King

In the Royal Capital Arcane Academy, a dragon roar came through the air, and everyone knew that Dean Hudson was visiting the academy in person.

Without prior notice, there will naturally be no reception. The angry Hudson ignored any rules and directly entered the principal's office with his two bodyguards, dragon and bear.

It's a pity that the old and cunning Robert has long since disappeared. After missing out, Hudson went to look for bad luck among other high-ranking officials in the college.

Then there was nothing more. Every big shot in the college was nowhere to be seen. All that remained were ordinary lecturers.

Knowing that these guys were deliberately avoiding him, and having no intention of getting angry with the little people, Hudson went straight to the palace with full of anger.

You can hide for a while, but you can't hide for a lifetime. With such big news, Hudson couldn't believe that there was no trace of the royal family.

No matter how independent the Arcane Academy is, the students and instructors are inextricably linked to the Kingdom and cannot be free from the constraints of the Kingdom.

In normal times, arcanists always use their personal vests and trumpets to make trouble. No matter how big the disturbance is, the kingdom can trace this person away!

This time is different. I don’t know which one is crazy, but these guys actually spoke in the name of the college.

It's obvious that he's trying to trick people. If the gods are really angry and there is a wave of divine punishment, everyone will be stunned.

Perhaps in the eyes of the great Lord of the Dawn, such a trivial matter is not worth lowering his status to care about. After all, no one has time to pay attention to the thoughts of ants.

But the resulting political impact is really too bad. Suppressing theocratic rights and opposing theocratic rights are two completely different concepts.

The former is nothing more than a power struggle between two waves of believers. Whether it is a god or countless god believers, this situation can be tolerated.

The latter is on the opposite side of most people. Looking at the magic circle opened at the entrance of Arcane Academy, you can tell that believers have been causing trouble in recent days.

"Your Majesty, I need an explanation. Why did this happen to the Arcane Academy? Where does the kingdom have control over the academy?"

Hudson's question made Caesar IV very embarrassed. Since the consolidation of royal power, no one has dared to question him like this.

Just as he was about to get angry, he swallowed the words as they reached his lips. It's not that I'm afraid of Hudson, it's mainly that he's in the wrong now!

The Arcane Academy was established under the leadership of the royal family, and most of the people in power there were inextricably linked to the royal family, and some of them were even the ancestors of the royal family.

But what happened this time was caused by his ancestors, whom he had always felt at ease with. After the incident, Caesar IV was also frightened.

Fortunately, he did not take a temporary position in the academy, so the most famous person, Hudson, took the blame. Nowadays, the outside world is criticizing Arcane Academy.

Even Hudson, who has always had a good reputation and is known as the "Protector of the Kingdom", is now being sprayed with blood by the people.

Unintentionally planting willows to create shade.

He had always wanted to suppress Hudson's reputation but never had a chance. He never expected that a wave of tricks by the Arcane Academy would make Hudson infamous.

Facts have proved that being a nominal principal is not easy. If something happens at school, you can't run away.

"Marshal, I don't know about this either! Who knew those bastards would be so bold?

But you can rest assured that the government has issued an announcement to officially refute the rumors. I believe these remarks will disappear soon. "

Caesar IV explained patiently.

It would be enough to suppress Hudson's reputation a little, but he was not prepared to take the opportunity to beat someone to death with a stick.

Although it is indeed possible to make use of the topic and label Hudson as a heretic, how can we demolish the bridge now that the river has not even been crossed?

The way to refute rumors is very simple, just deny it. The remarks that "the gods are dead" were made by cultists in the name of the Arcane Academy and have nothing to do with the academy.

Regardless of whether the outside world believes it or not, Alpha Kingdom officials firmly believe it. Anyone who dares to talk nonsense is an enemy of the kingdom.

Fortunately, the Holy See was too busy to take care of itself and didn't have time to come over and cause trouble. Otherwise, by taking advantage of this turmoil, the Alpha Kingdom will definitely burst into tears.

Although Hudson took the blame, he was not the only one affected. Every teacher and student in the college was labeled as a "heretic".

According to the choice of one person's "heresy" and the whole family sitting together, countless nobles from all over the kingdom were included.

The same crime does not count as a crime if more people bear it.

"Your Majesty, if something like this happened, it can't be ended by just refuting the rumors. It can be ended by eliminating the influence.

At the very least, those involved should be found and dealt with seriously. Otherwise, these daring guys will have no scruples and no one knows what stupid things they will do! "

Hudson said solemnly.

Some things can be done secretly, why do you need to say it out loud?

Even if you suspect that the god is dead, you can still verify it in private! If you make a wrong guess, you will be ruined, and a few other unlucky people next to you will be implicated.

When the news was made public, countless believers in the gods were pushed to the opposite side, and they were immediately targeted by the public.

