Heir to the Kingdom of 1.4 billion people

Chapter 93: Victor's Death and Promotion (7.5k)

Under Nightshadow Castle.

"They're both magicians, but the difference is so huge!"

Xia Mingyu stood in the center of a group of shield-armored soldiers, feeling the pain of the strong wind hitting his face. Looking at the fragments of the city gate that were splashing countless smoke and dust, the corners of his mouth twitched involuntarily.

The most he could do now was to draw eight overlapping magic patterns at once after draining all his magic power. However, Iris raised her hand and drew dozens of them, making the magic perform with the power of real magic.

If it weren't for the fact that once the heterochromatic eye was promoted, it would bring judgment upon the church, Iris would have already become a Morning Star Magician.

Ten thousand times the magic power. Xia Mingyu now realized how terrifying this word was.

"Damn it!"

On the city wall, Victor watched the gate of his own castle being smashed, and he was so angry that his eyes were almost bloodshot. He even pinched the battlement of the city wall that he was holding onto, causing cracks to form.

With the castle behind him, he had more than enough strength to defend for a whole year, but Karen, who had no food supply, could only return in disgrace.

But now the enemy had just arrived at the city gate, and the city gate was actually broken!

And it was done by a little girl. Should I say she is indeed a person with heterochromia? She is indeed born with sin.

The city gate had been broken, and next he could only fight Karen head-on. But that was Karen. In the Battle of Dragon and Lion, Karen killed the most enemy knights among all the southern lords!

Even though he has now absorbed the power of pain in the entire territory and his strength has skyrocketed, he is not sure of victory.

calm down.

Victor took a deep breath and suppressed his anxiety and fear in his heart.

The battle with Karen is something he must face. If he succeeds, he will be promoted to Crescent Moon in one fell swoop, and then annex the Black Wolf Territory, allowing the power of pain to grow like a snowball.

If you fail, don't think about it.

Go and fight, Victor, this is your only chance to wash away all the shame of the past!

After a psychological battle, Victor's expression gradually became expressionless.

"Order all soldiers, including Knight Linton, to follow me out of the city and fight to the death!"

"Yes!"

Under the city wall.

"Elise, great job."

Looking at the empty and completely open castle gate, Karen praised Iris behind him.

The magician is truly a siege weapon!
As for Iris, at the age of sixteen, she could unleash a full-strength attack comparable to that of the Morning Star Magician. It is no exaggeration to say that she is a genius in the magic world.

"Iris, as your father, I am proud of you, but the adults' battle is coming up, and you should go back." Karen raised his hand to signal.

"Father, I can still help"

Before Iris could finish her words, she was forcibly taken back to His Highness's carriage by several shield-armored soldiers.

Then Karen stopped looking away, his eyes fixed on the open city gate in front of him.

Tapping.

Accompanied by dense footsteps, an army of more than a thousand people slowly walked out of the city gate, and leading them was Victor in armor and an extraordinary knight.

"Victor, you finally came out to die."

After seeing the newcomer, Karen showed a bloodthirsty smile on his face, and a dark green torrent of magic slowly burst out from him.

"You should be the one to die." Victor said with a ferocious look, and a gray-white torrent of magic power burst out from his body.

"I hope you can be as tough as this after I take your head off."

Karen jumped off the horse and stretched his muscles.

In battles between great knights, ordinary mounts are actually a burden.

As for the Black Abyss Wolf, he left it to protect His Highness. After all, facing the mere deserter Victor, he disdainfully used his Warcraft mount.

"Come on, let's fight, Karen, and see who is the ultimate winner!"

Victor shouted, and the next moment, with an explosion of magic power, he instantly disappeared from the spot and rushed towards Karen with a sword in hand like an arrow.

"Well done."

Karen also disappeared in an instant, turning into a shadow and rushing forward with absolute murderous intent.

Boom boom boom!
Accompanied by a piercing sonic boom, the two great knights transformed into two streams of light, one blue and one gray, and intertwined at a terrifying speed that ordinary people could not see at all.

