Monster Girl Development Master.

作者的话：这章实在分不开，就这样吧www 进度更新：月票28/50，催更票17/50，打赏3600/5000

Chapter 248: The Final Judgment of Falau

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, Leon's army had arrived in front of Saint Gold City.

Beyond Watchtower, there were many smaller castles and towns, but before Johnson's army, they either surrendered without resistance or fled. Only Saint Gold City remained, possessing a semblance of defensive capability. As the capital city, though primarily a commercial center, its walls were exceptionally high, and its defenses appeared quite comprehensive. Among earl-level cities, it was a formidable fortress.

Although Zhuang Sen could have simply blown the city gate apart with a single shot.

However, Zhuang Sen did not intend to act so rashly. Street fighting in the city was the easiest way to deplete troops, and if the city gates and urban facilities were damaged, he would have to pay for the repairs in the end. And that was all his money! Besides, he wasn't without other ways to take this city.

Zhuang Sen looked at Lilith Farau and Princess Serafina beside him and smiled, "Sister Serafina, why don't you go first?"

Serafina nodded coldly, spurred her mount to the city walls, and Serene temporarily acted as her attendant. Holding up the newly made gold banner with a red dragon, she calmly and loudly shouted amidst the incredulous gazes of the Farau nobles on the walls: "Orco Farau! Give me back my legion!!"

The main force of the Red Dragon Guard is still inside Saint Gold City, but that's Serafina's personal guard, not something a count can command. Before Serafina appeared, things were fine, since she had previously cooperated with the Falao family, but now that she's out, the Falao family has no choice—can they really detain her by force?

Putting aside the consequences of offending the Crown Princess and the royal family, the Red Dragon Guard is an elite army, not a bunch of old and weak. If a fight breaks out...

But if we hand it over, morale will definitely plummet. Besides, the Leon army is still outside. If we open the city gates wide in front of them and let an army out, is there any point in defending the city?

With no one else available and forced to take matters into his own hands, Olko Farau stood atop the wall, sweating profusely, futilely trying to persuade Serafina: "Your Highness, your guards are waiting for you in the city. You can return now to command them..."

“No need, Olco Farau.” Serafina’s cold face worked perfectly, silencing Olco on the wall. “When you ordered someone to assassinate me, I think there was no need for us to maintain politeness anymore. Or are you saying that those assassins infiltrated among your vassals were actually arranged by others? I think they have a very good relationship with your vassals! There’s even a bloodline user who has awakened five times. If His Majesty hadn’t come to investigate the cult priest I recently discovered, I would probably be dead in the army of Leon.

The news of Serafina's assassination and the Titan King's appearance had already spread far and wide. Even without Zhuang Sen's embellishment, everyone would gossip about a passionate brawl between giants a hundred meters tall. Therefore, news of Serafina's assassination by the Faraans spread quickly, and even Olko Faraan himself felt he couldn't escape blame. In his view, it was perfectly normal for the priests of the "Blood Goddess" to assassinate Serafina out of revenge; what he didn't expect was that one of them would be a five-times awakened bloodline user, and even more unexpectedly, that a five-times awakened bloodline user had failed!

Before Olko could continue his sophistry, Lilith, who had been waiting for a long time, rode forward to Serafina's side, looked up at the wall and said, "Don't waste time, Father, surrender. Otherwise, I'll have to be responsible for repairing the damaged things, and it will cost me and Johnson's money. How troublesome."

Olko, not daring to offend Serafina, was less cautious around Lilith, and immediately retorted, "Lilith! You traitor! Don't forget, you also have the surname Falao! Do you think that greedy and cunning brat will trust you just because you've done this?"

"You don't need to worry about that, Father. As long as Master Zhuang Sen agrees, I can change my surname to Leon right now. Besides, when it comes to greed, there's no need to argue between a lord who collects 100% tax and a lord who collects 50% tax, is there?"

Lilith spoke with a smile, but every word was like a knife to the heart. No one knew the Faraw family's weaknesses better than her, not even Lady Leah.

Alco Farau, his anger blazing, stared intently at Lilith: "What did you call that kid?"

“Master,” Lilith said nonchalantly, “but this matter is not important, Father. Don’t force yourself. You must have received the intelligence, right? Do you think your city walls can stop the Holy Lance that can break through a Bloodline Five times, or do you think Zhuang Sen wouldn’t dare to kill all those with the surname Farao?”

Olco Farau, his face pale with anger after Lilith's sharp rebuke, pounded the city wall and roared, "No! I'd rather die than surrender to that arrogant brat! The Farau family will never yield!"

