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Chapter 926 - 926 100 Three Kings of the Underworld_3

926: Chapter 100, Three Kings of the Underworld_3 926: Chapter 100, Three Kings of the Underworld_3 It was both for the use of his military competence and as a reward for his past merits.

In the Alpha Kingdom, a commoner desiring to become a noble would find it utterly impossible without military achievements.

Jose had been a noble, but being made a scapegoat had demoted him to a commoner, making it even harder to regain his nobility.

Without sufficient commendable achievements to silence the victims, it was simply not possible to obtain a title.

If others needed one military achievement to become a noble, Jose needed ten.

Being a scapegoat was burdensome.

When Crown Prince Caesar became King, everyone had to suppress their grievances, and all blame fell on Jose.

This nearly severed his path to independence.

By sticking with Hudson, he could shield himself from these hidden daggers; straying out to start his own venture would leave him clueless about how he might meet his end.

…

A letter reached Hudson’s hands, and the great army had already embarked.

Nominally for drill training, those with geographical knowledge knew that this was preparation for deploying troops to Moxi Duchy.

Leading an elite force in battle indeed made things much smoother.

Whether it was the marching speed or the formation of the troops, none could compare to any army Hudson had led before.

Looking back at those armies of ten thousand cavalry, they now seemed utterly worthless.

And as for the horseback cavalry, fit only for oppressing Orc cannon fodder, the difference was like heaven and earth.

All along the way, Hudson barely needed to worry about anything as, even when problems arose, his officers would come up with solutions on their own.

Even big problems were presented together with their solutions for his approval, waiting for him, the boss, to give the nod.

With fewer military affairs to attend to, Hudson could afford to consider the affairs within his territory.

He admitted he had not been clear enough about the Ghost Ship issue, leading to misunderstandings among his subordinates.

But there was no way to openly discuss such matters.

Originally he had been troubled about how to resolve the Ghost Ship issue, but his subordinates had already thought of a solution.

“Negotiations” are good, compromises between the Human Race and other races aren’t unprecedented.

Mythical ancient heroes could negotiate with an Evil God.

Compared to that, negotiating with a Ghost Ship was child’s play.

The title “Three Kings of the Underworld” did sound menacing, but he was also well-known.

A Dragon and a Bear, both at Sanctuary Level, suppressing the Three Kings of the Underworld, could be plausible.

Even if people were skeptical, they would simply assume that the hidden powers of the Alpha Kingdom were involved.

Thanks to the Clergy’s external propaganda, everyone believed the three Ghost Ships were of Sanctuary Level, and nobody would think that such powerhouses could be enslaved.

However, the matter wouldn’t be so easily concluded.

Once ships from the Mountain Territory could sail freely, the nobles from the kingdom’s coastal areas would undoubtedly seek help.

No one would easily give up such a major slice of the maritime trade pie.

“Eating alone” translates to “poisonous feast,” and such a big pie was not something Hudson could swallow alone; compromise was inevitable.

If he were to demand benefits, they could only be dictated by the Ghost Ships’ needs; otherwise, the scheme would be exposed.

Of course, as a middleman, he couldn’t work for nothing.

But such a reward depended entirely on everyone’s sense of duty.

Unfortunately, a Ghost Ship is not a Giant Dragon; if it were a Dragon robbing everyone, he could simply collect protection money without question.

This journey was inevitably unavoidable; even if it was just for appearances, the entire process had to be completed.

…