Chapter 94: Victor's Death and Promotion (75k)

Under Night Shadow Castle.

"Both are magicians, but the gap is too big!"

Xia Mingyu stood in the center of a group of shield soldiers, feeling the pain of the strong wind hitting his face, looking at the city gate fragments that splashed countless smoke and dust, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but twitch.

He could draw and superimpose at most eight magic patterns in one breath by draining his magic power, but Lise raised her hand and drew dozens, forcing the magic to play the power of true magic.

If it weren't for the fact that once a different-colored eye person is promoted, it would attract the trial of the church, I'm afraid Lise could have already achieved the Morning Star Mage.

Ten thousand times magic power... Xia Mingyu now realized how terrifying this term was.

"Damn it!"

On the city wall, Victor watched his own castle gate being shattered, his eyes almost splitting with anger, and the city wall battlements he held were directly cracked.

Relying on the castle, he could defend for a whole year, and Kalen, who could not get grain supply, could only go back in a dejected manner.

But now the other party had just arrived at the city, and the city gate was broken directly!

And it was by a little girl... should it be said that it is worthy of being a different-colored eye? Sure enough, it is naturally sinful.

The city gate is broken, and next he can only fight Kalen head-on, that is Kalen... In the Dragon-Lion War, among their batch of Southern Region lords, Kalen killed the most enemy knights!

Even if he has now absorbed the pain power in the entire territory and his strength has skyrocketed, he has no certainty of victory.

Calm, calm.

Victor took a deep breath, pressing the anxiety and fear in his heart to the bottom of his heart.

The battle with Kalen is something he must face. If he succeeds, he will be promoted to Crescent Moon in one fell swoop, and then annex the Black Wolf Territory, making the pain power grow like a snowball.

Failed... don't think about it.

Go fight, Victor, this is the only chance to wash away all the shame of the past!

In a psychological battle, Victor's expression gradually became expressionless.

"Order all soldiers, and Knight Linton, to go out of the city with me and fight to the death!"

"Yes!"

Under the city wall.

"Lise, well done."

Looking at the empty and completely open castle at the city gate, Kalen praised Lise behind him.

Magicians are truly sharp weapons for siege!

And Lise, being able to burst out a full-strength blow comparable to a Morning Star Mage at sixteen, is not an exaggeration to say that she is a genius in the magic world.

"Lise, as your father, I am proud of you, but next is the adult's battle, you should go back," Kalen signaled with his hand.

"Father, I can still help..."

Before Lise could finish speaking, she was forcibly taken back to His Highness's carriage by several shield soldiers.

Afterward, Kalen no longer looked away, his eyes staring tightly at the open city gate ahead.

Tramp, tramp, tramp.

Accompanied by the dense sound of footsteps, an army of at least a thousand people slowly walked out of the city gate, and the leader was Victor in armor and a Transcendent Knight.

"Victor, you finally came out to die."

After seeing the person, a bloodthirsty smile appeared on Kalen's face, and a torrent of dark green magic power slowly erupted from his body.

"The one who died is you," Victor said with a ferocious expression, and a torrent of gray-white magic power erupted from his body.

"After I take your head, I hope you can be so tough."

Kalen jumped off the horse's back and moved his muscles and bones.

For the battle between Great Knights, ordinary mounts are a burden.

As for the Black Abyss Wolf... he left it to protect His Highness. After all, facing the mere deserter Victor, he didn't bother to use a magic beast mount.

"Come on, fight, Kalen, see who is the final winner!"

Victor shouted, and the next moment, accompanied by the erupting magic power, he disappeared in place instantly, rushing toward Kalen with his sword like an arrow from a string.

"Well come."

Kalen also disappeared in an instant, turning into a remnant shadow and rushing forward with absolute killing intent.

Boom, boom, boom!

Accompanied by the harsh sonic boom, the two Great Knights turned into two streams of light, cyan and gray, intertwined at a terrifying speed that ordinary people could not see at all.

Clang, clang, clang!

