Chapter 572: Chapter 572- Please Save Cecilia (2)

“I see, damn demons.”

Jerrel nodded and furrowed his brows at the actions of the demons.

The two exchanged a few more words and stories before Jerrel waved his hands towards the ministers.

“Leave us.”

Once they all withdrew, only Jerrel’s most trusted remained behind.

With the observing eyes on him gone, he exhaled deeply and suddenly bowed.

“Reinhardt, thank you. Thanks to your help last time, I was able to identify the traitor. If not for you, I would have remained in the dark, and the kingdom of Rune…”

“Don’t.” Before Jerrel could finish, Reinhardt helped the other party up. “You’re a king now. An entire nation leans on your spine. You can’t bow your head so easily.”

Jerrel blinked and chuckled helplessly. That’s right, Reinhardt was that kind of man.

Even though his intervention had led to the revelation of a huge conspiracy within Rune, one that could have thrown the entire kingdom into the abyss, for the man himself, he might not see his actions as much of a help.

“Come, let’s talk properly.” Jerrel said, gesturing toward a side chamber.

.

Inside the private chamber, Reinhardt and the Holy Knights were offered tea and snacks.

“How have you been?”

“Busy.”

Jerrel leaned back, sighing loudly.

“One year ago, after you left, I knew I had only one chance. The previous king had lost himself after the disappearance of his son, and the ministers began carving the kingdom apart under his inaction”…

“As the next candidate for the king and the savior of the kingdom, I had no choice but to move.”

Jerrel began his story.

First, he consolidated his personal faction, quietly replacing officials, rearranging military command structures, cutting off corrupt financial routes, and visiting the ministers.

One by one, he coerced them all.

For those who stood in his way, he exposed their wrongdoings and scandals.

One by one, the obstacles in his path fell.

Some resigned in disgrace, some were imprisoned, and some vanished into the shadows.

By the time the previous king realized what was happening, Jerrel’s influence already extended into every vital artery of the kingdom.

He exposed the other party’s demon-worshipping rings and brought justice on the evildoers.

After that, he ascended the throne and was coronated as the Thirteenth king of Rune.

From there on, he began building Rune his way.

Military discipline, economic restructuring, political cleansing, and to show his gratitude, demi-human legal reforms.

Even though he said it casually, Reinhardt knew that passing all those reforms wouldn’t have been easy.

Especially the demi-human reforms, Jerrel must have faced significant opposition from the citizens of his country.

After all, using demi-humans as slaves was a tradition that was deeply rooted in the current era.

The Kingdom of Solaris was able to do so without facing much problem because its ruler, the Queen, had already abolished slavery within its borders before, and its status as one of the Seven Great Kingdoms meant that it could pass its own laws without worrying about the setbacks from the other countries.

However, Rune did not possess such status and was only a small nation. Passing such a reform would destabilize its relations with other neighboring countries, potentially even leading to the country’s downfall.

“I will bring this to Her Majesty’s notice. Although I cannot make any promises, Solaris will always aid Rune.”

“Yeah, I’ll be counting on that.”

Jerrel did not stand on ceremony and calmly accepted the help.

More importantly, given their deteriorating relations with other countries, Solaris’ aid would help them avert a calamity.

The two of them conversed cordially for a while, with Reinhardt introducing his Holy Knights.

Bob, Marcus, Gray, and Zerina respectfully greeted Jerrel.

They did not delude themselves into thinking that they could take Jerrel lightly just because their commander was speaking to the other party in a familiar manner.

Jerrel was the king of a nation and held considerable authority. Besides, the other party’s strength was enough for them to take him seriously.

Powerful!! The four Holy Knights all had the same thought.

Although they had never seen King Jerrel in action, just from the pressure coming off from him, they could tell that he was no less powerful than the commander of the Seven Great Knight Orders of Solaris.

Reinhardt was also similarly sizing up Jerrel.

“You have become stronger.”

