People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

“Take Miss Susie to the reception area and get her a room so she can wash up and rest a bit. She looks very tired.”

Hinterlea nodded without asking any further questions, because she noticed the seriousness in Ernst and Vina's eyes.

Yes, somber! Compared to the surprise of seeing her here, Ernst felt more somber.

The Duke of Godottin was a fence-sitter, a pragmatist, and a moderate. Among the Grand Dukes of Victoria, his attitude toward his subordinates and his territories was the most moderate, and arguably the most progressive.

This can be seen from his establishment of infected communities, his replacement of noble rule with city councils in his territory, and his leading role in agriculture and commerce.

It could be said that if he had been more firm in his political stance, he would have been a better partner than the Duke of Windermere.

But now, even the city of Karaton under his rule is no longer stable, to the point that infected people like Susie—it's no exaggeration to say that they are the most adaptable to environmental changes, after all, as long as they can survive, they won't be completely unable to survive!—have to leave. This can only mean one thing—Duke Godotin's side has also begun to mobilize.

The war may not have officially begun yet, but its prelude has already been played on the land of Victoria.

Ernst looked at Vina, their eyes met, and they both sighed in unison.

This harvest festival is probably the last peaceful harvest festival they can experience.

The collapse of the Victorian hegemonic order has already begun.

Chapter 480 The Pardoner: Thank you Levi for your off-field assistance!

Victoria, Londinium, Iron Palace.

Manfred is briefing Therese on the recent developments in the situation.

"Currently, the Duke of Caesar's army remains largely in a passive, hands-off state. The Duke of Wellington has publicly announced the end of the grand cruise, and the high-speed warship HMS Gastrill has deviated from its planned course, but our people have not yet been able to detect their next moves."

"The Duke of Godottin responded quite positively to the advance into Londinium. His flagship has already left the Duchy of Godottin, and he himself has attended the Dukes' Assembly held in the Duchy of Caster's capital, together with the Duke of Windermere."

"And the Duke of Windermere..."

Manfred paused in his report, and Theresis glanced at him slightly, signaling him to continue.

"The Duke of Windermere reached an agreement with the Elector of Letania, appointing Kent Windermere as the Duke's regent, and then mobilized all his forces."

The Military Council's reports were always very restrained; after all, the Sarkaz's military strength was indeed slightly inferior to that of the Grand Dukes of Victoria. Essentially, if one Sarkaz could kill ten Victorians, the difference in military strength between the two armies would be negated. To reduce panic about Victoria within the Royal Court army currently controlled by the Military Council, the Military Council's propaganda apparatus consistently underreported the Grand Dukes' forces.

Of course, this was an underreporting; it wasn't like if the enemy came with 100,000, he'd report 10,000. Such a charade, so easily seen through, was obviously illogical. The Military Commission was simply making good use of the statistics they'd learned from the Victorians.

For example, the Duke of Caster's army, according to the intelligence they have received so far, has about 20 high-speed warships, led by the flagship "Glory". The specific composition of the fleet is not yet clear. This number seems like a lot, but they can say: "The Duke of Caster is overconfident and has only sent 30 to 40 percent of his troops, yet he dares to confront our Sarkaz Legion and our Sarkaz God of War!"

This would give the Sarkaz soldiers below more confidence.

He could deceive his subordinates, but he couldn't deceive himself as well. When facing Theresis, Manfred still reported the truth.

The Duke of Windermere was the most prominent among those who truthfully reported the facts.

Manfred rarely used the phrase "all out in force" to describe a Grand Duke of Victoria, because these pampered nobles were always hesitant and timid, calculating the gains and losses of victory before the battle even began, trying every means to preserve their strength so they could gain more bargaining power and spoils at the negotiating table. Even the King of Carrion once admitted that among the Dukes of Victoria, he was only truly interested in one—the "Iron Duke" of Wellington, because only that man could he see that he was first a warrior, and only then a nobleman.

But now, Manfred was somewhat suspicious. Was it possible that the King of Carrion had too high a standard and therefore had not noticed Duke Windermere?

