Chapter 252 - 250: Tripartite Alliance

Chapter 252: Chapter 250: Tripartite Alliance

"The mediation failed?"

King Eric was stunned by the news his son brought back.

"What in the world happened? Don’t tell me Duane dared to provoke Kudro to his face."

Sigmund replied helplessly, "That’s exactly what happened, Father. Duane is even more uncompromising than you imagined."

Eric suddenly wondered if Duane had gone mad. "Quick, tell me exactly what happened."

As Sigmund recounted the events, Eric learned everything.

But even so, he still looked completely incredulous.

He recalled how, at the conference in Cyan Snake Fortress, Duane had been pressured by Orlando and his allied nobles to the point of fainting.

But now, the man actually dared to openly provoke the Kingdom’s Mad Count. How could he have changed so drastically?

"Father, I believe Duane was certain that you would mediate and not allow Count Kudro to go too far. That’s why he was so fearless."

Sigmund analyzed, "Besides, Black Forest Island has no real industry. Even if Kudro wanted to strike at Duane, there’s no way for him to do it."

Simply put, Duane has nothing to lose. He’s like a barefoot man who doesn’t fear one with shoes.

"That fellow..."

Eric gave a wry smile. "He stirs up trouble and still expects me to clean up his mess!"

To be fair, he had no choice but to clean it up.

Kudro was his confidant, and sometimes his arrogant actions had the King’s tacit approval. But over time, it had caused the man to gradually grow to look down on everyone.

"The reforms are imminent. We can’t let Kudro give our opponents any ammunition!"

Eric looked at his son. "Sigmund, go find Kudro again. Tell him not to let a trivial matter derail our important plans!"

"Yes, I will inform him at once."

"Good. And remember to emphasize that this is my command, not a negotiation!"

Sigmund paused for a moment, then placed a hand on his chest and bowed. "I understand!"

After Sigmund left, Eric let out a soft sigh. There were so many troublesome matters to deal with.

Suddenly, a shadow in the study stirred.

Eric inquired, "Drake, you’ve returned. How are the preparations on Clement’s end?"

A slender figure emerged from the shadows. It was His Majesty’s Hidden Guard.

"Clement asked me to inform you that he has prepared the Great Blessing Technique. There will be no problem casting it at the Founding Day celebration."

Eric looked pleased. "Excellent!"

Drake added, "This is an opportunity to enhance the Holy Radiance Court’s reputation. If the Great Blessing Technique couldn’t be used, he would probably be more anxious than you are."

Even so, Eric had to remain vigilant.

After all, the Great Blessing Technique was a special event for this year’s Founding Day celebration, and its impact would be significant.

If this part of the ceremony went wrong, it would not only disrupt his subsequent plans, but the Kingdom’s Nobility and the envoys from other nations would surely mock him behind his back.

"Have the members of the Punishment Holy Hall that Clement mentioned all arrived?" Eric asked.

Drake replied, "Not all of them have arrived yet, but I have met the commander of the Black Armor Knight Order he spoke of. He is very powerful!"

A sharp glint flashed in Eric’s eyes. "To receive such high praise from you, it sounds like this person is at least a Shooting Star Warrior?"

"He is."

Drake said, "According to him, his Black Armor Knight Order, though only twenty strong, includes two Celestial Tier Warriors and six Earth Tier Warriors. The rest are all Human Tier Warriors."

Eric nodded slightly.

He had already heard some stories about the Black Armor Knight Order from Sigmund and Orisien.

If this support force from the Holy Radiance Court on the Sunset Continent—the Black Armor Knight Order—lacked strength, there would have been little point in them traveling thousands of miles.

"I’m leaving the surveillance of the Holy Radiance Court to you."

Eric said, "Especially this new group. You must gather complete intelligence on their specific strengths, personalities, daily activities, and any future plans, and report everything to me."

"As you wish, Your Majesty!"

Drake bowed and withdrew, vanishing back into the shadows.

