The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 1088

Chapter 1087
Rebuilding Hrasal

“Yulia truly has the blood of Hercules flowing through her veins.”

Eivass spoke, glancing at the Eternal Pope and solemnly swearing, “In the name of the Candlemaster, I guarantee the truth of this statement:

My sister, Yulia Moriarty—that is, Yulia Hercules, is the most legitimate heir by bloodline to the Hrasal royal family.”

As his words fell, a golden-red radiance flashed across him, signifying the Candlemaster’s approval.

Beside him stood the Eternal Pope.

This meant that what he said was absolutely true!

—Did anyone dare question the fairness of the Eternal Pope?

If the Eternal Pope were truly unjust, he could have easily defeated these prehistoric civilizations with a single punch!

“Could it be…”

“Hrasal… is going to be rebuilt?”

“Mom, am I witnessing a historic moment…”

The guests were in a state of confusion.

And just as they suspected.

Isabel spoke, saying, “In the name of Knight King Lancelot Du Lac, a founding noble who once hailed from the Hrasal Empire, I declare that the Kingdom of Avalon’s sovereignty shall belong to the new Hrasal Empire!

As Queen of Avalon, I recognize Yulia Hercules as Empress—the common sovereign of the Hrasal people!”

At this moment, Noel, the former Crown Princess of Star Antimony, along with Laro, who was rarely seen in the dignified attire of a prime minister, also stood up.

—It was only then that many people realized that this relatively unnoticed new Queen of Star Antimony was also present!

“In the name of Valentine IX, the newly enthroned Queen of Star Antimony—a direct descendant of the former Valentin I, the Knight of Gold and Stone, and the creator of Star Antimony, Basil Valentine—I declare that the sovereignty of the Star Antimony Kingdom and the Black Hawk territory shall belong to the new Hrasal Empire! I recognize Yulia Hercules as Empress—the common sovereign of the Hrasal people!”

The pronouncements of these two Queens shocked the people—

If before, people had suspected that the Iron-Blooded Queen of Avalon intended to conquer the four nations and rebuild the new Hrasal, then now there was no longer any doubt.

This was clearly pre-arranged!

Avalon and Star Antimony had recently been at war… and now, the Kingdom of Avalon, the Black Hawk Duchy, and the Star Antimony Kingdom were merging into the new Hrasal once again. If not for the failure to find a legitimate heir to the Daffodil Duchy, even the Daffodil Duchy would likely have been absorbed!

Furthermore, it was announced that the Queen of Avalon’s husband hailed from the renowned Vendome Family of Iris Flower, meaning that Iris Flower also had the potential to join the new alliance.

This was no longer a simple harbinger of war—

If all went according to plan, Hrasal might even be rebuilt without shedding a single drop of blood!

This was also the reason why Star Antimony had delayed its war with Iris Flower for so long in the past.

In essence, the wars between the four nations of Hrasal—or five including Avalon—were always internal conflicts stemming from the fragmentation of an old civilization, rather than wars against external civilizations. It was similar to the Three Kingdoms or the Warring States period.

Everyone wanted to rebuild Hrasal, but everyone wanted to do so with themselves as the main entity.

In such a situation, unless there was a swift victory… once the frontlines were prolonged and bogged down in quagmires, they would be unable to convince their own domestic populations or the populations on the other side. Even without external intervention, internal war weariness and chaos would rapidly grow, and the rear’s troop supply and economy would falter… not to mention the inevitable violent “mediation” by external forces.

Even if they successfully annexed the opponent, it would require an immense effort to suppress, assimilate, and govern.

Now, with the high-tier Extraordinary individuals from the founding period of Star Antimony either dead or gone, Iris Flower had begun to exert political pressure on Star Antimony—their public opinion attacks were very cunning, focusing mainly on goblins and the economy.

Iris Flower’s economy and employment were quite good at the moment. Although there were large slum areas, and gangs born from these impoverished populations—especially the Eagle Eye organization, which relied on these “Nothing Left”—at least the lives of the “city residents” were far better than those in Star Antimony.

A very important reason for this was that they had not accepted sponsorships and investments from the goblins.

Although the Swan King had been beheaded and the whispers of the Box of Nothingness had brought continuous chaos and civil war… a large number of nobles were confiscated, which genuinely stimulated the internal economy of Iris Flower for trade—many commoners, and even impoverished people, had seized a considerable amount of jewelry and wealth during that chaos, which became their “family heirlooms.”

Many antique dealers and jewelers bought old gold coins and old ornaments from them cheaply, making a substantial profit… Some impoverished people rose to the status of commoners, and some commoners became small merchants and cultural figures.

This was also why Iris Flower had far more thieves and robbers than other countries—because even a commoner’s home might contain something valuable. The Iris Flower Citizens’ Council had a large number of merchants joining, resulting in a rather favorable business environment for Iris Flower—factories were everywhere, and even farmlands in many rural areas had been converted into factories.

Iris Flower’s good employment situation had been transmitted through the spies sent by Iris Flower and the media they had bribed to the war-torn and recovering Star Antimony, breaking the defense of many Star Antimony people.

The several instances of chaos caused by the Valentine royal family of Star Antimony had also become attack points: the Iris people repeatedly attacked the Valentine family’s dictatorial rule in public opinion, and attacked the origins of the first-generation Valentin, their “usurpation of power” over the Black Hawk Duchy and the Daffodil Duchy, criticizing their act of handing over many railways, ports, and banks to the goblins as treasonous, and also emphasized the wealth accumulated by the Valentine family—

Although this wealth primarily came from patent fees for alchemical products, for the Star Antimony people, they could no longer afford to care about such details.

All this evidence came from the Children of the Moon of Iris Flower… after all, they lived for a long time. At least one-third of the Children of the Moon of Iris Flower had experienced the War of Land Division. They didn’t need to say “I heard,” because they had witnessed it firsthand and could even recount the stories vividly.

This had indeed caused significant trouble.

It was even the direct reason why Queen Noel of Star Antimony, whose succession had not yet been announced, was willing to merge Star Antimony—

Although she felt some reluctance to directly abandon Star Antimony, it was at least better than profiting from it after being so attacked by the Iris people.

Even though the Fallen Heavenly Envoy had been defeated, Star Antimony remained in chaos until now. Perhaps Yulia could help Star Antimony achieve true peace…

Yulia had stayed in Star Antimony for a long time after the war and had personally witnessed all of this.

She took a deep breath, her expression calm and solemn.

“Everyone, I am Yulia Hercules.”

She spoke for the first time, her voice echoing, “As the legitimate successor of the Hrasal Empire… the First Citizen of the new Hrasal Empire and the earthly representative of the Hourglass, I declare:

The new Hrasal shall have no discrimination in the Path, no discrimination in race, no discrimination in gender, and no discrimination in origin.

In the name of equality, harmony, and balance—here, under the witness of all gods.

Rebuild the new Hrasal!”

(End of this chapter)