Chapter Eleven: Deceitful Plans

An atmosphere of sorrow and tension filled the royal capital. His Majesty the King had passed away the previous day. The great King Kasan Romanov had finally concluded his glorious life and ascended to heaven. His prolonged coma had left him unable to utter a word about what should happen after his death. Perhaps he thought he could wake up again, or perhaps he believed he had already made all arrangements. Yet, matters in the world often do not follow people’s wills and desires.

The kingdom’s council hall was filled with a strong sense of confrontation. No one expected that selecting a successor from among the King’s heirs would be so difficult. A situation of unprecedented difficulty for the Romanov dynasty had thus begun.

Normally, the regent would be the obvious candidate for the next king. But what troubled the nobles was the lack of the final legal basis. His Majesty had only verbally indicated to some noble ministers that Lord Hoffman should act as regent, without issuing a written decree. This sparked legal disputes. The fact that the King never regained consciousness before his death made the situation even more complicated. Some even questioned whether the King intended for Lord Hoffman to act as a temporary regent only, without any intention of having him succeed as king, otherwise he would have announced it publicly at the noble assembly and formalized it in a decree.

Komer gently sniffed the petals of the glacier lily in his hand. Its faint fragrance had a peculiar taste, making it unsuitable for making perfume. Yet Komer liked this uniqueness—too conventional things only caused confusion.

The ongoing disputes in the council hall were within his expectations. If a major conflict arose, the successor king would need two-thirds of the nobles’ votes to ascend the throne. Hoffman, who thought he had the support of the four great lords and most of the prominent nobles in the capital, never expected his fate to be decided in such a way. Unbeknownst to him, the judges of the Star Chamber ruled 5 to 4 that his regency status, lacking written proof, was temporary and could not serve as a basis for inheriting the throne.

The announcement of this ruling immediately caused a huge uproar in Jazair City. The small and medium-sized nobles who already supported Kakiya united to oppose Hoffman’s succession, while even the faction of large nobles who had supported Hoffman began to show cracks. The ruling by the Star Chamber made them realize the involvement of certain unexpected factors and made them realize that this struggle for the throne was no longer simply a conflict between Kakiya and Hoffman. The complex power struggles behind the scenes made some nobles who merely disliked Kakiya out of sentiment hesitate, forcing them to reconsider the consequences of persisting in opposing her.

The aggressive activities of merchants and financiers also made the nobles closely tied to the two key ministers, Matthew and Taze, aware of their true inclinations. Those nobles attempting to gain the support of the three major military factions were firmly stopped by Matthew, who clearly stated that the military would never interfere in the internal affairs of the Romanov royal family. This made some timid nobles sense the looming threat of civil war. Some large nobles began recruiting private armies and slaves, shouting that they would cleanse the dirty lands in the western and central parts of the kingdom with blood, targeting the strongholds of the small and medium-sized nobles.

Fierce disputes began as soon as the arrangements for King Kasan’s funeral were finalized. Without the support of the Star Chamber, Hoffman had to rely on noble votes to decide whether he should ascend to the throne immediately. Even up to the moment of voting, Hoffman was convinced he could easily win more than two-thirds of the nobles’ votes, as the combined votes of the small and medium-sized nobles and the Star Chamber judges could hardly reach one-third of the total noble votes.

But to Hoffman’s horror, something unimaginable happened during the voting: five large nobles who had always supported him cast votes against him at the last moment, instantly reversing the outcome. The result, falling two votes short of two-thirds, immediately sparked intense arguments in the council hall.

Interesting. This outcome was exactly as Komer had predicted. The betrayal by Melkin and Badi would make Hoffman suffer greatly. Betrayal could either bring clarity or drive one mad. Komer was still unsure which path Hoffman would take.

Urgent footsteps came from outside, which surprised Komer. The arguments in the council hall seemed unlikely to resolve so quickly, which didn’t quite fit the nobles’ penchant for debate. Could something unexpected have happened? Komer looked doubtfully toward the door.