It was no flattery; he could genuinely tell that the other party had become stronger.

Jerrel was the strongest knight in Rune, and his talent was second to none. Reinhardt reckoned that if there was anyone in Rune who could step into the realm of heroes in the future, it was Jerrel.

With their conversation drawing to a close, silence settled inside the chamber.

Though not for long.

“I know why you came.” Jerrel glanced at Reinhardt, his expression a touch serious.

“There’s no need to worry, every demi-human within my territory has been formally registered and granted legal protection. Their chains have been released, and they now live openly, under royal decree. I’ll personally take you to see them.”

Reinhardt nodded. Though he hadn’t stated his true motive in the letter, Jerrel had seen through it regardless.

“Still, there’s something I don’t quite understand.”

Jerrel looked at Reinhardt thoughtfully.

“I understand the need for unity. I also understand that demi-humans possess strength no less than humans, and in this era, unity is key to survival. Demons are a threat to all living races after all”…

“That said, I can’t understand your urgency. Why are you in such a hurry to gather the demi-humans?”

At that question, the room fell quiet.

All eyes except for the Holy Knights who already knew his plans, turned towards him.

“The Tainted Lands.”

!!

Jerrel stiffened almost imperceptibly.

“The corruption has spread far deeper than anyone realizes. Not just on the surface, but into the mana veins beneath the earth itself. They’ve been poisoned and turned into demon nests. To reclaim those lands, we must purge the corruption at its source.”

Reinhardt began explaining his plans.

“To defeat the demons and to reclaim the lost lands, we need something capable of cleansing corruption on a worldwide scale. I plan to revive the World Tree.”

It was as if a bolt of lightning struck them out of nowhere. Everyone around Jerrel felt their minds go blank, unable to process the information Reinhardt had just revealed to them.

World Tree, while its existence was nothing more than a fairytale in this day and age, senior officials like them knew more than that.

There had been records in the royal library about there being an ancient kingdom of Elves and the larger than life World Tree.

To think that the man in front of them actually planned to revive what they wouldn’t even dream of left them unable to think straight.

“Are you serious?”

Even Jerrel was skeptical. After all, how ancient was the thing they were talking about? Era of the Gods was a timeline, long forgotten in the river of time. Nothing but a few vestiges of that time still remained during the current era.

There was no way something so ancient could be revived after so long.

“Yeah, I’m serious. I have everything necessary to revive it. Now I only need the High Elf Priestess, the only being capable of nurturing it.”

Jerrel stared at Reinhardt intently. It was only after seeing that the other party was dead serious did he sigh and lean back on his seat.

“So that’s how it is.”

“Yes.” Reinhardt nodded. “Without the World Tree, the war against the demons will only grow bloodier and crueler in the upcoming days.”

Seconds passed by with no one speaking for a while.

Everyone inside the chamber seemed to be thinking about the bloody war that was about to come in the future.

“Reinhardt, do you think humanity has a chance to defeat the demons?”

Jerrel veered his eyes away from the ceiling and stared out of the window, into the busy streets of Rune.

He was a knight before he was a king, and it was the duty of the knight to ensure that the future still stayed bright.

However, optimism aside, was there any chance for them to defeat the demons that not even their ancestors could win against?

“Yeah, we will defeat the demons.”

Hearing the voice full of confidence, Jerrel couldn’t help but turn towards the speaker.

“If humans and demi-humans join forces, there is a chance for reversal.”

The one to speak was not Reinhardt but one of his Holy Knights. More precisely, it was the demi-human with panther-like features.

Amidst their talks, Jerrel and the others had all forgotten that the topic of their talks was sitting right in front of them.

Zerina did not shy away from their attention and voiced out her thoughts.

“Commander had once told me that the reason why the continent of Valdonia fell in ancient times was because whether it be humans or demi-humans, all the races were divided. Everyone wanted to profit from the others’ downfall and served their own interests”…

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