novelraw Chapter 160: The King: I Can Negotiate Too, I Can Also Become a Believer!
Chapter 160: The King: I Can Negotiate Too, I Can Also Become a Believer!
Yes, this was the choice Congressman Don had made after careful deliberation.
The moment he saw Niolde appear, he completely abandoned everything related to that female council member. He clearly knew that Hannah, a woman pushed to power by the liberal left, was utterly finished!
A wise bird chooses a sturdy branch to roost upon. Congressman Don had not yet finished enjoying his life of privilege, and he naturally had no desire to go down with her.
A smart man adapts to the times. He had decisively run over, focused entirely on making a loud, dramatic surrender!
These people were true believers of a deity, and the figures standing before him were genuine church leaders. Even if he did not receive any rewards, he would at least be able to survive, right?
Ultimately, he had been terrified by Niolde's display. Although casually devastating a city was a chaotic and mad act, it also forcefully crushed the petty schemes of many.
Facing a Transcendent Being who could end his life at any moment, he did not feel that dropping to his knees was shameful in the slightest. Some people wanted to kneel but did not even get the chance!
Freya and the others nearby naturally heard his words. She gave a slight nod. With a raise of her hand, a staircase of solid ice unfurled from the massive boulder, extending inch by inch onto the Oresund Bridge until it stopped right in front of Don Nottingham.
The congressman swallowed hard under the gaze of the three figures. Mustering his courage, he stepped onto the path of ice and slowly made his way toward them.
He knew that this was the absolute key to saving his own life!Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Don arrived before the three Transcendent Beings and spilled everything he knew:
"It is that woman, Hannah! She orchestrates the human trafficking and trade within the city of Malmö, and she seeks out collaborators throughout the city! I am one of her collaborators, and so is the police department!"
"You destroyed the gang she used for her human trafficking rings, so she is furious and wants to exact revenge against you!"
"However, her business must still go on. Therefore, another ship is scheduled to arrive here today. Sir, Madam, I believe you understand what I mean!"
Don was a truly clever man. He had heard Luowa's promise to Niolde, and he could guess their absolute determination to capture the masterminds and criminals!
He could also deduce that this group definitely intended to perform a Divine Miracle and spread their Divine Faith, which was why he specifically offered them this piece of information.
Freya nodded slightly and pressed further, "Then, do you have more information? Details regarding these sinful individuals who blaspheme the Gods?"
With a single sentence, she defined their nature, nailing them directly to the pillar of shame and ensuring they could never recover.
"That will be a very long list, and I will share it in detail. But right now, the ship has arrived!" Don pointed into the distance. Everyone looked over and saw a massive cargo ship slowly sailing toward the port.
Seeing the freighter, Freya cast a subtle glance at Luowa beside her. Noticing he had no objections, she immediately declared in a loud, ringing voice, "Then, let us begin by saving these lost souls!"
"This shall serve as the final ritual of our sacrifice. The eye of Odin is still gazing down upon us from the heavens. Believers, go forth and save the suffering people of this nation!"
As her words fell, the ship gradually ground to a halt.
This was Luowa's handiwork. He had directly frozen the ship's propellers, rendering it utterly incapable of moving forward in the sea.
Meanwhile, under Luowa's control, the massive boulder beneath their feet slowly drifted closer to the vessel.
"Come, let us save these poor souls and allow the radiance of the Gods to shine across the world!" Freya's voice echoed through the air. As the boulder met the ship, an ice-blue staircase materialized before them, forming a perfect bridge to the large vessel!
The medical teams and combat personnel guarding the shipping containers also noticed this unfolding scene. The medical staff decisively fled, but the soldiers had already drawn their weapons!
"The accomplices of blasphemers deserve to perish in the sea!" Freya proclaimed!
Percival caught her meaning instantly. He raised his battle axe, which bloomed with a brilliant red glow. Propelled forward, he crossed the distance in a few massive strides and charged onto the cargo ship!
Then, beneath the hovering helicopters and in full view of the various reporters rushing to the scene, he swung his axe!
A crimson arc of overwhelming power instantly severed a massive iron chain right before the eyes of the mercenaries who were attempting to put up a stubborn resistance. The ship's anchor plummeted, and the sheer force of the strike completely shattered the men's courage.
Those soldiers who still harbored thoughts of resistance were effortlessly tossed straight into the ocean by Percival. They did not even have the chance to fire their guns!
Next, the Witch and the Saint stepped forward, accompanied by a group of believers. They threw open the doors to the shipping containers, revealing the dense crowd of "goods" packed tightly inside like sardines!
This sight caused many of the onlookers to widen their eyes once more!
They would not easily forget the visions displayed by Niolde moments ago, which prominently featured these exact shipping containers. So, it was all true, wasn't it?
The Gods were truly stepping forward to save them, weren't they?
The Divine Faith in the Gods was purified by yet another fraction!
... Meanwhile, in distant Stockholm, the situation was taking a slightly different turn.
