Chapter 756: Volume 22: Revival and Rise - 15: The Power of Support_2
"Mr. Komer, you should be clear that I’m not referring to the Beastmen issue. What Princess Katya is concerned about now is not the situation in Jazair. Hoffman has publicly stated he will not recognize the adjudications of the Kingdom Star Chamber Court, deeming those judges to be bribed by Princess Katya. He intends to forcefully ascend the throne and has ordered Princess Katya to go to Godeburg for interrogation. Do you think we can still live leisurely under these circumstances?" Palermo’s face darkened as he spoke, irritated that this fellow was still feigning ignorance in front of him. The situation was so tense, yet he appeared indifferent, and it was confounding to understand what this man truly had up his sleeve.
"Mr. Palermo, I don’t think there is a need for you to be this anxious. The judgments of the Kingdom Star Chamber Court are not something just anyone can overturn. Without moral support, it would be difficult for Hoffman to gain the unanimous recognition of the kingdom. As long as Princess Katya ignores him and does not acknowledge the legitimacy of his ascension, he can only indulge in the delusion of being a pseudo-king," Komer said, his gaze wandering, seemingly unconcerned by the issue at hand.
"However, Mr. Komer, you must understand that Hoffman has already formed an army composed of the private soldiers from those Great Aristocracy. It is said to have been named the Blood Lion Corps. In addition to the remnants of the Royal Guards and Knights regiment who retreated to Godeburg, they already have an absolute advantage over us. If he truly decides to launch a campaign against Princess Katya for not complying with the orders of the Kingdom’s Noble Council, we simply do not have the strength to stop their advance." Palermo never believed that this avaricious Lord would not care about the enfeoffment of Quke Valley, unless he secretly had some kind of collusion with Hoffman. That was his biggest worry, but now it seemed unlikely.
"Do you think Hoffman dares to do so under the pressure of the Beastmen?" Komer retorted.
After a moment of hesitation, Palermo pondered deeply before slowly responding, "Perhaps not for the time being, but the Beastmen have already stabilized the situation in the Northern Region of the kingdom. The territories that formerly belonged to Myron Duchy, Susoer City-State, and Meine City-State are now connected with the Northern Region of the kingdom. These regions have now seen a significant influx of Beastmen immigrants. The kingdom has no immediate power to reclaim these regions. Perhaps Hoffman believes that if he could become king of The Kingdom of Nicosia, he could unify the whole kingdom’s forces to fight back against the Beastmen. Therefore, as long as Hoffman harbors such intentions, even if for the time being it remains a war of words, the moment he believes that he must gather all forces to restore the kingdom, he will find various pretexts to launch an attack on us in order to consolidate all the power he can control to achieve his goal."
Komer agreed with the other party’s view. He knew that Palermo’s intention for coming was to pressure him to fulfill his promise and find a way to clear the passage through the Little Greenland Forest so that the armed forces of Caucasus could traverse it to help Princess Katya resist the increasingly likely assault from Hoffman’s armed forces. Although Palermo was aware that he was working on opening up the Little Greenland Forest passageway, he was unaware of the real progress made. After all, not many were willing to enter this forest filled with Magical Beasts. Perhaps aside from the simple-minded Half-beast Army that blindly admired Komer, even Mortal Soldiers would not dare to lightly step into this forest haunted by Ghosts.