Skill Extraction: Exploring Dungeons

Chapter 810 702: Live Broadcast Throughout

"Damn it! Damn it! How dare they?"

In a magnificent hall, the king sitting on the throne roared at the ministers below.

This middle-aged man, dressed in luxurious robes and wearing a dazzling crown, was the king of the Kingdom of Feiten.

The reason for his anger was the crystal stone in his hand.

The crystal stone projected an image in the middle of the hall.

And the image was of a diplomat from Tideng Territory.

The diplomat's words were an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Feiten, demanding the abolition of serfdom, tax cuts, and the removal of all unreasonable and oppressive systems.

This act of seriously interfering in the internal affairs of other powers aroused the king's anger.

Furthermore, the diplomat's words were blunt, clearly implying that not complying would result in war.

After venting for a while, the king sat back on the throne and sighed, "So, everyone, let's hear your thoughts and solutions."

As his words fell, a large, hefty noble stepped forward, knelt down, and said loudly, "Your Majesty, please do not listen to them. If the serfdom is abolished, the lowly peasants will surely throw this country into chaos."

"Yes, Your Majesty, we must not abolish it."

"This Lantern Territory surely intends to attack us, using a convenient excuse. Even if we change, they will surely attack us."

"Why should they interfere in our internal affairs?"

The surrounding officials kept discussing, continuously advising the king.

As vested interests, none of these nobles wanted to abolish serfdom, let alone reduce taxes or amend laws.

This would cause their profits to plummet drastically, something absolutely impermissible under these corrupt rules.

Those peasants were born to serve them, merely tools for creating wealth.

Seeing the commotion below, the king frowned and shouted, "Silence! If none of you want to abolish serfdom or cut taxes, then come up with a solution, instead of creating endless noise."

As his words fell, the entire hall fell silent.

Everyone understood; if there's no change, a war with Lantern Territory must ensue.

But the problem was that they had never seen Lantern Territory's strength, only heard of it.

It was said that Lantern Territory was extremely powerful.

As for how powerful, they didn't have a clear impression, as they were coastal and far from the Ogre Territory.

So, they had never fought the Cannibal Ghost directly.

This was why they appeared unafraid in the face of Kane's threat.

Having never fought, nor directly seen the strength of Lantern Territory, who knew if their power was deliberately exaggerated?

After all, they were actually a sizable power in the surrounding areas.

If ranking the surrounding territories, they would at least be in the top five.

At this time, a general wearing heavy knight's armor and a longsword at his waist stepped forward, saluted the king, and said, "Your Majesty, since this Lantern Bell is so arrogant, we cannot appear weak. I propose gathering all the nobles' forces, making them contribute to this war and gain honor."

This general was one of the Kingdom's two gold-level powerhouses.

Upon hearing his proposal, the king nodded and asked the nobles below, "What do you all think of this proposal?"

Though the nobles were reluctant to send troops, they had no choice given the current situation.

"Your Majesty is wise, the Taster Family will be the first to respond, and will soon lead the Knight Order under the general's command."

"I'll also..."

"Me too..."

"Same here."

Thus, the response to Lantern Territory's warning was decided.

Having never truly faced each other in battle, these nobles did not believe they would lose.

Moreover, their knowledge of Kane's forces was solely based on rumors.

...

"Your Majesty, the news has arrived; the Kingdom of Feiten intends to engage us directly in battle."

Upon hearing Bonona's report, Kane smiled and nodded.

So brave, he hadn't expected it.

But it was precisely what he wanted; he feared that upon hearing their warning, the Kingdom of Feiten would simply cower and change their system.

Though such a situation was unlikely, given that a corrupt country like theirs wouldn't forfeit, even with Kane's intimidation.

To prevent this, Kane instructed the diplomats to appear arrogant and harsh.

The Kingdom of Feiten's response pleased Kane greatly.

"Publish their reaction in the newspaper; tomorrow we'll officially march out."

"This time, let the Lantern Knight Order handle the entire battle; you lead some troops personally."

After thinking for a bit, Kane added, "To prevent any surprises, I'll have Raphael send two individuals for protection throughout."

Upon hearing Kane's words, Bonona nodded, "Yes, Your Majesty, I'll start preparing immediately."

Since this entire operation would be broadcasted live, more troops and weapons would not be exposed for now.

The Lantern Knight Order and a few gold-level members were enough to dismantle the Kingdom of Feiten's forces.

To avoid the possibility that the two gold-level enemies might comprehend tricky rules, Kane specifically instructed Raphael to send two members for covert protection.

There is no issue with revealing such military strength, as this is merely a fraction of Kane's true power.

