Suddenly, there was an uproar in the army. People's eyes were full of disbelief and chaotic discussions filled the air.

"Is he the red dragon? The Burning King?"

"how is this possible?"

"How can this be an evil dragon? He is clearly an elegant nobleman."

"Could it be that Archduke Leo deceived us?"

Cassius's charisma was enough to distort reality, and even dragons would be unconsciously affected by it. Therefore, even if he appeared in the form of a simple image, it was more than enough to make these mortals who had never seen the world fall into depravity.

Under the gaze of tens of thousands of soldiers, Cassius began his performance:

"I think you may have some misunderstandings about me. After all, in the propaganda of the northern nobles, I am a dragon that eats people without spitting out bones, a demon that rapes women, and an invader who destroys peace and order."

"But the fact is that every time, it was the northern nobles who took the initiative to provoke war, whether it was the three-nation coalition in the Battle of Trier or the so-called anti-Red Dragon alliance. It was only because they could not tolerate a country that shook the foundation of their rule, and could not tolerate the Burning Kingdom that abandoned serfdom and hereditary aristocracy."

Cassius paused, his tone holding a hint of doubt, and his expression was exceptionally sincere.

"Soldiers, I really want to know - what are you fighting for?"

"Do you really believe the ridiculous words of the Scandinavians that we share honor and disgrace? The North is not your country, but a paradise for the nobles. They regard you as 'gray cattle' and lowly consumables."

"Everyone, please look back at your careless lives in the North. When have you ever been treated respectfully by the nobles?"

"The scholars of the kingdom have said that class is the only standard for dividing society. In the eyes of the nobles of the North, you who are of humble origins are never of the same species as them, so how can you be their so-called compatriots?
"When they whipped serfs, raped children, killed slaves for fun, and tortured you for generations, they never remembered that you were their compatriots."

Cassius did not speak passionately, but simply stated the facts in a calm tone.

But just this alone made countless soldiers start to think for a rare moment, their hearts began to waver, and some even believed in the Red Dragon's words.

"Is it really?"

"What he said seems to make sense."

"Yes, those noble lords will not share their money with us."

"My daughter was taken away by a certain master."

Cassius continued in a deep voice:
"In fact, you have no reason to fight for them or to sacrifice your lives for them. Even if you don't turn your swords against these nobles, it is already a great mercy and forgiveness."

"And I promise here in my capacity as a king, in the name of the Burning King Cassius - when the Burning Kingdom rules this land, you will regain your most basic dignity."

"Hereditary serfdom will no longer exist. Freedom and equality will become the main theme of society. Anyone can become rich through hard work, and can even strive to be promoted to nobility. This is what has actually happened in North Wind Castle in the past few years."

Under the influence of his charisma, Cassius' words sounded so sincere in the soldiers' ears. However, considering the presence of the officers, they could only whisper and give their own simple comments.

"Do people like us have a chance to become nobles?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Then what are we fighting for?"

"This is much more generous than those stingy old men."

As the noisy discussions became louder and louder, Count Loren Bosco finally realized the other party's purpose - he wanted to divide the army's morale!

What frightened Lauren the most was that even he himself couldn't help but sink into the words just now and unconsciously agreed with them.

But even Cassius' words could not distort a person's identity. As a noble, Loren naturally sensed the sinister nature of these words.

"This is simply the devil's whisper!"

"How dare they believe such words!"

"If it weren't for the leadership of our ancestors, would these beasts still be here today?"

Loren looked around at the hesitant soldiers and gritted his teeth, his eyes full of hatred.

"This can't go on like this!"

Thinking of this, Loren rushed into the army on horseback, wielding his sword with a ferocious look on his face, and beheaded an ordinary soldier who was speaking enthusiastically and full of hope for the future, and held the head high. "Soldiers, you have been bewitched by the evil dragon!"

"And this is the fate of a rebel!"

"Did you all—see that?"

Loren held up the bleeding head and rode on his horse to inspect the army.

The soldiers who were whispering before suddenly fell silent. They involuntarily shrank their necks, their faces full of fear, but they still stared at Loren, suppressing some strange emotions in their eyes.

Yes, they haven’t arrived at that “ideal country” yet.

It is still under the rule of the northern nobles.

Loren seemed to be about to lose his mind. He threw the head away and pointed his blood-stained sword at the shadow in the air, saying in a nearly hoarse voice:

"Evil dragon! Did you see it?"

"We Scanians are invincible and will never surrender!"

"The glory of Roselle Bosk will shine forever in the North. We will rule here for a thousand years, ten thousand years!"

But the expression of the "King of Ashes" in the image did not change at all. He was still so indifferent, as if he had never taken Loren seriously, or even completely ignored him.

Cassius looked down at the tens of thousands of soldiers and said bluntly:

"It's a pity that you are standing in the way of the kingdom's unification, but I have always been a peace-loving dragon who doesn't like killing."

"I'll give you three hours. If you don't want to die, leave here."

“Time is running out”

Suddenly, the army became noisy again.

You have to know that there are tens of thousands of people here, most of whom are serfs and commoners, and there are only less than 10,000 nobles' personal troops. When the dignity of the northern nobles was broken, it was natural for them to flee.

Being of humble origin and poorly educated, they could not understand many of Cassius' words, but they could understand the beating and oppression of the nobles, because these were what they had experienced personally, and more importantly, they wanted to survive.

"I want to live."

"Let's go, get out of here."

"I've had enough of those noble lords!"

"How can we possibly defeat such an enemy?"

The soldiers began to flee in all directions, and the officers were unable to stop them.

The army of the Burning Ashes Kingdom actually kept their promise. Even when some people fled in their direction, the kingdom's army suppressed the urge to kill and did not take action. After all, this was the Red Dragon's personal order and no one dared to disobey.

Loren roared hoarsely as he rode his horse in pursuit of the fleeing soldiers:

"Come back! You beasts!"

"You will never be able to repay the kindness of our ancestors in this lifetime!"

His eyes were red as he killed deserters one after another, but he still couldn't stop the rout. After all, the scale of the rout was tens of thousands of people.

"Am I going to fail in this way?"

"The battle is over before it even starts?"

"These damned beasts, these pigs, they all deserve to go to hell! I am too kind to them!"

Loren rode on his horse, gasping for breath, his twisted face covered in blood - but not his own, not even his enemy's.

"Sir, please stop, we still have to gather the remaining troops."

The adjutant quickly grabbed him and whispered. (End of this chapter)