The Inspectors and the Tremors

Ingrid's speech was like the last straw that broke the camel's back, causing the rebellious forces lurking in Dragon Head City to wail in despair.

The Imperial Propaganda Department underestimated the influence of the Amanata Church in people's minds.

The people's attitude toward the Embers of the Burned Empire gradually shifted from initial hostility and resistance to acceptance and compliance, although this was still reluctant, but it was much better than when the empire first arrived.

Meanwhile, the rebel forces that had once regarded Ingrid, the Bishop of Amanata, as their spiritual leader were now in disarray, with internal strife raging.

Many priests who had once lived a life of luxury could no longer endure this life of hiding and chose to submit to the Empire, using their comrades' intelligence as a pledge of allegiance.

Meanwhile, the Imperial government issued arrest warrants and missions based on the intelligence it had obtained, and countless players flocked to the cities of North Aisel, becoming a nightmare in the eyes of the rebel organizations.

Silence filled the basement; the air seemed to freeze.

The situation became even more dire after Ingrid's speech.

The Dawn Crusader was in turmoil, with many members defecting. In just a few days, half of the Dawn Crusader, which originally numbered several hundred and was deeply entrenched in the underground Dragon Head City, had been captured or defected.

Now, they are struggling to even protect themselves, let alone overthrow imperial rule and rebuild the Amanata Church —that has become a pipe dream.

Yarn rested his chin on his hand, his eyes weary, his voice heavy. "Gentlemen, let's hear your thoughts."

"How could Lady Ingrid submit to that evil dragon! She must have been bewitched by evil magic!" someone shouted.

"It's all over, Fair's been arrested too."

"Just two days ago, Devent also defected. Damn it, they've all been bewitched by that evil dragon!"

Finally, Yarn interrupted their argument, saying, "It's no longer safe here. If this continues, we'll be wiped out by the Embers of the Burned Empire."

"What should we do then?"

Yarn sighed, "We should leave this land. I contacted the Harpers, and they are willing to provide us with a place to stay in the south."

"Are we just going to abandon our hometown and become cowardly deserters?" someone asked, puzzled.

Despite sensing the undisguised sarcasm in the other person's tone, Yarn remained unperturbed.

He looked up at the Sun God Holy Emblem on the ceiling and said softly, "Blind courage will only turn into folly. We, the Dawn Crusader, can no longer afford to lose our manpower."

As for overthrowing the Embers of the Burned Empire and restoring Collins City to the glory of Amanata, that requires further planning. It is said that Lord Titus, the ' Wings of Aurora,' plans to gather righteous people willing to resist the tyranny of the Embers of the Burned Empire and form a vast alliance. Perhaps we can do that."

Just then, Yarn noticed that the ceiling seemed to be shaking slightly, and torn dust was falling. He immediately sensed something was wrong, and his expression changed drastically.

What is that?

"Could it be that the Imperial People have attacked?" People exclaimed in fear and unease.

Yarn quickly pulled out his Cleric's staff from his robes, preparing to cast a mass teleportation spell, and shouted, "Enemy attack! Get out of the way, I'll get you out of here!"

"FBI, open the door!"

"Open the door, it's time to check the water meter!"

Sure enough, extremely arrogant shouts came from above people's heads, along with the ear-piercing beeping of a time bomb.

"Boom!"

With a loud bang, debris flew everywhere, dust filled the room, and the ceiling painted with the Holy Symbol shattered. A dozen players skillfully broke through the wall and landed in the rather spacious basement.

"Everyone, kneel down! Justice must be served!"

"You're under arrest!"

The players pulled out their new firearms and unleashed a barrage of fire at the members of the Dawn Crusader. The guns spewed not only bullets but also large nets that ensnared the enemies.

"The reward is even greater if you capture them alive!"

"Use the Net Gun!"

The members of the Dawn Crusader resisted with swords, spears, bows, and divine magic, but their counterattacks proved insignificant against the players' skillful control.

"Woof woof! Often!"

Players unleash Mechanical Hound that bark wildly in the basement, pouncing on and tearing at any enemy they encounter; the electric current released from their teeth is enough to stun a person.

"For the sun!"

