People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

"I know."

"Their energy source is the Soul Furnace."

Nieci Leidao,

“The men Fremont sent found me. I agreed to give them the Soul Forge.”

Therese's Adam's apple bobbed, and for a fleeting moment, he seemed about to utter something rather unseemly. But after a moment, he suppressed his impulse and nodded:

"I see."

"That way, there's nothing to worry about, right?"

Niecilei asked.

Therese's eyes flickered, but she did not answer.

The phantom of Niecilei seemed to have figured something out, and was somewhat surprised:

"You still want to save the Demon King."

"It's my duty."

Therese did not deny it.

Niecilei remained silent for a long time, then, amidst a complex mix of emotions that even an ellipsis of six dots couldn't describe, he burst into laughter:

"good."

"Go ahead and fight! Those Victorians have forgotten what real war is!"

"Let us Sarkaz extremists show them what we're made of!"

"I will lead my legion into battle next Monday!"

Volume 1: The Age of Great Contention

Chapter 706 Abrahana's Three Questions

This is truly a wonderful day.

Birds are singing, flowers are blooming. Everything in Terra looks thriving.

When the army of scavengers strode confidently across the Victorian army's cordon, everyone thought it was just another ordinary raid, like countless others before.

The Sarkaz Military Council was at its last gasp. Since the "great victory" of that surprise attack, Duke Windermere had won one victory after another. Today, she had successfully driven the Sarkaz army completely into the high walls of Londinium.

What remains is nothing more than catching a turtle in a jar.

Her victory was within reach; all that remained was to consider the division of spoils after the war. This wasn't her forte, but fortunately, she wasn't worried about it.

For domestic matters, consult Kent; for foreign matters, consult your daughter. Windermere has three brains: one internal and two external.

6 One of the external brains can even help find her hidden brain. With so many brains, how could she not be able to manage them all?

The Duke of Castells has also completed her plan. Her informant in the city, the "loyal and noble" Duke of Cumberland, has obtained the national sword, stained with the blood of steam knights, which was left in the resting place of the kings, with the help of the self-defense army.

With the Breath of the Kings in hand, the Sarkaz's most terrifying methods—those troublesome sorcery spells—will be rendered ineffective against it. Next, she will follow Duke Windermere all the way to Londinium, and then, using the national sword, openly compete with Windermere for the Victorian throne.

Siwindmere could not contend with her; that reckless woman was perfectly suited to be a Victorian soldier and subject, but utterly unsuitable to be a Victorian monarch.

The Duke of Caesar will treat her well after he has thoroughly defeated her.

The Duke of Wellington has been silent for months, and the once-mighty high-speed warship HMS Gastrill, the Iron Duke's flagship, now remains eerily silent. Only Abrahim, the "suddenly appearing" figurehead, continues to issue orders on behalf of the Duke of Wellington.

Regardless, morale has been shaken, and the Duke of Wellington, once the most feared adversary of Caesar, is no longer a threat.

Many of his subordinates have even expressed their intention to surrender to the Duke of Caesar. If the Duke of Wellington continues to stay at home and disappear without a trace, in another six months, he will probably be left with only a few loyal followers.

This is the cruelty of Victorian political struggles. In the past, the Duke of Wellington was not without his efforts to fight for the interests of his nobles. These nobles were not ostracized and ruined when the Duke of Custer organized a net to surround the Duke of Wellington, largely because the Duke of Wellington sheltered them.

Of course, you'd better not ask where the wind and rain come from.

The Duke of Wellington is now in a "difficult situation," yet these people show no mercy and are certainly not good people from a moral standpoint.

But for Victorians, and even most politicians, this is no big deal and is perfectly understandable.

After all, what the Duke of Wellington gave them in the past is now forever in the past. People, on the other hand, live in the present and move towards the future.

They also have families to maintain and territories to protect. Rather than clinging to a dying tree and eking out a living, they should move on to another forest as soon as possible.

There was no way out; we were utterly helpless.

Of the four dukes, perhaps only Duke Godottin remained remarkably calm.

After things started to go smoothly, he even left the battlefield in Lentinium and returned to the Duchy of Gaudottin, to his winery, to prepare for this year's "Wine Festival".

