This lich needs more money.

Chapter 406: Retreat in Two Directions
It was a great battle, and it ended with no one getting hurt.

Although it started off well but ended badly, Ryan mobilized so many legends and there was no obvious loss in combat effectiveness. Why did they retreat?

This is the view of outsiders. After all, Cyril Roland and his men did not lose a single hair. It was just the heavenly warriors they summoned that were destroyed, which at most consumed some of their energy.

There would have been no problem in continuing the fight, but they chose to retreat.

This goes against the tradition of the Ryan people to fight to the death. The reputation of this brilliant general is ruined, and it is estimated that he will have a miserable end after returning home.

But Cyril Roland was not thinking about this problem now. He led his troops to retreat, but not completely. He only moved more than 100 kilometers away from Ambershu's Gold Coin Island and then dropped anchor.

Neither returning nor moving forward, it was just like Cyril Roland's current thoughts, blocked here.

It's not just him, it's the same for all the Ryan people.

After experiencing that incredible battle, all Lion people need to ask themselves a question: Is the Holy Light really on the side of the undead?

If not, how do we explain the holy knight? How do we explain the light sword that split the celestial warrior? And how do we explain that the celestial warrior seemed to know the mysterious holy knight?

After thinking about it, the only explanation is that the Lord of Dawn sent that mysterious paladin to assist the lich.

But if this explanation is accepted, all Ryan people will go crazy.

The god they worshipped devoutly actually sent his messenger to help an undead. Wouldn't everything the Ryan Empire had done over the years become a joke?

There was no way to get over this hurdle. Cyril Roland's mind was like a mess and he couldn't make any sense of it.

When he uses faith as armor, he can be fearless and move forward courageously, but when he discovers that there is something wrong with his faith, all that is left is confusion and despair.

This is the fanatic's greatest weakness.

This time, even Lucas, the usually calm Shield of Glory, couldn't come up with an answer.

On the battlefield, Lucas could convince himself and enter the state of "I don't want to listen, I don't want to listen", but after leaving the battlefield, he was also a devout believer of the Lord of Dawn, and his mentality collapsed.

But no matter how broken his mentality was, he was still the calmest one, so Lucas said to all the confused people: "No matter whether what the lich said is true or false, we now have an urgent problem to solve. Should we admit defeat and go back, or continue to attack the lich?"

Cyril Roland looked up at his old friend and said blankly, "I can't even find a reason to swing my sword. How can we attack that island again? What if that lich is really the one chosen by the Lord of Dawn?"

Lucas gritted his teeth and said, "Then retreat! Be decisive. The Empire will definitely get the news soon. If we don't go back, what will happen to our supplies? Although I don't know the truth, we can't starve to death in this ocean!"

Lucas' words made many people come to their senses. It was indeed true. No matter what the truth was, they should first survive. They would never find the truth if they died on the sea.

But then someone said, "If we go back like this, how are we going to explain to everyone? We can't even explain why we lost."

According to the traditional custom of the Ryan people, there are only two outcomes when conquering the undead.

Victory, or heavy defeat.

Fighting to the death is a Lion's tradition, and they are also brave enough to sacrifice. But now that they have returned unscathed, how will the Lion people of the Empire view them?
Even if he didn't die in the battle, it would be no different from being dead after returning.

Cyril Roland sighed heavily, as if he had made up his mind. He stood up and said to everyone, "If what the lich said is true, then the empire has a problem, and it is a very serious problem."

Did the iron-blooded general Rachel Angelo who had died commit a brutal massacre? If the empire knew, why hadn't it dealt with such a person?
Is the reason for invading the Kingdom of Unholy Songs and the Orcs Mountains what the war reports say? Unholy Songs worship evil gods and conduct large-scale blood sacrifices? Orcs have large numbers of slave-hunting teams hunting down humans?

Are these reports true or false?

Going further, are the desert dwarves really so evil that they deserve to have half of their territory occupied?

If it was true, what qualifications did they have to pin the blame on the lich? As he said, the lich had always been saving the world, so how could he have committed any sin?
The old Cyril Roland would not have doubted the news released by the Empire.

How could the news that was double-confirmed by the Holy Knight and the Priest of Light be false? This was reported to the Lord of Dawn in prayer. How could the gods turn a blind eye to this?
If everything is true, why hasn't the Lord of Dawn taken back the favor of Holy Light, and why are there so many holy warriors and priests of light being promoted in the Lion Empire?

