Heroic Spirit Palace, Hall of Heroes.
"Do you know, I have a conjecture," Thales said absentmindedly, "The Bloody Year was a disaster that almost destroyed Constellation. The entire kingdom was in a precarious situation amidst internal strife and conflict."
He raised his gaze, his voice trembling slightly.
"Until you went south."
At that moment, Thales caught a glimpse of a strange and puzzled glint in the archdukes' eyes.
"What do you mean?" Olsius asked coldly in return.
'Very well.'
Thales silently told himself in his heart.
'Benefits and threats — Lampard's two main weapons to convince the other archdukes were now gone. The archdukes probably understood that, to a certain extent, Lampard's threat was greater than Constellation's.
'And now …'
Thales glanced at Saroma. The girl clenched her slightly trembling fist and nodded slowly at him. Her eyes were filled with forced determination.
Now, he still had to convince the archdukes that the benefits Lampard promised them were not as delicious as they had imagined.
Thales raised his head.
"I have never seen the tragedy twelve years ago." Thales recalled Gilbert's tireless narration of the Bloody Year and said with a serious expression, "But I can imagine it from the elderly's narration: the disaster that befell the Jadestar Royal Family caused the disaster to reach its peak. The nineteen vassals all felt insecure, the nobles spread rumors everywhere, the army was leaderless, the people of the kingdom were furious, Eternal Star City entered the most critical state, and perhaps Constellation was on the verge of destruction."
Speaking of this, Thales sighed.
"Mindis the Third probably did not expect that the game he laid would usher in such a storm more than a hundred years later."
The archdukes exchanged a few worried glances. Lampard, on the other hand, tightened his grip on his saber.
"But during the autumn and winter twelve years ago, when the Eckstedt Army, for whatever reason, headed south, and especially when the news of the fall of Broken Dragon Fortress spread, all of Constellation was probably stunned," Thales continued to say.
"I'm guessing that the new war has broken the original situation and injected new excitement into Constellation, which is on the verge of death."
Archduke Lecco's murky eyes brightened slightly. His expression became more solemn.
Olsius and Trentida looked at each other in puzzlement.
"Eckstedt, the strongest force in the Western Peninsula, is invading from all fronts. This is not like the internal strife of the rebel army or the assassination of the royal family."
"While trembling in fear, most of the people in Constellation had no choice but to compromise — the great vassals, minor nobles, government officials, merchants, armies, farmers, and so on." Based on the known information and the ideas approved by the archdukes, Thales deduced the logic step by step. He thought hard about his next sentence to make it sound more believable and convincing.
"Under the shadow of the Great Dragon, they quickly came to a consensus: to end the current chaos as soon as possible, to welcome the last prince back to the capital, and to crown him amidst the blood and death. The forces that should have been split up in Constellation Realm gathered as one, just to resist the greed of the Great Dragon of the North.
Grand Duke Lecco narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"
Thales sucked in a deep breath and tried his best to make himself look more neutral and unconcerned about Constellation.
"It's very ironic, but it's also very possible. It was Eckstedt's aggressive invasion that forced us to mend our internal conflicts and conflicts, and saved Constellation from falling apart."
As soon as he said this, all the archdukes' breathing changed.
Even though the self-restraint of those who had been in power for a long time made their expressions not change, Thales still felt the strangeness in the air.
"All of you are older than me, wiser than me, and more experienced in the past. Why don't you think about it again? If all of you had not gone south twelve years ago, what would have happened to the chaotic Constellation, which had just lost its king and was without a leader?" Thales said flatly.
"And just now, when Lampard advised all of you to shift the blame to Constellation and send troops with him, did he coincidentally tell all of you that Constellation was in its most awkward and uncooperative stage, that the Northern Territory was isolated and without help, and that it was convenient for all of you to take it down?
"Will your sending troops to Constellation really achieve the effect you imagined?"
"Unlike a certain archduke who can't wait to tell you the answer and instruct you to do things," Thales nodded slightly at the archdukes. "I've raised the question, but I'll stop here. Please think about it on your own and decide on your own."
A strange and complicated expression appeared on Lampard's face.
