??Chapter 174: Chapter 161 Can’t Find an Excuse Anymore
Chapter 174: Chapter 161 Can’t Find an Excuse Anymore
News of Amberser’s appearance had already spread to Sandshadow City.
As Amberser had anticipated, Allen was imdiately thrust into the eye of the storm.
The paladin captured by Amberser belonged to a prestigious family in the Imperial Capital and held a high status; he was also a “hero” who participated in this desert war.
Since Amberser had taken him captive and specifically nad Allen to redeem him, all the pressure fell on this young paladin.
Allen’s first reaction was to imdiately strengthen the city’s defenses, not only halting the rotation of guards but also sending a ssage to the Imperial Capital, requesting reinforcents.
This action could be described as prudent, but from another perspective, it could also be seen as fearful.
There had long been rumors about Allen, suggesting that after being captured by the Lich, he was severely tortured and had utterly lost the courage to return to the battlefield; coming here was rely seeking a decent end to his tragic life.
The mont Allen heard news of the Lich, he imdiately retreated to a defensive stance and asked the Imperial Capital for reinforcents, a move that was too easily perceived as cowardly.
Allen felt helpless against these rumors; he couldn’t even refute them.
Deep down, he truly feared Amberser.
But Allen was not afraid of death; he just feared falling into his traps again.
Everything had started with those five thousand Gold Coins and spiraled out of control, even the Conviction Knight Order suffered heavy losses at the Lich’s hands, and to top it off, a Divine Artifact was lost.
If he had known the losses would be so great, Allen would have preferred not to accept those five thousand Gold Coins in the first place.
This Lich wasn’t just powerful; once he set his sights on soone, it was like a bug caught in a spider’s web, the more one struggled, the less chance there was to escape.
Fortifying the defenses and requesting support from the Imperial Capital were all asures Allen took to avoid falling into Amberser’s traps again.
Even though many were opposed, Allen disregarded them all, using two reasons to silence everyone.
The first reason was that he was Sandshadow City’s Garrison Commander. It was a military order he had received in front of everyone, and if they were not convinced now, then they would be violating a military order, which was a serious cri in Laine.
The second reason was that Amberser the Lich was Legendary, and there simply wasn’t anyone in Sandshadow City capable of contending with a Legendary being. So said that with over a hundred paladins in the city, preparedness might give them a chance against a Legendary foe. Allen shut them down by bringing up the Conviction Knight Order’s disastrous defeat, silencing everyone.
If a knight order, forged by the Empire to specifically target Legendary beings, had failed, then what chance did these paladins have, who had never even seen what a Legendary Undead looked like, to risk such a gamble?
While so still thought Allen feared death more than life and was unwilling to exchange himself for the captive paladin, his two reasons effectively sealed their lips, leaving them without a retort.
After all, the rule of the Laine Empire was never to compromise with the enemy.
When Allen had been captured, didn’t the Empire refuse to pay a single Gold Coin, instead sending the Conviction Knight Order directly to eliminate Amberser?
The matter of exchanging hostages – as long as Allen disagreed, no one could force him.
The gates of Sandshadow City were shut tight, directly entering a state of martial law.
The Holy Light Magic Array inside the city began operating at full power, ready to resist an Undead assault.
Tensely awaiting from day until night, Allen stood on the city wall, never once putting down his telescope.
After the sun had set and darkness enveloped the desert, Allen strained his eyes in the hope of catching an early glimpse of the Undead, but after waiting most of the night, there was no movent from the enemy.
“What is this Lich up to? The Empire has already pardoned him for his past deeds, so why would he suddenly co to trouble ? And the thod isn’t right. If he really wanted to deal with , he didn’t need to harm others; luring
out of the city without my knowledge would be far easier… What exactly is this Lich scheming?”
After experiencing so much, the slight arrogance that ca with Allen’s noble birth had completely vanished, and he had learned to analyze his opponent with his own wisdom.
Amberser had not left an impression of recklessness or brutality on Allen, so there had to be so unknown reason for his actions.
“Asking
to exchange hostages is likely just a ruse; his real target must be sothing else. What could it be?!”
Just as Allen was getting ready to think deeply, a holy light suddenly appeared outside the city.
“Holy Light!”
Allen couldn’t mistake it; it was unmistakably the power of Holy Light and it was flashing in a special frequency, signaling to Sandshadow City.
“Is that… asking us to open the city gate?”
Allen hastily lifted his telescope and closely observed the source of the light.
Indeed, it was their own people, and not just one.
The captured paladin was running toward Sandshadow City with a dozen or so Laine soldiers, and behind this group, there lood a large shadow.
Allen Watson barely managed to see clearly that the dark shadow was a huge Black Panther, ridden by a striking golden-haired young girl.
Allen could swear to the Holy Light that he had never seen such a beautiful girl in his life, even a blurred silhouette made his heart race.
