The Lich of Glory Knight Spirit: Moving towards Krimasha!
Chapter 126 - 12: Predicament

Chapter 126: Chapter 12: Predicament

Lion King City.

The bright sunlight spread freely.

The once bustling streets had become desolate, with only a few scattered pedestrians left. Less than half of the shops were open for business, the streets were chaotic and no one bothered to clean up. The entire Lion King City looked rundown.

The situation inside the Lion King Palace was even worse, almost to the point of being described as a complete mess.

Almost all valuable items had been moved out. There were no carpets on the floor, no famous paintings on the corridor walls as there once were, and some rooms didn’t even have furniture. The King’s private library had its bookshelves taken away, though the books remained, scattered all over the floor.

Previously, the palace was full of candlesticks, everywhere you looked. By nightfall, with all the candles lit, the palace would be brightly illuminated. Now...

The lighting in the palace depended on oil lamps, each person was allocated one lamp to carry around. In fact, there weren’t many servants left in the entire palace, only fifty people.

The cracked outer walls were unattended, the plants in the courtyard were untrimmed, and even the weeds on the King’s windowsill grew unchecked. The broken door from the previous unrest still had its pieces lying nearby, now moist and growing mushrooms, with no repair in sight.

A fallen leaf lay in the corridor until it completely rotted into dust, with no one to sweep it away.

The Lion King Palace now felt like a deserted haunted mansion, eerie due to its vastness. Because it was so large, some places even had squatters living in them, unnoticed and unchecked.

The main hall was one of the few places in the palace that had been slightly refurbished, though it still looked rather shabby.

"Your Majesty," the author of *A Knight’s Guide to Success* fawned and respectfully said to Benedict II, "What do you think of my novel?"

"How do I think it’s written?" Benedict II, sitting on the throne and already overwhelmed, responded impatiently, "How would I know how your novel is written?"

"Didn’t you read it?" the author asked cautiously.

"Do I have to read your novel?" Benedict II retorted.

"But... I sent the finished novel a few days ago, you said you would read it. It’s there on your desk, the one with the corner sticking out."

Following the author’s direction, Benedict II dug out the novel titled *Lich Knight* from his cluttered desk.

"If you haven’t read it yet, then... should I come back after you’ve finished reading it?" The author said, bowing and about to leave.

"Wait." Benedict II stopped him casually and said, "I’ll be honest, I don’t want to read it. Just tell me what’s in it."

"Well... okay." The author’s expression stiffened momentarily, then he smiled and nodded, "The main content is about Holy Knight Gray’s deeds. Using Holy Knight Gray’s deeds as the main storyline, then I brilliantly arranged for him to become a Lich."

"A Lich?"

"Yes, the protagonist is a Lich. The Holy Knight is a Lich, and it’s written seamlessly. Anyone who reads it would sense some meaning behind it." The author looked at Benedict II expectantly.

Benedict II smiled slowly, "Sounds quite creative, well written."

"Of course, I’m a professional."

"Alright, I understand." With that, Benedict II casually tossed the novel onto the floor in front of the author.

Immediately bowing to pick it up, the author fawned and asked, "So, Your Majesty, you’re satisfied with this novel, right?"

"Of course." Benedict II spread his hands, "I welcome you all to write him as any strange thing, as long as it isn’t human."

"Then..." The author made a "money" gesture.

"Money?" Benedict II froze for a moment.

"Yes." The author quickly nodded, "A hundred Gold Coins."

"You’re giving me?"

"No, you’re supposed to give me. This is... the final payment."

"The final payment?"

The author quickly argued, "Your Majesty, did you forget? You said, once I finished writing the novel, there would be... more!"

Emphasizing "more," the author deliberately slowed his pace and intensified his tone.

Benedict II fell silent, simply staring at the author. After a long pause, he spread his hands and said, "Sorry, I forgot, nor do I intend to remember. Also, your novel is poorly written."

The author was dumbfounded.

Before he could react, Benedict II shouted, "Guards! Throw this guy out!"

"Yes!"

The palace’s only two guards appeared and carried the author out.

The poor author struggled and shouted.

"Wait! Your Majesty! You just said it was well-written!"

"Did I say that?"

"You just said so!"

"Then I take it back, alright?"

"Your Majesty! You can’t do this! You can’t do this—!"

In no time, the poor author had been carried out of the door and thrown to the ground. From afar, Benedict II’s voice still echoed, "You’re lucky I’m not demanding back the deposit! If you keep babbling, spit out the hundred Gold Coins! Figure it out yourself!"

The author instantly shut his mouth, not daring to speak further.

