The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

Cliff's cowardice was not a pretense. Ever since he was no longer the crown prince, Cliff had fallen into deep self-doubt about his abilities. Then, seeing his increasingly outstanding younger brother Crane, Cliff resigned himself to his fate like an ordinary middle-aged man.

There's nothing wrong with being a useless prince; at least you can live a peaceful life of leisure and waiting to die, right?

Augustine III was constantly teaching Cliff that politics is the art of compromise, and Cliff truly grasped the essence of it; he compromised.

"Your Highness, we were unable to locate Her Majesty the Queen..."

Judith turned her head away, her expression a mix of anger and disappointment.

Cliff nodded slightly, indicating that he understood.

Claire fell down the steps, but fortunately, because she was a professional, she wasn't seriously injured. However, she had completely gone insane and could only talk nonsense in front of the wall. She was mentally dazed, like a broken, exquisite doll. At Judith's insistence, Cliff, although heartbroken for his sister, compromised. Both sides backed down, and Judith's people took Claire into custody.

Upon returning to the main hall, Judith temporarily assumed the role of prime minister and briefed the foreign officials who had arrived on the situation.

"In short, that's how it is. Princess Claire colluded with the demons, and possibly even Anjou, to cause chaos and launch a coup, but ultimately failed."

"Her Majesty the Queen also disappeared in the bombing that Prime Minister Nora was in. No trace of Her Majesty the Queen was found in the secret passage, and her fate is unknown."

Judith succinctly explained the current situation, and all the foreign officials fell silent. In the end, who was the winner? Perhaps no one won, not even Cliff, because Cliff couldn't make the approaching demons outside the city retreat.

"A country cannot be without a ruler for a day, especially now that the demons are approaching the capital. I propose that His Highness Cliff succeed to the throne."

To everyone's surprise, it was Judith, the Queen's loyal minister, who first brought up the matter.

Judith's longtime partner, Scott, also said, "I agree. A king is indeed needed to stabilize the situation, especially with the Papacy."

After a brainstorming session, Marcel, the leader of the old party, finally understood the situation.

It wasn't that Judith, the loyal Queen's guard, suddenly switched sides to support Cliff; rather, for the sake of the kingdom, there needed to be a king who could persuade everyone and unite them temporarily.

The fact that Her Majesty's remains have not been found means she is still alive. Placing Cliff on the throne is also a way of telling Her Majesty, who may be lurking in the shadows, that Claire's plan has failed and that Her Majesty should return immediately upon receiving this information.

At the same time, although Claire launched a coup that led to Her Majesty the Queen's disappearance, Clive at least stabilized the situation and was able to have a conversation with the Papacy, which at least prevented the Papacy from antagonizing the Royal Palace because of Her Majesty the Queen's situation.

Cliff becoming king is an option that everyone can accept.

"I agree."

Marcel spoke first. He was a conservative in the old party and believed that handing the kingdom over to the demons was worse than death. He was willing to support the new king if Cliff was willing to resist the demons.

With Marcel setting an example, more and more foreign officials also came to understand this relationship. Although a small number of people felt that they should talk to the demons, most people still approved the appointment of the new king, since Cliff could not stop them from surrendering.

"By the way, where is Sir Monroe?"

At this moment, someone mentioned it in the main hall, and many people's faces turned ugly. Monroe had also disappeared, but to be honest, as the demons approached, Monroe's actions became more and more obvious. Judging from the fact that Monroe had completely opened the Eastern Territory to the demons, to the point that the demons directly used the Eastern Territory as a springboard, Monroe had probably fled to the demons' side.

The nobleman who asked the question seemed to realize this as well and immediately stopped talking.

Judith and Scott stood on either side of the new king, Cliff, whose presence was so weak that Judith and Scott seemed like regents holding the emperor hostage.

Of course, in reality, it didn't matter anymore. Judith and Scott were now the two nobles with the highest status and the most power in the capital. Judith didn't even wait for Cliff to speak before she directly ordered, "Contract your forces and let all the garrison outside enter the city first. In the current chaotic situation, it is impossible to keep the demons out. Prepare for the city defense battle."

"Gather all the professionals in the city. The spellcasters will be managed by the Magic Association and will be responsible for providing the capital with a magical barrier. As for the magic tower built by the Northern Territory, regardless of whether it has been completed or not, put it into use immediately."

"As for the knights, let them stand by. All the able-bodied men in the city should be assembled for emergency musket training."

"And those adventurers."

Judith thought of the adventurers Claire had brought in to cause trouble.

"Let the knights gather the adventurers together and keep them under guard for now."

Cliff acted like a puppet, showing no objection to Judith ignoring him and issuing orders directly.

Scott finally noticed the new king, who had been completely ignored, and reminded Judith, "As for the new king's coronation ceremony, considering the current special circumstances, the ceremony will not be held. Just announce it to the whole city, especially to the Papacy. Make sure to explain it clearly."

Judith finally remembered that the people outside might not yet know that the new king had been crowned, so she said, "Sir Scott is right, but would His Majesty be so kind as to go to the Papacy in person?"

Cliff, who was finally having some effect, nodded and said, "Of course, I will explain it to His Holiness the Pope."

Meanwhile, Antipas narrowed his eyes in satisfaction as he listened to the scouts' report.

Although the human army was already prone to collapse at the first contact, after Claire's message arrived, the human army lost even the last shred of will to resist and began to retreat frantically.

When Lilith was still alive, she did implement some scorched-earth measures, but the demons attacked too quickly, so many people didn't have time to escape.

Looking at the vast and fertile land before him, Antipas was unfortunately uncultured; otherwise, he would have definitely composed a poem.

The only variable now is the North, but with the Black Mist as his backing, Antipa felt that even the North might be a formidable opponent. Moreover, Avar's new envoy was already on his way. Although this super-rank magic was somewhat ineffective, Antipa believed that as long as the price was right, everything would be fine.