Clang clang!
In just a few seconds, the sound of swords clashing resounded across the battlefield like rapid drumbeats.

It was clearly a battle between two people, but it was fought with the momentum of thousands of troops.

After the two lords fought, the army behind them began to charge after hearing the exciting trumpet sounds.

Tapping.

The war horses neighed and the cavalry rushed towards the enemy camp like an unstoppable torrent, with their lances raised horizontally, flashing cold light.

Next came the infantry phalanxes holding spears. They fought with the shield soldiers, with spears piercing out from the gaps and arrows shooting out like raindrops.

The moment the two armies clashed, the sounds of metal clashing, roars, and screams resounded throughout the land, deafening.

Corpses fell one after another, and broken limbs were everywhere.

"It's really scary!"

Surrounded by a group of shield-armored soldiers, Xia Mingyu looked around at the hellish scene with a frown on his face.

Real war is far more cruel than what is shown in TV dramas, and its cruelty is far beyond words.

He saw a young soldier shot in the eye by an arrow and fell down wailing. His companions tried to save him but were pierced by the rushing enemy.

He also saw an equally young enemy soldier trying to rush up to attack him, but in the next moment he was shot into a hedgehog by the archers' concentrated fire.

Although he deserved it, Xia Mingyu still couldn't bear to look at his miserable appearance.

For the first time, Xia Mingyu realized the true meaning of these two words.

It is extremely cruel and bloody.

No matter how beautiful the words are, it is still the same.

But if you want to change everything in the present, it is a necessary measure.

If there had not been this war, the people of Night Shadow Territory would have been hungry forever, and sooner or later the tragedy of cannibalism might have already occurred.

In the future, if he wants to realize his difficult and distant ideal, it may take hundreds or even thousands of wars, large and small, to achieve it.

"Ugh!"

Xia Mingyu sighed deeply, and then a white light flashed across his fingertips, and a series of complicated magic patterns were drawn in an instant.

"Sun, fire, impact, increase..."

boom!
A fireball with a diameter of more than half a meter suddenly blasted out, burning a cavalryman who wanted to launch a sneak attack into a fireman in an instant.

The air was filled with the disgusting smell of meat, and the cavalryman's wails were heartbreaking, but they soon stopped.

He also has to learn to get used to this cruelty.

Xia Mingyu looked calmly at the human-shaped charcoal on the ground and sighed in his heart.

Boom boom boom!
In the center of the battlefield, after thousands of sword exchanges, Karen and Victor finally temporarily separated from the fierce fight.

"How did you suddenly become so much stronger?"

Karen gasped, looking at Victor in front of him who was still bursting out a torrent of gray-white magic power with all his strength, with a hint of surprise on his face.

He could conclude that on the day of the ceremony three days ago, Victor was definitely not as strong as he is now.

"hehe!"

Victor was also breathing heavily, but looking at the surprise on Karen's face, he felt extremely comfortable all over.

Didn't you always call me a deserter before? How come you can't even beat a deserter now?
But despite this, Victor was still extremely wary of Karen.

After all, after absorbing the power of pain from the entire territory, his strength has reached the peak of the Morning Star Knight, and he is only one step away from the Crescent Moon Knight.

Karen actually reached this level just by practicing naturally.

This means that the outcome of the battle between the two of them is still unknown, but no matter who wins, there is a high probability that he will directly achieve great deeds and be promoted to Crescent Knight in one fell swoop!
Thinking of this, a hint of cruelty appeared on Victor's face, and new strength appeared in his already exhausted body.

"Karen, let's fight to the death!"

Victor roared and rushed towards Karen again with his knight sword raised.

This time, he will not be a deserter, but the final winner!
"Just to my liking."

Looking at the man who took the initiative to charge in front of him, although he still wanted to kill him as soon as possible, Karen also ignited a bit of fighting spirit.

Boom boom boom!
The two of them once again transformed into blue and gray streams of light that intertwined with each other.

not far away.

