Hello, my knight. 

Hearing this mild and brief greeting, the Devil stood at the door of the room, and suddenly withdrew the smile on his face. It was late at night, there was no candle lit in the King’s room, and the door of the room was dark. The only light was the moonlight slanting in through the glass paned windows.

The moonlight cast a slanted square on the soft thick carpet. In contrast, the rest of the room seemed even darker. The Devil was dressed in black, standing at the door of the room, as if he had melted into the darkness, even his pale face was hard to discern. He looked at the King, and the King looked out the window at the moon.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

A thin crescent moon hung alone and coldly high in the sky, without dark clouds or wind.

Just like when they first met.

The end of the world was a barren beach with no trees or flowers.

The earth was black, the sky was dark red, there were no birds, no beasts, no live fish. There were only endless bones and endless wind. Those who were exiled there were all the fellows who have been cursed by the world. They would be scraped away by the wind little by little in loneliness and unwillingness.

In the end, there was only one resident left there.

It was the Devil that was expelled by all the gods, whose story survived in a few words of legend. He symbolized the dark and chaotic side of the world and was the enemy of the gods. In order to completely erase his name from the world, the gods sent down thunder that flooded the earth for seven days and seven nights.

The Devil sat on the jagged black stone, isolated from the other side of the world day after day. His strength destined that he would not die here so soon, but he had no name, just like a beast trapped in a cage.

He paced back and forth in the cage day after day, unable to die, and unable to tear open the cage.

In that solitude so long that even time was blurred, he met a king who had no territory and no knights.

——Under a huge crescent moon.

The wall clock hanging on the wall ticked the minutes and seconds so clearly that the Devil suddenly smiled. He came out of the darkness, into the cold moonlight, and stood before the King.

He held the King’s hand, kissed the back of it, and then looked at him: “Good evening, my dear Majesty.”

The King looked up at him, the moonlight fell on his face, casting fine shadows.

The Devil smiled, and put something on the table: “Ferri III had entered the real tomb of the gods. As for whether he can succeed, it’s up to him. Besides… this is a gift for you.”

Inside a frozen snowball, there was a black snake that had been shrunken by many times its original size.

Faintly it could be seen that the black snake was covered with scars.

When the King reached out to pick it up for a closer look, the Devil suddenly stretched out his hand and covered his eyes.

“Your Majesty, you must remember this time.”

The wine-like breath fell on the King’s ears, just like the Devil himself, carrying the unique coldness of hell.

“Your soul is mine.”

Only belonging to him.

He inserted his fingers into the King’s silver hair, and bent down.

The moonlight was cold and indifferent, falling on the two figures by the window. The knight in black bowed his head to kiss his lord and master, and the moonlight outlined their profiles.

The young monarch raised his hand.

In the end it stopped in mid-air.

“Don’t break the contract again, my dear Majesty.”

The Devil said softly.

………………………

South of Hopeless Inner Sea.

On the cloth of the world, this area was collectively referred to as “Southern Katz Continent”, which meant “Desolate and Savage Land”. The land here was barren, there was no continuous forest, not even low shrubs, and the land was as flat as if it had been plowed once when the world was created.

However, in the language of the barbarians, this place was called the “Plain of Gulundi”, which meany “the place where the demon wolf sleeps”.

According to legend, the leader of the pack of wolves was a white-haired demon wolf as enormous as a castle city. It was formed by the gathering of all souls of wolves in the world. As long as there was one wolf alive in this world, it would never die. When it was weak, it would hide in a deep lair, in the cold and darkness, turning into a skeleton of dry bones, and wait until its descendants spread all over the world.

Once the wolves were as many as sand or the sea, they would gather from all over the world, come to the place where the demon wolf slept, and wake it up. The awakening of the demon wolf meant that this world had become a paradise for war, and the wolves would be led by their leader to wander the land, living on disasters and flesh and blood.

The sky in the west was blood-red by the burning clouds, and the earth was shrouded in scarlet light and shadow. The wind blew across the grassland, showing a shocking vastness.

At this time, on the Gulundi plain, a large white tent was erected.

The Gulundi heavy cavalry in heavy armor stood solemnly around the large white tent, their faces hidden under their black helmets, which were forged into the shape of a wolf’s head. From a distance, it looked like a group of lone wolves wandering around, but one day they gathered together suddenly.

In front of the large white tent, countless pieces of wood were piled up layer by layer, and finally built up into a huge tetrahedron. The setting sun fell on the pyramid-shaped timber pile, revealing the heavy bloodstains smeared on it. It was a staggeringly large bonfire around which cavalry patrolled.

When the last ray of sunlight was hidden by the night, the leader of the Gulundi heavy cavalry, Hermóðr, walked out of the large white tent.

The moment he stepped out, the surrounding cavalry immediately raised their spears high. They clenched their fists and thumped their chests heavily, shouting loudly in the unique language of the barbarians.

“Father.”

Hermóðr’s son, Hamond greeted him.

“Legrand sent a letter, do you want to read it?”

“Legrand?” Hermóðr’ raised his head and looked across the Abyss Strait, “Read it to me.”

Hamond unfolded the letter that was secretly delivered to them after many twists and turns, and read it in a low voice.

He was in awe of his father, and he hadn’t read the letter before he got his father’s permission. At this time, the more he read through it, the more serious his face became, but his father’s expression hadn’t changed much from the beginning to the end.

“What a pity.” After hearing the letter, Hermóðr’ sighed regretfully, “It seems that it is impossible to duel with the successor of the Duke of Buckingham now… Please reply to him, and say that our Nujin Empire agrees to the alliance.”

“Yes!”

Hamond saluted respectfully.

The moment Hermóðr’ said “Nujin Empire”, he was not just the leader of the Gulundi heavy cavalry, but the ancient barbarian emperor “Móðr” of the Nujin Empire!

Boom, boom, boom.

The sound of a drum that made the ground tremble was heard. It was a huge drum made of hundreds of feet of high-quality cowhide. Eight Gulundi warriors beat it together. The sound of the drum was strong and powerful, and it echoed afar on the desolate plain, like the heartbeat of a demon wolf that had been dead for an unknown number of years was recovering little by little.

And when the wolf woke up completely, the world would become a battlefield.

Hermóðr’ took over his helmet from his son.

Then came the breastplate, the shoulder armor, the wrist guard… A whole set of heavy armor was put together on him, and finally his son brought him his huge broadsword. In the blink of an eye, he changed from a mercenary leader to a majestic emperor.

Hermóðr’ held the hilt of the sword, his strong muscles holding up the iron armor. He raised the broadsword high.

The broadsword flashed a cold light in the air, and fell with the sound of wind. The head of the captive who was tied up and kneeling in front of the wood pile fell to the ground before he could cry out. Blood gushed out from the cavity, splashed high at that moment, and landed on the huge pyramid built with countless firewood.

“Light it up!”

Hermóðr’ ordered sharply.

The moment his voice fell, the long-awaiting Gulundi heavy cavalrymen took off the bow on their back and put an arrow on the bowstring.

One after another, the arrows flew across the air and landed on the pile of wood.

In the whistling wind, the fire swept up along with the wind, and the entire huge pyramid was on fire in the blink of an eye. The flames swept across the sky, like a torch was lit on the plain for the whole world to see, the smoke billowing like dark clouds. The firelight illuminated the armor of all the knights more ferociously, making them seem more like a pack of wolves that had gathered together.

Hermóðr’ led his people to walk around the torch that was lit between heaven and earth, and chanted a long and ancient narrative.

That was the history of the barbarians.

It had been completely preserved in the oral poems and songs handed down from generation to generation. From the birth of the first demon wolf to the end of the legendary era, the demon wolf fell into an eternal sleep, and the warriors who had wolf blood running in tbeir veins were scattered all over the world.

The ancient ode overlapped, and the beginning and the last sentence of each stanza were an ancient call.

Come here! Barbarian warriors!

Come here! Descendants of the Demon Wolf!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The drumbeats sounded heavily, and the rhythm became more and more like the beating of a heart. Amidst the sound of the drum and song, the heartbeats of the Gulundi heavy cavalry gradually synchronized with the drumbeats, and everyone’s heartbeats became the same, the shadows of loping wolves appearing in everyone’s minds.

