The royal capital has always been a symbol of a country's pinnacle power.

It may not be an economic center, nor will it be a cultural center - after all, it is not the royal capital of any country, and it can become a typical representative in many aspects, but the royal capital is definitely the power center of a country and the spiritual symbol of the whole country.

It took several generations to build the royal capital of the Lane Kingdom, which was once the economic, cultural, and power center of the entire Lane Kingdom, until the first kingdom was defeated and reduced to a vassal state, and the Lane King lost these laurels. However, since the end of the war against Dabion and the restoration of the kingdom, although the city of Ryderson is still not the economic center of the entire kingdom of Lyon, it has indeed regained the two laurels of culture and power.

However, since the death of the sixth king of Lane and the election of the seventh king, the centuries-old city is now in a state of gloom.

It's just that this kind of haze is mostly groundless.

A group of nobles who had had eaten and had nothing to do got together, and then they thought they knew a lot about the succession to the throne; In order to show the particularity of his identity, the servants also talked about these specious contents; Then, like a plague, false news and so-called inside stories soon spread throughout the streets of the royal capital.

Only the real high-level nobles, who can now be regarded as the mainstay of the Ryan Kingdom or who have the ability to take charge of one's own affairs that people cannot ignore, will know the truth.

Different from the confusion circulating in the outside world, the current competition gap between candidates for the throne is not chaotic at all, and even some clues can be faintly seen.

Contrary to what many expected, the highest administrative score among the candidates was not Arlan, Fursis, Adams, and the other three, but the fifth prince Grace, who joined the contenders halfway.

The youngest prince showed much more political talent than the third prince, Arran, and the fourth princess, Fursis. Although because of his young age, he is still a little not mellow enough in the handling and arrangement of some things. However, in the announcement of many major decisions, they can often get to the core, and the proposed countermeasures can also solve the urgent needs and properly ensure the smooth operation of affairs.

However, even though his administrative score is extremely high, he can only rank third in the ranking order of candidates.

In second place is [Lane's Heart] Fursith. The reason why she was able to rank second in the overall score is entirely due to her incredible approval rating. Now, when he had to take sides, Folsith had almost the terrible approval rating of more than two-thirds of the nobles of the entire Lane, and if it weren't for the fact that the commoners did not have the right to vote, I am afraid that the current Folsis would be the deserved seventh king of Lane - or queen.

The first place is the third prince Arlan.

He was not as good as Greine in administration, not as good as Adams in military affairs, and not as good as Fursith in terms of approval. But the most rare thing is that he doesn't have any obvious shortcomings, so his overall score is naturally the highest.

Although Greine has a high administrative score, he is like an idiot in military affairs, and he doesn't even understand the most basic way of arranging the formation; Although Folsith has a very high approval rating, it is also because she is relatively neutral and not radical, and can take into account the interests of many people, but whether it is in government or military ability, she is not excellent. Even saying "mediocre" is a bit reluctant.

As for the eldest prince Adams, this guy is a completely typical contrast to Greine - except for military ability. He's good for nothing. As a commander and general, he deserves to be the best candidate, but if he is allowed to govern a country, no one will want to support him except for his supporters of the northern nobility. Even the few banquets he held in the royal capital had few participants. Many aristocrats did not want to be associated with this temperamental and reckless tyrant.

……

"If there are no accidents, Your Highness should be able to become the seventh King of Lane."

Arlan stood in front of a large floor-to-ceiling window, looking up at the view.

Compared with what Sean had seen before, the current Arlan has a calm, confident and indifferent temperament, if Sean sees this Highness Arlan again at this time. Then you will find that there are many overlaps between his body and the previous old king.

This implicit aura of superiority has become more and more like a true ruler of the kingdom.

At this moment, the place where Arlan was was also the study that the old king liked to stay in the most.

It wasn't Arlan's personal attendant, the Elven Swordsman, Fanny.