Under the protection of several shield-armored soldiers, Berg began to draw his bow and arrow.

"Hawkeye."

"Sensory enhancement."

"The death of all things."

The three mutually supporting abilities were superimposed on him, his eyes turned into a gorgeous ice blue, and the bloody battlefield in front of him turned into black and white.

The sound of the arrow breaking through the air, the sound of the wind, the blood drawn by the spear tip piercing the flesh, an unprecedented amount of information flooded into his mind.

Gradually, even though he still couldn't see Victor's movements clearly, he could still roughly sense where the opponent's dead point was.

He was confident that he could take advantage of the moment when the opponent was being held back by Karen to launch a sneak attack and shoot him in the critical spot.

However, after taking aim and pulling the bowstring to its full length, Berg still did not shoot the arrow.

No, no!
This damn beast killed my father and so many people. How could he be allowed to die so easily?

At least he should be cut into pieces first!
Berg gritted his teeth and finally changed the direction of the arrow.

A few hundred meters away, an extraordinary knight wearing heavy armor, with only his two eyes exposed, was slaughtering the soldiers of the Black Wolf Lord.

The soldiers' attacks couldn't even break through his defense.

Swish!
Berg shot an arrow, which passed like a meteor and accurately penetrated the gap in the helmet.

The extraordinary knight who had just slaughtered soldiers let out a wail roar, and his body covered in heavy armor fell to the ground with a bang.

Linton, dead?
Although Victor was fighting Karen with all his might, the knight's keen senses still made him notice this scene.

The loyal servant who had been with him for decades died. Even if Victor was heartless, he couldn't help but be stunned at this moment.

Karen did not give up this rare opportunity. While the swords were in a stalemate, he loosened the hilt of the sword with his armored right hand, then clenched his fist and smashed it hard into Victor's face with magic power.

boom!
This heavy punch deformed Victor's face and knocked him flying, causing him to roll several times on the ground.

"Asshole, you actually took advantage of someone's misfortune, are you still Karen?"

Victor, who was lying on the ground, raised his head, his face full of disbelief, and blood was oozing from his nostrils and mouth.

In his impression, Karen was still the cold-faced and silent killer who respected fighting the most and would never take advantage of others in a one-on-one duel.

"People change. Before I was a warrior, I was more of a father."

Karen glanced at the knight's sword that Victor had dropped on the ground, and he kicked it away to prevent it from being picked up again.

"Besides, giving your all out of fear of failure is the best respect for a fighter."

Karen raised the black sword and approached Victor step by step, his eyes full of murderous intent.

It's time to take the enemy's head and present it to His Highness to end this war.

"Haha. Don't think you're guaranteed to win. You forced me to do this!"

Victor stood up quickly, stared at Karen with great resentment, then quickly took out a bottle of potion and poured it into his mouth.

He is a believer in pain, and my God has bestowed upon him a gift—the more pain he endures, the stronger he becomes.

This is the pain potion he prepared. After taking it, one will immediately feel endless pain.

His original intention was to torture the prisoners to gain the power of pain, but now it seems that in order to survive, he has no choice but to take a gamble.

Swish!
Just as the potion was about to be poured into Victor's mouth, an iron arrow flew through the air, not only smashing the bottle of potion, but also piercing through Victor's right palm.

"Ahhh, my hand!"

Victor felt a sharp pain in the palm of his hand and wailed while covering his hand.

However, the funny thing is that he did feel his strength increased at this time.

But he had lost his sword and his dominant hand, so unless he broke through the Crescent Moon on the spot, he was almost doomed to fail.

"You asked my beloved daughter to be your concubine, and rejected His Highness's reasonable request. You insulted me and even insulted His Highness. From that moment on, your fate was doomed to death!"

Karen came to Victor with a sword and said coldly.

Clang!
He slashed with his sword, and an arm shot up into the sky.

"Ahhh!"

It hurts, it hurts!

Victor covered his empty right shoulder and watched the blood gushing out of the wound like a fountain, wailing in pain, his expression almost broken.

