Free Web NovelChapter 324: Chapter 312: A Slightly Rushed Conspiracy
The deafening roar finally faded, and the dizzying, ringing sensation in everyone’s heads gradually receded.
The smoke and drifting motes of glowing energy that filled the battlefield slowly settled, allowing the obscured view to clear.
The first sounds to break the silence were the suppressed, pained groans coming from every direction.
Golden Valley Soldiers and students from the River Domain lay scattered across the ground in disarray.
Many of them had been wounded during the dark monster’s indiscriminate attacks and in the aftershock of the cataclysmic clash between the two Transcendents. They now endured both the physical pain of their injuries and the dazed shock of survival.
However, as their gazes—whether pained, fearful, or bewildered—all drifted toward the center of the battlefield, every sound seemed to be abruptly choked off by an invisible hand.
Everyone was utterly shocked by the scene. What they saw reflected in their eyes made them temporarily forget their own pain and allegiances.
In the center of the battlefield was a massive, terrifying crater, as if created by a meteor strike.
Countless bottomless fissures radiated from the crater’s edge, like scars torn into the earth.
Within and around the crater, all grass, trees, rubble, and even the weapons and Armor scattered about earlier, had been utterly pulverized, as if erased by some absolute Power.
And in the center of this area symbolizing Destruction, a lone figure stood tall.
It was Roland.
Remnants of Energy that had yet to fully subside still swirled faintly around his body, and a subtle yet terrifying pressure permeated the air.
Though the glow of the Secret Silver Longsword in his hand had subsided, a faint, almost imperceptible pale gold light still flowed along the blade as he pointed it toward the ground.
He stood silently upon the shattered earth. His frame was not exceptionally large, yet in the eyes of all who watched, he seemed more immense than a mountain and more brilliant than the scorching sun.
"Goddess... Goddess above..."
A student from the River Domain clutched his bleeding arm and muttered in a daze, his eyes filled with an awe and fervor that bordered on religious worship.
Farther away, the Golden Valley Soldiers were all deathly pale, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
They stared at the figure and the completely reshaped landscape, their minds filled with nothing but pure Fear and disbelief.
’Even Sir Leonard and that terrifying monster were defeated...’
At this moment, they could no longer muster the slightest thought of resistance, only a shudder that rose from the depths of their souls.
At this moment, friend and foe alike—all who witnessed this scene—clearly realized one thing.
The man before them possessed the absolute Power to dominate this battlefield and decide the fate of everyone present.
Roland paid no mind to the gazes fixed on him.
He took a deep breath, suppressing the exhaustion and ragged breathing that resulted from overexertion, then looked down at his feet.
Where the dark figure had once stood, only a puddle of black liquid remained, squirming slowly as if it were alive.
’What is this...’
Realizing this liquid had the exact same aura as the mysterious substance he’d acquired when accepting the commission, Roland frowned. He bent down, took a Crystal Bottle from his pouch, and carefully collected the liquid.
He straightened up and gave the bottle a gentle swirl. Only after confirming that the liquid, rich with Abyssal Energy, was not corroding the bottle’s walls did he return it to his pouch.
He let out a slow breath and quickly assessed his condition.
Confirming that he had only temporarily exhausted his Power and sustained some superficial wounds that didn’t affect his mobility, his sharp gaze swept across the battlefield.
The scene before him could only be described as a massacre.
Of the dozens of elite students from the River Domain, fewer than ten were still standing, and every one of them was injured.
The Golden Valley Kingdom’s situation was even more grim.
Of the nearly one thousand soldiers who had once formed a mighty host, only a handful remained standing, scattered across the battlefield like withered stalks of grass after a calamity.
Of the rest who were still breathing, there were only a dozen or so, but all were gravely wounded and down, unable to rise, capable only of letting out faint groans in pools of blood.
Looking at the scene of near-total annihilation, Roland frowned slightly.
The image of the dark figure’s—or rather, the Abyss’s "vessel’s"—frenzied attack flashed through his mind, and a previously overlooked detail suddenly surfaced.
’The monster’s attacks had seemed frenzied and indiscriminate, but looking back, the vast majority of its destructive blows seemed...’
’...intentionally aimed more at the Golden Valley Kingdom’s formations?’
This realization planted a seed of doubt in his mind.
’Why would Duke Anno’s secret creation prioritize slaughtering its own soldiers?’
He shook his head, pushing the ill-timed question to the back of his mind for now. He turned to Teresa and Galvis, his voice calm and clear.
"Teresa, Galvis, gather everyone who can still move. Tally the wounded and the dead and provide what aid you can. Then, check on the Golden Valley Soldiers who are still breathing, disarm them, and place them under a consolidated guard."