Rather, the Marquis of Flores, who had been a close confidant of His Majesty the former King.

He wore a well-cut black gown, not the style favored by the nobles, but more like the butler's dress. For a marquis with real power behind his back, wearing such clothes is not a symbol of decency, but more like a slave, which is already almost a humiliation. Just looking at the expression of the Marquis of Floris, it was obvious that he had no resistance to this kind of clothing.

"So, my sister has given up on the competition?" Arlan didn't reply immediately, but continued to stare at the traffic outside the window before he spoke, "She is now my most powerful contender, and if she continues to fight, it is really hard to say who will die." …… Giving up at this time, she must have some other thoughts, right? Let's talk about her conditions. ”

"You know, there is a bit of ......a fetter between Archduke Asuna and His Highness Adams," Marquis Floris observed Arlan cautiously when he said this, and after seeing that his expression was normal, he did not seem to have any expression of disgust before continuing: "Therefore, it must be guaranteed that His Highness Adams will not take any coercive action against Archduke Asuna, this is the first point. ”

"Go on." Arlan nodded slightly, indicating that he had heard.

"Princess Folsith will be moving out of the royal capital and heading to Grand Duke Asuna's domain, and I hope you will allow that." The Marquis of Floris continued.

According to traditional rules, when the battle for succession to the throne is lost, unless the person who died in the competition, he is usually driven away from the royal capital. But. Only a very small number of people will have the power to choose where they want to go, and the vast majority will be placed in a centralized and unified administration in a territory directly administered by the royal family, and these people, in addition to still retaining their status as nobles, are basically equivalent to losing their freedom, and their descendants will need to work several times more to return to the center of power in the royal capital.

But there is one key point in this tradition. That is, all female royals must abide by an ancient contract: to fall prey to political marriages, they must unconditionally submit to a husband chosen for them by the current king. Of course, it's okay to refuse, the Kingdom of Lane is not so inhuman, but since it refuses the obligation, then the result is that it is deprived of the status of a royal noble, and it is also necessary to pay a "compensation fee" to compensate the royal family for so many years of upbringing.

Her Royal Highness Princess Furhis, who has a high reputation. And whether it is her appearance or figure, she is the best choice, if she fails to compete for the heir, she will become a very valuable political bargaining chip.

"Yes." This time, Arlan was silent for a moment before nodding in agreement, "Anything else?" ”

"One more request." The Marquis of Flores spoke, "His Royal Highness Flores hopes that after you become king, you can open up some trading policies that restrict the development of the principality...... This includes restrictions on the import and export of some products. and the right to purchase rare products, etc. ”

"This needs to be further negotiated." Arlan didn't immediately agree this time, but chose to respond with reservations.

For Arlan's choice. Flores also expressed understanding.

"Lord Floris, what choice will you make if my sister leaves?" Arlan said suddenly.

"I don't think His Royal Highness Arlan should be relieved that I will continue to stay in office, so I have basically arranged the relevant transfer procedures and work, and I can definitely let Your Highness's designated heir regain control of everything within a month." Floris, as if he had known this, replied dryly. "But before I do that, I would like to remind Your Highness of one thing. …… Regarding the assassination of His Majesty the King and the previous series of conspiracy and assassination incidents in the royal capital, there are still no clues and clues, and the other party does not seem to have done it personally. Rather, it is through the means of buying murderers to carry out the plan, so ......"

"I see." Arlan nodded slightly, his eyes flashing with his back to Floris, and his face was so gloomy that it seemed to be dripping.

Not long ago, he encountered an assassination, and that time it wasn't for Fanny's keen sense of smell with elves, coupled with the hidden strength that had always made the opponent miscalculate, in the face of that perfect siege, he estimated that there was no hope of survival. But even so, he still suffered some injuries, and it took some time to recover after recuperation, and Fanny was also injured to protect him, which made Arlan hold back his anger.

In that assassination attempt, all evidence points directly or indirectly to Fursis.

