The Indomitable Martial King Chapter 234

But now Carol is there.

Based on his natural talent and the environment in which he grew up, Carol skillfully lobbied countries on the continent. The incident itself was framed as a power confrontation between the Principality of Chatan and the Antares-Crovence Union, which drove public opinion and subtly concealed antipathy toward slavery. The skill was so clever and sophisticated that one could truly admire it.

“Even though they are leaders, they are quite simple-minded, and if they show this level of sincerity, it is difficult to create a hostile atmosphere. Well, I had a bit of trouble preparing gifts to send to each country, but… … .”

Currently, the finances of the County of Antares were in a quite precarious state. Most of the budget was spent on widespread bribery throughout Zeppelin and purchasing supplies to help slaves escape.

“Fortunately, we had enough useful items other than gold and silver treasures.”

The items sent as gifts to each kingdom were all special products of each tribe. Elven silk from elves, leather crafts from orcs, weapons from dwarves, and pottery from trolls are common within the White Kingdom, but are rare items seen for the first time in other countries.

Of course, since it is a gift to be sent to the king of a country, it is not possible to send ordinary items that people of different races usually use. Naturally, only high-quality items that were considered quite rare within each race were selected and sent.

“Thanks to this, it wasn’t easy to secure the quantity… … Still, it was much cheaper than filling it with gold and silver treasures.”

Carol finished her sentence with a grin.

“Compared to the effects achieved, it is nothing.”

Reppenhardt was satisfied and praised Carol.

“Thank you for your hard work, Carol. “Your merit is truly great.”

And suddenly I frowned.

“But I feel a bit uneasy because it feels like I’m being scammed.”

Clearly, the County of Antares made promises to each kingdom. That the County of Antares will no longer engage in ‘wars of aggression’.

Well, it wasn’t a lie. In the future, when its power grows and the banner of the slave liberation war is raised across the continent, Antares will no longer be a ‘white country’.

To be honest, it’s a play on words. Reppenhardt, who confidently entered the world, may have felt reluctant.

But Carol shook her head resolutely.

“To live with only ideals, you need absolute strength. “I think this level of compromise is necessary to create the world the White King wants.”

In order to change the rules of the world, it is necessary to move in accordance with the rules of the world.

Reppenhardt nodded and gave an expression of understanding. Then, suddenly, I burst out laughing.

“But that wasn’t the case.”

“yes?”

“Oh, I’m not saying I won’t compromise… … .”

Reppenhardt waved his hand and let out a faint voice.

“Even if you have absolute power, you cannot live with ideals alone.”

Carol made a puzzled face.

“No, it’s nothing. “Don’t worry.”

Repenhardt made a bitter expression.

Now that I cannot talk about my past life, it is impossible to give any further explanation.

A secret that cannot be told even to comrades who dream together of ideals. His previous life, which he only revealed to Marceline and Siris.

Keeping secrets, even from people he trusted, was a problem that plagued Leffenhardt all along. He sometimes suffered from a desire to reveal everything in an honest way.

Anyway, it seems like there aren’t many people who would treat Reppenhardt like a crazy person even if he talks about his past life here. Rather, because of this, the incomprehensible behavior that has been shown so far may be resolved quickly.

But it wasn’t something that could be said easily. In the past, I was afraid you wouldn’t believe me, but now… … .

‘I wonder what the consequences will be of letting people know that I failed once… … .’

It was a trust I barely gained.

Just got this far.

It is not an easy task to inform comrades of a fact that could shake everything that ‘King’ Reppenhardt has built up.

‘Makeline also said it would be better if we just didn’t tell.’

Reppenhardt closed his mouth and was lost in thought. Carol waited quietly, watching his expression change every moment. Then he suddenly opened his mouth.

“It seems like there’s something I don’t know about.”

“Hmm? Oh, it’s just a personal secret… … .”

Carol chuckled.

“Ah, you mean ‘the secret’ that seems too ‘deep’ to be personal?”

Reppenhardt looked embarrassed. Carol continued.

“Actually, I know that King Baek has quite a secret. Not only I, but Lord Kalken and Lord Russ have also said similar things. I still don’t understand the method used to tie down Zeppelin’s wizards. The White King said it was just knowledge he learned from a wizard he knew, but in my opinion, that amount of knowledge cannot come from the heads of one or two people.”

