At this moment in Castile, King Gonzalez VI was still unaware that his youngest daughter had already set sail, returning to the Solun Continent under the protection of the Dragon and the Empire.
In the eyes of Castile, the M Continent should have already been riddled with holes from the Dragon’s breath, waiting for other countries on the Solun Continent to conquer it.
Although the nobles of Castile thought this way, and some of them were secretly collaborating with the Avars to organize an overseas fleet, this fleet had not yet set sail, and had not been properly organized.
If one were to ask why, it would be because of the tangled interests between the nobles and the royal family. The royal power of King Gonzalez VI was like a straw hut that anyone could poke a knife into, and that could fall apart with a kick at any moment. However, at this moment, a subtle balance had been reached.
After all, the highest power was muted; the nobles and the royal family could not persuade one another, and none could propose a leader. Given this situation, the plan to go to sea was shelved, and Castile had to first determine a new leader.
However, this situation would not last long, especially with the great interests at stake that required all parties to share the spoils, soon someone would choose to take risks.
In front of Garcia, there was a rare opportunity; a general from the Demon Clan was at Garcia’s house, which garnered Garcia much support. His other siblings also wanted to imitate this and were all seeking support from other factions. Currently, in the royal city of Cartiel, only Garcia and some weaker princes were calling the shots.
At this moment, Garcia was still hesitating. For several days now, he had been dreaming of himself ascending to the throne as the next king, revered by the people, while his other siblings submitted to him. This subconsciously led Garcia to continuously amass troops in the royal city of Cartiel, but he still felt that something was off; he remained indecisive. However, at this moment, Daniel kicked Garcia in the rear.
“Take the plunge, just do it! Stop hesitating!”
Daniel was fully armed. Over these past days, he had completely earned Garcia’s trust and had even helped Garcia connect with surrounding demons. After all, for Daniel, the more chaotic the situation was, the better; the more chaotic, the easier it was for him to escape.
Although he wanted to continue enjoying power in this country, Daniel had a nagging premonition that the terrifying Northern Border army would eventually come here. So, he decided to gather equipment and money and immediately find a chance to flee, creating as much chaos in this country as possible in the process.
In Daniel’s view, the capital of Castile, Cartiel, lacked any inner or outer defenses. The soldiers inside were all from the great nobles, and there was no need to mention the defenders of the royal city; they were all just taking up space. King Gonzalez VI could easily topple them with a kick, and the difficulty of a coup was too low.
Not to mention the country’s loose defenses, with the king’s power drastically declining, those nobles didn’t care who became king. If Garcia just wanted the title of king, he could have acted long ago.
As for how other factions would respond, would they resist? Would they send troops to support the king? That was none of Daniel’s business. In any case, he had already acquired a full set of equipment and a substantial reward thanks to Garcia’s trust, and once the coup started, he would run immediately! He would continue towards the corners of this continent, fleeing to a place unknown to God or ghost!
For Daniel, the more chaotic the situation in Castile became, the better.
After being kicked by Daniel, Garcia was not angry but instead resolved, saying, “The general is right. The arrow is on the string and must be shot; even if I don’t lead my troops into battle today, my siblings will notice I’m gathering forces. It’s better to act while others are not present at this moment in Cartiel.”
Garcia slammed his hand on the table: “Ascend to the throne!”
On a dark and windy night, one troop after another suddenly advanced holding torches towards the royal palace. Mages and cannons bombarded the castle gate, and the defending soldiers glanced at the sea of flags waving below, offered no resistance, and even neglected to activate the castle’s defensive barrier, simply running away.
This was also Daniel’s idea: to raise various chaotic flags to create an illusion of a large force under the cover of night, but Daniel had overestimated the determination of the castle’s defenders. Even without these flags, the castle’s defenders would not resist much.
The castle guards had long been replaced. Though it was unclear who replaced them, they certainly were not King Gonzalez VI’s men; now that someone had come to attack at night, it was better to quickly escape and notify their master.
No one cared about the life or death of the old king, Gonzales.
The assault on the king’s castle went even more smoothly than Garcia anticipated, so much so that when he entered his father’s chambers, King Gonzalez VI had just finished putting on his clothes.
King Gonzalez VI had no thoughts of fleeing; he merely wanted to see which of his children had rebelled.
After all, it was difficult to escape. Even if he did escape, he would ultimately be controlled by other nobles, becoming a puppet. It would be better to live comfortably under the control of his own child. So when King Gonzalez VI learned that someone was attacking the castle, his first reaction was to put on his clothes.
“Just as I thought, it’s you.”
King Gonzalez VI looked up and down at his younger son, and said, “You acted too hastily. In just a few days, your older brother and siblings will directly claim lands for themselves. At that time, you will be surrounded on all sides. Garcia, you should be more stable; at least try to pull in the nearby nobles to form an effective defense network.”
Garcia ignored the old king’s incessant rambling and placed the prepared resignation document before King Gonzalez VI, saying, “Old man, it’s time for you to abdicate.”
King Gonzalez VI shook his head and sighed. Using the dim light, he sat down at the table, writing a resignation document for Garcia while saying, “From the moment you led your troops in, you have already lost your legitimacy. Even my decree can’t change anything, unless…”
At that moment, several gunshots and flashes of light erupted, bullets and magic suddenly penetrated King Gonzalez VI from all directions.
King Gonzalez VI’s magical gear immediately activated. It was evident that the magic was specifically targeted, and given King Gonzalez VI’s old age and frailty, soon the scene was filled with blood.
“Father? Father!”
Garcia had long since planned to storm the castle and force the old man to abdicate. Even if that group of nobles and other princes criticized him, Garcia would have legitimately become the next king; as for winning over other nobles, he could easily operate under the old man’s name later.
However, if King Gonzalez VI died, the situation would change. At that moment, Garcia would lose all legitimacy. His other siblings would directly claim territories within the lands supporting them and lay siege to royal city Cartiel.
At that point, the situation would directly become: whoever enters Cartiel first becomes king.
King Gonzalez VI had already lost his breath. Garcia shouted frantically, “Who did this? Who did this?”
At that moment, the mages outside the window had already disappeared, and the sharpshooters behind Garcia all committed suicide by poison.
In that instant, cold sweat broke out on Garcia’s forehead. The royal city had been infiltrated, and even within his own troops, there had been infiltration. Something was manipulating the current situation from the shadows.
Garcia walked to the table and took back the half-written abdication decree.
This completely felt like yellow mud falling into his pants—it was unexpected. Garcia had never planned for this step. He had considered the worst-case scenario, but had never imagined his father would die right in front of him. He had never thought to take it this far; someone was pushing him towards a dead end.
Looking back, ever since planning this coup, it seemed something had been manipulating his emotions, even his dreams, guiding him continually. His process of storming the royal city had also been inexplicably smooth.
Garcia subconsciously put the fingers of one hand in his mouth, his teeth chattering.
