Divine Kingship

Chapter 538 The White Country seems to be quickly becoming one of our own forces.
In short, apart from the Sunrise Adventure Team, there were no other incidents along the way.

Nowadays, it's actually faster to travel from the Moon Phase Duchy to the White Kingdom by sea, but taking the route through local specialties won't be too slow either.

Another advantage of traveling by land is that it can avoid seasickness, so that you can be ready to fight immediately after landing.

Furthermore, the relationship between Rand and the Kingdom of Bolen is currently very bad, so encountering the Kingdom of Bolen's fleet at sea would be very troublesome.

During the coldest part of winter, Rand's caravan arrived at the capital of the White Kingdom.

The thirteenth son of the Black-Brown Marquis said to Rand, "The capital of the White Kingdom is so magnificent."

“You can wander around here. It’s still some time before we actually set off to attack the orcs,” Rand said, patting the thirteenth son of the Black-Brown Marquis on the shoulder.

The thirteenth son of the Marquis of Black Brown has now come of age.

Back then, when Rand promised to take him to find his father, the thirteenth son of the Black Brown Marquis was just an innocent boy, almost eleven years old. At that time, the thirteenth son of the Black Brown Marquis was only up to Rand's waist.

Now, he is only slightly shorter than Rand.

The thirteenth son of the Black Brown Marquis immediately nodded and took his leave.

Rand, meanwhile, gazed northward. Given the circumstances under which the Marquis of Blackbrown had ventured into the North, his chances of survival were clearly slim.

To be precise, it was almost impossible. Under those circumstances, even with the best medical care, the Black-Brown Marquis would only live for a year or two lying in a hospital bed.

But now, much more than a year or two has passed.

Rand believed that the thirteenth son of the Marquis of Black Brown should already be well aware of this outcome, but it was still very necessary to bring him to the North to see for himself.

It's not just about fulfilling the promise Rand made to the thirteenth son of the Black-Brown Marquis, but also about fulfilling some of his old obsessions.

After that, Rand could arrange for the thirteenth son of the Black Brown Marquis to inherit the Black Brown family's territory, so he wouldn't have to manage the Black Brown Marquis's territory to some extent, which could be considered as repaying some of the favors from back then.

After the thirteenth son of the Black Brown Marquis left, Rand stopped thinking about these old stories and walked along the streets of the White Kingdom's capital with Ellie.

I've been to the royal city of Rand, the Kingdom of White, several times already, and I'm quite familiar with it.

The capital of the White Kingdom has always been like this, desolate and somewhat barbaric. Now, its barbaric nature has been somewhat alleviated, because the industries introduced from the Moon Phase Duchy have given the capital of the White Kingdom a more industrial character.

Although factories that produce juice, soap, and paper are far from being true industries.

Until we can obtain grain varieties with sufficiently high yields and master sufficiently efficient farming methods.

Industrialization is impossible.

Because a sufficient population must be devoted to growing food, otherwise famine will occur.

Rand is currently researching varieties of grain that can also be produced in the North.

As for why Rand is so concerned about the White Kingdom's food problem.

That's because, for Rand, the White Kingdom can no longer be considered an outsider force.

Ellie is the first heir to the White Kingdom, and Ellie is Rand's wife.

Then there is the current King of the White Kingdom, King Bolan. Although Rand and the King of the White Kingdom do not have any strange relationship, Rand is certain that even if the King of the White Kingdom does not accept him in the end, it is even less likely that he will choose someone else.

So regardless of the final outcome, whether the White King Berlan accepts Rand or Ellie inherits the White Kingdom, it seems that the White Kingdom will eventually become the property of his Nicholas family.

Although the heir to the White Kingdom will still bear the surname Calant, it seems that the territory will actually become controlled by Rand.

Moreover, a crucial point is that Rand's reputation in the White Kingdom is extremely high.

When Rand first arrived in the White Kingdom, he was very unwelcome because he married Ellie Carant, the jewel of the White Kingdom.

Then Rand proved himself; his bravery was unmatched among the younger generation, and he was clearly not as weak as he appeared.

Then, Rand led the army of the White Kingdom to block the orcs at the border.

Many knights who participated in that battle still speak fondly of the dangers of the war and the far-sightedness of Rand.

