The twenty-year war had ended. Its outbreak felt as though it had happened only yesterday, yet after the sun had risen countless times, many had begun to look back on their former identity as citizens of the Anlan Kingdom.
Inside the meeting hall at the Resistance Army's headquarters, the hundred-meter-long conference table was now filled with people. After the Anlan Royal Family abandoned the capital, they vanished into the night without a trace, and the Level 9 experts who were still holding their ground received the terrible news on New Year's Eve.
After all, in their eyes, though the Anlan Kingdom's situation had grown as dire as it could possibly be, they had served as officials and generals and intended to defend it to the death. But what could they do when their own king had run away?
Among the Level 9 Warriors who continued to hold their ground, many were staunch loyalists of the Anlan Royal Family, while many others remained loyal to their own convictions. After the royal family fled under cover of night, the loyalists rallied all their forces and launched a counterattack. But a mere dozen or so Level 9 Warriors could not possibly stand against nearly fifty Level 9 Warriors. The loyalists were all slaughtered, and those who survived were people faithful to their own beliefs—people who could be persuaded.
Conquering the Anlan Kingdom was already an enormous achievement. The more Level 9 Warriors the Golden Grand Duke could command, the higher his own standing would rise.
After years of hardship and repeated changes, the people in the meeting hall had gradually fallen into four distinct ranks.
At the head of the table sat the Grand Duke, the Golden Lion—a peak Level 9 expert and the Resistance Army's only peak Level 9 expert. He regarded himself as the Resistance Army's leader and was chairing the meeting.
On either side of the Golden Lion sat several late-stage Level 9 experts who had been among the first to join the Resistance Army. The Thorn Duke, Slod, was one of them. Below them sat the mid-stage Level 9 experts, as well as the peak Level 9 experts who had joined later. The rest were early-stage Level 9 experts, along with the early- and mid-stage Level 9 experts who had defected in recent years.
The Anlan Kingdom would now exist only in the history books. This was clearly the perfect time for the Resistance Army to sit down and divide up the spoils.
Those dividing the spoils were themselves split into two factions.
The first was the Originalist Faction: Level 9 experts who had been drawn in by Saint-level secret techniques. Most of them were late-stage Level 9 experts. Of the original seventeen Level 9 experts, only thirteen remained, and nearly all those who had been early-stage Level 9 experts had died on the battlefield.
Besides the Originalist Faction, there was the Ennoblement Faction. Most of its members were early- to mid-stage Level 9 experts, and most had joined for the sake of power and influence. Quite a few had officially signed on only after seeing Lanxi Province surrender.
The Ennoblement Faction had been the Golden Lion's idea. If they could destroy the Anlan Kingdom, its members would all be rewarded with ducal titles. That was why most of them were only early- to mid-stage Level 9 experts. After all, under the rules of a kingdom, they could at most expect to reach the rank of Earl.
On the Yulan Continent, major powers could be divided into Empires, Kingdoms, and Principalities. To establish a Principality, one had to appoint a Duke as its ruler, which meant that only someone at the mid- or late stage of Level 9 could qualify. A Kingdom, meanwhile, had to be founded by a Saint-level expert; a Level 9 Duke was merely a subordinate of a Kingdom. As for Empires, there were only four on the Yulan Continent.
The O'Brien Empire, the Yulan Empire, the Luo'ao Empire, and the Rhine Empire had all actually been founded by God-Level experts. The God-Level experts behind the Luo'ao Empire and the Rhine Empire had perished during an invasion from another plane. But thanks to their own deep foundations, and because the God-Level experts no longer interfered in the running of their empires, the two empires had gained some breathing room from the influence of those powerful beings. They still controlled vast territories.
An Empire was the pinnacle of power on the Yulan Continent. With no God-Level experts around, even the Radiant Church could only establish the Holy Alliance.
Today, the territory west of the Magic Beast Mountain Range belonged to the Holy Alliance. In the past, the legendary Pope had allowed the Dukes within the Holy Alliance to declare themselves independent and establish their own Principalities, but they still remained under the Alliance's rule.
Many of the Anlan Kingdom's Level 9 experts had joined the Resistance Army because of this decree.
Now that everyone was seated and waiting to divide the spoils, many gazed eagerly at the Golden Grand Duke at the head of the table. Clearly, they were all waiting for him to honor his promise.
"Rest assured, everyone. I won't go back on my word. But I won't be the one to announce the promise. Someone else will."
As the Golden Lion finished speaking, a man in a white robe entered through the meeting hall's doorway. An aura that put people at ease emanated from him.
"A Radiant Grand Archmage?"
Everyone present was a Level 9 expert with plenty of experience and knowledge. They could naturally discern something from the newcomer's aura.
"Just as Father thought. There's a Saint-level power behind the Resistance Army."
The moment they saw the newcomer, Lin and Colin exchanged a glance, both understanding what the other was thinking.
The Magic Beast Mountain Range was the highest mountain range on the Yulan Continent, and to its northwest lay the Holy Alliance. Within the Alliance, practicing dark magic or Battle Qi was forbidden. Anyone with an affinity for light was taken in by the Radiant Church from a young age. Those with ordinary talent were made into priests.
Priests formed one of the ranks within the Radiant Church. From Level 1 Warriors to Level 9 Warriors, and from Level 1 Mages to Level 9 Grand Archmages, all belonged to this rank. Those with less power served as missionaries, spreading the faith in light. Priests who reached Level 9 could become Cardinals in the Radiant Church. As for those in the Saint Realm, they belonged to an entirely different rank.
The newcomer clearly radiated the aura of light magic. Within the Holy Alliance, Level 9 Radiant Great Mages were common only in the Radiant Church and the Fenlai Kingdom.
"Commanders of the Resistance Army, I am Hill Bolin." The white-robed middle-aged man spoke briefly, but his words revealed a great deal.
The Bolin Family was the royal family of the Fenlai Kingdom. For a Level 9 Grand Archmage like him to reach the Resistance Army's headquarters without obstruction meant that the power behind the Resistance Army was the Fenlai Kingdom.
Under the Holy Alliance's agreement, the Fenlai Kingdom stood at its head, and the other Kingdoms and Principalities within the Alliance were required to support it. Lin Taros had led the Taros Family for over a hundred years, so he quickly understood. Clearly, after losing its Saint-level expert, the Anlan Kingdom had forfeited its right to remain a Kingdom. The Resistance Army was merely a scheme by the Fenlai Kingdom to redraw the boundaries of Anlan's territory.
Before you continue