What kind of nonsense is this, that you'd be chosen by the gods and favored by all the gods?

Kintae!?

Everyone froze in place.

What does this mean?!

That was our most trusted and reliable partner, our best doctor!

Completely incomprehensible—

"What a brilliant investigation."

In the crowd, an elderly but upright figure slowly moved forward.

That was Dr. Kintail; even when exposed, he showed no fear, only composure.

"How could it be you... Grandpa Kintae, tell me it's not true..."

Someone in the crowd grabbed his clothes and pleaded with him for a different outcome.

"Let go, child, I will take care of everything."

Kintae patted his head and walked calmly onto the podium.

Why would you suspect me?

"Your iron ring."

Lyle's words startled Kintail, who then smiled wryly and pulled out the cracked iron ring.

Theoretically, such an iron ring shouldn't be so easy to break... but the demonized dragon blood can easily melt steel.

The moment he saw the dragon's blood melt the steel, he immediately recalled this.

"That's true, but I'm curious, if you were thinking this far ahead, why didn't you expose me from the beginning?"

Kintae remained calm, as if he could accept this outcome.

Lyle readily admitted his hesitation—

"Because I don't understand what good this kind of thing does for you."

"Strictly speaking, you have nothing to do with any of the heirs. At most, it's Adele, because she's your old friend's daughter. But given Adele's personality, she would never bring her personal affairs into her work."

"It's pointless to help her eliminate the enemy."

This is precisely what Lyle couldn't understand; without a personal interest, he couldn't possibly comprehend the other party's motives.

However, Kintail just chuckled and looked at Sullivan.

"Do you know why Sullivan was willing to help me?"

"All the things he knows are things I told him."

Everyone was taken aback, not understanding what the other party was trying to say.

However, Kintae simply said calmly:

"As a doctor, I have witnessed far too many deaths caused by wrong leadership and reckless bravery. They died, and then came those who followed, who also died in vain, dying in vain because of the so-called traditions and customs of those foolish leaders."

"It seems that here, the wise are excluded and discriminated against, and whoever has the bigger fist and the stronger physique becomes the key to organizing and managing us... It must be admitted that in ancient times, this was the right choice to fight against the dangerous environment."

"But today... the situation has changed drastically. The violence we rely on for survival has become weak and powerless in the face of a far greater force... and what's worse, we've become complacent and unmotivated..."

"We have contracted the disease of ignorance and backwardness."

"As a doctor, I want to cure it, to cure the illness of our community, from the root..."

"And if I succeed, and no one can inherit the position of city lord, as the person closest to the old city lord, and the second most authoritative and powerful person in the city, I can change our culture according to my wishes after he leaves."

After listening, Doug couldn't help but say:

"So you've completely failed now. How do you feel about it?"

"Failure? No, I did not fail."

Kintae was quite composed.

"Since ancient times, no revolution has been without its deaths. It's just that I started with myself, so it's not a big deal... But the key is that I have brought new ideas here. I have broken through the traditional, solid defenses. It will take root and sprout. Even if I leave, what will grow from this will be the fruit of my ideals."

"I am merely showing you that even the chosen one of the God of War is not omnipotent... None of you are capable. Only a newborn person, who has broken free from the mire of ignorance, a person who possesses both wisdom and courage, can lead us."

At this point, he looked apologetically at Adley.

"I'm sorry for taking advantage of you. Actually, I had high hopes for you at first. You are both kind and brave, but you lack experience in important matters and are too hesitant and indecisive."

"Your naiveté has slowed you down, but we have no time to wait... The Covenant has collapsed, the gods are silent, Sunmozer cannot save us, and the Holy Bern Empire is in dire straits, teetering on the brink of collapse—"

"In the north, our neighboring Kingdom of Windland and the northern kingdoms covet our lands, their immensely powerful machines constantly strengthening this monster. In the south, the alliance of the Dark Peoples also seeks to march north... The throne is nowhere to be found, and we still cling to useless traditions... Only we ourselves can help us."

Adele shuddered, completely unprepared for what the other person would say.

Lyle, however, caught the key words in the other person's words—the covenant is broken, and the gods are silenced.

This is completely different from what I knew.

"Doug Monroe."

Kintail looked at the Monroe family heir standing next to Adley.

"It may sound strange, but I think you should be able to sense that you are not a suitable person to be a leader."

"During wartime, you lacked shrewdness and foresight, and more importantly... you lacked the ability to judge people and decisiveness in important matters."

"But you're a great soldier, you must protect our city..."

These words sounded like the earnest admonition of an elder, and even Doug felt a little reluctant to speak them.

"In the end, it's you...the outsider..."

"I'm surprised you'd get involved in these things. You could have just walked away without doing anything."

"But that's good too. At least I believe that if Adley does something wrong, there will be people around her who are willing to help her correct her course."

Kintail turned to look at Lyle, who remained calm, and handed him a notebook.

"This is the culmination of my life's work, containing most of my knowledge of herbalism and medicine in this world. Take it; it will be more useful to you than to this dying old man."

Immediately afterwards, he turned around and faced the angry crowd below the stage with composure.

"I, Robert Kintail, am guilty."

When the audience witnessed this scene, they gasped in shock. There was no doubt that a kind and gentle doctor could suddenly transform into a despicable murderer.

Dr. Kintail remained oblivious to those malicious stares.

"I orchestrated this whole farce! I was the one who put the dragon's blood into the celebratory wine barrels, I was the one who made those monsters kill your relatives, your brothers, your lovers... I killed everyone! And I have no regrets!"

"Come and judge me! Hahaha!!!"

And so, the crowd's anger overwhelmed the frail old man, while Adrie, as the judge, simply looked at the old man with a complicated expression.

Watching him die amidst the crowd's anger, his bones paved the way for his successor.

Lyle looked at the notebook in his hand.

It mainly contains knowledge about herbal medicine, but also a large number of bedside examples.

But Lyle noticed the annotations in blood-red font.

"In early winter, Timothy Rhodes died in a fight from a sword wound that pierced his lung and caused him to suffocate from blood blocking his throat."

"A reckless warrior."

"In the middle of winter, Ethan Vance died from blunt force trauma. He was smashed in the head by a pole while trying to prove his courage by wrestling with a windmill."

"A foolish trial of courage."

"At the beginning of the Resurrection, Felix Albright fought a giant bear with his bare hands to prove himself a follower of Sun Moser."

"Piecing together the body was extremely difficult; the deceased had shown despair and retreated before his death, and killing a giant bear with bare hands was simply unrealistic..."

"..."

The number of such deaths is increasing, accompanied by numerous accounts of the grief-stricken reactions of their relatives.

Lyle read on calmly, and from the increasingly chaotic and impatient words, he could see Dr. Kintail's anger, resentment, and unwavering determination.

On the last page, there is a final line of blood-red text.

"The Wendlanders' strange steel constructs, which they call 'machines,' are advancing the front lines. They operate tirelessly, day and night."

"The exhausted knights could not withstand the magic of the Lonta people, the Holy Bern Empire could no longer protect a borderland like ours, and the glory of the king's law was gone."

"The lords of Rostow can easily reverse life and death and establish a kingdom of the immortals, and the Holy Covenant has no power to restrain them."

"Yet we're still here, in this primitive and desolate fortress, sparring and fighting—"

"What the hell is this?"

"...The root of the problem lies in our ignorant and uncivilized culture."

"Studying medicine won't save us."

The neat handwriting indicates that the author was emotionally stable, calm, and without the slightest hesitation.