People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

In Chapter 200, I recommend He Dalei; he is the one everyone wants!

Londinium, Victoria.

No sooner had Theresis sat down than the Exonerator rushed into the hall. Upon seeing Theresis, his eyes lit up, and he immediately asked:

"His Highness the Regent is back, but where is the Flame Demon?"

"..." Therese gave him a cold glance.

The pardoner immediately nodded in understanding and said knowingly:

“Oh, I see. That makes sense. The Flame Demon has just returned and definitely needs to rest and be checked. Tell me his location and I'll go find him right away.”

“No.” Theresis’s expression was somewhat stiff. Facing the enthusiastic pardoner, the corner of his mouth twitched as he spoke, “Actually, I don’t think the Balrog is that important to us.”

"There are already enough royal courts gathered in Londinium. Even if the arrogant and volatile Balrog royal court returns, it may not be able to be used by me. What the Military Council needs to do now is not to strengthen combat power, but to ensure stability and internal unity."

"After all, our ultimate goal is to use the Shard to create chaos and establish a nation, not to unify the royal court."

“The Royal Court and ordinary Sarkaz are distinct. Adding another Royal Court of the Balrog will not make the Military Council more credible. On the contrary, it may cause some stubborn conservatives to have unnecessary speculations. For example, the Blood Lord might see this as my compromise with him.”

“But the Kazdel I’m going to build is definitely not some new royal slave farm, but a country that belongs to more Sarkaz.”

This speech, which ranged from the well-being of the Sarkaz people to the founding of Kazdel, truly left the Pardoner stunned. He stared at Theresis, his thoughts racing for a long time, before asking in surprise:

"So, you mean, the Flame Demon...?"

"You don't want to come back with you?"

“Yes, that’s right.” Theresis nodded, her gaze softening as she looked at the pardoner. “You’re absolutely right.”

The pardoner then nodded.

Although he was somewhat surprised that Theresis hadn't used force to force the Balrog to his knees and bring him back to Londinium to bolster their fighting strength, this situation wasn't entirely unexpected.

The members of the Sarkaz royal court have always been known for obeying orders but not proclamations. That's a relatively polite way of putting it; to put it more bluntly, the entire Sarkaz royal court is rebellious.

The Blood Lord acknowledged Theresis's strength, and the Carrion King endorsed her ideals. Aside from these, the other rulers of the royal court largely ignored Theresis and showed no respect whatsoever to the Military Council. If these ancient beings, whose edges had likely been smoothed countless times over millennia, treated her this way, how much more so a Balrog resurrected from an era when the Sarkaz were still powerful—at least more powerful than they were now?

Even the pardoner could imagine the Balrog's attitude towards Theresis: "Rescue me from the Columbians? Chairman of the Kazdel Military Council? What is that? Do I need you meddling in my affairs?"

Instead of setting Theresis a fire directly, they chose the best among the worst, and thankfully, the Balrog was a good-natured one.

Having already prepared himself mentally, the pardoner naturally felt less disappointed and saddened.

Yes, there are definitely regrets. A resurrected Balrog, his physical condition, form of existence, and mastery of ancient Sarkaz sorcery, most importantly, his understanding of resurrection techniques, are all things very worthy of study. The fact that Theresis couldn't persuade him to return means the Exonerator will miss the opportunity to advise on these matters.

However, despite the disappointment, Theresis's trip was not entirely without purpose.

He witnessed the resurrected Balrog, and that was his greatest achievement.

This at least proves that the resurrection... no, the magic (technology) of bringing the dead back to life does indeed exist. Since the Colombians can achieve this through technological means, the Sarkaz can achieve the same effect through witchcraft.

This would greatly enhance the credibility of the "Theresa Resurrection Plan" within the Military Council. Presumably, Theresa's attitude towards him wouldn't be so hostile in the future.

Perhaps this will even garner some support?

With this major achievement, the Pardoner no longer cared whether the Balrog had returned to Sarkaz.

Even if a single Flame Demon could rebuild the Flame Demon Royal Court, it would be a shoddy construction project, offering little practical benefit. One more or one less wouldn't make a difference; in fact, losing him would at least eliminate one troublesome fellow who constantly gives us attitude.

The Pardoner has been subjected to a lot of sarcastic remarks from the Blood Demon Lord.

As for where the Balrog will go next, how long it can live on this land, and what its reaction and thoughts will be when it sees the Sarkaz in its current state, he doesn't care.

Whether he's doing well or poorly doesn't affect him. Doing good or bad things only adds fuel to the fire for the Sarkaz's reputation for being a disgrace. Even Theresis, the person in charge, hasn't said anything, so why should he worry about it? Is the emperor more concerned than the eunuch?

