The Simple Life of Killing Demons - Book 12: Chapter 66

Volume 12 Chapter 66 : To Support or Abandon

Mantillu, the Royal Palace Hall

“No wonder I’ve been feeling a sense of oppression in my chest recently. I didn’t expect something like this to happen.” In the gorgeously decorated and dazzling hall, the Spirit King sat on his high chair, leaning against the side of the chair as he frowned.

The spirit officials around the hall had different expressions.

Standing in the center of the hall was a wounded but resolute-looking guard, while next to him stood a black-haired noble spirit.

“Great King, I believe we should send soldiers to the city for support and protect the safety of the citizens.” An elderly spirit said.

“Yes, Your Majesty, the top priority is to immediately eliminate all invaders. This attack seems to have been planned for a long time. Not to mention, some ungrateful traitors had appeared amongst us!”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk.” However, another elderly spirit shook his head, “I think that we should be strengthening our army to consolidate the royal city. Mantillu is the capital of Spirit Country, and the demons would probably be attacking here at the last moment. We should amass our troops, wait for the lowly demons to attack, and then counterattack.”

“That’s right, we should not forget that the people gathered here are the nobles of nobles, how can we risk our noble lives in comparison with those beastly spirits?”

In a while, the officials were divided into three factions: Those advocating for sending more forces for support, those remaining neutral and not expressing any opinions, and those calling for amassing forces.

The Spirit King remained silent, just watching the bickering of the officials.

“What do you all know anyway?!” Taroma roared, silencing the entire hall. All the spirits looked at the young son of a certain city lord, who had no real authority over them in their eyes.

“Neither of you were there. You haven’t seen anything about what you’ve heard from the soldier’s description, so none of you know a thing at all! If you personally witnessed your loved ones and close friends killed by those demonic monsters and swallowed whole, would you still insist on saying these words? By the way! The most terrifying thing right now is not those monsters, but our own kind! The betrayal from within our kind!”

Thinking about how those servants, who had always been kind to him, all changed in just one night and recalling about how the guards, who were supposed to protect their masters wanted to kill them, Taroma was truly furious.

“Those who refusing to send reinforcements… are definitely the traitors!!!”

With his last sentence, all the officials who opposed to providing support tensed their facial muscles. One by one, they glared at Taroma with anger.

“Kid, this is the dignified palace of His Majesty. Is this a place for you to shout and yell?”

“He’s right! What did you say earlier? Those refusing to send reinforcements are the traitors? We are considering the future of Spirit Country! What can those lowly and foolish beastly spirits do? They are only useful in labor work, utterly useless, but we are different! Spirit Country has been developing smoothly, because of us.”

“As long as we are still here, Spirit Country will still be standing strong. When the lowly demons attack Mantillu, we will defeat them in one strike. That will definitely save the spirits who had been captured.”

“You are indeed traitors after all, is that right?! How do you know that the spirits will be captured? What if the lowly demons decided to kill and devour them?”

“Exactly, that’s why we need to send troops immediately, while there’s still time to save our spirits.”

“I’ll say that the ones wanting to send the troops from Mantillu are the true traitors! You must be thinking of reducing Mantillu’s forces to make it easier for the lowly demons to invade, right?”

“And how long will it take to send troops from Mantillu to other cities? If you are traitors colluding with the lowly demons to arrange an ambush halfway, then forget about supporting other cities, you may not even be able to return to Mantillu.”

“You are the traitors! Every citizen is a part of Spirit Country. How can there be a distinction between beastly spirits and noble spirits?! If we do nothing and let them be captured and killed, then Spirit Country will truly perish! The hearts of our residents will turn cold!”

From being dissatisfied with Taroma to mutual suspicion, the entire hall was filled with a discordant atmosphere.

“Quiet, quiet.” The Spirit King spoke slowly. His voice was not loud, but it stood out amidst the chaotic sounds, making every spirit hear clearly.

The officials instinctively shut their mouths and fell silent.

“It’s impossible to come to a conclusion with this kind of debate. I cannot deny that each of you have your own opinion, and all of you are making valid points. You are all spirits I am familiar with, and to be honest, having to believe that some of you are traitors is something I cannot accept. However, the fact remained. Bard.” The Spirit King called out a name.

The owner of the name trembled and hesitantly walked out from among the officials.

“Have you said something just now?” The Spirit King slightly squinted his eyes, looking at the spirit named Bard.

“Your Majesty, I… I don’t remember.”

At that moment, Philip the butler, who stood next to the Spirit King, leaned down and whispered something in the Spirit King’s ear, and the Spirit King nodded.

“I remember it very clearly. You did say that the spirits will be captured by lowly demons earlier…”

“That’s not what I meant, Your Majesty. I was… It was just a speculation. I’m only speculating.”

“A speculation, well, alright then. Now, why don’t you speculate a little more and tell me, what do the lowly demons want to do by capturing the spirits?”

“This, I… Your Majesty, I can’t figure it out.”

“Hmm, very well. Just now, I heard from Philip that you and Alvin, the city lord of Catudor, are often in contact.”

“No, Your Majesty, this boy said that Alvin was a traitor just now, but I have nothing to do with it! Although I do have contact with him, it is not connected to any forms of betrayal.”

“You seem to be quite emotional now, so let the guards take you to calm down before you return to us. Guards.” With a call of the Spirit King, two guards stepped forward to “assist” Bard away.

Before he left, Bard kept shouting: “I didn’t betray Spirit Country. I would never do that, my King. I really didn’t.”

“There is no doubt that Bard is a traitor. I’m sure you, my loyal subjects, are wondering why I’m so sure with it, right? Philip.”

“I understand, Your Majesty.” Philip motioned to the guards at the side door and they proceeded to open the door. Soon, a female spirit walked out. Those who knew her were aware that she was Bard’s wife. It was seen that tears were streaming down his wife’s face, and she was still covering her mouth, sobbing bitterly.

“Upon hearing that I’ve called for a meeting, she couldn’t bear the pressure and didn’t want to see her husband be labeled as a traitor, so she came forward to explain everything. Of course, she didn’t know who the traitors were, otherwise…” The Spirit King’s gazes turned cold at the moment as he flicked his hand. A dazzling golden lightning struck the pillar of the hall, leaving a large hole in the special stone pillar that was infused with defensive magic.

“I took over the position of the King from my father, and I swore to him that I would keep Spirit Country peaceful and harmonious, until I pass this responsibility on to the next generation. I never expected that such a thing would happen at this exact moment… Let me remind all of you, Spirit Country is not mine alone, but it belongs to all of us! If anyone dares to put this entire country in danger for their personal gain… I will never let them off. Now, let us discuss what to do next, shall we?”