Lilith shook her head: "Isn't it the Farau family, where profit comes first? Wouldn't surrendering now be the most advantageous option? But I respect your choice, Father... So, esteemed lords and bishops, do you intend to continue to fight alongside my father to the death, or will you swear allegiance to me?"

The noble lords, bishops, and priests on the walls fell silent. They knew, of course, that Holy Golden City would not be able to be defended sooner or later, but they were unwilling to surrender without firing a single arrow. It would be too shameful to say that. Although some of them had already abandoned their territories and fled into Holy Golden City, they could still use the excuse of protecting their lords to cover it up. If they were to surrender now... why didn't they surrender earlier?

After a moment of silence, a die-hard member of the Falau family spoke up sarcastically: "Miss Lilith, the Falau family has been destroyed, what right do you have to earn the lord's allegiance! With your usurped title of Viscount Deherem!"

Lilith looked at the straight man and smiled, "Master Zhuang Sen said that if I can take over Saint Golden City, then I will be in charge of managing the Farau Territory. So ladies and gentlemen, do you want to be managed by the Leonians or by me, the traitor? You'd better think it over. I'm only giving you half an hour, you fools!"

Lilith's sudden change of attitude caused the nobles on the city walls to change their expressions as well. They weren't stupid; they understood Lilith's meaning and were quite tempted. Lilith was, after all, a member of the Falau territory. If she controlled the lands of Falau, she wouldn't necessarily treat them, the locals, with special care, but at least she wouldn't deliberately target them. Even disregarding Lilith's true intentions, just to maintain her position with Earl Zhuangsen, she needed the Falau people, she needed the support of these Falau nobles, she needed a "Flau faction."

But if it were a Leonian, haha, they'd be slaughtering a pig!

Time passed, and five minutes later, the Red Dragon Guard passed through the wide-open city gates, while Olco Farau disappeared over the wall.

With this, the entire territory of Farau was unified.

Chapter 249: My King Father-in-Law

The territory of Falau surrendered completely, but the troubles did not lessen. Adjustments and reforms to laws, taxes, and the military could be postponed somewhat, but the distribution of rewards and land grants could not be delayed any longer. It was only because Johnson had sufficient prestige and power that things were decided beforehand; otherwise, it would have been necessary to agree in advance on which land would be given to which vassal, how much money would be allocated for each battle, and it might not even have been possible to rally vassals to help in the war.

Although few vassals truly distinguished themselves in this war, as the credit all went to Lydia and Lilith, rewards still had to be given. The entire earldom of Johnson needed to be managed at the grassroots level; he couldn't handle it all by himself, not even with Dantalian and the others.

Most importantly, Johnson needed to personally re-grant titles to the nobles of Falau to gain legal legitimacy to rule Falau. As the Earl of Leon, Johnson lacked legal authority to rule Falau; he could attack and effectively annex it, but legally, Falau still did not belong to him. However, a solution had already been found: he could bypass the grand title of Earl of Falau and directly control the next rank of viscounts and barons, using the underlying logic of lordship and vassalage to fragmentarily and substantially control the land of Falau. This was the ultimate purpose of this banquet.

Therefore, after taking Saint Gold City and stabilizing the situation somewhat, Zhuang Sen held a banquet to celebrate the victory, inviting all the nobles of Leon Territory, as well as the surviving nobles of Falau Territory. The banquet was naturally held in the Radiant Hall, the number one must-eat restaurant in Falau Territory.

The dim winter sunlight shines into the crystal, and after flowing and overlapping in layers, it releases a soft light that is no less than that of spring. It falls regularly throughout the hall, dividing the area where the throne is located, the guest area where the dining table is located, and the activity area of ​​the band and poets with varying degrees of light and shadow. The remaining dark areas are just right for the servants to stand quietly.

From Zhuang Sen's position, everyone's appearance was clearly visible, like a teacher looking down at students from a podium. However, from the perspective of the invited guests, Zhuang Sen and the others were bathed in bright light, making them impossible to see. They had to adjust to a clear angle to see them more clearly, making it impossible for them to guess or observe Zhuang Sen's expression.

This made the visiting nobles of Falau very uneasy. They sat in their seats with even greater humility and caution, not daring to make any small movements for fear of being misunderstood by Zhuang Sen. The nobles of Leon Territory were the same. They had won by default this time, and could even be said to have lost face—initially, it was Falau that had taken the lead in conquering Leon Territory's territory—so in front of Zhuang Sen, they dared not show any arrogance.

