Realm of Power

First of all, I would like to state that this chapter was not written by Baozi. The reason why I posted it is to let you know the background of the article.

Preface: My child, I am old and can no longer hold the sword in my hand, but I want to tell you that no matter when, we can never lose the glory of the nobles of the Karad Empire. We still have to fight to restore peace in the Calradia continent until the last person dies and the last drop of blood is shed. Now I am leaving. While I still have a chance to breathe, I want to write down what happened in the Karad Empire over the past 40 years. I hope you can get spiritual improvement from what I write.

Chapter 1: Besieged on all sides

We are descendants of the old king of Karad, but not direct descendants, but close relatives. I grew up in Paraven and spent a wonderful childhood in the most glorious period of the Karad Empire. At that time, Paraven was the most prosperous town in the entire empire. The streets were full of goods and everything was available. People came and went, and the traffic was busy. The nobles sat in gorgeous sedan chairs to attend various banquets, singing and dancing every day, gambling every day, visiting the arena, and playing with women. I had the honor of meeting the old king several times. He was a very kind old man with white hair and beard, deep eyes, not good at talking, but sincere to people. Every time I stood in front of him, it was like standing under a mountain, making people feel ashamed. Once when he passed by the palace, he saw us playing with a wounded bird. He walked slowly over and told us that we must be tolerant and not kill innocent people. I have never forgotten the look and tone of his words. Watching him leave, his brows were furrowed and his steps were heavy, as if he was carrying thousands of mountains on his back. At that time, I had no idea what happened. It was not until later that I learned that the Nords had started to attack Zhivacherze again.

Damn Nords, the entire Calradia continent hates them. They are brave, loyal, and extremely greedy. They don't belong here, but they drive small boats to seek to occupy a corner of Calradia. The old king was a kind person. He always took a conciliatory attitude towards foreigners and set aside certain areas for them to live. The Khergits, Sarranids and Vaegirs were all like this. Therefore, he was deeply respected by the Khergits, Sarranids and Vaegirs. However, the Nords adopted a brutal offensive strategy from the beginning, instead of asking the old king to treat them the same as other foreigners. Under this circumstance, the nobles could no longer tolerate the conciliatory policy that the old king had always adopted, and they all asked for orders to attack the Nords.

The war began in Zhivacherze, which was a fortress in the north of the Calradia continent. Without Zhivacherze, the Nords would march straight in. The war finally started. The Nords came from the sea in an endless stream, and died on the beach in batches. At that time, I had just entered adulthood and went with the army. I witnessed the cruelty of the entire war with my own eyes. What should be admired is the brave and fearless spirit of the Nords. They captured Zhivacherze at all costs, but were repeatedly blocked. However, in comparison, our losses were even more severe. At that time, as long as the war horn sounded, it meant a life-and-death gamble. During this period, I met a young man named Bandak, a Rhodok, who was very accurate with a crossbow. Although he was young, he was humble. I also met another person, but unfortunately I have forgotten his name. After he retired, we exchanged letters several times. In the letters, he talked about the unfortunate death of his wife and the son he left behind, named Airen.

The war in Zhiwacheze has been in a stalemate. Our kind old king finally decided to negotiate a ceasefire and negotiate with the Nords, and the Nords agreed. At that time, our imperial commander Eastrich ordered me to be responsible for the reception. At that time, I finally met the leader of the Nords - Gundin. Herebrex, a leader who was extremely respected and loved by the Nords. When I first met Gundin. Herebrex, I felt as if I saw a pirate leader. I saw that he had messy hair, untidy clothes, arrogant and domineering, ignoring others, but he had excellent leadership and military talents, and he was also a warmonger and an ambitious person. The harsh conditions he proposed during the negotiations often made people extremely annoyed. We always felt that we were the host instead of the guest. However, our commander, Eastritch, was also a wise man. Although the entire negotiation was very difficult, it was finally settled. The condition was that the Kingdom of Karad would uphold the same attitude towards the Khergits, Sarani and Vaegirs, and designate the coastal areas along the Rivacherze line as the residence of the Nords. At the same time, the Nords must live and work in peace and contentment like the Khergits, Sarani and Vaegirs, and avoid trouble, maintain the stability of the Calradia continent, and be subject to the rule of the Kingdom of Karad. Otherwise, the old king would gather troops from all regions of the empire to eliminate the Nords. Under such conditions, a peace agreement was finally reached.

