Synopsis and Starting Chapter Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83
Chapter 84
Chapter 85
Chapter 86
Chapter 87
Chapter 88
Chapter 89
Chapter 90
Chapter 91
Chapter 92
Chapter 93
Chapter 94
Chapter 95
Chapter 96
Chapter 97
Chapter 98
Chapter 99
Chapter 100
Chapter 101
Chapter 102
Chapter 103
Chapter 104
Chapter 105
Chapter 106
Chapter 107
Chapter 108
Chapter 109
Chapter 110
Chapter 111
Chapter 112
Chapter 113
Chapter 114
Chapter 115
Chapter 116
Chapter 117
Chapter 118
Chapter 119
Chapter 120
Chapter 121
Chapter 122
Chapter 123
Chapter 124
Chapter 125
Chapter 126
Chapter 127
Chapter 128
Chapter 129
Chapter 130
Chapter 131
Chapter 132
Chapter 133
Chapter 134
Chapter 135
Chapter 136
Chapter 137
Chapter 138
Chapter 139
Chapter 140
Chapter 141
Chapter 142
Chapter 143
Chapter 144
Chapter 145
Chapter 146
Chapter 147
Chapter 148
Chapter 149
Chapter 150
Chapter 151
Chapter 152
Chapter 153
Chapter 154
Chapter 155
Chapter 156
Chapter 157
Chapter 158
Chapter 159
Chapter 160
Chapter 161
Chapter 162
Chapter 163
Chapter 164
Chapter 165
Chapter 166
Chapter 167
Chapter 168
Chapter 169
Chapter 170
Chapter 171
Chapter 172
Chapter 173
Chapter 174
Chapter 175
Chapter 176
Chapter 177
Chapter 178
Chapter 179
Chapter 180
Chapter 181
Chapter 182
Chapter 183
Chapter 184
Chapter 185
Chapter 186
Chapter 187
Chapter 188
Chapter 189
Chapter 190
Chapter 191
Chapter 192
Chapter 193
Chapter 194
Chapter 195
Chapter 196
Chapter 197
Chapter 198
Chapter 199
Chapter 200
Chapter 201
Chapter 202
Chapter 203
Chapter 204
Chapter 205
Chapter 206
Chapter 207
Chapter 208
Chapter 209
Chapter 210
Chapter 211
Chapter 212
Chapter 213
Chapter 214
Chapter 215
Chapter 216
Chapter 217
Chapter 218
Chapter 219
Chapter 220
Chapter 221
Chapter 222
Chapter 223
Chapter 224
Chapter 225
Chapter 226
Chapter 227
Chapter 228
Chapter 229
Chapter 230
Chapter 231
Chapter 232
Chapter 233
Chapter 234
Chapter 235
Chapter 236
Chapter 237
Chapter 238
Chapter 239
Chapter 240
Chapter 241
Chapter 242
Chapter 243 174. Fjord'S Shock And Denial.
Chapter 244 175. General Nokhud'S Decision.
Chapter 245 176. We Got Too Conceited.
Chapter 246
Chapter 247
Chapter 248
Chapter 249
Chapter 250
Chapter 251
Chapter 252
Chapter 253
Chapter 254
Chapter 255
Chapter 256
Chapter 257
Chapter 258
Chapter 259
Chapter 260
Chapter 261
Chapter 262
Chapter 263
Chapter 264
Chapter 265
Chapter 266
Chapter 267
Chapter 268
Chapter 269
Chapter 270
Chapter 271
Chapter 272
Chapter 273
Chapter 274
Chapter 275
Chapter 276
Chapter 277
Chapter 278
Chapter 279
Chapter 280
Chapter 281
Chapter 282
Chapter 283
Chapter 284
Chapter 285
Chapter 286
Chapter 287
Chapter 288
Chapter 289
Chapter 290
Chapter 291
Chapter 292
Chapter 293
Chapter 294
Chapter 295
Chapter 296
Chapter 297
Chapter 298
Chapter 299
Chapter 300
Chapter 301 232. The Shift In Balance Of Power.
Chapter 302 233. Trevor Snake And Carl Morgan.
Chapter 303 234. The Second Demon Prince Bidder.
Chapter 304 235. John'S Rantings.
Chapter 305 236. Plato'S Scheme.
Chapter 306 237. Elf King Eden'S Dilemma.
Chapter 307 238. Who Knows We May Gain Unexpected Benefits.
Chapter 308 239. Bickering Between Grandfathers And Grandsons.
Chapter 309 - 240. Schemes And Plans By Plato.
Chapter 310: 241. Smart Move In Times Of Chaos.
Chapter 311: 242. This Father In Law Of Mine Is A Thorough Scammer.
Chapter 312: 243. The Blood-Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill
Chapter 313: 244. Power Capital Quotes 3.5 Million.
