Divine Kingship

Chapter 543 The Descent of the Red Moon Purgatory
They encountered an ambush from the Wisteria Kingdom on their journey.

Rand captured several prisoners and interrogated them, but couldn't get anything out of them; they seemed to have been mentally affected.

The soldiers and knights from the Wisteria Kingdom who came to intercept them were of moderate fighting strength, not weak, but no match for the elite legion that Rand was currently leading.

But it did slow their progress.

"The Wisteria Kingdom has betrayed humanity," Rand said, somewhat exasperated.

This is really hard to understand.

Betraying a country or a power is understandable, and the reasons are mostly to gain more power and more money.

But it betrays humanity.

The Wisteria Kingdom is a human nation; they themselves are human. To betray humanity is to betray themselves. Do they really think that after Grand Duke Vladimir's arrival, he won't leech off the blood of the Wisteria Kingdom's people?

The resistance from the Wisteria Kingdom's military forces was quite troublesome, and it was not good for Rand, the White King, and Ellie to once again travel light and leave first.

The reason is simple: the Wisteria Kingdom is a kingdom of considerable size, and it is highly unrealistic for the three of them to directly attack its capital, especially given that the Wisteria Kingdom must currently have a large amount of Grand Duke Vladimir's influence.

Spring has truly arrived, though there's still a lingering chill of winter, but it is spring after all.

The snow is gradually melting, and it won't be long before the snow turns into nourishment, allowing the fields to be covered in new green again.

And just after defeating several squads of the crazed Wisteria Kingdom soldiers.

Before arriving in the Wisteria Kingdom.

Rand encountered orcs.

The leader of the orcs.

The orc leader had white hair, but his physique remained robust.

Since the orcs had long been considered enemies that Rand would have to deal with sooner or later, Rand had a certain understanding of orc culture.

The banner he carried and the tattoos on his body indicated that this somewhat aged but strong orc was the chieftain of one of the orc tribes, and considering the current situation of the orc tribes being integrated, the orc in front of him was very likely the leader of the orcs.

The other side did not launch an attack immediately.

Rand wasn't in a hurry. Under the protection of the White King and Ellie, he walked up to the man who appeared to be the leader of the orcs.

The man, who appeared to be the orc leader, looked at Rand's black hair and black eyes and slowly said, "Rand Nicholas."

“Yes, that’s me. It seems you know me. So, are you planning to surrender?” Rand said, still somewhat seriously.

The orc leader, his gaze complex, slowly said, "We want to surrender."

Rand laughed.

Laughter shattered the tranquility before the arrival of spring.

"Was the landing operation in the Takagi Kingdom back then your scheme?"

"Correct."

The old orc admitted.

Now, Rand found the old orc somewhat familiar.

Titus, the first orc king, a white-haired wolf.

If Rand had not come into this world, the orcs, under the leadership of this orc king, would have breached the northern defenses, conquered the White Kingdom, and turned the Northern Union into a complete mess.

Then, on Ellie Calant's path to restoring her kingdom, she died at the hands of the new Queen of the White Kingdom.

Much of the history that should have existed was completely changed because of Rand's appearance.

Rand glanced at the handsome man beside him, the White King Berlan Calant, whose looks were so striking that it was hard to tell if he was male or female.

Rand was satisfied with the changes he had made in the world.

Then he looked intently at the elderly orc.

Rand still looked as young as a boy, while this strong orc had entered the middle to late stages of his life.

The orcs wanted to surrender, but Rand wouldn't accept it.

The White King Berlan will not accept it, nor will the Northern Union.

Rand admired the orcs for their bravery, fighting spirit, determination, and fierceness.

However, orcs also have inherent flaws that Rand absolutely cannot accept.

In the cool, slightly grassy air of early spring, Rand said slowly, "In the history of humans and orcs, there have been times when they coexisted peacefully."

Rand had, of course, already done his homework on the history of this world.

Orcs were not initially driven to the North; they used to live together with humans in the snow and wind of the North.

There has always been friction between the two races, but it is perfectly normal for them to compete for living space in order to survive, and the same is true between human nations.

But humans will soon discover that orcs are a race that likes to live off others' labor, or rather, they prefer hunting and plundering to farming and herding.

On the same piece of land, humans can grow crops and eat their fill, but orcs need to plunder or enslave humans to produce resources for them.

