Daily News: Insect Girls' Heavy Dependence

Rhine nodded, her icy breath condensing into white mist in the snowstorm. Her fingers tightened around her sword, her knuckles turning slightly white, as she decided to tell this member of the royal family the reason.

Richard leaned silently against the mottled battlements of the tower, his fingertips unconsciously tracing the rough stone surface, becoming a quiet listener.

The cold wind, carrying snowflakes, whipped his black hair across his forehead, and her clear, crisp voice rang out:

"Boundless loyalty, faith, sacrifice, perseverance, and madness towards the goddess... these are the principles that nobles and knights have upheld with their lives for five hundred years."

"Now, the title of knight has become an empty honor, and nobles have turned into ravenous leeches that devour the marrow of the common people!"

Her words were spoken slowly and deliberately, each syllable seemingly bursting out from between her teeth.

"They are descendants of nobles, yet they have betrayed the oaths of their ancestors and tarnished the glory of chivalry. They are the poison sown by evil, and are not worthy to remain in this world."

"My Lancelot family was granted a position in the Noble Oversight Council a century ago, though it has fallen into obscurity for various reasons... Today, I will reclaim this glory and use my sword to judge those who have betrayed their honor!"

Richard was speechless for a moment after hearing this.

It wasn't shocking.

I just find it absurd.

Where is there any logic in sentencing someone to death for desecrating remains or keeping slaves?

Father John himself said that no one has the right to arbitrarily take another's life. Isn't Rhine's behavior a resounding slap in the face to the priest?

Moreover, the reasons for this killing were not pure at all.

This Storm Knight Rhine was clearly venting all the rage he felt for the young boy Nalanslot on Leonardo.

The root of the corruption and morbidity of the noble class in the Kingdom of Kiel lies not in these纨绔子弟 (sons of wealthy and powerful families who have squandered their wealth), but in those who hold power and occupy the top positions, the true rentiers.

Richard suppressed these thoughts, keeping them to himself. He knew perfectly well that the Storm Rider before him was in the throes of extreme rage. To question him now would be tantamount to playing with fire.

The wind and snow intensified, whipping against their robes and making a rustling sound. Richard's gaze fell on Rhine's face.

Her eyes burned with an almost fanatical hatred for evil, a resolute determination to annihilate all the nobles and knights who defied the code of chivalry before she could quell the fire in her heart.

Richard's expression was indifferent as he looked past the battlements and down below.

From this vantage point, the castle courtyard and parts of its corridors are clearly visible. Groups of young noblemen and women can be seen in the flickering lamplight.

Completely oblivious to the bloodshed atop the tower, they laughed and played, their figures swaying in the wind, snow, and shimmering light, like puppets in a shadow play whose fates were unknown.

Rhein Lancelot took a deep breath, his chest heaving, slightly suppressing the anger in his heart:

"Do you know why the Lancelot family and other noble families built these fortresses?"

Richard spoke calmly, his voice steady in the wind:

"Five hundred years ago, before the Great Wall was built, the pressure of the insect swarm was distributed by the existing fortresses. After the Great Wall was built, the newly constructed fortresses were also to prevent the insect swarm from damaging the Great Wall... They also served as strongholds for humans exploring the North. They even have commemorative significance..."

It was discovered that this member of the royal family also knew about this long-forgotten history.

The coldness in Rhine's tone lessened somewhat:

"That's right, Night Tide Fortress should be a place of merit, a place of glory, not buried deep in the mountains. Even if it was abandoned because of the invasion of insect beasts, it should not be toyed with by a group of people who have lost their noble faith."

Before she could finish speaking, she handed Richard a kill list.

But Richard simply took it without opening it to look at it.

Rhine's gaze sharpened. She straightened her hair and stared intently at Richard.

It was as if he was trying to convince the royal family members in front of him that his motives were not merely to avenge the young man from the Lancelot family.

Richard looked down and saw a group of noble youths smashing through the pile of bones, dragging out dusty skeletons, and throwing skulls into the air, where another youth would shoot them apart from mid-air.

After the sharp sound of the crossbow bolt leaving the bowstring, shattered bone fragments flew everywhere.

The crowd applauded and cheered.

Some of the young men scoffed, waving their arms and saying, "Skulls are such big targets, it's nothing. If you're so capable, try shooting the medals off their bodies."

One by one, the rusty medals were tossed into the air for a young nobleman with a crossbow to shoot at. He squinted one eye and pulled the trigger repeatedly, but as expected, he missed every single one. The bolts grazed the edges of the medals, which then fell into the snowdrifts.

Others took out rusty longswords and armor from the armory and pretended to charge into battle, swinging them haphazardly. Unfortunately, three years of decay and lack of maintenance had rendered the swords that had fought against the Silverwing Hunter Insects in the past extremely vulnerable. They shattered easily in a single clash, the broken blades embedded in the snow.

Someone even dragged out a huge insect skeleton from somewhere. It was a claw resembling a bone scythe. This was clearly a loss suffered by the Silverwing Hunting Insects in this battle!

However, a young nobleman held that rotten bone sickle high above his head.

They shouted at the top of their lungs: "Eat all humans! Glory belongs to the Zerg!"

He wiggled his body comically, eliciting a burst of laughter.

"They... they deserve to die..." Richard sighed, his voice so low it was almost carried away by the wind.

"So, you're going to stop me?" Rhine looked at Richard, her hand on the hilt of her sword.

"Of course not. If I weren't afraid of causing trouble for Yekaterin, I would have wiped out this bunch of shameless scum."

Richard shrugged. He wasn't barefoot. He still had to consider the 10 people in Stormwind; many things couldn't be done impulsively.

Rhine sensed Richard's concerns and took a step forward:

"Then why don't you take action? I can sense that you hate them. But why don't you act? You're not the kind of person who hesitates..."

Richard calmly watched Yekaterin and Kassan Isa standing in the corner downstairs. They could only awkwardly clap their hands in the shadows, barely managing to maintain a polite smile.

Being in this circle means you're often not in control of your own life.

His voice was cold and flat:

"However, not everyone is beyond redemption. And to be honest, there might be people I care about on your kill list. I won't just stand by and watch you do it."

Rhein shook his head in rejection, his tone resolute:

"No, they must die. In the name of the Lancelot family, I have judged their crimes, and no one can escape the judgment of honor."

Richard rolled his eyes at the stubborn and ridiculously immature Storm Rider.

She seemed to genuinely believe that killing these noble descendants... would solve the problem.

"Nothing to discuss? I'm only taking one person with me!" Richard sighed and straightened up.

He only cared about Yekalin's safety; he didn't care about anyone else.