Chapter 238

Kao

Silvermoon City, Rose Palace

The Queen of Kao gathered all members of the Silge royal family together and convened a clan council

The old King Silge sat on the throne, drool trickling from the corner of his mouth, a foolish smile on his face

But regardless, his complexion was rosy, his eyes bright; he would definitely not die within ten or eight years

The queen in full attire sat beside him, with three sages listening on either side

In front, a circle formed, with princes and princesses seated, as well as about forty or more royal relatives

After everyone was seated, the Queen of Kao spoke

"Today we have gathered you all to discuss the kingdom's future destiny"

"You all surely know that Duke Weilan has advanced to eleven magical rings, wielding astonishing magical power, and is also willing to share the knowledge of scaling the heights of magic"

"This is no lie, for the past three months the duke has publicly published several weighty magical treatises"

"Without a doubt, Duke Weilan is the undisputed leader of the magical community"

"Countless magical talents are frenziedly flocking to Weilan"

"In the foreseeable future, Weilan will surely possess, and may already possess, the power to overwhelm the allied nations"

"Now I ask, our Kao, this land where roses bloom, how should we face this tumultuous historical change like raging waves"

As soon as her words fell, everyone immediately began to whisper and discuss

The queen said no more, just patiently waiting for everyone to discuss

When she felt it was about time, she spoke again

"Those attending are all royal family members; say what you want to say, and whatever consensus we reach, the outcome will be something we all face together"

Since the queen said so, the royal members all began to speak

Most of them were anxious

They did not want to change the status quo, because life is quite good now

But the world is changing too fast; anyone with a bit of insight can see that Duke Weilan simply wants to unite the natural alliance

What makes them anxious is that they have absolutely no confidence in opposing the duke

After several hours of discussion, no constructive consensus was reached

The queen also did not urge them, calmly saying: "Avoiding the problem is useless, because the world does not change because of our individual will"

But the situation is not yet urgent, so we have ample time to respond to the changes

Take the problem back with you and think carefully about how to proceed on the future path

"Now, dismiss"

The Silge royal family members left worried, and finally only the Crown Prince Levin remained

He asked: "Mother, can we not resist?"

As a mother, the queen naturally understood her son's reluctance, sighed softly, and calmly countered

"How to resist?"

Levin gritted his teeth and said: "We have the Blood Moon Knight Corps and the new Black Stone fleet; perhaps we cannot attack Weilan, but we can certainly make Weilan pay a huge price when landing in Kao"

The queen sighed: "If the people of Kao could unite as one, or if Weilan and we Kao had a great blood feud, then we could indeed resist"

"But the current situation is that Weilan and our Kao have always been on good terms. Kao has countless talented mages who have earned generous incomes and respectable positions in Weilan, and many even hold high posts there"

"We have no reason to call on the people to fight to the death against Weilan; if we insist on doing so, the people of Kao would likely seek to replace the king"

Crown Prince Levin was instantly speechless, subconsciously turning his head to look at the Sage Laierdun

Before, Laierdun had always firmly supported him, but this time Laierdun lowered his gaze

This subtle move made the crown prince's heart turn cold; he immediately knew the sage no longer supported him

"Yeah, he's just a five-ring sage; how could he have the nerve to oppose an eleven-ring legendary mage?" At that moment, the mother's voice came again: "Levin, the situation is already clear; opposing means destruction, and what we must do now is how to preserve the dignity of the Silge royal family as much as possible"

Levin gave a bitter smile: "Mother, is it about facing defeat with dignity?"

"No, it's about how to enter the new era with dignity"

"New era?"

"A united alliance, an alliance with sufficient power, to confront the Radiant Empire and the Holy Elf Empire head-on on the White Continent, rather than being squeezed into the northeastern corner of the continent as a new era"

Levin understood, but his heart still refused to accept it

But the pressure from the legendary mage was simply too great—not only could he not bear it, the entire Silge royal family could not bear it

He also knew that the mages of Kao, especially the civilian mages, were extremely eager to follow Duke Weilan

If the duke were to take over Kao, those mages would not only not feel sad, they might even line the streets to welcome him

So, the mother was right; there is simply no way to resist

So, his reluctance is useless

Mother, I understand

He left the conference hall with a dejected expression

Almost at the same time, the new Queen Molly of Levinde also convened a talk in the cabinet

The Xila royal family now consisted only of the queen, so she alone represented the entire Xila royal family

The cabinet contained five great noble marquises, as well as the prime minister Muladi

Muladi had already served as prime minister for half a year, demonstrating outstanding ability, and has now gained the support of many civilian officials and merchants

So he has firmly secured the prime minister's position, gaining considerable influence in the king's cabinet. Empress Molly got straight to the point

"Your Excellencies, you surely have already heard the news from Weilan"

I now clearly state: the legendary mage who helped us kill the palace demon half a year ago is none other than Duke Weilan himself

I also want to clearly admit that I am Duke Weilan's woman, and I personally fully support the Duke becoming Levinde, and even the leader of the entire Natural Alliance.

Of course, this is my personal opinion. Which path Levinde ultimately chooses depends not only on me, but also on the opinions of all the ministers.