Those were tens of thousands of wolves. They ran out from all corners of the world, gathered together, and finally formed a terrifying army to join the battlefield!

Come here! Descendants of the Demon Wolf!

At the moment when a huge fire was lit in front of the big white tent in the Gulundi plain, and the giant drum began beating, all the nomads in the world, big or small, fertile or barren, suddenly stopped their hands. They felt the fighting spirit in their blood, and their heartbeat became heavy and powerful.

Everything converged into an ancient call that only barbarians know.

The Nujin Empire would once again reappear on the earth, and the empire was calling for its people!

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

All the nomads who heard this voice threw away their heavy objects and immediately sold the cattle and sheep that they used to regard as lifeblod. Without hesitation, they left where they were originally and gathered in the direction of the Gulundi plain.

War horses were galloping, coming from all directions like tidal waves. Occasionally, historians who witnessed this scene exclaimed that “the wave of barbarian invasion would sweep the earth” again.

The demon wolf would wake up, and the pack of wolves shall gather.

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Abyss Strait, east side.

After the black dragon was killed and the news of the defeat of the Baliner mercenaries came back to the Holy Court, the Pope sighed softly.

“As expected, it really is the alchemist.”

He whispered, as if a deduction that had been speculated for a long time had been confirmed.

One item was delivered to the Pope across the Abyss Strait under the escort of the fleet through the hands of the head of the Inquisition Bureau. It was a crystal ball belonging to a witch. The Inquisition Bureau had hunted down countless witches since a thousand years ago, and the Holy Court had preserved many things that belonged to witches.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

This crystal ball recorded the whole process of the black dragon being slayed by the alchemist knights.

The Seventh Sanctuary of the Holy Court had already produced a copy, and at this time, they were repeatedly observing the recorded abilities of the alchemist knights, and comparing them with the many files preserved by the Holy Court.

Except for the killing of the black dragon, the defeat of the Baliner mercenaries was nothing to the huge Holy Court. The Pope never expected that in the Legrand Empire, the rebellion would cause serious damage to the royal family. On the other hand, the Pope’s purpose had also been achieved——

The recruitment of the expeditionary force had been carried out in an orderly manner, and believers of the Holy Lord have gathered in various countries. When the Baliner mercenaries and the head inquisitor set off a war in Legrand, tens of thousands of Holy Court troops would be gathered.

All the price paid was worth it.

The hired mercenary legion forced Legrand to take special measures to drive public anger against the greedy nobles. The slaughtered descendant of the evil dragon caused the alchemist knights hiding in the dark to enter the battlefield ahead of time. Although the King of Legrand was able to take advantage of this chaos and temper his empire into an iron plate for a short time, the Holy Court also got what it wanted at a price that was still acceptable.

Like when two eternally feuding camps were attacking, for certain purposes, they would reach an alternative “cooperation” in a subtle way.

This cruel dance of death was spinning rapidly, and everything was unpredictable before the blade was drawn.

“Legrand, Pureland I.”

The Pope stood up. He was alone in the room.

He pressed a switch in the study, and the ancient wooden bookshelf slid aside, revealing a long secret passage full of antique paintings. The candles in the dark passage burned automatically one by one as the air was poured in, and the flames were bright. The candlelight shone on the painting, illuminating countless images that would never appear before the eyes of believers.

This was the history hidden by the Holy Court.

About the Gods, the Millennium Kingdom, and the Battle of Judgment.

For a thousand years, the Holy Court had carefully hidden them. Even within the Holy Court, it was also top secret.

The Pope walked in and walked along the corridor. The ancient scenes were painted with unknown pigments. Even after such a long time, the color was still as bright as ever. All the old gods of the countries along the Abyss Strait and the kingdoms of the Hopeless Inner Sea were painted, and there were many forgotten old gods, each of whom stood high in the sky with weapons. The world was divided into three layers, sky, ground and underground. The sky was the realm of the gods and the bright side of the world. There were towering buildings that were unimaginably suspended in the sky. The ground was the human world, a place where light and darkness intersect. There were all kinds of mortals, good and evil. The bottom was hell, which was the dark side of the world, with red fire, sulfur, black rock and wasteland, where demons entangled and fought like snakes.

In that era, the representatives of the gods mixed with the dark creatures of hell on the ground at the same time. The human world had become the most complicated melting pot in the world.

In the middle of the corridor was a scene depicting the eve of the destruction of the ancient city of Belice, and the wise man Percival deciphered an ancient language.

The clouds in the sky were as red as blood, the abyss on the sea was boiling, the thick fog was raging in the darkness, and countless shadows intertwined. From top to bottom, they were all shrouded in a terrible atmosphere of depression. Above the ancient city of Belice, dark clouds piled up like mountains, and thunder swam among them like snakes and dragons.

The elders of the ancient city knelt on the square, the crowd avoided the wise man at a far distance away, and even his disciples were afraid to touch him. Only the skinny wise man held the ancient scroll in his hand, driven by some kind of power, and read out the terrifying and eternal prophecy word by word… or perhaps it was a curse.

“The earth will turn forever, and the humblest one will dominate the cemetery. The lowly will be at the top, and the lofty will be at the bottom. An endless cycle, like two sides of a coin, changing forever.”

After this prophecy was interpreted, the storm fell suddenly, and the thunder destroyed the ancient city of Belice.

After that, there would be endless wars. Sometimes it was a war between gods and gods, sometimes it was a war between gods and demons, and sometimes it was a war between demons and demons. In the turmoil of war, human beings were like a duckweed in the waves, being swung from left to right, living in the cracks. Gradually, however, human silhouettes began to join the battle.

And from then on, a shadow of the throne began to appear in the sky, and it gradually became distinct. All races, all beings, strove to climb to it.

The middle of the corridor was a long stretch of blankness, and the Pope walked past the empty wall and came to the end of the corridor.

There was the last painting there.

The Pope stood in front of the last painting, admiring it with his head thrown back.

In the image, there were no longer any distinct camps in the battle, and it seemed that the true face of the world remained only fighting.

Gods fought with gods, gods fought with demons, gods fought with mortals, mortals fought with demons, demons fought with demons… Finally, mortals fought with mortals. In the sky, there was a throne that had just condensed its embryonic form. The throne was empty, and the crown was being broken and destroyed under the blood-red moon.

This was a sad painting, which captured the world’s greatest irony, the bloodiest battlefield, the most tragic death, and the most shameful betrayal.

“How can humans rely on gods to save themselves?”

The Pope looked at the painting and said softly.

Apart from him, there was no one else in the secret passageway. The history and truth were hidden in these shocking paintings, and time seemed to be quite brittle and dry here.

………………

Night gradually fell.

The Devil walked in the night, roaming the streets and alleys of Metzl Castle. For once he did not appear directly in the King’s room, and took a walk in the King’s capital city for the first time instead. 

He didn’t deliberately hide himself. Passing drunks and night watchmen, these urban night-stalkers saw a strange nocturnal traveler who seemed to them an oddity——tall and lean, in an elegant black suit, holding an open black umbrella. Under the black umbrella, one could see a scarlet rose pinned to his chest.

A drunk stood in front of him with a wine jar.

This unlucky guy, whose act was enough to make the whole of hell applaud him, had the dubious honor of encountering him face to face. Skin pale enough he did not seem to be alive, cheekbones high and menacingly hollowed. This was a fellow who, although handsome, was so sinister that even the most dissolute courtesan would not want to approach.

His pupils were so dark that it seemed that nothing could be reflected within, and all the light would be swallowed by the utterly malicious darkness.

The Devil passed by the drunken homeless man without a sound, and the guy behind him fell straight down after he passed by. All eyes peeping at this elegant “fat sheep” in the darkness disappeared in an instant.

A city.

The city of mortals, the city of His Majesty.

The slightest sound in the city traveled into the Devil’s ears.

Good, bad, chaotic… All emperors monarchs know that no matter how great they were and how much they love their people, there would always be people who would yell at them and criticize them in every possible way in their country.

