Cassius hurriedly stepped into the Anju Royal Palace.
When the palace guards saw it was Cassius, they all stopped blocking him.
At this moment, Alberto had just finished discussing the latest battle reports with a noble in the grand hall when he saw Cassius rush in.
Alberto waved his hand, signaling the other nobles to leave.
The nobles in the hall were somewhat dissatisfied; how could His Majesty trust a jester, ignoring the kingdom’s old ministers?
However, they also knew that Cassius was essentially Alberto’s close aide, and that he appeared to be in a hurry probably meant there was urgent news to report. Coupled with the recent successful offensives against Cape, no one dared to say much and they all obediently exited.
Anju wasn’t without internal strife, but compared to the current chaos in the Cape Royal Capital, Anju’s internal conflicts could only be described as showing teeth at each other, unable to actually erupt into fighting.
“Your Majesty!”
Cassius handed over a thick stack of battle reports.
“The Northern Border War of the Cape Kingdom has ended, and the results are in.”
Hearing this news, Alberto immediately took the battle reports, but he didn’t open them right away; instead, he stood up and began pacing in the grand hall.
“Who won?”
Alberto asked Cassius somewhat nervously.
“Lind Ror.”
Upon hearing this answer, Alberto let out a long sigh but quickly regained his composure.
This wasn’t particularly good news for the Anju Kingdom, but it couldn’t deter Alberto’s ambitions.
Based on the previous actions of this Northern Border Governor, he was clearly not a complacent person. The Governor had previously only sought a stable capital for the unification of the Northern Border, but now that may not be the case. Alberto needed to reassess the attitude of this Governor from Cape’s Northern Border.
Yet, when Alberto opened the envelope containing the battle reports and began to read carefully, cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
Alberto had previously received information about the Demon Clan being able to create those monsters that devastated Graywhite Territory. However, afterward, the counterattacks from Graywhite Territory became increasingly fantastical, with various advanced weapons no longer concealed and instead openly deployed in the war.
Moreover, with Graywhite Territory fully committing to the war this time, they had no energy left to control the flow of information. The true nature of some aspects of Graywhite Territory began to reveal itself to the world.
Batch-produced ray guns, melting-cutting weapons, and magical cannons that could fire incessantly day and night—just by looking at the reports, Alberto could feel the absurdity of these weapons.
Especially the so-called ancestral potion, which had reached a fantastical level, combined with the high-grade potions produced by Graywhite Territory, could minimize injuries.
“What exactly is this so-called ancestral potion?”
Alberto quickly calmed down and noticed the blind spot in the battle reports. Why would this Northern Border Governor’s ancestral potion precisely counter the monsters of the Demon Clan? Was it truly some kind of black technology from the Old Empire?
“The Old Empire doesn’t have similar technology.”
Cassius’s response was succinct, indicating that he also didn’t know what it was and needed to continue observing.
This couldn’t be blamed on Cassius; being so far away, obtaining detailed battle reports already required utilizing many hidden resources and informants. Cassius even received this report earlier than the Cape Royal Capital.
Since Cassius didn’t know, Alberto didn’t get hung up on it. There were many unknown technologies from Graywhite Territory, and having one or two blind spots was within Alberto’s expectations.
Moreover, the Demon Clan, able to hold its ground in the war against Graywhite Territory with those weapons, was also worth paying attention to. At least the destructive power of those monsters might be even greater than Alberto originally predicted.
In the end, it was still the Governor of Graywhite Territory who personally took the stage as bait and boosted morale, finally using that so-called ancestral potion to win.
The only good news was that both Graywhite Territory and the Demon Clan suffered heavy losses in this fight; the situation was extremely grim, and neither side should have the capability to launch a large-scale war in the short term.
Additionally, due to the other Governor Doug’s foolish decision to concentrate the population and offer it to the Demon Clan, the previously rich and prosperous Northern River Valley saw its population devastated. Even with more advanced weapons, the current Cape Northern Border needed to recuperate.
Alberto also realized that he might need to reassess his war strategy; Cape’s Northern Border could no longer be counted as a vassal of Cape. Now Anju should treat Cape’s Northern Border as a separate country.
“Will those weapons from Cape’s Northern Border be for sale?”
After reading the reports, Alberto set them down and looked towards the distant sky through the palace window.
It was as if he were asking Cassius, or perhaps asking himself.
“After this war, selling weapons from Cape’s Northern Border is not impossible. Previously, Cape’s Northern Border liked to sell obsolete weapons to others, even to their opponents, in order to gain more funds and develop new weapons.”
Upon hearing this answer, Alberto nodded; it was consistent with his predictions. However, the most important thing wasn’t the weapons from Cape’s Northern Border, but the technology behind them.
“Get those Alchemists and Rune Craftsmen ready. We must have the technology to replicate Cape’s Northern Border’s weapons. Also, prepare me a letter; I need to write to the new master of Cape’s Northern Border.”
After saying that, Alberto pondered for a moment and continued, “Also, regarding the Demon Clan, a letter needs to be written as well. Additionally, summon the followers from the War God Church and Goddess Church to discuss what those monsters from the Demon Clan exactly are.”
“Didn’t those scholars shout for official funding to explore the ruins of the Old Empire? Let the council prepare and approve it.”
Alberto had already acknowledged his identity as a descendant of Lind from the Old Empire and was preparing for official involvement in exploring the ruins.
As orders were issued, Alberto gradually regained his confidence, transforming back into the Anju king who fought fiercely in power struggles.
Graywhite Territory consisted of humans as well; since they could produce those weapons, there’s no reason Anju Kingdom couldn’t.
And Alberto immediately contacted various nobles to start formulating a new long-term strategy based on the situation in Cape’s Northern Border.
Although Graywhite Territory emerged victorious in the Northern Border War, Alberto’s decisions were not overly affected. High-pressure policies and offensives against Cape’s southwestern border were still ongoing, and Alberto didn’t think the relationship between the Cape Queen and the Northern Border Governor was particularly close.
Just as the previous reply from the Northern Border Governor warned Alberto, it was merely that Alberto’s hand was reaching too far, trying to disrupt the Northern Border’s situation through the Cape Royal Capital.
Surely he wasn’t merely reacting to seeing someone tease his own sister, right? At least Alberto felt that the new master of the Northern Border wasn’t someone who would take the so-called foster sister seriously; it was just a title used to balance and stabilize the situation in the capital, one that could be discarded at any time.
Now, Alberto intended to write to that Northern Border Governor to inquire where his hand should stretch to, and Anju and Cape’s Northern Border might not be unable to develop amicably.
As long as the scope was clearly delineated and interests appropriately distributed, even if Alberto forcibly married Cape’s Queen, the Northern Border Governor wouldn’t have objections.
At least, judging by the current situation, Alberto’s judgment was quite reasonable and not wrong.
