Chapter 291: End

The cold autumn wind carrying withered yellow leaves blew over everyone present, taking away the little warmth and making the hands holding the weapons even colder.

War, it seemed, was on the verge of breaking out.

Ulric, relying on his last bit of reason, stopped himself from turning his head to check the expressions of his subordinates.

He couldn't do that, because it would expose his cowardice, his sensitivity, and his distrust of his vassals.

He was indeed afraid, afraid that someone would really stand out at this subtle moment and agree to the conditions of this young man. Once the first person appeared, the following situation would be out of control.

At this moment, Ulric could only hold his sword, staring coldly at this arrogant young man, waiting for a turning point.

"My monarch has already told you, the negotiation is over. Please leave immediately, you fake king who crowned yourself, otherwise, we will not be able to guarantee your safety."

As Ulric's loyal supporter, Duke Alama immediately pulled out his weapon and scolded this arrogant young man in front of him. At the same time, other lords also pulled out their weapons and scolded.

However, the number of people doing this was less than half of the whole.

Half of the remaining lords were looking at Duke Elfwan, the lord of Lion Lake City, as if waiting for his decision.

And the other half of the lords' eyes were wandering between Allen and Ulric, and the expressions in their eyes were uncertain.

All this was reflected in Allen's eyes, and at the same time, he had more calculations in his heart.

He naturally wouldn't leave. Not to mention the power he possessed, the army of thousands behind him also gave him sufficient confidence.

Ulric couldn't do anything to him at all now, unless he was willing to discard the dignity of a king and the pride he had insisted on all his life.

Moreover, Allen clearly felt that his words had an effect. Sometimes, not speaking is equivalent to expressing an attitude.

"Ha, if

Speaking to this point, Allen's originally calm face revealed a look of mockery. He looked at the Ravenstern King opposite him without any concealment and shouted loudly: "How about we resolve this dispute with a duel? The winner takes all, and the loser dies gloriously right here."

Ulric's heart was now in utter turmoil. He gritted his teeth, not knowing what to say. He was a king; for the sake of the crown on his head, he could not hide, could not be cowardly, and certainly could not act unreasonably.

He now deeply regretted underestimating his opponent. For the sake of so-called pride, he had agreed to the other party's request for negotiations, only to find himself in a position where he could neither advance nor retreat.

Even without looking back, based on the sounds he heard with his own ears, Ulric could guess many things. It was likely that many lords were already thinking of betraying their master to save their own lives.

At this moment, if he flatly refused the other party's proposal, wouldn't that expose the cowardice in his heart? But to agree—even though Ulric had spent years on the battlefield, he did not believe he had a guaranteed chance of victory.

He always felt that there was something not quite right about his opponent.

"Since you claim to be the new King of Pendor, you shouldn't propose such a childish suggestion. This concerns the life and death of countless people and the fate of the entire kingdom; how can it be decided by a single duel? We can temporarily cease hostilities and discuss a better method."

The person speaking was Duke Aierfuwan. He agreed very much with some of the things Allen had said. Now that they had many enemies, they shouldn't consume too much strength in this place.

Yet Allen saw something else. Just now, when Ulric was insulted, this duke with slightly graying whiskers had not expressed a stance, yet he spoke up to dissuade them at this moment.

This lord's position was worth savoring.

Ulric, however, was much more blunt; the look he gave Aierfuwan when he turned back seemed to be spitting fire.

This was naked betrayal!!!

The armies behind them also began to move slowly, and a clear division had already appeared between the two sides.

Allen did not respond in the slightest to the proposal for a truce; the mockery on his face only grew more intense, and there was no longer the respect he had shown at the beginning in his words.

"Ha, if you don't have the courage for a duel, then I'll change my wording. You and your pride-and-joy Lion Knights can all come up together, while I will be alone. How about it? You don't dare to agree to this either?"

Facing such wanton mockery, Ulric could no longer suppress his anger.

"Since you are bent on seeking death, then I shall grant your wish."

Ulric responded to Allen's challenge word by word.

If he didn't even dare to agree to such conditions, his prestige would plummet, and he would become a joke circulating in taverns.

"This..." Aierfuwan just wanted to speak, but Ulric interrupted him.

