"Lampard, what exactly are us archdukes in your eyes?"
Archduke Lecco suddenly spoke in front of Lampard, who had lost his composure.
His words attracted everyone's gazes.
"As allies under the Pledge of Alliance, when you used Constellation as an example to convince us, you should have thought about this, shouldn't you?" the old archduke said faintly, "Are we your allies, your stepping stone, or your sacrifice?"
Lampard raised his head abruptly.
"This is our only chance! When Constellation recovers and becomes stronger … "The Archduke of Black Sand Region was furious." Are you just going to watch Eckstedt gradually fall and wait for death?
"In your eyes, Eckstedt can never compare to yourselves, right?"
At this moment …
"Chapman Lampard," the Archduke of the City of Faraway Prayers, Kulgon Roknee suddenly spoke, "What exactly is Eckstedt?"
Lampard was slightly startled.
"More than six hundred years ago, right here, in the banquet hall above our heads, the Nine Legendary Knights, including our ancestors, raised the hero Raikaru above their heads and worshipped him as their king. That was how Eckstedt was born." Roknee raised his right hand and pointed at the stone carving of the Cloud Dragon Spear above his head.
Archduke Olsius' expression changed.
Saroma's eyes immediately lit up when she heard this history behind Thales.
"After the hero passed away, when Constellation grew stronger day by day and the calamity of the Empire was about to strike again, ten Northland suzerains, who were at odds with each other, wrote a blood oath in front of Raikaru's tombstone under the witness of the Queen of the Sky. They cast aside their former enmity and made a joint ruling oath with the ten archdukes," Archduke Roknee said coldly. "For the first time, we fought side by side in the name of Eckstedt as if we were brothers in front of the perilous Cold Castle and blocked Black Eye John's Constellation Army!"
Lampard stared at Archduke Roknee in disbelief, then looked at the others, who seemed to be deep in thought.
Thales sighed slightly.
'Wars create countries, and countries create wars.'
"The reason why we built Eckstedt is to protect the things we cherish in this chaotic world. We want to protect our family, our bloodline, our glory, our territories and people who trust us and are loyal to us, and protect the creed and spirit that we have protected since ancient times!"
"We are Eckstedt!" Roknee punched his own chest. The emblem of the Knight's Code on his shoulder trembled slightly. "Eckstedt will only exist if we, the people who protect it and acknowledge it, exist first!"
Roknee spat fiercely. "If we have to sacrifice, pay, and discard the things we once swore to protect for the sake of the illusory 'Eckstedt' you speak of, then Eckstedt would lose the reason for its existence in the first place. What would be left of it?"
"It's just another tyrant's toy, another ancient empire that was forcefully gathered under violence and oppression, forcing its people to acknowledge it and sacrifice themselves for an empire that actually has nothing to do with them." Ronnie looked at Lampard with disgust.
"Tell that to the Constellatiates," Lampard retorted fiercely. "When they send you or your descendants to the guillotine!"
"Be sent to the guillotine by them, or be sent to the guillotine by you," Roknee retorted sharply. "To be honest, I can't see which is worse."
Lampard suddenly raised his hand and pointed at Thales!
The prince was slightly taken aback.
"But everything that this boy said, the decline, the seizure of power, the revolution — the so-called end of our road, none of that has happened yet!" He gritted his teeth and said, "You're here worrying about the future of your great-grandson?"
"Everyone!"
Lampard took a deep breath.
"Even if the things we are worried about happen, as long as we work together, I believe we can definitely find a way to overcome it. Would we, the archdukes, still turn a blind eye to the problem before us?"
The Archduke of Black Sand Region seemed to have recovered from his earlier impulsiveness. He stared at every archduke seriously. "But before that, we must take measures. Our enemies, who are right in front of us and have been enemies for hundreds of years, are rubbing their hands together and gradually recovering their strength. Isn't this even more terrifying?
"As for the rest, whether I have ambitions, whether I want to harm all of you, whether I want to break the Joint Ruling Pledge, we can talk about it slowly."
Trentida and Olsius, the two southern archdukes from neighboring Constellation, looked at each other and thought for a while.
Thales panicked.
"Archduke of Black Sand Region!"
Thales could not help but speak loudly, attracting everyone's attention!
"There are three fallacies in your words," Thales said coldly.
Lampard's expression froze.
The archdukes turned to the prince.
"Continue, Your Highness of Constellation." Trentida tugged at his beard. "What do you have in mind?"
Thales exhaled, rubbed his face, and organized his thoughts. "First, you compared the threat of Constellation to the trap in your suggestion."
Everyone frowned slightly.
