Free Web NovelChapter 543: Chapter 516: Countermeasures
「Giant Dragon City.」
This city, even more prosperous than Golden Feather City, had been shrouded in dark clouds ever since the ambiguous death of Tricia V, King of Tamriel.
Inside the Royal Palace, although His Majesty Tyrone sat on the throne and could decide many matters himself, he could only prioritize the interests of the Holy Storm Organization whenever the Kingdom’s interests clashed with theirs.
To a certain extent, the power of the throne had been weakened.
"Lord Divine Envoy, we’ve received intelligence from the Oduin Kingdom."
Tyrone arrived at Flame Wings’s cultivation courtyard. Despite the January chill, the temperature here was much higher than outside.
At this moment, Flame Wings was flickering with red light, like a Flame constantly radiating heat. The closer one got, the more scorching it became.
Flame Wings retracted his aura and stood up to his full height.
"Your expression is off!"
He walked forward. "What happened over there?"
Tyrone’s expression was indeed grim. He recalled how he had once been obsessed with power, believing that ascending the throne with the Holy Storm Organization’s support would allow him to dominate the entire continent.
But that beautiful dream had lasted only a few short months before a series of defeats left him in an increasingly disadvantageous position.
Now, Tricia had not only lost its border, but the Holy Storm Organization had also lost a key figure.
Thinking of these things, he felt both worried about the future and deeply dissatisfied with Flame Wings and the others.
Tyrone said in a low voice, "That Ronin is now rumored to be a Legendary Knight. Not only did he capture Garrett and Ference alive, but he also killed Ural, Aslon, and the others. Even Serdil didn’t make it back!"
Upon hearing this, Flame Wings’s expression became both solemn and ugly.
Although the three Divine Envoys weren’t close, they were from the same organization, developing on a new continent together. They were something like kinsmen from the same homeland.
When Mephisto had died, he had felt a touch of sadness, but it wasn’t severe since Mephisto had never listened to his arrangements.
But Serdil was different. Her death made Flame Wings feel a pang of grief, like a fox mourning a dead rabbit, fearing he would be next.
"Wasn’t this Ronin at the Proud Sun Level? How did he suddenly become Legendary?"
Flame Wings questioned him angrily, the aura from his body forming a frigid, explosive gale that knocked Tyrone back. "How are you gathering your intelligence? Why can’t you even get a handle on such a crucial piece of information?"
Tyrone staggered to his feet. "This Ronin’s strength has always been a mystery. Who could have known his true level?"
Thinking of the string of defeats, his dissatisfaction was palpable.
"Besides, you were the ones leading the battle in Mist City and this operation. Instead of venting your anger on me, Lord Divine Envoy, perhaps you should be thinking about what we should do next!"
WHOOSH!
In a flash, Flame Wings appeared right in front of Tyrone, his right hand seizing the king’s throat and lifting him off the ground. "What, you dare speak to me like this now? Do you think you can challenge me just because Serdil is dead?"
Tyrone’s face flushed red. He tried to speak, but the grip on his throat prevented him from making a sound.
Flame Wings pulled him closer, their faces almost touching. "Let me tell you, your little schemes are useless in the face of absolute strength. I deposed your father, and I can depose you!"
With that, he released his grip and threw Tyrone to the ground.
"Don’t forget, I am Legendary as well!"
Tyrone sat on the ground, gasping for air, his eyes filled with fear as he watched Flame Wings’s figure.
He had only known that Flame Wings was stronger than Serdil, not that he was Legendary.
"Then why didn’t you go with Serdil this time?"
Tyrone asked, "If you had been there, there’s no way Serdil and the others would have died."
Flame Wings snorted coldly and offered no further explanation.
In reality, he hadn’t gone because he was recovering his strength.
As mentioned before, any Professional Knight could be converted into a Flame Seal Knight, but the process required an agonizing baptism of fire that burned the body, and the success rate was less than one in ten.
For key individuals, using Flame Wings’s essence blood for the conversion would guarantee success, but the cost was that Flame Wings would be unable to exert his peak combat power for a period of time.