Chapter 314: 245. Fooling The Eyes Of Heaven.
Chapter 315: 246. I Need To Be Careful With My Vocabulary As Well. What A Mess!
Chapter 316: 247. Meeting Dwayne Miller (1)
Chapter 317: 248. Meeting Dwayne Miller (2)
Chapter 318: 249. It Is Ok, He Is Only Rude On The Outside.
Chapter 319: 250. Meeting With Anin And Plato.
Chapter 320: 251. How Can This Be Possible.
Chapter 321: 252. Conclusion Of Talks With Aelius.
Chapter 322: 253. Chaos At The Plaza Part 1.
Chapter 323: 254. Chaos At The Plaza Part 2.
Chapter 324: 255. Chaos At The Plaza Part 3.
Chapter 325: 256. Chaos At The Plaza Part 4.
Chapter 326: 257. Chaos At Plaza Part 5.
Chapter 327: 258. Chaos At Plaza Part 6.
Chapter 328: 259. Chaos At Plaza Part 7.
Chapter 329: 260. Spoiler*. (Title At The End Of Chapter)
Chapter 330: 261. City Of Lights.
Chapter 331: 262. Conclusion Of The Signing Ceremony Part 1.
Chapter 332: 263. Conclusion Of The Signing Ceremony Part 2.
Chapter 333: 264. Reactions From Various Parties.
Chapter 334: 265. Sign Of A Good Ruler.
Chapter 335: 266. Ealdron'S Dilemma.
Chapter 336: 267. Plato And Endo'S Meeting.
Categories Genre: Action, All, Ongoing, Sci-fi Status: Ongoing ______
Total Chapters in book: 337
Estimated words: 555279 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 2776(@200wpm)___ 2221(@250wpm)___ 1851(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 555279 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 2776(@200wpm)___ 2221(@250wpm)___ 1851(@300wpm)
______
LIST OF LAST 10 CHAPTERS:
Page No. 337 Page No. 336 Page No. 335 Page No. 334 Page No. 333 Page No. 332 Page No. 331 Page No. 330 Page No. 329 Page No. 328 Page No. 327 Chapter 280
Chapter 280: 280
**** In a private room in the restaurant, Lord Prime Minister and Duke Norman got to business after offering their greetings .
Hasse drank his cup of wine and spoke solemnly, "It seems Lord Duke has finally made his decision . are you sure you won't regret it? Because you will make an enemy Prince Hector in the future . "
Hasse meanwhile thought as he looked back to today's events in the Imperial court, 'It is anyway better to break the alliance between Duke Norman and Prince Hector . I am sure Prince Hector is harboring a grudge against me for first supporting the peace-trade deal previously . There is also a favor that I owe to the Grand Duke of Norman family so I should pay it back today . '
Duke thought a bit and decided to bare out some of his intentions, "Well, I already decided when I decided to meet you . I do have my reservations when it comes to one man in Lord Hector's camp . But the thing is Lord Hector has a lot of personality flaws which is very difficult to manage . I think you already saw Lord Hector's behavior in the Court session in the morning . When it comes to his enemies, he can't think with a clear mind when he is enraged . However, this engagement of Mary and Prince Hector was made by father and his Majesty so it is a peculiar situation for us currently . "
Hasse nodded and spoke, "I guess you are worried about Alistair who trained under Lord Lukavv for a brief period when he was young? Well, he does have his credentials when it comes to scheming and saving Hector's ass as well as his martial talent . For Alistair . you can buy him at a great price if Prince Hector is neck-deep in debt . As far as I know, Prince Hector doesn't feel anything of him, he is just better than an ant for him . My only suggestion is that you should strictly keep a business relationship with Lord Hector and wait for him to make a mistake before you reveal your intentions as you are currently tied to Lord Hector's pirate ship . I would just give you one suggestion i . e . you should follow the lead of Queen Cecelia's family and create an artificial public distance by using Mary with him and a close private relationship so that he won't doubt you . I am sure you noticed Queen Cecelia and her family's distancing from Prince Hector in today's session in the court . From what I know, they took this decision after they received Lord Endo's letter from Sky and also their future plans . "
Hasse sighed and continued to speak, "As for funding from the Royal family in your previous research plan in regards to medicines . The royal family is going to highly fund experiments for making prototypes of those weapons called Guns and also cultivate spy merchants who can try to get their hands on those weapons from Sky since the demons and dwarves too would have started their research and spying activities so we need to be prepared for future confrontations at our borders . In my opinion, The last war was only a warm-up, The next war will certainly shake up the whole continent when more of such weapons are developed by other countries and I am sure even other continents would be shaken by this war . So currently we don't have any intentions of conflict with Sky or we would most likely get swallowed up by the demons and beasts in the western borders . Also, Aelius is currently quite unstable because of the previous war . A lot of groups are planning uprisings and power grab with the funding of the Fire-abyss kingdom and the Radiant Church . The most unstable groups currently are Prince Lukavv, Duke Fjord and the Radiant Church with Prince Felix . However, the Radiant church poses the biggest challenge to us currently . The entry of Sky in Aelius with regards trade is also to fill the power vacuum in Aelius after our loss and to nullify Radiant Church's Influence . This will unconsciously increase the conflict between Sky and the Radiant Church which will inevitably divert the focus of Radiant Church towards Sky . "