In fact, the imperial commander Eastritch had always been resentful of the old king's strategy of appeasing and avoiding war, and was even more indignant after seeing through the ambitions of the Nords. Back then, the entire Kara Empire had no other foreign races except the Rhodok. However, with the influx of the Khergits, Vaegirs, and Sarands, conflicts occurred from time to time in the surrounding areas, and disputes between ethnic groups often occurred due to border issues. Now, they have agreed to allow the restless Nords to enter the Calradia continent. This is obviously inviting wolves into the house and courting their own destruction. If other foreign races move in, wouldn't the entire continent be divided up by foreign races one by one? Whenever Eastritch thinks of this, he feels very uneasy and very emotional.

However, it is gratifying that the whole continent has finally returned to peace. Gradually, there are more and more banquets. We have nothing to do in our spare time, so we basically soak in the banquets and attract those beautiful daughters of nobles. During this period, we met Estril, the daughter of Eastrich. She is a very beautiful woman, dignified and quiet, different from the daughters of ordinary nobles, which makes us very fascinated. At the end of the year, a grand celebration was held, and lords from all over the country came to Paraven. At that time, I saw the chief of the Sarand tribe, Ezar, and his beautiful wife Alva, met Jerak and his two sons, and also met many chiefs of the Vaegir and Rhodok tribes. Because this celebration was held to celebrate the peace of Calradia again, the controversial Nord leader Gundin. Herebrex did not attend, but sent his subordinate Hakrim to come. Hakrim brought his son Levens, who was still a child at the time, smart and lively, and very pleasing.

Life was spent in peace, with not much work except border patrol. During this time, I went to Kurma Castle, a fortress in the west of Calradia, and went east through Zenda and all the way to Wocheze. When I passed Zenda, I had the opportunity to visit this historic castle, but what surprised me was that the slave business here was particularly good, especially a slave trader named Ramon, who was the most famous here. What's more interesting is that no matter the quality of the slaves, he would charge 50 dinars. Many people called him stupid, and I thought so at the time.

However, something happened soon, and it happened in Zenda. It turned out that the man named Ramon was a Nord. On the one hand, he was gathering intelligence, and on the other hand, he kept buying slaves. One was that the Nords had just arrived, the population was small, and the fields were short of manpower, so a large amount of labor was needed, and the second was to expand the military force. Suddenly, the border town was in chaos again, and the news was sent to Paraven by fast horses.

However, at this time, the old king was already terminally ill, unconscious, and was about to die. So the nobles convened a meeting overnight, appointed Eastritch as the commander, and attacked the Nords again, sending troops to Zhivacherze. However, it was lamentable that the Nords defended the city too strongly, and arrows were fired at them randomly, causing countless casualties among the imperial soldiers. They had no choice but to siege from all sides. In this situation, Zhivacherze's food and water sources continued to be consumed, and finally requested peace talks. Eastritch was in distress as to whether to negotiate peace. He knew that the Nords were greedy and bloodthirsty, so how could he be trusted? Once peace talks were made, there would be endless troubles. However, just when he was extremely distressed, great bad news came - the old king passed away, and the entire empire suddenly lost its axis.

Eastritch was really angry to the extreme. The kingdom died, and the country lost its center of gravity. The country could not be without a master for a day, so it had to return to Paraven to determine the heir and ensure the continuation of the empire. Therefore, he had to agree to the Nords' peace agreement, march westward, and return to Paraven.

The old king had passed away, and it was difficult for the nobles to decide who would be the heir. At this time, the news of the war between Vigia and Khergit came. The Khergits occupied a large area of ​​forest in Vigia, and the war was still going on. This undoubtedly aggravated the instability of the empire, which was really adding insult to injury. The country cannot be without a ruler for a day, and it is most important to determine the successor as soon as possible. Therefore, the third day after the king's death was chosen for parliamentary discussion. No matter what, a new king must be chosen.

On the third day, all the lords gathered in the hall of Paraven. However, these lords hardly included any lords from foreign races. Why not invite foreign lords? In fact, this is exactly what Commander Eastrich intended. In addition, according to the long-standing tradition of the Calradia continent, if the king has children, then he will choose from his children. If he has no children, then he will choose from the king's closest relatives.

