This lich needs more money

Amberxiu agreed happily. As expected, the information was correct. As long as the price was negotiated, the lich would do anything, even cooperate with the Lion Empire.

No wonder the empire treats this lich differently. If used properly, it might actually develop into a traitor to the undead.

But this is not something that the Silver Moon Knight needs to consider. He is just a general, a warrior who charges into battle, and is not good at these political games.

The Silver Moon Knight only hopes that the new generation of the Lion Empire can grow up as soon as possible and face future crises.

But these young paladins were so disappointing. They were so excited just after winning an unsightly battle. The entire Ryan army in Sand Studio City had a kind of impetuousness that couldn't be let go.

This can be seen from the details of daily training. Their swords are no longer as stable as before. They often have frivolous smiles on their faces. They pay more attention to their appearance and like to play with useless but beautiful decorations.

The Silver Moon Knights wanted to rectify these problems, but they never found the right time.

After winning the battle, the next step should be to reward based on merit rather than criticize. Doing so will only be counterproductive.

It happened that Amber Xiu appeared and the Silver Moon Knight found an opportunity.

The Silver Moon Knight has no idea what method this lich will use to attack the city, and he will not give any hint to anyone in the city. It is to let these younger generations understand the cruelty of war. Without the protection of a legendary strongman and facing an unrivaled enemy, can they still maintain the courage to face death? Can they still adhere to the teachings of the Lord of the Morning?

Soldiers who have not experienced baptism are always just recruits.

The standard of 1,000 casualties is not just the casual talk of the Silver Moon Knight. It is the standard of the Lion Empire. One thousand people account for half of the defenders of Sand Shadow City.

When Alan Watson led the small lords to attack Amberxiu's castle, he was surprised that there were only 10% to 20% casualties, and the morale of the coalition collapsed. Because the standard of the Lane Empire is that the regular army needs to maintain combat effectiveness with more than half of the casualties. If it cannot meet this standard, it will always be an auxiliary soldier that cannot be promoted, and can only do logistics at best.

If the group of Sand Shadow City defenders in front of them cannot meet the standards, the Silver Moon Knight will send them all back for retraining, and their previous training commanders will be punished.

Practicing the teachings of light is a difficult road. If you can't even meet this basic requirement, you might as well be a civilian for the rest of your life instead of going to the battlefield and dying.

When he thought of this, Silver Moon Knight sighed again: "Those dwarves are really too weak."

The planned large-scale training was meaningless because the enemy was too fragile. We had to find the lich Amber Xiu and spend an additional amount of money. It was really a loss.

But the Silver Moon Knight has settled the matter. If the paladins plus the regular army plus the militia are added up, even if Amberxiu captures all the prisoners alive, the maximum amount will only be three million gold coins. This amount of money is still within his authority, so there will be no What's the problem.

He walked back to the military camp with heavy steps and stepped into the tent. A blond paladin had been waiting here for a long time.

Seeing the Silver Moon Knight returning, the paladin quickly stepped forward to help him.

"General, you are finally back. Take a rest."

The strongest paladin in the empire was like a frail old man who had not recovered from a long illness, allowing the other party to lift him up and put him on a chair.

The Silver Moon Knight coughed twice and said to the young paladin: "Alan, don't worry about me."

If Amber was here, he would definitely recognize this young paladin as his first paladin prisoner, Alan Watson.

The biological son of the supreme judge, he was once the second generation who attracted much attention in the empire. Allen lived up to expectations and became a paladin at a young age. He was praised by many high-ranking officials in the empire.

But that's all in the past.

Ever since Allen was captured by Amber Shoe, his life has been cast into a shadow.

This shame will accompany him for the rest of his life, unless he can personally kill Amber Xiu and wash away this shame.

After finally returning to the empire, Allen took the initiative to join the Desert Expeditionary Force, which was both an escape and another way of experience.

On the surface, the Supreme Judgment ignored Allen, but privately asked the Silver Moon Knight to give Allen some care. The Silver Moon Knight also liked this young man with pious beliefs and outstanding talents, so he simply took him with him as a personal soldier.

Allen was extremely excited to be able to work for the legendary figure Silver Moon Knight, and he has been serving him with all his heart.

Then, Allen discovered the secret of Silver Moon Knight, a secret that may not be a secret anymore.

The Silver Moon Knight is on his deathbed.

Ryan does not allow senior officials to use magic to extend their lives. Even the emperor does not allow this. Naturally, the Silver Moon Knight strictly abides by this rule. And he is now over one hundred and fifty years old. Even with the most powerful power of Holy Light, it is already the limit for humans.

His life was about to burn out, and the Silver Moon Knight would fall down any day without warning, now relying almost entirely on willpower to hold him up.

He is the strongest paladin in the empire. He is the general of the empire and the spiritual pillar of the army.

He needs to train suitable successors so that the empire's army can be handed over steadily, but almost all of the disciples he once accepted... have been sacrificed.

Disciples who can be valued and trained by the Silver Moon Knight are naturally outstanding paladins. They also have devout beliefs and the courage to devote themselves to the empire. Then, in the conquest wars one after another, these outstanding young people died on the battlefield. The youngest one died in the Dark Territory at the age of seventeen.

