I am a wicked dragon, and you want me to fall into goodness?

Chapter 123 Targeting by Earl Cons (3k)

Karen withdrew her longsword, and drops of blood from the blade fell into the puddle, creating tiny ripples.

He glanced down at his uncle's corpse, his eyes devoid of emotion, only cold indifference remained.

Just then, hurried footsteps broke the silence of the rainy night, and Vincent walked in, soaking wet and looking anxious and flustered.

He didn't even care about the water puddles under the corridor, and stumbled forward, kneeling down on one knee with a "plop".

"Your Highness Karen! The frontier outpost west of Starfall City has been attacked, suffering heavy casualties!"

"According to the survivors' reports, the attackers' armor was uniform in style, and they were extremely powerful, possibly belonging to the Crimson Empire's knightly order!"

Upon hearing this, the knights in the corridor all tensed up, revealing fear. Even Oliver frowned, his face showing unease.

The atmosphere in the corridor instantly became uneasy, but Karen remained eerily calm.

He slowly raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the knights who were filled with fear: "What's the panic?"

He slowly walked down the steps: "If the Crimson Empire were to turn against Starshine, it would never send just one knightly order to raid the frontier outpost."

Karen stood in the rain, looking up at the dark distance beyond Starfall City: "In the eyes of the Crimson Empire, we are nothing but ants living under the wings of the Dragon King's court."

"If they really wanted to make a move, why would they hide and launch a sneak attack?"

"The matter of the Holy Radiance Mission has just ended, and His Majesty Kavismas's dragon might still lingers. Even if the Crimson Empire wants to destroy us, it would never be foolish enough to break ties with the dragon at this time."

He paused, his tone growing increasingly cold: "If things really come to a head, the Crimson Empire's iron cavalry can flatten Starfall City in just one day."

"The entire Starshine Kingdom will be destroyed in an instant under their will. Not to mention the outposts outside the city, even this main land where we are standing will not be spared."

These words were like a bucket of cold water poured over them, and the restless knights gradually calmed down.

Uh, it seems like that?

Is that correct?

That seems to be correct, right?

Oliver frowned, but he had to agree with Karen's assessment.

Starshine is too weak; if the Crimson Empire really wanted to take action, it wouldn't need to go through such a roundabout way.

Karen's analysis is correct.

The force that attacked the newly built village outside Starfall City was not the direct legion of the Crimson Empire, but the Blood Bat Knights, who were loyal to Earl Cons.

Vincent remained kneeling, but he eventually realized the crux of the matter: "But—but that bloody killing technique couldn't possibly be wrong—"

Knights of the Crimson Empire can restore their strength and heal their wounds through the blood of their fallen enemies, making their methods often extremely cruel.

They would typically choose to pierce the enemy or cut them in half, allowing as much blood as possible to flow out of their bodies and suck the enemy dry.

Karen turned to Oliver and gave a swift and decisive order: "Oliver, lead two squads of Red Fang Knights to reinforce the city's outskirts, treat the survivors, gather the wounded and injured, and establish tight defenses at the outposts to prevent a second attack."

"Vincent, you will lead the team to investigate the scene again and make sure to find out all traces left by the attackers."

"Report immediately any abnormalities, such as the patterns on the weapons or the characteristics of the wounds."

"Once I have secured my position in the Red Fruit Court, I will personally settle this score with whoever it is."

"Yes, Your Highness Karen!" The two answered in unison and turned to summon the knights.

The sounds of horses' hooves and clashing armor echoed through the rainy night as they galloped out of the city.

Karen stood in the rain, watching the direction the knights had gone, then turned and went back into the rain.

Duke Moses was just one of his targets.

If Karen wants to completely seize power over the Levi people, she has a few more targets she must eliminate tonight.

When the sky brightened, the night rain completely stopped.

As dawn broke through the thin mist, it shone on the bluestone slabs of the Red Fruit Courtyard. The bloodstains of last night had been washed away by the rain, leaving only a faint fishy smell in the air.

Inside the Hongguoting government office, the atmosphere was so solemn it was almost stagnant.

The surviving Levi nobles sat in order, their former arrogance and swagger completely gone, their faces pale, their eyes filled with lingering fear.

They looked at each other, but no one dared to speak.

News of the purge of Duke Moses and a large number of nobles last night had already spread.

Karen Thunder's methods of purging her old guard were chilling.

Those collateral nobles who had wavered or even secretly supported and obstructed the land reclamation order are now even more silent, fearing that they will become the next targets of retribution.

The hall was completely silent.

Looking at the decisive and ruthless ruler in the main seat, they clearly knew that the young man from the Pendragon family had changed, and no one had the confidence to stand up against Karen anymore.

Some were terrified, some hung their heads, and some had their eyes fixed on the ground, not even having the courage to look Karen in the eye.

Others adopt a submissive attitude, hoping only to ensure their own safety.

The obsession with upholding class privileges that they once held was utterly shattered in the face of absolute power.

The nobles had different expressions, but they all shared the same cowardice. Faced with Karen's ruthless methods, they could only give in completely.

This parliament, which was conducted without the smoke of gunpowder, remained completely undisturbed from beginning to end.

Karen needs no further explanation; last night's bloodshed is the most powerful declaration.

The surviving nobles tacitly chose to submit, nodding weakly and agreeing to all the decrees they had previously dismissed as absurd, without uttering a single objection.

With this, the Levi tribe was completely unified.

Karen cleared away obstacles with ruthless methods, firmly seizing all power over the Levi tribe and gaining the absolute support of all Levi people.

