After I died, my personal maid rebelled.

Leading Luna along the tree-lined paths of the academy, Frank sighed deeply, pointing to the distant teaching clock tower and saying, "People say that all the heroes of the world come from Central Academy, but neither your brother nor I were admitted to this school when we were young. What do you think is the reason?"

Luna pondered for a moment, nodded and smiled. Compared to her brother's question about death, the king's questions were child's play.

"Because even heroes need a place to use their talents, and now my brother's most important minister is the top graduate of the Central Academy back then."

"yes……"

Frank stopped, catching the sunlight filtering through his fingers as Luna's words struck a chord with him.

A few days ago, a minister even dared to criticize him by saying, "His Majesty didn't attend the Central Academy, so it's normal that he doesn't understand these things."

Yes, that's right. He used to be just a second prince, so the old king didn't allow him to enroll in the Central Academy in order to prevent him from cultivating his own power base.

But what about the eldest prince, who was also an alumnus of yours? He still lost to me in the coup!

Frank: Go ahead and use the Xuanwu Gate inheritance law. You'll use it and no one will say a word.

On the day the news of the old king's death reached the capital, the eldest prince was still there discussing countermeasures with his ministers and the issue of war and peace with the demons.

Only Frank ran all the way into the palace and sprinted to the old queen, crying out: "Mother, Father is gone!"

You think he's filial? Not at all!

After a tearful scene of maternal love and filial piety, Frank secretly stole the military tally, at which point the only power to mobilize troops in the palace guards was in the hands of the old queen.

That afternoon, no sooner had the eldest prince entered the palace than Frank mobilized the guards and launched a coup in the queen's name, killing the queen's other son.

Thinking of this, Frank couldn't help but sneer. The struggle for the crown prince's position has always been like this; if anyone is to blame, it's the eldest prince for being too confident, still believing he could inherit the throne.

Read more history books! Don't look at things from far back, just look at our father! Why do you think he became king even though he was the fourth son?

However, after becoming king as he had hoped, Frank found that things were not as smooth as he had imagined.

Because his faction consisted of small fry, the centrists were ungrateful wretches who only cared about expanding their own power, while the eldest prince's faction consisted mostly of people in high positions of power who were not easily moved.

This has led to a peculiar situation where you are the king and I am the nobleman.

After spending time with these insects, Frank looked north again, and even Oswald's unfamiliar face seemed to have become handsome.

Why? Because Oswald, despite being a duke, had no faction, and he didn't even care who or how he became king.

However, what Frank was trying to gain was the support of these kinds of people!

He even began to understand his estranged father; the Charles family was truly loyal, and when they lost a battle, they all died together, not a single deserter.

"Miss Luna, I heard that you've had some inconvenience staying at the Duke's mansion and have had a long and tiring journey. Why don't you move into the palace for the next few days so I can show you some hospitality?"

In a remote corner of the northern territory, the battle has entered a fierce stage.

Experience has shown that once a ruler is determined to suppress bandits, the fighting power of his regular army far surpasses that of this rabble.

The small village in front of Red, occupied by bandits, didn't even have a decent wooden wall. A volley of arrows from the elite knights easily broke down the enemy's defenses.

If we send the knights out now, we could probably win in just ten minutes.

But in order to train the militia and let them know what war is all about, Red ordered the militia to surround the village completely and then let them gradually erode it, launching attacks in an orderly manner.

The two sides fought back and forth in a very lively manner. The militia's battle formation was simple and effective, with a front row of shield soldiers and two rows of spearmen behind them. Their only tactic was to block the enemy and stab them wildly.

Even if they encounter a tough opponent, it doesn't matter. The knights in full armor leisurely follow behind them. If they can't win, they just need to call out. These heavily armored knights, armed to the teeth, are no different from wolves among sheep when they charge into a band of bandits.

So don't be fooled by the deafening battle cries on the battlefield; in Red's eyes, it's nothing more than children playing house.

Red stood with his hands on his hips and watched for a while. Just as he was about to return to his camp to rest after the surrendered soldiers had appeared, a cavalryman rode up to him.

"Captain, Lady Elene has given you the password!"

Reid snorted coldly, still standing with his hands on his hips. "What did that treacherous minister say?!"

"Uh..." The cavalryman scratched his head, pretending not to hear anything. "Lady Elene says that the area where the undead have appeared is within Earl Rondo's territory, and orders you to go and investigate immediately."

"understood."

Impatiently waving his hand, Red muttered curses under his breath, then turned and ordered a general offensive.

He didn't take the undead seriously at all. He was doing a good job of suppressing bandits, but Eleanor insisted on using her power to interfere in military affairs.

Moreover, Earl Rondo is a veteran general with first-rate military command skills. What trouble could possibly arise on his territory...?

"Fate unknown?"