Seeing the panicked expression of the newcomer, Komer’s heart skipped a beat. It was a spy sent by Mahagumi to monitor the kingdom, with no connection to his own mission to Jazair. But their sudden appearance at his hiding place meant some major event had occurred. Unless it was extremely serious, they wouldn’t have come straight to the hideout arranged for him by Kafli.

The letter slipped silently through Komer’s fingers. He instinctively shook his head—why couldn’t he stay calm? Bending down to pick up the letter, he closed his eyes gently to calm himself. Everything that had happened before was now meaningless; what mattered was how to deal with the current situation.

“How large is this orc invasion this time?” It took a while for Komer to regain control of his emotions. He needed to understand the orcs’ true intentions—were they acting on orders from the Church of Light, or was it a spontaneous move?

“It’s quite large, unprecedented. Not only have all of the orcs’ major military units been deployed, but it’s said that over 50,000 ox infantry have been sent. They’ve also used a large number of puppet armies. For the first time, sheep infantry, rat engineers, and deer light cavalry have appeared. From our information, the Iron Cross Army has completely collapsed. By the time our intelligence was sent, nine out of the twelve fortresses in the northwest have been captured, and the other three are in grave danger. We believe those three have likely fallen as well. The orcs’ wolf cavalry and deer light cavalry are extremely fast—estimated to be no more than 300 miles away from Jazair now.”

“300 miles?!” Komer was shocked again. Even though he was somewhat prepared, he hadn’t expected the orcs’ attack to be so sudden and fierce. An attack of this scale and speed couldn’t be impulsive; it required long-term, comprehensive preparation. And deploying so many puppet armies surely couldn’t be done just by the instigation of the Church of Light. The orcs would never truly trust mortals. The fact that they had even mobilized their puppet armies, who usually defended the Moghan Wasteland, meant it was a unified decision within their ranks—and one with a clear purpose.

These damned orcs are so good at timing. Right now, everyone in Jazair City is still arguing fiercely over that magnificent throne, unaware that the orcs have already launched their attacks at the heart of the kingdom.
The atmosphere inside was bitter and suffocating. Komer felt a bitter taste in his mouth. It seemed there was little room for maneuver. That damned Hoffman had used his position as regent to dispatch the court mages to Homer—they set off three days ago and were likely already past Calais and inside Homer by now. This deal with Philip would cost him and the entire Kingdom of Nicossia a heavy price!
Without the help of mages, relying only on the newly reformed Golden Oak Regiment and the Royal Guard, especially with the appearance of those rat race engineers, it was clear the orcs were well-prepared. Jazair simply couldn’t withstand the overwhelming force of the orc army, and it seemed the orcs already understood this!
Komer sneered self-mockingly. The Church of Light had brought disaster upon itself, acting like those who lift stones only to drop them on their own feet. Hoffman was seeking trouble for himself. What about Kakiya and himself? His gaze drifted beyond the window to the flower bed. The warm sunlight seemed to lose its warmth instantly, turning cold. Being too clever in scheming only led to one’s own downfall.
“Alright, I get it. Go and do your own things. By the way, have those guys in the capital already found out?” Finally waving them off, Komer had to figure out how to deal with this predicament.
“They’ll probably find out soon. The defeated troops ahead will soon flee back.”
“Go now.” Komer waved weakly, slumping in his chair. The Glacier Lily had been crushed into pieces, drifting lifelessly to the ground. Now wasn’t the time to hesitate. There were only a few hours left; otherwise, once the orc wolf cavalry and deer light cavalry arrived, there would be no way to escape.
When the horrifying news of the orc invasion reached the council hall, the sudden silence was instantly replaced by uproar. Some asked each other in disbelief, some were stunned and unable to react, while others trembled and collapsed. The struggle for the throne was immediately forgotten.

Kakuya and Hoffman both subconsciously glanced at the position at the top and sighed. Now, that spot didn’t seem so desirable after all. Beneath the magnificent throne, fierce flames seemed to burn those who tried to sit there. Both Kakuya and Hoffman felt extremely exhausted in an instant. After all those elaborate struggles, they ended up in such a situation—why bother?