Joseph Williams was stunned.

This was a secret he had never heard of.

The Duke sighed and said:

"Do you know why there are always demon kings in dungeons? Because dungeons are not naturally formed landscapes, but the remnants left after the destruction of the world."

"The world's resentment and the desperate wails of all living things will entangle every corner of the dungeon. This curse will continue to spread upward to individuals, and eventually gather in the bodies of the creatures in the dungeon."

"The most powerful individuals among them gathered the most curses, and thus the Demon King was born."

Joseph's expression changed slightly. If what his father said was true, the trolls were no different from the elves in the past.

But the elves somehow transferred the curse to a small number of their people, and thus a bloody and murderous race - the trolls - were born.

Ken Williams shook his head and said, "So do you understand? The reason why the elves were able to maintain their full strength and come out of the dungeon is because they did not rely on external forces and solved the problem of the birth of the Demon King by taking advantage of the situation."

"But that doesn't mean they don't have to pay a price."

"The trolls eventually multiplied on the continent. In order to solve the hidden dangers in the trolls, and perhaps because they felt guilty towards their former compatriots, the Elf Kingdom began to help the trolls after becoming the Overlord of the Era."

"However, in the process of solving the problem of the trolls going crazy, the Elven Kingdom declined at an unimaginable speed, and finally the problem was solved in a very short time."

"It's hard to say, there is no influence from the trolls."

Ken Williams said:

"So I will never stop shutting down the weapons. I can't bet the fate of the Republic on their determination."

However, when he heard his father's words, Joseph showed a smile.

"In other words, if the Troll Tribe chooses to let go early, will you consider shutting down the weapons?"

Ken then turned around to look at his son, and seeing his burning eyes, he finally sighed, "If they really do it, then I can consider lobbying them, but what makes you so confident? Is it based on the merchant who ran directly to the troll's lair?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard a knock on the door. The Williams family’s butler said softly:

"Master, Prime Minister Duke is here to visit."

Ken Williams turned around and looked at his son in surprise, and finally said with relief:

"It seems that you have at least learned how to lobby others."

"This is also due to your good teaching, father."

Ken Williams turned to the butler and said, "Please come in, Prime Minister."

Not long after, an old man in a suit walked in.

"Joseph, you go out first."

Upon hearing this, Joseph Williams bowed and quietly left.

"He came to you to ask for help, and you dared to agree to it."

Prime Minister Duke stepped forward, filled the cup with tea, drank it all in one gulp and said:

"Why don't you agree? The current situation is clearly wrong. If we don't handle it properly, the whole of Tunisia will fall into war. Would you be satisfied watching so many people suffer?"

Ken Williams said: "I don't want to see this result, so I must hold this weapon in my hand."

He suddenly felt that it was a bit boring, so he waved his hand and said, "Forget it, let's not talk about this. You and I have disliked each other since we entered the Royal Knights Academy. The rulers of Tunisia have changed three generations, and you have suffered every time. You won't blame me until now, right?"

Duke looked a little dazed.

From an ordinary civilian, he has climbed to his current position over the years. Of course, he has real abilities.

The Royal Knights Academy recruited few students from outside, and he was one of the students who were able to receive a scholarship to enroll.

In his early years, his relationship with Ken Williams was hostile.

It is impossible for a commoner and an heir to a duke to have no disagreements with each other.

But after knowing each other for several years, Duke also admitted that Ken Williams was a nobleman with great wisdom and perseverance.

The year he graduated, Ken, who rarely talked to him freely, came up to him and asked him if he had any thoughts about entering Tunisia's civil service.

I said without hesitation: "I entered the Royal Knight Academy to use it as a springboard to practice what I have learned in my life in the system."

Ken welcomed him warmly, but told him: "If this is the case, we will be political enemies in the future."

Duke thought this was Ken declaring war on him.

But after entering the officialdom, he realized that this was actually a kind of protection for him.

The four great ducal families of Tunisia represent four factions.

Later, the Duke Guderian's family, who were willing to support him, generally tended to stand on the side of the civilians.