Within a few seconds, the sound of swords colliding echoed through the battlefield like a rapid drumbeat.

It was clearly a battle between two people, but it played out with the momentum of thousands of troops.

And after the two lords fought, their army behind them also started to charge after hearing the passionate horn sound.

Tramp, tramp, tramp.

War horses neighed, cavalry rushed toward the enemy formation like an unstoppable torrent, cavalry spears leveled, cold light flashing.

Followed by the infantry phalanx holding long spears, they fought with the shield soldiers, long spears stabbed out from the gaps, and arrows were also shot like raindrops.

The moment the two armies clashed, the sound of metal collision, roaring, and screaming echoed through this land, deafening.

One corpse after another fell, and broken limbs and remains could be seen everywhere.

"It's really... terrible!"

Xia Mingyu, surrounded by a group of shield soldiers, looked around at the hellish scene, his brows furrowed tightly.

Real war is far more cruel than what is filmed on TV, and it is a cruelty that cannot be described in words at all.

He saw a young soldier shot in the eye by an arrow, falling down wailing, and his companion wanted to save him but was pierced by the enemy rushing up.

He also saw an enemy soldier who was also young wanting to rush up to attack him, and then in the next instant, he was shot into a hedgehog by the archers.

Although it was deserved, the miserable appearance still made Xia Mingyu unable to bear to look directly.

War... Xia Mingyu realized the true meaning of these two words for the first time.

It is extremely cruel and bloody.

No matter what beautiful words are used to decorate it, it is so.

But if you want to change everything at present, it is a necessary means.

Just like if there was no war, the people of the Night Shadow Territory would have to starve endlessly, and eventually, the tragedy of cannibalism might have already happened.

And later, if he wants to realize his difficult and distant ideals, perhaps hundreds or even thousands of large and small wars will be needed to realize them.

"Sigh!"

Xia Mingyu sighed long and faintly, then white light flashed at his fingertips, and one after another complicated magic patterns were drawn in an instant.

"Sun, fire, impact, increase..."

Boom!

A fireball with a diameter of more than half a meter slammed out, burning a cavalryman who wanted to sneak attack into a fire man along with his horse in an instant.

The air emitted a disgusting smell of meat, and the cavalryman's wailing was heart-piercing, but it gradually stopped soon.

He also has to learn to get used to this cruelty.

Xia Mingyu looked calmly at the human-shaped charcoal on the ground, sighing in his heart.

Boom, boom, boom!

In the center of the battlefield, after thousands of sword clashes, Kalen and Victor finally separated from the fierce fight temporarily.

"Why did you suddenly become so much stronger?"

Kalen gasped, looking at Victor, who was still erupting with gray-white magic power, with a hint of surprise in his expression.

He could conclude that on the day of the ceremony three days ago, Victor was definitely not as strong as he is now.

"Hehe!"

Victor also gasped, but looking at the surprise on Kalen's face, he only felt that his whole body was extremely comfortable.

Didn't you often scold me as a deserter before? Why can't you even beat a deserter now!

However, having said that, Victor's heart was still extremely wary of Kalen.

After all, after absorbing the pain power of the entire territory, his power had reached the peak of the Morning Star Knight, only one step away from the Crescent Moon Knight.

And Kalen, relying only on natural cultivation, actually reached this level.

This means that the outcome of the battle between the two of them is still unknown, but no matter who wins, they will likely directly achieve great achievements and be promoted to Crescent Moon Knight in one fell swoop!

Thinking of this, a hint of ruthlessness appeared on Victor's face, and new physical strength erupted in his already tired body.

"Kalen, let's fight to the death!"

Victor roared and rushed toward Kalen with his knight sword again.

This time, he will not be a deserter, but the final winner!

"Just what I want."

Looking at the man who took the initiative to charge in front of him, although he still wanted to kill him quickly, Kalen also ignited a hint of fighting spirit.

Boom, boom, boom!

The two turned into cyan and gray streams of light again and intertwined.

Not far away.

Berg, under the protection of several shield soldiers, began to draw his bow and arrow.

