Extraordinary Rise: Starting Contract with the Silver Dragon Countess

Chapter 321 The Queen is still too much of a supermodel!

Gaius's three decisions brought a sigh of relief to the ministers present.

Gaius's calm and collected command gave them confidence. In their view, His Majesty's plan was still very feasible, and as long as it could be successfully completed, the dire situation would soon improve.

After considering for a moment, Prime Minister Merrick said:

“Your Majesty, summoning a divine avatar requires a vast amount of resources, and as far as I know, the God of Prophecy has not responded to the Pope of the Church of Prophecy for a long time. What if the summoning fails…”

King Gaius's voice resonated powerfully:

"A fragment of the Charter of Gods and Demons, bearing the mark left by the God of Prophecy. Using the fragment of the charter in conjunction with a semi-sacred artifact, unless the God of Prophecy has already perished, he will definitely send an avatar to respond!"

Prime Minister Merrick was quite surprised by King Gaius's determination.

The importance of the Charter fragments was already demonstrated at the last Northwest Regional Exchange Conference. The power contained within them is finite; once used, it is gone. Under normal circumstances, the Charter fragments will not be used lightly unless the country is in a critical situation.

Clearly, His Majesty's action indicates that he believes the situation in Ceylon has become so dire.

Gaius also went to great lengths, convinced that the fake princess's identity was false. When his grandfather usurped the throne, his biggest worry was that someone would use the legitimate royal bloodline to cause trouble.

Therefore, he was extremely ruthless and even secretly contacted the devilish Grand Duke of Hell to wipe out the entire legitimate royal bloodline.

That's why he dared to be so bold as to expend the divine power on the fragments of the charter to summon a divine avatar for verification.

Gaius glanced at the high-ranking officials and ministers below the stage and said in a cold voice:

"Gentlemen, no matter what my ancestors did, I am still a descendant of Cromwell, and I am of Cromwell's blood."

I know that many people here have connections with those nobles, and even maintain close contact with them.

I now tell you, and you can also pass on my words to those people: if they want to see that puppet, casually supported by Cohen Corleone, take over our Ceylon, then go ahead and do it.

"I will show them who the true masters of this land are!"

……

The news of Gaius's decision at the Imperial Council spread like wildfire the very next day. It's hard to say who leaked the information, or perhaps Gaius himself deliberately let it out.

The purpose is to deter those opportunists who want to take advantage of the situation.

Cohen knew even earlier; Marin, the secretary who was working for Prince Charles, reported the detailed intelligence to him that afternoon.

Gaius's three decisions were laid out before Cohen. Cohen looked at them for a moment, chuckled, and said:

"Your Majesty the King is quite bold, actually willing to spend such a great price to summon the avatar of the God of Prophecy, which surprises me quite a bit."

It seems he has an extremely keen understanding and judgment of the situation, knowing that if decisive measures are not taken, his family will be wiped out.

Baron Marin said with a wry smile:

"I was also shocked when I saw King Gaius's decision, but it also shows that His Majesty's actions hit a nerve, leaving him no choice but to do so."

Cohen smiled and said:

“I understand about this matter. By the way, inform your people and tell them to prepare themselves. After I annihilate Gaius’s vanguard at the Twin Towers Fortress, they will also follow Grand Duke Iliad into Ceylon.”

When Baron Marin heard Cohen speak so casually about annihilating Gaius's elite troops, he felt a surge of admiration and pride.

Only someone of this caliber deserves the title of Holy Son of the Star Clan.

After Baron Marin left, Windsordler and Grace came out from the side room.

The elf girl frowned slightly and asked:
"It's unexpected that Gaius would actually summon the god of prophecy. What if he succeeds?"

Cohen smiled slightly and said:

"It's nothing, don't worry. If Gaius really dares to do that, he'll be shooting himself in the foot."

Grace asked in astonishment:

"I mean, you can't possibly command gods to do things for you, can you?"

Cohen wore a mysterious smile:

"It's not that powerful, but I have a way to interfere with his summoning ritual. It would be best if I could take the opportunity to get my hands on the fragments of their charter."

Cohen's words were vague, and Grace muttered to herself before asking:

Are you confident in the Twin Towers Fortress?

Gaius's decision was clearly intended to intimidate the nobles who wanted to support Freya's rebellion by capturing the Twin Towers Fortress.

The Northwest Sector of Ceylon is quite powerful, with 5,000 elite troops and a large number of regular field troops under its command.

The Gavin family's guards alone cannot hold out for long.

If we really get taken down, it will be a huge blow to your plans.