The meeting began. Eastrich stood in the center of the hall and delivered the following speech:

"Lords of the Karad Empire:

Under the wise leadership of the old king, we have been ruling the Calradia continent and those foreign races, so that they dare not challenge our authority. However, with the death of the old king, those foreign races have reduced their loyalty to us. The declaration of war between the Khergit and the Vigia in disregard of the sacred laws of the empire is a clear proof. This is completely a challenge to the authority of the empire because they think that we are no longer able to rule them. We must not allow such a thing to happen. We must stop this bad behavior.

We have to admit the kindness of the old king. He has demarcated strict autonomous areas for each foreign race, allowing them to share the power of the Karad Empire. Civilization, however, these foreign races have failed the old king's kindness, and instead think that we can be bullied, so they continue to expand their territory and threaten our rule. The Nords are the best example.

Dear Lords, the glory of the Calradi Empire has dimmed, and the foreign races are growing stronger and have infiltrated our homeland and are competing with us. I believe that the foreign races will soon replace us as the new rulers of Calradia, and we may become their slaves, or even be driven to the snowy mountains and driven out of the Calradia continent. Where will we go?

Lords, we must not ignore the expansion of foreign races. We can either drive them out of the Calradia continent or strangle their power in the cradle. We must make a choice, otherwise we will definitely be replaced."

……

Estrage's speech stabbed the hearts of every lord like a sharp knife. In the speech, only some people were indignant, some sighed, some were eager to fight, and some were gritting their teeth. In fact, this is exactly the case. The continuous infiltration of foreign races has caused many contradictions and conflicts in the surrounding areas. They ignore the ban of the empire and continue to erode and weaken the empire, and even infiltrate the interests of many lords attending this meeting.

Originally, this meeting was to elect the king, but the topic was dragged to a deeper level. Everyone's enthusiasm for the election of the king has been completely wiped out by Eastridge's words, but this meeting is to elect a new king after all. In fact, the old king's sons are not much different in wisdom and stupidity. If the old king's kindness is a kind of cowardice, then his sons are even worse. Everyone seems to understand that the long-standing tradition of Calradia can no longer meet the current requirements. The internal contradictions of the empire have intensified and crises are everywhere. Without an excellent king, the entire empire will inevitably perish.

Everyone turned their eyes to Eastrich, the commander of the empire. Everyone also understood that Eastrich was deeply trusted by the old king and had the highest reputation. In times of crisis, only Eastrich had the ability to take on the responsibility of the entire empire. However, according to the long-standing tradition, Eastrich could not become the king of the Karad Empire. Just when all the lords were at a loss, Eastrich said a candidate in his mind, the eldest son of the old king, and announced that he would continue to serve as the commander of the empire to resist foreign infiltration and stop conflicts.

At this time, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief, but this sigh was not because of the selection of a new king, but because of Eastrich, who became everyone's reliance, and more people thought that it was time to revise the long-standing king's succession code.

Chapter 2 Difficult Mission

On the fourth day after the old king's death, the Karad Empire announced that the old king's eldest son, Anches, was the new king. At the same time, a state funeral was held and the king's coronation ceremony was prepared.

At this time, the war between the Kugits and the Vaegirs had not yet ended. After occupying most of the Vaegir forests, the Kugits continued to march northeast and deep into the snow-capped mountains. Vaegir had to ask Anches to mediate. After receiving the emergency letter from Vaegir, Anches hurriedly summoned the lords for discussion.

In fact, Anches meant to mediate so that both sides could maintain the designated autonomous areas, but all the lords disagreed. The Kugits were becoming increasingly powerful, and the Vaegir forests that they had finally occupied would not be easily returned. Moreover, the imperial army had just withdrawn from Zhiwacherze and still needed to be repaired. The lords' opinions were obviously related to what Eastrich said before. It was not easy for the foreign races to have a large-scale fight, and they were nothing more than self-weakening. When both sides were exhausted to a certain extent, the empire would send troops to eliminate the two foreign races at once.

The entire meeting was held in a relatively warm atmosphere, but it was difficult to make a decision, and Anches was hesitant. In fact, Anches's worries are not unreasonable. After all, the Khergits and the Vaegirs are subordinate to the Empire and are also part of the Empire. It is still unknown why there is a conflict between them. It is difficult to judge whose fault it is from the one-sided statement of Vaegir's request for mediation, so we cannot rush to send troops. Anches had to go down the steps to ask for Estril's advice. In fact, during the whole discussion, Estril didn't know why he always kept silent, just listening to everyone's discussion quietly, which surprised me.

