Dragon Monarch System

Chapter 1137: Chapter 1137:- Pacts of the Past

The discussion surrounding Prime Minister Spencer’s suggestion continued for some time. Although taking the initiative and attacking the nearest enemy Dukedom sounded tempting, the complicated distribution of territories throughout the Empire made such a decision far more dangerous than it initially appeared.

The Dukedoms supporting Aditya and Ren were scattered and mixed throughout the Empire. If Aditya’s side captured one enemy territory, Ren’s faction could easily retaliate by attacking one of their allied Dukedoms elsewhere. With both factions also possessing multiple 7th-order cultivators capable of changing the outcome of an entire battle, a careless attack could quickly turn the civil war into a destructive exchange of territories.

And since more than half of the Dukes currently supported Aditya, his faction naturally had more territories to lose. For this reason, Aditya could not simply accept Spencer’s suggestion without carefully considering the consequences.

The meeting hall remained silent for a few moments as everyone thought about the situation. “Still, continuing to wait isn’t necessarily the best choice either.” Spencer finally broke the silence.

“What other option do we have?” Malakor Harrington looked at Spencer and asked. His question caused the entire hall to fall into deep silence once again, as no one could immediately think of a better solution to the complicated situation they were facing.

“The good news is that we have destroyed the likes of the Night Rider Sect. The Night Rider Sect had multiple 7th-order Elders who could have joined the civil war and given us a much bigger headache. Even the likes of Sophia and Renji are also dead.”

Hearing this, Malakor and Boris briefly looked at each other before chuckling. Destroying the Night Rider Sect had unknowingly removed several powerful 7th-order cultivators who could have become major obstacles during the upcoming civil war.

“Speaking of the Night Rider Sect, where is Victor? I remember seeing him alive. Even though he was in a very miserable state, he was still alive.” Rin asked, suddenly remembering the former Sect Leader and the terrible condition he had been left in.

“He is being held in a secret dungeon within Axel City.” Wahid replied without hiding Victor’s current whereabouts.

It seemed that Aditya still held some grudges against Victor and was not willing to simply let him die like this. Victor was being held in a place where the light of the sun would never reach him. He was completely isolated from the outside world.

Ahem!!!

Boris cleared his throat with a deliberate cough when he noticed that everyone was slowly losing focus on the main topic of their discussion.

“This means we still have thirteen National Treasures to deal with.” His words immediately brought everyone’s attention back to the upcoming civil war and the powerful cultivators who could potentially participate in it.

“We visited the noble house from which one of the National Treasures originally came. The representative of that family gave us his word that when the war starts, their 7th-order cultivator will not participate in any shape, form, or manner.” Wahid explained. The family in question was a Viscount House that served under one of the Dukes from the Harrington Faction, which was why they had been able to approach the family and discuss the matter with them.

“In fact, he returned to his family home yesterday and personally stated that he wanted to stay out of this civil war.” This was undoubtedly good news for their faction. Regardless of which side the National Treasure might have supported, his decision to remain completely neutral meant there was now one less 7th-order cultivator they had to worry about once the war officially began.

“What about the three National Treasures who came from the families of our allied Dukes?” Boris asked, wanting to know whether Wahid had managed to receive a clear answer from them as well.

“Again, each of them made it clear that they will neither join this war nor fight for either side. They want to stay completely out of this civil war in any shape, form, or manner.” Wahid replied. In fact, he had received written letters from all three of them earlier that morning, and each letter clearly expressed the same decision to remain completely neutral throughout the civil war.

“That’s odd! Why is everyone giving the same answer?” Spencer asked with a puzzled expression before looking toward the old Emperor, hoping to receive an explanation from him. As someone who had previously ruled the Celestial Dragon Empire for more than twenty thousand years, Boris would definitely understand the reason behind their strangely similar answers.

“That’s because every National Treasure has signed a soul-binding contract.” Boris calmly explained. “One of the conditions in the contract specifically concerns civil wars. If a civil war breaks out within the Celestial Dragon Empire, every National Treasure has the right to choose whether they want to participate in the war or stay out of it entirely.”