Elena suddenly stood up, knocking over the teacup on the table. Her pupils dilated for a moment before quickly regaining their composure. "Don't rush, tell me the details."

The soldier who came to deliver the news was covered in blood, and he knelt on the ground, weeping bitterly as he recounted the whole incident.

Four days ago, following Elene's orders, Red ordered the militia to escort the prisoners back to Ice City, while he himself led three hundred elite knights to Earl Rondo's territory.

In Reid's eyes, even if a necromancer existed, his elite troops were more than capable of handling him.

The group had been fine along the way, but just as they were crossing the mountains and about to reach the city of the Earl's territory, they were suddenly attacked by a large army of undead!

Of course, the combat strength of low-level undead is inferior to that of the militia, and even if their numbers are slightly greater, they wouldn't pose much of a problem against a well-trained army, but...

"An immortal python?"

Even Elena couldn't help but gasp in surprise.

This world has many ancient and powerful creatures, many of whom existed even before the goddess created the races.

The Undying Python is an S-class calamity evolved from the Mountain and River Python through a zombie transformation.

In terms of individual strength, the Mountain and River Python is no less than the dragon race, which can easily destroy cities. Moreover, because its body is incredibly large, it can traverse the continent like a moving mountain peak or a rushing river, hence the name Mountain and River Python.

Elena's first reaction was that it was all over. S-rank was a level of heroism. Even in the entire kingdom, there were only two S-rank adventurer teams.

Should we contact the Mage's Guild, the Adventurers' Guild, or ask the Kingdom for help...?

"My lord, Commander Red is severely wounded, and of the three hundred brothers, only a dozen or so have survived. They are still trapped in Earl Rondo's city. My lord, please quickly request reinforcements from the Duke!"

Duke!

As if she had immediately found her anchor, Elena, her hands trembling, ordered, "Issue the order: martial law throughout the entire Northern Territory! All soldiers return to their camps! Your Grace, please return to Ice City immediately!"

clang!clang!clang!

The bell tower of Ice City rang again, and after troop after cavalrymen galloped out of the city, the city gates of Ice City slammed shut once more.

In the middle of the night, in the dimly lit wine cellar of the Duke's mansion.

Jenny, carrying an oil lamp, finally found the missing Elena.

Elena seemed unaffected, continuing to carry her lamp without looking back, carefully examining the vintage of each bottle of red wine.

"You shouldn't have told the residents this." Jenny slowly walked down the steps, making a creaking sound, and came to Alene's side.

The light from the two lamps mingled, making the wine cellar seem brighter.

Her pupils reflected the deep red of the wine bottle as Elena calmly replied, "Everyone has the right to know."

Jenny immediately retorted, "The premise for them to be aware is that we have already taken effective action."

"The Duke is on his way back."

As if oblivious to the reproach in Jenny's tone, Elena stood in front of a wine cabinet for a long time before extending her hand.

"Don't you always like to make decisions on your own? What you should be doing now is contacting the Kingdom's Adventurers' Guild and offering them a generous reward to send an S-rank adventurer!"

Jenny was furious. She believed that Alene's attitude was not only a way of shirking responsibility, but also a way of delaying the resolution of the disaster.

You must understand that at this moment, whether it's a day earlier or a day later, it will determine the life or death of countless people.

"I've made my decision, Miss Janet, and it wasn't easy." Eleanor finally took out the bottle of red wine, the one she had personally placed there four years ago.

She gently stroked the bottle, and under Jenny's angry and confused gaze, she slowly said, "An S-rank calamity can indeed be resolved by adventurers of the same level, but they won't take the risk."

"The nun can interpret the teachings of the goddess, but she overestimates the human heart. Adventurers are greedy for money, but they also value their lives. The higher a person's position, the more they will weigh the pros and cons. Why should you expect a group of rich people to risk their lives for your money? They are no longer the poor boys who dared to lick blood from the swords."

Upon hearing this, Jenny was stunned for a long time. "What about the king's army?"

"The king's ministers and nobles will not allow him to send troops. Even if the king defies public opinion, who can guarantee that the royal army will leave after the disaster is resolved?"

History has proven time and again that humans are inherently self-interested beings. Expecting them to sacrifice themselves for the greater good or to fight for unity is more laughable than believing that demons love peace.

Putting aside ideals, Jenny couldn't refute this point at all. She was surprised to find that Alene was still as calm as ever.

Eleanor never lost her mind; this de facto second-in-command of the Northern Territory had already considered all possible solutions.

But Janice still believed that Eleanor was avoiding the issue. The Northern Territory needed immediate action; it couldn't be delayed any longer. "What will we do after the Duke returns?"

"You still don't understand what I mean, Miss Jane." Clutching the bottle of red wine tightly, Eileen picked up the lantern again, staring at her with icy eyes, and said, "I told you, the Duke is already on his way back."