Red dragon: in charge of natural disasters

"Miss Ingrid, you are finally here. I have been waiting for you for a long time. I am Hans Hammond, the Count of the Empire, and the person in charge of this operation."

The man stretched out his hand and made a "please" gesture. A slightly ferocious smile appeared on his half-dragon, half-human face: "Welcome to, no, more accurately, welcome back to Dragon Head City."

"Thank you, Count Hans."

Ingrid nodded. She stood at the gate of the city, observing this familiar yet unfamiliar city, and couldn't help feeling a little confused.

The city has become unfamiliar. The sun emblem on the gate has been changed to the red dragon emblem of the Empire, and there are ferocious dragon heads sticking out of the city wall.

The majestic Amaunator Temple in the city has been transformed into the Dragon Oath Temple, the lighthouse with the sun disk has been replaced by the flying dragon tower, and the sculptures of the saints of the church have all been smashed - replaced by the statue of the Burning Emperor Cassius.

Sheriffs riding wyverns often patrol the streets, and tiefling guards holding rifles can be seen every few dozen meters, and there are also starfallers dressed in various clothes wandering around.

However, there are still many traces of the past here: people tend to wear bright colors of yellow, red and orange, the holy emblem of Amaunator can be seen everywhere, and the distinctive "Fadlan-style" buildings.

All these made Ingrid feel quite cordial, and she couldn't help but recall the beautiful past years. She couldn't help but whisper the banned name.

"Collins City, I'm finally back." For some reason, there were crystal tears flashing in her eyes.

This is Dragon Head City, Collins City under the former Saint Fadlan Empire, the central city of the entire North Ethel region, and Ingrid's hometown, the city where she was born and raised.

A few years ago, Ingrid was the honorary bishop of the Corinthian Diocese, often leading priests and believers to hold sacrificial ceremonies on the summer solstice to bathe in the holy light of the sun.

And now, she has finally returned to her hometown after a long absence.

But times have changed, things have changed, the once prosperous Holy Fadlan Empire has perished, and Ingrid has become a captive of the Burning Empire, serving the emperor and staying in the remote north for several years.

Ingrid remembered what Cassius said to her many years ago: "In the near future, you can return to your hometown openly, not as a captive, but as a bishop of the church belonging to the kingdom."

Now the Burning Kingdom has become a huge empire, and the emperor has indeed fulfilled his promise and let Ingrid return to her hometown - but in a violent way.

Looking down at the luxurious robe with the imperial emblem sewn on her, Ingrid's mood became more and more complicated.

She did return to her long-cherished hometown, but she betrayed the Church of Amaunator, betrayed those who once trusted her, and betrayed her past.

Now she even dared not face the people of Ethel, for fear that former acquaintances would recognize her and denounce her as a "shameful traitor", "a pawn of the evil dragon", and "a despicable apostate".

Count Hans asked with concern: "Miss Ingrid? Are you okay?"

Ingrid suddenly woke up from her memories and smiled: "Ah, I'm fine, it's just that I've been away for too long, and I'm a little sad."

Hans said: "That's good. The Empire has just occupied North Ethel. There are undercurrents in the city and the situation is complicated. All forces in Fianso have set their sights on this city. Twelve riots occurred in the last month alone. You came at the right time."

As he spoke, several tiefling guards appeared. They were standing by, on alert at any time, and Hans continued, "Miss Ingrid, please follow me."

"Okay." Ingrid put her golden hair behind her ears, put on a hood to cover her face, and then said in confusion, "Count Hans, why did you ask me to come? You should know that I am afraid that I can't provide you with too much support now."

Because Amaunator fell into a deep sleep, Ingrid also surrendered to the Burning Empire. Her conscience was constantly tortured and her faith gradually weakened.

Now she is no longer the powerful legendary priest of light. Her power has weakened to the extreme. You know, priests need to pray to the gods or ideas they believe in for many years to obtain part of the power of gods, and Ingrid no longer has this condition.

