Schroeder's Speech

The Bosque Duchy, Strasbourg.

Keosius gently pushed open the hidden door in the wall and entered the hall.

The members of the Arcane Hermit Order were not yet all present, but the meeting place was already buzzing with discussion, and most of the members had a gloomy look on their faces—a look of fear and uncertainty about the future.

Most of the members of the Anzeta branch are Northern Nobles who have become accustomed to a life of luxury and debauchery. But now, the shadow of the Red Dragon looms over the entire the North, and the various duchies are teetering on the brink of collapse. They also fear that if the war spreads to their homelands, their noble status will be lost.

Upon seeing Keosius arrive, the tall noblewoman was the first to go up and greet him.

"Good day, Mr. Embers."

"Good day, Ms. Tulip, you are still so beautiful and charming."

Keosius responded politely.

Not only this noblewoman, but many others came up to chat with her, and some even tried to curry favor with her.

At the last Arcane Hermit Order, his extravagance had already attracted the attention of many people, and everyone was speculating about his identity. The most reasonable and widely accepted guess was that "Embers" was a noble illegitimate son from the Southern Fadlan Empire who wanted to expand his family's influence in Anzeta.

However, at this moment, a hint of worry was also present in the beautiful eyes of this noblewoman.

Knowing full well what was going on Keosius asked, "Ms. Tulip, is something on your mind?"

Tulip sighed and replied, "Not only me, but everyone here feels deeply sorry for the demise of the Lakman Duchy."

"That evil dragon was truly terrifying and brutal. It is said that he ruthlessly trampled on the sacred traditions of the the North and cruelly murdered many people of noble blood. It is said that on that day, blood stained the Parliament Square."

"Yes, it's truly shocking."

Keosius nodded slightly and echoed her words.

Another member chimed in. "The dragon's tyrannical rule will surely be overthrown, and righteous people will stand up."

"It's utterly absurd that he would treat the noble Northern Nobles and those lowly commoners, those Gray Livestock, as equals!"

"This is a complete disruption of the order in the the North!"

"Yes, that evil dragon will definitely get its comeuppance!"

"Our Trisch Family has recruited adventurers to go and eliminate that evil dragon!"

"If war comes, our Fano Duchy will fight to the death! We will never allow our territory to fall into the hands of monsters!"

As Keosius listened to these impassioned words, he secretly memorized what they said and also noted the families and countries of these speakers.

"It's just a few dozen heads being chopped off, what's the big fuss about? These Northern Nobles are really reacting strongly."

"It's alright, we'll take it one step at a time."

"You'll get used to it eventually."

Keosius made a decision in his heart.

That nobleman never imagined that his casually uttered harsh words would bring about the annihilation of his family in the near future.

As the crowd's attention focused on her, Olivia, the "Silver Star," reappeared in the hall.

Good day, Miss Starlight.

Keosius greeted him first.

She did not answer, but instead used Message to deliver a clear female voice that only Keosius could hear.

"I asked my grandfather, and he said that the Golden Dragon don't like Anzeta, a place with little magic. Apart from a female Golden Dragon who has reached adulthood, there is only a male golden Golden Dragon in his youth who is temporarily living here. If I remember correctly, your name is Anher, the son of the Ancient Gold Dragon Castro, right?"

Olivia raised an eyebrow at him, her expression quite smug and triumphant, as if she had discovered some secret.

Keosius was taken aback at first, then found himself both amused and exasperated.

He never expected that this clever Silver Dragon would actually fill in all the information for his disguise, saving him the trouble of finding information to disguise his identity.

So he neither affirmed nor denied it directly, but responded in the same way using Message.

"Miss Starlight, recklessly prying into members' identities is a violation of the Arcane Hermit Order. As the head of the Anzeta branch, are you going to lead the way in breaking the rules?"

"You were the one who started it."

"I didn't deliberately search for it; I just heard it from others. These two things are fundamentally different."

"Hmph, Golden Dragon, putting on airs."

It was still a lavishly decorated hall with a huge round table.

The members of the Arcane Hermit Order took their seats in turn.

"Now that everyone is here..."

Olivia was preparing to proceed with the usual Arcane Hermit Order when someone interrupted her and spoke first.

She frowned slightly, but still nodded politely, signaling the person to continue.

"Excuse my rudeness, Ms. Star."

"I did not intend to interrupt the meeting, but I believe there are more important matters to discuss at this moment, which aligns with Lord Trafalano's statement, 'If necessary, we shall fight evil together.'"

The speaker was none other than "Gray Eagle" Schroeder.

His face, etched with weariness and worry, made him look twenty years older than before. Schroeder's expression was grave, as if shrouded in gloom, and his voice was heavy with sorrow.

"Since things have come to this point, I will no longer hide my identity."

"I was once a Court Mage of the Lakman Duchy, and a Northern Nobles. But now I am just a homeless wanderer."

Upon hearing his words, regardless of their inner thoughts, everyone present deliberately displayed expressions of pity and regret.

Schroeder's voice gradually became hoarse.

"I witnessed the Red Dragon destroy our coalition and our cities, and I was powerless to stop it."

"Now, this Red Dragon has destroyed the country I served, brutally oppressed my people, and mercilessly slaughtered the nobles of the duchy."

Upon hearing this, all the members present were deeply saddened, and some even shed tears at this tragic situation.

Olivia frowned slightly upon hearing this.

She said softly, "But according to my investigation, the Duke Brad you serve is indeed Vampire, Embers of the Burned Kingdom hasn't yet committed any massacres of its people. What you're saying is rather—"

Before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted by Schroeder's harsh words.

"Ms. Star, all I can say is that you are far too kind and naive! Gods, that is a Red Dragon! The embodiment of evil and cruelty! How could you be so irrational as to believe the nonsense spewed by a Red Dragon!"

"Vampire? That's a complete slander! I think he's the real vampire, greedily sucking Vampire from the entire Northern Kingdom!"

"And who knows what kind of tragedy this evil dragon will cause in the future? Today it dares to slaughter nobles, tomorrow it dares to devour an entire city, or even all the humans in the the North!"

"I"

Olivia tried to argue that she learned the information through magical images, not through the Embers of the Burned Kingdom's leaflets.

But Schroeder deliberately or unintentionally ignored her questions, continuing his impassioned speech without giving her any chance to defend herself.

At this moment, Schroeder's speech had reached its climax. He stood up and looked around at the crowd with a tragic and sorrowful gaze.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Lakman Duchy, which lasted for four hundred years, has already perished. The next one is the Norton Duchy, and then who will be next?"

"If you don't fight back, the next ones to be slaughtered by the dragon may be yourselves!"