The other Grand Dukes looked at the Grand Duke of Black Sand with different expressions, listening to Leko's rejection of his words, but they had no intention of refuting.
Lumba looked at the four people blankly.
No.
His fists slowly clenched.
"Why?" Lumba said with some difficulty.
Grand Duke Ronnie laughed coldly and stepped forward slowly.
"What do you think?"
"We will not protect a traitor who betrays the Lord," the Grand Duke of Qiyuan City's eyes shone with light: "We will not collude with him for so-called interests."
Lumba didn't say a word, but had a scary look in his eyes.
"Even if the sword strikes me," Archduke Ronnie said with a resolute expression, "Even if the person's head falls to the ground."
"killer."
Trudida on the other side rolled her eyes, while Olesio snorted coldly.
The Grand Duke of Lombard gritted his teeth, and his chest was filled with inexplicable emotions that had been stored for many years.
No.
"My behavior may be difficult for you to understand." He controlled his emotions and gritted his teeth.
"But it is a last resort," Lumba said with a cold look in his eyes, "Sooner or later, someone has to do it."
"A last resort?"
Archduke Olesiu shook his head slowly: "A person who has no choice but to do so will not have so many follow-up plans."
Lumba threw off his cloak and his voice suddenly rose:
"Can't you see?"
"That's right, Nunn's death caused the entire Exeter situation to take a turn for the worse and the balance became unbalanced."
Every word spoken by the Grand Duke of Black Sand seems to be filled with years of resentment and anger:
"But isn't what I'm trying to do, put us first, rebalance this terrible situation?"
"Even if it's for Exeter - why don't you understand!"
boom!
The sound of palms hitting the square table.
All the Grand Dukes turned their attention to Grand Duke Lecco, who was upright and solemn.
I saw this bald old man, who usually didn't participate much in discussions, standing up from his seat tremblingly.
"The one who doesn't understand is you."
The old Grand Duke's voice was low and seemed to be in pain: "His Excellency the Grand Duke Charmaine Lombard."
Lumba looked at him blankly.
"What we are worried about is not territorial interests," Grand Duke Lecco exhaled, his eyes no longer hazy, but sharp and sharp: "It is not reputation."
"It's not even the creed of the North, or any loyalty to the lord."
Grand Duke Ronny snorted.
Lumba trembled slightly and stared closely at Lecco.
"It's you," Grand Duke Lecco's face twisted, and his words resounded in the hall, every word was like iron, and every sentence was forged: "Charmaine Lombard."
"The rule breaker."
"He who breaks the statue."
"You are the one that worries us the most in this farce."
Lumba paused for a moment, then his eyes widened in anger.
Archduke Lecco held the back of his chair, left his seat, and walked step by step in front of Lombard, looking at his uncertain expression.
"The oath of co-governance stipulates the relationship between us and the king. It is a sacred contract between the ten supreme powers in this land." The old Grand Duke's voice was quite long, as if he was flipping through a book that had been gathering dust for many years.
A classic that has been forgotten: "The rules it left behind have maintained our stability and unity for more than 600 years."
Lumba turned his head and looked at the other three Grand Dukes, but they all had cold eyes and looked at him silently, with no intention of speaking.
The old man's words continued.
"It gives the King Gongju the supreme prestige and leadership position, but it also stipulates the boundaries between the king and the princes, 'I obey the king's orders, and my land obeys me.'"
Grand Duke Lecco said sadly: "It means more to the Northlanders and to Exeter than the dragon on the national flag, even more than the prestige of Nekaru, and more than the Queen of the Sky herself."
"It is the basis for Exeter's unified existence and not division."
"Whenever a vassal is trampled upon by the royal power and his right to autonomy is violated, the oath of co-governance is his last shield."
"Whenever a minister is disrespectful to the monarch and develops inexplicable ambitions, the oath of co-governance is also his biggest constraint."
"It's Exeter's flag!"
The Grand Duke of Black Sand looked at Lecco blankly.
At that moment, Lombard felt that he was not facing an old prince.
Rather, it is a tradition and power that has lasted for more than 600 years, has a solid foundation, and is unshakable.
"No matter how powerful King Nun is, he can only restrain his power within the scope of the oath of co-governance," Archduke Leko's voice became more and more severe: "Rather than using violent and bloody means without restrictions, he can only restrain his power by force and bloody means."
You will wipe out the lords and vassals, territories and territories that you dislike from history and maps!"