The archdukes looked at him one after another.
Thales exhaled from the bottom of his heart, but there was a lingering haze in his heart. What he said earlier about Eckstedt's invasion was only a guess, and it was only to make the archdukes reconsider the price of invading Constellation.
'But …' Thales kept trying to convince himself that it was just a guess. 'What if it's true?
What if Eckstedt's invasion did temporarily force the Constellatiates to stand together again? '
He could not help but recall what the Born King had said last night when King Nuven was telling him about Soria's death.
"Thales, twelve years ago … we did not send troops south to Constellation without reason …
"It was an assassin from Constellation …"
When Constellation was at its most precarious moment, a strange assassination from Constellation triggered Eckstedt's invasion to the south.
King Nuven mentioned the assassination attempt …
Prince Soria had died in that assassination attempt …
During the negotiation between Nicholas and the Red Witch, that assassination was mentioned …
Even Putray hinted that he had something to do with that assassination when he parted with the prince just now …
'What is the secret behind that assassination?'
Thales clenched his fists slightly.
Lampard stared at the prince.
If his gaze could kill, Thales would probably be dead by now.
But Thales ignored him.
"So, I, Thales TherrenGirana Kessel Jadestar, descendant of Tormond, King of Renaissance …" Thales raised his chest and put on a solemn expression. In his mind, he imagined the scene in the Hall of Stars in front of the vassals, and tried his best to bring out the imposing manner of a prince.
"I am standing here, with the most humble wish and the most peaceful hope, to earnestly ask all of you to reconsider the war between our two countries, and to think about the price and meaning behind it."
At that moment, the four archdukes, Lecco, Roknee, Trentida, and Olsius also looked back at him seriously. Their expressions were solemn.
It was as if the person before them was not a weak child, but a ruler who could stand on equal footing with them.
At that moment, Thales thought of many people whose fates had been changed by the war, and said desolately, "You cannot guarantee that it will bring about the results you want the most, whether it is for you or for us."
"No one can guarantee it."
The hall fell silent again.
One of the braziers went out again.
The archdukes treated their words like gold. Each of them was deep in thought. This time, they did not even bother to exchange glances.
Lampard did not speak either.
But his knuckles were pale and the veins on the back of his hand, which was holding the saber, were protruding.
A few seconds later …
"It's done."
Archduke Lecco closed his eyes and sighed softly. "Please don't say anything else, Prince Thales. I think we all understand what you mean."
Thales felt his mind relax. His legs gave way and he swayed slightly.
Saroma supported his waist from behind so that he would not make a fool of himself on the spot.
Thales turned his head in pain and gave her a forced smile.
"What do you say?" Archduke Lecco's voice echoed in the hall.
He sounded hollow and tired.
"It's obvious, isn't it?" Archduke Roknee was the first to raise his head. His tone was ethereal but resolute. "It's better to go against a lion than to share a boat with a wolf."
Lampard's frown deepened.
'These people …'
"You know, Chapman, even though your offer is very tempting, I don't want my descendants to wake up one day and find themselves lying in ruins. So …" Trentida shrugged lightly with a complicated expression on his face.
Lampard snorted coldly without any expression on his face.
'These people …'
Archduke Olsius' expression froze for a long time. After a while, he opened his mouth and said bitterly, "We shouldn't have come today.
We shouldn't have participated in this damned archduke's meeting. "
Lampard slowly lowered his head.
'These people …'
Archduke Lecco knocked on the table.
"I understand.
"No matter what we plan to do …" The old archduke's face seemed to have gone through more vicissitudes. "Let's postpone the matter of framing Constellation and sending troops to the Northern Territory for the time being. Of course, today's matter must be handled properly.
"Especially regarding King Nuven's death."
His gaze focused again and he looked at Lampard. "If we don't plan to frame Constellation, we need a good reason."
His gaze was cold.
At that moment, even Saroma felt the atmosphere in the air freeze.
In the hall, everyone's standing positions had changed.
Without realizing it, the four archdukes stood together. Roknee and Olsius stood in front, while Thales stood beside them.
Opposite them, Lampard stood alone in front of the brazier.