Everyone has their own personal ambitions, and every nation, naturally, harbors dreams of becoming a great power.
The Sweden of the past was not the small, struggling country barely holding itself together under liberal left politics that it was today; it had once been a formidable empire that dominated the European Continent.
Therefore, once this intense desire for greatness was ignited, it would be extremely difficult to extinguish!
However, one had to admit that this would also mark the beginning of a glorious new era. If they could truly harness this power, the nation would definitely be utterly transformed under its guidance!
Congressman Eric, of course, belonged to the most clear-headed category of people. That was exactly why he had channeled the anger of the masses to establish himself as a right-wing congressman.
Right now, he was also steering the ambitions of the entire parliamentary assembly, accumulating power to pave the way for his own future rise to the top.
Right here, they had witnessed the awakening of the Gods, the emergence of a Divine Miracle, and a figure resembling a berserker displaying his astonishing power!
Everyone was furiously discussing the incident. Everyone was carefully considering their futures, contemplating their next steps!
But without a doubt, Congressman Eric Cassel was the undisputed rising star of this assembly!
However, when the meeting concluded, Eric was not met with the expected congratulations of his peers. Instead, he found himself waiting on someone who was rarely ever seen in the nation of Sweden—the current monarch, King Gustav XVI!
The King of Sweden had originally wielded real authority, but by the time the crown reached this particular ruler, all that power had vanished.
After all, barely two years after ascending to the throne, he had lost his de facto title as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, reduced to a literal mascot for the parliament. He was now nothing more than a designated rubber stamp and a diplomatic figurehead.
It could even be said that he was the most powerless king in all of Europe, lacking even significant personal wealth!
But even the weakest king was still a king, and he still commanded a degree of respect. Thus, Eric bowed to the man with careful deference before asking, "Esteemed Your Majesty, may I ask the purpose of your visit today...?"
The elderly King had no intention of keeping him in suspense. He stated directly, "Congressman Eric, I hear that you plan to travel straight to Malmö to meet the members of the Aesir Religion, is that correct? I wish to accompany you!"
"You? Accompany me?" Eric was stunned. "Is that... entirely appropriate?"
Gustav XVI, however, replied bluntly, "There is nothing inappropriate about it. You just declared in the assembly that this is the greatest opportunity for Sweden. How could I possibly not go?"
He stared deeply into the young congressman's eyes with a solemn gaze and spoke in a low voice. "You are absolutely right. Sweden has remained stagnant for far too long. We need to secure their backing. We must earn the support of these Gods who rightfully belong to us!"
Meeting the King's eyes, Eric found himself unable to refuse. He gave a subtle nod. "If you insist, Your Majesty, then yes!"
"Excellent!" The King felt a surge of joy in his heart. His state of mind, which had been as placid as an ancient well for years, finally rippled with emotion!
As the reigning monarch, Gustav XVI was acutely aware of how deformed, bizarre, and twisted this country had become!
The so-called high-welfare society was nothing but a facade built upon the continuous sell-off of national resources. In a sparsely populated country, the exorbitant taxes and soaring cost of living frequently left the middle class gasping for air.
As for the widespread social apathy and the impossibly high barriers to basic human connection, those had devolved into minor inconveniences. The true, fundamental crisis was that their nation was being manipulated!
Did they genuinely want to accept floods of refugees? Pure nonsense. They simply had no choice in the matter!
Liberal left politics, extreme environmentalism, aggressive animal rights movements... when you boiled it all down, weren't these just tools manufactured by the major powers to disrupt their domestic stability and plunge them into internal conflict?
Those two global troublemakers had never harbored any good intentions. Guiding them toward so-called "civilization" was merely a strategy to fracture their geopolitical influence more effectively.
And he, a king who was supposed to hold absolute authority, had been reduced to an utterly powerless mascot through the collusion of those internal and external forces.
But now, much like Eric, the sudden emergence of the Gods had allowed him to astutely identify the key to breaking this deadlock!
The Gods absolutely needed believers. Otherwise, why would they be spreading their Divine Faith so openly and flamboyantly?
In that case, wouldn't the personal arrival of a king, directly declaring his conversion to the Aesir Religion, show vastly more sincerity than the parliament's so-called "cooperative exchanges"?
Gustav XVI had his own ambitions as well. His ancestor, the great Gustav I, had been the founder of Swedish hegemony in Northern Europe, dominating the entirety of the Baltic and Norwegian Seas. Even in the North Sea region, their power was second only to Great Britain at the time!
He could achieve that too! As long as he leveraged the might of the Aesir Religion and the divine powers backing it, he could restore that glory!
He could negotiate too! He could also become a believer! He could even serve as the representative of the Gods in the mortal realm! He had absolutely nothing left to lose anyway, so why not gamble everything he had?
This burning desire caused his emotions to grow increasingly fanatical.
And the result of this intense willpower reaching Bai Yang's end was an almost inexplicable, massive influx of Wish Power!