svetikya Page 1472
Page 1472
As the chief intelligence officer in the Valkyrie Duke's mansion, Chris had been holding back for a long time, and now she finally exploded.
Of the dozen or so people from St. Marian Academy, only Ophelia Brad had no opinion on the matter—her mind was entirely on the "Pope," and she was probably thinking about how to assassinate him.
Principal Arte couldn't help but shake his head.
Isn't the reason why Austin Clarissa was able to attend this meeting obvious?
Because he is the king!
What? You're saying the king is nothing special? Never mind then.
In short, now that the three heavyweight figures—the "King," the "Pope," and the "Elf Queen"—are all present, this temporary meeting is no longer temporary.
In light of Chris and the others' statements, Principal Arte suggested, "Since that's the case... how about... we split it up?"
If we include Nix and Ergani from St. Marian Academy, there are a total of fourteen people.
As a single force participating in the meeting, the number of fourteen people is clearly too large.
However, it would be more suitable to separate the Valkyrie Duke's power from it.
Now that the political entities of "King" and "Duke of the North" have been clearly identified, it's no longer appropriate for the Valkyrie's Duke's Mansion to remain aligned with St. Marian Academy.
Dark agreed immediately, saying, "Then it's decided."
将一个势力拆分成两个势力，虽然看起来是【1÷2=0.5】。但实际上的情况却是【1÷2=1】。
Both sides can gain more benefits and more say.
Moreover, the interests of St. Marian Academy and the Valkyrie faction are not entirely aligned.
"Since we've already made the decision, let the Holy Church help us clear out another room. It might sound a bit like burying our heads in the sand, but we can't let them see that we came out of the same room."
Dark smiled and indeed had the Holy Church members help him open a new room. Then, about five minutes later, he led the Valkyrie faction out of the rest room at St. Marian Academy.
After being split up, the Valkyrie faction has a total of seven members.
They are Dark Dimon himself, the four maids Ori, Chris, Angry, and Trina, as well as Aurora and Nix.
It was exactly the same number of people as the forces of St. Marian Academy. "Click."
After locking the door, Chris's expression turned slightly serious. "I didn't expect the King to actually come," Trina finally couldn't help but complain. "The Duke isn't here either; I don't know how to handle this."
Chris said, "It's not time for us to turn against the King yet. If we end up having to take sides on some issues at the meeting, that would be troublesome."
Aurora is also under considerable pressure.
The Free City is, after all, a product parasitic on the kingdom system.
Although it sounds harsh, it truly held a parasitic position in the kingdom's eyes.
If the king intends to regain power, the Free City should be an extremely obstructive place for him.
"When soldiers come, we'll block them; when water comes, we'll dam it. The situation is in our hands." In contrast, Darko Dimon was quite composed.
The maids' and Aurora's fear of the king was fundamentally an inevitable consequence of the existence of royal power.
But Dark will not be affected by this.
He saw something further into the future.
When Bishop Sabrina Melville and Gwendoland Ulysses came outside, the three chariots of the King, the Pope, and the Elf Queen remained stationary in the air.
The Elf Queen could actually move, but everyone has the desire to watch the show. She lay half-reclined on the soft chaise lounge, eating fruit and watching the sunset, showing no sign of urgency.
Before arriving here, she was quite anxious. But after arriving, she was no longer anxious.
Right now, all she wants is to see the royal and divine powers of the Kingdom of Yunic fight to the death!
Unfortunately, such a reality is very difficult to see.
But if I live long enough to witness a duel between the Pope and the old king, that would be truly wonderful!
She'd been wanting to give those two old guys a good beating for a long time!
The arrival of Bishop Sabrina Melville and Gwendoline Ulysses provided a stepping stone for the Pope and the King.
Seeing that the three-way standoff was about to break down, the Elf Queen turned and drove inside to meet up with Lucia Artemis, who had come to greet her.
In this generation of elves, the Moon Elves hold sole power, and from the Elf Queen to the Elf High Priest, they are all members of the Artemis family of the Moon Elves.
However, in the Elven race, the most capable rise to power, and the reason these two women were able to seize power was not simply because of their bloodline.
As the carriage pulled by the "Iron Warrior" came to a stop on the ground, "Elf Queen" Vera Artemis pushed open the carriage door and stepped out.
She was accompanied by guards, but that didn't matter. She herself was the strongest among them. "Where's Bellamy?"
