Chapter 856: Heroes Compete for the Crown

It wasn't long before Anxiwodasi ended the holographic meeting.

"Teacher, how's the situation?" Lei En asked.

"The letter GreyEagle obtained comes from Viscount Lidesom, the Minister of Military and Civil Affairs, and it is identical to the one you received from Aisheile," Anxiwodasi said. "GreyEagle confessed to me that he indeed considered replacing Gneus, but Gneus's death had nothing to do with him."

Having also received a letter from Dubersthan, the Finance Minister and the Legion Minister made different choices.

However, Viscount Lidesom originally hails from Flaniss Floating City as a legendary wizard, so his stance favoring Duke GreyEagle is quite normal.

Lei En nodded, "Is Master Kainan trustworthy?"

"I've known him for over a thousand years, both as a rival and an old friend. He is obsessive about the balance doctrine he invented, fundamentally for the Empire's longevity; he has no ill intent and would not betray his principle over a Consul contest."

"In this regard, I trust him just as he trusts me."

Anxiwodasi waved the letter in his hand and laughed, "A mere letter, and you expect me and GreyEagle to distrust each other—it's far too clumsy."

Lei En also laughed.

Loxi's followers, or rather the deceiver Loxi himself, through a single maneuver, not only failed to achieve the goal but also exposed his plan.

Loxi's mind is abnormal, and their followers have also lost their wits.

Anxiwodasi continued, "GreyEagle and I have reached an agreement; we will report to the Goddess shortly." His expression grew serious, "This revenge operation may no longer be limited to wars between mortal nations; it is more dangerous than anticipated."

"I understand," Lei En nodded slightly, "Teacher, but I still must go."

"If you're determined to go, I won't stop you."

Anxiwodasi let out a sigh; he knew well that Lei En always has his own ideas, bold yet careful, and further persuasion would be meaningless.

"Teacher, I will take my leave now."

Lei En left Weizelan and teleported back to Marlinge Manor.

Viola waited quietly in the bedroom; when she saw him return, she immediately came forward. Lei En recounted the matter of the envelope and Loxi's plot, instantly startling Viola.

Even though she deeply understood Lei En's nature, after a passionate night she nestled in his arms, lifted her beautiful face, and pleaded, "Could you not go to Banbei City?"

"I must go."

Lei En gently stroked the Half-elf's smooth back, reassuring, "Rest assured, I've already devised a plan; the enemy won't have a chance to kill me."

A smile spread across his face, exuding confidence.

Viola suddenly felt at ease; whenever she saw Lei En make that expression, it meant either a rival of his had suffered or he had achieved something remarkable.

A sleepless night.

The next morning, every Empire newspaper ran the news of the Consul's assassination, shocking the entire populace and sparking outrage. Many took to the streets to denounce the evil god's followers, and provinces, territories, and cities across the Empire swiftly launched a hunt for Loxi's followers.

Also published was the Supreme Council's resolution.

Duke GreyEagle announced that three days later, at He Palace, Gneus would be given a funeral, and within seven days after the ceremony, revenge for the Consul would commence.

The Empire's sword points at Banbei City!

In an instant, the world trembled.

The Oriense Empire, the foremost of the three great human empires, has not waged an external war for many years, and this time it will deploy the Floating City along with several Holy Soul wizards.

Although Duke GreyEagle claimed the campaign was to avenge the Consul, targeting the Shadow Blade members led by Master Lockriang, with no intention of invading Gupita Kingdom, when the Empire's Floating City and troops arrived at Banbei City, no one believed they were merely there to hunt the evil god's followers.

This is, in fact, a declaration of war!

In less than half a day, the news reached the Subkanti continent, shocking every nation and tribe there.

Banbei City was in a state of panic.

King Victoramatia II urgently dispatched an envoy, who arrived at Nuosiruier that same day to request an audience with Duke GreyEagle, clarifying that Banbei City does not shelter Loxi's followers.

Duke GreyEagle insisted that the Empire had no intention of invading Gupita Kingdom, asking the envoy not to worry, and then sent the envoy out of He Palace.

In the following days, the entire Empire mobilized.

Orders poured out from He Palace; half of the Empire's four great legions and three great knight orders received commands, reallocating troops to the capital Nuosiruier, preparing to assemble and board the Floating City.

Meanwhile, registration for the Consul election opened.

The day after Gneus's funeral, several Imperial councilors arrived at He Palace to register.