Thus, the conflict between the two races became increasingly irreconcilable.

Humans did accept the orcs' surrender a few times during this period, but once the orcs settled down and their population increased, their inherent survival-of-the-fittest mentality and savagery would lead them to rebel again. Orcs are a race that cannot be tamed.

Upon hearing Rand mention history, the orc leader knew that surrender was absolutely out of the question.

The white-haired orc drew his blade, a massive longsword that exuded an ancient aura. The sword was almost as tall as Rand, but it seemed rather light in the hands of the white-haired orc.

Rand glanced back at the knights he was leading.

These knights had broken through the army's resistance along the way.

The fighting during this period did not make them tired or demoralized; on the contrary, they seemed to have become sharper, like a blade being honed on a whetstone.

Most of the knights of the Northern Alliance had grudges against the orcs, and now they also had a grudge against the demon that caused the orcs to become infernal.

Rand calmly ordered, "Kill them all."

The knights drew their swords in unison.

Needless to say, the outcome of the battle was that although the orcish ambush team was individually strong, they were no match for the White King Berlan, the Archmage Ellie, the super support Rand, and a large, loyal and powerful knightly order.

From this point on, there seemed to be no obstacles on the road to the Wisteria Kingdom.

They traveled for a few more days.

It was clearly daytime, but the sky was already quite dark.

Along the way, you'll encounter many fleeing villagers and adventurers.

Rand asked several villagers and adventurers, and the answers he received were all that the kingdom was facing ominous signs, so he decided to flee even if it meant going against the lord's will.

Villagers are not entitled to leave their land without permission.

But now everyone knows that something big is about to happen in the Wisteria Kingdom, and some far-sighted villagers have chosen to flee without hesitation.

As they continued forward, they encountered more and more fleeing groups. Sometimes they would run into knights or soldiers from the Wisteria Kingdom who would chase and intercept the fleeing villagers, and even draw their swords to start killing them.

Meanwhile, the Rand team could already see the royal city of the Wisteria Kingdom in the distance, where turmoil was brewing.

If we were to use a poem from Rand's previous life to describe it, the image of "dark clouds pressing down on the city, threatening to crush it" might be somewhat fitting.

Dark clouds swirled around the capital of the Wisteria Kingdom, and thunder roared within them.

Dark clouds formed a massive vortex, floating above the royal city. Ellie said she could sense surging magical power and an evil aura emanating from it.

Clearly, the Wisteria Kingdom has completely betrayed humanity.

It should be noted that the "Wisteria Kingdom" refers only to the nobles and royalty of the Wisteria Kingdom, and does not include the commoners of the Wisteria Kingdom.

Unfortunately, the common people of the Wisteria Kingdom are not entitled to rebel against its rulers.

“The Wisteria Kingdom is courting death,” Berlan said coldly.

Both Rand and Ellie agreed.

In fact, long ago, Rand and the White King Berlan had planned a military operation against the Wisteria Kingdom.

Kicking the Wisteria Kingdom out of the Northern Alliance was the first step in launching the war.

Unfortunately, the orcs and other troubles in the north have never ceased, and the south of Land is also plagued by undead and vampires.

Meanwhile, the Wisteria Kingdom remained largely inactive due to the Northern Alliance's plan to ease tensions and lull them into complacency, and the matter continued to drag on.

It was unexpected that the Wisteria Kingdom would now choose to wager the entire kingdom in a betrayal against humanity.

Rand is certain that many high-ranking members of the Wisteria Kingdom, like those in the Upper House of the Kingdom of Lensa, have vampires among them.

But given how far things have come, Rand is equally certain that the king of the Wisteria Kingdom must have eaten shit.

The group had arrived at the capital city of the Wisteria Kingdom, which was shrouded in dark clouds.

The team now had to light torches for illumination, as the daylight had completely faded and only occasional flashes of lightning could briefly light up the sky and earth.

"Is there a plan to attack the city?" Rand asked.

“I’ll clear the way.” It wasn’t Mrs. Berlan who spoke, but Ellie.

Then Ellie slowly raised her staff.

This staff was originally a rare magical item, and it has been enhanced several times as the magical technology of the Holy Domain has gradually developed. Now it is an extremely powerful magical weapon.

And Archmage Ellie.

Archmage Ellie's brilliance is always overshadowed by her "brother," the White King Berlan, but that doesn't mean she's weak.

