Divine Kingship

Chapter 555 The New King of the Kingdom of Bolun Writes a Letter to the New Holy City
The ministers remained silent.

When they first saw that the eldest prince intended to attack Rand, everyone was disdainful and came to dissuade him.

The old king was already considered skilled in warfare.

But he couldn't get the better of Rand.

The fallen hero, Prince Alex, also died in the battle against Rand.

No one believed that the eldest prince would be able to do anything to Rand after he ascended the throne.

But now everyone understands that the eldest prince was right.

With the population boom, it is inevitable that Rand's power will expand. When they attack the Kingdom of Bolen, how will they cope?
It is unrealistic to expect Rand to become a mild-mannered lord without ambition after he becomes powerful.

At this point, what the eldest prince suggested—uniting with some of Rand's common enemies—might actually be a method with a fairly high success rate.

With the northern orcs defeated, the cult forces in the south gradually weakened under the attacks and pursuit of the New Holy City, the Primordial Faction, and the Church of the Goddess of Harvest and Health. The continent has slowly returned to peace.

Both the northern and southern countries have entered a period of recuperation and rest.

Of course, there are also some ambitious people who are eager to make a move. After all, the Torch Church, which was supposed to maintain peace, has split up. None of the three factions in the Torch Church can or want to continue to forcibly maintain peace.

However, after experiencing so many disasters, even the most ambitious people intend to take a few years to recuperate.

The Kingdom of Bologna also needed to recuperate, or rather, it needed to rest more than most other countries, but they couldn't afford to wait.

“Your Highness is right.” Since the coronation ceremony had not yet taken place, the ministers still referred to the soon-to-be-crowned king as the Crown Prince.

The old king has now basically stepped down, and the eldest prince has essentially succeeded to the throne, with only a coronation ceremony yet to be held.

“But what should we do? What strategy does Your Highness have? Ordinary methods won’t be enough to deal with that cunning Duke Rand,” one of the ministers said.

The eldest prince sneered inwardly, thinking, "They're all fools after all."

“Analyzing past battles makes it easy to see that one major reason for our defeat in the war against Rand was that we didn’t act quickly enough, and another is that we definitely have many traitors tipping off Rand,” the eldest prince said. “This time we should operate covertly, gather our strength, and strike Rand with a thunderous blow.”

This is why the eldest prince decided to invite Rand to his coronation ceremony.

If Rand really comes to participate, then he will disregard any international consensus and directly surround and kill Rand in the royal city of the Kingdom of Bolun.

This would certainly lead to a diplomatic predicament for the Kingdom of Bolun, and could even directly cause a war between the Kingdom of Frostmoon and the Kingdom of Bolun.

But Rand's personal value was enough for the Kingdom of Bolen to disregard these costs.

Unfortunately, it seems that Rand does not have the "courage" to attend the coronation ceremony.

There was only one person present who was very out of place: the former Minister of Military Affairs. His Highness the Crown Prince was indeed intelligent, but he was too young and too arrogant.

Many things are logically clear, but in reality, they are very difficult to do well.

However, His Highness the Crown Prince does not have much experience in handling affairs.

The old king would consult me ​​before the war, because although he didn't like me, he knew when to consult whom.

It seems that he has been taken for a fool by the Crown Prince.

……

At this time, Rand had already arrived in the Holy Moon Territory.

This land, which theoretically still belongs to the Kingdom of Bolen but has actually been taken over by Rand, has developed considerably.

RAND is very good at infrastructure development.

This land was in a very good location. Although it was turned into ruins by the war, rebuilding is always much easier than starting from scratch.

The Holy Moon Territory now has some basic output and is basically breaking even. If it continues to develop like this for a few more years, it will bring considerable benefits to Rand.

Rand, Elsa, and Berlan disembarked from the carriage.

Elsa has been keeping her sights on Berlan recently.

I heard that Ellie was slightly injured in the north, but it wasn't serious. However, Elsa noticed that Ellie's walking posture seemed to have changed.

That's quite normal, after all, he was injured, and some injuries might make walking difficult.

Elsa was frequently injured before meeting Rand, so she was quite experienced in getting hurt.