Cohen affirmed the princess's words:

"Relying solely on the Gavin family is certainly not enough. Five days ago, Marshal Arnold secretly led his men to the Twin Towers Fortress. If Daniel dares to attack, he will definitely suffer a crushing defeat!"

Grace exclaimed in astonishment:

"How many people did you bring?"

Cohen gave a rough estimate:

"There are at least ten thousand people. We brought the orcs we recently trained with us. We'll take this opportunity to participate in some real combat and hone our teamwork."

Grace was even more surprised and asked:
"How did you lead more than 10,000 troops across the border to reach Gavin Territory?"

"Have you already taken over the legions on the Ceylon border?"

Things are different now. Ever since Cohen led his orc legion to wreak havoc at the Northwest Regional Exchange Conference, all the countries on the continent have begun to pay attention to the orc race.

Although they had not yet found a way to control the orcs, that did not stop them from stockpiling supplies in advance.

If it weren't for the help of the Golden Wing family and the Starburst race that are scattered across the continent, Effie's current influence would have prevented her from buying orcs long ago.

This has led to strict controls on orcs in various countries, and it is certainly impossible for Cohen to have his orc legions disguised as slave-hunting teams crossing the border again.

Therefore, Grace was quite surprised when she learned that Cohen was able to secretly send more than 10,000 orc troops to the Twin Towers fortress in the heart of Ceylon.

Although the Duke of Gavin's territory borders Alfiein, it is separated from it by the most elite border legion of the Northwest Ceylon theater.

Unless Cohen had secretly annihilated this border legion of over 100,000 men, how could he possibly have sent a legion of over 10,000 orcs to Gavin's territory?

Before Cohen could speak, Windsordler exclaimed in astonishment:
"Could it be that Adel has actually figured out that long-distance teleportation array?"

Cohen nodded, then shook his head:

"It's not a complete research result; it can only be considered a defective product."

Only one hundred people can be teleported at a time, and each teleportation requires one medium-grade magic crystal with spatial attributes.

Moreover, it's unstable; it will fail after more than ten transmissions.

When the Ceylon conquest plan officially began, Cohen secretly began sending troops to Gavin's territory. Although the cost of the transfer was high, it was definitely worth it.

Otherwise, relying solely on the guards of Gavin's territory wouldn't be enough to stop Gaius's elite army.

This was the first time Cohen had mentioned information about long-distance teleportation arrays in front of Grace. The princess looked at Windsordler with a puzzled expression, and the latter briefly explained to her the method of creating the ancient teleportation array obtained from the Sleeping Cave.

Grace's eyes lit up, making no attempt to hide her admiration:

"That's quite impressive. As far as I know, our empire also has a similar device, but it requires the help of a saint-level superhuman every time it is activated, and it also consumes a huge amount of resources."

If you can teleport a hundred people over a long distance using only a mid-grade magic crystal, then that's definitely more advanced than the teleportation array our empire uses, not to mention that this is just a defective product.

I'd long heard that Queen Effie, besides her beauty and extraordinary abilities, also possessed exceptional talent in formations. Now it seems her reputation is well-deserved. Your Majesty Corleone, you've truly struck gold!

Cohen said with a smile:

"Of course, my queen is definitely amazing."

However, Yadel usually has to handle state affairs and can only do research in his spare time, so the subsequent research progress is relatively slow.

I have the Pale Wings recruit a group of scholars from across the continent to study spatial arrays. I estimate that in another six months, a complete version of the teleportation array will be available.

If Your Highness has any talented individuals in this field, could you please recommend a few?

Grace nodded and said:

"I'll take a look back and find a few for you in the Empire."

Cohen put down the intelligence. Although Gaius's response was somewhat unexpected, the situation was generally under control.

As long as his prayer ceremony is disrupted, the Northwest War Zone's attack on the Twin Towers Fortress is repelled, and a stalemate is established, those fence-sitters will naturally side with the Princess of Restoration.

If Cohen's initial plan is officially successful, once Ceylon is completely engulfed in civil war, he can take advantage of the chaos and help Freya secretly seize real power in Ceylon.

Cohen looked at Grace and said with a smile:

“Your Highness, it’s been a long time since you’ve seen Gaius. Let’s go to the palace tonight.”

Grace was naturally happy to be able to go out alone with Cohen, but she still asked, "Where are we going?"
I reckon that because of Andrei's matter, Gaius probably won't treat the people of our Eastern Empire very well.

Cohen shook his head and said:
"On the contrary, if the situation in Ceylon had not deteriorated, Gaius might have been extremely opposed to the Eastern Empire. But now that the situation has reached this point, Gaius is definitely hoping that the Eastern Empire will also get involved."

At this point, having more allies increases your chances of winning.