Several Paladin from the Dawn Crusader roared, raised their greatswords, gathered together, and radiated a dazzling light.

However, the next moment, the players' Dispel Magic and anti-magic rays struck the Paladin one after another, causing their armor to dim.

"Prepare to die!"

The bald-headed Monk from the Dragon Vein roared and charged directly into the Paladin's formation, raining down a barrage of punches that infused them with Resonance Qi.

The Monk activated the Resonance Qi, and the bodies of those Paladin suddenly exploded, with armor fragments, blood, and pieces of flesh flying everywhere. He was none other than the famous Monk player, "Dawei Tianlong".

However, he has now reached level eleven, which is an extraordinary level of power even on the Feanso Continent, making it easy for him to defeat these Dawn Crusader.

"The Starfallers."

Looking around, Yarn's heart sank to the bottom. Now, his only option was to cut his losses and try to take as many people as possible with him.

However, a Half-Dragon accompanied the player, who was clearly also a soldier of the Embers of the Burned Empire, but his figure made Yarn feel somewhat familiar.

Upon seeing Yarn in the distance, the Half-Dragon pointed at him and whispered a warning, "That's Yarn, the leader of the Dawn Crusader. He's an expert in teleportation magic. Be careful not to let him get away."

"Trying to escape?"

"Hehehe, you think you can get away? Someone, lock this guy up!"

A player dressed in Church of the Machine God uniform and wearing glasses took out two metal balls and threw them out.

The metal sphere exploded, releasing more than a dozen iron chains that emitted invisible fluctuations, anchoring the surrounding space.

The surrounding space seemed to be frozen solid, making it impossible to use the divine magic of teleportation. Yarn's scepter also dimmed, and he was immediately filled with shock and anger.

"You, you"

It wasn't just because the divine spell was interrupted, but also because he heard an incredibly familiar voice. Although the voice had become much rougher, Yarn could still recognize the person's identity.

Yarn turned his head and looked at the Half-Dragon with an incredulous gaze, his finger pointing at him trembling. "You... you are Fair?"

"This is impossible! You, you are clearly the most hostile member of the Dawn Crusader to the Empire, you have a blood feud with them, how could you become a follower of the evil dragon!"

The Half-Dragon nodded and said, "Long time no see, Bishop Yarn. But... I must arrest you now. Please stop struggling." His voice was devoid of emotion, like an empty shell.

"There's more melodramatic plot twists?"

"Let's watch the show!"

The surrounding players looked on as if they were enjoying the spectacle.

Yarn glared at Fair, who had transformed into Half-Dragon in the distance, and raised his scepter. "That damned dragon actually turned you into this thing! I will grant you liberation! Evil Dragon Kin, the glory of Amanata is eternal! You can never capture a follower of the Sun God!"

The scepter emitted an incredibly dazzling light, and a beam of light shot out from it, blasting towards the Half-Dragon and the player in the distance.

"The boss unleashed a powerful attack, it looks like Sunburst!"

"Activate the shield! Activate the shield!"

Lonely as Snow, wielding a massive silver shield, stood in front of everyone, easily blocking the divine magic unleashed by Yarn.

He even had the leisure to take out a cigarette and put it in his mouth—that's the unpretentious strength of Paladin.

"Drink!" With a roar, the bald Monk, nearly five meters tall and with a monstrous physique, leaped up and arrived beside Yarn with terrifying speed.

Yarn quickly raised his scepter to defend himself: "Damn Evil Dragon Kin— "

However, compared to the bald Monk, his speed was far too slow.

"Boom!"

With a single punch from Dawei Tianlong, Yarn spat out a mouthful of blood, flew several meters away, and slammed heavily against the wall behind him.

Dawei Tianlong looked at Yarn in the distance, scratched his bald head, and said somewhat embarrassedly, "Oops, I went a little too far. I might not be able to catch him alive."

Yarn lay on the ground, barely alive. His scepter had just fallen, shattering all his bones and breaking his internal organs.

He looked around with difficulty. None of the members of the Dawn Crusader in the basement had escaped; they were either dead or captured by these Imperial People.

Fair strode over from a distance, stood in front of Yarn, and said softly, "I'm sorry, Bishop Yarn, I have no other choice."

