The Survival Rules of NPCs

Chapter 131 Your Era Belongs!

Who is the biggest threat to Holy Stone City right now?

Judging from the group of knights who rushed into the forest today, it was the Duke who was eyeing Holy Stone City with predatory intent.

Bright knew very well that Holy Stone City was as fragile as a chick to that high-ranking duke, and that he was probably at his limit of patience and could impulsively take over Holy Stone City at any moment.

Compared to Duke Os, who has temporarily escaped the physical crisis, the one who has been probing the outskirts of Holy Stone City is more dangerous and more prone to impulsiveness.

The Duke of Oss's situation is unlikely to be repeated with that one, and a direct confrontation is definitely not an option to resolve the crisis.

Even without a deep understanding, Bright knew the Duke's power: he commanded the Frostwolf Legion, the strongest in the Beth Empire, had two Sword Saints serving him, and the only remaining Shaman Archmage in the Beth Empire was his father-in-law. He himself was one of the four Sword Saints of the previous generation!

Not to mention that more than half of the empire's military nobles serve under him, and his power is such that even the royal family is extremely wary of this duke.

With just these small-time players in Holy Stone City, let alone the Duke himself, even a small regimental commander in his army group is practically invisible to the current players.

However, this does not mean that it is completely without weaknesses.

Duke Raven's greatest weakness is that he possesses the power to threaten the royal family of the Beth Empire, but he cannot directly usurp the throne and become emperor!

This means that, despite being feared by the royal family, he needs to maintain enough influence to prevent them from taking action against him. Such a powerful minister would be very dangerous in any dynasty, and the current Duke of Jackdaw is in a rather dangerous situation.

Intelligence 1: Since last year, Duke Jackdaw has doubled the number of permanent troops stationed on the outskirts of the forest. This has made it very difficult for him to fight against the Southern Witch Alliance on the southwestern front, resulting in many casualties on the front lines and the beginning of resentment towards him.

Intelligence 2: He has privately deployed elite troops to surround Holy Stone City, but has not been able to report anything of value. Although he can temporarily suppress everything with his prestige, his prestige will gradually diminish once problems arise elsewhere.

Intelligence 3: Since the initial probe into the Holy Stone City Forest, the elite troops he mobilized have suffered continuous casualties, now exceeding 30%. Yesterday, one of the four great sword saints, Gerst Ruin, and his elite knights were completely wiped out. The Empire will surely hold him accountable, and if His Excellency the Duke cannot provide sufficient convincing evidence of the value of these sacrifices, he will be attacked by the Council.

Intelligence 5: The Southern Witch Alliance is organizing a massive invasion that could sweep across most of the border. This will be crucial in the power struggle between the Royal Family and the Duke of the Raven, but it will also be key to the decline of the Beth Empire!

This intelligence was just updated three hours ago, and it provides a comprehensive introduction to the Duke of the Raven.

Bright immediately realized what the intelligence notes wanted him to do. The intelligence was always targeted, and this time, almost all of it pointed to the Duke, so the purpose was simple.

"A spy?" Several players from the North District were quite surprised. There was actually a spy within their ranks?

"How much do you know about the relationship between Duke Raven and the Imperial Family?" Bright asked with a smile.

Many assassins bowed their heads. They were all low-level assassins who did whatever the guild told them to do. Their targets were mostly overseas merchants. How could they possibly get involved in the conflict between the Duke and the royal family?

These things are hard to find out. It's not like the internet age of my previous life. Although Han Du occasionally releases some gossip about the nobility, how dare their small media organization talk about the secrets of the royal family and dukes?

At this moment, a faint voice came from behind: "The emperor of the Beth Empire is young. The previous king, Jarvan VII, was a wise emperor who was supported by many civil officials. However, in the Beth Empire, where military merit is paramount, the support of some ministers of the Interior is not enough to stabilize the country. Even the border taxes can only be collected if the Duke of the Raven has a good attitude. In many places, the taxes are directly transferred to the Duke of the Raven, the Grand Marshal of the Empire, for military expenses."

Brett felt ashamed upon hearing this; how powerful was this?