In his own words:

“My title is hereditary, and I am not skilled in martial arts. Staying on the battlefield would only cause trouble for Duke Windermere, give the Sarkaz another target for assassination, and add another burden to the allied forces to protect. I would rather fulfill my duty as a duke. No matter how busy I am, I cannot forget my territory and my people!”

When people asked about his army, he bluntly stated:

"Hasn't the Supreme Command of the Allied Forces already made a resolution? The commander-in-chief of the Victorian Empire's Allied Forces will be Duke Anferis Windermere, and my army will naturally be under the full command of Duke Windermere. Do you have any objections to this?"

"If you have any objections, you can go and voice them to the Duke of Windermere. Coming to me won't do you any good."

That last sentence was purely a half-joking threat.

In the entire Victoria, besides these few grand dukes, who else would dare to "discuss" things with the Duke of Windermere?

Despite her seemingly amiable demeanor in front of Ernst, Daphne, and her husband Kent, Amphilis Windermere is ultimately a Grand Duke of the Frontier Military, who has ruled for decades! Her authority is not to be challenged by ordinary people!

Overall, Victoria seems to be doing well.

Ernst, as usual, hummed a little tune about his unknown progress as he walked into his office.

Shelag, Tukarim, Shelag Government Office Building, Ernst's Office.

Raphsini, whom we haven't seen for a long time, this time did not stand in the corner of the room, maintaining her bystander posture, disguised as a human-shaped small stove.

She stood beside the sofa where Ernst entertained his guests, her lips slightly pursed, looking at Ernst as he pushed open the door. Her eyes shimmered with a hint of struggle.

Ernst, of course, noticed Lavshini's strange behavior.

The person standing in that position either needed his help or had important matters to discuss. Rafishini's expression looked unusual, unlike either of those; it was somewhat fiery.

Ernst is referring to the temperature in the room.

Ernst took a deep breath. His otherwise good mood gradually sobered up under the influence of the almost frozen atmosphere after he entered the room.

He frowned and asked:

"Lavshini, what happened?"

Lavshini exhaled a breath of hot air, which seemed to carry a faint glow of fire, like a dragon breathing fire:

"Mr. Ernst, my sister asked me to ask you a few questions."

Raphsini's sister, the Drak named Abrahina?

Ernst did not meet her many times, but she left a deep impression on him.

She relied on the Duke of Wellington's influence, yet claimed not to be subordinate to him. As the Duke's representative in his interactions with Sherag, she made several decisions that went against his wishes to some extent. After the Duke's assassination attempt, she was the first to step forward, taking command of the Iron Duke's fleet under the guise of "Draco," with the assistance of the Duke's Crimson Iron Guard.

There are just too many strange things about this, and too many doubts, to even Ernst make sense of it all.

Even now, Ernst cannot be sure of the Duke of Wellington's condition, or whether Abrahim's so-called "takeover" is a genuine transfer of power from the injured Wellington, or a usurpation of power.

The only thing he was certain of was that Abrahina was no ordinary person.

Her ambition is enormous.

Given the chance, someone like that would undoubtedly stir up a storm on Terra. And she now has that chance.

It could be said that Ernst kept Lavshini by his side all along, in a way, waiting for this moment.

When Abrahana finally activated the hidden device, she finally managed to send a message to him through Abrahana!

Ernst nodded:

"what is the problem."

"Should an oppressed people resist?" Lavshini asked.

Ernst nodded without hesitation:

"of course."

Lavshini then asked, "If the means of resistance require making a deal with the devil, is that feasible?"

Ernst frowned but did not answer.

He neither agreed nor disagreed.

Psychologically, he certainly advocated that one should act righteously and follow the right path. But objectively speaking, in an environment like Terra, sometimes it's indeed difficult to achieve extraordinary results without resorting to drastic measures!

Seeing that Ernst did not answer, Lavshini pursed her lips, hesitated for a moment, and seemed to be thinking about whether to ask one last question.

Until Ernst nodded to her.

Lavshini slowly began to speak:

"Is the International Summit on the side of fairness, justice, and reason?"

Ernst swallowed hard and shook his head:

"We stand on the side of order."

