Chapter 167: The Lion King's Road to Greatness (33)

It was midnight.

Aaron Capital, Lion Fortress of Leyin City.

After Dange received the latest news, he was extremely anxious, lying in bed tossing and turning, unable to sleep no matter how he tried.

He could only find the Eye of the Storm, Sang Qiesite.

He could only seek this Sage, for he was the only Guardian Sage he could fully trust.

He handed over the latest intelligence to him: "The situation is very unfavorable."

The white-haired, petite Sage took the secret report, put on his reading glasses, and examined it carefully.

As he read, he softly sighed: "Your Majesty, please forgive me for being unable to offer you advice."

Dange startled: "Why? Can't the Sage perform a storm divination for me?"

Sang Qiesite gave a bitter smile: "Your Majesty, Duke Weilan is a miracle mage at the peak of the Seven-ring. In the old era, that would be a god of heaven."

"Do you expect me, a mere mortal Sage on the ground, to divine the thoughts of a heavenly god?"

Upon hearing this, the tall, strong Lion King suddenly felt a deep sense of helplessness.

Yeah, how could a mortal presume to guess a god's thoughts?

But he was, after all, the Lion King, and quickly regained his courage.

"So what?"

"He himself said there are no gods; even the Seven-ring are merely mortals."

"Domestic magical research also shows that even a god would fall from a single cannon blast!"

Sang Qiesite nodded in agreement: "Yeah, the Seven-ring are indeed mortals, but mortals of high magical attainment."

"So my divination is still useless."

"Then, based on the current situation, what do you think I should do?"

Sang Qiesite lifted his slightly cloudy eyes, gazing meaningfully at Dange: "Your Majesty, you actually know everything in your heart."

"You know what is the right path and what is the wrong path."

"The problem is that the right path is full of thorns, while the wrong path is like a smooth slide—fun to glide on, but you end up in the abyss before you realize it."

"Perhaps you should announce the news of Weilan's alliance with the empire at the cabinet meeting; that could persuade more nobles to support your idea."

Dange gave a wry smile: "That would indeed gain more support, but it probably wouldn't be enough to turn the tide."

In recent years, Aaron's national strength has risen; domestically, from nobles to commoners, everyone has grown accustomed to being dominant.

Now that we've lost so much money, if we don't fight a battle but just bitterly swallow the loss, wouldn't Aaron's Lion Fleet become a laughingstock?

Sang Qiesite naturally understood the domestic situation as well, sighing: "Your Majesty, then do your best to win."

Hearing this, Dange clenched his fists: "Is there really no other way out?"

He just feared that if they won in the north, they'd lose in the south.

To his surprise, Sang Qiesite nodded: "There is a risky path that might work."

"You speak."

Sang Qiesite didn't speak directly; he first unleashed a Storm Barrier, then spoke.

"Your Majesty can, in this northward campaign against Weilan, weaken the domestic nobles' power, then, using the charge of incompetence in defeat, purge them, thereby fully grasping royal authority."

Hearing this, Dange's whole body shook and his eyes widened.

"Surely this is a risky path!"

It directly pushes both the kingdom's fate and his own destiny to the brink of a cliff.

A slight misstep would cause both sides to fall off the cliff together, shattered to pieces.

But if it succeeded, Dange's fist clenched even tighter.

If it succeeded, he would fully control Aaron, and could finally undertake all those things he had wanted to do but couldn't before.

"To do or not to do?"

Dange hesitated: "Sage, you've really given me a tough problem."

Sang Qiesite gave a light laugh, but his gaze remained solemn.

"A great kingdom needs a great king."

"Although mortals often throw around the word 'great,' how many of them truly know the weight of its meaning?"

Dange fell into contemplation.

Gradually, he whispered: "This is hard to accomplish by myself alone; I need Duke Weilan's cooperation."

Sang Qiesite smirked: "He definitely won't help you, Your Majesty; he'd love to see Aaron descend into chaos."

Dange shook his head: "No, he might still help, as long as I show enough sincerity."

"The Natural Alliance's greatest enemy is the Radiant Empire. If Aaron falls, the whole Alliance will suffer as well."

"With Duke Weilan's insight, he will certainly understand this."

After some thought, Sang Qiesite nodded: "Indeed, but he will surely carve out a large chunk from Aaron."

Dange chuckled: "Even if he comes to cut, with Weilan's size and the strait's barrier, no matter how much he takes, he cannot truly harm Aaron."

"But as long as I truly take control of Aaron, I can soon heal past wounds, restore Aaron's former glory, and then—hehe!"

The Lion King's eyes flashed with a deep light.

Sang Qiesite nodded again: "Your Majesty is right; Aaron will soon be able to stand up again."

"This is very important; I need to think it over carefully, and I also need the Sage's cooperation."

Sang Qiesite nodded without hesitation: "Your Majesty, since you are willing to walk the true path of greatness, I will naturally always walk beside you."

This eased Dange's mind considerably.

He was merely a Four-ring warrior, lacking deep understanding of magic; although he could become king due to personal ability, the true foundation was sacred bloodline.

