Chapter 678: Between Light & Light (XVI)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The entire Dragon Soul Ceremony went on smoothly thereafter. The Light Parliament members showed ashen, frozen expressions while the people from the Munn Kingdom were exceptionally pa.s.sionate and delightful. However, they knew that this was only a victory on surface and was insubstantial. The Light Parliament definitely wouldn’t let this matter rest after being humiliated by the Munn Kingdom.
The first phase of the ceremony ended after Lily gracefully blessed everyone who was present. Then, everyone moved to the platform outside the Dragon Soul Temple to watch the military parade. But this time, no one was in the mood to enjoy it, especially the Light Parliament members who knitted their brows worriedly. Even though Lily was a puppet, she actually had the most right in regaining her authority. This should have been a clash between the Parliament camp led by the Light Parliament and Anti-Parliament camp led by the Munn Kingdom. If that was all, perhaps the others could support the Light Parliament. However, the situation was entirely different after the Light Dragon Soul had gotten involved. They didn’t dare to go against the Light Dragon Soul and no matter how transparent the Light Dragon Soul was in the Country of Light, she was one of the Creator Dragon Souls, after all, and wasn’t a presence that mortals could defeat. Once the Light Dragon Soul had fixated her eyes on s.n.a.t.c.hing back her authority, together with the strength of the three Archangels, it would cause a huge headache for the Light Parliament. If the Light Parliament were to take action, the threats that they would face would be greatly increased with the presence of Archangel Boulder and Archangel Serene.
Humans were always fearful toward powerful beings. Although the Light Parliament was great in inciting public opinion about Angels, the biggest problem laid on the Angels’ powerful selves. Angels possessed enormous sacred strength and longevity, as well as beautiful appearances. These were what Humans lacked the most and it was due to this that they accepted the Light Parliament’s opinions into rationalizing their envy and hate toward Angels. Not only that, but many people also had a misconception that they had equal statuses with Angels. Even the strongest of all Angels have to take cue from us Humans. So, we, Humans, are the rulers of this nation!
However, this was just a beautiful dream of theirs. The Light Parliament knew this situation that they had created was meant to compel the Battle Angels. They took advantage of the kind and lawful views of the Battle Angels as they knew that the Battle Angels wouldn’t do anything too radical. But the situation was different now. The Light Dragon Soul intended to regain her authority and, as a result, the Battle Angels’ actions would be justifiable. If the Battle Angel Army were to attack… perhaps a worrying future would emerge before the Light Parliament and their supporters soon.
“I didn’t expect to see those guys in this miserable manner.”
Sitting on the tall platform and gazing at the Light Parliament members in their ashen expressions, Lize couldn’t help but chuckle. Although she had a gentle temperament, even Buddha would be angered after facing unjust treatments from them.
Not only Lize, but even the other representatives of the Anti-Parliament camp also gazed at the Light Parliament members while rejoicing in their misfortune. This wasn’t surprising at all. After all, it was rare for the Light Parliament to encounter such a situation after throwing their weight about on this continent for years. Not only did the elderly chairman become the scapegoat of the Light Parliament in losing every sc.r.a.p of reputation in front of Lydia, but he had also failed to receive a single gold coin from her. Their financial debt could no longer be filled and everyone knew that the Country of Light had been going downhill over the years. They meant to rely on the Munn Kingdom for the sum of money every year to fill the financial debt. Now that the sum of money had grown wings and flown away, the Light Parliament was in for a huge headache as they faced a dangerous crisis!
But Rhode knew that it was impossible.
He was sure that the Light Parliament would definitely be capable of filling the financial debt.
The Country of Light was a nation that ran on an election system, which meant that there would be an election every four years. Every candidates from various parties would visit territories of the Country of Light to publicize their ideas and win the people’s support. It was widely known that this required a huge sum of money and the parties was only capable of raising only one-tenth of the amount, which was widely insufficient. At this moment, it was about time for the Country of Light backers from ‘behind the scenes’ to emerge.
That was the Country of Light’s trade a.s.sociations and financial groups. Specifically speaking, the five largest financial groups.
Pilt Financial Group, Lockos Financial Group, Manny Financial Group, and… Alanic Financial Group.