“Um, that’s… … .”

Leffenhardt groaned, speechless. Carol waved her hand.

“I’m not asking you to pry, so don’t worry. “I have no intention of doing that.”

“exactly?”

“In fact, a good strategist must know all the information so that he can sleep comfortably at night. But I think a little differently.”

Carol grinned.

“A king who shows everything to his subjects may seem humane, but he would be disqualified as a king. As long as he does not give up on the intention of the White King and moves forward and does not lose his original intention, I think that is enough.”

Repenhardt’s face brightened slightly.

“… … Thank you for your words. “I will keep this in mind in the future.”

“It’s just a little advice from someone who has been entrusted with it.”

Carol answered with a gentle smile. Reppenhardt looked at Carol with a new look on his face.

‘I’m so glad I have this friend on my side.’

In fact, when I saved Carol’s life, I never thought it would be of this much help. In his previous life, Reppenhardt, like a wizard, did not place much importance on political or diplomatic power. Therefore, he only cared about the strong man in front of him and did not pay much attention to King Karsas who assisted behind him.

‘I just saved him because I felt sorry for killing him.’

However, if you think about it, Carl in his previous life was a famous current soldier in the history of the Kingdom of Crovence and was one of the focal points that brought together the human allied forces. From the perspective of a leader, it is shameful to compare him to Reppenhardt, who became emperor through personal force alone.

‘Somehow, in my previous life, countries that didn’t get along well came together and attacked each other… … ‘Because this guy worked behind the scenes, the human coalition forces were able to unite so tightly.’

I suddenly became curious.

“Now that I think about it, I’d like to ask. Carol, you are a human too, so don’t you have any aversion to changing the world for other races?”

Carol let out a laugh.

“I think it’s funny that you feel rejected when you’re dating Ms. Tila, right?”

“That’s true too… … .”

Leffenhardt scratched his head. Carol smiled bitterly.

“Well, it wasn’t an easy decision for me either. It’s like this now, but I thought about it a lot for a while. But when I thought about it, I realized there wasn’t much to worry about.”

Carol continued speaking in a calm voice.

“When I was the heir to the Fernando family, I dreamed of a world where Young Ji-min lived happily. At that time, the humans from other territories were like ‘different races’ to me. However, the people of other territories who dreamed of the throne and were of ‘different races’ also became one within me under the name of ‘the people of Crovence’. And I dreamed of a world where they lived happily.”

Suddenly, Carol smiled bitterly.

“Well, I had to give up that dream because of King Baek… … Instead, you can meet elves, dwarves, orcs, and trolls.”

A distinct smile appeared on the face of the young, beard-covered Prime Minister.

“It was the same. Those who were considered to be of different races have become one within me under the name of ‘people’. And now I dream of a world where ‘people’ live happily. “There’s no reason to worry, right?”

☆ ☆ ☆

Most countries on the continent responded favorably to the official position of the County of Antares. But this was not the case in all countries.

The current emperor of the Holy Vashtalon Empire, Rarefall Prime Vashtalon I.

This old emperor, who was over 60 years old this year, was very angry and ranting.

“Burn them all!”

There is a huge dance hall behind the imperial palace, where a large bonfire flickers with flames. Riding inside it were gifts from the country of Antares.

Grumbling… … .

Elven silk and oakish leather products, boasting beautiful colors and patterns, smoked acrid smoke high into the sky. All of the troll’s pottery was already broken and reduced to dust, and the dwarven weapons were melted down.

“joy! “You’re trying to blindfold me with this kind of wealth!”

The emperor looked to the side without hiding his anger. Beside him, the subjects were watching the emperor with their mouths covered.

the emperor asked.

“So, did you really say that the County of Antares would not bend its attitude?”

One of the subjects who had gone to the White Kingdom as an envoy bowed his head.

“Yes, Your Majesty. “They did not hesitate to ignore Sayer’s teachings and walk the path of sin.”

Unlike other countries, King Rarefall I did not accept the answer from the County of Antares. He took a hard line, saying that if the heterogeneous tribe was not reduced back to slavery, he would be declared an enemy of the empire.