Duke Norman deeply nodded as he understood the significance of this message from Hasse and spoke, "Thank you lord Hasse for his continuous help . Our family would never forget this important piece of information . "
Hasse thought of the past and spoke, "It is only because your father the Grand Duke had helped me in the past that I am helping you right now . Additionally, I had previous engagements with him and hence I am only fulfilling my previous promise to him . "
Duke nodded and asked, "Lord Hasse, I am quite confused because of the actions of Lord John in the previous war . From what I know, Lord John's army was quite strong enough to occupy Baron Mendez's domain as well as the other nearby domains so why didn't he occupy and consolidate it? Additionally, If I or any other noble was in his place then we would have certainly Occupied the Eastern Port City of Mendez's domain as it is quite a gold pot since a lot of trade with Dwarves, Beasts and Elves take place over there . "
Hasse nodded as he deeply thought and spoke, "Even I was quite confused with his actions . Plato and I were prepared for the worst when we lost on both the theater's i . e . Sea as well as Land for a defense . My most likely guess is that he didn't want to confront the Dragon Knights if they officially consolidated Dolores which will most likely expose the weakness of his weapons as well as a shortage of troops to Dwarven Kingdom, Fire-abyss Kingdom and us the humans at Aelius as it would also expand the war in all the directions . And that is also the reason why they didn't chase down our army to expand their borders beyond Mendez's domain or chase down the Dwarves till their port . And the second reason might be the number of Combatants that they could deploy . The third reason might be the chaos created by the insurgents of Radiant Church and Aelius in the occupied territories which will only increase the number of casualties so he most likely made a favorable deal with Baron Mendez and directly earn his benefits and at the same time earning his favor . And the last reason might be that he deliberately didn't occupy it as he has bigger plans for the future . However, those technological changes have certainly changed the future of warfare and from now on, Normal Civilians will also become a big backbone in the army . The difference is that We at Aelius Cultivated Individuals to prepare for war while Lord John Cultivated an Army and Team of Strategists as seen from their actions when they faced Black Death disease as well . From this peace-trade deal, I can see that he has bigger ambitions since he has gone to such lengths just to get people to strengthen Sky for Future Wars . Well, we too are going to extract benefits from Sky in exchange for people . And we anyway have a lot of it . Additionally, your previous point that they are giving back the land so that we can keep our face is also true to stabilize the internal turmoil of Aelius . "
Duke Norman nodded as he understood the importance of this information and thought, 'It seems I will tread on thin ice from now on since I have to balance my position with Sky as well as Aelius or else our borders will get hot where I will certainly face annihilation from Friedreich and John's forces and lose land slowly . And also I don't want the help from the Royal family in keeping my borders . '
Duke Norman brought a paper and gave it to Hasse as he spoke with a very serious expression, "Lord Hasse, I hope this piece of information is enough and can help you . We have just discovered a plot from the Radiant church that they are going to go with the policies of stopping slavery of humans to rally more people . Currently, they are also working on creating a magic that can unseal a slave without any backlash like the one that was created by Sky . I think you know where this proposed policy will go . I think this move of theirs is to oppose our previous decision to send people to Sky and to keep hostilities with Sky . I can see that with the influence they have over masses they might also rebel with Prince Felix as a center . "
Prime Minister Hasse was quite startled as he saw the official internal letter of Radiant Church and understood the implications, He spoke with a calm but ruthless gaze, "Abolishing slavery is a no-go for Aelius . This is tied with the interests of all the nobles . And even if we abolish slavery, Ministers tied with noble families will undoubtedly oppose it and this also might create a civil war because of the big business interests of the Nobles . Quite a low-hand by the Radiant Church . It seems they are preparing for a civil war and that too on a bigger scale and will prepare for a few years before they start . And from the looks of it, the Radiant church is intending to increase the conflict with other races . I want to know Who in the Radiant Church proposed this plan and when was it proposed?"