However, Arlan was not a fool, and his political sense was far greater than that of his younger brother Grein, who had a unique talent for politics, so he did not directly tear up his face with Fursis. Obviously, there is a desire for the most direct conflict between Arlan and Fursis, and if one is to guess according to the thinking of such third-party profiteers, it is likely that the layout person will be Grein.

But Arlan knew the younger brother no less than Fursis, so he knew that it was impossible to do the same. Even based on this matter, he was able to conclude that the conspirators who assassinated the old king and tried to raise the level of internal strife among the four heirs in order to provoke internal strife in the entire Ryan Kingdom would never be one of the four heirs.

"Marquis Floris, you should know very well what will happen to a talent like you, right?"

"I know." Marquis Flores nodded.

"Isn't my sister going to intercede for you?" Arlan finally turned his head and looked directly at the Marquis of Flores.

At this moment, the Marquis of Flores smiled: "The kindness of Her Royal Highness Princess Eversis is, of course, to intercede for me, in fact, my life can also be regarded as an exchange." But...... I don't think it's pointless, because it's impossible for you to agree to such a request, Your Highness Arlan, after all, I know too many secrets. ”

"If you stay and help me, then this matter is not non-negotiable."

"Thank you, Your Highness, for your kindness, but. My allegiance is not to the kingdom of Lane, but to the previous King of Lane. Floris's smile was contented.

"I see." Arlan nodded slightly, "But before you officially leave your office, Marquis of Floris, I have one thing I want to ask you. ”

"Your Highness, you're welcome." The Marquis of Flores was a little apprehensive.

"You should know about the recent events of Grand Duke Sean, right?"

The face of the Marquis of Flores became a little strange.

As the intelligence chief of the Ryan Kingdom who has not officially left his post yet. He is also a big man who controls one-third of the underground dark forces in the entire kingdom, and Flores naturally knows a lot of news. Even, when the tribes of the Wild Lands who had taken refuge in the Void Principality suddenly broke out, he already knew that this matter was a conspiracy led by the Fascist Kingdom, but because the news came too late and the riot had already begun, he didn't have time to warn the Void Principality.

However, what everyone didn't expect was that the Void Principality's response was not only extremely timely, but also extremely neat.

Until this time. The Marquis of Flores knew that the Void Duchy had been hiding a hole card all along: a super powerhouse!

It is precisely because of the opening of this hole card that no one thinks it is incredible that the Void Duchy will establish an empire. In fact, in the eyes of everyone, the Void Duchy with a super-powerful person at the helm of the Void did not want to get rid of its status as a vassal state and upgrade to an empire, which was the most incredible thing. But in the face of this, it seems to everyone to be a normal choice. But it also made countless people feel extremely worried and helpless.

The Void Principality, when did it start? Just become so powerful?

Nobody knows.

In the eyes of many, the mystery of the Void Principality has not been dispelled with the passage of time and the knowledge of this Principality and the Grand Duke, but has only deepened.

"Yes." Marquis Floris nodded, "According to the information I heard, it is likely that the Void Duchy has more than one super powerhouse. …… Just about half a month ago. Grand Duke Sean has completely occupied the barbaric fortress of the Millennium Covenant Empire, and the main army of the Void Duchy is currently almost all stationed here, and has successfully resisted the invasion of an army of the undead. Afterwards...... declared war on the fascist kingdom. ”

Arlan's pupils shrank slightly, but the momentary surprise and loss of concentration were quickly calmed down by him: "What was the size of that undead army?" ”

Regarding the Void Principality's declaration of war on the Fascist Kingdom, Arlan naturally knew about it. This matter is not a secret at all, after all, Sean is directly and openly preaching. Of course, the outside world speculates that this is because Sean can't launch a surprise attack on the fascist kingdom, after all, this time it is a huge army of 300,000 people who set off, and there is no way to hide the movement so big, so it is better to declare war directly.

