The most shameless alchemist in history

At first, everyone thought that River Bay City would not be able to withstand the pressure and would either surrender or collapse. However, with the sudden entry of the Griffin Legion into the battle, the Allied Fleet's efforts were in vain, and the situation was reversed. The first reversal was that Ze City suffered a heavy blow, and they had little power to stop the fleet from launching a second offensive, since the capital itself was in a very unstable state.

There were many differing opinions within Zezhi City regarding the previous military campaign against River Bend City. It was His Highness William who withstood the pressure and insisted on attacking River Bend City. However, the defeat has brought William immense criticism, and he has no choice but to step forward and take responsibility.

On the other hand, the Snow Country's military intervention means that the Snow Country is on the side of River Bay City. Although the Snow Country's interference in the internal affairs of the Swamp Country is likely to attract criticism, it should be noted that all countries participated in the Snow Country's civil war before.

At that time, the Swamp Kingdom originally supported the Wind Kingdom and planned to jointly divide the Snow Kingdom. However, Messiah insisted on meeting with the Snow Kingdom and successfully persuaded the old King Charles to let the Swamp Kingdom join the Snow Kingdom's camp. Therefore, Messiah and the Snow Kingdom already had a good relationship.

Moreover, it wasn't just the Land of Snow; the Land of Mountains and the Land of Rain also publicly condemned the Land of Swamp's unfair actions. Attacking River Bend City without any authorization was an extremely irrational way to resolve the issue through war.

When His Highness William saw the comments from various countries in the newspapers, he was at a loss for words, because he was the one who had been hurt. However, when he saw the newspapers, it was as if he was the mastermind behind it all, and he was being vilified even within the Swamp Kingdom.

Prince William wasn't the only one under pressure. When Halden returned to Old Port, his once-proud fleet had vanished, leaving him severely weakened. Not only was his dream of becoming the Duke of River Bend shattered, but even his current position was in jeopardy.

"Lord Halden, this is a statement issued by Bogaman, the patriarch of the Bole family. He has publicly announced in the newspaper that he is breaking away from our Octopus family." In Halden's office, his assistant handed him today's newspaper, reporting on the latest developments.

"What? That guy Bogaman, his Boer family has been an appendage of our Octopus family for over a hundred years. If it weren't for our Octopus family giving him a meal, his family would have been wiped out a hundred years ago, and he wouldn't be where he is today! This is the time when our Octopus family is at its weakest and needs him to repay our kindness the most, and he actually betrays us at this time?" Halden was furious and shouted angrily.

"Well... as early as twenty years ago, the Bohr family tried to break away from our Octopus family, but the previous patriarch suppressed it. Now that Lord Dohamma is gone, and you have just suffered a defeat, it is entirely predictable that they will take advantage of your misfortune."

The assistant remained calm, analyzing the situation and helping Halden understand his current predicament, since it was his job.

"We absolutely cannot let him have his way. If everyone announces their departure from the Octopus Family at this time, and everyone thinks they can step on us, how will the Octopus Family stand? No, we must immediately send troops to punish them and make them pay the price for their arrogant actions!"

Halden was furious. He immediately issued orders and planned to personally lead an attack on the Paul family's territory.

“But sir, we have just suffered a major defeat, our forces are weak, the surviving soldiers are exhausted and disheartened, and their war-weariness is very high. It would be inappropriate to send troops at this time... Moreover, the Boer family has already pledged allegiance to River Bend City, and I believe that River Bend City will soon send people to settle in the Boer family's territory. It would not be wise to start a war with them at this time…” the assistant continued.

"Damn it, am I really supposed to just swallow my anger?" Halden slammed his fist on the table in anger; swallowing his anger had never been his style.

But now he's been forced into this situation, which makes him angrier and more resentful.

"Sir, there is one more thing..." The assistant saw that Halden was in a bad mood and it was not wise to report at this time.

But he knew that reporting was his duty, and if things worsened because of a failure to report in a timely manner, it would be his responsibility.

"What is it?" Halden was furious about what the Paul family had done, but he knew he was helpless at the moment.

Having just suffered a crushing defeat in River Bend City, if they were to confront the River Bend City forces again now, they would likely only suffer another defeat.

Moreover, he had Zezhicheng backing him up before, so he had some support, but now Zezhicheng is silent.

