Lord of War

The royal capital has always been a symbol of the peak power of a country.

It may not be an economic center, nor a cultural center—after all, it is not the capital of any country, and it can become a typical representative of many aspects, but the capital of a country is definitely the center of power in a country, and the center of the entire country. spiritual symbol.

The capital of the Kingdom of Ryan was finally built after several generations of talent. It was once the economic, cultural, and power center of the entire Kingdom of Ryan. It was not until the first kingdom was defeated and became a vassal state that King Capital of Ryan lost these laurels. However, since the end of the war against Dabion and the restoration of the kingdom's status, although the city of Ladesen is still not the economic center of the entire Kingdom of Laine, it has indeed regained the two crowns of culture and power.

However, since the death of the sixth king of Ryan, the seventh king has been unable to be elected. Now, this city with a history of hundreds of years is now in a haze.

It's just that this kind of haze is mostly groundless worry.

A group of aristocrats who were full and had nothing to do got together, and then they thought they understood the matter of succession to the throne; while the serving servants, in order to show their special status, took these specious contents as Then, like a plague, false news and so-called inside stories quickly spread throughout the streets and alleys of the entire capital.

Only the real high-level people, who can now be regarded as the mainstay of the Ryan Kingdom or the nobles with the ability to stand alone that cannot be ignored, know the truth of the facts.

Different from the chaos spread by the outside world, the current gap in the competition for the throne candidates is actually not chaotic at all, and some clues can even be seen faintly.

Contrary to what many people expected, the candidate with the highest administrative score was not Arlan, Voorhees, and Adams, but the fifth prince, Grein, who joined the ranks of contenders halfway through.

The political talent shown by the youngest prince is far higher than that of the third prince Allan and the fourth princess Voorhees. Although the handling and arrangement of some things is not smooth enough because of being too young, but when it comes to the decision-making and announcement of many major events, it is often able to hit the nail on the head, and the countermeasures proposed can also solve the urgent needs. Properly ensure the smooth running of affairs.

However, even though the administrative score is extremely high, he can only be ranked third among the candidates.

The second place is [Ryan's Heart] Voorhees. The reason why her comprehensive score can be ranked second is entirely due to her incredible support rate. Up to now, under the situation where he has to stand in line to express his position, Voorhees almost has the terrible support rate of more than two-thirds of the nobles in the entire Ryan. It should be the well-deserved seventh king of Ryan - or queen.

The first place is the third prince Arlan.

His administrative score is not as good as that of Grain, his military score is not as good as Adams, and his approval rate is not as good as that of Voorhees, but the most rare thing is that he does not have any obvious shortcomings, so his overall score is naturally the highest.

Although Grain has a high administrative score, he is like an idiot in terms of military affairs, and he doesn't even understand the most basic way of forming an army; although Voorhees has a very high approval rate, it is also because of her She is relatively neutral and not aggressive in dealing with people, and can take into account the interests of many people, but she is not outstanding in terms of government affairs or military capabilities, and she is even a bit reluctant to say "mediocre".

As for the eldest prince Adams, this guy is a completely typical contrast to Grein - he has nothing but military ability. As a commander and general, he was the best candidate, but if he were to govern a country, no one would support him except his supporters of the northern aristocrats. Even the few banquets he held in the capital had very few participants, and many nobles did not want to have anything to do with this moody and reckless tyrant.

...

"If there are no accidents, Your Highness, you should be able to become the seventh king of Ryan."

Arlan stood in front of a huge floor-to-ceiling window, looking up at the scenery outside the window.

Compared with what Sean saw before, Arlan now has a calm, confident and indifferent temperament. If Sean sees His Royal Highness Arlan again at this time, he will find that he is similar to the previous old king. There are many very similar overlaps.

This implicit aura of a superior has become more and more like a real ruler of the kingdom.

At this moment, the place where Arlan was located was also the study that the old king liked to stay in most.