Nowadays, the holy bloodline isn't so holy anymore, so he can only rely on his own personal ability.

As for what the final outcome will be, he doesn't know.

It's like feeling one's way forward in the dark, completely unaware of what awaits ahead.

Yet, despite the heavy shackles of family honor, the lion king who can still accomplish many great deeds is certainly no ordinary person.

Compared to other kings, his ability to act is much stronger.

Ten days later.

Dawn City.

Luosen was conducting face-to-face final reviews of the primary officials of the candidate departments in each prefecture.

According to the discussion results of the first Weilan Citizens' Assembly, to quickly restore Weilan's production and living order, the first chief officials of all prefecture cities and large towns with potential to become cities were directly appointed by the Duke.

After appointment, they were directly air-dropped to each prefecture to take office in a foreign place.

As the Duke, Luosen was certainly not randomly assigned.

He first selected a large batch of talent with basic abilities and clean backgrounds, then conducted face-to-face interviews; those who passed would undergo emergency training before being given a position.

It was not an official position, but an acting one.

Those who perform well can be made regular; those who don't are replaced.

The fifteen southern prefectures plus some northern towns add up to over forty towns, with an average of over thirty chief officials per town, and the number of candidates is directly doubled.

Conducting these interviews one by one truly amounts to a considerable workload.

If Luosen had to do it himself he'd be sick of it, but fortunately this kind of mechanical repetitive work is basically handled by Laifu, with Luosen merely giving the final approval.

Moreover, his main self was not idle either.

He almost daily stayed at the naval port, working together with engineering mages from White Sturgeon Island to refit the existing ten Black Stone warships.

There were two goals.

First, increase the caliber of the cannons to counter Aaron's warships.

Second, to swiftly install the new shipborne arcane devices and form combat capability.

As Luosen was busy to the point of dizziness, the original Intelligence Bureau, which had been responsible for domestic intelligence in Weilan and had now become independent as the Island Security Bureau, sent him a message: "Your Grace the Duke, an old man entered Dawn City under the guise of a Kao merchant, secretly contacted us, and said he wishes to have a confidential talk with you about Aaron matters."

"He also specially noted that it is top secret; please treat it with utmost importance and preferably let no third party know the contents of the talk."

The messenger was the head of the Security Bureau, named Turining, a rare mixed-blood Forest Spirit mage currently at mid-level peak magical power, whose mother came from the Igo tribe.

He had once been Stonard's left and right hand; due to his outstanding ability, he had come to Luosen's side.

Luosen felt somewhat strange and, via secret communication, asked: "Besides that, are there any other clues?"

Turining was puzzled: "There are no clues at all; it's extremely covert. We contacted the Foreign Intelligence Bureau, but found no related clues either."

"This person seems to have appeared out of thin air; we don't even know whether he possesses magical power."

Then this matter becomes interesting.

Luosen had a very strange premonition and immediately said: "Secretly bring him into Dawn Castle, don't let more people see him, and take him directly via the secret passage to the underground chamber."

"Yes."

About half an hour later, the person was delivered.

Luosen's main body immediately went to the underground chamber.

This chamber is specially for secret affairs, so not only is it deep underground, but many anti-detection magical runes have been installed.

Whether useful or not, and regardless of any treasure with shielding effects, everything that could be piled up was piled up.

The secrecy effect is also very good.

At least Luosen lacks the ability to investigate the situation inside the chamber.

Upon entering the chamber, he saw a thin, small old man.

Even at a distance of three or four meters, Luosen could only faintly sense the trickles of magical aura emanating from him; a bit farther and he felt nothing.

This is the sensitivity of a Ten Rings mage; if it were a Six Rings or lower mage, they probably wouldn't feel any abnormality even if standing right next to him.

And this trace of magical aura told Luosen that the person before him was a Sage.

Combining Aaron's Sage information, Luosen knew this fellow was the Storm's Eye Sanqichest, the loyal hound of His Majesty King Dange.

Luosen sat opposite him, gestured for everyone else to leave the chamber, and then cast an improved version of the Seventh Ring Silent Crystal Wall technique.

When the pale blue water membrane completely covered the chamber's interior, he asked: "A Sage secretly crossing the sea to see me—truly unexpected, huh?"

Sanqichest took off a peculiar amulet from his neck.

Luosen saw at once that it was a low-grade version of the "Boiling Moonfire Amulet," roughly capable of shielding Seventh Ring magical signals.

That is to say, after the Heavenly Father Shengwei obtained a powerful artifact from the moon goddess Duola, he also devoted great effort to researching it.

"I come bearing the Majesty's will, and you should know that His Majesty has no intention of going to war with you."

Luosen vaguely guessed this, raised an eyebrow: "His Majesty may not want it, but what is he preparing to do? Sell out his own homeland?"

"To be precise, it is selling out the domestic nobility."

Sanqichest put the amulet back on: "His Majesty greatly admires what the Duke has done in the southern prefectures, and also very much wishes for Aaron to free himself from the restraints of that greedy noble lord clique."

Luosen fully understood; after thinking it over carefully, he felt that Dange was walking a very dangerous path.