As the next king of the Ryan Kingdom, Arlan knows better than others that the Ryan Kingdom is currently on the border close to the fascist kingdom, and the lords and nobles are also a little nervous. In particular, the Roman lords, who were once the second pioneer knights under Asuna. Marquis Wiles, who personally led the Holy Roman Knights and the Roman Zealots Legion, began to move towards the border.

Moreover, the Boulder family from the tequila territory and the Hopson family of the Black Mandal Territory, which is located on the border of the fascist kingdom and has been engaged in skirmishes and wars for many years, have extremely obvious traces of war mobilization. The other is Florence in Roman territory. After the Marquis of Wiles made a move, the lord's private army from the Baidi family also began to act, and large-scale strategic material resources were continuously mobilized in these four territories, forming a large-scale logistics supply line.

It was also at this time that the Marquis of Flores suddenly expressed his willingness to withdraw from the race for the throne on behalf of Fursis.

Naturally, Arlan smelled something very unusual.

"Three hundred thousand." "I don't know the exact circumstances of the war, nor do I know the casualty rate, but I do know for sure that Grand Duke Sean managed to resist the invasion of the undead and kill one of the Fallen. ”

"It seems that there is more than one super strong person." Arlan nodded, "So how much do you know about Grand Duke Sean's declaration of war on the fascist kingdom this time?" …… His Royal Highness Furcis, the timing of the proposal for peace at this time is too coincidental. ”

"Archduke Sean once sent a secret letter to the Marquis of Florence, although the content is not clear, but I suspect that it is related to the background of the Marquis of Florence." When the Marquis of Flores saw Arlan's expression, he knew that this prince must know a lot of things, "After all, Lord Florence was born in the Wiles family of the fascist kingdom, and he was hunted down by his eldest brother after losing the competition for the head of the family, and this time it is likely to be his revenge battle." ”

"And what about the other people's movements?" Arlan asked with a smile.

"In fact, the others were not invited by Grand Duke Sean, but by Lord Florence." Marquis Flores spoke, "Lord Asuna is not actually among the invitees, but Her Royal Highness Princess Fursis feels that the internal friction caused by continuing such competition is not conducive to the future development of the kingdom, so she intends to take advantage of this matter to give up the competition and return to the Duchy of Garold with Archduke Asuna to live for a long time." ”

"Do you want to push the boat down the river?" Arlan's eyes narrowed slightly.

But at this moment, Fanny suddenly appeared in this study.

Her appearance was obviously very abrupt, but it didn't give people any sense of disobedience, as if she had been in this study from the beginning, but everyone subconsciously ignored her existence, and it wasn't until this moment when her sense of existence suddenly strengthened that everyone realized that there was still a person in the room.

"What's going on?" Arlan knew that Fanny would not show up in front of him if she was not in a hurry, and there must be something important when she suddenly appeared at this moment.

"About a kilometer away from the north gate of the royal capital, a black cavalry unit appeared." Fanny said with a strange face, "Before this, no one had noticed this force at all, as if they had appeared out of thin air. I believe that if this force hadn't taken the initiative to expose its tracks this time, I'm afraid we would not have found out until they appeared under the city gates. ”

"What's going on?" Arlan's face changed slightly, "Mysterious troops? Are there any imprints? ”

"There is a flag, it is the flag of the church, but the mark on the flag is a mark I have never seen."

"What kind?" Marquis of Flores asked.

"Red shading, with a black crescent moon at the top of the banner and a black spear inserted into the earth at the bottom."

"It's the Spear of the Dark Moon." Floris's intelligence reserve is indeed much more extensive than that of Fanny, "It was originally a reserve force of the Twilight Church, but now it is the symbol of the strongest knights of the Twilight Church." …… They must have come for this bone invasion. It's just that...... Didn't the church forces that were the support force all go directly to the Millennium Covenant Empire? Why did the Twilight Church troops arrive with us? (To be continued.) )