Perhaps tempered by war, the nobles who spoke at the East Sea Alliance Noble Council's meetings had grown more rational and discerning of late.
The nobles who had won victories in the war gradually began occupying the council's important seats, while the old nobles—little more than wine sacks and rice bags—were forced out. For a time, the entire East Sea Alliance seemed to brim with newfound vitality.
Count Valbi, who had led the East Sea Alliance to victory in the Battle of Stone Mountain City, was also promoted to Council Speaker despite holding only the rank of count, winning election by an overwhelming majority. Previously, the position of Council Speaker of the East Sea Alliance Noble Council had almost always passed back and forth among a handful of Marquis Families.
Although the remaining marquises were dissatisfied, family prestige, history, and honor were of little use now. If the Allied Army overran the East Sea Alliance, even the Marquis Families would not survive. Only nobles who could fight and win were suited to serve as Council Speaker of the Noble Council now.
If those marquises wanted to reclaim the position of Council Speaker, they would have to find a way to achieve victories more glorious than Count Valbi's.
Easy as that was to say, none of those marquises dared speak lightly of war. After all, the entire East Sea Alliance had won only a single defensive battle.
Even the current Council Speaker, Count Valbi, lacked the confidence to trade blows with the Raine-Vela Allied Army in an offensive battle.
Moreover, after the Xister Kingdom sent troops to support the East Sea Alliance, the Vela Nobles' naval fleet realized it had failed to completely blockade the alliance's coastline and intensified its coastal raids once again.
The entire East Sea Alliance coastline was