Chapter 1126 - 173: Rupture! The Hunting of Red Dragon Drake! (Part 3)

Chapter 1126: Chapter 173: Rupture! The Hunting of Red Dragon Drake! (Part 3)

"You... you’ll regret this! Su Li! The Electorate Council will never let you go!" Commissioner Helmut shrieked, his bluster barely masking his cowardice, then, huddled by his terrified attendants, he all but crawled and stumbled away, clutching his severed tongue as he fled toward the doors. The heavy oak gates slammed shut behind them, sealing the imperial bureaucrat’s threats—and the wind and snow—outside Heisen Castle.

Within the hall, only the crackling of the fireplace remained, and the cold, austere gazes of everyone present.

Once the imperial bureaucrats had departed, Oliver, who had been frowning all along, rose to his feet and said calmly, "My Lord, a bureaucrat like Helmut is nothing but a clown. Cutting out his tongue only wastes one vial of the Electorate Council’s potion. But now that we’ve offended the Electorate Council, our next steps may grow difficult. We... must prepare early."

Su Li waved his hand in a composed gesture and said, "The Electorate Council is not a monolith. As for this notion that we’ve ’offended’ the Electorate Council, I don’t agree. At the very least, within the Council, the Sun Goddess Church and the Sulande Province will stand firmly on our side. How many of the others even have the ability to interfere in the situation in the Border Prince’s Territory?"

"Moreover, the Empire has just gone through the Holy Great Expedition this year. In the short term, the Empire cannot possibly mobilize large forces again to intervene in the affairs of the Border Prince’s Territory."

On this point, all nodded in agreement. The gravest mistake is to treat one’s enemies as a seamless block.

In truth, the Electorate Council is nominally a single body, but when confronted with conflicts of interest, it can scarcely stand united. The rational way is to regard them as individual actors, each with distinct interests. It is impossible to offend all of them at once.

More importantly, any resolution passed by the Imperial Elector Council still requires someone to enforce it. And in this southern land, every powerful military force capable of enforcement leans toward Su Li.

The most powerful military force in the South is, of course, the Sun Goddess Church. The representative of its Electoral College will never allow the Imperial Elector Council to brand the Hesse Territory as heretical, as a target for crusade.

He must safeguard his Divine Chosen Knights and his exemplary territories—unless the Empire can prove that the Hesse Territory has already been corrupted by Chaos and has become a land of Chaos worshippers.

But that is impossible. Flash Spear City lies firmly in Su Li’s grasp; the gods look upon it frequently. Whether Hesse Territory has been corrupted, every Church knows perfectly well.

Beyond the Sun Goddess Church, the other major powers in the South are likewise allied with the Sun Goddess Church.

The South is the classic tri-Goddess alliance: Shalya Church in the southwest, Verena Church in the southeast.

Among these, Su Li’s ties with the Shalya Church are somewhat more tenuous.

Yet Su Li has only recently fulfilled the Holy Mandate of the Goddess Shalya, purifying the Nagor Warband and earning the Goddess’s Golden Holy Water Bottle.

And Shalya is the younger sister of the Sun Goddess; it is difficult for her to move against her elder sister’s Divine Chosen Knight.

Thus, Su Li wields formidable influence both within the Churches and in the secular structures of power across the territories.

This is the confidence that allows him to categorically reject the Empire’s assessment delegation’s demand for a bribe!

Of course, a demand for one hundred thousand Golden Crowns in bribes truly exceeds the limits of what Su Li can tolerate or accept.

To spend such a vast sum to purchase the title of Baron—this he cannot accept!

Though that despair-inducing figure is not beyond his means,

the very fiber of his being will not allow him to submit to such a craven, unequal pact.

If one has money and does not invest it in the military, is it to be paid out in indemnities instead?

Only one’s own strength is the most fundamental, reliable foundation.

So Su Li swept his gaze over the assembled, and said, "Then let us be ready to face the challenge. Once our strength is sufficient, I am certain that a noble title will come to us as a matter of course."

Hilude nodded in agreement and said, "Indeed. My Lord, I believe that clown Helmut has failed to grasp reality. Ordinary territories may need the Electorate Council’s assessment and a noble title to increase their honor and authority. But we are different: it is the Electorate Council that needs us to accept a title, so that this assessment can gain authority through us."

"I am convinced it will not be long before the Electorate Council sends a bureaucrat with a clear head to negotiate with us anew. At that time, let alone a Baron’s title—even a Count’s is not beyond our reach!"

In fact, had both sides spoken in harmony, Su Li’s aim this time would have been no more than a Baron’s title.

But now that they had torn the mask away, unless the Empire puts forth at least a Count’s rank, Su Li will not sheathe his sword.

Su Li is certain that the Empire has officials capable of reading the situation, who know how to win over a truly battle-hardened, militarily powerful Pioneer Lord.

After all, the Empire has persisted for thousands of years. Though it is riddled everywhere with corrupt vermin, with incompetent and base officials, anything that can endure for millennia must possess stalwart pillars supporting its existence.

Men like Oliver, Divine Chosen of the Goddess of Justice and Iron-fisted Prime Minister—no Electorate Territory is without their like. They will make wise choices. When one round of negotiations fails, they will send a more elite team.

Oerstein asked at once, "Shall we mobilize our forces now and prepare to strike at the Swamp Territory?"

Su Li pondered for a moment, then replied with due caution, "Not yet. We have only just come through a bloody battle and have rested for but a few months; it is not suitable to stir up a major campaign again. Besides, the Empire has still not formally rejected our assessment result. To raise our banners hastily at such a time would truly be ill-advised."