"...The black tide has caused major changes in the power of monsters in the dark world, and many areas have become weak. According to the observations of the White Tower, we will have a long period of good days in the future."
"This is a good opportunity. Use the City of Stars as a base to control all nearby areas, then expand to the west and capture the Storm Pass, so that the territory lost for six hundred years can be included in Trorian's territory again." Armando shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, we have just experienced a long and bloody battle. When the doomsday sky and the black tide came, you insisted on not giving up the City of Stars, causing us to suffer great losses."
"The soldiers are exhausted, all the medical clinics in the royal city are full, and the purification ceremony in the Soul Church continues all night long."
The leader of the Healing Order stood up and said: "Your Majesty, all our central medical practitioners and healing nuns are doing their best to treat, but it is still far from enough to cure everyone, and many permanent disabilities have appeared."
Soul Master Priscilla said softly: "The souls of many warriors are seriously corrupted. Our purification ability has reached its limit. The infection of the black mist is not so easy to remove. The warriors have been fighting on the front line for too long."
Logistics chief Hu Lun also said: "The Sealand military base is full, and the reservations for combat ratings have been made until next year. Soldiers need time to digest experience, and the combat system also needs time to update, so that in the future we can allocate more accurately and efficiently.
Combat power."
Some senior figures are also wailing.
"Your Majesty, your new law is too harsh."
"The taxes are too heavy."
"Why ban the mills?"
"They are all voluntary..."
Wang's eyes swept across them coldly, and the noise suddenly became quieter.
"Flesh mills are absolutely not allowed to exist. If a person eats people, what is the difference between him and a monster? What is the difference between a human royal city and a monster's den?"
"We feel uncomfortable now because we have been living in the red plains for too long. This land can no longer support such a large population. We lack too many resources. How many people cannot be promoted due to resource problems. The annual trial of fire,
How many people have been missed due to resource issues?"
"We need a broader living space, and now it's time to take another step forward."
The king's voice fell, and there was a long silence in the Hall of Fire.
Neither the elders, the consuls, nor the legion commanders and guardians who had just returned to the royal city spoke.
In the end, the expansion plan was shelved due to huge controversy.
The elders believe that after occupying the Star City, they will use it as an enclave to firmly hold the city and only mine raw crystal ore and sunstone for the royal city.
The king intends to use the City of Stars as his base, incorporate all nearby areas into Trorian's territory, and continue to expand westward.
The legion commanders have different opinions, and the guardians also have their own ideas.
After the meeting, the respective groups in the senior management gathered together.
Jon, the guardian and candidate for the king, was enthusiastically attracted by everyone, led by the Grand Advocate Manolo Bana and the Grand Justice Lywell.
They desperately hope that Jon can stand up and speak justice for them.
"Lord Jon, His Majesty taxes us too heavily. We are the financial backbone of the royal city. If we continue to be squeezed like this, what should we do if the backbone collapses?"
"That's right, the 40% heavy tax is too much. Why do those civilians who have made no contribution only pay 10% tax? But pillars like us pay so much instead?"
"The flesh and blood mill is not what we want to do. Those poor people have no way to survive in the first place. Existing in this world is just a waste of the warmth of the holy fire. Isn't it the best choice for them to sell themselves and save their families?" p>
"Yes, they sacrificed their flesh and blood and souls to make soul red crystals, extract living spirituality, and also provide supplies to the soldiers on the front line. Why should such a multi-purpose thing be banned?"
"Our territory is already large enough. There is no need to expand. It doesn't matter even if some poor people die."
Jon remained silent.
These people do not understand the cruelty and coldness he advocates. If he ascends the throne as king, he will confiscate the homes of all these people and exterminate them as soon as possible. Their property is much more useful than the empty pockets of the poor.
Then he will implement an iron-fist rule in the royal city and use more cruel methods to expand outward.
In essence, his and Wang's directions are the same, but more radical.
And these idiots actually thought he was on the same side as them.
