Volume 2: Empire Chapter 94: Western Region Conference
The branches in the room gradually retreated, and Sylvia's headless body fell to the ground. The room returned to its original state, and the flame in the middle gradually went out while swaying.
The holy flame on the sword also dissipated, and then disappeared into Qingkong's hand. The fluorescent scimitar flew a circle and was returned to the scabbard.
Darkness filled the space, and Qingkong's figure disappeared as the last ray of light faded.
Before the general attack, Qingkong made sufficient preparations to face the Sixth Apostle Sylvia. She not only took the time to restore her power, but also previewed a lot of information related to Sylvia.
Sylvia was the most low-key apostle in the Abyss Temple. She was obsessed with studying the secret arts of the Abyss and had hardly ever left the temple. Perhaps because of this, the chance of her being turned against was very low, so she was entrusted with the important task of following Erguya to the Western Territory.
In terms of actual combat experience, Sylvia was not as good as other apostles. But as the chief engineer of the Abyss Temple headquarters, if she fought at home, her strength would be second only to the first apostle Victor.
Unfortunately, Qingkong sent the most fatal false information to the Abyss Temple, causing the surviving Abyss Apostles to start to be suspicious of each other. In addition, the Western Border Strategy was too important to the Tedejia Hill War, so the Abyss Temple had no choice but to send Sylvia over.
Sylvia who left the Abyss Temple became the weakest Abyss Apostle, while Qingkong discovered the correct way to use the authority of the World Tree.
Within the coverage of the roots of the previous World Tree, the Moonlight Queen can use the authority of the World Tree to call upon the power of the World Tree. This is a power that the five ancient civilizations would fight for, or even destroy. Even though the power of the previous World Tree was greatly weakened due to the destruction of its trunk, the energy retained by the roots can still easily allow Qingkong to reach the strength of a super six-star.
And with the rapid growth of the new generation of world trees, Qingkong's strength has the potential to reach the peak .
As his understanding deepened... Qingkong felt that the authority of the World Tree obtained from the Moonlight Tree King was not the power he understood at the beginning, but the right to use the World Tree, a super weapon.
Now this super weapon can only be used within the Western Territory relying on the roots of the previous generation of World Tree. I wonder what changes will happen after the Moonlight Tree King grows up?
Luke was looking forward to it.
After killing Erguya, the Boiling Battle Squad rushed into the courtyard. Seeing that victory was certain, Count Urd also sent out his strongest guard team.
The Bloodsworn Barbarians and Abyss Mages, who were outnumbered at first, were able to hold on with their strength that was several levels higher. However, the battle without support consumed their strength and mana greatly, and after a round of attack by powerful units, their defense line collapsed in an instant.
The defeat was crushing. Without Erguya and Sylvia, the remaining barbarians and abyss mages were divided and surrounded, and finally killed by swords in what they thought was a night of victory.
The battle came to an abrupt end at a certain point, and the spacious courtyard was filled with corpses. The Sun City soldiers and imperial spies searched every house, either treating the wounded or dragging out the enemy's corpses and throwing them into the cleared space in the courtyard.
Count Urd took a list and asked his men to hold torches to identify the bodies one by one. Only when they confirmed that it was the person himself would they put an X next to the corresponding name on the list.
Luke took back Taotie and stood on the sidelines to supervise the cleanup of the battlefield.
Boiling was sitting in the corner, holding the broken arm and placing it at the broken end. Sandpaper and Kestrel used the existing tools to make emergency repairs for Boiling.
The fast-legged man had already concealed his tracks and was hiding somewhere to monitor the entire scene.
Shelley came in from outside and came to Luke's side to report: "Governor, the results here have been sent to Her Royal Highness the Princess. Her Royal Highness asks you and Earl Urd to handle the affairs here as soon as possible and go to the castle to attend the meeting."
Luke watched Count Urd counting the bodies, and asked Shelley, "What was the reaction of those Western nobles?"
“The sounds of battle here have ended. All the nobles in the western region have withdrawn and followed your highness’ orders… walking across the ice alone into the castle.
My Lord, you didn't see the scene. Those important people were trembling on the ice like stray dogs. Some of them were old and had weak legs and feet, and they fell several times and could only crawl to the castle.
This time you have earned enough face for Her Royal Highness the Princess!"
Pisco showed off his robotic arm and agreed, “I heard that the Western Territory is very dangerous. Before I came here, I specially found sandpaper to do a high-level maintenance on my arm.
I didn't expect the fight to be over before it was my turn.
My Lord, although I have been promoted to a senior agent, if there is a fight in the future, don’t just use low-level agents like Sandpaper and Boiling, let me play a role too…”
Luke smiled and said, "Next time for sure!"
As long-time employees of Luke's, Shelley and Pisco's job levels also rose with Luke's promotion.
