Chapter 77: Chapter 77: Betrayal
After more than a year of construction and improvement, the base was now essentially on the right track. Most of the mundane tasks no longer required Sunan's attention, as the clay golems and the three apprentices handled them.
Aside from occasionally checking on the magical plant garden, he focused his energy on meditation, crafting magic weapons, and potion-making.
Both his mental power and skill proficiency were steadily increasing.
Sunan had expected this state of affairs to continue until he advanced to level 3 wizard apprentice, but then events occurred that disrupted his tranquil life.
In the year 1251 of the Starry Calendar, during the month of Fire Flow.
The principality's reinforcements stationed in the Frostflower Province suffered heavy losses while attempting to eliminate the infected in Silver Ridge City, being ambushed from multiple directions by the attackers. The survival rate was dismal, with only one in ten returning.
The disaster in the Frostflower Province had completely unraveled, and the army of infected began to spread to neighboring provinces.
The borders of Red Leaf Province, White Tower Province, and Hulan Province came under attack from the infected forces, putting them in grave danger.
The three marquises hurriedly mobilized their forces to defend the borders against the invading infected.
In an instant, the southwestern part of the principality was engulfed in the smoke of war.
In the council chamber, Sunan browsed through the battle reports, his brow furrowing.
"The disaster is spreading too quickly, and the failures of the military suppressions are too unusual."
"I see you feel the same way," Key said as he handed over a letter. "This is a letter from Chairman Mu Zhu; take a look."
Sunan took the envelope, opened it, and narrowed his eyes slightly.
The content was concise, indicating that Mu Zhu had sent his guard, the beastized human Ota, to investigate the outbreak of Beastization Syndrome in the Frostflower Province.
Upon arriving, Ota discovered that the place where his kin lived had long since been abandoned; all his people had vanished.
Following the traces, he inadvertently found a group of mysterious individuals manipulating the infected.
Just as he was about to continue his investigation, he was discovered by them. After a fierce battle, he barely escaped with serious injuries.
Afterward, Ota didn't dare to stay in the Frostflower Province any longer and fled back to the Jinhua Principality overnight.
Upon hearing Ota's account, Mu Zhu immediately realized the gravity of the situation and decisively halted the investigation.
As a gesture of goodwill towards the Shimmering Territory, he wrote this letter to inform Key and Sunan.
"So, the outbreak of Beastization Syndrome was indeed being driven by someone behind the scenes," Sunan set the letter down, his expression contemplative.
"But what could the mastermind's purpose be?"
"Could it be the work of other nations?" Key speculated.
The Starry Continent was not peaceful; wars erupted annually over territorial resources.
For example, the neighboring Cangjin Empire had long been eyeing the Principality of Starlight.
If not for the fact that the Cangjin Empire had just concluded a war and needed time to recuperate, they might have already launched a full-scale attack on the Principality of Starlight.
Sunan thought for a moment and shook his head. "That's unlikely."
"To orchestrate a disaster affecting multiple provinces, the mastermind's influence within the principality must be deep-seated. Other nations simply lack that capacity."
Key considered this as well.
If another nation possessed such power, they would have better means to conquer the Principality of Starlight and would not resort to such a destructive tactic.
Even if successful in taking over the Principality of Starlight, they would only inherit a mess.
"But if it's not that, then who is behind this?" Key asked, puzzled.
Sunan's expression remained calm. "Whoever it is, the mastermind's ambitions must be significant, and their actions will not go unnoticed. With the disaster spreading to this extent, they should be ready to reveal themselves soon."
As if to confirm Sunan's words, Key's secretary suddenly rushed into the council chamber.
"Lord, we have new intelligence from Golden Rock City."
Upon hearing it was news from Golden Rock City, Key's expression became serious. He quickly took the parchment from the secretary and began reading it intently.
After finishing the contents, Key's face grew extremely solemn.
He looked up at Sunan and said in a grave tone, "The Marquis of Golden Rock has betrayed us!"
Sunan was momentarily taken aback.
"This morning, the Marquis of Golden Rock announced that the Golden Rock Province would secede from the Principality of Starlight and become independent!"
"Baron Storm, Baron Winter Frost, Viscount Black Ze, and Viscount Feather Serpent have all rallied in response, forming a coalition for rebellion!"
Sunan's expression changed as he began to understand. "So, this confirms that the mastermind behind the Beastization Syndrome incident is most likely the Marquis of Golden Rock."
At that moment, Key had also figured it out.
The Marquis of Golden Rock initiating a rebellion against the principality with the strength of a single province seemed unwise at first glance.
However, the timing he chose was impeccable.
Currently, the Frostflower Province was nearly in ruins, and the military had been severely depleted.
The Red Leaf Province, White Tower Province, and Hulan Province were all preoccupied with the invasion of infected forces and could not spare resources to deal with the Marquis of Golden Rock.
The remaining Somon Province and Zizhu Province were temporarily safe.
However, the overall strength of these two provinces ranked among the lowest in the entire principality, and combined, they could not compete with a single Golden Rock Province.
Even if they chose not to confront the Marquis, he would likely turn his attention to invading them.
Or rather, his initial targets were likely these two provinces.
Taking advantage of the disaster's spread, he could swallow Somon Province and Zizhu Province to bolster his power before plotting against the others.
Of course, it was also possible that the Marquis of Golden Rock had merely seized the opportunity presented by the disaster and was not the mastermind behind it.
However, given that the Marquis had been scheming to control the entire Golden Rock Province for years, it was unlikely he had not anticipated the current situation.
"We need to prepare early," Key said in a serious tone.
Sunan nodded solemnly.
Before the Marquis of Golden Rock initiated an external war, the first thing he would do was eliminate any dissenting forces within the province.
Over the years, the Marquis had developed his power in the shadows, and now, there were few noble lords in Golden Rock Province who did not obey him.
The Shimmering Territory was one of the few remaining resistances, and it had been the most vocal.
It was reasonable to predict that the Marquis would be the first to send troops to attack the Shimmering Territory.
In the worst-case scenario, the Shimmering Territory could soon face a coalition of nobles from a significant portion of the Golden Rock Province.
The situation was dire!
However, neither Key nor Sunan displayed any signs of panic.
Both had long understood that the Shimmering Territory would inevitably face off against the Marquis of Golden Rock.
The reason they had been accumulating power was to prepare for this moment.
Thus, when the situation finally unfolded, they felt a strange sense of relief, as if the long-anticipated event had finally arrived.
"With winter approaching in just over three months, the Marquis of Golden Rock will likely want to end the war before the heavy snow blocks the roads. I estimate he will soon send a large army to attack us."
"We must immediately prepare for war."
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