Yarn gave a bitter laugh, struggling to lift his head and stare at the now unfamiliar, even terrifying, Fair.

"Don't you feel ashamed of yourself for looking like this? How can you face Nico who died? How can you face the Fighter who sacrificed themselves for their beliefs?"

As he finished speaking, Yarn's tone became increasingly agitated, and bright red blood continued to gush from his mouth. In the end, he collapsed to the ground, his fate unknown.

"I did nothing wrong. It was all for Ingrid. It was all so that I could continue to follow her." Fair stood there, muttering to himself.

South of the Radiant Mountain Range, in Auguste, the "City of Sunrise," the king's furious curses echoed from his magnificent palace.

"Damn trash! Traitor! This vast North Aisel was sent away by that piece of trash Walter in just one month!" Wilhelm sat on the golden throne, his face contorted with rage, and smashed the crystal vase to pieces with a casual wave of his hand.

Now, with his power fading, the cracks on Wilhelm's face are almost impossible to conceal, and he can only cover them up with thick gold powder.

Seeing His Majesty once again erupt in rage, smashing things everywhere, all the ministers in the hall remained silent, not daring to utter a sound.

Feathers, no longer pure white, fluttered in the air, and the ground was littered with shards of porcelain.

After a long silence, someone finally spoke, trembling, "Your Majesty, do not worry. That evil dragon dares not oppose us. You are the true Emperor of Fadlan."

"You dare not?"

Wilhelm sneered, "He's already at our doorstep, what else wouldn't he dare to do? Do you think I'm a fool?"

"Your Majesty, I... I didn't mean that," the minister hurriedly knelt on the ground, frantically trying to explain.

"That damned dragon even dared to kill the Lord of Paradise!"

At this point, Wilhelm grew even angrier and actually walked up to the minister and kicked him hard.

Although he had lost much of his former Angel Divine Descendant's strength still far surpassed that of mortals. The unfortunate minister was kicked away on the spot, crashing into Zhu Zi with intricate carvings, spitting blood, his fate unknown.

Upon witnessing this scene, the ministers simply lowered their heads, not daring to utter another word. The air in the hall grew increasingly heavy, filled with the pungent smell of blood.

Such incidents have become commonplace in recent months, and His Majesty Wilhelm has become increasingly capricious, a far cry from the holy and radiant Prince of Fadlan he once was.

Seeing their submissive appearance, Wilhelm became even more indignant and roared, "Get out! All of you, get out!"

The officials breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly and cautiously left the palace, while the unfortunate minister was dragged away by the guards, and even the bloodstains he left behind were wiped away immediately.

In the empty palace, Wilhelm sat on the golden throne, his face seemingly shrouded in gloom, while before him appeared a scene of the Red Dragon battling Barachiel.

"Keosius never imagined that this damned Red Dragon had grown to this extent. And now..."

He looked down at his cracked arm and muttered to himself, "I'm afraid I can't defeat it by myself."

After a long silence, Wilhelm rose from his throne and walked deeper into the palace, eventually entering the most secluded room and gazing at the blood-red, menacing array on the wall.

He said in a low voice, "If you can help me deal with that Red Dragon, I will agree to your previous conditions—although they are a bit too greedy."

Suddenly, a mysterious female voice came from within the magic circle.

"Your Majesty Wilhelm, isn't it a bit too late to regret it now? That Red Dragon is capable of defeating Barachiel."

"Tsk, even I'm not confident I can defeat it in the Material Plane, let alone the fact that I recently discovered he has some ambiguous relationship with Bael."

Hell erupted and coalesced into the face of a woman filled with madness and evil, her expression one of undisguised mockery.

Wilhelm remained silent for a long time before raising his head and asking, "How can you defeat that Red Dragon in the Material Plane? Or rather, what do you really want?"

"Hahahaha! I never expected that the once majestic Prince of Fadlan would be begging me in this manner. How utterly amusing."

The flames from hell were dancing in the air, tongues of fire were raging, and a ferocious smile appeared on that face. "What do I want? That depends. What else do you have now, dear Lord Wilham?"

"."

In the flickering light of the fire, Wilhelm's cracked face appeared to shift between light and shadow.