However, her current focus on Berlan is not due to concern about his injuries, as she is not particularly skilled in medicine.

If Ellie had really suffered some serious injury, then Rand would definitely be very worried, but since Rand isn't worried, then there must be nothing wrong.

She's recently developed a strange interest in stealing from Ellie again.

The "Ellie" in front of her always gave off a feeling that she had never been stolen from, which made Elsa's heart itch.

Could it be because I've been in the north for too long that my theft count has been refreshed?
Looks like we need to find an opportunity to make a move.

In fact, since becoming a top-tier professional, Elsa's kleptomania hasn't disappeared, but her self-control has actually improved a lot.

At least when faced with a genuine need to restrain herself, Elsa doesn't succumb to her kleptomania and reach out.

But now is not the time when we really need to hold back.

Her relationship with Ellie wasn't bad.

Stealing something is no big deal, and she'll return it immediately afterward.

The question now is not whether to steal, but what to steal.

Elsa rubbed her chin very discreetly.

Berlan observed all of these actions.

Berlan felt he was being watched by something, and now it seemed to be Elsa.

Berlan's use of Ellie's body will significantly weaken his sensory abilities.

However, it still far surpasses the level of the most advanced professionals.

At least Elsa's occasional covert spying was occasionally discovered by Berlan.

After arriving in the Holy Moon Territory, it was time for work meetings again.

A meeting was held to discuss potential changes in the political landscape and military operations within the Kingdom of Bolen.

“If the Kingdom of Bolen really intends to attack, what strategies might they employ?” Rand asked.

Tanl offered some directions. If the Kingdom of Bolen were to attack the Holy Moon Territory, the most likely military strategy would be to sever the Holy Moon Territory's connection with other territories of Land, then besiege and finally launch a siege.

After so many wars with the Kingdom of Bolen, Rand and Tanl were already very clear about the level of Bolen's military strength.

The naval fleet remains a formidable force.

It's still not something Rand can easily take advantage of.

However, their strength on land... while on the surface they are much stronger than Duke Rand, if the Kingdom of Bolen really attacks on land, Rand is not so afraid.

The knights were indeed brave, but that was all. Due to the enormous profits from the sea, the Kingdom of Bolen was very wealthy, and their knights were well-equipped. However, they did not arm and train their serfs and villagers because of their wealth, which meant that the Kingdom of Bolen's financial advantage could not be fully utilized.

As for other possibilities... if the Kingdom of Bolen intends to gather more allies to launch an attack on Land.

That just means there is indeed some danger.

But I'm not too scared.

The Frostmoon Kingdom was prepared to provide military support to Land at any time.

The Frostmoon Kingdom has designated an area on the edge of Land's territory to garrison troops.

This place is home to a large number of troops belonging to Rand's allies, such as the army of the Marquis of Blackbrown, the army of the Duke of Thorns, and the army of the Stag family.

These troops belong to the families of various allies, so they can be deployed directly to assist Rand without needing to go through state affairs discussions.

The response was swift, the army was of high quality, and RAND could directly command them.

This gives Rand a significant advantage in terms of military mobilization speed and troop quality when dealing with the Kingdom of Bolen on land.

All I can say is that having allies you can trust is a good thing.

This is what RAND earned by not hoarding profits, being willing to share them with allies, and providing strong support in accordance with the alliance when allies needed assistance.

The thirteenth son of the Black Brown Marquis has now returned to the south, but he has not returned to the resort to study. Instead, he has returned to the Black Brown Marquis's territory.

The thirteenth son of the Black Brown Marquis is now the new Black Brown Marquis and will soon assume the position of Minister of Military Affairs in the Frostmoon Kingdom.

While handling affairs in the White Kingdom, Rand even dispatched some troops to help the thirteenth son of the Black Brown Marquis search for his father's remains.

Finally, a sword and a somewhat dirty and tattered cloak were recovered and transported back to the Black Brown family.

As for why the new Marquis of Black Brown was able to serve as Minister of Military Affairs.

In this natural world, power has always arisen from the strength of a family.

The reason is simple: if these powerful nobles disagree, then the nominal power cannot be implemented; you'll see whether the subordinates carry it out or not.

