Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 257 Calling the General
Grand Duke Ronnie stood behind Grand Duke Lecco, his gaze passing through the rectangular table to the boy, watching him struggle to suppress his nervousness and excitement, and suddenly felt a pang of sadness.

We will all... face great calamity?
He curled his lips slightly: How long has it been since I've encountered someone like this, who speaks so boldly and without restraint in front of several Grand Dukes?
An eerie silence fell over the hall.

All the grand dukes looked very uncomfortable, and their breathing became erratic.

Rumba gently closed her eyes.

Thales tried his best to control his breathing, and for a moment all he could hear was the crackling sound of the brazier.

Three full seconds passed before Grand Duke Lecco slowly turned his head and exchanged a glance with the others.

“We gave you the opportunity to speak, Your Highness,” the First Duke turned away from the exchange of glances and sighed with a heavy heart, “but not so that you would speak recklessly or spread alarmist rumors.”

“You’d better be clear, kid,” Aurelius said, staring at Thales with a grim expression. “After threatening the Grand Duke in the Hall of Heroes, not everyone has the chance to walk out unscathed.”

Thales breathed in a daze, seemingly oblivious to the two dukes' uneasy questions.

Calm down, Thales.

It is precisely in times like these that we must remain calm.

you can.

Yes!
"Dragon Sky City".

“What Lumba gave you,” Thales said softly, his calm demeanor causing the dukes to pause in surprise, “was not well-intentioned in proposing the annexation of Dragonsreach.”

Trudida clicked his tongue.

"First, the troops were sent to Xingchen, then to Longxiao City," the cunning Grand Duke revealed a mysterious smile. "How did you know all this?"

Thales let out a breath.

How did I know you were planning to annex Dragon Sky City?
He thought to himself: Rumba promised Shrews tariff preferences around Dragon City, it's that simple.

“It’s not hard to guess,” Thales said, though outwardly he remained calm. “To unite people, in addition to a common threat, there must be sufficient benefits—and Dragon City is undoubtedly a ready-made, unclaimed piece of cheese, perfect for inciting contention and conflict.”

Trudida frowned and looked at Rumba.

“After all, this is an act of breaking the oath of co-governance,” the prince sighed. “The balance of power is no longer there. This precedent of illegally seizing territory means that the ownership of every blade of grass and every inch of land will become the fuse for conflict between you. Rumba will only fan the flames; he hopes you will clash and weaken each other…”

Aurelius interrupted him with a cold snort.

Selma, who had been listening quietly, looked at him with disgust and gave him a disapproving glance.

“Your statement is invalid, brat,” the Grand Duke of Wilan said, his beard twitching in an unpleasant tone. “In fact, we have discussed this matter: given the greater threat, Rumba has no reason to do this.”

At this point, Grand Duke Lyco coughed and took over the conversation: "The threat from the stars is imminent and protracted, and cannot be resolved by one or two major battles. At this juncture, his self-inflicted chaos will only be detrimental to Exter."

Thales's heart skipped a beat: "War, especially war with foreign powers, is more likely to become a trigger for conflict between you..."

But at that moment, Rumba, who had been silent all along, raised his head and pierced him with a sharp, piercing gaze.

"Don't you understand yet?"

The Grand Duke of Black Sands spoke slowly, his voice carrying an emotion that was difficult to discern.

“This child is exceptionally intelligent. He is trying to stop the war and save his country,” Lumba slowly walked to a brazier, blocking the firelight and leaving only a shadow: “to save the country that will eventually be in his hands, the country that may one day make our descendants bow down to him.”

The dukes all frowned.

“That’s my next point,” Thales forced a defiant smile at him. “You also want to save your country, don’t you, Chaman Lumba?”

Rumba frowned slightly.

"If you speak with such certainty, why would our Black Sands Grand Duke do this?" Seeing Rumba leave the stage, the previously silent Grand Duke Ronnie joined the dangerous conversation: "What benefit does he gain from instigating a conflict between grand dukes? An extra piece of cheese?"

Trudida gave a polite sneer.

"And why are we facing such a terrible disaster?"

Under the immense pressure of the Black Sands Grand Duke's gaze, Thales silently adjusted his breathing, preparing his next words.

