The Paddington Crisis and Disappointment

### Chapter 88: The Paddington Crisis and Disappointment

The **Wind Whisper Scouts** of the Apocalypse Church wasted no time turning away from Padia City. The entire area was enveloped by the power of the Fiery Lizard Phantasm Beast, completely masking the already intermittent scent of the Hebrithon Wolf. Even a dozen miles away, only the power of the Fiery Lizard could be felt. The golden-haired man's near-touch dream seemed shattered. In his fury, he almost rushed back to Padia City to severely punish those foolish people.

Fortunately, he managed to suppress his anger. With immense frustration, he had no choice but to wander aimlessly, searching for traces of the Hebrithon Wolf as if starting from scratch.

King Korek fell into complete despair and dejection after hearing the golden-haired man's words. Secretly forging Phantom Armor was an unspoken truth among the human upper class; no one would intentionally expose it, as they might also need to forge Phantom Armor one day. However, being discovered by someone from the Apocalypse Church and commanded to explain it was no trivial matter. King Korek had a foreboding sense that he could no longer keep his throne! Abdication was his only option, letting his son ascend the throne while he alone faced the church's punishment. This might be the only way to preserve the Paddington royal line.

The offensive of the Aldria Empire and the Hanseatic Duchy showed no signs of abating. A few days ago, they completely occupied the northeastern part of Paddington, with their legions reaching the foot of Padia Royal City. Almost everyone was in despair and disheartened. Some nobles were secretly plotting their own futures. Only General Suarez continued to command the legions to defend the city walls. Padia City had stood for nearly a thousand years and had never been breached. He had confidence in this, but the king's state deeply worried him.

Korek's hair turned white within a few days, and his face became haggard. The injury on his severed arm showed signs of relapse. Queen Susan was heartbroken for her husband but helpless, not knowing how to assist him. She could only hold her little princess Claire in tears secretly! She felt very lonely and forlorn; the king drank himself into oblivion every day and had even handed over all city defenses to Suarez, spending his days in the place where he handled state affairs. Perhaps out of shame or for other reasons, he hadn't returned to the harem for a long time, seemingly forgetting his beautiful queen and their four young children.

Since the day the turmoil erupted, Celine had been hiding in the magic academy, spending her days in the library, never stepping out, and never setting foot in the palace. Everyone knew she had been severely hurt and humiliated. Queen Susan felt deeply guilty. She had known what might happen but hesitated to warn Celine out of selfish reasons, causing her cousin to be ultimately harmed. Perhaps Celine realized this later, so she never stepped into the palace to see her cousin, the queen. A rift had developed between them.

Yesterday, the Aldria legions made a probing attack on the city walls. Although easily repelled, it foreshadowed their impending full-scale assault. The unexpected death of the old headmaster of the magic academy dashed their last hope. Grand Mage Belinda was devastated and fell ill. Currently, the academy was run by several venerable old mages, which was not good news for Paddington. They would prioritize the academy's interests rather than wholeheartedly aiding the Paddington royal family like Headmaster Bartes or Lady Belinda.

What made Queen Susan even more anxious was her father, Duke Gene's increasingly ambiguous attitude. She knew her father too well! In his mind, the family's interests came first! Years ago, to strengthen the Gene family, he had manipulated the old king into abandoning his eldest son, Duke Linde, in favor of his younger son, Korek, to inherit the throne. Later, to secure Korek's position, he even sent people to assassinate Linde, forcing Linde into a hasty rebellion, which ultimately failed, resulting in over ten years of exile. Now, despite his full support, seeing Korek's deteriorating situation, old Gene had begun to consider other options.

Perhaps Korek realized this too, leading to his increased despondency. But in all this, Queen Susan was the most heartbroken.

The three princes were still very young, the eldest only ten years old, and the other two, twins, were just seven but already starting to understand. They practiced swordsmanship daily, hoping to help their father fight off the invaders in the future. Susan felt both gratified and sorrowful. After coaxing her young daughter to sleep, she decided to see her husband. For the sake of their children, she had to make him pull himself together.

When the queen arrived at the palace where the king handled state affairs, she saw the king's confidant, Urban, hurrying out. Seeing Queen Susan, he immediately rushed over, anxious and hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, please persuade His Majesty. He... he is writing an abdication edict, intending to pass the throne to the crown prince…!"

Susan was greatly shocked!

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Why were no other nobles leading armies to aid the besieged Padia Royal City? Because they were preoccupied. The western city of Doren suddenly came under attack and fell, and within a few days, dozens of surrounding small towns were conquered. The western part of the kingdom was no longer under control. Duke Linde then openly declared his intention to reclaim his kingdom. The nobles of Paddington were thus faced with a choice: continue supporting King Korek or opportunistically side with Linde?

Nobles are the most pragmatic. Aldria's aggressiveness and King Korek's helplessness were evident, making the choice seem straightforward. Nobles who had long been in covert communication with Duke Linde quickly declared their allegiance to Duke Linde... no, they already addressed him as King Linde. Others who were still hesitant gradually changed their stance due to King Korek's despondency. Even if they hadn't openly declared their positions, they secretly sent emissaries to contact him.