While not entirely satisfied, he was at least not dissatisfied. The pardoner was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something, looked at Theresis, and hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.

Seeing his expression, Theresis asked directly:

"Just say what you have to say."

“No, it’s nothing serious, Regent.” The pardoner bowed slightly to express his apology before asking, “You shouldn’t have attracted the attention of the Colombians, have you?”

Therese paused for a moment, then shook her head:

"No."

Ernst gave him ample face, never actually calling him by name throughout the entire event. This was also a statement, indicating that the behemoth behind him actually had no past grudges or recent animosity towards the Sarkaz, and didn't want to create enemies out of thin air. He didn't say anything at the time, and Theresis naturally wasn't worried that he would say it later; otherwise, what would be the point of all his previous groundwork?

However, despite this, he attracted the attention of a "person" who was far more troublesome than the Colombian.

With a slight sigh, Therese watched the pardoner leave, then ordered someone to summon Manfred.

Therese had two apprentices. One was Ascalon, to whom he imparted all his skills and experience in close combat, assassination, and wrestling, and even gifted her a hidden blade that he had treasured.

Unfortunately, this apprentice ultimately chose to turn against him, siding with Theresa in the civil war. Theresa didn't blame him; they each served their own masters, and few who had met Theresa could resist her personal charm and the grand vision she described. But this incident still taught Theresa a lesson.

Therefore, when he took on his second apprentice, Manfred, he did not focus on training Manfred's martial arts skills, but instead had him learn martial arts first.

Learn the history of the Sarkaz, the wars of the Sarkaz, the suffering of the Sarkaz, and then teach him swordsmanship and strategy, telling him to take up this sword and, as a role model for the new generation of Sarkaz, fight against all of this.

Manfred, trained through this process, is a rare intellectual among the Sarkaz. He has finally grown from a common soldier into a brilliant strategist.

Aside from being somewhat immature in Tracy's eyes, Manfred was already fully capable of standing on his own.

Therese summoned him for a very simple reason.

“Manfred, go and investigate whether there’s been any active silver-haired Film on Earth recently.”

Manfred, who had been suddenly summoned, blinked, somewhat surprised by Therese's abrupt order. He tentatively asked:

"A lively silver-haired film? Does Kal'tsit count?"

Therese glared at him.

Mentioning this name in front of him is, to some extent, a slip of the tongue.

Fortunately, it was Manfred who said that, so Tracy didn't pursue the matter too much and shook her head, saying:

"No, he's younger than that monster."

“Younger…” The image of the Duke of Caesar immediately came to Manfred’s mind.

The lively, silver-haired Felin is much younger than Kal'tsit and has a status comparable to Theresis, making her worthy of the Regent's attention.

But this time, having learned his lesson, he dared not joke around so casually again. He could only cautiously continue asking:

Could you provide a more specific description?

Therese pursed her lips, recalling Ernst's features, and said:

"He appears to be male."

Why did Therese never mention Ernst's gender?

Because the concept of "monster representatives" is quite mystical, sometimes they are humans controlled by the will of the monsters, becoming their puppets. But most of the time, the monsters don't go through such trouble. They simply create a shell to use as a marionette, like a low-budget version of Enkidu from the other movie—a clay figure that looks human but has no gender.

But since Manfred needed more clues, Therese could only tell him these "clues that weren't really clues."

Upon hearing Theresis's words, Manfred frowned, pondered for a moment, and then suddenly asked:

"Is the person you're talking about Ernst Shivaesh?"

Silver hair, active, film, and male, and someone that would interest Therese.

This request is very difficult to fulfill, and Theresis recently mentioned the "guy who added a lot of work for him in the Lontinim evacuation incident."

Unfortunately, it was he who gave the report on this matter. He also had a strong impression of Ernst's speech, which he relayed to avoid angering Theresis.

Upon hearing the name, Therese paused slightly, then nodded in sudden understanding.

So that's how it is. No wonder... no wonder a representative of a behemoth would inexplicably get involved in Sarkaz affairs.

Ernst Shivaesh, the Prime Minister of Shelag, is actually a spokesperson for a behemoth. Who would have thought?

He was involved in the Balrog experiments, in the evacuation of civilians after the Sarkaz occupied Lontinium, and is also suspected of being involved in the disappearance of Bozokasti of the Wendigo Royal Court.

He didn't just act on a whim; he had his eye on Sarkaz for a long time.

This behemoth is very interested in the Sarkaz!

This might not be a bad thing, because judging from the fact that he did not reveal his identity, the behemoth's attitude towards the Sarkaz does not seem to be too hostile.

