Standing in the crowd, Ke Lin looked at the righteous Queen Midella, full of surprise in his heart.
He was sure that Queen Midella was not the kind of person who would sacrifice her life for righteousness, but how dare she make such a public promise
Unless... she is determined to kill everyone here!
Ke Lin knew the real face of Queen Midella, so of course he would make such a guess, but the others were stunned by the queen's righteous words.
But immediately, the nobles began to persuade again:
"Your Highness, even if you want to sacrifice the Storm Fortress, you should withdraw the army first!"
"Yeah, aren't those refugees enough as sacrifices?"
…
Obviously, the nobles didn't care about the life and death of those refugees. If they could use the lives of these refugees to replace the life of the orc emperor, they might still be secretly happy.
What's more, the moral hazard has already been borne by someone.
Queen Midella snorted softly and said:
"Refugees alone are not enough to complete this sacrifice! What's more, if the army withdraws, the refugees will definitely run away, so no one here is allowed to leave!"
"Your Highness! This is the most elite main force of the empire, how can they all be sacrificed?"
"Your Highness, we can evacuate part of the army..."
Listening to the admonitions from the nobles, Queen Midella waved her hand and said forcefully in an unquestionable tone:
"enough!
I have already said, no one is allowed to leave!
This plan has been unanimously agreed by His Majesty, Prince Lexie, Duke St. Grian, and Earl Angelet, so you have no choice but to cooperate!
Sacrificial Storm Fortress is already our best chance to disintegrate the Orc Empire, it must go on!
In addition, I must remind you that once the sacrificial ceremony starts, only this castle in Storm Fortress will be safe. Please don't leave, and don't try to contact your own army, otherwise, just wait and become a sacrifice together! "
Having said that, Queen Midella found Colin in the crowd, and ordered:
"Count Angelet, please guard the castle and take care of the noble lords here, and don't let the chaos outside affect this place!"
"Yes!" Colin immediately bowed to accept the order.
Queen Midella nodded in satisfaction, then ignored some nobles who were still trying to persuade her, and strode away.
Count Nicole still wanted to catch up, but was stopped by Colin.
Queen Midella walked down the stairs, and after turning a corner, she saw the Shadow Knight waiting there at some point.
"Your Highness, do we want to start early?"
"Yes!" Queen Midella said with a gloomy face without stopping, "The rumors outside have already spread, and it may be too late to control it now, so I can only activate it in advance!"
"Someone must have leaked the secret on purpose!" The shadow knight said through gritted teeth, "I suspect it's the Duke of the South, should we kill him first!"
"No need." Empress Midella sneered, "You just need to send someone to watch him, and don't let him come into contact with anyone. The most urgent thing is to sacrifice Storm Fortress."
"Yes, Your Highness, what exactly should we do?"
"Three things, you should remember clearly." Queen Midella resolutely ordered,
"First, spread the news that the orc army is approaching in the fortress, so that the refugees will not dare to flee outside;
Second, it is claimed that His Majesty has discovered the conspiracy of the Duke of the Southern Territory colluding with the orcs and preparing to dedicate the Storm Fortress to the orcs. Therefore, His Majesty ordered the southern border troops to be disarmed... "
Hearing this, the shadow knight couldn't help reminding:
"Your Highness, once such unsubstantiated accusations are spread, it will cause chaos instead. Those southern soldiers will not be arrested without a fight..."
"This is exactly the effect I want..." Queen Midella explained, "It is to force the troops from the southern border and cause chaos."
The Shadow Knight nodded knowingly.
Queen Midella continued:
"Now the noble lords in the fortress are confined to the castle and cannot get in touch with their own army. If you follow what I asked just now, it will naturally make Storm Fortress completely chaotic.
And taking advantage of this opportunity, you can successfully carry out the third thing——
Arson!
A sufficient amount of charcoal has been buried in the walls, main buildings, and traffic arteries of the Storm Fortress, and you send someone to ignite it. "
"Yes, Your Highness!" The shadow knight nodded, and then disappeared into the darkness again in a flash.
Queen Midella went all the way down the stairs until she entered the basement.
After seeing Mr. Xi and Master Ernest, Queen Midella asked anxiously:
"How is it? Is the magic circle ready?"
Ernest frowned and said, "The third eye has not been completed yet..."
"It's too late!" Queen Midella said decisively, "The ceremony must be carried out immediately. If we wait any longer, I'm afraid even we will no longer be able to control the situation in Storm Fortress."
"But there are only two array eyes..."
Mr. Ji was about to speak, but suddenly his eyes turned to the entrance of the basement.
There, the figure of Prince Lexi suddenly appeared.
"Are you going to start the ceremony in advance?" Prince Lexi's tone could not hear any joy or anger.
"Yes, Your Royal Highness. Someone leaked the secret, and we had to start early. In order for the ceremony to proceed smoothly, can you please help guard the gate of the castle, so as not to let the chaos outside spread here?"
Prince Lexi did not respond to Queen Midella's request, but cast his eyes on Ernest and asked:
"Master Ernest, what are you doing here?"
Ernest was stunned for a moment, and then explained: "Your Highness, I am here to assist Mr. Ji to complete this sacrificial ceremony."
"Assist?" The corners of Prince Lexi's mouth curled up slightly, showing disdain, "Do you need two sixth-level mages to complete this sacrificial ceremony? Or... you have two goals for the sacrificial ceremony?"
Queen Midella sighed secretly, knowing that she might not be able to get away with it. After Prince Lexi learned of Ernest's existence, it would be difficult to win the trust of this paladin.
Mr. Xi obviously also understood this point, and saw him and Queen Midella quickly exchanged glances, and then slowly walked towards Prince Lexi, saying:
"It's actually like this. I invited Master Ernest just in case. However, if you have any doubts, Prince, let Ernest preside over this ceremony. Let's go Just wait outside."
But Prince Lexi stood at the entrance of the basement without moving, his eyes still full of distrust.
"Sorry, I can no longer believe who your target is, so this sacrifice..."
boom!
Before Prince Laixi could finish his sentence, he saw that Mr. Ji suddenly turned into a golden lightning bolt and rushed towards him.
Being on guard, he immediately put his hands in front of his body, and the holy light flowed, forming a huge golden shield.
Boom!
After a while of shaking, Ernest opened his eyes again, and saw that the entrance to the basement had been blasted into a big hole, and Prince Leahy and Mr. Xie had disappeared.
He looked at Queen Midella hesitantly, and asked, "What should we do now?"
Queen Midella resolutely said: "What else can I do? Start the ceremony immediately and help Mr. Xi kill Prince Laixi!"
"Then...another eye, do you want to use it?"
"No, the other one is reserved for Mr. Zhe. This time I sacrificed the imperial coalition forces. If the orc emperor is not killed, the empire will be completely over."
"Then you..."
Queen Midella looked at the unfinished third formation, and sighed: "I'll wait for the next time, as long as we control the Glorious Empire, there will always be a chance."
"Okay!" Ernest suppressed the joy in his heart, nodded repeatedly, turned around and walked towards one of the formations.
But the next moment, Ernest suddenly felt a piercing pain.
Lowering his head, he saw that a dagger had pierced his chest.
"You...you..." Ernest turned his head and stared at Queen Midella with resentment on his face.
Queen Midella drew out the dagger, and let Ernest slowly fall to the ground, showing a bloodthirsty smile, and said:
"I'm sorry, Mage Ernest, I have already promised the nobles of the empire that I will use my life to atone for the sins of everyone in Storm Fortress, so this opportunity, please leave it to me."
(end of this chapter)