Inside the dimly lit house, Su Xiao seized the black-robed man by the hair. With both arms severed, the man stared blankly ahead, clearly unable to accept the situation.
"I... lost?"
The Blue Steel Shadow energy within the black-robed man dissipated. Once the excruciating pain in his body faded, he regained some of his senses. His eyes first turned toward Su Xiao, then toward the female spy lying on the ground.
The black-robed man was named Spike, a member of the Sun Kingdom's Royal Family and a bishop in the Divine Court.
The Sun Kingdom's Divine Court was actually the nation's military institution, corresponding to the military of the Goya Alliance.
When the Sun Kingdom resisted foreign enemies, religious authority stood above royal authority. During peacetime, royal authority stood above religious authority. Biologically speaking, the two existed in a parasitic relationship: during wartime, royal authority parasitized religious authority, while after the war, religious authority parasitized royal authority.
Religious authority was responsible for training, leading, and governing the military, while royal authority handled finances, civilian affairs, and so on. If the two chose to coexist symbiotically, everyone benefited. As for one side trying to devour the other, that would never happen—or rather, it would never happen a second time.
Two hundred years ago, the Sun Kingdom's Divine Court attempted to destroy the Royal Family and seize power for itself. Half a month after the Royal Family began suffering persecution, the Goya Alliance's army tore straight through the Sun Kingdom. The vanguard had even already seen the national flag flying above the Sun Kingdom's capital.
After paying the price of nearly seven hundred thousand dead soldiers, the Sun Kingdom drove back the Goya Alliance. Carrying away a vast amount of resources, the Goya Alliance left the Sun Kingdom's territory fully satisfied.
After