Clearly, River Bend City was preoccupied with its own problems and had no time to spare for him.

"Golden Plantagenet Bank is pressing us for the loan, demanding that we settle the payment by the end of the month, or they will take necessary action." The assistant continued reporting the second important matter, his expression calm, but when Halden learned of this, his face changed drastically.

"What did you say? Plantagenet Bank? They actually dare to come to me asking for money? Are they crazy? That guy Fernand, when he took out the loan, he said it was fine, the repayment time didn't matter, as long as we cooperated with Plantagenet Bank. When I saw him before, he was all smiles, but now we've just suffered a defeat, and it hasn't been long since then, and he's already asking for the loan!"

Heldon was furious when he heard about this. He had just been drinking and chatting with Fernand, the head of Plantagenet Bank, not long ago, but the other party had turned his back on him in the blink of an eye. Heldon felt humiliated.

“But our contract with Plantagenet Bank did indeed expire last month,” the assistant said hesitantly.

"Then give the money back to him. It's disgusting. That kind of despicable guy should be kicked out as soon as possible," Halden said, waving his hand.

"But sir, we're out of money." The assistant then revealed the biggest problem they were facing.

"What? No money? How could we be out of money? Shouldn't we have five million lira in our accounts?" Halden said, stunned.

“A week ago, we did have that amount in our accounts, but sir, we suffered heavy losses in this war. We need to pay the soldiers' wages, the repair costs of the warships, and the compensation for the fallen soldiers. The expenses have reached three million lira.”

"Isn't there still two million lira?" Halden still knew the most basic arithmetic; five hundred minus three hundred would definitely leave two hundred.

“Another two million lira has been frozen by major banks, including the Golden Flower Bank. They froze our funds in advance to repay debts because they were worried about the chain reaction after the defeat. In fact, we only have less than one hundred thousand lira left in our accounts, and a large number of merchants are blocking the way outside, demanding payment for their goods,” the assistant continued.

"Payment for goods? What payment for goods?" Halden was still completely confused, because these were not things he was usually responsible for, and he was unaware of them.

"The supplies requisitioned from these merchants before the war began included food such as flour and ham, as well as firearms, ammunition, and even the cost of making military uniforms. These were all prepared in advance, and payment was made after the war ended. Normally, after winning the war, we would receive a large sum of money, and everyone would be happy to invest in us. In the past, if we won, there would be no problems. But this time we lost, so the problems suddenly erupted."

His assistant usually handled these matters, so he was more familiar with them than Halden.

"Damn it... these guys, why did they have to cause trouble right after we lost? It's unforgivable! We should have killed them all!" This time, Halden felt a deep sense of powerlessness as problems kept piling up.

"Oh, right, sir, there's one more thing," the assistant said after a moment's thought.

"What other big trouble is there?" Halden was now completely disheartened, and there was no trace of his previous smugness left.

“This isn’t exactly a big problem, but… River Bay City sent someone to see you, and they’re waiting outside right now,” the assistant said hesitantly.

Halden was quite surprised by the messenger sent by River Bend City, wondering what their purpose was in sending someone at this time.

However, he still went to see him. At the same time that Halden went to see the messenger from River Bend, a grand banquet was held in River Bend to celebrate the victory.

The nobles who had fled before the war returned one by one. After the war ended, the port was unblocked, and the merchants were finally able to transport the goods that had been stuck in the port out, which alleviated their losses to some extent.

Moreover, at the banquet, the Duke of River Bend announced that any merchant who suffered losses due to their goods being stranded in River Bend Harbor during the naval battle of River Bend City would receive a 20% compensation from the Golden Flower Bank.

This made the merchants cheer; it was a timely relief for them, making them feel much better.

"Then, Your Excellency Messiah, we look forward to further cooperation between our Golden Flower Bank and River Bay City." After raising his glass, a young man bid farewell to Messiah and left. The party was filled with laughter and conversation. As the host, Messiah had no choice but to entertain these leaders from all walks of life.

"So, after meeting Mr. Fernand, can I finally rest?" Messiah asked Bill beside her.

“Well… there’s no one else I need to see, sir. Is there anything I can do for you?” Bill glanced at the schedule, which listed more than a dozen names. These were the people Messiah needed to meet with individually at the party.

The Fernand from Plantagenet Bank that I just met is the last person on the list.

