The weaker one is, the less awe one has of things that are terrifying; while the strong have less awe of things that are even stronger.
This characteristic is fully embodied in the city lords of the three cities: "Azure Lock," "Parting Fire," and "Moonwheel."
The three city lords were only of average strength among the Seven Star Fiend. With Beirut, this "god," around, they should have been content to be mere followers. But they were not satisfied with the status quo and wanted to take advantage of the battle between the Four Divine Beasts Clan and the Eight Great Clans. Moreover, they dared to secretly oppose their superior, Beirut. They were truly fearless.
After returning to the Rhine Clan, Jason shared the information about the Indigo Prefecture from Beirut with the family's senior members and decided to set off again. This time, his destination was clear—the "Moonwheel City," adjacent to the Star Mist Sea.
Currently, the Indigo Prefecture includes the Indigo City, and the prefectural lord and the nine city lords have all been in office for less than ten thousand years.
The specific reason is that this place was once the territory of the Four Divine Beasts. Given the temperaments of those four Sovereign, all ten cities, including the lords of the prefectures, belonged to them.
After the Four Divine Beasts perished, the Blood Peak Sovereign briefly took over the Indigo Prefecture Indigo Prefecture and gave it a major overhaul. Seven of the nine officials in the city took office during this time and were considered the Blood Peak Sovereign's confidants.
Then Beirut took office. In order to provide necessary protection for the Four Divine Beasts Clan, he replaced the Mier City, which was closest to the Skyrite Mountains, with his trusted confidant in charge. The other eight cities were still managed by people arranged by the Blood Peak Sovereign.
Later, the Eight Great Clans and the Four Divine Beasts Clan became embroiled in a tug-of-war, so they sent their Seven Star Fiend to occupy "Aurore City" as a stronghold.
From this point on, a three-way division of power was established within the Indigo Prefecture.
Beirut, as the de facto Sovereign, was "staying as a guest" on the Blood Peak Continent. Originally, he did not want to take action against the Sovereign the Blood Peak Continent, but the city lords of the three cities of "Azure Lock", "Parting Fire", and "Moonwheel" were really uncooperative.
Moreover, when the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns were still alive, Blood Peak Sovereign had a good relationship with them. His original requirement for these subordinates was to remain neutral and not cause trouble, but he didn't expect these three guys to dare to take sides on their own.
Although it wasn't explicitly stated, Jason knew that the Eight Great Clans were backed by the Sovereign. The tug-of-war between the Four Divine Beasts Clan and the Eight Great Clans was fundamentally the result of the Sovereign ' disagreements. To dare to interfere without the authorization of the Sovereign was to court death.
That's why Beirut asked Jason to handle it.
Although the city lords of these three cities were appointed temporarily and their strength was not very strong, Jason dared not be overconfident and fight all three at once. After assessing the situation, the Rhine Clan chose "Moonwheel City" as their target.
The territory of Indigo Prefecture runs east-west, with only a small section along the coast, and Moonwheel City is the only coastal city within the prefecture.
Adjacent to the Star Mist Sea, Moonwheel City secretly allies with Eight Great Clans, collecting large quantities of resources from sea tribes every so often and trading them with the Eight Great Clans.
Because of this clandestine trade, Moonwheel City has recently developed rapidly. Originally, Moonwheel City was not rich in resources and relied solely on passing caravans to earn wealth, barely ranking seventh among the ten cities of Indigo Prefecture. Now, it has climbed to fifth place.
Lord Airding of Moonwheel City is a Seven Star Fiend who specializes in destruction and Fire Element attributes. He is strong in both physical and soul attacks, but his weaknesses are weak defense and average speed. Overall, his strength is probably below average among Seven Star Fiend.
The nine Seven Star Fiend who were temporarily assigned by the Blood Peak Sovereign were not very strong due to the short notice. Airding was the weakest of them.
Jason's characteristics do not counteract Airding's. He was chosen mainly because the other two city lords, "Azure Lock" and "Parting Fire," are more difficult to deal with, so this was the only easy target.
Within the territory of Moonwheel City, two "small rivers" flow into the Star Mist Sea. The Rhine Clan flew directly to the middle reaches of one of them, called the "White Tower River," and claimed a piece of land in the middle of a hill.
"So, you're planning to challenge Airding, the lord of Moonwheel City?" Delisha asked Jason, sitting opposite him, with Bessalie, Tarosse, and Freya nearby.
These individuals are currently the strongest Rhine Clan, and only they are qualified to participate in challenging the city lord.
Unless one person is powerful enough to ignore other interference, the change of city lord can never be accomplished by a single person. Especially with Jason and the Rhine Clan, they cannot launch a duel alone.
The reason Linley challenged the Lava Territory lord so directly, just like in the original story, was because he only saw the lord's title as a stepping stone and had no intention of staying in the Lava Territory permanently, nor did he want to get involved in its affairs.
Archmonde of the Netherworld challenged Lloyd, the lord of Falling Rain City, but he paid a hefty price to get the approval of the powerful figures in the Northbone Prefecture before he dared to formally launch the challenge, although he ultimately failed.
As for Jason's current situation, Beirut has already given his approval, but he has no way of consulting the Blood Peak Sovereign.
As for the Eight Great Clans, once Jason cuts off Moonwheel City as their logistical supplier, they will likely retaliate. Jason can only maintain the peace and development of the Rhine Clan by simultaneously raising the Beirut banner and demonstrating his strength, making them believe that Jason is not to be trifled with.
Jason crossed his arms. "So, I have to win this challenge beautifully and decisively."
"We can't help you with that, at most we can protect the Rhine Clan during this time. Good luck," Bessalie said.
Jason pointed to the surrounding map and said, "Before that, there's one more thing. First, clear out the surrounding forces. If they are vassals of Lord Airding of Moonwheel City, kill them directly. The rest, expel them. Our Rhine Clan will monopolize this area. Since we're challenging the city lord, we must make a grand display of our strength!"
The Moonwheel City is not rich in mineral resources, but the middle reaches of the White Tower River, where the Rhine Clan is located, are considered a relatively rich area within Moonwheel City.
They're here for the first time, so no one has come to cause trouble yet. If they don't make a preemptive move, they'll be on the defensive later.
The group exchanged glances.
Delisha said, "Then, tomorrow you and Tarosse will be in one group, and the three of us will be in another to drive out the surrounding forces. Hmm... we won't bring the other clansmen; the clan needs to leave some Highgod to guard it."
Bessalie suggested, "Actually, I think there's no need to go to extremes to exterminate families unless they're extremely rebellious. Sometimes, Deity-level are creatures without any moral boundaries."
Clearly, she was thinking of her father's death, the collapse of his followers, and her own experience of being forced to wander far from home.
Delisha nodded. "That's fine, after all, we'll be living in Moonwheel City from now on."