Chapter 544: Did the Empire Become the Kingdom

A few days after Ramboza III abdicated, Prince Zanak Valreio Ignar Leir Vanshef of the Kingdom, under the name Zanak V, officially became the new monarch of the Kingdom of Ye Sitijie.

But why was he called Zanak V, not Zanak IV?

Naturally, because Shengzai had already been the fourth, so Zanak could only be the fifth.

And immediately after the news of Zanak becoming the new king spread:

Upon learning this, the Church State, the Empire, the Holy Kingdom, and even the Great Necropolis of Nazarick were all momentarily stunned.

Although Ramboza III was already sixty-four years old, his health should have still been quite robust—how could he suddenly abdicate?

Moreover, neighboring nations had all assumed that the one who would succeed the throne after Ramboza III’s abdication would be the Kingdom’s third prince.

After all, in terms of martial prowess, strategy, domestic governance, and personal charisma, the Kingdom’s third prince far surpassed the other two princes.

Yet now, the new monarch was the Kingdom’s second prince?

After becoming the new king, Zanak and Mar Buen began sweeping reforms across the Kingdom.

First, numerous nobles, based on intelligence and ledgers seized from the “Eight Fingers,” were directly sent to the gallows.

Mar Buen, long mocked among nobles as “The Bat,” now became the royal executioner, gathering evidence of corruption and misconduct among the nobility and relentlessly raising his blade.

After many wealthy nobles had their estates confiscated, most of the funds were used to expand the army, while the rest went toward national development.

Because of these tangible benefits, Zanak’s popularity and public approval as the new king steadily rose.

Facing the ever-descending blade of execution, the nobles refused to surrender passively and gathered together to defend their rights.

Yet as Shengzai had previously said, the Kingdom’s nobility were nothing but fools.

They secretly formed armies multiple times to rebel, yet Shengzai alone instantly crushed them all into disarray.

With so many rebellious nobles eliminated, the Kingdom reclaimed vast tracts of land and wealth.

Zanak then granted a large portion of these reclaimed lands to Shengzai, Lana, and Lachesis, among others.

While the Kingdom was undergoing sweeping reforms, the Bahas Empire was now the most uneasy.

The Church State held a superior status, and the Holy Kingdom lay far away, but the Kingdom and the Empire had long been bitter rivals.

Now, seeing the Kingdom grow stronger under its new monarch, Emperor Blood could no longer sit idle.

“Zanak V? I thought only the third prince of the Kingdom was formidable, but this former second prince turned out to be just as troublesome.”

“Has the investigation into the ruin cluster discovered in the southwestern border region yielded results?”

In response to the Emperor’s question, his Secretary-General replied: “We sent a knight detachment there, but they all lost contact.

As we suspected, the ancient ruin is no ordinary site—it may even be a relic from the same era as the former ‘Eight Desires Kings.’”

After hearing the report, Emperor Blood gnawed irritably on his fingernails, then said: “Find a corrupt noble of the Empire and hire our ‘Workers’ under his name to explore it.

Since it’s an ancient ruin, it should contain many lost artifacts, right?

The Kingdom’s power is rising rapidly; if we don’t act soon, we’ll fall behind.”

“Also, arrange for me to contact the Holy Princess of the Holy Kingdom—I intend to propose marriage to forge an alliance with the Holy Kingdom.”

Gilknifer actually disliked the Holy Princess, but considering the Empire’s interests, he could sacrifice himself for it!

Yet he did not know that the crisis facing the Bahas Empire was not merely from the Kingdom.

The Great Necropolis of Nazarick also received news of the Kingdom’s new king and his sweeping reforms.

Considering the Kingdom had Shengzai, the Third Prince, and Xiuluo the King as formidable opponents, Old Bone had begun to hesitate—was targeting the Kingdom, such a hard bone, truly advisable?

Didn’t they need to build a kingdom? Couldn’t they choose a target other than the Kingdom?

The Empire might be viable too, right?

Moreover, given the Kingdom and the Empire’s long-standing warfare, even if they struck the Empire, the Kingdom might not intervene to help.

Yet considering the Empire might also have extraordinary individuals like the Third Prince or Xiuluo the King, Old Bone decided to first investigate the Empire under the identity of the adventurer Mo Mo.

Old Bone went to the Empire to gather intelligence; the Empire’s Workers went to the Great Necropolis of Nazarick; and Shengzai went to the Holy Kingdom…

The regions surrounding the Holy Kingdom are densely populated by subhumans, so the nation frequently suffers invasions from subhuman tribes, causing its people to harbor deep hatred toward them.

But in the Holy Kingdom arc, Shengzai could only say that both the Holy Kingdom and the subhumans were deeply tragic.

The scheme arranged by Old Bone and Demiugos nearly wiped out the Holy Kingdom’s ruling class, then installed a puppet ruler, and even earned great fame within the Holy Kingdom.

The subhumans, used as pawns, were initially called “two-legged sheep” by Demiugos, their hides used to make magical scrolls.

Later, they were used as cannon fodder to attack the Holy Kingdom, then callously abandoned, and nearly all perished under Old Bone’s supreme magic.

Setting aside racial issues, Shengzai felt that later-stage Old Bone had become nearly inhuman.

Regardless of opposition, as long as goals and profits could be achieved, he utterly disregarded life.

Shengzai’s reason for coming to the Holy Kingdom was simple: he intended to subjugate and rule the subhuman tribes surrounding the Holy Kingdom.

Why did the subhumans keep attacking the Holy Kingdom? Simply because they lived in even more barren lands, and when winter came, starving and desperate, they had no choice but to raid human settlements.

Although subhumans possessed great physical strength and formidable combat ability, they lacked human intelligence.

In other words, they did not understand farming or animal husbandry—only hunting.

When food shortages arose and their survival was threatened, they naturally turned to raiding wealthy humans.

Shengzai had previously said that while their top-tier combatants were barely sufficient to confront Old Bone and his allies, their elite troops were lacking.

Now, in Shengzai’s view, the subhumans of the Holy Kingdom were an irreplaceable base force.

They were numerous and stronger than ordinary humans.

If slightly armed, the chieftains of these subhuman tribes could rival even Old Bone’s battle maids.

(End of Chapter)