No matter how you look at it, this woman really wants to go all out against the Sarkaz!

Therese waved her hand, signaling Manfred to leave first. Manfred bowed, and only after he left the room did Therese let out a long sigh.

He could not show the slightest sign of backing down in front of his subordinates, but he also could not ignore the dire situation at hand.

[Timeline] The link is broken, the [Shattered Tower] project has stalled, and the army of the Carrion King is marching across the wasteland, having already been spotted by Victorian spies. The atmosphere around Londinium, and the entire political environment of Victoria, has shifted from the tacit indifference of the Grand Dukes to a powder keg ready to explode.

In the past, Theresis might have been more confident and could have stalled a bit longer. Because of the secret agreement between him and the Duke of Caesar, the formation and advance of the ducal alliance wouldn't be a particularly rapid process.

But how long has it been since the Duke of Caesar's messenger visited Londinium?

It's been almost two months now.

Therese had to think about it and trace the reasons back to the end; the final conclusion was actually quite obvious.

Because of the World Summit.

The International Summit gave the Grand Dukes of Victoria, including the Duke of Caesar, a better option.

In the past, the Grand Dukes allowed Londinium to be occupied because, strictly speaking, Londinium belonged to Victoria, but not to any of the Victorian Grand Dukes, so its occupation did not cause them any loss.

You say it's shameful for the country's capital to be occupied? Yes, that's right, it's very shameful, but whose face is being disgraced?

Did she disgrace the Duke of Caesar? Are you suggesting that the Duke of Caesar represents Victoria? Well, she really should thank you!

Or is it a loss of face for the Duke of Wellington? What, would the Duke of Wellington, a duke surrounded by enemies, dare to "represent the other dukes" and admit to this?

We cannot view Western feudal nobles through the lens of the Eastern concept of the unity of family and state. Whether it was the Duke of Cactus or the Duke of Wellington, they didn't care about the life or death of Londinium at all.

The Grand Dukes vied for power in all aspects, vying for the dominant voice in the country, the right to define what "Victoria" is, and the final rule of Victoria. The outcome, not the process, was who reclaimed Londinium.

Therefore, even if they believed they had the ability to reclaim Londinium, no Grand Duke would actually do so, because in their view, the competition was not yet over, and whoever wanted to be the first to touch that "finish line" was breaking the rules, jumping the gun, and would be attacked by the crowd.

But it's different now.

The establishment of the World Summit, just as Defiance analyzed for her mother, the Duke of Windermere, naturally granted Victoria, the "former ruler of the land," a seat, but only "one" seat.

Whoever gets this seat represents who controls the discourse within the Victorian framework.

At this moment, the grand dukes suddenly realized that the original "finish line" had changed. Londinium had transformed from the "objective," the "fruit of victory," into a "bonus checkpoint" on the path to the goal!

Since everyone's strength is roughly equal and no one can directly eliminate the other, whoever occupies Victoria's seat and speaks on Victoria's behalf will be in control of the power.

Don't underestimate this power. If you don't occupy the high ground of public opinion and the power of discourse, you will let others occupy it. If others occupy it, whether you are a traitor or a loyal subject depends entirely on their will.

To use an imperfect analogy, we all know that Hamas and Fatah exist within Palestine, and we also know that Hamas is currently the main force of resistance. However, when speaking at the United Nations, the international community still recognizes Fatah as the leading organization of the Palestinian state. What's the use of being powerful? The masses don't recognize it. Not only do they not recognize it, but they also have to endure constant annoyance from the US and its allies. There's nothing you can do; your voice simply can't be heard because the channels of communication belong to them, and the position you have within those channels has already been taken by someone else.

Theresis had a headache. He had dark circles under his eyes and was losing hair. As a physically strong Sarkaz, this was a bad sign, indicating that even though he was one of the six heroes, capable of being invincible and taking down countless enemies, his physical functions had reached a point of overload.

But he cannot rest.

The voice of the Blood Lord echoed in the palace, urging him not to rest. The voices of the Sarkaz souls murmured in his mind, forcing him not to rest. Even... Theresa's voice would occasionally whisper in his ear, telling him that he could not rest yet.