It wasn't Arlan's personal attendant, Fanny, the Elven Absolute Sword, who spoke.

It was the Marquis of Flores who had been serving as the close confidant of His Majesty the former King.

He was wearing a well-tailored black dress, not the style favored by nobles, but more like a butler's dress. For a marquis with real power behind his back, wearing this kind of clothes is not a symbol of decency, but more like a servant, which is almost a humiliation. Just looking at the expression of the Marquis of Floris, it is obvious that he has no resistance to this kind of clothing.

"So, my sister has given up the competition?" Arlan did not reply immediately, but continued to stare at the busy traffic outside the window, and said after a long time, "She is now my most powerful contender, if I continue to fight Well, it's really hard to say who will win the game.... She must have other ideas if she gives up at this time? Tell me about her conditions."

"You know, there is some quarrel between Grand Duke Asuna and His Royal Highness Adams..." When Marquis Flores said this, he carefully observed Arlan, and after seeing that his expression was normal, he didn't seem to have any objection to it Then he continued: "Therefore, we must ensure that His Royal Highness Adams will not take any coercive actions against Grand Duke Asuna. This is the first point."

"Continue." Arlan nodded slightly, indicating that he had heard it.

"Princess Voorhees will move out of the royal capital and go to the territory of Grand Duke Asuna. I hope you can allow me." Marquis Floris continued.

According to the traditional rules, after the battle for succession to the throne fails, unless it is a person who died in the competition, they will usually leave the capital. However, only a very small number of people have the right to choose where they want to go. The vast majority of people will be placed in a territory directly under the management of the royal family for centralized and unified management. Apart from still retaining their status as nobles, these people In addition, it is basically equivalent to losing freedom, and its descendants want to return to the power center of the royal capital, and the effort they need to put in is several times that of others.

However, one of the most critical aspects of this tradition is that all female royal family members must abide by an ancient contract: as victims of political marriage, they must unconditionally obey the husband chosen for them by the current king. Of course, it is also possible to refuse. The Kingdom of Ryan is not so inhumane, but since it refuses the obligation, the result is that it will be deprived of the status of the royal family and nobility, and it is necessary to pay a "compensation fee" to compensate the royal family for so many years. nurture.

Her Royal Highness Princess Voorhees has a high reputation, and she is the top choice in terms of appearance and figure. If she fails to compete for an heir, she will become a very valuable political chip.

"Yes." This time, Allan nodded after being silent for a while, "Is there any more?"

"There is one more request." The Marquis of Floris said, "His Royal Highness Voorhees hopes that after you become king, you can open some trading policies that restrict the development of the Principality... which includes restrictions on the import and export of some products. , and the right to purchase rare products, etc. No”

"This requires further negotiation." Allan did not immediately agree this time, but chose to respond with reservations.

For Alan's choice, Floris also expressed his understanding.

"Lord Floris, if my sister leaves, what choice will you make?" Arlan said suddenly.

"I don't think His Highness Allan will feel relieved that I will stay in office, so I have basically arranged the relevant transfer procedures and work. It is absolutely possible for the heir designated by Your Highness to regain control of everything within a month." Buddha Loris seemed to have known this a long time ago, so he simply replied, "But before that, I want to remind His Highness one thing... about the assassination of His Majesty the King, and a series of assassinations in the capital before , There are still no clues and clues, the other party seems not to do it himself, but to execute the plan by buying murder, so..."

"I see." Arlan nodded slightly, with his back to Floris, there was a glint of haze in his eyes, his face was so gloomy that it seemed as if water would drip.

Not long ago, he encountered an assassination. If Fanny hadn't relied on the elf's keen sense of smell and her hidden strength to make her opponent miscalculate, in the face of that perfect siege, He estimated that there was no hope of surviving. But even so, he still suffered some injuries, and it gradually improved after a period of rest, and Fanny was also injured in order to protect him, which made Arlan hold back his anger.

