My Computer Leads to an Instance Dungeon-Chapter 178 - 152: ’Fallen Knight’ Basically Cleared! The Promised Reward

Fang Zhen looked at Dalia. "The Knight of Evil Disease in the Dark Forest is most likely Viscount Ashton. He chose to fall."

"He's your husband. What do you plan to do?"

Dalia was momentarily lost in a swirl of complex, conflicting emotions, unsure how to answer.

However, no one could make the choice for her. Some decisions, no matter how difficult, had to be made alone. Everyone, man or woman, faces such moments.

After a long moment, Dalia seemed to regain her ability to think.

"Ashton is my husband, but we have no deep emotional connection. It was purely a political marriage between nobles. I needed to marry a landed aristocrat to ensure my child could inherit the territory and remain a member of the nobility."

"Ashton, for his part, wanted to use my connections among the upper nobility and my dowry. Both were crucial for him to gain more power and keep the territory's finances from collapsing."

"Since Ashton chose to fall, he won't be tolerated by the church once he's discovered. And after falling, he's no longer the Ashton he once was."

Dalia looked at Fang Zhen. "If Ashton has truly fallen, I imagine he must be in deep agony. I want to help free him from it, but I don't have the power."

"Fang Zhen, can you help me free him?"

Fang Zhen nodded. "I can."

'In fact, to get a perfect clear on this instance, killing Ashton is a must.'

'Asking Dalia wasn't just a superfluous question. It was to gauge her attitude and confirm the Countess's stance. That way, I can determine if we'll be allies or adversaries in this.'

'Dalia has clearly thought this through.'

'Ashton fell, so the church won't tolerate him. The Kingdom probably has laws to strip a Fallen Knight of their title, too.'

'Montagu and Von Klei only kept their titles because their fall wasn't public knowledge before they were discovered.'

'From the King's perspective, there's no reason to tolerate a noble swayed by demons. It's only logical.'

'Dalia is certainly rational.' 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

'Now that Viscount Ashton has fallen, the worst-case scenario is that he survives. That would give the high nobility an excuse to strip him of his title and lands. If that happened, Dalia would get nothing and would lose her control over the Ashton Territory.'

'The process of falling is irreversible. Ashton's fall automatically terminated his partnership with Dalia. But Dalia asking me to kill Ashton is another matter entirely. A Countess can inherit her husband's territory; that's a commonly accepted legal principle.'

'The fact that Dalia could grasp the situation and make the right call so quickly shows how intelligent and rational the Countess is.'

"I'm going to the Dark Forest to meet this Knight of Evil Disease," Fang Zhen said.

He called over to Quade and had him gather all the remaining Molotov Cocktails to take with them. They would be the weapons used to kill the final Fallen Knight.

According to the Redstone Town militia's description, the Fallen Knight suspected of being Viscount Ashton was covered in pustules and constantly oozing pus.

'Fang Zhen guessed the power Ashton received for falling was some sort of disease or plague-based ability.'

'That made sense. After all, Ashton wanted revenge on Montagu. In a straight fight, even if Ashton sacrificed another part of himself, he probably couldn't beat Montagu.'

'What's more, Montagu had an army.'

'As a more rational trade for power, if he had gained abilities related to sickness, plague, or contagion, it might be possible to wipe out the entire Montagu Army.'

'It was just that, after making such a choice, his wife, the nobility, the King, and the church could no longer tolerate him.'

'From the moment he fell, Ashton was already socially dead.'

'Fang Zhen considered all this. He had no intention of fighting Ashton in close quarters.'

'Fighting a plague-spreading Fallen Knight covered in sores up close? You'd have to have a death wish.'

'The best way would be to spray him with gasoline from the drone. But Ashton is a single, agile target. Besides, the drone is almost out of gas, and going back to buy more would waste time. Plus, there's no easy way to ignite it on Ashton himself.'

'Fang Zhen settled for the next best thing: he'd burn the final Fallen Knight, Ashton, to death with Molotov Cocktails.'

'This was a fairly traditional method, too. The bodies of plague victims were typically disposed of with fire.'

"I'll go too," Dalia said.

Fang Zhen looked into Dalia's eyes.

Dalia let out a soft sigh. "Regardless of our feelings for each other, Ashton and I are husband and wife. Even though he has fallen, and even though I've asked you to destroy him... as his wife, I still want to witness his final moments."

"I have nothing more to say to him. Ashton was a very serious, even stoic man. We barely spoke, even on a normal day. But we did live together. We had a child together."

"I want to be there to see him off."

Fang Zhen nodded slightly.

'So Dalia isn't completely heartless and ruthlessly rational after all.'

"Alright, let's go," Fang Zhen said.

He swung a leg over his Jue Ying motorcycle. Dalia and her one-eyed female guard unhitched the horses from the carriage, saddled them, and prepared to ride.

Fang Zhen started the motorcycle and sped toward the Dark Forest.

In less than half an hour, Fang Zhen arrived on his motorcycle at the spot where he had firebombed the Montagu Army with his drone the night before.