Hearing Anches' words, Estril said the following:

"Dear King, dear lords, I think it is not appropriate to send troops at this time. The previous battle with the Nords caused great damage, and the army has not yet rested. We still don't know why the battle between Vaegir and the Khergits broke out, so we can only send a mediation envoy to investigate the cause of the entire war, so that we can mediate. If mediation fails, it is not a bad idea to send troops again."

Hearing what Istrel said, the lords naturally understood, and at the same time, Istrich recommended Count Mijod to mediate, and Anches was very happy. And I was ordered to go with him.

On the way to Vigia, I asked Count Mijod why Istrich kept silent that day, and he didn't speak until Anches asked him. When Mijod heard my question, his face suddenly showed a very contradictory mood, and he seemed to have many difficulties. We all know that Mijod was brought up by Istrich, and participated in many wars together. He can be said to be Istrich's confidant. I realized that I was asking a very stupid question, so I didn't ask it anymore, and Mijod stopped talking. At this moment, except for the sound of horse hooves, the whole world seemed particularly quiet.

We soon arrived at Dremag, and heard that the front line had moved to the Sageche area, so there was no time to rest. We traveled day and night and finally arrived at the border area between Vigia and Kugit-Sageche.

We were greeted by Bellerek, the younger brother of the Vaegir chieftain, Kalukia. When we arrived at the camp, we saw only wounded soldiers and heard only groans. The scene was horrible. Bellerek introduced the war as we walked, and what we were most concerned about was why the war between Vaegir and Khergit happened.

Finally sitting down, Bellerek said the following:

"Do you know who the Kugits are? They are just a bunch of bastards. Their land can do nothing but raise horses. In the past few years, they could make a living by collecting spices and selling horse meat, but what about these years? , their population is increasing and food is insufficient, so they often plunder our villages, rob passing merchants, and intend to Occupying our forest, you know, you can hunt, pick wild fruits, cut wood, and avoid thieves in the forest. My brother, our clan leader, finally couldn't bear it anymore and led his troops to protect our forest, but he was brutally killed. A major defeat, the forest was occupied, and the battle line has been moved to the Sajiche area, and we will go deep into our hinterland..."

Michod and I sat and listened to Belek's words and curses. Our mood at that time was really indescribable. The misery and helplessness of the Vigians and the arrogance and greed of the Kugits sometimes made our moods change. Speaking of this, Belek hurriedly asked our empire if they would send troops to stop it, resist the Kugits, and protect the Vycians.

Suddenly Michod and I looked at each other. In fact, the current result is exactly what we expected. As long as there is a battle between them, the empire will have the opportunity to eliminate these two foreign forces at the same time. However, we cannot tell the truth. Michod responded hurriedly, saying that the mediation letter sent by Vigia was only one-sided and the king could not make a decision, so he sent him as an envoy to investigate the cause of the war before sending troops. Of course he Convinced that the entire war must have been started by the Kugits, he would immediately return to Palavon to urge the Empire to send troops.

Belek didn't speak for a long time, but he was also very helpless. I believe he must have been full of anger at the time, but Michod's words were not unreasonable, and he couldn't get angry easily, so he finally sent us out of the camp with a forced smile. He also apologized to us on behalf of his brother, saying that he could not come in person to greet the messenger.

We simply had dinner at Vigia Camp and rested at Vigia Camp that night, preparing to return to Palavon the next day.

The moans everywhere at night always make people's hair stand on end, and the tragic scenes of the wounded during the day always appear in his mind. Michod is also tossing and turning in bed, having trouble sleeping. I believe he seems to have to make a lot of decisions recently, and these decisions don't seem to be that easy. Easy to decide.

We set off the next day. I thought we would really return to Palaven. However, not long after we walked out of the Vigian camp, Michod told me that we would not go back to Palaven for the time being, but to Aichmo. Er——The camp of the Kugits. I was surprised when I heard this, but I soon understood. Without further ado, we arrived at Achemore in half a day.

We were greeted by Jerak, the leader of the Kugit clan. He was very happy to hear the news that we had arrived in Aichmore. Of course, we were still concerned about the cause of the entire war. Jerak said the following words, which once again made everyone happy. We were greatly surprised.

"Michod and this young man, I believe you have read the mediation agreement written by the Vaigians to Palavon, and have even been to the Vaigian camp and listened to the one-sided words of those bastards, but I want to tell Yours is that this war is purely the fault of the Vaegians.

