Archduke Roknee stood behind Archduke Lecco's back. His gaze passed through the long table and landed on the boy. Watching him trying hard to suppress his nervousness and excitement, he suddenly sighed.
'We're all going to … face disaster?'
He curled his lips slightly. 'How long has it been since I've met a fellow like this, speaking without hesitation and without scruples in front of a few archdukes?'
The hall instantly fell into a strange silence.
All the archdukes' expressions were very unnatural, and their breathing became irregular.
Lampard gently closed his eyes.
Thales tried his best to control his breathing. For a moment, only the crackling sound of the brazier could be heard.
After a full three seconds, Archduke Lecco slowly turned his head and exchanged glances with the others.
"We gave you a chance to speak, Your Highness." The old archduke turned his head back from the exchange of glances and sighed rather solemnly. "We didn't ask you to speak carelessly and exaggerate things to scare us."
"You better speak clearly, brat." Olsius stared at Thales with an unpleasant expression. "After threatening an archduke in the Hall of Heroes, not everyone has the chance to walk out in one piece."
Thales breathed absentmindedly, as if he was completely unaware of the two archdukes' uneasy questioning.
'Calm down, Thales.
'The more it's like this, the calmer you have to be.
'You can do it.
'You can!'
"Dragon Clouds City."
"What Lampard gave you," Thales said softly. His calm demeanor startled the archdukes a little. "He did not have good intentions when he proposed to annex Dragon Clouds City."
Trentida clicked his tongue.
"First, sending troops to Constellation, then Dragon Clouds City." The cunning archduke flashed a strange smile. "How did you know about these things?"
Thales exhaled.
'How did I know that all of you want to annex Dragon Clouds City?'
He quietly said in his heart, 'Lampard promised Shiles preferential tariffs around Dragon Clouds City. It's as simple as that.'
"It's not hard to guess." But on the surface, Thales' expression remained the same. "In order to gather people's hearts, besides a common threat, there must also be sufficient benefits. Without a doubt, Dragon Clouds City is a ready-made, ownerless piece of cheese. It's especially good for fighting and conflict."
Trentida frowned and looked at Lampard.
"After all, this is an act of breaking the Joint Ruling Pledge." The prince sighed. "The balance of power is no longer there. With this illegal act of seizing territory, in the future, the ownership of every blade of grass, every inch of land will become the fuse for conflict and conflict between you. Lampard will only fan the flames. He hopes that you will clash with each other and weaken each other …"
Olsius interrupted him with a cold snort.
Saroma, who was listening quietly, showed a disgusted expression and shot him a displeased glance.
"Your words don't hold water, brat." The Archduke of Prestige Orchid moved his beard and his tone was unpleasant. "In fact, we've discussed this issue before. Lampard has no reason to do so in the face of a greater threat."
At this point, Archduke Lecco coughed and took over the conversation. "Constellation's threat is imminent and will last for a long time. It is not something that can be solved with one or two major battles. At this juncture, his actions of throwing himself into confusion will only be detrimental to Eckstedt."
A thought flashed in Thales' mind. "War, especially against foreign enemies, is more likely to become the trigger for conflict between you …"
But at this moment, Lampard, who had been silent all this while, raised his head and pierced Thales with a gaze as sharp as a sword.
"Do you still not understand?"
The Archduke of Black Sand Region spoke slowly. There was an indecipherable emotion in his voice.
"This child is exceptionally intelligent. He's thinking of ways to stop the war and save his own country." Lampard slowly walked to a brazier and blocked the light from the fire, leaving only a shadow. "To save the country that will eventually fall into his hands. The country that may make our children bow down to us in the future." Lampard's eyes widened in shock.
The archdukes frowned.
"This is what I wanted to say next." Thales forced a smile that did not show any weakness. "You also want to save your own country, Chapman Lampard."
Lampard frowned slightly.
"If you're so sure, why did our Archduke of Black Sand Region do this?" Seeing that Lampard had stepped down, the silent Archduke Roknee also joined the dangerous conversation. "What benefit does he get from causing a conflict between the archdukes? Getting an extra piece of cheese? "
Trentida gave Lampard face and sneered.
"And, why is it that disaster is upon us?"
Under the Archduke of Black Sand Region's frighteningly oppressive gaze, Thales quietly adjusted his breathing and mulled over his next words.