Grand Duke Lecco observed Lumba's expression and sighed longly.
He put his hands behind his back, lowered his head, turned away from Lumba, and began to pace.
"Yes, we, Exeter, have faced collapse and destruction countless times."
"However, relying on the willingness of the Grand Dukes to abide by the tacit understanding and uphold the rules, relying on the proud tradition of the North, relying on the wisdom and talents of countless people who deeply love this land, and relying on the co-governance oath to treat the ten Grand Dukes equally
, Relying on the awe and trust in the co-governance oath witnessed by Her Majesty Queen Croxis," the old Grand Duke slowly raised his head and looked at the stone sculpture of the Dragon Spear in the Cloud above his head:
"Every time, the powerful and proud Kingdom of Exeter has overcome the difficulties."
Grand Duke Lecco turned around sharply, his bald head reflected in the flickering firelight, as if even the temperature in the hall had risen a bit.
"Compared to the bloody civil strife in the history of the stars, the fragile countries in Dragon's Kiss that achieved success through compromise, the ridiculous and inefficient decentralization of powers in the Kingdom of Allenbia..."
"Compared to the back-and-forth conflicts between the city-states of the Conmas Alliance, the Hanbul Dynasty used the Sun Temple to supervise the country but still could not eliminate the troubles in the audience..."
"Compared to the countless powerful but short-lived large tribes on the Giseli grassland, the Suye Dynasty established a different kind of rule based on tradition and etiquette..."
The old man who was guarding the city took a deep breath and said word by word in the most solemn, dignified and serious tone he had not used in a long time:
"The Kingdom of Exeter after Nekaru brought together ten medium-sized princely states, ten ancient families with outstanding reputations, and nearly ten million rebellious and fighting Northlanders.
The forces on the land that once brought down the empire were gathered together under the banner of the red dragon on a black background as never before, and continue to this day."
"And in the end, after the empire was destroyed and the final battle was over, as the strongest power in the Western Continent, he always stood proudly in the north, intimidating his neighbors and shocking the world."
"Even in the face of the forced orders from Queen Black Orchid, I can still be neither humble nor arrogant, and stand firm in the mainland war."
The brazier in the hall burned brighter and hotter, and the shadows of several archdukees were reflected on the stone wall, swaying back and forth.
Like the other Grand Dukes, Lombard listened silently to Lecco's words without saying a word.
Grand Duke Lecco looked at him, first narrowed his eyes, and then sighed deeply.
"But you, Charmaine Lombard," the old Grand Duke said quietly and clearly:
"You scare us."
Lumba's expression began to distort, and his fists clenched tighter and tighter.
"You took action against the man sitting on the co-emotional throne." Grand Duke Lecco said calmly.
"You broke these rules, shattered this foundation, and tore up this oath in your own heart," Grand Duke Lecco's face was pale, his tone was heavy, and the fists in his robes were slowly clenched: "And
It's unimaginable how much it would cost to restore it."
"This is the essence of Nunn's death."
"This is 'for the future of Exeter'."
The old man's voice fell softly.
Trudida on the side clapped.
"I'm not as eloquent as the old man," Grand Duke Zai Zaita chuckled: "But that's probably what it means - of course I want to carve up Longxiao City and gain new territories, but if that comes at the cost of sleepless nights in the future, it's not like that.
Having a guy who might go crazy at any time as my neighbor puts my family and my descendants at risk of imbalance in the country..."
Trudida spread her hands to indicate that she was done.
"There is a reason why we abide by the so-called Creed and Honor of the North," Archduke Ronnie looked at Lumba indifferently: "And you, do you think it is just a joke, just meaningless pedantic hypocrisy?"
Olesiu crossed his arms and slowly raised his head to look at the Duke of Black Sand: "Is it clear?"
Lombard looked at Grand Duke Lecco in disbelief, and then looked at the other three Grand Dukes.
"Yes, put the blame on the stars, use profits to feed restless guys like us, maintain the most false and superficial balance, whitewash peace - you can deceive the people as much as you want," Lecco nodded slowly.
, with a sad expression: "But you can't deceive yourself."
"You are no longer one of us, no longer a member of the oath of co-governance," the bald Grand Duke said calmly:
"Your existence and your actions are the greatest threat to Exeter's stability."
"The Regicide, Charmaine Lombard."
Lumba lowered his head gently, leaving only his right hand trembling.
Deathly silence.
The five Grand Dukes stood face to face in the hall, their figures shadowed under the surrounding braziers.
