King
Chapter 528 - 528 99 Growth_1

528: Chapter 99, Growth_1 528: Chapter 99, Growth_1 Hudson was swept from his worries by a piece of news from the front line.

The fierce Grandpa Knight Squad suffered heavy losses in the battle against the Bimon Royal Court and the “Beast God Guards”, and was subsequently besieged by the Orc Army.

The final battle saw not only the Bimon Royal Court’s highest experts taking part, but also experts from the other Four Great Royal Courts lending their aid.

However, evidence proved that even hordes of ants struggled to kill an elephant.

Successive battles failed to obliterate this unique army, but time was an unforgiving nemesis.

War only caused heavy casualties to the army; time pushed it to its inevitable downfall.

Many of the elderly strongmen didn’t die at the hands of the enemy; instead, they died prematurely from overexerting themselves in strenuous battle, meeting their end in the realm of the Lord of the Dawn.

The most crucial failure was the collapse of the faith that had been driving them.

The Bimon Emperor, who was suspected to possess the Longevity Method, met with the Beast God amid a roar.

Accompanied by the defeat of the Orcs and the death of the Bimon Emperor, the truth of the Longevity Method also surfaced.

“The mysterious altar, rune carvings in the underground palace, countless bones of strongmen, five special hanging coffins, the corpse of the fake crown prince…”

The specifics of the operation no longer mattered.

The discoveries in the underground palace were not enough to satisfy everyone.

Even if someone were crazy enough to use this method to extend their own lifespan, they would need plenty of sons for sacrificial offerings.

Even if someone had many children, where could they find enough strong warriors as offerings?

The Bimon Emperor just barely gathered enough sacrifices for the final offering by leveraging the powers of the Orc Empire.

Now that the secret had been exposed, any large-scale disappearances of strongmen would immediately bring suspicions here.

This challenge to the moral bottom line of humanity, leaving any trace of it, would invite a collective attack.

Even with many restrictive conditions, it merely extended one’s lifespan; it did not offer true immortality.

The Bimon Emperor died from backlash.

Who could prove the exposed secret method was truly effective?

For the elderly teetering on the brink of death, the demolition of their final faith marked the end of their lives.

Even if they were still alive, they could not be expected to continue fighting.

The group originally assembled for the “Dream of Immortality” dissolved because the “Dream of Immortality” had been crushed.

Aside from the strongmen from the Alpha Kingdom choosing to stay in the army and offer their last powers for the kingdom, most of the surviving human race strongmen chose to leave this broken land.

Without these experts as vanguards, the Kingdom’s Army did not have the strength to sweep across all directions.

After the Imperial Court battle, Marshal Campbell chose to retreat immediately.

However, things do not always go as planned.

The journey there was smooth sailing, but returning proved challenging.

Orcs popped up from nowhere continually launching various types of attacks, depriving the large army of their peace.

These disturbances, though minor, were troublesome.

The bigger trouble was the Orc Army from the Warhammer Kingdom’s front line on the return route.

Considering the retreat speed of the army, a skirmish was very likely to happen halfway home.

The Alpha Kingdom had pulled out all the stops during this expedition to strike at the heart of the Bimon Royal Court.

The Kingdom’s main force was nearly all on the front line.

In a race to stake their claim on the post-battle spoils, major nobles exhausted all their resources.

Compared to the success or failure of the front lines, the captives in Hudson’s hands amounted to nothing.

Though the ambassadors didn’t retreat, they noticeably reduced their frequency of interfering with Hudson.

Quarreling for benefits before the front-line battle outcome was clear made no sense.

If their own power were damaged in the battle, all benefits would have to be given up.

Unless they managed to achieve breathtaking military exploits after suffering heavy losses, others would pay attention to their manners, thus avoiding external scrutiny.

This exemption, however, had a time limit.

When the contributions were forgotten, everything would return to the law of the survival of the fittest.

…

“Evola, you are in charge of escorting these ten thousand people back to the Mountain Domain.

Here is a letter to my father, he will know how to arrange it all.

If anyone tries to stop you along the way, don’t spare them any courtesy.

As long as you act justifiably and don’t cause any harm to the nobles, I’ll back your actions.”

Hudson instructed his younger brother.

Unlike eldest brother, who inherited too much wisdom from their parents, Evola is simple-minded, even his limbs aren’t ‘developed’ enough.

Being uncomplicated and not so powerful weren’t issues, as long as he was solidly decisive, he could also be regarded as a talent.

His value was in his identity as Hudson’s elder brother.

Overseeing the transportation of refugees seems simple, but it is also complicated.

If they were obstructed en route by local bullies, ordinary nobles could hardly intimidate them.

