The King

  Chapter 267 The Holy See's Choice

  In the Holy Mountain of Light, the war in the Northern Continent diverted the attention of the outside world, and Pius VII rarely lived a few days of leisure.

  As a pope, Pius VII is undoubtedly tragic.

  During his tenure, various historical issues broke out one after another, and even he himself was deeply involved in various scandals.

  Continuously take measures to solve the problem, but unfortunately the Lord of Dawn is not blessed, so that the more the problem is solved, the more troublesome it becomes.

   This situation continued until the orcs invaded, and everyone looked away from the Holy See, allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief.

  It's a pity that a happy life is always short-lived. After a year of good life, new troubles came to the door.

  The spies sent to the Orc Empire were caught, and they also got some evidence that the Holy See secretly provoked this war.

  If their reputation is good enough, all they have to do is insist that it was fabricated by the orcs. It's a pity that the Holy See of Chenxi's reputation on the mainland is really not very good. Once it is exposed, it will be a shocking thunder.

   Especially their various delaying operations in the alliance meeting. If someone with a heart binds two things together, it will be their end.

   "Idiots, they are all a group of idiots! This kind of thing can be exposed, what are you all doing..."

   Facing the furious Pope, everyone lowered their heads one after another. There is no way, almost all departments in the Holy See have been exposed to scandals,

   It's nothing more than the fact that Lei is bigger this time, making things more complicated.

   "Your Majesty, the person who was caught by the orcs was a member of the Judgment Knights. It is best to recall Blake to ask about the specific situation."

  Gulei, the head of the Judgment Knights, made up his sword without hesitation.

   There is no room for tenderness in political struggle.

  As an old enemy, the Knights of Judgment fell again this time, so he had no reason not to take action.

   "Captain Gulei, the matter is not up to that point. The new Emperor Bimon just caught our people and didn't deal with it.

  Although Hank was imprisoned, Xiandel was still in the Beamon Palace and was not implicated.

  Alex was originally a playboy, but he was forcibly pushed to the top by the old Beamon Emperor. We can't treat it with the thinking of ordinary people.

   Bad things can be turned into good things if handled well.

   If Blake is recalled now, it will be more likely to arouse the suspicion of the major forces! "

   Bishop Sauron helped defend.

   If something goes wrong, someone needs to be held accountable. If Blake comes back now, he will be the first responsible person.

  As a political ally, it is natural to help at this time.

  Running outside, there is hard work without credit. When things are resolved and come back, it's another story.

   "Bishop Sauron, you can't say that. If the handle falls into the hands of the orcs, that's a hidden danger.

  Even if an agreement is reached this time, they won't leak it out, so what about the future?

  We can't always be controlled by others, can we? "

   Gulei said dissatisfied.

   Want to pass the level easily, how is it possible? Even if you can't kill the enemy, at least you have to scrape off a layer of oil.

  The cake is that big, some people get more, and some people get less.

  Finally found an opportunity, he has already made up his mind, this trial of the Knights does not bleed, and he will not give up.

  …

  First, the two quarreled, and then it became a conflict between the two camps, and soon the other factions were dragged into the water, and the meeting hall was directly turned into a vegetable market.

   Seeing the escalation of the quarrel, Pius VII couldn't sit still, and immediately snapped: "Silence!"

   "Look at each of you, what do you look like now?"

   "There is plenty of time to discuss the issue of accountability later. Now let's discuss whether the orc's proposal is in our interest!"

   I don't know when Pius VII has been used to talking about "interests". This is inconsistent with the status of the Pope, but it is very effective.

  Every time you encounter a problem that cannot be solved, as long as you start from the perspective of "benefits", it will be solved quickly.

  Since it is easy to use, it will naturally be carried forward. Even though the outside world sprayed Pius VII with blood, his prestige within the Holy See was still very high.

   "Your Majesty, there are two main requirements of the orcs, let the human alliance strike and assassinate.

  If we look at it separately, what really embarrasses us is letting the Human Alliance stop fighting. If the performance is too much, it is easy to arouse suspicion from all parties.

   What's more, the Judgment Knights have all gone to the front line. If they withdraw without a fight, they will lose face.

  Assassination.

  Since Caesar III succeeded to the throne, he has not caused us less trouble. It would be great if he could get rid of this person.

  As for the other people requested by the orcs, they are all important officials in the Alpha Kingdom, so they just take care of them when they have the opportunity.

  The only trouble is that these people are very concerned about their own safety, and it is difficult to get close to them, let alone assassinate them.

   Unless we..."

   As the words came to his lips, Archbishop Sauron swallowed them back. As one of the oldest forces in the human race, the Holy See will naturally not lack dark means.