Zhuang Sen, having seen everything clearly, signaled with satisfaction that the banquet should begin. The band played the lute, and to the melodious strains, Lilith, dressed in a magnificent gown, brought out the pre-prepared guest list. Without any preamble or opening remarks, Zhuang Sen began reading directly: "Ledya Leon."

Lydia, who was sitting next to Zhuang Sen, stood up and knelt on one knee in front of Zhuang Sen: "My lord."

"You have made the greatest contribution in this war, recovering the Shattered Stone Territory and Long Leaf Territory, seizing the Golden River Territory and Golden Flower Territory, and leading a large army to besiege Deherim. You saved the army from the enemy's secret legion. Therefore, I bestow the Deherim Plains upon you."

“It’s my pleasure, my lord.” Lydia responded briskly, took the documents and seal from Zhuang Sen, and then sat down again next to him.

After the opening, Johnson continued reading: "Jack Oden."

A nobleman from the territory of Falau hurriedly stood up, even knocking over the cutlery in front of him. The clattering sound made him turn pale, and he froze on the spot, at a loss for what to do. It was only at Zhuang Sen's prompting that Lilith coughed lightly, which startled the warrior who had opened the gates of Holy Golden City, causing him to quickly kneel down before Zhuang Sen.

Zhuang Sen casually recited his "merits," then preserved his original fiefdom and allocated one-third of his neighbor's fiefdom to him. He immediately received a barrage of praise, completed the ceremony of the lord and vassal, and consolidated his rule over the Falau territory to some extent.

Just as he was about to press on, Dantalian suddenly leaned closer: "My dear, the servant just reported that someone claiming to be His Majesty the King is outside requesting an audience. Would you like to see him alone, or..."

It would be awkward to have the king in this setting, since Johnson had broken the kingdom's rules, unilaterally started a civil war, and was even exploiting loopholes in the kingdom's laws. Although everyone was doing the same thing, doing it in front of the king was going too far. Furthermore, there was no guarantee that there wouldn't be any nobles in the Falau territory who still harbored expectations of the Falau family. If they were to say or do something, the banquet would be ruined.

"The King? Was Brad killed so quickly? Or did he escape?"

As soon as a thought crossed his mind, Zhuang Sen replied, "Please come in. I don't think anyone would dare to impersonate the king here. Hmm, you should also tell Celine and Serafina."

Dantalian agreed and turned to Celine and Serafina, while Johnson continued to call out names, bestowing titles upon the nobles of Farau territory one by one. At first, the nobles didn't think much of it, until the previously closed gates reopened and Barro walked in, covered in dust.

Although not everyone recognized Baruo's appearance or knew he was the king, those invited in at this time naturally wouldn't dare offend him; they simply looked him over with curiosity. Zhuang Sen was currently bestowing titles upon a nobleman from the territory of Falau. Seeing Baruo enter, he didn't stop, but merely quickened his pace slightly, completing the procedure as usual.

Then, he stepped down from the high platform where the throne was located and bowed to Baro in a respectful but not arrogant manner: "Welcome to the Hall of Radiance, Your Majesty."

He naturally knew what Baroo looked like, especially since Celine and Serafina had given him hints. As he spoke, the nobles rose from their seats, nervously watching Baroo, trying to recall if they had acted inappropriately. Similarly, Dantalian and the others, who were seated above, also stood up, though they were much more relaxed.

Baro looked at Zhuang Sen, then at his timid little daughter and his cold-faced eldest daughter, before picking up where Zhuang Sen left off: "My dear intelligence minister, are you encroaching on the territory of my personal merchant?"

Baro's words didn't sound very friendly, and Celine tensed up immediately. She was about to get up and snipe her stinky dad, but Serafina held her down and calmly said, "It's okay."

Below, Zhuang Sen calmly replied, "Your Majesty, would you like to hear Count Leon's answer or the Minister of Intelligence's answer?"

Baro stroked his chin and suddenly laughed: "I'm going to hear the answer from the bastard who dared to lay a hand on my daughter."

Zhuang Sen helplessly spread his hands: "Of course I'm annexing Falao territory, do you think I'm helping Lilith Falao seize power?"

"With such a silver tongue, no wonder you managed to fool Celine like that." Baroo snorted. "Alright, stop wasting this boring time. Find a time to get married to Celine and just become a prince. Anyway, your strength is more than enough."

what?

