Great Frey, Royal Palace.

His Majesty Adruger, known as the 'Iron Hammer Stepper', had been cursing from morning until noon without a minute's rest. All generals and officials were berated until they were metaphorically drenched in blood, and no one, including the queen, dared to interject. As the most ambitious king of Great Frey, Adruger had always yearned to turn Great Frey into an empire. He usurped the throne from his father, combining cunning diplomacy with iron-fisted tactics, and conquered territories east and west to build today’s Great Frey.

Just yesterday, he possessed over ten times the territory compared to his father's reign.

Yet, in just one night, Felik, which seemed to be cooked and swallowed, had flown the coop.

Not only Felik, but several small vassal states on the border also fell overnight. Castles were captured, and lords who had previously submitted to him met untimely deaths. Of the nine administrative provinces within Great Frey, plus Felik and other conquered territories, totaling 160 towns, only 125 remained overnight.

Over thirty towns fell, and more than thirty castles were captured by the enemy.

How could His Majesty Adruger not be furious?

If it weren't for the fact that every hour, mages frantically reported more castles under attack, requesting reinforcements, only to receive news of their destruction before soldiers could be dispatched, Adruger would not have been so enraged. Knowing that the enemy was attacking his lands, yet unable to resist or counterattack, despite having over two hundred thousand elite soldiers, but being forced to watch helplessly as the enemy devoured his castles, was a frustration that nearly made the 'Iron Hammer Stepper' vomit blood.

The enemy moved rapidly and unpredictably.

Their attacks were simple yet effective: they would mysteriously appear, first striking the teleportation gate magic towers, and finally seizing the castle, killing the stationed lords or castle masters, looting everything like robbers. By the time reinforcements arrived, all they could do was sigh at the sight of the city ablaze.

Adruger knew who was behind this: the miraculous boy Rody and those elite squad members from Rody City!

Apart from them, it was impossible for a second elite force on the human continent to carry out such a stealthy and surprising attack. Spies in Rody City also sent back magic messages saying 'the elite squad of Rody City has disappeared, and even the patrolling guards are gone'. However, even though Adruger knew it was the work of the elite squad, he had no evidence.

Rody City was different from before, backed by the Kamaran Empire, and highly respected by the armies of the Human Justice Alliance.

If he accused Rody City of invasion without evidence, and Chris, the Elf Son next to Rody, spoke out against him, then the world would stand by Rody City's side, leaving Great Frey to suffer.

His Majesty Adruger knew why the elite squad counterattacked Felik.

He had stationed over ten thousand troops in Felik to defend against the elite squad's counterattack, but he never anticipated that in one night, Rondo, that pig-headed general, would squander everything.

Over ten thousand soldiers, not only protected by castle walls but also equipped with the best magic alarm devices. If Rondo had only stretched out his hand to press the magic alarm bell, Adruger's bell beside his bed would have rung. Under such circumstances, Adruger believed that even if a pig were the commander, the entire army would not have been annihilated.

Yet, this was the reality!

"All of you, get out! Starting today, everyone must participate in the curfew rotations in the capital of Great Frey. Stay fully alert and don't let anyone steal your pig heads! We will counterattack Felik once our allies arrive. Now, get out, I don't want to see any of you!" His Majesty Adruger bellowed, allowing the generals and officials to breathe a sigh of relief. They all stealthily wiped their sweat and hastily bowed before leaving.

"Father, don't be angry. I think this matter is not so simple; there's a bigger conspiracy involved," Prince Vincent, Adruger’s beloved son, said as soon as everyone left.

"What conspiracy do you see?" His Majesty glanced sideways at his son.

"Those guys in Rody City have always been patient, like turtles hiding in their shells, unconcerned with worldly matters. Now they suddenly make such intense moves; it must be because that person has returned! I worry that what Prince Black Night said has become reality, that the Abyss has sent a large force to rescue the miraculous boy Rody trapped in the Desolate Hell. If not for this, those in Rody City would not have made such a big move." Prince Vincent, a clever man, thought far ahead.

"Go on!" His Majesty Adruger, devoid of anger, became extremely calm, snorting softly, "Why do you think so?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Prince Vincent bowed and said, "Retaking Felik is meaningless. Killing General Rondo not only fails to weaken our strength but makes us more vigilant against them. Why would they retake Felik? The reason is to create a name, to embark Rody on a path of revenge! If we send a large force to Felik now, it will only play into their hands. Not only would it be ineffective, but it would also align with their objectives."

"Are you saying we shouldn't counterattack Felik?" the Emperor asked, seemingly casually.

