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Chapter 538: Loren Could Sense Everyone's Doubt
Chapter 538: Loren Could Sense Everyone's Doubt
The lighting in the Upper House chamber was dim and focused, illuminating the documents and maps on the table.
Duke Moretti took a deep breath. "Wilfort, you are mistaken about one thing. Regardless of whether our enemy is the Honing Empire or the Blood Clan, what we need to consider right now is the possibility of going to war. Continuing to resist will only lead to our army's destruction. Please try to analyze the situation rationally."
Compared to the others, Duke Moretti appeared more calm and prudent, reminding those present to maintain rationality and realism.
The other Upper House members present seemed hesitant and uneasy during this dispute.
They exchanged worried glances, looking at the Prime Minister at the head of the table one moment and then at the Duke the next.
The tense atmosphere was almost palpable.
"The northern strait of the continent is our natural trench and bulwark, the widest body of water those southerners from the Honing Empire have ever seen. We have the experience and geographical advantage. The Blood Clan dare not engage us directly in naval warfare, and on land, those who cannot stand the light of day lose their absolute security once the sun rises."
Lanci spoke slowly.
"At that time, men, women, and children will despise us for our wrong decisions and negligence—because we failed to protect them and left them defenseless against the Blood Clan."
Duke Moretti pressed on, "Once the kingdoms of Fife Cloro and Idith to our east and west fall, we will be surrounded and consumed on land. Even the northern snowfields at our backs will be blocked. Your proposed naval strategy will be futile, and we will have nothing to counter the Honing Empire with. Do you think they won't engage in a war of attrition? The Honing Empire has all the patience in the world, backed by the entire southern continent, while we have what? Shaky and potentially hostile neighboring countries at our backs? Or those snowfields that are forever shrouded in darkness? Or perhaps the demons on the other side of the snowfields, also eyeing us with greed and equally impossible to communicate with?"
"I will endeavor to pursue diplomatic efforts and seek support from neutral countries," Lanci said immediately.
Compared to Duke Moretti's sharp questioning, his response was brief.
"Your Excellency, the Prime Minister, you should not go over my head to engage in diplomacy with other countries. It shows a lack of trust in me." The Foreign Minister, Duke Moretti, shook his head as he spoke.
"But have you considered putting aside your pride and seeking help from neutral countries instead of just seeking peace talks with the Honing Empire?" Lanci asked.
"Heh, I don't know whether to call the Prime Minister optimistic or naive," Duke Moretti replied coldly. "As for neutral countries, even a young parliamentarian with a slight knowledge of history could tell you why some nations remain neutral at this juncture. If we could be a neutral country reaping the final profits, why wouldn't the Blisse Kingdom want the same?"
This question was met only with Duke Moretti's icy sarcasm.
"If you can't seek help from a far superior hegemon, then try to convince a neutral country that matches our strength to aid the Blisse Kingdom. Give the people a little more confidence instead of leading us into danger without any chance of victory. Don't just theorize and talk grandly." His tone still displayed a diplomat's restraint, but the dispute between the two was clearly intensifying, and they were on the verge of an argument.
After Duke Moretti finished speaking, many of the parliamentarians lowered their heads and sighed helplessly.
It wasn't that the Prime Minister's debating skills were inferior to the Duke's.
But at this point in time and in the face of reality, all of Helsalem was in a state of panic, and they naturally leaned more towards Duke Moretti and the possibility of peace negotiations that he proposed.
No one could see any hope of victory, and even though the Prime Minister's courage burned like a flame, no one wanted to fly into it like a moth.
As long as the Prime Minister relented now, they could follow Duke Moretti's suggestion, change the current direction of Helsalem, and actively prepare for negotiations.
"There's no need for further discussion. I will not change my mind. The Blisse Kingdom will show the Blood Clan our backbone. They will never be able to conquer all of humanity. I will take full responsibility for this decision." Lanci stood up, pushed his chair back under the table, and scanned the room.
