Chapter 253 The Right to Inherit the Battle Situation, the Colosseum, the Current Situation...
The summer harvest in the First Territory went relatively smoothly this year.
Because the number of locusts was constantly monitored, they were effectively contained before they could spread in large numbers.
Therefore, this year's summer harvest preserved the vast majority of the grain.
The Second Territory finally received much-needed rain in mid-July.
The crops, having absorbed plenty of water and nutrients, began to grow rapidly, bringing hope to the vast number of farmers across the region.
Meanwhile, in the orcish territory, the allied forces were advancing with unstoppable momentum. Good news kept coming back, and the end of the war seemed imminent.
Everyone sincerely hopes that this day will come soon.
Before they knew it, it was time for the summer ball, and the people who had suffered greatly desperately needed something else to distract them.
As a result, some small "exchange meetings" were held in the homes of nobles.
The regent was so busy with all sorts of matters every day that he turned a blind eye to these entertainment activities.
With others starting the conversation and things looking good, Wang Cheng's social circle began to move again.
The army needed a lot of cloth to bandage wounds, and the regent advocated frugality and discouraged excessive extravagance.
Nowadays, overly extravagant skirts are gradually falling out of fashion for high-society occasions like evening banquets. Instead, a simple and lightweight style is being favored, which perfectly aligns with the court's preferences.
The impact of war on people's lives is multifaceted.
So many changes have occurred in just a few years. If it had dragged on any longer, who knows what it would have been like?
Due to the events involving the Toland family, Neil and Anne's marriage has been temporarily postponed.
But the Duchess of Arcanis kept this matter on her mind. The reason was simple: Gavin, the illegitimate son of Lady Ida and the Duke. This spring, his wife had given birth to their first child.
Although she was just a girl without inheritance rights, this still made the Duchess feel a strong sense of crisis.
She doesn't fully trust Neil yet, even though she has revealed Neil's identity to the outside world and gained some support within the family.
However, as long as Neil has not married Anne, she will not submit to the court the documents regarding Neil's inheritance of the dukedom and the position of head of the family.
—The succession to any title requires the confirmation of the king or lord.
Now, even if she doesn't want Neil to inherit, there's nothing she can do.
If no heir is chosen within a certain period, the court will provide "assistance." The Duchess is finding it increasingly difficult to find a suitable successor like Neil.
His adoptive parents are dead. His only brother was just a vegetable farmer, and he may have already died at the hands of demons.
At the Duchess's urging, Neil and Anne's wedding date was set for this winter, a full year after the Marquis of Toland's death.
This matter didn't even need to be inquired about; it had already spread throughout high society circles.
After hearing the news, Ray and Edmund huddled together and talked for a long time.
There has been news of Neil all this time, and Ray and Neil meet every few months.
Shortly after Neil and Anne got engaged, the Duchess relaxed some of the restrictions on Neil, and Neil began to frequent the grocery store.
In winter, he would use the excuse of buying strawberries, and in summer, he would buy jewelry and flowers, pretending to give them to Anne as gifts to please her.
This situation had been going on for a long time, so Ray and the others had always been fully aware of Neil's situation.
Knowing that he was doing well, I focused more of my attention on other things.
Summer in the royal city is always accompanied by continuous rain. But after the rainy season, there is a rare period of sunny days, which is also the time when most balls are held.
This summer, another major event occurred in the capital.
One of the magical beasts kept in the largest arena in the suburbs has secretly escaped.
The level-three demonic tiger, which had been starving for seven days, was filled with hatred for humans and wantonly harmed the lives of the surrounding residents.
It also deliberately ran towards the center of the royal city, killing as it went, plundering countless lives along the way.
Finally, nearly two hours after the Demon Tiger escaped, the knights sent by the Holy See killed him.
This incident enraged the regent.
He was only temporarily acting as the de facto head of state, and his handling of many matters was rather perfunctory. He didn't expect to achieve anything significant; maintaining the status quo was enough.
As for how the country should develop, that's something the new monarch should consider.
However, the problem with the escape of the monsters from the Colosseum was that its impact was simply too great. He had no choice but to deal with it.
For hundreds of years, gladiatorial games were legal, but a certain ruler later deemed the activity too cruel and banned it.
The attitudes of the three subsequent monarchs were ambiguous; they neither explicitly banned it nor prohibited it.
Therefore, this kind of activity continues in aristocratic circles. It's just not discussed openly.
The Colosseum where this incident occurred was one of the larger ones, and the person behind it was Count Jerome.
However, various forces were involved, and even the regent himself had a special position there.
A lenient punishment will fail to quell public anger; but a harsh punishment will offend many. It's truly a dilemma.
Things always need to come to a conclusion.
Just ten days after the incident, the Regent's decision was made public.
The arena has been shut down, and a fine of 60,000 gold coins has been imposed to compensate the victims and the damaged houses. All the magical beasts within the arena will be executed.
In any case, this matter has given the public an explanation, and at least on the surface, it is gratifying.
It's just a pity for those hundred or so poor magical beasts that were sold to the royal city; they ultimately couldn't escape the fate of being slaughtered.
The people at Victor Manor discussed this for days after hearing about it, all cursing the nobles who traded magical beasts.
Lei listened to everyone's discussion without offering any opinion, but that evening Tata asked him a question.
"Just because one animal injured someone, does that mean the others have to die too?"
Tata has lived with humans for a long time and understands most basic principles. However, he is still young and retains the innocence unique to cubs.
Lei didn't deliberately hide anything from Tata and explained what "collective punishment" meant.
