Chapter 343

Chapter 26 of Light and Darkness

For this day, he had planned meticulously for over a decade.

And now, all his efforts were not in vain, and all the storms had settled. The black-robed man, as expected, dealt a severe blow to Elizabeth at that critical moment on the city wall.

The old Reckmont, still unaware of everything, acted just as he had imagined, leading an assault on the Grand Cathedral of Saint Zayet—unaware of who the black-robed man was, he did not understand the nature and consequences of the matter. He led his men to surround the cathedral, believing that if he died, the Reckmont family would be safe.

Foolish fool.

Thank him.

This grand event, orchestrated by him and destined to be recorded in history and discussed by future generations, was nearing its final curtain call.

It was time to bring it to a perfect close.

And when victory arrived, his crimes would be completely cleared.

First came the siege of the royal city.

Such actions, of course, had long since violated war crimes, but as long as they were linked to the black-robed man, the Church would not hastily categorize the incident—there were heretics among the city guards, and they were the ones who assassinated the queen, not him.

Those black-robed people failed to kill Elizabeth on the city wall because she was rescued in time by the Sword of Canri. The Sword of Canri, originally sent on another mission, managed to return to the city wall in time because he was informed by him.

Duke Lex certainly wouldn’t let Elizabeth die there unexplained.

She had to go to the cathedral, where the old Reckmont and the black-robed man would kill him.

In this way, the old Reckmont, who remained oblivious, could not clear his suspicion under ample evidence—he knew that the Holy Maiden had left the royal city with excellent clergy and that little knight girl from the Papal Court before. The people outside the city had already informed him. The only ones left in the cathedral were a bunch of incompetents; they couldn’t possibly solve the poison from the Eastern Continent, making Elizabeth’s death inevitable.

She was killed by the old Reckmont’s collusion with heretics, while he and the ironclad guards merely noticed the signs early and tried to save the queen, but ultimately failed in their attempt. Afterward, he could easily fabricate more than ten similar lies.

As long as all the black-robed people were dealt with, under irrefutable evidence, to maintain the stability and prosperity of Ithsembel, the Church would surely not make a big fuss about it, just like they handled the Teresa incident.

Thus, they had enough time to suppress the impact of this event on the royal city and Ithsembel, and then carry out a purge of the royal family members. Then the Church would understand.

They would understand that after Elizabeth’s death, who truly has the ability to manage Ithsembel well.

Most importantly, Duke Lex could offer the heretics’ “cargo” to those charlatans—the Church must have been going crazy looking for it during this period.

Those black-robed people went through great lengths, sacrificing Teresa to send away this “cargo.” Duke Lex knew that his assassins had already made contact with the other party, and perhaps the item had already been obtained.

Just based on this point, it was enough as leverage in negotiations with the Church. He believed that those smart charlatans would know what to do, especially… Cardinal Nero, the head of this country’s diocese.

He knew what to do.

As for the old Reckmont’s previous promise… who knows, Duke Lex really didn’t lie this time. Of course, he would release the man—after all, they were all sinners of the Church, how could he have the right to deal with them?

He was willing to help the Church with this small favor, to help those charlatans catch people, nothing more.

The boat was already made.

The only capable person standing in his way, Elizabeth, had fallen. No one could stop him—until that moment when black light shot up into the sky.

However… things eventually took an unexpected turn.

That terrifying force from the heavens almost scared Duke Lex out of his wits.

He stood at the back of the crowd, watching as the old Reckmont’s soldiers were slaughtered like insects by the black flames, allowing Elizabeth to be taken away—originally, it should have been his people informing the Sword of Canri and finding a chance to send her away.

Although Elizabeth was eventually taken to the cathedral, clearly, things had far exceeded Duke Lex’s expectations, leaving him with a feeling of weakness in his legs and sheer panic, something he hadn’t felt in years.

But immediately afterward, he heard even more unacceptable news—the Holy Maiden returned to the city ahead of schedule.

Her return meant that Elizabeth might survive.

Duke Lex could no longer stay put.

He forcibly maintained his composure, keeping the old Reckmont occupied so he could continue his tasks, then led his men straight south of the city—Duke Lex had originally planned for the ironclad guards to remain inactive, waiting for the old Reckmont to destroy the cathedral and then break the city after Elizabeth’s death.

But the damn fool didn’t listen to him.

When Duke Lex arrived, he found that the city had already been breached, and the ironclad guards were looting and killing everywhere.

