At thirty-two years old, King Cobra slowly rose from his chair under the gaze of all the attending representatives.
His deep eyes met the gaze of the Visual Den Den Mushi.
At that moment,
he was looking across the distance at every Alabasta citizen standing before a virtual screen.
King Cobra could imagine how shocked, even panicked, his citizens were at that very moment.
For every generation of Nefertari kings had governed by the principle that "the nation is its people."
Thus, every king had shown compassion for the people during their reigns, always placing their interests first.
Naturally, they had earned the heartfelt love of all their citizens, laying a deep foundation of trust between both sides.
That was how a resource-poor desert nation had gradually developed into a superpower with a population exceeding ten million.
But King Cobra knew he had no choice, and he began his speech.
"My subjects, my people, yes, I have decided to abdicate the throne and hand over the government and the kingdom to the World Government."
He went straight to the point with his very first sentence, simply so every citizen could understand easily.
In exchange, the entire Kingdom of Alabasta fell into dead silence.
The sorrow in people's hearts seemed to turn into dark clouds, gradually hanging over the nation.
Even the hundreds of thousands of Zero Magic elves who had only recently moved to Nephthys City
remained silent at this moment, without the slightest clamor, showing their respect for this kingdom and its king.
Cobra's speech continued.
His voice traveled through Den Den Mushis to every corner of the kingdom, and even every corner of the world.
"I have done everything I could, but now I believe this is the best choice. I promise it will be a peaceful transition,