Chapter 333 - Duke Meeting

Chapter 333: Chapter 88 Duke MeetingThe Seventh Realm, the most mysterious plane of the seven floating worlds, was only accessible to a select few marquises at specific times to overhear some crucial decisions.

The incident at the Holy Academy last night had had an extremely detrimental impact and faced numerous queries from the duke seats, including a barrage of complaint letters.

"Duke Xinlei, please give us a reasonable explanation for last night’s events," Duke Lei Shan began aggressively, throwing a stack of thick complaint letters on the round table.

Lei Shan leaned back in his chair, thumping his feet on the table twice, completely disregarding the decorum of the occasion.

Duke Xinlei glanced over, then averted her gaze.

"Xinlei, you ought to provide an explanation," Duke Chen Hui also said, "Deploying two divisions into the floating world, this is the third time in the alliance’s history. The first time, during the nineteen marquis rebellion, though suppressed, it resulted in grievous losses for the alliance. The second was seven hundred years ago, a power struggle between Xinlei and Chen Hui, which resulted in no less than a million casualties in the floating world. Just last night, more than forty dukes surrounded my mansion, demanding an explanation from me. How should I respond to them?"

Duke Xinlei could ignore Lei Shan, but Chen Hui was a seasoned grand duke and even Duke Nuoshan’s gaze bore inquiringly. If she remained silent, she might soon be facing interrogation from Nuoshan.

"Piao Miao received confirmed news that Baron Yi Tian of the Empire, using Lu Hong as an alias, infiltrated our alliance and participated in this expedition of the Eagle," she said.

"Are you sure?!" Duke Nuoshan exclaimed in surprise, "Since the Empire fell into crisis with the sea tribes, the border defenses have continuously tightened, making it impossible for anyone to smuggle through the vast vacuum belt."

"Indeed, and the Baron of the Empire has a unique status. Would Konstantin pamper him in his palms and let him come to our alliance, risking his life?" Duke Chen Hui also found Xinlei’s claim overly implausible.

But Lei Shan put his feet down and straightened his posture, asking Xinlei, "Where are this person’s traces and itinerary? Show them to me."

Xinlei tossed Lei Shan a surveillance report on Lu Hong. He scrutinized it carefully and then explained to the other two dukes, "Xinlei’s guess isn’t wrong; this person emerged suddenly from the Rao Snow plane, likely through transmission."

"Go on," said Nuoshan, who had heard rumors about the super transmission gates. Since Lei Shan corroborated Xinlei’s claim, it clearly wasn’t baseless.

"This matter, well..." Lei Shan chuckled, "I believe you all have heard about the legends of the super-sized transmission gates, and the Holy Court had investigated this matter in earlier years, but they found no useful leads at that time."

"So, you found something now?" Duke Chen Hui inquired, keenly interested in the rumor.

"Yes, continuing our investigations solely within the confines of the alliance wouldn’t yield results; we must look to the origin of these rumors," Lei Shan continued, "I sent people deep into Shen’en, tracing it to the elven royal court, where the Elf King confirmed this matter."

"So, are you saying that there indeed exists a super-sized transmission gate within the territories of our alliance? Where is this gate, and where does it lead?" Duke Chen Hui pursued.

"By comparing ancient texts preserved by the Elven Royal Court, the transmission gate within our alliance territory is supposed to be in the Rao Snow plane. After some investigation, I indeed found the exact location of this gate, but I couldn’t find a way to activate it. I had no choice but to plan and send my people deep into the Umbra plane, hoping to learn how to activate it from the other side."

"Was Yi Tian Baron ahead of you?" Xinlei sneered coldly, aware that the cunning present would immediately understand why Lei Shan went through such great lengths.

"I’m not sure if he got ahead, given that Umbra lies within the Empire’s territory, and the border defense is strict, making constant communication too difficult. But if this person is indeed Yi Tian Baron, it indicates that my arrangement might have been used by him," Lei Shan cared not about Sangxi, but was perturbed that Jin Fu seemed to have concealed some matters and didn’t share them with him. The report Jin Fu submitted to the Holy Court and the information he provided all indicated that the transmission gate had exploded unexpectedly during activation, leading to its destruction.

"So, this young man called Lu Hong could really be the Baron of the Empire," Duke Nuoshan tapped the table lightly, then turned to Xinlei, "I heard last night’s event alarmed Archbishop Nong Hua?"

"Yes," Xin Lei nodded. "If it weren’t for Nong Hua’s interference, Piao Miao would have already confirmed the other party’s identity."

"The question is why Nong Hua prevented it," Duke Chen Hui said. "Could it be that the Holy Court is involved?"

"It’s very likely," Lei Shan nodded in agreement. Otherwise, Jin Fu wouldn’t have concealed it from him.