「Golden Crown Opera House.」

The costumes, stage, lighting, and music for the fashion show were all ready. The main task at hand was training the models.

To help them build confidence, Natalia had invited her father, Count Kais, to come and watch.

In addition, Baron Uriel Whiteman, who happened to be visiting Kennedy Manor, had come along with his wife and daughter.

Duane had some recollection of the Baron.

Back at Cyan Snake Fortress, when they were confronting Heidwin Silverlight, the envoy from the Akutas Kingdom, Baron Uriel had been the first to charge forward.

As two great families with territories in Grant Province, the Whiteman Clan and the Kennedy Clan seemed to be on excellent terms.

After a formal introduction today, Duane learned that the Baron and his wife were both Mages, and both were quite skilled in the art of making Magic Potions.

Furthermore, their daughter, Fiona, was also a beautiful Female Mage who had once taken a Magic Class with Natalia and Zelina.

Having several Lords, noble ladies, and young misses sitting in the audience certainly put a great deal of pressure on the models on stage.

However, the results of their recent training were obvious. Even when they made a mistake, they could quickly correct it. He believed they would have no major problems handling the fashion show tomorrow.

"Baron Duane, this style of performance you’ve designed is simply wonderful!"

The Baroness, Lady Yali, praised him sincerely. Her daughter Fiona’s eyes even held a fiery look of admiration; it was hard to believe such beautiful clothes were the creation of a baron.

"You flatter me, my lady. If you and Miss Fiona see a design you like, please feel free to choose it. The Time Closet will provide it free of charge."

Fiona asked tentatively, "Is that really alright?"

"Of course!"

Natalia came forward and said with a smile, "Come, Zelina and I will take you inside to have a look."

The Baroness stood up as well. "I’ll go with you! I’m sure there are many more styles I haven’t seen!"

Everyone couldn’t help but smile.

This fashion show featured a large number of women’s garments, so they would have plenty to choose from.

"Duane, I heard all about yesterday from Natalia. You were too aggressive this time."

Count Kais waited until his daughter and the others had left before speaking. "Even I try to avoid Kudro whenever possible, yet you dared to provoke him to his face."

Baron Uriel sighed in agreement. "Indeed. In our circles, he’s known as the ’Mad Count of the Kingdom.’ It was unwise of you to provoke him!"

On their way over, the two had discussed the matter and unanimously agreed that Duane was still too young and impulsive.

It might have been satisfying in the moment, but it would lead to endless trouble later.

Duane, however, replied half-jokingly, "But don’t I have Count Kais to back me up? You’re both Counts, and I refuse to believe he’s more powerful than you!"

"Hahaha!"

Kais couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

He had suffered quite a few setbacks at Count Kudro’s hands; this was the first time he’d ever heard anyone say he was more powerful than Kudro.

Plus, seeing Kudro get thwarted this time made him secretly very happy.

"Lloyd told me that His Majesty has already issued a warning to Kudro, telling him not to give you any more trouble. So, for the time being, he won’t dare to do anything to you."

His tone shifted. "However, if something major happens on Black Forest Island in the future—like another incident similar to what happened with Freddy that requires His Majesty the King’s intervention—Kudro might try to cause trouble behind the scenes. You need to be careful."

"I understand!"

As the three were discussing this, Kais glanced at Derek and Sharp. The two immediately took the hint, quickly said they had something to attend to, and stepped away.

Duane was a little curious, wondering what matter required them to speak in private.

Count Kais said, "The main reason I invited Baron Uriel to come along was to discuss matters concerning territory."

Baron Uriel took out a small map and placed it on the small table in front of them.

"Duane, if you really do win that piece of land below the Jade Mountain Range, we’ll be neighbors!"

The map showed the location of the Whiteman Clan’s territory, which was directly north of Black Forest Island, across the Silent Sea.

"I have a small port here. If you have trouble transporting goods to your new territory at first, you can use my port for docking, free of charge!"

The area below the Jade Mountain Range was a desolate, completely uninhabited wasteland.