"Eagle Eye."

"Sensory Enhancement."

"Death of All Things."

Three mutually auxiliary abilities were superimposed on him, his eyes turned into gorgeous ice blue, and the bloody battlefield in front of him also turned into black and white.

The whistling sound of arrows, the sound of wind, the blood brought out by the spear tip piercing flesh... an unprecedented amount of information flooded into his mind.

Gradually, even if he still couldn't see Victor's movements clearly, he could still roughly perceive where the other party's death point was.

He had confidence that while the other party was dragged by Kalen, he would sneak attack and hit his death point.

However, after aiming, when the bowstring had been pulled full by Berg, Berg didn't shoot the arrow for a long time.

No, no!

This damn beast harmed my father and so many people, how can I let him die so easily?

At least he should be cut into a thousand pieces first!

Berg gritted his teeth and finally adjusted the direction of the arrow.

Hundreds of meters away, a Transcendent Knight was wearing heavy armor, with only two eyes exposed, and was killing the soldiers of the Black Wolf Territory.

And the soldiers' attacks couldn't even break his defense.

Swish!

Berg shot an arrow, the arrow crossed like a meteor, accurately inserting from the gap in the helmet.

The Transcendent Knight who had just slaughtered soldiers wailed, and his body wearing heavy armor fell to the ground with a bang.

Linton, dead?

Although Victor was fighting Kalen with all his might, the keen senses of a Great Knight still made him notice this scene.

His loyal attendant who had accompanied him for decades died; even if Victor was indifferent, he couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

Kalen did not give up this rare opportunity. Taking advantage of the stalemate of swords, he loosened the sword hilt with his right hand wearing a gauntlet, then clenched it into a fist and smashed it fiercely at Victor's face with magic power.

Boom!

This heavy punch directly deformed Victor's face and sent him flying, rolling several times on the ground.

"Bastard, you actually took advantage of others' danger, are you still Kalen?"

Victor, who fell to the ground, raised his head, full of disbelief, and blood seeped from his nostrils and corners of his mouth.

In his impression, Kalen was still that cold-faced, silent killer, and respected fighting the most, never taking advantage of others in a one-on-one duel.

"People will change. Before being a warrior, I am more of a father."

Kalen glanced at Victor's dropped knight sword on the ground, and he kicked it away to avoid it being picked up again.

"Moreover, going all out because of fear of failure is the best respect for a warrior."

Kalen raised his black sword and approached Victor step by step, his eyes full of killing intent.

It's time to take the enemy's head and offer it to His Highness to end this war.

"Hehe... don't think you've won, this is what you forced me to do!"

Victor stood up quickly, stared at Kalen with extreme resentment, and quickly took out a bottle of magic potion and poured it into his mouth.

He is a believer in pain, and his god bestowed him a gift—the more painful, the stronger he will be.

This is the pain magic potion he prepared. After taking it, he will immediately feel infinite pain.

It was originally used to torture prisoners to obtain pain power, but now it seems that in order to survive, he can only gamble.

Swish!

Just as the magic potion was about to be poured into Victor's mouth, an iron arrow broke through the air, not only shattering the bottle containing the magic potion but also piercing Victor's right palm.

"Ah ah ah, my hand!"

Victor only felt a sharp pain in his palm, and he covered his hand and wailed.

However, the funny thing is that at this time he did feel his strength improve.

But having lost his sword and his dominant hand, unless he broke through to Crescent Moon on the spot, he was almost destined to be defeated.

"Asking my beloved daughter to be your concubine, and refusing His Highness's reasonable request, you insulted me, and even more insulted that Highness. From that moment on, your ending was destined to be death!"

Kalen held his sword and came to Victor, saying coldly.

Clang!

He slashed with his sword, and an arm flew into the sky.

"Ah ah ah!"

So painful, so painful!

Victor covered his empty right shoulder and the blood spraying continuously like a fountain from the wound, wailing in pain, his expression almost collapsed.

Good news, his hand doesn't hurt anymore; bad news, he has no hand.

