After putting the military officers in their place, and while nobles from all sides were still on their way to the Royal Capital, Hudson used the excuse of arranging territorial affairs to make time for a trip back to the Mountain Territory.
There was no doubt that handling territorial affairs was merely a pretext. His real purpose was to reclaim the Ghost Ship.
The kingdom's announcement that it would encircle and suppress the Ghost Ship was no bluff. It had truly put its plans into action.
The great nobles of several coastal provinces had joined forces to form a punitive fleet. If Hudson had not been busy handling military affairs in the Royal Capital, he would probably have been part of the coalition.
With him, a Dragon Knight, absent, the Coslo Family, which did not even possess a naval fleet, naturally had no qualifications to join such a public service venture.
As far as Hudson knew, dark-element experts from across the kingdom had already rushed over, all hoping to claim a share of the spoils.
There were not many eighth-rank dark-element experts among the major factions, but fifth-, sixth-, and seventh-rank experts were far from rare.
An eighth-rank Ghost Ship was a danger to ordinary people, but to those dark-element experts, it was a rare opportunity.
Even if they had no share of the Ghost Ship's core, the soul pearls left behind after the ghosts were destroyed would still be immensely nourishing treasures.
Greed was the original sin. Once the benefits grew large enough, people ignored the risks. Dark-element cultivators were particularly persistent in this regard; taking a little risk in pursuit of power was nothing to them.
By now, the coalition should have made its move. If they delayed any longer, dark-element experts from all over the continent would