"Yes! You are wrong!!"
The girl looked Kevin Cromwell directly in the eye.
"Although I never had much interest in reading, under the influence of a certain person, I have forced myself to study a few books."
The image of that sickly yet always confident man suddenly surfaced in Yuna's mind.
"Looking back at the history of the Kingdom of the Moon, I see countless demon invasions. Every time, the refugees fleeing from the northeast would suffer countless casualties, with barely one in a hundred surviving."
"I presume you think the same way, do you not?"
Kevin Cromwell nodded subconsciously.
"But this time is different! You can go and see for yourself. In the current New City, not a single noble interferes. Every official has been promoted from the lowest ranks of society."
"Lord Kevin Cromwell, let me ask you to guess. In the current New City, how many people have starved to death?"
Kevin Cromwell furrowed his brow and thought for a moment.
"This... tens of thousands? No, with a population of over a million, there should be at least a hundred thousand, right?"
Yuna shook her head with a smile.
"You guessed wrong. From the start of New City's construction until now, not a single person has starved to death!"
Her gaze as she looked at Kevin Cromwell was filled with confidence and pride.
"Lord Kevin Cromwell, could the nobles of the past have achieved this?"
Kevin Cromwell's breath hitched, his composure wavering as a look of shock appeared on his face.
Since returning to Brilliant City, he had been consumed by anxiety over the issue of the nobility and had never paid attention to New City.
Kevin Cromwell thought for a long time before shaking his head.
"No. Under past circumstances, tens of thousands starving to death was common."
"Correct. And there is one more thing, Lord Kevin Cromwell. Do you believe it?"
"What?"
"To this day, in the entire New City, not a single person has sold their body to survive!"
"That is impossible!!"
Kevin Cromwell, who still held onto the mindset of the noble system, refuted the girl's answer almost as a reflex.
Watching the now-confused Kevin Cromwell, Yuna's face was full of smiles.
"Nothing is impossible. There is perhaps one more thing you will find even harder to believe. The people of New City are now completely self-sufficient and no longer require disaster relief subsidies from the Temple."
"How... how was this achieved?!"
Kevin Cromwell's eyes widened, his gaze vacant.
He wanted an answer.
But Yuna only shook her head.
"Lord Kevin Cromwell, please surrender. When the time comes, I will let you see New City for yourself."
In the beginning, New City relied entirely on her Highness's funds to survive.
But as the people gradually adapted, the city began to regain its natural vitality.
In fact, the power it unleashed far exceeded Yuna's understanding.
And all her Highness had done was provide loans.
No, strictly speaking, this was a strategy agreed upon by Bishop Lola and Lord Augus Di Clapham, with her Highness making the final decision.
In the current New City, one could say the vast majority of people owed money to her Highness.
Yet they still lived in abundance.
Without the exploitation of the nobility and without their oppression.
The quality of life for these people had clearly improved by more than just a single level.
Initial capital was loaned to ordinary people from the national treasury, and they used that money to buy farming tools, seeds, equipment, and raw materials.
The land was lent to them by her Highness; the money was lent to them by her Highness.
Even the supplies were purchased from other cities and then lent or sold to them.
And now, besides paying back the loans every month, the money they kept in their hands even allowed them to eat meat several times a month.
For ordinary people, this was almost like heaven.
In New City, no matter where you went, you could see smiles on people's faces.
Although the nobility had never taken New City seriously.
Yuna knew that with the construction of the railway, New City would inevitably become the economic center of the Kingdom of the Moon.
New City's bureaucracy was also very simple. The people would spontaneously nominate someone to become a district manager.
These managers underwent a review once a month.
Their eligibility to continue was determined, and these people were now naturally paid by the state.
Although they were not formally titled as officials, they were effectively acting as such.
Compared to Brilliant City, which was filled with nobles and suffered from low efficiency, the current New City had clearly burst forth with a different kind of brilliance.
Before long, this New City would become a coveted prize in the eyes of countless nobles.
Yuna understood this very well.
Once this city was seized by the nobility, the vitality currently bursting forth would be instantly severed.
Kevin Cromwell did not respond, only lowering his head with a conflicted expression on his face.
He seemed to want to believe it, yet also did not want to.
Yuna did not disturb him, simply watching quietly.
