Chapter 265 : Chapter 265
Chapter 265. Wrangling
“Beautifully done, but that is still not enough.” A rational cold light flickered in Sylvia’s silver-gray eyes.
“With Carlisle dead, the power vacuum he left behind is enormous. Aside from Scream Fortress, there are also other vast defensive zones and networks of interests in the Southern Territory. First Prince Dorg’s faction will absolutely not let this opportunity slip by. They will certainly think of every possible way to seize territory at today’s court council.”
She leaned forward slightly and quickly, methodically explained to Logaris a set of negotiating rhetoric for the Privy Council.
To put it simply, it was who he could snarl at and who he could not.
The carriage slowly decelerated, and the towers of the Golden Rose Palace had already come into view.
“For the upcoming reward conference, have you memorized the script?” Sylvia straightened her collar.
“Do not worry.” Logaris looked straight ahead, expressionless. “Watch me improvise.”
“...All right, then.”
As the carriage came to a stop, the two of them swiftly adjusted their expressions. Before stepping into the council hall, they exchanged a subtle glance, thoroughly confirming the tactical division of labor for this “good cop, bad cop” performance.
......
Golden Rose Palace, Council Hall.
The heavy oak doors were slowly pushed open by the guards, and Logaris and Sylvia strode inside. The buzzing discussions in the hall instantly vanished, and dozens of gazes shot toward them in unison. Some were jealous, some were fearful, but most were calculating and scrutinizing.
At the end of the long table, the old king was still absent. First Prince Dorg sat in the lower seat, his face as pale as paper and his eye sockets deeply sunken. From time to time, he covered his mouth with a handkerchief and coughed twice. Yet when he looked at the two people walking in, his gaze was incomparably deep, and a faint, ambiguous smile hung at the corner of his lips.
Thud.
The Prime Minister, seated at the head, struck the gavel in his hand, and the hall fell completely silent.
“The court council regarding the great victory at the southeastern defensive line and the reward for Professor Logaris West officially begins.” The Prime Minister broke the silence and turned his gaze toward Logaris. His tone was gentle, yet carried a probing edge.
“Professor Logaris, in the battle at Scream Fortress, you turned the tide. Not only did you repel the beast tide, but you also helped expose the insider. The royal family will not mistreat a meritorious subject. Speak. What do you want?”
So it begins.
Logaris walked to the center of the hall. He did not bow, merely nodding slightly. In the eyes of the Royal Capital nobles, this arrogance could be considered outrageous, yet at this moment, it instead became the privilege of the powerful.
Just as he faced the Prime Minister’s profound gaze directly, Logaris suddenly felt a strange thought swim through the depths of his mind, only for it to vanish without a trace in the next instant.
“What do I want?” Logaris slowly stood upright and unhurriedly straightened the cuffs of his professor’s robe. He swept his gaze across both sides of the long table, his eyes carrying an almost sacred solemnity.
“What I want is for all of you to continue sitting here, arguing over budgets in peace. I want the kingdom’s borders to no longer be stained red with blood. I want the people of this land to no longer be torn apart by magical beasts in their sleep.”
He pushed the thick stack of documents toward the center of the long table, his tone low and firm. “In short, everything I have done has been for the survival of the kingdom.” According to Sylvia, he first had to establish his attitude and position as pure.
The documents slid across the table and stopped in front of the Minister of Finance.
“This is the current defense assessment report for Scream Fortress.” Logaris’s voice turned cold, and the warmth from moments ago vanished completely.
“The defensive line is riddled with holes. The magitech cannons have fallen into disrepair from age. The logistics supply line is as rotten as a sieve. If I had not happened to be there, the ones sitting here for this meeting now would probably be those spider-type magical beasts.”
The Minister of Finance picked up the documents and flipped through two pages, his expression turning somewhat ugly. “Professor, your loyalty is moving, but this...”
“Since the original Scream Fortress could not fulfill its responsibility to the kingdom, then for the sake of the bigger picture, more capable people can only act in its place.” Logaris interrupted him, his tone forceful and unquestionable.
“The Southern Territory is the exit of the Great Rift and one of the kingdom’s most important strategic passes. To ensure the absolute safety of the kingdom, my demand is very simple: the Northern Legion will assist in taking over the defense of Scream Fortress and the surrounding defensive zones until a new defense system has been fully established.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the hall burst into an uproar.
“Absurd! You are trying to directly annex the Southern Territory’s military authority!”
A count from the Southern Territory suddenly slammed the table and rose to his feet, spittle flying everywhere.
The Minister of Finance calmly put down the quill in his hand. Although his beard trembled slightly with anger, not the slightest trace of shame could be seen on that face, which had been steeped in officialdom for many years. He looked straight ahead, his tone cold and resolute.
“This is separatism. This is a challenge to royal authority. Scream Fortress is the gateway of the Southern Territory. It is absolutely impossible to hand it over to the Northern Territory’s jurisdiction!”
“Can you manage it, then?” Logaris asked in return. “Or do you want to go to the front line and experience what it feels like to be surrounded by tens of thousands of demon spiders? I can give you a teleportation scroll free of charge.”
Faced with such an almost humiliating provocation, the Minister of Finance merely replied shamelessly, “As the kingdom’s steward, my duty is to regulate resources from the rear, not to swing a sword in the mud. Each profession has its own specialization, Professor.”
“Cough, cough.” First Prince Dorg suddenly coughed twice and spoke weakly.
“Professor Logaris is also acting for the kingdom’s safety. However... handing everything to the Northern Territory does indeed violate convention. How about this? Scream Fortress will be defended with Northern Territory assistance, but the three surrounding provinces will still be taken over by people dispatched from the Royal Capital.”
“Your Highness makes it sound easy.” Viscountess Eleanor gave a cold laugh and immediately picked up the thread.
“The soldiers of the Northern Territory shed blood and risk their lives on the front line, while the bureaucrats of the Royal Capital sit safely in the rear and take over the wealthy provinces? Without the strategic depth around Scream Fortress, what will the Northern Territory’s Magitech Legion eat? What will they drink? Will they rely on the northwest wind to resist the enemy’s attacks?”
“The military expenses of the Northern Territory can be allocated uniformly by the state treasury!” the Minister of Finance said, stubbornly holding the bottom line.
“In fact, that allocation procedure is extremely cumbersome. By the time your approval documents are stamped, demons will already be able to enjoy afternoon tea in Silverglow City.”
A deep voice rang out.
Everyone turned their heads in astonishment.
The speaker was actually the Minister of Military Affairs, who had remained silent all this time.
This old general, who had always claimed to be neutral and loyal only to sword and shield, was now looking at Viscountess Eleanor with a profound gaze.
Then he turned to the Minister of Finance, his tone as hard as a piece of pig iron. “From a purely military perspective, I agree with Her Highness the Princess’s deployment. The Southern Territory’s defensive line absolutely cannot be handed back to those fools who only know how to do accounts and cannot even understand casualty ratios.”
As soon as these words came out, the hall fell into a brief deathly silence.
The nobles of the Southern Territory looked at one another, their eyes filled with shock. This military heavyweight’s words today had actually taken on a clear bias.
“Has he... sided with the princess?” an old aristocrat muttered inwardly, looking uneasily toward the head seat.