Duke Norman sighed and spoke, "Today a lot of heads from the Radiant Church were present in the Capital because of today's political fiasco and this news was only found today by my family spies . And it seems this proposal was given by Pope David's First Disciple and also the next designated pope by Lord Irmela directly via his oracle . He took this decision after the court decided to make a peace-trade deal with King John . From what I know, they will be proposing the abolishment of slavery step by step by their spies using Lord John's name and use the previous loss in the war to undermine the Royal family . Meanwhile, the Priests and Bishop will only seek the abolishment of slavery for humans publicly when asked by commoners in private . And there is also other news which can be significant or insignificant for us . "
Prime Minister Hasse nodded and spoke, "Continue . I am listening . "
Norman nodded and continued, "The Radiant Church is intending to Ban Theater, Dramas and other forms of arts as it falls apart the propaganda and narrative of the Radiant Church . This is because Lord John has funded a lot of Theater's and other artists indirectly so that they can expose the Radiant Church's Inhuman activities and create animosity among the commoners for the Radiant Church . Previously we too were intending to ban theaters but because of the ease of tensions between Sky and Aelius after Lord Plato's talks with Minister Taylor, the plan was squashed . Additionally, not a lot of people are educated in Aelius and hence the effect of the newspapers which we will distribute will reduce drastically and hence they have only banned Theater so it doesn't reach the illiterate masses . And my reason for keeping distance with Lord Hector is because he supports this ban and is trying to court the men from Radiant Church but doesn't do so openly as he fears making Prince Lukavv his enemy . "
Prime Minister Hasse nodded satisfyingly as he finally understood why Duke Norman had a big change in his policies towards Prince Hector, He nodded as he spoke, "It seems I still owe your family a favor Duke Norman for this important piece of information . I guess your Old father didn't pick you as a successor for no reason . An ability to unlearn things to learn new things is quite hard for stubborn people but stubbornness is deeply rooted in living beings with high status and only reality makes them understand it . And those who can't unlearn the bad are fated to be doomed in some part of history . I guess the previous war changed your views and made you think practically . Well, this change in thinking is still good for your family . My only advice for you would be to keep a balance between the two factions in your Northern Domain, i . e . Faction of Prince Hector and the Faction opposing Prince Hector or the ones that are interested in trade with Sky . You should know that any lord wouldn't like to live in high debts and be at other lord's mercy . Your subtle change in policies will be noted by the Ministers in Aelius and you will face fewer problems in borders against Sky . One good policy can be, reduction of tariffs at Borders since you are running low on money because of the previous war . This will also allay the fears among the nobles and also stimulate trade which will inevitably increase tax income . Now I will take my leave and go to meet His Majesty for now . Don't look at me like that, I too was quite stubborn a long time ago and facing reality made me change my mindset . There is also another plan which can help you in the long-term . But I don't know if you would like it . "
Norman nodded for Hasse to continue .
Hasse smiled a bit and spoke, "A Secret marriage alliance with the Fire-abyss Kingdom . If you have a good daughter then you should try courting Prince Chad to be engaged with one of your Daughters or a capable heir then try courting Princes Trish however this will undoubtedly enrage Lord Hector so you must take this decision carefully and also execute it carefully in secret . Anyway, lets leave for now . "
As if a star sparkling in the dark, Lord Norman thought deeply, 'Why did I never thought of an alliance with Demons or other races . I guess I always narrowed my perspectives politically . This way I can also solve my problems at the borders in case Sky tries to invade my domain . Now that I think critically It seems I had disdain for other races subconsciously due to the Radiant Church . '
Duke Norman nodded deeply and spoke, "Thank you very much Lord Hasse for enlightening me . "
Both Duke Norman and Minister Hasse nodded and prepared to leave to finish their duties .
Hasse thought as he left for the Imperial Court, 'I hope this scheme of mine can change the fate of Aelius and divert it towards the Fire-abyss Kingdom . Even if Lord John remained loyal, he would have inevitably rebelled as Prince Hector had become his enemy in his early days which meant that they would clash even if Lord John became a Duke and this is also the reason why the elders and ministers didn't favor to support Lord John in the clash between him and Fjord . '
Meanwhile, Duke Norman had a smile on his face because of his chance encounter with Minister Hasse with meaningful talks was quite successful for his future plans .
Duke's nephew spoke as he saw the Duke, "It seems you had quite a successful meeting Uncle . So have they decided to propose your policies and go with it?"
Duke didn't mind his nephew's non-etiquette behavior as he spoke with a smile, "Nope, but we did gain some benefits . Come back to the Manor with me . I need to inform Lord father and elders of our gains and losses . "
Duke gleefully thought, 'I should secretly arrange a meeting with Prince Chad now that Lord Friedreich is out of his domain and inflame his anger against Bluesea family for trying to marry off Princess Diana . If my scheme succeeds then I can give a big blow to Sky for certain and at the same time increase the power of our family . I should deeply discuss this with Elders for our future course of action . '
Total Chapters in book: 337
Estimated words: 555279 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 2776(@200wpm)___ 2221(@250wpm)___ 1851(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 555279 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 2776(@200wpm)___ 2221(@250wpm)___ 1851(@300wpm)
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