From Secret Clan to the Divine Dynasty - Chapter 118:
Although the King of Cyart had tried to emulate the most powerful Lorne Empire by establishing a national standing army and gradually building the concept of a nation-state, he had no way to reclaim the numerous noble lands and their military forces.
The power of the local nobility in the various provinces remained extremely large; they even usurped the fruits of reform, taking direct control of the standing army’s forces and continued to exist as familial local warlords.
Within Cyart, the most powerful families with the largest landholdings included the eight great noble families, among which was the Royal Family itself.
Most of Cyart Kingdom’s land was, in fact, directly or indirectly under the control of these eight great noble families.
Actually, the Eastern Four Kingdoms, including Cyart, Rhea, Vallere, and Carnia, were established by ten great families expelled from the central continent by the Lorne citizens.
The eight great noble families of Cyart, along with two other great noble families from the other eastern countries, had been continuously waging wars and forming marriage alliances for a hundred years, standing tall and ruling over the many lesser nobles.
They were collectively referred to as the “Ten Great Pillars” of the Ouden Continent’s East.
Even the Royal Families of the Eastern Four Kingdoms were actually the strongest among the Ten Great Pillars.
Because of the repeated acts of sabotage by the Sea God Cult in the East Coast Province, both the Tempest Church and the Cyart Royal Family had reached the end of their patience.
They were determined to completely eradicate the Sea God Cult lurking in the White Sea region.
However, although the Sea God Cult was not considered a formidable force on land, conducting an extermination campaign against them at sea was extremely difficult, and Cyart would have to muster the full strength of the nation and make thorough preparations.
A year quickly passed.
The war, jointly organized and prepared by the Tempest Church and the East Coast Governor, finally began, with not only the Cyart Royal Army under the governor’s banner taking the field, but also the private armies of various nobles, which were forcibly conscripted as the main force.
Earl Hovern, the Governor of the East Coast, was indeed the head of the Hovern family branch in Cyart, one of the “Ten Great Pillars.”
The Hovern family, also known as the “Shattered Giant clan,” possessed several powers of Bloodline, the strongest of which was “Demi-God Bloodline·Shattered Giant.”
Within the Eastern Four Kingdoms, the largest branch of the Hovern family in the north of Carnia had wiped out all opposition within its borders and became the Royal Family of Carnia decades ago.
The most powerful Earl Hovern on the East Coast covertly supported the Eagle clan, allowing them to rival the Lion clan, and it was common knowledge that one of the “Ten Great Pillars” also supported the Lion clan, although few knew exactly which one.
Nasir Town.
In the reception room of Fischer Manor, Byrne respectfully conversed with a key member of the Lion clan.
He was in his thirties, of average build, dressed in a Cyart black military uniform, clean-shaven, and his gaze was always serious.
“Let’s leave it there for now, I should be going,” said Abel Leone, putting down his red tea and shaking his head.
He was the most outstanding among the many cousins of Viscount Bast, a lieutenant colonel in the Cyart Royal Army, and also a powerful Bloodline Knight who had successfully reached the high-level Transmutation.
Byrne smiled and said in a tone laced with respect,
“Regarding the supply of medicines and food, the Fischer family is very willing to cooperate with the military. By the way, there are some gifts that I brought for you and Lord Viscount, and I do hope Lieutenant Colonel Abel can accept them.”
Although the war had already started, the Fischer family had not taken to the battlefield.
Because the family owned food processing and pharmaceutical plants and, with the relationship with the Lion clan, they naturally took on a small part of the war’s logistical tasks.
Even though the Royal Army of Cyart was ostensibly controlled by Earl Hovern, who was at odds with the Lion clan, he was not someone who could control everything within the forces.
There were two key reasons for this, the first being that the Hovern family within Cyart was struggling to make ends meet.
Earl Hovern, the sole inheritor capable of activating the “Shattered Giant” Bloodline, was once thought to potentially possess Monarch Level strength.
It wasn’t until a year ago that Earl Hovern’s true level was accidentally exposed; what was thought to be the formidable presence of a Monarch powerful expert was actually just a disguise made possible by his Bloodline traits.
Earl Hovern’s true strength was only at the peak of Level 2, “Metamorphosis Phase,” and although only a step away from Monarch Level, of ten individuals who reached “Metamorphosis Phase,” not even one might actually become a mid-level Monarch.
According to Cyart’s rules, if a family member failed to become an Extraordinary Exponent at the Monarch Level within fifty years, the corresponding title of great nobility would be reclaimed by the Royal Family.
The last person in Cyart’s Hovern family to reach Monarch Level was Earl Hovern’s grandfather, who had been deceased for twenty-five years already.
That meant if Earl Hovern could not breakthrough to Monarch Level within the next twenty-five years, his earl title would be reclaimed, and the entire family’s rights and status would crumble.