"Archdukes …"
Thales took a deep breath and said solemnly, "When he told you about Constellation's example, what Mindis the Third and his successors did in more than a hundred years … you should indeed feel a deep sense of fear."
Lampard was slightly stunned. He did not understand why Thales supported his own judgment.
"But this fear does not come from the fear of the enemy country." Before the archdukes raised their questions, Thales answered his own question and changed the topic. "Instead, it comes from pure vigilance and fear that comes from the bottom of your heart."
He took a step forward and hung the dagger behind his waist. He revealed the most solemn and gloomy expression the prince knew of.
"This is no longer the overused struggle scenes in knight novels. It is no longer the short-sighted political tactics of brainless nobles, such as assassinations, framing, marriage alliances, fighting for land, wars, and so on," Thales said in a low voice, trying to lighten the mood with a neutral tone.
Trentida narrowed his eyes and clicked his tongue. "Short-sighted?"
Archduke Olsius snorted in dissatisfaction.
"I do not mean to offend you, but …" Thales gritted his teeth. "But the Virtuous King's actions are no longer in the above category."
He raised his head. "It is the ruler sitting on the throne. He is the one who silently grips the throats of the vassals, and then, step by step, little by little, inch by inch, slowly and weakly, but never stopping, he tightens that hand of power."
The archdukes listened quietly.
"With a smile, he will drown the vassals' status, power, wealth, and privileges with a gentle flood that is gradually spreading but unstoppable. He will suffocate the famous lords who have been powerful for a time in the long river of history, one by one, one by one, and one by one, they will never be able to rise again."
"Power will flow quietly and slowly in his chess game. History will roll forward menacingly between his fingers." As Thales pictured the amiable middle-aged king in the portrait, he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
"Such a path, such a change, and such a threat, once it begins, whether you notice it or not, it will no longer be within the range of the suzerains' control. It will not be the struggles and conflicts you are familiar with," Thales said with difficulty.
"Even if you put ten thousand supreme class Swordsmen of Eradication in your bedroom, even if you build iron walls that reach the clouds in the city, even if you dig a moat that overflows for hundreds of miles outside the city, even if you win hundreds and thousands of legendary battles on the battlefield, even if you use rare wisdom and strategies to defeat countless powerful and terrifying enemies, even if you win a reputation and prestige that no one can match, even if you have the legendary Great Dragon and calamity guarding your pillow day and night …
"You will not be able to stop this general trend. You will not be able to stop your destined decline and defeat."
The archdukes' expressions became solemn.
Lampard clenched his teeth.
"In the face of it, no matter how big, strong, or boundless your power is just a joke.
"So, what is scary is not the threat, but the fact that you know where the threat is," Thales said dejectedly. "But you still can't do anything about it, and can only wait to be destroyed."
The archdukes' expressions changed.
"Once you think of this threat happening behind your backs, will you still agree to Lampard and walk down this path hand in hand with him?"
"Enough," Lampard said decisively and interrupted Thales with an angry expression. "I have had enough of your baseless clamor and bewitchment, boy."
He strode towards Thales.
The prince shuddered. Saroma's face also turned pale.
But Lampard was only halfway there when Archduke Roknee appeared in front of Thales.
"Step back, Lampard." Roknee tapped the hilt of the sword at his waist. His expression was cold. "I have never sparred with you before, but I am very willing to try."
Lampard's expression froze.
"Northlander," Archduke Lecco said softly, "Don't act like a low-level hooligan who will draw his sword and kill someone's entire family to vent his anger at the slightest disagreement."
It was only then that Thales took a deep breath and calmed himself down.
"Your second fallacy, Lampard." Thales forced himself to continue. "You think that what I said is baseless?"
"No," Thales said firmly, "Constellation is the best example."
The archdukes' gazes froze.
"Everyone, how did Lampard exaggerate Constellation's power and strength to you, and how we pose a threat to you?" Thales turned around and, intentionally or otherwise, pulled Saroma to the front of the other archdukes. "In his description, has Constellation become a giant dragon that is only one step away from soaring into the sky?
"I don't know how much you know about Constellation, but what I am going to tell you next is the news that is only circulated among the guardian dukes and counts — the Six Great Clans and the Thirteen Distinguished Families. It may be the truth, or it may be a rumor.
"On the day I left Eternal Star City and embarked on this unlucky journey," Thales gritted his teeth and said in the face of the archdukes' gazes, "an unexpected person came to me and told me …"
The figure of the One-eyed Duke appeared before Thales' eyes.