The speed of this group was so fast that before Allen could co to his senses, they had already reached the base of the city walls.
“Allen Watson! Open the gates quickly!”
The roar from beneath the city gate brought Allen back to reality, and he imdiately ordered the gates to be opened, allowing the Laine People who had escaped death to return to the city.
But after opening the gates, Allen suddenly realized how reckless he had been, what if it was another Lich conspiracy?
Why hadn’t he investigated first? He had let them in without any confirmation.
With this regretful feeling, Allen imdiately led people down the city walls and ran into those returning warriors head-on.
Turning to the Paladin who had escaped death, Allen quickly asked, “Simon, how did you co back? Are you injured? Do you need to arrange treatnt for you?”
The Paladin nad Simon coldly said to Allen, “Why are you concerned about my well-being now? Allen Watson, you should treat
as though I’m already dead.”
Allen furrowed his brow and said, “I don’t know what you’ve been through at the hands of that Lich, but I think you must be tired. Rest well, and we can talk after you’ve recovered.”
Allen did not want to argue with Simon there; the Undead were watching closely outside the city, and if their quarrel spread, the morale of the people in Sandshadow City would be even less stable.
However, Simon did not seem inclined to stop talking and continued to speak loudly, “Allen Watson, I’m not back to take orders from you, but to bring back important news. We have severely injured that Lich; now is the perfect opportunity to strike!”
“What are you saying? What exactly happened?” Allen asked excitedly.
Not wasting any more ti with arguing, Simon stepped aside to reveal Queen Kathrin of the Elves in front of Allen. Simon eagerly said, “All thanks to Her Majesty Kathrin’s help. She rescued us from the hands of the Lich, and it was her who inflicted heavy damage on the Lich. Now is the best ti to kill him for good!”
Allen looked at Kathrin and only then realized this girl was an Elf.
Her body seed to be faintly glowing, her skin white and flawless, her features so delicate that they could move Deities, perfect from any angle.
Allen had the illusion that this might be what the Goddess of beauty looked like.
Kathrin offered Allen a polite smile, then said, “Please don’t mind, but this way it is easier to communicate.”
A blur of light and shadow appeared, and Kathrin’s body seed to be enveloped by a mist, making her seem ethereal and indistinct.
This was the Haze Technique, generally used to increase evasion chances; in doing this, Kathrin was actually concealing her appearance to beco less distracting to others.
Allen was finally able to co back to his senses, hurriedly apologizing, “I am very sorry, my behavior just now was rude. Mada Elf, Simon ntioned… May I ask, are you really Queen Kathrin of the Elves?”
“I have already proven my identity once, its significance is actually not that important. I have been tracking this Lich for a long ti. Today, when I saw him capture this Paladin Simon, I seized the opportunity to team up with him and severely injure the Lich. However, I also sustained serious injuries.
“Mr. Watson, I am now asking for your help in eliminating this Lich. May I ask if you can extend your hand of assistance?”
Kathrin’s voice trembled slightly, but to Allen, it seed like the tremor of soone enduring pain from an injury.
A feeling of sympathy arose in Allen’s heart, and he wanted to offer the Queen as much help as possible. However, before he could agree, Allen Watson suddenly rembered sothing and asked, “Wait, Your Majesty Kathrin, as far as I know, the Elf Tribe signed a peace treaty with this Lich acting as a diator. Why would you be hunting him down instead?”
“Indeed, a ceasefire was signed, and I cannot disclose the details. Mr. Watson, if you do not wish to believe , I can swear to the Deity. The Elf Tribe paid a great price for this truce, all because of this Lich, and this painful price is also why I have been following him,”
After Kathrin swore, layers of pure light shone from her body, and one could faintly hear the sound of hymns being sung.
Allen was all too familiar with this phenonon—it was the special manifestation of a Godfavored resonating with a Deity’s approval. His father, the Supre Decree of the Laine Empire, was a Godfavored, and similar effects would occur during his prayers.
It made sense for the Elf Queen to be a Godfavored of the Elven Gods, invoking their resonance while taking an oath, proving her words were true.
But why was he still feeling a bit uneasy?
Allen couldn’t pinpoint the reason for his unease no matter how much he racked his brain, but it brought him to a second reason to refuse.
“He is a Lich, and even if we destroy his body, he will be reborn from his Life Casket. It might be better to…”
Allen’s reasoning was sound; killing the Lich required finding his Life Casket first, otherwise, it was pointless. However, as soon as he finished his sentence, Kathrin produced a silver-white box imbued with a dark aura.
“This is his Life Casket, which I stole while he was not paying attention; now is the best opportunity!”
Allen looked at the exquisite box in Kathrin’s hand; the dark aura seed genuine.
Now, it seed like he had no more excuses to hesitate.
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