Patting the dust off himself, he gloomily left the Lion King Palace.

*Why am I so unlucky? To encounter this wretched Holy Knight and this rogue King. What next?*

The author wandered the street aimlessly, looking at the manuscript in his hand, growing angrier the more he thought about it. He swung it heavily, tossing the manuscript across the street.

Then, thinking it over, he gloomily went to pick it up.

*Maybe some fool will want it. Keep it, keep it, it’s not a loss anyway.*

He felt heartache, helplessness, pain, and a bit of hunger. So, he walked to a dilapidated yet the only operating bakery on that street.

"Give me two long breads."

"Alright." The burly, bearded clerk quickly tied two long loaves, bigger than the author’s arms, with grass rope and handed them over, "Two silver coins."

"Wait." The author froze while digging in his purse, "What did you say? Two loaves for two silver coins?"

"Of course, everything has gone up in price now." The clerk retracted his hand holding the bread.

"But I just bought from you last week, two loaves for one silver coin."

"That was last week. The prices went up again."

"Are you joking?"

"Do you think I’m joking?" The clerk started untying the rope, ready to put the bread back.

"Stop!" The author gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, "I’ll take one loaf."

He placed a silver coin on the counter.

The clerk continued untying and handed over one loaf, "One loaf does not come with rope."

Helplessly, the author took the bread, muttering, *Looks like breakfast is off the table next. All because of that Holy Knight, giving money to the poor? Ha, so everyone stopped working, and I, who rushes drafts daily, became the poor man. My goodness, this is awful. I’m sure to starve to death at this rate.*

"No, this isn’t the Holy Knight’s fault, it’s the King’s fault." The burly clerk corrected.

"Why do you think so? Those wretched policies were all set by the Holy Knight."

"But the King’s poor execution caused the problems. If it were the Holy Knight... If it were the Holy Knight, with our food shortage, he could lead us to attack neighboring countries for food, so prices wouldn’t rise. Whereas this useless King has done nothing."

"Do you really think so?" The author asked in confusion.

"Of course." The burly clerk said solemnly, "My customers all say so. Now everyone has resumed working. If not for the King’s poor execution, we wouldn’t need to keep working."

"So, you’re all supporting the Holy Knight again."

"Yes."

Food had started to become scarce, though it hadn’t reached famine levels. Yet the pervasive desolation was something everyone in Lion King City could sharply sense.

The author cradled his single loaf, puzzledly leaving the bakery. The more he thought, the more twisted it seemed, making less sense. So, he randomly grabbed an old man walking by and asked, "What do you think if the Holy Knight returns?"

"The Holy Knight? Is he coming back?" The old man looked overjoyed.

"I was joking." The author let go of the old man’s hand, walking away pensively.

From afar, he saw a large crowd gathered at the bookstore across the street, tightly packed.

"What’s going on?" The author asked a nearby young man.

"Buying novels, new ones released today."

"What new novels?"

"*The Holy Knight and His Seventy-Two Wives*."

"What?" The author couldn’t believe his ears.

"*The Holy Knight and His Seventy-Two Wives*."

"My goodness..." He finally accepted he hadn’t misheard, yet he still couldn’t believe it.

"Food is scarce, and you have time for novels?"

"Food prices increased, novels didn’t." The young man spread his hands.

Squeezing through the sweaty crowd, the author finally entered the bookstore. He saw shelves completely filled with: *The Holy Knight and His Seventy-Two Wives*, *The Holy Knight’s Monster-Slaying Adventure*, *Ruling the World Starting as Holy Knight*, *I Am a Holy Knight Across the Heavens*, *Holy Knight Rebirth Diary*, *My Brother is a Holy Knight*, *My Dad is a Holy Knight*, *My Grandma is a Holy Knight*...

The author’s face twitched as he quickly grabbed the bookstore owner and asked, "Owner! Are these novels all selling well?"

"Of course, anything with ’Holy Knight’ sells well. How many do you want?"

"I don’t buy novels, I write them."

"Oh, not buying? Then please get out."

Soon, a few people carried him out of the door.

Struggling to get up from the ground, dusting himself off, he blankly stared at his manuscript. He glanced back at the lively sales scene and muttered to himself, *Maybe... I can revise the manuscript. Making the Holy Knight into a positive Lich? The Holy Knight’s reputation is starting to recover again, my novel personally recognized by the Holy Knight, surely many people would buy it, right? At least better than those like *My Grandma is a Holy Knight*. Maybe I can get the Holy Knight to autograph it? Hmm... It’s the only way. With prices rising like this, if I don’t release a new novel immediately, I will starve to death first. It’s settled!*