Chapter 95. Pressure from the Seven Great Kingdoms, and the Countermeasure
William stood before the window of his palace, unconsciously rubbing the dragon scale in his palm with his fingertips.
When Zoe had reported the news to him, he had remained silent for a long time. He truly had not expected the First Prince to do something so ruinously self-destructive.
“He is still a member of the Kroll Royal Family in the end. Did he never think about the consequences?”
William murmured in a low voice, a trace of chill in his tone.
“He used a secret tied to the kingdom’s very lifeline as a bargaining chip, all for the sake of fighting over a throne?”
He knew very well that the Ancestors in the Royal Family Secret Realm cared most about the continuation of the family.
What the First Prince had done was no different from placing the entire Kroll Royal Family beneath the covetous gaze of the Seven Kingdoms. Even if he truly managed to ascend the throne one day, he still would not escape the reckoning of the Secret Realm Guardians.
“Your Highness, the Seven Kingdoms are applying pressure now, and His Majesty has already moved against the Carden Family. The atmosphere in the Royal Capital is extremely tense.”
Zoe stood to one side, her voice grave.
“Prince Kande just sent word that you are not to leave the palace for the time being.”
William turned around, his gaze calm.
“Father King wants to hide me away and put on a show for outsiders.”
He walked over to the table and picked up an intelligence report containing records of the recent troop movements of the Seven Kingdoms.
“But he probably never imagined that the First Prince would be foolish enough to reveal my secret to the Silver Oakleaf Kingdom.”
A'gu rumbled, “Should I take some men over there and kill that damned First Prince?”
“There is no need. Whether he lives or dies now no longer matters.”
William shook his head.
“Besides, he is currently the Silver Oakleaf Kingdom’s ‘honored guest.’ He would not be easy to kill.”
He paused, his fingertip sliding across the report.
“The Ancestors in the Secret Realm will not sit back and do nothing. After the First Prince caused a disaster of this scale, they have probably already moved.”
“As for those Seven Kingdoms watching us like tigers...”
He touched the dragon scale inside his robe, and a cold curve lifted at the corner of his lips.
“If they want to kill me, they should first ask whether the Grand Elder of Dragon Island would agree.”
A few days later, nine immense auras suddenly descended over the skies of the Royal Capital of Kroll, like nine invisible mountains pressing down upon the royal city.
The palace guards looked up and saw nine figures striding through the air. All of them were white-haired, white-bearded old men, yet the auras on their bodies were several times stronger than those of ordinary Legendary Combatants.
These were the true foundations of the Royal Family.
They went directly to stay in the depths of the royal palace, and before long, suppressed fury began to spill out from the council hall.
Bang.
A sturdy redwood table was smashed apart with a single palm strike. Splinters flew everywhere as a hot-tempered old man with a thick beard sprang to his feet and glared angrily at Kroll II.
“Hmph, what a fool. Is he even truly one of the Kroll bloodline? He actually dared do something like cutting off his own arm. Fool, an absolute fool.”
“Third Brother, sit down.”
The elder seated at the head of the hall spoke in a steady voice and raised a hand to press down on his shoulder.
“Now is not the time for cursing people. We need to find a way to solve this.”
“Solve it? How are we supposed to solve it?”
The irritable elder shook off his hand, his eyes red with rage.
“So what if the Seven Kingdoms are applying pressure? At worst, we fight. Are we really supposed to hand Little William over to be killed?”
“That boy is the God-Chosen Son our Kroll Family has not seen in a thousand years. If we kill him, would any of us old relics still have the face to meet our forefathers?”
Inside the hall, everyone present nodded silently. Clearly, they all agreed that William had to be protected.
Seeing this, Kroll II drew a deep breath and swept his gaze over the group.
“Royal Uncles, I have already drafted a response plan.”
He walked to the map and pointed toward the Kadiya Kingdom and the Dragon Kingdom.
