Chapter 678 - Between Light & Light (XVI) (1/2)
Chapter 678: Between Light & Light (XVI)
The entire Dragon Soul Ceremony went on smoothly thereafter. The Light Parliament members showed ashen, frozen expressions while the people from the Munn Kingdom were exceptionally passionate and delightful. However, they knew that this was only a victory on surface and was insubstantial. The Light Parliament definitely wouldn’t let this matter rest after being humiliated by the Munn Kingdom.
The first phase of the ceremony ended after Lily gracefully blessed everyone who was present. Then, everyone moved to the platform outside the Dragon Soul Temple to watch the military parade. But this time, no one was in the mood to enjoy it, especially the Light Parliament members who knitted their brows worriedly. Even though Lily was a puppet, she actually had the most right in regaining her authority. This should have been a clash between the Parliament camp led by the Light Parliament and Anti-Parliament camp led by the Munn Kingdom. If that was all, perhaps the others could support the Light Parliament. However, the situation was entirely different after the Light Dragon Soul had gotten involved. They didn’t dare to go against the Light Dragon Soul and no matter how transparent the Light Dragon Soul was in the Country of Light, she was one of the Creator Dragon Souls, after all, and wasn’t a presence that mortals could defeat. Once the Light Dragon Soul had fixated her eyes on snatching back her authority, together with the strength of the three Archangels, it would cause a huge headache for the Light Parliament. If the Light Parliament were to take action, the threats that they would face would be greatly increased with the presence of Archangel Boulder and Archangel Serene.
Humans were always fearful toward powerful beings. Although the Light Parliament was great in inciting public opinion about Angels, the biggest problem laid on the Angels’ powerful selves. Angels possessed enormous sacred strength and longevity, as well as beautiful appearances. These were what Humans lacked the most and it was due to this that they accepted the Light Parliament’s opinions into rationalizing their envy and hate toward Angels. Not only that, but many people also had a misconception that they had equal statuses with Angels. Even the strongest of all Angels have to take cue from us Humans. So, we, Humans, are the rulers of this nation!
However, this was just a beautiful dream of theirs. The Light Parliament knew this situation that they had created was meant to compel the Battle Angels. They took advantage of the kind and lawful views of the Battle Angels as they knew that the Battle Angels wouldn’t do anything too radical. But the situation was different now. The Light Dragon Soul intended to regain her authority and, as a result, the Battle Angels’ actions would be justifiable. If the Battle Angel Army were to attack… perhaps a worrying future would emerge before the Light Parliament and their supporters soon.
“I didn’t expect to see those guys in this miserable manner.”
Sitting on the tall platform and gazing at the Light Parliament members in their ashen expressions, Lize couldn’t help but chuckle. Although she had a gentle temperament, even Buddha would be angered after facing unjust treatments from them.
Not only Lize, but even the other representatives of the Anti-Parliament camp also gazed at the Light Parliament members while rejoicing in their misfortune. This wasn’t surprising at all. After all, it was rare for the Light Parliament to encounter such a situation after throwing their weight about on this continent for years. Not only did the elderly chairman become the scapegoat of the Light Parliament in losing every scrap of reputation in front of Lydia, but he had also failed to receive a single gold coin from her. Their financial debt could no longer be filled and everyone knew that the Country of Light had been going downhill over the years. They meant to rely on the Munn Kingdom for the sum of money every year to fill the financial debt. Now that the sum of money had grown wings and flown away, the Light Parliament was in for a huge headache as they faced a dangerous crisis!
But Rhode knew that it was impossible.
He was sure that the Light Parliament would definitely be capable of filling the financial debt.
The Country of Light was a nation that ran on an election system, which meant that there would be an election every four years. Every candidates from various parties would visit territories of the Country of Light to publicize their ideas and win the people’s support. It was widely known that this required a huge sum of money and the parties was only capable of raising only one-tenth of the amount, which was widely insufficient. At this moment, it was about time for the Country of Light backers from ‘behind the scenes’ to emerge.
That was the Country of Light’s trade associations and financial groups. Specifically speaking, the five largest financial groups.
Pilt Financial Group, Lockos Financial Group, Manny Financial Group, and… Alanic Financial Group.
The five largest financial groups controlled more than 85% of the Country of Light’s wealth and were also the true, secret rulers of this nation. They used their wealth to assist the candidates into ascending the grand throne. As a result, parliament members naturally bowed down before them and had no choice but to act in accordance with their orders cautiously. Not only that, but they also had to be wary in not violating their Gods of Wealth’s will. Anyone who violated their interests would be ditched and replaced by other representatives. It was due to this that even though the Country of Light was much wealthier than the Munn Kingdom, the wealth wasn’t in the Light Parliament’s hands. Not only could they not increase the tax rate of the five largest financial groups, but they also had to reduce the taxes that they paid through various methods. On the surface, they appeared to be creating more job opportunities and retaining a better market. However, anyone who used their heads knew the Light Parliament’s true thoughts. It was due to this that the Light Parliament’s financial expenditures were miserable every year. Not only did they need to rob Peter to pay Paul, but they also had to lower their heads shamefully before the Munn Kingdom and rely on their gifted sum to get through their days.
What made the matter worse was that the Light Parliament couldn’t lay their hands on the five largest financial groups.
The cooperation between both sides had to be traced back to a hundred years ago. Back then, the Light Parliament tried to gain the people’s support and snatch the Light Dragon Soul’s authority in the shortest time possible. However, they couldn’t achieve it just by simply speaking about it. They also needed massive monetary support and due to this reason, the Light Parliament sought assistance from the five largest families and promised all kinds of benefits in exchange for funding and support. In the end, the five largest families agreed to their requests and they worked well together. As for the result… everyone knew it.
The Light Parliament pursued a narrow gain and neglected a greater danger. Their mouths had been watering at the sight of the Light Dragon Soul’s authority, but they weren’t aware that the five largest families were eying covetously too. Of course, the five largest families knew how hungry the Light Parliament was toward gaining authority (if not, the Light Parliament wouldn’t even wrap their heads around the Creator Dragon Soul’s authority). In order to prevent being kicked to the curb after they had outlived their usefulness, the five largest families began plotting their plans and operations. After the Light Parliament finally snatched the authority from the Creator Dragon Soul, they were stunned to realize that the five largest families had completely monopolized the supply distributions in the Country of Light. The Alanic Family dominated the Northern foodstuff and minerals. The Dudek Family monopolized the manufacturing of all the equipment and weapons for the Country of Light’s army. The Lockos Family devoured the transportation industry. The Pilt Family controlled all the magic materials and spell-casters in the nation. Lastly, the Manny Family became the leader in the commercial areas.
From then on, the five largest families became the five largest financial groups that monopolized almost all of the Country of Light’s industries. If the Light Parliament retaliated, the Country of Light would crumple entirely. This left the Light Parliament utterly depressed. They had worked so hard to snatch the authority from the Creator Dragon Soul, but they realized the tragedy where they had become others’ puppets before they could even enjoy the moment.