Preparation

"King Roas..." Chris fell silent. Matters of state could never be defined by justice or evil.

If Roas truly went to war with Interkami, then in the eyes of the people of the Interkami Kingdom, the people of the Kingdom of Roas would undoubtedly be evil. But were the people of the Kingdom of Roas truly evil?

Simply using justice and evil to define a large group was always biased. So-called justice and evil merely meant conforming to public morality; what conformed was justice, and what did not was evil.

Some things truly were difficult to define. Sometimes, it was better not to think too much—as long as something conformed to one's own moral code, that was enough.

"As for His Majesty Aldrich, I will not comment." Chris spoke slowly.

Although a nation could not simply be judged as evil or just, from a personal standpoint, Chris still leaned more toward the Interkami Kingdom. First, Interkami was a multi-racial kingdom, while the Kingdom of Roas was dominated by the Roas people, and racial discrimination there was severe.

Especially after the incident involving the great bandit Ika Alisa, most Roas people viewed other races as inferior breeds.

On the other hand, under the leadership of Aldrich, the man hailed as Roas's greatest monarch in a thousand years, the Kingdom of Roas was filled with aggression. They invaded for the expansion of their nation. Within their own borders, it could be called opening up new territory, but for common folk, war had always meant suffering.

Therefore, although Chris would not call the side that started the war evil and seek to eliminate them, his impression of them inevitably worsened.

But in the end, all Chris could do was refrain from helping Roas, lend the Interkami Kingdom a hand when convenient, and do his best to prevent war from breaking out. Yet to His Majesty Aldrich, none of that probably mattered.

If there was anyone among those Chris had encountered whose rhythm could contend with Negary's, or even slightly surpass it, then it could only be His Majesty Aldrich.

That air of looking down upon everything, that confidence that even the god worshipped by the Divine Grace Church should stand beneath his throne.

Thirteen years ago, when Aldrich had just ascended the throne, a bishop of the Divine Grace Church had traveled to the capital of the Kingdom of Roas to meet His Majesty and request permission to preach within Roas.

At the time, quite a few people in the Kingdom of Roas were already interested in the Divine Grace Church. Some nobles even supported bringing it in. Of course, whether they truly believed in the Divine Grace Church, or whether it was part of Roas's internal power struggles—a scheme to introduce the Divine Grace Church to check the increasingly powerful Andre royal family—was another matter.

But His Majesty suppressed all dissent with an iron hand. He declared that the so-called god was merely another subject beneath his throne, and that it was enough for the people of the Kingdom of Roas to believe in him. He expelled the bishop, shattering the Divine Grace Church's hopes of establishing itself in Roas. Then he purged the nobles who had been dragging the kingdom down, united all those nobles who stood on his side, and began strengthening the Kingdom of Roas.

By now, the national strength of the Kingdom of Roas had far surpassed what it had been when he first took the throne. In contrast, the Interkami Kingdom's strength had declined because of the succession turmoil launched by Sers I.

Both kings had employed iron-blooded methods within their own nations, and the timing had been close. Back then, Interkami had been far stronger, but now the Interkami Kingdom's national strength was steadily failing.

If one had to name the reason, there was only one: legitimacy. Aldrich had ascended the throne through legitimate succession, so after clearing out all domestic opposition, he could devote himself wholeheartedly to development.

Sers I, however, had borrowed the strength of too many nobles to take the throne. After ascending it, when he wanted to make sweeping reforms and develop Interkami, he found himself constantly restrained by those nobles. Thus Sers I, who believed himself no inferior to Aldrich, became increasingly withdrawn.

That created the different circumstances of the two kingdoms. Now Sers only wished to preserve his throne and was called the kingdom's Sunset King, while Aldrich was hailed as Roas's greatest king in a thousand years. Countless young people of the Kingdom of Roas were willing to submit beneath His Majesty's throne and brave fire and water for him.

"As one of the Roas nobility, Aldrich's strength fills me with dread. But as a citizen of the Kingdom of Roas, having such a king fills me with incomparable pride." Smick spoke with a complicated expression.

"Let us end this topic. I will not lay a hand on that little girl. In addition, I can restrain my subordinates. They will not act before Negary is dealt with." Smick said solemnly. "Whether as a noble or as a citizen of the Kingdom of Roas, Negary is now an obstacle."

"Let us set the time for midnight tonight. No problem, right? To avoid conflict, we will attack from the east side of the Forbidden Land." Smick continued.

"No problem. We will attack from the south." Chris nodded. After the two sides exchanged several coded signals, the light around Smick's body twisted, and his figure vanished completely. He departed without a sound.

"The Light Flow Method?" Chris sighed. Aldrich had more or less completed his dictatorial rule. The ones who ought to oppose that most were the nobles of the Kingdom of Roas, yet even Smick could not help revealing admiration when speaking of Aldrich. That showed just how powerful Roas had become.

"Forget it. That is something Sers I and the Divine Grace Church should be worrying about." Nara's little face surfaced in Chris's mind, and suddenly, he did not want her to become the so-called Saint of Salvation. Because that would mean the burden she would have to bear would be terribly heavy.

After going over everything in his mind, Chris slowly closed his eyes. He needed a good rest to prepare for tonight's battle.

Elsewhere, Adre wore a strange expression as he arranged the defenses for the Forbidden Land that night. It was foreseeable that those people would choose to attack the Forbidden Land tonight, intending to harm the great Negary.

What Adre found strange was the source of it all. It could be said that the one who had brought all this about was very likely that lord. Adre had gained a vague understanding of that lord's intentions, but there were still many unanswered questions.

However, regardless of what was going on, what Adre had to do was complete Negary's defenses, protect Reastmia's order, and prevent those people from disturbing Lord Negary during his period of slumber.

"With our lives, we swear to defend Lord Negary's safety!" Adre said to the Crow Men.

Within the Forbidden Land, Negary sat upon the Bone Throne, his eyes closed as though contemplating something. Only when night fell did he open them, revealing a pleased smile. "The show begins."

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There will be another update at dawn.