It was too contradictory. Cyril Roland didn't care about his reputation at all. He just wanted to know the truth. "Lord of the Dawn, please listen to the prayers of the humble and point the way for the lost believers."

Cyril Roland prayed with the most pious attitude in his life, and so did the other Ryan people on the ship. They were all the most devout believers of the Lord of Dawn, and they especially needed the guidance of this god at this time.

This is exactly what faith means.

The thoughts of tens of thousands of people converge into a river, breaking through the barrier between the mortal world and the kingdom of God, and connecting to the kingdom of God of the Lord of Dawn.

Finally, an idea descended from the sky and was imprinted in everyone's mind.

The Lord of Dawn did not tell them the answers to all their doubts, but only gave them a direction: "If you want to find the truth, go to the other side of the Ryan Empire."

The oracle gave the order and the prayer ended, but confusion still existed on the faces of everyone on the ship.

What is the other side of the empire?
Cyril Roland looked at a blonde lady on the boat. She was Elizabeth Morrison, a priest of light. As a legendary priest of light, she was the best at interpreting oracles.

Elizabeth's beautiful facial features were squeezed together, revealing an embarrassment.

If it were in the past, she could interpret the oracle immediately, but now she began to doubt herself and had no confidence that she could accurately interpret the Lord of Dawn's meaning.

Cyril Roland could see Elizabeth's dilemma, so he comforted her, "Don't worry, I'm the same as you, we are all confused. But since the Lord of the Dawn still sends us oracles, it means he hasn't given up on us. Elizabeth, no matter whether what we did before was right or wrong, this is also a chance for the gods to give us to correct it."

Elizabeth felt relieved after hearing this. He was right. She still had a chance. The Lord of Dawn had not given up on them yet.

Elizabeth calmed down and said to everyone, "This time, the oracle has nothing to do with our classics, but is very straightforward. As long as we can interpret the other side of the empire, we will naturally get the direction. In my opinion, there may be two explanations.

"The first one is the desert. This is the territory that the Empire has just conquered. If the Empire has really committed unforgivable crimes during the war, then we should be able to find the answers we want in this newly occupied place."

This analysis makes a lot of sense. Unlike the original territory of the Ryan Empire, the desert was just conquered. Isn’t this the other side of the empire?

Cyril Roland asked again: "You just said there are two explanations, what is the second one?"

Elizabeth said with some embarrassment: "This second explanation...maybe it's just my personal feeling. I can't find any convincing reasons. Moreover, if I really choose this direction, I'm afraid I will be immediately regarded as treason."

"Treason?" Cyril Roland frowned. After hearing what Elizabeth said, he seemed to have thought of something and asked, "You mean, the other side of the empire is Alan Watson?"

Elizabeth nodded helplessly. Now everyone in the Ryan Empire knew that Alan Watson was standing against the royal family.

Alan was accused of treason, but later performed outstandingly in the Battle of the Unholy Song, saving Llane's army and personally stopping the pursuit of the Githyanki.

This was a good opportunity to return to the empire, but Allen did not do so. Instead, he openly opposed the Lion royal family. The lich said that General Ironblood committed the crime of massacre, which Allen seemed to have mentioned.

But General Ironblood was dead at that time, and most people did not delve into the matter. Cyril Roland was also vague when he heard about it. He was also busy with his own affairs and had no time to understand it in depth. He just thought that Allen was playing political tricks with the Ryan royal family.

This time, the evidence produced by the lich seemed to confirm what Alan Watson said.

Now that I think about it, a lot of the doubts fit in.

Alan Watson was once captured by the lich. Did he already know the problems of the empire at that time? After escaping, he became a student of the Silver Moon Knight and became the youngest legendary paladin of the empire. He could have had a bright future, but he chose to betray the country at this time.

Cyril Roland also felt this matter was very strange. Alan Watson's father was the Supreme Judge, and he himself had made many achievements on the battlefield. Why would he commit treason?

There must be something wrong here, and now it seems that all of Alan Watson's actions stem from one answer. He discovered the problem with the Ryan Empire very early on.

He is not a traitor, he is just fighting, he wants to put the empire back on track.

But now, Alan Watson's identity is indeed very sensitive. He had just lost a battle, and if he went to Alan Watson without any application, it would definitely be regarded as a betrayal by the Imperial Capital.

Cyril Roland thought about it and finally gave an order: "Split the troops into two groups. Elizabeth, you lead the people to the desert to inquire about the information related to the war and confirm whether the empire has committed the crime of massacre in the war. I will take the others to find Alan Watson, hoping to hear the truth from him."

(End of this chapter)