Divine Kingship

Chapter 525 "Claim Compensation from Rand" (There is a small chance that there will be more updates in the early morning, don't wait)
"Do we really want to give Rand land?" After understanding the situation, we finally came to the core issue.

Hiding the fact of defeat from the country was indeed a troublesome matter, but it was obvious that the issue of giving land to Rand was even more difficult to handle.

Defeat in war, cession of territory, and payment of indemnity.

In the past, in this world, wars rarely resulted in changes in territory. Without any claim, even if one won, one could only plunder.

The land of every lord was left or granted to them by their ancestors or kings. Being robbed or voluntarily ceding the territory was a slap in the face of their ancestors or kings.

As time goes by, the Torch Church loses its ability to maintain peace, and various evil events and annexations have become an occasional occurrence in reality.

For example, Rand occupied part of the land of the Kingdom of Bolen and the Kingdom of Lensa without "claiming" it, and integrated it into the current "Dukedom of the Moon".

Originally, there has never been any Moon Phase Dukedom in this world.

The Kingdom of Borun knew that if it wanted to maintain its reputation after defeat and stop the country from being dull and demoralized, it would have to pay a price.

But is the price of land too high?

"Is it possible for us to go back on our word?" said the commander of the Sea Snake Family a little tiredly.

Obviously, it was impossible, even though they threatened Rand with a fight to the death.

But in reality, this threat is very unstable.

This threat is not fatal to Rand. If a national war really breaks out, the development of Rand's territory will certainly regress, but can the Kingdom of Boren really get anything out of the Frost Moon Kingdom that owns Rand?

The final result is actually very easy to predict. The Kingdom of Bolun was destroyed and the Kingdom of Frost Moon was severely damaged, that's all.

As for whether there will be a miracle..., we can only say that the probability that Rand can come up with a brilliant plan is greater.

"Then what about giving Rand a piece of land that is not very valuable?" The King of the Kingdom of Bolen said with a headache.

"That's possible," said the former Minister of War, "because we don't have any valuable land. The land that can theoretically be lent to Rand has all been destroyed by the Undead, the Azure King, or vampires."

It was obviously impossible to divide the land that was originally ruled by the nobles into Rand. In the ransom letter that Rand sent at the beginning, he did not intend to ask for the core land of the Kingdom of Bollen.

Because Rand knew that the Kingdom of Bolen would not give it to him.

"Then..." King Boren thought, and then said, "Then let's go behind the first line of defense. The undead have had a serious impact there, and there are still undead wandering around there."

This place is not close to Rand's territory, and the value of the land is not high. If the Kingdom of Bolen rebuilds itself, it may be difficult to restore productivity within ten years. Although it is still a pity to give it to Rand, it will only be more painful to give it to other lands.

"So be it." The King of the Kingdom of Bolun sighed.

Before Rand, a man who came out of nowhere, showed up, the king was full of vigor and vitality. Under his rule, the Kingdom of Bollen continued to gain profits from the ocean, and the construction on land also continued to develop with the support of the ocean. The Kingdom of Bollen became increasingly powerful.

His sons were also very promising. The eldest prince was quite capable, and the second prince was a playboy, but he made a name for himself and became a great hero of the Kingdom of Bollen.

Then Rand showed up.

I really don’t want to talk about what happened afterwards.

After the former Minister of Military Affairs and the commander of the Sea Snake Family left, King Boren called the eldest prince again.

The King of the Kingdom of Bolen is a burly man. He is now almost fifty years old, but he is still muscular and has a big beard, looking very oppressive.

Even the young eldest prince is not as strong as him.

But at this moment, this strong king looked tired and exhausted. Not only had he experienced the pain of losing his son, but he had also suffered various failures, big and small. The Kingdom of Bolun, which he had originally managed and developed, was also declining.

Now it has even reached the point of ceding territory and paying compensation.

The King of Bolen sighed and said, "You should study hard. I have decided to abdicate in the next few years. Maybe I am really old and not suitable to rule this country anymore."

The eldest prince looked a little excited. He had long wanted to show his skills. In his eyes, his father's governance had many inappropriate aspects.

