Important

Harry, who had been directing his soldiers in battle, suddenly felt his vision blur as an inexplicable wave of dizziness surged into his mind.

It was as though some irresistible voice was urging him to slaughter, to kill everything around him.

But years of grueling training allowed him to regain his clarity in a short time.

Just as he was about to raise his sword and pierce the guard before him, he broke free from that force's restraints and regained control of his body.

Before he could figure out what had happened, the sound of a sharp weapon slicing through the air came from behind him.

Harry's heart lurched, and he threw himself off his warhorse without a care for appearances.

He dodged the deadly strike!

After rolling several times across the ground, he sprang back to his feet.

Only then did he have time to turn around!

At a glance, he recognized the man who had just attacked him—the Duchy of Yar's other commander.

The man's gaze was no longer remotely as steadfast as it had once been. It was completely filled with madness, making one doubt that he possessed any reason at all.

After realizing his strike had failed, the commander ignored Harry. With a roar, he swung his sword at another companion beside him. One blow split open the man's arm guard and severed his arm completely!

The other man refused to be outdone, turning without the slightest hesitation and bringing his sword down toward the commander's head...

Looking around, Harry discovered that scenes like this were far from isolated incidents.

Among the Kingdom of Yar's army of more than a hundred thousand, aside from several hundred powerful individuals who had reached the level of Great Knight, everyone had fallen into madness. There was not a shred of reason left in them as they slaughtered comrades who had been as close as friends only moments ago.

Watching the cruel scene before him, Harry fell into a daze, utterly at a loss.

He had never imagined such a thing could happen!

After working with those who still retained their sanity in an attempt to stop their own troops, only to fail, he recalled where that Red Light had originated and looked up toward the city wall!

There, Jem Woz watched them expressionlessly, as though observing a pack of frenzied beasts.

A thought immediately clicked into place in Harry's mind, and he roared, "Jem Woz! Your Duchy of Maldon actually had such a powerful magical artifact hidden away!!"

Seeing Harry below him looking as though he wanted to bite him to death, Jem Woz was slightly stunned by his words.

Without changing expression, he calmly picked at his ear before lazily replying, "This magical artifact has been treasured by our country for more than seven hundred years and carefully maintained all that time. If your Duchy of Yar hadn't gone too far this time, we would not have wanted to use it either. After all, it is far too wasteful."

Hearing the other man confirm his suspicions, Harry did not think he was lying.

Based on what he knew, no mage powerful enough to create such an effect had survived to the present day. Only a few high-powered magical artifacts had been preserved.

Even during the peak of the world's mana tide several centuries ago, Top Tier Spellcasters could only create magical artifacts of this level by paying an enormous price!

After years of consumption, only a handful remained.

Their numbers were exceedingly scarce!

Moreover, as the world's mana content declined, the annual cost of maintaining them alone was enough to make even great nobles' scalps go numb. Only royal factions that controlled duchies had the means to support them year after year.

Yet even with such maintenance.

Those powerful magical artifacts, regardless of whether they had originally been single-use items.

Would all become single-use items in this era of declining mana!

Every use meant one fewer.

Thus, unless absolutely necessary, no one wished to use them. The last recorded use had been decades ago.

Harry had never imagined that the Duchy of Maldon's royal family had hidden its hand so deeply, clutching such a powerful magical artifact for centuries without letting even the slightest word leak out.

Glancing at the soldiers still fighting and killing beside him, Harry's expression shifted repeatedly. Then, like a deflated ball, he said to Jem Woz, "Stop that magical artifact of yours. Our Duchy of Yar is willing to surrender..."

Jem on the city wall shook his head. "Harry, once this thing takes effect, it is no longer under my control. They will only stop when the time runs out."

Then he ignored the man below, whose expression had become incomparably grim.

Instead, he instructed the subordinates beside him, who had yet to recover from the shock of their sudden victory, "Once they stop, they should either be dead or wounded. Take them all prisoner. Pay special attention to the severely wounded ones—they still have their uses and cannot die here!"

"Yes!"

Several commanders who had believed only a short while ago that they were about to die for their country immediately accepted their orders with delight.

Watching Jem Woz leave, the oldest commander could no longer suppress the pride on his face. He excitedly said to the others, "I told you, after the duchy had endured for so many years, it was bound to have some trump card hidden at the bottom of the chest. You didn't believe me!"

"You can't put it that way. I originally thought some peerless expert was being kept in hiding. Who would have thought the royal family possessed such a treasure!"

"Actually, I think..."

Watching his colleagues wildly talk themselves up, Baron Duke, the only one who knew the truth, felt rather awkward.

He opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing. He could only let them boast more and more extravagantly—about an ancient dragon hidden in the Royal Capital, a super battleship buried along the coast...

It was truly fantastical!

Even he, a noble of the Duchy of Maldon, felt a little embarrassed listening to them...

The next morning.

News of the great victory at the front had already arrived.

The streets and alleys of the Royal Capital were filled with uproar as countless people celebrated wildly.

Even the stingy merchants and powerful elites piled all kinds of food and wine in the streets for others to take freely, as though it were the grandest of festivals.

Even those who had not cared in the slightest a few days earlier wore utterly delighted expressions.

After all, regardless of who won or lost, free food and drink were still nice!

"My lord, aren't you going out for a stroll?"

"I hear the nobles are planning to hold a huge celebration outside the Royal Palace. It will surely be incredibly lively."

After handing Orsaga a cup of coffee, the Housekeeper spoke to him as he sat in a chair reading a book of myths and legends.

"I have no interest. The entertainment they enjoy is not the same as what I enjoy."

Orsaga gently shook his head, rejecting her suggestion.

In his eyes, those matters were not nearly as useful as reading.

The Housekeeper was not surprised by his answer. With a soft laugh, she said, "You are still as mysterious and indifferent as ever."

Orsaga merely gave a noncommittal reply. "Mysterious? Perhaps, though I have never wished to conceal anything."

The Housekeeper suddenly leaned toward Orsaga and touched his cheek, turning his gaze away from the book and toward herself. In a soft voice, she said, "Actually, I want to understand you better..."

"Understand?"

Looking into her eyes, Orsaga asked with interest, "How would you understand me?"

Hearing no displeasure in Orsaga's tone, her heartbeat sped up slightly.

After hesitating for a moment, her face faintly flushed as she slowly brought her head closer to his.

People were creatures drawn to appearances. Men's hearts stirred at the sight of beautiful women, and women likewise felt moved by handsome men. Although Orsaga's Human Form had certain traits unlike those of ordinary people, its appearance was undeniably near perfect.

Looking at him so close before her and feeling the touch against her lips, Orsaga's face remained calm. He tilted his head and thought for a moment before warning her, "Trina, I think you may regret what you are doing someday."

Unconcerned by Orsaga's warning, the Housekeeper Trina smiled beautifully. "My lord, this is the first time you have called me by my name. I thought you had not remembered it at all."

"My memory is good. I could not forget something like that. I simply find calling you Housekeeper more convenient."

After thinking about it, Trina realized that this really was just the sort of person Orsaga was. Helplessly, she said, "You truly are casual. You do not care about what anyone else thinks at all..."

She gently rested her head against Orsaga's chest, listening to his powerful heartbeat as she lightly inhaled his scent.

It was a faint floral fragrance, one she liked very much.

Feeling Trina's warmth against him, Orsaga answered, "If someone is unimportant, I do not care what they think, no matter who they are."

Trina chuckled. "You truly are selfish..."

Turning over, Orsaga pressed Trina beneath him. Looking at her face, he lowered his head.

Faced with Orsaga's initiative, Trina tilted her head slightly aside and laughed coquettishly. "I thought you had no interest in such things. After all, you never seem to spare beautiful women a second glance. I did not expect you to take the initiative too."

Orsaga answered honestly, "Naturally, I have some interest. It simply is not very strong, because there are more important things that need doing."

Then he lowered his head again. This time, Trina did not avoid him.

When Orsaga released her lips, Trina blinked and asked again, "Then why are you taking the initiative now?"

Without the slightest embarrassment, he answered, "I suddenly became interested and wanted to try it."

Then he lowered his head again. This time, he wanted to do more...

A long while later, Trina lay on the bed and watched Orsaga rise. Lazily wrapping her arms around him, she asked another question. "Since you said that you do not care what unimportant people think of you, then am I important to you now?"

Turning his head to look into her eyes, Orsaga hesitated unusually for a moment. Only then did he say, with a slightly awkward expression, "Perhaps I will consider you important in the future..."

Hearing that, Trina nearly failed to hold back her laughter.

It was the first time she had ever seen an awkward expression on Orsaga's face.

Seeing her struggle to suppress her amusement, Orsaga felt a little embarrassed as well. Just as he was about to get up and leave, he seemed to remember something. Turning back, he softly told Trina, "I am not actually human. I am a demon."

With that, he ignored her stunned expression and walked out of the room.

Standing in the courtyard outside, Orsaga looked at the sun in the sky, and his face seemed to return to its usual calm.

Yet no one knew what he was thinking.

Thanks to reader 20180503215222539 for the 100 Qidian Coins!