Spellcasting Gods

Chapter 1124 Counterattack

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened! Those damned bastards! They have actually gathered together to launch a rebellion and captured Tilsburg. According to the news sent back by the merchants who escaped, almost all the grain and necessities being transported to the capital have been forcibly seized. In less than half a day after the news came back, the price of all food has skyrocketed by two times. At this rate, the entire city will be plunged into famine in less than three days."

A bureaucrat who had been promoted from the bottom rushed into the palace in a panic, shouting breathlessly.

He looked so tense at that moment, as if the sky was about to fall and the end of the world was coming.

This is understandable, given his humble origins and understanding better than any nobleman how terrible things could be if famine struck.

Driven by hunger and death, all the desperate civilians will rise up in rebellion, either to be killed by fully armed soldiers or to rush into any place they believe has food to plunder.

In contrast, the nobles who stood by and watched were remarkably calm, as if they didn't take the crisis seriously at all.

It's important to understand that for the nobles who remain neutral for the time being, they can gain sufficient benefits regardless of whether the rebellion succeeds or not.

If they fail, they can expand without bloodshed by absorbing the wealth and land accumulated by the families that started the rebellion over generations.

If they were lucky enough to succeed, they could overthrow the queen who sat on the throne but did not represent their own interests, and restore the good old days of shared rule between the royal family and the nobility.

As for the lowly commoners at the bottom of the deadlock, what difference does it make? They're like rats anyway; no matter how many die, the number will increase rapidly once the situation stabilizes.

As he gazed at the ugly faces of these vassals, Vilia sneered inwardly.

After a long while, she deliberately feigned nonchalance and asked, "Oh? Rebellion? Didn't those guys voluntarily give up their noble titles and territories and prepare to go and serve a foreign monarch? Could it be that they suddenly changed their minds?"

“Your Majesty, according to custom, the royal family should promptly send an envoy to find out exactly what happened,” a nobleman stepped forward and suggested.

It goes without saying that he was trying to buy time for the rebels.

“An envoy? A group of civilians have occupied my land and are trying to cut off the food supply to the kingdom’s capital. And you still want me to send an envoy?” Vilia’s tone suddenly changed, and his eyes flashed with a sharp light like a knife.

"I'm so sorry! I forgot they're no longer nobles!" The man with the goatee trembled in fright and bowed deeply to conceal his true intentions.

Vilia was no fool; he understood that from the day he decided to centralize power, he had already placed himself in opposition to all the nobles.

The men standing in the palace hall were less vassals than potential enemies and parasites that needed to be eliminated in the future.

Having figured this out, she ordered without hesitation: "Immediately assemble a large army and take back Tilsburg within three days. Remember, all those involved and their families shall be punished for treason. The ringleaders and male heirs shall be hanged and all their property confiscated, while the female members shall all be exiled."

boom!

"Your will is our command!" The old man standing on the right side of the hall stepped forward and slapped the sturdy breastplate forcefully.

As one of the few generals in the army who had climbed up the ranks step by step, he knew very well that his queen needed a glorious victory to prove herself and, incidentally, to show those enemies hiding in the shadows that the kingdom was now a powerful one.

Therefore, this war must not have any mishaps. Not only must it not have any mishaps, but it must also be won quickly and steadily, so as to deter everyone.

Of course, having personally experienced the war that led to the fall of his country not long ago, he had full confidence in his army and did not believe that a mere rabble could withstand the crushing force of the steel puppet army.

You don't need many; just one major battle in open terrain will cause those low-ranking soldiers to scatter and flee due to their morale collapsing.

“Very good! Go, my general, bring me back the leaders of the rebels. I want to personally cut off their heads and hang them on the city walls so that every subject can see what happens to those who dare to defy me.” With that, Vilia stood up, drew his sword, and handed it to the old man as a symbol of his military power.

Without saying a word, the latter strode forward, knelt on one knee, and accepted the king's sword, which was inlaid with gold and silver jewels, with both hands.

Throughout the entire process, neither of them paid any attention to the nobles who held numerous titles, including Duke Bronshield, who had long served as Commander-in-Chief of the three armies.

Fortunately, the duke was quite well-mannered; at least he didn't outwardly show any contempt or disdain.

As they watched this lucky man, who had risen from soldier to general, leave the palace to gather the army, another duke finally couldn't help but question, "Your Majesty, are you sure you want someone who has only commanded two local battles to lead the army alone?"

"What, is there a problem? Or do you think my army isn't enough to crush those rebels?" Vilia asked with a smile, narrowing his eyes.