A reckless fool…

Damn waste.

Duke Lex wished he could chop

He cursed his son’s thick head. At that time, he had not yet realized the severity of the situation. He was frantically searching for that fool to stop his mad actions.

Soon, he found his son in the chaos.

In anger, Duke Lexys drew his sword and placed the cold blade against the neck of that fool — he only meant to scare him, but he didn’t expect his son to be serious.

Then he knew, his son wasn’t a fool. He had long known the identities of those black-robed people but chose to hide it from himself. He had deceived him.

He had long become one of those heretics.

He wasn’t a fool; he was a madman.

After this, came the nightmare.

All the loyal retainers who had sworn their loyalty to Duke Lexys were massacred. Duke Lexys managed to escape by luck, but facing the ironclad guards in the streets, he had nowhere to hide. He fled into a house, kneeling down and weeping, begging the owner to let him stay there — such humiliation, he hadn’t experienced in decades.

But as long as he could save his life, nothing else mattered.

As long as he survived, he would find this family and kill them later.

Duke Lexys eventually hid under the bed. Those ironclad guards who broke in did not discover him. He didn’t know how long he hid, but when he came out again, everything had changed.

Duke Lexys thought he had seen everything in his lifetime, every kind of wind and sand.

Yet, even so, he was speechless with fear at the bizarre scene before him, his legs trembling uncontrollably, almost wetting himself.

It was an apocalyptic scene.

Those ironclad guards wandering the streets, all the visible people, they seemed possessed by demons, starting to tear each other apart, biting each other’s faces, blood and flesh sticking to their mouths, their faces twisted in madness, dragging themselves with broken limbs towards him.

Mad…

Everyone was mad…

At this moment, all grand plans, all conspiracies, all Elizabeths… Duke Lexys forgot everything. His only thought was how to survive, to escape this terrifying city.

But he was old.

Even if he tried his hardest, he couldn’t run fast. His throat felt clogged, and his lungs wheezed like a broken bellows.

He swore he had never been more embarrassed in his life.

Everything happening in this city exceeded Duke Lexys’ imagination. He saw the dead soldiers, his ironclad guards. He saw their bodies turn to ashes, and something white flew out, soaring into the sky.

Duke Lexys looked up, following the trail of smoke.

He saw dark clouds above and two figures battling fiercely in the light and dark mist below. The two figures kept merging and separating in mid-air, each time engulfed by overwhelming black flames that exploded in the sky, the shockwaves dispersing the swirling black fog.

It seemed…

someone was fighting something.

And that power… the same power used to massacre the guards…

Who was…

He felt he could no longer think.

A moment later, he saw the small figure firmly grasp the strange creature. Terrifying streams of fire raged above, and eerie screams echoed across the sky, making Duke Lexys’ ears ring.

Next, the sound of rapid explosions approached, carrying two rolling figures that crashed into a tower and swept past this way.

Duke Lexys was terrified out of his wits.

He struggled desperately to escape, but his body felt unresponsive. His steps slowed, and his legs felt heavy as lead.

He couldn’t run anymore.

Hide for now…

Duke Lexys glanced around and quickly darted into a narrow alley. He stabbed a blood-covered ironclad guard with his sword, then sat down next to some filthy garbage, leaning against the wall to catch his breath.

Black flames whistled overhead, followed by another distant collapse of buildings.

He forced himself to control his breathing, remaining motionless for a long time until he no longer heard the loud noises. Only then did he attempt to slowly stand up.

He must get out of the city quickly…

With this thought, Duke Lexys gritted his teeth and continued to flee, running through two alleys toward the direction of the city walls.

But just as he turned into the third alley, a sudden sight froze him in place, a chill shooting up from his spine to his brain.

Duke Lexys abruptly stopped, feeling numb and stiff, as if his body wasn’t his own.

Standing on the street not far away was a little girl.

The frail girl he had met at the banquet.

Despite her wearing a pitch-black armor stained with blood, Duke Lexys recognized her instantly — this was Princess Shilvija of Shantelle Castle, the Pope’s Knight who looked nothing like one, Sylvija.

Lying at her feet was the strange monster he had never seen before. Its massive body was disintegrating, turning into countless tiny ashes that drifted in the wind, shrouded in thin black mists that enveloped the girl’s petite form. The scene was strangely beautiful and eerie.

He was entranced for a second, then snapped back to reality.

She killed the monster…

Duke Lexys swore he had never been this afraid in his entire life.