System vs Rebirth

"How is the preparation?" The king asked. He was holding a meeting with only a few trusted nobles, especially Duke Raymond.

"The negotiation should be concluded soon. But are you sure about this, Your Majesty? There is a higher chance of it being known by the public. If the royal family is openly cooperating with the Supreme Devil Organization, the people will lose their trust in us." One noble asked.

"Are you doubting my decision?" The king squinted his eyes, pressuring the noble.

"N-No." The noble shook his head.

Duke Raymond added, "This is a matter of national security as well. From what I have heard, they have established a company to separate the business sector from the government. However, they're clearly still under Noel Ardagan.

"And they're currently conducting several negotiations for rune technology, especially with their allied nobles. If those nobles take advantage of the rune technology as well, I'm afraid that not only the Ardagan family but also those noble families will become too big for us to handle.

"When that happens, the central government will be the one receiving the pressure. You should already know the previous Ardagan family's patriarch. The current Ardagan family is on the way to becoming the wealthiest family not only in the kingdom but in the entire world. Even I can't imagine how he will wield all that money."

The people looked tense, recalling what Luke Ardagan was capable of when he was still the wealthiest man in the kingdom.

First of all, Noel could easily gain the support of his people, especially with the charity. He could use the rune technology to operate the charity. Without much justification, it would be hard to take him down.

There were a few other things Noel could do to strengthen his force. If he became too big for the royal family to handle, Noel could simply refuse the royal family and rally the entire force to actually bring down the royal family and become the king himself.

Even if Noel didn't want it, how about the others? His allies could try manipulating him into taking that position. His descendants might be the ones affected the most.

That was why the royal family had been doing their best to weaken Noel or even crush him.

The king glanced at another noble. "What about our arbiters?"

"Three Arbiters have decided to participate, including the former Arbiter, Lord Heirden, whom Anna Stargaze defeated before."

"Tower Association?"

"We have gained the cooperation of two elders."

"Good." The king nodded with a serious expression. "If I'm not wrong, there is a request for them to pass the border…"

"Yes, Your Majesty. Noel Ardagan and Anna Stargaze are planning to go to the Zaecuria Kingdom."

The king glanced at Duke Raymond, who nodded his head. Duke Raymond said, "I believe it's a good time to assassinate them. Taking down his territory during their absence is hard because of the support they have and the lack of justification. But as long as people can't find any evidence regarding the assassinations, we won't be held responsible."

"Do you have a plan?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"In that case, I will leave this matter to you."

"Understood." Duke Raymond nodded with a solemn expression.

"What is he planning to attend in the Zaecuria Kingdom?"

"I believe it's the auction from one of the biggest auction houses in the Zaecuria Kingdom."

The king pondered for a moment. "It doesn't seem that we can do anything during that time. In addition, for now, monitor the situation. The Greenwood Kingdom is annoying, so make sure they don't contact him. The Atracaeca Kingdom also chooses to become his ally after resolving their hatred. But for now, they're not that close, so we can ignore them for the time being. The problem will be the Zaecuria Kingdom."

Duke Raymond nodded. "Yes. Stopping the Zaecuria Kingdom and the Greenwood Kingdom alone has taken a lot of resources. We can't afford to do anything to the Atracaeca Kingdom right now."

The tense atmosphere in the meeting room was shattered by the sudden appearance of a masked man who appeared behind the king.

"!!!" The nobles couldn't help but shudder, never expecting that such a person would appear out of nowhere. Only a few nobles actually knew their existence, considering they were the secret squad that maintained the information network of the royal family. Duke Raymond simply squinted his eyes, wondering what kind of information was important enough for them to make their appearance in front of these people.

However, it seemed that the matter was more serious than he thought when he saw the change of expression on the king's face.

After he was done, the masked person disappeared.

The king had a solemn expression as he announced the important matter. "It seems that the Ardagan family has brought Johan Eirfen into their territory."

"!!!" Everyone widened their eyes in shock.

"What? Johan Eirfen?"

"The one who is known to be the best weapon maker?"

"How? No, that's not important. Is he planning to monopolize the Master Blacksmiths? He has already recruited Master Roel, who is known to be good at every field."

"Is he planning to make weapons on a large scale?"

Duke Raymond tapped the table a few times before saying, "Runegard Company, huh?"

"!!!" The nobles shut their mouths as if realizing why he mentioned the company.

"A clever move. With this, he can avoid the stigma of monopolizing the Master Blacksmith since one serves the family and another serves the company. And if I'm not wrong, the Runegard Company is located in…"

The king nodded. "Yeah. I believe it's in their trading city where those three merchants operate. It can be said that this trading city has just become an important fortress that not only handles the economy but also the security. In the south, he has one city and two nobles to protect his territory. The east has Greenwood Kingdom, their solid shield. And with the expansion to the north, he has successfully protected the main city from all directions. If it continues, we will have no way to reach the main city."

Duke Raymond and the other nobles were sweating profusely.

Duke Raymond shouted to a lower noble. "We need a new map."

"Map? Which map?"

"The entire northern area."

"Y-Yes!" The noble hurriedly left to retrieve the map.

"It seems that the situation has become even more complicated. With a steady supply of high class weapons and armor, his elite soldiers will become harder to defeat." Duke Raymond gritted his teeth.

When they thought that the situation had just gone under their control, Noel actually made another move that would make them reconsider their current plan.

"Unlimited wealth, two Master Blacksmiths, a lot of Spirit Grandmasters, a lot of elite soldiers, Rune Technology, and a lot of allied nobles." The king clenched his fists. "This doesn't look good. He also has allies in the central area, especially Duke Lorelei. That annoying Duke, who always maintains his neutrality, has been helping him a lot."

"We have sent the Third Princess to keep him in check. Even if she is useless, she will still report to us in case something happens. She is the best piece to keep him in check." Duke Raymond waved his hand, calming the king down. "We should focus on the Ardagan family for the time being."