Come to think of it, the behemoths don't really care about worldly disputes. The Sarkaz have been fighting with the nations for thousands of years, while the behemoths have only taken a few naps.

Well, if the behemoth intends to use the Sarkaz to achieve some goal, then the Sarkaz might as well use the behemoth to achieve something in return. Cooperating with the behemoth cleverly bypasses the hurdle in the minds of the Military Council and most of the stubborn and conservative members of the Royal Court. It might be very beneficial for the future.

In this way, the Balrog, held in Ernst's hands, could actually become a mouthpiece for communication.

Therese's mind raced with thoughts, her brow furrowed slightly, yet she dared not be entirely certain of her ideas. After all, these were all just speculations, lacking any concrete evidence to support them.

We need to think of a way to test the waters.

He pondered for a long time, looked at Manfred, and decided to use the simplest method:

“Manfred, pick someone with a clean background and send them to Sherag to make contact with Ernst Shivaish and sound him out.”

"Pay close attention to any traces of the Sarkaz in Kherag."

Manfred looked at Therese with suspicion, but since the general had given the order, he dared not disobey, so he volunteered:

“In that case, I recommend Hedley.”

"He's quite capable, his mercenary status isn't a sensitive issue, and he's already proven his loyalty by gouging out an eye of his own. Instead of wasting talent in Londinium, we should send him out. I think he's perfectly capable of handling this mission!"

Therese nodded in satisfaction: "Then it's up to you. Report back to me as soon as there's any progress."

Manfred saluted: "Understood, General!"

Chapter 201 You have to take responsibility for the mess you've made of my life.

There's always something that can subdue something else; that saying is absolutely true.

No matter how powerful the military was in Tremont, the political establishment held undisputed legitimacy. When Vice President Wilson received Mark Max's orders and could unleash his full power without restraint, the military's small influence in Tremont was simply insufficient.

General Douglas, the military's leader, also had a temper. Caught off guard by the sudden political storm the very next day, he reacted swiftly. He immediately mobilized his military-controlled media outlets to draft press releases overnight, intending to expose negative political news he had collected over the years.

We're all old foxes; who doesn't have some dirt on each other?

General Douglas wasn't planning to fight the political establishment to the death over a mere regional governor in Tremont; he was more interested in saving face than gaining personal advantage. As the current leader of the military, he couldn't let the political establishment dictate his actions. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to establish any authority, and where would he put his face afterward?

But reportedly, just minutes before he was ready to retaliate, an email was sent to his inbox.

The email was brief, containing only two words: "Shut up."

When General Douglas read the email, he couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Who is this? How dare they? Are they telling me to shut up?

Which department? Don't they know I'm a five-star general, a big shot in the Colombian military, someone who can make Colombia tremble with a stomp of my foot?

This is no longer just ordinary mental illness; we must take decisive action!

So he looked up at the sender's name, wanting to remember the information of this mentally unstable guy so that he could arrange a permanent package at St. Elizabeth's Mental Hospital for him after this was over.

Then there is no more then.

The counterattack was aborted before it even began. General Douglas promptly turned off his phone, had his secretary reject all calls for help from Tremont, and discreetly hung a "Temporarily Away" sign on his door. He then drove overnight from his resort to the Special Administrative Region.

They rushed off to become the new bird's nest.

Of course, these rumors are all hindsight. Ernst, who had just reached a "gentleman's agreement" with Vice President Wilson, was naturally unaware of these future amusing events in Colombia.

Overall, this is a satisfactory ending. Through Wilson's words, Horhyah's identity and role in this Balrog incident are now definitively established.

Holhaya, whose name was personally inscribed by the emperor as "having committed serious misconduct and will never be employed," has now officially become an "unemployed person" in Trimont.

This unemployment is genuine unemployment.

On the second day of her recuperation at Rhine Life Hospital, Horhaia met her superior in the ward, the unlucky tin man who had been "accidentally injured" by Seria.

Although she had long thought that a Tin Man, whose physical structure was completely different from that of ordinary people, would not die so easily, Saria was still surprised when she saw the Tin Man, dressed in a suit and tie, stride into the Rhine Lab building and ask the defense staff for the location of Horhys's ward.

There are still many extraordinary people on this earth. Her hand was burned by the Balrog, and after a consultation with doctors from Palvis and the staff hospital, it will take at least three months to recover, and that's assuming she can't use her right hand during that time. And the Tin Man? His head fell to the ground, and his body was physically broken, but only half a month later, he's lively and energetic again, even looking healthier than before.

Such an enviable self-healing ability.

Upon learning that the Tin Man's arrival was for Horhyah, Saria immediately informed Ernst. Ernst rushed to the scene and personally escorted the Tin Man to the infirmary.