The second key reason was that over the past year, Byrne had come to understand the true backer of the Lion clan.
It turned out that Viscount Bast was actually the representative of the Romann family in the East Coast Province.
Round and round, it turns out the Fischer family was still a vassal’s vassal of the Romann family.
But then again, the Romann family itself was almost unaware of Fischer’s existence, which confirmed a well-known saying about vassal relationships.
The “Dark Night” Romann family’s power was immense, ranking second among Cyart’s eight great noble families, with its heritage and strength only second to the Royal Family of the Adley family.
The Duke Black Iron of the Romann family was also a top-tier powerhouse who had reached the mid-level Monarch Level.
Among the eight great noble families of Cyart, aside from the Royal Family, only three top families—the “Dark Night” Romann family, the “Fog” Abernathy family, and the “Flaming Blood” Castleton family—possessed powerful experts at the mid-level Monarch Level.
“I can accept the gift, but you must handle the matter properly,” said Abel Leone as he slowly stood up, and before leaving, he still instructed sternly:
“I have already given you the orders for food and medicine. The next time I come, I will bring people with the funds to pay for the orders.”
“My cousin has great trust in you and hopes that when the time comes, you can deliver successfully, and the quality must not be poor, understood? The Royal Army entrusting part of the military supplies production to you is the guaranty made by the Lion clan.”
“This matter is of great importance!”
Byrne understood very well what Abel was saying. They were able to take on some of the military supplies orders entirely because of the Lion clan’s favor; otherwise, they wouldn’t qualify at all.
Moreover, not only did they need to ensure the quality of the military supplies, but most of the profits they would gain afterward would have to be handed over to the Lion clan.
Every small family attached to the Lion clan would make offerings, and naturally, a significant portion of the benefits the Lion clan acquired would be offered up to the Romann family.
“Fischer’s factories will certainly not drag behind. Everything on the order will be manufactured to the highest specifications. We’re not fools and will definitely not entertain any crooked ideas on these matters,” Byrne promised solemnly, and Abel Leone finally left, satisfied.
Smiling, he personally saw off the officer from the Lion clan, and it wasn’t until Lieutenant Colonel Abel had completely left Nasir Town that Byrne finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He was now very clear about the strength of the Lion clan.
Viscount Bast Leone, Lieutenant Colonel Abel Leone, and that mysterious “Black Lion.”
The power they held was incomparable to ordinary viscount families, with as many as three individuals in the family who had reached high-level Transmutation.
Apart from this, the Lion clan could also enlist much assistance from churches, secret organizations, illegal Extraordinary Exponents, and even powerful support from the Romann family.
And even though Viscount Bast himself hadn’t fought formally in many years, he had a brilliant track record, at one time single-handedly killing two high-level Transmutation nobles of the Rhea.
Back then, his nickname wasn’t “the Fox Leading the Lions,” but “the King of the Iron Blood Lion Herd.”
Standing at the entrance of the town, Byrne looked up at the two dazzling suns in the sky, not turning back for a long time.
A strong desire welled up within him.
“Sooner or later, the fishermen of Nasir will sit on an equal footing with the powerful lions,” he thought.
The two factories in Nasir Town bustled with production, aiming to complete the Royal Army’s orders successfully, the Fischer family chose to recruit additional workers and expand.
In one year’s time, the population gathered in this port town had been increasingly growing, and the war attracted even more people.
When the Royal Army’s order was successfully delivered, everyone in the Fischer family jumped for joy.
Even after deducting the share that had to be offered to the Lion clan, they still made a net profit of three thousand five hundred Gold Coins, an unprecedentedly significant gain!
Irene felt that the family hadn’t held a sufficiently formal sacrifice for a long time, so she instructed Byrne to go to the Alchemy Council on the surface level to purchase one or two Mysterious rare artifacts of treasure grade as offerings.
“The Fischer family is thriving now, surely because the gods have blessed us all along. We must thank the great Lord of the Lost,” she said.
About ten days later, Byrne returned from Fein City with two Mysterious rare artifacts of treasure grade. The three thousand Gold Coins he had taken with him were all spent.
The grateful sacrifice ceremony to the Lord of the Lost was once again initiated, and the seven core members of the Fischer family gathered in the basement.
Kneeling on the ground, Irene took out two distinctly different Mysterious rare artifacts of treasure grade with the utmost respect: one was a silver-gray ring emitting a red glow, the “Silver Gray Method,” and the other was a purple ribbon twisting like a snake, the “Spirit Snake.”
“Great Lord of the Lost, the Fischer family is filled with sincere gratitude towards you. I present to you two precious offerings, hoping to exchange for a moment of your joyful pleasure,” she said.