   It's just that some methods are too cruel, not commensurate with the role played by the Holy See, and the price to be paid is too high, so they gradually withdraw from everyone's sight.

   "Your Majesty, just agreeing to the conditions of the orcs is too cheap for them.

  Besides, whether it is letting the Human Alliance strike or assassinating Caesar III, we will need to pay a big price.

  Since they give us problems, we can also pay them back. The requirements don't need to be too high, as long as they severely injure the Alpha Kingdom's Northern Expeditionary Army.

  Give them the information on the internal factions of the Alpha Kingdom, let them catch some of the factions and beat them hard, breaking the internal power balance of the Alpha Kingdom.

   At that time, even if the assassination of Caesar III fails, there will still be enough mess waiting for him to clean up. "

   Gu Lei said with a sneer.

   It can be seen that he really despises the incompetence of the Orc Empire, so he couldn't help but help out.

   After thinking for a while, Pius VII nodded slightly and said: "We can let the orcs try it, and we will not lose no matter whether we succeed or fail.

   Notify the bishop of Montesson, let him prepare. Once we have an agreement with the orcs, move forward with the truce negotiation proposal.

   But these are not enough. If the alliance meeting agrees to a truce, we have to help the orcs.

  Sauron, mobilize our contacts to help the orcs lobby various races to intervene in mediation. "

   As soon as the words came out, Pius VII felt something was wrong. It seems that the Holy See has intervened too much in this war.

  Especially now, the favoritism towards the orcs is too obvious, almost jumping out to support the orc empire.

  As a human force, it is obvious that the buttocks are crooked when they play like this. If the thunder explodes one day, it will be smashed to pieces.

   "Forget it, don't let Bishop Montesson act.

  Our previous performance left a lot of flaws. In the next alliance meeting, we must be the main fighters.

   Tell Bishop Montesson to exaggerate the difficulty of destroying the orc empire at the alliance meeting, and then call on all countries to send 7 million troops to destroy the orc empire! "

   Pius VII said with a sneer.

   To promote a plan, it is not necessary to personally go into battle, and sometimes adopting the opposite plan can also achieve the goal.

   Seven million troops, the entire human race can naturally take it out. But wanting to put so many troops on the battlefield is just wishful thinking.

  Heavy logistics are enough to drag any force to death. Even if it is shared by many forces in the alliance, the price to be paid is enough to make everyone hurt.

  However, with the huge territory of the orc empire, if you want to completely destroy the opponent, you really can't do it without a few million troops.

   A slight exaggeration of the difficulty can rationalize the "seven million" figure.

  If you can't bear the loss, the plan will naturally fail. Coupled with the intervention of various ethnic groups in the mainland, negotiation has become the best choice.

  …

  Fort Nadson, through the joint efforts of the defenders and the soldiers and civilians in the city, the work of exhuming corpses and cleaning up construction waste was finally completed.

  From the ruins left by the Great War, it can be seen that the robbery of the red dragon Maxim caused the Lochnard family to suffer huge losses.

  The specific loss report has reached Thorsten. Looking at the detailed list above, he almost cried.

   It was too tragic. The long list of dead was no less than a battle.

   But the problem is that there is still a record in the war, and they are completely confused. As the evil dragon who provoked the incident, he patted his **** and left, and all losses can only be paid by the Locknard family themselves.

  If it wasn't for his sanity, he would have wanted to organize a dragon-slaying brigade to seek justice from Maxim.

  Since they are creatures, they naturally have weaknesses, and dragons are no exception.

   It's just that compared with ordinary creatures, the weakness of giant dragons is not so obvious. Even if the weakness is grasped, it is not something ordinary people can grasp.

  As an ancient aristocrat, the Lochnard family also has records in this regard.

  After weighing the pros and cons, Torsten finally extinguished the desire for immediate revenge.

  The direct casualties caused by the war exceeded 3,000, and the casualties caused by the fire exceeded 5,000.

  Tens of thousands of private houses were destroyed, and property losses were even more numerous. Most of the city's residents became homeless overnight.

   Those who can live in Fort Nadson are not ordinary serfs. Either it is the distant and near branch of the Lochnard family, or the family members who are close to the retainers, and the worst is the family members of the elite soldiers.

   They are all their own people, and the family will naturally be responsible for this kind of thing.

   Just experienced the orc invasion, the Lochnard family had already suffered heavy losses, and now such a wave came, which made their financial situation that was not rich even worse.

   I really can't stand the toss. If the dragon slaying is successful and the dragon clan retaliates, it will be over.

   No matter how secretive it is, it is useless. Just after this kind of thing happened, Maxim had an accident. It is difficult for the Dragon Clan to suspect them.