In that assassination, all the evidence points directly or indirectly to Voorhees.

However, Allan was not a fool, his political sense was far superior to that of his younger brother Grein who was uniquely gifted in politics, so he didn't directly quarrel with Voorhees. Obviously, some people hope that the most direct conflict will erupt between Allan and Voorhees, and if we guess according to the thinking of this third-party profiteer, the person who arranges the layout is likely to be Glenn.

But Arlan's understanding of this younger brother was not inferior to that of Voorhees, so he knew that this was also impossible. Even based on this matter, he was able to draw a conclusion: the conspirators who assassinated the old king and tried to increase the level of infighting among the four heirs, so as to provoke the civil strife in the entire Ryan Kingdom, would definitely not be the four heirs one.

"Marquis Floris, you should be very clear about the final fate of a talent like you, right?"

"I know." Marquis Floris nodded.

"Don't tell me my sister has no plans to intercede for you?" Arlan finally turned his head and looked directly at Marquis Floris.

At this moment, the Marquis of Floris smiled: "With the kindness of Her Royal Highness Princess Vorshees, of course she interceded for me. In fact, my life can be regarded as an exchange. But... I don't think there is any Meaning, because it is impossible for you to agree to such a request, Your Highness Allan, after all, I know too many secrets."

"If you stay and help me, then this matter is not without discussion."

"His Royal Highness, thank you for your kindness, but the object of my loyalty is not the Kingdom of Ryan, but the previous King of Ryan." Floris smiled very satisfied.

"I understand." Arlan nodded slightly, "But before you officially leave, Marquis Floris, I have one thing to ask you."

"Your Highness, you are being polite." The Marquis of Floris was a little apprehensive.

"You should know about the recent events of Grand Duke Sean, right?"

The expression of Marquis Floris became a little weird.

As the intelligence leader of the Kingdom of Ryan who has not yet officially left his post, and a big figure who controls one-third of the underground dark forces in the entire kingdom, Floris naturally knows a lot of news. Even, when the tribes in the barren land that had already surrendered to the Principality of the Void suddenly had civil strife, he already knew that this matter was a conspiracy led by the Fascist Kingdom, but because the news came too late, coupled with The riot had already started, so he didn't have time to remind the Principality of the Void.

But to everyone's surprise, the Void Principality's response was not only extremely timely, but also extremely neat.

Only then did the Marquis of Floris know that the Duchy of the Void had hidden a hole card: a super strong man!

It is precisely because of the opening of this hole card that no one finds it inconceivable that the Void Principality will establish an empire later. In fact, in everyone's eyes, it would be the most incredible thing for a Void Principality with a superpower to sit in it if it does not want to get rid of its status as a vassal state and upgrade to an empire. But in the face of this matter, which seems to be a normal choice for everyone, it also makes countless people feel extremely worried and helpless.

Since when did the Void Principality become so powerful?

Nobody knows.

In the eyes of many people, the mysterious veil of the Void Principality has not been eliminated with the passage of time and people's understanding of this Principality and that Grand Duke, but it has become deeper and deeper.

"I know." The Marquis of Floris nodded, "According to the information I heard, the Duchy of the Void probably has more than one superpower.... Just about half a month ago, Grand Duke Xiao En had completely Occupying the wild fortress of the Millennium Covenant Empire, almost all the main army of the Void Principality is stationed here, and successfully resisted the invasion of an army of undead. After that... we declared war on the Fascist Kingdom."

Arlan's pupils shrank slightly, but he quickly calmed down the momentary loss of surprise: "What was the size of the undead army?"

Arlan naturally knew about the Void Principality declaring war on the Fascist Kingdom. It was not a secret at all. After all, Sean declared it directly and aboveboard. Of course, the outside world speculated that this was because Sean was unable to launch a surprise attack on the fascist kingdom. After all, this time, a mighty 300,000 army set off, and there was no way to conceal such a large movement, so it was better to declare war directly.