"All of you know the Archduke of Black Sand Region's past." Thales raised his voice and looked at the archdukes sternly. "He killed his elder brother with his own hands, which made him hardened and resolute. The enmity between him and King Nuven was formed from then on."
Once he said this, Lampard's gaze became sharper. Thales even felt the air around him become much colder.
The archdukes looked at each other in tacit understanding.
Thales took a deep breath and stared at Lampard's weathered and boorish face. He then firmly said his next sentence, "But you, Chapman Lampard, your actions of killing the king and leading an army to force the king to abdicate were neither for revenge nor for self-protection."
"Because the person you truly hate and care about is neither King Nuven nor Dragon Clouds City," Thales said in his calmest tone. "But the heroic tradition that the Northlanders are proud of, the glorious history of Eckstedt …"
The prince answered softly, "Raikaru's Joint Ruling Pledge."
As Saroma could not hold back her cry of surprise, the archdukes were all stunned.
Lecco started rubbing his hands again. Trentida seemed to be deep in thought, while Roknee immediately looked at Lampard with a suspicious gaze.
"What are you trying to say?" Olsius impatiently knocked on the table. "The Joint Ruling Pledge?"
Thales was expressionless as he nodded slowly.
"Lampard has been suffering in the cracks of power between his mother's family and his father's, between Dragon Clouds City and Black Sand Region, between the king and the archdukes," Thales said very seriously, enunciating each word. "Of course, it's the same for all the archdukes here."
Archduke Lecco's hand tightened slightly.
"But unlike all of you who are used to it …"
Thales stared at Lampard's deep and complicated gaze. He gritted his teeth and said the following words.
"Chapman Lampard, when your father forced you to challenge your eldest brother, when you stabbed your sword into your eldest brother's chest, when your mother committed suicide out of depression, when your father died on the battlefield … you made up your mind."
With every word he said, Lampard's gaze became colder.
Thales took a deep breath. The image of Lampard coldly stroking his saber on the carriage appeared before his eyes.
He rubbed his hands in the cold air and maintained a calm tone.
"From the bottom of your heart, you were tired of the endless fighting. You believed that you had seen through the unsolvable and sorrowful cycle behind it. You hated the current state of Eckstedt behind this compromise and tacit agreement. You believed that as long as the pledge existed, and as long as everyone's superstition towards it existed …
"You, and the similar tragedies behind you, will not disappear."
Thales said quietly.
"That's right, everyone." Under the archdukes' incredulous gazes and Saroma's uneasy tugging, the Prince of Constellation continued to stare at the Archduke of Black Sand Region's face, which was about to freeze. Unhindered by any obstruction or interference, he said with incomparable determination, "As early as twelve years ago, Chapman Lampard decided to completely destroy the Joint Ruling Pledge, which had lasted for more than six hundred years, to end the constant conflict between the common-elected king and the archdukes …
"… to smash the peaceful joint rule of the ten archdukes into pieces!"
Once Thales finished speaking, he closed his eyes and lowered his head.
The hall fell into a dead silence.
As they listened to Thales' words, almost all the archdukes widened their eyes and mouths, revealing expressions of extreme shock or disbelief.
Their gazes shot towards Lampard in unison.
The silence was only broken after a few seconds.
"What are you talking about?" Trentida exhaled a long breath and furrowed his brows. Puzzled, he looked at the resolute Thales. "Being dissatisfied is one thing, but … destroying the Joint Ruling Pledge? How, how is this possible?
"Ridiculous!"
Enduring the baffled gazes of the others, Lampard coldly rejected Thales' words. "How am I supposed to destroy the Joint Ruling Pledge with the faith and belief of ten million Northlanders? Kill all the archdukes here? "
Thales looked up abruptly and opened his eyes.
"You're already doing it, aren't you?!" The prince said loudly with a solemn expression, "When you killed King Nuven and forced the archdukes to ignore your crimes and endorse you, the Joint Ruling Pledge had already been trampled on."
Saroma's expression darkened and she pursed her lips.
"You've become the worst precedent." Thales was expressionless. "For this reason, you even convinced the archdukes to head south to Constellation and use new benefits to further tilt the balance of power, striking a blow to the already unstable Joint Ruling Pledge."
