Volume 2: The Road to Dragon Feast Chapter 92: Father’s Kindness and Son’s Filial Piety
Murphy soon arrived at the door of the King's Hall, which is also the most magnificent building in the castle.
Looking up at the tall tower, Murphy was about to go in when the voice of the narrator suddenly sounded in his ears again.
[Narrator: Looking at the magnificent royal castle in front of him, Prince Aidan suddenly realized that power was what he really wanted to pursue in his life.
The hard work in his youth, the rigorous training of the Knights of the North Wind, and the fight against the evil black dragon for the kingdom.
All this is just the price that must be paid on the road to power.
Why can that old guy Aiden sit comfortably on the throne in the palace while I have to fight to the death to defend this country?
Those things that used to be commonplace to him now seemed so incomprehensible.
Power, only power is the key to everything - a voice in his heart whispered to him.
No matter what the cost, he will take this power into his own hands, and it all starts with becoming the king of Alterac. 】
This... Mo Fei thought that there were really too many scenes in the narration, but this thing shouldn't be sprayed casually, right? Could something really happen next?
Murphy did not hesitate for too long and soon walked down the stairs into the King's Hall. On the king's throne, Aiden Perenolde was handling the affairs of the kingdom. He raised his head slightly when he saw Murphy come in.
Murphy held the sword with both hands, knelt on one knee, and performed a standard knight's salute.
Aidan (Prince of Alterac): "Father, I have completed the task you assigned to me and killed the evil black dragon that was wreaking havoc on our land. Now I am here to hand over the mission to you."
Aiden Perenolde (King of Alterac): "Yes, well done my son. Now your third, ninth, and twenty-seventh brothers can finally rest in peace."
[System prompt: Because you completed a weekly task, King Aiden Perenolde's favorability towards you has increased by 3 points.]
Only 3 points! Murphy was speechless. It seemed that it was really hard to gain favorability. Hunting the black dragon should be considered the most difficult task, but it only gave 3 points of favorability. If it was a simpler task, such as clearing out bandits, it would probably only increase by 1 or 2 points at most. It seemed that this cheap dad was really hard to fool.
Aiden Perenolde: "By the way, did you bring back the head of the black dragon?"
This... dizzy, I even need quest items.
Mo Fei thought it was not good. Where could he get this thing? He couldn't just cut off his own head and hand it over.
The system is really something, even after the plot is completed, there is no quest item.
Murphy complained in his mind but remained expressionless.
Aidan (Prince of Alterac): "I fought the black dragon for three hundred rounds, from the foot of the mountain to the top of Dragon's Roar Peak. All my loyal men died in the battle, and even the adventurers were not spared. At the last moment, I jumped down from the mountain and stabbed the black dragon's heart with a sword in mid-air. I watched it fall from the top of the mountain into the cliff and was buried in the snow under the cliff.
I used my last bit of strength to grab the edge of the cliff and climbed up, but the path was too steep, so I failed to cut off the monster's head. "
King Aiden was stunned and believed Murphy's story without a doubt, "I see, I see - it's not your fault, your bravery has exceeded my expectations, well done my child, you are worthy of being the heir of the Perenold family!
Your bravery must be rewarded - by the way, now that you have come of age, it is time for you to have your own fiefdom. I intend to make Pinewood Town near Ravenstern City your fiefdom. What do you think?"
[System prompt: Due to your wonderful description of the battle, King Aiden's favorability towards you has increased by 2 points.]
[System prompt: King Aiden intends to grant you the former Songmu Village as a fiefdom. (If you refuse to accept the assignment, there will be no new assignments in the short term.) Do you accept it? Yes/No. ]
Murphy was secretly delighted. It seemed that he had made the right choice for the 'Master of Bluff' feat. It could actually increase his favorability and directly open up his fiefdom. The reward was quite good.
Although they are princes and theoretically can own their own fiefdoms, in reality less than half of them can actually get one. There are too many princes in Alterac, while the land and population of Alterac are limited and most of them are in the hands of various nobles. The land and population that are directly under the royal family account for less than one-third of the entire kingdom.
Even this is used to collect taxes and support the kingdom's army and officials.
The land available for distribution is extremely limited. If there are only a few princes, they might not be able to get a village, let alone a castle.
But now there are more than thirty princes, and there is nothing to do. Everyone has their own job. The princes in front have divided up all the territories, and the ones behind can only wait. It is already a good treatment for Murphy to be able to get a village as his fiefdom.