His Majesty should know this.

His Majesty knows this.

The Devil stood on a street, listening to those voices mixed with dissatisfaction for the King, gently rotating the black umbrella in his hand. Since going to the extreme north, the Devil had been suppressing his urge for violence. The thought of wanting to destroy the whole world together could not be calmed down even after the death of the World Serpent.

In fact, it even intensified.

Those things that he didn’t want to think of and made him furious were awakened by words uttered during the battle with the World Serpent, which then lingered in his mind.

Once, he failed to catch his Majesty.

………………

The sword of the traitor pierced the King’s heart, and the world fell into an endless war. Be it gods, demons, or mortals, they were all fighting to the death in chaos. He crossed half of the battlefield and found his contractor on that deserted beach. The crown in the sky was cracking and shattering, and his soul was disappearing little by little.

“Your Majesty, you violated the contract.”

He said hoarsely. He embraced the King from the pool of blood. He was covered in blood, and his King was also covered in blood. The world continued to fight and kill on, while they stood alone in a place where no one cared.

“Your soul should belong to me.”

He was not sad, the Devil didn’t have that kind of thing. He was just angry, angry that the treasure that belonged to him was destroyed by others.

This should have belonged to him in the end.

Those icy blue eyes reflected the throne and crown in the sky that were gradually crumbling and shattering apart. He didn’t answer, but handed the bone scepter to the Devil.

The Devil had been deprived of his name. His power came from the authority of the King, but now the person who gave him power would disappear completely. He would once again become the lonely and angry cursed fellow who was banished to the end of the world long ago.

In this war that almost annihilated everything, the crown and throne have been destroyed, and only the bone scepter was left which was the last symbol of royal authority that had not dissipated.

Now, the King handed it to the Devil.

Why give it to me? The Devil thought, I am a sinister, cunning, vile and shameless devil. With the power of bones, I can tear up the contract. Anyway, you have been completely destroyed. I can’t even get a shard of your soul. I don’t need to serve you anymore. Or are you counting on a hellish devil to have a conscience and dutifully serve you after you’ve dissipated?

Don’t kid yourself.

“Your Majesty, are you really going to hand over the scepter to a lying devil? Aren’t you afraid that your royal city will change its owner?” His voice was as frivolous as ever.

“The heavens have given us the greatest power, but at the same time it requires us to pay the heaviest price to obtain it.” The King’s pupils still reflected the phantom of the crown that was gradually cracking in the sky, “The contract says that we will overthrow the world together, so then never stop, never lay down your sword… this is an order.”

The last order.

The fighting on the battlefield was still going on. Gods were constantly falling, and the lords of hell were constantly dying. In such chaos, the King’s voice was almost inaudible.

But the Devil could hear it clearly.

He was stunned for a while.

That was what they vowed when they first met, “Never stop, never lay down the sword”.

“Well, if this is your order.”

He was quiet for a while, then took the bone scepter.

The sky was dim and the ground was dark, the wind sounded like crying, the world had been reduced to a battlefield, with battles fought everywhere, but it was also as silent as death. He hugged his Majesty and sat on the jagged black stone, watching the long river of sulfur gradually dry up and recede, watching corpses fall one after another. His Majesty was as quiet as he was, eerily quiet.

“…Your Majesty?”

After what seemed like a long time, he called in a low voice.

It should be like usual, His Majesty would only raise his eyes slightly to look over, and was too lazy to answer any way but silently.

The Devil put his hand over the King’s eyes.

“Good night, Your Majesty.”

………………

He walked to the gate of the palace, stood there for a long time in the slightly cold wind, and then walked in quietly.

Just like that time when he couldn’t wait to rush to take the King’s soul away, the guards of the palace didn’t find him. He walked through the familiar corridors, and finally pushed open the door gently.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Moonlight fell into the room from the window, and fell on the high-backed chair by the window.

The silver-haired, blue-eyed monarch sat on the chair, not yet asleep.

“Should I say ‘good night’? My dear Majesty.”

The Devil was taken aback for a moment, and said with a smile.

“Then should I say ‘Hello’? My knight.” The King asked back.

“If you wish.”

The King looked at him, at his smiling expression tjat was like an impeccable mask.

“Hello, my knight.”

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The midsummer of 1433 came amidst the flames of war that had not yet been completely extinguished and the intensified demonstrations and petitions.

The Head of the Households reported to the King about the nobles dispersing the parade and expelling the bards, and asked him if he wanted to intervene. 

“No, no need.”

The King replied.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

He was flipping through the archives of the last parliamentary meeting, reading the speech records of each councilman.

The “Wartime Emergency Act” was on the King’s desk. It was not difficult to understand why most nobles refused to sign this bill. The nobles of Legrand have always regarded the parliament as their sharp weapon to control the king and compete with the royal power.

If the king wanted to recruit troops outside the military service period, he must obtain the consent of the parliament. For a long time, the nobles have been accustomed to taking this opportunity to force the royal family to make concessions when the king needed an army, and hand over more local autonomy and more privileges to them.

Once the “Wartime Emergency Act” was passed, they would lose the powerful weapon of the parliament. On the other hand, the continuous concentration of power in the royal government over the years was enough to make the feudal lords feel uneasy. They worried that the Wartime Emergency Act would make the royal family’s authority grow ever more.

Because of this, most of the nobles behaved extraordinarily tough in this meeting, as if they would never give in.

The previous standstill was a means of their demonstration.

When the petition intensified, the nobles began to expel the procession.

“What about our tariffs?”

While reading the records of the meeting, the King asked the Head of the Households.

The answer given by the Head of the Households was within the King’s expectations——the tariff should be the most pitiful in the past thirty years.

The impact of the Black Death was too great. The economic depression was not limited to Legrand, and both sides of the Abyss Strait fell into a deep trough.

If one took a closer look at history, one would often find that behind many continuous wars and conquests, there were hidden shadows of catastrophes. Whether it was floods, droughts or plagues, natural disasters destroy the economic foundation of a society and sharpen the conflicts that were originally concealed by prosperity. This sharpness may turn into war at any time. At this time, if the government of the country did not want to end itself, it must find a target to transfer the hatred.

In the Holy Court, it was people called “witches” and “warlocks” who acted as targets of oppression and hatred.

And in Legrand, after the rebellion, the King pushed the nobles into this dilemma.

“I made Legrand a free country, not so that they can point their blades at Legrand’s heart at will.”

The King said lightly.

He closed the record and looked out the window at the blooming roses.

………………

Clinging to the old law in front of the King, the nobles who refused to give in began to find that the situation was getting worse.

Even the Black Death was not as deadly as the public’s anger. When they came to their senses, things had already become bad enough, and the King had already pushed them to the opposite of the wave of public anger.

The story of “knights slaying dragons” spread more and more widely, and subconsciously, people have begun to regard the crusaders who drove the “evil black dragon” into conquest as unjust invaders and shameful rebels. The previous banner of “persuading the King onto the correct path” played by the head of the Inquisition Bureau was completely forgotten.

As the refugees left Putton County, they also spread their pain and anger at the destruction of their homes. During the destruction of the town, everyone could clearly see that the local nobles, the lords who were obliged to protect the safety of the people in the territory, ignored the rebels and hid in their castles. It was their inactivity that caused towns to be sacked by the notorious Baliner mercenaries and villages to be burned by the black dragon flying across the sky.

The more glorious the royal family was in this war, the more the nobles were contrasted as weak and incompetent.

The nobles regarded commoners as dirt to be avoided, and rejected them as if they were snakes and scorpions. But this time, they had to correct their previous perceptions.

Facing the intensified mob, the nobles had no choice.

Either pinch their nose and bow their heads to the King, or they must suppress the voices.

They always thought that the King was just a young lion, but now they discovered that there was a coiling poisonous snake hidden under the lion’s skin. No wonder the King did not punish or persecute them when they were in a deadlock. He was only waiting to burn them on the fire of public wrath.