Now Ingrid has the status and powerful perception of a legendary priest, but she can no longer cast those powerful top-level divine arts. She can only rely on her own perception ability to forcibly release some low-level divine arts.

Hans shook his head, stared at Ingrid, and said with a smile: "Miss Ingrid, I think you must have misunderstood. What the empire needs is not your power, but you as a person."

"Me?"

Ingrid's beautiful eyes showed a hint of surprise, but soon her face became particularly ugly. At this moment, she finally understood Hans's purpose.

Yes, she was once the honorary bishop of Collins City and the object of admiration of countless people-and what the empire wanted to do was to make good use of her identity and trample people's beliefs underfoot.

But as an imperial citizen serving the emperor, she could not refuse, and had no reason to resist.

Hans did not notice Ingrid's expression, or maybe he noticed it but did not care. He just continued to lead the way in front and talked casually.

When the people of nearby Issel saw the tiefling guards beside Hans, they quickly dodged nervously, fearing that if they collided with them, they would be considered "rebels", or even be shot to death by the guards.

Hans turned his head and asked a little abruptly: "By the way, Miss Ingrid, do you know which is the most restless force in the city?"

Suddenly, a bad feeling arose in Ingrid's heart, but she still shook her head silently.

"The Crusaders of the Dawn."

As Hans spoke, he took out a brand new parchment scroll from the pocket of his uniform.

He said in an indifferent voice: "The Holy Army of Dawn is the largest rebel organization in Longshou City. Since the empire ruled Longshou City, the Holy Army of Dawn has launched a total of eleven riots, which has caused great harm to the order of the empire and the stability of society. Great damage.

According to the investigation by imperial intelligence personnel, the organization's main purpose is to overthrow the imperial rule and restore the theocratic rule of the church. It is extremely demagogue and instigative, and most of its leaders are former members of the Amaunata Church.

Oh, and by the way, we compiled a list of these damn thugs. "Having said this, Hans unfolded the parchment scroll and saw that it was densely packed with names.

"This is."

Ingrid's heart suddenly sank to the bottom. Just at a glance, she saw many familiar names on it.

Hans grinned again, but this smile seemed particularly horrifying to Ingrid, no different from the devil: "Miss Ingrid, I really hate this kind of riot. In fact, I originally planned to put these things into action." "Everyone"

He did not continue speaking, but made a gesture of wiping his neck.

This made Ingrid's hair stand on end, and she quickly stretched out her hand to stop her: "No, Count Hans, you must not"

Hans patted Ingrid on the shoulder and softly "comforted": "Don't worry, since I'm here to find you, I will definitely not let such a tragedy happen.

After all, these priests have a great influence on the people of Aethel. Killing them all will definitely damage the reputation of the empire and the reputation of His Majesty Cassius. "

He thrust the list into Ingrid's hands and said: "Miss Ingrid, I want to give you a chance to save their lives.

As for how many people can be saved, it depends on your performance. "

Ingrid was silent for a long time, hesitation, entanglement, and shame flashed across her pretty face. In the end, she nodded numbly and replied with tears in her eyes: "Okay."

While they were talking, they had arrived at the Ceremonial Square, which was once a place where Ingrid led priests and believers to worship and offer sacrifices. Now it has become a place where officials from the Burning Empire give speeches and promote policies.

The huge Holy Emblem of the Sun on the ground disappeared, replaced by the vertical pupil emblem of the Ember Empire. Driven and coerced by the guards, the people of Aethel gathered here and crowded into a group, making the square extremely noisy.

Hans smiled and clapped his hands and encouraged: "Go, Miss Ingrid, show your identity to the people and influence those rebels hiding in the dark."

Ingrid lowered her head and wrapped herself in a robe, her plump body trembling continuously.

But under Hans' slightly threatening gaze, she still slowly stepped onto the podium under the gaze of tens of thousands of people in the audience.

"Who is that?"

"You can't see her face clearly, why did she stand up?"

After much hesitation, Ingrid finally raised her hood, revealing her beautiful face. Her golden hair shone in the sun, as if covered with a layer of divine light.

"Amaunata, it's Bishop Ingrid! Didn't she pass away?"

