Chapter 1622: Resurrecting Anark (I)
Chapter 1622: Resurrecting Anark (I)
Although the Chief Counselors were curious about what the Scarlet King intended to discuss privately with Minxet and Razputin, they knew better than to question Cain. They immediately bowed respectfully and took their leave without hesitation.
Once only the three of them remained, Cain’s gentle smile quickly faded, replaced by an icy seriousness that sharpened his features.
“How are things progressing with the Dark Army?” Cain’s voice carried a cold and authoritative edge.
The Dark Army was the secret rebellion Razputin had skillfully constructed under the direct command of Cain himself. It consisted of individuals who rejected Cain’s vision for a unified society.
These were the people who despised the blending of races, seeing it as degradation and impurity. They longed for a return to the old ways of racial segregation and discord. Ironically, they had no awareness—or perhaps willingly ignored—the blatant hypocrisy of their organization, with members from both the Light and Dark races cooperating closely to achieve their misguided ideals.
Razputin’s expression became solemn, recognizing the immense importance of the mission entrusted to him by the Scarlet King. “We have followed your guidelines meticulously, my King. We successfully staged events to portray Minxet investigating the Dark Army but failing to uncover its secrets, thus enhancing the rebels’ trust in their secrecy. Our numbers have greatly increased as a result.”
Razputin then summoned a crystal and respectfully handed it over to Cain. The crystal contained an exhaustive list of every single known member of the Dark Army.
Cain accepted the crystal, his eyes narrowing as he reviewed the detailed information. “I see. Good,” he remarked coldly, analyzing the data swiftly. “Roughly thirteen and a half million members identified. Given this, there must be at least another four to five million cowards too afraid to openly affiliate with the Dark Army, choosing instead to secretly harbor their hatred.”
While nearly twenty million dissidents might have seemed catastrophic to some, Cain saw it quite differently.
In the grand scheme of Aether’s vast population, twenty million represented less than 0.1%. This fraction, although numerically significant, indicated only a tiny minority fiercely opposed to his enlightened rule. These were individuals whose hatred ran so deep that they willingly embraced violence and chaos to restore an outdated order.
Of course, this percentage accounted strictly for those fanatical enough to take active steps against the current regime. If one considered individuals harboring less aggressive forms of resentment or mild disdain toward racial integration, the number could easily swell tenfold or even thirtyfold.
Nevertheless, Cain viewed such dissent as a natural byproduct of change. He understood that absolute unanimity was impossible, and as long as the resentment didn’t breed violence, he would tolerate it.