The Fall of the Anlan Kingdom

Late December, Yulan Calendar year 8289.

The Resistance Army in Landong Province, citing evidence of collusion with the Anlan Royal Family, executed the city lord on the spot in a display of military might. This act caused the Level 9 Warriors who had been sitting on the fence to finally abandon their neutral stance.

Landong Province thus achieved its initial unification.

Karl did not reject this unification; in fact, he viewed it as a positive development. After all, his base was in Landong Province, and his feelings toward the Anlan Kingdom were, to be honest, not particularly favorable. He had joined the military at sixteen, and after a decade of service, he had witnessed far too many of his peers perish. Furthermore, he had relied solely on himself to reach his current status; otherwise, he would not have remained a mere Viscount despite already being a Level 9 Warrior.

The fact that he could converse with Slod as an equal was something anyone with a bit of insight could understand: to stand on equal footing with a Level 9 powerhouse, one either had to possess great strength oneself or have someone even stronger than Slod backing them.

Karl approved of unifying the province, but that did not mean he would personally take action.

After all, Saint Realm powerhouses do not involve themselves in the wars of mortals, and the reason for this is quite simple.

Mortal wars are fought by groups of, at most, Level 9 Warriors. No matter how long a Level 9 Warrior lives, it is only five hundred years at most, whereas a kingdom might exist for a thousand or even several thousand years. But the Saint Realm? As long as they are not killed, living for a million years is quite easy.

The fundamental difference in their lifespans means that Saint Realm powerhouses will not harbor grudges against other Saint Realm powerhouses over the wars of mortals.

A grudge between Saint Realm powerhouses could lead to combat, and combat could lead to the death of one party.

To sacrifice a Saint Realm existence capable of living for a million years for the sake of a faction that might only last a few thousand years is a decision that seems bizarre no matter how one looks at it.

Saint Realm powerhouses are rare on the Yulan Continent, which means that unless their factions are at odds, they are often friends with one another.

If the Anlan Kingdom still had a Saint Realm powerhouse guarding it, Karl believed the current situation would never have arisen. This would not only mean the Anlan Kingdom had a Saint Realm protector, but it would also signify that other Saint Realm powerhouses would not be secretly maneuvering within the Anlan Kingdom.

Although Karl did not step forward after the province was unified, he did dispatch several Level 8 Warriors. Some of these Level 8 Warriors were defectors from other noble houses, while others were Level 7 Warriors from his own territory whom Karl had supported.

This included some of his own bloodline, as well as the Level 7 Warriors who had been in his territory since the days of Spark Town.

First, he raised their aptitude to the level of Level 8 Warriors and granted them a 10% increase in cultivation speed. Over the course of a few years, the eight original Level 7 Warriors had all successfully advanced to Level 8. After they reached Level 8, Karl bestowed upon them Level 9 aptitude, marking them as the candidates for future Level 9 Warriors within the territory.

Spring, Yulan Calendar year 8300.

After more than a decade of war, Lanxi Province was the first to buckle under the Resistance Army's relentless campaigns. Obsessed with the hope that their descendants could inherit their titles, and under the promise of the Golden Grand Duke, the Golden Lion, Lanxi Province successfully merged into the Resistance Army.

Thus, of the three major provinces of the Anlan Kingdom, Landong Province had integrated Lanxi Province, while the Anlan Royal Family was left with only the Anlan Province, where their capital was located.

With the combined strength of two provinces, the Anlan Royal Family could no longer withstand the offensive of the Resistance Army.

After all, even when the three were in a stalemate, the Anlan Royal Family had been unable to break the deadlock. Once the Resistance Army gained the upper hand, the fence-sitters in the capital naturally surrendered first; some factions, fearing they were too slow, even began attacking the Anlan Army vigorously after their surrender.

This led to a series of major defeats for the Anlan Royal Family, who had been holding on by a thread. They retreated their defensive lines again and again until, at present, the only territory the entire Anlan Kingdom could control was their capital city.

A capital city with a population of no more than forty million.

Facing the impending success of their great cause, everyone in Landong Province wore a smile—a smile that looked just like that of the plump steward in their own mansion.

"Master, Master! Great news, wonderful news!" Inside the Duke's mansion, the steward, who weighed over three hundred pounds, came running toward Karl, shouting about the good news as he hurried along.

He waited until the steward had panted his way to Karl's side and taken several deep breaths to steady his heart, which felt as if it were about to leap out of his chest, before the man spoke loudly: "Duke, great news! A letter from the front lines: the eldest young master made a breakthrough on the battlefield three days ago. He held off hundreds of thousands of troops single-handedly and has been named the Black Stone Count by the Grand Duke."

Upon hearing this news, Karl's expression remained unchanged.

Over a decade ago, he had bestowed the Level 9 Aptitude Enhancement Talisman upon Lin. Coupled with the 10% cultivation boost Karl provided from the family, it had taken him eleven years to advance from a Level 8 Warrior to a Level 9 Warrior. Strictly speaking, this speed was considered rather slow.

After all, as his eldest son, Lin Taros had successfully advanced to a Level 8 Warrior years ago. The other four Level 7 Warriors in the family had also been granted Level 8 aptitude, but his eldest son, Lin, had clearly wanted to fight on the battlefield, leaving the heavy responsibilities of the family to his own grandson, Rello.

In the current Taros Family, although Karl was the patriarch, he had not concerned himself with family affairs for over a hundred years. As long as their development remained unaffected, Karl would not easily intervene. The decision-maker for the past hundred years had naturally been his eldest son.

However, when Lin chose to go to the battlefield to make his mark, the decision-making power of the Taros Family was officially handed over to the third generation.

Rello had secured the family's decision-making power through his status as a Level 8 Warrior and Lin's grandson. Meanwhile, Colin, who was closer to Karl by blood, had chosen to focus on bitter cultivation after discovering his aptitude had improved—a choice that indirectly influenced his two great-granddaughters, Liya and Linna.

Their different choices led to the current situation: Lin Taros had reached the Level 9, Rello Taros was still at the mid-stage of Level 8, while Colin had reached the peak of Level 8, and Liya and Linna had both reached the late stage of Level 8.

Karl rarely interfered with family decisions, but he always kept a firm grip on the policies of his territory.

Over the past eleven years, the development of Spark City had reached its limit. The combined permanent and floating population of the city had reached six million, which was the maximum the city could support. Beyond Spark City, there were over a dozen noble-led towns in the vicinity, all of which had now pledged their allegiance to Karl.