People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

"And then what? Why were you at the Duke of Wellington's residence?"

“Because my sister killed Earl Warwick.” A look of fear appeared on Lafsini’s face, as if she had remembered something bad and was a little scared, but she still insisted on saying, “Then my sister raised an army and went to the Duke of Wellington, and the Duke of Wellington accepted us.”

Hiss—killed his adoptive father, became an outlaw, and then accepted amnesty?

This script looks familiar, and there seem to be a lot of stitches in it.

Ernst savored it carefully:

“It sounds pretty…” Ernst didn’t dare say the word “normal” out loud, and changed his words, asking the original question again, “Then how can you be sure that Vina is Aslan?”

"Hmm? Because my sister has been pointing to pictures in Victoria's textbooks since she was little and telling me that this is what Aslan looks like! They'll be our enemies from now on!"

Wow! You consider Aslan an enemy? Aslan is a member of the Victorian royal family! Are you and your sister plotting a rebellion? What's your background? Let me check.

“I am Draco.”

Miss Lavshini calmly raised her head and stated the matter calmly.

Draco? What's that...? I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before.

Ernst seemed to have thought of something, and his expression, which had just calmed down, changed drastically again.

"Ho-ho-ho-ho-"

Horhyah was the first to react, equally shocked by Rafishini's outburst, and shouted, "Call an ambulance!"

Lavshini immediately pulled out her staff and replied, "I know a little medicine!"

Immediately afterwards, a fireball flew toward Ernst, startling him so much that a light blue ice crystal shield immediately appeared around him.

Fortunately, the fireball was not aggressive. The moment it made contact with the shield, Ya'er, who was also watching the live stream, used "Refund for Underage Beasts" to retrieve the ice crystal barrier she had gifted. The fireball successfully touched Ernst, and after a burst of green light, Ernst's health was fully restored.

With this, including the time he traveled through time, Ernst could proudly declare: I have witnessed the sunset three times!

His eyes were often filled with tears, and his gaze toward Rafishini held a hint of pleading.

"Lavshine, let's talk about something."

"There's no need to tell anyone that you're Draco, okay?"

"Okay!" Lavshini nodded, seemingly understanding.

What an obedient and good child.

Ernst sighed, then, as if remembering something, added:

"Also, don't treat Vina as an enemy, okay?"

Lavshini was silent for a moment, as if she was thinking about something, then winked at Ernst.

What are you hesitating for? I just praised you!

Chapter 273 Caesar: If you go late, you'll have to queue.

Shelag, Tukarim.

The Duke of Caesar seemed relieved. This land, already burdened with suffering, had lost another scourge… but that was impossible.

In fact, the Duke of Caesar not only didn't die, but even felt like she had regained her youth. For the first time since menopause, she felt her brain was working so fast, under such high load, and capable of high-intensity multi-core, multi-threaded operation.

Come to think of it, how could someone manage to stir up trouble all over the world without getting themselves dirty if they didn't have a brilliant mind?

However, even with top-of-the-line hardware and extensive experience, the Duke of Käst still felt a deep, heartfelt, and almost overflowing heat in the freezing cold of Kästig!

It's like someone who eats three pounds of Sichuan chili peppers in a day and then goes to the Sargon Desert for a sauna, resulting in an overall smell of overloaded, burnt CPU.

I must be out of my mind. How could the rightful heir to the Victorian Empire be in Sherrag's territory? And with such an unusually friendly relationship with Ernst? It even seems, perhaps, possibly, that he's a member of the Sherrag government, and even serves as "Foreign Minister."

Kast considered herself a foreigner, even though she often lied to others, saying they should treat her as "one of their own." In reality, those who believed her either became her dogs or died.

Therefore, logically speaking, she should have discovered it long ago after repeated interactions with the Foreign Minister, who is someone she should naturally deal with.

But why wasn't it discovered?

The Duke of Caesar glanced sideways. He didn't know, but it certainly wasn't his fault. It was impossible that he had focused too much on Ernst and neglected the others in Scherrag.

Besides, even if she overlooked it, it's because "human energy has its limits." What about all those grey hats she kept? What were they doing? Why didn't they remind me?

Oh, it seems the grey top hat doesn't fit into Sherag.

Scherrag's defense was in a rather enigmatic state. On the one hand, Ernst was almost open to the entry of official spies like diplomats, and even quite happy to put these "foreign talents" in charge of some less important functional departments. On the other hand, Ernst was very adept at controlling secret spies like those in the top hats.

Most of the villagers know each other well, so if there's an outsider, everyone can tell at a glance. Even now, with more tourists and outsiders, it's not so easy to distinguish them, but Sherag has other methods.