The nobles cursed in private, and the most determined group of nobles formed a secret alliance. The Holy Court was about to cross the sea, and the head of the Inquisition Bureau had occupied Herrid County. The King was more anxious than them. As long as they did not provide the King with soldiers, the King would not be able to summon soldiers for even a single day.

The nobles thought that if the stalemate continued, the King would bow his head earlier than they would.

“He’s too arrogant.”

An old noble from the secret alliance commented so.

“He will surrender.”

However, the King’s concession he predicted had not yet appeared, only for the public anger to erupt first.

The anger was first vented in taverns and public places.

Wednesday, first week in June, Yoringshire.

The sheriff led a group of soldiers to kick open a tavern called “Grey Sparrow”, dragged out a middle-aged man who was talking loudly with his companions, and stuffed him into a cage.

“I did not commit a crime!”

The bewildered blacksmith Martin shouted loudly.

“Unfortunately, sir, you are charged with viciously and immorally slandering your lord, and eagerness to conspire with your partners to pose a threat to the lord’s personal safety,” said the sheriff, reminding the blacksmith, “just three days ago, you were here to commit this horrific crime.”

“…That was just a joke!” Martin’s eyes widened in astonishment.

Three days ago, after drinking heavily in the tavern, the blacksmith Martin slapped the table and began to complain loudly: “…When the head of the Inquisition Bureau arrived, Baron Salford, who so eagerly joined the Pligney camp, was a wimp who was less promising than a woman. Now Hereford and several other ports are still in a state of occupation. The baron must take responsibility…. After the Battle of Putton, any dignified nobleman should immediately take up their swords and go to crusade against the enemies who invaded Legrand, instead of fighting against their king, and preventing their king from raising an army to protect his people.”

The reason why he was so angry was because his blacksmith shop was lootes by Baliner mercenaries before. But their lord hosted a banquet in the castle for the mercenary leader.

“…Give me a shovel and I can smash the baron’s head with it!”

At the end of the drunkenness, the blacksmith uttered such a bold statement, which was echoed by everyone in the tavern.

“The lord’s court has pronounced your guilt, sir.”

The sheriff said grimly.

He was stuffed into a wooden cage, and the cage was dragged by horses, rumbling all the way forward. Every time the cage jolted, Martin would bump into it. By the time he was dragged to the intersection that was always used for trials, he was already covered in bruises.

Baron Salford, who was in a carriage behind the prison cart, waved his hand, and the blacksmith was dragged out of the cage.

The crowd gathered around, everyone whispered, and many people had unbearable expressions on their faces.

The noose was put around the blacksmith’s neck.

Seeing that he was about to be hanged and his spine broken, the blacksmith’s son pushed through the crowd and rushed out. The burly young man rushed to the rack wielding an axe, swearing at the baron for his cruelty, and hacking at the sling.

“Hang him too!” The satisfied smile on Baron Salford’s face disappeared, he stood up suddenly, and pointed with trembling fingers at the blacksmith’s son who was cursing at him, “I want to see his head hanging under the road sign!”

The knight behind the baron pressed his hand on the hilt of his sword, and did not immediately step forward: “My lord, I think you can confiscate their blacksmith shop. This is more serious than directly killing them. They don’t deserve such a happy death.”

“Are you disobeying my order?” The baron turned his head and frowned.

The blacksmith had already been released from the noose by his son, and the soldier in charge of pulling the rope waved his sword in a perfunctory manner twice before retreating to the side.

“Catch them, including those two guys.” The baron pointed at the soldier who didn’t stop the blacksmith’s son, “Don’t forget who you are loyal to.”

“F**k you bastard.” The knight drew out his sword with a clang, and he kicked the baron over. The veins on his forehead bulged. “I’ve had enough of you idiot!”

“What are you doing?!” The baron was shocked and angry. “Are you going to break the knight’s oath? You want to do something to your master? The Holy Lord will send you to hell!”

“Going to hell is better than entering the Kingdom of God with a traitorous rebel like you!”

The knight spat in his face, then stepped on his stomach twice.

“I’m Legrand’s knight, and I know what I should do! I’ve had enough of a pig like you!”

He raised the sword in his hand high, turned his head and looked at the crowd around him: “Gentlemen! I am a knight of Legrand, not a knight of traitors! Are you going to kneel down and lick the boots of such a despicable person?”

“No! No! No!”

The crowd burst into shouts.

“I am Legrand’s knight, not a traitor’s knight! I am loyal to His Majesty the King, not a fool! Get out of here!” The knight kicked the baron, “Traitors are not worthy of staying in Yoringshire!”

“Get out! Traitor! Get out of here!”

The blacksmith snatched the axe from his son and swung it vigorously.

The anger of the crowd gradually rose.

The sheriff, the baron, and some other respectable guys fled across the long street, being chased by the angry crowd.

They even rushed into the county court and burned it clean.

Similar things kept happening all over Legrand.

The first nobleman couldn’t hold on anymore.

After hundreds of angry peasants broke into the manor and burned his house, he practically rushed to the palace, crying bitterly to confess his mistakes and express his loyalty to the King.

Then the second, the third… The secret alliance among the nobles quickly disintegrated.

………………………

When the Head of the Households conveyed the requests of the surrendering nobles, the King was opening and reading the letter from Legrand’s First Pathological Research Department.

The head of the Department of Pathological Research, pharmacist Duna, wrote a bunch of letters to the King one after another.

——It was worth mentioning that the black dragon that was beheaded by the alchemist knights that day was almost immediately sent to the Lunatic Academy for research.

For now, the majestic black dragon seemed to be preserved very well. Every piece of dragon scale, every piece of flesh and blood, every bone was coded and numbered.

Yes, it was dissected very simply and thoroughly.

The witches who had been there for some time had been pulled into the ocean of madness by their mad colleagues, and they seemed to be swimming very happily. With the help of the witches, they sketched out an extremely detailed dragon anatomy chart at an incredible speed, and gave it to the King as a gift.

Normal people were likely unable to present an anatomy chart of a pile of bones to their Majesty as a gift.

However, a King who welcomes a group of lunatics to serve him didn’t seem to be a normal person anyway.

He readily accepted the gift, and incidentally rejected the doctors’ request to study the alchemist knights.

Another thing, the military heavy industry department of hell finally heard the story of “knights slaying dragons” after a while. The group of military designers wrote one letter after another to the King, urging him to grant their request to also study dragon scales and dragon claws.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

It was a good thing that his scientists were so active and diligent, but there was only one dragon.

The King thought for a while, and wrote a reply to both parties.

He asked the military designers and doctors and witches to work together to study the principle behind the black dragon breathing fire. See if they could imitate it and make a new weapon.

AN: King: It is the tradition of dragon slayers to make the best use of the dragon clan.

Dragon bone castle, dragon bone weapons, etc.

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Time seemed to slow down suddenly.

The arrow feathers at the tails of the jet-black long arrows were still trembling. They had nailed into all the vital points of the black dragon from the tip to the end at the same time. A series of muffled sounds came from under the dragon scales. After the bone arrows sank into the black dragon’s flesh and blood, terrifying power exploded from the inside out under its scales.

The black dragon roared wildly and painfully, almost trying to break free from the sabers that the alchemist knights used to fix it in place.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Dragon scales, pieces of meat, and bone fragments were mixed together and splashed upwards, like scarlet and coquettish flowers suddenly blooming in the air.

The alchemist knights held the handle of their sabers, pulled the sabers from the ground, and held it in their hand. The evil dragon was finally able to raise its neck, but it only had time to let out a long, unwilling and spiteful cry to the sky, and then the dragon’s head fell heavily on the ground amidst the bloody mist.

The broken dragon wings laid half-closed on the black dragon’s scarred body.

The side of the black dragon’s head laid on the ground, and now there were only two dark holes left in the originally golden eyes, blood flowing out of them.

It was dead.

Ancient beast-like black-armored knights stood next to the dead black dragon’s body. They either carried sabers or huge bows. On the armor weighing thousands of stones, dragon blood dripped down, and the blood flowed down the breastplate to outline a scarlet rose. The dragon flames on the ground had not yet been extinguished, the flames were still raging, and the air was twisted by the heat wave.

