Longling Kingdom, the Council Hall.

This was likely the first time that the Commander of the Dragon Guard, Duke Long Yandao, had brought some of his generals to participate in the council to discuss resource allocation.

Over three hundred people had come to the hall.

The lowest title among them was Baron of the Longling Kingdom.

Lin Chen was naturally among them.

However, today Lin Chen was wearing the uniform of the Deputy Commander of the Dragon Guard.

That's right!

Lin Chen had been promoted.

Directly to Deputy Commander.

Originally, this was a position that someone of Xiong Nate'er’s level should hold.

However, Xiong Nate'er hadn't gone to the Imperial Battlefield.

Even the last time, when Long Yandao sensed something was wrong and sent someone to call him, Xiong Nate'er refused, claiming he needed to inspect military affairs in Lingnan.

As a result, in the battle outside Divine City, it was Arikis who rushed over to help Long Yandao deal with Jing Qicang's attack.

Although Long Yandao didn't say anything, he didn't even look at Xiong Nate'er when he saw him.

The position of Deputy Commander of the Dragon Guard was given directly to Lin Chen.

Xiong Nate'er's face was very unsightly.

The atmosphere in the Council Hall was also somewhat oppressive.

First, Long Yandao arrived.

And he brought many rewards for the Dragon Guard.

Harriet, Pang Jia, Big Hader, Little Hader, Jin Mu, Jiang Haihe… all were present.

Even Jian Nishang was there.

However, she stood beside Lin Chen.

In addition, a part of Long Yandao's guard team stood on both sides.

This should be the first time that the Longling Kingdom's council was held under the watchful eyes of so many soldiers.

However, since Duke Long Yanhui didn't speak, the nobles naturally didn't dare to object.

The council began.

Long Yanhui, as the chief, began to speak: "First of all, this time our Longling Kingdom..."

Before he could finish, Long Yandao interrupted him, saying: "Let's get straight to the point. I've already spread the Divine Power Aurora throughout the Longling Kingdom, and now it's time to discuss the allocation of soul ore veins. Now, I want to hear how the council plans to allocate them!"

Long Yandao really didn't give him any face!

Long Yanhui and Long Yandao were of the same "Yan" generation.

They were also cousins.

However, their relationship had long deteriorated to mere nods upon meeting.

Long Yanhui braced himself and said: "Since the founding of our Longling Kingdom, our ancestors established the council to protect the meritorious officials who fought alongside them and their descendants, meaning the royal family shares the world with these nobles… Back in the days of our ancestors, the rules were set that the royal family gets 40% of everything in Longling Kingdom, the nobles divide 40%, and the people of the world share the remaining 20%."

"What do you mean? What about our Dragon Guard?"

At this moment, Jiang Haihe spoke.

That's right, it was him!

A Blue Star native.

Guess why Jiang Haihe was here?

Moreover, Long Yandao had allowed him to enter as the commander of the Longsheng Army.

That's right, after Lin Chen was promoted to Deputy Commander of the Dragon Guard, he completely handed over the Longsheng Army to Jiang Haihe.

And now, Jiang Haihe's words were what Long Yandao wanted him to say.

In the past, Long Yandao only focused on the battlefield and never concerned himself with the distribution of benefits because the pie was too small to divide; he was too lazy to bother, as long as the military budget was sufficient.

But this time, the pie was too big.

A soul ore vein as large as the entire Imperial Capital, if divided, could yield a hundred veins equivalent to the eighteen mountain ranges outside Tianyue City.

Such generous rewards, yet the Dragon Guard, who worked so hard to obtain them, wouldn't get a single share?

What about Lin Chen?

Would he get nothing either?

The first-place reward on the Imperial Battlefield was at least double that of a Tier 1 battlefield.

Note: at least!

In other words, it could be more.

But how was it calculated specifically?

Of course, according to points!

This time, Longling Kingdom was able to obtain such a large soul ore vein because Lin Chen alone scored 1500 points.

Unprecedented!

As a result, when it came time to divide the cake, Lin Chen wouldn't get a single piece?

Long Yandao brought Jiang Haihe in to find someone to say these words.

"Isn't this person a traitor? Duke, shouldn't you ask him to leave?" Long Yanhui said coldly.

Hearing his words, Long Yandao sneered.

As expected.

In the eyes of these nobles, there were only vested interests.

They only cared about themselves.

Why say that?

Long Yanhui's opinion alone couldn't represent all the nobles!

Long Yandao was well aware of the undercurrents here.

Before the council began, the nobles had gathered together for a meeting.

They couldn't have avoided discussing it.

