Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 394 Ambition
The times are generally moving forward.

In theory, even the most difficult obstacles can be overcome, but in reality, some disasters simply have no solution.

When the clock of doomsday strikes again, there are always some who retreat faster than anyone else.
"Another earl?"

Looking at the farewell letter on the table and listening to the spy recount how the departing convoy had blocked an entire street, what angered Dania the most was that the departing person was actually a distant relative of hers, and the royal family had treated him quite well.

That count almost became the leader of the royal faction.

With a determined look, Dania opened the letter, only glancing at it twice.
"boom!"

An uncontrolled anger can turn to ashes, and this "farewell letter," which only contains polite greetings, is devoid of sincerity and substance from beginning to end, so there is naturally no need to salvage it.

"Just a month ago, he was still pledging his loyalty to me, encouraging those around him, and saying that he would definitely succeed in completing the seal and restoring the kingdom."

Former allies betrayed us without warning—no, there were warning signs.

"An elemental rift. Does it really drive them to despair?"

This is the key to everything; this news is quietly spreading throughout the city, causing a series of chain changes.

"Well, I can understand. The high-elemental tide is indeed a hopeless environment for us right now." The man lying on the sofa in the room also looked helpless.

What's the point of you talking to me about this, I'm just a lowly baron?

Rean, who was in pain all over, changed his position and sighed again.

He's still recovering from his injury. He's already working overtime during the day, and now he's being dragged into meetings. Girl, can you take care of this old man and let me rest for a couple of days?

Is it really that difficult?

"I'll put together a report for you in a couple of days. You can't really understand some things unless you experience them firsthand."

The appearance of elemental fissures in the underground ruins signifies the revelation of two realities.

One possibility is that there might be an area below with very high elemental tides, which would make the difficulty of the raid quite unpredictable. Who knows what kind of monsters might be there, and whether the local warriors will have enough time to adapt to a high-magic environment within two years.

The second reality is even more troublesome: the elemental rifts continuously increase the surrounding elemental concentration, which not only changes the environment but also brings in otherworldly elemental creatures and powerful monsters.

For some, this might be the last straw that broke the camel's back. They may have originally thought that the underground ruins were just a large underground labyrinth where they could trap a turtle in a jar. But if there were other elemental planes or entrances to other worlds within it, the closed labyrinth might have too many external factors. If a high-level elemental lord or even an elemental king ran in, then the game would be over prematurely.

It's normal for a rational nobleman to choose to cut their losses in time, and Rean can fully understand that, but he cannot forgive it.
"Betrayal is always betrayal, no matter the reason."

Dania took two deep breaths and put the matter aside for the time being. Just a few days ago, this guy was still talking big and even actively supporting the conservative faction to some extent. Now that he has suddenly betrayed them, losing support is a minor matter, but the shaken morale of the army is a major one.

"Look on the bright side, it's another earldom and earldom we've gained."

At least, this vacant position can be used to recruit other strong individuals.

If they leave at this time, they probably won't be able to take anything with them except their movable property and noble status. The royal family will not hesitate to confiscate their assets and real estate. The reason they are not detained is simply because they do not want to shake the morale of the army. In the kingdom, the real majority of power always belongs to the sum of the various nobles and lords.

This escape will likely wipe out these families' centuries of accumulated wealth. Even if the country that accepts them recognizes their noble titles, it will only be a low-value "nominal title," maintaining only basic respect and allowing them to operate certain licensed goods.

It can be said that they went from being noble privileged people to being lower-class nobles who were also wealthy. This made them easy targets. Even if they were willing to surrender to a country, if you can betray someone once, why can't you betray them a second time?
It's likely that their family will need decades to gain trust.

“He should go and seek refuge with the main family of the Kingdom of Otto.” Now, Rean finally understood.

If there were a main family and branch families, the situation would be much better. For example, if the kingdom were to fall, and Rean and Suliman went to the Sudar main family in the desert kingdom, they would at least be given basic "family member treatment." Even if they lost some reputation, they could start over as members of the main family.

However, they also gave up everything they had developed over the years. Perhaps the reason they made this decision was that, as great and ancient nobles, they had their own sources of information and judgment.

"They probably felt that the kingdom couldn't survive no matter what. Perhaps what they were saddened by wasn't the impending calamity two years later, but also the disaster of the demonic tide. Since the future looked bleak, they simply abandoned everything and just wanted to survive."

After thinking for a moment, Rean asked.

"Heroes, among those candidates for Lex, has anyone left?"

"No, they seem to have become even more proactive, with some even increasing their investment and hiring more staff."

Faced with a gamble where crisis and opportunity converge, it seems only natural that some retreat while others become greedy.

"That's good." The increased investment from those "heroes" put Rean at ease.

He wasn't entirely confident about the high-element tidal environment either, but since the candidates from those major countries thought they could handle it, that was at least some good news.

"I will give away this earldom title within six months." An earldom title is enough to make one a lord of a medium-sized city, which is a very valuable "asset".

Dania gritted her teeth and made her decision, intending to spread the news as soon as possible. What goes around comes around; perhaps the next "Earl of Military Merit" will become a pillar of the kingdom.

This was indeed the right choice; otherwise, the title would soon become worthless.

During times of war, the number of noble titles increases dramatically because when kingdoms and empires are in dire need of everything, official positions and noble titles are issued in large quantities.

However, this is also an opportunity for some of the younger generation. Every time, new heroes emerge from this opportunity. Strong people from humble backgrounds do indeed need this honorary title.

Whether starting as a mercenary group, establishing a territory and becoming a mountain king, or even saving a city from disaster and becoming a new lord, these "protagonists in the story" would find things much easier if they had a noble title.

This is very difficult under normal circumstances. There is a specific position for each person, and even if the royal family wanted to issue titles indiscriminately, they wouldn't have the means. Other nobles wouldn't recognize them either, so the title would be meaningless.

Now, it seems that all that is needed is to speed up the exploration of the underground ruins, and one can naturally gain fame and military merits, which would be normal in exchange for a noble title.

Dania stared at Rean, seemingly hinting at something.

"If he's an earl, it's normal for him to marry a viscount." Well, that's practically a direct hint.

Rean raised his hands in surrender, the tighter the snake tail wrapped around his waist, the more effective the temptation seemed.

But after thinking it over, Rean made his own request.

"Let's issue a batch of knight and baron titles to those outstanding explorers of the underground ruins. Since noble titles will depreciate sooner or later, let's start selling them off cheaply now. Once the reputation spreads, at this point, it should attract a group of strong individuals who aspire to become nobles."

After thinking for a moment, Rean added.

"Once the next heroic soul arrives and the new church is formed, I will lead the Weaver Knights into the underground ruins."

(End of this chapter)