This Consul election is unusually special; unlike previous ones, Imperial councilors' votes are not dictated by the three major faction leaders. This time the Supreme Council explicitly stated that a candidate's performance in the revenge operation will determine the Consul's appointment—whoever achieves merit and gains the people's support will become Consul.

Of course, the Imperial council's vote to select candidates must still be approved by the Supreme Council.

It is a rare opportunity.

Many ambitious Imperial councilors who long for the Consul seat but lack faction backing have taken action.

The number of registrants exceeds ten times the usual count.

On the first day after the funeral, only five or six people registered. The second day the number doubled to over ten, and by the third day, candidates rose to forty!

Over three hundred Imperial councilors, more than a tenth, entered the race.

At first, each registrant caused a stir; the news spread wildly, and newspapers detailed each candidate's background, deeds as a councilor, potential supporters, and offered commentary on their chances of winning.

Later, registrations kept swelling, as if every councilor with some reputation and experience joined.

The papers couldn't introduce every candidate, focusing only on the few most likely to win; others were merely named.

Lei En has been preparing these past days.

But he does so via avatars and Thundercast Celestial Soldiers remotely, while his true self remains in Nuosiruier, staying beside Viola.

Viola has deep connections throughout the Empire, giving her very swift access to information.

For those candidates who just entered He Palace to register, before they even emerged, the news reached Marlinge Manor, informing Lei En.

Most candidates lack a power base and have no strong backing in the Supreme Council; they are merely token participants, truly joining the revenge operation to get a share of the war spoils.

Those truly likely to ascend to the Consul throne number fewer than ten.

Viola compiled a list of these people and studied it repeatedly.

In her view, the greatest threat to Lei En is Master Otiluk, so she placed him at the top of the list.

Otiluk is a nineteenth-level Arcane mage who has followed Duke GreyEagle all his life, inventing many "force field" and "orb" series spells, each bearing his name.

For example, the Level 7 "Ou Ti Lu Ke Anti‑Magic Field", any target that enters the field suffers a dispel effect every six seconds.

Also the Level 8 spell "Ou Ti Lu Ke Magic Sealing Orb", which can resist physical attacks and magical damage, protecting the target from harm, but it cannot move.

There are dozens of named spells below Level 7.

These spells greatly boosted Ou Ti Lu Ke's reputation; many Arcane scholars went to Flaniss Floating City to consult him in person and all received responses.

However, Ou Ti Lu Ke has not yet advanced to Holy Soul Wizard.

Legendary Transcendents after four hundred years see their souls begin to wane; as lifespan increases, the difficulty of advancing to Saint Rank grows, and hope grows dim.

Ou Ti Lu Ke is already over eight hundred years old, nearing nine hundred.

Over a hundred years ago, he attempted for the fifth time to fuse the final Level 9 spell and failed, causing a huge drop in power; it took more than thirty years to recover, and he never had another chance, because a failure could cause his soul to dissipate outright.

Ou Ti Lu Ke's hope of advancing to Holy Soul Wizard was cut off, so he was forced to give up.

Since then, he has devoted himself to politics, focusing on assisting Duke GreyEagle in governing Flaniss Floating City, ranking second in status there.

When Master Tim*Kenan is absent, the other members of the "Eight Leaves" obey Ou Ti Lu Ke.

Now he is running for Consul; whether the Eight Leaves or Master Tim*Kenan, they will give full support.

Currently, Master Tim*Kenan is acting as Consul.

The Empire's expedition to Banbei City is also led by Master Tim*Kenan, with Flaniss Floating City as the main force.

Even though Master Tim*Kenan is impartial, within his authority he can provide Ou Ti Lu Ke some conveniences, such as assigning relatively easy combat missions that yield great merit during war.

This is an advantage that other candidates lack.

If Lei En does not run, Master Ou Ti Lu Ke becoming the next Consul is almost certain.

After Ou Ti Lu Ke, the second threatening rival is called "Batula*Yunaitas", a great noble who holds the Marquisate of "Zelimu".

For a thousand years, the Empire has been weakening the old nobility, reclaiming lands and revoking noble titles.

The Yunaitas family is one of the few remaining founding heroes; the Zelimu Marquisate is, apart from the Storm Queen Hohawen Principality, the largest feudal domain. The Zelimu Marquisate lies in the southeast of the Northern Great Plains, bordering the Empire's northeastern province; half is fertile grassland, half is mountainous forest, rich in resources and populous, equivalent to a province.

The current Marquis of Zelimu, Ba Tu La, is also extremely powerful.