And if he were to take over, then Rand Nicholas would definitely surrender.

It is just right for his father to abdicate now to avoid making further mistakes, which would ruin his reputation in his later years and damage the royal family's reputation.

……

A few weeks later, Rand met the envoy from the Kingdom of Bollen.

By this time, Rand had returned to the Lord's Hall of the Upper Sanctuary.

Despite being intimidated by the huge lord's chair and the giant power armor, the messenger still looked a little arrogant.

It was as if Rand had really been defeated in the battle with the Kingdom of Bolen and signed a humiliating treaty.

"Sir Rand." The messenger looked cold and arrogant. He did not raise his head to look at Rand sitting on the lord's chair. He just said in a serious tone, "Our great king orders you to send enough people and materials to the former first line of defense to assist in the construction before this autumn."

The messenger said indifferently: "No delay, you must arrive on time."

The envoy was not in a good mood. When they saw him coming, they didn't even treat him well with food and drink.

Although he really couldn't decide anything, if he was bribed and treated to good food and drink, he might even say a few good words in front of the great king.

But Rand felt that it was the King of Bollen or some minister who was deliberately trying to disgust him.

Send an uninformed messenger to deliver the message.

Ellie, who was beside Rand, tried to keep a straight face, while Elsa, who was hiding behind the throne and secretly guarding, was already covering her mouth and laughing.

As for Olenna, the secretary, she looked helpless.

Rand patted the back of Ellie's hand helplessly and whispered, "No matter what the outcome of the war is, you should respect me and look me in the face."

Rand's voice is very young, clear and gentle.

But even such a calm voice still startled the messenger, who was upset because he failed to collect the bribe.

I looked up involuntarily and saw Rand's eyes, which were as calm as his voice.

The messenger suddenly felt that the atmosphere was a little too depressing and he felt a little breathless.

"Defeated, defeated army..." The messenger spoke haltingly, trying to break the depressing atmosphere, but soon he could not continue.

"What should you call me?" Rand asked.

"Yue, Your Excellency the Duke of Yue." After being silent for a while, the messenger chose to surrender temporarily and swore secretly in his heart that he would discredit Rand as many times as possible after returning.

But now, he thought it would be better to give in.

Rand might be in a bad mood after suffering a defeat. If he takes it out on the envoy, the Kingdom of Bolen will surely not send troops to Rand again because of the envoy's problem.

However, when he returns, Rand will have to endure his troubles. Now you can be proud of yourself, Rand.

Rand was still helpless. He was certain that this neurotic messenger was sent by the Kingdom of Bolen to disgust him.

Never mind, that's it.

Rand waved his hand and said, "You can leave now. Our people will arrive before autumn."

The messenger felt relieved and immediately turned around and left.

Rand also stood up. Next, he was going to check on the elves of Nidhogg. The one-year period was up and the elves were about to leave. In view of the fact that Nidhogg led the elves to help defend the Crescent Harbor during the invasion of the Kingdom of Borun.

Although the firepower was only poured out at a distance, the effect it played was very huge, and the elves also suffered some casualties.

therefore.

These elves will receive assistance from Rand when they return to the Elven Forest.

Soon, Rand saw the elf in the transportation area of ​​the holiday villa on the lower level.

They are about to leave.

Rand walked up to Nidhogg and said, "Actually, I can also provide manpower assistance."

Nidhogg shook his head. "Your Excellency has provided a lot of help. I would like to express my gratitude to you on behalf of all the elves. As for manpower... Your Excellency is short of manpower. Moreover, at least so far, I think the matter of the Elf Forest should be resolved by the elves themselves."

"Then be careful." Rand did not mean to be harsh on the people of the fortress. "If you are still willing to return to the Duchy of the Moon Phase to work, then the door of the Duchy of the Moon Phase will always be open to you."

Then Rand stopped caring about it and turned back.

Nidhogg also set off with the elves.

Now most of the elves have changed their views on Rand. Even those elves who stayed because of Nidhogg's orders and actually hated humans have to admit that Rand is a human lord who keeps his promises.

Maybe this human lord likes to use some weird methods, but maybe this is the characteristic of humans? At least for these "invaders", they are still willing to keep their promises, which is very respectable.