“You all know about the past of the Black Sand Duke,” Thales raised his voice, looking solemnly at the dukes: “The fact that he killed his brother with his own hands made him hard-hearted and resolute, and that is when his enmity with King Nunn began.”

Upon hearing this, Rumba's gaze sharpened even more, and Thales even felt the surrounding air grow colder.
The dukes exchanged knowing glances.

Thales took a deep breath, staring at Rumba's weathered and rugged face, and firmly said the next sentence: "But you, Chaman Rumba, your actions of killing the king and leading an army to force the emperor to abdicate were neither for revenge nor for self-preservation."

"Because the object of your true hatred and concern is neither King Nunn nor Dragonsreach," Thales said in the calmest tone, "but the heroic tradition that the people of the North are so proud of, the glorious history of Exter..."

The prince whispered the answer: "The co-governance oath of Nekaru."

The dukes were all taken aback by Selma's barely suppressed exclamation.

Leko began rubbing his hands together again, Trudida looked thoughtful, while Ronnie immediately looked at Rumba with a suspicious look in his eyes.

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Aurelius tapped the table impatiently. "A co-governance oath?"

Thales nodded slowly, expressionless.

“Lumba’s entire life has been a torment between his maternal and paternal clans, between Dragon City and Black Sand Territory, between the power of the monarch and the grand duke,” Thales said with utmost seriousness, word by word. “Of course, the grand dukes present here are in much the same boat.”

Grand Duke Lecce's hand tightened slightly.

"But unlike you all who are used to it..."

Thales looked into Rumba's deep, complex eyes, gritted his teeth, and uttered the following words:
“Chaman Lumba, when your father forced you to challenge your elder brother, when you plunged your sword into your elder brother’s chest, when your mother committed suicide in despair, when your father died on the battlefield… you made up your mind.”

With each word he spoke, Rumba's gaze grew colder.

Thales took a deep breath, and the image of Rumba coldly stroking his sword in the carriage came to mind.

He rubbed his hands together in the cold air, maintaining a steady tone:
“You are weary of the endless fighting from the bottom of your heart. You believe you have seen through the unsolvable and tragic cycle behind it. You hate the current state of the Kingdom of Exter behind compromise and tacit understanding. You believe that as long as that oath exists, as long as your superstition about it exists…”

"You, and the similar tragedies behind you, will never disappear."

Thales said quietly.

“That’s right, gentlemen,” under the incredulous gazes of the several dukes, and amidst Selma’s anxious tugging, the Prince of the Stars remained calm and composed, his gaze fixed on the Black Sands Grand Duke’s face, which was almost frozen with ice. Undeterred by any obstruction or interference, he spoke with unwavering resolve: “Twelve years ago, Chaman Rumba resolved to completely destroy the more than six-hundred-year-old co-rule oath, and to end the endless conflict between the King and the Grand Dukes…”

"...Smash the peaceful co-governance of the ten grand dukes to smithereens!"

After Thales finished speaking, he closed his eyes and lowered his head.

The hall fell into dead silence.

Upon hearing Thales' words, almost all the grand dukes stared wide-eyed and gaped, their expressions either one of utter astonishment or disbelief.

Their eyes all turned to Rumba.

The silence was broken after several seconds.

"What are you talking about?" Trudida let out a long breath, frowned, and looked at the resolute Thales with confusion: "Dissatisfaction is one thing, but... destroying the co-governance oath? This, how is this possible?"

"absurd!"

Enduring the strange looks from others, Rumba coldly rejected Thales's words: "How am I supposed to destroy the co-governance oath while upholding the beliefs and faith of ten million Northerners? Slaughter all the Grand Dukes here?"

Thales suddenly looked up and opened his eyes.

“You’ve already done it, haven’t you!” the prince said solemnly. “When you murdered King Nuen and forced the dukes to ignore your crimes and endorse you, the co-rule oath was already trampled on.”

Selma's face darkened, and she pursed her lips.

“You have set the worst precedent,” Thales said expressionlessly. “For this, you even swayed the Grand Dukes to the south to the stars, using new interests to further tilt the scales and undermine the already unstable co-governance oath.”

“Speak freely, the dukes won’t care about the time you waste,” Rumba said sarcastically, glancing at the others with displeasure.