“With William’s talent, the Kadiya Kingdom and the Dragon Kingdom will certainly covet him. We can propose marriage alliances.”
“We can have William enter into marriage agreements with princesses from those two kingdoms and promise them future heirs. For the sake of long-term benefit, they will surely be willing to temporarily set aside their hostility and may even form an alliance with us.”
“At that point, the allied armies of the three kingdoms can march west directly and beat the Silver Oakleaf Kingdom, along with the other human kingdom in the west, into submission first, shattering their ambitions.”
His fingertip struck the map of the Silver Oakleaf Kingdom heavily.
“As for the three non-human kingdoms of the Dwarves, Orcs, and Barbarians, so long as we hold Despair Fortress and Meteorfall Fortress firmly, they will not be able to advance a single step.”
“We will first resolve the hidden dangers among the human kingdoms, then free our hands to deal with the foreign races.”
A vicious glint flashed through Kroll II’s eyes.
“So long as we crush the two human kingdoms making the biggest noise, the remaining three non-human kingdoms—whose strength is inferior to ours to begin with—can either be fought or won over as we see fit.”
An armored elder said thoughtfully, “Marriage alliances are indeed a good idea, but William is only one man. If he enters into marriage alliances with princesses from two kingdoms at the same time, I fear it may invite trouble. After all, who would take precedence and who would rank second? Neither side would be willing to yield.”
“Trouble?” Kroll II sneered. “In the face of absolute interests, trouble is not worth mentioning.”
The elder at the head nodded.
“This plan is feasible. Using marriage alliances to bind the Kadiya Kingdom and the Dragon Kingdom would not only relieve the pressure on the Northern Frontier and the Eastern Frontier, but also allow us to borrow their strength to deal with the Silver Oakleaf Kingdom and the Reinhardt Kingdom. It would kill two birds with one stone.Only...”
He looked at Kroll II. “Have you asked William for his opinion?”
Kroll II fell silent for a moment before replying, “When the nation is in peril, personal wishes must yield to the greater good. I will speak with him personally.”
The irritable elder snorted.
“If that boy dares refuse, I will personally go twist his ears. Matters of family and state are not things that can be left to his temper.”
“Third Brother.” The elder at the head waved a hand. “William is the treasure of the Kroll Family. Do not act recklessly.”
The hall fell into discussion once more, refining the details of the marriage alliances, the deployment of the allied armies, the defensive arrangements of the fortresses... A grand plan tied to the kingdom’s future was quietly taking shape.
Over the next week, envoys from the Kroll Kingdom, the Kadiya Kingdom, and the Dragon Kingdom came and went in constant succession, and secret letters passed back and forth without pause. Anyone with eyes could see that the three kingdoms were preparing something.
Although the other kingdoms sent people to probe and negotiate, all of them were turned away under the excuse of “discussing border trade.” They could do nothing but watch as the three kingdoms drew closer and closer.
Inside the royal palace of the Kadiya Kingdom, however, the atmosphere was somewhat delicate.
Within the palace of the Eldest Princess, Selena, candlelight flickered, casting its glow over her somewhat haggard yet still sharp face.
Since her defeat in the war on the Northern Frontier, the forces she had built up at court had been dismantled by several of her younger brothers working together. She had completely lost any chance of competing for the throne and had spent this period living in silence.
Until news of William Kroll arrived.
“If I can marry William...”
Selena’s fingertip traced the cold tabletop, and fire burned anew in her eyes.
“I may not be able to become king, but if my son carries his bloodline, and also inherits that talent for seeing through aptitude, then he will surely be able to rule Kadiya in the future.”
She rose at once and hurried to the study of her father, Feir IV, laying out all her thoughts without reservation, her voice trembling with barely suppressed excitement.
After hearing her out, Feir IV slowly shook his head, his tone calm to the point of coldness.
“Selena, my daughter, I understand what you are thinking, but no.”
Selena froze. “Father King, why? I am the eldest daughter. My status is more than sufficient to match him...”