Chapter 284: Roar of Despair

In the night square, torches and lanterns blazed everywhere.

The kingdom's knights stood in formation; behind them were not only the kingdom's garrison but also the waiting populace.

Everyone saw that disaster was about to descend.

This time, no one doubted the royal decree, nor doubted that the underworld held a crisis capable of destroying everything.

Demons, devils, and cultists—this tiny City of Radiance truly has fortune; the world-destroying triangle has been effortlessly assembled.

"Snap."

Footsteps emerged from within the buildings.

The Princess, wearing a silver crown, draped in golden light armor resembling a priestly robe, and gripping a silver scepter, walked forward slowly.

Behind her stood the local great nobles, the Grand Bishop, and the Archmages; their stance, lagging merely a step and a half behind, subtly conveyed respect and obedience—a rarity in this already weakened kingdom.

Standing on the high platform, Dai Niya slowly scanned the crowd.

The closest group was the city's noble circle, filled with far too many familiar faces.

Many among them had once been her political enemies, her opponents.

Yet they too wished to live; their families had been taken hostage, so they came.

Dai Niya's gaze made many uneasy, but the "elites" and "guards" behind them perhaps constituted the area in City of Radiance with the highest density of great professionals.

She turned her gaze further out, to the ranks of knights.

Noble knights, commoner knights ennobled by the royal house (Li En belonged to this group), church paladins, and holy knights—in this era, they were perhaps the most trustworthy warriors, the kingdom's last bloodline.

Behind them were the city guard and elite constables hastily summoned; their average strength was not high, most below the Second Tier, and those with bloodlines had mostly evolved only once or twice at most—but they were the true main force of this city and this nation.

Their vast numbers, along with their duty to protect and maintain order, made them the frontline executors.

Perhaps they were unreliable, even untrustworthy, but for the kingdom now swaying in wind and rain, they were the most indispensable cornerstone, the wall resisting risk and evil.

Dai Niya's gaze turned to the flanks, the most expensive and freest formation; they might well be City of Radiance's strongest organization.

Expensive and luxurious Archmage robes had become standard issue here; this time, the Archmages who previously ignored summons and decrees arrived in unusually large numbers, bringing their finest equipment and many apprentices—partly because they too sensed the crisis, and partly perhaps due to "Zhu Lian's" great feat.

Clearly, he had not only become a humiliation to the kingdom's mages but had also become a target they must eliminate.

This "live broadcast" directly bankrupted the rift he created between mages and the kingdom, and further resolved the mages to remove this stain; even if he fled back to the Netherworld, the mages would find him and grant him true eternal sleep.

Dai Niya looked further out, to the populace; their faces showed either fear or resolve; they had sensed the crisis and were trying to survive by their own means.

Scattered mercenaries and warriors of foreign races mingled among them; their numbers were immense, many hunters from distant lands, yet at this moment, they too fought for survival and the future.

"I am Dai Niya, daughter of the Queen of Aetherin Kingdom."

For most of the populace, Dai Niya had always been merely a name heard of, but at this moment, the "Mirror Demons" broadcasting across every district spread the Princess's true visage and words throughout the entire city.

"Our kingdom is in crisis—in fact, our kingdom has always been in crisis. We received the news long ago: if we do not conquer the underground ruins within two years, the powerful evil gods worshipped by those cultists will emerge from them, utterly destroying our nation and even our race."

Her calm words echoed throughout the city, and countless gazes turned toward her.

Her words, her resolve, her helpless yet unyielding will, began to transmit.

"Our warriors are on the front lines. If they fail, if they receive no reinforcements, the underground ruins will be seized by demons. We can only await the ultimate end two years from now; to survive, we may have no choice but to abandon this final home."

【Deceiver's Intuition (Unknown Rank): Your words will be easier for others to believe; you will more easily see through your opponent's lies and deceptions; you will more easily perceive the truth beneath lies and illusions.】

She herself did not know that, under the blessing of that snake-scale ring faintly emitting black light, her words and her will resonated and echoed throughout the entire city.

From this moment on, the "crisis" was acknowledged, and her will was acknowledged.