In Pisco's eyes, Sandpaper is a maintenance worker and Boiling is a war machine. They are all ordinary employees of the CIA and naturally cannot be compared with senior spies like himself.
Luke was too lazy to explain to a jerk like Pisco.
At this time, Earl Urd came over with the list and said, “Governor…After Erguya led his men into Jingting, I sent people to register their personnel.
Now I have personally verified that, except for the Abyss Apostle Sylvia, all the barbarians and Abyss Mages are here."
"Sylvia is here!" Qingkong appeared aside, she left Sylvia's body and turned away in a flash.
Luke took the list from the stunned Count Urd, read it through, and put an X behind Sylvia's name.
Then he folded the list and handed it to Shelley beside him.
"Count, Her Royal Highness the Princess has invited the nobles of the Western Territory to a meeting at the Central Island Castle. All the other nobles are here, except you and me.
Let our men handle this, and don't keep His Highness waiting for too long."
"Yes, yes, yes... I can't keep Your Highness waiting. Governor, please!"
Luke and Count Urd came to the lake. The lake surface in other directions was covered with ice, but only here were there ripples.
A magical rainbow bridge was released from the castle on the central island, extending rapidly along the lake surface. Then a team of royal knights escorted a carriage and galloped across the bridge.
The warhorse was covered in gold-embroidered cloth armor, and the forehead of the helmet was equipped with a spike similar to a unicorn horn. The knight on the horse sat upright, holding a knight's sword in one hand and a knight's shield engraved with the royal family emblem in the other.
The carriage is decorated extremely gorgeously. Based on the extensive use of gold and gemstone ornaments to highlight the royal majesty, the curved corners also show the graceful style of the royal princess.
The four horses pulling the cart all had the same light golden coat color. When they ran, the hooves would hit the ground and swirls of wind would spread, leaving glowing hoof prints that would last for a long time before extinguishing.
Just as the magic rainbow bridge extended to the feet of Luke and Count Urd, the royal knights and carriage arrived.
The carriage changed direction and the royal knights adjusted their formation.
A female official opened the door of the carriage and stepped down, respectfully bowing to Luke and Earl Urd. "Governor Meteoric Star, Earl Urd, Her Royal Highness the Princess invites you two to attend the meeting of the Lords of the Western Territory."
The standard of reception was completely different from that of the Western nobles who walked alone on the ice.
Luke and Count Urd entered the carriage and followed the royal knights towards the castle on the central island.
In the main entrance hall of the Central Lake Castle, a large long conference table was placed in the middle. A large candlelight chandelier hung from the ceiling above, and torches were inserted on all four walls. Fully armed guards stood around the conference table with a distance of less than 30 centimeters between them, their hands on the hilts of the swords at their waists, ready to draw at any time.
On both sides of the conference table sat the Western nobles who were "invited" to attend the meeting. They squatted in their respective seats, breathing carefully and not daring to communicate with each other, and from time to time quietly observed the eldest princess in the main seat.
Agatha sat in the main seat. She was wearing the armor bestowed by the emperor, her golden hair tied into a princess bun, and a princess crown representing her status as the eldest princess.
Faced with this group of Western nobles who had just spoken rudely to her and wanted to kill her, Agatha said nothing, but took a carving knife and carved a doll on a piece of wood.
The carving knife was very sharp, and there was no other sound in the hall except the sound of the blade cutting through the wood.
Suddenly, the door of the hall was pushed open, and two teams of royal knights came in, escorting Luke and Count Urd. Their metal boots clanged on the stone floor, and their armor rustled.
Luke walked to Agatha's side, presented the list with both hands, and said in a powerful voice: "Your Highness, the Princess, Earl Urd and I led the Imperial Secret Service and the Sun City soldiers to fight and wipe out the rebels who lurked in the Sun City Manor.
There are a total of 215 barbarians, 36 abyss mages, and 78 human servants.
The rebel leader Erguya and the Abyss Apostle Sylvia were beheaded.
All the rebel bodies were personally confirmed by Count Urd, and the personnel matched the records in the register.
Please review it, Princess!"
Agatha placed the half-carved doll and the carving knife on the table, then took the list Luke handed over and examined it carefully.
And asked: "Didn't you catch anyone alive?"
Luke replied: "The rebels fought to the death and all died in battle."
"That is to say... there is no way to find out who Erguya met after arriving in the Western Territory?"
Luke replied: "I'm afraid I can't ask. Unless... someone who has met Erguya comes forward and admits it."
Agatha looked at the nobles at the conference table.
The scene fell into extreme silence. The Western nobles tried their best to hold their breath, fearing that their loud breathing would be noticed by Agatha.
With a "bang", Agatha threw the list on the table, causing everyone's heart to tremble.
Then Agatha stood up and said to everyone, "Your case is very serious, but I don't want to make the situation in the West out of control. I know what you are thinking, but I don't want to talk about it, nor do I want to listen to you.
