Chapter 838: Substituting One Thing for Another (2/4)

Chapter 838: Substituting One Thing for Another (2/4)

But if these photos were real, their troubles would be immense…

Verifying their authenticity wasn’t hard—just send someone over for a look.

Horse King Shaluk looked up at Abusek, swallowing hard.

“…Could they really swallow the entire Boro Province?”

The Boro Province had a population of over a hundred million!

Ruling that land wasn’t something you could do just by coloring it on a map.

Abusek slowly nodded.

“I think they’ve lost their minds too… but from the looks of it, that’s probably what they’re thinking.”

Hearing this, the expressions of the three kings finally shifted completely, a grave solemnity etched on every face.

As for ambition, they certainly had it—otherwise, they wouldn’t have rebelled.

Yet that didn’t stop them, once soldiers, from genuinely wanting to change the entire empire.

But dragging the whole empire down with their ideals and ambitions to die together? That was something they couldn’t bring themselves to do.

“…Is Mr. Bennott still willing to help us?” Horse King Shaluk’s eyes held doubt as he asked skeptically.

Abusek continued in a very soft voice.

“He’s truly disappointed in us—after all, we betrayed him and killed so many Wilants. But out of reason, he doesn’t want the Legion to be dragged down by people like us. That would cause more deaths and likely undo all his efforts…”

Leopard King Nigeli said in a deep voice.

“What way out did he point us to? Honestly, it’s too late to back out now. We can’t let Yanush stay on that throne—once he frees his hands, we’ll be the first he deals with!”

“Right, you’re correct. Yanush must die, and it’s time he did.” Abusek nodded, looking at the three kings and continued, “They want us to act quickly, change our banner, and then side with the Alliance.”

Surprise flashed across the faces of the three kings.

Not just because of the idea of siding with the Alliance, but more because of the word “quickly.”

They had indeed planned to switch sides, but only after the Heavenly King’s Army had completely overthrown the empire, right?

Leopard King Nigeli frowned deeply.

“Act before the civil war ends? But if we start infighting now, who knows what the seven kings fighting outside will do?”

Abusek said in a low voice.

“We can’t worry about them now. We must immediately change our banner, settle the Yanush problem, and sever all ties with the Heavenly King’s Army.”

“Will the Alliance accept us?” Horse King Shaluk quickly asked the question that concerned him most.

Compared to the seven kings outside, the attitude of their new master was what he cared about most.

Abusek shook his head.

“I don’t know, but Bennott promised me they’ve reached an agreement with the Alliance. The Alliance will help us hold down the forces within their sphere of influence and stop our ongoing civil war until the Legion withdraws.”

Horse King Shaluk gritted his teeth, weighing the pros and cons carefully in his mind, then looked up again.

“That sounds good… What we need is time. But the question is, will the Alliance keep its promise?”

Abusek was silent for a moment, then said honestly.

“If they don’t keep their promise, they’ll have to face the Legion alone… I’m not a hundred percent sure, but compared to the Southern Legion, which is scheming behind our backs, the Alliance has more reason to honor its word.”

By now, he wasn’t naive enough to think only he could play clever tricks.

But weighing the options, the Alliance did seem more likely to keep its word.

The tent fell silent again, the three kings deep in thought.

About ten minutes passed.

This time, the silence was broken by Tiger King Duwata, who hadn’t spoken in a while.

“When do we act?”

That was all he said, but his firm tone suggested he was already fully prepared.

Seeing that the other two kings raised no objections and only watched him silently, Abusek breathed a sigh of relief and revealed the plan he had been brewing in his mind.

“Let’s wait until the Alliance envoy arrives…”

“We need to first show them Yanush’s true face, then make it clear that we are different from him.”

……

The night flowed quietly, and before they knew it, another peaceful night had passed in the Heavenly Capital.

The three kings secretly returned to their own tents and began preparing intensively for the upcoming action.

Actually, no elaborate preparations were needed.

The Heavenly King’s Army was itself a vast motley crew, with no complex web of relationships or interests, and even its own command structure wasn’t fully sorted out. Changing the leader was quite easy.

Just take a group of trusted confidants on the same boat and eliminate the original leader.

As long as you had the nerve.

