Chapter 491: Extreme Paranoia

As Gushan shifted the topic, Jialete chose to take the opportunity to step down, and did not continue to carry out any punishment on Luoning and Ruidar according to the script he had envisioned.

At this moment, he finally saw clearly that Luoning's respect for the royal family only remained on the surface.

However, having said that, in the Transcendent world, once strength reaches a certain level, the circle of nobility finds it difficult to restrain the strong.

This is like Beiluola; this Archmage has not paid attention to the royal family for many years, whereas Bruno still sends people to the Amethyst Count Territory to greet Beiluola every so often.

After a brief discussion, Luoning took Ruidar back to West Wind Hill.

"My Lord, Commander, you have returned!"

Aoduoluo came up to greet them; he had been truly worried to death just now, fearing that before the war with the empire had even begun, he would have to lead the army to attack Red Pine Castle.

Now that he saw the two of them had returned safely, his hanging heart finally settled down.

"Aoduoluo, go have the kitchen prepare some food; I am not like Kaierluosi, who can stave off hunger just by inhaling and exhaling energy every day."

"Very well, my Lord!"

Luoning and Ruidar walked into the hall.

"My Lord, the Crown Prince seems to have a lot of opinions about you."

Ruidar revealed a worried expression, "I am afraid he will still take action against you or your territory."

"Perhaps."

Luoning was not very worried about this, "However, as long as His Majesty Bruno is still here, no matter how stiff the relationship between me and Jialete becomes, it will not truly erupt into war."

Dealing with Luoning does not align with Bruno's interests.

Moreover, if the other party really wanted to deal with him with all their might, it would undoubtedly be giving Feilunsi and the others an opportunity.

Weakening the Wushan Family and fattening up Feilunsi, who is eyeing the throne, would be thankless work in the end.

Ruidar continued to voice his concerns:

"Right now, Jialete is no match for you, nor can he represent the royal family in dealing with you. But once he inherits the throne, it will be hard to say."

"That is a matter for Along time from now."

Luoning signaled for Ruidar to sit down as well.

"Our King is a Silver Knight and is not yet sixty years old; he can live for at least another twenty or thirty years. Who knows what the situation will be in twenty or thirty years?"

Ruidar could not help but nod upon hearing this.

He had witnessed with his own eyes Luoning grow to his current height in less than four years; he did not even dare to imagine what realm the other party would reach in another twenty or thirty years.

Furthermore, in twenty or thirty years, he believed that Wubei Territory and Yueguang Valley would definitely have a very wonderful development, and their overall combat power would certainly be very high.

"My Lord, then in the future when you are away, how should I handle the Crown Prince's orders?"

Ruidar was somewhat troubled, mainly worried about causing trouble for Luoning.

"Just handle it as you see fit; as long as the other party is not targeting us, act normally. As for your worry about offending Jialete, you actually don't need to consider it too much. Given his personality, it is already unlikely that we will be forgiven."

"Alright..."

Ruidar only hoped that Jialete would restrain himself after this experience.

Luoning came to the table, smoothed out the map on it, and said: "After you left today, I went to investigate the Watchtower opposite us and discovered that not only are they increasing their troops there, but the personnel and equipment of the newly added units are very magnificent."

He told Ruidar about the situation he had discovered.

"If I simply wanted to occupy the Watchtower, that would not be difficult to achieve. It is just that what I am thinking about now is how to annex this force as much as possible, rather than just simple slaughter."

Luoning proposed his idea to Ruidar.

"You think about it, what should we do to be more appropriate?"

Ruidar fell into deep thought, and only after Along while did he slowly speak:

"Before there are any signs of defeat for the Tricia Kingdom, the possibility of them surrendering voluntarily is very low. If you want to annex them, crushing them on the frontal battlefield is an indispensable part."

He said this, then changed the subject, "However, since you want to absorb them, we can express this attitude in advance, while simultaneously showing them your strength to exert immense psychological pressure, letting them know the consequences of not surrendering."

Luoning nodded upon hearing this; this two-pronged approach, even if the other party does not agree to surrender in the end, would disrupt their mindset and weaken their momentum for resistance.

"Then starting from tomorrow, I will have Kaierluosi fly back and forth over the Watchtower twice every day, and then I will go and have a talk with them."

Red Pine Castle, Jialete's bedroom.

At this moment, he was panting heavily, his eyes bloodshot; this was from being angered.

The pain in his arm kept irritating him, forcing him to toss and turn while recalling today's events; Luoning's arrogant face, which gave him absolutely no face, seemed to linger before his eyes.

Except for the first time he met Luoning at the Golden Feather Palace where he held the upper hand, he had been at a disadvantage all four times since then—in Anbian City, Yueguang City, at the wedding, and up until today at Red Pine Castle.

Jialete had even begun to suspect that Luoning's concession the first time was not out of fear of his strength, but was intentional.

Once this thought occurred, his emotions fluctuated violently, and even his breathing became chaotic.

Jialete was, after all, a Silver Moon Peak Knight, and his control over his body was near the limit; that he still had such a performance only showed that his psychological quality was quite poor.

"Luoning, Dragon, Ruidar, Lulansi, Meilongnika, Suofeiya, Maiken, Aierlong!"

"The Wushan Family has unknowingly possessed so many High-level Transcendents, yet Luoning has never proactively revealed it; what is he trying to do!"

The more Jialete analyzed, the more worried he felt about this newly risen Marquis.

"Not only that, his relationship with the Archmage Beiluola is quite good, and his relationship with the Valjisi Duchy is also quite good!"

These were all intelligence known to the outside world, and Jialete and the royal family were naturally aware of them.

In the past, he worried about the Feilunsi Gong Guo, the Vila Principality, and Screaming Island uniting to weaken the status and power of the royal family.

But now, compared to these three, the Wushan Family made him feel even more worried.

The key was that Luoning's growth was too fast; if he were left unchecked like this, in a few more years, Jialete did not know to what extent and scale the other party would grow.

"Sun-level, still manageable!"

"While he has not yet risen, we still have a chance to unite and eliminate him!"

At this moment, Jialete was like someone standing at a crossroads; he did not choose the wide avenue, nor did he choose the narrow path, but instead chose to walk through the thorn forest with his own flesh and blood.

"However, Father King will absolutely not allow me to do this!"

Is Bruno not worried about Luoning?

Naturally, he is worried, but he knows that if they were to deal with Luoning, it would inevitably be a tragic civil war.

By comparison, he is more inclined to use emotional appeals to maintain his relationship with Luoning; after all, Luoning is his son-in-law, so it is impossible for him to openly commit betrayal or even kill his father-in-law, right?

Furthermore, once a Transcendental's strength becomes very high, they gradually begin to view worldly power with indifference.

Just like the Archmage Beiluola, having a territory not under the jurisdiction of the Kingdom is enough, and she has no thoughts of expanding her domain.

Bruno also has considerations in this regard; he even feels that if the entire continent could truly be reunified and an empire established, what would be wrong with carving out a Grand Duke or even a Kingdom for Luoning within the empire's borders?

"Father's thinking is too naive; not only does he not understand the danger Luoning poses, but he will also hinder me."

The more Jialete thought about it, the more extreme he became, and finally, the face of his uncle Feilunsi appeared before his eyes.

At this moment, Feilunsi seemed to transform into a devil, beckoning to him and opening his arms. (End of chapter)