Ba Tu La is a Saint Rank strongman, a Steel Knight!

His credentials are extensive; in his youth he entered one of the Empire's three great knight orders, the "Steel Iron Knight Order", and over decades rose step by step from ordinary Iron Guard to Steel Knight, then to Legend, with his rank in the order continually rising.

Before turning two hundred, Ba Tu La advanced to Saint Rank and was appointed commander of the Steel Iron Knight Order, dubbed "Empire Iron Wall".

In the following century, Ba Tu La rose five ranks consecutively and succeeded in his eighth Soul Transformation.

After reaching th Level, Ba Tu La's prestige and power peaked, subtly becoming a leader among the Empire's nobility; to avoid suspicion from the Supreme Council, he voluntarily resigned his commander post of the Steel Iron Knight Order.

Up to now, it has been over forty years.

Over the past forty‑plus years Ba Tu La has been extremely low‑key, focusing on managing his domain, but his power has not lagged; it is said he has already reached Level 27!

An Iron Guard reaching Level 27 is truly a miracle.

Across all human nations of the Old Continent, no Iron Guard with a higher rank than Ba Tu La can be found, not even a close one.

A few days ago, when news broke that "Empire Iron Wall", Marquis Ba Tu La of Zelimu was running for Consul, it garnered support from many nobles and legislators, with extremely high popularity, far surpassing Ou Ti Lu Ke.

Ba Tu La also has supporters in the Supreme Council.

It is Duke Hong Shi Kai Er Si Tong!

The Zelimu Marquisate and Urge City are both on the Northern Great Plains; in fact, Ba Tu La and Kai Er Si Tong are of the same age, only a few years apart, having met in their twenties; the reason Urge City and its surrounding areas are his domain is because he followed Ba Tu La's advice.

However, Kai Er Si Tong does not support only Ba Tu La.

His other student, Level 19 Psion Lin Di An, also entered the race.

Lin Di An is a witch, representing ParrasFloatingCity leading several Psionic Wizards and the "Crimson Flame Sword Guard" into battle; her fame is less than Montalin, but her personal strength is no less, though like Ou Ti Lu Ke, she is too old to contend for Holy Soul Wizard.

Ou Ti Lu Ke, Ba Tu La, and Lin Di An are currently the three most popular candidates.

Next are several candidates from the second tier.

Alchemist Sage Chan Ni from Aeon Floating City.

He signed up half a year ago, also as a runner‑up; now the chance arrives, receiving full support from GrandSage KangJieladeGreatSage, and the "Golem Legion" of Aeon Floating City is handed to Chan Ni to command.

There is also Governor Hester of Sulan Ye Province, a Level 21 Magic Swordmaster with strong power and rich experience; he has served as governor in all five Empire provinces, governing each wholeheartedly and earning an excellent reputation.

Additionally, two other provincial governors have also entered.

The remaining heavyweight candidates are either Saint Rank strongmen or legendary wizards who have lost hope of advancing to Holy Soul.

The last person on the list is Lei En's friend, Viscount Stoinde Villien.

Villien received guidance from Master Ouroin, and finally a year ago successfully advanced to Saint Rank, becoming a Level 20 Great Swordsman, a true Sword Saint.

After the Mo Du nobles failed to auction New Township Floating City, they fully turned to cooperate with Lei En, investing massive funds and deeply participating in the construction of Gotham City.

Before the election, Villien and Lei En exchanged Qi, hoping to gain support from the Mo Du faction.

At that time Lei En did not respond.

None of the candidates on the list received support from the Mo Du faction, a phenomenon that puzzled observers. The Mo Du faction holds half the votes in the Supreme Council; if anyone can gain Master Anxi's backing, even with slightly poorer performance in the revenge operation, they could still forcefully become Consul.

Not only Weizelan Floating City, but also under the Mo Du faction's other Holy Soul Wizards, no sufficiently heavyweight candidate was put forward.

Duke Silver Star, Storm Queen, and Sabbath Dean seem to have all abandoned the competition.

Some well‑informed people have already guessed.

Time passes day by day.

Until the last day of October, Flaniss Floating City leapt to the skies above Nuosiruier, facing Naiser Floating City at a distance; the major legions and the candidates' private armies also gathered outside the Imperial Capital, and tomorrow is the date to launch the attack on Banbei City.

As the sun was about to set, Lei En appeared outside the Floating Bedden Castle, formally visiting He Palace.

I'm so useless, procrastination plus clumsy party incurable… just lie flat and take the mockery…

(End of Chapter)