Intrigue

"What do we do now?"

One of the older noblemen frowned and said slowly, "Over the years, we've all been involved in mines, Trade, Slave, and the Black Market. We all have some blood on our hands. If those madmen really cause trouble, we might get dragged into it. Could we ask the Temple of Wealth to expel them? We're willing to spend more money!"

The burly man's attitude softened considerably towards the old man, and he slowly said, "I'm afraid it will be difficult."

"The Goddess of Wealth is Neutral, as are her priests and Church Neutral. They would never attack the Paladin, as that would be tantamount to telling the world they have sided with the Evil Alignment. Moreover, the Silver Hand possesses the Artifact [Morningstar], Artifact gift from the Holy Spirit of the Lord of Radiance. If the Church of Fortune dares to attack the Silver Hand, it would be tantamount to waging war against the Church of Radiance. At that point, it wouldn't just be Paladin coming; an army of clergy would likely arrive as well."

Clergy.

They are an even more troublesome force than the Paladin; although they are not as extreme, their numbers are quite large.

These guys mainly operate in the City of Radiance, occasionally helping to fight against the Evil Drow, but their main focus remains on Demon and Devil. They are relatively Inclusiveness of Evil deeds in the secular world. After all, the ruling class is bound to exploit the Commoner, and as long as their methods aren't too outrageous or there's nothing particularly heinous, they'll pretend not to see it.

Otherwise, we simply couldn't manage it all!

Paladin rarely venture out, precisely because they cannot ignore Evil. But what if they encounter a victim Paladin begs for their help?

Ignore him?

That would go against the path of the Paladin.

Help him?

How much can Paladin really change? That's just how the world Order. Even if you kill one evildoer, won't a new one emerge? As long as power and interests remain, people will always be corrupted and fallen. A kingdom has wise rulers and tyrants. Can Paladin really overthrow a kingdom just because a tyrant appears?

The Silver Hand is, after all, a special case; he possesses Artifact. He is the most powerful Paladin.

He is also a descendant of the Lord of Radiance.

Ultimately, it comes down to whether they have enough strength. Today, the Paladin aren't strong enough. If these people dared to be so foolish as to recklessly use the Detect Evil, the Dark Domain and Grey Domain would have wiped them all out that very day. But this time, the Paladin are simply too powerful—so powerful that even the City of Wealth dares not act rashly, so powerful that even the Church of Fortune dares not expel them. That's why this troublesome problem has arisen: a group of poor people are seeking Justice from them. They cannot go against their beliefs, and ultimately, they've been forced into a situation where they have no choice but to do something.

To ignore Evil is to betray the faith of Paladin.

Fighting against Evil is practically tantamount to making an enemy of the City of Wealth!

That's why Soren felt sorry for the Paladin.

"Even Paladin have no right to judge nobles!"

Plane suddenly spoke up, "The Church of the Lord of Radiance will not allow Paladin to wage war against nobles! Our generations of accumulated wealth have never been built Slaughter! Even if we stop dealing in the mines, the Slave, and the Black Market, others will take over! Then the City of Wealth will no longer be the City of Wealth."

"I think the Silver Hand understands this too. If they're so capable, they can go Purify the Abyss Hell!"

"Our sins are utterly insignificant compared to the Devil and the Demon! At least we maintained Order in the city, ensuring that those lowly people had food to eat through labor, preventing it from becoming a complete place of chaos and slaughter. Without our upholding of the law, those lowly people might not even have the life they have now. Pirates, Adventurer, and Fallen from all directions—which one wouldn't covet the wealth here?"

These words resonated with a large number of people.

Some nobles even shouted that if they did not provide protection and land for the poor to cultivate, all of these lowly people would starve to death and be eaten by monsters.

The burly man pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "That's not the problem! The problem is how we deal with these Paladin!"

"They won't let this go easily. Otherwise, they would be betraying their own beliefs."

The cold-faced man looked around and slowly said, "Scapegoat!"

"Those gang leaders, those in charge of the Slave Trade, the Black Market Trade, and those clearly disobedient organizations—we can round them up and use them as scapegoats. These people are all bloodstains; it's perfect to have the Paladin eliminate them. This will appease the lowly people and also give the Paladin an explanation."

"I doubt the Silver Hand would go so far as to try and judge all the nobles of the City of Wealth, would it?"

What the ruling class has in abundance is Lawful Evil.

They are not as cruel Devil Demon, but few of the things they do are kind or noble.

"Besides."

The cold-faced man stood up, looked around, and said in a deep voice, "We must find that Vampire God Child as soon as possible! It's because of him that this group of Paladin has been attracted. If we don't deal with him, these Paladin might stay longer."

