Extraordinary Voyage-Chapter 678 - 585: A New Divine Position (4000)
Ilya Kingdom, Royal Capital Viana.
Taking advantage of the opportunity to open a new route to the Southern Continent, Viana, after its national strength gradually grew stronger, had undergone several expansions. Apart from the outer city's wall-less civilian area, the towering inner city walls and the granite walls of the Royal Palace divide the entire city into three distinct worlds.
The world of civilians, the world of the powerful, the world of the Royal Family.
However.
At this moment, a group of once prominent figures at the pinnacle of this kingdom stand together on the highest tower within the Royal Palace, looking toward the civilian area outside the inner city walls. In stark contrast to the bright lights and revelry in one of the large hotels there, the faces of this group of people show only one color—ashen.
Crunch! Crunch!...
Among them, none looked more agitated than Yellen Ilya, both the Crown Prince and the Kingdom Governor; his gritted teeth resounded clearly in the ears of everyone on the entire tower floor.
"Who indulges in extravagance and debauchery? Who is to blame for these ongoing natural disasters? Who endlessly bleeds the people dry? If I had the power of a Titled Knight, the first thing I'd do is kill all these bastards!"
No one took his rant seriously, words alone never kill anyone.
In truth.
Even though the news hasn't spread, those present here, deeply tied to the Royal Family, know very well that even if they defected, the opposition wouldn't accept them due to their vested interests.
The kingdom's attempt to cultivate a new Kingdom Guardian before the "Tempest Tide" Titled Knight's life ran out has utterly failed!
Moreover, when the Royal Family recalled all loyal and reliable Peak Grand Knights to consolidate their base power,
the group of commercial aristocrats gradually took charge of the entire nation over the years, using their economic influence to dominate public opinion, portraying themselves as the representatives of national interests, and gained massive support from the middle-class citizens.
Exploiting the divide between the populace and the ruling class, a dangerous ideology has begun brewing, attempting to subvert the kingdom's foundation from the grassroots level.
And the target they used to draw hostility was undoubtedly the Royal Family and the traditional nobility, deemed decadent and indifferent to common suffering!
It was only now that the once exalted individuals realized in terror how horrifying the consequences were of having allowed limitless freedom to those with immense wealth over the past decades or centuries.
Especially as the kingdom gradually lost its suppressive top-level power, the Kingdom Guardian, when they wanted to find something to resist,
they realized the foundation of various sectors in the kingdom, banking, healthcare, transportation construction, communication, military industry, coal, shipping, and more, had completely fallen into the hands of these economic players, forming actual monopolies in every industry.
"As the tide recedes, it turns out we're the ones swimming naked?!"
And the traditional nobility, cornered by the same pressures, gradually came to see that the aspirations of these monopolists were entirely different from their past political foes, aiming to fundamentally overthrow the state's system and eliminate the entire old ruling class represented by the Royal Family.
They want the emerging commercial class, or monopolistic oligarchs, who control wealth, jobs, and even the people's livelihood, to become the true masters of this nation, driving the entire state machinery to accumulate wealth in the simplest way possible for them.
Confined by the times, they finally realize, after witnessing all this firsthand, that what is happening in Ilya might just be a small spark of a broader era of immense changes, possibly a conflagration waiting to spread!
It's just that the peak forces of other nations haven't encountered similar issues, keeping everything concealed beneath the waves for now.
"Truly regrettable to no end!"
Under such a backdrop, with the axe always poised to drop, they are utterly at a loss on how to turn the tide.
At the same time.
On the city's outskirts, a grand banquet is ongoing.
The lion hasn't completely fallen, but a pack of hyenas ready to carve up the carcass has already begun to revel.
Led by prominent figures among the emerging commercial aristocrats, Viscount Jerome and Earl Wright, along with senior officials of the kingdom, parliament members, foreign bankers, high-ranking officers, guild representatives... gathered together joyfully.
And the Black Sea Pirate King "Octopus Ghost" Hawkins, dressed in an exquisite black suit like a gentleman, held his glass and chatted amiably with the two "Vice Kings" and several distinguished gentlemen.
Having gained a seat in the lower house, which had effectively controlled the nation's finances. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮
The inconspicuous yet charismatic Wright, sporting a short beard, sipped his fine wine as he gazed at the poorly lit Royal Palace outside the window:
"The changing of royal authority is also part of the Goddess's power; we've studied history, and at such times, the Church never intervenes. Yet, the Black Iron Cross Sect, destined to be abandoned by the times as well, fails to realize this is a massive transformation they've never experienced. What we're after has never been royal authority.
The Ghoul armies from all over the world have started gathering, and the kingdom's forces loyal to the Royal Family are utterly powerless against them."
The silver-gray short-haired, eagle-like Viscount Jerome smiled faintly:
"The great 'God of Mysterious Cold Bones', 'Ghoul King', 'Cold Monarch' Mordician had already begun using his power two years ago, gradually affecting the domestic climate and causing droughts.
