"What the f * ck are you talking about?!"
Archduke Roknee snapped out of his daze. He could no longer hold back his anger and shouted at Thales.
Thales calmed his breathing and stared at Roknee calmly.
'They don't like this suggestion.' The prince observed everyone's expressions and came to this conclusion.
It was not just Roknee. Almost all the archdukes except Lampard were extremely dissatisfied. Even the slippery Trentida snorted to express his disdain.
However, Thales had long since anticipated their reaction.
Next …
"In my opinion …"
Archduke Olsius raised his heavy sword again, his eyes blazing. "Shall we kill this viper first, then kill each other?"
"Prince Thales!" Archduke Lecco's deep voice was now filled with sternness. "I advise you …"
Thales took a deep breath. Saroma shook her head at him from afar.
"It's not two minutes yet." The prince put on the most serious expression he could imagine. "Keep your promise. Let me finish. After that, you can cut me into as many pieces as you want!"
Archduke Lecco stopped talking. His face was filled with disgust and anger.
Thales immediately turned his head.
Lampard was looking at him with a complicated expression.
'I have to find something they care about,' Thales told himself.
"If you become their new king," Thales said firmly to Lampard, "even if you let them walk out of here alive, the archdukes will not be able to do anything to you in public. They will not be able to fabricate a reason to attack their own king, because this is a violation of the Joint Ruling Pledge!
"Aside from getting rid of their threat to you, you will also obtain the status, prestige, and taxes of the king. You will be able to continue fulfilling your ideals in Eckstedt, and you will not have to face the wrath of Dragon Clouds City after the archduke's death."
Lampard's brows furrowed and relaxed. He wanted to say something, but stopped.
"Impossible!" Archduke Roknee interrupted them with gritted teeth. "In this lifetime, I will never choose a king slayer as king!
"This in itself is the greatest violation and insult to the Joint Ruling Pledge!"
'I knew it,' Thales said in his heart.
Thales could only close his eyes again, inhale, and turn to them.
"This is a necessary compromise!"
The prince said firmly, "Archduke Roknee, I know that your vassals have always been unstable, and Nuven has also used this as an opportunity to interfere with you. Think about it. If your City of Faraway Prayers lost its suzerain today —"
"Think about the current Dragon Clouds City!"
Ronnie was speechless.
Thales looked at the others with an anxious expression.
"Everyone, please put aside unnecessary emotions and think carefully. This is already much better than your original ending!"
"If I didn't show up, think about what would have happened to all of you. You would have fallen into Lampard's trap of the Virtuous King without knowing what was going on. You would have fallen apart in wars and benefits. You would have been weakened by his successive schemes. You would have become a stepping stone for the Archduke of Black Sand Region's power. You would have sacrificed your own families to be buried with the Joint Ruling Pledge."
"To lay the foundation for the new Eckstedt Kingdom without the existence of archdukes." Thales panted. "And to wait helplessly for their families and territories to be destroyed."
Olsius straightened his face and stared straight at the Archduke of Black Sand Region.
Lampard lowered his head when he heard that. His eyes narrowed and his brows twitched as if a storm was brewing.
"But now that all of you have successfully avoided that ending and obtained such important information," the prince's voice rang out again, "are you going to die in vain in Heroic Spirit Palace, leaving behind an Eckstedt with an unknown future, and plunge your families and territories into turmoil?
"If you accept my suggestion, at least all of you will be able to return to your territories and your families safely. You will be able to see your siblings, your wives, your children, your relatives, and your friends. You will be able to arrange everything in an orderly manner and stand together again to fight against your new king. Be wary of the new threat lurking in the dark!"
Archduke Trentida snapped his fingers in a baffling manner. His expression was subtle.
Thales eagerly waited for the archdukes' response.
"You mean …" Archduke Lecco steadied his emotions and enunciated the essence of the prince's suggestion word by word. "You want us to bestow the king slayer with the power and status of a king, and hand the initiative and shield of the battle to this traitor's hands in exchange for our own ignoble existence …" Archduke Lecco steadied his emotions and enunciated the essence of the prince's suggestion.
The bald old archduke's tone changed. His gaze was as sharp as a knife.
"And then wait for him, as the king, to crush us one by one? Build his own kingdom? " At that moment, the old archduke was like a volcano about to erupt. It was unsettling. "You underestimate us Northlanders, Prince Thales.