Jeragand claims she lacks the ability to read minds and never does so, whether this is true or her high moral character prevents her from using those abilities. At least, Gawain, the Beast Lord, has no such reservations.

The Beast Lord may be incapable in this or that, but his ability to control people's hearts is unparalleled.

"The Emperor" is a trendsetter, from classical music to rock music, no longer content with simply following the crowd, but starting to lead it. "The High Priest" is a tech enthusiast, but dislikes the renowned technological city of Tremont, preferring instead the challenge of farming. He plunges into the rainforest of Sargon, intending to personally train a group of green crocodiles. "Dolly" loves excitement and can't stand being alone. He's even willing to split himself into many clones, giving each one self-awareness, to watch them frolic and amuse himself. This ability to customize "personality," "hobbies," and "behavioral patterns" for each clone is, in fact, a testament to his boundless experience and profound understanding of human nature.

Except for the wolf lord "Zaro," he's a disgrace; the wolf pack would love to purge him from within!

The beast's master is "Gawain".

We can summarize the extent to which he has a profound understanding of human nature and the human condition in just one word.

—Victoria.

From Sargon, the Great King of Kings, to Aslan Pasha, the first to launch an expedition to the Victorian region, and then to the establishment of the Victorian Aslan dynasty, his influence was behind every monarch. He didn't have the hobby of wolf lords fighting crickets; he was acting solely on a promise, yet all the Victorian Aslan emperors referred to him as "Teacher."

A teacher is one who imparts knowledge, instructs in skills, and resolves doubts.

The fact that Victoria had so many anthropomorphic figures, from emperors to nobles, cannot be said to be entirely unrelated to Gawain's teachings; after all, the principle of "what the superiors do, the inferiors follow" still applies.

If it really came down to scheming, even the Duke of Caster's methods were inferior to Gawain's, let alone the Grey Hats trained by the Duke of Caster.

Jeragand, let's see who kills more!

With such trivial skills, you dare to act presumptuously in front of me, Gao? I see you as nothing more than shills selling your heads!

Duke Curst didn't care if one or two died, but he was annoyed by the expulsion of a bunch of them. He refused to believe it and tried again. Finally, one of them managed to sneak in, and Duke Curst was satisfied.

One is fine.

So Mr. [Poet] entered Sherag.

This was, of course, tacitly approved by Jeragand and Gawain.

Playing spot-the-difference games among tourists all day is exhausting. Gawain suggested "prevention is worse than cure," letting one in, monitoring them closely, giving them a glimmer of hope while ensuring they don't obtain any valuable intelligence. Yeragand agreed.

Therefore, Mr. [Poet] was able to "move freely" within the territory of Kjerag.

It's fortunate that the "poet" is essentially a person who lives for the moment and his attitude towards tasks is to get by as much as possible. He even earned the reputation of "harpist" at the train station and on the train. Otherwise, if he had actually done something, he might have frozen into an ice sculpture the next day because his left foot was frozen solid.

"He plays the harp quite well. I listen to his live stream as instrumental music every day when I'm doing spot-the-difference or studying, it helps me de-stress." - by a single mother who wished to remain anonymous.

The grey top hats had limited effect, so it seemed they couldn't be blamed. Moreover, the poet's performance during the fair was quite outstanding. Although he "coincidentally" discovered Windermere a step too late, he still reaped considerable rewards, and the Duke of Caesar didn't seem inclined to make things difficult for him anymore.

Whose responsibility is that?

The Duke of Caesar recalled the group of councilors from the Lentinium City Council who had been incited years before.

Although she planned the rebellion that led to the Lion King's execution, she certainly did not carry it out herself.

She stirs up trouble, but doesn't like getting involved. That assassination attempt on the king was, of course, instigated by a group of Lontinem councilors and a mob.

"Damn it, it's all their fault! Why didn't they kill them all? How did my brother's daughter have to escape!"

The Duke of Caesar thought of immediately sending someone to play a genealogy puzzle game for the councilors. But before she could utter a sound, she swallowed back the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

It wasn't that she suddenly had a change of heart; it was just that someone had helped her with this.

Don't forget who those people are—Lentinium City Council members.

Does she not know what's going on in Lentinium now? After reaching a preliminary cooperation agreement with Theresis and rejecting Duke Windermere's proposal to march on Lentinium, Lentinium has completely lost its chance for redemption.

To put it nicely, it's an isolated city; to put it bluntly, it's the largest open-air prison and concentration camp on this land.

The suffering of ordinary people is already heavy enough—though the Duke of Caesars doesn’t care at all—let alone the members of parliament.