But his adjutant Villas gently tugged at the corner of his clothes and asked him to pay attention to attracting more supporters.
Jon sighed softly in his heart and began to respond to their words in a limited way.
——
Qingyu, the guardian and candidate for king, received a much more enthusiastic woo.
Everyone knows that Your Excellency Qingyu is kind-hearted. As long as she does not violate common sense and is not excessive, she cannot bear to refuse.
This is how her one hundred and sixty would-be royal husbands came.
She also had a great influence on Wang.
Everyone hopes that she can persuade the king to calm down Trolian temporarily and stop making any bigger moves.
Whether they are combatants or non-combatants, whether they are fire fighters or ordinary people, they are all very tired and eager to enjoy this rare peaceful day.
The white wolf Vermeer is guarding Qingyu, ready to kick away anyone with bad intentions at any time.
——
No one paid much attention to Xingge, the guardian and king candidate. He was too young and had no influence.
Unless Jon and Qingyu die suddenly, it is impossible for him to take the throne.
——
No one paid attention to Archbishop Horus. He was a die-hard supporter of the king and there was no need to look for him.
If you don’t support the king, there is no need to look for him.
But the Holy Church is not the sole authority of Horus. Other bishops and archpriests also have a certain say.
——
First Defense Chief Lin summoned all corps commanders and people above the group captain level to start a closed-door meeting.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
——
The largest number of people gathered at the residence of the first elder Armando.
Many people hope that the number two figure in the royal city, the leader of the conservatives, can dissuade the king from his risky plan.
But not everyone holds conservative views, and many people also want to recreate Trorian's glory.
They have now reached the most powerful state in a hundred years, but compared with two hundred years ago, three hundred years ago, six hundred years ago, or the further Trorian era, they are still far behind.<
/p>
No one wants to recreate the glory of the past.
In the dark world, only more partners can bring greater security.
They also hope to persuade the first elder to support the king's plan.
This is not without a chance.
The First Elder respects tradition the most, and maintaining Trorian's heritage and rules is more important than their lives.
Armando is also among the most conservative among the first elders in history.
If you can find some basis from ancient classics, you might be able to convince him.
——
Some people support Wang's plan, while others oppose it.
Talinas, the chief consul of the royal city, is the most opposed person among all the opponents.
He owns a large number of industries in major Trolian cities such as Royal City, Ironforge City, Mountain City, and Stone City.
If Wang's new law is implemented, he and his family will suffer terrible losses.
The new law was implemented for expansion.
Therefore, Talinas is extremely opposed to expansion.
Late at night.
Manolo Bana, Lai Weier and other senior officials gathered in his mansion for the second time.
This time, there was no noise or argument. They were all on the same side and only needed to discuss the plan.
Tallinas accurately analyzed from the king's recent series of actions that the king tried to appoint Rhodes as the Hand of the King in order to make him the vanguard of the expansion plan.
Justice Amorli wondered: "Has the king lost his mind and gone crazy? What is the use of this young boy?"
"Yes, he has only been a fireman for less than half a year. He is a waste. Why did he become the pioneer of the expansion plan?"
"If he becomes a pioneer, he will definitely fail miserably. When the time comes, I don't see what those crazy people who are so happy about success will have anything to say."
"Wrong."
Manolo Bana stared at Rhodes' file transcript.
"It is impossible for Wang to make such a stupid mistake. We cannot underestimate him."
Justice Kramer sneered: "Except for the time when he obtained Theodore's soul ripple, what achievements does he have worth boasting about?"
"He has no command experience, has not experienced the cruelty of pioneering, and has not even completed his studies. The western part of Star City is very dangerous. The Survey Corps has discovered two corrupt nests one after another. He only had one ending in the past, and that was total annihilation."<
/p>
Justice Lywell agreed: "That's right."
"No."
Manolo Bana still shook his head.
"You are too arrogant. Think about what Wang has done. Twenty years ago, could you imagine today? He controlled the Holy Church and the Military War Department, so that opponents like us had to sacrifice our lives for him.
