115: internal countercurrent

Only a dozen or so elders remained in the council hall.

Bradley sat in his seat with his head lowered, saying nothing; the scene fell into a cold silence.

Several elders who had just spoken all looked at Santos; it was clear that the previous speeches had all been orchestrated by him.

With a smile on his face, Santos called out softly.

“Great Elder!”

Bradley did not react, still keeping his head down in silence.

“Great Elder!”

“It wasn't that I took matters into my own hands, but I didn't expect the invading Trolls to be so strong this time, or that His Grace the Grand Duke would decide on the commander of the reinforcements during this meeting.”

“Originally, I planned to ask for your instructions after this meeting to lead the reinforcements to support Frostchill Fortress myself.”

“I didn't expect such an accident to occur, so we can only ask you to step in. After all, I can't handle a Legendary-level opponent.”

At this moment, Bradley suddenly spoke:

“Do you want the Council of Elders to lead the troops that badly?”

“Santos, you should know that leading troops into battle has always been the responsibility of His Grace the Grand Duke, not our Council of Elders.”

Santos nodded repeatedly.

“Of course I know, Great Elder!”

“But now we have no choice but to fight for it. If we let the Grand Duke continue to act so recklessly, will there still be a place for our Council of Elders to stand?”

“Ever since the Grand Duke subdued that Ice Dragon thirteen years ago, his strength has increased greatly, and he has become increasingly dissatisfied with our Council of Elders.”

“Ten years ago, he stripped Lucos of his elder status just because of some minor mistakes and sent him to guard the Family Plane.”

“Six years ago, the Grand Duke seized upon another small fault and stripped Alexandra of her elder status, sending her to guard the Magic Stone Mine.”

“What's even more excessive is that the year before last, the Grand Duke claimed without any evidence that Elder Tiffany had been tainted by chaos corruption and worshipped a Demon God, executing her without the council's consent.”

“Great Elder!”

As Santos spoke, he actually began to cry, tearfully accusing the Grand Duke of Cold Wind's atrocities to Bradley.

“How long has it been? In just thirteen years, the Council of Elders has lost three elders, and how many new members have joined the council in these thirteen years?”

“Only one! Great Elder!”

“Only one poor person! At this rate, the Council of Elders will collapse in a few years.”

Bradley finally raised his head, his gloomy eyes on his aged face staring at Santos.

“So, what do you want to do?”

“What do you want me to do?”

Bradley's words were devoid of emotion, as cold as the biting wind blowing from the Far North Icefield.

“Great Elder, it's not about what I want to do; we just want the family's traditions to continue. We are merely saving ourselves.”

“If His Grace the Grand Duke leads the reinforcements this time, with his strength supplemented by that Ice Dragon, Ugus will definitely be no match for him.”

“If, just if the Grand Duke slays Ugus and returns in triumph, even more people within the family will support him.”

“At that time, if His Grace wants to implement his Mage Academy reform plan and redistribute the ratio of Warrior Classes to Spellcasters entering the Cold Wind Spire once again, how should we respond?”

“Great Elder!”

When Santos mentioned the Mage Academy reform plan, Bradley's gaze suddenly became sharp.

“Shut up!”

“The Grand Duke is the master of the Cold Wind Territory and the head of the family. Whatever the Grand Duke does naturally has its reasons; it is not for you to speculate, Santos!”

Bradley looked with some disappointment at the disciple he once valued the most; in terms of blood relation, Santos was the grandson of his elder brother.

From any perspective, Santos was the person Bradley trusted most, which was why Bradley chose to support him when Santos suddenly spoke up to contradict Marshall at the meeting earlier.

But now Bradley felt a sense of helplessness; the dozen or so elders before him were looking at him as if he were their savior, trying to get him to block Marshall.

How could Bradley not know the methods of Marshall, the current Grand Duke of Cold Wind?

Having lived for nearly three hundred years, Bradley had seen many storms. He had watched Marshall grow up, and he had seen everything this Grand Duke in his prime had done.

The Council of Elders was established by the First Grand Duke of Cold Wind, who was a mage. It was initially created with the hope that the council could help him govern the Cold Wind Territory, allowing the first Grand Duke more time to study the mysteries of magic.

At that time, the Council of Elders was the Grand Duke's best assistant, not only helping to govern the Cold Wind Territory but also serving as mage assistants to aid the first Grand Duke in his experiments.

After the First Grand Duke of Cold Wind passed away, the most qualified person to take over was a Legendary Ice Mage from the Cold Wind Family.

However, that successor was unwilling to inherit the position of Grand Duke, wanting only to study the mysteries of magic within the Cold Wind Spire. Thus, he gave up the position of Grand Duke and instead took over as the Speaker of the Council of Elders.

For this reason, from the second Grand Duke of Cold Wind to the current fourth Grand Duke, Marshall, all three had backgrounds as Warrior Classes.

Because of their backgrounds, the Warrior Class Grand Dukes and the Spellcaster council elders naturally had some disagreements, the core of which was the ratio of personnel entering the Cold Wind Spire for cultivation.

The spots for cultivation within the Cold Wind Spire were limited, and these spots had always been overwhelmingly occupied by Ice Mages, while the number of Warrior Classes was minuscule.

This disagreement began to surface with the third Grand Duke of Cold Wind and intensified after Marshall took over. The Grand Duke's dissatisfaction with the Council of Elders was well-known within the Cold Wind Family.

As the Great Elder, Bradley only wanted to maintain the status quo. He was too old; he was three hundred years old this year, an age that reached the end of an Early Legendary Rank's lifespan. He couldn't even say how many more years he had left.

What reaction could he still have to Marshall's actions now?

“You useless lot, if even one of you could break through to the Legendary rank, would these things still be happening?”

“If two of you broke through to the Legendary rank, would the Grand Duke still be dissatisfied with the council?”

“What's the use of saying all this?”

“I've agreed to your request this time, acted as commander, and returned victorious—but what's the use?”

“If one day I die and Marshall pushes forward his reforms, what will you use to stop him? Your silver tongue?”

“Santos!”

Bradley's words deeply pierced the hearts of all the elders present, while Santos bent down and buried his head so that no one could see his face hidden beneath.

“Alright, that's enough!”

“Go back and get ready. The military situation at Frostchill Fortress is urgent and cannot be delayed. We head north tomorrow.”

“Yes, Great Elder!”

On the other side, after Marshall returned, he told several Court Ministers the news of Bradley leading the reinforcements north, and they were all extremely indignant.

“Your Grace, what is the Great Elder doing? Leading troops into battle is your right; how dare they do this?”

“It seems these old fogies are desperate, afraid that Your Grace will continue to take action against them!”

Marshall didn't care much about it.

“The Great Elder is old and doesn't want to make a fuss anymore. This time, it was that useless Santos's sudden whim that disrupted my plans. I think the Great Elder was also somewhat surprised.”

“But it doesn't matter. It's just a matter of a few years earlier or later. I can afford to wait!”

“Arrange the army; we depart with the Great Elder tomorrow. Frostchill Fortress must not be lost!”

“Although the Great Elder is old, his strength is not weak at all. Having been immersed in the Early Legendary Rank for nearly two hundred years, that Ugus will be no match for him!”

Although Marshall looked down on those elders in the council who occupied vast resources and only sucked the family's blood, he still held great respect for the Great Elder, Bradley.

After everything was settled, Frost Heart Castle returned to tranquility. A Crow flashed through the shadows of the Cold Wind Spire and then disappeared.