From a certain standpoint, the bloodline of a major country's royalty was usually a terrible thing to deal with. But now, it seemed that Bardi's was especially terrible.
A necrophilic prince, Lily Lily, a half-dead with no heir, a crazy witch in a vegetative state. I never expected that there would be someone like Beifeng who had sought out the Dragons. If someone told me that this family and kingdom had been cursed before, I would definitely believe it, no matter if others believed it or not.
However, the true successor to the throne had always been hidden from the public eye. The dragon knight Archduke had always been treated as someone unrelated to the royalty. From a certain standpoint, it could only be said that Orloss had made far too many preparations, and that his intelligence work was quite excellent.
"What!?"
Halent himself was the most astonished of all. Judging from his shocked expression, it didn't seem like he was faking it.
"I apologize. Although I've never told you before, you're indeed my nephew. Let's discuss the specifics in private. We're in front of our esteemed guests, so we can't let them laugh at us. "
Alright then, it seemed that Orloss had done a good job of hiding the truth from him.
"Ha, those idiots who've been blinded by power, wealth, and lust won't be able to succeed me. I can also tell you the truth that you're not my only choice. Even if you're my nephew, I still won't entrust the crown to you if you can't reach the standard of inheriting the throne.
"But judging from the current situation, no matter if it's your accomplishments in Nightrain City, or those idiots who think I'm about to die, you're the only choice. I suppose I can tell you now. "
I felt even sadder for those princes as I listened to Orloss's confident laughter.
Actually, if one looked at the results, there were signs that Halent had made this choice long ago. Currently, the Bardi Empire's political situation was unstable, and all the domain lords were getting restless. Only those with military authority would have the most authority. And as the battle at Nightrain City continued, the most powerful warlord in the Bardi Empire was now Halent himself.
As long as Halent could produce a good enough performance in Nightrain City, he would be the strongest contender for the crown even without the old emperor's guarantee.
From a certain standpoint, the old emperor was raising poisonous insects, allowing his successors to fight each other like poisonous insects before choosing the successor that he admired the most.
I don't believe that the Emperor only had Halent as a candidate, but it's clear that old Orloss likes her the most.
Perhaps it was precisely because he had always opposed the undead and insisted on putting national affairs first during the internal strife of the royal family, even going so far as to go against the emperor, that he finally won the emperor's favor.
With such a commotion, not only would they be able to select the best successor, but they would also be able to expose those ambitious schemers. Since the Emperor had died, the domain lords who had long been dissatisfied with him would definitely cause a commotion. It would be better to treat this memorial ceremony as a celebration for the new Emperor.
"I'm afraid blood will flow like a river."
This was my prediction, and I was quite confident in my prediction. After all, there were enough ambitious and unlucky individuals who died, and the new emperor's position was becoming more and more stable. Rather than waiting for those fellows to cause a ruckus after the emperor's death, I might as well kill them all first.
With the old emperor's explanation, we had two members of the royal family with real authority at the conference table. Bardi had also brought out the current emperor, the future emperor, and the highest-ranking bishop of the Bardi Empire. This was already the highest-level conference, which showed the old emperor's sincerity in wanting to come to an agreement.
"Actually, I've always liked what you said at the Southern Sect: 'This world belongs to mortals, and those high up Gods are nothing but hypocritical fanatics' …"
With this as the beginning, we began our conference. The contents of the conference became more and more important. By the time we barely managed to come to an agreement and returned home, a new sun had risen in the sky.
Our all-night conference was a delightful one. Apart from the grand plan that the old emperor had been preparing for almost ten years, we also obtained what we wanted the most as his helpers and allies.
"The grand plan? As expected of the greatest schemer in Bardi in the last three hundred years. He's truly daring. But if this plan really succeeds, it wouldn't be wrong to call him the wisest ruler in the last thousand years. "
The ambitious and ruthless person who conspired with the grand scheme was quite generous. Since I agreed to help him with the grand scheme, he gave me a lot of benefits in other small aspects.
"Two years' worth of food reserves in your province will be enough for all of Donglan to eat for five years. Right, three thousand blacksmiths and alchemists, and two hundred scholars with job titles … "
The old emperor casually agreed to all of my conditions. The foundations of an established empire like the Ottoman Empire were incomparable to the foundations of an established empire. Just the small gifts that the old emperor saw as gifts were enough to save the impoverished Northlands several decades of hard work. And when it came to what we wanted the most, the old emperor didn't hesitate at all.
"In that case, will the Northlands support the independence of the Seven Northlands?"
"Of course. The Northlands will be able to rise to power because they'll be able to guard the borders of the entire human world. San Antonio's hand is too far in the Northlands. Besides, even if I don't agree to help, do you really think that they'll be able to protect the Seven Northlands, which are already beginning to band together? Rather than running away with their tails between their legs, they'll at least be able to save some face by taking a step back. I'll write a letter to Sloen. "
Allowing the Casola Dukedom to become independent and causing another mega empire like San Antonio to lose a vassal state was something that the Bardi Empire wanted to see. As for the additional costs … well, the Bardi royalty wouldn't be the one paying. Sacrificing the benefits of some local nobles and weakening them was something that the central royalty wanted to see as well.