He was the victor of that civil war, and he promised Theresa that whichever of them won, they would steadfastly follow each other's paths! And the other would unconditionally support the other!

He won. This was the path he chose. Whether he did it willingly or not, whether he was swept up by the tide of the times and public opinion or genuinely wanted to destroy Terra, he had to keep going, even if he had to crawl on his knees!

But where is the person who promised to support each other back then?

"The Master of Pardons".

"Theresis called out. In the empty hall, the white-horned Sarkaz emerged from the shadows and bowed to Theresis:

"Regent."

"How is Theresa...?"

"Soon, Regent, very soon."

A hint of excitement welled up in the voice beneath the mask of Quesatushta.

"Please be more patient."

Therese's expression was cold, revealing undisguised disgust:

“But I remember you promised me a few months ago that the resurrection process would be over soon because you had become very familiar with this… disgusting technology.”

"Yes, Your Majesty, your memory is excellent."

Quesatushta readily admitted to Theresis's accusations and offered his own explanation.

“However, Your Majesty, there is certainly a reason for the slowdown in the experiment.”

"Because what we are researching and trying is a completely new solution. It is a higher-level interpretation of the soul and all souls."

Quesatushta Road,

"Thanks to the precedent of the Balrog's resurrection from Originium, we have gained a completely new understanding of souls, the collective souls, and this technology. Although it is truly regrettable that you were unable to bring back that Balrog for the Military Council, that great—forgive me for describing an alien race in this way—that great scientist, Mr. Levi, actually recounted the process of the Balrog's resurrection to me in his reply to the personal letter I wrote to him! And he provided some data from the experiment!"

"This letter has only recently overcome numerous obstacles, including the blockade by fools among our own people, and has returned to Londinium. The absolutists are currently conducting intensive experiments and deliberations on the reply, so, Regent, please be patient."

"Although you didn't bring back the Balrog for us, we will bring back the Demon King for you."

Therese frowned.

Therese felt that the pardoner was being sarcastic or mocking towards him.

Therese was certain that Quesatushta was indeed being sarcastic towards him, because he had mentioned the Balrog twice.

But the question is, can we blame him? Who would have thought that in a company run by Pelosi in Columbia—a place without even a legend of giant beasts—a BOSS Zhipin (a job posting platform) for a resurrected ancient ancestor would lead to a neighboring HR trying to poach him on the spot?

It's one thing to lose to the neighbor, but who would have thought that before they even managed to beat the younger one... no, before they even got to the younger one, the neighbor called in an older one?

Theresis is very strong, and he is confident that he can at least escape unscathed, if not defeat, the behemoth. But the problem is, this place is Columbia, and he doesn't have time to waste with it.

How long did it take for the kitten egg roll to scrape the lying mugwort's [timeline]? And that was it? Did he, Theresis, go to Columbia to bring people? Did he speedrun Jeragund? Really?

You talk so much. Next time I take you, I'll use you as a sacrifice for the sword, okay?

"whispering sound!"

Therese snorted coldly. She couldn't be bothered to argue with such a disgusting guy as the Pardoner about these historical issues.

In the end, it's all Ernst's fault! He stole the Balrog, recruited the behemoth, established the World Summit, and the [Timeline] was broken after he went to Kjerag. He had close ties with Duke Kester and Duke Windermere, and he was also entangled with the Cyclops Royal Court!

If he dares to do these things now, Theresis doesn't even dare to imagine what he'll dare to do next!

Theresis even felt that sooner or later, he might lose his title as regent, and the military council might be sidelined. He might as well give up on building Kazdel and die alone on the throne in the western hall of the Holy King's Council!

Fortunately, he didn't have the blood of a Cyclops, otherwise this sudden whimsical idea might have become some kind of prophecy.

In short, this man is no ordinary snow leopard; he is practically a military council member and the nemesis of the Sarkaz!

Sooner or later—if he can successfully end things with Lontinim and survive, he will have to rid the Sarkaz of this menace!