We haven't received the military funds for building the ghost ship yet; we need to go and urge His Majesty Gaius.

In addition, according to intelligence from the Military Intelligence Bureau, Gaius was going to take action against Duke Gavin.

Iphiel is still young, and many things still require Duke Gavin's decisions. We need to find a way to rescue him!

Grace's red lips curved slightly as she chuckled softly:
"If Gaius knew that the culprit behind the domestic turmoil was still pressuring him to fund shipbuilding, he'd probably die of anger!"

"Then you can only blame it on him having a good son!"

……

King Gaius, despite the joint visit of the Pirate King and the Princess of the Eastern Empire, still wore a gentle and relaxed smile, as if the Gavin family rebellion and the return of the fake princess had no effect on him.

Also accompanying him were Prince Charles Cromwell, who was in charge of naval affairs, and Prime Minister Youd Merrick.

Compared to the relaxed and calm expression on King Gaius's face, the expressions of these two were not so natural, with deep worry etched between their brows.

Cohen chuckled inwardly, deliberately rubbing salt into Gaius's wound.

After exchanging pleasantries, he sighed and said:
"I really didn't expect so many things to happen in just a few days."

I've heard rumors about some of Your Majesty's ancestors' actions; why are they being brought up again after all these years?

Gaius's face flashed with a barely perceptible anger. This person really knew how to bring up the most sensitive topics. Did they come here today just to make a fool of themselves?
He concealed his inner emotions, his face remaining calm, and replied indifferently:
"Mr. Yann, can't you guess who the real culprit is hiding behind the scenes and orchestrating everything?"

Cohen quickly responded:
"I've heard that many people are speculating that it's King Efein. I'm just curious, what gives him the audacity to do something like this to the strongest kingdom on the continent!"

Gaius's answer was very direct:
"Greed knows no bounds, like a snake trying to swallow an elephant!"

This person is a calamity, a calamity for the entire Demon Tide Continent!
I guarantee that if he were next to the Eastern Empire, he would still dare to do such a thing to the Eastern Empire!

Gaius's words were clearly directed at Grace, but unfortunately, he chose the wrong target to sow discord.

Grace chuckled and said:

"I do believe that. He dared to push my cousin so far that he almost couldn't come back."

"Oh, speaking of which, the recent turmoil in Ceylon is somewhat related to our Eastern Empire. Is my cousin's advisor still serving His Majesty's third prince?"

Gaius said calmly:
"He has already left Ceylon."

Gaius did not offer any special response to Grace's apology; at this point, there was no point in investigating whose responsibility it was.

After talking for a while, seeing that Cohen hadn't gotten to the point, Gaius gave Prime Minister Merrick a wink, and the latter began to speak:
"Mr. Ya'en and Her Highness the Princess, is there anything we in Ceylon can do for you today?"

Cohen smiled and said:

"There is a small matter I wanted to ask: when can we begin construction of the first batch of ghost ships?"
It's not that I'm rushing you, it's just that there are some matters to attend to in the group these next few days, and His Highness and I may have to leave for a while. I was thinking of finalizing our deal before we go."

As expected, Gaius frowned slightly, remained silent for a moment, and then replied:
"Please rest assured, Mr. Yann, we in Ceylon will never go back on our promise. It's just that so many things have happened recently, and we can't raise the funds for the time being... How about this, give us another month. After one month, I will give you the first sum of money."

A month?

Cohen chuckled inwardly. Gaius was certain that his countermeasures would subdue the nobles, and he was waiting to levy military funds from them a month later.

Unfortunately, his plan was destined to fail.

Seeing that Gaius had given a definite promise, Cohen did not press the matter further. He told Gaius when he would be leaving Quesaon and then got up and left.

After seeing the Cohens off, Gaius's expression darkened considerably. Charles, standing nearby, remarked:
“I think Mr. Yann came here today with ill intentions. He knows perfectly well that we in Ceylon have so many problems right now, yet he still takes the opportunity to demand military funding.”

Prime Minister Merrick also chimed in:

"Did they receive some instructions from the Eastern Empire to leave Quesaon?"

Gaius was silent for a moment, then said:

"At least for now, Effie is a common enemy of Xia Zuo and us. Until we resolve this threat of Effie, the Eastern Empire is still on our side."

This Yann Hughes is ambitious too. He probably wants to take advantage of the chaos in Ceylon to gain some benefits. There's no need to worry about that. As long as our plan proceeds smoothly, Ceylon won't descend into chaos, and he'll obediently cooperate with us then.

Prime Minister Merrick agreed with his lord's analysis, replying:

"That should be the case, Your Majesty. All the necessary preparations have been completed. When would you like to begin the prayer ceremony?"

