Dragon Tribulation of All Realms

Chapter 90: Family and Country First
The battle is over.

It started quickly and ended quickly.

When Pavel arrived with the Night Watchmen to reinforce Wu Chen, he saw Remedios, beaten to her knees, struggling to raise her hands, Kuirat, bound in mid-air, struggling in vain, and all the paladins lying on the ground, none of them able to take action.

They failed no faster than the monsters blocking the way that Wu Chen easily cleared out with a huge fireball.

The leader of the Night Watchmen finally realized the truth that prevailed among the upper echelons of the Baharus Empire—namely, that if the deviant Archmage Fluder were enraged, the entire empire's hundreds of thousands of troops, thousands of knights, hundreds of veteran magic casters, and several great knights combined would inevitably be destroyed by the deviant's wrath.

Those who deviate from common sense are indeed no longer ordinary people in the conventional sense.

Pavel even believed that Dust was even more powerful—the ancient, powerful Thirteen Heroes who had crushed the Demon God Rebellion that devastated the entire continent two hundred years earlier might be in the same realm as Dust. It was even possible that Dust had the blood of one of the Thirteen Heroes in his veins.

He then took a deep breath and walked forward.

Just as he was racking his brains, trying to think of a way to mitigate the guilt of the Paladins, he heard Dust's casual but somewhat listless words.

"It seems you know them, Pavel," he said, casually lowering his raised hand. The High Priest, who had been held aloft by his own magic a moment before, screamed and fell, landing squarely in the outstretched arms of the Knight Commander, who had barely managed to stand.

"Yes, Lord Dust." Pavel bowed his head deeply. "These two are..."

He was unable to continue.

His lowered head was lifted up by an invisible telekinetic beam, allowing him to see Dust's waving hands.

"It seems there might be some misunderstanding. I thought there was some shady connection between this group of people and the green dragon from earlier... I'll leave it to you to handle. Please help me clean up that dragon while you're at it."

Dust's figure flashed, and the next moment, cheers echoed through the camp again. And the next moment, he saw light burst forth from the center of the camp, instantly enveloping the entire, somewhat chaotic, makeshift settlement.

It's that spell.

The spell that was released in the Demonic City directly blessed the entire earth.

With such a powerful force washing over the earth, coupled with the aura emanating from the fallen dragon, even the most daring demihumans would not dare approach again tonight. And the minor injuries sustained from the previous encounter would likely be instantly healed by this sacred light.

"How kind... Lord Daxter," he murmured, then composed himself. He took two slow steps forward, giving the two sisters of the Custodio family time to dress respectfully and stand.

"It's been a while since we last met, Lady Remedios, Lord Queralt."

"I'm truly embarrassed to meet you in this situation, Lord Pavel," Kuirat said with a wry smile, waving his hand. "But let's forget about the sir thing. We're prisoners now, and we might soon be stripped of our status and titles, reduced to mere servants."

"What a joke, Lord Kuirat!" the Night Watch leader was stunned, then burst out laughing. "Lord Daxter has already said this is just a misunderstanding. No one is guilty, and there is no one to be dealt with."

Good, done.

Kuirat pursed her lips slightly. Knowing Pavel, a man who was aloof from politics and obsessed with his daughter, she would have thought that what she had just said would have been a prank. But now, he had clearly taken a firm stance on Dust's side.

The Nine-Colored Black had defected. Then Olrand Campano, the Nine-Colored Gray, who was closely associated with Pavel and held no power but was in fact the leader of the Great Wall's defenders, would inevitably align with him. After all, that Adamantite-Rank warrior had earned his place as one of the Nine Coloreds precisely because of his battle with the Bafolk King, yet the destructive King had already been easily defeated by Dust.

The Holy Kingdom's most elite rangers and border guards had fallen prey to the enemy. In a country as incomprehensible as the Kingdom of Re-Estize, this alone would have been enough to upend the dynasty. While the Holy Kingdom possessed an even more elite "imperial guard" known as the Paladins, it also...

