This Lich Requests More Remuneration
Chapter 242 - 223: Honorary Execution

Chapter 242: Chapter 223: Honorary Execution

The Silvermoon Knight and Allen stood outside the infirmary tent, listening to the conversation between two brothers inside.

The previous siege battle, despite its brief duration, had still resulted in casualties. Magic Conduction Cannons weren’t for show; even the oldest model could pierce through several armored soldiers with a single shot.

This soldier had been particularly unlucky, a shell fragment had sheared off his right leg, and though his life was saved, that limb would remain outside Dew City forever. Yet, in a stroke of dark fortune, he was luckier than several other Laine warriors hit by the Magic Conduction Cannon who couldn’t even leave behind intact corpses.

The accompanying priests needed to conserve their mana and dared not use Divine Arts to regenerate his limb; only after the war could he be sent back to be treated in his homeland.

To many of the Laine People, being wounded on the battlefield represented a tremendous honor, the best proof of their devout sacrifice to the Lord of the Dawn. However, this soldier’s younger brother was so terrified by the horrific injury that he told his elder sibling he didn’t want to go back to the battlefield anymore.

The result was a vicious slap across the face from his elder brother; such cowardice was a disgrace to their family.

"Brother, I can be a support soldier. I am willing to give up all my inheritance rights; I can donate everything I’ll acquire to the military. But I don’t want to go back to the battlefield. I can’t even hold a sword steady. I’m truly scared."

The young man’s face bore a bright red handprint, his eyes brimming with tears. Just the thought of the previous scene, where blood and flesh flew about as the Magic Conduction Cannon fired, was enough to send shivers down his spine.

Not everyone can be brave in the face of death.

Allen remembered when he had been captured; deep inside, he had been afraid and weak as well, even though he eventually overcame it, never submitting to the Lich, never committing acts against the Holy Light. But Allen couldn’t deny the weakness in his heart, as it was only human nature to seek comfort and regain courage.

However, that was not what the injured soldier believed.

The sound of a sword being drawn from its sheath rang out as the wounded soldier roared at his younger brother, "Coward, if you want to desert, I will kill you first! I will not allow you to ruin our family’s honor, to defile the Holy Light!"

Allen was about to rush into the infirmary tent to prevent the tragedy, but the Silvermoon Knight was faster.

By the time Allen charged into the infirmary tent, the Silvermoon Knight had already seized the sword glowing with the Holy Light.

The Silvermoon Knight coughed continuously, his complexion becoming increasingly ashen. Already weakened, the sudden exertion had only made him more feeble.

Allen hurried to his side, casting the Vitality Spell to replenish his strength.

Only then did the Silvermoon Knight catch his breath and say to the trembling young man, "Report to the support troop. After this war is over, you can go home."

The young man seemed not to have processed this sudden turn of events. Hearing the Silvermoon Knight’s words, his first instinct was to kneel down, saying in panic, "General, I was wrong, what I said earlier was... I only meant... I didn’t intend to betray the Holy Light!"

The Silvermoon Knight only said calmly, "I won’t tell you again. This is an order, and no one may disobey it."

After saying this, the Silvermoon Knight glanced at the infirmary tent, where a dozen wounded soldiers were missing arms and legs. Each one of them looked at him with fervent eyes.

It was these men who just now watched the wounded elder brother attempt to execute his sibling without flinching, seemingly feeling it was their due right.

The Silvermoon Knight said nothing more, only turning to Allen, "Let’s go back."

Allen quickly followed the Silvermoon Knight out of the infirmary tent.

All the way back, the Silvermoon Knight remained silent except for his cough, which grew more severe, and his breath that grew fainter.

Allen was introspective. He felt something was wrong about what he had witnessed that day but couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

Was a young man, fresh to the battlefield and petrified by the blood and gore, really in need of dying to wash away his disgrace?

The Silvermoon Knight, having just lain down, broke the silence and asked, "Allen, what do you make of what just happened?"

Allen promptly replied, "The brother was too severe. This wasn’t a situation where a life should have to be paid. A little reassurance would have sufficed. I believe given some time, he could rally his courage and become a competent soldier."

The Silvermoon Knight then asked, "What if he cannot? Does he deserve to die then?"

After a moment of silence, Allen said, "At that moment, he should not have spoken out; his cowardice could affect the morale of others."

The Silvermoon Knight followed up, "What about the soldiers influenced by him? Should they die too?"

Allen paused again before responding, "That... surely not?"

The Silvermoon Knight chuckled. "If the soldiers who grew weak from his influence don’t deserve death, how could the frightened young man on the battlefield deserve it? He did not show cowardice during the battle but only started to fear after coming down from it. Are we to also strip away the right to fear?"

