Chapter 579: Two Letters
Roland received a letter from Duke Calvin Kant of the Northern Region.
Along with the letter was a signed contract bearing a handprint, unequivocally expressing the Northern Region's allegiance.
The contents of the letter were more detailed.
First, it inquired when Roland would hold the coronation ceremony so he could prepare to set off and offer congratulations—a custom for the coronation of each king.
Second, it raised questions about the new policies—such as how they would be implemented, the remaining powers of the nobility, matters of inheritance, and the management scope of the city hall.
These were all expected, but Roland was surprised by the last point.
The Duke proposed a marriage alliance at the end of the letter, filling an entire page with praise for his daughter Edith's beauty and talent, claiming she could handle both internal affairs and foreign affairs with great competence, making her the best candidate for queen… Roland couldn't help but laugh at this.
"What are you laughing at?" Nightingale's voice came from the direction of the lounge chair.
"An interesting… father," he raised the letter, "Take a look at this."
Nightingale emerged from the mist, took the letter, frowned after reading it for a few moments, "You wouldn't agree to it, would you?"
"Of course not," Roland said easily, "I don't need a political marriage to maintain the stability of the throne, and seeing how capable she is in the letter, I wouldn't dare let her into the castle, or else who knows who would be king."
"Sounds like the truth," Nightingale visibly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hey, you don't trust me that much?"
"It's not a matter of trust, you know witches can't…" she paused, "After awakening, we can no longer be considered complete women."
"I don't think so," Roland shook his head. The disadvantage of not being able to bear children will gradually disappear with the progress of civilization, while the beauty, physical qualities, and incredible abilities brought by magic will become increasingly important. As long as humanity can continue, the witch group will inevitably rise. Fortunately, they were born within humanity and there is no specific method to stimulate awakening, which gives the integration of the two a chance.
Just as he was about to use a long speech to elaborate on his point of view, a messenger bird flew into the room from the open window, fluttered its wings twice, and landed on the desk.
A huangsè strip of cloth was tied to its claws—indicating that the secret letter came from the old royal capital.
Roland swallowed back his words, took out a dried fish from the drawer and threw it to the grey falcon, which was shaking its head for a reward, then untied the cloth strip and took out the folded oil paper from it.
Since the size of the secret letter was limited, the content was usually very concise.
The first sentence of this letter shocked him.
"The Dawn Palace has been infiltrated by the Purifiers, whose abilities can ignore the God's Stone of Retaliation."
Witches immune to the effects of God's Stone? As far as he knew, only those with enhanced bodies could do that, and then there were the high-ranking devils called Demon Slayers.
Roland continued to look down, only to find that the news was more shocking than the last.
"The First Prince Anpein tried to resist, and the guards committed suicide under the control of the Purifiers."
"The Church's goal is to stabilize the Dawn so they can concentrate their forces to attack Graycastle first."
"Witnessing all this were Otto Losi and Auro Tokat, the three major families hope to get your help."
He suddenly felt that his Southernmost Region recovery plan needed to be greatly adjusted.
Three days later.
Roland convened a strategic discussion meeting in the castle's reception hall.
Attendees included Barov, the Chief Steward of the City Hall; Iron Axe, the Commander of the First Army; Carter, the Chief Knight; Pello, the Chief Administrator of Longsong; Wendy and Agatha, representatives of the Witch Alliance; Sylvie, the representative of the Sleeping Island witches; and Edith, the Pearl of the North.
"That's the basic situation," Roland roughly recounted the contents of the secret letter, "We can't verify these contents, but if everything in the letter is true, Graycastle will undoubtedly face the biggest challenge before the Battle of Divine Will. Out of security considerations,
the combat arrangements in the Southernmost Region can only be temporarily suspended," he looked at Iron Axe, "No problem, right?"
As the primary contributor to the spring offensive, Iron Axe quickly captured Willow Town and Dragonfall Ridge according to the planned schedule, placing the gateway towns connecting Neverwinter and the Southern Region in Roland's hands. He originally planned to continue his efforts and complete the great cause of expanding the territory before the arrival of autumn, incorporating the territory of the Sand people into the kingdom as well. Among them, the key figures connecting the two tribes were Echo and Iron Axe—both being members of the Mojin clan, they could play a buffering role during racial conflicts, and Iron Axe also eagerly desired to return to Ironsand City to avenge the framing he suffered back then, so letting him lead the army to occupy the Southernmost Region was also the best reward for him. Now that the combat plan has been suspended, he may be disappointed.
"Yes, Your Majesty," however, Iron Axe's expression did not change, and his answer was very decisive, "Also, I suggest replacing the First Army stationed at Dragonfall Ridge with newly trained recruits. They can handle those nobles without any problems, and the First Army can concentrate its maximum strength to block the Church."
"Let's do it that way," Roland nodded approvingly, got up and walked to the large map behind him, "Now we face two main problems, one is we don't know when the enemy will attack, and the other is we don't know where they will attack from. Originally, there was only one way for the Church to invade Graycastle, which was to go straight down from the Northern Region's Coldwind Ridge to the royal capital, but now that the Kingdom of Dawn is threatened by the Church, it is also possible for the Judgment Army to enter Graycastle from the Dawn border, do you have any good countermeasures?"
"No matter where they appear, they must first pass through the Kingdom's Northern Region," Barov spoke first, "Coldwind Ridge, Hollow Valley Town, Evernight City, and Cliffside City are all Duke Calvin's territory. I suggest letting Edith xiaojie take this news to her father, and then stay in the Northern Region to monitor the enemy, which is more reliable. But… Your Majesty," he rubbed his hands, "Can we stop the Church?"
This cowardly question was met with unanimous eye-rolls from everyone, and Edith said even more impolitely, "If His Majesty says we can't stop them, are you going to wag your tail and beg the Church for forgiveness?"
"What nonsense are you talking about, as the Chief Steward of the City Hall, I must, at least, make the worst-case plans…"
She ignored Barov and looked at Roland, "Your Majesty, sending people to monitor each road is indeed necessary, but it doesn't mean it's a good method. It is slow to respond, and discovering the enemy also means that the enemy has already started to move, making it difficult to buy enough time for you."
"Do you have a better method?"
"Of course," Edith replied confidently, "Send people to Hermes."
"The Church's Holy City?" Carter frowned, "What's the use of that? Surely the Pope wouldn't notify you when he decides to send troops?"
"Moreover, the people there are all believers and fanatics, making it difficult for spies to infiltrate," Pello added.
"There's no need to enter the Holy City," she smiled, "Just find nearby merchants and have a good chat with them."