Some of the nobles who had been itching for a fight were nearly scared out of their wits by Baroo's nitpicking of Zhuang Sen. Their hearts pounded and their heads were buzzing. Even the band and singers were shocked by Baroo's words. They might not understand politics, but they knew that Baroo King Anser had once been a prince—yes, a prince during the Starr dynasty. And since then, the Fallen Star Kingdom had never mentioned having a prince.

Now that Barroo has suddenly said this, is he implying something?

"Father! What are you saying!"

Celine's voice, filled with shame and indignation, broke the silence, followed closely by Zhuang Sen's voice: "It's my pleasure, Your Majesty... Father-in-law."

"Zhuang Sen~"

Celine stomped her feet and shouted, but her voice couldn't hide her joy and excitement.

The author says:

作者的话：今天作者生日，本来想偷懒放个假的(。?ω?。) 进度更新：月票33/50，催更票17/50，打赏3900/5000

Chapter 250: Bad News, Good News

Although Baroo's words were quite frightening, Johnson still completed the original plan according to procedure. Fortunately, with King Baroo present, the effect of the bestowal ceremony was much stronger. Many nobles in the Farau Territory behaved much more respectfully, even shamelessly fawning.

After annexing the lower-ranking nobles in front of the king, Johnson, along with his wives, his sister-in-law Serafina, and his pet Lilith, left the banquet and held a private meeting with Baroo in another small reception room. It was obvious that Baroo hadn't come to support him; he must have had something else to discuss.

Baro didn't beat around the bush with Zhuang Sen. Holding his teacup, he said, "I was planning to kill that monster and then return to the capital, but news came from the capital that the White City Federation and the Winter Kingdom had jointly sent a letter of reprimand, demanding that I hand over the murderer who killed their Duke's only son, or they would join forces to attack our country."

Zhuang Sen took the pastry Celine offered and took a bite: "The culprit is pointing at me? But what's the deal with that Duke Protector of the Nation?"

Before Baroo could speak, Celine seized the opportunity and explained, "Before its establishment, the White City Federation was just a merchant city-state supported by the Kingdom of Winter. Later, with the support of Duke Dara of the Kingdom of Winter, it broke away from the Kingdom of Winter and gradually developed into what it is today. Therefore, it honors Duke Dara as the protector of the White City Federation. The reason why there are so many Winter mercenaries in the White City Federation is because of this. The Icewind Legion is an elite legion under Duke Dagan."

Zhuang Sen nodded: "I see. So that Dagan Dara I killed before was the son of the Duke of Protectorate. No, someone with only a third-level bloodline can become a duke? And an only son at that? Is there something wrong with this dukedom?"

Baroo picked up a pastry, glared at his youngest daughter who was already siding with outsiders before even getting married, and then said to Zhuang Sen in an annoyed tone, "Stop pretending. I don't believe you cunning brat haven't investigated the Icewind Gang and the White City Federation. I don't have time to play games with you here. Hurry up and come up with a solution, or I'll throw you out to that fat old woman in White City as a slave. She loves handsome brats like you the most."

"Old Fat Woman" refers to Esther Grandet Judas, the head of the seven major merchant guilds of the White City Federation and its de facto ruler, possessing the only Level 5 bloodline, Leviathan. Her name alone tells you what kind of person she is. Furthermore, due to her Leviathan bloodline, she reportedly appears as a round ball of flesh. Therefore, besides her imposing official title of "Lord of the Seven Seas Trade," unofficial nicknames like "The Miserly Old Fat Woman" and "The Unsinkable Mothership" are also widely circulated.

Zhuang Sen had no intention of having any contact with this kind of guy. He slowly swallowed the pastry in his mouth and rubbed his fingers together: "Your Majesty, you're ruining your lofty image in my mind... Besides, weren't we already prepared to take action against the White City Federation? Isn't this just giving us an excuse?"

Baro: "My original plan was to launch a two-pronged attack on the White City Federation, seize territory before the Winter Kingdom could react, and ignite the flames of war on the White City people's land, instead of fighting them to the death on the border while the White City and Winter people were prepared. And have you forgotten what you had Celine warn me about?"

Borodi King Starr, my brother…

Barroo's voice was somewhat dejected. At this moment, he seemed more like a king than a shrewish old father who had abducted his daughter.

"So, the problem is that we need to be wary of Grand Duke Starr now. In addition, the White City and the Winter People have been preparing for war by some twist of fate, which caused the surprise attack plan to fail. So it's not too difficult to solve," Zhuang Sen said. "Once I've replaced the equipment of Sister Serafina's guards, I can let her take charge of Grand Duke Starr's rebellion. Your Majesty, you can be responsible for attracting the White City people's attention from the front, and I'll sneak up on the White City people from behind."

