"King Lothern is seriously ill."
Gordon's voice is clearly transmitted to the depths of Red Iron Dragon's consciousness through the bond of Blood Kin Link.
"The atmosphere in the palace is mysterious. Those princes, princes and grand dukes who usually seem to be obedient and humble are now like poisonous snakes lurking in the shadows, ready to strike. They hold their breath and restlessly await the arrival of the last moment that will ultimately determine the fate of the kingdom."
As the pillars supporting the sky suddenly collapsed and were on the verge of collapse.
Throughout Lothern Federation, the existing cracks and contradictions have further expanded.
Beneath the calm surface of the lake are turbulent and dangerous whirlpools.
The contemporary king of Lothern, who was already old and less energetic than before, at the moment when he should have put down his burdens and enjoyed his old age, was exhausted both physically and mentally due to the mountain of heavy government affairs brought about by the intensifying secession crisis in Federation and the heavy psychological burden that was enough to crush Giant. He finally collapsed completely and could not afford a serious illness.
His physical and mental state was like a candle left in the wind.
I heard the secret report from Iron Dragon Gordon that the king is critically ill.
Red Iron Dragon felt a chill in his heart.
After thinking quickly for a few seconds, he said, "A serious illness... A person who has the entire resources of the Lothern Kingdom and can mobilize countless top doctors and rare magic items... What kind of terrible disease can make him fall into a hopeless situation with no cure?"
Iron Dragon Gordon responded, "I don't know the specific cause, but I guess it's because of the soul."
Lothern Kingdom folk customs are martial.
Moreover, as direct blood descendants of the powerful Legendary Realm founder, all members with royal blood have received rigorous training and unlimited resources since birth, which is incomparable to ordinary people in the secular sense.
But.
A key fact cannot be avoided.
The talent and qualifications of this contemporary king can only be considered mediocre among previous Lothern monarchs. In addition, there is a trace of lack of diligence and even laziness in his character... This made him reach level 20 when he was at his peak, but he gradually declined as he aged.
Throughout his life.
He also failed to successfully set foot on the Legendary Realm, which symbolizes power and the qualitative change of life.
His ability to live to such an advanced age, which is far beyond the limits of ordinary humans, is largely due to the royal family's secret collection of life-extending treasures and the accumulation of massive resources, which forcibly broke through the limits of his own life potential.
It was fine before.
However, the internal divisions and civil strife within Federation are now intensifying, like a continuous heavy hammer, repeatedly hitting his already fragile spirit and body, finally triggering a chain collapse.
His condition was like a sudden collapse of snow from the top of a snow-capped mountain, spiraling downhill out of control.
So that it eventually led to Soul Origin drying up and inevitably falling seriously ill... From Garos's point of view, this is a logical and normal thing.
After Garos pondered for a while, he asked Iron Dragon a key question.
"Gordon, Lothern The news that the king is seriously ill... when was it confirmed and spread within Royal Court?"
Iron Dragon Gordon On the other end of the spiritual connection, after thinking about it carefully, he replied, "About seven days ago."
"The chief physician of the palace and several archmage jointly confirmed that the king's condition has deteriorated to the point of no return. He is now relying almost entirely on the Legendary Realm-level life-sustaining artifacts collected in the royal family's treasury to survive."
"Even if he can catch his breath and even recover, he will be seriously affected. I'm afraid he won't have many years left to live, and he will probably spend most of his time in a weak state."
Burning Steel Fortress deep.
Red Iron Dragon suddenly opened his eyes, a thoughtful light flashing fiercely in them.
The time when King Lothern was confirmed to be seriously ill and dying - seven days ago.
This date was not far away from another major event that shocked Federation - that was the key day when Aber Duchy took the lead in openly declaring war on Haltai Duchy, and then Haltai Duchy did not hesitate to declare war as a tough response.
The king had just become critically ill and Royal Court was plunged into confusion and suspicion.
The two principalities, which had been engaged in tense confrontations on the border, engaged in long and arduous back-and-forth negotiations at the diplomatic level, and tried to find compromise or at least maintain a semblance of peace... just so suddenly, they threw out a declaration of war that represented a fight to the death.
Coincidence?
Maybe... this is really just a small chance of timing coincidence.
However, Garos never easily believes in coincidence.
He is more inclined to believe that behind this seemingly accidental coincidence, there is a deeper inevitable reason hidden.
Red Iron Dragon closed his eyes again and immersed his mind in Blood Kin Link.
He calmly asked, "Gordon, outside of Royal Court, do many people know about the news that the king is critically ill?"
Iron Dragon Gordon responded immediately, "Because this is related to the succession of the throne and the stability of Federation, it is a top-level secret. The news is strictly sealed and spread within the innermost circle of Royal Court. Only those princes, ministers and a handful of core court mages who truly hold the most powerful and highest status know the inside story! As for me -"
Gordon's voice brought a hint of pride:
"--I only found out about it when Elina was worried and confided in me her father's condition in private."
If you put it this way, there are only two possibilities left in front of you.
The first one: Abel and Hatai declared war when King Lothern was critically ill. It was really just a pure coincidence.
The second possibility is darker: in the core circle of Lothern Royal Court, besides Gordon... there is another, or even multiple, deeply hidden insiders. Moreover, this person's status is definitely not low, and he must be a top-level figure who can immediately access the core secrets of the king's critical illness.
Garos's thinking inertia made him eliminate the first naive option almost instantly, not thinking it was just a coincidence.
He acquiesced to the second possibility, which was full of conspiracy.
"Gordon."
Garos said, "Now the situation in Lothern and even the entire Federation is turbulent. All forces are like taut bowstrings, and the atmosphere is becoming more tense and dangerous day by day."
He emphasized:
"Incompetent, greedy, lazy... these camouflage colors you carefully created on Lothern Royal Court are very good and very effective."
"You have to keep on keeping on and don't let up at all."
"Only in this way can those real conspirators and careerists completely ignore your existence and regard you as a harmless or even ridiculous pet. Then you can... play an unexpected role at the most critical moment."
It's Garos who understands me best!
Those unbearable performances are just disguises carefully woven by me, Gordon! They are my protective color to bear the humiliation and paralyze the enemy in this dragon's den of Royal Court! All the sacrifices I have made... are all foreshadowing for Dragon Race's future grand hegemony!
Iron Dragon Gordon feels that every word of Red Iron Dragon directly touches the depths of his soul, accurately expressing his inner true thoughts and ambitions!
"Remember!"
Garos's voice sounded again, calm and calm.
"Don't be too impatient, don't be confused by the chaos in front of you and act rashly. We have a long life of hundreds or thousands of years, and we have plenty of time to wait."