The First Vampire - Chapter 576 - Chapter 576: 574 Conference (Part 2)_1

Chapter 576: 574 Conference (Part 2)_1
 

Colin looked at the chiseled profile of Marquis Garcia and let out a sigh.

He had already anticipated Marquis Garcia’s “weakness”.

This Marquis of the North Territory had always been a staunch expansionist, opposing all forms of internal strife.

The previous Duke St. Hilde had exhausted many means to persuade this stubborn younger brother to march east, but Marquis Garcia had always ignored the rich but weak East, preferring to engage in battles with the penniless trolls on the Sky Ice Plain.

In the end, Duke St. Hilde had no other choice but to act decisively, which almost resulted in Mr. Ji seizing the entire North Territory when the opportunity arose.

Now, with the imminent invasion by the Orc army, if it were not for seeking revenge for Vera, Marquis Garcia would never agree to the advance of the North Territory Army towards Dragon City.

Now that Vera has awakened, Marquis Garcia has lost his major driving force for revenge, and naturally, his main concern would be to reconcile with the Church.

If even Marquis Garcia is like this, one can imagine how others are.

Duke St. Gregorian remained silent, only shrugging and offering an apologetic look when he saw Colin’s gaze.

Colin could only respond with helplessness.

He understood that Duke St. Gregorian only wanted to quell the dispute between the Church and the North Territory, indifferent to whether the North Territory could reap the biggest benefits.

The one leading the troops from the East this time was Count Nicoll, who owes his position to Colin’s strong support; however, regrettably, he was now silent, avoiding Colin’s gaze.

Honestly, Colin had mentally prepared himself for Count Nicoll’s withdrawal. Although he had responded to Colin’s call and led the Eastern Army in conjunction with the Northern Army to advance upon Dragon City, in reality, the Eastern Army had deliberately been slowing down their march, and their intentions were obviously clear.

But there was nothing Colin could do about this. Despite having broken through the East, he had not truly conquered this territory.

The current lords of the East were stuck in a conflicting mindset. They were unable to rejoin the Church because of the issue of cutting off the tithe tax, yet they were unwilling to completely turn to the North Territory and serve as vassals to the St. Hilde Family.

While displeased and fearful of Colin, they still wanted him to stand at the front line, receiving the Church’s attacks, yet they were unwilling to fully cooperate with the North Territory.

This was actually a problem Colin had left behind. After conquering the East, the War Order had come into effect and he did not have time to properly consolidate his control over the Eastern forces.

It appeared now that Count Nicoll was too crafty and lacked loyalty.

But Colin had no better candidates either.

Although Anna was suitable, she was a Blood slave with no consciousness of her own. She could not possibly govern the East for him.

And the only legitimate descendant of the St. Prowse Family, Eckert, Colin’s new student, was still too young and not yet capable of taking on heavy responsibilities.

Therefore, if he wanted complete control of the East, he would have to look for another solution.

Colin couldn’t help contemplating. If he really raised the flag of the St. Chapman Family, would ruling the East become much easier?

“Count Angler, Marquis Garcia has already agreed to reconcile. Do you have any objections?” Emperor Reinhardt prompted again.

Colin felt a surge of exhaustion.

This was initially an excellent opportunity to weaken the Church’s power, but unexpectedly, as the leader of the Nobles, Emperor Reinhardt was constantly helping the Church and suppressing the North Territory.

Such an ironic situation made Colin feel as if it was both laughable and lamentable.

But at the same time, Colin also acutely realized that given the current state of the Empire’s nobility, with everyone divided and harboring their own agendas, it would be very difficult to effectively suppress the Church.

Suddenly, an ambition that had been hidden deep in his heart violently surged into Colin’s mind and wouldn’t dissipate.

At that moment, Colin unconsciously locked eyes with Queen Midela.

From the bright glimmers in her eyes, Colin seemed to understand what the queen wanted to convey—

Are you willing to help me kill this foolish emperor now?

Colin took a deep breath, suppressing the various thoughts that were swirling in his heart, and said solemnly, “Your Majesty, I am also willing to reconcile with the Church.”

Before Emperor Reinhardt could rejoice, he heard Colin adding, “However, I have one final condition.”

Emperor Reinhardt huffed lightly, but still patiently said, “Speak.”

“The North Territory diocese can remain dependent, but the appointment and dismissal of the Archbishop of the North Territory must be approved by Duke St. Hilde!” Colin stated methodically, “If His Holiness the Pope is unwilling to agree to this condition, then I will categorically not agree to reconciliation!”

Gregory immediately understood Colin’s intentions. A flash of murderous intent emerged in his eyes, but before he could speak, even Marquis Garcia surprisingly nodded in agreement:

“That’s right, this is my condition too. The final condition!”

Evidently, Marquis Garcia also recognized that without this condition, Archbishop Agani of North Territory, who had publicly accused Gregory, would definitely be purged by the Church.

Marquis Garcia did not want Agani to become the casualty of his compromise, so he echoed Colin’s condition.

Though Gregory was unwilling to let Agani go, he found himself having to back down in the face of the combined pressures from Marquis Garcia and Count Angler.

“Alright, henceforth, the Church will first seek the agreement of Duke St. Hilde before appointing or dismissing the Archbishop of the North Territory.”

Only then did Colin sigh slightly in relief.

Agani still had an important role to play in his plan, and Colin was not ready to give her up yet.

Although he was unable to exact a sufficient price from the Church this time, Colin had at least gotten a glimpse of some of the Church’s hands.

Moreover, he had identified the fatal flaw that existed among his faction—the nobility of the Empire.

At this moment, Colin finally firmed up a decision he had once contemplated.

“Very well!” Emperor Reinhardt laughed heartily, clapping his hands and saying, “In that case, the matter involving Turennes plotting against Duke St. Hilde can be considered resolved in a satisfactory manner.

Moving forward, we need to pool all our efforts to deal with the upcoming Orc army!

Now that all of you are here, why don’t we start by discussing our strategies?”

Duke St. Gregorian immediately added, “Your Majesty, according to our previous investigations, the Orc army will reach the Westland by the end of March. Hence, the reinforcement troops must start assembling in the Westland now!”

“The Lord’s army of the Crimson Flame Territory has already assembled and can set off at any time,” Emperor Reinhardt nodded, then looked around the room and asked, “What about the other three territories?”

“Your Majesty, the Eastern Allied Forces have also finished assembling and are ready to set off at any time,” Count Nicoll responded immediately.

“The North Territory is also ready,” Marquis Garcia added.

There naturally wouldn’t be any issues with these two territories, so Emperor Reinhardt finally turned his gaze to an elderly man seated at the edge of the long table.

He was the representative sent by the South Border to attend the conference—Governor Durace St. Rands of the South border.

This man had been quietly observing the heated arguments for quite a while. Now that everyone’s gaze had turned to him, he immediately nodded and said, “Your Majesty, the South Border’s army is already on its way. It is expected to safely reach the Westland by the end of March.”

“Very good!” Emperor Reinhardt exclaimed spiritedly, waving his hand, “This time, for the war against the Orcs, I will personally take on the role of commander-in-chief!

I believe it won’t be long before we can drive this group of filthy and stupid barbarians back to the west of the Sky Breaking Mountain Range!”