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Chapter 763 - 763 43 Behind the Scenes Mastermind_1

763: Chapter 43, “Behind the Scenes Mastermind”_1 763: Chapter 43, “Behind the Scenes Mastermind”_1 In a time of crisis, efficiency is most called for.

The nobles of Kowalski and Oberon provinces, just returned from the state policy council, raced back to their territories to manage the situation.

No matter whether war breaks out or not, it is always right to make adequate preparations in advance.

One has to admit, Caesar IV got lucky.

Everyone’s attention was drawn to the crisis in the Southeast, and they lost interest in further testing him as a king.

The absence of the nobility from the two provinces accelerated the progress of the ensuing council.

Several trivial matters were neglected by everyone.

Even the nobles who were originally intent on stirring up trouble in the matter of repayment tax, had now chosen silence.

While the crisis appeared to be concentrated in Kowalski and Oberon, the entire southern region was clouded over with the shadow of war.

At least, that is how the southern nobles viewed it.

The southern aristocracy had no mood to make trouble, the emerging nobility had no guts to do the same, and the nobles of the North, recently wooed by Caesar IV, were also not likely to cross him.

Apart from the kingdom easing the pressure on the nobles of the North, the theme of this council was almost entirely centered on war.

As one of the War Faction, Hudson naturally did not hold back in propagating the ‘Three Great Central Kingdoms Threat’ theory.

His strategy was audacious, in order to alleviate internal strife in the kingdom, Hudson put forth three potential enemies in one stroke.

Although only the Black Forest Kingdom and Alpha shared borders directly with the Three Great Central Kingdoms, that did not affect his ‘Three-Kingdom Threat’ rhetoric.

To reinforce his argument, Hudson analyzed the reasons for the potential invasion of Alpha by the Three Great Central Kingdoms from political, economic, and military perspectives.

Such theorizing might have been dismissed as mere posturing in other countries, but in the Alpha Kingdom, it was championed by a large faction of the nobility.

The reason was simple: Hudson did not draw attention to the safety of their kingdom, but rather linked the threat to the strategic security of the Three Great Central Kingdoms.

The Three Great Central Kingdoms, situated in the center of the continent, faced the threat of a pincer movement from the north and south in strategic terms.

If they did not seize the opportunity to expand northward while the northern nations were in decline, their golden days would be over once those powers recovered.

“South and North Jointly Carve Up Central Continent”, “The Growth Path of the Southern Great Country”, “Rising Strategy of the Northern Great Country”…

These were concepts no one had even considered before, yet Hudson laid them all out as if the southern and northern countries had already agreed to divide the central continent among themselves.

To sum up his argument in one sentence: Sentences: The Three Great Central Kingdoms are strategically very vulnerable and to safeguard themselves, they must invade and conquer the Alpha Kingdom.

By the time the council was over, not just the southern nobles but even those in the North, who were eager to take action, were left shivering due to the projected scenarios.

A single Black Forest Kingdom was daunting enough, if the three kingdoms attacked at once, their might would surpass even the Orc Empire.

No matter whether the Three Great Central Kingdoms would invade or not, everyone, putting themselves in the shoes of their rulers, believed they would certainly initiate a northern campaign to reverse their strategic predicament.

In the face of the prevailing crisis mentality in Alpha, their focus shifted from whether the Three Great Central Kingdoms posed a threat, to when they would invade their kingdom.

The threat that one conjures in one’s mind is always far scarier than any threat described by others.

Like the legendary Thousand-Year Catastrophe, many were familiar with the concept, but few were genuinely afraid.

It was simply too remote in time, and most of the related records had been destroyed in wars, leaving only fragmented pieces of knowledge, akin to myth and legend.

No power lasts forever.

Even the so-called venerable noble clans, with thousands of years of heritage, were actually only left with ancient family names, having been wiped out multiple times along the way.

Quite possibly, their forefathers were arbitrarily acknowledged for political needs, and there was no blood relation between the two parties.

Once it was taken for granted that the Three Great Central Kingdoms would invade from the north, a series of events were interpreted through a lens of conspiracy theory.

After hastily concluding the council, everyone hurried back to prepare for war.

The nobles from the Southeastern Province were no exception, and their most heated discussions centred on the improvement of the Blood Moon Defense Line.

The simple reason was that defending the Black Stone Mountain Range wasn’t enough; the army of the Black Forest people could also attack from the neighbouring provinces.

Some friendly nobles even began to discuss joint defense.

Those from the same clan, with their territories nearby, even prepared to build castles together.

While some rejoiced, others lamented.

Watching the fervent discussions, the ambitious could only sigh in the depths of their hearts.

The opportunity for large-scale annexation slipped through their hands.

Once the small nobles formed a coalition, it was no longer possible for the ambitious to swallow them up as they wished.

If you find the right five people, you may not necessarily be able to connect with the whole world, but five nobles together can connect with a good part of the province’s nobility.

With a whip to his fast horse, he returned to his territory.

Holding his newly-born son, Hudson felt a wave of relaxation wash over him.

Being a major manipulator is extremely taxing, especially when trying to hoodwink a bunch of old foxes, raises the difficulty level by +1008…