we must do something for the fate of all of us before the situation deteriorates beyond repair! Although it will be difficult for us, it is our only choice."

Having said that, he walked to the center of the meeting hall with the letter in his hand, intending to hand it to Speaker Emir, who was sitting on the high platform.

However, Speaker Emir, sitting high up, did not take on this hot potato.

After hesitating for a moment, he looked into Antoine's eyes and spoke in a serious tone.

“Your Excellency Antoine, please read it aloud for me. Since you say it will determine the fate of all of us, I think every member of parliament here has the right to hear what our enemies have to say.”

As the speaker of parliament, he did not want to favor any side, especially the officer in front of him who seemed to be a Chartist.

However, to his surprise, his caution played right into Antoine's hands.

After receiving permission from the Speaker, Antoine turned around and, facing the faces that were either ashen, pale, or expressionless, unfolded the official letter filled with arrogance written in ink.

"To the rebels of Roland and Marshal Fayette—"

He had barely read the first line of the letter when someone started cursing.

Upon hearing the insults, Antoine paused, pointed to the envelope to indicate that he was merely repeating Count Clyffet's words, and then continued.

“I warn the citizens of Roland City not to harm any of Ryan’s nobles.”

“As long as you abide by the rules of war, we will abide by them in the same way. I guarantee that I will not harm any civilians in the city, nor will I plunder any city that has been captured.”

These words sound like they were spoken by a gentleman who values ​​propriety.

However, the following text completely exposed the fangs hidden behind the aristocratic etiquette.

"...We are only going to hold accountable those criminals who brutally murdered King Theodore, and the councilors who condoned them; it has nothing to do with the rest."

"Of course, if the citizens of Roland dare to continue persecuting the Holy Light Nobles—"

"When I lead my army to raze Roland to the ground, the entire city of Roland will be reduced to ashes."

After Antoine finished reading the last word, he folded the letter in his hand and gently placed it on the Speaker's desk.

The moment he finished speaking, the entire council chamber erupted in chaos.

"Damn it! This madman!" A charterist member of parliament jumped to his feet, his chair sliding half a foot backward from the impact. "Who does this guy think he is? The king of the Kingdom of Rhodes?"

Before he could finish speaking, another member of parliament stood up and roared, his face flushed.

"Even the King of the Kingdom of Rhodes shouldn't speak to the three million citizens of Roland in such a tone!"

"A mere earl! How dare he humiliate us like this!"

"I propose that this letter be published in Citizen's Voice! Let everyone see the shameless face of the royalists!"

Agreed!

"Tell Count Clement for me! If he wants to raze Roland to the ground, let him come! I'll be right here waiting for him, and we'll see whose blood runs dry first!"

A cacophony of excited shouts rose and fell.

No matter how much the Speaker Emir pounded the gavel at the table, no one calmed down.

Some people turned red in the face, cursing Count Clyffet's arrogance with uncontrollable fury.

Some even drew their swords, vowing to fight the royalists to the last moment, to shed their last drop of blood.

The once divided parliament was united in a common hatred because of a single letter!
Antoine was a little confused.

The reaction at the parliamentary table was completely unexpected.

He had assumed that, faced with the overwhelming power disparity and the threat of massacre, these councilors, even if they weren't scared out of their wits, would at least become more composed or at least curb their arrogance.

However, to his surprise, Count Clyffet's letter did not serve as a cold shower for everyone; instead, it ignited the anger in everyone's hearts.

That's not all—

The members of Congress sitting there also did not accept his reason for deserting the mission, and all their angry gazes were fixed on him like those of a bloodthirsty beast.

He probably forgot that he wasn't the only one who had seen blood.

"Sir Antoine, your explanation is insufficient to justify your unauthorized departure from the front lines! Just to act as a mouthpiece for a maggot, you have abandoned the entire Sixth Militia Regiment to the front lines, leaving the responsibilities that should have been yours to your adjutant. I am ashamed of you!"

"Go explain yourself in a military court! You coward, you blind man! I was so foolish to think you were a hero!"

The sharp questions were like arrows, piercing Antoine's spine.

He was speechless and had no idea how to defend himself. He could only face the crowd with a pale face, letting spittle fly everywhere.

Saint Sith above...

Did I really do something wrong?
I just...want fewer people to die.

Antoine closed his eyes in anguish, silently praying to Saint Sis for divine protection.

It is also ironic.

Whether it was Antoine standing here or the others sitting at the conference table, they had all been claiming until yesterday that they no longer revered any gods.

However, when disaster truly befalls them, they still instinctively murmur the name of Saint Sith, or the name of some divine child.

However, these things are no longer important at the moment, including the charter they are discussing.

If they could not withstand the royalist attack, and Saint Sith would not even have had a chance to punish them, the National Assembly would have been wiped out by the cannon fire of the kingdoms.

Panic quickly took flight in the conference hall, spreading beyond the high walls as word spread among the attendees.

By the time Marshal Fayet learned what his trusted aide had done on his own, news of the fall of Longway had already spread to the muddy alleys and stinking beer halls of the lower town, and was being amplified by the fearful people.

Before Count Clement's declaration was published in The Citizen's Voice, the numbers brought back by Commander Antoine from the front were increased by another zero.

The desperate citizens were convinced that the Rhodesians' iron hooves would completely flatten the streets of Roland within days and perpetrate the same tragedy as in Langway.

What terrified them even more was that the royalists were not in Longway, hundreds of kilometers away, but were hiding in their ranks.

The "Iron Wall of the North" that they once firmly believed in was actually one of them!

The fact that this man was a confidant of Marshal Fayet, who was the leader of the Chartist faction, led to the rumor that "the Chartist faction is the royalist faction" spreading wildly in the shadows, tearing at everyone's reason.

However, the Charter faction is, after all, the largest faction in Roland City, and its members are not yet so crazy as to purge themselves.

They targeted those who were more like royalists than themselves.

For example, the old dynasty nobles who still live in Roland, and the priests who refuse to swear allegiance to the charter and parliament.

Rumors began to circulate that they had long been colluding with the enemy forces outside the city.

As soon as the cannons roared, they would immediately join forces with the enemy from within and rush into the streets to massacre the wives and children of revolutionaries.

And that's the real reason why they haven't left the city yet!
This city—

They've completely gone mad.

(End of this chapter)