in2ebook Chapter 523 A Request So Humble It Is
Chapter 523 A Request So Humble It Is
Chapter 523 A Request So Humble It Is
"What was that sound?"
The sound of Roy crashing down like a meteor was clearly felt even by those in the royal palace, but the attention of the kingdom's high-ranking officials was briefly diverted before they quickly returned to their debate.
"We are deeply saddened by the unexpected passing of His Highness Marius, but for the stability of the entire kingdom, please select an heir as soon as possible; there can be no delay!"
"Shut up, you heartless bastards! You plotted to murder His Highness and tried to steal the kingdom's power!"
"Without evidence, I'm suing you for defamation!"
"Do you dare to speak frankly before the gods, admitting that you were not involved in any plot to harm Prince Marius? No beating around the bush!"
"The divine beings have already confirmed it, why need further proof! Keep harping on this issue is just an attempt to use it to frame us, by deities who are in league with you!"
"What a convenient example of the guilty party accusing the innocent first!"
In the spacious royal palace, the powerful nobles and ministers of the Kingdom of Lachia were arguing fiercely. Since Marius's death a few days earlier, such scenes had become increasingly common, and the tension between the various factions was growing ever stronger.
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Upon closer inspection, although the distribution of power is extremely chaotic, it can be generally divided into two factions.
Royalists who support the royal family!
And the emerging young faction within the kingdom!
Roy played a crucial role in the formation of the Kingdom of Lachia, being the biggest contributor to the rise of the emerging faction. The main members of this force all came from the Ares Familia of Orario.
In an effort to sever ties between the Kingdom and Welf, Roy persuaded the guild to allow the Kingdom to establish a presence in the city. This would allow the Kingdom to utilize dungeon resources to develop its fighting force, while Orario would receive a large sum of collateral and the Kingdom would serve as a reserve talent pool—a win-win situation.
Why has it developed into the current situation?
The answer is very simple: as one's strength grows, no one will willingly submit to others.
The kingdom couldn't send all its top-tier combatants to Orario as adventurers at once; the risk was too great. Instead, it sent a group of young people there to test the waters.
It is precisely this group of people who have caused the big problem.
Knowing they were pawns used by the kingdom to test the waters, they sowed the seeds of resentment and, with a belief in living to the death, entered the dungeon to train madly.
Another major upheaval has occurred, one that has not happened in hundreds of years. The mission is to vanquish the corrupt immortals and the black dragon—as long as you participate, it is easy to achieve great success.
These people don't intend to hone their abilities to the extreme. After accomplishing great deeds, as long as one of their abilities reaches the D level, they will immediately be promoted.
Although they are a lot of dubious products, which is nothing in Orario, they are incredibly strong in the outside world!
Among the emerging factions, several adventurers have reached LV.5, and there are also quite a few at LV.4 and LV.3, whose strength has surpassed that of the high-ranking combatants of the Kingdom of Lachia.
It sounds simple, but it's not.
More than 10,000 people from the kingdom entered Orario, but less than 1% of them survived, only a few dozen, who were Gu Kings born under the Gu breeding model.
Treated as pawns by the kingdom, their companions died one after another in the dungeon like expendable resources. Amidst blood, tears, and pain, these people grew stronger and more fanatical, ultimately turning against the Kingdom of Lachia.
When the Orario Alliance attacked the Black Dragon, the city was left empty, and the Ares Familia took the opportunity to escape. Those who survived in the north leveled up to LV.5.
Upon returning to the kingdom, he secretly murdered Marius.
The emerging faction bribed a deity who had fallen into subservience and was dissatisfied with the kingdom and Ares, concealing the truth and obtaining false testimony to clear themselves of suspicion of murdering Marius.
As for Ares, the chief god of the kingdom.
The two sides shared highly aligned interests: Ares wanted to wage wars abroad, and the emerging faction, mostly composed of young people, also longed to establish merit. They hit it off immediately.
Once the last royalists are dealt with, the emerging faction will completely seize power in the kingdom.
Inside the main hall were several young men, all Level 5 adventurers trained in Orario. Their faces were grim as they stared at the elderly nobles and powerful ministers opposite them. Having gained strength, they would not allow those old fogies to continue to bully them.
"Lord Ares, please give the order to strip these people of their power!" a young man said in a deep voice.
"Lord Ares, please give the order!"
"Lord Ares, please give the order!"
The members of the emerging faction knelt before Ares. What they wanted was to seize power, not to change the system, so they retained their respect for the god. The chief god could, in a moment's whim, seal away their favor.
These people launched a general offensive, and their subordinates and relatives immediately followed, collapsing like stalks of rice.
Hundreds of people shouted in unison, creating a powerful and enthusiastic atmosphere.
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Upon seeing this, the royalist nobles and officials changed their expressions drastically. They knew how crazy these emerging factions were; they even dared to murder Prince Marius. If they were to take power, the Kingdom of Lachia would definitely head headlong towards self-destruction.
Those damned gods don't care about any of that, as long as they have fun, that's all that matters, including Ares.
A high-ranking nobleman gritted his teeth and said, "Don't forget His Highness Marius's last will and testament! The hero who vanquished the black dragon will not stand idly by!"
Upon hearing this, the atmosphere in the main hall became deathly silent.
That name was almost a taboo in the Kingdom of Lachia; to call someone by their name was considered disrespectful.
The leader of the emerging faction's face darkened. That hateful prince had betrayed them at the last moment. Who would have thought that the young prince had foreseen the possibility of an accident and left behind a will in advance?
The will contained an order that would be devastating to them.
"Hmph, you think you know Orario better than I do?"
The leader of the emerging faction sneered: "The madman is busy with countless affairs, including conquering the dungeon. He has no time to interfere in the kingdom's affairs. Besides, this is an internal dispute, and the Astrea Familia has no right to intervene."
