The Lord Demon King is Unfathomable!

Chapter 1666 - 470: The Farmer and the King

Thunder City, Andes Manor.

Late summer had come; the chill of morning slipped through the half-open window, carrying the scent of marigolds into the study.

Duke Edward Campbell read his sister's personal letter once more, that handsome brow sinking under the weight of gravity.

In the letter, Erin described in detail the brutality of the Battle of Twilight City, the terror of the Chaos Evil Gods' descent, and that final judgment that fell from the heavens.

Of course, she also mentioned the subsequent arrival, after the war, of the King's Court Manager Skylar and the Church Court's Judicial Court, as well as the tense situation this had triggered.

The Campbell people had paid a tremendous price to save their compatriots in Twilight Province; they ought to receive the King's reward!

Yet the King's lapdogs deliberately blurred the distinction between ownership and usage rights, slandering the Campbell Duchy as attempting to usurp the King's title, and even claiming that this inversion of black and white was breeding grounds for Chaos to flourish, dragging out even the Great Sage's "prophecy" for support.

Heh!

Edward let out a cold laugh.

These bastards truly dare to say anything!

Was Chaos invited in by the Campbell people's reinforcements, then?

In truth, Edward didn't really care about this kind of harmless accusation; he was not in the least surprised that the King would send people to "pick apples"—the only question was who would be sent to lead the charge.

The only thing that troubled him was the arrival of the Judicial Court.

Edward's index finger tapped lightly on the white oak desk as his gaze fell upon the enormous map of the Ryan Kingdom hanging on the wall.

The Church Court would not usually lightly interfere in disputes within a secular kingdom; their blade would only be aimed at Heretics and Chaos.

However, the weight carried by the title "Grand Referee" was far too great; in the past, the Ryan Kingdom could hardly even see a single Imperial Baron, yet this time a favorite at the Pope's side had actually come.

Himenes's arrival subtly altered the rules of this whole game; in what had originally been a contest decided by strength, there was now an added weight on the scale named "legal principle."

And besides—

The Judicial Court was not necessarily pure in its motives.

Perhaps only those Peasants who had hardly ever seen a Priest in their entire lives would believe that a Devil who had slaughtered countless people could turn into a Saint just by stuffing a copy of the Holy Word Book in his robe.

It wasn't as if there had never been Priests in Twilight Province before; surely they couldn't claim yet again that it was the Campbell people's greed that made the Ryan people there go hungry?

"...My lord." A dust-covered courier respectfully knocked on the door, then stood at the study entrance waiting for a response.

"Come in."

Edward drew back from his thoughts, picked up the letter he had long since drafted from the desk, sealed it with wax, and handed it to the courier who had entered the study.

"Tell Erin to respond with caution, and to put her own safety above all else. No matter what happens, the Campbell Duchy will always be her strongest backing."

He paused, then, suppressing his anger, added another line.

"And as for me… no one gets to slander my sister and then pretend nothing happened. Not even the King's Court Manager!"

"Yes, Your Grace… Your Majesty."

Feeling the fury in those eyes, the courier trembled inwardly, took the scalding letter in both hands, and, after a bow, quickly withdrew.

After seeing the courier off, Edward's gaze fell upon another secret report on the desk, compiled and delivered by his trusted aide.

This intelligence mainly outlined the current state of the various Earl Domains, Baron Territories, as well as towns and villages, within Twilight Province.

It included the approximate population ranges of each parcel of land, the degree to which they had been ravaged by war, whether the soil was suitable for cultivation, where the Lords had gone, and so on.

Theoden wanted to default on his debts under the guise of holiness; Edward was no easy mark either.

He had always liked to make two sets of preparations.

If the King would not cooperate, then he would go to the Earls; if the Earls would not cooperate, then he would go to the Barons; if the main line would not cooperate, then he would seek out the collateral branches—whoever cooperated with the Campbell family would be the one who held legal principle!

Was that old man feigning sleep not intent on driving wolves to devour tigers, using the great blaze of Chaos to reclaim the lands held in the Nobles' hands?

He could forget it!

The swords of the Campbell Duchy would defend the Lords of Twilight Province and their sacred, unquestionable legal principle!

Although the Campbell family and the traditional feudal Nobles were rivals within their own Duchy, there was no reason they could not take another stance in their neighbor's house.

Expressionless, Edward read the report through to the end; in his mind, the blueprint of an entire plan had already taken shape, just as when he had once charted the Future of Thunder City.

To be honest, however, he was already growing somewhat weary in his heart.

Why was it always the Campbell Duchy cleaning up after the Devalu family?

They had expanded the borders of the Ryan Kingdom, suppressed the Maze in Thunder County for nearly a thousand years on the Kingdom's behalf, and guarded the southern seaport for the Ryan Kingdom, yet the King had never once thanked them, and even treated the Light of Praise as a nuisance.

He had not thought this way before, but lately he felt more and more that the Devalu family simply did not deserve to possess such vast lands; they themselves were the Kingdom's greatest disgrace!

Perhaps Andes was right—

If they wished to resolve, once and for all, the troubles presently facing the Campbell Duchy, they had to thoroughly turn Twilight Province into the Dusk Duchy.

As for the troubles that would come afterward…

Those would have to be discovered in the future.

Just then, Edward's gaze fell upon the final line on the last page of the report in his hand, and remained there.

When mentioning the whereabouts of Count Thelon Gard, his trusted aide had specifically noted that the man had returned to his own castle, and seemed to have reached some kind of deal with the Salvation Army.

Originally, they had planned to have a talk with this Count Thelon, but when they went to his residence in Twilight City, the man had already vanished, and, upon inquiry, they learned he had even brought his family back to the castle.