Baro frowned slightly: "The people of White City will not leave the trade route from Leon Territory open again. Even if it's just for show, they will blockade that section of the sea. How can you launch a sneak attack?"

The original plan to blitzkrieg White City was simple: have Baruo attack the land border to draw attention, while another group would travel by water from Leon and Farau territories, posing as merchants to launch a surprise attack. But now that Zhuang Sen has pulled this stunt, even if they were genuine merchants, White City would definitely not let them pass, let alone fake ones.

"I can just go through the Thousand Towers Kingdom," Zhuang Sen said frankly. "My Mira is one of the thirteen Knowledge Tower Masters of the Thousand Towers Kingdom, and her mentor is the Speaker of the Knowledge Council. It's perfectly normal for me, as her husband, to lead troops to escort her back to her hometown, right?"

Baro picked up his teacup and drank it all in one gulp: "Yes, if those old-fashioned research fanatics really agree to let that little girl from the Cofnie family do this, they are very dependent on the people of White City to provide them with all kinds of research materials."

Clearly, he did not have a high opinion of Zhuang Sen's plan.

But Zhuang Sen shook his head: "No, no, no, they will definitely agree. If they want all the new technologies that my Mira has independently researched, rune items, new potions, and newly cultivated special plants, they will not mind kicking out a group of greedy merchants who transport inferior materials to them at ten or even a hundred times the price. Besides, I can also transport materials to them."

Baro sensed something unusual in Zhuang Sen's last words: "How are you going to transport the materials for them?"

Zhuang Sen placed his hands, fingers interlaced, on the table and smiled, "It's like this, my dear father-in-law, if I succeed in conquering White City, I would like to merge a portion of its territory with my princely domain to form the Zhuang Sen Kingdom, or the Celine Kingdom would also be fine. What do you think?"

After hearing Zhuang Sen's words, Baroo's eyes sharpened as he stared at Zhuang Sen. Celine nervously clung to Zhuang Sen's arm, glaring fiercely at Baroo. The other monster girls also became alert and prepared to defend themselves, except for Dantalian and Lilith, who remained relatively calm.

After a long pause, Baro slowly said, "Do you know what you're saying, Johnson?"

“Strictly speaking, this is somewhat like a declaration of rebellion.” Zhuang Sen stroked his chin and spoke eloquently. “But Your Majesty, we are now one family, so I will not hide it from you. I am destined to become king, even emperor. However, I promised Celine that I would support my sister Serafina to become the Fallen Star Queen, so I can only seek another crown. Currently, White City is the best choice. Moreover, once Grand Duke Star is defeated and his territory is reclaimed, even if I lose my princely territory, the territory actually controlled by my sister Serafina will only increase, not decrease. I think this is the best way to resolve potential future conflicts, right?”

This is practically a direct attack, not only fully revealing her ambition to become king, but also implying that Serafina is on the throne. So where does that leave Baroo?

Lilith's previously calm mood began to tense up, but to her surprise, and to everyone else's surprise, Baroo relaxed: "You make a good point. You don't seem like a well-behaved brat either. Rather than letting Celine and Serafina fight again, it's not a bad idea to give away some territory... but we can't let you off so easily."

Zhuang Sen picked up a pastry and covered Celine's wide-open mouth with it. He spoke before Baro could, saying, "Your Majesty, please don't rush. I have something else to say. Do you know about Prince Gloria's deal with the Church of Vengeance? That is, he plans to share that artifact with the Church of Vengeance."

For the first time, Barroo's expression turned completely serious, as if Zhuang Sen had killed his mother.

Chapter 251: Relics - Transcendence and Transformation

Although described as a small reception room, it was actually quite spacious for a wealthy and extravagant count family like the Farau family, at least over 200 square meters. When Zhuang Sen revealed Prince Gloria's little conspiracy with the Church of Vengeance, the air pressure in the large room instantly became viscous, and gravity seemed to increase significantly. It was only because there were no ordinary people present, but all those with special bloodlines, that someone was likely killed.

As expected, the Titan King also possesses abilities related to gravity, and it appears to be a passive skill.

Zhuang Sen thought silently, calmly looking at Baroo, whose face was serious and who had completely lost his previous composed fatherly demeanor, and took the initiative to say, "This matter was told by the inspecting nun of the Church of Vengeance. She is still being held in custody by me. You can take her away for questioning."