As a result, many nobles from the White Kingdom later sent their sons to Rand's side to serve as the White King's personal guards in order to share in Rand's glory and learn from him.

To this day, everyone knows that Rand is absolutely worthy of their jewel, Ellie.

In the White Kingdom, a nation that reveres bravery, everyone, from knights and ministers to ordinary citizens, deeply respects Rand.

The only pity is that Rand was a little too self-disciplined.

The nobles of the White Kingdom also sent many noblewomen to Rand's side.

If Rand favors them, these women will become Ellie's inner circle within the Duke of the Moon. As the matriarch, Ellie will always need a support system, and it would be a great honor for noblewomen without inheritance rights to support and serve Princess Ellie.

Ellie, of course, acquiesced and even supported this.

Rand had no interest in that.

Rand was in good health and would not suffer from the strain of partying every night, nor would it shorten his lifespan.

But Rand really couldn't get interested in the women who were sent over, and he didn't know how the ancient emperors of his previous life could tolerate having three thousand concubines in their harems.

In any case, in Rand's eyes, although these women who were sent over were not ugly, and some could even be called beauties, they were far inferior to the high-ranking officials of the Holy Land.

Anyway, Rand couldn't bring himself to eat it, probably because his taste had become spoiled by the higher-ups of the Sanctuary.

Rand enters the royal palace of the White Kingdom's capital.

There was no obstruction, nor was there any reporting back; clearly, the King Berland, the brother-in-law, had already made the arrangements.

After walking through the red-carpeted, glazed-tile corridor, I stood before the throne of the White King and bowed.

Duchess Ellie, standing to the side, also slightly lifted the hem of her skirt and bowed alongside Rand.

"Long time no see, I've missed you dearly." Rand hoped that the contents of the White King's letter would be returned unchanged.

White King Berlan waved his hand to dismiss those around him.

Then he opened his arms and hugged his sister Ellie, and after hesitating for a moment, he hugged Rand as well.

They didn't even start reminiscing, something that had already been done in their continuous correspondence.

So he got straight to the point as soon as he opened his mouth.

"The situation regarding the orcs has already been resolved in the letter. Although there are still some doubts, we can generally see through Grand Duke Vladimir's plans," said the White King, Berlan. "If he wants to descend, he will need enough sacrifices to break the portal between the two planes."

Long ago, Rand had already summarized the conditions required for Grand Duke Vladimir to descend upon the main world.

It requires "water," it requires breaking the rules, it requires the right opportunity, and now it seems that it also requires a sacrifice.

If the orcs truly undergo widespread purgatory transformation, then the "water" condition will become unavoidable; the opportune moment will inevitably arrive, and it will be impossible to stop it.

As for the rules, Rand is unlikely to hand over the two hand bones of the Scourge. If the sacrifice can be stopped now, the probability of Grand Duke Vladimir's plan failing will greatly increase.

"Could you elaborate on the points of doubt you raised?" Although the logic was sound, Rand still didn't intend to overlook any details. In such a momentous event that determined the fate of the world, any detail or point of doubt could be fatal.

The White King nodded and led Rand and Ellie to her study. The palace hall was too deserted, while the study was relatively more comfortable and safer.

"It's actually a very simple problem. The orcs have lost a lot of people in the previous invasion, and such a population cannot be recovered in a short time." The White King handed Rand a lot of summarized intelligence from the bookshelf.

Rand read through the intelligence reports while listening to the White King's account.

"However, the destruction of life caused by purgatory transformation is almost irreversible. After purgatory transformation, even if one recuperates afterward, one will still rapidly and irreversibly move towards death." Berlan continued to explain the doubts.

“This is very strange. Only a large-scale purgatory could create an environment that would allow Grand Duke Vladimir to stay in the prime plane. This would mean that a large number of orcs would have to die as a result. Orcs don’t have many people to begin with. Supporting Grand Duke Vladimir in this way could even lead to the extinction of the race.”

The first priority of any ethnic group is survival.

At least the White King was certain that the hatred between orcs and humans was far from reaching the point where orcs would destroy humans even if it meant their own extinction.