"Speak as much as you want. After all, the archdukes don't care about the time you waste," Lampard mocked and glanced at the others in dissatisfaction.
Inexplicably, Roknee snorted softly.
Lampard's expression was full of contempt and disdain. He said softly to the archdukes, "All of you are well aware of the reason why I gathered everyone's power, and you all agree that this is for Eckstedt."
He concluded without hesitation.
Thales stared at Lampard's expression. He did not know where the courage came from, but he took a deep breath, jumped off his chair and took a step forward.
"That's right!
This is for Eckstedt! " To everyone's surprise, the prince widened his eyes, which was rarely seen on him. He clenched his fists and said resolutely, "And until now, the thing I admire the most about you, Chapman Lampard …
"Aside from your personal likes and dislikes, you sincerely want Eckstedt to become stronger without any pretense!
"To face the future threat of Constellation!"
Thales almost roared out the last sentence.
The moment he said this, Saroma let out a soft "huh?"
While the archdukes were all stunned and even Lampard was slightly confused, Thales took a deep breath, composed himself, and suddenly changed the topic.
"But this is the scariest thing."
He said coldly, "Mindis the Third."
The moment this name came out of his mouth, Lampard's face turned ashen. His expression trembled, like a wild beast whose weakness had been caught.
The archdukes' expressions became strange.
Trentida sighed. 'How does this brat know everything? Could it be that he has been hiding in the fireplace and eavesdropping?'
Saroma raised her head thoughtfully.
'Mindis Jadestar the Third.
'The Virtuous King.'
Thales said silently in his heart. The rightmost portrait of the three kings appeared before his eyes. The elegant and handsome middle-aged king, who held the Staff of Constellation in his hand, flashed an amiable smile at Thales through the frame.
That was one of his ancestors, one of the Three Kings of Constellation, and …
Thales gently touched his chest. There, the scar that was burnt by Quide with Mindis' silver coin seemed to still be aching.
A king was not respected by his bloodline, but his bloodline was glorious because of the king.
A momentary victory or defeat was but a fleeting wave. A hundred years of chess was the foundation of all ages.
Also, Thales remembered the first time he met King Kessel. The king's father's evaluation: "From the nobles to the priests, from the merchants to the beggars, everyone praised his wise rule."
'Wise rule?'
Thales' heart skipped a beat. He clenched his fist over his chest as High Priestess Holme's words appeared in his mind.
"From the moment you embarked on your journey, every inconspicuous detail could be an opportunity to dominate your future."
The prince remembered the portrait of the Virtuous King on the silver coin, Mindis Hall, and everything he faced today. He could not help but smile. 'Is all of this a coincidence?'
He raised his head.
"Lampard has told you about the 'Virtuous King', right?"
Thales' gaze became firm again. "Lampard said that Constellation's current situation was laid down by the Virtuous King, and developed step by step?"
Archduke Trentida narrowed his eyes, resisting the desire to turn around and look at Lampard.
"He probably also told you how the legacy left behind by the Virtuous King became the support that Constellation relies on for its livelihood step by step over a hundred years."
Thales clenched his fists lightly. His expression was resolute.
"But what Lampard did not tell you is …"
Lampard stared at him from afar. His expression was extremely unpleasant.
Thales remembered the fear he felt when he was in the same carriage as Lampard. He remembered his last words.
'I want to save this country.'
When he thought of this, Thales took a deep breath, raised his right fist, and hit his chest with force!
"From Constellation, from the Virtuous King, Lampard did not only see a threat!"
The prince clenched his teeth. He could only feel his hands trembling.
"He also saw Eckstedt's future. He saw the final solution to Northland's hundreds of years of predicament!"
The moment he finished speaking, the hall fell silent for a moment.
The next second …
Listening to Thales' words, from the calm Archduke Lecco to the impatient Archduke Olsius, to the exaggerated Trentida and the indifferent Roknee, all of them were extremely shocked. They said in unison, "What?"
* Thud! * The sound of a scabbard hitting the ground was suddenly heard.
Thales was startled. He felt a chill on his forehead.
He struggled to draw in a breath.
The prince raised his head as if he had sensed something.
Then, unsurprisingly, he met Lampard's gaze in the air.
Since Thales knew him, Lampard's expression had never been so unpleasant and frightening.