As soon as she reached Lucia's side, the Elf Queen asked. Lucia puffed out her cheeks, displeased that her mother hadn't inquired about her situation immediately. But she then quickly led the Elf Queen inside.
Vera Artemis is like a giant version of Lucia; when the two walk together, no one would doubt that they are mother and daughter.
Meanwhile, the Pope and the King finally landed. As the King emerged, he was accompanied by the chief prophet of the royal court—"The Tail of Fate," Deist Copperfield.
Destin Copperfield was a man older than the king. But he looked remarkably energetic, and the sharpness in his eyes was even more pronounced than the king's.
In comparison, Pope Patrice is simply an old man. His last public appearance was during the execution of the Demon King, less than a year ago. Yet, he now appears several times older than he did last year. It wouldn't be surprising if he suddenly closed his eyes and died at any moment.
The thick, lingering atmosphere of dusk almost washed over my face.
But no one present dared to underestimate the elderly man who was about to be laid to rest.
Accompanying Patricis was the newly appointed archbishop, who was tall and thin, wearing a mask and a tall hat.
This archbishop was just over thirty years old, and it was no ordinary person to be promoted to archbishop at that age.
Bishop Sabrina Melville glanced at the archbishop before turning her gaze away.
She took the Pope's arm and slowly walked inside.
After today, she will surely be promoted to archbishop, and that newly promoted archbishop who is only thirty years old is her most direct competitor!
The sunset faded, and night fell.
This impromptu meeting, which was originally intended to be merely a prelude, finally began. The number of attendees far exceeded expectations.
As a result, Emily Grantham had to temporarily change to a larger venue and a larger round table.
There was no hierarchy at the round table; the various factions sat clearly divided, with seven members from St. Marian Academy in the center.
Seven Valkyries. Two from the North. Seven from the Holy Church. Five from the King. Six from the Elves. A total of thirty-four.
The atmosphere at the start of the meeting was unusually somber due to the unexpected arrival of this person. Bishop Sabrina Melville had to step in and steer the conversation: "Introductions are unnecessary. Since everyone is here, I'll assume everyone is fully aware of what has happened. And based on that, let's discuss our respective views on sacred rituals."
Before she could finish speaking, Earl Stanley Longfellow interjected, "Now that things have come to this, what's the point of having different opinions?"
Bishop Sabrina Melville frowned and said, "Longfellow, if you don't want to participate in the discussion, you are welcome to leave."
Stanley Longfellow sneered, "Your Excellency, you have quite the airs, but you can only show off your power to a nobody like me."
He was not originally qualified to attend the meeting; it was only the king's arrival that allowed him to sneak in.
Naturally, he had to play the role of the vanguard, the charging wolf. But his way of speaking made Count Gavin North, who was beside him, very uncomfortable, his face as sour as if he had been reborn as a pile of excrement.
However, as Stanley Longfellow lowered the bar for the meeting, Queen Austin Clarissa finally found an opportunity to speak.
He tapped the table lightly, signaling Count Longfellow to shut up, then swept his eyes across the room and said, "I've already learned about the matter from Count Gavin North's message."
Gavin Northon turned ashen-faced.
Duke Ted North gripped his teacup, his anger rising but he suppressed it. The King continued, “The divine ritual was something you were forced to do. But under the circumstances, no one could defy the will of a god. You did an extraordinary feat. Here, on behalf of the countless people of the kingdom, I must express my sincere gratitude to the twelve children who fought in the heavens and successfully prevented the immediate resurrection of the twelve gods, thus giving us humanity a glimmer of hope!”
After speaking, his gaze swept over Dark and the others present, giving them a look that said, "I'm proud of you all."
But putting aside the elves' disgust, even among humans, the "Twin Paladins" disdain it.
However, in such situations, they had to give the human king face, so they all kept silent.
In the end, the king's gaze naturally fell on the only one among the "twelve children" who was present and whom he knew well.
"Especially Dark, I heard you played an irreplaceable role in this trip to Heaven. The final outcome was almost entirely due to your efforts."
Chapter 1007 Magic Alliance (4k)
Dak didn't want to say much, but as the Duke's son, he couldn't ignore the old king's feelings, regardless of his position.
Moreover, he couldn't let the old king take all the credit for him—doing so would be tantamount to making him a target!
Regardless of whether the rest of the group agrees, once this target is set up, he will inevitably become the target of everyone's criticism, which is obviously not a good thing.