Chapter 707 Levi Klitschko

The specific context defines what constitutes morality, fairness, and justice.

Lavshini's question is unsolvable; to provide a perfect answer, one needs not politicians, but philosophers.

Because politicians will only answer: "The World Summit is justice!" ★35 64

It's not about standing on the side of justice, principles, or morality, but rather that the World Summit itself is justice, principles, and morality itself.

Because the World Summit is the only organization in Terra that is recognized and unanimously upheld by all nations and has the ability to define specific scenarios!

This is actually reflected in many places, most notably in Lentinium.

Isn't Theresis just to the Sarkaz?

From the time the divine overlords descended and invaded Terra, to the present Crystallized Era, the Sarkaz have fallen from being the natives of this planet to the lowest rung, forced to rely solely on their innate right to life to survive. The exploitation, oppression, and systematic contempt inflicted upon the Sarkaz by the Terran nations are undeniable and absolutely real!

From this perspective, the revenge theory that Therese promoted, at least on the surface, of blood for blood and tooth for tooth, does indeed conform to the Sarkaz's simple values ​​and the justice under the "Sarkaz-centric" conditions.

If we put ourselves in the shoes of an ordinary Sarkaz and look at the issue from their perspective, then Theresis is more credible than Theresia, Theresia is like a wronged and surrendering person, and Theresis is like a brave and fearless hero. So, wouldn't it be a righteous revenge for me to support Theresis, join the Royal Court Army, and occupy Londinium?

Yes.

But from the perspective of the Victorians and the Lontinim, the story is completely different.

They were just a bunch of commoners, living peaceful lives, when inexplicably a group of Sarkaz, with the tacit approval of a grand duke from out of town, stormed into their city, killed their hero, the Steam Knight, wiped out the Tower Knights left over from the king's era, killed the Speaker, and imprisoned them all to do hard labor. And their reason? Some ridiculous "hatred from centuries ago!"

My family burst out laughing! Hundreds of years ago, my ancestor might have been digging in the farm of some noble old man. If you want revenge, why don't you dig up his grave?

In their eyes, they were simply victims of an undeserved calamity. Those Sarkaz who ran rampant in the city of Londinium, committing atrocities such as imprisonment, murder, rape, and arson, were not just evil, but the most devastating calamity on earth!

Those who fight against these evil Sarkaz are naturally the forces of justice, with the Duke's Allied Army above and the Londinium Citizens' Self-Salvation Army below, each one a hero!

But what was the reality? Behind the self-rescue army stood the Duke of Caesar. The Duke's allied forces were constantly embroiled in internal strife, each acting independently and harboring their own ulterior motives. The only ones they didn't care about were the citizens of Lentinium who were eagerly awaiting rescue.

So, at this point, who is truly in the right?

In the past, no one could say for sure. But now, the World Summit has the final say.

The World Summit stated: "The Sarkaz extremists occupying Londinium are terrorists who must be eradicated! They are the culprits jeopardizing peace in Terra!"

That's them.

They are evil because the World Summit defines the scenario, and the five permanent members of the Security Council define the World Summit.

None of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council are named Kazdel.

Therefore, Ernst would say that the World Summit maintains "order." Leaving aside justice, something that is forever pursued but never truly attainable, the World Summit, as a political organization, is essentially a "machine of order."

Not only did he know this, but the Sarkaz knew it too. Therefore, Fremont, Ramalyn, and even Theresa herself—these moderate Sarkaz members—would be incredibly grateful to Ernst. Because his actions, at least, had given the Sarkaz a ticket.

The first World Summit was at least not the Munich Agreement, and the Kazdel and Sarkaz, defined by the scenario, still had the right to attend, express their opinions, and receive help from the other countries.

This is an immense favor, considering that Sarkaz had almost completely offended Victoria, one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. If it weren't for Ernst, Victoria would undoubtedly have voted against Sarkaz's independence, let alone allowed Kazdel to join the Summit of Nations and become a member state!

The World Summit, which is now the rope that allows Sarkaz to climb up, will become a shackle around Sarkaz's neck until it breaks or Sarkaz is strangled to death!

Lavchini received Ernst's answer.