"I propose sending in the army to search for his whereabouts, and then having the Silver Hand deal with him."

These words caused a moment of silence, then the others nodded and said, "That's right. We must find that Fear God Child. Otherwise, the Paladin won't leave so easily."

It all started with that Vampire God Child.

If he hadn't fled to the City of Wealth, the Paladin wouldn't have come to hunt him down, the poor wouldn't have sought Justice from them, and the nobles wouldn't be in such a predicament. Without the Silver Hand, simply sending a few men to drive away the Paladin, or even making them disappear, would be a minor issue. But now that the Silver Hand has appeared, certain attitudes must be made clear. If the Noble Council is willing to help him deal with the Vampire God Child, then the Paladin wouldn't have gone so far as to put them on trial.

Are we going to plunge the world into chaos?

"Good!"

The burly man slammed his hand on the table and said in a deep voice, "Send out the Guard Force, send out the City Legion! Conduct a full search of the City of Wealth, and find that Vampire God Child! Then arrest those disobedient bastards. We won't need the Paladin to do anything; we'll execute them according to the law! We can't let the appearance of a Paladin break the rules of the City of Wealth!"

"As for those lowly people, there will be plenty of time to deal with them later."

At this point, the burly man revealed a cruel smile. It was impossible for him not to be angry that a group of lowly people had unintentionally used the Paladin as pawns and forced him into this situation.

One order after another was issued.

The initially cold and sinister man couldn't help but smile, a strange light appearing in his eyes. "Shouldn't this force you out now? Foolish fellow! Did you think power could suppress everything? Now I'll see if you live or die!"

A Intrigue has begun to brew.

From the moment Paladin appeared, they became a sword; the weak used this sword to seek Justice, and the Evil used it to fight their enemies.

Paladin is a pathetic and extremely fragile profession.

If you simply find a kind and honest victim and ask them for help, they will be forced to make a choice: to help or not to help? If they don't help, the victim will kneel before them, begging and kowtowing. In that situation, will you help or not?

It's one thing to not help once, but two or three times and their faith will crumble.

That's why there are so many former Paladin in this world. Helping is no problem; there are countless people in this world who need help—ordinary people harmed by gangs, poor people oppressed and bullied by nobles. This world is full of powerful figures. If you help a kind, poor person eliminate the gangsters who caused their family's ruin, shouldn't you also eliminate the gang? And if you eliminate the gang, shouldn't you also take down the officials and nobles who are behind it?

You uphold Justice and walk away, but it won't be long before a second gang appears.

How many battles can you fight? How many people can you defeat?

Retreat is a decline of faith; the power of Paladin will turn into that of an ordinary Warrior. If you cannot tolerate Evil, Evil will naturally not tolerate you either.

Want to uphold Justice?!

It's that simple. Every town has its bullies and villains. A Detect Evil can immediately identify someone who has killed innocent Commoner.

Can you kill them all? How much Evil can you judge?

Paladin incredibly powerful, yet also incredibly weak. They cannot change the world; they can only uphold the Justice in their hearts amidst hardship.

That's why there's sadness in the eyes of those older Paladin!

Because they have undergone countless trials, not only in terms of strength, but also in terms of mind and will. Without the Silver Hand, they would be nothing at all.

A Silver Hand can force the City of Wealth to concede and compromise.

Two Silver Hand can cleanse the City of Wealth Evil and corruption.

The three Silver Hand can rewrite the rules of the City of Wealth, guiding it closer to the rules of Lawful Good.

Five Silver Hand could turn the City of Wealth into the next City of Radiance.

pity.

There can only be one Silver Hand.

They cannot change the City of Wealth, much less the world. The Abyss and Hell have existed for countless years, and countless Deity of Good Alignment have fought for them. The Lord of Radiance regards them as a cancer and has launched countless wars of the God's Realm!

What was the final result?

The Abyss is still the Abyss, and Hell is still Hell.

Paladin are a group of stubborn and tragic individuals who uphold their beliefs; they can only believe in the Justice in their hearts, but cannot make the world a Justice.

Because the world is the world, and you are still too weak.

Soren seemed to have seen something.

He heard the bugle call of the army's mobilization and could see the City Guard and Guard Force urgently gathering. It seemed that the noble forces of the City of Wealth had compromised; they were beginning to purge the city using their own methods to prevent the Paladin from disrupting Order. They were using small-scale purges to appease the Commoner and in exchange for the Paladin' silence.

This is undoubtedly a very smart choice.

It seems there are some extraordinary individuals among the nobles of this City of Wealth. (To be continued~^~)