Reactions from All Sides

"The latest flyer from the Embers of the Burned Kingdom! The entire force tasked with assassinating the Red Dragon has been wiped out!"

"Lionheart Knight has been ambushed!"

Newspaper boys hawked their wares on the street, holding stacks of leaflets they had collected.

The leaflets from the Embers of the Burned Kingdom seem to have been produced using some advanced technology; the paper is fine and the ink is clear, making them very popular with the residents. Even without the content, they have many uses, not to mention that they contain quite a few eye-catching messages.

These street urchins had long ago discovered the business opportunity in these free flyers and began selling them extensively.

Initially, this indirect act of helping the Embers of the Burned Kingdom with its propaganda was not permitted by the duchy and could easily lead to arrest. However, as the number of leaflets distributed increased and the profits from it grew, the patrols had no choice but to turn a blind eye.

"I want to buy one."

A pleasant female voice came through, but at this moment the voice was filled with anxiety.

The newsboy looked up and saw that the person was wearing a long robe, with his face covered by a hood, but it could not hide his tall figure and the fair and delicate skin that was exposed.

He guessed that this might be a noble lady or young woman who had secretly gone out, and quickly put on a fawning and ingratiating smile.

"Madam, five copper coins."

"Good."

Have a good day!

The newsboy handed over the leaflet, took the copper coin, and couldn't hide his smile, thinking to himself how easily these naive noblewomen could be fooled.

In a secluded alley, the noblewoman buying the newspaper removed her hood, revealing her delicate and beautiful face—she was none other than Olivia, the "Silver Star," the incarnation of the Silver Dragon.

She scanned the lines of text on the flyer, her expression grave, and read them aloud softly:

"The Court Mage Lakman Duchy, these despicable scoundrels from the Northern United Kingdom."

"They set a vicious trap, attempting to assassinate the great Embers of the Burned King."

"But the dragon's power will end everything."

By the time Olivia read this, her brows were furrowed and her blue-gray eyes were filled with worry.

The report mentioned the assassination attempt on the Red Dragon and the failure of the operation, but it never detailed the process or provided any information about the Golden Dragon clan member that she was most concerned about.

In other words, his fate is currently unknown.

Olivia gazed up at the sky and murmured to herself, "Anher, are you still alive?"

She originally disliked this Golden Dragon, disliking his evasiveness and self-righteousness.

But since their last conversation, Olivia had a strange feeling in her heart. Golden Dragon's righteous words and final entrustment had left a very deep impression on her.

For the first time, she felt the charm of Golden Dragon's sense of justice and idealism.

Perhaps it was out of the Silver Dragon's innate kindness, perhaps out of concern for its own kind, or perhaps out of other complex emotions, but she now desperately wanted to find the whereabouts of the Golden Dragon.

"I hope to see you at the next Arcane Hermit Order."

Anher

"I have no desire to fulfill your troublesome request."

Olivia lowered her eyes, put her hood back on, and disappeared into the alley with the ripples in the air.

The residence of the Grand Duke Bosk.

"My lord, this is the latest intelligence from the Embers of the Burned Kingdom."

"Okay, go down."

Duke Leo Bosk picked up the leaflet handed to him by a servant and carefully read through it.

Contrary to his usual image of being as powerful and irritable as a lion, Leo is actually quite calm and composed in private, as can be seen from his experiences.

Thirty years ago, this duke, who was revered as the "New Lionheart King," defeated the coalition of Northern Nobles and held a famous "Lionheart Alliance."

He consolidated the nearby territories and, after more than three hundred years, re-established the Bosque Duchy as the supreme ruler of the entire Northern United Kingdom, thus regaining the honorary title of "King of the the North," though he did not often refer to himself as such.

At this moment, Duke Leo's brows were furrowed, his expression extremely solemn, and even his lion-mane beard seemed to be tangled.

"They did not succeed."

"What a pity, I shouldn't have sent Lionheart Knight to provide support."

"Keosius Klauberwu Norikesius."

Duke Leo pronounced the name that had repeatedly frustrated him, word by word.

Since the Lionheart Alliance, the Bosque Duchy has been developing smoothly and becoming increasingly powerful. Duke Leo has not encountered such a setback in a long time.

He didn't expect to actually kill the Red Dragon in this operation; he just hoped to test it out. If he could really contain it, that would be even better. But unexpectedly, the Lionheart Knight who rushed to its aid were also wiped out.

Fortunately, he sent out the "Black Lion Knight" Freed, who was suspected of being loyal but whose loyalty was questionable and whom Duke Leo had long wanted to replace.

He turned to look at Earl Trischka, who was not far away.

"Trischka, has there been no response from Holy Fadlan yet?"

Earl Trischka shrugged helplessly. "The scale of this rebellion is unprecedented. All of the Empire's forces have been mobilized to suppress it. They are only willing to send the standing army on the northern border. As for the 'divine offspring' of the Sun Legion, not a single one can be spared."

Duke Leo said in a heavy tone, "This is completely useless. Only legendary-level power is enough to Contend Against this Red Dragon."

Trischka reminded him, "Sir, have you forgotten something...?"

"I know what you're trying to say, Polar Night Demon Tower, Dragon Mad Black Mage Wagnerd, right?"

Duke Leo shook his head and said, "He's a complete madman. I've used every trick in the book to get that scroll. No normal human being can work with this damned madman."

Trischka whispered, "My lord, we don't need to cooperate with him. We just need to make him and the Red Dragon both suffer heavy losses, and that will maximize our interests."

"Um..."

Duke Leo stroked his somewhat unkempt beard, lost in thought.

Suddenly, the sound of the door opening abruptly interrupted his thoughts.

The messenger knight rushed in.

"My lord, something terrible has happened! The Norton Duchy has been captured!"

"What?"

"How is this possible!"

Duke Leo slammed his hand on the table, stood up abruptly, his eyes filled with disbelief; even the usually composed Duke Leo was shocked.

Cracks even appeared on the table.

The Embers of the Burned Kingdom, a newly established nation just a few months old, conquered the Norton Duchy without any prior warning or notification. How could this be? "Are the intelligence agencies of the Bosque Duchy completely incompetent? Should they be sent to the guillotine?"

Duke Leo was unusually enraged.

The messenger's voice trembled. "They... they are too fast. From their advance to their capture, it only took them a single day."