Man on the ark, forced to become king

This completely eroded his patience for playing along with these old fogies.

Time passed slowly, wasted in silence. Seeing that no one spoke, Kosiché tapped his fingers on the table, instantly drawing everyone's attention.

"Shouldn't we get down to business?"

"..."

The legends passed down among the ancient nobility swept through everyone's minds. The three silent grand dukes all became vigilant. No one dared to underestimate Kosicé just because he was the first to speak, or to underestimate this young man's appearance.

The immortal Koschche is a secret legend circulating among the upper echelons of Ursus. Some people take it as a malicious injury or an absurd rumor that came from who-knows-where.

However, truly learned and sophisticated nobles know that this legend is not unfounded.

According to known information, the successive Dukes of Koschei all possessed certain common traits. Some suspect that the Koschei family may have mastered some kind of magic that allows them to pass on memories, or some kind of dark magic that can steal the bodies of others.

These intelligence reports are all unverified, but they all have supporting evidence. Regardless of the arguments, it is an indisputable fact that the Dukes of Koschche have been strikingly similar throughout the ages.

They come from various races and age groups, and even their genders are not fixed. Apart from the inherited ducal titles, they should not have much in common. However, the behavior of the 'Koschei' dukes is so bizarre when statistically analyzed.

—They are almost like the same person, the same soul that has survived from history to the present day, appearing on this land in different faces.

Regardless of which of those speculations is true, the upper nobility should be sufficiently wary of this 'outlier'.

"Our Emperor has relinquished some of the appointment authority for the new army, as well as three positions in the council, in exchange for which he wants to mobilize the Third and Fourth Armies to the southern ice plains, ostensibly to suppress bandits. This is ridiculous."

"I don't think that barren land has any value, but the positions of the council and the new army are indeed worth fighting for. What do you all think?"

The eldest among those present, Duke Nicholas, paused briefly before asking a question. Although he addressed the group, his gaze lingered on Kosiché, clearly wanting to hear his opinion.

'How can I see it? I'll sit and watch.'

Kosiché sneered inwardly, offering no reply.

He naturally knew the cause and effect of this matter. It was nothing more than the news of the death of the inner guards reaching the ears of the young emperor, giving him an excuse to use this as a breakthrough to take back some power from the nobles.

The southern ice plains themselves are worthless. What the emperor wants is simply to mobilize the army groups. Once the third and fourth army groups, which are no longer under imperial control, are mobilized and enter the ice plains, the threat they pose will be greatly reduced, and the hawkish old nobles will be weakened for a period of time.

They could certainly accept the benefits offered by the emperor, and in the process, they would also exchange some of their own interests. From the emperor's perspective, this was entirely a win-win situation.

The fact that the young emperor could come up with such a plan in his anger shows that he was not entirely useless. If he could have laid a more solid foundation under the protection of the late emperor instead of hastily ascending the throne, perhaps he could have truly brought about change in Ursus.

But there are no "what ifs" in this world. Ursus's hope does not lie with him, and he is unaware of the nobles' methods. He simply believes that the bait he offers will bring him greater benefits.

Little did they know that sometimes... fish can swallow the bait and pull the angler into the water along with it.

"Kosiché, you have men in the Third Army, what do you have to say about that?"

Finding that Kosiché seemed unwilling to respond, Duke Nicholas asked again.

"I have no intention of participating in the struggle. You can have the positions in the parliament and the new army. I don't need either of them."

When directly called out, Kosic gave a straightforward answer, abandoning all the cryptic and ambiguous statements that required people to rack their brains, and clearly stating his position—he would not participate in this incident.

These dukes were all directly involved with the Third and Fourth Armies and owned considerable assets in the southern part of the Empire, so they were shrewd and calculating, always looking for ways to profit.

They had no idea what was on the southern ice sheet.

Ignorance is bliss, but Kosiché is different; he knows all too well what's on the ice sheet.

Talulah and the infected were irrelevant; what mattered was the man—he had his eye on Talulah.

Therefore, without any other reason, Talulah and the Reunion Movement are untouchable and must be avoided. The Southern Icefield has now become an untouchable forbidden zone.

Two army groups...

Ha, if two army groups go in, that's an army of 100,000 men!

Even if you released 100,000 pigs, they could turn the entire southern ice plains upside down!

With 100,000 people entering the ice plains, what can Reunion and Talulah do to stop them? They can't stop them!

The emperor had just given the order, and driven by self-interest, the nobles dared to accept it. They were courting death, and Kosiché was not willing to suffer the same fate.

If anything happens to Talulah and those in the Reunion movement who have caught that man's eye during the army's sweep, he has no doubt that Lin Lu will storm into their mansions and, in full view of everyone, twist their heads off.

Although they hadn't had much contact, based on his millennia of experience, Koschke could tell that Lin Lu was that kind of person.

