Chapter 277: Chapter 277

"There’s no need to worry about the Sandpeople, they are nothing more than loose sand. As long as we don’t provoke them, they won’t muster a large force against us. We must seize this opportunity to scatter the Sandpeople and establish a fortress. We wont get another opportunities ."

"As for supplies, we have gathered substantial resources in preparation for this war. The Sandpeople’s hasty attack combined with our successful surprise move caused us minimal strain. We can now utilize these resources here."

"I still insist with my disagreement, occupying Blackstone Canyon will alert the Quicksand Empire. If the Quicksand Empire’s upper class pays attention here, the main forces of the Quicksand Empire, we wouldn’t be able to withstand."

A flash of annoyance ran through the City Lord’s eyes: "The Quicksand Empire doesn’t have the might of our Divine Flame Empire. Are they bold enough to wage a war against us? You’re just sensationalizing the situation."

"No, it’s a possibility. Quicksand Empire has only us as their enemy, but we of the Divine Flame Empire have a plethora of enemies. Indeed, we are stronger, but we can’t squander our forces on any front. This high-ranking military official didn’t hesitate to argue his case with the City Lord.

At this point, a representative of the nobility spoke up: "We, the aristocrats, also object. We cannot put White Stone City in jeopardy. It would be utterly irresponsible towards the lives of the nobles. Furthermore, such a plan cannot be solely decided by White Stone City."

The noble representative clasped his hands, "After discussing, we have concluded that, this plan must be reported to the Empire, and whether or not to proceed will be determined by His Majesty the King."

It was quite unexpected for the City Lord that there would be so many people objecting the plan he had worked hard to implement. Opposition was overwhelming and he didn’t have a way to persevere.

Just when the City Lord wanted to argue his case, a messenger rushed in and handed him a document.

The City Lord’s eyes squinted slightly as he asked, "Is this true? Has everything been confirmed?"

"Yes, City Lord, everything has been confirmed. The badge is here too, you can look at the records anytime."

The City Lord nodded, accepting the document, and then announced, "Alright, I will report this to His Majesty. Now, let’s put this issue aside and discuss matters related to wartime achievements."

With that, the City Lord took out Du You’s badge and displayed its recorded images on a crystal plate.

"As you can all see, Lord Du You played a significant role in the successful surprise attack. This is major accomplishment for us in White Stone City, and even the Empire. I suggest he be granted the title of Viscount. This will be reported as such."

"No way, I object. There hasn’t been an instance where a rank is increased twice in one go. Moreover, he’s from a civilian background, not a noble progeny. His contribution shouldn’t be evaluated as such." Latest content publıshed on 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹·𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲·𝗻𝗲𝘁

A hint of helplessness flickered in the City Lord’s eyes. The present nobility had changed drastically from the past.

Are there no instances of consecutive promotions? No, there were, but that was the privilege of the nobles. Any awards bestowed upon the noble class for their merits never seemed excessive. Especially during the early days of the kingdom, even minor military exploits could earn their ancestors high noble titles, but now it’s impossible.

Today’s nobility, having held power in the empire for too long, doesn’t allow the emergence of new nobles, especially those from the civilian class, they wouldn’t allow them to enter their ranks.

Even if it’s just a minor Viscount title, they wouldn’t approve of it. But the City Lord knew their objections were inevitable, that’s why he intentionally proposed such a high rank otherwise the reward would be even lesser.

The City Lord was of noble origin himself, but he had always been in White Stone City, in the military. He valued Du You, who also came from a military background, even if it was just an employment relationship, more than other nobles.

In the City Lord’s perspective, most present-day nobles were inept wastrels. Adding capable new nobles would be helpful in purifying the nobility’s shortcomings.

"In this war, the unexpected attack from the rear played a crucial role. Without their offense, we wouldn’t be relishing in this victory now. Nor would we have the peace for the next decade or perhaps even longer."

The City Lord pointed at the display, "As you can see, without the powerful mage, Lord Du You, during the battle, the troops would have gone to their deaths accomplishing nothing. We would still be engaging in sieges, and undoubtedly, we would be dealing with stronger concentrations of Sandpeople."

The noble representative hit the table, "I’m not going to disagree with you on that point, but a noble’s rank cannot be attained in one fell swoop, it breeds arrogance. As a newly risen noble, one must harbor respect for the older generations of nobles."

Everyone was baffled, they couldn’t see the connection between respecting nobles and a rise in ranks.

The military officials kept silent, silently enjoying the show. Many of them held noble ranks, but they were not part of the traditional nobility, at least their generation wasn’t. So they took pleasure in the disputes within the noble class, they only lacked the popcorn for this spectacle.

"Did you not see his merits? If such a great achievement doesn’t get rewarded aptly, how should we reward others? Moreover, the noble scions in this war, I’m afraid, their contributions pale in comparison."

Faced with threats to their own interests, the nobles had to compromise.

One of the nobles pointed to the display, "I acknowledge Lord Du You’s merits, but he must also get penalised. Look, when he used his magic, he disregarded his allies, it was a blanket attack."

In the scene, during the final burst of magic, Du You’s Light Arrow accidently inflicted friendly fire even led to fatalities. There were also previous incidents, where soldiers were poisoned running into the Mucus Swamp.

Thankfully, the final ignition of the mucus wasn’t recorded as Du You was far-off at that moment, otherwise, they would certainly add this to the list of charges against him.

"That magic was cast so quickly, it’s already a great achievement, there was no time to control it. Such friendly casualties aren’t too great. I believe that wasn’t Lord Du You’s intent. But then again, if magic wasn’t used in full force back then, the consequences might’ve been severe, even leading to a failed mission. Anyone in that position would have done the same."

The City Lord and the nobles viewed the situation from completely different perspectives, or to put it simply, they had entirely different objectives. The City Lord wanted to set an example to encourage his soldiers to make meritorious deeds, and the nobles simply wanted to suppress the rise of civilian nobility.