Ronnie gave a soft hum for no apparent reason.

"As for the purpose of my gathering your strength," Lumba said to the dukes with a look of contempt and disdain, "you all know and agree that it is for the sake of Exter."

He concluded without hesitation.

Looking at Rumba's expression, Thales, not knowing where he got the courage from, took a deep breath, jumped off the chair, and took a step forward.

"That's right!"

"This is for Exter!" To everyone's surprise, the prince, unusually, glared fiercely, clenched his fists, and spoke decisively: "And up to this point, the thing I admire most about you, Charman Rumba..."

"Beyond personal likes and dislikes, you genuinely and sincerely want Exter to become stronger!"

"Facing the future threat to the stars!"

Thales practically roared out his last words.

Upon hearing this, Selma let out a soft "Eh" with a hint of doubt.

Just as the Grand Duke was stunned and even Rumba was slightly confused, Thales took a deep breath, composed himself, and suddenly changed the subject!

"But that's the scariest thing."

“If we simply incite infighting among the grand dukes until a new co-elected king is chosen,” he looked up, “it would only push Exter back into the cycle of history, back onto the track of the co-elected oath—which is contrary to his original intention.”

“So,” he said coldly, “Mindis III.”

The moment the name was uttered, Rumba's face turned ashen, his expression shifting—like a wild beast caught in a vulnerable spot. The dukes' expressions turned strange.

Trudida sighed: How does this kid know everything—could it be that he was hiding in the fireplace eavesdropping the whole time?

Selma looked up thoughtfully.

Mindisi, the third generation of the Star.

A wise ruler.

Thales thought to himself, and the rightmost of the three portraits of the king appeared before his eyes: a middle-aged king, elegant and handsome, holding a scepter of stars, giving him a kind smile outside the frame.

That was one of his ancestors, one of the Three Star Kings, and...

Thales gently touched his chest, where the scars from Quaid's burns with the Mindis silver coin still seemed to throb faintly.

A true king does not prioritize bloodline, yet bloodlines are honored because of the king.

And—Thales recalled the king’s father’s assessment when he first met King Kessel: “From nobles to priests, from merchants to beggars, everyone praised his wise rule.”

Wise and wise rule?

Thales' heart skipped a beat, and he clenched his fist over his chest as the words of High Priest Holm flashed through his mind.

From the moment you embark on your journey, every seemingly insignificant detail could be the key to shaping your future.

The prince thought of the wise ruler's portrait on the silver coin, of the Mindis Hall, and of everything he was facing today, and couldn't help but smile slightly: Was all of this just a coincidence?
A moment's victory or defeat is but a fleeting moment, while a century-long game is the foundation for eternity.

"I suppose Lumba has told you the story of the 'wise ruler'?"

Thales's gaze hardened again: "Rumba said that the current situation of the Star Kingdom is the result of the foundation laid by the wise ruler, which has been developed step by step?"

Grand Duke Trudida squinted, resisting the urge to turn back and look at Rumba.

"He probably also told you how the legacy left by the wise ruler gradually became the backbone of the Star Kingdom over the past hundred years."

Thales clenched his fist slightly, his expression resolute.

"But what Rumba didn't tell you is..."

Rumba stared at him from afar, her expression incredibly unpleasant.

Thales recalled the fear he felt sharing a carriage with Rumba, and his last words:
We must go and save this country.

Thinking of this, Thales took a deep breath and raised his right fist to strike his chest hard!
“From the Star Kingdom, from the wise ruler, Rumba saw more than just a threat!”

The prince gritted his teeth, feeling his hands trembling:

"He also saw the future of Exter, and the final solution to the centuries-old predicament of the North!"

After he finished speaking, the hall was silent for a moment.

next second.

Hearing Thales' words, from the composed Grand Duke Lyco to the impatient Grand Duke Aurelius, even the exaggerated Trudida and the indifferent Ronnie, they were all extremely surprised and exclaimed in unison, "What?"

"Thump!" The sound of the sword sheath hitting the ground hard suddenly rang out.

Thales was startled and felt a chill on his forehead.

He took a deep breath.

The prince looked up as if he had sensed something.

Then, unsurprisingly, their eyes met in mid-air.

Since Thales met him, Rumba's face had never looked so ugly and terrible.

