Chapter 1185: Divided Opinions
Bradlor frowned when he heard Cate’s words. Instead of asking him what happened, Bradlor asked, “Did you mean President Felic has come back from the land of curses?”
In fact, Bradlor and the other ministers were in a discussion about the news of Lin Li’s death that was sent back by High Priest Poer. They were thinking if they should keep to their original strategy to acquire the Breezy Plains peacefully if the Tower of Dusk wouldn’t be able to return from the cursed island.
The kingdom’s greatest concern about the Breezy Plains was the power of the Tower of Dusk, especially their president in the Sanctuary-realm. Sanctuary powerhouses were not to be trifled with. Even if the Gilded Kingdom had the ability to suppress one Sanctuary powerhouse, they would definitely pay a hefty price for it. Moreover, Lin Li was not only the president of Tower of Dusk, but also the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council. Things would definitely become very serious if the Supreme Council were to be involved.
Yet, things would be different without Lin Li. While there was still the Ashen Warlock in the Breezy Plains, he might not want to have a direct confrontation with the Gilded Kingdom. After all, the Ashen Warlock advocated for peace in the Breezy Plains. The Gilded Kingdom had confidence that they would be able to acquire the Breezy Plains without creating too great of a racket.
Hence, Bradlor already had thoughts to change his initial strategy. Of course, the prerequisite was to be absolutely certain that Lin Li would never return. Otherwise, they would be caught in a sticky mess.
Cate froze when he heard the king’s response. Yet, his rage made him react to it very shortly afterwards. “Yes, Your Highness, it is that Felic from the Tower of Dusk who created trouble for us at the campsite upon his return. He not only snatched our prisoners, but also injured numerous soldiers. He razed our camp flat!”
“What, this actually happened?” gasped King Bradlor and the other ministers when they heard Cate’s story. They thought they had heard it wrongly.
Just when they were flabbergasted, and did not know how to respond to Cate’s sharing, a few men walked into the discussion hall. The one that led the group was one of the two main ministers of Gilded Kingdom, Burgess. Burgess was the representative of the military supporters, and his son was Cantory, the proud and capable disciple of the Illuminati.
“Lawless, simply lawless!” Burgess hollered as he entered the hall angrily. He only bowed respectfully at King Bradlor when he got closer to him. “Your Majesty, please pardon me for coming in without seeking permission. It was all because of that unreasonable Felic. His disregard for the Gilded Kingdom is unacceptable!”
“Oh? Could you be here for the same reason as Cate? Tell me more about it,” responded Bradlor. While he trusted General Cate, he could not help but feel skeptical when he heard his story. It was the involvement of Delano that made him doubt if the story had been exaggerated.
Bradlor stole a look at Delano and Cate, and placed his gaze back on King Bradlor. “Your Majesty, the entire kingdom is talking about it. It’s the greatest shame our kingdom has experienced in a few thousand years!” he said gravely.
“Master Burgess, please do not jump to conclusions so hastily. Our Majesty needs to know the details of the matter before he is able to make a decision,” snapped Carron, the minister who supported the peaceful acquisition of the Breezy Plains. He was definitely triggered by Burgess’ provocative words.
Carron and Burgess were two key ministers of the Gilded Kingdom who had comparable power and status. However, Burgess had a capable son who was chosen by the Illuminati as a disciple to be groomed as a potential candidate for their successor. This lifted Carron’s status, and made his words weigh more than Burgess’.
This time, King Bradlor had selected to use the opinions of the peace supporters in their plans to reach into the Breezy Plains. As he was the representative of the peaceful supporters, it was a rare opportunity for Carron’s words to weigh more than Bradlor. Because of this, Carron was really motivated to keep the king on his side.
Furthermore, what Burgess had said was definitely exaggerated. What did he mean when he said “a few thousand years”? The Gilded Kingdom has been around for a few thousand years, and has experienced the worst. The kingdom nearly got wiped out from the Endless Ocean when the ancient wyrm descended. What could be worse than that catastrophe?!
Burgess snorted coldly upon hearing Carron. “Carron, you were the one who advocated for a peaceful relationship with the Breezy Plains. You even invited them to our national day celebration. The kingdom cut no slack in offering them the best experience and time here. Yet, I think this has made them think that the kingdom was afraid of them. Their actions have become more and more relentless. Our Majesty forgave them for the Fifth Fleet incident very generously, and they did not have the slightest sense of guilt! This time, they even had the audacity to raze our military region to the ground. If this is not trampling the honor of our kingdom, I don’t know what else is.”
Seeing that Burgess and Carron were about to enter into an argument, King Bradlor slammed the armrest of his throne. “Stop fighting! Burgess, what did you say about the military grounds?” he said gravely.
“Your Majesty, since General Cate is here, I think it would be more appropriate for him to share about it,” replied Burgess after he saw that they had created enough tension.
“Your Majesty, a few days ago, we arrested a few sailors who assaulted Prince Vincent at Helena Port. After interrogation, we discovered that they were the employees of the Tower of Dusk serving on The Star. They were left behind by the organization when the latter left the harbor. As it is a grave crime to attack royalty, we locked them in our cells to await their sentencing,” explained Cate. He paused and stole a glance at King Bradlor.
Although this matter was not a plot that was conspired by Delano previously, and had item evidence and eyewitnesses and the personal testimony from Prince Vincent, it did not mean that it was really impeccable. They might discover something new if they were to choose to dive deeper into the investigation. After all, it was a case that consisted of a noble prince and a few lowly sailors. The appearance of both parties just invited doubt.