"Marshal, it's not that I don't want to deal with it, I really can't find anyone!

To tell you the truth, I sent people to look for them immediately after the incident, but they came to nothing.

I just found a letter, read it yourself! "

While speaking, Caesar IV handed the letter directly to Hudson.

The two most powerful people in the kingdom were confused by a prank played by a group of old children.

After glancing at the contents of the letter, Hudson felt instantly embarrassed. His feelings were still his fault.

Everything was caused by working overtime.

The top management of the Arcane Academy is also the core of the Kingdom's magician group. A few days ago, these people were working hard in the Near East.

Encountering the unscrupulous commander Hudson, everyone's workload inevitably increased. There is a great cause to fight against the orcs, and no one can refuse it.

After returning to the royal capital, someone felt uncomfortable and prepared to do something.

It's a pity that these strong men in cultivation are not strong men in politics. Originally, I just wanted to yell and find something to do for Hudson, but I never expected that the political impact would be so great.

According to the statement in the letter, this operation was carried out by a few strong men under the influence of alcohol, and other high-level officials of the college did not know about it.

After receiving the news, the top management of the college realized that they were in serious trouble, and immediately chose to escape and leave the mess to Caesar IV.

Closing the letter, Hudson glanced at his king sympathetically. Sure enough, everything has two sides. While enjoying the profound benefits, you must also be prepared to clean up the mess.

Even if most old antiques are rational, there will inevitably be a few old kids. The destructive power of these violent guys is much more powerful than that of naughty children.

"Your Majesty, these are all temporary excuses they made up to shirk responsibility.

If it was just a few drunkards, it would be enough to hand the person over. Is it necessary for the higher-ups of the college to escape together?

Based on their status, even if they really did it, the kingdom can only deal with it internally, and find ways to cover it up for them outside! "

Hudson's righteous criticism resonated with Caesar IV. This kind of thing really can only be covered up.

The people involved are almost all the ancestors of the kingdom's big families. If it were official business, many nobles, including the royal family, would be implicated.

Not to mention that the Holy See has no time to pay attention to it now. Even if the Holy See is at its peak, the kingdom can only bite the bullet and refuse to recognize it.

"Marshal, they are afraid of being beaten!"

The queen's additions from the side directly restored the truth of the incident. It's true that Hudson couldn't touch these old guys, but a good beating wouldn't be a big problem.

It turns out that these old guys are indeed human spirits. With Hudson's anger at that time, if he found the person, he would definitely beat him up first.

After understanding the truth, Hudson was speechless. After doing this for a long time, I took the blame for others and couldn't even take revenge.

If you can't find the person involved, you can't beat these juniors, right?

If he really did that, the first person to be beaten would be King Caesar IV. Thinking about it makes you feel excited, so it’s better to take action.

Only the old antiques of the royal family can do something as unorthodox as beating up the king. Others should save their time! The crime of rebellious officials and traitors is also very terrible.

"Your Majesty, let someone give them a message. The matter is not over yet. If you don't give me an explanation, don't let me touch you in the future, otherwise they will not be able to get out of bed.

Don't worry, I'll take it lightly. At most, you can break both of their legs, but no lives will be lost! "

Hudson said angrily.

The lost reputation will definitely not be made up for. No matter how much the kingdom tried to cover it up, the political fallout was still there.

Now the only thing is to find a way to stop the loss. The loss will be as much as it can be recovered. Beating people is just to scare people.

The continent of Aslant is so big that as long as an eighth-level powerhouse wants to hide, it will be strange for Hudson to be able to find it.

"Marshal, there's no need to take action! They are all elderly people. If something unexpected happens and they can't breathe, it will be troublesome.

I think I'll just ask them to apologize and restore your reputation! "

Caesar IV advised.

The current kingdom is not suitable for causing chaos. If lives are lost due to conflict and the unity of the kingdom is affected, there will be big trouble.

In order to take the overall situation into consideration, he even tolerated the "super high transit tax" imposed by the nobles of the North.

It's not that lords can't impose taxes, but under normal circumstances, no one would set such a high tax rate!

Depending on the territory area and geographical location, the transit tax of lords in various places basically hovers between 1% and 15%, and 30% is a complete rip-off.

Transactions often occur without words, and Hudson understood Caesar IV's hint instantly.

Reputation cannot be restored, but profit compensation can be obtained. I was originally worried about the distribution of benefits from the smuggling trade, but I don’t need to worry about it for the time being.

At least in the next few years, these related families will be embarrassed to raise issues on this issue. I can only blame my ancestors for being careless and causing such a big disturbance.

Without the participation of these people, even if the remaining nobles of the kingdom exerted pressure, Hudson would be able to withstand it.

It would be enough to earn a few years. As long as the development of Xueyue Ling is completed, Hudson will not care about the subsequent profits from the smuggling trade.

