MMORPG: War God, You are Invincible Again
Chapter 419 - 173: Deliberations in the Court

Chapter 419: Chapter 173: Deliberations in the Court

Disaster Church’s disaster had been eradicated smoothly, and most of the abducted citizens were rescued back, yet there were still some who did not make it to receive Lu Hong’s support and died in the criminals’ experiments.

Questasa, after detailed investigation, recorded all the cases about the disappearance of the citizens and presented them to Konstantin.

It took Konstantin half an hour to put down the file.

Without a word from him, Questasa silently kneeled on the ground below.

Much time passed before Konstantin finally sighed, and said to an official nearby, "Although Lu Kuan’s actions were inhumane, extraordinary times demand extraordinary measures. Penalize him with three years’ forfeiture of salary."

"Yes, Your Majesty." The official nodded, recording the decision.

"Additionally," Konstantin looked towards Lu Hong, who was almost falling asleep leaning against the hall’s column, "the Disaster Church is considerably strong. Baron Yitian, do you have any strategy?"

"First, eradicate the Disaster Church in the other three dimensions," Lu Hong patted his cheeks to awaken himself and continued, "Their headquarters is in the Ambra dimension; we could utilize Ambra’s power to restrain them."

"Your Majesty!" A high official stood up as Lu Hong finished speaking, bowed deeply, and then said, "I think this is inappropriate. Ambra is not a vassal state of the Empire; they are not reliable. Moreover, according to the Black Guard’s investigations, these Disaster cultists originally only operated in the Ambra dimension and had never reached out to the Empire’s dimensions. Hence, I speculate the Disaster Church’s plot against the Empire might likely have the backing of the seven nations of Ambra."

"Bullshit!" Lu Hong swore outright, "The seven nations of Ambra are not as despicable as you think."

"You..." Stopped by Lu Hong’s verbal attack, the high official was fuming with rage, but since his opponent was a now-prominent baron of the Empire, he could not dare retaliate despite being outranked.

"Baron Sir, Right Honourable Sir is considering the safety of the Empire. The current Empire cannot afford any turbulence; please forgive him," another high official stood out, trying to ease the tension.

Lu Hong nodded without holding a grudge.

Konstantin picked up the conversation, "Baron Yitian is correct; the priority is to rescue the abducted citizens from the other three dimensions. I hope you can undertake this, Baron. You have the most experience dealing with the Disaster Church, and I will have Questasa assist you. If you need any help, just ask."

"Your Majesty, I still hope that the Empire can establish an alliance with Ambra to jointly resist the Disaster Church. From what Miss Dada informed me, they use a peculiar church that possesses ultra-long-distance teleportation capabilities. If we don’t strategize soon, they will become the next Sea Tribe and will not only conquer the lands of Divine Grace."

Konstantin sighed lightly, "And don’t I wish for that? But the Empire currently lacks the energy to confront them. After the battle in Endless Forest, the Empire suffered heavy losses, and the tidal wave of the Sea Tribe came right after, not giving us any breathing space. I currently can’t even redeploy troops."

"You still have one army you can dispatch," Lu Hong shook his head, negating Konstantin’s statement.

"Hmm?" Konstantin was taken aback, thinking, How didn’t I know?

Instantly, hundreds of high officials in the hall turned their gaze towards Lu Hong.

Lu Hong went straight to the point, pointing to the Star Sea power map on the wall beside the hall, "The frontier!"

"Impossible!"

As soon as Lu Hong spoke, a group of high officials jumped out, "The stationed forces there absolutely cannot be recalled. If the Eagle Alliance takes advantage of the situation, the Empire will have no defenses! Your Majesty, we absolutely cannot!"

"The Eagle Alliance will not attack the Empire," Lu Hong retorted casually.

"Baron Sir!" At that moment, a tall and slim middle-aged man rebuked in a low voice, "The internal forces of the Eagle Alliance are extremely complex. Even if you understand one duke’s intentions, even persuading one duke does not mean you can sway their council’s decision, so please do not make such baseless statements!"

"I am simply telling the truth," Lu Hong said, "The Eagle Alliance definitely will not attack the Empire proactively."

"Heh!" the high officials scoffed, "Words are not proofs. Unless Baron Sir can provide concrete evidence."