The firelight and shadows divided his face into two parts, one bright and the other dark. It was strange and disturbing.
Lampard slowly raised his head.
'These people … are the obstacles to Eckstedt's advancement.'
He glanced at the archdukes one by one, and the latter responded to him with different expressions.
"All of you have made up your minds, haven't you?" Lampard said in his calmest tone, "Four experienced and wise Eckstedt archdukes, the situation has been turned around by a Constellatiate brat with just a few words. He used his mouth to make you waver."
He snorted softly and glanced at Thales. "Pathetic."
Thales held Saroma's hand tightly and quietly watched the archdukes' interaction from the sidelines.
He gritted his teeth, knowing that the situation was irreversible.
"He can't turn the situation around with just his mouth." Archduke Lecco's tone also became cold.
"No one can."
The bald old archduke narrowed his eyes. "But aren't you the one who used actions and facts to help him convince us, Chapman Lampard?"
Lampard mocked in a gloomy voice, "So this is your answer?
"First, for Eckstedt's sake, you decided to cover up the king's death together. A few minutes after swearing an oath of alliance, you rediscovered your conscience and decided to send me back to the king slayer's execution platform?
"We can still talk about this …" Trentida said gently.
Lampard's gaze was as sharp as a knife as he glared at him.
It made the suzerain with the bowl cut choke.
Lampard turned his head again and swept his gaze over the suzerains again and again with extreme seriousness.
It was as if he wanted to see through their souls.
'These people. Eckstedt relied on these people to get to where it is now?
Ridiculous.
Pathetic. '
Finally, after a while, Lampard lowered his head and let out a chilling laugh.
"Hahahaha …"
Thales felt uneasy. He knew that the matter was far from resolved.
"Chapman." Olsius furrowed his brows and only said one word, "Don't."
Lampard raised his head abruptly.
"Do you really know what you're doing?" Facing the archdukes, the Archduke of Black Sand Region's tone had never been so terrifying. "Your hesitation and cowardice are allowing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to slip through your fingers."
"You heard what he said, Constellation's current situation," Archduke Lecco replied flatly. "Your plan may not be the best choice for Eckstedt."
* Thud! * Lampard's scabbard hit the ground again.
"So, you believe him?" Lampard asked coldly.
"Don't you understand? As long as we work together, power, wealth, status — all our problems can be made up for with the benefits we plundered from our enemies. "His eyes seemed to be burning with fire." For Eckstedt, we must — "
Archduke Roknee's expression suddenly changed. He said loudly, interrupting Lampard, "Listen up, king slayer!"
"I am also the master of this country, and I also own Eckstedt." The long-haired archduke stood in front of all the other archdukes like an iron warrior. "And you have neither the right nor the ability to tell me what I must do for my country.
"And don't you dare force the rest of us to follow your methods and pledge loyalty to 'your' Eckstedt."
Lampard clenched his fists.
"There are ten of us, and there are ten Eckstedtians." The Archduke of Black Sand Region gritted his teeth. "This is where the problem lies!"
Archduke Roknee sneered. "So, you still admit that you want to kick the rest of us out of power?"
Lampard's expression was as cold as ice. He almost broke the hilt of his sword.
Trentida sighed and interjected like a peacemaker, "Chapman, you have to understand us. Imagine a day when a son or grandson of the Lampard Family lives on the streets like the most lowly —"
"So what?"
Lampard suddenly said, interrupting him like a raging lion. "Will it be worse than now?"
Trentida was speechless. He looked at Lampard with an increasingly strange expression.
The other archdukes furrowed their brows and stared at Lampard.
At that moment, the four archdukes had a clear realization. This Archduke of Black Sand Region might not be one of them, but an existence completely different from them.
Roknee coldly took over the conversation. "Of course it's better for those who benefit from it. Unfortunately, I'm not one of them."
There was silence.
Lampard took a deep breath, as though he was trying to suppress his rising anger.
"Hehehehe …" He let out an unsettling chuckle through his nose.
"It's been six hundred years."
He coldly swept his gaze over everyone, not even sparing Saroma.