And no matter how much we make trouble, we can't change the situation."
Everyone's faces became a little gloomy.
Only Talinas smiled: "Gula, continue."
Manolo Bana nodded slightly and continued: "If we take a closer look, the most strange thing is the Black Tide mission. It was inexplicably delayed and Rhodes was replaced in it, as if he was waiting for him on a special trip."
"Assuming that Wang predicts that the plan will definitely succeed, then doesn't this look like he is paving the way for Rhodes?"
Everyone fell silent.
Manolobana's fingers continued to slide on the file.
"According to this logic, the king's purpose is obvious, which is to make Rhodes the king's hand and the vanguard of his expansion plan."
"Wang knows that it is difficult to succeed in implementing an expansion plan forcefully, but it is much easier to settle for the second best and only send some people for tentative expansion."
"Assuming that Rhodes achieves great success and the losses from expansion are far less than the gains, most people in the royal city will change their attitudes and support the king's new law."
"If the king further controls the government system and internal affairs system, he will have unprecedented power and can implement various new laws at will, and implement expansion and even expedition plans."
"Everyone, when the time comes, your things will no longer be your things."
After the words fell, there was silence in the mansion.
After a long time, Justice Laiweil asked in a frightened tone: "How is this possible? What is so special about that kid?"
A cold light flashed in Manolo Bana's eyes, he swallowed the real answer, and said calmly: "Have you forgotten Theodore? All these changes have happened since the Battle of Giants. Maybe Theodore gave
He gained some magical power and gained the king's trust."
"Yes!"
Justice Laiweier's eyes lit up.
"Perhaps Theodore's soul ripples have not completely dissipated, and some are hidden, waiting to be used during the expedition."
Justice Amory shouted: "I understand! Theodore is not dead yet. The king deliberately sent him, but in fact it was equivalent to sending Theodore. How could the legendary conjuration master fail?"
"Yes, everyone in the royal city only saw that a young boy could succeed, but they didn't expect that the person standing behind him was Theodore!"
"Poison, it's too poisonous! Fortunately, Lord Gula saw it, otherwise we would have been in trouble."
"Lord Gula, what should we do now?"
Manolo Bana sneered: "The best way is to do everything possible to prevent him from passing the combat rating. As long as he fails to pass, the king has no reason to force him to be the hand of the king."
"Yes, yes! Let's get ready now!"
"The fifth-level combat rating also includes actual combat content. The monster required for the trial has been captured. I will feed it rotten matter to make its strength skyrocket."
"I'm going to secretly modify the trial mechanism!"
"I'm going to influence the rating committee!"
"..."
Amidst a series of shouts, Manolobana and Talinas glanced at each other without hesitation, revealing smiles as cold as water.
——
The next day.
The Royal City Meeting was held again in the Hall of Fire.
After a night of discussions, the tough attitudes of First Elder Armando and many senior officials have softened.
Wang also gave in and decided to send an advance team to conduct tentative expansion first, and then decide whether to expand further based on the results.
This plan was approved by Armando.
Therefore, the issue of further expansion of Trolian has been settled for the time being.
The implementation of the accompanying new law has also been postponed.
——
Secret branch base.
Following the king's instructions, Rhodes is working hard to expand his influence in the secret branch and try to find more partners.
But the process was not particularly smooth.
Sauron clearly rejected his solicitation and said that he only obeyed the orders of Lady Olivia.
Teresa agreed, but she was hitting the bottleneck of her soul's characteristics and had to wait until she completed her transformation before she could help him.
Others did not refuse, but they did not explicitly agree.
Kashan agreed.
But she is not yet a formal combatant, and cannot make independent choices except completing training tasks.
Just when Rhodes was about to look beyond the secret branch, he received a notification from the Zealand Military Base——
His fifth-level combat rating trial has been prepared and will begin at noon tomorrow.
All weapons and items he will use in battle must be submitted to the rating committee for review in advance. Unapproved weapons and items are not allowed to be used.