Having given his orders, he wasted no more time. He strode across the ravaged battlefield, heading resolutely for the spot where Leonard had been blasted into the ground and knocked unconscious.
"Cough... COUGH COUGH..."
He hadn’t even gotten close when the sound of weak coughing reached him.
Roland stopped short at the sound. His body tensed instantly, his right hand tightening on his sword’s hilt as his gaze locked onto Leonard nearby like a hawk.
The Knight’s eyes were open, and he was struggling to push himself up from the ground on trembling arms.
"SHING!"
Without a flicker of hesitation, Roland strode forward. His Secret Silver Longsword flashed from its sheath, the blade coming to a steady rest against Leonard’s neck.
Yet the Knight seemed oblivious to the sharp blade at his throat. He simply raised his gaze to the bodies of the Golden Valley Soldiers strewn before him, a look of profound sorrow in his eyes.
"Why did you lead an army to attack us?"
As he questioned him, Roland quietly activated the power of a Second Ring Spell, the [Domain of Honesty].
An imperceptible silver light flowed from his feet, swiftly outlining an invisible domain with a ten-foot radius.
The air within the domain grew still, as if placed under a sacred constraint.
The faint light of the Magic washed over Leonard’s blood-stained Armor like flowing water, but with his vision blurred by his grievous wounds and his Spirit weakened, he failed to notice the subtle change.
He only breathed heavily, raising his head to look at Roland. His lips moved soundlessly for a few moments before he finally answered in a low voice.
"It was... an order from Prince Lucius."
"Lucius?"
Hearing the name, an image of a white-haired old man immediately surfaced in Roland’s mind.
’Why would that Prince, the one who seemed lazy and apathetic to politics, suddenly issue such an extreme order against a scholarly exchange group?’
’It was almost as if...’
’He was intentionally trying to ignite a war!’
’But why?’
’Right now, the old king of the Golden Valley Kingdom, King Morne, was personally leading a great army, fighting a bitter war against the Beastmen on the northern border.’
’Due to the work of spies, the war was already going poorly.’
’To start a war with the River Domain at a time like this was no different from dragging the Kingdom into the Abyss of a two-front war. It was pure self-destruction.’
As his thoughts raced, a name suddenly flashed through Roland’s mind...
’Duke Anno!’
’That powerful official, inextricably linked to the Abyssal Creature from the earlier massacre!’
And Leonard, who had witnessed the Abyssal Creature’s slaughter firsthand, had come to the same conclusion as Roland.
"It was Duke Anno!"
The Knight gritted his teeth. As he listened to the pained groans of the Golden Valley Soldiers around him, a Flame of furious resentment ignited in his eyes.
Recalling some recent rumors he’d heard from friends, he blurted out.
"I heard... that there isn’t enough land left in the Kingdom to be allocated."
Leonard’s voice was hoarse, each word seemingly forced from between his teeth, laced with suppressed fury and powerlessness.
"Many of the newly-titled nobles have their honors but no fiefs to go with them. Their interests have been severely harmed, and their discontent grows louder by the day."
He took a ragged breath. The blade at his neck was bone-chillingly cold, but his burning gaze was fixed on the distance, as if he could pierce the smoke and see the conspiracies brewing deep within the Royal Capital.
"Duke Anno... he must have used this situation to advise Prince Lucius. By starting a war with the River Domain, he could not only quell the internal strife but also seize vast new territories and resources for the Kingdom... or, more accurately, for his own faction of nobles."
Roland’s brow furrowed even deeper.
’The motive sounded plausible, yet it reeked of a contrived haste.’
’To sacrifice nearly a thousand of his own kingdom’s soldiers, and even deploy a hidden Power like the Abyss, all for some unconquered land?’
"So, you all became disposable pawns on his board."
Roland’s voice was low and devoid of emotion, but it made Leonard tremble involuntarily.
"A premeditated conflict. A betrayal of allies. All to satisfy the bloated ambitions of the powerful, even resorting to the use of... that thing."
His gaze swept over the land that had been ravaged by the Abyssal Creature.
Leonard closed his eyes in pain, silently accepting the cruel conclusion.
The resentment and humiliation in his chest threatened to overflow, directed not only at Duke Anno, but also at himself.
He had become the Executor of this sordid conspiracy and had witnessed with his own eyes the unimaginable Destruction it wrought.
Leonard took a deep breath, as if mustering his last ounce of strength. He raised his free hand in a gesture of both supplication and surrender.
"Sir Roland."
His voice was low and hoarse, yet it held a tone of final, desperate resolve.
"I implore you... spare my life and the lives of my surviving soldiers. We are not your true enemy. We are all just pawns, deceived and used by schemes and lies."