In fact, this can also be regarded as a bug caused by players intervening in the game, but it is not so fatal.
Murphy had specifically learned about this situation before, so he knew that he could not refuse this fief. If he missed this opportunity, he would not know when he would be able to get points again, so he decisively chose to accept it.
Aidan (Prince of Alterac): "Thank you, father. I am willing to accept this mission. I will rule well the fiefdom and people you have given me."
[System prompt: You have successfully completed a 'Kingdom Mission' and have a preliminary understanding of the operation of the kingdom. You have obtained the fiefdom granted by the king and used your own territory. The conditions are met.
Trigger the plot quest - [Game of Thrones], which is a quest exclusive to the prince. You can determine your position in the kingdom by choosing the plot branch. 】
Mo Fei opened the task bar and found an extra task.
[Game of Thrones (Kingdom Quest)
Mission Description: As the prince of Alterac, you have the legal right to inherit the throne. However, since you are not the only son, you will inevitably face competition from other princes and the struggle for power.
Faced with the temptation of the throne and the friendship between brothers, you must make a choice.
Plot branch 1, A loving father and a filial son. By proving your own strength, you can improve your favorability with King Aiden, gain the support of the nobles, and make King Aiden voluntarily pass the throne to you, and become the king of Alterac.
Plot branch 2: Brotherly Love. Choose to support a prince who has a good relationship with you and help him get the throne. Once he succeeds, you will also gain huge benefits.
Plot branch 3, patricide and regicide (hidden branch). Your ambition for power is aroused by invisible whispers in your ears, and the evil in your heart prompts you to decide to seize the throne through conspiracy and force. In order to achieve your goal, even your biological father cannot stop you. 】
Murphy was delighted. Damn, there is actually a hidden branch. This should be the hidden branch that was unlocked when he was possessed by Deathwing.
But after a little hesitation, he decisively gave up the third option.
If he really wanted to kill his father and the king, it would definitely cause a huge commotion. By that time, more than 30 princes and dozens of nobles would come to fight him, and other countries in the alliance would intervene. With his own strength, there would be no hope even if he transformed into Deathwing.
As for political intrigues and schemes, he doesn't have much talent for them.
He also didn't plan to choose branch 2. He was not familiar with these princes, and they had probably already divided the factions. It might be too late to join them now.
It’s better to choose 1. At least give it a try, just in case it succeeds.
[System prompt: You have chosen plot branch 1, Kind Father and Filial Son. From today on, you will work hard to improve the king's favorability and win the support of the nobles. Facing the ownership of the kingship, other princes should not be underestimated either. You must always face fierce competition. You can check your support among the nobles and the king's favorability towards you in the social system.]
Murphy opened the social column.
【King’s Favorability: 15.】
Ranking: 29th.
Evaluation: The king has a slight liking for you and is quite amazed at your bravery in killing the dragon, but among the many princes, you are not outstanding. 】
[Noble support: 3.]
Ranking: 17th.
Comment: You have only had a few interactions with a few nobles. They don't dislike you, but they don't have many reasons to support you either. 】
Eh, this is really strange. My king’s favorability is 15, ranking 29th. This is understandable.
The other princes all arrived earlier than him, and had completed some tasks and gained some favorability, so it was normal for him to be ranked 29th.
But why is he ranked 17th with such low support from the nobility?
He checked the nobles' support for each prince and found that it was not that his support was high, but that the support of others was too low. Many princes' support was negative, and the lowest one was more than 50 points. However, this person's favorability with the king was surprisingly high, ranking directly first with a favorability of 87.
Murphy thought to himself that it seemed that no one cared much about those nobles and they were all just thinking about gaining the king's favor.
Maybe some princes even had conflicts with nobles.
This is normal. For the Chinese people who believe that monarchy is supreme, who are the nobles? Of course, the king is the boss.
And it seems that improving the king's favorability will actually reduce the nobles' support? Is there some kind of political struggle going on?
I have to study this carefully.
Murphy felt that this might be an opportunity for him. He knew very well that in Western history, the power of the nobles was not weak, and sometimes they could even compete with the king.
Since there are two prerequisites for becoming a king, it means that the support of the nobles is also very important. If you can win them over, it may be a great help.
The first place already has a favorability of 87. The gap is a bit big, but fortunately there is still time. As long as King Aiden is not dead, I still have a chance.