But the County of Antares did not back down either. He solidified his position, saying that he could never accept that, even if he didn’t know anything else.

Another retainer spoke.

“Sayer said, Man was created according to His spirit and made to be the ruler of all things. Ignoring this teaching is an insult to the empire, and it is something we can never ignore, Your Majesty!”

“That is indeed correct!”

The emperor nodded, satisfied.

As the Holy Vastalon Empire is a country that has been granted a title from Sayre, its official religion is also the Sayre Church. Unlike other countries that recognized other denominations, the County of Antares was in a position to never tolerate the system of free people of different races. Because it is an act that goes directly against Sayer’s teachings.

“We must conquer!”

“It is only right that we save them with the teachings of the true Sayer, Your Majesty!”

Some of his subjects insisted on conquering the country of Antares. They were relatively simple-minded and fierce-tempered people, and they were the main fighting faction centered around warriors.

But there were also those who did not agree.

“But realistically, it is unreasonable to punish the country of Antares, Your Majesty.”

They were civil servants with a certain sense of reality.

War is necessary for military commanders to achieve merit. Therefore, the armed forces call for war regardless.

However, there is a possibility that the status of civil servants may be shaken when a war begins. From their perspective, they cannot help but keep reality in mind.

“Your Majesty’s anger is truly justified. However, the distance between the County of Antares and the Empire is very far. Since the Kingdom of Crovence is allied with Antares, if you want to raise a conquering army, you must either oppose Crovence as well or go through the Kingdom of Basil. “Relations with other countries may be problematic.”

The emperor was impressed. But he didn’t explode with anger.

What the subject said was not wrong.

Even though it was Crovence, transiting through Basil’s Kingdom was not an easy task.

The Kingdom of Basil is not a country under the influence of the empire like the Principality of Chatan or Rastil. Moreover, you cannot lead the imperial army and say, ‘I will pass through your country to punish the country of Antares!’ No country in its right mind would allow the military of another country to step on its soil.

“I also feel that the empire is overreacting to other countries’ positions.”

Unlike the Bashtalon Empire, all other countries showed an attitude of ‘let’s just move on.’ And the emperor knew very well why.

‘Well, the Principality of Chatan has been doing too much so far.’

Chatan, the continent’s most commercial country.

The Principality of Chatan, with the protection of the Vastalon Empire, has made great profits through intermediate trade with countries on the continent. And the curse was as much as the benefit.

There was no country that was not angry at the actions of the Principality of Chatan, which was eating away its country’s wealth. It’s just that they couldn’t be openly hostile because of the Bashtalon Empire behind the principality.

However, when this situation occurred, everyone was deeply upset. It was not because the County of Antares was pretty, but because they hated the Principality of Chatan that everyone accepted Repenhardt’s actions as they were.

In particular, in the case of the Kingdom of Teikan, they even sent gifts in return, openly saying that they hoped to maintain a good relationship with the Kingdom of Antares.

It was because of the shame of the Teikan Kingdom, the pedophile Auror user Sir Lantas. Rather than cooperating with the arrest of that legendary pervert who could have been killed by tearing up his body, the Principality of Chatan instead acknowledged and accepted him into exile, and the relationship between the two countries became the worst ever since. Most of the people of Teikan Kingdom would grind their teeth when they said it was the Principality of Chatan.

The Principality of Antares completely ruined the Principality of Chatan, so although this cannot be praised openly, Teikan cannot help but feel quite pleased.

Moreover, it was also known that Sir Lanthas had died at the hands of King Reppenhardt. Carol’s lobby had been meticulous in detailing even the smallest details. Thanks to this, the public sentiment of the Teikan Kingdom was clearly in favor of the Kingdom of Antares.

“We cannot ignore the reactions of other denominations.”

It is true that the Sayre Church is the most prosperous across the continent, but even so, Sayre is not the only god that humans believe in.

The four beast gods who protect the four corners of the continent.

Bamet, the divine dragon. Cheonho 天虎 Parga. Sattar the Immortal. Frozen Tianon.

Excluding the Four Directions Gods, eight denominations are spreading their doctrines in each country on the continent.