This time, with such generous rewards, how could the nobles not have designs on them?

A dog can never stop eating shit!

"This person is now the commander of the Longsheng Army under the Dragon Guard on the Imperial Battlefield. He was recommended and vouched for by Deputy Commander Lin Chen. Lin Chen was promoted to Deputy Commander of the Dragon Guard for his military merits. You can ask these people if anyone has any objections?" Long Yandao said indifferently.

"Without Deputy Commander Lin Chen, where would Longling Kingdom's first place have come from?"

Little Hader was the first to speak.

Then, all the Dragon Guard soldiers echoed, "This time, Longling Kingdom was able to take first place, Deputy Commander Lin Chen deserves the greatest credit!"

"You!"

Long Yanhui said coldly, "This is the council. What right do you have to speak?"

"Haha!"

At this moment, Lin Chen stood out, facing Long Yanhui directly and asking, "These people are all soldiers and generals who fought for Longling Kingdom on the Imperial Battlefield. Without them, not to mention cultivation resources, even the entire Longling Kingdom and even the human race might have been wiped out! And now, you're actually saying that they don't have the right to speak at a meeting to distribute spoils of war?"

"Your Majesty, the spoils of war are distributed by the council. This is a rule set by our ancestors! What is the Dragon Guard doing now? Are they going to mutiny? Are they going to rebel?"

Seeing Lin Chen standing out, his voice strong and forceful, and with so many Dragon Guard soldiers present, Long Yanhui knew he couldn't suppress them alone. But Long Yanhui's eyes were also fierce.

During the Imperial Battlefield, seeing Lin Chen thriving and Long Yandao being awarded the title of Imperial First-Class Marshal on the spot, Long Yanhui was already very dissatisfied!

Since inheriting the title of Duke, Long Yanhui had been close to the nobles and had successfully taken control of the council… It could be said that he almost controlled all the nobles of Longling Kingdom!

This was a very large force.

First of all, with the annexation of land and resources, the nobles had gone from controlling about 40% of the nation's cultivation resources at the beginning of the kingdom to now controlling over 60% of the land and cultivation resources.

In addition, over 80% of the rogue cultivators in Longling Kingdom had to rely on these rules to have resources for cultivation.

What a massive force this was!

So, despite the Dragon Guard having just won a great victory and their morale being high, upon returning to Longling Kingdom, Duke Long Yanhui still dared to rally the nobles and suppress their interests!

After all, the benefits this time were too great!

Even reducing it by one percent would be a great loss to the noble faction.

In fact, Long Yandao had long anticipated this situation.

After all, this was the nature of the nobles.

He had even discussed it with Lin Chen… However, when Long Yandao discussed this matter with Lin Chen, there was another person present.

But this person was not the King of Longling Kingdom.

In Long Yandao's view, the current king sitting on the throne, although he seemed to want to work hard and even wanted to take back land from the nobles, was actually a very selfish person.

A very simple truth… If you, the king, really wanted to change the phenomenon of Longling Kingdom being gradually eroded by the nobles, then why didn't you directly ask the Dragon Guard for help?

Wouldn't Long Yandao support him?

However, Long Yandao had never been asked by the king.

What did the king do?

He tried to poach talent from Long Yandao's ranks, like Jin Qiang.

Then, he had Jin Qiang cause trouble in the local areas, seizing the nobles' land…

Why did the king do this?

Simple!

Because he didn't want reform.

He only wanted to be rich himself!

So he directly grabbed land and ore veins.

As for the chaotic state of the country, he had no solution at all.

So Long Yandao had also seen through him.

So, who did Long Yandao ask to come and discuss with Lin Chen?

Long Qingyue!

The eldest princess of Longling Kingdom.

It was also at that time that Lin Chen learned that Long Yandao and Long Qingyue had such a relationship… an alliance of interests.

Indeed.

The Dragon Guard's military expenses had always been supplied by Long Qingyue. She and Long Yandao certainly had many opportunities to interact, and it was certainly natural for the two to become an alliance of interests.

At that time, the council hadn't started yet.

The nobles were holding a meeting together.

The king was also discussing with some people.

And Long Yandao and Long Qingyue naturally pulled Lin Chen along, and the three of them held a meeting together.

At that time, Long Yandao and Long Qingyue were only discussing how to unite to fight for some benefits for the Dragon Guard from the nobles and the royal family.

The two even discussed for a long time how much they could get.

