MMORPG: War God, You are Invincible Again
Chapter 380 - 135 Proposal

Chapter 380: Chapter 135 Proposal

The four Dukes had the capacity and the obligation to take on the responsibilities of four of the axis wheels, but as for who would take on the remaining four, the assembly of titleholders erupted in chaos, with many lamenting the weakness of their own families and unwilling to exert extra effort.

Seeing the disorderly debate below, Nuoshan couldn’t help but get irritated and scolded, "What time is it now, and you’re still thinking about your petty gains?!"

As the top forces of the alliance, the four Dukes bore most of the responsibility and obligations, while the lower Marquises and Earls saw in this crisis an opportunity for their rise.

The activation of the Axis of the World would certainly deplete much of the resources of the families of the four Dukes. Their formerly absolute power, held over all the other titleholders, would greatly diminish. Was this not an opportunity for those families who had always been suppressed by the Dukes?

Although they were still no match for the Dukes alone, with just the united effort of several Marquises, contending against the Dukes was not wishful thinking.

With such thoughts, most of the titleholders in the hall maintained the same attitude—try to preserve their own strength as much as possible. Once the crisis passed, they would have the opportunity to overturn the current situation and elevate their own families.

The four Dukes were not fools; they had long seen through their intentions and responded with cold laughter.

"Look, I told you, these people are unreliable. It would have been better if we had joined forces from the start, emulated the Sacred Empire, centralized power, and ruled the alliance," Duke Chen Hui said, pursing his lips and complaining to Nuoshan.

Hearing this, Lei Shan glanced at him. Chen Hui hadn’t mentioned this suggestion at the meetings he had attended; it must have been before his promotion to Duke. If Chen Hui were to succeed, Lei Shan feared there would be no hope for his title as Duke.

"Let them decide for themselves; after all, the other four axis will still need filling," Duke Nuoshan wasn’t in a hurry. After all, the purpose of today’s assembly was exactly that—to let them debate among themselves and eventually come to a conclusion.

However, just then, eight Marquises suddenly stood up. The leader slightly bowed to the Dukes on the podium and said, "Lords, as everyone knows, the four Dukes have been laboring for our alliance for a long time. If the heavy burden of starting the four axes were placed solely on them, their families might not be able to handle it. Therefore, I and a few other Marquises have discussed and are willing to share this burden with the Dukes."

This statement caused an uproar within the hall.

Everyone was hoping to weaken the power of the Dukes by starting the Axis of the World. Why were there people doing the opposite?

Looking at the eight standing Marquises, they weren’t even vassals of the four Dukes.

Bai Ling was a bit astonished. He knew this person; under the power of the four Dukes, he had gathered a group of titleholders, but these eight clearly didn’t belong to any side.

"Your kindness is appreciated," Duke Bai Ling paused, "Starting the axis wheels also requires concerted efforts. I believe my people are capable of this task. You would be better off taking charge of the other four axis wheels, working together with the sitting titleholders to maintain the operation of the Divine Artifact."

Seeing Bai Ling’s rejection, several dozen Earls stood up, and the leading titleholder also spoke, "We have never dealt with the Axis of the World before, and it would be difficult for us to finely control it. Therefore, I suggest that the Dukes can assign personnel on each major axis wheel to lead and coordinate."

"Um," Nuoshan pondered, it seemed they had a point.

Chen Hui frowned slightly and stood up, saying, "Supplementing the energy for the axis wheels is simple. There’s still more than a month before Bai Ling is freed, which is enough time to get familiar with starting the axis wheels."

"However, as Earl Tai’an has said, if there is any slip-up in our confrontation with the old demon, our alliance could be at risk. This matter is not to be taken lightly," the previously speaking Marquis spoke again, "Therefore, I agree with Earl Tai’an’s suggestion, for the four Dukes to take charge of the eight axis wheels while the other titleholders are distributed among them to ensure foolproof security."

Lei Shan lounged lazily in his chair, his signature cross-legged pose restored.

Nuoshan’s brows furrowed tightly. It was tolerable during our private meetings, but during such a crucial assembly, how could this behavior be appropriate?

"Lei Shan, you are a Duke!"

Facing Nuoshan’s admonition, Lei Shan pursed his lips, ignoring it and instead chuckled, "Let me say, my lords, do you think they mean well?"