"We would rather die in battle here!"
Lampard sneered at the perfect moment, earning the archdukes' angry glares.
Thales sighed in anguish.
'Damn Northlanders.
I have to solve their worries. '
The prince closed his eyes and tilted his head to the left as far as it could go. Then, he swung it back fiercely.
"No!
"Even if he becomes king, he won't succeed." Thales squeezed his eyes, feeling a headache coming on. "At least now, all of you know Lampard's scheme, know his ambition, understand his threat, and be wary of his existence. Even as his vassals, all of you can use corresponding means to resist him …"
Thales desperately tried to recall what Gilbert, Putray, and Little Rascal had told him about Eckstedt's current situation. He tried to piece together a powerful argument. "For example …"
The prince's words were stuck in his throat. At that moment, he did not know how to convince them.
"For example …"
However, just as Thales was in a dilemma, a childish female voice cut into the conversation.
"All of you are not the dukes of Constellation. The power and status of the Archduke of Eckstedt are much greater and higher than that of the guardian dukes …"
Thales was stunned.
With bewilderment and astonishment, the archdukes turned their gazes to the side in unison.
With a trembling voice, the young Saroma rubbed the Ring of Triumph on her finger with a timid tone that had yet to subside. She stuttered, "Yes.
She stuttered, "Even if the king has a higher status than all of you, even if all of you have to pay taxes to him, just like before …"
"All of you …" Saroma choked, but then she gulped and clenched her tiny fists. Her face was red as she said forcefully,
"The seventh article of the Joint Ruling Pledge states that 'I obey the king's orders, and my land obeys me' … As long as there is a legitimate reason, all of you can still refuse the king's orders and refuse to carry out his decrees in your own land …"
The archdukes were all stunned.
"There is also the fourteenth article: 'Do not refuse war in the name of righteousness'. The reverse meaning of this article is that in the face of a war that goes against your principles and righteousness, as long as you provide a reason and convince your vassals and subjects, you have the right to reject the king's conscription order. Even if you have to send troops, the number of troops you send is also up to you …"
Lampard's expression became very unpleasant.
Saroma continued to speak timidly, "Also, there are precedents that are not written in the oath but are recorded. If the king wants to send officials to mediate the internal affairs of your territory or the conflicts between suzerains, they must be nobles of considerable status …"
"All of you may have to pay taxes to him, but the ratio of payment is usually decided by your own internal meetings and according to the annual harvest and income. This is the practice after 'Tan En's civil strife'. It was first proposed by the first Archduke Olsius."
Archduke Olsius' expression immediately became very interesting.
"So, all of you do not have to be afraid of the king." Saroma took a deep breath. "In Eckstedt, the king and the archdukes are both the owners of the land. This is the power that the archdukes tacitly acknowledge under the Joint Ruling Pledge."
Lampard shut his eyes tightly. 'So, this is why the Joint Ruling Pledge must be destroyed …
With such a restriction …
Eckstedt can only be a Great Dragon with ten heads forever. '
Saroma continued, "But for the past ninety years, under the pressure of Dragon Clouds City, many archdukes have not dared to bring it up publicly due to all kinds of pressure.
"But Black Sand Region is not Dragon Clouds City. He does not control your trade routes, nor does he control your grain production. He is also not your blood relatives or in-laws to interfere with your internal problems."
Saroma exhaled softly. Her small face was flushed. After she finished speaking, she suddenly realized that the archdukes were all looking at her.
The girl quickly lowered her head nervously.
The archdukes, including Lampard, stared at her in surprise, as though they were meeting this girl for the first time.
'That girl …
'What exactly is she?'
Thales heaved a sigh of relief and cast a grateful glance at Saroma.
"Yes!"
Thales resolutely clenched his fists and pumped them in front of his chest. "Just like how all of you resisted King Nuven's pressure with your dignity as archdukes. So what if he is the king? Can he just issue an order for all of you to surrender? Can a frontier Black Sand Region be worse than the powerful Dragon Clouds City? "
Thales added the last sentence agitatedly, "As Northlanders, are you afraid? Or are you unwilling to part with that damned common-elected throne? "
Roknee raised his head abruptly and gritted his teeth in annoyance. "If you insult Northland again …"
Olsius added coldly, "I'll cut off your tongue."