Clang!

The blade swept across, and Kalen cut off Victor's left leg with another sword.

Now Victor completely lost his balance, he lay on the ground, blood flowing in large swaths, quickly dyeing the soil purple-red.

"Wait a moment, Viscount!"

Just as Kalen was about to cut off Victor's head with one sword, Berg rushed over at the fastest speed of his life.

"Viscount, the Night Shadow Lord and I have an irreconcilable hatred, please let me kill him!"

Berg requested, looking at the man who had lost one hand and one leg and was wailing on the ground, his body trembling slightly.

Not because of fear, but because extreme anger made his chest heave violently.

"Sorry, boy, although I thank you for that arrow, Victor insulted my daughter, and I must cut off his head with my own hands to vent my hatred."

Kalen shook his head and chose to refuse.

Just when the atmosphere between the two was somewhat deadlocked, Xia Mingyu walked over under the escort of a team of shield soldiers.

"Kalen, immediately announce the news of victory. Every second the war continues, new people will die," Xia Mingyu ordered.

He didn't want to see anyone die because of this war anymore.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Kalen immediately erupted with magic power, and then shouted with all his might to the entire battlefield:

"Soldiers of the Night Shadow Territory, your lord has been defeated by me, put down your weapons and surrender immediately, otherwise you will be killed!"

Under the influence of magic power, the voice instantly spread throughout the battlefield.

The soldiers who were close saw their lord lose one hand and one leg and fall into a pool of blood, and they lost their fighting spirit, throwing down their weapons and squatting down with their heads in their hands.

And the soldiers in the distance, after seeing their companions do this, also chose to follow suit.

Gradually, this bloody war finally stopped.

"Victor Night Shadow, I have something to ask you."

Xia Mingyu looked at the man lying on the ground, his eyes cold.

"If I answer, can you give me a quick death?"

Glancing at the boy beside him who was trembling with anger, Victor didn't know the reason, but he felt that if he fell into the other party's hands, he shouldn't die too comfortably.

"Depends on the situation," Xia Mingyu just gave an ambiguous answer.

"I have asked many people in your territory, you clearly don't need to pay grain tax at all, and the grain collected has long been piled up in the castle and has not been sold."

"In the absence of natural disasters, why force your people to be skin and bones? Finally, you directly looted all the grain and wanted to starve them to death."

"No matter from which angle you analyze it, I really can't think of what benefits this has for you as a lord?"

Xia Mingyu leaned down and asked.

He thought about it all night in the Spark Hall yesterday and couldn't think of the reason. It couldn't be that this guy is actually an antisocial personality who just likes to torture the people.

"Hehe... what do you ignorant people know." A hint of madness appeared on Victor's face.

"They have long since died, my..."

Just when he wanted to say the honorable name of his god, he was horrified to find that he couldn't make any sound at all.

"It seems that you have refused my request again."

Looking at Victor, who was full of horror on the ground and didn't answer for a long time, Xia Mingyu frowned slightly and straightened up again.

"Your Highness, can you give Victor's life to me? I must kill him!" Berg immediately requested to Xia Mingyu.

He knew His Highness's choice, Kalen would definitely listen, and must listen.

"Your Highness, Victor insulted my daughter, I have long made a vow to cut off his head with my own hands and hang it on the city wall, please give his life to me."

Seeing this, Kalen also requested without showing weakness, he glared at Berg, and the gaze between the two almost sparked.

This made Xia Mingyu a bit of a headache; it seemed that no matter who he chose, the other party would feel that he didn't value them.

If he had known, he would have waited for a while for the two of them to decide for themselves before coming over.

Sigh, it's all Victor's fault for being too popular...

"Your Highness, Victor has the hatred of killing my father, the hatred of killing my companions, and the hatred of destroying my hometown, please let me take revenge!"

Berg knelt on one knee, begging with a face full of pleading.

These words made Kalen speechless for a while.

After all, the hatred between them was indeed much deeper than his.

