Chapter 924 - Supremacist Faction
After Marquis Wauter pinned the blame on the Demon Wors.h.i.+ppers, King Lutheran Geyser could not help but inwardly.
Yes, the Demon Wors.h.i.+ppers were the most likely suspects, but they aren"t the only possible suspects.
For instance, King Lutheran Geyser was aware that a supremacist faction existed within the kingdom. Members of this faction are all unhappy with the situation on the western side of the Human Domain.
They believe that the Geyser Kingdom should rule over the entire Human Domain instead of being isolated to the eastern side.
Nevertheless, even if this supremacist faction had nothing to do with the envoys" deaths, they would still support the Demon Wors.h.i.+pper"s war instigation between the two countries.
Thus, as Marquis Wauter mentioned, it was most likely the Demon Wors.h.i.+pper"s work.
Despite being aware of this, King Lutheran Geyser remained silent on the matter without mentioning any of it. Otherwise, the n.o.bles would become suspicious.
Even so, there were already a few n.o.bles that had already grown suspicious of his decision. After all, King Lutheran Geyser"s intention wasn"t well hidden.
A basket of eggs would always have a few rotten ones.
King Lutheran Geyser wanted to use the Demon Wors.h.i.+pper"s hands to get rid of the corrupted n.o.bles in his kingdom. That is why he kept sending envoys despite the first group never making it back.
Furthermore, King Lutheran Geyser could gauge the strength of the Demon Wors.h.i.+ppers by slowly feeding them stronger envoys.
It was killing two birds with one stone; why wouldn"t King Lutheran Geyser do it?
...
"The Demon Wors.h.i.+ppers, huh? Yes, the Demon Wors.h.i.+ppers seem to be the most likely suspect behind the envoys" disappearance. Nevertheless, do you understand what this implies?" King Lutheran Geyser finally spoke.
"The Demon Wors.h.i.+ppers that hunted the envoys outside the Geyser Kingdom has strength at the Early Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent Realm at the very least," Marquis Wauter answered without hesitation.
"That"s right," King Lutheran Geyser nodded.
However, shortly after, King Lutheran Geyser swept the other n.o.bles a glance and asked, "Anyone else have a different answer for me?"
The follow-up question immediately stunned Marquis Wauter. He gave the most answer, but it didn"t seem to be the answer the king was looking for.
The n.o.bles contemplated in silence.
After a few moments, Marquis Raygor inserted, "If the Demon Wors.h.i.+ppers came from our kingdom, then that means there are n.o.bles in this cult."
"Exactly!" King Lutheran said with a fierce glint.
At the same time, King Lutheran"s Paragon-level aura suddenly surged out of his body and suppressed the entire hall. The n.o.bles quickly felt intimidated.
"For n.o.bles to join the ranks of the Demon Wors.h.i.+ppers is no different from a slap to my face as the one who conferred n.o.bility unto them! Since no one is interested in taking a trip to the Crawford Empire, I want you all to find out every n.o.ble missing within the kingdom! Go!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!" the several dozen n.o.bles answered and left.
Nevertheless, a few Marquises and Earls remained behind.
"Your Majesty, I feel this matter isn"t that simple. Counting all the n.o.bles at the Baron rank and above, including those without fiefs, we are looking at hundreds of n.o.bles here. Furthermore, not all Seeking Insight-stage Transcendents are conferred n.o.bility by you, Your Majesty," Marquis Raygor mentioned.
"Exactly, Your Majesty," Marquis Wauter agreed.
"Especially among the upper n.o.ble houses like our Marquis Households and the two Duke Households. We have a few subordinates at the Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent Realm."
"Furthermore, we are only talking about Seeking Insight-stage Transcendents in the kingdom here. We haven"t accounted for the core disciples and elders of the Grand Ocean Palace situated in Water City and Starlight Archipelago."
"If we include them, we are looking at a few more hundred Seeking Insight-stage Transcendents. What I"m trying to say is that the Demon Wors.h.i.+ppers could be anyone, Your Majesty," Marquis Wauter stated.
"That is correct," King Lutheran acknowledged Marquis Wauter"s concern with a calm look.
"There is indeed a large number of Seeking Insight-stage Transcendents if we talk about the entire Geyser Kingdom. However, at the very least, if we find any missing n.o.ble in the kingdom, they would all be suspects."
"As long as we can catch one rat out of this list of suspects, it will give us a trail. And if we have this trail, it will lead us to the rest of the Demon Wors.h.i.+ppers. I don"t believe we can"t torture the answers we seek out of these rats," King Lutheran coldly stated.
The Demon Wors.h.i.+ppers had been a pain King Lutheran"s a.s.s. He detested those who threatened the stability of his country.
Nevertheless, the remaining n.o.bles in the hall glanced at each other with surprise. It appeared that their king had thought a great deal ahead of them.
"I understand, Your Majesty. We will head back and tally the names of everyone we find missing from the kingdom," Marquis Wauter stated. He had nothing left to say.
Shortly after, the meeting in the great hall officially concluded.
The n.o.bles left one by one and went their separate ways. However, not everyone did. Marquis Raygor and a few Earls gathered at a high-cla.s.s restaurant and booked a private room to dine.
Before long, the group of four n.o.bles took their seats at a round dining table.
"Demon Wors.h.i.+pper this, and Demon Wors.h.i.+pper that. There have been too many concerns over Demon Wors.h.i.+ppers that we are not addressing more important issues," Earl Almeric began complaining.
"Exactly," Earl Blavier, another Late Seeking Insight-stage Transcendents, chimed.
"I don"t know whether His Majesty is glossing over the matter or His Majesty simply doesn"t care. However, no matter what Baron Cortez did in the Crawford Kingdom, he was still a n.o.ble of our kingdom."
"Right? What the Crawford Kingdom needs is accountability, not an apology. I don"t understand why we need to bow our heads to such a weak country like the Crawford Kingdom," the third Earl added.
"Heh, it was the World Tree that killed Baron Cortez and his people," Marquis Raygor snickered.
"No need to talk in a roundabout way, so let us be honest with what we really want here. The blackwater dome isn"t cutting it anymore. The air is foul, and the weather is uncomfortable. But the World Tree"s domain isn"t like that."
"Everyone"s wondering why only the declined kingdom gets to enjoy such a good thing like the World Tree when our mighty Geyser Kingdom is suffering under the Cataclysm, right?" Marquis Raygor mentioned.
The three Earls nodded.