160: Kingdom Decision

A month had passed since Linn's figure disappeared from the Werewolf territory.

Holy Radiance City, the royal capital of Aolai.

Inside the towering palace, the atmosphere was heavy and oppressive. Half a month ago, King Alaric had issued an emergency decree, summoning the six powerful Marquises and the two Dukes to gather in the capital. Now, these titans who controlled the kingdom's vast territories and power were assembled in the council hall. Their gazes were focused on the solemn-faced middle-aged King on the throne and the chief executive officer, Aivik, standing sternly beside him.

Alaric's white hair was meticulously groomed. Wearing a golden crown and a deep purple royal robe embroidered with a lion crest, his long-held majesty naturally emanated from him. His gaze swept over the high-ranking officials below, who wore various expressions, as he spoke slowly, his voice echoing through the hall: "I have summoned you all here today to discuss a matter that I believe you have already guessed to some extent. Aivik, inform the lords of the intelligence."

chief executive officer Aivik took a step forward and unfurled a gold-trimmed parchment scroll. His voice was clear and devoid of emotion: "By His Majesty's command, I report the latest situation on the eastern border. Last year, in accordance with the kingdom's previous secret expansion order, the Lord of Star Sea Territory and Kingdom Count Linn successfully opened a passage from East Sea Prefecture to Laixi Deep Province, completing the first phase of the expansion mission."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the crowd before continuing: "Preliminary statistics show that in this westward advance, Count Linn defeated the allied forces of Goblins, Centaurs, Ogres, and other foreign races entrenched in the passage area. He has newly seized and effectively controls land totaling nearly... six hundred thousand square kilometers."

"Six hundred thousand?!"

"How is that possible?!"

"To have such battle results in such a short time?"

Suppressed exclamations and whispers instantly erupted in the hall. Even these great nobles, accustomed to grand events, were shaken by this number. Six hundred thousand square kilometers! That was almost equivalent to the combined area of several of the kingdom's wealthy provinces! How could a single Count, in one expansion campaign, swallow such a vast territory?

Marquis Ailisi, with a sinister face and sharp eyes, was the first to lose his composure. He stood up abruptly: "Your Majesty! This matter is suspicious! Such a large-scale military operation would surely be loud and grand, so why was there no reaction from the nearby Dwarf Kingdom? And those large Orcs tribes entrenched in the eastern part of the Great Wilderness Forest—we haven't heard of any coordinated attempts to block him? Could this Linn... be secretly colluding with the foreign races?"

His questioning immediately drew agreement from many. Marquis Golden Peacock, a noble whose flamboyant attire contrasted with an air of shrewdness and anxiety, also stood up quickly. His voice was urgent: "Your Majesty, Marquis Ailisi is absolutely right! The Dwarves have always been isolationist and frequently clash with our Human Race at the border. How could they sit by and watch a human lord expand by hundreds of thousands of square kilometers on their flank without doing anything? And those Orcss... there must be a hidden story behind this! I believe this Linn's ambitions are not small; he has already become a problem too big to handle! We cannot allow him to continue growing stronger!"

The core of Marquis Golden Peacock's territory was in Laixi Deep Province. The territory of Count Loren, which he had previously controlled in secret, now bordered Linn's new lands. His sense of crisis was the strongest.

Naturally, the crowd could not imagine that Linn had long ago formed a secret alliance with the Dwarf King, let alone that the Dwarf King would so trust and support a human Count. This blind spot made Linn's "smooth progress" seem exceptionally eerie and dangerous.

Seeing the King hesitate, Marquis Ailisi struck while the iron was hot, saying harshly: "Your Majesty, if we do not act when we should, we will only suffer for it! Linn now possesses the lands of two provinces (the Star Sea Islands and the newly expanded lands). His subordinates are elite and his generals are fierce, and he even has a Legendary Dragon as an ally! In time, he will surely become a mortal threat to the kingdom! I, of the Iris Family, am willing to mobilize all fifty thousand of my elite private troops to eliminate this hidden danger for the country!"