The other three remained silent. It all sounded reasonable and such an arrangement would minimize potential losses to their families, but why did they still feel something was amiss?

The more reasonable it seemed, the more suspicious it became.

Who wouldn’t want to elevate their own family? If so, the four Dukes could preserve as much strength as possible, but what benefit could they reap from this?

"Are they surrendering?" Bai Ling said in a low voice, privately, "But I don’t think that’s quite it."

Chen Hui nodded, "There seems to be something fishy here."

Seeing the people whispering, he became somewhat puzzled and asked Duke Nuoshan, "Why? If there is a good opportunity, why won’t you agree to it?"

Nuoshan rolled his eyes, "Naive."

"I..." Lu Hong had no way to counter Duke Nuoshan’s ridicule. It clearly seemed like a good thing. If those people had a change of heart, why shouldn’t they be allowed to do the right thing?

Seeing that the four dukes did not respond, Earl Taian pressed closer, "May I know what the esteemed dukes think?"

Duke Chen Hui turned his head away, clearly uninterested in responding. Duke Nuoshan pulled Lu Hong aside for a private conversation, ignoring the proposal as if he hadn’t heard it. Xin Lei simply lowered her head, uninvolved and indifferent.

Thus, everyone’s eyes focused on Duke Lei Shan, who acted carelessly.

"Duke Lei Shan, please give us a reply!"

"Huh?" Lei Shan glanced around at the people below the stage, then looked left and right, thinking them utterly shameless.

"If you ask me, it’s not up for discussion. You just need to neatly assign the other four Axis of the World and leave the main four Axis out of this. Once the distribution is decided, just go ahead and train on the secondary Axis," Lei Shan slammed the table, rejecting the proposal.

"Is Duke Lei Shan gambling? Gambling with the fate of our alliance?" Earl Taian’s face darkened, "Or do you four dukes have a contingency plan, that even if the Axis of the World is mishandled, you can still safely retreat and preserve your strength?"

Taian’s words were piercing, causing an invisible wave of horror to surge through the room, striking at the four of them.

"Hey, hey!" Lei Shan pointed and rebuked, "You can mess up eating, but not speaking! I’ll sue you for defamation!"

"Whether it’s true or not, everyone here knows in their hearts. If not, why would the four great dukes cling to the four main Axis and refuse to let go?"

Taian’s pointed words made the dukes look solemn. The four main Axis indeed had additional functions, but using them to escape was unrealistic. These were not highly secretive matters and had long been recorded in the alliance’s archives. But who would believe that? That was another matter.

Taian’s speech seemed premeditated, but for what exact reason, they couldn’t figure it out. Nonetheless, their instincts told them there must be something fishy.

Under Taian’s guidance, the issue now was not about which titles would take the secondary Axis, but whether the four great dukes had hidden contingencies.

"Indeed, the first-hand research on the Axis of the World is always in your four hands, how could we know if there is anything secretive? There must be a reason you value the four main Axis so much! I support Earl Taian’s proposal!" After a moment of silence, as Marquis Yiming voiced his objections, more disapproval grew within the venue, with nearly sixty percent of the nobles opposing and supporting Taian’s approach.

Tyranny?

Definitely not acceptable. Following this upheaval, the four dukes felt an immense headache.

"Quiet! Quiet!" Nuoshan slammed the table and quelled the noisy crowd, then said, "Give us a few minutes to discuss."

After speaking, the four dukes left the stage and headed to the back hall to discuss.

However, Lu Hong felt something was off. From the moment he entered, there was a familiar aura in the venue, it was like... like...

Demons?!

Lu Hong suddenly realized, the faint undetectable aura was not magic power, but Demonic Qi, purely Demonic Qi, entirely indistinguishable from that emanated by Tong Shuai and Demon King Yan.

Had demons infiltrated the alliance?

Startled, Lu Hong also stepped back and hurried to burst into the chamber where the four were discussing.

The guards at the door stopped Lu Hong, bowing respectfully, "Lord Marquis, please wait a moment, the dukes are in a discussion. If there’s anything, please come later."

Lu Hong’s expression stern, he said sternly, "I have something important to discuss with them, go report it now."

"This..." The guard hesitated, evidently seeing the close relationship between Lu Hong and Duke Nuoshan, and decided to pass the message for him.