Time passed minute by minute.
The entire scene fell into an abrupt silence.
It was not until Kevin Cromwell let out a long sigh that Yuna's face immediately showed a look of anticipation.
But his answer left Yuna deeply disappointed.
"I am sorry. Although what you said makes me very curious, I still cannot retreat at this moment."
Things had already reached this point; Kevin Cromwell had long since lost any way to retreat.
If he retreated, the Cromwell family would be finished.
Kevin Cromwell raised the spear in his hand and thrust it violently into the ground before looking up at Yuna.
"Do it. If I can survive, I will see New City for myself. If I die, then please see it for me."
The girl sighed, her expression crestfallen.
"It seems you are determined to persist."
"Yes. Because from the very beginning, I have had no path of retreat. If her Highness can truly do as you say, then let her take this opportunity to sweep away all obstacles."
Kevin Cromwell's voice seemed to have lost its hesitation. Hearing this, his determination was clear.
"Vide, do it."
"Yes!"
Vide did not care about what these nobles were like.
To a commoner's son like him, it did not matter at all.
In his view, these vermin should not exist in the first place.
Because of the existence of the nobility, how many times had he seen life-and-death separations?
He himself was not from Brilliant City, but from Moonfall City.
That place was close to the Holy See, and Brilliant City's control over it was almost zero.
This allowed those nobles to become local tyrants.
They held the power of life and death over the people, acting with total lawlessness.
This situation was the current reality in various regions across the Kingdom of the Moon.
If the cities were to continue being controlled by those nobles.
It would be better to hand those cities over, kill all the nobles, and replace them with ordinary people to govern.
The Kingdom of the Moon only needed to symbolically pay five hundred thousand gold coins in tribute to the Holy See every year.
However, perhaps it was precisely because of this tiny amount of tribute that the Saintess of the Moon could afford to ignore the other cities, as the tribute from them was enough to make up the difference.
So, was this the fundamental reason for the decline of the Kingdom of the Moon?
No, there was certainly more than one reason why the Kingdom of the Moon had declined from the era of 'resisting the demon race' to its current state.
Kevin Cromwell had no intention of fleeing.
The knights who had gone to the inner city to wait for orders were basically die-hard loyalists to the nobility.
As for those knights who were still taking a 'wait-and-see' approach, they had completely abandoned the nobles and quickly left Medi City to gather outside.
Even the leading Knight Kevin Cromwell could not withstand that thousand-strong Dragon Knight Corps now.
What did they, as ordinary knights, have to fight back with?
Simple stubbornness would only lead to death!
And those knights who had left the city early and stood by her Highness the Saintess from the very beginning had clearly separated themselves from the others.
Although they numbered fewer than two thousand, these people could be considered Luo Li's die-hard loyalists.
The battle began once more.
This time, there was no mercy. Even Aigie Noah joined the assault directly.
From time to time, she would unleash Dragon Breath at Kevin Cromwell as he struggled to fend off the spears.
Kevin Cromwell was already exhausted from countering the spears, and with the added assault of the Dragon Breath and his previous depletion of energy.
This time, he truly could not hold on.
After just three rounds, three thousand spears and the Dragon Breath, Kevin Cromwell missed a single spear while defending.
And that missed spear instantly pierced through his leg.
Splat!
The one hundred and twenty pound spear instantly impaled his leg. It was almost like being struck by a massive sledgehammer.
Kevin Cromwell's leg was shattered, and the part below his right knee instantly flew off.
In the next second, Aigie Noah's Dragon Breath and the subsequent spears flew toward him, burying Kevin Cromwell in the assault.
"Stop!!"
Seeing this, Yuna shouted to stop the Dragon Knight Corps from finishing him off.
When the dust and Dragon Breath settled, only a dying man remained on the ground.
The armor on his body was covered in scorch marks; his left arm was severed at the shoulder, and only half of his right leg remained.
A spear had pierced through his abdomen, pinning him to the ground.
At this moment, Kevin Cromwell was in a wretched state beyond recognition.
Yuna let out a long sigh and had Vide steer the skysoar dragon closer before leaping down.
She stood before Kevin Cromwell.
She looked around at the forest of spears standing all around them.
"Lord Kevin Cromwell, it is over."
