Elden: Ring of Calamity

Chapter 294 Chaos arises
"According to the latest battle report from the Northern Garrison, the fifteen Samir clans, led by the Joses and Albert families, have pushed the battle line to seventy kilometers outside Lannia City. Although the Flame Temple has been mediating, it seems that the day of the ceasefire is still a long way off."

Duke Kelliel adjusted his breathing and said under the faint pressure from Godwin, "Your Highness should know that behind the Samir people stands the leader of the original flying dragons - the Ice Dragon Borelius. If the war is allowed to continue endlessly, the Neron and Xilia families will definitely be the first to collapse. By then, the Northern Border Garrison and the Flame Temple will have to join the war, and the situation in the entire Northern Border will be completely out of control."

"On the other hand, even if we want to intervene in advance, it is difficult to find a suitable mediator within the dynasty. The only choice is His Highness Lucia Sanx. From a legal and identity perspective, he is the lord that the Ice Dragon Borelius must recognize. He is also a noble god who is canonized by the Supreme Will and is qualified to rule over all the nobles in the North. From a strength and ability perspective, His Highness Lucia is also the most suitable demigod to take on this important task."

"Besides that, I wonder if Your Highness still remembers Baron Hector, the younger brother of Marquis Osarion, who was stationed in the northern border and died in the battle to suppress the rebellion at Sunset Pass three years ago?"

Godwin was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "I remember him. Lucia happened to stop in Karen on her way to the capital. It was with his help that Karen was able to quickly put down the rebellion."

"Baron Cleville, who succeeded Karen as governor, was a talent discovered by Her Highness Lucia during the rebellion, and was personally recommended to Her Majesty Marica to be the new governor. In recent years, Karen has prospered under the governance of Baron Cleville, and the conflicts between the many foreign races in the Nangemir region and our dynasty have also eased, which is a good thing."

"But the problem lies in Baron Cleville's overly tolerant attitude towards alien races. Comparing the financial data reported by Karen with the latest statistics of the Ministry of Finance for the past three quarters, we can conclude that Karen City's capacity to accommodate and operate has reached saturation. A large number of hybrids, subhumans, and mountain goblins have replaced many livelihoods that should have belonged to humans."

"There may not be any problems in the short term, but according to the current speed at which Karen absorbs foreign races, within three years at most, the local area and even the entire North Gemir region will experience a serious fiscal deficit, and may even trigger a series of local unrest such as famine, plague, and rebellion."

"Of course, I mentioned these not to question Baron Cleves' personal ability, nor do I dare to question Her Highness Lucia and Her Majesty Marica's ability to judge people. It's just that my family and I have been engaged in the financial work of the dynasty for generations, so we pay more attention to these aspects." Duke Kelly took out a handkerchief and wiped his forehead, explaining in a humble manner.

"If these were the only issues, they would only require a few reminders in the monthly correspondence between the Ministry of Finance and Karen. What really worries me is another piece of intelligence that I accidentally learned recently."

He cast his eyes towards another majestic middle-aged man in his forties who was sitting diagonally across the long table and said, "The Marquis of Woodroffe recently received some news about Karen's military deployment. Regarding this, please explain it to you in detail, Your Excellency the Marquis."

Marquis Woodroffe, currently the deputy leader of the Rodel Knights and the highest military commander in the West Asia Altar region, looked up and saw Godwin's eyes signaling him to continue, so he spoke: "Your Highness, I received intelligence two weeks ago that Baron Cleville mobilized more than 2,000 city guards to the South Gemiel region without reporting it. At the same time, he dispatched a large number of craftsmen, farmers and herdsmen, and various money and food supplies to the north. The scale of this has far exceeded the scope of conventional military patrols or the establishment of simple garrisons."

"From a procedural point of view, Baron Cleville's approach is not out of the ordinary. After all, there is a precedent of the former ruling Baron Hector opening up a stronghold at Sunset Pass. Although it was not successful last time, Baron Cleville, as the governor of an important border town, has the right starting point of opening up a stronghold to defend the border."

"On the other hand, I also received news that Karen has reached a trade agreement with the Kalia royal family to import three batches of up to a thousand giant wolf breeds and cubs in the next few years. In addition, Baron Cleville has recently recruited mercenaries from the public and sent them to the Boiling River to gather intelligence."

"Combining the above clues, I have come to the conclusion that Baron Cleville is planning to launch a comprehensive expansion of the northern Gemir region, targeting the many heretical groups and the Snake God Cult there. It is difficult for me to criticize him for being right or wrong. After all, it is the fundamental law of the dynasty established by Her Majesty Marica and the King of War in the past that the military and political affairs of the border town should be managed by the governor. But judging from the interests of the dynasty, I personally think that this move is too hasty. If one step is wrong, it will trigger the unrest that has accumulated in the Gemir region for many years. The consequences will not be something that Karen can bear."

After hearing this, Godwin finally saw the pattern that the New Party had been preparing for for a long time under the surface.

As expected, Duke Kelliel took over the conversation, changed his previous humble and cowardly behavior, took a deep breath, and said in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "Your Highness, everyone knows that Baron Cleville is a disciple of Her Highness Lucia Sanks, and is trusted by Her Majesty Marica. His talent is also obvious to all of you present. It is unreasonable to replace him at will, and it will do more harm than good to the situation in the northwest."