"From the moment we were born, we were like hounds with a collar. We racked our brains to scheme against our vassals, and fought openly and covertly against the king in every possible way.
"Even if we became kings, we would just be repeating the same fate in this sorrowful shackle.
"For six hundred years, generation after generation, we've been walking in circles like headless ants." Lampard's face was contorted. "Don't you feel bored?"
"The Joint Ruling Pledge? To break this sorrowful cycle, for the future of this kingdom … "The Archduke of Black Sand Region gritted his teeth, his hands trembling.
"I bet everything on it."
"In the end, I could only watch your selfishness and shortsightedness destroy Eckstedt's future."
The archdukes stared at each other. An indescribable feeling rose in their hearts.
At this moment …
"Your Grace," Thales said softly, "Please don't make excuses for yourself. You make it sound like you're so noble, selfless, and great."
Lampard turned his head abruptly and shot an icy glare at the prince.
"If Eckstedt could be saved, why did it have to be you? Why couldn't it have been someone else? For example … King Nuven? "
Lampard's breath froze.
The other archdukes were also slightly stunned.
"Yes, I only understood later on that you weren't the only one who saw the current situation in Constellation." The prince sighed and recalled the scene when King Nuven mentioned the Virtuous King to him a few minutes before his death. "And also the supreme commander who led the army to cross the fortress, the Born King, Nuven Walton the Seventh.
"If you really only had Eckstedt in your heart and nothing else, why didn't you seize the opportunity and hand over your authority to King Nuven?"
Thales stared at the twisted Lampard and enunciated each word clearly, "In the struggle between the vassals and the royal power, you could have accepted the king's officials, the king's orders, and the royal power's infiltration into Black Sand Region. You could have willingly become the next Beacon Illumination City.
"You could have brought all of Eckstedt closer together under the banner of Dragon Clouds City's Cloud Dragon Spear." The prince raised his hand abruptly and pointed at the stone carving of the Cloud Dragon Spear on the ceiling. "Let the most powerful Born King become the sole ruler of Eckstedt!"
The hall fell silent again.
Lampard's expression grew colder.
"But you were unwilling, and your family was unwilling," Thales answered softly. "That's why today's tragedy happened.
"Did you think that your past, the deaths of your brother and mother gave you a reason to hate the Joint Ruling Pledge? Did you think that your actions would be different, become unusually prominent, especially tragic, and become heroic?"
Lampard stopped in his tracks and turned around stiffly.
His gaze was terrifying, and his face was ferocious.
'My past?
How dare he.
How dare he! '
For the first time, Thales bore the Archduke of Black Sand Region's almost suffocating aura without holding back.
But he only took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and raised his head.
At that moment, Thales remembered everything that happened in front of Broken Dragon Fortress. He remembered the sacrifice of Arracca and the Fury Guards.
He also remembered the tragedy in Dragon Clouds City, the destroyed Shield District, the White Blade Guards who fell one by one, and their fearless posture.
"No, Lampard, strip away your outer shell. You are actually no different from the others.
You are just creatures who fight for power and serve your own interests under the banner of 'for Eckstedt'.
"You don't even care about the lives around you, and you don't even cherish the land you belong to, yet you talk about the country and the future," the prince said coldly.
"You don't have the right to be noble."
The prince closed his mouth and ended his sentence.
At that moment, the Archduke of Black Sand Region and the Prince of Constellation's gazes met in the air. One of them was overflowing with murderous intent, while the other was firm and unyielding.
Lampard stood where he was. The temperature around him seemed to plummet.
"You."
Lampard stared at Thales and spoke slowly. With a heart full of hatred and coldness, he hissed the word through gritted teeth.
"You!"
Saroma was so afraid that she shrank behind Thales.
But she did not succeed, because Thales grabbed her hand tightly and dragged her back to his side. He forced her to look into Lampard's eyes.
"I am not 'you'," Thales replied coldly without showing any signs of weakness.
"Listen up, Chapman Lampard.
My name is Thales Jadestar. "
Lampard's pupils shrank slightly.
"A child who cannot drink." The prince took a step forward. His expression was firm.
"And your nemesis."
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