This time, to ensure Garrett’s conversion into a Flame Seal Knight would be one hundred percent successful, Flame Wings had once again used his essence blood. His strength was greatly diminished, leaving him in a weakened state.
That was why he hadn’t accompanied Serdil to Golden Feather City.
He had assumed that with a Magic Scroll and so many people under her command, she would be able to kill Ronin without a hitch. He never expected this to be the final outcome.
’If I had known, I would have advised Serdil not to be so hasty.’
But in the end, it was that bastard Ronin who had ruined their plans.
If it weren’t for him, they not only would have avoided defeat in the battle for Mist City, but they would have already conquered Red Pine Castle and plunged straight into the Oduin Kingdom by now.
"If you don’t want the Kingdom to fall in your hands, you’d better think hard about what to do now."
Flame Wings was not a brilliant strategist. In the past, Serdil had always done the planning, with Tyrone assisting in the execution.
Now that Serdil was dead, Tyrone was the only one left to fill her role.
Tyrone looked him straight in the eye and said, "We must re-evaluate Ronin’s strength and formulate a more cautious plan."
"He has become a Legendary. This means that as long as there is no one on the battlefield who can match him, we will never be able to stop him and will always be at a disadvantage."
Flame Wings frowned. He understood Tyrone’s words were not without reason, but it was impossible for him to go to the front lines now.
Mephisto and Serdil were both dead. If he were to die as well, the mission assigned by the Lords would be a complete failure.
When his soul returned to the embrace of the Demon God in the future, he might even be tortured. He certainly didn’t want that.
"This series of operations has caused us to lose a lot of our high-level combat power. I need to replenish it, and that will take time."
Flame Wings made an excuse. "To be on the safe side, I will no longer guarantee a one hundred percent success rate for the conversion, so I’ll need you to provide me with a sufficient number of Knights."
"The Oduin Kingdom is now without a King or a Crown Prince, with no one to inherit the throne. I estimate they will likely fall into a period of chaos, which gives us a good amount of time."
Tyrone took a deep breath, collected his thoughts, and then said slowly, "If they continue to attack, I will have the border cities resist in stages before you officially join the battle, to slow their advance as much as possible."
"Also, Andrea is dead and Ference has been captured. Their two duchies are bound to be purged and annexed. I will contact their descendants. The Tricia Kingdom will grant them equivalent honors, on the condition that they prove their worth by throwing the Oduin Kingdom into chaos."
Flame Wings pondered for a moment. Although some of Tyrone’s actions displeased him, the man’s mind was quite sharp. He said, somewhat reluctantly, "Then we’ll do as you say."
At the same time, he emphasized, "Don’t forget to send me Professional Knights—the more, the better!"
The corners of Tyrone’s mouth curled up slightly. Without Serdil, the constraints on his power were significantly reduced.
To him, although Ronin was strong, if he could make good use of Flame Wings and get the two Legendaries to fight to the death—preferably taking each other out—he would not only gain the power of the Flame Seal for free but also acquire a troop of Flame Seal Knights.
Without Ronin, and with the Oduin Kingdom lacking a group of powerhouses like Ference, Andrea, and Garrett, Tricia’s strength would still be superior.
There was still a long way to go, and although no one knew how things would ultimately unfold, Tyrone remained optimistic.
「Golden Feather City.」
With Broel taking control of the Griffin Knight Order and the Royal Knight Order, the chaos in Golden Feather City and its surroundings was bloodily suppressed.
The troublemakers were either killed in the streets or thrown in prison and beaten half to death.
At the same time, a continuous stream of Griffins and noble carriages made their way toward Golden Feather Palace.
Those who came this time were basically the King’s direct Vassals. Those who swore allegiance to other Lords, such as Calbi and Marvin, were not among the invited.
Lurans had been inspecting the situation at the border. When he heard about the earth-shattering deeds Ronin had accomplished, he immediately rode a Griffin to a manor in Golden Feather City.
"Ronin, do you want to be King?"
Lurans asked this the moment he saw Ronin. "If you do, just say the word to your grandpa, and I’ll go pull some strings for you!"
Ronin laughed. "Then please, go pull some strings for me!"