Before coming to Sherag, Kessler had already received news that the Speaker of the Londinium City Council was dead, stabbed eight times in the back, and that a thorough investigation by the Kazdel Military Committee had determined it to be a suicide.

The speaker was the same member of parliament who personally put the noose around the lion king's neck back then.

All the glory and wealth were for naught. In the end, he was nothing more than a pawn manipulated by her. He had no right to decide when he would die, let alone live.

Those who carried out the massacre of the Aslan royal family need not be blamed; they were truly virtuous and compassionate.

The Duke of Caesar sighed.

She suddenly lost her target, a target for venting her anger.

The person in the grey top hat is not to blame, nor is the rebel. She did nothing wrong. Should she blame Ernst instead?

impossible.

If Vina's affair had come to light any earlier, even just a day earlier, she might have immediately severed ties with Ernst and formally declared hostility. But now, that option is no longer on her shortlist.

Because of the "future," because of the "airship" that Ernst presented.

Every Terran leader who has witnessed an airship streak across the sky and been blinded by its enormous shadow can imagine the immense future potential of this technology.

With its existence, the walls of Londinium are nothing but decorations; with its existence, the cannons of high-speed warships are nothing but toys; with its existence, a brand new competition is about to begin.

This is a race about armaments, technology, and the future.

In this competition, Victoria absolutely cannot fall behind! Because falling behind even once means falling behind at every step! Because it is the undisputed champion of Terra!

Anyone can lose, but it cannot afford to lose even once! The lesson of the Gallo-Baltic Empire is laid bare before our eyes!

Admittedly, from Ernst's perspective as an Earthling, airship technology might not seem complex, but this is Terra, a place where even the most advanced aircraft are so outdated that they could be shot down by a little girl on the ground with no military knowledge carrying a homemade rocket launcher.

That wasn't Black Hawk Down; that was MacArthur's "Eagle Takes Flight," a ruthless mockery and bullying of aircraft by mature, advanced ground equipment!

But Ernst's airship is different; at least it has a shield. The Originium Arts generator can form a shield around it. Although the shield's strength is not high due to energy limitations, it can still easily withstand a rocket launcher or something similar.

This is a devastating blow to the Terrans.

That's why Ernst dared to let this "prototype" fly, show itself to the Terrans, and pretend to be the "future," even though it still had many flaws and loopholes.

Because it truly has the resources to do so.

The Duke of Caesar was a wise man, Ernst realized, and she realized it too.

She could certainly guess that airship technology still had flaws, but given that the nations of Terra knew almost nothing about airships, even a flawed technology, if mastered, could become an advantage.

The first person to eat the cake will be the most full.

Victoria, or rather, once she acquires this technology, her position will be secure. Even if there is a Vina, what difference does it make? The size of Sherag is incomparable to that of the Duchy of Caesar. The common people admire strength, so the advantage still lies with her.

But if she falls out with Ernst and completely loses the opportunity to acquire this technology, she will have to start from scratch, recruiting talent and developing an airship...

She won't have that time.

Falling behind by one step leads to falling behind by every step. By then, even the Duke of Windermere, who has the best relationship with Ernst, won't need to intervene. Even the usually opportunistic Godottin "reindeer" will show his antlers at that time.

Who wouldn't covet the wealth of Cactus?

The Duke of Custer was on pins and needles just thinking about the fact that his hard-earned base was under unimaginable threat.

She was angry, frustrated, and helpless, but she kept it all to herself.

Because she is an out-and-out political animal, she is willing to sacrifice herself in order to achieve her goals.

After a long period of contemplation, the Duke of Caesar's eyes flickered, and he spoke:

"Sir Bellingham, prepare a small gift and, while you're at it, inform Miss Rita Scamanderos, that is, [The Horn]."

"Have her prepare to come with me to visit Prime Minister Ernst."

"If you go too late, you'll probably have to wait in line."

As the title suggests, as a history enthusiast, Xi'an is definitely a must-visit destination. I've been traveling in Xi'an with some friends for the past few days. We visited the city wall, museums, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, and the Xi'an Night Market. The smog was quite severe, but putting the environment aside, the historical and cultural atmosphere was truly rich. Walking down the street, you could see two or three out of ten people wearing Hanfu or Tang Dynasty clothing. The museums were also definitely worth seeing. Because I was traveling around during the day, I've only been updating late at night.

I've decided to go to the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor and visit the Terracotta Army tomorrow, a day trip, so I'm taking the day off and will update tomorrow night.

Although this month only has 28 days, I still guarantee at least 15 updates! Thank you all for your support!