The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

Some of the holy water was transported to the capital and delivered to Lilith in an emergency. However, after Lilith distributed the holy water to the royal army, she found that it was of little use to the demon army that directly invaded the central region.

The vast majority of the Kingdom's soldiers' legs went weak the moment they saw the demon monsters. Let alone fighting, just holding the line was already an elite among elites. Under these circumstances, although Lilith was practically saying that the potions in the Kingdom's soldiers' hands were holy water, no matter how powerful the weapon, the user is still human.

The demons advanced triumphantly, heading straight for the capital, just as Antipa and Claire had agreed.

Lind has sent messages to Lilith more than once, telling her to run away quickly.

But Lilith was already the queen of a country. From the perspective of a ruler of a country, everyone else could run away, but she herself could not.

If they ran away, it would mean the true fall of the country. Lilith had no sense of responsibility towards the Augustinian family, but her long-standing status as a saintess made her unwilling to abandon the people of the capital even in the end.

Lilith remembered everyone she had helped, including the couple who had been taken advantage of. Lilith could run, but could the others? Even if everyone escaped to the North by train, what would happen to the other people in the Central region?

This wasn't a decision Lilith made on a whim. After making the plan to defend the capital, Lilith consulted the old pope in detail. With the power Lilith possessed and the Holy Crusade, defending the capital wouldn't be a problem. Moreover, Lilith had also asked 550C, who would use special means to ensure Lilith's safety in an emergency.

Lilith even planned to tell her brother not to come so quickly, and to wait until the situation became critical before he attacked directly from the North to save the capital from disaster.

Sometimes Lilith would think that if the atmosphere was right, she could just pass the throne to her brother. If the Augustins disagreed, she could have her brother beat them up until they agreed. Once her brother ascended the throne, she could have the throne.

However, the public opinion in the capital has been somewhat off recently, especially as the demons have advanced and the capital has gradually fallen into martial law.

Meanwhile, Antipas had arrived at the front lines and taken over command.

"Go blow up the railway in the North."

Antipas began issuing orders during the march, and the first order was to blow up the unfinished railway connecting the capital to the north.

They can hold off the northern border for as long as they can.

"No, there's no need to send out troops specifically. Just give gunpowder to the people along the way and let them blow themselves up. As for the method, you should understand."

It's nothing more than using those people's families as hostages, or directly brainwashing and taming them, making those humans loyal to the demon race and believing that they can become honorable demons, in order to enslave their own kind. When necessary, those humans who are willing to assimilate can be given a little bit of power.

This method had been tested countless times outside of Broken Snow Territory. After receiving the order, the demon officers carried it out without asking any detailed questions.

Antipa looked towards the capital. The central region was indeed a very rich land, as expected of the territory chosen by the Cape royal family. For most demons, the Surd region was the richest land they had ever seen in their lives.

But apart from its mineral resources, the Surd region is nowhere near as good as the lands in the east.

Those demons with some knowledge had seen the territory of the North during the time of Doug, but the land of the North was incomparable to that of the Central Region.

Why should weak humans possess these rich lands? These lands should belong to the great demon warriors! This was the most genuine reaction from the demons' hearts when they saw the central region.

Antipas thought so too. As for whether or not to keep his promise to the princess? Antipas sneered inwardly.

......

Although the entire capital was under martial law, the capital's control over the outer districts had never been strong. So even though Paul was denouncing the current queen in the tavern, no one stepped forward to tie him up.

Because Paul had a certain influence among adventurers, and because most adventurers were losing their jobs due to the increasing difficulty in accepting commissions, Paul quickly gathered a group of adventurers together.

"Brother Paul, do you really have a way to introduce us to new jobs?"

A young adventurer hurried up to Paul, asking excitedly yet somewhat cautiously.

"Of course!"

At this moment, Paul was leading this group of adventurers, who also disliked the current emperor, to his safe house.

"I'll say it again: if you don't have the guts, don't follow me. Leave immediately!"

None of the adventurers left; they all followed Paul into the safe house.

Upon entering the safe house, the adventurers saw Claire sitting upright in a chair.

Most of the people who came with Paul were very young adventurers, and they were instantly captivated by Claire.

Claire was quite satisfied with these young adventurers. The capital had racked its brains trying to manage them. After all, the young adventurers were full of energy, and once they started to gather in groups of three or five, they would cause trouble. Violent incidents frequently occurred in areas where adventurers gathered, and no one could manage them or there was no way to manage them.

Now, these adventurers have become one of Claire's allies.

Paul knelt on one knee before Claire, indicating that he had completed his task. Claire nodded in encouragement and then stood up, saying, "Let me introduce myself. I am Princess Claire Augustine of this country."

Then, Claire used the same acting skills she had used to deceive Paul, tearfully accusing Lilith of her atrocities. She even compared and corroborated the rumors circulating outside, making her story sound even more convincing, due to the recent spread and refinement of the gossip.

After denouncing Lilith, Claire declared loudly, "For the sake of this country, I need your strength. I beg you to lend me your strength, and I promise that the kingdom will remember your contributions and bestow upon you the highest knighthood!"

Claire's words stirred the blood of these young adventurers. Many of them had already realized that Claire was about to launch a coup. But this was one of the few opportunities for these lower-class adventurers to transcend class, especially since it was for the sake of the country.

Claire's speech convinced the adventurers that even if they failed, they were still national heroes. Moreover, these adventurers had gathered together because they were dissatisfied with the Queen's rule, which had led to fewer and fewer commissions, or for other reasons. There was no reason for them not to agree.

Just as everyone was kneeling down one after another, pledging allegiance to Claire like knights, an adventurer suddenly whispered, "I'm sorry, I... I have to quit."

The adventurer said, "I also hate Her Majesty the Queen, but Her Majesty has indeed helped my mother and made life better for the rest of my family. I'm sorry, I... I don't want to participate in this kind of thing."

The adventurer spoke haltingly, but in the end he turned his head away, not daring to look at his companions who had come with him. Paul also frowned, not expecting that someone would actually be moved by the evil queen's small favors.

But Claire said gently, "It's okay, everyone has the right to choose. Does anyone else want to quit? If so, leave now."

No one spoke, and the adventurer silently left the safe house.

After leaving the safe house, the adventurer looked at the gloomy weather and was somewhat puzzled. Why were these nobles still fighting amongst themselves when the demon army was approaching? Was Her Majesty the Queen really as bad as the Princess made her out to be? Why did he always feel that something was off about the Princess's words?

Shortly after the adventurer left the safe house, a sharp blade pierced his chest from behind.