On the city wall, the soldiers stared blankly at the corpse of the black dragon lying on the ground. This was the moment when they should have cheered, but an inexplicable heaviness and solemnity filled the air, shaking people’s hearts, and the long city wall was silent.

The people watched the flames burn together. In the space distorted by the heat wave, those alchemist knights who seemed to have stepped out of hell were silent like monuments engraved with a thousand years of time.

The warhorses rushed towards each other, and Eleanor’s black hair fluttered in the wind.

The battle had reached the moment of life and death. At the moment when the horses crossed each other, both sides swung their swords with all their might. In the smoke and dust, two bright metallic glints flashed past.

Clang——

The warhorse jumped out, and when it landed, it rushed forward several meters. Eleanor’s curved blade pointed obliquely at the sky, and the sun set on the tip of her sword, so brilliant that people dared not look directly at it.

A drop of blood flew up along the blade and towards the sky.

Eleanor retracted the arc sword, brushed the blade with her hand, and then pushed it into the sheath.

Behind her, the dragon trainer’s throat was neatly cut open, the wound was exposed to the bone, and blood gushed out like a fountain. He fell from his horse and onto his back, onto the battlefield mixed with blood and mud, and his white robe was instantly dyed red.

The black-haired queen pulled the reins, and she looked forward coldly.

At the moment the black dragon shrieked, the head of the Inquisition Bureau withdrew from his duel with the leader of the Kriyan archers. At this time, he led the remnant soldiers to retreat. The Kriyan archers held their bows and arrows and rode their horses behind Eleanor, waiting for her order to pursue or return to the city.

Eleanor looked at the direction in which the head of the Inquisition Bureau retreated, and steered her horse towards the city gate.

The Kriyan archers followed her.

In front of the city gate, on the city wall, a strange solemnity and silence had fallen. When the sound of horseshoes came, the soldiers finally woke up as if in a dream and cheered loudly: “God bless Legrand! God bless Legrand!”

The royal banner was rattled by the wind.

The city gate opened, and Earl Gray led his sons and soldiers to welcome Eleanor, her people and those terrifying alchemist knights.

A group of boys and girls ran out from the crowd, holding a large bunch of flowers in their hands, and dedicated them to the heroes who protected the city. A blond-haired girl stood on tiptoe, trying to lift a wreath she had made.

She was extremely nervous and her cheeks were flushed.

Eleanor leaned down and let her put the wreath on her: “Thank you.”

“Can I give them flowers too?”

The little girl mustered up the courage to ask.

She looked at the formidable alchemist knights. They were wearing hideous armors. The pale skeletons formed a terrifying contrast with the black armors. People remained far away from them in reverence and fear, but they only stood under the city wall, silent as statues. Eleanor looked back at the alchemist knights stationed under the city wall, and she smiled slightly.

“Of course, go ahead, lass.”

The blond girl with apple cheeks held flowers and walked towards the tall alchemist knights.

The crowd fell silent, and everyone was watching the scene in front of them.

The innocent and bright little girl stood in front of the beast-like skeleton knight, stood on tiptoe, and gently inserted flowers on the plate armor worn by the warhorse. It was like she was giving candy to her younger sisters and younger brothers, she childishly and patiently divided the bouquet, and gifted flowers one by one.

The skeleton knights remained motionless.

The light of the sky fell on the girl and the cavalry, and the blood on the black armor still dripped down on the ground, but the flowers were already tucked on the armor.

The girl and the knights, weapons and flowers.

In the silence, people gradually came out from both sides of the street and greeted the alchemist knights. There were more and more people, and someone plucked the organ and sang a song to celebrate victory.

Eleanor held the reins in her hands, watching the scene quietly.

Blood and gunpowder smoke lingered in the air for a long time, but there was always the fragrance of flowers and sunshine.

She smiled softly, and steered her horse forward.

Why do knights fight? Why was the heroic spirit willing to sleep in the long night?

Because the world was so cold, but also so tender.

………………

During this period of time, too many unexpected things happened to Legrand, and even the legendary dragon could reappear on the earth again, so it was not unacceptable that Queen Eleanor, whose death had been announced more than ten years ago, reappeared. 

Compared with these, what was more important was that overnight, people remembered that ancient legend again.

A long time ago, evil dragons roamed the land, and dragon slayers slaughtered the evil dragons. They established an ancient kingdom on the place where the dragon was buried, and that kingdom was called “Legrand”.

Legends have become great true deeds today.

In just a few days, stories of dragon slayers and dragon slaying spread throughout Legrand.

The majesty of the royal family reached an unprecedented height at this time. On the streets of Legrand, you could see people holding up banners depicting knights slaying dragons anytime and anywhere. In the tavern, people have new bragging material——

“I saw the black dragon with my own eyes!”

“What’s the big deal! I’ve seen those alchemist knights!”

“My God, they are at least as high as the city gate, and the lances they carry are like giant spears used by ancient giants to hunt mammoths, but they are far more powerful.”

“The moment the Queen Mother Eleanor appeared from the horizon, I bet there was no more beautiful lady in this world than her.”

……

Nothing could inspire the morale and unity of a nation more than this romantic legend of heroes. In particular, during this period of time, people in the central and eastern parts of Legrand have personally experienced the terror of the black dragon. In the midst of fear and turmoil, people needed spiritual sustenance.

In the past, this sustenance was given by the Holy Court symbolized by the cross, but now it was replaced by the alchemist knights and Queen Eleanor who saved them from the mouth of the black dragon.

These messages were conveyed to the King by the Head of the Households.

The King stood in front of the window and opened the letter from Queen Eleanor. In the letter, she told the King in detail about the strength of the awakened alchemist knights. The King and the Queen Mother once discussed that the alchemists might retain a little consciousness, but judging from the current results…..it was a pity.

The alchemists were ruthless enough to themselves. Their remaining “consciousness” was only the wisdom of fighting, and there was nothing else left.

The King read the scene described in his mother’s letter where people presented flowers to the alchemist knights, and he remembered the last words he had read.

Thousands of years later, the alchemists shall wake up and continue to guard their world.

“The head of the Inquisition Bureau gathered the rebels and retreated to Herrid City.” The Head of the Households reported the latest news to the King.

The King nodded slightly, and he put down his mother’s letter: “It’s time for the council meeting to end.”

His words were calm and would not be violated.

The Head of the Households withdrew with the secret order that the King had already written. The moment the black dragon collapsed, the second war in Legrand had quietly begun. This was another war completely different from the rebellion of Earl Pligney, and its smoke was invisible.

This was a propaganda war.

Soon, a letter jointly written by a dozen of Legrand’s famous poets quickly spread——

“Open Letter to All of Legrand Empire”.

“…Legrand is unmatched anywhere in the world. In this land, there are dense forests, meandering rivers, and vast pastures. The warriors here are free and shining.

I don’t want to see her become the second Bressi.

I don’t want to see our wives, daughters and sisters in constant anxiety, with the shadow of the stake hanging over their heads.

I don’t want to see our blood and sweat fall into that ridiculous iron box, and let the frivolity of indulgences mock our hunger and cold.

I don’t want to see our faith being turned into a battlefield again and again, and the name of heresy chanted by people with fat bellies.

I don’t want to see…”

Kriya’s bards traveled all over every county in Legrand. They were in taverns and on the streets, plucking the organ and playing a sad melody. In that melody, they sang to everyone over and over again with hoarse or clear voices.

If Legrand lost this war. Then their brick walls would be overthrown, and every inch of land that once bloomed with the flower of freedom would be covered by the Holy Spirit, holy bones and crosses.

Amidst the sound of the bard’s organ and singing, the citizens took to the streets, and an unprecedented joint petition began.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

The target of the petition was no longer the King, but the parliament.

The people of Legrand requested the parliament to agree to pass the King’s “Wartime Emergency Act”, requested the parliament to give all knights the responsibility and honor to fight, and requested the parliament to give their warriors a safe and secure battlefield.

The Legrandians’ Legrand, Legrand of the Free Land.

There was no second such Legrand in the world.

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“God bless the queen! God bless the queen!”