Afterwards, Kane returned to the Guild Hall.

He informed Adoma about the upcoming battle.

Adoma compiled the subsequent actions into a report and posted it on the notice board.

Since there are only two enemies with Golden Power, there aren't enough to go around, so the guild members with Golden Power won't participate this time, except for those specifically named by Kane, like Raphael.

Though Golden Power enemies are few, there are plenty at the Silver level, so most of the idle Silver-level Explorers in the guild are required to participate.

Kane did not reject these requirements.

...

Next morning.

The capital of the Tri-Race Alliance, centered in the city is the Lantern Newspaper Office.

At this moment, countless people were gathered in front of the newspaper office.

Among them were humans, as well as Elves and Beastmen.

Most were commoners, gathering here naturally because of the massive screen placed at the newspaper office's entrance.

This was an incredibly novel sight for them.

"Oh, it's lit, it's really lit up."

As the person's voice fell, the display screen lit up, showing images of the Lantern Knight Order led by Bonona, along with some archers.

The screen's perspective was from behind the troops, facing forward, only showing that the Lantern Knights were well-equipped, with their beautiful armor reflecting a silver sheen.

And the flagpoles they held, with the waving lantern flag.

Unless these knights turned around, their faces couldn't be seen.

"Is this really a live image of the Lantern Territory? Could it be an illusion created with magic?"

An Elf Mage of Copper strength said.

Hearing this, a nearby Beastman said, "It shouldn't be an illusion. I've been to Lantern Territory and seen knights like these patrolling the city before."

"There's a distance of several thousand kilometers from here to the capital of the Lantern Territory. Is it really possible to transmit an image this far? It's truly an incredible display of power."

"Isn't it just? It's fortunate they're followers of the Mist's will. As long as they don't cross the Mist's bottom line, they won't easily take others as enemies."

"Perhaps, who knows."

The Tri-Race Alliance's commoners tend to be well-educated. So they don't blindly accept all the rhetoric about Kane and his group's prestige.

While these commoners were chatting.

In a small building across the street, on the third floor in an outward-facing private room, several high-ranking humans, Elves, and Beastmen were watching the scene below.

An Elf said to the Beastman beside him, "You've been to their territory. What level of power are these knights?"

"It's hard to tell from the image, but every knight I've encountered dressed like this has reached the Silver bottleneck."

"All of them?" a nearby human exclaimed.

"All of them."

"If every member of the knight order dressed like this is at the Silver bottleneck, could we defend against them if they attacked us?" the Elf asked.

The Beastman nodded, then shook his head: "If it's just these knights, we could certainly defend, but what's shown to us is undoubtedly just a fraction of their military might."

Indeed, even a fool knows that what's openly displayed like this couldn't possibly be the entirety of their power, likely just the tip of the iceberg.

Furthermore, many high-ranking members of various forces know most of Kane's true strength.

"Ah, having such a mighty lion nearby is truly nerve-wracking," sighed the Elf.

"At least they're maintaining peace now, aren't they? If it weren't for that kingdom being too harsh on its commoners, they wouldn't have faced their assault,"

Upon hearing the Beastman's words, the human beside him looked and sighed, shaking his head, "Do you believe that? They're clearly aiming for that kingdom's seaport, just looking for an excuse."

"We ought to be thankful they're targeting other forces. At least they'll look for a reason before attacking, rather than striking at will.

Besides, their territory is so vast now; they can't keep up with soldiers or population internally."

"A strong power that understands rules and looks for reasons is far better than those previous beastly threats."

The Elf comforted.

"What's the council planning regarding relations with the Lantern Territory?" the Beastman scratched his head inquiringly.

As a Warrior, honestly, he didn't want to face dreadfully powerful foes like Kane.

It felt like sending himself to die in vain.

Thus, how the council planned to handle relations with the Lantern Territory was especially crucial to him.

Hearing his words, the Elf replied, "The council wants to have the Princess of the Farfa family marry the lord of the Lantern Territory."

"The Pearl of the Alliance? Could this work? Knowing the lantern lord is an Explorer, someone from the outer Mist World, perhaps their mindset differs from ours."

"Who knows, but we have to try, don't we? If it works, it could at least stabilize our relationship with this neighbor.

If not, it still indicates our desire for peace, at least maintaining a certain level of peace between us."

The human nearby said, "That princess is so proud, will she really comply?"

"She's proud, but not foolish. She knows how to choose, and you're aware of the lord's power."

When Kane's group previously battled the Cannibal Ghost, any sufficiently capable force posted spies to observe the entire affair.

This is why they revere Kane's group; they are simply too powerful.

They fought the Cannibal Ghost with hardly any significant losses.