They're even directly intercepting taxes! The only way civil officials can control military generals is through logistics, but this imperial marshal can actually intercept taxes directly? I really don't know what power the imperial central government has left.

Everyone looked over, and some recognized the speaker as the magic-based professional who had sent them all the coordinates: Yu Nu Wu Gua.

"The right to seize border taxes is a wartime privilege of the Imperial Marshal. It was granted by an emergency decree signed by King Jarvan VI during the last Southern Witch invasion. At that time, Duke of the Raven was the most capable general in the Empire and was given high hopes. He lived up to expectations and successfully repelled the Southern Witch invasion. However, once the right is given away, it is very difficult to take it back."

"The charismatic Jarvan VI died not long after that battle, and at that time he was unable to deal with the Duke of the Raven, who was already a threat to the royal family. The young Jarvan VII succeeded to the throne and naturally could not suppress this imperial marshal who had the final say in the army. If the Duke of the Raven's family had not been weak and the conservative faction of the empire had not been powerful, the throne would have been usurped long ago."

"Where did this intelligence come from?" Tangyuan asked curiously.

"The military legal history of the Beth Empire..." Rain Woman said calmly, "This kind of thing is very common in the academy's library."

""

Everyone:

'

""

Indeed, scholars always seem to have more knowledge.

"And what's the situation now?" Bright continued to ask.

"The current situation is somewhat outdated, but roughly a few years ago, the situation was that Jarvan VIII, the current emperor, had taken over the support of his father's Minister of the Interior and was actively seeking the support of the army, including local lords. He has achieved some success in recent years. It must be said that this emperor's methods are more comprehensive than those of his weak father."

"The Duke of Jackdaw's situation is actually very similar to that of the Duke of Os in Mirandil. Both of them have no successor. The awkward thing is that although the current Duke of Jackdaw has a very high status, his chances of openly usurping the throne are not great."

"Why?" Tangyuan asked curiously.

"Because neither the Duke of Milandil nor the Rhine Empire's royal family wanted that hawkish leader to become the true emperor of the Beth Empire."

Upon hearing this, Bright immediately understood that if the Duke of the Raven launched a rebellion, not only would the conservatives try their best to stop it, but the Rhine Empire would even provide support, including the Duke of Os, who might take advantage of the chaos to eliminate the threat of the Duke of the Raven.

Beset by internal and external troubles, he, like the Duke of Os, could only endure in silence!

Several relationships formed a tacit balance, which was also a slow death. Why was Duke Os unwilling to die? Because the emperor would settle accounts with him, and once he died, the Rhine royal family's energy would be focused on him, freeing up Duke Raven.

Duke Raven's father and grandfather both died at the hands of the Oss father and son; this is a blood feud!

Even if the Rhine Empire, under pressure from the nobility, will not take drastic measures against the Igor family, the Duke of the Raven will certainly. Therefore, even if the Duke of Os becomes a living dead, he must persevere. This is the current situation.

"I see..." Bright chuckled. "So, the royal family of the Beth Empire is the best ally to deal with Duke Raven?"

A group of players from the North District suddenly realized that the Royal Club was their best ally? Have they become that sophisticated?

"Over the years, Duke Raven's resolve has clearly fallen short of Duke Os's. In his quest to uncover the secrets of the elves, he has already squandered too many resources in the forest, causing considerable discontent within the ranks. If we can provide sufficient intelligence, we may have the opportunity to help suppress Duke Raven's prestige!"

"That makes sense." Bright interlaced his fingers, looking at the other players. "I have two missions here; you can choose one of them."

The players all quickly looked at Bright.

"First: Make contact with the spy and provide him with the information that Gelster is dead. Gain his trust, and you will receive a reward of 100,000 gold and a high probability of gaining a massive amount of experience. Second: Investigate the traces of the Southern Witch Kingdom's attack. The more information you gather, the greater the reward you will receive from me. If you have crucial information, you can exchange it for at least one epic item!"

Epic item?

The group of players were shocked. Wasn't that something reserved for Imperial Generals? Could people of their level really be qualified to possess it? Were they dreaming?

"Don't doubt it..." Bright laughed, "You are at a pivotal juncture in a great era. Every step you take is changing history, and creating history. Raise your heads, your time has come!"