The soldiers of Putton County heard the Kriyan archers shouting proudly beside them, and finally realized who the black-haired female knight standing in the smoke and flames was.

That’s Eleanor! Queen Eleanor of Kriya! The first queen to establish a state in the history of Legrand! The queen chosen by the Kriyans themselves!

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

When she was wearing armor and skylight, carrying a long knife and riding a horse from the horizon, the protagonist of this war changed in an instant. The moment she raised the sword, her people cheered for her and shouted for her. For a moment, the Putton County soldiers guarding the city understood where the loyalty of these cold and arrogant Kriyan archers came from.

The dust billowed, the red flames lingered, and the black-haired queen arrived on the battlefield.

“Kill!”

With a flick of the blade, she ordered loudly.

The soldiers standing on the city wall felt the thick city wall vibrate in an instant, and the skeleton army that was standing quietly behind the queen launched an attack in an instant.

The wind blew across the ferocious heavy armor, bringing up long howls, like horns, and also like songs. There seemed to be ten thousand legions drawing their swords and cutting their spears in the air, the voices of heroic souls roaring loudly in the ears. Under each heavy armor helmet, the eyes of the skeletons danced with bright fire, so bright that it seemed to be enough to burn an entire era.

Thousands of years ago, the alchemists threw themselves into the fire and turned into the swords of mortals. They entrusted themselves to the dragon slayers, to sleep forever in the eternal night for mortals, just to wake up today, and to continue to step on the battlefield between the mortals and gods.

They waited for a thousand years!

The heavy armor made them gallop like ancient ferocious beasts. With a series of crisp sounds, the armor on the alchemist cavalry deformed and reorganized, and one after another the complex and exquisite alchemical formations were continuously activated. The moment they charged out, the mercenaries cried and retreated with all their strength. No one dared to stand in front of such an iron-clad monster! Those who ran slowly were trampled by iron hooves, and turned into bloody mud on the ground in an instant, and one could no longer distinguish their original appearance.

The alchemist cavalry split into two crescent moon formations, and surrounded the black dragon in an instant.

A pair of giant spear-like lances were thrown in the air by half of the knights.

The sound of scales breaking, the sound of sharp tools piercing through flesh and blood, and the sound of blood splattering.

The black dragon flapped its wings and wanted to fly up from the ground, but before it flew into the air, the lance thrown by the alchemist cavalry penetrated its dragon wings and body. The moment those lances were nailed into the dragon’s body, they split and reorganized, turning into iron eagle-like claws, biting deeply on the black dragon’s hard bones. The body of the lance also separated section by section and in an instant, the giant spears turned into long iron chains.

The iron chains criss-crossed, weaving into a net that locked the black dragon in place.

The ear-piercing roar of the black dragon made everyone’s eardrums buzz. Some soldiers on the city wall even felt their world spinning amidst its roar, and that they would never hear another sound of this world from now on. The dragon that was injured for the first time frantically shook its wings, moved its body, and swooped forward, trying to break the iron chains imposed on it.

The right arm of the alchemist knightS who threw the lances was tightly wrapped with an iron chain. They were like the best anglers in the world. They did not compete on strength with the black dragon at the beginning, but ran forward with the black dragon for a certain distance. They first left the narrow area in front of the city gate, and came to the more open battlefield on the right. When the black dragon flapped its wings and tried to fly into the air with the iron chains, the knights took off the heavy shields carried on their backs with their left hands, and thrust them down on the ground, like one nail after another fixed on the ground.

The iron chain also shrank at this moment! Then tensed!

With a dull but enormous bang, the moment the black dragon just left the ground, it was torn from the sky and fell heavily back to the ground.

Its wings flapped on the ground, and the gravel and corpses were swept up by the strong wind, like a sudden sandstorm. In the vortex of yellow sand and strong wind, countless alchemical formations on the heavy armor of the alchemist knights lit up at the same time, standing still.

The black dragon’s roar was no longer pure anger, but began to be mixed with that of intense pain.

When it flapped its wings and tried to break free, those iron claws that pierced through the dragon’s scales sank deeper into the flesh, and were further riveted to the bone. The stench and scalding dragon’s blood splashed out, and when it landed on the ground, it instantly turned into pools of blood.

Boom, boom, boom.

It was as if a prehistoric giant drum was sounded, shaking people’s heartbeat and eardrums.

The remaining half of the alchemist knights who hadn’t made a move just now broke out from the encirclement, holding ferocious sabers in their hands.

Now, this saber would be used to——

Slay the dragon!

The tip of the blades pointed obliquely at the ground, and the knights’ faces were hidden behind the mask-like black iron helmet. Realizing the approaching crisis, the black dragon no longer tried to break free from the iron chain, but instead turned its long neck and began spraying flames on the surrounding knights. The sea of red fire rolled over the ground, the temperature of the air rose instantly, and the knights’ figures seemed to be distorted in the heat wave.

Crack, crack, a series of sounds of a mechanism being pulled, and the bone spurs on the armor of the alchemist knights holding the saber pierced outwards.

Facing the scorching dragon flames, they charged brazenly.

………………

The dust billowed, and the dragon’s roars shook the world.

Eleanor stood alone in front of the city gate with a long sword in her hand.

She only came from Bomari with those alchemist knights who had woken up from their slumber. Apart from that, there was no other soldier. At this moment, she was alone facing all the rebels outside the city wall, the flames were all over the sky, and her long black hair was flying in the wind.

“You want to rebel with just this amount of daring?”

Eleanor smiled casually, the sun fell on the blade in her hand, and the curved blade and tip shone dazzlingly bright.

She was the only one standing outside the city gate, but no one dared to rush up first. The battle between the evil dragon and the alchemist knights was taking place not far away, who would dare to stay so close to that terrifying battlefield except a lunatic? Whether it was the mercenaries of Baliner or the old subordinates of Earl Pligney, they were almost desperately fleeing to the distance.

A small group of people who remained stood behind the dragon trainer and the head of the Inquisition Bureau, but they were too frightened by Queen Eleanor’s powerful aura which was that of a single person holding back thousands of horses and troops alone, and did not dare to step forward rashly.

The white-robed dragon trainer stood side by side with the head of the Inquisition Bureau. None of them cared about the soldiers behind them. The moment the powerful enemies met, everyone knew who was the real opponent.

“Queen of Kriya, Eleanor.”

The head of the Inquisition Bureau sighed, he had seen this name on a secret hit list of the Holy Court, appearing side by side with William III. He even crossed it off the list himself, but now the crossed-out name came out of the shadows again.

“You didn’t die.”

He slowly drew out his accompanying sword, without the slightest bit of contempt.

Logically speaking, fighting a woman violated the spirit of chivalry and was ridiculed. However, the queen of Kriya, the woman who once led the people of Kriya to establish a state in blood and fire, and was crowned by the people with a crown of thorns, she was definitely not within these scopes.

She was not only a gorgeous beauty, but also a majestic ruler!

Who would dare to underestimate such a prestigious ruler?

“It is our honor to fight with you.”

Ever since he stepped on Legrand, the dragon trainer who had been indifferent and proud also turned serious. He performed a knight’s salute and drew his sword from behind.

Eleanor sneered, and raised the curved blade in her hand high.

“Where are Kriya’s warriors?”

The drawbridge of the city gate behind the black-haired queen crashed down, and the Kriyan archers in gray robes galloped out from behind the city gate. The war horses passed through the yellow sand and smoke, and once again stood neatly behind Eleanor.

The leader of the Kriyan archers clenched his fists and struck his heart: “The warriors of Kriya are with you!”

“We are with you!”

All the archers shouted in unison.

Tears and fighting intent flashed in their eyes. Just like before, they followed the black-haired queen to fight against the invading enemy. As long as their queen stood in front of them, even if they rushed to the battlefield of killing gods, they would not hesitate.

Kriya! Kriya! Queen Eleanor’s Kriya!

“Fight!”

Eleanor galloped out.

……………………

Ordinary people were no longer able to approach this battlefield flooded by flames. The raging currents were indiscriminate, and the dragon’s teeth and claws twisted with the iron chains, making sharp, maddening sounds.