Getting back to the point, compared to the Pardoner's repulsive and sarcastic tone, Theresis was more concerned about the "process and method of the Balrog's resurrection" mentioned by the Pardoner.

The fact that the Colombians resurrected an ancient Balrog has been confirmed by Theresis himself. Although the Balrog was lying on the ground for some reason when he arrived at the Rhine Lab, its ancient aura and terrifying flames of extremely high status could not deceive his eyes.

According to the Absolutioner, the Balrog is in a state of "complete resurrection." Although, as a price, he lost his body and the "bloodline" that the Sarkaz were proud of and that people like the Blood Lord valued so much, and with Originium as his core and iron armor as his body, he was completely separated from the souls.

Whether he still hears the whispers of the souls is unknown to Theresis and the Exorcist, but the Exorcist is certain that he will never be manipulated by the souls, because his soul has broken free from them and gained immortality!

This is also the "eternal life" pursued by the absolutist: as long as the vessel is changed, the soul will live forever!

"So, you want to abandon the traditional approach and use the Colombian method to resurrect Theresa?"

Therese narrowed her eyes and asked.

The pardoner nodded as a matter of course:

"Of course, Regent. I did hesitate for a long time before making this decision, which goes against the ancestral traditions, but I have made up my mind! So please be patient and witness it!"

"Witness the resurrection of the Demon King!"

The pardoner smiled, a smile that concealed another heartfelt expression of joy.

The resurrection of the Demon King, the resurrected Demon King, doesn't just refer to Theresa!

Theresa's resurrection will be the final hurdle for Quesatushta, after a thousand years of accumulation, to cross towards eternity.

If Theresa's resurrection is successful, it will mean that he has finally figured out the secrets of Originium and the secret method of resurrection! At that time, he will no longer have to worry about the binding and pull of the souls on him, nor will he have to fear that any "reincarnation" will go wrong and plunge him into an abyss of no return! In that case, the perfect physical body and the inheritance of bloodlines will be of no use to him!

Then, the true "Demon King" will be resurrected! The Black Crown will crown him and will never disappear again; Kazdel will be built beneath his feet and will never crumble again!

This demon king has only one name: the eternal [Quesatushta]! Lord of Dawn and Dusk, King of Eternity!

P.S.: A reader asked why the protagonist doesn't recognize Theresa. They even said he absolutely must know Theresa, even if she were an alien...

Let me explain briefly. Is Theresa's status as the leader of the Tower of Babel enough for others to know her? Before the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, did many people know the leaders of Hamas or Fatah? Or, according to the Tower of Babel's ideal of bringing peace to all of Terra, do many people know the current leaders of the World Health Organization or the International Red Cross?

Not to mention that Theresa's ideals were never realized. The late emperor died before his great undertaking was fully completed, and subsequent leaders changed the country's name from Babel to Rhodes Island, drawing a clear line between them. Strictly speaking, her influence might not even be as great as that of the leaders of the World Health Organization.

Meanwhile, Theresa is still the leader of Kazdel. Kazdel's last major war with Terra was two hundred years ago, when the three-nation coalition led by Kal'tsit invaded. Kazdel is hardly a major power in present-day Terra. As I mentioned earlier, Snow Leopard read the history books, and there were only a few words about that war. After all, the Terran nations lost that war, and their commander was beheaded. Naturally, there are few records of a defeated war. It was Duke Kasper who recited Kal'tsit's "laundry detergent bible."

Moreover, it wasn't even a large-scale battle to begin with, and it didn't change the international landscape in the slightest. It was far less significant than a required course like the Four Emperors' Battle.

Chapter 481 Ascalon: You are surrounded by dangers, but I am enough for you.

Shelag, Tukarim, Shelag Government Office Building, Ernst's Office.

Ernst welcomed a special guest.

"Ascalon, Sarkaz, you will be the new head of Rhodes Island's office in Shalag starting today. Mr. Ernst, we look forward to your guidance."

Ascalon? Rhode Island's Shaylag office? The new head?

Ernst glanced subconsciously at Kal'tsit, who was sitting in the corner of the room, and gave her a look that conveyed:

Why didn't you tell me about this beforehand?