It was just one figure among them, but it seemed particularly lonely.
He stood alone in front of the fire, facing the other four people looking at him like a dead man.
His right hand was weakly pressed on the old sword at his waist.
It seems like a century has passed.
Finally, Lumba's voice sounded faintly.
"Is this what you're afraid of?"
At this moment, his voice sounded full of exhaustion, "Me?"
The four princes looked at him coldly.
It was like looking at a seriously injured person with no hope of survival on the battlefield.
"Humph." Lumba snorted softly.
He stepped forward and walked gently to the rectangular table, his eyes passing over the eleven seats above.
Lumba first glanced at the seat at the end with complicated eyes.
After a second, he sneered and stretched out his hand to pull out a chair.
"Notice!"
Archduke Ronnie folded his arms and called out to Lumba without politeness.
He narrowed his eyes slightly and warned coldly: "The fourth one on the right hand side is the chair of the Cameron family."
Lumba's hand stopped in mid-air.
"Each of the ten Grand Dukes has a seat that has been fixed for six hundred years." Grand Duke Trudida tilted his head thoughtfully: "Don't sit in the wrong seat."
Lumba remained motionless.
But the next second, his hand put it on the chair without hesitation!
Boom!
Amidst the sound that echoed throughout the hall, Lombard did not hesitate to lift the Cameron family chair and pull it heavily in front of him.
Grand Duke Ronny's face turned cold.
But it's not over yet.
Lumba stretched out his hand again and pulled out another chair next to him.
Under the unkind looks of the four Grand Dukes, the Grand Duke of Black Sand sat heavily on Camalon's chair.
Then, Lumba leaned back, raised his legs boldly, and rested them on another chair.
In this lying and sitting posture, he faced the four princes standing in the field rudely and presumptuously.
The princes looked at him in disbelief.
"I've wanted to do this a long time ago," Lumba leaned on the back of his chair, crossed his legs, looked up at the four Grand Dukes, and sneered:
“It feels good.”
Ronnie clenched his fists, his eyes were blazing, and he was about to step forward, but Olesio grabbed his shoulder.
"Calm down, his soldiers are outside the door..." Archduke Willanland reminded his colleagues: "And Prime Minister Risban is coming soon."
boom!
Lumba put his sword on the table without ceremony.
"so……"
He leaned on his chair and chuckled:
"Is this what you are proud of?"
"Co-ruling oath?"
"Protecting maintains the great Exeter, right?"
The four princes just looked at him coldly, as if they no longer bothered to speak.
Lumba looked at them quietly.
One second.
Two seconds.
Lumba sneered and lowered his legs from the chair.
He put his arms on the table and clasped his palms together.
But the princes still looked at him with unkind expressions.
Lumba's eyes were focused on his sword for a long time.
His eyes gradually wandered.
It was as if I could see the distance.
"You still don't understand," Lumba's voice sounded again, but this time, there seemed to be relief and sigh hidden in his tone, "You don't understand what is really threatening us."
"In your eyes, the only impression is that Exeter is still strong and proud, dominating the Western Continent."
"And this impression still lingers on the nationwide southern expedition that shocked the Western Continent twelve years ago."
Grand Duke Lecco frowned.
"With your eyes," Lumba said calmly, "you can only see the distance between your own territory and Longxiao City."
"Your ears can only hear the shouts and whispers from your own territorial meetings to the kingsmoot - oh, and maybe the ringing of the tax collector's purse every year."
"And in your heads?"
"Become a noble, get a title...become an heir, get qualifications...become a grand duke, get power...become a king," Lombard shook his head disdainfully and chuckled: "Control Exeter."
Just like the past six hundred years.
Lumba's expression darkened.
No matter how big the waves are, they are drowned in this suffocating past.
I just heard him sneer and say: "But do you really think that things will develop like this and that history will repeat itself forever?"
Ronnie interrupted him coldly: "What do you want to say?"
But Lumba ignored him.
"The last time we fought against the Star People was twelve years ago - they called it the 'Year of Blood'. Ha, to them, we are also one of the people who brought blood."
Charmaine Lombard is quiet and authentic.
As if talking to himself.
Trudida and Archduke Lecco exchanged glances and saw the confusion in each other's eyes.
"What about the last big battle with the Star People?" Lumba was still talking to himself, with a strange light flashing in his eyes.
No one answered.
So Lombard continued to shake his head and said to himself: "Yes, more than a hundred years ago, around the time of the Fourth Continental War."