We Kugits finally arrived at the continent of Calradia after climbing over many mountains. Thanks to the kindness of the old king, we have a place to live on this continent. However, this land is very barren. We make a living by raising horses. Sometimes We also picked some spices, but each of us Kugits are hard-working and pragmatic, so survival is not a problem. But what has always kept us in the dark is that in the process of doing business with Virginia, they offered us low prices. Purchase horse meat and incense However, the materials were sold to other areas at a high price. The price difference was very huge, which made us suffer from poverty all the time. Our people were very angry and hoped that the Virginians would give an explanation, but the Virginians had no intention of changing their ways and laughed. We were extremely stupid, the hateful Vaigians finally ignited our courage to resist, so we led the army to attack their forests, get back the equivalent of what we lost, and let them understand that we Kugits are not It can be teased.”

Hearing this, Michod and I couldn't help but sigh. Michod continued to ask them why they robbed the businessman. Gerak told us that the Kugits only robbed Nord merchants at first because they always failed to live up to the old king's gifts. The Kugits were grateful to the old king and would never allow anyone to disrespect the old king. Later they knew that the Wei After seeing the cunning of the Giya people, they robbed the Vaigians. Of course, except for the merchants in these two places, they would not rob other merchants.

It’s really hard to decide at the moment. Do we have to go back to Virginia to investigate why they charge at low prices and sell at high prices? In Kujit's camp, we also saw scarred patients and heard dark groans.

Coming out of the Kugit camp, one can simply conclude that the war was started by the Vigiyas in the first place. They speculated in the deal with the Kugits and fooled the Kugits. The Kugits fought hard and occupied a considerable part of the Vigiya territory. But how to deal with it, we have to go back to Palaven to convene the lords to discuss.

In fact, I sigh again, isn’t this the result we expect? In other words, the time to eliminate these two foreign races is now. They are both seriously injured now. As soon as the empire sends troops, they are guaranteed to be eliminated. I told Michod my thoughts. Michod looked embarrassed and just smiled awkwardly. My curiosity was aroused again, so I asked him why he always had a sad face. Michod sighed with emotion, Said the following.

"Young man, do you think the empire will send troops if we bring this news back to Palavon? Our king, Anches, inherited the kindness of the old king. He would never agree to send troops to eliminate these two foreigners, but we The commander-in-chief, Eastridge, longed to drive these foreign races out of the continent of Calradia one by one before they were strong enough. Moreover, his idea catered to the wishes of many lords. Why did he always say nothing when we were discussing in parliament that day? Listening to everyone talking quietly, why, because he is observing who agrees with his ideas and who opposes his ideas. As long as everyone supports him to eliminate foreign races, then King Anches will be unable to oppose it, so On this issue, Anches and Eastridge are bound to have conflicts, and I agree more with Eastridge's point of view. Yes, foreign races continue to grow stronger, and our prestige as the master of the continent of Calradia is increasingly weakened. How can we allow this to happen."

After speaking, Michod fell into deep thought again. I asked him gently if Eastridge had any ambition to be the king himself. Michod turned his head and looked at me without saying a word. Judging from the expression he looked at me, , I don’t know if this is a concern or a kind of irony. So I lowered my head and stopped talking.

Chapter 3 A rising tide lifts all boats

I quickly returned to Palavon with Michod. We first went to see King Anches. After hearing our report, he really blamed us for not returning to the Vigian camp and asked them why they took such bad measures in the transaction. This behavior made Michod and I extremely embarrassed. Then we went to report to Commander Eastridge. Eastridge asked in detail about the war situation and combat strength of Vigia and Kujit. In his eyes, I clearly felt that these two were to be eliminated. The time of the foreigners is coming.

Soon King Anches convened a meeting to discuss countermeasures, and Eastridge had reported the current situation to other lords before this meeting, and hoped that the lords would agree to his idea-to eliminate Vaigia and Kujit, and of course the lords were also happy with this idea, and they had become on the same page.

King Anches sat dignifiedly on the chair, making us seem to see the old king in the past. He put forward his own opinion:

"My lords, I believe you have a rough idea of ​​the cause of the war between Vaegiya and the Kugits, and the war is still going on. The Vaegians are currently at a disadvantage and face life and death. Although they have adopted despicable behaviors in transactions, As members of the Kalad Empire, they still enjoy the protection of Therefore, my opinion is to discuss how to let them cease fighting and return to the originally defined self-knowledge area. Of course, Vigia should compensate for the fooling of the Kugits in the transaction, and the Kugits should pay back. The forests of Vaegia they occupied allowed them to live and work in peace and contentment without causing trouble."

