Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 310 All crows under heaven are black
After news of Blacksteel's defeat spread throughout the capital, the pampered members of the royal family finally took action. When Ethan walked out of the Royal Summoner's Association, the ministers were gathering the residents of the capital and giving impassioned speeches.

Ethan stood at the end of the line, listening to the minister's red-faced, stern speech from the platform.

"Fellow countrymen! Loyal subjects of the kingdom!"

The minister raised the scepter, a symbol of royal honor, a treasure personally bestowed upon the royal family by the Scarlet Queen a thousand years ago. Raising his voice, the minister declared, “Standing before you now are no longer ministers of state, but your brothers, bound by blood! This land beneath our feet, flowing with the blood of our ancestors, is now facing the darkest test in centuries!”

The minister's scepter slammed heavily to the ground with a dull thud. "Look at this scepter! A thousand years ago, the first king, Oled, used it to create the home that provides us with refuge!"

As he delivered his speech, he walked from the platform into the crowd.

The minister addressed the assembled residents, “Old John, you are an excellent scout of the kingdom. You and your colleagues in the association fought against the invasion of the forest spirits; Mrs. Martha, your deeds of adopting orphans in the capital and building an orphanage for them are widely circulated…”

The minister moved through the crowd, and as he called out one name after another, the restless crowd quieted down.

After an unknown amount of time, he changed the subject, “And what those monsters are about to take away are the things we know and cherish most! But Oled XI stands with us, as always! The elite of the Royal Society are gathering, and reinforcements from all over the world are arriving under the starlight in response to the King’s call, but the key to victory lies in every ordinary person who puts aside their fear!”

The minister's scepter emitted a red light, standing out conspicuously in the night.

The crowd erupted in cheers.

At this moment, it was as if the Scarlet Queen was with all of them.

"In the name of the Crimson Queen, in the name of the heroic spirits of Old, for the living and the dead—!"

Ethan's emotions were also stirred up.

He had to admit that although the Oled royal family lived a life of luxury, they had still recruited many ministers who were good at talking. Under the cover of night, the people of the capital raised their right arms, and as the first person shouted, the people were united as never before.

This is a difficult task.

Especially since the royal family did nothing, yet they had to appear to care about the people in their speeches.

Ethan thought that the people shouting at this moment probably never dreamed that the monsters that the association was supposed to distribute to the conscripts had already been sold out on the black market, and the association's quartermasters were making a fortune.

The claim that "royal summoners are gathering" is also a lie; they are prepared to evacuate the capital at any time.

The only true thing is that mechanical monsters are closing in.

To ensure the safe evacuation of the royal family and ministers, they also needed a group of brave soldiers, prepared to die, to buy them time to pack their belongings.

Ethan knew that another reason he hadn't encountered much resistance at the Royal Summoners' Guild was that the real "Kingdom Elite" were already packing their bags and preparing to flee.

The association was ransacked; most of the valuables had been taken, and worthless documents were scattered everywhere. When he and Winter walked out of Blacksteel's office, there were hardly any people left in the association.

"For the Crimson Queen, in the name of Oled—!"

The shouts of the people interrupted Ethan's thoughts; he saw the fearless look in their eyes.

This is a world for summoners, where most adults have their own monster companions. However, not everyone enjoys battling, but in times of crisis, they can all become warriors rushing to the front lines.

It is clear that Oled XI thought so too.

When the messenger brought news from the city, color finally returned to his pale face.

"Good, very good, send them to the front lines immediately!"

Oled XI commanded.

When the news of Blacksteel's defeat came, he felt like his whole world had collapsed. To make matters worse, the mysterious Team Rocket didn't respect the Royal Family at all. Even after promising them the position of president of the Royal Summoners Association, they couldn't be bound together.

However, with the advice of his ministers, he once again found his direction.

Those mechanical monsters were heading for the Divine Tree, the residence of the Crimson Queen. The royal capital just happened to be within the scope of this great migration.

Therefore, as long as the capital is moved to another city, the royal family's rule will continue.

For an entire day, the royal family and ministers discussed the evacuation route and the city to which the capital would be moved. They had already issued orders to the lords of the northern cities, instructing them to prepare to welcome the royal family members.

This would be the highest honor for them.

Now, they have packed up the important items and prepared the convoy.

Charlotte, draped in an invisibility cloak, sat on a chair in the palace hall, Oled XI's smile stinging her eyes.

She stayed in the palace all day, and no one noticed her presence.

Because no one cares about her, they don't even talk about how to resolve the crisis, but if it's about a city to be moved to, the ministers can argue for an entire afternoon.

Even she, who had never been involved in politics, understood the reason for the ministers' argument.

Different cities belong to different factions, and every minister hopes that the new capital will be within the territory of their faction, so that they can gain more say in the court in the future.

Her father and mother never told her about these things.

In Charlotte's beautiful fantasy, in the face of the invasion of unknown monsters, the royal family and the kingdom's best summoners should unite to find a way to resolve the crisis. However, in reality, they concealed their preparations for retreat and relocation from the people, sending those who were unaware to the Divine Tree, and even intended to use this to deceive the Crimson Queen.

This sent a chill down Charlotte's spine; it was nothing like the scene she had imagined.

Ms. Swallowtail also firmly believed in the association and the royal family, so she spent the whole night drafting a letter, believing that it was only a matter of time before people resolved the crisis.

A strong sense of unreality enveloped her, as if kicking her from a fairytale world back into cold reality.

Immediately afterwards, a sense of bewilderment enveloped her.

She spent the entire day in the main hall, but couldn't find a direction to strive for.

Now even members of the royal family and ministers are preparing to flee. They have mobilized the summoners in the association, using the kingdom's top forces to escort them to safety. Those about to go to the front lines are ordinary people who have not received any formal training, and many of them have never even used monsters in combat.