Konstantin didn’t say anything, but his eyes were filled with encouragement, as if he wanted Lu Hong to speak for himself.

Lu Hong shook his head slightly, then took out a Medal of Honor from the Space Ring.

Accompanied by a brilliant flash of light, all the ministers present were shocked. They recognized the medal. It was a custom magic tool of the Eagle Alliance’s seats. The more luxurious and noble it was, the higher the position it represented in the Eagle Alliance.

"Are you actually a spy for the Eagle Alliance?!" one minister blurted out in a high-pitched scream.

"Nonsense!" Lu Hong’s face darkened; these people never thought well of him.

Upon hearing this, Questasa stood up and kicked the accuser away, "Dare to speak nonsense again and see what happens!"

"What, what, what..." the minister pointed at Lu Hong, apparently afraid of being beaten, unable to speak.

"When the Sea Tribe invaded, I had disappeared for a while," Lu Hong began to explain. "That was because I went to the Eagle Alliance."

"Oh!"

The ministers suddenly realized why they hadn’t seen the Baron at the beginning. Logically, behind every major event of the empire, the Baron risked his life for the empire. At the beginning, they had wondered why the Baron had disappeared.

"At that time, the Eagle Alliance indeed had intentions to invade our empire."

"I knew it, the Eagle Alliance has always been full of wild ambitions, full of wild ambitions!" The ministers interrupted Lu Hong, all speaking out to condemn.

"Silence!" Konstantin shouted loudly. When the room had quieted, he turned to Lu Hong, "Continue."

"To stop the Alliance from invading the empire, I participated in their Eagle Campaign and secured the position of Champion, making a wish that the Eagle Alliance would not invade the empire."

"Did all four Dukes agree to this?" the ministers asked, stunned.

"Yes, they agreed, so the Eagle Alliance absolutely will not invade the empire before the Sea Tribe retreats. You can rest assured now," Lu Hong scanned the room; each minister’s face showed a different expression, looking at him somewhat incredulously.

After a while, the ministers looked at each other and, in a surprisingly synchronized step, moved forward to kneel before Lu Hong: "We thank Baron Lu for securing a lifeline for the empire!"

Indeed, if the Eagle Alliance invaded the empire during this critical period, the domains beneath the Star Sea would fail, and the empire, struck by both the Sea Tribe and the Eagle Alliance, would stand no chance.

"Ministers, please rise!" Lu Hong had not expected these corrupt courtiers to offer him such profound respect, which changed his view of them. It was well known that the imperial court was a place of deception and intrigue, where relatively powerless ministers, like sly old foxes, constantly schemed.

"All rise. The contributions Baron Yitian has made to the empire are beyond your imagination," Konstantin seemed to exhale a breath of foul air, presumably because his previous plans to promote Lu Hong had been obstructed by these ministers.

"It is our short-sightedness that is to blame. We believe that the contributions of Baron Lu will be unmatched for thousands of years. We hope His Majesty will promote the Baron to a first-class Duke, placing him among the three highest officials of the court."

Upon hearing this, even Konstantin was taken aback. From Baron to Duke, that was quite the leap! Being among the three highest officials meant being equal in power to people like Questasa, Marshal Xie’an, and the leader of the court ministers. Konstantin was not very willing to equate Lu Hong’s power with these three.

"Well... Now is a time of many troubles; let us table this discussion for later." Konstantin was willing to promote Lu Hong, but not all at once.

Lu Hong didn’t say anything. He had never been one to chase after power anyway, but he sensed Konstantin’s reserve and wariness from his attitude. What, did he know about his mixed orcish heritage now?

After a heated discussion, it was decided that the army stationed at the frontier would withdraw three days later, but it would not return directly to the empire’s territories. Instead, it would cleanse the major rebellious domains. These domains, always disregarding imperial commands, had long posed a significant threat to the empire like ticking time bombs. Without the foreign ministers holding up appearances, even the slightest sign of hesitation could give the adversaries a chance to strike back viciously.

The plan was set. With Questasa’s cooperation, Lu Hong would rescue all civilians. Afterward, he would rendezvous with Xie’an to cleanse the rebellious domains, resolve the internal strife of the empire, and reorganize and reinforce the army, ultimately giving back to the empire’s homeland.