   For the strong, evidence is never a necessary factor, only doubt is enough.

   "You can't expect to reason with giant dragons unless you have fists as hard as them."

  Even if you want to take revenge, you have to wait until the limelight passes. In other words, when Maxim's enemies are all over the continent, he will make a move.

  …

"what?"

   "This red dragon appeared in the frontier camp before robbing Fort Nadson?"

   Torsten exclaimed.

  After the Southeastern Front Army, Southwest Front Army, and Central Front Army arrived in the North, together with the armies of the nobles from the northern provinces, they became the new border guards of the Alpha Kingdom.

   Turning his head around, Torsten discovered the problem. The current head of the border guards is the sworn enemy of their family.

  Red Dragon failed to rob the border guards, and immediately came to rob Fort Nadson. It was hard for him not to think about it.

   "Yes, Viscount!

   I heard from the border guards that the evil dragon descended from the sky and asked the guards for gold coins and princesses. It was only after Earl Hudson negotiated with the dragon that he sent him away.

   There are many versions of the specific content of the conversation. Some say they were intimidated by Hudson; others say that Hudson patiently explained to the evil dragon that there is no..."

  After hearing the report from his subordinates, Torsten's expression became even uglier. No matter which version it is, it cannot prove that the dragon's attack on Fort Nadson has something to do with Hudson.

  Inquiry alone can only prove one result—the Earl of Hudson is powerful, and even the dragon can be dismissed in a few words.

   Perhaps sensing the change in his face, the young officer in charge of inquiring about the news hastily swallowed back what he hadn't finished speaking.

   It can’t be blamed for the lack of wink in the subordinates. In fact, the grievances between them and the Koslow family are originally the dark history of the Lochnard family.

  The disgraced members of the Koslow family must be remembered by everyone, always looking for opportunities for revenge.

   As the victors, the Locknard family didn't care so much. In the past years, there were thousands of nobles who were trampled under their feet. Who can remember a group of shabby settlers!

  There are so many people who want revenge, but after so many years, the Lochnard family is still prosperous, but the former enemies have turned to dust one by one.

  If it weren't for Hudson's sudden rise, they would have almost forgotten that there was such an enemy when they searched through the family records while investigating the details.

   Recalling the enemy, but after all, this is the unbearable dark history of his family. It's fine for the top family members to know about it, there's no need for the whole world to know about it.

   "I know the matter, you all go back first!"

   Torsten said with a gloomy face.

  The mine that was planted by the ancestors suddenly exploded. Those of them who are juniors can only knock down their front teeth and swallow them in their stomachs.

  Even if they are willing to ease the relationship and let the past grievances disappear with the wind, it is impossible for the Koslow family to agree!

  Knowing that the dragon attack may be related to Hudson, but there is no evidence in hand, even if they want to make use of it.

   "Trouble, this matter is really difficult!"

  After sighing, Torsten said to himself again.

   "No! We must find a way to get Hudson down and let him continue to serve as the commander of the border guards. The family will be in danger!"

  He wanted to return to his thoughts, but he didn't have a clue what to do specifically.

  The influence of the Locknard family is indeed strong, but it cannot influence the decision-making of the kingdom. At least the position of the commander-in-chief of the border guards is not something they can decide with one word.

  If you want to get Hudson down, you must not only catch the other party's handle, but also find someone who can replace him.

  If the kingdom had a better choice, such a high-ranking core position would not be the turn of Hudson, a sudden rise of the upstart.

  The most capable generals are all in the Northern Expeditionary Army. Among the generals who stayed in the country, Hudson had the most stalwart military exploits.

  Suddenly want to change, not to mention the Lochnard family, even the king can't do it.

   The first thing to oppose is not others, but the most important ally of the Lochnard family. The five wealthy families in the Northland are connected with each other, but they all have their own calculations.

  Hudson is the commander-in-chief of the border guards. Only the Lochnard family is in danger;

  The battle on the front line is becoming more and more intense. No one can tell whether the Northern Expeditionary Army can retreat completely.

   The reinforcements from the Terran Alliance have been slow to arrive. In case the orcs solve the problem and the Northern Expeditionary Army goes south again, the border guards will be everyone's last line of defense.

  If you don’t arrange for a general who can fight to be the commander in chief of the front line, everyone will feel uneasy!

  Under this background, everyone is looking after themselves, who cares about the Lochnard family?

  In a sense, if you want to get Hudson down now, you are going against most of the nobles in the kingdom.

  …

   Remarks: Political allies are not constant. One day an ally becomes an enemy the next. Don’t make a fuss. It is common for countries to form alliances and betray each other, and it is also common for allies to stab each other. This setting is different from previous fantasy novels.

  (end of this chapter)