The good news is that his hand doesn’t hurt anymore, the bad news is that he has no hand anymore.

Clang!
The sword slashed across, and Karen cut off Victor's left leg with another blow. This time Victor completely lost his balance and collapsed to the ground, blood flowing in large pools, quickly staining the soil purple-red.

"Wait a moment, Your Excellency!"

Just as Karen was about to chop off Victor's head with one sword, Berg rushed over at the fastest speed in his life.

"Your Excellency, Lord Nightshadow and I have an irreconcilable feud. Please allow me to kill him!"

Berg requested, his body trembling slightly as he looked at the man wailing on the ground who had lost a hand and a leg.

It was not because of fear, but because of extreme anger that made his chest heave violently.

"I'm sorry, young man. Although I appreciate your arrow, Victor insulted my daughter. I must personally cut off his head to vent my hatred."

Karen shook her head and chose to refuse.

Just when the atmosphere between the two was at a stalemate, Xia Mingyu came over escorted by a team of shield-armored soldiers.

"Karen, announce the victory immediately. Every second the war continues, more people will die." Xia Mingyu ordered.

He didn't want to see anyone else die in this war.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Karen immediately unleashed his magic power, then shouted at the entire battlefield with all his might:
"Soldiers of Night Shadow Territory, your lord has been defeated by me. Lay down your weapons and surrender immediately, or I will kill you without mercy!"

Under the influence of magic, the sound instantly spread throughout the battlefield.

The soldiers who were close by lost their will to fight after seeing the miserable appearance of their lord who had lost a hand and a foot and was lying in a pool of blood. They dropped their weapons and squatted down with their heads in their hands.

When the soldiers in the distance saw their companions do this, they all chose to follow.

Gradually, this bloody war finally stopped.

"Victor Nightshadow, I have something to ask you."

Xia Mingyu looked at the man lying on the ground with cold eyes.

"If I answer, will you give me a quick answer?"

Victor glanced at the young man beside him who was trembling with anger. Although he didn't know why, he felt that if he fell into the other party's hands, he would not die comfortably.

"It depends on the situation." Xia Mingyu just gave an ambiguous answer.

"I've asked many people in your territory, and it's clear that you don't need to pay grain tax at all. The grain you collected has already filled up the castle and has not been sold to the outside world."

"Without a natural disaster, why did you force your subjects to the point of being emaciated? In the end, you even plundered all their food, hoping to force them to death."

"No matter how you analyze it, I really can't imagine what benefit this would bring to you as a lord."

Xia Mingyu leaned over and asked.

He spent the entire night in the Spark Hall thinking about it but couldn't figure out the reason. It couldn't be that this guy was actually an antisocial personality who just liked to torture the people.

"Haha. What do you ignorant people know?" A hint of madness flashed across Victor's face.

"They are already dead, I."

Just when he wanted to say the honorable name of our God, he was horrified to find that he could not make any sound.

"It seems that you have rejected my request again."

Looking at Victor lying on the ground with a terrified face and no response, Xia Mingyu frowned slightly and stood up again.

"Your Highness, can you give me Victor's life? I must kill him!" Berg immediately asked Xia Mingyu.

He knew His Highness's choice, and Karen would definitely listen, and had to listen.

"Your Highness, Victor insulted my daughter. I have already sworn to cut off his head with my own hands and hang it on the city wall. Please spare his life."

Seeing this, Karen made a request without giving in. He glared at Berg, and the eye contact between the two almost caused sparks to fly.

This gave Xia Mingyu a headache. It seemed that no matter who he chose, the other party would feel that he did not value them.

If I had known this earlier, I would have waited a while until they had made their own decision before coming over.

Alas, it's all because Victor is so popular.
"Your Highness, Victor and I have a vengeance for the murder of my father, the murder of my companions, and the destruction of our hometown. Please allow me to have my revenge!"

Berg knelt on one knee, begging.

These words left Karen speechless for a moment.

After all, the hatred between them is indeed much deeper than his.