"What? Do you have an opinion, Duke Aierfuwan? Can't wait to defend your new master?"

At this point, the two sides had completely torn off their masks. Duke Aierfuwan did not respond to Ulric's roar; instead, he nodded to Allen and led the lords willing to follow him away from the ranks. The number of people behind Ulric suddenly decreased by nearly a quarter.

The duke, nearly sixty years old, did not know what the young man's trump card was, but to him, this was also a good opportunity.

Ulric had become increasingly excessive in his treatment of the old nobility, not only using various excuses to strip vassals of their titles.

Before this, he had even groundlessly declared those Lion Knights who remained loyal to the Pendor royal family illegal, and in recent years, he had created a knight order that belonged only to himself.

Although it was also called the Lion Knights, in reality, they were just Ulric's thugs and lackeys.

These various actions had truly caused dissatisfaction among too many people.

Aierfuwan had already made his plans: if that young man won the battle under the protection of the gods, then everything would be easy to talk about.

If he lost, he would call upon those Pendor soldiers standing in the distance, letting them avenge their king.

And he himself would lead those soldiers in a head-on confrontation with Ulric.

Not to mention others, Duke Aierfuwan still knew a thing or two about the loyalty of the Griffin Knights; he was confident that he would not be fighting alone today.

Allen did not care what others were thinking; by this point, his plan had been perfectly completed.

"Since that is the case, then please let all the lords present bear witness. See you on the battlefield in a moment, Ulric."

After saying this, he took the ten cavalrymen he had arrived with and returned the way he came.

"Your Majesty! Are you really going to go up alone? I am not questioning your decision, but this is too dangerous!"

On the way back, Sir Azriel still could not control his emotions. He knew Allen possessed strength far beyond that of ordinary people, but facing nearly a thousand people alone was truly a bit too exaggerated.

"It doesn't matter. You can just take them back, and by the way, take my horse as well."

As he spoke, Allen dismounted, handed over the reins, and then waved his hand.

"Go quickly, this is an order."

Helpless, he had no choice but to leave quickly on horseback.

Watching the figures of his subordinates gradually moving away, Allen turned back and shouted loudly to Ulric, who was a mile away: "What are you waiting for, usurper? Let's begin."

The neighing of horses gradually rose. Under the king's command, the brightly armored Lion Knights began their pre-battle preparations.

To besiege a lone person who didn't even have a horse, in fact, didn't require nearly a thousand Lion Knights at all, but Ulric still had the members of the knight order form twenty full charge phalanxes, with fifty men in each horizontal line.

Even after living for more than forty years, he could not understand what the other party was relying on to dare to propose such a duel invitation that was clearly seeking death.

If it were any other day, Ulric would certainly have thought the other party was a madman seeking death, but the current time and scene were different, leaving his heart full of doubts.

However, Ulric could no longer worry about so much now. If he didn't even dare to agree to such an invitation, then he, as king, would truly be finished. What face would he have left to demand others charge for him?

Today, he would crush that arrogant brat, grind his bones into bloody mud, and let everyone know what the outcome of offending him was.

And those fools who left at this time would also inevitably pay the price one day.

"Knights, grip your weapons tightly."

Ulric skillfully maneuvered his warhorse, constantly cruising beside the ready cavalry phalanxes, making eye contact with every Lion Knight who looked at him.

"Now, someone is trampling on our dignity and challenging our strength. It is time to let the other party witness our might. Everyone, listen to my command."

Ulric shouted words to boost morale, rode to the front of all the Lion Knights, and then raised the Ravenstern banner spear in his hand, pointing it at the madman not far away.

"Charge."

The sound of hooves gradually thundered. The first phalanx of Lion Knights slowly began to move, followed by the second, third, fourth...

These were experienced heavy cavalry. They strictly executed the charging process of walking, trotting, accelerating, and full speed, and the formation of each phalanx was quite neat; with the naked eye, it was even difficult to distinguish the difference in distance between the horses.

A distance of one mile for these Lion Knights, who had let their horses run at full speed, was passed in almost an instant.

They did not understand why the other party dared to stand there foolishly, alone, welcoming the charge of twenty phalanxes of nearly a thousand heavy cavalry.

