Chapter 496 Clash III (1/2)

As Tres and his men left, they weren't aware that there was someone looking down at them from a tall balcony in Golden City.

”Huhuhu… This time, I think they've just received a memorable lesson.” Lydia shut her eyes and stroked her golden hair while Amund showed a somewhat hopeless smile. ”Is this really fine, Your Highness? Even though what the young man did wasn't wrong, their diplomatic group will definitely use this incident to make a fuss. If that really happens…”

”Then it will be great, Minister Amund,” Lydia interrupted Amund's words with her left hand. She raised her chin and admired at the azure, endless sky. ”… Minister Amund. What do you think the Munn Kingdom means to me?”

”Your Highness?” said Amund.

”Is it merely a piece of land? A territory? A tool for us to fight for our authority and position? Or perhaps a deterrence against the Country of Light's Parliament? If I give up on this land, what path will it and its citizens take? And if it leaves me, where do I go as an Archangel?”

Amund lowered his head and sighed slightly. Even though he was a great Mage of the court, he seldom involved himself in politics. But this time, as Lydia's most trusted person, he knew the current situation clearly. The clowns of the Country of Light's Parliament seemed to have predicted their death sentence and began their final struggles. They were aware that if they missed this last chance, what awaited them would definitely be Lydia's bloody massacre and this Archangel surely wouldn't mind repeating that night from several years ago.

There was continuous unrest in the continent and Amund knew that Lydia was deeply worried about it. Even though this young lady was described by others as a tyrant in many aspects, she, after all, was still an Angel and she wouldn't violate the creed and standpoint of the Angels. It was due to her identity that she was so highly respected and loved in the Munn Kingdom. Yet it was also her identity that restricted her choices.

Lydia was clearer than anyone else about the dark clouds that were about to shroud the entire continent. The changes of the Country of Darkness and the secretly surging tide in the dark world were about to reveal a brand new era and the start of a war. Even though Lydia wished to change and put a stop to everything, things weren't that simple because the Munn Kingdom had internal affairs of their own. In this small country, the conflicts between the Reformist Party and King's Party had been ongoing and they couldn't be resolved that easily.

A long time ago, the Munn Kingdom was still an ordinary kingdom and during those times, there weren't any clashes or divisions. But as their commercial trade developed rapidly, a massive amount of gold and silver streamed into the country and cracks began to form under the impact of this ever growing wealth.

As an ancient, orthodox, and law-abiding country, the King's Party continued to firmly hold most of the commercial trade in the Munn Kingdom, which led to the resistance of the merchants. At the start of the Munn Kingdom's flourishing, the merchants helped the country prosper and now, they had become traitors who tried to overthrow and bury this country.

The economic capital was just like a cunning, sinister beast. When it was weak, it would obey and seek loopholes in rules to make itself stronger. But it would attempt to manipulate and change the rules after it turned stronger to maintain its strength. The King's Party didn't allow this to happen and every generation of Archangels prevented this firmly. This was also what caused the dissatisfaction and uncertainty of the richest merchants because they feared that their wealth would vanish into thin air without the guarantee of authority. They also hoped to receive the support of rules to obtain more profits, but the King's Party never intended to give up their authority in exchange for wealth, which led to the conflicts between them to be unresolvable.

The King's Party wouldn't give up on their ruling authority of this country while the merchants were not resigned to live under their confinement of authority and rules. The merchants were so wealthy that they could possibly purchase one or two cities to boost their powers if that was possible. Due to this reason, they weren't willing to capitulate the suppression of the King's Party and sought changes.

This was also the beginning of the Reformist Party. When these merchants gathered and formed an alliance, they joined forces with some noble families to seek change in this country and with hopes to gain more authority. In order to reach their goals, they even sought assistance from the Country of Light and the Country of Light gladly accepted, perhaps due to their relationship as 'business partners'. Two powerful forces combined and brought a dangerous change in the Munn Kingdom.

As a Court Mage, Amund had seen everything for himself. The previous Duchess had a gentle personality and leaned towards the conservative side. Due to this reason, she chose to concede to the imperious Reformist Party and Country of Light. It was at this moment that the Munn Kingdom had sunk into their most serious and unstable situation and the Reformist Party almost succeeded. With the assistance of the Country of Light, the Reformist Party had almost achieved what their colleagues in the Country of Light had done—deprive the Archangel of authority and gain control of the Munn Kingdom forcefully.

But it was this moment that Lydia took over the position of the Archangel. Amund remembered that day on the Succession Ceremony; the mood he had when he and his colleagues gazed at the 10-year-old girl sitting on the throne that was much bigger than her. All Amund felt was total darkness for the country's future and he had even thought of resigning and returning to his hometown to be a scholar living in seclusion. This way, at least, he didn't need to witness the collapse of this nation.

But everything changed after that night.

No one had expected that this delicate little girl would release an ultimatum to the Reformist Party within a few days after she took office. With the series of crimes that the Reformist Party had committed listed out by Lydia, over a hundred people were captured in one night. Afterward, it was all trials and massacres. Not only did this shake the entire Reformist Party, but Amund was also flabbergasted as he had never expected this Archangel would be this vicious and merciless. The Country of Light's Parliament sent their men to release their ultimatum after receiving cries of help from the Reformist Party. However, even so, Lydia insisted on her opinion. She had even hastened the speed of execution and by the time the members of the Country of Light's Parliament had arrived at Golden City, the core members of the Reformist Party had all been executed and none of them were spared.

And it was no longer meaningful to exempt the dead from their punishment and request for their release anymore.

The Reformist Party took a huge hit and they began to slowly hone their strength while avoiding Lydia temporarily. On the other hand, Lydia chose to grind them out slowly and once their exuberant momentum had been ground entirely, she would then remove all these malignant tumors completely.

Amund's confidence returned gradually as he witnessed the growth and behavior of Lydia. He thought that with Lydia's rule, the Munn Kingdom could return to their glorious past quickly. But it seemed that there was an even thicker and taller wall blocking their path this time.

And Amund wasn't just worried about the Reformist Party and the Country of Light's Parliament.

The Court Mage squinted at the thin black-haired young man walking up the steps by the base of the castle.

Rhode Alander.

He had once thought that this young man was just another talent in the Munn Kingdom like Marlene Senia. Both of them possessed outstanding talents, sufficient self-control, and wise judgment. In the future, they would even become the pillars of this nation.

However, the young man's behavior seemed to overthrow his views.