Thales shuddered.
"Alright." Thales gulped and nodded. He rationally did not continue the conversation. "I know all of you are not afraid of death, but this is ten thousand times worse than dying here for no reason and plunging Eckstedt into chaos and your territory into confusion, isn't it?
"It takes more courage and responsibility to live with hope than to die with despair."
Lecco did not speak again. Instead, he sank into deep thought.
Thales' chest rose and fell. He breathed a sigh of relief.
But this time, it was Lampard's turn to clench his fists and question him with hatred.
"If that's the case …" The Archduke of Black Sand Region's expression was as cold as ice. "Why should I let them go, sit on that dangerous and unstable throne, and become a king in name but not in reality?
"Leaving behind a disaster, allowing these enemies with malicious intentions to use all kinds of methods against me in private, and eventually lead to a disaster?"
Lampard's expression became solemn. "My love is here. I'll take their heads. I don't want to play cat and mouse with them."
As soon as he said this, the three people who were confronting each other immediately looked ferocious. They immediately showed signs of fighting again.
Thales raised his hands in agony and scratched his hair hard.
'Argh!
These bastards! '
"Lampard!"
Thales sucked in a sharp breath. "If you don't do this, prepare to say goodbye to your future!"
"Six archdukes died in Heroic Spirit Palace in one day. You, who came out with an army, tried to explain to Prime Minister Lisban's army and the angry Dragon Clouds City that this was all done by the Constellatiates, and that I was just passing by?"
Lampard snorted coldly.
He tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword.
'This brat …
'This …
'Damn it.'
"As for the archdukes' threats to you, aren't you Chapman Lampard?" Thales suppressed his inexplicable anger and said in a low voice, "Renaissance Palace, Broken Dragon Fortress, Shield District, and now! We've fought against each other so many times. You, who never yielded, always managed to fight for hope in a hopeless situation.
"Don't you dare to take the risk again, for your ambition, for your ideals, for your Eckstedt, to sit on that dangerous and unstable throne, and to continue your dangerous game on the second battlefield?
"Do you still need me to tell you which to choose, to die here without hope, or to walk into danger with a glimmer of hope?"
Lampard's breathing gradually became chaotic.
Thales remembered Lampard's past and subconsciously added,
"Believe me, after killing a few archdukes in a row, your ambition will come to an end. The preparations and painstaking efforts you've put in for half a lifetime will be destroyed, and your family's tragedy will still continue!
"Think about your family, think about your subordinates. Are you willing to accept this?"
Lampard froze on the spot. He stared at the saber in his hand in a daze and did not speak for a long time.
'Harold …'
"Kid." Archduke Olsius's expression was solemn. "One moment, one moment, the other. Whose side are you on exactly?"
Thales had no choice but to turn towards the four archdukes again.
He felt like a firefighter, running back and forth, mentally and physically exhausted.
"No matter which side I stand on," Thales sighed and said wearily, "I don't care which side I'm on.
"But I'm sure that none of you want Eckstedt, which is unstable and on the verge of collapse, and whose future is unknown amidst the chaos, to face it alone or to leave it behind, right?"
The archdukes still looked displeased, but Thales keenly noticed that Lecco had put away his anger and put down his hands thoughtfully. Trentida, on the other hand, pursed his lips and said nothing.
You have to work harder.
Thales furrowed his brows and thought of something.
"You may not understand, but I can guarantee that …"
"My father, King Kessel, will definitely be very, very happy to see such a scene." Thales pictured the cold image of the Iron Hand King in his heart and tried hard to find the angle that was most in line with the archdukes' thinking.
"As for whether he will, after Constellation recovers, take advantage of the terrible internal strife in Eckstedt after the death of six, or perhaps seven, archdukes, and unify the nobles in the country with Eckstedt's blood …
"That is not something I can imagine." Thales narrowed his eyes. "Especially when the seven archdukes include the three archdukes in the south, near Constellation."
Olsius's expression changed.
Archduke Lecco sighed and closed his eyes.
"He has a point," Archduke Trentida, who had been silent for the past few minutes, suddenly said. "Dying here is not worth it. There are only unfavorable consequences."
Olsius glared at him sternly. "Porpheus!"
Thales' eyes brightened, as if he had found a breakthrough.