"There's also the issue of sacrifice. Sacrifices will inevitably be large-scale and of high quality. If the orcs don't intend to sacrifice their own race, then they'll need to sacrifice humans. But can the orcs really launch a large-scale attack on humans and plunder enough people for sacrifice right now?"

These are all very strange points. If the orcs were truly willing to do anything, then these are all things they could do, but what is the reason?
Grand Duke Vladimir has already betrayed the orcs once; the probability of them trusting him again at the risk of their own destruction is extremely low.

At least Rand, the White King, and Ellie wouldn't think that way.

“I understand.” Rand nodded. “It is indeed very suspicious. The next step in the investigation and the destruction of Grand Prince Vladimir’s plot should focus on this aspect.”

The White King, Ellie, and Rand easily reached a consensus.

“If there are no problems, you can rest for a bit, and we’ll set off tomorrow,” said the White King, Berlan, with a serious expression. “My intelligence personnel have discovered some altars set up by the orcs, and we’ll begin destroying them tomorrow.”

It seems that the White King's strategy is similar to Ellie's.

They all planned to use the White King's high mobility and destructive power to carry out a bomber-style pinpoint destruction strategy.

Can we only say they truly are "siblings"?

Tonight should be the last time I can relax.

There are still many doubts surrounding the confrontation with Grand Prince Vladimir, as the White King has pointed out.

But regardless of whether these altars currently under investigation are a smokescreen by Grand Prince Vladimir, this is the first thing that needs to be addressed.

The altars are definitely the primary target; we can't just ignore them because we suspect a conspiracy.

Rand stopped thinking about it and began to prepare and rest.

Since only Ellie and Rand came this time, they don't need to stay outside anymore.

Ellie and Rand can live in the palace.

then……

Rand, Ellie, and Berlan were in the same bathroom.

Since the important matters had already been discussed in the palace and study, Ellie thought that this break before work should now be extended a little to... personal matters.

So, in the White King's bath, while taking a shower.

Ellie led Rand, bypassing all the palace maids, and broke in.

The White King's perception was indeed astonishing, so there was no situation where Rand and Ellie broke in while Berlan was changing clothes or had just been naked.

When Rand and Ellie saw Berlan, she was already wearing a dress made of ice crystals, and sitting by the bathtub, she had the air of an ice queen.

The White King frowned at the two of them: "What are you doing here?"

Ellie winked playfully.

Then he dragged Rand into the bath.

The White King sighed and rubbed his forehead in exasperation.

He then moved a little further away and entered the bath. The rising steam from the bath obscured the White King's body.

Actually, if Rand had barged in alone, Berlan would have just let Rand look around.

But given the current situation, Berlan needs to take some protective measures.

She couldn't let Ellie and Rand push their luck.

Berlan usually disguises himself as a man when he is out in public.

Rand knows that Berlan is actually a woman, Ellie knows that Rand knows that Berlan is actually a woman, and Berlan knows that Ellie knows that Rand knows that Berlan is actually a woman.

However, this kind of thing can't be brought up in person, especially not in the bathhouse, otherwise it would be too embarrassing.

And Berlan was very clear that she had to protect herself and not let Rand and Ellie take advantage of her.

Otherwise, very difficult situations may arise.

As queen, her military prowess allowed her to eliminate almost anyone who plotted against her.

However, this does not include Ellie and Rand.

If Rand and Ellie rushed over and tried to do something, she would have no choice but to run away.

Although it is not very regal for a king to run away when faced with trouble.

But can she still lay a hand on Rand or Ellie?

If you bumped and hurt yourself, then...

So after Ellie and Rand entered the bath, Berlan moved a little further away, immersing himself completely in the water, leaving only his head sticking out as he leaned against the steps, looking up at the bathroom ceiling.

Seeing how wary Berlan was, Ellie and Rand didn't pursue the matter any further, but instead started chatting.

"Sister, is there anything you want to do?" Ellie asked casually, starting a conversation.

"I'm content just to see you doing well," Berlan gave the standard answer.

Ellie blew bubbles in the pool and muttered, "Can't you be honest for once? That's such a cunning answer."

“Then I’d like to go somewhere warmer to stay for a while, if that opportunity ever comes,” Berlan said softly, still looking at the ceiling.

The sound was as soft as a cloud, but Ellie and Rand could still hear it clearly.

(End of this chapter)