When the words "internal dispute" were mentioned, the man looked somewhat guilty and muttered curses at the deceased Marius.
However, he believes the situation is not that serious.
What Roy cares about is that village. As long as they avoid it and provide policy support and preferential treatment, they can definitely keep Roy in check.
It wouldn't be impossible to even get involved with the world's strongest person; the thought is quite exciting.
"wait----"
The royalist nobles and officials tried to continue speaking, but were met with gleaming swords; the cold glint of their blades forced them to swallow their words.
This world is one where strength speaks.
The emerging faction, possessing several LV.5 adventurers, is undoubtedly the most formidable force in the kingdom.
"Damn it, are we just supposed to stand by and watch these lunatics lead the country to destruction?"
"His Highness Marius has worked hard to govern the kingdom and has finally managed to pull it out of that war-torn mode."
"Who will save this country!"
The royalist nobles and officials groaned inwardly, filled with utter despair. What tormented them most was that Ares, a fool whose brain seemed to be made of muscles, was completely oblivious to how dangerous the situation was.
"Haha, well done!"
"These are the servants of the God of War. The decision to station them in Orario was absolutely right. What's that saying—if you can't beat them, join them, imitate them, become them, and surpass them! One day, our iron hooves will crush that city—Orario!" Ares laughed wildly as he looked at his servants, whose strength had greatly increased.
But Ares's triumph did not last long.
"Lord Isaac, he—he—he's here!" A guard stumbled in.
"Damn it, stammering like that, trying to embarrass me?" The leader of the emerging faction said with a grim face.
This was a crucial moment for seizing power and gaining Ares' trust; this man was, after all, one of his old subordinates in Orario, and had reached level 3.
Their strength is simply shameful.
"Aaaaaaahh ...
Hearing his boss's stern reprimand, the guard's panic did not diminish at all. He spoke incoherently and pointed tremblingly at the entrance of the main hall.
Now, everyone realized something was wrong, especially the adventurers who had fought their way through the hellish dungeons, whose intuition was extremely sharp.
Everyone inside the hall stared intently at the entrance.
Amidst countless astonished and incredulous gazes, Roy strode confidently into the hall, the sun shining brightly behind him, illuminating the horrified and bewildered faces.
How did he end up here?!
Whether they were royalists, emerging factions, or even deities, their minds seemed to freeze for a moment, leaving only a thunderous confusion.
"It's quite lively."
Seeing the tense scene, Roy couldn't help but laugh; Hermes's intelligence was indeed accurate.
"Lord Roy, what brings you here? Look at us, we were unprepared and made a fool of ourselves." The leader of the emerging faction hurriedly stepped forward, his face full of flattery.
He launched a fierce attack on the kingdom's nobles, yet he was meek and submissive in front of Roy, as obedient as a kitten.
The kingdom's nobles and officials looked at them with disdain.
Facing those scornful looks, the young man felt no shame. Instead, he sneered inwardly. A bunch of frogs in a well. Only those who have been to Orario know how terrifying Roy is. The strongest is no joke!
"I'm not here to see you," Roy said calmly, striding forward toward Marius's coffin.
The man immediately panicked, "Lord Roy, wait! His Highness Marius has been dead for many days, and his body is decomposing; it is truly not something to behold—"
Roy swatted at the other man's chest as if shooing away a noisy fly.
boom!
A heavy, muffled thud and the cracking sound of bones rang out.
The man was completely caught off guard. In a flash, he was blasted away by the cold and violent force, his vision blurred and distorted, and he felt dizzy and disoriented.
The flying figure crashed heavily into the intricately carved moat and the solid stone pillars, causing the hall to shake and fine gravel and dust to fall in a flurry.
The man's chest caved in deeply, and he collapsed to the ground like a lump of mud, his breath fading to the bottom. If Roy hadn't held back, the man would have died on the spot.
This move instantly stunned everyone.
The royal family, nobles, and officials of the Kingdom of Lachia stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
That person is the leader of a new faction, an adventurer who has reached LV.5. No one in the kingdom can stand up to him alone. He has been running rampant and oppressive for some time now, making it hard for people to breathe.
As a result, he was instantly killed by Roy with a single slap!
Unlike when they viewed it through the divine mirror, they now clearly perceived how exaggerated the gap between themselves and the world's strongest was—an insurmountable chasm.
Roy approached the luxurious coffin and unceremoniously lifted the lid.
This time, no one dared to say anything.
Roy looked down and saw a lifeless young man's body inside the coffin—it was Marius.
Beside Marius's body was a will. Roy picked it up casually and quickly scanned its contents, most of which concerned state affairs.
Only the last one piqued his interest.
The above means that if Marius dies unexpectedly, it will automatically take effect, appointing Roy as regent and granting him all his power.
"He's about to die, and they still give me the miserable life of a regent. They really know how to make trouble for me." Roy patted Marius's stiff face with the will.
The kingdom's nobles were all in tears, out of respect for the dead, but they dared not say it to Roy.
Roy pursed his lips; this was troublesome.
Marius was clearly aware of the danger posed by the Ares Familia in Orario and feared he wouldn't be able to control them. If something happened to him, all his power would be inherited by Regent Roy.
For anyone else, it would be incomprehensible.
If Roy wanted to, he could use this will as a legitimate reason to ascend the throne of the Kingdom of Lachia; this prince was completely betraying his country.
But Marius had absolute trust in Roy. He knew that Roy's ambitions lay elsewhere, and even if he gave away the entire kingdom, Roy wouldn't give him a second glance.
Especially after Roy defeated the Black Dragon, the gap became too large, and Marius became even more convinced.
Appointing Roy as regent was more like a request.
Ask Roy to help him clean up the mess, for the sake of that village within the kingdom.