The lords were indignant after hearing this. Some lords stood up and carefully stated to King Anches that these foreigners had caused a series of unstable factors after they came to the continent of Calradia, and advised King Anches that if they were not eliminated early, Sooner or later, these foreign races will become the enemies of the empire and are likely to become the new masters of Calradia.

However, King Anches did not think so. He believed that his father's kindness had penetrated deep into the hearts of these foreigners, and they could not live up to the old king's gift. But what made all the lords even more indignant was that their commander-in-chief Easterridge once again remained silent. Some lords stood up and hoped that Easterridge would put forward his own opinions. As a result, Easterridge said that he agreed with Andy. King Chess's thoughts.

So according to the instructions of King Anches, envoys were sent to mediate the war again. When the meeting walked out of the hall, all the lords gathered in front of Eastridge and asked him why he didn't ask the king for instructions and take this opportunity to attack Virginia. and Kugit, but Eastridge’s answer was particularly surprising, saying Although he also very much hopes to take this opportunity to eliminate these two foreign races, it is obvious that King Anches will not agree, because King Anches has no idea of ​​​​exterminating the foreign races from the bottom of his heart. If the lords insist too much, it is likely to cause the king and the The conflict between the lords, and since he is a marshal, he should be even more careful in what he says.

Eastridge's words naturally made sense. Many lords sighed, feeling deeply that they had missed this opportunity in vain. Some lords began to criticize Anches for his mediocrity, saying that he could not see clearly the situation the empire was currently facing. Some lords hoped that Eastridge could skip King Anches and lead the army to attack Vigia and Kujit in the name of commander-in-chief. Regarding such opinions, Eastridge remained silent.

In short, it was the king's decision, and the lords could not violate it, so they sent envoys to mediate.

However, the war between Vigia and Kugit has reached a critical juncture. The two are victorious, especially Kugit. How can it be possible for Kugit to agree to mediation? Even if there is mediation, harsh conditions will be put forward. In that case, Vigia will definitely not agree. So the war will continue.

Sure enough, the envoys sent came back in despair, saying that the tribesmen of Vaegia had criticized the empire for not caring about their life and death. If the empire did not send troops again, they would declare their independence from the rule of the empire and establish the Kingdom of Vaegia on their own. In King Anches's personal letter, the chief of the Vaegians profoundly stated the old king's gift, implicitly criticizing Anches for ignoring the Vaegians.

It seemed that we really had to send troops. When Anches put forward such an opinion, the lords suddenly felt disappointed, because at this moment, the victorious Kujit army encountered an avalanche while marching towards the snow-capped mountains. There were countless casualties, and secondly, the roads were blocked, so the Kugits had no choice but to withdraw their troops, but the Wekiyans rarely escaped disaster.

Therefore, there was no need to send troops. God saved the lives of the Vaegians, not the empire, and not King Anches. So the Vaegians basically blamed King Anches for their defeat in this war. .

It can be imagined how embarrassing the situation of King Anches was. He had lost the trust of both the internal lords and the foreign Vaegians. When other foreigners saw this situation, they were also uneasy. It seemed that If you want to maintain the stability of your own clan's interests, you have to rely on yourself.

Of course, it is not difficult to see that Eastridge has an unshirkable responsibility for the occurrence of all these results. On the surface, he obeyed the decision of King Anches, but deep down, he may have foreseen such a result. Perhaps his The ambition is starting to show.

Hearing the criticism of the Vaegians and the fear of other foreign races, the lords of the empire became uneasy. Now that the foreign races are getting stronger and stronger, if no measures are taken, it may be more difficult to solve the problem in the future. However, our commander-in-chief, Eastridge, only talks but does not do anything, which is outrageous.

Finally, the war between Kujit and Vigia came to an end. Just when everyone was about to relax, Salander's patriarch Aizal unfortunately passed away, and the entire country fell into chaos. Because their patriarch had no heirs, who should be chosen as his successor? The new patriarch has very different internal opinions. All he knows is that Alva, Aizal's wife, is acting as the agent for all current political affairs, and Rodok took the opportunity to infiltrate south.