His outstanding performance attracted the attention of Duke Guderian's family as early as in school.

The family has always liked to support outstanding civilian representatives to step into high-level positions and speak for themselves.

He also thought that if he had the opportunity to advance further in officialdom, he would compromise with the neutral Duke Bruce family and qualify as a temporary ally.

In his fifth year in the workplace, he successfully managed to get the Duke Guderian family to stand behind him.

In the seventh year, he successfully won over Duke Bruce to become his ally.

At this point, he only had two enemies left in his political career.

The dove faction among the aristocrats - the Duke of Schroeder's family.

The hawkish faction among the aristocrats - the Duke of Williams' family.

Seven years later, when he became the governor of the capital of Tunisia, he met Ken Williams again after a long absence.

On the rooftop of the largest hotel in the royal capital, the two of them raised their glasses and drank together.

Ken Williams said: "Congratulations, you are now qualified to enter."

He said: "Although it is a little slower than I expected, I finally have the opportunity to speak on behalf of the helpless."

He looked at Ken, who had succeeded the Duke, and said, "You congratulated me and said we would become enemies. Did you have other ideas?"

Standing on the rooftop, Ken, holding a glass of red wine, smiled and said to him: "Did you know that the last Duchess of the Williams family, that is, my mother, was originally just a commoner?"

He nodded.

The former Duke of Williams was a madman who advocated freedom of love.

He put a lot of effort into being with the woman he loved.

The Tunisian nobility is a rather corrupt group.

The previous Duke Williams had only one lover until his death.

It was also because of his father's great help that Ken Williams, who was of civilian descent, was able to take over the family so easily.

At this time, the new Duke smiled and said, "You have to know that for the Williams family, what is important is not necessarily the Duke, but the identity we represent."

"We are spokespersons for four different groups."

"Noble hawks, noble doves, neutrals, civilians... We play corresponding roles in our respective groups. This is based on the need for the empire to stabilize."

"If I stand by your side, it's not impossible, but I will definitely face backlash."

"The responsibility for everything lies not with me but with you."

"Believe it or not, if I stand by your side, it only takes one time, and the neutral faction that was originally your ally will instantly switch sides with the noble faction next time."

"The populists who are the foundation of your politics will also become alienated from you."

Duke was somewhat dazed.

How did he respond? Ah, he remembered, he said:

"If this is the only price we have to pay for the sake of Tunisia and the wider people, it would be great."

This scene is so familiar to the conversation we had many years ago.

He said to Ken Williams: "Your son is more extreme than you. You were hiding behind the scenes to help me, but now he is a little too much of a populist."

"Although I like such people, it is not very friendly to your family."

Ken Williams finished his tea and said, "I told you that you might be stranded in Tunisia, Duke. Now that you are in a high position, do you still give the same answer as I did then?"

Prime Minister Duke restrained the smile on his face and said in an extremely calm tone:

"It has never changed. My clothes are dyed with the blood of Tunisian civilians. I have never thought of ending up clean."

Ken smiled with some emotion: "You are too arrogant and thoughtful. If no one protects you, you will be stigmatized."

He said slowly: "In the Tzeentch sect, there has always been a saying."

"If the opponent is great, we attack him for corruption and bribery."

"If he is honest and incorruptible, they will smear him for his immoral private life."

"If he is loyal, spread rumors that he is a weird person."

"People can't be perfect, right? If that's the case, then find a chance to kill him and then say he died of an illness."

"What's funny is that in the officialdom, even those who are not followers of Tzeentch still frequently use such tactics."

"But they want to, and I don't."

Ken Williams stood up and said, "If you really want to help my stupid son, or realize your ideas through him, then go ahead."

"This is the only way I can help you. After this, you can no longer accept protection."

Or who... No one would believe that the Williams family and Prime Minister Duke were hostile.

Duke smiled and said, "Of course, I won't let this opportunity go to waste."

He knew that if there were no accidents in this operation, the power of the Williams family would decline directly.

