Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 284 Roar of Desperation
As night fell, the square was filled with torches and lights.

The kingdom's knights stood in formation, with the kingdom's guards and the waiting populace behind them.

Everyone could see that disaster was about to strike.

This time, no one doubted the royal family's decision, nor did anyone doubt that the underworld posed a crisis capable of destroying everything.

The little city of Radiant City is truly blessed; it has easily assembled the triangular set of world-destroying elements: demons, devils, and cultists.

"Snapped."

Footsteps came from inside the building.

The princess, wearing a silver crown and draped in light golden armor resembling a priestess's robe, slowly approached, holding a silver scepter.

Behind her stood the local nobles, archbishops, and high mages, and her attitude of trailing behind by only a step and a half subtly conveyed respect and obedience—a rarity in this already weakened kingdom.

Standing on the high platform, Dania slowly scanned the area.

The most recent group consisted of members of the city's aristocratic circle, many of whom were familiar faces.

Many of them were his political enemies and opponents.

But they also wanted to live; some of their families had been kidnapped, so they came.

Dania's gaze made many people uncomfortable, but the "elite" and "guards" behind them were perhaps the area with the highest density of professional players in Radiant City.

She then looked further into the distance, where the ranks of knights stood.

Noble knights, commoner knights appointed by the royal family (Rean should be included in this category), patron knights of the church, and paladins. In this era, they are perhaps the most trustworthy warriors, the last bloodline of the kingdom.

Behind them are the city guards and elite security officers who were urgently dispatched. Their average strength is not strong, with most of them below the second tier, and those with bloodlines have basically reached their limit after one or two evolutions. However, they are the true main force of this city and this country.

With their massive numbers and the responsibility of maintaining order and safeguarding the peace, they are always the frontline enforcers.

They may not be reliable or even trustworthy, but for a kingdom already teetering on the brink of collapse, they are the most indispensable cornerstone, the walls that protect it from risks and evil.

Dania's gaze fell to the flanks, where the most expensive and freest formations were located; they were perhaps the strongest organization in Radiant City.

Expensive and luxurious archmage robes have become standard here. This time, there are an unusually large number of archmages who used to be unruly and disobedient. They brought their best equipment and a large number of apprentices. On the one hand, they also sensed the crisis, and on the other hand, it may be due to "Julian's" great achievements.

Clearly, it had become not only a disgrace to the kingdom's mages, but also a target they had to eliminate.

This "live broadcast" directly thwarted his attempt to create a rift between the mages and the kingdom, and further solidified the mages' resolve to eliminate this stain. Even if he escapes back to Purgatory, the mages will likely find him and grant him true eternal slumber.

Dania looked further into the distance, where the people were, their faces showing either fear or determination. They had sensed the crisis and were trying to survive in their own way.

Scattered mercenaries and warriors from other races mingled among them; their numbers were enormous, many being hunters from distant lands. But at this moment, they too were fighting for survival and a future.
"I am Dania, daughter of the Queen of the Kingdom of Aetherin."

For most people, Dania was just a name they had only heard of, but at this moment, the "Mirror Demon," broadcast in various areas, spread the princess's true appearance and words to the entire city.

"Our kingdom is in crisis. In fact, our kingdom has always been in crisis. We have long been informed that if we cannot conquer the underground ruins within two years, the powerful evil god worshipped by those cultists will emerge from them and completely destroy our country and even our race."

Her calm words echoed throughout the city, drawing countless gazes to her.

Her words, her determination, her helpless yet persistent will, began to be conveyed.

"Our warriors are on the front lines. If they fail, if they don't receive reinforcements, the underground ruins will be overrun by demons, and we can only wait for the final battle two years from now. To survive, we may have no choice but to abandon this last home."

[The Deceiver's Intuition (Unknown Level): Your words are more believable; you are more likely to see through lies and deception; you are more likely to see the truth beneath lies and illusions.]

Unbeknownst to her, the snake-scale ring, which faintly emitted a black light, resonated and echoed throughout the city with her words and will.

From that moment on, the "crisis" was acknowledged, and so was her will. "We just want to survive."

The will to survive is the most relatable emotional point; those simple and direct words contain so much history and helplessness.

"We were once glorious, we once stood at the top of the world, we once lived well, every family once had white bread, milk and wine."

The glorious past is unforgettable. No matter how much of a scoundrel Griffin was back then, in the collective will of this kingdom, it was indeed the most glorious and beautiful golden future.

"We have lost everything. We have been forced into a corner of the world. We have lost more than 90% of our territory. We...we just want to survive."

The deliberately suppressed words contained an overwhelming sorrow, but even more so, anger!
That nameless rage from an unwarranted disaster, that anger that persists even when cornered.

"Fight."

A faint silver flame gathered in Dania's eyes, and the high-purity divine power made it float slowly.

"It's not for the kingdom, nor for the royal family, nor for the so-called nobility."

The girl's words were already quite rebellious; even for a princess, such contempt for "class" was touching.

"Fight for yourselves, fight for survival, fight for honor, fight for wealth. I, Dania D. Elysée, promise that your efforts will not be in vain."

"Money, assets, and even noble titles—I will give them to you as long as you have the ability to acquire them and become victors on the battlefield."

At that moment, all eyes were on the girl floating in the air.

As a member of the royal family and as a rentier at the highest level, she was quite special.

She silently waved her hand, and the phantom of a god gathered behind her.

As a chosen one of the gods and an agent of the will of higher dimensions, she became the gathering place of storms and the channel through which divine power was conveyed.

"lets go."

One by one, the little mirror spirits happily jumped out, and they obtained the "water from the water bottle" held in their hands on the tall phantom behind Dania.

The crystallized divine power disintegrated in the air, each crystal landing on the little mirror spirit. At this moment, the spirit's kin achieved a collective leap in evolution.

And the targets they linked to also received this rare blessing.

"Clap."

The mirror on the little mirror demon shattered, but then its entire size suddenly expanded.

Expensive and rare divine creatures are produced in large numbers here, and the sense of spatial separation is shattered at this point in time.

One by one, the giant mirror demons appeared on the plaza, while on their other side, the battlefield had been transformed into a purgatory.

Dania landed slowly, and she did not speak again, because there was no need.

Dressed in light armor and carrying a scepter, she was the first to step into the battlefield.

As soon as she arrived at the battlefield, she saw Rean pointing his finger to the sky, and Julian, the infernal demon with a face full of astonishment and disbelief.

"The time for reckoning has come. Die, enemies of the kingdom."

The divine lightning struck, illuminating the entire underground world.

Perhaps Julian can consider true eternal sleep.

(End of this chapter)