1851 First Fall (Part 1)
Peonia was walking on air at the idea of having a spouse so brilliant and powerful. Lith's human form being handsome was just icing on the cake.
"We should thank Orpal, before killing him." She said. "Now that he has exposed Lith's crimes, we can offer him a full pardon in exchange for our marriage and his allegiance to the Kingdom.
"I'm confident that after a while he'll realize that being a prince consort is not-"
Her communication amulet suddenly lit up along with that of her parents and the image of General Morn appeared. He read from a scroll bearing the stamp of the Royal Court, making it an official Royal Decree.
One they had never heard about.
"Stop that moron!" Meron ordered, but the Royal Guards stood still.
The law was the law and even the King was just one of its subjects.
"For stealing a giant violet crystal that belonged to the army, for stealing the corpse of the Black Dragon known as Syrook, for conspiring with the Dead King against the Kingdom, the Royal Court finds Archmage Lith Verhen guilty of high treason.
"As such, his status as Archmage, Spellbreaker, Major of the army, and Baron of Lutia are removed with immediate effect. All of his possessions will be seized by the Kingdom until a full investigation will reveal if the members of his family were unaware of his crimes or his willing accomplices.
"For his crimes, I hereby order to all the loyal citizens of the Kingdom and to its armed forces to arrest the members of the Verhen household. I also authorize the use of lethal force were they to resist the arrest. General Morn out."
Meron and Sylpha recognized from the hologram the room where Morn was and Spirit Warped there the moment that nonsense ended.
"What in the gods' name have you do-" The King's voice died in his throat when he realized that his foolish cousin wasn't alone.
If you want to read more chapters, visit pa nda-novel,c.o,m . The entire Royal Court had stood witness and none of them seemed to find anything wrong in his statement. On the contrary, they were congratulating him. Even those who until a few days ago had defended Lith tooth and nail.
"I'm saving the Kingdom, including your sorry ass, Your Majesty." Morn said with a tone full of scorn and the rest of the room stared at the King like a dumb kid.
"Lith didn't conspire with Meln!" Peonia didn't care how many they were, only that they were wrong. "Did we watch the same broadcast or did you geezers suddenly go senile?"
"Foolish girl!" Archduke Folg said. "What were we supposed to say? That we are scared at the idea of an existence who holds an invisible army at his back and call? That was just a lie to not stir even more panic."
"Correct, Folg." Morn nodded. "The law is clear. Only the Royal family is allowed to have an army. I don't care if the Demons following Verhen do it because of a bloodline ability, come from another dimension, or what.
"His very existence goes against the law and must be treated as such. On top of that, there's no telling when he might turn that army against us. He's a threat that must be nipped in the bud."
"It was an army that might have sided with our own if we faced the matter with tact and diplomacy instead of the executioner's ax!" Sylpha said. "In case you idiots forgot, we are at war and we are losing."
Some of the convened nobles and mages went pale and started second-guessing their choice out loud. Morn intercepted the whispers and closed the ranks before they could defect.Want to see more chapters? Please visit pan da-novel ,c.o.m
"Maybe. Or maybe Verhen could ask those souls following him to share their secrets. You've seen Trion Verhen and Captain Locrias Erwald following him from the grave. What if he digs up dirt on us?" Morn replied.
"What if he learns secrets of state just with a casual chat? He's a threat to everything we worked for and to national security. We did what had to be done. It doesn't matter if Verhen conspired with the Dead King or not.
"He must be disposed of and quickly." Every member of the Royal Court had many secrets they couldn't allow to be exposed. They just nodded at Morn's words and refused to listen to the Royal, no matter what they said.
***
Village of Lutia, at the same time.
After the defeat of Orpal's clone, the storm clouds had dissipated and the quake had ceased. Whatever Mogar wanted from Lith, he had failed to start the tribulation and the moment was now gone.
His mana core had quieted down as well. The pulses of violet light had stopped, turning it back into deep violet.
His victory was empty. He had lost both the opportunity to become a Guardian and to break free from the bottleneck of his core. And the worse had yet to come.
"You heard the General. Surrender now and no one will get hurt." Zesker said.
Unlike the citizens of Lutia, his strong mana core and military training made him immune to Lith's killing intent.
"My second in command is with Aran, Leria, and Rena. We already have your family. Let's not make things get ugly."
"Bullshit!" Locrias spat on the ground in disgust. "Toman is a good soldier. I believe that she'd harm innocent kids only when I see it with my own eyes."
"Sentinel is with them as well as all the members of our packs." Lifebringer took a few deep breaths of Invigoration to regain his strength and get ready for battle.
He had never lost a cub in his whole life and he wasn't going to start today.
"Fine!" Zesker unsheathed his sword again, yet no one followed him.
The members of the Queens' Corps were too busy talking with Locrias and the rest of their comrades that they had believed to have lost forever.
"Is it really you Captain?" Peicus asked.
"Would I know that you still owe me the money for the bet on Renkin's death otherwise?" Locrias replied, making his old second in command shed a silent tear.
"Valia, are you…" Brezo couldn't find the courage to complete the sentence.
"Dead? Yes, but I'm not gone." The woman nodded.
Amid that scene, Lith finally noticed that the chains linked the new Demons to Locrias, not him. Somehow, those who inhabited his feathers had their own links with other souls.
'It would explain how Call of the Void works.' He thought. 'Every Demon I conjure receives energy from me and they use it to conjure more Demons, expanding the area of effect of my powers.'
"What are you doing?" Zesker rebuked them "Don't you remember our orders? We are soldiers of the Kingdom and there's no guarantee that Verhen hasn't enslaved our fallen comrades.
"For all we know, those might be just shadows that mimic their appearance and willing to sell their families if-"
"Don't you dare finish that sentence!" Locrias lifted Zesker by the neck with one hand, his eyes brimming with hatred.
The thought of his wife and daughter being safe was the only thing that allowed him to retain his sanity. The ex-captain wouldn't stand his replacement dragging them in the mud.