"God, she's alive!"

"She was the one who cured my disease back then!"

Suddenly, the whole place was in an uproar. After all, it was the former bishop who had been rumored to be dead for a long time. Ingrid's appearance caused a great sensation.

"Sometimes, cowardice is also a kind of original sin."

Hans looked at Ingrid from a distance, the corners of his mouth raised slightly, and his face gradually changed, turning into the "Lord of Mercy" face of Emperor Burning Ember.

In the basement of a house in Collins City, the surrounding environment was dark and damp, and the candlelight flickered, flickering on and off. The holy symbol of Amauna Tower actually appeared on the wall that was occasionally illuminated.

Several people in robes sat around the round table. They lowered their voices and whispered, seeming to be discussing something.

"Everyone, I suspect there is a traitor among us."

The speaker was a man who looked to be in his fifties. His name was Yann Strauss. He was the former priest of the Amaunata Church and the leader of the Holy Army of the Dawn.

"Otherwise, those evil dragon minions wouldn't have gotten the news so quickly. It was the most confidential operation. I even suspected that the traitor was among us." Ion knocked on the table rhythmically and looked around with sharp eyes.

"Then shall we continue our operation?" Another man asked eagerly.

Arn sighed and replied: "Let's hold off for now. We lost a lot of people in the failure of the last operation, and we cannot let them die in vain."

"But, those damn Evil Dragon Families actually held propaganda in the Sacred Ceremony Square! That is the place where Bishop Ingrid goes most often. This is simply unforgivable!" The man who spoke just now was the same.

The man looked to be in his thirties, with an unkempt beard and messy hair. He looked quite slovenly, but his face was full of anger.

His name is Fir Burroughs, a former member of the Church of Amaunator and the backbone of the Dawn Crusaders.

Fir hated the Burning Empire so much that he planned many assassinations and sabotage operations, and even wanted to eat the flesh and blood of the red dragon alive.

Because the person he admired, the former honorary bishop, Ingrid Garces, was said to have died under the claws of the red dragon.

Fir was originally just a blind teenager, but Ingrid broke into his dark world like the sun, easily healed his eyes, and brought light to his world.

In his memory, the young bishop was so gentle and beautiful. He vaguely remembered the scene when Ingrid led them to sing hymns in the sun.

At that time, Ingrid was so radiant and dazzling, like a beautiful statue of a goddess, so that he could only look up to her.

Even looking up from a distance was a great happiness for Fir, and he wished he could stay in this beautiful moment forever.

Rather than believing in Amaunator, it would be better to say that he believed in the young bishop.

Fel originally thought that this kind of life would continue forever, and he could continue to admire Ingrid, worship, pray, and sing hymns with her.

But the good times did not last long. Soon Ingrid went out to travel and was said to have died at the hands of the Burning Emperor in the north. The beautiful pictures in Fel's memory were crushed by the dragon claws that fell from the sky and became bloody.

Until now, the huge red dragon like a nightmare has descended on the city of Corinth, and the temple that holds his beautiful memories has been smashed to pieces by the evil dragon's followers. At this moment, the hatred in Fel's heart has been engraved in his heart.

Ion sighed again and advised: "Fell, don't worry. I know you are eager to take revenge, but your recent behavior is too reckless and it is easy to make mistakes."

Another woman also comforted: "The enemy is in the open, we are in the dark, and we still have many opportunities."

No one would think that Fell was a traitor. After all, his hatred for the Burning Empire was too deep and had reached a crazy point. Every time he rushed to the forefront of the action without caring about his own life.

Faced with the dissuasion of the crowd, Fell was silent for a long time, and finally stood up and said firmly: "You don't need to say anything, I have made up my mind.

I must kill the dragon's minions who gave the speech in front of the people, let the dragon lose face, and let people witness the bravery of our Dawn Crusaders."

"Alas"

Ion did not speak again.

He knew that Fell was about to sacrifice his life to make the final revenge for the glorious figure in his heart.

This was an assassination with the determination to die. (End of this chapter)