"Heh... heh... yes, it is over."
Kevin Cromwell panted heavily, taking a long time just to answer that one sentence.
At this moment, if his body were not supported by powerful attributes, he would likely be dead already.
Yuna watched for a while, and after confirming that Kevin Cromwell was not in immediate danger of dying, she turned to look at Vide.
"Vide, go get the demon-sealing chains, and bring a few nuns and priests over while you are at it."
"Yes!"
"Wait! Wait!"
Instantly understanding Yuna's intent, Kevin Cromwell hurriedly spoke to interrupt her.
"There is no need to lock me up. Just kill me."
"Lord Kevin Cromwell, looking at you now, do you still have the right to refuse?"
Kevin Cromwell subconsciously looked down at his own body. With one arm and one leg gone, and his body impaled by a spear, he truly seemed to have no right to refuse.
But to be seen in this state by other knights would truly make him die of shame.
On the surface, he was the one leading this rebellion, yet less than a few hours into the uprising, he had been reduced to this.
The humiliation came far too quickly!
Kevin Cromwell instinctively raised his remaining right hand, trying to reach for a broken spearhead nearby.
But before his hand could touch the spearhead, it was kicked away.
Kevin Cromwell was stunned. He looked up along the boot to see the cold face of the short-haired girl.
"I am sorry, Lord Kevin Cromwell. Since you are alive, it is necessary for me to take you back to Brilliant City to stand trial."
Seeing Yuna like this, a bitter smile appeared on Kevin Cromwell's face.
"Could you... give me a swift end?"
"No!"
Yuna glanced calmly at Kevin Cromwell.
"At the very least, you can now serve as an example to show the people what the consequences of rebellion are."
Kevin Cromwell's body stiffened, his face quickly turning ashen.
He turned his gaze to the spear impaling his abdomen.
If he snapped this spear, he might be able to commit suicide.
But before Kevin Cromwell could make a move, Yuna added another sentence.
"A word of warning: do not have any ideas you shouldn't. Otherwise, I would not mind severing your other good arm."
The expression on Kevin Cromwell's face froze before turning into a bitter smile.
He understood. It was likely impossible for him even to die now.
If he had known it would be like this, it would have been better to let a spear pierce his heart earlier.
But it was too late for regrets now.
Soon, Vide brought the demon-sealing chains.
Any city with a modicum of strength would have these prepared; after all, they were the best tools for dealing with experts.
Without something like demon-sealing chains to specifically suppress mana elements and physical constitution, even an expert above level ten would be extremely difficult to control.
"Nuns, priest, you are responsible for treating Lord Kevin Cromwell's injuries. Stop immediately once you are certain the injuries are no longer life-threatening."
Two nuns and one priest had come.
These were specialists in healing. Regarding such injuries, they only took one look and said nothing, immediately activating their skills.
In a short while, the bleeding from Kevin Cromwell's severed arm and leg had been stopped.
The wound in his abdomen also began to heal.
To avoid the spear becoming fixed inside his body due to the rapid healing, Yuna cut the spear and had men lift Kevin Cromwell's body to place him on the ground.
After binding Kevin Cromwell with the demon-sealing chains, she let the nuns and priest continue the treatment.
In less than half an hour, Kevin Cromwell's injuries were mostly healed.
Unfortunately, his severed arm and leg had long since flown off somewhere under the assault of the Dragon Breath and spears.
Furthermore, even if they could be found, Yuna had no intention of looking for them.
Next, Yuna immediately went outside the city to check on the status of the knights.
The knights were clearly divided into two groups.
Two thousand of them had gathered together early on.
The other seven thousand were basically part of the fence-sitter faction.
After clarifying the specific situation, Yuna completely separated these two factions of knights and reorganized them into two large battalions.
Then they entered the city to begin a sweep.
It was not until dawn that the sweep of Medi City was completely finished.
Every noble involved in the conspiracy was arrested.
Now, even Medi City's dungeon could not hold them all, so a temporary camp had to be set up outside the city to cram all these people in together.
The rebel Kevin Cromwell and his accomplice Bill Halen were both captured.
The rebellion in Medi City was quelled!
Meanwhile, Lola and Augus Di Clapham were still shivering in the cold wind outside the North Gate.
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