Not to mention a few days—a few hours would be enough…

While undercurrents surged in the Heavenly Capital, after a full three days of waiting, the Alliance’s envoy finally arrived, much to the eager anticipation of Heavenly King Yanush.

Surrounded by a crowd of greeters, the four rookies swaggered through the western gate of the Heavenly Capital.

To ensure not a single grain of sand got into the eyes of the Alliance’s “big shots,” Yanush had driven out all the residents from the entire street between the west gate and the palace, replacing them with his own men, their arms wrapped in bandages.

But Yanush was destined to be disappointed.

These “big shots” didn’t even notice the actors lining the way; all their attention was fixed on the “palace” floating in midair.

“Good grief… using a starship as a palace.”

“What a damn genius!”

Catheter Dog and Shit-Stirring Stick couldn’t help but mock, while Warrior Wolf just stared wide-eyed, snapping photos.

Though they’d heard rumors on the forums, secondhand tales were nothing compared to the shock of seeing it in person!

As for Far-Sighted Eagle, he chatted with the Heavenly King’s Army’s master of ceremonies the whole way, gleaning plenty of intelligence with ease.

The group was courteously ushered into the main hall of the palace and soon met the legendary Heavenly King.

Just as the rumors said, he was a talkative man with a silver tongue—otherwise, he couldn’t have convinced so many to follow him to the death.

After some polite pleasantries, Yanush, seated on the throne in the hall, immediately launched into a torrent of talk about his dreams.

Including his plan to build a utopia of equality for all on the land of the Boro Province.

Including how he intended to realize that dream, and so on.

The earlier pleasantries seemed merely a prelude to this grand persuasion.

And after describing his vision of utopia, Yanush promptly proposed establishing diplomatic relations with the Alliance and seeking its support.

To put those high-sounding words in plain terms: “Daddy, send money!”

Besides money, there were also the arms, grain, and other supplies desperately needed by the Heavenly King's Army.

And according to this Heavenly King, they wanted these things not to fight their own countrymen, but to oppose the Legion landing at West Sail Port.

If he hadn’t seen, upon entering the Heavenly Capital, whose weapons these fellows carried and how they treated their own, the Far-Sighted Eagle might have actually believed his lies.

Trying to loot the Alliance’s gold?

Kid, you’re still too green!

When the man finally finished his torrent of words, the Eagle sighed softly and spoke.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Yanush, but we cannot grant your request.”

The bold words stuck in his throat.

Yanush stared at him wide-eyed, and it took a long while before he forced out a sentence.

“Why?”

Before the Alliance’s envoy could answer, he hurriedly continued.

“You advocate equality, and so do we! Why won’t you just recognize us!”

He was truly anxious.

If he hadn’t been at his wit’s end, he wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to meet a group of envoys.

For the Yanush Empire to survive in the cracks, it had to oscillate between the Legion and the Alliance, exploiting each side’s pain points in a game of brinkmanship.

That had been his strategy from the start.

The Heavenly King’s Army had to appear to lean toward the Alliance while using that as leverage to demand “recognition” from the Legion, preventing the Legion from tearing up its treaties with the Alliance and the Corporation and deploying troops directly.

If the Alliance didn’t step in, with the meager forces he had, he couldn’t possibly match the Legion!

The Far-Sighted Eagle sighed and patiently explained.

“Respected Mr. Yanush, you may have misunderstood something. The Alliance is neither a nation nor a religion…”

“What we care about is not the slogans you shout, but whether the survival rights of the survivors here are truly guaranteed.”

There was one thing he left unsaid.

The current Heavenly King’s Army clearly could not represent the survivors of Boro Province; those survivors, rather than making a heartfelt choice, were more like hostages swept along.

The Alliance didn’t care whether the ruler here was a chieftain, a king, or a president, but it obviously couldn’t reach an agreement with “kidnappers.”

In that regard, this Heavenly King was just like Chalas from the Southern Sea.

Only the names were different.

Yanush clenched his fists.

“What more guarantee do you want? I’ve already given them the land! Do I have to spoon-feed them too?”

The Far-Sighted Eagle nodded.

“That is commendable, but you gave them the land with a single word… Can’t you take it back with a single word as well?”