The Black Sand Grand Duke's face was almost contorted: his brows were furrowed, the nasolabial folds beside his nose appeared and disappeared, and the masseter muscles on the side of his chin twitched constantly.

Grand Duke Lombard's usually sharp yet cold eyes now blazed like an erupting volcano, radiating a fury a mixture of coldness and hatred.

They fired intently at Thales.

No.

That boy...

It's him again...

It is him again!
Why……

Rumba felt an endless chill and rage welling up inside him. He gripped his sword tightly, trying to keep his hands from trembling too much with anger.
why?
Upon seeing Rumba's face, Selma trembled slightly and looked at Thales for help.

The prince did not back down.

Thales glared back at him fiercely, his expression equally menacing.

“Think about what Rumba has done,” Thales said coldly as his gaze met Rumba’s menacing stare. “Promoting lower-ranking nobles and commoners, recruiting tax collectors even from foreign lands, borrowing money from merchants, hiring specialized magic gun instructors, and using war to cleanse and unite the internal forces—doesn’t what he’s doing seem familiar?”

Trudida frowned slightly: "You mean..."

"Furthermore, from Aaron's conspiracy to the siege of Dragon Fortress, and now the decision to send troops to the stars." Thales took a deep breath with a resolute expression, recalling every open and covert confrontation with Lumba.

At the Dragon Fortress, in a direct confrontation with this unparalleled hero, he made the decision to break out in the opposite direction, ultimately dashing Lumba's hopes of capturing the fortress.

The prince bit his lower lip: I defeated him.

And now...

Thales' eyes snapped open: "Rumba wants the North of the Stars, doesn't he?"

"Why? Do you want to expand your territory?"

“Or is it because,” Thales said coldly, “that he wants this piece of land where Mindis III’s reforms were not entirely complete, and since it is also in the North, it is suitable to merge with Black Sand Territory and further promote the reforms?”

The dukes' expressions all changed!
“Don’t tell me that the commoner tax collector from the North—Chai Urald—was recruited as your subordinate simply because his braid looked nice,” Thales said slowly.
"Chaman Lumba?"

Rumba didn't react, but the terrifying gaze fixed on him remained unmoved.

It's like looking at a dead person.

"Yes, that's the truth behind the 'threat of the stars': Rumba wants more than just to defend against the stars."

Thales pursed his lips, and under the astonished gazes of the four grand dukes, nodded with unwavering certainty: "He wants to start in Exter, beginning with himself..."

"Follow the example of wise rulers in implementing reforms!"

"To 'save' his country."

"Whether it's killing King Nunn, rallying the dukes, or attacking the stars..."

"It's all for this purpose!"

Thales finished speaking and breathed slightly.

The dukes looked at him with suspicion and uncertainty.

"Chaman, what are you thinking?"

Leko shifted his gaze from the table and let out a slow sigh: "We'd rather believe you than him."

Rumba closed his eyes.

After a moment, he spoke slowly.

"We need a new army, that's all."

“You have witnessed the Starshine Legion,” the Grand Duke said coldly. “The Star Kingdom is growing stronger every day, and Exter cannot sit idly by and wait for its demise.”

“We must put aside our pride and complacency and learn from the enemy’s strengths,” Rumba raised his sword and slowly tightened his grip: “We must forge our own Star Legion—only in this way can we maintain our advantage over them for a long time after taking Dragon Fortress and disrupting the changes of the stars, until we finally defeat them completely.”

"At least that's the case in Black Sand Territory."

He ended his speech.

The Grand Duke listened in silence.

“That’s no problem.” Trudida sighed. “Strengthening our combat capabilities, I think we can accept that…”

But the Grand Duke stopped talking.

Because he saw that the bald Leco Grand Justice was frowning sadly and wearily, looking at Rumba from afar.

It was like witnessing the most unbelievable truth.

This is… Trudida was startled: What happened?
“Well said, I’d give you a round of applause,” Thales’ voice rang out, sounding rather somber. “There was just one small mishap.”

Rumba clenched his teeth.

Before all the grand dukes, Thales took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.

The prince's eyes gleamed with an unprecedented light as he spoke slowly and decisively:
"Any change... comes at a price."

(End of this chapter)