If Duane were to acquire it, he would certainly need to transport supplies from Black Forest Island, and not having a port would indeed be a problem.

However, passing through the Whiteman Clan’s territory wasn’t ideal either. For one, overland transport capacity was limited, and for another, the route was long and difficult to traverse.

Still, the offer of free help was a kind gesture.

"Thank you for your generous offer, Baron. I will certainly pay you a visit someday!"

Count Kais continued, "Duane, didn’t you ask me to look for clues about Blood Anchor?"

Duane’s expression brightened. "What? You found a clue?"

"Although all the great families secretly cultivate powerful warriors, once someone reaches the Celestial Tier, they inevitably leave some traces in the outside world."

Kais lowered his voice. "As far as I know, the Blood Anchor from your drawing has been seen in the territory of the Ugo Calvin Clan."

Duane was stunned, then found it hard to believe. "Viscount Ugo wants to kill me? That seems unnecessary. Just to save face for his son?"

Kais reminded him, "Have you forgotten what I told you last time?"

Duane immediately remembered that Count Kais had told him not to look at things from a single perspective.

He immediately recalled the two Earth Tier mercenaries from Lapland Province, the same province where both the Smith Clan and the Bloom Clan resided.

And of Viscount Ugo’s three daughters, two were married to vassals under Earl Orlando, and the third was married to a vassal under Marquis Sean.

Therefore, this assassination attempt could very well have been a joint operation between Marquis Sean or Earl Orlando and Viscount Ugo—or even a three-way alliance.

"I heard from Sharp that Marquis Sean’s second son, Keldert, is a strong contender for a top-three spot in the upcoming tournament."

Hearing this, Count Kais revealed a gratified expression. ’This fellow really gets it with just a hint. My guidance wasn’t wasted on him.’

"Correct. The other two are the Crown Prince’s friend, Orisien, and Count Kudro’s daughter, Tara. You met both of them last night."

Duane nodded slightly.

Securing an exclave here in Flowing Silver Fjord would be of immense strategic importance to Marquis Sean.

His son Keldert was likely weaker than Tara and Orisien. If Duane didn’t compete, Keldert could probably take second place.

While the first-place winner gets to choose their territory, the territories for the second and third-place winners are assigned by the Kingdom.

Sean could absolutely use his channels and make some concessions to ensure Keldert’s assigned territory would be located along Flowing Silver Fjord.

Now, the only obstacle was Duane, who had appeared out of nowhere.

He had every reason to make a move.

It’s just that Lapland Province is too far from the Silent Sea, so the task fell to Viscount Ugo Calvin.

When he connected the dots, it all seemed to make sense.

"No matter who the ultimate culprit is, Viscount Ugo is certainly involved."

Count Kais said, "If you can win that territory below the Jade Mountain Range, I am prepared to join forces with you and Baron Uriel to put pressure on the Calvin Clan."

This kind of pressure wasn’t something that could be applied over a few days or months. They needed to form a partnership and begin their preparations ahead of time.

"I agree!"

Duane agreed immediately. Setting aside his pursuit of Natalia, the mere suspicion that the Calvin Clan had tried to assassinate him was reason enough.

Besides, when it came to territorial disputes, personal grudges weren’t even necessary.

Once one had the power, the conflict would begin on its own.

"I have no objections, of course!" Baron Uriel laughed.

The Kerman Clan had long stood with the Kennedy Clan, because his daughter Fiona is set to marry the Count’s eldest son, George.

This was a secret that had not yet been announced and was unknown to outsiders.

The three of them shared a laugh, and Count Kais said, "But when all is said and done, it comes down to the territory. Duane, are you confident you can take first place?"

Anything less than first place would introduce uncertainty.

"Rest assured."

Duane said, "Whether it’s Tara or the Crown Prince’s friend, I will not lose to them!"

He suddenly gave a mysterious smile and lowered his voice. "Once I’ve secured that territory, I’ll be sure to send Viscount Ugo a ’grand gift’!"