Everything was as Gwen had expected.
The news from the south would make the king and the nobles nervous. Coupled with the warning of a resurrected ancient, this tension might rise to the level of panic, but that was it.
These people who had not experienced the Great Demon Wave and could not imagine it would not react too much to the news. Even if Gwen brought some elemental corroded swords and armors to prove it, it would not make them react at a higher level.
After all, although there were not many "abnormal natural phenomena" that could cause magic to corrode swords and armors, they were not unheard of. They could not be used as irrefutable evidence that the Great Demon Wave was about to come back. In fact, even Gwen himself could only make some bold speculations based on the information in his memory. He did not dare to pat his chest and say that the end of the world was coming.
Francis II's response was not wrong. He could not let the whole kingdom enter a state of war readiness because of this sudden news. Even if he wanted to, the bloated and backward aristocratic enfeoffment system would not allow him to do so. And even if the Great Mana Tide were to come, it was unwise to prepare the entire country for war now. The monsters and magic upwelling in the South were just a sign, not even the vanguard of the Great Mana Tide. The real Great Mana Tide would only appear in a few months, or even years (if it were to appear at all). And until then, everything was calm and peaceful.
If the Moen Family in its heyday asked the whole country to prepare for war without any evidence, it might have been possible. But now, the Second Dynasty … no longer had such appeal.
Francis II even ordered the Duke of the Eastern Region not to move.
A resurrected Grand Duke might have a lot of prestige, but if he wanted to use this prestige to interfere with the order of the kingdom today, then he was thinking too much. Gawain was very clear on this point. He knew that his right to speak here was like a scepter of flowers — splendid but powerless. The foundation of the Cecil Family was already gone. They had no land, no soldiers, and no generals. They even had to borrow money from others to travel to the capital. For the pragmatic circle of nobles, this was a very awkward situation.
So Gwen stopped Rebecca, who still wanted to speak, and looked at the king opposite him. "We have sent the news and issued a warning. As for the specific follow-up, it's your business."
"We will take your warning seriously," Duchess Victoria Werder said in a cold voice. "All the investigations will be launched immediately after this meeting, and you will get the news as soon as possible."
"Investigations … That's all we can do." Gwen nodded and changed the topic. "Then this matter ends here. Now, let's talk about the Cecil family's private affairs."
This time, the atmosphere was really tense.
"Relax, don't look like an ancestor who jumped out of the coffin and asked for the paper money burned over the years." Gwen smiled and waved his hand. Then, he found that no one could understand his lame joke.
So f * cking embarrassing.
"I know what happened a hundred years ago. Frankly speaking, I also want to kill that unfilial descendant," Gwen's face twitched, and he went straight to the point. "So, I have no intention of overturning this case. I just want to take back something that belongs to me."
Francis II and the other archdukes looked at each other. Everyone was more or less relieved. Gawain had taken the initiative to talk about the earth-shattering event a hundred years ago, which made them heave a sigh of relief from the bottom of their hearts. After all, on such a sensitive topic, anyone who took the initiative to speak would have a psychological pressure that could cause their blood pressure to soar to 200 points. It was really a relief that the living ancestor in front of them was so sympathetic to the younger generation.
But after a sigh of relief, they became nervous again. What would those things that belonged to Gwen Cecil be?
Everything belonged to the lord. This was the rule of the nobility. Everything of the Cecil family, including the fief, vassals, titles, and so on, was the personal property of Gwen Cecil. What was he referring to?
Everyone tensed up when no one was paying attention to them. Only Francis II glanced at Gawain calmly and nodded slightly without batting an eyelid.
"Don't be nervous. Most of my things have been passed down to my children. My unfilial descendants have squandered those things, and I can't force them back." Gwen smiled. "I'm referring to the things that can't be inherited, such as … my right to pioneer."
The great nobles and the advisors looked at each other, and then these learned and well-educated gentlemen and ladies immediately thought of the ancient and sacred Pioneer Decree.
It was a glorious memorial of the second pioneering, a proof of human courage to survive in a desperate situation, and an iron-willed oath of mortals in front of nature. Today, it was even a part of the basic code of the four kingdoms — a decree that would no longer have a chance to take effect, but no one dared to abolish it.
The original version of the Pioneer Decree was even engraved on a platinum board and enshrined in the temples of every human kingdom.
But everyone kept it as a memento! It was used to show off to the future generations! It was used to show that they were orthodox!
Why was it suddenly going to take effect again?!