"Your Highness, I have a hunch that if I can personally cut off Victor's head and hang it on the city wall, I can be promoted to a Crescent Knight in one fell swoop."

"My promotion is not important, but being able to better serve Your Highness is what is most important!"

Karen thought about it and told it frankly.

A person of such noble status as His Highness will sooner or later be watched by many people with ulterior motives. He must become stronger as soon as possible to protect His Highness's safety.

"Your Highness, Victor's life should be given to Lord Karen." After hearing him say this, although Berg was very unwilling in his heart, he still stood up quickly and said.

No matter what, as His Highness's hound, he must put His Highness's interests first and not act solely on emotion.

After thinking for a moment, Xia Mingyu made his choice.

"I'm sorry to have wronged you, Berg." He walked up to Berg and patted his shoulder.

The young man lowered his head, his expression darkening.

"I'll give you ten minutes. Can you give Victor a small punishment without killing him?"

Xia Mingyu said calmly.

He had heard about Berg's hard work in torture techniques at Black Wolf Castle, and after arriving in Night Shadow Territory and witnessing tragedies like the one involving the crazy peasant woman, he really didn't want Victor to die too easily.

The young man suddenly raised his head and looked at Xia Mingyu in disbelief.

"As you command, I'd love to hear it."

Berg bowed his head deeply, then turned and looked at Victor, who was lying on the ground with a terrified look on his face.

The corners of the boy's mouth twitched uncontrollably, revealing a ferocious sneer, with veins bulging on his forehead.

Berg quickly retrieved a large bag from the bag on the brown horse he had ridden earlier, then reached down to untie the rope.

Hua Hua Hua.

Thumb clamps, pliers, and other torture tools were scattered all over the floor.

These tools that Victor was familiar with and used to torture others now seemed extremely terrifying in his eyes.

"Ahhh!" He crawled away in panic, but Berg dragged him back with his only remaining broken leg.

"Don't panic, we have ten minutes." Berg's tone was gentle.

"My nails, my nails!"

"One thousand minus seven, what is that?"

For the next ten minutes, Victor's miserable screams never stopped.

At first, Xia Mingyu felt it was too harsh so he covered his ears.

But thinking of the bloody marks on the soles of the crazy peasant woman's feet, and her husband who was young but looked as haggard as an old man, he silently loosened his hand.

"Ahhhhh, kill me, kill me!"

The screams of cockroaches, after listening to them for a long time, are actually quite pleasant to the ear.

Xia Mingyu thought secretly in his heart.

In the end, Victor, who was dying and had no intact organs left in his body, was beheaded by Karen with a sword and his head was presented to Xia Mingyu.

"My lord, I have beheaded this villain who refused your legitimate request and even dared to harm you."

Karen knelt on one knee, holding Victor's head with his eyes open in both hands, and said respectfully.

At the same time, a huge dark green magical power rose from his body into the sky.

Above his head, the previously hidden Great Knight's professional protection emerged.

Then, the dark purple knight disappeared, and was replaced by a new line of text - dark blue "Wolf Knight".

After achieving the feat of leading an army to cut off the enemy lord's head, Karen, who had been stagnant at the Morning Star rank for a full ten years, was finally promoted to Crescent Moon Knight.

At the same time, the Black Abyss Wolf, who was lying behind Xia Mingyu not far away and keeping an eye on his safety, suddenly changed its size.

Its already huge body began to tremble violently, its muscles swelled like air, and its bones made a teeth-grinding crackling sound.

The dark hair stood up like steel needles.

By the time the transformation was complete, the Black Abyss Wolf's height at the shoulders had grown from over two meters to three meters.

Those cold wolf eyes are even more terrifying.

Above its head, a line of dark blue text gradually emerged - "Black Tail".

When a knight is promoted, there is a small chance that his mount will also be promoted. This phenomenon is called "human-beast resonance" by scholars on the Western Continent.

Of course, the knights do not agree with this term. They usually call it bond resonance or soul resonance.