But the dragon flame which could burn down a city, lost its power in front of the alchemist knights. A thousand years ago, the temperature of the flame used by the alchemists to create these armors was infinitely close to that of the original evil dragon’s flames, but the black dragon that attacked Putton City today was just its descendant!

In the flames, the armor of the alchemist knights was plated with a layer of dark red, but they didn’t feel it.

Now they don’t feel pain or fear.

A thousand years ago, alchemists walked into the alchemy furnace as flesh and blood. They had already endured the most terrible pain and the hottest flame in the world thousands of years ago. They abruptly turned themselves from living beings into swords.

From now on, no flame could burn them.

The sabers slashed, drawing a long arc in the air, and the cold light on the tip of the blade was dazzling. The black dragon’s hard scales were as fragile as thin paper in front of them, and the alchemical formation flashed on the blade, finally cutting into the dragon’s flesh and bones with a sharp wind-like sound.

Fountains of pitch-black blood splashed high, and the black dragon screeched in spite and despair.

One after another, huge sabers were pierced downwards, nailing the black dragon’s long neck to the ground.

It was like the shackles on the necks of criminals who were sentenced to beheading! 

The evil dragon that regarded human beings as ants and food was reduced to a prisoner to be executed today.

The knights gripped the handle of their sabers with both hands, and pressed down hard to prevent the black dragon from counterattacking with all its strength and knocking the saber away. The knights who had been tightly pulling the iron chains before, wrapped the iron chains around the giant shields inserted in the ground, and fastened it with the bone spurs on the shield.

Immediately afterwards, they stretched out their hands and took off the heavy black bows on their backs.

It was unknown what the bowstring was made of, and it actually seemed to take some time to pull it taut even with the strength of the alchemist knights who could twist iron chains to restrain a black dragon. And as the long arrows with white bone arrowheads were pulled back, there seemed to be a faint majestic hum in the air.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

The black dragon seemed to sense the approach of death.

It flapped its wings vigorously, and abruptly pulled out the iron chains and the giant shields inserted into the ground. The dragon wings were folded to protect its head.

At the moment when the iron chains pulled the shields into the air, the bone arrows shot through the air.

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The sound of sharp arrows piercing through the air was shrill and deadly.

Appearing from the faint smoke and dust was a group of light cavalry rushing forward. But different from normal cavalry, this was a cavalry composed entirely of archers. After they approached the battlefield, they parted quickly, forming a crescent arc and moving back and forth quickly, without approaching.

“The Kriyans! They’re the archers of Kriya!”

Earl Pligney was taken aback for a moment, and then a certain fear immediately swept over his heart.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

The ghostly cavalry, the elusive march, the green-eyed Kriyan archer!

Legrand’s longbowman was unparalleled in the world, and the Kriyan archer was the one that ranked first among Legrand’s archers.

The State of Kriya relied on its archers to keep the state alive in the chaotic conquest of the princes. However, it was a battle after the death of William III that really made the Kriyan archer known all over the world. Not long after William III died of illness, the famous warrior queen followed in her husband’s footsteps. Legrand lost her beloved king and queen at once.

Someone once saw that after the news of the warrior queen Eleanor’s death, a mysterious team of archers quietly left from the Kriyan Mountains and headed straight for the royal city. They marched in the morning mist and darkness like ghosts.

There was speculation that they were going to seek an explanation from the Legrand royal family.

They entrusted their beloved queen to Legrand. William III had promised Kriya that he would treat her well. They could not accept the news of the queen’s sudden death, and suspected that she had been assassinated. If the Legrand royal family did not dare to recover the truth about the Queen’s death and avenge her, then they would demand an explanation from the Legrand royal family.

It was a hazy morning when they arrived at the royal city of Metzl.

When the Duke of Buckingham got on his horse in front of his manor, a feathered arrow flew out of the morning mist, brushed his ear and embedded itself in the gate of the Duke’s mansion. Two figures in gray robes stood on the opposite eaves. No one knew what the two gray-robed men had talked about with the Duke of Buckingham. They disappeared from the royal city as mysteriously as they had arrived.

When they reappeared, it was on the battlefield.

The Duke of Buckingham led his troops to fight against Bressi’s expeditionary force. The nobles’ rebel army approached the royal city. General Johan, who was not yet sixteen years old, hurriedly led the troops to fight. Just when everyone thought that the royal army would be defeated, a cavalry arrived, none of them wore armor, they rushed like ghosts, and shot arrows at an astonishing speed, each arrow guaranteed to take a life away.

The aristocratic rebels were terrified after being killed one after another, and fled in disarray.

The royal army greeted the reinforcements that appeared suddenly at a critical moment. When they wanted to express their gratitude, they found that they were all wearing gray cloaks, and their faces were hidden under the hoods.

Facing General Johan’s inquiries and thanks, the leader of the archers took off his hood, and raised the longbow in his hand indifferently:

“For the queen!”

“For the queen!”

The gray-robed archers raised their longbows together, then turned around and left as quickly as they had come, without any intention of staying to receive any rewards.

They all had the iconic green eyes.

They were the Kriyans, the archers of Kriya.

The enemy compared them to “shadow elves”. They came from the Kriyan Mountains, where the two great rivers of Legrand originated. What made the enemy fearful was that they moved quickly and could always appear in the most deadly places on the battlefield, at the most critical moments. Earl Pligney’s father died under the brown feather arrow of the Kriyan archer. When he saw the gray-robed archer appearing in the smoke and dust, an ominous premonition swept over his heart.

An ancient fable once told a story about three generations of people dying under the same fate, and now that ancient fate had come to Earl Pligney.

“Be careful! Be careful with these——”

He yelled hysterically.

The Baliner mercenaries failed to understand his fear immediately. They even felt that the reinforcements that had arrived were ridiculous–—what could a cavalry without even armor do.

However, Earl Pligney was terrified as if he had seen some demon.

“Be careful with them!”

While raising the shield in his hand, the earl wanted to pull his horse back.

but then his voice stopped abruptly, and the war horse neighed in shock.

An arrow had pierced his throat.

He fell back from his horse and down into the dirt, carrying all his absurd ambition and greed with him.

The Baliner mercenaries quickly paid the price for their contempt. The Kriyan archers who arrived at the nick of time caused a lot of casualties to the mercenaries on the battlefield in just a short moment. All the mercenaries who tried to cross the drawbridge had their throats pierced by arrows, and the corpses quickly piled up a hill on the drawbridge entering the city.

“It’s reinforcements!”

On the city wall, the mercenaries who sneaked in had already been hacked to death by the regrouped soldiers. Seeing a cavalry suddenly appear, the soldiers’ morale was boosted, and they shouted excitedly.

 “Charge!”

The experienced Earl Gray gave the order immediately after the Kriyan archers arrived on the battlefield.

“Damn, what’s going on with these damned guys?”

The mercenary leader outside the city gritted his teeth with hatred for these gray-robed men who suddenly appeared. The army that was attacking the city was shot from behind and from the left, and it was difficult to defend in a hurry.

And at this time, the besieged Putton County defenders took advantage of the situation and charged out of the city. The situation on the battlefield suddenly reversed, and it became that they were the ones who were attacked from the inside and outside.

“Retreat first.”

The head of the Inquisition Bureau swung his sword to cut off a feathered arrow that was shot at him, and the hand holding his sword even went numb from the shock of the force.

The gray-robed archer who shot the arrow maintained the posture of pulling the bow, and pulled the bowstring contemptuously at him across most of the battlefield.

The plan had failed, and the Baliner mercenaries didn’t want to suffer any more casualties. The horn sounded, and the army gathered together and began to retreat.

Earl Gray did not lead his troops to pursue. He stood in front of the city gate, watched the enemy retreat, and breathed a sigh of relief.

The sound of horseshoes stomping could be heard, and the Kriyan archers who arrived at the critical moment slowly gathered and stood opposite the soldiers from Putton County. The corpses were piled up on the suspension bridge in front of the city gate, and each corpse had a feathered arrow precisely inserted in the throat. The soldiers of Putton applauded the exceptionally fine reinforcements with admiration.

