Chapter 48: The Price of Kingship and the Burning of Souls

On the other side, Gapp led his personal guards, having already withdrawn from Aitran County. The morale of his men was low, as none could comprehend why their liege lord had been so weak in the face of Jipp.

Gapp, however, had no intention of offering explanations; he simply focused on pressing forward.

Just then, a tremendous commotion erupted ahead, accompanied by swirling dust.

Everyone immediately grew vigilant. Before long, the source of the noise came into view.

It was a vast army, bristling with murderous intent. Even recognizing them as Danga’s forces did nothing to soften their hostile demeanor.

This army, numbering over ten thousand and composed of infantry, cavalry, and a supply train, quickly surrounded them.

A general at Gapp’s side asked in a deep voice, “Which unit are you, daring to treat us with such disrespect? Do you know who our commander-in-chief is?”

“Of course. Isn’t he just a spineless coward who surrendered our nation’s territory at the mere mention of our advance?”

A rough voice boomed out. The speaker was a general mounted on a Swift Dragon.

“General Johnny?! Why are you so disrespectful to the King?”

Johnny cursed loudly, “Edward, I no longer recognize that damn King! My liege lord now is Queen Daisy!”

“Queen Daisy?! You have betrayed the King!”

“Only a dog would continue to pledge allegiance to a King who meekly kowtows to others. Edward, I see you as a man of honor; you should distance yourself from that person beside you as soon as possible.”

“Impudent!”

Edward drew his long spear, intending to charge, but Gapp held him back.

Gapp asked calmly, “Where is Daisy? Knowing her temperament, she should have arrived by now.”

Johnny pointed his great saber at Gapp and declared, “You, a traitor to Danga, will not be allowed to see the Queen!”

Gapp remained expressionless, stating coldly, “Whether I am worthy of seeing her is not for you to decide.”

“You!”

Before Johnny could say more, a voice suddenly echoed from behind him.

“General Johnny, you’ve worked hard. Leave the rest to me.”

Johnny’s soldiers quickly parted, creating a wide path.

A handsome and elegant woman, riding a Swift Dragon, slowly emerged, accompanied closely by a female knight.

These two were none other than Daisy and Meixia.

Johnny respectfully stepped back, his attitude a stark contrast to how he had treated Gapp.

Seeing Gapp before her, Daisy’s heart churned. She struggled to suppress her anger and confusion, finally asking with composure, “Uncle Gapp, it’s been a long time.”

Gapp looked at his niece, filled with emotion. Having shed her former weakness and naivety, she was now truly worthy of being a Queen.

“Indeed, it has been a long time. I imagine you have many questions now.”

Daisy said coldly, “Yes, so many that I don’t even know where to begin.”

Gapp dismounted from his Swift Dragon, removed his armor, and handed his saber and sword to Edward. Ignoring Edward’s protests, he walked forward, stopping between the two opposing armies.

“Come,” he said, “I will answer your questions.”

Daisy dismounted, preparing to approach, but Johnny blocked her, watching Gapp warily. “My Queen, be careful. This man might be up to something.”

Daisy glanced at Gapp, hesitant. After all, the last time she had been controlled was when she was caught unaware.

Meixia, sensing Daisy’s apprehension, patted her chest. “I’ll go with you.”

Daisy looked at Meixia, puzzled by her sudden surge of confidence.

Meixia produced a scroll. “Ellis gave this to me for self-defense. I heard that even Larry can’t break through this defense easily. It has three layers: physical, elemental, and mental protection.”

“How do we use it? What if we accidentally get controlled…”

“Just use it directly.”

Meixia immediately crushed the scroll, and two golden lights enveloped them.

Daisy watched the scroll, now reduced to golden dust, with immense heartache. This was a scroll capable of blocking attacks from S-rank adventurers, and this silly girl had just used it! She was truly a spendthrift.

Nonetheless, this completely put Daisy at ease, and she walked directly to Gapp.

Even though the scroll rendered Daisy completely safe, Meixia still followed close behind.

“Tell me, Uncle Gapp, why did you control me to kill my parents?”

Standing before Gapp, Daisy spoke without any pretense of politeness, her words direct and unforgiving.

Gapp sighed. “As expected, that’s what you want to know most. The reason is simple: he was a good man, but he was also a King.”

“This isn’t good. That man intends to use the power of the earth veins to attack my barrier.”

Marjorie’s objective was not difficult to guess, as any elementalist could sense the fluctuations in the earth veins.

“Quickly, stop him, Larry.”

“But in your current state…”

“My current state is still more than enough to handle these mere nobodies.”

Ellis urged, “Go quickly! Go quickly!”

“I’ll be gone for a moment, I’ll be right back.”

Larry declared, then turned and shot off like a sudden clap of thunder across flat ground.

Even though Larry was not an elementalist, Marjorie’s commotion was so immense that his position was as conspicuous as a searchlight in the night.

Larry charged almost in a straight line towards him. Along the way, he encountered transformed demon spirits, whom he mercilessly cut down, like a reaper emerged from hell, ruthlessly harvesting lives.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the demon spirits attacked Ellis after Larry left.

Ellis sneered, summoning Mitchell. With a gentle flick of her hand in the air, a black flame materialized like a long dragon, engulfing all the surrounding demon spirits.

The demon spirits writhed on the ground in agony, as if flayed alive, at the slightest touch of the flames.

The demon spirits’ greatest strength lay in their minds; their primary method of attack was mental, and they could even instantly regenerate their physical bodies as long as their mental energy was sufficient.

However, the demon spirits’ weakness also lay in their minds. Ellis’s elemental art, which restored mental energy, was converted by Mitchell into burning mental energy.

For the demon spirits, this was like enduring an endless torture by branding.

Under Ellis’s control, the black fire acted like a giant fire snake, continuously devouring the demon spirits. Those that entered the fire snake’s belly were seemingly digested, slowly dissolving into a puddle of pus.

This was not because Ellis had summoned a living creature, but because demon spirits were primarily composed of mental energy, which explained their ability to drastically alter their host’s body.

Ellis’s attack completely incinerated their mental energy, naturally making it impossible for them to maintain their physical forms.

“Hmph~”

With all the enemies before her annihilated, Ellis let out a long breath. But before she could finish, she noticed countless more enemies gathering.

‘How utterly annoying.’

Ellis couldn’t help but complain. Ordinarily, she wouldn’t fear any number of enemies, but she was currently maintaining a barrier that covered the entire Aitran County, and using Mitchell inherently caused her some drain.

This constant ebb and flow was beginning to wear her down.

Her hand, gripping the staff, trembled, and Ellis felt her body growing heavier.

Mitchell couldn’t help but interject, “My diligent young lady! Perhaps you should withdraw that taxing barrier. You won’t be able to hold on like this.”

“Shut up! I know my own condition.”

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