Arlan, who is almost the default king of the Kingdom of Ryan, knows better than others that the Kingdom of Ryan is currently close to the border of the Fascist Kingdom, and the lords and nobles are also a little bit ready to move. Especially the lord of Rome, Florence who was once the second pioneer knight under Asuna's command. The Marquis of Wiles personally led the Holy Roman Knights and the Roman Zealot Legion to move to the border.

Moreover, the Boulder family from the Tequila Territory and the Hopson family from the Black Mandala Territory, which is located on the border of the Fascist Kingdom and has small-scale conflicts all year round, have very obvious traces of war mobilization. The other is Florence, which is in the territory of Rome. After the Marquis of Wiles took action, the lord's private army from the Baidi family also began to take action. Large-scale strategic material resources were continuously mobilized in these four territories, forming a large-scale logistics supply line.

It was also at this time that the Marquis of Floris suddenly expressed his willingness to run for the throne on behalf of Voorhees.

Arlan naturally smelled a very unusual smell.

"Three hundred thousand." Floris replied, "I don't know the specific situation of the war, and I don't know the casualty rate, but I can be sure that Grand Duke Sean successfully resisted the invasion of the undead army. , and slew a fallen one."

"It seems that there is indeed more than one superpower." Arlan nodded, "Then how much do you know about Grand Duke Sean declaring war on the Fascist Kingdom this time?...His Royal Highness Voorhees, in It is too coincidental to propose a peace at this time."

"The Grand Duke Sean once sent a secret letter to the Marquis of Florence. Although the content is not clear, I guess it has something to do with the life experience of the Marquis of Florence." The Marquis of Flores knew it when he saw Arlan's expression. This prince must know a lot of things, "After all, Lord Florence was born in the Wiles family of the fascist kingdom, and he was chased and killed by his elder brother because he failed to participate in the competition for the head of the family. This time it is probably his A battle of vengeance."

"So what about the other people's movements?" Arlan asked with a smile.

"In fact, the other people were not invited by Grand Duke Sean, but by Lord Florence." The Marquis of Flores said, "In fact, Lord Asuna was not invited, but Princess Voorhees His Highness feels that the internal friction caused by continuing such competition is not conducive to the future development of the kingdom, so he intends to use this matter to give up the competition and return to the Duchy of Garrod with Grand Duke Asuna for a long-term stay."

"Are you going with the flow?" Arlan narrowed his eyes slightly.

But at this moment, Fanny suddenly appeared in this study.

Her appearance was obviously very abrupt, but it didn't give people any sense of disobedience, as if she had been in this study from the beginning, but everyone subconsciously ignored her existence, until now her sense of presence suddenly increased Only then did everyone realize that there was another person in the room.

"What's going on?" Arlan knew that Fanny would not show up in front of him unless there was any urgent matter. There must be something important about her sudden appearance at this moment.

"About one kilometer from the north gate of the capital, a black cavalry unit appeared." Fanny said with a strange expression, "Before this, no one noticed this unit at all, as if they appeared out of thin air I believe that if this army hadn’t taken the initiative to expose their tracks this time, I’m afraid we won’t find out until they appear under the city gate.”

"What's going on?" Arlan's face changed slightly, "Mysterious army? Is there any mark?"

"There is a flag, it is the square flag of the church, but the mark on the flag is something I have never seen before."

"What kind?" Marquis Floris asked.

"Red shading, the top of the square flag is a black crescent moon, and the bottom is a black spear inserted into the ground."

"It's the Spear of the Dark Moon." Floris' intelligence reserve is indeed much wider than that of Fanny, "It was originally a reserve-level force of the Twilight Church, but now it is the symbol of the strongest knight order of the Twilight Church. ...They should have come here for this bone invasion incident. It's just...the church troops as a support force didn't all go directly to the Millennium Covenant Empire? Why did the troops of the Twilight Church arrive at us?" 〖Unfinished to be continued〗【】