As a great lord, territory development is the core, whether money or not is a trivial matter.

"Your Majesty, you have to take good care of the Arcane Academy after this time. If you continue to act like this, they will have to close their doors.

Now, I think it would be better to leak the news about the missing Holy See artifact and add fuel to this farce. "

Hudson suggested with a half-smile.

Managing the Arcane Academy is not an easy job. Even the king doesn't have much face in front of those old immortals.

Not only is his identity great, his strength is also unusually strong.

The most powerful people in the kingdom who are most likely to break through the holy realm are all in the Arcane Academy.

A large group of strong people gathered together to teach students just by the way, more to facilitate communication, hoping to break through the bottleneck as soon as possible.

"Marshal, if the news about the artifact is leaked, what if the Holy See finds us..."

Caesar IV said slightly hesitantly.

After finally getting the Holy See's inherited artifact, he was unwilling to hand it over.

If the news leaked out, for the sake of the safety of the kingdom, he would have to bear the pain and trade with others.

Hudson knows this feeling very well. If it is for the purpose of causing trouble to the Holy See, then just sell the Holy Sword of Light in your hand to the Franks.

The other party will definitely be willing to pay a sky-high price. The resources exchanged are estimated to be enough to develop the Xueyue Territory.

Unfortunately, Hudson couldn't bear it either. Inherited artifacts can represent orthodoxy. According to the canon, the pope can legally succeed to the throne only if he has obtained the inheritance of three major artifacts.

With this thing in hand, even if you become the biggest heretic, you can be whitewashed in the future.

Don't worry, some people are making trouble with religious beliefs. Holding the holy sword in hand is the spokesperson of the gods in the world.

The main reason is that the Holy See is too confident and never imagined that one day the artifact would be lost, let alone that the Holy See would decline.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured that the matter of the artifact is strictly confidential. The Vatican will not be able to find us for a while, and even if they have suspicions, they have no evidence.

The main purpose of making a fuss about the artifact is to make the Franks take bigger steps.

The Holy See has been imprisoned for the Ten Deadly Sins, and the divine authority is now scattered everywhere. It is only natural to establish a new Holy See.

Once they take this step, they will fight to the death with the Holy See. If the kingdom makes some small moves, it will be nothing.

If the Near East Strategy is completed, we can definitely follow suit and establish a small Holy See in the Northern Continent.

The influence will definitely not be comparable to those of the two, but we can make major concessions!

For example: allow churches in various countries to be completely autonomous, tithes to be fully used by local churches, and not to interfere in all religious affairs in various countries...

As long as the concession is large enough, you won't have to worry about not having supporters.

At that time, even if you are crowned emperor, there will be no problem! "

Hudson struggled to draw a path.

If the kingdom establishes a new Holy See, he who brings back the inherited artifact will be the most important contributor to the new Holy See.

It is compulsory to put the word "saint" in front of the surname, and his name must also be included in the history of religion. The Koslow family, which has a shallow foundation, will suddenly become a prominent figure second only to the royal family.

If Caesar IV could not resist the temptation to proclaim himself emperor, then he, the Duke, could also be promoted to Grand Duke.

Compared to other forces on the continent, if the Alpha Kingdom can defeat the foreign races, it is really possible to be crowned emperor.

Even if countries want to intervene, they must first kill the alien alliance and open up the communication lines between the north and south continents.

"Marshal, we can just talk about these things in private, I have no intention of proclaiming myself emperor!

However, your suggestion of making a fuss about the artifact is indeed feasible. I will let the Ministry of Foreign Affairs handle it later. "

Caesar IV said slightly excitedly.

A king who does not want to be an emperor is not a good king. But when you become an emperor, you must first build an empire.

The Alpha Kingdom has ample room for expansion. As long as it swallows half of the Orc Empire, it can catch up with the Empire of Light.

If he did, he would surpass his father, Caesar III, and the founding monarch, and become one of the greatest monarchs in human history.

The emergence of a new goal made Caesar IV more comfortable with Hudson. The unpleasantness that just happened has been completely ignored by him.

There were no nobles who privately encouraged him to become emperor, but those guys were all for their own fame and wealth, and they were talking nonsense and completely deceiving him as a fool.

In contrast, Hudson's inadvertent statement was much more organized, and even the strategic route to achieve the goal was drawn out.

The first step: Let the Franks and the Holy See become mortal enemies and divide the countries in the Southern Continent;

Step two: Complete the Near East strategy;

The third step: establish a new Holy See to control the divine power;

the fourth step:……

The plan was a bit hasty, but it was consistent with a momentary gaffe, where he accidentally revealed his true inner thoughts.

Seeing this scene, Hudson smiled slightly, then found a reason to say goodbye and leave.

Whether you are tempted or not depends not on what you say, but on what you actually do.

For many things, once you take the first step, it will be difficult to stop later.