Her attitude was clearly angry, angry at the entire aristocratic class.

If she had enough talented people to manage the country, she would definitely send these bastards, whose minds are filled with the idea of ​​prioritizing family interests, as far away as possible.

“No, what I mean is, you should at least send a few nobles with you. You know, the best way is to dismantle an alliance from within. With just a few nobles as envoys, promising some of the more misguided ones benefits, you can quell the rebellion at minimal cost.” The Duke clearly felt the overwhelming disgust, but he still explained calmly.

He understood that the rebellion had caused the young queen to become hostile to the entire aristocratic class.

But what can we do about it?

Look at those commoners who have been promoted from the bottom, how many of them can replace nobles in important positions?

So far, not a single one.

That's right!

this is the truth!

The harsh reality!

Even though the young queen knew this, there was nothing she could do!

It's okay to have grievances; just vent them properly when you have time, and everything will be fine.

In any case, as they grow older, impulsive young people will eventually become more mature and realize the irreplaceable importance of nobles, eventually reaching some kind of cooperation agreement.

Once this powerful queen dies, everything will return to normal...

Chapter 1125 Royal Power

"Damn it! What the hell do these bastards want? Do they think I wouldn't dare do anything to them, so they act with impunity?"

Having just returned to his palace after dissolving the council, Vilia couldn't help but vent his uncontrollable anger.

However, she certainly had every reason to be angry, especially those who claimed to be acting in the interests of the kingdom but were actually undermining the foundation of the country, trying to control power generation after generation through bloodlines and vast networks of connections, giving the lower classes no chance to rise up at all.

Even more terrifying is that, in order to ensure that their descendants can inherit the same rights as themselves, they do not hesitate to use high-sounding pretexts to exonerate those rebels who should have been executed, attempting to pardon some of them, just to prevent more and more power from being concentrated in one place.

Sometimes, this young queen was actually a little envious of her enemies and rivals.

Kerwin, who established his absolute authority through terror, violence, and massacre, never had to worry about these internal struggles.

The reason is simple: anyone who dares to resist or secretly sabotage has already had their entire family chopped into mincemeat and fed to the dogs.

Despite such blatant violence and the threat of death, the tyrant's administrative system maintained an unimaginable level of integrity and efficiency.

Of course, this does not mean that those who climbed up the ranks through military merit were honest. Rather, they had many ways to acquire a lot of wealth in a short period of time, such as killing off the male heirs of the enemy and then seizing their land, family property, and even young and beautiful female members.

In short, having tasted the explosive growth in wealth brought about by near-zero-cost plunder, they no longer care about the meager benefits they gained through embezzlement, bribery, and misappropriation of resources.

Moreover, doing so might anger an increasingly capricious tyrant, which would be far less satisfying than waiting for the next war and then ruthlessly killing the enemy.

Killing and plundering, in some ways, are like drugs; they can make people unable to resist becoming addicted and unable to extricate themselves, even though they know that doing so is problematic, they still cannot control themselves when the time comes.

Isolt clearly understood Vilia's feelings at that moment, and calmly advised, "Calm down, child. This is not something to get angry about, much less to make you lose your temper. Don't forget, whatever those nobles want to do, they must first get your approval. At least in name, you are still their monarch, and this is irreplaceable in law and in the hearts of the people."

“Irreplaceable? I bet! Those nobles are definitely trying to find a way to meet with my father alone. They hate me, and I hate them just as much. Maybe the books are right, that relying on noble fiefdoms to ensure national stability is a backward method that will eventually be swept into the dustbin of history. But for now, I can't do anything about them. Talent, I need more talent from the bottom up.” Vilia clenched his fists tightly, gritting his teeth as he spoke his true thoughts.

As a member of the royal family, she naturally couldn't actually emulate Kerwin, slaughtering all the nobles who resisted her, leaving only those who were terrified and knew only how to obey orders, and then promoting some slightly capable people from the bottom to assist in managing the country, using naked threats and intimidation to ensure the efficiency and integrity of the administrative agency.

Because she knew that relying on terror and violence to maintain rule could not last long; at most, after one generation, the death of the tyrant would trigger a massive backlash.

She longed for her country to endure, at least not to vanish after her death.

“Talent cultivation is never something that can be accomplished in a short time. I’ve already sent people to handle it. Don’t rush, you’re still young, you have plenty of time. Perhaps in ten, twenty, or thirty years, you’ll be able to gradually sever the ties between these hereditary nobles and the land and power. But right now, you should think more about how to deal with the rebels. According to intelligence, the enemy commander is cunning; he’s blocked the river with boats and stones. Your general will probably be trapped in the swamp and unable to move an inch,” Isolte reminded him meaningfully.

