The Lord Demon King is Unfathomable!

Chapter 1676 - 472: Not Only the Holy Daughter Heard the Oracle, the Duke Heard It Too (Part 3)

When he said this, he seemed to have completely forgotten that those refugees were not all from the Twilight Province; a considerable part of them were peasants driven away by Baron Gess and his ilk.

In fact—

Even the very act of sending troops to the Twilight Province itself had at least half its cause in the need to divert the internal tensions that had piled up outside Thunder City.

However, that was not important.

If a group of people who themselves went hungry could claim they wished to save the world, then the Duke of Campbell naturally could also march his army for the sake of solving his neighbors' hunger.

Luo Yan knew what he wanted to do, and he had come precisely to give him the courage to do it.

After listening to that impassioned declaration, the Prince of the Empire slowly rose from the sofa.

A flicker of guilt flashed across that handsome face, which immediately turned into self-reproach.

Under Edward's astonished gaze, Prince Colin offered the Duke a solemn noble's salute as an apology.

"Your Highness Edward, please accept my sincere apology. I… have wronged you."

Edward stared at him in surprise, then an embarrassed smile appeared on his face as he lightly cleared his throat and said,

"No… in fact you did not wrong me. As you said, I truly am an irresponsible elder brother. I only hate that I lack the strength; if I were a little stronger, perhaps my sister would not have to risk her life for the Campbell family."

He might actually have felt a little embarrassed, but Luo Yan certainly did not; his voice was as earnest as ever, even tinged with a trace of emotion.

"It is not just that."

After a brief pause, he went on.

"Before I came here, I heard some unfounded rumors, saying that Campbell sent troops to the Twilight Province for the sake of those fertile lands left untilled after the war… I actually nearly believed the slander of those petty men, mistaking you for someone who, out of selfish desire, thrust Princess Aileen into such peril. For my previous discourtesy and narrow-mindedness, I apologize to you!"

Edward immediately stepped forward, taking Colin's arm, his face wearing a broad, generous smile, as if he had not minded any of the earlier offense in the least.

"Your Highness, please, you must not say such things. That you care so much for Aileen's safety is something that, as her elder brother, I can only be grateful for. As for those slanders… I have long grown used to them. Let them say whatever they wish."

He had not expected those rumors to truly reach Colin's ears.

So that was why this prince had suddenly chosen this moment to attack him—turns out that while he was digging at the King's foundations, the King's hand had already quietly reached for his thigh, sending the winds of discord blowing into Prince Colin's ear.

This Theoden—

Could not be taken lightly.

A flash of ferocity passed through Edward's eyes; never had the thought of giving the Devalu family a profound lesson burned so strongly.

He cleared his throat and spoke in a voice brimming with righteous indignation.

"I can swear by Saint Sis: I, Edward Campbell, have never coveted the King's crown! All that I have done has been solely for the Campbell Duchy and the subjects of the Ryan Kingdom. Manager Skylar's words are nothing but lies used by the King to conceal his own incompetence and cold-bloodedness!"

Aileen's elder brother had indeed improved by leaps and bounds; every word he spoke was true, though entirely not in the literal sense.

Luo Yan silently praised his progress, while his face still wore sympathy for the Campbell family and anger toward the Ryan Royal Family.

He took the opportunity to sit back down on the sofa, lifted the untouched glass of wine, drained it in a single gulp, and slammed it heavily onto the table.

His fist clenched tightly, as though he could no longer restrain the fury surging within him.

"Your magnanimity moves me, and makes me all the more disdain Theoden Devalu's incompetence and cruelty! What has he taken the holy mission bestowed upon him by Saint Sis to be? A false and cowardly shield? His subjects are writhing in the flames, his heroes are defending his borders, yet he lies dozing upon his throne, scheming to make them slaughter one another, inciting the commoners to slay their nobles, then using the hand of the Judicial Court to settle accounts with those peasants, and now he even seeks to slander their heroes!"

Edward was stunned.

Although he had thought of delivering a few stirring speeches himself, he had not considered this angle; yet with that single prompt from Colin, his mind suddenly opened up.

So there was still this layer of interpretation!

The tremor that shook his soul at that moment was in no way inferior to when he had read the words "every man a Priest" in the New Testament.

In that moment, Edward Campbell seemed to hear an oracle—

"The Judicial Court is the King's accomplice."

The words of the Prince of the Empire had not yet ceased; Prince Colin spoke in a voice that was almost trembling.

"I cannot forgive! Such a King… is utterly unworthy of the Colin Family's loyalty! He himself is the Empire's disgrace!"

With that, he fixed Edward with a blazing gaze and, just as Edward had hoped, issued a declaration from the Prince of the Empire.

It was even better than he had expected!

"Your Highness Edward, from this day forth, I and the Colin family I represent shall become the staunchest allies of the Campbell family!"

"The problems of the Twilight Province are our problems. Whether you need political support or material aid, we shall offer our help without reservation!"

"This is not only for Princess Aileen's sake, but also for the sake of the honor and justice in my heart! I am even willing to make another journey to the Holy City for you, to bring your story before the Council of Elders!"