"People fear the power of the monsters, and only through this large-scale slaughter can their panic be quelled."
Moreover, for the authorities, eliminating the monsters that are still under control is far less costly than sending them back to Eton Forest.
After learning about these cruel realities, the little monster was somewhat disappointed and remained sullen for several days.
Later, through some channels, Lai learned that not all of these monsters from the Jerome Arena had actually been executed.
Some smaller monsters, as well as those in excellent condition, were resold to others at high prices.
The identity of "others" remains unknown. The fate of those magical beasts is like duckweed floating on the water, its destination uncertain.
Lai told Tata the news, and the little monster felt a little better.
Education should never be neglected, no matter how poor we are.
With the money they had, Vincent and Diana sent their three children to more formal schools.
A child needs one gold coin per year.
Duncan and Rose are getting old; they can only play for two more years at most.
Diana planned to let Jane study for a few years before sending her to learn sewing.
In the royal city, a place teeming with nobles, numerous balls are held every year, ensuring a future for everyone.
Cher was very supportive of this. Leigh also strongly supported their decision.
It's not good for the three children to stay at home all the time; they need to go out and see the world.
Nearly a year has passed since Ray went to the battlefield to help. But Ryan has not reappeared.
Lei was very worried that something had happened to Him.
However, everything about the elementalists is blank here; there are no records to refer to.
Ray went to the White Tower several times but didn't get the results he wanted. He could only comfort himself with the few words that Ryan had told him before he fell asleep.
Many organisms repair themselves through sleep, and Ryan may be no exception.
In late summer and early autumn, news of another victory came from the battlefield.
The allied forces have advanced to the vicinity of the main boundary marker, and the war is expected to end this autumn. This is truly unparalleled good news for the entire continent.
Each territory continued to send troops, and another 150,000 soldiers rushed to the orc battlefield.
It is foreseeable that what follows will be a fierce battle.
After returning from the third territory, Lai sold three dragon bones to White Tower at a low price.
Golden Oak used these dragon bones to make two more weapons that could transform elemental stones into energy orbs.
This year, the same batch was sent to the battlefield again, and of course, Golden Oak inevitably went to the Orc territory as well.
After returning from there, Golden Oak had a drink with Ray and revealed a lot of news from the battlefield to him.
"Repairing the third main boundary marker is also a problem. We've used almost all the available materials. In my opinion, unless we get the trunk of the Elf Mother Tree, it will take a year and a half just to repair it."
According to Golden Oak, people are being overly confident in their predictions about when the war will end.
"What about Willard? Has he recovered?"
This is what Tata asked.
"No, he's actually gotten a bit fatter. The allied forces have joined up with the three-headed dragon, and the remaining orcish troops have also joined the allied forces."
The orcs' territory is much larger and offers less cover. The fighting there will be much more open in terms of visibility compared to Eton Forest.
Ray got a lot of information he wanted to know from Golden Oak.
The cost was the loss of some fruit wine.
The dwarf, who was addicted to alcohol, recognized it at first sip: the wine that Lai had brought out was a fine wine from the Elven race. He drank himself into a stupor.
He told Ray that he wouldn't have agreed to go to the White Tower if it weren't for the white-robed mage Vesper's promise to get him two barrels of fine elven wine every year.
"Ray, after the war is over, I'm going back to my hometown, Black Mountain, to take a look. After that, I'll find a place with plenty of wine and meat, and live a leisurely life in seclusion! I'll never help humans with this mess again!"
The dwarf was recklessly dreaming about his future retirement life.
Lay also longed to return to his small mountain village as soon as possible and continue his leisurely life.
But things kept happening one after another, leaving him no choice.
Autumn has arrived as scheduled, and this year's maple leaves are exceptionally red.
On the eve of the harvest festival, everything was ready. Hundreds of thousands of allied troops clashed with the demon army in their greatest battle yet.
The war lasted for several months, and news of who had died in battle kept coming back from the capital.
Whether commoners or royalty, all are the same in the face of ruthless war.
The most terrifying news coming back from the battlefield came from the demon race: in that war, they had actually deployed eight demon kings at once.
In just a few years, the demon race has already evolved so many figures with the strength of a demon king.
If this continues without any countermeasures, the fall of the entire continent will be only a matter of time.
According to Golden Oak, the Demon King's strength is not what it used to be; at most, he is just a former Demon General.
It's unclear whether this phenomenon is due to a weakening of the demon race or insufficient time for them to mature. In any case, for the inhabitants of the continent, this is excellent news.
In short, all the news coming back from the orc battlefield was a hot topic in the royal city.
So-and-so's family has done another good deed; so-and-so's child has passed away.
These things are affecting everyone's lives all the time, causing widespread anxiety.
Edmund's eldest son got married this spring to the noblewoman that Ray saw dancing with in the banquet hall.
He couldn't escape the final round of conscription and, along with other soldiers in the army, rushed to the battlefield in a great fanfare.
It's just a pity for his newlywed wife and his mother at home.
Edmund didn't say anything.
In traditional thinking, a true man should establish merit and protect the security of the mainland; that is, a knight should do.
But as a father, he couldn't help but worry about his eldest son who had gone to the battlefield.
This family still needs Edmund to support it; perhaps only when he is alone at night can he release his pent-up emotions.
The fact that Edmund's eldest son was placed on the conscription list is strange in every way.
However, other noble families also had adult children sent out to work, regardless of their rank.
So, the reason for this matter was not investigated further.
What everyone hopes for most is for their loved ones to return safely.
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