CHAPTER 571: CHAPTER 333: FALLEN PALADINS, HOLY DRAGON BLADE (2)

Using slaughter and war to solve encountered problems is undoubtedly the behavior of Evil God worshippers. Even if there are similar thoughts and actions, they must never appear in doctrine.

This will affect the spread of Divine belief, causing it to be targeted and attacked by the ruling class during its secular dissemination, which would severely impact the Divine’s foundation.

Righteous gods uphold Order, and those who establish and maintain Order will never tolerate a force threatening their own power, even if they themselves have problems.

However, Noah does not care, for Noah has an Order that aligns with his own thoughts and ideas. He is very willing to destroy those Orders that differ from his own and overlay his Order upon the ruins.

Chaotic Order is indeed a hostile relationship, yet the true enemy of Order is always a different Order, much like how Noah cannot stand many feudal systems.

The problem is not that these systems are inherently bad but that their ability to self-correct and self-cleanse is too poor. Thus, these systems self-destruct after an extremely short period, even before a Dragon is born and reaches the Mature Stage.

Therefore, Noah wants to establish an Order that lasts at least a thousand years, which requires strengthening the self-corrective and cleansing abilities within the Order. So, Noah granted many privileges to the Paladins willing to join.

Now, facing a group of Paladins whose beliefs are crumbling into depravity, Noah is considering whether to give them power.

Although Noah is not a Divine, he can use Word Spirit·Emperor to achieve this because those fallen Paladins have established a belief relationship similar to that of the Divine with him. This is because they have visited his domain or are sufficiently familiar with the Holy Dragon Land.

The ideal land established by the Holy Dragon has no room for corrupt officials and lacks any class with special privileges, except for the Holy Dragon itself.

Even the closest Favored, once found to violate the Law Code and commit errors, will have all honor stripped away in front of the public and be executed on the spot.

Orphans who have lost relatives, elderly without children to care for them, and disabled individuals with limited survival abilities—all special groups struggling to live receive proper care in the Holy Dragon Land.

After witnessing or hearing about such a beautiful ideal land, turning back to those primitive societies ruled by feudal Nobles, especially realizing they have no power to change anything—even prayer to the Divine is of no use—the impact on their faith is imaginable.

Humans are pragmatic creatures. When the heart begins to question certain Divines and even the path of the Paladin, naturally, unique emotions and thoughts arise for the Holy Dragon, which has established the Ideal Country.

"Execute officials and Nobles of other countries using the legal provisions of the Golden Dragon Code as the standard."

Noah recalled the actions and principles followed by those fallen Paladins after abandoning their former beliefs, filled with helplessness.

According to the Golden Dragon Code he established for restricting Nobles and the bureaucratic class, even within his territory, every year, a batch must be pulled out and executed.

If such standards were applied outside his domain against those feudal Nobles and the bureaucrats serving them, wouldn’t it be a wholesale slaughter? Who could survive?

"To launch a massacre against local bureaucrats and feudal Nobles, why use my code as an excuse? This will target me!"

After much thought, Noah decided to provide assistance, at least to grant those fallen Paladins enough power, ensuring they don’t go to extremes and guiding them towards the correct path.

As for eradicating them, Noah had no such intentions. They were merely Seekers whose faith wavered after seeing the Ideal Country but realizing they lacked the ability to replicate such an ideal place.

Noah would never do anything to them for the sake of some dispensable external reputation. After all, there were fallen Paladins born from the gap between ideals and reality before, and there are many now, and there will be no lack in the future.

Noah believes he has the duty to guide these lost Paladins. The righteous gods will no longer accept them, and if he also refuses, their eventual end would be predictably tragic.

"You cannot wield my sword to slay officials of other countries, that is inappropriate."

Although Noah decided to aid and guide these fallen Paladins, he also decided to impose some constraints on their actions; otherwise, it would not merely be slaughter.

Many bureaucrats and Nobles indeed deserve disdain, described as deserving death is no exaggeration. However, the issue is that their existence represents a form of Order, which, no matter how poor, is a hundred times better than chaos.

If fallen Paladins were merely venting emotions and executing officials and Nobles using the Golden Dragon Code as the standard without filling the void left by the loss of Order, then chaos would ensue, and the destructive power caused would be immeasurable.

This is also why many orthodox Paladins, even witnessing officials and Nobles arbitrarily abusing power, callously treating human life, and brutalizing the poor, turn a blind eye—because they lack the ability to rebuild after destroying Order and cannot bear the consequences.

Violence and slaughter can only be means and cannot solve all problems.

...

"Brother, I’m back!"

Crossing vast seas and high mountains, leading tens of thousands of Dragon-men, Terramus finally arrived at his brother’s domain in the Goltai Region.

Despite facing numerous hardships and overcoming many difficulties and obstacles along the way, with the assistance of several Dragon Lords and the cooperation of many Dragon-men eager to prove themselves and achieve great feats, Terramus overcame everything and successfully arrived.

The young Golden Dragon, though exceptionally weary in appearance, had bright and brilliant dragon eyes at this moment, feeling that his mind and will experienced a baptism during this journey, a completely different experience from the training at the Great Graveyard.

"Terra!"

Upon seeing his brother appear in front of him, even the seasoned Iliad couldn’t contain his joy, a radiant smile spreading across his face.

"Look at how many reinforcements I brought for you?"

The young dragon, full of pride, showcased the Dragon Army he led all the way to his brother. While crossing such a long distance was mainly due to the outstanding qualities of the Dragon Lords and Dragon-men themselves, as a leader, he also held an irrefutable honor.

"You’re truly remarkable!"

Numerous Dragon Lords, who followed the journey, immediately stepped forward to greet the eldest son of the Holy Dragon Grand Lord. Iliad praised his brother warmly and returned the salute.

Although of the thirty-two Dragon Lords present, each in terms of age and seniority surpassed the two brothers, regarding status and rank, the brothers could overlook these Dragon Lords, especially Iliad, whose extraordinary background commanded respect from any Dragon who knew of it.

Moreover, neither Iliad nor Terramus relied solely on their backgrounds; they also developed formidable personal martial forces based on their bloodlines, particularly Terramus, who, as a young Dragon, mastered a Mechanical Undead with legendary combat strength.

"Brother, we can counterattack now. It’s time for me to fulfill the promise I made when I left to help you subdue the Six Countries. Once these countries are all swept away, you can be crowned as the true King."

Terramus’s expression could hardly conceal his excitement and enthusiasm. His brother was a very humble Dragon, even when controlling a Duchy, he called himself a Lord, unwilling to establish a kingdom because he deemed it inappropriate. Now, it was time for his brother’s King title to truly be deserved.