"But now, Baron Cleville's actions in Karen are clearly inappropriate. It is not wise to sit back and do nothing. Therefore, we propose that His Highness Lacard be appointed as the Northwest Governor and take charge of all military and political affairs in Karen and North and South Gemir. His Highness Lucia temporarily goes to the North to quell the disputes between the northern nobles and the Samir clan. This will have at least three benefits."

"First, with the abilities of the two princes, you will surely be able to quell the unrest in the two places and prevent any possibility of the disaster spreading."

"Secondly, His Royal Highness Lucia is stationed in the North Territory. There may be a chance to subdue the Ice Dragon Borelios. This can not only eliminate the potential instability in the North Territory, but also help stabilize the situation when His Royal Highness Lucia returns to Sky City in the future. This is a win-win move for our dynasty and the Ancient Dragon Dynasty."

"Third, His Highness Lacard was granted the Northwest Volcano. Internally, the volcano is very close to Asia Altar. In the future, His Highness Lacard will take over the position of Grand Justice. Whether he is in the capital or the northwest, he will not be delayed in government affairs. He can also coordinate the many matters of Karen's expansion to the north to avoid chaos. Externally, it also avoids the danger of the Kalia faction's connections being too wide, forcing Stonewell and Asia Altar into a dangerous situation."

"Admittedly, the last point is a bit hurtful. It is presumptuous for a subject to discuss the dignity of a demigod. However, we have received the grace of the country for decades. Since Your Highness asks today, we should tell you everything we know. Even if it offends Your Highness, we will not hesitate." Godwin quietly examined Duke Kelly and a group of New Party backbones who said this. They all looked back at him calmly, as if they were really pillars who would risk their lives for the safety of the dynasty.

From opposing Lacard's enfeoffment of the Weeping Peninsula, to the seemingly reasonable Kalia threat theory, to the so-called historical legacy issues in the North - what the new party or Radagon really wants is to let Lacard airborne to the northwest volcano, forcibly interrupt Lucia's three-year layout in the Gemir region, and then delay this fledgling ancient dragon quasi-king in the North as much as possible.

If this plan succeeds, as long as Lucia fails to pacify the northern border, the new party will have one more day to disrupt the Ancient Dragon Dynasty's layout in the northwest, the Far East and even within the Sky City, thereby adding another obstacle to Lucia's accession to the throne and the revival of the ancient dragons.

Even if he really conquers Borelius one day and successfully stabilizes the situation in the north, can he legitimately gain the right to rule the Arctic ice field?
No, by then, the New Party nobles present would loudly praise Lucia for her great contribution as an ally to the Golden Dynasty, and at the same time, seemingly unintentionally propose today's "temporary trip to the North", sending Lucia back to Sky City while electing the next Ossarion to take over the new North.

Godwin secretly shook his head in his heart - the above is still his relatively ideal deduction. If it really comes to that, with the character of Radagon and the New Party, facing the failure of the northwest strategy and the Ancient Dragon Dynasty whose layout in other places is also firmly controlled, they may be able to come up with new excuses to delay Lucia's return home.

In their eyes, Fam Azra can have a dragon god Heraris who is worshipped as the original god by all living beings, a highly respected dragon king Platon Sanx who sleeps in the cracks of time and space, and two temple priests who preach everywhere and are admired by thousands of people, but he can never have a new king who inherits the old legacy and leads the dragon clan back to the center of the world.

"Do you really think that the draft of the enfeoffment you have been discussing here has even the slightest value in front of him?"

After a long time, Godwin finally spoke, speaking lightly.

"Or do you think that it was you who guarded Rodel fourteen years ago, not only luckily killed the Sky Temple High Priest Gulan Sanx, but also fought hard to defend against the desperate attack of the Ancient Dragon Dynasty?"

"Fourteen years have passed. We have gradually recovered from the weakness after the War King and the Eastern Expedition Army were exiled. What about the Kalia people and the ancient dragons? Don't they have any progress at all? Don't they have any hidden cards or moves that we can't see?"

"Today we are discussing the division plan, but Lucia Shanks has never been in my division plan."

"We are not qualified to crown Fam Azra as their king," Godwin said, looking at everyone in the hall. "I am disappointed. I am not disappointed that you have abandoned your honor and betrayed your alliance, and plotted against our allies - but that you are so stupid that you only see the importance of a new king to the future of the Ancient Dragon Dynasty, but fail to see how important he is to the Ancient Dragon Dynasty now."

"This discussion ends here. I allow you to take some time to digest my opinions and bring these words to the people who should hear them. Remember to tell them that if there is a war in the North, I and the Scorching Sun Legion will deal with it without the help of outsiders!"

The heavy words fell to the ground, stirring up countless dust in the air. The New Party nobles headed by the Duke of Kelly looked at each other and were speechless for a moment.

At this moment, hurried footsteps were heard outside the hall, and several court messengers rushed in anxiously, holding war reports, bringing a series of earth-shattering news.

"Report, the fifteen clans of Samir have declared all-out war on the Flame Temple and the Northern Guardian Fort!"

"Report, the main city of the Neron family, Sekhvenya, was breached by the Samir people, and the entire family of Count Kames Neron was killed in the battle!"

"Report, the chief archbishop of the Flame Temple, Pilac, lost control of his divine power while practicing and praying, killing and injuring dozens of Flame monks before committing suicide!"

(End of this chapter)