"You old fossils are just afraid that if the fighting drags on, your lands will be impoverished!" Storey pointed at the opposing earls and cursed. "This is the only way to resolve it. If you still want to stir things up and disrupt the government decrees like before..."
"Then go ahead. Stir things up, stir things up, stir things up, stir things up."
"Everyone will just have to risk their lives against you when the time comes."
A system combining a centralized emperor with nobles could actually be considered a kind of republic. It was called an aristocratic republic.
Storey was absolutely right. Let them stir things up.
They could talk about it here, but if these people weren't willing to go along with it, putting it into practice would be genuinely difficult.
Although vampires could control lower-ranking nobles, there were limits based on distance, bloodline purity, and strength.
Once they went beyond that distance, vampires could no longer sense their subordinates.
And then there was strength. Could a 1st Rank vampire control a 9th Rank vampire? Did that make sense?
Clearly, it didn't.
On top of that, the vampires' bloodlines weren't very pure, making them even inferior to the blood clans described in traditional records.
They could issue orders here, but they still had to rely on the local nobles to govern.
The nobles who'd been scolded were so furious their blood surged to their heads. "We're veterans who've served three dynasties, at the very least. You're being far too disrespectful!"
"How old are you, anyway? You're just some kid in your forties!"
Storey immediately fired back. "There are hardly any officials over forty in the Northern Border. If you've lived this long without any notable achievements, doesn't that just prove you're useless? You want to compare seniority? If