Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 187 New Capital
The Kingdom of Aetherin, a dilapidated empire, a small country whose very name as a kingdom is barely acceptable.

After all, no kingdom can even muster a handful of cities that pay taxes, and most of those cities are just nominally independent cities.

His tribe is mainly composed of three of the five most common tribes on the continent. The number of lizardmen is decent, while the crown tribe (birdmen) does not like the climate here. Their true core tribes are catmen and horned hooves (cattle, horses, sheep, and deer), which can be considered as a lower-middle potential tribe.

There are no dominant rare breeds in China, and the more combative dog owners are mostly "small dogs".

None of the three main military groups are particularly powerful; the royal family can only be considered a big cat (lion). This often means that the most common race in the country is the cat race, which has a relatively low minimum performance level.

Fifty years ago, it would have been a third-rate country on the mainland.

It's probably at level five now, the kind of country that could be destroyed at any time.

"We absolutely cannot lose Radiant City."

The kingdom’s new capital is called New Linther City. In contrast to Old Linther City (the old capital), most people simply refer to it as the new capital, or at most add the prefix "New Linther City".

Contrary to what many people in Radiant City imagined, the new capital's scale and permanent population were only slightly better than Radiant City, but only by a limited margin.

The new capital is not even in the same league as the rumored metropolis. In terms of urban vitality and atmosphere, it is far inferior to the rapidly developing Glorious City in recent years.

After all, the city was built the year after the "Great Catastrophe of the Kingdom (Dragon Plague)," a forced construction that concentrated the power of the kingdom that year.

Its origins lie in the political will to unite the kingdom, and its continued existence is also primarily due to political reasons.

“Maintaining the new capital is too costly; we should have moved to a more suitable area for development long ago.”

The new capital is basically located on the outer edge of the "Grand Canyon" and not far from the old capital. The surrounding environment is quite bad.

Forget about developing industry, even the agricultural environment is quite poor. The canyon sculpted by the enormous dragon's breath still produces strange monsters and elemental life forms, as if that attack directly pierced through several planes.

Extreme weather is frequent in the surrounding area, and there are often strange and otherworldly disasters, including diseases, insect plagues, high temperatures, acid rain, and so on.

The old capital of Dragon's Breath Lands has long been out of control. It is still nominally part of the kingdom, but the rulers have long since become disobedient.

The city is home to all sorts of strange cultists and criminals, and these unstable factors are constantly draining the strength of the new capital and even the kingdom.

In fact, there has been ongoing discussion within the kingdom about whether to completely abandon the old capital region and relocate the capital to a more suitable location.

Radiant City is a choice that has garnered considerable attention.

"The kingdom must never move its capital again, not a second time in twenty years! The royal family and the kingdom's prestige will be destroyed, the city-states will stop paying taxes on time, and we will perish."

"But can we just keep dragging this on? Almost none of the kingdom's spies who went to the old capital came back. They either became corrupt and betrayed us, or they died tragically and were hung on the city walls. We should have stopped this rotting wound long ago, instead of continuing to pour resources into this bottomless pit."

"Yes, even if we get rid of the troubles in the old capital, what about that huge rift? It's constantly producing magic there; we should have abandoned this area long ago. Let's be realistic and embrace the new era."

Beneath the throne, the subjects were already in an uproar.

The queen, dressed in a blue and white robe, simply sat on her throne, seemingly calmly observing everything.

But the occasional glint in her eyes revealed that she was not just a decoration.

If Rean were here, he would be surprised to find that this queen is probably no longer the same person as the one in the portrait.

The girl's former gentleness has now turned into piercing frost; beneath the golden sapphire crown lies a cold face veiled in black.

Still beautiful and stunningly charming, but the sunlight turned into ice and snow, and the girl transformed into a queen with resentful eyes.

The gentle eyes in the portrait now held only majesty and hatred. Suddenly, she raised her scepter and gently tapped the marble floor of the throne.

"clatter."

Then, the noisy throne room fell silent instantly, demonstrating the Queen's authority.

Her phoenix eyes swept across the crowd, and the ministers under her gaze all lowered their heads before she finally spoke.