Allen felt something was amiss. Even facing the Silvermoon Knight, the Empire’s most exalted Paladin, he countered, "But we are at war, General. Sometimes that’s just how war is. We have to ensure victory and can’t let pity compromise military discipline or how will we continue to fight?"

The Silvermoon Knight did not argue but instead posed several questions to Allen, "Are we first and foremost followers of the Lord of the Dawn or are we first and foremost soldiers? According to the doctrines we observe daily, this child hasn’t committed a death-worthy sin. But haven’t you noticed? Everyone else in the infirmary tent has accepted this honor killing. In their eyes, there’s nothing wrong with the elder brother executing the younger."

"Perhaps, because it is a time of war?" Allen said a bit hesitantly. "It makes sense that things would be more severe."

However, the Silvermoon Knight shook his head and said, "If our doctrine can compromise because of war, then in the future it could compromise for ten thousand other reasons. If everyone can find an excuse to compromise, can we still call our faith devout? Does our doctrine still have any meaning?"

Allen opened his mouth but found himself at a loss for words.

Perhaps having spoken too much, the Silvermoon Knight began to cough violently again and had no strength left to talk with Allen. With a wave of his hand, he sent the young man away.

"Don’t stay here any longer, go take a walk and think things over."

Exiting the tent, Allen’s face was a mask of confusion.

Allen was not much older than that timid young man. It was not his first time on the battlefield, but it was the first time he had witnessed a conflict between doctrine and reality.

And Allen was a Paladin who had taken the Oath of Dedication. He could not deceive others, and least of all, he could not deceive himself. He couldn’t have a flexible moral baseline like a Dark Knight, and he must treat every person and every thing fairly and justly; otherwise, he would completely lose all his power.

His conscience told Allen that the Silvermoon Knight’s words were correct; executing a fearful young man did not align with the doctrine they believed in.

The Lord of the Dawn would not force others to sacrifice and dedicate themselves. What difference would that be from an Evil God?

Allen felt a hint of uneasiness, because such honorable executions were not rare. Since he could remember, he had heard of similar executions no less than ten times. What about those he hadn’t heard of?

Why would the Empire allow such actions to exist?

Why did his father, as the Supreme Decree, also acquiesce to such cruel behavior?

Those so-called sinners who blasphemed against the Deity and betrayed the Holy Light—did they truly deserve death?

These questions weighed heavily on Allen, suffocating him. He had to keep telling himself that now was not the time to consider these issues. He needed to focus his attention on the battle ahead.

Allen simply took over the patrol duties, wandering around the camp aimlessly, thinking that if another honor execution occurred, he could immediately intervene and save someone.

However, after wandering for a couple of hours and not witnessing any honor executions, Allen instead heard a strange sound.

Following the sound, he found a Laine soldier with his throat slit, convulsing on the ground.

Startled, Allen quickly cast a healing spell to mend the man’s wound.

Though Allen’s treatment was timely, saving the soldier’s life, when he looked in the direction the soldier had pointed to, he saw several other soldiers with their throats slit. Their blood had nearly drained, and their bodies already lay motionless.

Without any hesitation, Allen drew his sword and sent a beam of Holy Light into the sky.

The energy flew up and exploded with a boom—it was the signal of an enemy attack.

Laine’s camp sprang into action immediately, but the assassinations inside the camp did not cease. Instead, they intensified with their exposure.

Loud explosions rang out, and several tents became infernos.

The cries of battle rose from all around, and for a moment it wasn’t clear how many enemies had emerged.

Allen, anxious to protect the Silvermoon Knight, encountered a transparent figure on the way. The figure’s invisibility spell was imperfect, leaving behind a blurry outline as it moved.

Allen swiftly struck with Holy Slash, cleaving off one of the figure’s arms.

The revealed attacker was an orc with fiery red skin. Despite having an arm severed, the orc bravely hurled a dagger at Allen with his remaining hand.

Allen knocked the dagger away with his sword and continued the pursuit.

After finishing off the orc with great difficulty, Allen spotted a panicked figure—it was the frightened young man who wanted to desert.

The young man ran aimlessly until a Dwarf suddenly crashed into him, toppling him to the ground. When he struggled to rise, his body was already punctured with numerous wounds.

The heart, throat, liver... all vital areas had been pierced through.

By the time Allen arrived, the Dwarf had vanished.

Allen approached the young man, intending to save him, but his healing spell could not mend such grievous wounds, and he could only watch as the young man died completely.

When he stood up again, Allen’s body was drenched in fresh blood, but his eyes were even redder than the blood. Clenching his sword tightly, he charged toward the fiercest part of the battlefield.