"Nothing special, I just wanted to get some fresh air. So I'll leave this to you, I'll head out now." Messiah breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that her work was finished, and quickly left the banquet hall for the balcony.

From the balcony, you can see a sky full of stars and a crescent moon.

You can even see a person's silhouette in the moonlight.

"Why aren't you meeting the guests? You seem to be very busy today," Du Lei said, turning around with a smile.

"I've finished meeting everyone. I've been meeting all sorts of people, it's exhausting, but now I can finally get some rest," Messiah said with a sigh.

"It seems being a duke isn't an easy thing."

“There’s nothing we can do about it. We have to meet those people. We have to consider the interests of the entire River Bend region. By the way, those people also want to meet you, Dure. Why don’t you meet with them?” Messiah asked curiously.

Many people knew that Dure was also at the banquet and hoped to meet him, hoping that Messiah would introduce them.

Especially Fernand from the Plantagenet Bank, who was very interested in Dure.

But Messiah knew that Dure didn't like meeting too many strangers, so she simply blocked them from him.

874 His Majesty Charles

A gentle evening breeze blew, and a full moon hung in the sky, with stars twinkling brightly, foreshadowing another fine day tomorrow. As the night deepened, most of the guests had already left the Duke's mansion, and the waiters were clearing away the leftovers from the banquet. Guards could be seen patrolling outside.

Looking further into the distance, a lighthouse shines on the sea, guiding passing ships. Of course, this lighthouse was built by Messiah's father himself, unlike the Shadow Tower which has strange features. From this vantage point, River Bend City appears prosperous.

"Perhaps I can't find common ground with those high-ranking officials, or perhaps I don't have that much ambition and have no interest whatsoever in vying for power, so we can't connect, and when we meet them, we just exchange meaningless words."

Dure was still enjoying the cool breeze on the balcony, a comfortable and pleasant feeling that he was thoroughly enjoying, while Messiah quietly watched him from the side.

"Actually, this is completely understandable. Dure, you had such a high reputation in the Snow Country, but you resigned from the position of Inspector General without hesitation. This surprised countless people, because people always try their best to climb to higher places and are willing to give everything to gain power. But you, Dure, don't care about any of that. I wonder how many people envy you, Dure."

Messiah blinked and said that many years ago, when she first met Dure at Maple Leaf Academy, she felt an instant connection with him, which made her start to care about the boy at that time. Of course, it was later confirmed that there was an earlier reason why she was attracted to Dure.

When she was a child, she saw Dure from the future. It was at that time that they made a promise and formed an unbreakable bond. Without Dure's support and encouragement, she probably wouldn't have been able to get through that difficult time.

“Envious of me? Actually, I envy them more. They are able to do what they want in the best years of their lives, while my best years just disappeared in a daze.” Du Lei shook his head gently. Sometimes he felt particularly unfamiliar with himself.

It was an extremely unreal feeling, because when he was still a young man in the prime of his life, he was frozen for eight years due to an accident. Those were the best eight years of his life, from the age of fifteen to twenty-three, but they became a dream.

"Humans are such strange creatures. They never cherish what they have, yet they always envy what others have. Little do they know that those they envy are also envying them. It's truly a contradiction." Messiah thought for a moment, feeling somewhat complicated.

"Alright, what do you think about the situation in the Land of Swamp?" Dure didn't want to talk about too many strange topics and turned to the main point.

"The situation in the Swamp Country next? This..." Messiah didn't expect Dure to ask so suddenly.

“Now the Swamp Country has only three stages: the Swamp City, the River Bend City, and the Old Port, right?” Dure said calmly, seeing Messiah’s somewhat troubled expression.

“That’s true, as you said, Dure. But of these three stages, the most important one is the Ze City stage, isn’t it?” Messiah nodded and said. She had been in the position of Duke of River Bend for so many years. Although she was still young, she was already quite experienced.

“That’s right. The crux of the problem is that King Charles is old and ailing, and hasn’t appeared in public for a long time. There are many rumors about the old king. Some say he’s already dead, but Princes Henry and William haven’t decided who the successor to the throne is, so the news of his death hasn’t been announced. Others say the old king has been controlled and is in a coma. There are many theories. With him refusing to appear, the situation in the entire Swamp Kingdom is actually very chaotic. In the battle of River Bend City, neither Henry nor William produced legitimate authorization. In fact, William mainly led this war, and this defeat has dealt him a heavy blow. Henry, on the other hand, is watching the show from the sidelines. To some extent, the throne has already tilted in Henry’s favor.” Dure calmly analyzed the situation.

