King
Chapter 1239 - 1239 211 The Five Great Shepherds_2

1239: Chapter 211: The Five Great Shepherds_2 1239: Chapter 211: The Five Great Shepherds_2 To others, this supreme ceremony’s welcome banquet was an honor; to Hudson, it was a waste of time.

After every major battle, it was held once, and with enough experiences, anyone would tire of it.

This kind of “blissful” trouble, Hudson alone in the entire Kingdom would have.

Given a choice, Caesar IV would rather humbly pretend ignorance than have this, but there was no helping it.

Such a glorious victory – if the King did not acknowledge it, the court’s multitude of royalty, nobles, and military officials would never accept it.

Compared to previous occasions, this celebration banquet was special by far.

As soon as the banquet began, Hudson was already gathered with six Sanctuary Powerhouses, exchanging insights on training, completely ignoring all the other guests.

Different circles have their own rules of the game.

In the circle of the Continent’s peak Strong, strength is what’s valued, and status and position are barely worth mentioning.

Any among those present could receive the treatment of a Major Noble in any country, utterly unlike those nobles who relied on their ancestors’ legacies.

Finding himself among the Strong, Hudson could only listen to these individuals’ exchanges.

As a Seventh-order Magic Instructor/Earth Knight, he temporarily lacked the ability to join the discussion.

Hudson didn’t speak, but Belsden and Maxim did join in the conversation.

Each Sanctuary Powerhouse had their own unique understanding of the rules, and Magical Beasts were no exception.

With so many Sanctuary Powerhouses exchanging ideas, had there been tickets to sell, this place would surely have been bursting at the seams, with those Eighth-order Strongmen willing to spend their fortunes to get in.

Unfortunately, the Continent of Aslante did not espouse education without discrimination.

Any knowledge concerning training here is precious and definitely cannot be easily imparted to others.

Unless it’s a direct bloodline descendant, outsiders simply don’t qualify to learn.

As a bystander, Hudson’s understanding was hazy, yet his gains were nonetheless substantial.

It wasn’t that his insight was particularly strong, but because he was allowed to ask questions!

Perhaps out of respect for his status as a Master of Magic Potion or due to camaraderie, during the exchange, everyone took care of Hudson, almost answering every question he asked.

For Hudson, who had been groping his way forward alone, such exchanges were crucial.

The few who were exchanging thoughts got carried away, completely forgetting the time of the banquet, thereby troubling the multitude of guests outside.

Not all the guests were Strong and could linger in the banquet for a long period.

And specifically, for this special victory banquet, with the protagonist not showing up, others had no way to disperse.

“Your Majesty, this has gone on for a day and a night, shall we send the guests who are drunk back to rest first?”

Chancellor Duke Newfoundland suggested tactfully.

In such a solemn occasion, being actually drunk was naturally not possible.

However, to ask to leave early, one needed a proper excuse.

Perhaps the host of Sanctuary Powerhouses inside wouldn’t care about these things, but as a matter of ceremony, the Kingdom could not disregard them.

“Let’s do that, then!”

Caesar IV said, appearing somewhat weary.

Had he known these Sanctuary Powerhouses were such conversationalists, he would have arranged a separate exchange session for them, rather than dragging them to the victory banquet.

Regret was useless; those inside were enthralled in discussion.

Interrupting them now would be tantamount to provoking animosity.

“Wait, arrange for makeshift chambers for rest within the Royal Palace, and let everyone take turns to sober up.”

Caesar IV promptly added.

A game set up by oneself must be played out, even with tears.

Now he could only hope that these Sanctuary Powerhouses would not engage in exchanges for ten days and a half a month; otherwise, this act would be difficult to play out.

As it turned out, Caesar IV had worried too much.

Sanctuary Powerhouses could go ten days and a half a month without food or drink, but Hudson’s mere mortal frame could not handle it.

By the midnight of the second day, the still enthusiastic few emerged from the side hall, continuing to attend the victory banquet, as if unaware of the passage of time.

…

The following day, after sleeping until midday, Hudson, upon waking up, was immediately invited to deliberate matters in the Royal Palace.

Without surprise, there were only two topics – “Divine Artifact” and “Clergy.”

After listening to the comments of many nobles, Hudson finally understood why Caesar IV, even with dark circles under his eyes, insisted on staying until the Sanctuary Powerhouses came out.

Favors are given with expectations of return.

To merely show the Kingdom’s significance was not enough to spur a king’s resolve – the true purpose was to entice the Five Nations Alliance to establish a New Church together.

Without doubt, Sanctuary Powerhouses in any major power are part of the decision-making layer, their voices wield far more weight than any foreign envoys.

Instead of endless tugs of war in diplomatic negotiations, better to directly lobby the policymakers of various nations.

Even if Sanctuary Powerhouses are aloof from mundane affairs and no longer engage in politics, their positions cannot be ignored.

“Your Majesty, freeing ourselves from the Clergy’s control over faith, although a common pursuit among the nobility of the nations, depends on four countries supporting our establishment of a New Church; the key still lies in the benefits.

The issue of religion shouldn’t be entangled with too many secular matters.

It would be best to directly promise them religious benefits.

The New Church spawned by the Frank people is already lax enough, and yet not everyone has defected to it.

To garner support from the four nations, we would have to offer even greater benefits.”

Hudson had barely finished speaking when Archbishop Tyron’s facial expression darkened.

Relationships may be relationships, but interests are separate.

Allies are not unconditional in their support, especially on sensitive religious issues that are under intense scrutiny.