Ellie is the protagonist of Deep Moon; she possesses immense power, which is based on the original history.

She is a figure who, despite the collapse of the world, the disappearance of her "brother" the White King Berlan, and the absence of Rand, is still able to restore the White Kingdom.

Rand knew this very well, so he never doubted Ellie's talent.

When Ellie raised her staff, a dazzling light flashed, a surge of magic comparable to that of a combined spellcasting group of mages.

Ellie also possesses terrifying magical control and creativity.

As the arcane origin cracked at the tip of the archmage's staff, the air began to show spiderweb-like cracks. It was certainly not ordinary light, but a silver torrent compressed from pure magic, its edges swirling with purple mist that seemed to appear as if the air itself was collapsing.

The moment the ray left the archmage's wand, from the archmage's perspective, magic within a hundred meters radius began to flow backward, and even the dust particles in the air were torn into spiral-shaped dust.

The sturdy black iron gate, which had been silent because it did not welcome visitors, suddenly swung open.

The road ahead is now wide open.

“Let’s go, let’s end this…conspiracy.” Rand gave the order once again.

The knights who followed him, having recovered from the terrifying power of the archmage's magic, replied in unison, "Yes!"

Horse hooves pounded on the bluestone streets of the royal city of the Wisteria Kingdom.

The layout of this royal city is no longer the same: lower city, upper city, houses, markets, administrative buildings, and palace.

Instead, there was the nauseating smell of sulfur, boiling earth, and rampant demons everywhere.

Rand had already sensed something.

Because of Grand Duke Vladimir's aversion, Rand could sense the presence of nearby vampires, and now Rand could vaguely sense the existence of ancient vampires from another world.

Rand could even vaguely sense the gaze of Vladimir's referendum from faraway purgatory.

Rand couldn't quite grasp the exact moment of what he called the opportune time, but it now seemed that the time was approaching.

Rand has successfully thwarted many of Grand Duke Vladimir's plans. The aura of purgatory here is not strong now, and the amount of sacrifice needed to open the gate to purgatory is probably far from enough.

As for the "bones" needed to break the rules, Rand had already stored them in a safe place within his territory.

In theory, Grand Prince Vladimir's arrival should have been close to failure.

Now Rand is going to deliver the final, fatal blow to this evil plan.

The reason is simple: if all of this is not ended, even if Grand Prince Vladimir's descent fails, Grand Prince Vladimir in Purgatory can still have a serious impact on this world.

As the group entered the royal city...

The dark sky also changed; it was originally dark and flashing with lightning, but now it slowly turned from dim to blood red.

It was much like the scene depicted in the play that Rand and King Marcus had woven together—The Scarlet Night.

The terrifying ancient vampires are about to descend.

The surrounding demons have begun to rush towards this side.

However, they were thwarted by the swords of the knights, the magic of the mages, and the arrows of the archers.

The people moved forward.

They came here and defeated the Wisteria Kingdom's army that was blocking their way, defeated the orcs, and now they have defeated the demons.

What will come next to them?

He is the king of the Wisteria Kingdom.

The crimson clouds swirling in the sky cast a blood-red light, illuminating the vampire king, who already possessed sharp teeth, long ears, and red eyes, making him appear like a blood-red demon.

Neither Berlan nor Rand had any intention of judging this king who had betrayed humanity.

Their arrival was timely; although the current scene was horrific, there was clearly still room for maneuver.

In fact, Rand even felt that Grand Duke Vladimir was just making a futile struggle, after all, he had already thwarted so many of the vampire grand dukes' schemes.

All of this is like a carefully crafted drama.

The evil enemy is making its final struggle; it has reached its end.

The light of justice will shine through their final resistance.

can you?

Rand took a deep breath.

My mouth was filled with a disgusting, faint sulfurous taste.

"What does this king want to do?" Rand wanted to know exactly what they were going to destroy now.

“It’s obvious that he wants to use the lives of the people of the Wisteria Kingdom as sacrifices to pave the way for Grand Duke Vladimir’s arrival,” Ellie replied.

“Then let us destroy the altar, and destroy the evil spirits who are presiding over the ritual,” Rand declared, drawing his sword.

The sword reflected the blood, its gleam like Grand Prince Vladimir's greed for humanity and his hatred for Rand.

(End of this chapter)