This is also one of the reasons why the knight profession has gradually replaced the previous fighter profession and become the mainstream in today's era.

After all, when one fights alone and the other fights two against one, the gap gradually widens, not to mention that the subsequent promotion of the fighter is more difficult.

After becoming the title beast, the Black Abyss Wolf did not show its due ferocity, but instead trotted to Xia Mingyu.

Then, imitating Karen who was kneeling on one knee beside him, it knelt on all fours on the ground, wagging its tail and sticking out its pink tongue towards Xia Mingyu affectionately.

Xia Mingyu looked at the man and wolf in front of him with satisfaction, feeling as if the SSR he had trained with great effort had finally been promoted.

It's just that the head is indeed a bit disgusting. If he hadn't been mindful of his manners, he would have vomited it out by now.

"Congratulations, Karen and Kuroo, for your successful promotion to Crescent Moon," he congratulated.

"Your Highness, my promotion is not worth celebrating. My lifelong joy is due to my ability to serve you and better repay your kindness to me."

Karen said solemnly, his tough face full of respect and loyalty.

"Your Highness, I'm going to hang Victor's head on the wall of Nightshadow Castle. Is that okay with you?"

"Hang it on the wall of Nightwind Town, so that the people who have suffered so much from him can vent their anger."

After thinking for a moment, Xia Mingyu gave an answer.

"Yes, Your Highness."

After that, it is time to deal with the aftermath. The surrendered soldiers will be thrown into the dungeon of Nightshadow Castle, and their disposal will be decided after their crimes are investigated.

Professional soldiers who are just following orders can be given a break.

Those who are responsible for collecting grain should just be killed.

However, there was a small incident in the middle.

In the castle dungeon.

".I kind of regret letting him die so easily."

Xia Mingyu muttered to himself as he looked at the dungeon which was already overcrowded and full of civilians tortured with various instruments and dying.

"Let them all go."

After that, we arrived at the place we were most looking forward to – the castle granary.

Click.

When the servants of Nightshadow Castle pushed open the heavy oak door, a dry smell mixed with the fragrance of grain hit them in the face.

The space inside the granary is extremely large, and the ceiling is ten meters high from the ground.

Bright sunlight slanted in from the narrow window high up, casting mottled shadows on the piles of sacks.

There are hundreds of sacks as tall as a person neatly stacked here, filled with golden wheat, rye, barley, and other crops. There are even many pottery jars filled with salt or spices in the corners.

Xia Mingyu grabbed a handful of wheat from the sack, feeling the refreshing sensation of the grains slipping through his fingers. He breathed a sigh of relief as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

It’s great that there is so much food, which is enough to feed the starving people in Yeying County.

"Sir, there are four granaries like this in the castle."

At this moment, the former steward of Night Shadow Castle reported.

Xia Mingyu: “.”

Damn Victor!
"Karen, order the soldiers to distribute all the food in this warehouse to the people of Yeying Territory. No corruption is allowed." Xia Mingyu ordered.

"Yes, as you command." Karen bowed slightly and said respectfully.

"However, Your Highness, I have a small suggestion." He raised his head and said cautiously.

"speak."

"Your Highness, reputation is a great help in the advancement of the Guardians, both in terms of status and profession. And a benevolent act like yours, distributing food to all the people in the territory, will surely bring you a huge amount of reputation."

"If I don't explain, all this reputation will belong to me alone. However, I have been promoted to Crescent Moon Knight, and I am still a long way from reaching the Crescent Moon. Therefore, I hope that Your Highness can bear this reputation."

"I understand the need for you to conceal your identity, Your Highness. However, if you do not disclose your identity as the heir to the Kingdom of 1.4 billion citizens, but instead use another identity, this way you can conceal your identity while also gaining the reputation that Your Highness deserves. Wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?"

Karen slowly explained his thoughts. He believed that this would be more beneficial to His Highness, and he really didn't want His Highness's achievements to be hidden and attributed to him instead.

"can."

After a long time, the voice of His Highness's promise was heard from the granary.

(End of this chapter)