Therefore, Dark shook his head slightly and said, "Regarding this matter, we didn't play a very big role. From beginning to end, the whole thing was actually a scheme set up by Hermes. Whether it was me or the others, we were just pawns on the chessboard. All we could do, and all we did, was struggle to survive. We didn't even know what Hermes wanted to do before he appeared. We also wanted to uncover the god's plan, but unfortunately we didn't."
This answer was clearly not what the old king had expected.
He had assumed the Valkyrie's child would be clever enough to agree, and then he could use Dark as a starting point to participate in the whole affair.
After all, Dark was a citizen of the kingdom and the son of a duke. It was perfectly normal for him to include him in his own faction.
He had originally thought that since he was the child of the Valkyrie, he could use him as a model to promote Shinto rituals after the meeting and when he returned to the capital. That would naturally be a win-win situation.
However, instead of complying with his wishes, Darke pushed all the credit away.
But since Dark was unwilling, so be it. He had originally hoped to use this opportunity to ease tensions with the Valkyrie.
Several thoughts flashed through the old king's mind in a very short time. But on the surface, he remained amiable and said, "In any case, the kingdom will never forget your contributions. When this matter can be made public, I, as the king, will certainly award you medals."
No need!
Dark was speechless inside, but outwardly he could only express his gratitude for the king's kindness.
After a slight nod and a smile, the old king's expression turned serious. He continued, "It has only been a little over ten years since the war ended. Our people have not yet fully recovered from its cruelty, and our kingdom has not yet returned to its most prosperous state. Unexpectedly, an even more dire situation has unfolded before our eyes. I believe everyone here is well aware that the era of divine resurgence has arrived. The appearance of the twelve gods of Polopus is only the beginning; many more gods await awakening… it is even possible that some gods have already opened their eyes in corners we are unaware of. These are all inevitable events. But now, the divine rituals led by the twelve gods of Polopus have opened a path for us that was previously unimaginable. We must seize this path! This is a war far more severe than the war against the demons, and it is a war we must win. Therefore, I hope that we can once again set aside past grievances and cooperate sincerely, just as we did during the war. Do you all have any objections to my ideas?"
After she finished speaking, "King" Austin Clarissa scanned the faces of everyone with her tiger-like eyes.
The professors at St. Marian College looked normal.
Within the Holy Church, "Pope" Sith Saint Patricia merely sneered.
There were six elves in total, all of whom were expressionless.
The Duke of the North also frowned, seemingly deep in thought.
As for the seven members of the Valkyrie faction, apart from Dark, Aurora, and an unnamed girl, the remaining four are all maids.
To be honest, Austin found it quite unbelievable that the four maids were allowed to sit at the conference table.
But since he was a latecomer, he naturally couldn't have any opinions on the selection of attendees.
In short, after rambling on about what wasn't exactly nonsense, he finally steered the conversation from the Shinto rituals directly to cooperation. This was his primary reason for rushing here overnight!
Even if he weren't here, the others had already reached a consensus and would inevitably cooperate.
Those who are not here will be excluded.
Therefore, he must come no matter what, and he must take the initiative and actively bring the cooperation to the forefront!
Only in this way could he, who contributed almost nothing to this incident, possibly squeeze into the United Nations.
He had to squeeze in!
The biggest obstacle to his entry into the cooperation, as it stands, is undoubtedly that dying old man—Patricis!
However, "Pope" Sis St. Patricia merely sneered and didn't say another word.
It was the elves who spoke up!
The one speaking was not the "Elf Queen," but Rami Artemis, who had been decreed to destroy humanity on the moon!
"King of mankind." Bellamy's opening words were utterly aloof.
But after careful recollection, Austin Clarissa discovered that she had actually never had any dealings with this Moon Elf High Priest!
This is truly incredible for the two groups that have both experienced war together.
But Bellamy was completely confined after being recalled to the Elven lands, making him an exceptional case among exceptional cases.
On the contrary, the Elf Queen and the King had met more than once.
Since they weren't familiar with each other, Bellamy Artemis certainly wouldn't, and didn't need to, give Austin face.
She immediately asked, "From what standpoint are you demanding our cooperation?"
"King" Austin Clarissa narrowed her eyes and said slowly, "Of course, from the perspective of humanity."
Bellamy smirked and said, "It seems we're not on the same page. Since we're not even on the same side, what's the point of cooperating? I think we should just call it quits!"
Although elves are a subhuman race, just as humans do not consider them as their own kind, they do not consider humans as their own kind either.