After both "Flaming Blood Proud Dragon" family's Monarch powerful experts had fallen, the remaining people in the city earnestly surrendered, and the Northern Kingdom Army swiftly moved in and took over everything in the city.
Rus City was greatly destroyed in a short amount of time; many citizens died or were injured. However, Darren, as the initiator of it all, did not feel that there was anything wrong with this.
The people of Rus City provided the "Flaming Blood Proud Dragon" Castleton family with clothing, food, shelter, and transportation, participated in building railways, and collected various extraordinary materials, among other actions, all lending strength to the "Flaming Blood Proud Dragon" Castleton family. Even in the investigations by the Black Tide, most of these citizens were proud of the "Flaming Blood Proud Dragon" family and were not merely exploited unilaterally.
Beyond that, they also spontaneously did many things for the civil war.
So were the citizens who died or were injured truly innocent?
Could it be that those who died over the years in the East Coast Province, who until their last breath still believed wholeheartedly in the Fischer family, died without innocence?
Moreover, Darren firmly believed that if he showed any leniency toward cities that were not keen to surrender, then the remaining cities might follow their example. At that point, if every city actively resisted and had to be conquered one by one, even with their huge advantage, they might suffer significant losses.
So his thought was very simple, direct, efficient.
Surrender and be accepted, don't surrender and be killed! Surrender too late and also be killed!
Because if you're allowed to repent and surrender partway through, and we then immediately hold back, it would mean that our previous "hard" stance was completely meaningless.
Negotiations, only one chance.
When the city was conquered, the remaining people from the "Flaming Blood Proud Dragon" family finally declared their surrender to Queen Peggy!
Marquis Vlad's grandson, with grey hair, came forward with the remaining direct members of the dozen or so "Flaming Blood Proud Dragon" family, all kneeling down in the Central Square, heads lowered, waiting for Duke Darren's judgement.
Over the years, the "Flaming Blood Proud Dragon" family had too many people assassinated by the "Death God" Chris, so the accumulated massive hatred was also the reason they did not want to surrender.
Occasionally, some still couldn't help but raise their heads, staring around with eyes full of hatred. Darren saw this scene as he approached.
Darren, wearing a black coat, silently walked over, followed by Old Dog, the Emerald Elf, March, and the wolf-eared Alger—three close members of his team.
He looked at those direct members of the "Flaming Blood Proud Dragon" family and said in a very calm manner, "Is the recording device ready? It's about to start."
The ugly-faced Old Dog stood aside and nodded, snickering as he took out a gemstone-grade mysterious rare artifact from his bosom.
It was like a crimson gemstone, possessing the unique function of recording visual images.
Duke Darren spoke with a voice that was calm yet full of dignity and utterly unassailable.
"Marquis Vlad assisted the heretical cult, committed the crime of treason, and was entirely unforgivable. He has already suffered the judgement of Her Majesty the Queen and the Divine in Nasir City and fallen into Hell!"
"Originally, our Queen was incredibly magnanimous; she hoped the Castleton family could return to God's embrace and help her achieve the unification of Cyart. But when we arrived, you were still corrupted, unwilling to heed advice, even less willing to surrender, completely ignoring the mercy of the benevolent Divine and Her Majesty the Queen..."
As he spoke up to this point, he paused, and everyone's gaze turned to Darren.
"This is not the case, they acted on their own!"
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Those people wanted to argue, but they were all suppressed by the terrifying aura emanating from Darren, freezing in place, unable to move.
Darren could fully feel his power of Consecution at the 5th Rank becoming continuously mastered, for since the siege began, he had kept creating "shadows" for his enemies.
The Path of Shadow required spreading negative emotions to go further, and that was also one of the reasons he chose to take the extreme path.
"Undeniably, the Castleton family, from top to bottom, has committed the great crime of treason and is just as unforgivable. Therefore, our gracious and noble Queen is extremely enraged and has already decreed that you be thoroughly stripped of your status in Cyart!"
Dressed in the black coat, Darren, in the eyes of the crowd, appeared like a Demon Dragon, surrounded by pitch-black flames.
He finally said a sentence.
"May the merciful Gods forgive your sins, and I hope that Hell will punish your cowardice."
The people of the "Flaming Blood Proud Dragon" Castleton family soon had a bad premonition, and they all began to plead loudly, but there was never any forgiveness to speak of...
Billowing flames erupted fiercely from Darren's hands.
The flames burned everything...
Life, glory, all of the family's possessions were destroyed in the fiery inferno.
Darren listened calmly to the wails, cries, and curses, his heart distinctly perceiving that the Consecution power of the 5th Rank "Shadow of the Demon" was further mastered.
As long as he could step into the 6th Rank more quickly, the safety margin for the Fischer family and the Dawn Church would rise another level amidst the increasingly chaotic situation on the Ouden Continent.
He simply dreamt of becoming even more powerful!
After leaving the Central Square, Darren took out the crimson gemstone and spoke privately to March:
"March, be the messenger of Little Queen Peggy for once. This dangerous task is entrusted to you; take this mysterious rare artifact that records images to the 'Fog Wayfarer' of the Abernathy family."