The five largest financial groups controlled more than 85% of the Country of Light’s wealth and were also the true, secret rulers of this nation. They used their wealth to a.s.sist the candidates into ascending the grand throne. As a result, parliament members naturally bowed down before them and had no choice but to act in accordance with their orders cautiously. Not only that, but they also had to be wary in not violating their G.o.ds of Wealth’s will. Anyone who violated their interests would be ditched and replaced by other representatives. It was due to this that even though the Country of Light was much wealthier than the Munn Kingdom, the wealth wasn’t in the Light Parliament’s hands. Not only could they not increase the tax rate of the five largest financial groups, but they also had to reduce the taxes that they paid through various methods. On the surface, they appeared to be creating more job opportunities and retaining a better market. However, anyone who used their heads knew the Light Parliament’s true thoughts. It was due to this that the Light Parliament’s financial expenditures were miserable every year. Not only did they need to rob Peter to pay Paul, but they also had to lower their heads shamefully before the Munn Kingdom and rely on their gifted sum to get through their days.
What made the matter worse was that the Light Parliament couldn’t lay their hands on the five largest financial groups.
The cooperation between both sides had to be traced back to a hundred years ago. Back then, the Light Parliament tried to gain the people’s support and s.n.a.t.c.h the Light Dragon Soul’s authority in the shortest time possible. However, they couldn’t achieve it just by simply speaking about it. They also needed ma.s.sive monetary support and due to this reason, the Light Parliament sought a.s.sistance from the five largest families and promised all kinds of benefits in exchange for funding and support. In the end, the five largest families agreed to their requests and they worked well together. As for the result… everyone knew it.
The Light Parliament pursued a narrow gain and neglected a greater danger. Their mouths had been watering at the sight of the Light Dragon Soul’s authority, but they weren’t aware that the five largest families were eying covetously too. Of course, the five largest families knew how hungry the Light Parliament was toward gaining authority (if not, the Light Parliament wouldn’t even wrap their heads around the Creator Dragon Soul’s authority). In order to prevent being kicked to the curb after they had outlived their usefulness, the five largest families began plotting their plans and operations. After the Light Parliament finally s.n.a.t.c.hed the authority from the Creator Dragon Soul, they were stunned to realize that the five largest families had completely monopolized the supply distributions in the Country of Light. The Alanic Family dominated the Northern foodstuff and minerals. The Dudek Family monopolized the manufacturing of all the equipment and weapons for the Country of Light’s army. The Lockos Family devoured the transportation industry. The Pilt Family controlled all the magic materials and spell-casters in the nation. Lastly, the Manny Family became the leader in the commercial areas.
From then on, the five largest families became the five largest financial groups that monopolized almost all of the Country of Light’s industries. If the Light Parliament retaliated, the Country of Light would crumple entirely. This left the Light Parliament utterly depressed. They had worked so hard to s.n.a.t.c.h the authority from the Creator Dragon Soul, but they realized the tragedy where they had become others’ puppets before they could even enjoy the moment.
However, the five largest financial groups and the Light Parliament were standing on the same side in going against the Munn Kingdom. Although they were doing business with the Munn Kingdom and had earned quite a lot, this didn’t mean that they would support the Munn Kingdom as the Munn Kingdom’s ultimate goal was to recover the Light Dragon Soul’s authority. If that truly happened, the five largest financial groups would be placed in difficult positions. They currently didn’t need to pay more taxes to the Light Parliament and if there was any loss in their investments, the Light Parliament would rely on their political resources to be their scapegoat and provide subsidies while the five largest financial groups hid behind the scenes and led their comfortable lives. However, their good days would come to an end as soon as the Light Dragon Soul regained its authority. Not only would they not receive the benefits anymore, but they would also be forced to make sacrifices. Just like the Munn Kingdom, a financial group and trade a.s.sociation wouldn’t be more powerful than Lydia no matter how successful they were. A word from Lydia could make them reduce their prices or step into the gallows if they refused. If their fooling around brought losses to the nation, Lydia would be sure to use their wealth to take the blame and never use her own to clean up others’ mess.
The five largest financial groups were clear that if they lost the sum of money from the Munn Kingdom this year, the Light Parliament’s finances were bound to be doomed. The Light Dragon Soul had also revealed her intentions in regaining her powers and she would surely take advantage of the situation as soon as the Light Parliament crumbled. This was why Rhode was confident that the five largest financial groups would definitely replenish the sum of money to the Light Parliament. Moreover, even though this sum of money was a huge issue to the Light Parliament, they were merely peanuts to the big five.