He smiled faintly: "Does His Majesty not fear being hanged on a streetlamp by the domestic nobles?"

Aaron's history spans over 1200 years; not all its kings have met a good end, and during turbulent periods three kings died on streetlamps.

"There is this risk, but since he is Aaron's king, he certainly cannot stand by while short-sighted, greedy nobles pursue their own interests at the expense of the kingdom's."

Sanqichest's face showed a hint of pride: "This is the responsibility only a great king can bear, and it is why I steadfastly follow Dange."

Luosen, however, had worries: "This is too risky; one slip and the Giant Fortress could fall."

"Therefore His Majesty needs the Duke's cooperation to keep the situation within tolerable bounds; as compensation, after defeat His Majesty will, on the pretext of ransoming prisoners of war, give Weilan a very generous indemnity."

Luosen curled his mouth: "Sanqichest, no matter how the situation is controlled, there will be a batch of brave soldiers pointlessly sacrificed."

Probably, this is the cold-bloodedness of true superiors; handling such matters puts him under great pressure, and he certainly won't be as nonchalant as the other party.

Sang Qiesite sighed: 'This is indeed regrettable, but some sacrifices are necessary. Because these brave warriors are all lackeys of the Aaron nobility!'

That's also correct.

After careful thought, Luosen planned to cooperate with Dang.

In naval battles, I will try to minimize losses among ordinary soldiers and only kill noble officers.

Sang Qiesite blinked slightly: 'Your Grace, even now, do you still hold mercy in your heart?'

Based on the fact that they slaughtered thirty-six noble families to the last, he had always thought they had completely forgotten the word 'mercy'.

Luosen gave a faint smile, without further explanation: 'No need to worry about trivial details. Let's discuss the concrete cooperation details, Sage.'

Since that was the case, the two began to discuss in detail.

They talked for over an hour; when finished, it was all verbal agreements, none put down on paper.

Afterward, how much could actually be implemented? Probably even the Creator doesn't know.

Of course, it's certainly much better than nothing.

Because this means the naval battle in the Flowing Gold Strait will likely be just a local war.

It won't spiral out of control into a full-scale war, thereby letting the Radiant Empire pick up the advantage.

Luosen finally asked: 'Your Majesty should have means to defend against the covert harm of the Three Sages, right?'

Sang Qiesite's face instantly showed a hint of lack of confidence: 'Of course there are, but the Sage's methods are unfathomable, and new-era spells keep emerging, so I fear.'

Luosen then handed over the complete version of the Boiling Moon Fire Talisman given by Mother Nature.

'I happen to have obtained a powerful talisman; I'll take it back to give His Majesty protection.'

He had already understood the talisman's principle and could make it himself; now this counts as fulfilling his promise to Mother Nature.

Upon seeing the talisman, Sang Qiesite vaguely recognized it as a super-high-ring magical implement, or in other words, a divine artifact.

He couldn't help but startle: 'Duke, if something happens to His Majesty, it seems more beneficial to you, doesn't it?'

Luosen explained in one sentence: 'Just like Aaron, I also feel the immense pressure from the Radiant Empire. So if His Majesty meets with trouble and Aaron falls into chaos, it brings me no benefit at all.'

Aaron is Weilan's big meat shield; the shield has a bit of emotion, a slap can wake him up, but you can't beat him to death.

Having said that, he rose and left: 'Sage, I'll have my people send you back by boat overnight, so you won't be noticed after too much time.'

'Then thank you, Duke.'

Outside it was already deep night; Sang Qiesite was escorted all the way to Storm Bay, boarded a Fishman Killer Speedboat, and sped across the Flowing Gold Strait.

Along the way, Sang Qiesite felt the wind blowing in his face, saw the spray flying around the small boat, was shocked by its speed, and unconsciously recalled his earlier secret talk with the duke.

As he thought, a sudden idea flashed in his mind.

'The duke is not merciful; he is ambitious, with an ambition even grander than that of His Majesty Dang.'

'He wants to unite the Natural Alliance!'

As soon as this thought arose, Sang Qiesite jumped in fright, his heart pounding, and he couldn't help but think further.

'Can he pull it off?'

After some analysis, he reached a preliminary conclusion.

'The three great kingdoms of the Natural Alliance all want to do this, but the one who might actually succeed is likely this Duke of Weilan.'

'And once achieved, the Natural Alliance could directly oppose the Radiant Empire, instead of being suppressed everywhere as it is now.'

In the current situation, the discerning people within the Natural Alliance all feel extremely stifled.

And after reaching this conclusion, Sang Qiesite's heart instantly felt some changes he was unwilling to admit but that truly existed.

This change made him a little afraid: 'Don't think anymore, don't betray His Majesty's trust, Sang Qiesite!'

But he still thought a bit more: 'What does His Majesty have? A Four-ring martial artist. The duke, however, is a Seven-ring peak miracle mage—don't think, don't think!'

Sang Qiesite raised his hand and slapped himself hard, causing the mage piloting the speedboat nearby to stare at him strangely.

'A bug~ a bug landed on my face, hehe.'

The Sage gave a dry laugh.

(End of chapter)