When Silver Moon Knight ran out of gas, he suddenly looked back and realized that all the qualified successors were gone.

The other young people have not yet grown up, they are all impetuous boys, and it is difficult for them to take on important responsibilities.

Allen is also a young man he values. If he were twenty years younger, he could still train him well, but now the Silver Moon Knight has no way to accept any more disciples.

Allen didn't know the Silver Moon Knight's inner thoughts. He just chanted the prayer seriously, and the holy light condensed, injecting vitality into the Silver Moon Knight and eliminating the accumulated fatigue.

This made the Silver Moon Knight breathe a sigh of relief. After recovering, he said to Allen: "The war is almost over. Do you have any plans to return to the imperial capital and join the Knights of Conviction?"

The Knights of Judgment are different from the regular army. They are the elite among the elite. They were specially set up to deal with legendary strong men. Although they have suffered a big blow, they are still the best place for paladins.

Allen thought for a moment, and then said: "I want to continue training in the army for a while. This time I originally wanted to wash away my shame on the battlefield, but the dwarves were defeated too quickly, with almost no resistance. I came here to experience Yes, it turns out that I just got some merit, and I really feel guilty."

"It's rare that you still have this idea. The other boys are already ready to go back to receive flowers and praises."

Being neither arrogant nor impetuous, and being able to see the situation clearly, such qualities are indeed rare.

Silver Moon Knight couldn't help but made a pointer: "You can see that these are good, but Sand Shadow City is not as safe as imagined. Danger is likely to be lurking nearby, so you must always be prepared."

When Allen heard this, he quickly stood at attention, saluted, and responded loudly: "As you command."

Tip, this can only go so far, and it would be unfair to others to say more.

The Silver Moon Knight sighed inwardly, and then ordered: "I will return to the imperial capital later to report on my duties. The troops of Sand Shadow City are temporarily in your hands."

"Ah? General, am I not qualified to take over? I'm afraid others will have objections."

Allen is now just a paladin who comes to atone for his sins. He is lucky to be favored by the Silver Moon Knight. He is not qualified to take over the army based on his position.

"Don't worry, they all can't wait to return to the Imperial Capital to enjoy the treatment of heroes. No one wants to stay here and eat sand. Allen, do your best, you are protecting Ryan's territory."

Allen nodded excitedly, and he will do his best to shoulder this responsibility.

The Silver Moon Knight nodded, and after taking a short rest, he entered the mainland teleportation array, and at the same time handed over the command of Sand Shadow City to Allen in front of the people left behind.

Sure enough, just as the Silver Moon Knight said, all the paladins who were qualified to take over the city had no objections, and many even had expressions on their faces. Allen's previous experiences are well known to everyone, and this appointment is more like a punishment.

Allen didn't care about the eyes of others, he just completed his duties conscientiously.

He began to patrol the entire Shaying City carefully, going around every garrison position. At the same time, he communicated with these soldiers seriously, hoping to memorize all his men as soon as possible.

But before he could complete this task, a shrill horn sounded from the city wall.

This is the horn sound of an enemy appearing!

Allen was surprised and immediately came to the city wall.

Picking up the binoculars and looking outside the city, a group of jackals were drooling and quickly approaching Sand Shadow City. Gnolls are a ferocious race that has no other hobbies except killing and destruction. It likes to slaughter weak creatures, and also likes to use the corpses of prey to make accessories and armor.

They are pure chaotic evil without any morality or conscience.

The soldiers on the city wall said to Allen: "Sir, it's just some jackals. Let's go out and deal with them."

Allen put down the telescope, but frowned.

Jackals usually only attack targets that are obviously weaker than themselves. Sand Shadow City is such a tall city, how could it be the target of jackals? This situation is not right.

Allen asked the dark-skinned soldier next to him: "What's your name? Are you a local?"

"Sir, I am Olmos, a local."

"Will the jackals in the desert attack cities on such a large scale?" Allen asked.

Allen is not an expert on monsters. He is not sure whether the monsters in the desert will be different from other places. Maybe the jackals in the desert have IQ problems and dare not attack even the city.

But Olmos also fell into deep thought after hearing Allen's words. After a while, he said: "The Jackals have never actively attacked Sand Studio City, at least I have never seen it in my memory."

After hearing this, Allen became more determined and ordered: "The situation is not right. Close the city gate tightly and observe first."

"This... sir, is just a group of jackals, not many in number."

Although Olmos also felt that something was wrong, he was not worried. He has seen the fighting power of the Lion Empire's army, and a few paladins can cut these jackals like dates.

The newly appointed chief actually ordered the city gates to be closed tightly. Was he being too cautious?

But Allen said firmly: "This is an order, execute it immediately!"

Although Olmos did not disobey the order, he still felt that Allen was making a fuss.

And Olmos was not the only one who thought so. When the city gate slowly closed and was about to close, a team of paladin rushed out of the city.

Allen saw it and said excitedly: "What's going on?! Who asked them to leave the city?!"

However, no one can answer this question.

Because the team of paladin who left the city were not the defenders of Shaying City at all. They were "heroes" waiting to be transferred back to the imperial capital for decoration.

The heroes disobeyed Allen's orders and took the initiative to go out of the city to fight these jackals. No one could stop them.