The corners of Rhode’s mouth perked up. The five largest financial groups were a real piece of work. Back then, they earned huge profits through a.s.sisting the Light Parliament in dealing with the Creator Dragon Soul and thereafter, the Light Parliament became fearful of them and it wouldn’t be easy for them to request for financial support. Rhode was sure that the five largest financial groups would take advantage of this situation to strengthen their influence, which was what the Light Parliament didn’t wish to happen. However, they could only agree before this threat of the Light Dragon Soul… This way, the circ.u.mstances in the Country of Light would become even more complicated. Rhode had no intentions of reaching his goals just from inciting Lily. Perhaps many people weren’t aware of what kind of a person the Light Dragon Soul was, but Rhode was convinced by his experiences in the game that this little girl didn’t have definite opinions of her own. Besides, for some unknown reasons, the two Archangels who should be a.s.sisting her didn’t give her too much support, which was visible from the ceremony this morning. Back then, Lily had obviously been swayed and become hesitant to Andre’s words, which showed that she was easily manipulated. Rhode was sure that, from today onward, the Light Parliament would be on their toes against Lily. No matter what was going on in Lily’s head, it would be a victory to Rhode as long as the Light Parliament believed that Lily was a threat to them.
“Northern wind and sun…”
Rhode lowered his head and his eyes glinted with ice-cold smiles.
There isn’t only one way to make the traveler take off his cloak.
At that moment, the resonant bugle horn and military music interrupted Rhode’s thoughts. He looked down at the plaza below the tall platform. Military soldiers marched forward neatly in pairs with flags in their hands. The crowd temporarily kept their emotions and admired the military parade.
The representatives of the five largest financial groups weren’t present on the tall platform because they had never partic.i.p.ated in such political ceremonies. Of course, they called themselves merchants and had no rights in joining these rituals and ceremonies. However, everyone knew that the five largest financial groups deliberately maintained a distance away from the Light Parliament. This was because, even if the Light Parliament did anything that would harm the benefits of the five largest financial groups, no one could criticize them for anything.
Teams of well-equipped soldiers marched past the crowd. Guards, Infantries, Cavalrymen, and followed by the Country of Light’s trump card, Magician Knights, who held pikes in their hands while riding strong warhorses, striding forward in a consistent pace as accurate as a robot. The heavy armor flickering in magical radiance seemed incomparably mesmerizing under the glorious sun and left the crowd exclaiming in awe. The strong warhorses were two meters tall and donned in heavy plate of armor around their bodies. Not only that, but their bodies were inlaid with several gems and magical patterns. It was apparent that these warhorses might be the product of alchemy constructs.
The military exercise began shortly after with the soldiers squaring off. It was apparent that the Magician Knights were in the limelight. Even though there were about a hundred of them, they pushed forth and retreated in an orderly fas.h.i.+on. Not only that, but the pikes and s.h.i.+elds in their hands displayed tremendous might with rays of magical brilliance that flickered and defeated their opponents utterly. The crowd watching from the tall platform gasped in admiration repeatedly and even Rhode widened his eyes subconsciously. Even though he was exceptionally disgusted with the Country of Light, he couldn’t deny that this team of Magician Knights was rather decent. He would be on cloud nine if he had a team of Cavalrymen who were as disciplined and powerful as them.
But it was a pity that the Cavalrymen led by John were still far from this standard.
Boom!
Suddenly, a loud explosion shook the ground, which also signified the end of the military exercise. The hundred Magician Knights regrouped in neat rows and their Commander turned around with his raised pike. The crowd exploded into applause and instantly turned up the atmosphere. The elderly chairman’s ashen complexion had faded slightly and became much calmer. He stood to his feet and arrived at the edge of the tall platform, facing the Magician Knights.
“You’re indeed the Magician Knights. Your performance was truly outstanding. I believe that with the powerful pikes in your hands, you can protect our people and country. Alright then, as the victor of this military exercise, do you have any wishes?”
The Commander urged on his warhorse forward. Then, he took down his helmet and revealed a charming face with unswerving determination. He lifted his head to gaze at the tall platform.
“We’ve long heard the big name of Mercenary Overlord, Earl Rhode, from the Munn Kingdom. His brave deeds have been spreading among the people in the Country of Light. So, our Magician Knights would like to experience Sir Rhode’s strength personally. Not sure if Sir Rhode is interested?”
This remark caught everyone by surprise!