178: Turbulence

"Your Majesty, great news! Your Majesty!"

The court baron joyfully delivered the victory report to Golden King Bjorn, who was busy handling government affairs.

"Your Majesty, Marquis Wilhelm has sent a victory report. The Battle of St. Landon City has ended, and Marquis Wilhelm has won a decisive victory. His Excellency the Marquis not only personally slew a Legendary Chaos Demon but also wiped out an entire Demon Legion."

"The Chaos Demon Abyss rift near St. Landon City has been repaired, and the spatial passage has been completely sealed. Marquis Wilhelm said that in another four or five days, the demons scattered around St. Landon City can be completely eliminated."

Hearing the good news, a long-absent smile finally appeared on Bjorn's solemn face.

"His Excellency Wilhelm is truly the King's Sword, completing Your Majesty's orders quickly and efficiently."

Seeing Bjorn smile, the court baron immediately began to heap praise upon Wilhelm.

"Enough. Tell Wilhelm to leave the scattered Chaos Demons for St. Landon City to handle themselves, and have him take the Holy Sword Legion to the Southern Border."

"A large Extra-planar Passage has appeared near the Pudun Forest. Duke Blackwater is having some trouble suppressing the threat from the alien races; have Wilhelm go and help with the suppression."

Since the end of the Dragon Calamity last year, Bjorn had been exceptionally busy, with various major events constantly requiring his attention.

Especially recently, a large number of Plane Passages and spatial rifts have appeared throughout the kingdom.

Each of these Sub-planes represents either a major crisis or immense profit; either way, they bring trouble, and often significant trouble that requires the royal family to intervene.

Furthermore, the Chaos Demon Abyss has been unusually active lately. Dozens of spatial rifts connecting to the Chaos Demon Abyss have been reported across the kingdom, three of which are large-scale rifts with a threat level reaching the Legendary rank.

Facing the crisis of the Chaos Demons, Bjorn dispatched three powerful legions to subjugate the invading demons, while the crises of smaller Chaos rifts could only be left to the nearby dukes to suppress.

In addition to subjugating the Chaos Demons, Bjorn also sent several powerful teams to explore the Sub-Plane Passages appearing on the Golden Plains. So far, several teams have returned with good news, having gained much from their journeys into the Sub-planes.

There are also reports that some Extra-planar Passages lead to powerful Sub-planes; conquering such Sub-planes would require more troops and a longer time.

Bjorn estimated in his heart that after spending a few years pacifying these Sub-planes, the royal family's strength would increase significantly, and perhaps the accumulated resources could cultivate one or two more Legendary Experts.

"Your Majesty, Marquis Carol seeks an audience!"

The court baron's voice interrupted Bjorn's thoughts.

"Let him in!"

A moment later, Carol, the Eagle Marquis, entered Bjorn's study.

"Your Majesty, your most loyal Eagle, Carol, sends his greetings!"

"Rise, my Eagle!"

"Do you have any good news for me?"

Bjorn's attitude toward a right-hand man like Carol was very relaxed.

"Your Majesty, the Patrollers have sent word. A few days ago, there were large-scale spatial fluctuations in the Endless Forest beyond the Southern Border. The Patrollers discovered that these fluctuations were caused by the Elves, though the specifics remain unknown. None of the Patrollers who went to investigate deeply have returned; they are all lost within the forest."

"Additionally, the Eagle Eyes have detected Elves appearing in the Grand Duke of Emerald's territory, and Elves have been seen at the Grand Duke's residence. The Grand Duke of Emerald has had several secret meetings with these Elves, the details of which are currently unknown."

Hearing what Carol said, Bjorn's movements paused for a moment.

"The Endless Forest... it seems those long-dormant Elves are becoming active again."

"Just have the Eagle Eyes and Shadows monitor them. Emerald has Elven blood in his veins, so it's only natural for those point-ears to visit Emerald Castle. As long as the Emerald family does not betray the kingdom, they are free to contact whomever they wish."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty, this is the intelligence regarding the Dwarves."

"The High King on Eight Peaks Mountain has convened a Council of Kings to discuss sanctions against the kingdom, planning to restrict weapon trade and significantly increase taxes on various types of commerce."

The news about the Dwarves gave Bjorn a massive headache.

"What on earth is the star shatterer's bloodline doing? They've been constantly provoking us these past few years, and last year they even talked about redefining the Ancient Covenant. Has our High King gone senile?"

Thinking of the Dwarves' actions over the last few years, Bjorn felt quite irritated.

"Your Majesty, reports from the Patrollers reflect that the attitude toward humans within the various Dwarf Clans has begun to turn cold over these past few years, and some rumors have surfaced among the Dwarves."

"What rumors?"

"They say that the decline of the Dwarf Empire was caused by us humans. They claim the Dwarves' lives are difficult because treacherous human merchants have seized all the profits, and that humans are sucking the blood of the Dwarves to sustain themselves."

"Furthermore, a blood relative of the current High King was assassinated by an assassin from the Assassins Court. Rumors suggest that the Assassins Court was established by us humans, which has made the High King extremely furious."

Bjorn slammed his desk heavily and said angrily, "These rumors are a deliberate attempt to sow discord between humans and Dwarves. Who is behind this?"

"Cultists? Or some other power?"

"There are signs of the Demon God Cult and Cultists near Eight Peaks Mountain. It's unclear which faction it is, but it's certain that a force is hiding in the Shadows, trying to turn the Dwarves and humans against each other."

"Have your people keep a close watch. Also, dispatch the Ordinance Knights to conduct a purge of the Cultists within our borders."

There are only a few factions that would want to drive a wedge between the two races; Bjorn could more or less guess who they were. They were all old rivals, and it was impossible to resolve everything at once, so he could only counter their moves as they came.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"Besides these matters, many Plane Passages have appeared across the Four Borders of the kingdom in the last few days. These Plane Passages have already caused several high-ranking nobles to begin clashing in secret, and the situation in the Four Borders is somewhat unstable."

Bjorn stood up and looked out the window; the prosperous Golden City came into view.

"These Plane Passages were all caused by the large-scale Spatial Storm that appeared not long ago. Come to think of it, it's been centuries since a Spatial Storm of such magnitude has occurred."

"The Grand Dukes of the Four Borders know the rules; a few Sub-planes aren't enough to make them go to war with each other."

"However, surveillance of the Northern Border must be strengthened. The Cold Wind Territory has just undergone a major upheaval, and its control over the Northern Border has declined significantly. If something happens in the Northern Border now, they won't have the capacity to maintain order."

"The Stag Family is in continuous turmoil and can barely look after itself, while the raging bear is too young and lacks sufficient strength. Currently, the only place where a major change could occur is the Northern Border."

"We must prevent what happened in the Cold Wind Territory from occurring again. Keep a close eye on the Demon God Cult and the Evil God Believers."

Carol nodded to show he understood.

"Yes, Your Majesty. I will dispatch an additional group of Patrollers and Eagle Eyes to the Northern Border."

After Carol left, Bjorn threw himself back into his heavy workload. Compared to fighting on the battlefield, handling government affairs gave this king much more of a headache.