Everyone, speak up if you have anything to say.

Regarding the queen's words, the six cabinet members had long been prepared in their hearts, and they were fully aware of her relationship with the Duke.

After a moment of silence, Muradi spoke first.

Over the past five months, Levinde and Weilan's trade volume reached 20 million gold sela, while trade with the Radiant Nations amounted to 2,200 gold sela.

The two are almost equal.

But there is a trend: trade with the Radiant Nations is continually shrinking, because Weilan's products are better quality and cheaper, making them a superior substitute for the Radiant Nations' goods.

Considering that we Levinde are already members of the Natural Alliance, and from the standpoint of our nation's future, I support Your Majesty's view.

The five noble marquises looked at each other.

After a long while, Marquis Larimo spoke: 'The international situation is still unclear, and the Radiant Empire has recently been very active, clearly intending to deal with Duke Weilan.'

Before the two sides have a clear winner, I think it's unwise to make a decision too early.

As soon as he finished speaking, Marquis Nobuton frowned and said, 'Larimo, what are you saying?'

We Levinde are also members of the Natural Alliance; if the Radiant Empire intends to deal with the alliance's Duke, we ought to openly support the Duke and condemn the Radiant Empire—how can we remain mere bystanders?

Larimo sneered, 'Support the Duke? Why should we? Because he hanged my daughter and grandson?'

As soon as his words fell, the queen raised her hand and slapped the table, making a loud 'Bang': 'Larimo, watch your language!'

Your daughter committed treason, and your grandson even usurped the throne; hanging them was the unanimous opinion of everyone present.

Duke Weilan has nothing to do with this; he merely helped us slay the demon in the Huan Wai Xu Kong.

Without the Duke, Bai Jin Cheng would already have become a demon city!

Larimo, however, seemed to have swallowed gunpowder: 'Your Majesty, this is merely your one-sided account. The fact is, none of us have actually seen the demon, while I personally saw the corpses of my daughter and grandson.'

By this point, things had become quite clear.

Prime Minister Muradi bluntly laid out his implication: 'Marquis Larimo, so between the alliance and the empire, you have chosen the latter, right?'

That's right, I have chosen the latter!

Larimo stood up, removed the ministerial badge from his chest, and slapped it onto the table.

Let me be frank: the Larimo family and the Hesan Three Commanderies under our control will secede from Levinde and the Natural Alliance to become an independent Radiant realm.

Your Majesty, you may arrest me now, but you cannot change the fact that the Hesan Three Commanderies will become independent.

Molly stared fixedly at Larimo, as if he were her mortal enemy.

Larimo, it was your daughter's lover who brought in the demon, causing my family to be reduced to just me.

Now you're all right, brushing off your dust and preparing to leave, even wanting the Hesan Three Commanderies to break free from Levinde.

I tell you, this cannot be allowed!

Larimo bluntly said, 'Arrest me, Your Majesty; sending me to the guillotine is fine.'

My son will succeed me as the new marquis, the Hesan Three Commanderies will still be independent, and their people will greatly resent Your Majesty.

I know you're surely thinking of sending troops to suppress the rebellion, but it will be useless.

Because the Radiant Empire will also send troops to support us. Levinde's Golden Knight Corps is no match for the Radiant Legion.

Thus, Levinde will forever lose the Hesan Three Commanderies and will forever face the threat from the Radiant Empire.

Molly forcibly suppressed the burning anger in her chest, turned to the other three marquises, and asked, 'What is your opinion?'

The three marquises' main interests lie within the Natural Alliance; some have some business with the Radiant Nations, but it is not predominant.

So the three straightforwardly declared their stance as members of the Natural Alliance, and clearly supported Duke Weilan in the struggle against the Radiant Empire.

Molly's anger eased somewhat; she looked at Larimo and said, 'Before today's meeting I already said, let everyone speak openly.'

Since you have openly expressed your view, I also do not intend to blame you for it.

Return to your Hesan Three Commanderies.

Lastly, I want to say that while the Hesan Three Commanderies may have close economic ties with the Radiant Nations, the populace still continues to believe in Mother Nature.

This alone determines that the Hesan Three Commanderies can never truly integrate into the Radiant Nations.

When Mother Nature issues her call, I see how long you, this marquis, can last!

Marquis Larimo's face turned slightly pale, but he gritted his teeth and persisted: 'I will myself make the people change their faith.'

Queen Molly, however, suddenly laughed.

Marquis Larimo, the benevolent Mother Nature has returned; she is the true god. Whereas the Radiant Lord is merely a legendary mage, essentially still a mortal, a false god.

The true god cares for every believer's soul, responding at all times to the countless calls of the faithful.

As for the false god, at most it can only put on a show, responding to a hundred is already the limit, and it is hard to sustain.

Now you actually let the people abandon the true god to believe in the false god—truly laughable!

I bet you will surely come to no good end!

Larimo's face turned even paler; he said nothing and hurriedly turned and left.

Queen Molly took a deep breath: 'The foolish have departed; let us prepare to welcome the new era of the Natural Alliance.'

(End of chapter)