Perhaps she should return to Moonforest City and put everything that has happened recently behind her; at least her parents and acquaintances are still there.

But then, she thought of someone else.

Ethan.

A poacher, whose origins are unknown, is still operating under the guise of Giovanni from Team Rocket.

This gave Charlotte a glimmer of hope.

She was leaving the palace to return to Ethan's side. If anyone could help the kingdom's people through this crisis, the only one she could think of was Ethan. Before this, he had already saved Moonforest City and Misty Forest County.

Charlotte couldn't help but think of the destiny the ancient tree had spoken of, the traveler who came from nowhere, who seemed to have been brought to this country by fate when disaster struck.

She tiptoed away from the royal city, and torches illuminated the entire city.

The minister who gave the speech had been gone for a long time, but the mobilized people of the capital still remained in the square. They were actively preparing for war and spontaneously formed two forces: one to guard the capital and the other to set off for the sacred tree under the cover of night.

More and more residents are responding to the call, and the Cuckoo Bird Daily has also brought some good news.

The summoners of the border city rallied and assembled reinforcements, which are now heading towards the Divine Tree.

They believed that the Scarlet Queen and the royal family were with them, that the battle was in their favor, and that everything would be alright as long as they held out until reinforcements arrived.

As the minister said, the key to this victory was ordinary people like them who put aside their fear.

Even if they die in battle, those who survive will remember their sacrifices and contributions.

Meanwhile, another pair of eyes was silently watching the brightly lit capital.

"Crimson, what exactly are you plotting?"

The upside-down man in the mirror finally couldn't help but ask.

Mechanical monsters, plagues, and the impending catastrophe that will tear this world apart are all products of His corrupting power; even Blacksteel is obeying His will.

He had been single-mindedly focused on destroying the world, but not long ago, this ancient being offered him an invitation he couldn't refuse. Having already spent thousands of years in this world, he didn't care about the last bit of time; he was willing to trust Crimson one more time.

In other words, He could have stopped this catastrophe immediately.

However, Crimson's actions left Him completely baffled. Even as an ancient god who had existed for countless eras and witnessed everything, He could not fathom Crimson's thoughts at this moment.

Because Scarlet demanded that He hasten the destruction of the world, and He witnessed firsthand Him dragging Ignatius into the corrupted energy pool.

Now, having completely lost the ability to think and acting solely on instinct, the Black Dragon King is about to toll the death knell for destruction.

Scarlet is one of the few beings who can face the whispers of the Old Gods and communicate with them as equals without falling into madness.

This seems to be an innate talent of the ancients, and He is waiting for Crimson's reply.

Seeing the red-haired girl in the cabin remain silent with her head down, He asked, "Charlotte, why do you value that human girl so much?"

A collapsing world, a hero leading people out of the catastrophe—this is the destiny written by the Crimson Queen for this world. More than a decade ago, she had the white dragon that guided her swept across Moonforest City—which happened to be the day Charlotte was born.

Could it be that

Did she foresee Ethan's arrival more than a decade ago?
According to the information she had previously revealed, she, along with all the ancient people, were waiting for Ethan's arrival.

That person will bring them death, ending their long lives, and also helping them complete their mission.

Fate may be real; people in ancient times were able to glimpse a corner of it.

Argos was lost in thought, recalling every word Scarlet had ever said to him.

Scarlet believed her death was inevitable and she was prepared to face her fate. She believed that the mission of all the ancients was to help Ethan remember his identity and find some of the memories he had lost after entering this world.

Enlightened beings make noble sacrifices.

Humans would use such language to describe Crimson's behavior.

but……

He had dealt with many ancient people and couldn't believe they would accept their fate so easily.

At least in His understanding, Crimson was a complete fraud. He had been deceived by her harmless appearance, and the thousands of years He had spent here was the price He paid for it.

Scarlet bound Him to the Mirror World, using Him as an energy source to power this world, and not long ago, Scarlet made another promise to Him.

According to fate, she would die at Ethan's hands.

At that time, the seal on the mirror world will be broken, and it will return to reality. After that, true freedom will come.

However, Scarlet must have known what this meant.

Once His energy supply is lost, the veil maintaining this "fairytale" world will be completely torn apart, the concept of death will return to this world, and desire, war, hatred... it will revert to what He knows best, and all of Crimson's efforts over the past thousand years will vanish into nothingness.

"What are you hiding from me now...?"

At this point, Argos suddenly paused, and when he thought of the concept of "death," the question that had been lingering in his mind finally found an answer.

"That's it, that's it!"

His tone became agitated, "No wonder you value that human girl so much! You poured your power into her body... No, perhaps from the very beginning, she was the embodiment of your power!"

If He had not seen a similar "incarnation" in one of His kind, He would have been fooled by Scarlet once again.

In that era when "stage plays" were popular, some of his peers who were unwilling to stay behind the scenes put themselves on the stage by "transforming" into other people.

According to the destiny written for this world by the Scarlet Queen, Charlotte will lead humanity into a new era, at the cost of exhausting her life before dawn, becoming the torch that illuminates the new era.

Once the prophecy of the ancient tree is fulfilled, Ethan will kill Charlotte once.

Scarlet will die at Ethan's hands in this unconventional way.

"This time, you actually tried to deceive death!"

This is the ancient person He knew, who could unhesitatingly make others his scapegoats for his own desires.

Charlotte's fate was sealed from the moment she was born.

“You’re getting smarter and smarter, Argos.”

The red-haired girl in the wooden house finally responded to Him. He turned his face to look at the mirror, smiling radiantly, "As promised, please help me deceive 'death'."

(End of this chapter)