But despite the shock, there was a trace of heartfelt relief on everyone's face, and this little change in expression did not escape Gwen's eyes.
So he also relaxed and began to discuss the permanent right to pioneer with the people present.
Gwen believed that it would not be too difficult.
Compared to a living ancestor who had returned to the human world to ask for the paper money he had burned and the vast fief he had 700 years ago, a permanent right to pioneer was nothing. Although the latter sounded intimidating, it would not affect the vital interests of anyone present, and under the circumstances that it did not affect their own interests, every noble (including the king himself) would be quite easy to talk to.
And this was the result of Gwen's deliberate promotion.
Along the way, he kept a high profile and spread all kinds of news. When he entered the capital, he even took out the flag from seven hundred years ago, making it seem as if he had come with ill intentions. This was to mislead everyone into thinking that this living ancestor was here to reverse the verdict of the Cecil Family and take back all of the family's fiefs. Therefore, everyone would make a plan to deal with this situation and prepare themselves for a battle of words to protect their own interests.
But Gwen's goal was only the permanent right to pioneer.
This difference was basically like going out to buy a watch. The original price was 860,000 yuan, and after a 25% discount, it felt like a great bargain.
They could not help but suspect that the watch was fake.
But even if the 25-yuan watch was fake, the ancestor was real. If he really only wanted the permanent right to pioneer … then what was there to say?
If Gwen had not done any foreshadowing and proposed the permanent right to pioneer at the beginning, perhaps things would not have gone so smoothly. The greedy nature of the nobles made them want to skimp even on such things. But with so much preparation, it was much easier to talk about the right to pioneer.
The kings and dukes present agreed without much discussion that the right to pioneer itself should be recognized. They had to recognize it even if they did not want to, because Ansu was not the only country that signed the right to pioneer. In fact, at that time, the four major human countries and the various races bordering the four countries also recognized the decree and promised that the decree would be permanent. And these "joint witnesses" included the elves from the Silver Empire in the southernmost part of the continent.
The elves were a group of mysterious and very long-lived elves.
They had an average lifespan of more than three thousand years, and were extremely strict and honest guys who were famous for their stubbornness. When the permanent law was signed, the elves were one of the witnesses because of this. In order to make the law more solemn and more credible, the four kings even wrote a copy of the elvish language and gave it to the Silver Empire for safekeeping.
Although everyone knew that it was impossible for the first generation of frontier knights to live to the end of time, the humans still had to write such a decree with a 'permanent' label, and even let a long-lived race be the witness. This was probably a quirk of the humans …
Anyway, at that time, the elven representative brought the copy back to the country while muttering "humans are really weird". Then, the Elven Queen happily stamped the copy. In the blink of an eye, seven hundred years had passed. The Elven Queen who had just ascended the throne was now … the Elven Queen …
She clearly remembered the stamp she had stamped back then. Why don't you try and admit it?
Anyway, Gwen had mentioned that if the Ansu did not admit the right of development, he would take his family around half the continent and go to the Silver Empire. Anyway, there were still undeveloped areas around the elven forest. Many of the elves were acquaintances, and they would get along well with the Cecil family.
Their own founding ancestor could not stay at home and dragged his family to live on a tree in the alien territory. If word got out, would they still have any dignity?
So, everyone present agreed that the right of development should be retained, but where exactly to develop … this would have to be discussed.
"There is no wasteland in the kingdom where people can live. Every inch of land has its own owner." The King's Prime Minister, Eden Alfred, stood up. This calm man was the right-hand man of Francis II, and he knew the situation of the whole kingdom like the back of his hand. "Outside the kingdom, there are very few wastelands in the border areas with other countries. Even if there are, it is a dead land with no life. For example, the buffer zone of the Gondor wasteland. Your Grace, where do you plan to develop? "
Gwen waved his hand and said, "Bring me the map."
When the map was presented, Gwen could not help but frown slightly after glancing at it.
Even though there were convenient magic in this world, such as Eagle Eye, Forest Perception, and Surveying, which could help people to draw maps, the map in front of him was still very rough, and there were even some problems with the scale.
Compared to the "satellite view" in his mind, it was like a scribble.
Perhaps it was because magic was too convenient that it affected the development of many things?
Gwen thought as he completed the comparison with the accurate map in his mind. Then he pointed to an area on the rough map and said, "I'll start from here."
It was a mountain range adjacent to the border between the Gondor wasteland and Typhon.
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