This is no joke. If the Duke's family can cover the sky with one hand, then the whole empire only needs the voices of four people.

The authority of the Williams family was established with the support of the aristocratic hawks.

After this trip, I am sure that quite a number of people will part ways with their families and turn to the aristocratic doves or neutrals.

This is a death sentence for the Williams family.

It is easy to overthrow others, but it is difficult to overthrow your own life.

Duke lowered his head and said, "I'll leave it to you."

…

the next day.

The temporary general meeting of the Tunisian Council of Nobles is convened.

The four major ducal families and their corresponding core faction figures all arrived at the scene.

The topic of this meeting is how to deal with the increasingly tense situation in the Troll Tribe.

As soon as the meeting started, the atmosphere was already tense.

A marquis in the hawk faction that Williams belonged to said mercilessly: "Why should we stop the Wrath of Nenos? In my opinion, not only the giant Wrath of Nenos, but also the regular version of the Wrath of Nenos from the four great dukes should be aimed at them."

"No matter who that damn Meyer is, if you really let the trolls march straight in, have you ever thought about how many people will die?"

The dovish Duke Throd shook his head and said, "We can wait and see the situation. It's not that tense yet. The Troll Tribe should be more nervous than us right now."

The neutral Marquis shook his head:

"This time I choose to stand with Williams and his men. The trolls are vicious and cunning. Do we need a reason to attack them? Don't forget that they retain the power of the Demon King. We can never be too vigilant."

Someone from the civilian faction said: "To use ruthless force directly is not justifiable and will cause problems."

The neutral Marquis said again: "We have to take action even if it is not justified or justified. If we really let them march straight in, we can't stop them... That is a serious crime. Wrath, and there are hundreds of them. Have you forgotten the Emperor's Iron Guard?"

There was silence at the scene.

For a moment they didn't know what to say.

Yes, what they fear most is the appearance of the Emperor's Iron Guard.

The war that year really left all countries with lingering fears.

The Iron Guards are able to exert such power not because they are so strong.

The scene was bustling with people, and no one was convinced by anyone else.

At this time, no one realized that after the meeting began, except for Duke Srod who clearly expressed his attitude, the other three dukes at the scene did not speak.

Suddenly, Prime Minister Duke spoke:

"It is right to start the Rage of Nenos, but we must be prepared for a ceasefire, because this war is not worth fighting."

The Williams faction's Marquis laughed angrily: "Duke, you are an old chancellor, do you still want to put an end to the war at this time?"

Duke looked up and said:

"Marquis Griffith, I know your son died in the war with the trolls, which made you extremely hostile to them, but I stick to my point of view on this point."

"The situation between the two sides has never been irreversible. If we waste our energy on starting a war just for revenge, the country will face disaster."

"Duke, how many people died when Tunisia and Enser went to war for no reason over historical disputes?"

"What is the difference between what we do now and what we did back then? What will people in the future say about us?"

Lord Griffith was trembling with anger:

"Duke, now that you are the prime minister, can you slander others casually?"

Prime Minister Duke said calmly, "You have been frantically lobbying the nobles in the Williams faction these past two days. Do you really think that others don't know?"

"What does it mean to go and lobby specifically? Don't tell me you don't understand."

Griffith was furious: "How dare you!"

"You are the one who is so presumptuous!"

Duke shouted angrily: "The four major families' regular Nenos's Wrath has been activated, which means that Tunisia is facing a life-or-death situation."

"Then there will be no chance of deactivating the final weapon. We must find a place to vent this power."

"And the only place where we can unleash this power is the 'enemy' troll tribe."

"This will mean that the war will directly enter a white-hot stage. Once the war is fully launched, the troll tribe will use all its strength to move eastward."

"Tens of millions of civilians in western Tunisia will be involved. Tell me, can you bear the consequences?"

"Is it really time to take action now? Are you willing to sacrifice these tens of millions of people?"

Failure Diary: 　　I have to find a way to earn more money to treat my eyes. Oh, I'll find time to go to Guangzhou for a checkup.

(End of this chapter)