Elden: Ring of Calamity

Chapter 351: Gathering People to Revolt
Lacard took out the scroll of the map of the entire territory of Gailede that he had prepared long ago and spread it out on the large table. The distribution of military forces of all the city-states in the eastern border and the garrison situation of the armies of the three dynasties were clearly marked on it.

"Since the War King Gefulei conquered the East, in addition to the town of Seria and the city of Qilem where the East Guardian Headquarters is stationed, there are still eighty-two independent city-states of various sizes in the native land of Gelid." Lakkad introduced while looking at the map.

"Although they are nominally under the jurisdiction of the Golden Dynasty, and on the surface they also use the system of the governor who is in charge of the military and political affairs of the city, in essence they are still independent. The governor is either a dominant family in the area who has been passed down from generation to generation, or jointly nominated by several local noble families with similar strength."

"The city-state only obeys the Golden Dynasty in three matters: first, maintaining the faith of the Golden Church and the Ancient Dragon Temple; second, paying tribute on time; and third, responding to the military dispatch of the East Border Garrison when the dynasty issues an order. Other than that, it is completely the same as a country within a country."

Latan looked at Torrens Port in the northwest corner of the map and said thoughtfully, "I heard that Torrens Port had been contested many times by local city-states due to its unique geographical conditions, but no one was able to firmly grasp the control of this port city. Later, after consultations among all parties, it was decided that the twelve city-states of Sigelid would jointly station troops to manage it, and dozens of city-states would be able to get dividends from the profits. Is that true?"

Elder Cassius, a native of Gaileed, nodded and said, "Yes, we in Selia are one of the military controllers and enjoy the largest share of dividends."

Latan nodded and said, "Our visit to Gaileed was too short. We only saw the garrison in Torrance. The Night Mage Regiment stationed there is quite good, but the garrisons in the other eleven city-states are mostly lax in discipline. Even the sentinels on the city walls are not wearing armor. In the streets and alleys, we can see untidy, weak and disorganized soldiers everywhere. It is obvious that they have indulged in sensual pleasures for a long time, so their military preparations have been neglected."

"The advantage of Torrens Port is that it has an open terrain, and there are mountains on both sides. The port area is deep and not affected by storms, so it is an excellent commercial port. But on the other hand, there is no strategic location to defend within a thousand miles, and the city fortifications are not indestructible. Whether sending troops from the East China Sea Islands, from the northern port of Rodria, or even mobilizing a well-trained mercenary fleet from the Storm Sea Islands, it can be turned into a sharp knife to pierce the heart of the enemy."

"For such a strategic location with wealth but no power, the garrison troops are so useless. One can imagine the level of the military forces of the entire city-state of Gaileid."

Lucia smiled after hearing this and said, "If it was the middle and late stages of the Resurgence Era, these city-states would have been fighting each other all day long, and they should have still retained some courage. But since they were frightened by the War King and chose to kneel down and surrender, the local city-state leaders should have understood that they would be completely annexed by the Golden Dynasty sooner or later. Under the general trend, resistance is useless, so most of them let their armaments fall into disuse and just indulge in drunkenness and debauchery."

"However, I think the eighty-two city-states will not all sit there and wait for death." He looked at Cassius and asked, "In Chief Cassius' opinion, which city-states need extra attention in pacifying the Eastern Territory this time?"

Cassius knew it all without even glancing at the map: "Two city-states, plus a fortress."

"Let's talk about a fortress first. Your Highness Lucia should have seen it. It is the Fortress of Pharos to the east of the Dragon Tomb. It was built in the 37th year of the Golden Calendar. It has a garrison of people. Its only purpose is to monitor the movements of Lord Guiol and the ancient flying dragons in the Dragon Tomb. This time, Lord Gustav led flying dragons to suddenly attack and kill the star beast tide. I believe that Viscount Blaze of Pharos must have been extremely nervous. Now the defenders must have entered a state of combat readiness."

He paused for a moment, and Lucia looked at Anacia, who replied, "Everything is just as Lord Cassius guessed. Starting three days ago, the number of patrols around the Fortress of Pharos has doubled. In addition, the frontline scouts have recently tracked down three teams of messengers who left Pharos. Two teams are heading towards Kilim, and the other team is heading west along the land route. It is estimated that they are seeking help from the East Border Garrison and Nimgefu."

Hearing this, Lacard couldn't help but sneer, "When we fought against Esti, we didn't see a single hair of his three thousand men, but when he saw the neighbors at his doorstep made a move, he was so scared that he couldn't sleep. Our Lord Viscount is really a brave general who can stand on his own!"

"Come to think of it," he winked at Michaela and said, "There are 50,000 Scorching Sun Legion right in front of us, why did he send all the messengers for help to Greg, and why didn't he come to you to curry favor?" Michaela knew he was joking, so she didn't get annoyed. She just smiled and sighed, "If it had been a few days earlier, when Marquis Taylor Jones was imprisoning me, he would have definitely agreed to ask Blaze to come to the Scorching Sun Legion for help. It's a pity that the leader of the Scorching Sun Legion not only can't help him, but also sits at the same table with you, a bunch of ambitious rebels who are planning to divide up Gayleid. What can he do?"

Everyone laughed when they heard this. Even Master Lusert, who was always serious and upright in public, stroked his beard and laughed out loud. He said, "Our Origin School has just been cleared of injustice. Your Highness, please don't make random accusations."

Amidst a burst of laughter and chat, the atmosphere of the meeting, which should have been confrontational regarding issues such as land and interest ownership, became more relaxed instead of tense.

In the final analysis, after this life-and-death bloody battle, the relationship between the few demigods who can truly guide the direction of the situation has surpassed the friendship of just like-minded friends in the early years, and has truly formed a new alliance that shares life and death, honor and disgrace.

In this alliance, apart from the relationship between Lucia, Rani and Marenia, the development of the demigods gradually created irreconcilable rifts with the current Golden Order.

Latan no longer blindly worships the heroism of the War King and his father as he did in his childhood. Under the overt or covert influence of Lucia, Chief Mugram, his senior brother Gaius, and even Servius before he transformed into Esti, he is forcing himself to grow up rapidly and shoulder the future of the Kalia Dynasty as the eldest son.

Faced with this responsibility, even his father, whom he relied on as a believer during his youth, had to give in.

Michaela, who was supposed to be the representative of the Golden Party, also realized the limitations of the Golden Rule, especially fundamentalism, while pursuing the path to seal the corruption for his sister. If he wanted to embark on the path of the law he had recently realized, it meant that he would have to make different choices from his father at more and more crossroads.

Moreover, even if we put aside such a lofty and distant concept as the law and focus on the tangible human world, Michaela could never agree with many of the actions of her father and even her mother.

The prosperous age he expected was never the golden age before him, but rather the same as the future that Lucia was pursuing.

This is the reason why these demigods, who are all outstanding people of the time and belong to different camps, can truly sit at the same table.

"Well, let's just assume that we are gathering to rebel. Anyway, our Majesty Radagon is not here—" Lucia spread her hands, "Lord Cassius, tell me about the other two city-states that are worth noting."

(End of this chapter)