"Of course. If Your Majesty intended to dispatch troops, you would have done so immediately, not wait for our allies. Your actions are just to tighten the alliance, not letting them break away." Prince Vincent respectfully answered.

"You've finally grown up a bit, Vincent," the Emperor praised, but then sneered, "However, if you view the battle situation with this mindset, it's far from enough. I knew as soon as the news of the attack on Felik arrived last night that the miraculous boy had returned. He wants to incite chaos across the entire continent, and of course, he wants Great Frey to become a pitiful sacrifice in the maelstrom of continental warfare! How many people are in the elite squad? How many were the orcs and the demon race back then? Do you think the miraculous boy will engage us in a knightly duel? Do you know why he chose Felik to start a war with us? Vincent, you are smart, but you can't compare to him! He indeed seeks revenge, but with his and Rody City’s strength, it’s impossible! Moreover, he also has to face the pressure from the temples and angels. Therefore, he only has a chance amidst the chaos on the continent."

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"He wants to provoke a war between us, Kamaran Empire, and Norn Empire?" Prince Vincent understood some, but couldn't guess it all.

"Wrong, you are mistaken," His Majesty Adruger shook his head, "He wants to make Great Frey the common enemy of the world. If we dispatch troops, we would definitely be dragged into the Silent Forest of Felik, where playing hide and seek in the forest is his forte. Under his propaganda, we will inevitably become evil invaders. Even if the world doesn’t attack us, they will isolate us, leaving us without support or allies."

"Why? Why must we be restrained by him? Why can't we take the initiative?" Prince Vincent was puzzled.

"Because you are not the miraculous boy. Heh, if he didn't have a way to garner the world's sympathy, how could he dare to make a move? Another key point is the real Centennial Holy War. It won't be long before the orcs and demons will invade in large numbers. Rody City, located in the Evil Forest, has become the first line of defense for humanity, and what about us? We are attacking Felik. In doing so, we could even be accused of colluding with the orcs and demons as human traitors! Supporting countries like Kamaran and Norn would gladly kick us when we're down, and Great Frey would immediately become the target of public animosity. Do you really expect our allies to come to our aid? No, they would love nothing more than to divide the territory of Great Frey!" His Majesty spoke, leaving Prince Vincent sweating profusely.

"Father, what should we do?" Prince Vincent swallowed and asked.

"Of course, we are to rage, act like incapable fools, watching our territory being harassed every day, cursing loudly but doing nothing. That's the right approach," His Majesty sneered and stared at Vincent, saying, "I know you want to defeat the miraculous boy, but I advise you not to be impulsive. Going out now to confront the miraculous boy Rody is absolutely foolish! Vincent, if you really are a fool, then go ahead!"

"..." Prince Vincent had always thought his father was a tyrannical despot, hoping to replace him, but he never imagined that compared to his father, he was nothing.

He had always felt he was a match and a formidable enemy of the miraculous boy.

But now it seems, the one truly qualified to be the miraculous boy's opponent was his seemingly foolish and impulsive father.

...

Fifty kilometers outside the capital of Felik, in a forest tent, Rody was looking at a magic map with a few people.

"Report, Great Frey has tens of thousands of troops moving at the border, but the most elite legions are all stationed in the capital, showing no movement. Also, Adruger has announced a curfew rotation, forbidding anyone from entering or leaving the city, even demanding generals and officials to cancel banquets and take turns patrolling the streets..." A thin thief came in and reported in detail.

"Ha, seems the king of Great Frey is no simple character!" Silver-haired Tommy laughed upon hearing this.

"I say he's just a coward!" Stanley laughed heartily.

"That's not right, the king of Great Frey has some ability. I've heard my father say that this guy was quite exceptional in the military when he was young," Kerry, well-informed about notable figures on the continent, not only out of interest but also because of his father, General Quentin, who knew the continent like the back of his hand.

"That makes it interesting. We're in for a war of attrition, a battle of endurance and strategy. If he wants to play mind games, we're up for it!" Chris snorted.

"What about the temple? Any movement?" Rody paused and asked.

"The temple has sent a cardinal to soothe the king of Great Frey, but the Templar Knights haven't assembled..." the thief reported, "However, Great Frey's allies, like the Kingdom of Redlands and others, have issued declarations of joint combat. Just Redlands alone will send over ten thousand troops, and with a dozen countries, the allied forces total over thirty thousand."

"..." Tommy rolled his eyes upon hearing this.

"Thirty thousand? What can thirty thousand do? Do they really think this is just a show?" Stanley clapped his hands and laughed.