Until Lin Chen opened his mouth: "Princess, Duke, if the Dragon Guard still needs you to plan like this every time to obtain benefits in the future, I think we definitely won't go far even if we reach the Tier 3 battlefield! Maybe, there's still a risk of the country being destroyed. I heard that the Tier 3 battlefield has several powerful nations of the Angel Race alone, such as Light Angels, Dark Angels, Holy Angels, and Fallen Angels, and each country is no weaker than the Xianling Race!"

That was indeed the case.

The opponents on the Tier 3 battlefield were much stronger than those on the Tier 2 battlefield!

But what could be done?

Who asked the king and the nobles to be so selfish!

The benefits that the Dragon Guard had won on their own, but with the rules of their ancestors in place, they could only find a way to fight for them themselves.

Fight for them from the hands of the king and nobles!

Seeing that Long Yandao and Long Qingyue were not speaking, Lin Chen sneered: "Don't you two find it ridiculous? These rewards were all won by the Dragon Guard. The battlefield commander is the Duke, and the battlefield MVP is me! And now, I even have to beg them to give me a little reward. What kind of logic is that?"

At this time, Long Yandao finally understood the meaning in Lin Chen's words, and he said in a muffled voice: "Lin Chen, what do you want to do?"

"Does our Deputy Commander Lin plan to stage a military coup?"

Long Qingyue looked at Lin Chen, asking meaningfully.

Lin Chen did have this intention.

He originally thought that Long Yandao would at least support him.

But Long Yandao said coldly: "No! Longling Kingdom must belong to the Long family! Lin Chen, in any case, I, Long Yandao, am always a member of the Long family. Do you want me to violate my ancestors?"

Long Yandao was a very principled person.

Although he was a show-off and liked to pretend.

But on matters of principle, he would never fall short!

Hearing his words, Lin Chen fell silent for a moment.

But at this moment, a person walked in.

Lin Chen recognized him.

"Mr. Winter?" Lin Chen greeted.

Long Yandao frowned, a strong killing intent appearing in his eyes, and asked: "Why did you come in… What did you hear?"

"Duke, please calm down!"

Winter smiled slightly and immediately said: "I will not spread today's events. In fact… I asked the princess to let me eavesdrop on the side. Moreover, I think what City Lord Lin said is not necessarily impossible!"

"What do you mean?"

Long Yandao frowned and said coldly: "What, are you all going to rebel?"

"No!"

Winter quickly said: "Duke, don't misunderstand. I just think the king needs to be replaced, and the entire Longling Kingdom's system needs to be replaced! You've also seen that noble rule does not bring any benefits to Longling Kingdom… In that case, why not replace it all?"

"Hehe, replace it… Who are you planning to replace as king? The princes in the royal family are still young… If you want me to be king, forget it. I can't do it, and I don't want to!" Long Yandao seemed to understand the meaning in Winter's words.

What he thought was that Winter intended to make him king.

Long Yandao naturally wouldn't agree.

He belonged to the Imperial Battlefield!

Being king… was too tiring.

So Long Yandao scolded: "Don't even think about it! To be king, you must be a direct descendant of the royal family."

But Winter smiled and said: "Why can't Princess Long Qingyue be the king?"

"Princess…"

Long Yandao was stunned.

Winter continued: "The Hanbing Kingdom has the Dark Night Queen; the Xianling Kingdom once had a Crown Princess… Then why can't our Longling Kingdom have a queen? The princess is not married, and her bloodline is even purer. Can't she be queen?"

"Yeah, why can't the princess?" Long Yandao looked enlightened.

Long Qingyue!

This was his staunch ally.

Moreover, Long Qingyue was not just a pretty face. She had been managing all the royal family's finances for so many years, and her methods were much better than the current king's!

The most important point… Long Qingyue was also against noble rule!

"It seems like it can really be done!"

Long Yandao let go, but he immediately asked: "Princess, what do you think?"

"I…" Long Qingyue was a little flustered, but she quickly stabilized her mind, glanced at Long Yandao and Lin Chen, as well as her loyal servant Winter, who wholeheartedly wanted to push her to the top, and couldn't help but ask: "What about my brother?"

Her brother was the current king.

"The king must die, and the nobles must be eliminated!" Winter said.

This merchant was revealing his fangs as a strategist for the first time…

The lines that were buried before were being taken back one by one.

Winter…

Remember, he once said in Tianyue City that he hoped to push Long Qingyue to the top?

Today is the fourth update!

This chapter wasn't finished, it should have been a big chapter of eight thousand words, but there's no way, I was afraid everyone would be anxious to wait, so let's just leave it at that!

The flashback technique didn't even manage to connect back… Only the next chapter will connect back to the council.

(End of this chapter)