But this was not important. Several lances shimmering with cold light were lowered and aimed at the figure standing motionless in place. The knights on both sides even made preparations to thrust, guarding against the other party's escape or dodging.

Because they always had to obey the king's orders; the priority of the order even exceeded the morality in their hearts. They were merely sharp blades in the hands of a usurper.

What knights, what protection—it was all just a joke that had fallen into the dust.

Suddenly, a powerful air current exploded on the plain, kicking up countless withered grass and dust, blocking the vision of these heavy cavalrymen.

In the sky filled with smoke and dust, a silver figure flew up like lightning, and then one after another, roaring lightning bolts fell from the sky.

The pattern of the lightning strikes seemed chaotic, yet it disrupted the momentum of the Lion Knights' charge with extreme precision.

In an instant, the cavalrymen who were already charging at full speed were thrown into disarray, and then, like dominoes, the falling lightning caused a huge chain reaction.

The entire charging force of Lion Knights fell into complete chaos.

The screams of knights mixed with the neighing of falling warhorses staged a grand drama on the plain called "Embarrassment and Crushing Defeat." Among the fallen people and horses, dazzling electric light still darted about, declaring its power to the audience.

And Allen, who caused all of this, was coldly watching it all from the air.

Then his gaze turned to Ulric. Under the eyes of everyone, he drew the Sapphire Rune Sword from his back, his figure turning into a cold light as he rushed toward the Ravenstern King, whose eyes were splitting with rage.

Everyone present widened their eyes, watching the absurd yet real scene before them. Even though some had already seen it once, their hearts were still filled with astonishment.

Even those Noldor Elves who had retained some magic indicated that such a scene was not common.

"Bastard."

Even if he were to live for another fifty years, Ulric would never have imagined that there was someone in this world who could fly in the sky and summon thunder.

At this moment, Ulric had nowhere to hide, because he had placed himself in the last row of the cavalry phalanx, with the fallen Lion Knights in front of him and the deeply shocked nobles behind him.

At this moment, he had become a lone man, with only a few people left by his side.

Yet even these few people had their eyes blinded by the suddenly appearing gale, and the horses, after being frightened, neighed and ran everywhere.

Miraculously, it seemed that only the king in the very center was unaffected.

Seeing the soul-stirring cold light in the air getting closer and closer, Ulric cursed angrily and thrust the Ravenstern banner spear in fury. The cold-shimmering spear tip turned into a silver line, making a final struggle for its master.

"Crack!"

The heirloom weapon of the Ravenstern Kingdom snapped in the sword light. Then the cold light flashed again, and a head wearing a crown flew high into the air, with blood gushing out from the neck like a fountain.

Allen made a casual gesture, and the head came into his hand, blown by the wind. Then, he kicked the remaining corpse off the horse, held Ulric's head high, and shouted loudly.

"I am the King!!"

All the actions, all the verbal disputes, were for this moment.

Allen did not want to start a hellish bloodbath in the Ravenstern Kingdom. It wasn't that he couldn't win, but that he didn't want to take over a country that was like a ruin.

The simulation process was not playing a game; soldiers and civilians alike, even those nobles, if they died, they were truly dead.

Those defeated lords, after losing all their soldiers, even if they stayed in their castles for a long time, could not immediately pull out a battle-ready army.

Instead, they needed to recruit, train, forge equipment, and cultivate them bit by bit.

Just as Allen had said, he still had too many enemies to deal with on the Pendor Continent, and even the ultimate boss, the evil god of the Snake Cult, was eyeing him fiercely.

Therefore, all the arrangements he had made before, including the slaughter in Lion City, were so that he could ascend the Silver Throne relatively peacefully.

This required obtaining the recognition of most, or even all, of the nobles of the Ravenstern Kingdom, regardless of the reason for this recognition.

The reason could be fear, loyalty, profit, or even temporary observation; in any case, it could not be killing everyone who opposed him.

That would require too much blood. Killing one Ulric was roughly enough.

It was indeed enough.

Allen watched as the lords, knights, and soldiers of the Ravenstern Kingdom in the wilderness all knelt on the ground, and those Lion Knights who had been surrounded also slowly put down their weapons.

He finally let out a breath of relief.

"It really is hard to not kill you all."