Gaius asked:
"Are the long-distance projection arrays ready?"

In major cities of Ceylon, the capitals of the five great empires and some influential kingdoms, images of prayer to the gods will be projected, and the results of the God of Prophecy's selection will be announced to the entire continent.

Let those false princesses elected by the rebels have nowhere to hide!

Prime Minister Merrick replied:
"Everything is ready. The domestic ones go without saying, and the international ones, after all, are a once-in-a-century grand event like praying to the gods, and all the countries have been very accommodating, taking the initiative to help us set up the magic arrays for projecting the images."

Prime Minister Merrick still had doubts. He was worried that if the prayers failed or something went wrong, it would have the opposite effect.

Gaius appeared very confident and said:

"Since everything is ready, let's do it in seven days."

After confirming the false princess's identity, let Daniel seize the opportunity to capture the Twin Towers Fortress, giving those rebels a double deterrent!

Having determined the specific time for the prayer, Gaius gave Prime Minister Merrick a knowing look, and the latter understood.

Prince Charles, knowing that his father and the Prime Minister had other matters to attend to, tactfully left on his own.

Gaius's voice was cold, as if devoid of any warmth:
"Are the people ready?"

Merrick answered quickly:

"A legendary mage who is proficient in transformation will not be able to detect anything unusual unless a saint-level transcendent is observing him at close range."

Gaius closed his eyes and remained silent for a long while before slowly speaking:
"Then let's do it tomorrow night, so Antoine can get one last good night's sleep."

"it is good."

In the Shadow Plane, Cohen overheard the entire conversation between Gaius and Merrick.

The Quissão station had been secretly monitoring all the high-ranking officials in Quissão, especially Prime Minister Merrick, who was King Gaius's most trusted confidant and the Military Intelligence Bureau had devoted a great deal of effort to monitoring.

Not long ago, Cohen received intelligence from the intelligence department that Prime Minister Merrick was secretly looking for a mage skilled in disguise.

After learning this information, Cohen roughly understood Gaius's plan.

He wanted to execute the Duke of Gavin, but for the sake of public opinion, he also needed to find someone to impersonate the Duke of Gavin and create the illusion that he was still alive.

Grace asked from the side:
"Shall we go and rescue Duke Gavin tonight?"

A look of seriousness flashed in Cohen's eyes as he spoke slowly:
"Your Highness, please go back first and have Julian find a safe house. After I rescue Gavin, I will place him there."

Grace frowned slightly:
"Can you go by yourself?"

Cohen smiled faintly:
"Don't worry, Gaius would never guess I'm in Quessarion, let alone that my sub-plane can bring others in and out!"

……

In the Royal City prison, the Duke of Gavin calmly read the book in his hands.

Although imprisoned, Gaius did not mistreat Gavin much; he still received the treatment he was entitled to.

The room was spacious and fully equipped with all kinds of living necessities. Apart from not being able to communicate with the outside world and having his extraordinary abilities restricted, everything else was just like a normal person's life.

Cohen walked through the Shadow Dimension and saw the environment where Duke Gavin was located through the passage. There was only one legendary-level transcendent guard outside the prison, and the other guards patrolled once an hour.

After patiently waiting for this round of patrols to end, Cohen flashed into view and appeared in front of Duke Gavin.

Duke Gavin's face showed deep astonishment. Although he had long been aware of Cohen's abilities, he still found it hard to believe that the ruler of a country would appear in front of him without any warning.

What kind of person is this, that, as the ruler of a country, would dare to travel alone to the other country's capital and act recklessly when the two countries are already mortal enemies?

Duke Gavin concealed his surprise and gave him an inquiring look.

Cohen handed the note to Duke Gavin, who read it and a hint of mockery appeared in his eyes.

Gaius finally couldn't resist taking action against himself; he was mentally prepared for it.

Cohen then handed over another bottle of potion. Without hesitation, Duke Gavin opened the potion and drank it down. Not long after, his consciousness dissipated and his soul fell into a deep sleep.

Cohen smiled slightly, took out a prepared letter from his pocket, placed it in the cell, and then with a flash of magic, took Duke Gavin and disappeared into the Shadow Dimension.

An hour later, when the guards, who were on their routine patrol, saw the empty prison, they felt dizzy and then began to shout in alarm.

King Gaius soon learned of this terrible news, and of course, he also received the letter Cohen had left for him.

Before long, piercing alarms echoed throughout Quesaon.

Having been back for some time, Cohen nestled in bed with Windsordale's smooth, jade-like body, listening to the sounds of searching and questioning coming from the street, a faint smile curving his lips.

(End of this chapter)