"Are you sure?" Duke Moretti's voice finally turned cold.
"Yes, that is why I sit in this chair." Lanci gently released his hand from the chair, and the sound of the chair legs hitting the floor startled the surrounding parliamentarians back to their senses.
Duke Moretti was not intimidated by Lanci's show of determination.
"Can we take it that the Prime Minister has completely ruled out any possibility of negotiating with the Honing Empire?" Duke Moretti asked, looking at the conservatives in silence.
"... " Lanci remained silent.
This time, he did not rebut Duke Moretti or display his usual firmness. He simply turned and walked out of the meeting room, signaling the end of the meeting with his departing figure.
...
In the Congress building.
As Lanci turned the corner of an empty corridor, Cat Boss jumped out of the shadows and burrowed into Lanci's coat.
"Meow meow meow, why aren't you resisting? Are you really considering surrendering?" Cat Boss asked in a barely audible voice.
It was extremely worried, afraid that Lanci had been persuaded.
It saw that the situation in the Blisse Kingdom had changed—
Public Support: 132→145/1000 (Support and unity among the people)
Parliament: 419→305→252/1000 (Support from the Blisse Kingdom's high-ranking officials)
Military Strength: 124/1000 (With the Honing Empire as a reference)
Finance: 221→222/1000 (Current productivity of the Blisse Kingdom)
Diplomacy: 115/1000 (Relations with the Demon World and other unconquered nations)
As expected, the overall odds of victory remained locked at zero, as the composite data continued to deteriorate.
More than a day had passed since they arrived in this shadow world.
There were just over 43 days left.
On the first day, in addition to familiarizing himself with the people around him and trying to win them over, Lanci's public speech after taking office had quickly boosted public support from 132 to 145, and it seemed to be still rising slowly as the speech spread.
However, because he had publicly expressed the idea of actively resisting, he seemed to have offended the conservatives, causing the parliamentary support to plummet from 419 to 305. And due to the argument with Duke Moretti, it had dropped even further.
The fluctuations in finances were likely due to Lanci's inspiring presence, which boosted morale and led to a slight increase in productivity.
There were no changes in military might or diplomacy.
"If I had continued to refute Duke Moretti's words, I would have provided written evidence of 'refusing all possibilities of negotiation.' He was trying to trap me into saying something incriminating. Duke Moretti probably arranged for a recording of our conversation in the adjacent room, which could be used as leverage by the conservatives to impeach me. That's why I couldn't admit to it just now."
Lanci murmured softly in response, almost as if he were talking to himself.
"Meow."
Cat Boss nodded in understanding.
So, there was such a trap.
Good thing you caught on, kid. If you had given in, the parliament's support might have dropped by 100, spelling the end of the game.
Hold on, you seem a little too adept at this.
How did you, an art student, suddenly become so savvy in the ways of politics?
...
In the highest meeting room of the Master's Building of the Ikelite Academy, the Wise Men's Institute, the light-colored walls of the conference room were illuminated, and the greenery on the spacious windowsill brought vitality to the space.
But at this moment.
In this conference room, the atmosphere was tense and heated discussions erupted from time to time due to controversial topics.
"Lanci now has several options. First, he can only focus on either public support or parliamentary support, trying to balance them while using his knowledge to transform the Porant Empire. He must quickly boost military might or financial resources within a short period to have any hope of changing the 0% chance of victory."
The professors discussed their thoughts.
The chairs and tables were arranged in a circular format, with several large round tables encircling the central projection screen.
Five or six teachers sat at each table, some frowning as they stared at the projection screen, while others actively engaged in conversations with their colleagues.
Rather than a meeting, this gathering resembled a workshop or critique session.
"Lanci seems to be doing relatively well in boosting public support. If it weren't for the resistance from the conservatives in the parliament, with his full effort, he might have been able to raise this aspect to a fairly high level by the end."