Especially against major nobles, uneven standing would make your words less assertive.

For such shameless road robbers, simple-minded brutes like Evola were the most suitable.

Subtle hints?

He wouldn’t understand them.

If clearly told, he would outright refuse them.

A blatant robbery is out of the question!

With the main force of the Kingdom away, the few tens of thousands of expeditionary forces in Hudson’s hands were already the strongest military power within the country.

If he didn’t take others, it was giving face.

Anyone who tried to take the expeditionary force would have to be out of their mind.

At most, a few thick-skinned individuals, rely on their status, would try to take advantage of the smaller nobles below them.

All the family heads were at the front line, and Evola’s status happened to be on par with the personnel left behind.

Arguing and bickering were allowed, and even a fight wouldn’t be too much of an issue.

Of course, it would be better not to fight if possible.

The main issue was that his younger brother was not strong enough, and he probably wouldn’t be able to win in a one-on-one fight.

“Hudson, why don’t I go instead!

If our younger brother goes and a conflict arises with the Dalton Family, he may not be able to handle it.”

Nelson expressed his apprehension.

“Nelson, what are you implying?

Are you suggesting that we fear the Dalton Family?”

Evola angrily retorted.

Their hostility towards the Dalton Family was for a reason.

The sudden recall of the expeditionary force was instigated by the Dalton family.

They were competitors to begin with, and having been outsmarted by them once, their relationship naturally wouldn’t improve.

Although they took advantage when dividing the refugees upon their return, Hudson would gain more if he led the allied forces to the frontline.

Especially in the current situation, if the Kingdom’s forces suffered a major defeat, Hudson even had the chance to succeed Marshal Campbell’s position.

The chance to rise to the top of the military flew right past them, so it was only natural for the members of the Koslow family to despise the Dalton Family.

There was still a gap in capabilities between the two, but now, the Koslow Family and the second-ranked family in the province were still allies.

The combined force of the two families seemed to give them an edge over the Dalton family.

From this perspective, Dalton had no choice but to pull on Hudson’s leg.

Who made the Koslow Family’s military power expand so quickly?

Other families on the battlefield were weakening, but the Koslow Family was growing stronger, which made their competitors quite uneasy.

If they let Hudson become the military big shot, he might eliminate the Dalton family during foreign wars.

The ultimate level of borrowing a knife to kill a person was not purposely issuing a death mission, but arranging a seemingly safe mission that was doomed to go wrong.

Ordinary generals could not carry out this deep of a scheme, but “famous generals” who grew in the battlefield could.

The “famous general” Hudson made many nobles feel uneasy.

“Evola, that’s not what I mean.

For now, there is no need for us to directly conflict with the Dalton family.

Any grudges should be settled after the large-scale war is over.

If anything unexpected happens to them on the battlefield, we do not need to be the bad guy that some people need to push the wall.

The Koslow family, in particular, is not suitable to be the bad guy!”

Nelson’s words made Hudson smile slightly.

The fact that he saw this point indicated that his cultivation had not been wasted.

Pressuring Nelson all the way and not letting him onto the battlefield was both a safety consideration and a training of his political abilities.

Compared to outsiders, a brother is always more reliable.

If someone needed to be cultivated, the safest option would be preferred.

That’s the way society is.

When knowledge is strictly sealed, all the major nobles play a game of family power.

Hudson believed he could maintain control over these brothers and prevent them from having any delusions.

“Alright, the matter is decided.

Evola, as the person in charge of the first group of refugees; Nelson, as the person in charge of the second group of refugees.

As for the Dalton Family, do not provoke them actively.

If they reach out arbitrarily, don’t be overly polite either.

If possible, I would not want to turn against them just yet.

The political reshuffle of the Kingdom is only beginning; you cannot judge friends and foes based on your fixed notions.

Today we are competitors with the Dalton Family, but who can assure that we won’t become allies tomorrow?”

The words from Hudson left the two men stunned.

If not for his profound prestige, they might’ve jumped right up to refute.

Geopolitical politics is their most recent major.

A large number of historical cases have proven that neighbors with conflicting interests will eventually become enemies.

Seeing this, Hudson did not explain.

Some things needed to be understood by oneself, not something that could be understood by someone else’s explanation.

There isn’t room for two big nobles in the Southeastern Province, but that does not mean that the two are always in opposition and cannot come to a compromise for a period of time.

The Koslow Family now had military strength but lacked a matching economic base and still needed a lot of time to solidify its foundation.

As long as the Dalton Family also needed time, the possibility of a short-term compromise between the two existed.

At its core, everyone is now wearing shoes and has gone beyond the life-and-death struggle at the bottom level.

We can’t gamble with the future of our family at every turn.