For us, the most important benefit wasn't the aid we received. Instead, it was the relationship we'd already established with Halent. Perhaps the new Northlands would be able to form a solid alliance with the future emperor of Bardi.
Actually, perhaps it was a coincidence, or perhaps it was fate, but due to a series of coincidences, the meeting between the Northlands' most outstanding leader of the Mist Alliance and the future emperor of Bardi was destined to leave a deep mark in history.
Of course, for me, being able to come to an agreement was already a great deal. As for what would happen afterwards …
After we agreed on a time to visit the Southern Sect, I turned around and spoke to Glina the moment I left.
"Glina, remember to be on guard against Bardi and their emperor in the future. That guy's smile gives me goosebumps. It's already quite rare for even 10% of what he says to be true. Also, don't participate in this damned plan. I'll do it by myself, and it'll be easier for me to escape if I fail. It's fine as long as you can obtain the agreement on paper, but don't place too much hope on it. It's hard to say whether or not Halent will be able to obtain the position of crown prince. "
Right after we left, I made no attempt to hide my distrust of the Bardi royalty even before the ink on the agreement was even dry. However, I guessed that Orloss and Halent were probably saying the same thing.
"Yep, there's no place for personal feelings to exist between countries. You can only talk about benefits when dealing with mega empires like San Antonio."
"… That sounds so familiar."
"You said it yourself."
I nodded. This was indeed what I was used to saying. But since Glina noticed this, it meant that she was working hard at her studies, which was already much more reassuring than Renée.
It seemed that there were some things that Glina still hadn't figured out. She hesitated for a moment before asking.
"Those princes aren't all useless. Isn't the old emperor worried that he'll allow the domain lords to work together with the princes? Won't any of the princes succeed in rebelling? I feel that there's indeed a chance of success. "
"… I feel that if such a situation really does occur, the old emperor will happily face his own Armageddon. At any rate, he's raising a Venomous Scorpion King. If he can raise a Venomous Venomous Scorpion King, he'll probably be delighted that he has a successor. The student will surpass the master. "
I declined the old emperor's offer to send me off in a carriage. I needed to organize my thoughts while taking a stroll to see the current situation in the capital.
We didn't intend to return to the assault airship in the outskirts of the capital. During the negotiations just now, I requested a private residence from the old emperor, intending to use it as a temporary diplomatic mission for the Northlands countries in the Bardi Empire. I also specifically chose a location that wasn't too far from Evelyn's residence.
Judging from the strong otherworldly feeling I felt from that underground cave, I felt that the reason why that fierce dragon was staying underground wasn't so simple. If the situation allowed, I wanted to ask more about Evelyn's situation.
After all, I felt that the dragon was far more trustworthy than the old and sly emperor, even though it was likely that the two of them were already in cahoots.
As I walked on the main road leading to the royal palace, the most obvious change was that the "assassins" had finally vanished without a trace. On the way, I occasionally saw dragons gliding in the sky, and I was also interrogated by the patrolling guards and Knight on the ground.
It seemed that the Knight who interrogated me had already received an order. They were quite polite and allowed me to pass when they saw that it was me.
"Silly cat, what do you think?"
"Milord, I feel that there's a tremendous secret behind this. Yep, Milord! There's definitely something fishy about this! "
At this moment, I was certain that I shouldn't have opened up part of my memories to my magical pet. The silly cat's morals were getting lower and lower.
"Are you certain? Beifeng is almost here … "
"I feel that the patrolling guards are obviously abnormal. This can only mean that their trap yesterday failed, and they're still making one last attempt. Yep, those old fellows aren't that easy to capture. It's highly likely that they'll fail. "
This was pretty much what I had expected, but in another aspect, should I say that Harloys was already undefeatable? My casual threat was actually so effective, scaring Harloys so much that she became obedient. Even I was quite surprised.
"You're a veteran Undead Lord, so why are you so afraid of a young brat?"
"… Recently, the Druil Alliance has been gathering evidence of his crimes. Perhaps I should call it the 'Record of Beasts Hunting' or 'Record of His Victims'. It's been sent to all the Druil, Hunter, and Ranger branches in the various countries. Only now did I learn that while we were patrolling the various countries, Beifeng was also constantly committing crimes across countries and species. Since there were so many victims, the effects were so bad. There were even some Druil victims. Beifeng has now become the public enemy of the entire Nature Faction. It's said that even the 'Windchaser Group', which specializes in hunting him down, has appeared. "
"Right, do you want to read the 'Record of Beasts Hunting'? Eaglestorm received a copy two days ago. It's so thick that it can be used as a brick to hit someone. You'll probably understand if you read it. "
"Ha, do you think I'm an idiot? Do you really think I'd touch something that's destined to blind me?"