Observing Lanci's dilemma in the shadow world, those outside also noticed the seesaw relationship between Public Support and Parliamentary Support in this shadow world.
Although Lanci seemed to have a knack for boosting public morale, the corresponding consequence was a sharp drop in parliamentary support.
The public indeed yearned for a leader who could guide them to victory, but the parliament was predominantly controlled by conservatives, a solidified structure that Lanci couldn't easily sway in a short time.
However, these two factors were merely secondary.
While the formula for calculating the chance of victory remained unclear, one thing was certain: military might and financial resources were the two factors most closely linked to success in this seven-star shadow world. Even if public support and parliamentary support were extremely high, a lack of military strength or financial resources would still result in a zero chance of success.
"Time is Lanci's most valuable asset right now. Each day is almost like a consumable item for him. Aside from the necessary time spent on stabilizing public support and parliamentary backing, let's see how he chooses to allocate his time to improve the other three factors."
"As a magus-craftsman from another era, Lanci might be able to scrape together some improvements in military might during these forty-plus days. Unfortunately, he's not a seventh- or eighth-rank magus-craftsman, so it's unlikely he can bring about a significant change."
"During peacetime, Lanci could have neglected diplomacy to boost finances, but in times of war, it's challenging to suddenly boost productivity from scratch. Inspiring public morale can slightly influence productivity, but there's undoubtedly a limit to that approach."
"Regarding diplomacy, it's mainly time-consuming. While the four indicators are measured in days, choosing the diplomatic route will take at least a week, and failure means wasting time with no gains.
Ron, the deputy dean of the Wise Men's Institute, put down his pen and summarized the conclusions they had reached over the past two days.
He glanced at Loren, the dean, sitting at the head of the conference table, and then at the silver-haired woman from the Fate Goddess Church beside him, the legendary saint of the Northern Continent. He didn't say anything further.
He knew that Loren was already overwhelmed at this point.
Ever since their return to the royal capital of Ikelite and the emergency meeting room of the Wise Men's Institute, Loren had barely spoken a word.
This seven-star shadow world assessment wasn't just an internal matter for the Wise Men's Institute; even professors from the Magus-Craftsman Institute and the Alchemist Institute were present, analyzing the situation in real-time.
They needed to provide feedback to the South Continent Kingdom United Parliament and the Shadow World Management Association. In the event that the shadow world went berserk or out of control, leading to unpredictable calamities, the parliament and the association would take immediate action to address the aftermath.
Currently, based on their assessments, this shadow world was not only a seven-star but also an extremely challenging strategic type.
"Loren..."
The Ice Snow Witch sat beside Loren, her teeth clenched. Her presence seemed to lower the temperature of the surrounding air.
Initially, she had planned to take her time traveling to Ikelite to check on Shubellyan's well-being after arriving in the Kingdom of Hutton. However, as soon as she set foot in Hutton, she received news that turned her world upside down.
Upon learning of the situation, she had almost choked Loren, demanding that he bring Shubellyan back to her.
Shubellyan hadn't activated the live-feed function, so she could only see Lanci's situation and had no idea if Shubellyan was safe.
"..."
At that moment, Loren was drenched in cold sweat, feeling utterly trapped.
He had no idea how he would endure the next forty-plus days.
Initially, he had hoped that Lanci might have learned some new tricks during the past six months, giving them a glimmer of hope for passing this seven-star shadow world. However, on the very first day of Lanci's return, Loren's hopes were dashed.
This shadow world focused more on strategy and mechanics rather than combat, and even if Loren himself entered the world, he doubted he could make much of a difference. He couldn't possibly take on the entire Honing Empire by himself.
Not only was he unsure why Lanci had suddenly returned and embarked on such a challenging endeavor, but he also felt like he was now facing the scrutiny of the entire world.
The Hutton nobility, His Majesty the King, the South Continent Kingdom Federation, and even the Church were all staring at him with questioning eyes!
(End of Chapter)
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