The Archduke of Black Sand Region's face was almost contorted. His brows were furrowed, the wrinkles on the side of his nose flickered, and the masseter muscles on the side of his chin twitched continuously.
Archduke Lampard's eyes, which had always been sharp and indifferent, were now like an erupting volcano, radiating a rage that was a mixture of coldness and hatred.
It shot straight at Thales.
'No.
'That boy …
'It's him again …
'It's him again!
'Why …'
Lampard's heart emitted endless coldness and anger. He pressed down on his saber so that his hands would not tremble too much due to his anger.
'Why?'
Seeing Lampard's face, Saroma shuddered slightly. She looked at Thales as if asking for help.
The prince did not flinch.
Thales returned the stare with a fierce expression.
"Think about what Lampard has done." Thales met Lampard's frightening gaze in the air. He said coldly, "Promote low-level nobles and commoners, recruit tax collectors even from foreign countries, borrow money from merchants, hire professional Mystic Gun instructors, and use war to cleanse and gather his forces. Don't you find his actions familiar?"
Trentida furrowed his brows slightly. "You mean …"
"Also, for a long time, from Arunde's conspiracy to the siege of Broken Dragon Fortress to the decision to send troops to Constellation …" Thales took a deep breath with a resolute expression. He recalled every time he fought against Lampard, whether openly or secretly.
Under Broken Dragon Fortress, he confronted this ruthless and ruthless person head-on. He made the decision to break out of the encirclement, and in the end, Lampard's hope of taking down the fortress fell through.
The prince bit his lower lip. 'I defeated him.
'And now …'
Thales opened his eyes abruptly. "Lampard wants the Northern Territory of Constellation, right?
"Why? Because he wants to expand his territory?
"Or is it because …" Thales' expression was cold as he said the rest of his sentence, "He wants this piece of land where Mindis the Third's reform is incomplete, and it is also located in Northland, so it is suitable to merge with Black Sand Region and carry out further reform?"
The archdukes' expressions changed at the same time!
"Don't tell me that the Northern Territory tax collector, Chad Vlad, who was born as a commoner, was recruited as your subordinate just because his braid looked nice," Thales said slowly.
"Chapman Lampard?"
Lampard did not react, but the frightening gaze that was fixed on him did not move.
It was like looking at a dead man.
"Yes, this is the truth behind the 'threat of Constellation': Lampard wants more than just to resist Constellation."
Thales pursed his lips. Under the four archdukes' astonished gazes, he nodded in an unquestionable manner. "He wants to start from himself in Eckstedt …
"Imitate the Virtuous King's reform!
"In order to 'save' his country.
"Whether it is killing King Nuven, getting the archdukes involved, or attacking Constellation …
"It is all for this purpose!"
After Thales said this, he panted slightly.
The archdukes stared at him in bewilderment.
"Chapman, what do you think?"
Lecco shifted his gaze away from the square table and sighed slowly. "Compared to him, we are more willing to believe in you."
Lampard closed his eyes.
After a moment, he spoke slowly.
"This is a step that must be taken to resist the threat of Constellation."
"You have seen the Starlight Brigade, and you have also seen their iron-like bureaucratic system," the archduke said coldly. "Constellation is growing stronger day by day, Eckstedt cannot sit and wait for death.
"We must let go of our pride and complacency, and learn from our enemy's strengths." Lampard raised the sword in his hand and slowly tightened his grip. "We must forge our own Starlight Brigade. Only by doing so can we maintain our advantage over them for a long time after we take down Broken Dragon Fortress and interrupt Constellation's transformation until we completely defeat them in the end.
"At least in Black Sand Region."
He ended his speech.
The archdukes listened in silence.
"This is not a problem." Trentida sighed. "I think we can accept —"
But the archduke stopped talking.
Because he saw the bald Archduke Lecco frowning in sorrow and exhaustion as he stared at Lampard from afar.
It was as if he had seen the most unbelievable truth.
'This is …' Trentida was shocked. 'What's wrong?'
"Well said, I want to applaud you." Thales' voice rang, sounding rather dull. "There is only one small accident."
Lampard clenched his teeth.
In front of all the archdukes, Thales took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
The prince's eyes shone with an unprecedented light. He spoke slowly and resolutely.
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