“It seems…that’s indeed the case,” Messiah nodded and said.

“Actually, the most crucial point to breaking the current situation is the old king. So Messiah, what happened to the old king? You saw him in Ze City, right? And as the Duke of River Bend, you should have been someone that Henry and William were trying their best to win over, but as competitors, they actually joined forces to suppress you. There must be a deeper reason for this, right?” Dure continued.

“This…” Messiah hesitated for a moment, realizing that Dure had guessed correctly, and then stopped herself from speaking.

"The old king is still alive, right?" Dure asked, seeing Messiah's troubled expression.

"Yes, he is still alive, but his health is not very good," Messiah nodded and confirmed.

"He told you a major secret, or entrusted you with something important, something that poses a serious threat to both Henry and William, which is why they are willing to do anything to kill you, right?" Dure continued to ask.

"This...yes." Messiah was momentarily flustered by Dure's question. Originally, she had planned to keep the matter of Ze City a secret from everyone, and even when Ze City launched the River Bend War, she did not announce it.

But now, faced with Du Lei's questioning, she hesitated, because she could hide things from others, but she couldn't hide them from Du Lei.

“This secret is enough to affect the throne. This is the most direct interest of William and Henry. They are willing to unite to suppress you. So I think there is only one answer to this problem: the old king has named you as the heir to the throne, right?” Dure said incisively.

"Dure, how did you know..." Messiah was taken aback. She felt she was about to collapse. If Dure pressed her any further, she would definitely have no choice but to tell him everything. But who knew that before she could even speak, Dure had already guessed the answer.

No wonder she was so surprised.

"Actually, once you understand the interests of all parties involved, this conclusion is not surprising at all. So, Messiah, what exactly happened? The old king abandoned his two sons and refused to let them inherit the throne, but instead wanted to pass it on to you. There must be some unknown things involved. Either it is related to his two sons, or if they are not his biological sons, then naturally he would not let them inherit the throne. But there is a problem here. William and Henry do not have the same mother, and they are indeed the old king's biological sons. There is no problem with their bloodline. So if the problem is not with William and Henry, then it can only be with the old king himself, right?"

Du Lei calmly analyzed the situation, peeling back layers like an onion.

“Yes, Dure, you’re right. The problem lies with the old king, my uncle.” Messiah knew she couldn’t hide anything from Dure, so she had no choice but to tell him everything she knew…

It turns out that in the last change of the throne, the throne did not belong to the current old king, Charles, who was known for his great talent and ambition.

The throne should have originally belonged to Messiah's father, the previous Duke of the Reach, and also Charles's younger brother.

The reason for this is Charlie's background. His mother was just an ordinary woman from a poor family with no special background. As a result, although he was the eldest son, he did not receive much attention after his birth.

After all, in the tradition of the continent, intermarriage is very common among countries. Intermarriage can bring a strong ally. With the support of another powerful family, the path to power is naturally paved very easily. Messiah's father, Dorak, was such a person. Dorak's mother was a princess of the Rain Kingdom.

This means that from birth, Dorak was destined to embark on the illustrious path to becoming king. This was not something he could decide on his own; it was a decision made jointly by the two countries, because only when Dorak became king could the relationship between the two nations be effectively strengthened.

After all, the Land of Rain and the Land of Swamps share most of their lands, and both are under pressure from neighboring countries.

Once the two countries join forces, they will surely form a powerful force, allowing them to stand tall on the continent in a completely new way.

Following the normal trajectory of development, it was only a matter of time before Dorak became king. Even though Charlie was older than him and his brother, Charlie did not support his family. If he became king, although he might work hard to govern the country, he would inevitably lose the powerful ally, the Land of Rain.

Therefore, Charlie was not favored, while Dorach learned how to govern a country from a young age.

Everything was going well until an unexpected incident occurred: the old king was assassinated, plunging the Swamp Country into chaos. The Swamp Country was in great danger at that time.

According to the ministers of the Swamp Country and the Rain Country, they originally wanted to support Dorak to succeed to the throne and quickly quell the situation.