Chapter 1176: Old King

Although Su Xiao didn't know where the Kingdom Council Hall was, he soon thought of a way. Actually, finding the Kingdom Council Hall was very simple, divided into three steps.

Step 1: Find a guard.

Step 2: Stare at the other party for 10 seconds.

Step 3: Say in a calm tone: "Come with me to the Kingdom Council Hall."

For the rest of the way, the guard, who was uneasy inside, began to doubt life, his heart filled with wild thoughts, losing his head.

Based on the direction the guard was inadvertently heading, Su Xiao soon found where the Kingdom Council Hall was.

The doors of the Kingdom Council Hall were tightly closed. Whatever important matters the kingdom had, the final decision was made here. The frequency of use here wasn't high. After all, officials didn't need to come to the Royal Palace every day. Unless they received a royal order, they wouldn't gather together uniformly.

Su Xiao pushed open the doors of the Kingdom Council Hall. The council hall was very quiet. Around it was a circle of seats, and at the head was a high metal throne. This throne was forged from a huge meteorite that fell from the sky, pitch black all over.

A figure sat on the throne. He wore loose clothes of gold and red, and a crown of iron on his head. This crown had been passed down for more than a thousand years, passed down from the first king, Iron Crown King Adelaide Herbert.

Sitting on the throne was the Old King, Bai Herbert, 65 years old this year, but his hair and beard were all white. Although nourished by various precious secret medicines, there were no wrinkles on his face, and his complexion was ruddy, but the feeling he gave people was that he was old.

"Iron Hand, come forward."

The Old King slowly raised his arm, signaling Su Xiao to stand forward. Su Xiao didn't know what to say for the time being, so he chose silence. This kind of silence was the best disguise.

Su Xiao walked forward slowly. The Old King looked at Su Xiao, and the expression in his eyes... was actually envy.

"You possess a young body, powerful martial force. If I were you, I would definitely get a bunch of women and be busy until late at night every day."

The Old King smiled. Su Xiao just stood five meters in front of him, his expression calm and silent.

The Old King wasn't angry because Su Xiao didn't speak. On the contrary, he was already used to this silence.

"The thing I regret most in my life is competing for the power of the King. When I was young, I always longed for power, but at that time, I didn't know what power represented at all."

The Old King seemed to be pouring out his heart. He could only say these words to this Iron Hand. In front of his ministers, he was a majestic and wise king.

"How many dissidents have you helped me get rid of? Cough, cough, cough, cough..."

The Old King blocked his mouth with his fist and let out a dry cough, as if he wanted to cough out his lungs.

"257 people."

Su Xiao naturally knew how many dissidents "Iron Hand" had helped the Old King get rid of. This was very important information.

"Have there been so many people already? Power makes too many people lose their way, but they have forgotten that outside the Wall of God, there are those Necromancers who want to exterminate humanity."

The Old King leaned on the throne, a strand of coughed-up saliva sticking to the beard on his chin, but he didn't bother with it.

"Iron Hand, can I trust you?"

The Old King leaned forward. Those eyes were no longer turbid, but became unusually sharp, as if they could see through people's hearts.

"Of course."

Su Xiao's answer was very concise. The Old King put away that sharp gaze.

"I can't hold on for much longer."

The Old King still stared at Su Xiao. He secretly summoned Su Xiao today, definitely for something important.

"..."

Su Xiao didn't speak, just looked at the Old King.

"This secret, even if you die, you cannot reveal it."

"Clear."

Su Xiao was still in that calm tone.

"My descendants are all on their way to the Holy City. Among them will appear the new successor to the throne."

The Old King's words let Su Xiao know that the main topic was coming.

"Only those who are wise enough have the qualification to inherit the throne. This is something passed down by the Iron Crown King, something that has made the kingdom prosperous to this day.

My children, added together, there are... 48, no, 49. Among them, perhaps there are those who can inherit the throne, perhaps not, but no matter what, the surname 'Herbert' will not be broken. This is one of the reasons we can resist the Necromancers."

The Old King's speaking speed wasn't fast, and he seemed to be struggling even to speak.

"Iron Hand, after they gather in the Royal Capital, the competition for power will begin. I want you to assist the winning successor to the throne, just like you assist me now.

Before the successor appears, you help me monitor them. If they have thoughts of rebellion, help me deal with them."

The Old King's tone was light, but the things he wanted to deal with were his own biological descendants.

After hearing these words from the Old King, Su Xiao understood what was going on.

First, because of his physical condition, the Old King couldn't live much longer, so he had to choose a successor to the throne as soon as possible.

The Saint Sodin Kingdom was a bit complicated in terms of inheriting the throne. This related to the issue of priority.

The first priority was the Old King's descendants. These princes and princesses didn't live in the Royal Capital normally, but were scattered in various places, managing various territories in the kingdom. They were somewhat similar to dukes, only this world didn't have the title of duke, but the nature was similar. They possessed fiefs, and could freely control finance, only they couldn't possess large-scale armies. The armies stationed in the territory were all armies under the Old King.

Princes and princesses lived in the Royal Capital before the age of 15, and were granted territories after the age of 15. This was actually to exercise their leadership and management abilities, so as to cultivate future kings.

Except for a very small number of princes and princesses, most princes and princesses had great ambition and really wanted to inherit the King's position. The reason for this was, first, they wanted to obtain huge power, and second, because the competition for power was about to begin.

When the Old King was dying or close to 70 years old, these princes and princesses would be summoned to the Royal Capital. Of course, when summoned, they had one right to choose, which was to refuse the summons, which was equivalent to voluntarily giving up the right to inherit the throne.

If they agreed to the summons and came to the Holy City, it meant they participated in the competition for power.

During the competition for power, they would use various methods to get rid of or force away competitors, just not tearing their faces apart in public. They might assassinate each other, poison, empty the other party's power, cut off the other party's financial resources, etc.

As for what standard to judge the winner, this was very simple: whichever prince or princess could ultimately stay in the Holy City, they were the successor to the throne.

This kind of bloody competition method could, of course, lead to the failure of all princes or princesses. If this situation occurred, then the second priority candidate had to be started.

The second priority candidate was dozens of successors cultivated by the Old King in the Holy City. To some extent, these successors had more meetings with the Old King.

These people were not of royal blood, but after they obtained the right to inherit the throne, they would be granted the surname "Herbert." As for the source of the second priority successors, they were selected from all over the country.

It had to be said that the Saint Sodin Kingdom's mechanism for electing a new king was very interesting. It wasn't purely a hereditary system.

The competition for power among princes and princesses could barely be considered a hereditary system. People who could win in the power struggle naturally had the ability to serve as King. Even if a real "oops" event occurred, the Old King could veto that successor.

The second priority successors were more interesting. They were talents selected through layers of selection. They showed talent in their youth and, after years of cultivation by the royal family, they were proficient in the art of the emperor, and governing the country was not a problem at all.

The composition of the second priority was actually already somewhat close to an electoral system.

Under the cyclic effect of the two systems, the possibility of giving birth to a foolish king was significantly reduced. Without a certain ability, let alone being King, not dying in the power struggle was already a blessing.

【Prompt: The Hunter has activated the main mission.】 ===== CHAPTER 1177 =====