Boris paused briefly before continuing his explanation. “However, if a National Treasure chooses not to fight, then they must remain completely out of the civil war. They cannot secretly support either faction, provide assistance to one side, or involve themselves in the conflict in any form. Choosing neutrality means supporting neither side until the civil war comes to an end.”

“I created this soul-binding contract to make sure that if a tyrant ever ruled the Celestial Dragon Empire in the future, the powers of the National Treasures could not be freely misused by that ruler.” Boris calmly explained the reasoning behind his decision.

“But at the same time, I also designed the contract in such a way that if a group of Dukes decided to wage a civil war with the intention of changing the ruling regime, they would not be able to freely use the National Treasures for their own cause either.”

“That’s a very thoughtful and cautious move.” Spencer was genuinely impressed by Boris’s foresight. The old Emperor had considered both possibilities when creating the soul-binding contract, preventing a tyrannical Emperor from freely abusing the strength of the National Treasures while also ensuring that rebellious nobles could not easily turn those same powerful figures into weapons against the throne.

‘No wonder he ruled the Empire for more than twenty freaking thousand years without facing a single civil war.’ Spencer thought to himself. Boris’s reign could easily be remembered as an era ruled by an iron fist. He was a man feared by many throughout the Empire, and during his time on the throne, no one had dared to openly challenge either him or the authority of the Celestial Dragon Empire.

“So that leaves your two students.” Malakor calmly took the teacup that the maid handed him and brought it to his lips, taking a slow sip as if the next question he was about to ask was nothing important.

“Don’t tell me your two students are actually planning to fight for your first grandson.” Malakor asked while casually holding his teacup.

The atmosphere around Boris immediately changed. This was where things became complicated.

Malakor’s words caused Boris’s expression to stiffen almost instantly. These days, the former Emperor had indeed been waiting for his two students to come and see him. After all, Boris had returned after being absent for such a long time. At the very least, he had expected those two brats to send him a letter.

But nothing came.

Not a visit!

Not a letter!

Not even a single damn message asking whether their old teacher was still alive.

‘Those brats have really become spoiled.’ Boris’s eyebrow visibly twitched as a vein slowly appeared on his forehead. Although his expression remained relatively calm on the outside, inside his mind, the old Emperor had already caught his two students by their collars and was violently shaking them back and forth.

‘Just wait! Just you two wait until we meet!’

Boris’s fingers slowly tightened around the armrest of his chair. ‘I’ll break your bones and legs first! Then I’ll put them back together! After that, I’ll break them again and properly teach you two ungrateful brats a lesson!’

For some strange reason, everyone sitting near Boris suddenly felt a cold chill running down their backs.

Malakor quietly lowered his teacup and decided not to say another word. Whatever Boris’s two students had done, Malakor could only silently wish them good luck. They were certainly going to need it.

“Well, fortunately for us, Aditya now has four 7th-order subordinates, with Lou Han being a Peak 7th-order cultivator.” The moment these words were spoken, Nathan and Spencer immediately turned their attention toward Aditya, staring at him with visible shock on their faces.

‘Since when did this happen?’ Both Nathan and Spencer had exactly the same thought running through their minds. Neither of them had expected Aditya’s forces to have grown so powerful without them even realizing it.

Amelia was equally shocked and stunned by this revelation. ‘What a shocking change.’ She clearly remembered that just little more than a year ago, Aditya only had one 5th-order subordinate, Victoria. Yet, in such a short period of time, everything had changed drastically. Aditya now had multiple 7th-order cultivators serving under him, which was an almost unbelievable increase in his military strength.

“With the three of us also participating, there shouldn’t be any problem dealing with the National Treasures who choose to fight for the Emperor.” The presence of Aditya’s four 7th-order subordinates, combined with their own strength, gave them enough powerful cultivators to directly confront the National Treasures who might participate in the civil war on Ren’s side.

“I would say that both sides currently have equal military power in this civil war.” At least based on the forces and powerful cultivators that they currently knew about, neither faction held an overwhelming advantage over the other.

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