Only someone like Rand can disregard some of the original rules to gain power, but Rand himself gained power because his territory was strong enough.

Of course, making decisions on national affairs requires qualifications and ability.

King Marcus wouldn't hand over military affairs to the new Black Brown Marquis right away. If there really isn't a suitable one, then Marcus himself will have to work harder. After all, the Frostmoon Kingdom has managed without a Minister of Military Affairs for the past few years, hasn't it?
The Frostmoon Kingdom has Rand, a military strategist, to protect it.

In any case, since Rand's birth, King Marcus has not devoted much attention to foreign military affairs.

Just blindly support Rand. As long as you give Rand enough support, he will definitely bring the victory he deserves.

Rand is a smart man, and he treats his own people very well. Rand always prioritizes the interests of his allies, so King Marcus is not worried that his family will suffer any losses after Rand develops.

It should be said that with the development of Rand, the Thorn Duke family has already gained and will continue to gain substantial benefits, as will the nobles of the Frostmoon Kingdom.

……

Rand has indeed had many enemies in this world.

However, most of them are cultists, and the only legitimate human forces that have a significant hatred towards him are the Kingdom of Bolun, the Kingdom of Lunsa, and the New Holy City.

The RAND Corporation doesn't actually have very good relations with some countries to the south, but there's no real animosity between them; it's a classic case of befriending distant states while attacking nearby ones.

Rand even played a significant role in the marriage alliance between the Lionheart Kingdom and the Thorn Family.

If the Kingdom of Bolen wants to unite with some forces that are hostile to Land.

The only option left is to try uniting with the Kingdom of Lensa and the New Holy City.

Of course, it is also necessary to secretly contact some less respectable forces.

For example, the remnants of the Azure King's forces in the south.

After the death of the Azure King, his power collapsed overnight, and he was reduced to a group of rural bandits and exiled vampires.

These beings, whom humans directly regard as enemies, cannot be eradicated in a short time. If the Kingdom of Bolun is willing to accept a portion of them, these people can also be used by the Kingdom of Bolun.

Initially, the eldest prince wanted to cooperate with the cultists, but the ministers sternly rejected his proposal.

Because of the schism within the Church of the Torch, nations across the world were able to savor the "sweetness" of war.

However, due to the division and weakening of the Torch Church, nations around the world realized just how terrifying the power of those seemingly insignificant cultists could be without the Torch Church's suppression.

Before the Scourge gained momentum after building the City of the Dead and spreading its influence, no country thought the Scourge was capable of anything.
Back then, everyone just thought that the countries facing the threat of the City of the Dead would be more unlucky, but no country thought it would be wiped out by the undead.

But as it turns out, without the support of various countries and RAND's strategy, some human nations might have really been wiped out by the undead, and then the snowball would have swept across the world.

Therefore, at least while the pain was still lingering, the ministers of the Kingdom of Bolun were completely unable to accept the use of the power of cultists.

The eldest prince believed that power itself is neither good nor evil; only those who use it improperly will harm themselves.

It's like a sword; only those who don't know how to use a sword can hurt themselves, while for those who do, it's just a sharp weapon.

These fools in the Kingdom of Bolun are too weak, but everyone disagrees, and the eldest prince can't force the issue.

Then let's write to the New Holy City first. The New Holy City has been humiliated by the Torch Church's nascent faction, which is supported by Rand. The New Holy City must be eager to get revenge, and the Kingdom of Bolun will provide such an opportunity.

Soon, the elderly knight commander, far away in the new holy city, received a letter from the eldest prince.

The letter stated that the Kingdom of Bolen was going to join forces with the New Holy City to carry out a highly secretive surprise attack to destroy Rand, that evil anti-human element.

The elderly knight fell silent and handed the letter to one of Rand's subordinates.

After reading the letter, Rand's subordinate remained silent for a moment before saying, "I will inform Lord Rand."

“Actually, our new Holy City can also cooperate.” The old knight commander tapped the sandalwood tabletop illuminated by candlelight with his aged and thin fingers. “For example, when everything is ready and the operation is about to begin, we can switch sides at the last minute.”

(End of this chapter)