This meeting will be handed over to the deputy envoy, Governor Meteorite.
I hope you can give me a satisfactory result so that the Harvest Festival can proceed smoothly."
After saying this, Agatha turned around and left the venue accompanied by her ladies-in-waiting and guards.
Luke then sat in the main seat, then patted the seat on his left for Earl Urd to sit down.
Then Luke picked up the unfinished wooden figurine on the table, looked at it, smiled, and asked the follower behind him to take it away and return it to Agatha.
"Good evening, lords of the Western Territory! Her Royal Highness the Princess has entrusted me with the presidency of the meeting. I'm sure you all understand her intentions.
People make mistakes!
Although you all wanted to offend the princess, you didn't take action in the end, which shows that you still have respect for the empire. I realized my mistake and corrected it in time, which saved your life."
The princess left the venue to avoid a direct clash between the imperial power and the power of the local lords, and the nobles of the Western Territory knew that their lives were saved. This time, the Governor of Meteorite said it himself, which made the nobles of the Western Territory put down their worries.
The oppressive atmosphere eased slightly, and the nobles finally dared to move their bodies and slightly stretch their stiff muscles.
"But, you all have to give the Empire an explanation, right? Otherwise, if any small character comes to the Western Territory to lobby for a few words, you will get so excited that you want to rebel. The Western Territory cannot be handed over to you to manage."
All the Western nobles looked at Luke and then at Earl Urd.
They still don't understand now. I was clearly in the advantage and the situation was good, so why did you betray me at this critical moment?
The Empire wants an explanation, but the situation is unclear, so how can we give one?
The Western Territory nobles who managed to save their lives felt that if the Empire wanted to stabilize the Western Territory, it would have to rely on themselves, the Western Territory lords, so they gradually became bolder.
They all thought about how to get out of here. As long as they returned to their own territories safely, the Western Territory would still belong to the Western Territory nobles.
There was more whispering, and the whole place was buzzing.
The atmosphere in the venue was changing rapidly, and the Western nobles, who had recovered their breath, felt that they were able to function again.
Count Urd looked at the changes in the nobles' expressions and knew that these idiots were about to do something stupid.
In order to prevent them from getting involved, Earl Urd said, "Governor... The World Tree has revived, and the Moonlight Court has been established in the Prairie of the Ancients. This is a major event that will affect the entire Western Territory.
You have a close relationship with the Queen of Moonlight Court. Could you please introduce the newly established Moonlight Court to us, the lords of the western border, so that we can know how to get along with this new neighbor in the future?"
The sound in the hall disappeared instantly, and all the nobles in the Western Territory stretched their heads, pricked up their ears, and looked at Urd with incredible expressions.
I thought:
What did Urd just say? The World Tree has revived! The Moonlight Royal Court has been established in the Prairie of the Ancients!
Did I hear you wrong, or are you talking nonsense?
The world tree that has been destroyed for thousands of years has revived. Are you kidding me?
Earl Urd knew what these nobles were thinking. If he had not sent people to the Prairie of the Ancients to verify it, he would not have believed that the World Tree would revive at this time.
In order to extinguish the luck in the nobles' hearts and make them accept the fact that the Westland is no longer the Westland it once was, Urd said to the nobles: "This morning, the subordinate I sent to the Prairie of the Ancients came back and told me that he saw the revived World Tree with his own eyes and accepted the summons of the Moonlight Queen.
Now the news of the establishment of the Moonlight Court is being spread from the Ancestral Grassland to the entire Western Territory. By tomorrow morning at the latest, the news will reach Sun City.
Everyone, please face the reality! "
After hearing what Earl Urd said, if there weren't guards standing behind them, these Western nobles would have rushed over and strangled Urd to death.
You got the news this morning about the revival of the World Tree and the establishment of the Moonlight Kingdom in the Grasslands of the Ancients. Why didn't you mention it at the meeting in Erguya?
You betrayed all the Western Territory nobles just to seize this intelligence window and sell us out to achieve your own credit.
Urd... Urd!
Do you still have the dignity of a nobleman?
The Western nobles who were cheated were vomiting blood in their hearts, but it was too late. If you put yourself in Urd's shoes, you won't do anything more decent than him.
The most important thing now is to stop the loss. Apart from saving your life and family, you don’t need to consider anything else.
The nobles of the Western Territory all sat upright, like elementary school students waiting for a lecture from their teacher.
Luke was amazed at how quickly the nobles changed their expressions in such a short period of time.
He said: "Regarding the Moonlight Royal Court... you only need to know that I am the chief regent of the Moonlight Royal Court. The Moonlight Royal Court has no territorial disputes with you. Without the orders of me and the Moonlight Queen, the Moonlight Royal Court will not conduct any military operations against the outside world .
As Prime Minister of the Moonlight Court , I hope to build a railway connecting the court and the empire.
Lords, there should be no objection, right?"