"See, this is what we all agree on." The prince punched his palm and swept his sharp gaze across everyone. "The situation is progressing too quickly, so much so that you are unprepared and have no choice but to draw your swords against each other in a hurry and fight to the death …
"But in fact, none of you want to pay such a heavy price!"
Thales turned his head to the left and right and said sincerely, "So, both of you need a way out, a choice that allows you to take a step back."
Archduke Roknee calmed down and shook his head. "Exchanging the throne for safety is not a choice at all. We can't solve anything."
Thales nodded, feeling a little bitter in his heart.
"This may not be the way to solve the problem.
"But please remember, in this round, none of you surrendered, none of you admitted defeat, and none of you abandoned your principles and beliefs." Thales stared at the archdukes, who were gradually quieting down.
He said solemnly, "You are only temporarily covering the middle of the game, temporarily withdrawing your swords, rubbing your palms together, and leaving the outcome of the battle for the next time."
Archduke Olsius' face contorted and he growled in displeasure.
He thought of his Prestige Orchid Region, and the teachings and stories passed down from generation to generation in his family.
'This Jadestar fellow …
'Jadestar!'
Thales turned to the hesitant Lampard.
"This is my proposal."
"You, Lampard, will become king. You will be free from the crime of regicide and the threat of the archdukes. You will obtain new power and status. Although the road ahead will be full of difficulties, you will still be able to restart your dream. You will not be trapped in the dangerous Dragon Clouds City."
Lampard did not speak.
Thales looked at the archdukes again.
"You, archdukes, will survive in a situation of certain death. At the same time, you will learn where the real threat lies. You will form an alliance again, return to your territories to protect your families, maintain the integrity of the Joint Ruling Pledge, and avoid Eckstedt's precarious fate."
Thales panted, praying in his heart for the archdukes' reaction.
Archduke Lecco slowly opened his eyes. He looked at Trentida, who flashed an ugly smile.
Olsius stared at Lampard, who was in front of him, and said through gritted teeth, "Choosing a king like this is child's play?
This is not child's play, this is politics. "
Unexpectedly, the one who interrupted him was Trentida.
The cunning man narrowed his eyes. "This is a necessary compromise, an exchange of benefits."
Thales seemed to have found a life-saving straw. He nodded gratefully. "You're right, this is another way of fighting.
"And when you know that there is a better choice, you still blindly charge forward and sacrifice your soldiers. That is the behavior of a fool."
Roknee turned to their 'traitor', Trentida. His expression was unpleasant. "So you're on his side?"
"If we are all killed by Black Sand Region here, then we don't have to take sides anymore," Trentida said gloomily. "It's the same for Chapman. He will kill us, and then Lisban will kill him."
Archduke Roknee growled, seeming rather indignant.
"Going against our wishes, bowing to a regicide and choosing him as king." The archduke with his long hair tied up clenched his teeth. His expression was gloomy. "And covering up his shameful act of regicide. Can you imagine anything worse than this, an act that tramples on the Joint Ruling Pledge?"
The archdukes' expressions darkened. They looked at each other.
The atmosphere was very heavy.
Thales could only bite the bullet and speak again.
"Weren't you prepared to do the same when you took the oath?"
Thales steadied his breathing and felt his palms sweating. "When you were facing the threat of Constellation, you made a painful but necessary decision. I can understand …
"Now, when you are facing Lampard's threat, you also have to make a painful but necessary decision …
"This is the responsibility of a suzerain." Thales felt like he was about to collapse from exhaustion. His brain was not enough to process it. "This is what you have to bear when you stand in this position."
Thales shook his head helplessly and said something that even he found ironic, "For Eckstedt."
Hearing this, Lampard exhaled and looked elsewhere. A soundless, mocking smile appeared on his face.
After Thales said the last sentence, he felt sweat all over his body. He was about to collapse.
He had tried his best.
If this was still not enough …
Then what next?
"It has been far more than two minutes."
Archduke Lecco, who had not moved for a long time, opened his tired eyes, as though he had gone through an intense duel. "Prince Thales."
Olsius and Roknee subconsciously raised their swords and looked at Lampard, who had also become vigilant.
"I'm sorry." Thales swallowed painfully. His mouth was dry.
"Perhaps my flow of time is different from yours."
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