Academic gathering with Lich colleagues

“Devenly Laila, how dare you! You actually dare to harbor the Legion of the Holy Light in the Kingdom of Knights!” Lina Deria no longer had the leisure to change into her formal attire. Her black arm armor gripped the messenger's throat with one hand, like a twitching lobster. Her killing intent was undisguised, directed at the man with the disgusting smile. “You have betrayed Deria's goodwill, Devenly Laila. Before my knights expel you, you lackeys of the Holy Light, get out of my country!”

Devonleyra pulled at the iron hand that controlled her breathing, and finally, she had the chance to breathe and speak.

However, it wasn't the fear or curses Lina had expected.

The envoy from Devonleyra wore his usual smile. "First, appease the resentment of your people, my queen."

"The soul of the founder of Dreya is weeping."

Lina's eyes widened, and her originally firm voice began to tremble, as if her lifeline had been seized.

"The remains of the late King Ryder Ryder are no longer in his tomb."

"The spiritual pillar of the Dreya Knights, the King of Knights, couldn't even protect the remains of the pillar of the nation. Your Majesty, what is your crime?"

"Bastards, you did it! How dare you...!"

The messenger shook his head. “No, I didn’t do that. On the contrary,” the messenger’s smile widened, “we also found the true enemy who blasphemed the former king, and borrowed the power of the Holy Light.”

"what?"

The emissary of Devonleya walked to the window of the tower, looked at the beautiful scenery outside, and extended his hand to invite Her Majesty the Queen.

"Come and see, Your Majesty, your country is undergoing a 'just' trial."

Shadows gathered in the basement of the Church of Holy Light as several Judgement Knights escorted the Lyrebird, whose leg bones had been broken, before the Legion Commander.

"Commander of the Algernon Legion, we have brought enemies of the Holy Light."

Algernon let out a wild laugh, looking at the lyrebird's bloodshot eyes, its lower lip, bitten raw in pain and still bleeding, and its murderous gaze.

"Welcome to our guest. You have given us an opportunity, a chance for Deria and Lewesser to fight like dogs. The judge will appreciate your next move."

The lyrebird knelt on the ground, spitting a mouthful of blood mixed with saliva at Algernon's feet. "You won't hear a single word you want from my mouth, you filthy holy light."

The commander of the Judgment Legion raised his hand, his smile tracing a dangerous arc. In his palm, the dazzling light transformed into a shadowless void.

"You will. No one can refuse the Holy Light."

Screams echoed incessantly from the dark basement.

The people of Derya watched as these knights, their armor gleaming with dazzling light, dragged the inhuman body onto the makeshift execution ground.

Algernon looked at the pairs of indifferent gazes and gave a mocking smile.

"I know you hate our existence, people of Deria. But we paladins are not your enemies! On the contrary, we have brought your true enemy, the Holy Light, with you!"

Looking at the so-called enemy, who was covered in black blood, Delia felt disgusted with the paladin. Delia enjoyed fighting, but she would not mistreat prisoners; that was a despicable act.

"Hmph! Foolish! If this Ranger Lewesser were to desecrate the remains of your late king, would you still show him your pathetic sympathy?"

"What?!" A murmur of doubt arose in the crowd, and among the bewildered people, one by one, they seemed to remember something.

"That's right! The remains of your founder, Reid Deria, have long been desecrated by these jungle bandits. They stole him and left his body to be devoured by those filthy beasts! And your queen! She did nothing! Not only that, she even concealed it all to maintain her increasingly terrible rule!!!"

Surprise and bewilderment spread through the crowd, but the people of Dreyar, suppressing their anger, had not yet abandoned their reason.

"No, this is merely wishful thinking on the part of the Holy Light! Fellow countrymen! How can we allow the Holy Light to spout such nonsense on our own territory! Queen Lina is of the bloodline of the founder! Are you willing to believe the false Holy Light rather than our own monarch?!"

Algernon smiled. "Let him explain himself. Come on, unleash your stupidity and savagery, Lyrebird of the Night Owl Squad."

"The Night Owl Squad? Could it be that 'Night Owl' from the Night Owl Rebellion, that damned Mad King Leweiser?!"

All eyes turned to the dark figure.

The sound of breathing became heavy in the silent execution ground.

The lyrebird raised its eyes, its gaze bloodthirsty and mad, just like that of the Night Owl Mad King of yesteryear.

"I should have listened to the captain and assassinated your incompetent and corrupt queen. If I had been more careful, I would have poisoned the supplies. Dreyars, you will be devoured by wild dogs just like your laughable former king!"

"If it weren't for that damned Holy Light, I'd be hearing your melodious wails right now, but it doesn't matter!"

"My nation is embarking on a frenzied hunt; our arrows will pierce your eyeballs, and our blades will slit your throats!"

"Liweather will use Deria's bones to nourish a new forest!"

Maniacal laughter accompanied the flowing blood that stained the execution ground. Looking at the pitiful body convulsing, the Derya people felt no more sorrow.

There were only two laughs in the whole world.

The lyrebird's bitter laugh.

Algernon's maniacal laughter.

Chapter 348 It's a Foregone Conclusion

The clanging of armor echoed like an intensifying downpour across the execution ground. Rage consumed the reason of the Derians; they roared and cursed, even the usually friendly tavern waitresses spat with ferocious expressions.

"Kill him!" "Kill him!" The lyrebird's vicious curse and Derya's deep-seated prejudice against Lewesser merged into a deadly poison called war.

"Cut off his head! Throw it into the bushes of Lewesser, and our knights will raze their jungle to the ground!"

Blind malice has reduced humanity to the most primitive beasts, which Ralf finds utterly ugly.

He looked behind him and saw the miserable ranger, Death Hunter Grell, standing behind him, awaiting his orders.

