The Collapsing Situation

The situation in the Anlan Kingdom is gradually collapsing. The thousands of years of Anlan history have led many within the royal family to only know how to enjoy themselves and wield their power, forgetting that the source of that power is the strength of the royal family itself.

The Anlan Kingdom is in a state of decay, not only because it has lost the protection of the Saint Realm, but also because some have become lost in the pursuit of power, or perhaps they believe that even if the Anlan Kingdom falls, they can still defect to other kingdoms and continue to survive as nobles.

Under these various factors, the Anlan royal family has now lost two of its three provinces. Duke Slod, who had made preparations many years ago, has even united several Level 9 experts within the province to form the current Resistance Army. They have not only completely occupied Landong Province but have also split the front line in two, simultaneously engaging in battle with Lanxi Province and Anlan Province. During this time, the direction of the war is often dictated by the number of Level 9 experts involved.

Spark City is located on the frontier of Landong Province in the Anlan Kingdom. Further east lies the Magic Beast Mountain Range, the primary mountain range of the Yulan Continent. It is precisely because of this great geographical advantage that some nobles and commoners in Landong Province who did not wish to participate in the war have flocked to join Spark City.

After all, the Anlan Kingdom was ultimately founded by four Saint Realm powerhouses. Even after thousands of years of weathering, there are still many Level 9 warriors within the kingdom. These individuals are either high-ranking officials guarding a region with the title of Duke, or they are commanding generals capable of easily raising an army of over a million.

Normally, a province has at least a dozen Level 9 experts, with eight or nine residing within the province itself. The province also governs several nearby cities; those that are remote and of low status are controlled by Level 8 warriors, while key strategic passes are guarded by Level 9 experts.

When Karl was previously stationed in Spark Town, there were many surrounding cities, but only two of them were considered key strategic passes requiring heavy troop deployments. The one closest to Karl's Spark Town was Thorn City, where Duke Slod resided.

Over the past few years, Duke Slod has sent messengers from time to time, trying to get Karl on board. Initially, Karl would have his people receive them, but after learning about the forces behind the Resistance Army, he simply refused them outright.

Although the Resistance Army appears strong now, capable of commanding troops to open two battlefields, in reality, this approach has caused Lanxi Province, which originally had intentions of self-reliance, to gradually ease its relationship with Anlan Province.

After all, behind Slod and his faction are other kingdoms that wish to overthrow the rule of the Anlan Kingdom. As for the actions of Lanxi Province over the past few years, Karl can see that they merely want to become independent and establish a Principality. By transforming a province into a Principality, the vast majority of taxes within its territory would no longer be handed over to the royal capital as they were in the past.

This approach may seem outrageous, but in reality, it is the most likely to succeed.

After all, the Anlan Kingdom has lost its eternal Saint Realm powerhouse, which means that five hundred years is the peak cycle of power.

Most of the Dukes and generals in Lanxi Province are over three hundred years old, and those of higher seniority have lived for over four hundred years.

This also means that power is about to change hands within Lanxi Province. When the Anlan royal family was powerful, these Level 9 warriors who were about to step down had no choice but to return to the royal capital or their own fiefs, even if they were unwilling. In this way, once these Level 9 experts passed away, the status their descendants could possess often had to rely on themselves.

Many nobles on the Yulan Continent have gradually declined in this way. Without experts to hold the fort, the status of their families has diminished accordingly, falling from top-tier families within a province to lords of small towns. Especially for those who held top-tier status in a province for hundreds of years, many descendants simply became playboys, or there were no sufficiently outstanding successors, forcing the family to hold onto a single town. After a few decades, the family would exhaust its resources and gradually degenerate into the most ordinary of nobles.

Landong Province.

The headquarters of the Resistance Army is a towering palace. At this moment, people are sitting or standing inside; some are sitting and sipping wine, while others are teasing the maids beside them.

Inside the palace, apart from some maids and servants, there are only seventeen people dressed in luxurious attire, each exuding a powerful aura.

These are the seventeen Level 9 experts currently in the Resistance Army of Landong Province.

"How many factions within the province still do not support us?" The one asking the question is a burly man with blue eyes sitting at the head of the table. The aura he exudes is the most profound among these seventeen people. If someone knowledgeable were here, they would even exclaim in shock that this is actually a peak Level 9 expert.

Level 9 holds a very high status on the Yulan Continent, and there are watersheds within Level 9 itself. For example, early-stage Level 9 warriors, while high in status, can mostly only manage to become a Count and serve as the lord of some mountain pass, but they are still some distance from the core of power.

Only those experts who have reached the late stage of Level 9 can be considered qualified to touch the core of the kingdom's power. Generally, such strength comes with the title of Duke, command over hundreds of thousands of troops, or the position of a provincial governor.

As for the peak of Level 9, while their strength is slightly stronger than those in the late stage, it is relatively limited. However, such figures are those whose Battle Qi cultivation has reached the extreme of Level 9. Once they can comprehend the Momentum of Heaven and Earth, they can take advantage of the situation to become a Saint Realm powerhouse.

Such experts are considered the face of any faction below the Saint Realm. Even in the Faith Alliance or an Empire, a peak Level 9 expert can hold a very high position.

After all, Saint Realm powerhouses have already disdained to intervene in the wars of mortals.

"Lord Jiawen, there are currently nine factions in the entire province that have not publicly expressed their support for us."

The speaker is a rare female Level 9 warrior among the seventeen. She was previously responsible for the finances of Landong Province and is now in charge of some of the Resistance Army's intelligence.

"These nine old things are truly stubborn and foul. I really want to take my axe and pry open their heads one by one to see if there's a pile of weeds inside."

A burly man shouted in a muffled voice.

"Hahaha, Kevin, why don't you try it now? If you can take one of them out, it might intimidate the others."

Among these seventeen people, some are engaged in heated discussions, while others remain silent.

The Resistance Army may appear powerful, with an army of over a million, and even capable of opening two large battlefields, but the seventeen people present do not necessarily share the same heart.

Some are purely for power, their minds clouded by the honor of overthrowing a kingdom, while others are simply for the promised treasure.

A secret technique of the Saint Realm.