"Hmph! They want to buy time, to watch the city's inhabitants starve, and eventually, driven by hunger, erupt into rebellion, thus shaking my legitimate rule. Unfortunately for them, they don't know that I have another trump card." Vilia pursed her lips and revealed a cold smile.

"The trump card? Which one are you referring to?" Isolt asked with a half-smile.

"Of course, it's that mysterious army that you just brought back, an army that exists somewhere between spirits and physical beings! I'm sure they won't get stuck in the swamp, right?"

As she spoke, a frightening glint flashed in Veria's eyes.

As the saying goes, power is like the most terrible poison; it can erode a person's heart and soul.

As she became queen, Vilia gradually lost her original innocence and kindness, and began to think about things from the perspective of a queen.

So-called royal power is essentially a struggle for power and the suppression of those who try to seize power from one's hands.

A monarch who is too benevolent and kind will plunge the country into chaos. Nobles who lack reverence will take the opportunity to fight each other recklessly, and even cause fierce military conflicts, ultimately leading to the division of the country.

Therefore, she never used the same methods of appeasement, division, and win-win tactics as her father when dealing with nobles.

On the contrary, she needed to show her toughest side, only in this way could she intimidate the other party and make them not dare to underestimate her.

Politics has never been very friendly to women, especially in places where male power is prevalent.

The cunning and shrewd Isolt was well aware of how difficult it had been for Vilia to get to where it was today, and nodded seriously: "No problem! This army can appear wherever it needs to be whenever you need it."

“Excellent! Then I trouble you to make the trip yourself and bring back a glorious victory for me, ensuring that no rebels escape. I will use blood to show all the nobles the consequences of betraying me and the kingdom.”

While saying these words, Vilia displayed an unusually cold expression.

Only now did she begin to display a bit of the aura of a ruthless monarch, a powerful ruler who dared to fight to the death with all enemies.

"Hahaha! No problem! I guarantee that none of those involved in this rebellion will escape. But before I leave, there's one more thing I must do: catch the rats that have infiltrated these past few days, and use that as an excuse to detain that self-important prince..."

Chapter 1126 The True Taboo (Part 1)

Chaos! Intrigue! Turmoil! Conflict!

"I don't understand. You could have cleansed this planet in the most direct way and transformed it according to your own will. Why make it so complicated?"

Accompanied by a familiar voice, Overlord Gru once again appeared in the room on the top floor of the magic tower.

Perhaps due to the numerous dimensional traversals he had undertaken, his body was surrounded by dangerous and mysterious rules that continuously tore apart the three-dimensional world, ripping apart time and space.

"Complex? No, my friend, it's not complicated at all, and it can even keep you from getting bored." Zhang Cheng said with a smile and a shrug. "You know, before I gained immortality, I always thought it was an extremely wonderful thing. It would give me enough time to study and explore, until I could surpass everything and stand at the pinnacle of the evolutionary path of life. But now, I realize I was wrong. Immortality isn't as wonderful as I imagined; it means a lack of urgency and makes it easy to become complacent. Now, I'm going to do an interesting experiment to see if I can make the Dominator lose its immortality and become like an ordinary life form, aging and dying."

"What?! You...you're doing the same thing as him!" Gru's beetle-like body visibly trembled.

"The same thing? Who is he? Could he be another version of me?" Zhang Cheng asked with interest, stroking his chin.

“That’s right! In a way, he’s also looking for a way to kill the Overlord. But unlike you, he’s pursuing utter destruction, a complete disappearance from the spirit, the body, and the very essence of the soul.”

Now that things had come to this, Gru decided not to hide it any longer and blurted out everything he knew.

In his view, whether it is causing the ruler to lose eternity or completely destroying it from the root, both are taboos among taboos.

What's even more terrifying is that these two madmen, who share remarkably similar natures, have both resolutely taken the first step, completely disregarding the severe consequences that might ensue.

"Oh? That sounds interesting. It seems we really are on the same wavelength, aren't we?" Zhang Cheng smiled nonchalantly.

He was not surprised at all by this news.

From their very first encounter, he knew that the Beginner desperately wanted to kill the murderer who had destroyed his home; that purest and most fervent flame of hatred could not be concealed by any conspiracy or trickery.

"So you know that he kept a fragment torn from your soul?" Gru asked solemnly, waving his insect-like limbs.