Terra Nova Online : Rise Of The Strongest Player - Chapter 444

Chapter 444: Mass Manipulation
( StrongHaven City, the biggest public square )

The atmosphere in StrongHaven City was tense.

Reports about the attack on Thumba City had already reached the desks of all major Merchant Groups and were slowly making their rounds within the less connected merchants and from them to the commoners.

With the Emperor holding an emergency announcement himself, many merchants assumed that this would be about this horrific attack and hence a large crowd had gathered near the public square.

What Emperor Julien D Evanus told the masses today was going to be crucial, as the confidence in the administration and the economy depended on it.

Dressed immaculately, Julien looked as majestic as ever…. Perhaps a little more majestic than usual, as he tried to project an image of power and calm to all those who watched him.

As he unhurriedly took the stage, escorted by the biggest and strongest looking royal guards, his movements were regal and usual, as if he was worried, he did a great job of hiding the fact that he was.

“Citizens of Unity Empire…..” he said, stretching his arms out wide, as he addressed the crowd that had gathered, drawing all their attention towards himself.

“Today, I, Julien D Evanus, come bearing some grim news–” Julien said with a face as expressionless as ever, as if he were sad, he did not show it.

“The Demon King, sitting on his Evil Black Dragon Mount, and escorted by dozens of powerful Demon Counts, have trespassed into the Empire’s territory, bypassing our land forces, by traveling through the air.

Their target, Thumba City, is up in flames, as the cowardly demons seem to have succeeded in their mission, and have managed to take us out by surprise.

My heart bleeds out to all those innocent citizens who have been killed or displaced by this tragic and cowardly attack, and as your Emperor I vow to avenge your suffering–” Julien said, his voice strong as he glared towards the crowd in anger.

“The Demon King personally attacked us, because I took from him something extremely precious to him.

I HUMILIATED HIM.

Made him a joke in his own council, and hence he was forced to retaliate to save face.

Aiding the Demon King was a human traitor, a man called ‘The Demon Whisperer’ who was teaching the demons all our secrets.

Adept in both human language and demon tongue, that man was a menace who was teaching the demons how to craft weapons and read our maps and hence it was important for us to take him out.

If left alone, the demon whisperer could have caused immeasurable damage to our Empire by aiding the demons, and hence I deployed Baron ‘TheBoss’ and his master the notorious assassin Ben Faulkner to nab him from within the Demon Camp.

Ben Faulkner, being the strongest assassin within this continent that he is, managed to infiltrate the demon camp and kidnap the demon whisperer alive from within their ranks….. which caused the Demon King to become extremely upset.

We thought that perhaps if we could interrogate this Demon Whisperer, we could learn about the secrets of the demons and hence I ordered for him to be sent to Thumba City, where he was being held for interrogation by Duke Nico.

Since the Southern Duchy is so far from the border. We assumed it was safe and did not take proper measures to ensure the safety of the city, which was a serious lapse of judgment on our part. However, we have learnt from our mistakes.

From this day forward, we will set up anti-air mount protections in all major cities, so that the tragedy that happened in Thumba City does not happen to any other city in the Empire–” Julien said, clutching his fists as he projected an image of power and anger.

His speech was delivered so masterfully that instead of feeling afraid the crowd felt energized and angry at the demon’s cowardly attack, when in reality it was anything but a cowardly attack.

The Demon King had literally flown down from his capital alone and laid waste to one of the Empire’s biggest cities and there was nothing they could do to prevent it.

However, instead of focusing on the wrongs, Julien masterfully crafted a completely different narrative in the minds of the commoners.

“The cruel Demon King has killed the traitor Demon Whisperer, as he felt afraid of his favorite parrot talking.

Unfortunately, during this attack, Vice Commander Phill, a truly talented warrior died protecting Thumba City, in a battle which is described as honorable and legendary, by those who were present at the scene.

The Demon King himself had to strike Phil down, and it wasn’t easy for him either.

However, while Phill could not injure the Demon King of his underlings, Ben Faulkner did.

Ben Faulkner’s dagger pierced through the air and sliced the Demon King’s cheek, missing his head by a few centimeters.

The Demon King is lucky to be alive, as he would have faced a horrifying death if he was a tad bit slower to react.

Fortunately for us, his underlings are not as lucky, as Ben Faulkner and his very talented student ‘TheBoss’ managed to take down 3 Demon Counts, during the attack on Thumba City, as they single handedly forced the rest to tuck tails and run.

Walking out of that conflict unharmed, our heroes showed the demon’s the mantle that us humans are made from and forced them to run from our lands before our main forces arrived.

Unfortunately, by the time our main forces arrived at Thumba City, it was already beyond salvageable with a wildfire spreading throughout the town.

Believe me when I say that nobody is as angry about this loss as me, and that I vow to make the Demon King pay for this attack.

Although we have already claimed a drop of his blood, the next time that our forces meet him, it will be his head that we claim and it will be his head that we use to build the foundation of the next Thumba City!” Julien said, as he successfully spun the story of what happened in Thumba City from a tragedy to the beginning of a revenge plot.