"Your Highness, I have a premonition that as long as I cut off Victor's head with my own hands and hang it on the city wall, I will be able to be promoted to Crescent Moon Knight in one fell swoop."

"My promotion is not important, but being able to better serve Your Highness is the most important!"

Kalen thought for a moment and told the truth.

For someone with such a noble status as His Highness, many people with ulterior motives will sooner or later peek at him, and he must become stronger as soon as possible to protect His Highness's safety.

"Your Highness, Victor's life, let's give it to Lord Kalen." Hearing him say this, although he was very unwilling in his heart, Berg still stood up quickly.

No matter what, as His Highness's hunting dog, he must put His Highness's interests first and cannot just act on emotion.

Hearing this, after thinking for a moment, Xia Mingyu made a choice.

"I've wronged you, Berg." He walked to Berg and patted him on the shoulder.

The boy lowered his head, his expression dimmed.

"I'll give you ten minutes, can you give him a little punishment without Victor dying?"

Xia Mingyu said calmly.

He had already heard about Berg's hard practice of interrogation techniques in Black Wolf Castle, and after witnessing the tragedies of the crazy peasant woman after coming to the Night Shadow Territory, he really didn't want Victor to die too easily.

The boy raised his head suddenly and looked at Xia Mingyu in disbelief.

"As you command, I couldn't ask for more."

Berg bowed deeply, then turned to look at Victor, who was lying on the ground with a look of horror.

The boy's mouth twitched uncontrollably, revealing a ferocious sneer, and the veins on his forehead bulged.

Berg quickly took out a large bag from the luggage carried by the brown horse he had ridden before, and then untied the rope downward.

Swish, swish, swish.

Thumb clamps, pliers... and other interrogation tools scattered all over the ground.

These tools that Victor once used to torture others and was familiar with now looked extremely terrifying in his eyes.

"Ah ah ah!" He panicked and crawled away, but was dragged back by Berg by his remaining broken leg.

"Don't panic, we have ten minutes," Berg's tone was very gentle.

"My fingernails, my fingernails!"

"One thousand minus seven, equals what?"

In the next ten minutes, Victor's miserable wailing never stopped.

At first, Xia Mingyu felt it was too harsh, so he covered his ears.

But recalling the bloody marks on the soles of the crazy peasant woman's feet, and her husband who was young but haggard like an old man, he silently let go of his hands again.

"Ah ah ah ah, kill me, kill me!"

The wailing of the cockroach, after listening for a long time, it was actually a bit pleasant.

Xia Mingyu thought secretly in his heart.

Finally, Victor, who was dying and had no complete organs left on his body, was beheaded by Kalen with one sword, and his head was presented to Xia Mingyu.

"My lord, this villain who refused your legitimate request and even dared to harm you has been beheaded."

Kalen knelt on one knee, holding Victor's head, which was dead and not closed, with both hands, respectfully.

At the same time, a huge dark green magic power soared into the sky from him.

Above his head, the Great Knight profession blessing that had been hidden emerged.

Afterward, the dark purple Great Knight disappeared, replaced by a new line of text—the dark blue "Wolf Knight".

After achieving the great achievement of leading the army to cut off the enemy lord's head, Kalen, who had been stagnant at the Morning Star rank for a full ten years, was finally promoted to Crescent Moon Knight.

At the same time, the Black Abyss Wolf, which was lying behind Xia Mingyu and guarding his safety, suddenly changed its physique.

Its originally huge body began to tremble violently, its muscles expanded like inflation, and its bones made a tooth-aching crackling sound.

The jet-black hair stood up one by one, like steel needles.

When the change ended, the Black Abyss Wolf's physique had reached the level of three meters from a shoulder height of more than two meters.

Those cold wolf eyes were even more frightening.

Above its head, a line of dark blue text gradually emerged—"Black Tail".

When a knight is promoted, there is a small probability of feeding back to his mount to be promoted together. This phenomenon is called "Human-Beast Resonance" by scholars on the Western Continent.

Of course, knights do not agree with this name; they usually call this bond resonance or soul resonance.

