Reinforcements

"So... so that was it. I never expected even the Angel King to be bewitched by demons and fall into such a state."

Adrian looked up at the fallen angel in the Magic Image, his eyes filled with shock.

Wilhelm's deal with Hell was already common knowledge throughout the Empire. It was no secret.

Especially in the Thrace Grand Administrative Region, the Empire's officials heavily publicized the matter, branding Wilhelm as a traitor who had abandoned his people and colluded with Hell, while portraying the Embers of the Burned Empire as heroic forces who had saved the people from misery.

In a sense, the Empire's propaganda was all true, merely selectively reported.

But in other regions, especially former Fadlan lands such as Kassand and the Seleucia Kingdom, nobles and officials deliberately concealed this fact, portraying the Embers of the Burned Empire as thugs who had invaded Thrace and massacred the surviving Fadlanites.

After all, only then could they rally their people to resist the Empire's invasion.

"It's all right. I've long grown accustomed to the rumors and slander directed at the Empire. I believe reality can shatter others' preconceived notions."

Keosius watched the Paladin, sincerity shining from his narrow Golden Vertical Pupils. "Adrian, I have always believed that the Embers of the Burned Empire is the nation that has inherited Holy Fadlan's spiritual legacy, the nation truly capable of spreading the sun's radiance."

"And you can become the Empire's friend. You can become a blade against Tiamat!"

The Red Dragon Emperor's voice was firm and powerful. The sun behind him cast forth golden radiance, outlining his majestic silhouette and lending him an incomparably sacred aura.

His extraordinary charisma even seemed to warp reality. In Adrian's eyes, the Red Dragon Emperor's figure became so towering, like an angel within a divine