Duke Linde was in high spirits, having gained control over nearly a third of Paddington. The army recruited and formed by General Schomburg had grown to ten thousand men. The situation was developing so well that he could hardly believe it would be this smooth. He secretly admired the young orc Barok... If it weren't for his analysis and suggestions, Linde wouldn't have made the firm decision to step out and openly seize the throne.

Of course, he kept his word and handed over all the orc slaves in the conquered towns to Barok. He even sent a special letter to Barok, asking him not to take any action for the time being but to stay in Fortress City of Red River Valley and receive the orc slaves. Linde was actually frightened by Barok and his followers' madness and cruelty! This young orc shaman was like an unfeeling butcher. With just forty members of the so-called "Gray Wolf Tribe," he broke into more than a dozen towns in just over ten days, almost one a day. Any resistance was met with brutal slaughter. Moreover, they avoided major cities with elite soldiers and only targeted small, weak towns, allowing them to kill thousands while remaining unscathed.

Even if armies were dispatched to intercept them, the orcs, each with three Blando horses, truly came and went like the wind, impossible to catch. Instead, the retreating troops were harassed by the orcs, and any carelessness would result in being picked off one by one until completely annihilated!

The orcs earned the nickname "The Ravenous Wolf Legion." Seeing orc traces from afar, powerless towns would open their gates and let the orcs in. After the orcs took all the orc slaves and necessary food, they handed the towns over to Linde's men following behind.

Red River Valley was the only town not attacked by the Ravenous Wolf Legion. Baron Miro, the lord there, met Barok and very obediently chose to pledge allegiance to King Linde, giving the Fortress City of Red River Valley to Barok as his temporary territory for gathering his tribesmen. Currently, thousands of orc slaves were gathered outside the city.

Orcs were a broad term, encompassing many clans and tribes, each with distinct characteristics. The noble Gray Wolf Clan, except for their silver-white fur, was otherwise not very different from humans or elves. However, some other orc clans had appearances that more fittingly matched the orc stereotype.

Among the thousands of orcs, there were various types: some with large noses and deep mouths, massive builds resembling strong bulls, likely from the Ironhoof Clan. Others had dense black fur and protruding fangs, fierce and terrifying, probably from the Bear Clan. Yet, these powerful clans were few; the majority were from ordinary small tribes. Where there are people, there are factions, and this applied to orcs too. Different clan affiliations led to inevitable chaos and conflict. The thousands of orcs were noisy and disorderly, enough to give Barok a headache!

Even with forty tribesmen trying to maintain order, it remained chaotic. If it weren't for the innate reverence other orcs had for the noble Gray Wolf Clan, some rebellious individuals would have already emerged!

Barok looked grim, realizing his mistake. Orcs respected strength; order required the imposition of power. Simply maintaining order was akin to muddling through, which was futile!

A towering orc from the Ironhoof Clan kicked down a nearby ordinary orc, grabbing the newly distributed food with disdain and satisfaction, eating voraciously. Barok approached, calmly watching the large orc and gently asked, "If

 you're hungry, you can ask me for food. Why take from others? Aren't they orcs too? Aren't they your brothers?"

"Hmph... if I'm hungry, I take it. That's the old rule. If he can beat me, he can take mine. I'm an Ironhoof Clan orc, not this rat's brother," the large orc said nonchalantly, continuing to eat the meat... a rare treat he had almost forgotten the taste of since being enslaved by humans.

Barok stopped talking and struck directly. With a fierce punch imbued with savage beastly energy, he sent the giant orc flying. The large orc hit the ground with a series of thuds, bones seemingly shattered, spitting blood, and looked at Barok with terror, unable to rise!

"I can beat you, so can I kill you at will? I'm not an Ironhoof Clan orc, so I'm not your brother, right?" Barok said coldly, looking down at the giant orc. "I remember you; when I rescued you, a feeble human was whipping you. That human couldn't withstand your punch, yet you begged for mercy instead of standing up to fight. Now you dare to attack your fellow orc brothers?"

"And you...!" Barok suddenly roared, exuding fierce shamanistic power, making all the surrounding orcs tremble with fear and awe!

"Are you still orcs? Cowardly, despicable, only daring to attack your brothers but groveling before humans. Are you born to be slaves?" Barok roared angrily, harshly reprimanding them. The orcs remained silent, heads bowed, not daring to meet Barok's gaze! In that moment, Barok felt immense disappointment, realizing he was utterly wrong. These orcs had lived too long in human society, their servile nature ingrained, willing to fight amongst themselves but not resist. The giant orc at his feet was crying, full of humble pleading, all arrogance gone.

Reality... was far from his assumption that once rescued, everyone would cheer and flock to his banner, forming a powerful orc army.

Perhaps the next generation growing up might make this possible, but the thousands before him were utterly devoid of any orc spirit; they were broken... Barok clearly understood that his dream had shattered.

Profound disappointment filled him.