“Following His Majesty’s order to come provide support.”

The gray-robed archer who had just provoked the head of the Inquisition Bureau took off his hood. He was a young man with silver hair and green eyes.

Dale glanced at his father and found that his father seemed to be prepared for the appearance of this archer.

“For Legrand’s glory.”

Earl Gray raised his fist and tapped on his breastplate.

Kriya’s archers separated, and a man with the appearance of a scholar stepped out from among them. He didn’t carry a bow and arrow. He nodded to Earl Gray, said the same “for Legrand’s glory”, and then said: “Let’s go in, this is not a place for discussion.”

Soon the soldiers were left behind to drag away the corpses in front of the city gate and raise the drawbridge again.

The Kriyan archers followed the scholar and their leader into Putton City. Dale and Sidney found that they were as silent as ancient trees, and everyone’s face was hidden under a hood. This reminded people of the Kriyan Mountains in the south of Legrand. They were like the legendary elves that haunt the shadows of the ancient forests, born to be the darlings of bows and winds.

………………

“The dragon trainer will arrive in two days.”

Under the candlelight, the scholar’s first sentence was a heart-sinking piece of bad news.

“Really? How are you sure?” Dale couldn’t help asking.

The scholar was not angry at his rudeness, he smiled slightly: “Because I saw it.”

“He’s an astrologer, Dale.”

Earl Gray slightly reprimanded. He was actually also observing the legendary ghost-like leader of the Kriyan archers and the high-ranking scholar among them.

Some of the mysteries shrouding the Kriyan archers faded slightly. If Kriya had excellent astrologers, it would make sense for them to appear at the most critical moments on the battlefield. It was just that astrologers have always been controlled by the Holy Court, so he womdered how Kriya’s astrologers managed to survive and grow in strength.

“My teacher was Her Majesty the Queen.”

The scholar saw his curiosity, and stretched out his hand to pull out a simple necklace from his collar. He held the necklace in a respectful and pious manner.

“The queen will always protect her subjects.”

Kriya’s queen, the warrior queen back then, Eleanor.

This was already a somewhat unfamiliar name to young people now, but to Earl Gray’s generation, it still had an extraordinary meaning to this day.

“The queen protects Legrand.” He said, his expression not necessarily relaxed, apparently still remembering what the scholar said about the dragon trainer arriving in two days. “I must admit that Kriya has the best archers in Legrand, but it’s a pity——even with you, we can’t defeat the black dragon.”

“Yes, so we need to persevere.”

Kriya’s astrologer replied.

………………

Not long after Kriya’s archers entered the castle, the rebels finished their reorganization and surrounded the castle again. This time they learned the lesson not long ago, and instead of rushing to attack the castle, they dug trenches around the castle, sealed it up, and intended to trap them to death within.

The mercenary leader organized the siege while practically gnashing his teeth, a Kriyan archer had almost taken his life away with an arrow. Although the head of the Inquisition Bureau swung his sword to block it, the arrow still took away one of his eyes.

He wrapped a bandage around the top of his head, and the only remaining eye looked at the damn castle in the distance with a sinister viciousness.

The signal for massacre was issued in the early hours of the morning, and a sharp arrow was shot at the top of Putton Castle. The Baliner mercenaries warned the people in Putton County that if they did not surrender before noon, then it would be the next Herrid City——no, they would be destroyed more thoroughly than Herrid City.

“…Your city walls will be overthrown, your streets and buildings will be reduced to ashes by the flames of the dragon, and no matter men, women, old or young, they will die without a place to bury…”

This was a terrifying warning.

Fleeing from other places, those who have witnessed the black dragon’s figure were in despair. Refugees escaped quietly from the castle again, but they were trapped behind the trenches. The Baliner mercenaries did not intend to accept any surrender. They surrounded and trapped the civilians in the middle, stabbed them to death with long spears, cut off the heads of the refugees, and threw them at the foot of Putton Castle.

This kind of tragedy happened not far from the castle, and it was a massacre deliberately shown to them.

The guards remained at their posts, and the Kriyan archers returned the courtesy when the mercenaries of Baliner came to throw their heads——

They accurately shot and killed all the mercenaries who stepped into range.

After that, the Baliner mercenaries no longer approached the city wall.

At noon, the sun hung high in the sky. There were no clouds, and the sun was so dazzling that it already revealed the breath of midsummer. The refugees crowded on the streets in Putton City suddenly let out a cry of panic, seeing a black shadow like the wind coming from the distant sky. The dragon’s roar sounded like thunder, like an announcement of deterrence.

The black dragon hovered in the sky, and then landed on the open space in front of the city gate with a strong gust of wind.

The flag rattled and was almost ripped away.

The dragon trainer stood on the dragon’s back, and he politely said to Earl Gray, who stood with a cold face on the city wall: “Mr. Earl, you have one last chance to surrender.”

“Otherwise we will turn this place completely——damn!”

The mercenary leader drove his horse to the side of the black dragon. He took over the words of the dragon trainer, but just halfway through speaking, a sharp arrow shot down from the city wall.

The black dragon flapped its wings, and the wind that blew swept away the feathered arrows, but also knocked the mercenary leader, man and horse to the ground.

“You’ve exhausted our patience, bastard.” The mercenary leader got up, and he drew his sword. “You’re all going to be killed today.”

The leader of the Kriyan archers responded with another sharp arrow.

The dragon trainer sighed regretfully. He quickly jumped off the black dragon and let go of the chain in his hand: “Go, Honey.”

The black dragon flapped its wings slowly, and it raised its head and roared.

Red dragon flames spat out.

“Honey!”

The dragon trainer turned his head abruptly. The dragon flames changed direction at the last moment and sprayed towards their right. Some mercenaries who stood too close didn’t even have time to scream, and were wiped out in flames. He almost thought that the black dragon had gone out of control. 

The next moment, the dragon trainer realized that the black dragon was not out of control, but defending itself!

A giant spear was thrown through the air, and a dazzling light shone on the spear.

This was a weapon that was impossible for humans to use. It was so heavy and huge, just like the bone spear carried by the giants in the legends wno used it to pierce the mammoth’s throat.

The dragon flames failed to incinerate it, it was just blown off-course, and fell back into a hand wearing an iron glove.

The black dragon roared angrily in a low growl, with its wings raised high, and its ferocious slit pupils staring intently into the distance.

This time, the people who exclaimed were replaced by the Baliner mercenaries.

“Has the gate of hell been opened?”

They backed away subconsciously.

The ground shook like thunder rolling on the surface. The terrifying army of ancient beasts appeared in the billowing smoke and dust. They were terrifying cavalry that could only exist in nightmares, and even the Gulundi heavy cavalry appeared docile like lambs in front of them. Each piece of armor weighed thousands of stones, and mortal horses could no longer support such heavy armor. But most horrifying of all was the fact that pale skeletons wore this ferocious armor.

Just like the mercenaries muttering to themselves, the gates of hell seem to have opened.

The dusty army stepped out of the shadows and came to the world with murder in the air.

On the city wall and under the city wall, everyone was shocked by the army composed of skeletons and heavy armor, and no one made a sound.

Kriya’s archers stared closely at the knight at the front of the nightmare cavalry. Compared with the skeleton cavalry behind him, he seemed small in stature, but he was the one who led this horrific cavalry to arrive.

The Kriyan archers who could indifferently reap lives on the battlefield heard their heartbeats suddenly increase. They clenched their longbows tightly, almost unable to breathe due to tension.

The knight rode out, raised his hand and took off his helmet.

Long pitch-black hair tumbled down——bloody hell, she’s a woman!

A woman who was so beautiful that she was almost intimidating.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

The daylight was piercingly bright, reflecting off her armor and outlining a dazzling brilliance. She led thousands of troops and horses to stand amidst dragon flames burning on the ground, and the flames imprinted on her dark green pupils.

The Kriyan archers raised their longbows high, and these gray-robed archers, who were as silent as ancient trees, let out deafening cheers.

“I heard——”

Amidst their cheers, the black-haired female knight raised her saber and pointed it straight ahead.

“You want to slaughter my people?”

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