"The alliance of Redlands and other allies sending thirty thousand troops is just a ruse to incite Great Frey to send out troops! They want Great Frey and us to exhaust each other so they can benefit from it. Even a fool can see through this plot!" Chris smiled and said, "It seems we need to play along and add fuel to the fire, otherwise Great Frey won't willingly step into the spotlight. Rody, my suggestion is this: let Jamie's assassin team continue their attacks and the thieves from the City of Chaos to keep harassing them, so that Great Frey can't extricate itself."

"A harassment and attack for ten days or half a month won't be very effective. The king of Great Frey seems to be a smart man. Let's quickly station various races in the Silent Forest, accelerate training and adapt to the terrain battles of the human world. Great Frey is just bait; what we're really fishing for are the demons and angels, two big fish. It's still early; we need to wait quietly for the fish to bite!" Rody smiled slightly and said, "It seems it's time for me to make an appearance..."

When people opened the magic newspapers, they were surprised to see that Felik, previously occupied by Great Frey, had been recaptured by the Felik exile army.

General Rondo was killed, and more than ten thousand stationed soldiers were annihilated.

As everyone was discussing, the kings of various countries were thinking about whether to speak up and get their names in the magic newspapers for some publicity. Suddenly, in Kamaran, a magic newspaper exclusively reported a news that shocked the entire continent.

The news stated that the miraculous boy Rody had escaped from the Desolate Hell!

The origin was like this: Barash, a war correspondent who had been gathering news in Rody City for many years, was hired by a merchant group on the side to hunt magical beasts and record the scene. Of course, it was a very dangerous sixth-rank magical beast, and the main reason the merchant group recorded this scene was to sell it at a good price. However, they didn’t expect that during the mercenaries' hunt, they found the information was wrong.

There were not one, but two sixth-rank magical beasts.

All the mercenaries exerted their full strength but were still no match. At the critical moment, a mysterious figure appeared in the forest, effortlessly killed the two beasts, and then drifted away. Barash, severely injured and on the verge of unconsciousness, used his last strength to capture the mysterious figure.

Although it was just a side and back view, the excited Barash insisted that it was the miraculous boy returning from the Desolate Hell.

The people of Kamaran, when they opened the magic newspapers, all saw a familiar silhouette...

Many were moved to tears, but some questioned the authenticity of the photos.

In the silhouette, people saw many differences, such as the blurry photo where it was unclear whether the hair color was black or purple. The figure was somewhat distorted, with no legs visible, just a blur. And on the hands, there appeared to be claw-like things, certainly not a pair of human hands. People doubted it was some powerful magical beast, perhaps resembling a human, but it definitely was not the miraculous boy Rody.

But more people were convinced that this was the miraculous boy Rody!

The words of Prince Black Night before his death had come true; the Abyss had really rescued Rody trapped in the Desolate Hell and sent him to the human world.

In many places where the mysterious figure had passed, people found scorched earth and charcoal ash, enough to prove these were the traces left by Rody, who burned with divine fire. The unclear silhouette, the twisted body, and the claw-like hands were actually the flames on Rody’s body!

For a time, the world was shaken.

People's opinions were divided into two major factions. One believed that Rody's appearance was just a figment of people's imagination, a reflection of their pursuit of something better and dissatisfaction with reality.

The other group believed that the miraculous boy Rody had truly returned, and that was an undeniable fact. If anyone wanted to deny his existence, it was only because the evil forces that persecuted him in the past wanted to use this method to cover up their tracks and seize the opportunity to extinguish humanity's hope! Especially in Kamaran, millions of people took to the streets in protest, gathering in front of the twin statues of Prince Black Night and Rody, chanting slogans to express their determination to protect humanity's hope.

Especially the teachers and students of Rody Academy were extremely excited.

"When hope appears, what are we hesitating for? Are we waiting for those shameless assassins to get to the miraculous boy first? No, we can't be numb anymore, we can't wait any longer! We must take action, protect Rody, protect humanity's hope! Brothers and sisters, the human tragedy of Prince Black Night must not be repeated!" Ivan Yef's article, designated as 'Lowly Underling' by Prince Black Night, was published and immediately reproduced by various newspapers in Kamaran. People, holding the magic newspapers, excitedly gathered overnight, demanding King William II to immediately go to Rody City and confirm the news of Rody's return with the Elf Son Chris.

"This is a lie, a complete lie! It seems that people in Kamaran can do nothing but daydream!" mocked the magic newspapers of the Kingdom of Redlands.

"We wait quietly, although it seems far-fetched and unbelievable, we hope this will be a gospel-like truth!" reported the Denis Free Alliance newspaper.

"Holy Mother, we have always been praying, please guide the miraculous boy back to our side!" declared the Naples newspaper.