Actually, Beifeng often disappeared and then suddenly appeared. I could guess what he had done, but considering that his personal abilities and loyalty were excellent, and that his actions hadn't broken any laws … Yes, that was the main point. There wasn't a single country that had any laws that prohibited such actions. "The law doesn't prohibit such actions, it's not a crime." That was why, from a legal standpoint, Beifeng could only be condemned from the perspective of morality and good morals.
However, our Law Faction followed the rules of the law. The Druil Alliance was a radical terrorist organization to begin with, and it had never been a reasonable organization. Yet, even the normally neutral Hunter and Ranger organizations had begun to hunt him down. It was likely that Beifeng was in for some serious trouble this time.
Considering the fact that this seemed to be getting more and more interesting, I seriously considered how to get out of this situation once the druids surrounded me.
"The entire Nature Faction. The last person who was wanted by the entire Nature Faction was the Pestilence Monarch, who was on the Calamity Rankings. I never expected that I would have such a major character under my command. Perhaps Beifeng will one day enter the top ten Calamity Rankings and surpass me … Should I learn from Orloss and be happy that Beifeng surpassed me?"
How about I just beat him up and then send him out to exchange for bounty money? Beifeng was quite stubborn anyways. At most, I would give him half of the bounty money. Perhaps if he did it a few more times, no one would want to hunt him down anymore …
"Brother Beifeng."
While I was having random thoughts, I suddenly heard Glina's voice.
"Hmph, I know that you have a good relationship with Beifeng, but don't plead on his behalf …"
"I mean, isn't that Brother Beifeng?"
Alright then, Beifeng was wearing a black windbreaker that covered most of his body, and his hood covered his half-dragon face. His black attire made him seem incredibly wretched and suspicious, but that black lizard tail with a pink bow on it exposed his true identity. If this wasn't the royal palace district where "suspicious people were everywhere," someone would have probably called the police already.
Right now, he was surrounded by several Knight Beifeng, and they seemed to be talking about something.
"… Let's just pretend we didn't see anything. If worst comes to worst, we'll use diplomatic channels to get him back tomorrow. "
But when I got closer, I discovered that it wasn't the Knight Capturing Perverts that I had expected. Instead, it was …
"It's already 500 silver coins. I can't go any lower. Look at the printing, the expressions, the artwork, it's amazing! They're all top-quality items. "
"Pfft, Brother Beifeng is trying to sell erotica."
"… Do you know what erotica is?"
"There are many erotica books in Sulfur Mountain City … Ah, I definitely haven't collected any erotica books about you or Uncle Adam. The two of you aren't compatible at all. This is a completely blind match. "
Alright then, I've already given up. As expected, there really wasn't a single normal person among my subordinates.
"That lass collected the erotica books about you and 'Grimm', you and Xueti … You should do something about it, but right now, even the City Lord of Sulfur Mountain City (Anne) is looking at it, so it doesn't seem like she can do anything about it. Right, I heard that they've already decided to hold an annual festival where they can sell their erotica books, just like that C87 in your memory. I heard that during last year's C12 festival, Momo's hardcore erotica sold 13,000 copies, breaking a new record … I won't tell you who she used as the model to create the erotica books, since you can probably guess it."
Harloys was betraying Glina while stabbing me in the heart. I didn't want to guess at all!
Actually, when I left Sulfur Mountain City, it was the most peaceful area in the Underground (Artists in war-torn areas would easily starve to death). Coupled with the many years of influence from transmigrators, Sulfur Mountain City's culture and art industry was already extremely developed, but it seemed to be overdeveloped.
"Those bastards, I …"
Now that I thought about it, I really couldn't do anything about it. Right now, the City Lord of Sulfur Mountain City was Anne, and the Church of Law was in charge of religious affairs. Without any official position, it would be impossible for them to issue documents like "330 suggestions on how to regulate the construction of Sulfur Mountain City's Spiritual Plane."
"I can't do anything about Sulfur Mountain City, but I can do something about this bastard in front of me!"
When I aggressively walked over and saw me, Beifeng suddenly trembled. He picked up his book and was about to run, but the customer pulled on it, causing the book to fall on the ground, scattering all sorts of colorful pages.
With just one glance, I knew why he wanted to run, so I silently unsheathed my sword.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, Princess Peach's personal art collection, personally drawn by Momo, a super limited edition gold edition. She's really well drawn, and even I'm a little tempted … Eh, the content at the end is really strange. Isn't this the illustration of the victims in 'Beifeng's Crime Record?' Beifeng, do you even need to preach when you're scamming money? Halfway through reading, you suddenly changed into such a thing. Even if you don't become a eunuch, you'll at least become a pervert! Isn't this ten times worse than poisoning? "
Right now, Beifeng Herault had no way of responding to Harloys' schadenfreude. Right now, he needed to do his best to think of a way to survive a certain berserk Sword Saint whose veins were popping out.
"Boss, I'm sorry. I'm just trying to increase my sales so that the world can understand my personal hobbies. I've tried so many cover girls, but you're still the best! "
"… You still dare to run! Take my Evil Vanquishing Slash! "
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