Seeking Connections
Marqui Raygor has spoken exactly how everyone felt about the Crawford Kingdom and the World Tree.
The World Tree should be shared and not monopolized by the Crawford Kingdom. It would be even better if the Geyser Kingdom could monopolize the World Tree instead.
"You spoke our minds, Lord Raygor," Earl Blavier said.
"Every day, the air gets worse, and the sunlight becomes more unbearable. I am tired of living under this water dome like some caged animal. I also want to head out, explore the rest of the continent, and slaughter some beasts while I'm at it."
"Hahaha, Lord Blavier sure has a way with words. I completely understand what you mean. I also feel like a caged animal, living under this bubble," Earl Almeric stated.
"I don't want to spend half my lifetime staying cooped up in the Geyser Kingdom. The Geyser Kingdom is great; don't be mistaken. However, what's the point of growing our wings if we don't get to spread them?"
The food was shortly served, and the nobles dined in. None of the waiters were allowed in the private room. They could only enter when the nobles called them.
Nevertheless, the nobles continued the topic over food and drinks.
"The problem is how do we bring these matters to His Majesty's attention without upsetting or offending him? His Majesty is a great king, but sometimes, I feel like His Majesty is lacking ambition and not thinking about what's best for the kingdom," Marquis Raygor sighed.
"That's true," Earl Almeric agreed.
"The Geyser Kingdom made great progress in the reclamation of the Starlight Archipelago's thousand islands over the years. On the other hand, the Crawford Kingdom made no progress in reclaiming the Wildlands back from the beasts."
"Since the Crawford Kingdom is so incompetent and incapable of expanding the western parts of the Human Domain, His Majesty should just lead the kingdom to rule over them," Earl Almeric stated.
"Right," Marquis Raygor nodded.
"Only when His Majesty has the resource of the entire Human Domain will His Majesty be able to lead humans back to its heyday."
"I believe if we can convince one of the two Dukes to
Marquis Raygor and the other two Earls were immediately surprised. They quickly shot a look at the third Earl and reevaluated him.
"My, you've hidden your background deeply, Lord Bendro. Who would have known that you are blood-related to Duke Flugerd? Doesn't that you share the same royal blood with His Majesty?" Earl Blavier commented with surprise.
However, Earl Bendro's expression immediately turned awkward.
"You think too highly of me, Earl Blavier. I am not blood-related to Duke Flugerd. My sister's husband's second brother's wife's mother-in-law's second daughter is Duke Flugerd's wife. We've interacted over multiple functions," Earl Bendro explained.
"…"
Marquis Raygor and the two Earls opened their mouth and closed them repeatedly without a word. Earl Bendro's words had made them speechless.
"You have quite a complex family, Lord Bendro," Marquis Raygor remarked wryly. He was already lost after the second brother's wife's part.
"Nevertheless, what I can understand from your words is that you can organize a meeting for us with Duke Flugerd. And there is even a high chance that Duke Flugerd will join us."
"Yes, I believe so," Earl Bendro nodded. But, alas, he did not give a definite answer.
"So Lord Bendro isn't completely certain," Marquis Raygor uttered with a contemplating look. Then, he shook his head and said, "Nevertheless, even a slight chance is better than nothing."
"The world continues to change under the effects of the Cataclysm. At this point, it is pretty much impossible for High Seeking Insight-stage Transcendents to wander outside of the water dome's protection without risking cultivation collapse and mutation."
"Please organize the meeting with Duke Flugerd for us, Lord Bendro. We need to gather like-minded people for the interest of the Geyser Kingdom," Marquis Raygor requested.
If they can have a Half-step Paragon like Duke Flugerd, who is also the king's blood brother, on their side, their chance of convincing the king would be much higher.
Claiming the World Tree wasn't just about the interests of the Geyser Kingdom, but for their survival.
"Understood, Lord Raygor," Earl Bendro nodded.
"Since Lord Raygor mentioned gathering like-minded people, I will also reach out for people with my connections," Earl Almeric said shortly after.
"Oh? Does Lord Almeric have any powerful connections to bring to the table?" Marquis Raygor turned to Earl Almeric with interest and asked.
"I am acquainted with Venerable Pill Master's second disciple, Sir Weine. No, you can even say that we are good friends. It was I who introduced him to Venerable Pill Master when he still had nothing to his name," Earl Almeric stated proudly.
Once Earl Almeric revealed this piece of information, Marquis Raygor and the two other Earls widened their eyes with pleasant surprises.
"In order words, Sir Weine is indebted to Lord Almeric. This is great!" Earl Blavier exclaimed. But excited as he was, he refrained from speaking everything on his mind.
Earl Blavier didn't want to offend Earl Bendro in his excitement.
Duke Flugerd has a lot of prestige, but he still pales in comparison to the Venerable Pill Master, who was also a Half-step Paragon.
The Venerable Pill Master was a master of alchemy. His prestige was built on the high-quality pills he refined and supplied to all the experts in the entire Geyser Kingdom.
Even King Lutheran, Sea Emperor Kaiser, and the High Priest all owe their Paragon-level achievement to the pills refined by the Venerable Pill Master.
Furthermore, the Venerable Pill Master's Heavenly Flame could purify the impurities in Redstones and the foul energy in the atmosphere.
As such, their success in persuading the king would be guaranteed if they could bring such a person to their side.