This is also one of the reasons why the knight profession gradually replaced the fighter profession as the mainstream in this era.

After all, one is fighting alone, and the other is two against one, the gap gradually widened, not to mention that the subsequent promotion difficulty of fighters is also higher.

After becoming a named magic beast, the Black Abyss Wolf did not show the ferocity it should have, but trotted to Xia Mingyu.

Then, learning from Kalen who was kneeling on one knee beside him, it knelt on all fours on the ground, wagging its tail and affectionately sticking out its pink tongue at Xia Mingyu.

Xia Mingyu looked at the man and wolf in front of him with satisfaction, feeling that the SSR he had cultivated so hard had finally been promoted.

It's just that the human head is indeed a bit disgusting; if it weren't for maintaining his demeanor, he would have already vomited.

"Congratulations to you, Kalen, Black Tail, for successfully being promoted to Crescent Moon," he congratulated.

"Your Highness, my promotion is not worth congratulating. Being able to serve you and better repay your kindness to me is worth my lifelong rejoicing."

Kalen said with a solemn expression, his tough face full of reverence and loyalty.

"Your Highness, Victor's head, I plan to hang it on the city wall of Night Shadow Castle, do you think it is okay?"

"... Hang it on the city wall of Night Wind Town, let those people who have suffered his torture vent their resentment."

After thinking for a moment, Xia Mingyu gave the answer.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Afterward, it was the aftermath work. The surrendered soldiers would be thrown into the dungeon of Night Shadow Castle, and their disposal would be decided after their crimes were investigated.

Professional soldiers who only followed orders could be spared.

Those responsible for grain requisition should just be killed.

However, there was a small episode in the middle.

In the castle dungeon.

"... A bit regretful for letting him die so easily."

Xia Mingyu looked at the dungeon, which was already seriously overcrowded and full of commoners who were tortured by various torture instruments and dying, and muttered to himself.

"Let them all go."

Afterward, he came to the most anticipated place—the castle granary.

Crack.

After the servants of Night Shadow Castle pushed open the heavy oak door, a dry breath mixed with the fragrance of grain rushed toward them.

The space inside the granary was extremely large, and the ceiling was ten meters high from the ground.

Bright sunlight slanted in from the narrow windows high up, casting mottled light and shadow on the piles of sacks.

Here were neatly piled hundreds of sacks as tall as a person, filled with golden wheat, rye, barley... and various other crops, and even many pottery jars in the corner were filled with salt or spices.

Xia Mingyu grabbed a handful of wheat from the sack, feeling the comfort of the grains slipping through his fingers, and he exhaled a long breath as if he had unloaded a heavy burden.

It's great, with so much grain, it's enough for the starving people in the Night Shadow Territory to eat their fill.

"My lord, there are four such granaries in the castle."

Just then, the original butler of Night Shadow Castle reported.

Xia Mingyu: "."

Victor really deserves to die!

"Kalen, order the soldiers to distribute all the grain in this warehouse to the people of the Night Shadow Territory, and there must be no greed." Xia Mingyu ordered.

"Yes, as you command," Kalen bowed slightly, respectfully.

"However, Your Highness, I have a small suggestion." He raised his head and said cautiously.

"Speak."

"Your Highness, prestige has a great promotion effect on blessing promotion, whether it is status or profession, and such a benevolent act of yours of distributing grain to all the people in the entire territory will definitely bring huge prestige."

"If not explained, this prestige will all belong to me alone, but I have been promoted to Crescent Moon Knight, and I am still far from Crescent Moon... so I hope Your Highness can carry this prestige."

"I know the necessity of Your Highness hiding your identity, but if you don't disclose your identity as the heir to the fourteen-billion-citizen kingdom, but disclose it with another identity, this can not only hide your identity but also gain prestige for Your Highness, wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone?"

Kalen slowly interpreted his thoughts. He believed that this was more beneficial to His Highness, and he really didn't want His Highness's achievements to be hidden and attributed to himself.

"Can."

After a long time, the promise of His Highness came from the granary.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 95 =====