“Greel, after we rescue the lyrebird, you must block the attention of the Judges and the Knights of Drea. Our plan must have a sacrifice. And you are the one to be abandoned.”

The eerie skeletons creaked and rattled. "Even if the Duke of Protector says so, I have no reason to complain about you who gave the order. In any case, sacrificing for a friend is far more valuable than dying in the jungle. Thank you so much for giving me a worthwhile rest."

Ralph discovered the characteristics of the Lewesser people. The reason they were considered savage by humankind: they also possessed some unrealistically beautiful qualities, like torches lit in the darkness. These were dazzlingly enviable qualities in the eyes of ordinary people already constrained by reality.

They were forever categorized as outsiders.

"I will make good use of the value you created, Ranger."

Greer felt like he was back in his previous life. When he accepted a difficult task, a roguish smile would always appear on his lips before he uttered that sentence.

"The lush flowers and verdant leaves will remember my shadow."

“But not now… Undead.” A sudden voice rang out from the void. Just as Ralf thought he had been exposed, a red light flashed and disappeared, leaving only an ethereal whisper.

"Please forgive my overstepping, Commander. The Firstborn Son of God needs to correct some mistakes."

The storm roared through the angry crowd, red lightning represented the overwhelming power of heaven, and thunderclaps accompanied by exploding bolts of lightning struck the center of the execution ground.

With a deafening roar, a bolt of lightning struck the center of the execution ground, shattering the wooden pieces and scattering the judges in the blast.

The roar of lightning, like the angry cry of a god, reignited the panic of the enraged crowd.

People looked at the thick fog standing in the center, and at its feet, the lyrebird's paralyzed body was not harmed in the slightest by the eerie lightning.

As the thick fog dissipated, a deformed figure, unlike any seen before, stood in the center. His body was hunched over, and his skin, like that of a hairless wild dog, was crackled with black and red lightning. He was hunched over, yet he appeared to stand taller and farther than anyone else.

Lofdy held the Lyrebird's body in his massive three-fingered hand, and on Lofdy's wrist, the psionic warblade burning with the Protoss's rage was pointed directly at the smiling Legion Commander Algernon.

"You have blasphemed the justice of the Holy Light!"

"No, the Holy Light has recognized my justice." Behind Algernon, a light far surpassing that of the Protoss Shadow Lightning was shining. The intensity of the light was enough to blind people.

The dazzling holy light transformed into shadows, coiling around the Judge's body as Algernon gripped the dark greatsword tightly.

"As for you, monster, you will be executed for opposing justice."

The handsome paladin charged forward, sparks flying as the dark greatsword clashed with the psionic blade, and the two figures separated in an instant.

During the collision, Lofdi heard Algernon's provocative voice.

"Look, who is justice? Is it me, who is bathed in holy light, or you, who are shrouded in shadow?"

“I can sense that you could have been like me, but you are too fragile. Your heart is like that pale justice.”

Lofdi did not forget his mission. He gave the smiling judge a deep look, then disappeared into the shadows with the unconscious Lyrebird.

"That monster is an accomplice of the Lewesser!"

"Chase after them! We can't let them get away!"

The angry crowd spontaneously began to pursue them, which was not difficult for Derya, whose entire population was mobilized for war.

Only the group of Judgement Knights remained in place.

"Commander, shouldn't we pursue them?"

"That ranger's value has been exhausted. We don't need to waste our energy. Let's start preparing. We still have a little rest before the judgment comes."

Queen Lina witnessed the entire trial from the Royal Tower of Drea.

It's unavoidable. These guys have successfully ignited Derya's anger, and she needs an outlet—a war. Even if we ourselves suffer severe trauma, if we don't take this desperate measure, the nation my grandfather built might collapse in the next moment.

Lena Derya felt more exhausted than ever before. She had survived countless times before.

Grandpa Reed, Lina is so sorry, this is all Lina can do.

With a smile, Devonreira's messenger bowed deeply, expressing unprecedented respect to Queen Dereya.

"Your Majesty, the embodiment of the will of the people of Dreia, please issue the order."

The girl stood by the window, looking at the shattered walls of Deria, her voice carrying an iron-like strength.

"The Kingdom of Deria declares war on the Kingdom of Lewesser."

Draia's war machine sprang into action, far exceeding its previous efficiency and even surpassing the best performance during Lina's reign. But who could be sure this wasn't just a final burst of energy before death?

The Knights Commanders of Deria are united around the Queen, obeying her commands. These are knights who have followed Deria through countless battles, and eternal supporters of the Deria bloodline.

Their faces were solemn, but also filled with an unyielding sorrow. Some of them were old knights, and some had even watched Lina grow up.

"Your Majesty."

"Lamenting again and again is useless. Defenders of Derya, we have no choice but to fight with our backs to the wall. If we can quickly annihilate Lewesser, our country will still have a chance to catch its breath."

"Devenleya and those paladins are willing to provide us with assistance, Your Majesty, do you mean..."

“Requisition them. Devonrera wants Deria, so she will definitely assist us wholeheartedly. Now we must make full use of every bit of strength,” Lina paused for a moment, her face thoughtful. “How many of those Holy Light Knights are there in total?”

"Less than a hundred people."

Lina breathed a sigh of relief. "Incorporate the Judges into our forces. Their individual strength is outstanding. If Lewesser has a monster similar to the one from that day, let the Judge Knights fight it off." Although the sheer number of people in a war would greatly limit the effectiveness of individual abilities, Lina didn't want to sacrifice the lives of her own soldiers.

One more thing. There are fewer than a hundred judges, which means there is no possibility of mutiny. The hordes of Derya knights can easily crush these unruly fellows.

Derya has no way out. Her future must be fought for by her own strength.