However, King Bradlor’s main concern was clearly not about the case, but the situation at the military grounds. Hence, he frowned and commanded Cate to continue his story.
Bradlor’s words assuaged General Cate’s anxiety a little. He caught on to Bradlor’s curiosity, and continued his speech with great spirit and grief. “Today, President Felic from the Tower of Dusk suddenly returned and came to ask for the sailors. To honor the dignity of our kingdom, I tried to use reason to persuade him otherwise. Yet, he proceeded to order his men to barge into our grounds to bring the criminals out. He even let his men injure numerous of our soldiers and raze our territory to the ground!”
Cate’s comments led to an uproar in the discussion hall. The generals who were military supporters acted exaggeratedly, as though it was their first time hearing the news. The generals who supported peace all had looks of disbelief.
The most important matter was not what had happened to the military compound, but the fact that Felic had wreaked havoc in the capital of the Gilded Kingdom. Anything that happened here had a direct impact on the reputation of the kingdom, and it would be unforgivable for any kingdom to have their dignity trampled by any party.
Hence, King Bradlor frowned after he heard Cate’s story. “Are you speaking the truth?!” asked Bradlor sternly.
“Your Majesty, I swear to God that I speak of no lie! You could head over to our site now to speak to the soldiers and look at the ruins there!” replied Cate without a hint of hesitation.
“Your Majesty, that Felic is going too overboard. He has returned our great hospitality with such atrocities! If this were to continue, what would happen to the glory of our kingdom?” added Burgess hurriedly when he saw Bradlor descending deep in thought.
The military generals stood up to back Burgess up indignantly. “Your Majesty, we will just need one word from you. As long as we dealt with Felic and the people from the Breezy Plains, we would definitely be able to acquire the Breezy Plains.”
Carron grew anxious when he saw the military faction requesting for a war. “Your Highness, although President Felic seems to be going a little overboard, it is too hasty to declare war because of it,” Carron voiced out hurriedly.
“Hasty? Our kingdom’s reputation and honor is being trampled now! How could you say that it is too hasty when all we want to do is to maintain the kingdom’s dignity? Are you only going to take action to resist them when they charge into this palace?” retorted Burgess angrily and righteously.
As King Bradlor had been adopting the suggestions of the supporters of peace, he gave a lot of weight and recognition to their words. Hence, Burgess had been suppressing his anger for quite some time. The talk of honor was only a façade. As long as the Gilded Kingdom entered a war with the Breezy Plains, Burgess would be able to overwrite Carron’s influence, and acquire all the power and benefits for being recognized by the king.
Since Carron’s status was comparable to Burgess’s, there was nothing for him to fear. However, he did not immediately shoot Burgess’ words down, for he knew that it might make him seem like he had no regard for the kingdom’s honor. Hence, he was full of indignation as well. “Your Majesty, I feel deeply saddened by this situation as well. But, we might be gambling on the future of our kingdom if we were to react so impulsively,” persuaded Carron.
“Gamble? Are you saying that we are gambling when what we want to do is to fight for the honor of our kingdom?” snapped Burgess as he started to make a fuss after catching Carron’s dubious choice of words.
Carron, however, was unaffected. “Burgess, I can understand your fury. But, have you wondered who has to pay the greatest price if we were to declare war on the Breezy Plains? That Felic is a solid Sanctuary powerhouse, and his Tower of Dusk even owns a war treasure like the Sky Castle. Have you thought about the consequences for our side even if we were to win the war?”
King Bradlor’s rationale for a peaceful approach was due to his fear of the abilities of the Tower of Dusk. Hence, when he heard the rumor that Lin Li would never be back from the cursed land, he immediately gathered his ministers to discuss if they should make any modification to their strategy. Now that Lin Li had returned with full strength, Bradlor naturally knew that he had to raise the same concerns.
Sure enough, Bradlor’s expression became visibly hesitant when he heard Carron mention the power the Tower of Dusk had. Sanctuary powerhouses were not to be trifled with. If the Gilded Kingdom did not have sufficient abilities to counter the potential losses, their war would only bring everyone to the abyss. The fall of their proudest and greatest Fifth Fleet could only show that it was nothing before a Sanctuary powerhouse.
However, Burgess seemed to have come prepared with his piece as well. “Did Master Carron forget that we are not battling by ourselves, and have the support from the Illuminati? They would naturally help us get rid of Felic and the Tower of Dusk. Are you insinuating that the almighty lord and the four Sanctuary-level saints of the Illuminati have no ability to deal with Felic?”
“How can you then be sure that the Illuminati would have the ability to help us deal with Felic? Do not forget that Felic is also the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council. Illuminati would never risk entering a war with the Supreme Council to help us deal with Felic and the Tower of Dusk. That is not something you can decide,” said Carron as he brought out the Illuminati to counter Burgess’ narrative. The only person who could make the decision for the Illuminati was their lord. Were they going to bring this proposal to him now?
“Mister Minister, are you then saying that we should let people ride on our heads?! Even if you are willing, we aren’t!” the military supporters retorted furiously. Although they knew that Carron was speaking reasonably, they could not help but feel indignant. While their status was lower than Carron’s, each of them had power and authority in the military. Naturally, they weren’t scared of Carron, let alone watched their words when they were with him.