"It's been so long that I can only read it in history books."
Lumba closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.
The Grand Duke of Heisha looked at Olesiu. This time, he finally stopped talking to himself.
"Rebien Alessio," Rumba raised his eyebrows and raised his right hand to signal to him, but the latter remained motionless: "Do you remember that prisoner?"
Archduke Olesiu frowned
"captive?"
"Hmm." Lumba raised an index finger and tapped it in the air, as if remembering.
"Twelve years ago, I had just become the Grand Duke, and we captured Broken Dragon Fortress," he frowned lightly. "More than a month later, in the spring, one hundred thousand Exter warriors marched south to the stars, singing war songs.
"
As the Grand Duke of Lombard recalled his memories, several Grand Dukes also lowered their heads and thought of the war years.
"When we broke through the Cold Castle," Lombard said calmly, "because the scene was too chaotic - tens of thousands of people were looting in disorder - so we were left to count the spoils and deal with logistics."
"I found all the secretaries and officials that Heisha could find who could read and do math," Grand Duke Heisha snorted, as if he was disdainful: "You are about the same."
Olesiu shrugged.
"They spent a day and a night counting the prisoners, food and fodder, and seizing them," Lombard sighed: "Then, and then those idiots..."
Archduke Olesiu frowned and took over Lumba's words: "...They gave a wrong number and made a grain transportation plan based on it."
Lumba snorted, his mood filled with ridicule.
"On that day, something went wrong with the grain that was supposed to be shipped to Longxiao City: Thousands of soldiers did not have lunch during the siege of Glacier City, and the timing of the siege was delayed because they had to collect grain from the surrounding area," Lomba
Shaking his head, his eyes were full of nostalgia: "Nun's reprimand warrant came the next day, and he angrily scolded us as usual, 'Forget about fighting, don't you know how to count?' His exact words."
Archduke Alessio sighed: "He always thought that we were holding them back."
Lumba nodded.
"This is normal. After all, it is an unprecedented expedition. One hundred thousand people are eating, drinking and sleeping." Olesiu shrugged: "Half of the conscripts have to transport luggage, and they are in a strange land - it is difficult
No mistakes.”
"That's right," Lomba said with a serious look in his eyes, "We fined a lot of people and killed a lot of people - but the logistics are still a mess."
"Remember, at that time, there was a prisoner named Urad, a humble commoner living in the north. He said that he had learned arithmetic and clerical skills at some damn accounting college in the south, so he volunteered to help us."
Olesio said nothing.
He remembered.
Lumba sneered: "I remember that you were so angry that you wanted to behead this arrogant prisoner who boasted that he could handle the baggage of a hundred thousand troops for us."
Olesiu narrowed his eyes: "But you stopped me."
Lumba sighed.
His eyes were quite complicated.
"Yes," Lumba said quietly, "that prisoner - he gathered people from among his peers: star people who had learned arithmetic, literate star people, and people who knew the market. They took pens and paper and spent a long time
"King Nun's rebuke warrants finally no longer come."
Grand Duke Ronny frowned impatiently: "Why do you say this?"
Lumba suddenly raised his head, his eyes sharp: "Because this is not an accident - didn't you feel anything during the war twelve years ago?"
The expressions of the several princes changed slightly.
"Remember, you guys - maybe Ronnie was too young at that time and didn't catch up. Leko and Trudida were both on the front line, beside Nunn." Lumba shook his head.
Grand Duke Ronny narrowed his eyes.
Grand Duke Lecco did not speak, he just looked at Lumba blankly.
"Later, although it took a lot more time and casualties than expected," the Duke of Black Sand exhaled a long breath, with fear in his eyes: "But our invincible army finally had a smooth journey in the north, and the war was going smoothly.
smoothly."
Lumba narrowed his eyes and changed the subject:
"Until I met those child soldiers from the south."
"Well," Grand Duke Trudida nodded, with an extremely serious face, and took over the conversation: "Duke of Star Lake, John Bright Star's Star Legion."
Grand Duke Lecco and Grand Duke Olesio moved slightly at the same time.
"No."
Grand Duke Lumba shook his head in denial: "Xinghui War God was already dead at that time."
Caution flashed in his eyes: "To be precise, what we are facing..."
"It belongs to his personal guard captain, Sonia Satherley..."
"Star Legion."
No one spoke.
Until Grand Duke Lecco sighed and tremblingly said a special name: