The Devil Does Not Need to Be Defeated

Chapter 570: The Ragna Empire

Ragna Empire.

This was a very powerful military nation.

Like its neighboring Mitra Kingdom, it was founded by a Hero, but its history was much longer than the Mitra Kingdom, and its foundation was very deep.

It had once declined.

It had once been weak.

But under the test of time, it persevered and eventually became the most powerful nation in the human world, considered the strongest human country. In terms of military capabilities, even the Mitra Kingdom, which had always been under the care of the God Race, was slightly inferior.

If it weren’t for the fact that the Mitra Kingdom was founded by the strongest Hero who successfully defeated the Demon King a thousand years ago and received much care from the God Race, perhaps the Ragna Empire would have conquered the Mitra Kingdom and occupied its territory long ago.

Even though the Mitra Kingdom had been gradually surpassing it in recent times, the Ragna Empire was still the number one military power in the human world. This was undeniable.

This country’s greatest strength was its military, and its most prevalent aspect was military force.

Unlike the Mitra Kingdom, which allowed nobles to establish their own private armies and knight orders, the Ragna Empire, although also granting nobles the right to establish armies and knight orders, required them to do so in the name of the nation, forbidding them from possessing private soldiers.

In other words, in the Empire, all armies and knight orders established by nobles strictly belonged to the nation. The nobles had the right to establish, summon, and command, but not the right to own them. Whenever the Empire needed them, all armies and knight orders had to be dispatched by the Empire and couldn’t be considered private soldiers.

Of course, where there were rules, there were ways around them. Although the nobles of the Empire couldn’t possess private armies and knight orders, they could still form guard units and the like in their own names.

A noble couldn’t possibly go without any guards, right?

For this reason, the nobles of the Empire generally trained their own exclusive guards and secret troops, and the higher-ranking and more powerful the noble, the more likely they were to do so.

Like the Raifurut family, weren’t they secretly training elite assassination units, assassins, and spies?

Other nobles were the same, more or less having the habit of secretly training their own private troops. It was a custom of this country.

The Imperial Family also turned a blind eye to this behavior.

Because the more effort the nobles put into cultivating these talents, the stronger the Empire’s military would be. As long as the armies and knight orders they possessed still belonged to the Empire, these secretly trained talents would eventually serve the Empire.

In this way, the Empire continuously promoted and encouraged the development of its military, leading to the birth of a military superpower.

Especially the Imperial Knight Order of the Empire, a vast expeditionary force with hundreds of thousands of heavily armored knights, was the strongest knight order in the Empire.

With iron cavalry at the forefront, the world could be conquered. This was the praise, or rather, the evaluation and apprehension, of other countries towards this knight order.

Even the Royal Knights of the Kingdom might be overwhelmed in the face of this army, demonstrating its power.

And the commander of the Imperial Knight Order was the head of the Empire’s foremost knight family, the Bigusler family.

This head was the strongest knight in the Empire, a Legendary-level expert hailed as second only to Aldia of the Kingdom – Rockto Bigusler.

Speaking of this strongest knight of the Empire, in the past, he was known to everyone, admired by all, and a role model and goal for all Imperial knights.

But ever since Aldia Elvenbein of the Kingdom rose to fame, this strongest knight of the Empire was no longer the strongest, and was questioned by many.

Especially recently, rumors about this strongest knight of the Empire began to spread in the Imperial Capital.

“Have you heard?”

“The Commander of the Knight Order from the Bigusler family is suspected of treason.”

“It’s said that someone found letters in his room indicating close contact with nobles of the Kingdom.”

“Is… is this true?”

“I don’t know, but many people are talking about it.”

“Haven’t many people from the Imperial Palace been frequently visiting the Bigusler family recently?”

“It seems they’re visiting so often to gather evidence of the Knight Commander’s treason.”

“Now, even within the Imperial Knight Order, many are questioning him.”

“Sigh, what a mess.”

“The strongest knight of the Empire colluding with the Kingdom, committing treason. It’s a nightmare.”

“That person from the Renitra family is currently building momentum for himself, saying that the Empire’s strongest military force cannot be commanded by a potential traitor, repeatedly voicing his opinion in the Knight Order and the Imperial Palace that Lord Bigusler should be removed from his position as Knight Commander.”

“That’s not surprising at all.”

“Originally, the head of the Renitra family was very dissatisfied with Lord Bigusler and has repeatedly proposed that their family should take over the position of Knight Commander.”

“After all, he’s also a Legendary-level expert.”

“It’s normal for him to be dissatisfied with Bigusler.”

Such discussions frequently appeared in the streets and alleys of the Empire, giving the entire Imperial Capital a feeling of an impending storm.

Of course, this wasn’t the only thing happening in the Imperial Capital.

“That phantom thief hasn’t appeared recently.”

“Indeed, it’s been a long time since we’ve heard any news about them.”

“They were probably scared off.”

“After all, because of the phantom thief’s rampant activities, the Imperial Palace has dispatched the Royal Knights.”

“That’s the knight order directly under the Imperial Family, just like the Royal Knights of the Kingdom, only accepting orders from the Imperial Family. Every Royal Knight is at least level seventy or above.”

“With them dispatched, that phantom thief naturally wouldn’t dare to act rashly anymore, right?”

“Yeah.”

This was a rather hot topic in the Imperial Capital.

It was better now. When the phantom thief first appeared, it caused a huge stir.

Now, the phantom thief had been quiet for a while, and the topic’s popularity had naturally been overshadowed by other rumors.

Compared to a phantom thief, the rumor of the Empire’s strongest knight family possibly committing treason was naturally more attention-grabbing.

However, recently, another rumor began to circulate.

For example…

“Prince Harvis seems to have received advice from many nobles.”

“The nobles suspect that the prince might also have close ties with the Kingdom.”

“Wasn’t Prince Harvis very eager to go to the Kingdom to propose to the princess some time ago?”

“Lord Bigusler is also a supporter of Prince Harvis. If Lord Bigusler is a traitor, then what about Prince Harvis?”

“The prince stayed in the Kingdom for almost a month.”

“That’s enough time to do a lot of things, right?”

“Also, the Raifurut family has been claiming that Prince Harvis secretly attacked them while in the Kingdom, causing them to lose an elite unit.”

“Why would he attack his own country’s nobles in enemy territory?”

“It’s quite disturbing when you think about it.”

Such rumors gradually replaced the previous hot topics, spreading among the people of the Imperial Capital.

Under such circumstances, the people of the Imperial Capital were constantly anxious and worried.

A mysterious phantom thief appeared in the Imperial Capital, secretly infiltrating the homes of various nobles.

The Empire’s foremost knight was suspected of treason and was currently under investigation by the Imperial Palace. The Renitra family was also taking advantage of the situation, attempting to seize the position of Knight Commander of the Imperial Knight Order.

Even the prince of the Empire was under suspicion, seemingly having an unclear relationship with the Kingdom.

All of this indicated that the situation in the Empire was very unstable recently.

Coupled with the disappearance of the second princess, Capeline, who was considered the future pillar of the Empire and hailed as the Valkyrie, the Empire was facing more and more problems.

The people hoped that the Imperial Family would take action and quickly quell all of this.

Little did they know that behind all of this, there was a hand manipulating everything.

…

“Ha… ha… ha… ha…!”

In an alley of the Empire, rapid gasps for air echoed.

A young girl ran desperately through the alley, surrounded by a few guards, but they were also fleeing.

“I… I can’t run anymore…!”

The girl cried out, on the verge of tears.

The surrounding guards shouted anxiously.

“Please hold on a little longer! Miss Leni!”

“They’re catching up!”

“Quick! Get out of here!”

“It’s dangerous here!”

The guards wanted to take the girl away immediately.

Unfortunately…

“Whoosh—!”

With a whooshing sound, an arrow pierced through the air, cutting through the darkness of the alley and shooting towards them.

“Thud!”

With a tearing sound, the arrow pierced through the neck of a guard protecting the girl from behind, causing blood to spurt from his throat as he fell to the ground.

“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…!”

Arrows shot towards them one after another, hitting the guards.

“Ah!”

“No!”

“Run!”

“My lady!”

The guards were already exhausted, and facing this sudden volley of arrows, they were powerless to resist. With cries of anguish, they were pierced by arrows and collapsed in pools of blood.

“Ah… ah…”

The girl, witnessing all of this, her legs finally giving way under exhaustion and fear, collapsed to the ground.

“No… no…”

Overwhelmed by fear and despair, the girl could only shake her head, rejecting reality, and sobbing.

Naturally, this wouldn’t earn her the enemy’s mercy or sympathy.

“Swoosh!”

In the next second, an arrow pierced through the air, aiming for the girl’s forehead, shooting towards her without mercy.

Just as the girl was about to die, a figure suddenly appeared.