"The new capital is the only capital, and always will be." These calm words were a declaration and a command. No explanation, no debate, no discussion was needed; this was the king's will.

"Increase the training of mercenaries and troops, and reclaim the old capital as soon as possible. Let our allies from another world participate as well, and spend more bounties." Beneath this calm announcement lies a new battlefield and the loss of countless sums of money and lives.

After saying this, she got up and left. As soon as she stepped out the door, her ministers behind her started making a fuss again.

However, since the direction had already been determined, they could only argue within the scope that Wang had set.

The kingdom has weakened, but the royal family is still the same royal family, albeit somewhat reluctantly, but still possessing all the necessary assets.

"How could I possibly give up?" The Queen walked into the passageway, her tightly clenched red lips revealing that she was not as calm as she appeared.

Even if it is riddled with holes, a kingdom is still a kingdom, and a royal family is still a royal family. If the capital is abandoned and the agreed place is abandoned, then the kingdom will come to an end.

"are you sure?"

Beyond the open side room was an elderly wizard; the room was filled with crystal balls and skulls, making it quite eerie.

But this man, even twenty years ago, was a famous prophet on the mainland, Daniel Tu.

"We still can't pinpoint the location of the Hero's Sword. Lena did react suddenly, but the reaction is very strange, extremely strange. We need to prepare for the worst." The old wizard sighed. Despite investing astronomical sums of money and magical materials, they still couldn't locate the lost Hero's Armor and the Hero. It was a complete failure.

What's most frustrating is that we can't find out the truth about this matter. Based on past experience, it often involves the conspiracy of some deity.

“Lena showed some signs a few days ago (Rean, who was protecting Lana, left Radiant City), but she hasn’t shown any signs in the last few days. We must prepare for war against those who plot to overthrow our nation.”

As for who did it? There are too many possibilities. The fall of a kingdom is not just a boon for evil gods; the churches of benevolent gods can also feast on it.

On the map on the table, the location of Radiant City is represented by a red knight chess piece.

As for the decision-makers in this room, they only smelled the scent of conspiracy and trap. What a coincidence that Lena, who hadn't reacted for two years, suddenly reacted at this moment, and then disappeared again in the last few days.

This must be some conspirators or even evil gods fishing for a prey, and at this very moment, the royal family must take the bait.

Heroes can be found again, but there is only one sword for heroes.
"The Selection of the Next Hero"

"We have candidates, but it's pointless without finding the Hero's Sword. To be honest, even if we find the Hero, it's just another card to play. We need to be prepared to face the beasts head-on—two, or even three!"

On the map, there are two black pieces, one is an elephant head and the other is a deer head!
With the deer head positioned alongside the Red Knight, a symbol of heroism, Radiant City naturally became the center of attention.

The good news is that the elephant is in another country; the bad news is that it's just a neighboring country, and the border is still near the frontier. Considering the past events, it's almost certain that it will get up and charge in that direction.

The only saving grace is that the neighboring country is even more anxious than they are, and is currently carrying out a frantic encirclement and suppression and strengthening of the seal, so the kingdom should not need to devote its resources to that side.

Some things don't need to be said outright. Even if a hero is found, he will never be as good as the predecessor. And that predecessor, who risked his life to seal one away, was called the hero of the continent!

"The third one"

The most troublesome thing is that there is still a "bird" chess piece on the table. It is just placed on the table but has not been played.

"Its location is still undetermined?"

"We cannot be certain that it is within our territory solely based on the actions of the Beast Order and its hordes."

Queen Mariana shook her head.

"I consulted the records of the first king, who at the beginning of the kingdom did so because of his achievement in slaying a multi-headed evil bird. Prepare for the worst."

Relocate the capital? Where to? Unless they abandon all their territory, these resurrected ancient beings will still not let this kingdom go.

"I'll go to Radiant City first to strengthen its defenses, and while I'm at it, I'll bring that silly girl who ran away from home back to work. Heh, maybe there will be some extra gains." Recalling some legends she had learned from the Ancients, Queen Marianna touched her red lips, a hint of anticipation in her eyes.

“My connection with the hero runs deep, and perhaps I can gain something from it.” For some reason, Mariana always felt that she could find what she longed for in that city.

(End of this chapter)