The news soon spread to Palavon, and the lords had to gather in Palavon Hall to discuss countermeasures. It was another challenge. This time, King Anches did not dare to express his opinions easily. He sat on a chair and listened quietly to everyone's discussion. Of course, Eastridge, like him, listened quietly and didn't speak. This is a very interesting phenomenon. Although the discussion was fierce, the person who finally made the decision remained silent. All the lords realized that what they said seemed to be nonsense.

Send an envoy or send troops? The lords eagerly hoped that either King Anches or Commander Eastridge would make up their mind first. At this moment, Eastridge spoke. He asked King Anches whether he wanted to mediate or send troops to stop it. King Anches was extremely surprised. He raised his head and saw everyone's eyes staring at him, and he was at a loss. , that kind of expression should be said to be an expression only an ignorant boy can have.

King Anches couldn't help but cast a look at Eastridge for help, but Eastridge pretended not to see it. King Anches had to make a decision, and his decision was still to send an envoy to mediate.

Facing the increasingly powerful foreign tribes and such a cowardly king, the lords had nowhere to vent their indignation and were about to suffer from internal injuries.

Just send an envoy, maybe this time we can mediate. With this luck in mind, the lords walked out of the hall angrily. However, one person became active at this time - Count Dilinard. He was also a confidant of Eastridge. Compared with Count Michod, he was particularly radical. He expressed his opinions on Eastridge's elimination of foreign races. I agree very much. He was called by Eastridge to accept a new task. I don't know what task it was, but after Count Dilinard came back, I was arranged to work with Count Dilinard.

In the early morning, Count Dilinard called me to visit Count Clarks. I was surprised and asked him why he wanted to visit Count Clarks. He smiled and said to me that there were many people visiting. In addition to visiting Count Clarks, there were also Count Harlengoth, Count Degland, Count Lafarge...I After careful calculation, I found that these people were the most powerful lords in the empire, and many of them were Eastridge's friends and confidants. I visited these people, and more than one of them. What was going on? I hurriedly asked The reason why, Count Dilinard said meaningfully:

"Young man, do you believe it? There will no longer be peace in the continent of Calradia. Foreign races are getting stronger and stronger, and we are weakened every day. And our new king's behavior makes all the lords very worried. If this continues, our country, or our rule, will be destroyed. We died every day without thinking about food or food, but when we came to our king, we were deeply disappointed by his words and decisions. The long-standing law of throne succession in the Calradia continent needs to be revised a long time ago. The empire needs a strong leader, got it?"

I then asked, is Eastridge going to be king? Count Dilinard smiled mysteriously and said, "It's possible." Suddenly I understood a lot.

Although I have been guessing in my heart, I think Eastridge is ambitious, but I have just been guessing, and I never think this is the truth, but the words of Count Dilinard have clearly shown that this has become facts. Will the lords accept changing the long-established inheritance code? I believe it must be very difficult, because the Code of Succession is a code that has been deeply rooted in everyone's mind for hundreds of years. It is sacred and inviolable. Whoever violates the Code of Succession betrays the Kalad Empire and becomes an out-and-out A traitor will be spurned and reviled by many people.

Is it possible? I kept asking myself. During this period, I visited all the lords on the list with Count Dilinard one by one. Everywhere I went, there was a sigh. But when I asked privately whether it was necessary to choose a new king, or to choose someone other than the old king's relatives as the king, many people stopped talking at once. Occasionally, a few people expressed their approval, and it seemed that almost no one opposed it. This result was far beyond my expectations, and I was puzzled.

Are the lords concerned about their own interests and not the sacred code? Don't the lords feel grateful to the old king? Don't they have any sympathy for King Anches? However, I couldn't ask Count Dilinard directly about such questions, and could only slowly discover them by myself.

Because of the infiltration of Rhodok, Salander selected a respected patriarch to act as the military, and he has already gone to the front line to fight Rhodok. The envoys sent out were only briefly received. As for mediation, both sides refused. Perhaps they all saw the failure of the Empire's mediation in the war between Vaegir and Khergit, or perhaps there was a lot of resentment between them, and both sides wanted to fight hard.

The Empire lost all its face, and the lords were indignant. These foreign tribes ignored the Empire's mediation and brazenly sent troops, which seriously challenged the only tolerance of all the lords. What should they do? That night, all the lords came to the mansion of Commander Eastrich, and they said the following to Eastrich.