Chapter 64 - Seth (1/2)

Translator: La0o9  Editor: La0o9

The current Interkam was in total chaos with internal power struggles in every large organization.

The war had been ongoing for 7 years straight, but as soon as it began, Interkam had been stuck in an endless cycle of internal strife, leading to defeat after defeat in every single battle. After 7 years of this, the morale of Interkam’s army had already reached its absolute bottom.

What was even more irritating was that the other small countries had also turned up to declare war on Interkam and sent soldiers to occupy Interkam’s territories at their borders.

At this point in time, the Royas army had reached the final defense lines of Colomier, once Colomier fell, Interkam would essentially become a little girl that had been cornered into a dark alleyway, helpless to defend against anyone.

And yet, the entire country had no confidence in being able to defend Colomier. Even though Colomier had the geological advantage, the Royas army was simply too powerful, their morale, their equipment and their supplies all surpassed Interkam by several times.

It wasn’t that Interkam was poor, but rather all of the country’s wealth was concentrated in the pockets of the nobles and merchants, leading to Interkam barely having enough funds to maintain their army. Technically, if Interkam was able to pool its power together, then they still had a fighting chance, but if technicality could directly translate to reality, then there would be no such thing as strife in this world.

…

Tonight, a huge banquet was being hosted by a noble in Ingmarlo, as it had been for the last few days. In fact, if someone didn’t know the situation, they would’ve thought that Interkam had won the war and a festival was being hosted in celebration.

Seth the First stood on the balcony of his palace, glancing down at the unnaturally prosperous castle city below. He could only smile bitterly.

Aristocrats were selfish creatures. In their eyes, the benefit of their own family outweighed everything else. They understood perfectly well what would happen if this country fell, they also knew that they would only lose more if Royas broke through the final defense lines and attacked. The aristocrats who lost their territories that were taking refuge here were the best proof of that, but if they were asked to provide the funds and people to protect their country without any reimbursement, the only possible answer was ‘NO’.

Aristocrats weren’t stupid, on the contrary, as they had received education from a very young age, they were smarter than the majority of peasants. It was not that they couldn’t see the terrible state that Interkam was in, they knew better than anyone else what state it was in, but as long as the Royas Kingdom’s killing blade still hadn’t come down on their necks, they would never regret a single thing.

Because they were nobles. Even if the Royas Kingdom completely took over Interkam, they would still be nobles. To rule over this country, they were necessary, because if the King relied on the foolish peasants instead, that would only cause the country to be plunged into more turmoil.

If these aristocrats completely bowed down to Seth the First who represented the Crown – which was the royal authority, and contributed manpower as well as wealth outside of their duties, that would mean that the Crown would have complete dominance over the aristocrats. This was something that these nobles would never allow to happen no matter what.

Nobles had the rights and responsibilities of nobles. After they had fulfilled their responsibilities, if the Crown wanted them to give up even more, then the Crown would need to give them more benefits. But at this point, the only thing Seth the First had was his throne, and it was simply not possible for him to give up the throne.

Seth the First held major responsibilities for turning the situation into what it is today. All those years ago, it was none other than him who instigated the internal conflict within the royal family to ascend to the Interkam throne. For the sake of this goal, he promised to grant many benefits to the aristocrats and obtained their backings.