When they participated in the battle to defend Crescent Harbor, they also witnessed a glimpse of Rand's "power". After the battle, Rand also provided a lot of assistance as promised.

Weapons, armor, livestock, money, food, and some magic items and potions.

There are even some high-quality magic props that are rarely seen on the market, which are also very useful for mid- and high-level professionals like them.

In terms of livestock, Rand even provided several flying cows and horses that were obviously worth a fortune, although Nidhogg thought the name of flying cows and horses was a bit strange.

"Are we really going to refuse Rand's manpower support?" asked a slightly older elf walking beside Nidhogg.

"We still don't know the exact situation in the Elf Forest, and Rand's position may not be on our side." Nidhogg lowered his voice slightly and spoke slowly.

"What do you mean, they may not be on our side?" The slightly older elf was stunned. He could not understand Nidhogg's words at all. "Are you saying that humans are stirring up trouble in the Elf Forest?"

Nidhogg shook his head and didn't explain any further.

Vanilla is here, the ancient elves are here too, and there are many mysteries about Rand that he has not seen clearly. He really can't believe that everything in the Elf Forest now has nothing to do with Rand.

As for what will happen, we will have to wait and see when we return to the Elf Forest.

If the Elf King or even the Council of Elders really went crazy.

Then he, Nidhogg..., Nidhogg's face became stern, and on his solemn and calm face he made a beast-like expression of baring teeth.

His Nidhogg's fangs were not at all disadvantageous.

……

Rand met Karin again.

During this period, the Torch Church was not suitable to participate in the conflict with the Kingdom of Boren. Rand also judged that with Marcus and the Marquis of the Stag as backup, no major problems would arise. Karin was relieved to investigate the matter of the false Azure King.

If a life-and-death situation really arises, Bishop Kahn is still here, and the Torch Church will naturally join the battle.

Karin came back today, and it seems that the investigation has produced some results.

"How is it going?" Rand and Karin walked in the seclusion of the upper sanctuary.

Olenna, who was originally Rand's guard and secretary, disappeared at some point.

Karin blushed a little.

In fact, almost all the top leaders of the Sanctuary knew about her relationship with Rand.

In fact, at least for the top leaders of the Holy Land, there is nothing to hide.

She tried several times to convince herself to confess to the Lord's Lady Ellie, but failed every time.

Every time I made up my mind to see Ellie, my feet would be rooted to the ground and not move.

After several attempts, Karin gave up.

That's right, she was a coward! Anyway, she couldn't admit to the lady of the lord that she was a shameless intruder.

So be it……

Rand squeezed Karin's hand, and when she didn't react, he secretly licked her earlobe.

Then Karin dodged away like a frightened little rabbit.

After a while, he slowly moved back to Rand.

"You, don't be like this. I came to you this time for something serious." Karin said with a red face.

Rand took Karin's hand again, squeezed it and asked, "So what's going on?"

"Those false kings who possess the power of thunder were the work of Grand Duke Vladimir, but now that the Blue King is dead, he can no longer create more." Karin became much more serious when she started talking about business.

Rand tried to sacrifice the body of the Azure King several times, but the Mother Goddess did not want the body, so Rand sealed it up, intending to keep it as a trump card.

If it really comes to a matter of life and death, then it can be awakened as a dead spirit.

However, Rand was not sure whether the Blue King would lose control after his resurrection. At least according to the current investigation, the Blue King had conducted experiments on undead transformation, so Rand did not awaken the Blue King and isolated him far away from the ruins of the Obsidian Tower.

"Then, I learned about Grand Duke Vladimir's arrival plan." Karin worked as a detective in the holiday villa for quite a while. Although most of the matters she dealt with were trivial, it also greatly enhanced her investigative ability.

"Grand Duke Vladimir has been in Purgatory for so long that he has been completely purgated. An existence like him cannot survive in the pure main plane." Karin thought for a moment and said, "Just like a fish needs water to survive, if Grand Duke Vladimir wants to descend, the main plane must be purgated enough. As for the sacrifice you guessed before, I don't know what it is, but it must be possible in the main plane."

(End of this chapter)