Ashen Dragon

Fier slowly raised his hand, pretending to adjust his lapel, but in reality, he was observing the angle to take aim.

"Come on..."

He licked his dry lips, reached out his hand, the sharp tip of the crossbow in his sleeve targeted the woman's forehead, his finger already on the trigger.

"The tyranny of the evil dragons will end at this moment."

Once the trigger is pulled, the arrow carrying the brilliance of the sun would instantly shoot out, piercing through the woman's head and ending this ridiculous speech.

However, at this moment, the woman also slowly removed her hood, revealing her true face.

Instantly, the entire venue erupted into an uproar.

And Fier stood there stunned, mouth agape, his bloodshot eyes filled with confusion, shock, and disbelief.

How is it possible?

The woman on the stage with a pale face and golden hair gradually overlapped with the figure that haunted Fier's dreams.

That figure should only appear in his dreams, in his beautiful memories, how can it appear on the distant stage?

Could it be that he was still dreaming?

Or could it be...

In an instant, thousands of thoughts flooded Fier's mind, feeling as if the world were shaking, and the flawless, goddess-like statue in his heart also began to crack.

Fier's complexion turned pale, his lips quivered, and eventually, he slowly forced out a few words: "Ingrid..."

The surrounding Aisier people also started to murmur.

"My God, she is still alive!"

"It's Bishop Ingrid!"

"Is it really her?"

"Wasn't she killed by... His Majesty Cassius? Was that just a rumor?"

"Even Bishop Ingrid has sided with the Empire?"

The Church had a very high status within the old Collins City, and as Honorary Bishop, Ingrid's reputation was undeniably significant.

Under the gaze of countless onlookers, Ingrid scanned the various familiar faces with somewhat forced smiles.

She held her robe in hand, speaking in as gentle a voice as possible: "Everyone, long time no see, I am Ingrid Garses, formerly the Honorary Bishop of the Collins Diocese, and now..."

She hesitated for a moment before continuing: "Imperial Court Priest."

"What?"

"Bishop Ingrid, she truly has sided with the Empire!"

Below the stage, Fier's pupils dilated, and the divine figure in his heart suddenly collapsed.

Everything he had done seemed to have been in vain and even turned into a joke.

"No, this can't be possible!" Fier below the stage shook his head repeatedly, almost crazed, and collapsed to the ground, still shouting: "This is all fake! Lady Ingrid would never be a slave to that evil dragon!"

Fier abruptly rolled up his sleeve, revealing the sleeve crossbow on his wrist, nearly pulling the trigger in his panic.

Seeing such a scene, the people around quickly moved away, fearing to provoke trouble, and someone recognized this member of the "Dawn Holy Army."

"Enemy attack! Maintain order at the scene!"

Surrounding Tiefling Guards immediately surged forward from all directions, raising their rifles, surrounding this "madman."

"He's armed!"

"This man is on the wanted list; he's Fier from the Dawn Holy Army!"

"Catch him, don't let him escape!"

Fier was forcibly pinned to the ground by the Tiefling Guards, handcuffed, but he continued to struggle, crying out tearfully: "Lady Ingrid would never surrender!"

Meanwhile, Ingrid on the stage was also drawn by this commotion, her eyes unsettled as she looked over, but seeing a familiar face, one far more weathered and tired than she remembered.

"Is that... Fier?"

Fier was also once a member of the Amanata Church, originally a pitiful blind man, whom she had healed with Divine Arts, and who had thereafter converted to the Amanata Church.

In Ingrid's memory, Fier had always been a quiet and mild-mannered young man, who always arrived early for worship, extremely devout to the Divine.

She couldn't comprehend how that peaceful young man could be linked with the crazed, foul-mouthed "rioters" in the distance.

How could he have changed like this?

Listening to the curses of the man being dragged away by the Guards, Ingrid wanted to save him but felt powerless, only able to whisper in her heart, "I'm sorry."

Ingrid was filled with guilt towards these former members of the Amanata Church, but she had no other choice.

Having resided in Isdalia for many years, she was well aware of the Empire's military strength, fully conscious that the strength of the Aisier people was not enough to mount a successful resistance.

All she could do was to minimize the losses, to save as many lives as possible.

"I'm sorry, but this is my only choice now."

Thinking this, Ingrid took a deep breath and picked up the script that Count Hans had prepared for her.

"I came here to tell everyone that I am not dead; the rumors of His Majesty Cassius having me killed are entirely false.

Ladies and gentlemen, the goal of the Ashen Empire is not brutal exploitation and oppression but to establish a more peaceful, advanced new order.

His Majesty Cassius once said that societal transformations often provoke fierce backlash from the old forces..."

Thus, under the mild sunlight, Ingrid eloquently spoke about the Empire's policies and ideology while the Aisier populace listened quietly below.

This scene resembled the moment from over a decade ago when Ingrid conveyed the doctrines of Amanata to the people, reciting scriptures just like that.

...

Dragon Head City Prison, in the gloomy dungeon.

"Impossible, impossible...

Lady Ingrid is already dead, she's dead, this all is fake...

Fier huddled in the corner of his cell, shaking uncontrollably and muttering continuously.

People say he's gone mad, but Fier knows if he chooses to believe, then everything he has done would become meaningless.

As his faith collapsed inside him, he chose to deceive himself, constructing a fragile, tattered statue from those broken fragments.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

Footsteps approaching from afar.

Fier shivered as he lifted his head, only to see a man in his thirties dressed in standard Empire attire, with the emblem of Dragonblood Nobility on his chest—this was Count Hans.

When enemies meet, they are particularly incensed.

Fier's eyes reddened as he gripped the bars tightly, banging his head against the railings and cursing loudly: "It's you, damned minion of the evil dragons! You deceived me!

Lady Ingrid has already been cruelly murdered by you!"

Hans shook his head and said, "Fier, stop pretending to be mad, it only makes you look more absurd and ridiculous. You should know what the truth is, you just... don't want to face it."

"You—"

Fier collapsed to the ground, his eyes empty, still mumbling: "Impossible, impossible, this must be fake..."

He lifted his head, frantically touched his face, then clung to the bars, crying and saying: "Where is Lady Ingrid, I want to see her myself!"

"Fier Glade, you have repeatedly incited rebellions, causing severe damage to the Empire and great disruption to social order. According to Imperial law, you should be hanged, you don't deserve to meet Lady Ingrid.

However, Lady Ingrid, recalling past fondness, has given you a chance to redeem yourself. If you hand over all intelligence about the 'Dawn Holy Sect Army' and related organizations, you can see her again."

"But... "

"There are no buts."

Hans walked to the iron bars, standing in front of Fier, looking down on him.

"His Majesty Cassius once said, intelligent betrayal is better than foolish loyalty, you should understand the meaning of this statement."

Fier fell silent, after a long while he finally spoke: "Can I ask one last question?"

"Of course."

"Is that... truly what Lady Ingrid meant?"

"What do you think?" Hans bent down, his face half-human, half-dragon, revealing a meaningful smile—but to Fier, this smile was more terrifying than a Devil's.