"I don’t think so," Nuoshan shook his head. "The Holy Court never interferes in the affairs between two countries, nor has it ever established relations with the Empire. Everything is handled within my alliance. Rather than suspect deals between the Holy Court and the Empire, I’d prefer to believe that Baron Yitian and Nong Hua have made some transactions." Saying this, Nuoshan pointed to the last item on Lu Hong’s investigation report: "This morning at eight o’clock, accompanied by the Holy Academy’s tutor Anna, he went to the Pool of Light and disappeared."

"When it comes to Archbishop Nong Hua, the highest-ranking archbishop of the Holy Court, what should we do?" asked Duke Chen Hui. "We certainly can’t let this Empire’s baron act recklessly in our alliance, right? He has killed two of our alliance’s geniuses in a row, truly treating our alliance as if we have no one!"

"Although the identity of this Lu Hong has not yet been completely confirmed, it’s better to err and kill than to let him go," Lei Shan declared. "Send the army directly, surround the Pool of Light, and the moment this kid comes out, immediately kill him, regardless of whether it’s him or not, to eliminate future problems."

"That’s inappropriate," Duke Nuoshan shook his head. "What if Archbishop Nong Hua forcefully protects him?"

"Then we’ll destroy the Holy Court. I’ve disliked them for a long time. The alliance only needs nobility, not some church," Lei Shan ranted. "If Nong Hua knows the situation, he wouldn’t openly defy the decision of the four dukes."

"Now that you’ve become a duke, try to be more composed in the future," Nuoshan dismissed Lei Shan’s suggestion. "Nong Hua, I think the other two dukes should be very familiar with him. Once he is set on something, he won’t change his mind. If we make a move against Baron Yitian and Nong Hua gets involved, it is highly likely to cause the Third Holy Alliance War. Such internal conflict is a loss we can’t afford."

"So what do we do? Baron Yitian is very powerful too; haven’t you seen how he suppressed the Snow Clan in the Divine Grace Plane? Even the Snow Clan Great Emperor Bu Sheng didn’t dare make a peep in front of him. If this guy gets more opportunities to grow, he will surely become the number one enemy of our alliance in the future. By then, who knows how many of our alliance’s soldiers will die at his hands, and how will we account for this?"

"Enough!" Xin Lei said sharply, interrupting Nuoshan and Lei Shan’s argument. Seeing the two quiet down, she then lightly massaged her temples. "Although Baron Yitian is powerful, he is currently only a Second Transition expert. A few Third Transition experts can easily eliminate him; this issue is not critical."

"Exactly," Duke Chen Hui took over the conversation. "The urgent matter is to clarify their intentions. I believe he’s not here just for a leisure visit. If he carries an important mission arranged by Konstantin, it’s necessary for us to find out what the Empire plots against our alliance, to take precautions early, and we might even counter the Empire unexpectedly without alarming them."

"The idea of Duke Chen Hui aligns with mine. Start by targeting his companion Anna, and also send someone to closely monitor all his movements and investigate everyone he has contacted."

Having heard Duke Xin Lei’s arrangements, Lei Shan and Nuoshan showed no objections; both expressed their agreement. At the same time, they began to ponder the possible mission Lu Hong could be carrying this time for his visit to the Eagle Alliance.

"What exactly is the mission that would bring an important symbol of the Empire here to execute?" The four dukes muttered softly; they couldn’t guess Lu Hong’s purpose; they always felt that since Lu Hong came to take on the Empire’s mission, he must also have a way extricate himself; they didn’t believe the Empire would gamble its hero’s life with the Eagle Alliance.

The morning council meeting mainly revolved around Lu Hong; the latter half revolved around the four dukes’ arrangements for deploying troops. Deciding to send out troops now meant triggering a series of events with high stakes, planning to strike the Empire when it was weakest, hence, the four dukes separately marked their marching paths and the direction of the alliance’s military attacks and planned for all potential measures the Empire might take.

At this moment, Lu Hong, after passing through more than thirty teleportation gates, finally arrived at the headquarters of the Holy Court—the Pool of Light.

Nong Hua stood outside the teleportation gate, slightly bending towards Lu Hong, smiling, "Welcome, young friend, to our Holy Court for a visit."

"I, uh," Lu Hong waved his hand, and before he could speak, he threw up spectacularly. As for Anna, she had passed out several times during the teleportation.

Continuous space teleportation was not easy to endure; if it weren’t for his physically strong constitution, he might have passed out long ago.

Nong Hua chuckled, not minding, and waved his hand, two church members stepped forward to support Lu Hong and Anna.

"You two go to the Pool of Light first to recover your energy, we’ll talk in detail later."