They can come up with ideas, and they're ruthless in their execution.

He may abide by worldly rules and etiquette, but that's only because he wants to accept them; deep down, he doesn't really care.

He's a complete madman! Anyone who dares to anger him will inevitably pay the price!

so……

Let them eat this big cake that the emperor threw out; Kosiché has no intention of getting involved. Not only that, he plans to cut off all overt contact with them after he returns, go out for a walk to clear his head, stay far away, and never show his face until things are over.

Unlike others, Lin Lu possessed the means to completely kill him, and those things were far from enough for him to risk his life for!

The Southern Ice Plains are open to anyone who wants to go, but he's definitely not going.

"This……"

Duke Nicholas's breath hitched; he had never expected this outcome.

Not participating—a seemingly simple statement, but in reality, it represents a huge profit that would make anyone envious. Are they just going to give it up like that? What is this venomous snake up to now?

"You're not participating?"

Duke Ulshiri spoke up to confirm, and even Duke Romanov, who had been silent until now, looked over.

"Yes, I will not get involved in anything related to this, and I will leave after the meeting, go on a nice trip, and come back after everything is completely over."

'Trouble'

Nikolai, Ulshiri, and Romanov exchanged a glance, their hearts leaping into their throats simultaneously.

Kosic was being far too blunt, so blunt that he made no attempt to conceal his true intentions; he was practically saying, "I'm scared and need to go out and lay low for a while."

...This is very unusual and a very dangerous sign.

There are now two possibilities: one is that the venomous snake has seemingly given up, but is actually secretly plotting a conspiracy; it is not giving up its interests, but rather wanting more.

But this possibility is very small, because if that were the case, there would be no need to go to such lengths or to speak so bluntly.

That leaves only the second possibility—Kosiché knows the cause of this incident, and may even be involved himself, because there is something on that ice field that he has to avoid.

Those who can hold the position of Grand Duke are not mindless brutes or fools; with the existing intelligence, they can deduce the whole story with just a little thought.

The emperor explained that an unknown enemy had appeared on the ice plains, causing heavy losses to the imperial guards who went to investigate, thus necessitating the dispatch of a large army to suppress it.

This reason was so absurd that no one believed it.

However, considering Koschke's reaction... this is something worth considering.

They are indeed seeking profit, but they are not so blind as to disregard everything else.

"Koschche, do you know anything?"

Ulrich leaned forward slightly and asked in a deep voice. Before Kosich could speak, Romanov quickly added, "Since you have taken the initiative to express your stance, then we can also offer an exchange that will satisfy you."

"Now, tell us what you know."

“I do know some things that you don’t, and they are very important, directly related to whether the operation on the southern ice sheet will be a gain or a loss.”

He picked up his glass and gently swirled it, watching the bright red liquid flow down the glass. Kosic looked up with a half-smile, glancing at each person.

Since he said it so bluntly, this is the result he wanted.

Not participating in the Icefield event doesn't mean you'll gain nothing.

"Tell me what you want."

Duke Nicholas spoke in a deep voice, his eyes narrowing.

“Ekaterina, I need that city. If you agree, I will tell you everything I know. Believe me, it will be absolutely worth it.”

“You are too greedy, Kosichek.”

With a furrowed brow on his aged face, Duke Nicholas slammed his hand on the table, clearly displeased with the request.

Catherine City, located within his territory, is a newly emerging industrial city, large in scale and populous, capable of generating countless profits.

What kind of message would be worth trading a mobile city for? And would it even be worth it?

I'm afraid he's crazy!

"No, no, no, you think that way because you don't know that a mobile city is nothing compared to that news."

"……Can."

Staring intently into Kosiché's eyes, Duke Nicholas remained silent for a long time before finally nodding in agreement.

He didn't think Koschei would joke about something like this. In the past, although the Duke of Koschei was known for his scheming, his reputation was among the best of all the nobles, at least in terms of foreign cooperation.

The loss of a mobile city could be shared equally among three grand dukes, which is not unacceptable, provided that the intelligence is indeed important enough.

“Catherine City is yours. I will withdraw all personnel controlling it and let your people take over, if your information truly satisfies me.”

"Don't worry, you will definitely be satisfied."

Koschke was in a hurry to leave and escape Lin Lu's pursuit, but with the reward within reach, he wasn't so anxious and could still squeeze out some time to show off his little tricks.

The wine in the glass swirled along the sides, splashing out droplets. Kosiché's gaze swept over the three grand dukes, his voice lowered considerably, and his gentle, conversational tone easily created a mysterious atmosphere, making the surroundings even quieter.

"Gentlemen, aren't you curious about what could possibly warrant the Emperor sending the Imperial Guards to investigate, and why they haven't succeeded yet?"

“My successor is on the southern ice sheet, because he knows a great deal.”