She looked at her simple-minded sister—or rather, her sister who was focused on battle. Unsurprisingly, she saw Remedios staring intently at the direction Dust had left.

"Mr. Dust... is a good man." The Knight Commander held up his holy sword. This divine weapon, which shone brilliantly when fighting against evil, now couldn't even emit a faint ray of light. "If only I had the chance to fight him again..."

It seemed the Paladins and the Nine Colors of White couldn't be counted on either. Kuirat knew his sister well. While she listened to him and Calca, she was also quite stubborn and opinionated. If she was convinced someone was good, she wouldn't harbor the slightest suspicion. Of course, if she judged them to be evil, she would naturally harbor an equal degree of hostility and suspicion.

And now, the holy sword has completed the proof for her.

not to mention……

——He only needs a breath to kill us. Such a powerful force...if he really wants to do anything, how can the Holy Kingdom resist?
——No, rather, this is actually better for the Holy Kingdom...

Kuirat was slightly stunned. She realized with some horror that she had unknowingly placed the people of the Holy Kingdom and her dear friend, Calca, on opposite sides of the same coin. Yet, all along, she had always considered Calca and the Holy Kingdom as a single entity!
She took a silent breath and calmed herself down.

"Then," she nodded slightly to Pavel.

"Please, Sir Pavel, arrange a place for us to stay."

Her request was quickly granted. The camp was still under construction, leaving plenty of room for expansion. And as Kuirat, under his guidance, entered the sanctified land enshrined in a protective barrier, the divine aura that washed over her made the veins in her forehead throb gently.

"What a powerful healing technique!" Remedios stared in amazement at her right hand, which had sustained the blow from the Emerald Slash. Even though Kuirat had just healed her, the bruises still remained on her arm from the sheer volume of healing techniques she had endured. But as soon as she set foot on this land, the unsightly scars vanished with visible speed!

A moment ago, she thought it was just some kind of illumination spell. Soon, the same thing happened around every injured paladin. Even the warhorses that had fallen and been injured when the fossils turned to mud were healed.

"Master Dust is the most powerful magic caster of the Faith School I've ever met. Of course, to him, any school is probably the same," Pavel explained as he led the way. "Before leaving the Demonic Man's city, almost none of the rescued were in good condition. But now, no one is sick or injured."

What he said is true.

Kuirat looked around—as the highest priestess, she could easily see excitement, gratitude, and even traces of piety from the people in the camp. Their perception of the Knights was one of unfamiliarity, resistance, and even vague hostility.

Was it because the Paladins had failed to protect them from the demihumans? No, it was more than that—her gaze suddenly focused on a child wearing simple clothes but a jeweled necklace. A refugee could never possibly carry such precious treasure.

"that is--"

"Oh, that's something we need to be aware of." Pavel's voice was filled with admiration and recognition. "Daxt-sama distributed all the wealth in the Demon City to everyone. He kept almost nothing for himself. He felt that they would need this wealth to start anew upon returning to the Holy Kingdom."

There was a commotion among the paladins' ranks, and Remedios's eyes lit up.

"And not only that, Lord Daxter even endorsed this distribution. The wealth he distributed is under his protection. I'm sure the two lords share this sentiment."

"This is a righteous act!" The leader of the Paladins nodded heavily. "A noble person should do this... Damn it, why didn't I meet someone like him sooner? He and I must have a lot in common to talk about!"

“It’s not too late now, Sir Remedios.”

Kuirat closed his eyes silently.

Great, totally done.

While distributing wealth equally among the poor certainly requires courage and determination, it's only the level of a city lord. However, being willing and able to endorse this wealth while distributing it is undoubtedly a reason for him to be king. Even if he has no intention of becoming king, those who have benefited from his favor will push him up the ladder to preserve it!

This is no different from equal distribution of land!
And there was only one thought left in Kuilat's mind.

—If we act now, can we allow Calca to leave gracefully?
(End of this chapter)