"I, of the Golden Peacock Family, am also willing to send fifty thousand troops to follow Your Majesty's orders and jointly suppress this disloyal subject!" Marquis Golden Peacock immediately declared. The two of them played off each other, their murderous intent clear.

Alaric's gaze turned toward the two Dukes who had remained silent—Duke Nocturne and the Duke Bauhinia. These two were far above the Marquises in terms of strength, territory, and influence; their attitudes were crucial.

Duke Nocturne, a steady-tempered and resolute-faced elder, stood as straight as a pine. He had previously cooperated with Linn against pirates and in certain trade matters, making them something like allies. Feeling the King's gaze, he rose slowly, his voice booming and steady: "Your Majesty, I believe that Marquis Ailisi and Marquis Golden Peacock are being somewhat alarmist and overly hasty."

He looked around at the crowd and continued: "First, Count Linn's westward advance was carried out in accordance with the secret orders previously issued by the kingdom, aimed at opening a passage and deterring foreign races, not an unauthorized military action. Secondly, as far as I know, Count Linn has clearly declared in public proclamations that all newly expanded lands belong to the Aolai Kingdom, and he is merely acting as a temporary administrator. This act is at least submissive on the surface, with no overt rebellion. If the kingdom were to brazenly send troops to attack a hero who has just expanded the kingdom's borders, how would the people of the world view the Royal Family? What would other border lords think? Wouldn't it chill the hearts of all those who defend and expand our borders for the country?"

The Duke Bauhinia, on the other hand, appeared completely unruffled. His hair and beard were white, and a gentle but inscrutable smile always hung on his face. He stood up leisurely, stroked his beard, and played both sides: "Well... I am old, and I am truly a bit confused by these matters of fighting and killing. Count Linn's ability to expand the territory shows he is a capable official; my colleagues' concerns about his power becoming hard to control are also for the long-term peace and stability of the kingdom. Both sides have their points. I am dull-witted and find it difficult to decide for a moment, so I shall leave it entirely to Your Majesty's wise and sole judgment." This was a typical neutral stance, caring only that the interests of the Bauhinia Family remained unharmed.

Seeing Duke Nocturne speak up for Linn, Marquis Ailisi became anxious, and his voice rose: "Lord Duke! You are nursing a tiger that will eventually cause trouble! That Linn has a Legendary Dragon's help and now possesses hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of territory. His legions are fierce in battle. Do you think his ambitions will be satisfied with being a mere Count or even a Marquis? If we don't act now, do we wait until his wings are fully grown, or even... until he reaches the Legendary rank? Who will be able to stop him then?"

At this moment, they never dreamed that Linn had already quietly stepped into the Legendary realm, and his dragon partner, Daisy, had already promoted to an Epic-level existence. This lag in information caused them to severely underestimate the terrifying high-end combat power of the Star Sea Territory.

Just as the debate in the court grew more heated and Alaric frowned, weighing the pros and cons, a peaceful yet invisibly majestic voice rang out, instantly silencing the hall.

"Your Majesty, I have a word."

The speaker was an old man sitting in a special seat slightly below the King. He wore a simple grey mage robe and a starry badge on his chest symbolizing his status as a Nine-Ring Archmage. He was the Kingdom's Chief Court Mage, the Legendary Expert—Gordon. He rarely participated in specific political affairs, but his status was transcendent, and his every word and action carried great weight.

Archmage Gordon slowly opened his half-closed eyes, his gaze clear and deep as if he could see through human hearts: "I have met Count Linn once. Observing his words and deeds, although he is ambitious and determined to progress, he is not a completely witless or arrogant man. Since he has publicly declared that the new lands belong to the kingdom, the possibility of him directly breaking ties in the short term is low. If the kingdom actively attacks now, first, there is no legitimate reason, making it easy to lose the people's support; second, it would push him completely to the opposite side, forcing him to resist with all his might, and might even force that Legendary Dragon to stand completely against the kingdom. Once the war falls into a stalemate or expands, it will consume the kingdom's foundations."

