While Liszt, Zur, and Kane were on their way to Tristram, Diablo and his servant Lazarus were not idle. Wearing the amulet with the power of the Lord of Fear, Leoric always felt that something was wrong, and while sleeping, he often began to dream of some demons crawling out of the abyss, grinning at him, but the heroic Leorik was not afraid, and every time, he looked directly at the terrifying faces of the demons and shouted at them to go back to hell.

The nightmares and depressed mood made his mood a little irritable, and he had to hire craftsmen to repair churches and build his domains and estates, and there were a lot of things to do every day, which made King Leorik, who had not slept well, even more anxious, and he mercilessly rejected any opinions and suggestions against his will, and even arrested some civilians who did not want to cooperate with his rule. Concerned about the king's well-being, Rakdanan repeatedly asked to see the reason for the king's change, but Lazarus, apparently unable to let him, the paladin, discover the secret of the amulet, so he refused his request each time on the grounds that the king was unwell. The conceited King Leorik did not want to turn to anyone else, believing that he could overcome this insignificant nightmare on his own.

Diablo saw that for weeks on end, his erosion of Leorik had no obvious effect, and he gradually lost patience.

"Lazarus, you have to do something to weaken that bug's will!" Diablo roared, "This is not enough for him to be controlled by me. ”

Lazarus fell to his knees in panic and begged at the shadow of the Lord of Fear: "Master, give me a little more time!" I have a new plan, and this time I will definitely break his will! ”

"Remember what you say, you rat! You don't have much time, and if I don't see the effect any longer, I'm going to crush you to scum! Diablo threatened angrily.

"Yes, my master!" Lazarus shuddered, the power of the Lord of Dread holding him breathless.

"Don't go yet! You idiot! ”

"Yes, yes!" Lazarus ran out in a hurry, ready to carry out a new plot.

On this day, Lazarus did not preside over the final repairs of the Cathedral of Light, but walked alone in front of King Leorik with a look of grief and indignation.

"My king, the darkness has not left us, it is even hiding beside us!" Lazarus complained loudly.

"Why, my bishop?" Leorik was still patient with the archbishop he trusted most.

"Rakdanan, he's a traitor! He wants to rebel! We must judge him! Lazarus complained.

"What? Is he going to learn from the civilians who disobey me? Guardsman! Call all the ministers and priests! And Rakdanan, I'm going to put this traitor on trial in public, and see what he has to say! King Leorik commanded, and at this moment, tormented by nightmares and fears, he was already showing some signs of madness, and he had not believed Lazarus's word for any reason, and had completely lost his mind.

The bewildered ministers and priests were summoned, and Rakdanan followed, and everyone wondered why their king had called everyone over, after all, there was still a lot of work to do, and no one was idle.

"Today, I will judge you traitor in front of everyone! Rakdanan, I trust you so much, you dare to rebel! Leorik yelled angrily.

Everyone was stunned by what King Leorik said, the always diligent, upright and humble Paladin Commander Rakdanan could be a traitor? This is 10,000 times more ridiculous than saying that Minister Austin is a traitor, and people take Commander Rakdanan's contribution to it and don't believe that he will rebel.

Rakdanan was also shocked by his king's words, he couldn't believe that his king would call him a traitor, as a paladin, Rakdanan valued his glory and loyalty, and even death could not shake his sincerity. King Leorik's accusations saddened him.

"Your Majesty, please also be aware of how Commander Rakdanan could do such a thing! His loyalty is evident to all of us! One of the ministers stepped forward and excitedly defended Lakdanan, and the other ministers and priests echoed.

"Shut up! This is what my Archbishop Lazarus found, my friend, tell them your evidence! Leorik was extremely dissatisfied with the opposition of his courtiers to him, and shouted angrily.

"Your Majesty, this traitor has been wanting to see you lately, and you know, since I was assassinated, I have been extremely wary of anyone who wants to see you, and if Rakdanan has any valid reasons, I will naturally not stop him. But he only said some nonsense that did not exist at all, and tried to see you many times in this way, so it can be seen that he must have an impure purpose, and it is good that I stopped him outside, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable! Lazarus pointed at Rakdanan viciously.

Hearing this, Rakdanan stood up and defended himself: "Your Majesty, my loyalty to you is more precious than my own glory, and the reason I say to the Archbishop is only to see the reason why you have been so anxious lately, Your Majesty, how can this be nonsense?" And what about impure purposes? I'm just concerned about you, Your Majesty! As he spoke, Rakdanan burst into tears, and the king's questioning made him miserable.

The ministers and priests chimed in, arguing that Lakdanan's reasons were perfectly valid and that there was no law to try him.

Leorik was furious, and all his courtiers were on his side against him, against his will, but he couldn't convict this paladin, which made him conflicted.

Lazarus didn't expect Rakdanan to get so much support, so he had to do something else, otherwise, everything would fall short, and even arouse Leoric's suspicions.

Instead, Lazarus loudly announced a shocking news, which was even more shocking than the execution of Lakdanan.

"According to my intelligence, the kingdom of Westmar in the west is about to attack us! They have declared war on us! ”

At this moment, the originally noisy conference room suddenly became silent, and King Leoric, who was angry and a little frightened, asked in disbelief: "My archbishop, are you sure that your source of information is accurate?" ”

"It is true, my majesty! The king of Westmar wants to annex Canduras, and he wants to take your throne! Their forces have been assembled in Brewell, and they are about to descend on the city! We must take the initiative to win! Lazarus said excitedly.

When Leorik heard this, he collapsed on his throne in some despair. As a powerful empire established two hundred years ago, Westmar has been at war with the barbarians of the north for many years, and has a strong and well-trained army, if Westmar were to attack Canduras, then Leorik had little chance of victory.

But this succession of bad news drove Leorik completely crazy, and he ordered: "Rakdanan, since you say that you are not a traitor, then, I command you, with your own knights, to repel the invasion of Westmar!" Prove your own innocence and wash away the shame on you! ”

Although Rakdanan felt that it could not be so sudden, now that his king had given the order, he had to exercise his loyalty, even if he was reluctant. "Yes, Your Majesty!"

At the end of this meeting, which was full of shock and mystery, Lazarus, who had walked out of the door, stopped the ministers and priests and commanded: "My comrades, the situation is extremely dangerous, we must prepare for the worst, and you know that the Westmar army is strong, and we must negotiate with the king of Westmar!" All of you must accept this task, and the life and death of Canduras will depend on you! ”

"But, archbishop, the daily affairs of Tristram ......," one of the ministers questioned.

"If you fail, there's no Tristram left! Prioritize yourselves. Do you understand! I'm going to stay here and preside over the overall situation, all of you go pack your bags and go now! Lazarus ordered.

No one dared to resist the archbishop's order, and if it was really as the archbishop said, then the responsibility on them was incomparably greater, much more important than the affairs of the territory, so the ministers and priests went to prepare for the departure according to the order.

Looking at Rakdanan, who was about to be taken away, and the ministers and priests who were in the way, Lazarus smiled evilly.

"Now, no one can stop me from controlling this stupid king!"