"In Constellation, in Eastern Sea Hill, Cullen of the Sun Sword and Shield has become a coward and is subservient to the Royal Family. Fakenhaz of Western Desert Hill relies on the Western Frontlines and bitterly supports the Four-eyed Skull Flag. In South Coast Hill, Covendier of the Iris Flower's lineage is unstable. A few days ago, the Royal Family confiscated two baronies. In Blade Edge Hill, Duchess Tabark of the Blood Moon has fallen to the point where she cannot survive without the Royal Family.
The archdukes' expressions changed. They were shocked, contemplative, doubtful, and various other emotions.
"As for the Northern Territory that you are most familiar with, the White Eagle's Arunde of the White Eagle, who has been Lampard's enemy for generations, has long been reduced to a vassal of the Royal Family after his scheme was exposed.
"And this is only the most glorious Six Great Clans. What did the Thirteen Distinguished Families and the traditional nobles experience when their power and status were stripped away?"
"You want proof? Constellation is your proof! "Thales said loudly," Look at our current situation! Did you think that the chaos in the National Conference was just an act? "
Lampard closed his eyes and clenched his fists tightly.
"However, this is far from the end." Thales looked at the archdukes' expressions and said solemnly, "Those who have been stripped of their power will not give up and wait for death. Instead, they will secretly wait for an opportunity to strike back. Did you think that Arunde only wanted the throne on a whim?!"
He took a step forward and pulled open the clothes in front of his chest, revealing the scar that was burned by Quide. He gritted his teeth and said, "Since I was found, I have experienced countless assassinations and conspiracies. Even when I was sleeping in Renaissance Palace, I could still smell the faint tension and blood!"
Saroma covered her mouth and looked at the scar on his chest in surprise.
Trentida whistled while Olsius crossed his arms.
Archduke Lecco's expression was solemn.
"The Nineteen Noble Families are only representatives. This kind of dissatisfaction will not be limited to the great vassals and great nobles. It will spread to the whole country. All the people who are affected will become uncontrollable riots and dissatisfaction.
"This kind of bloody struggle has never ended. It is only quietly dormant. One day, it will erupt again until the final victor is decided," Thales said coldly.
"Mindis the Third's chess game ushered in its climax after more than a hundred years." The prince turned his head and said firmly, "And I can tell you with certainty that Constellation is at its darkest moment, at its most dangerous moment. The conflict between the new order and the old blood …"
When he said this, Thales paused for a moment and focused his gaze.
A terrifying thought instantly crept into his mind.
'Darkest …
'Most dangerous …
'New order.
'Old blood.'
At that moment, Thales opened his mouth and his face was full of shock.
His hands trembled slightly.
'No way?'
"What's wrong?" Olsius said impatiently, "Are you stuck?"
With Saroma's tugging, the prince came back to his senses, but he still could not calm the panic in his heart.
But he still tried to control his emotions and pursed his lips.
"This is your third fallacy, Lampard." Thales suppressed the doubts in his heart and said with difficulty, "You think that Constellation's chaos and weakness are only temporary, and that once we recover, we can return to our peak and be invincible in the Western Peninsula?"
"No."
Thales panted. "Just like how there is no change without cost, there is no change without risk.
"The decline of the nobles is the price. Their counterattack is the risk that Constellation faces."
When he said this, the archdukes' expressions were unusually interesting. Among them, even Lampard furrowed his brows.
"Constellation's current weakness and turbulence is not a coincidence, but an inevitable result of taking this path." As Thales spoke, he deduced and was shocked by his new guess. "This is what the Virtuous King left for Constellation."
His face was pale and he looked absent-minded. He remembered the words the One-Eyed Dragon once left behind.
Saroma looked at him worriedly.
"I don't know how long Constellation can hold on, where this country will go, and what kind of outcome will await it," the prince said. For the first time, without any ulterior motives, he spoke sincerely and truthfully, "Will it be torn apart, or will it be sweet after all the hardships?
"I only know that in this torrent, be it King Kessel or I, the Six Great Clans or the Thirteen Distinguished Families, we are all trembling in fear and swaying in the storm."
'Forget it.
Whether it's true or not, Thales convinced himself. 'At least …
'At least … at least I can convince them and shake them. That's enough.'
"And in this torrent, the biggest and most terrifying wave …" Thales gritted his teeth and pressed his hand against his chest.
There was a map given to him by King Nuven.
"All of you should have heard of it."
The archdukes looked at each other with puzzlement in their eyes.
"That's right." In front of the archdukes, Thales breathed painfully. Amidst countless memories and clues, he said the answer he had just guessed.
"That tragedy where everyone lost, and there was almost no winner."
The Jadestar Tomb of Renaissance Palace appeared before Thales' eyes. The countless stone jars and jars of various sizes, and the young duchess from the Tabark Family appeared. Under the archdukes' shocked gazes, he subconsciously said softly,
"The Bloody Year."
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