Chapter 1834 - 507: With Swords Drawn in the Name of the Sacred, Reconciled by the Demon King's "Plot" (Part 4)

He of course would be gentle towards his kin.

As for his enemies...

Don't expect to see a trace of kindness on his face.

...

A few days after Edward returned to Thunder City, Baron Elaric, who traveled upstream along the Rushing River, also quietly returned to his Twilight City, carrying the secret agreement made with the Duke.

At this moment, the Judicial Court was still wrestling with those invisible ghosts, and the target of the Lion Heart Knight Order's vigilance was mainly Erin and her Northern Relief Army.

No one noticed that the Governor had left his residence and disappeared for a full week right under everyone's noses.

After all, he was so insignificant that even the King himself thought that the little baron was not worth mentioning.

Baron Elaric first lay low for a few days, handling affairs slowly as usual but actually focusing his energy on the preparations for forming a parliament.

On one side, he sent servants to the countryside to build connections with powerful rural gentry, and on the other, he sent out invitations under the guise of his son's birthday, inviting the powerful nobles of Twilight Province to his residence for a private dinner.

As glasses clinked, the guests enjoyed themselves thoroughly.

Beside the long table next to the dance floor, many intoxicated nobles were venting their anger, expressing dissatisfaction with the King or the Church.

Elaric took in their reactions, silently keeping them in mind.

They were all the backbone of the future Holy Light Council or at least the targets to be drawn in during the first wave.

The banquet finally ended, and the well-fed and content guests left with a lingering sense of enjoyment, yet not everyone left the Governor's residence.

For instance, the only three powerful Earls remaining in Twilight Province were secretly retained by Baron Elaric and moved to a small room beside the banquet hall.

As the heavy oak door shut out the guests' clamor, the Earls sitting at the round table finally relaxed their tense brows, truly unwinding.

They were not unfamiliar with Elaric, knowing that although this baron was the King's man, he was not entirely in the King's favor.

This was not hard to discern.

After all, whenever a "baron" sits in the Governor's seat of Twilight Province, they would naturally be closer to the adjacent Duke Campbell rather than rely on the distant King.

This was not determined by interests, but by ecological standing.

Just like a baron relying solely on his own strength, he could never secure the Governor's position firmly nor could he usurp the title of Twilight Province from the King.

"... By Saint Sis, when will those damned priests ever leave my territory! My granary is about to be overrun by rats, and if they keep tormenting us, not just my peasants, even I will have to gnaw on bark!"

The one shouting loudly was Earl Comac Cain of Jing Shui Beach Territory.

His family collaborated most closely with merchants from the Campbell Duchy, with the entire Earl Domain's economy hinging on the trade caravans traveling along the river.

Now, all caravans unconsciously avoided this troublesome land, and even if they had to pass through his territory, they wouldn't linger for fear of attracting the misfortune brought by the Judicial Court.

It wasn't just the economic exchanges; the cultural interactions between the Ryan people of Jing Shui Beach and the Campbell people were also quite frequent.

Over a thousand years ago, the Campbell people launched from the banks of Jing Shui Beach, navigating downstream on rafts, and established a human settlement on the land outside the Rapids Pass.

That place once belonged to the Beastmen and was occupied by the Dragon God's people who sailed across the sea until the Campbell Earldom came into existence during the Isaac Dynasty, and the later prospering Ducal Domain of Campbell and Duchy emerged subsequently.

If the King continues his wanton ways, the riverfolk of Jing Shui Beach might as well become Campbell people since they are nearly moving their homes to the lower Rushing River!

In the spring of Aus Calendar 1054, the concept of "nation" was still a futuristic novelty in the ever-evolving city of Thunder.

It might have sprung to life in Sir Wesley's heart, or possibly in the cunning mind of Horace Factory Director, but it held no connection to the nobles and peasants of the Ryan Kingdom.

The timid Ed Tully lamented, his Gray Swamp Territory being the first Earl Domain overwhelmed by starving peasants, and his father being the first unfortunate soul to fall to the slaughter knife of the Green Forest Army.

"What is His Majesty the King thinking?" he shrank his neck, his voice trembling, "He sends the Lion Heart Knight Order but neither provides money nor food, just watching us get the life drained out of us by those zealots while we still have to gather provisions for the knights. Isn't Twilight Province his territory? Governor… please, write another letter to the King."

He was utterly unprepared to inherit the Earl Domain, suddenly bearing the fate of a dozen family members and over a thousand servants on his shoulders.

Sitting in one corner of the round table, Thelon Gard lowered his eyes to his wine glass, trying to make his plump shoulders appear smaller so as not to bear weights not belonging to him.

He was the Earl that looked most like an Earl among them, yet also the one with the least power.

At least Mr. Ed had over a thousand people sharing his honors and disgraces, but there was no one left by his side. Those good men were either ruined by the Green Forest Army or stolen by the Salvation Army.

The Sparrow Wood Territory had no Lord.

Only believers graced by the Holy Maiden Carian, and the omnipresent, yet elusive Holy Maiden.