The Long-Eared Tribe lacks a unified leadership core and is currently fragmented. They have no strength to contend with the Levi people, and they dare not make any moves in the face of Karen's consolidated forces.

As dawn broke, various policies, such as the land reclamation order, grain storage regulations, and tax reduction based on population, were gradually finalized without any objections.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye, and the rain in Xingluo City had long since stopped.

Karen sat at the head of the table, her fingertips lightly tapping the edge of the sandalwood table. Footsteps sounded outside the door; Oliver, clearly having just returned from the base, strode into the hall. "Your Highness, the investigation has reached a conclusion."

Oliver looked relieved and reported the information he had received to Karen.

"The one that attacked the frontier outpost was not a legion directly under the Crimson Empire, but the Blood Bat Knights under Count Conse, whose formation was exactly the same as the Count's private army."

Karen lowered her eyes, her heart finally settling down.

He knew all too well the terror of the Blood Empire's directly controlled knightly orders.

The knights of the Crimson Empire's directly administered knightly orders are at least mid-level professionals. Their formations are well-organized and complete, making them so powerful that they are almost impossible to shake the current Red Fang, Silver Leaf, and Moonbow knightly orders, which are mostly composed of low-level professionals. Even if they were all together, they wouldn't be able to crush the Crimson Empire in half a day.

Fortunately, it was just a count's private army.

Karen's tapping abruptly stopped: "Now that it's confirmed to be Earl Cons's private army, what is the Blood Bat Knights' exact strength—"

'

"Oliver, have you found out?"

He was certain that the private army under the command of a mere earl, no matter how strong, was limited and could never compare to the regular army of the Crimson Empire.

This is also the source of his confidence in sitting firmly in the hall at this moment.

Oliver straightened his back: "Your Highness Karen, rest assured, I have already sent out scouts to investigate repeatedly and have roughly figured out their strength."

Captain Oliver abruptly changed the subject, a hint of anger appearing on his red-scaled face.

"This Bloodbat Knights are extremely arrogant. They are currently resting at the edge of the forest east of Starfall City, and have no intention of hiding their tracks at all."

"It is precisely because they are so unscrupulous that we were able to easily find out some of the situation."

Karen felt that it was because Count Constance had never taken Starshine's power seriously that the Knights of the Mordor dared to be so arrogant.

Yes!

Both the Silver Leaf Knights and the Moonbow Knights have incomplete organizational structures.

In particular, the Silver Leaf Knights, after some of their knights bathed in the blood of the Red Dragon Beast, split off a large portion and reorganized into the Red Fang Knights.

Even after six months of selection, the Silverleaf Knights' official knights and squires still number less than a thousand.

It was understandable that Count Cons was a little arrogant towards this group of disheveled fleeing people.

"Explain in detail," he said, uttering only two words, concise and to the point.

Oliver immediately responded and reported clearly, "The Bloodbat Knights have about 500 members, most of whom should be low-level professionals."

Cedric seemed to recall something, and his tone became more serious: "But one thing must be mentioned: their equipment far surpasses ours."

"Almost all of them are standard-issue, finely forged iron armor, complete with breastplates, shoulder armor, and greaves. Even the saddles and horse armor are made to the same specifications, and they look very practical."

"In contrast, our knights, the Silver Leaf Knights, are already incomplete in their organization."

"After the Red Fang Knights were broken up, they were even more strapped for cash, with all sorts of weapons at their disposal, including longswords of varying widths, and some even using hunting bows as makeshift weapons."

Karen slowly closed her eyes after hearing this, her fingertips lightly touching her brow, her mind racing with images of the Levi tribe's newly stabilized morale and scattered military equipment.

In order to expand its ranks, the Silver Leaf Knights did indeed have instances of incompetent members filling the ranks.

However, there are advantages to this practice of filling in the ranks with inferior personnel: the number of knights has increased, though it is less than a thousand, it is now nearly nine hundred.

If they hadn't encountered a tough opponent, the Silver Leaf Knights could have easily taken down the enemy, relying on their superior numbers.

"Since they are not directly under the Crimson Empire's command, there's no point in retreating. In this battle, I'll test the true strength of this Blood Knights."

Oliver's expression changed drastically, and he immediately stepped forward, urgently urging, "Your Highness Karen! We absolutely cannot rashly confront that knightly order!"

"We have just integrated our internal forces, and the three knight orders have uneven combat strengths and are far inferior in equipment. Red Fang is brave but has a limited number of men, Silver Leaf is incomplete in its organization, and Moon Bow is good at long-range attacks but not at direct confrontation."

"If we fail again, the entire Starshine Kingdom will be filled with fear. Starshine is already weak, and this will be a fatal blow. Although this knight order is not a direct knight order of the Crimson Empire, it is still a tough opponent."

If it succeeds, that's fine; if it fails, it will be a war that shakes the stability of the entire Starshine Kingdom.

Karen disagreed with Commander Oliver's point of view and still intended to take the gamble: "Commander Oliver, I need a victory."

Suppressing internal voices with force will inevitably lead to a backlash.

Karen needs absolute prestige.

He needs a victory to suppress internal voices, then this war is inevitable.

"This victory is the foundation for stabilizing people's hearts and minds, and it gives everyone the confidence to believe that they can survive and stand firm by following me."

He withdrew his gaze, looked directly at Oliver, his eyes filled with a do-or-die spirit: "This battle isn't about whether we want to win or not, it's about whether we can win, it's about winning. We must win."

Oliver was jolted, his expression shifting several times. His previous anxiety and worries slowly faded, leaving only the iron will of a knight in his heart.

He slammed his right fist heavily onto his left breastplate: "Yes, Your Highness Karen!"