He paused, his tone shifting: "Moreover, I have just received urgent military intelligence from the eastern border's Brussels Province. Jokic, the leader of the Werewolf Clan who fled to the west, has been confirmed to have broken through to the Legendary rank. In the name of revenge and plunder, he is aggressively gathering the remnants of the foreign races defeated on the Western Front and the scattered Orcs tribes in the western mountains. He has assembled an allied force claiming to be two hundred thousand strong and is fiercely attacking the border of Brussels Province. Brussels Province was only recently established by the kingdom and its defenses are not yet solid; the situation is quite critical right now."

Gordon's gaze swept over Marquis Ailisi and Marquis Golden Peacock: "Compared to a border lord who has not yet openly rebelled and whose newly acquired land needs time to be integrated, a twenty-thousand-strong foreign army led by a Legendary Werewolf King is a real threat to the kingdom's territory and its people. The disaster of foreign races concerns our racial survival space; the priority of this threat should be above internal potential conflicts."

Archmage Gordon's speech was like a bucket of cold water, dousing the agitation of some of the pro-war faction and making Alaric's gaze much firmer. The judgment of a Legendary Expert and the real flames of war burning at the border carried more weight than the arguments in the court.

The hall fell into a brief silence, leaving only the faint sound of the King's finger lightly tapping the armrest of the throne.

After a long while, Alaric III finally made a decision. He straightened his body, and his majestic voice spread through the hall:

"Issue the orders!"

"First, command the nobles of the Northern Border to immediately form an allied force and send two hundred thousand troops. Mobilize one hundred thousand of the Northern Border's regular royal army. A total of three hundred thousand troops will be personally led by the Empire's Marshal, the Legendary Expert Monde, to rush to the aid of Brussels Province! We must crush Werewolf King Jokic and his foreign allied forces. Brussels Province must not be lost!"

"Second, Linn, the Lord of Star Sea Territory, has performed meritorious service in expanding our territory. Effective immediately, he is promoted to Duke, governing the Star Sea Islands, East Sea Province, and Rhine Province, with a total of approximately six hundred thousand square kilometers as his legal fief. He is permitted to appoint and reward titles of Viscount and below. All construction, defense, official appointments, and expenses within the territory shall be borne by the Duke of Star Sea himself; the kingdom will not provide financial, food, or military support."

"Third, command Marquis Golden Peacock to select a site and build 'Grey Fortress' at the strategic border point where Laixi Deep Province meets Rhine Province. It shall be garrisoned with elite troops to strengthen border defenses and prepare for any contingencies."

Once the orders were given, the intention of combined appeasement and precaution was clear. Promotion to Duke was a recognition of extremely high honor and status, but "bearing everything himself" meant the kingdom would not give substantial help, serving as a form of restriction and test. Building Grey Fortress was a tangible military deterrent and border blockade.

Alaric's gaze became sharp: "My lords, you must prioritize national affairs. Resolve the threat of the foreign races first and stabilize the borders. As for Linn, the Duke of Star Sea... I hope he conducts himself well and maintains his loyalty as a subject. Court is adjourned!"

As the court session ended, the high-ranking officials had various thoughts. Duke Nocturne's face was calm, but he felt a sense of relief for Linn; at least he had gained precious time. Marquis Ailisi and Marquis Golden Peacock exchanged a glance; though unwilling, the King had made his decision, and they could only execute it. Meanwhile, they secretly decided to speed up the construction of Grey Fortress and more closely monitor every move of that new Duke in the east.

Archmage Gordon slowly rose and looked toward the east, his gaze carrying a hint of subtle meaning.

The storm had temporarily shifted to Brussels Province in the west. But in the east, would that "spark" of the Star Sea Territory, which seemed restricted and isolated, silently flicker out, or would it gather even more terrifying power and quietly start a prairie fire?

Only time would provide the answer. And Linn, clearly, would not waste a single moment of this hard-won time.