novelraw Chapter 211: Nolan Oxivis
Chapter 211: Nolan Oxivis
Chapter 211: Nolan Oxivis
Starting Unlimited Evolution from Grinding
Time rewinds several days earlier...
After rescuing the young women from the dungeon, Flora and Shaya transmitted all the evidence they had collected during this period to the royal capital.
This included some magical images from the dungeon, as well as the tearful accounts of the young women.
Combined with the proof of connections between the Lawrence Family and the Bloodsea Gang that had already been submitted to the royal capital earlier, everything was sufficient to form a complete chain of evidence, proving the various shocking atrocities committed by the Lawrence Family during this period.
After receiving the information from Flora, Elvish, the Vice Dean of the Royal Saint Antonius Academy and Flora's teacher, immediately submitted it to the royal court, proposing the permanent revocation of the Lawrence Family's nobility title and their sentencing.
The Kingdom consequently convened a meeting.
Actually, according to normal procedures, handling a viscount family like the Lawrence Family shouldn't require all the kingdom's political leaders to deliberate together.
But everyone knew that the Lawrence Family wasn't an ordinary viscount family—behind them stood one of the kingdom's pillars—Duke Sted Morin!
Even among the kingdom's current six dukes, this Duke Sted was among the most important.
Because their Morin Family controlled over 50% of the kingdom's alchemy business, and alchemy was inherently one of the most profitable industries on the continent. Alchemy-related industries accounted for a very large proportion in the Doria Kingdom—one could say it wasn't an exaggeration that the Morin Family controlled the lifeline of the kingdom's economy.
Without the annual tax contributions from the Morin Family, the kingdom's operations might encounter problems.
Even part of the royal family's expenses were borne by the Morin Family.
And the Lawrence Family was a rising noble family that the Morin Family had been focusing on supporting in recent years, so naturally, handling the Lawrence Family couldn't be taken lightly.
When the kingdom meeting convened, virtually all the prominent nobles in the royal capital attended. King Kaeo sat at the head position, his face showing worry.
Clearly, facing such a situation, he also didn't know how to handle it...
The Morin Family's influence was simply too great, with numerous powerful experts in their clan. Even as the king, he didn't dare offend them lightly and usually showed them respect.
But the other side wasn't to be trifled with either...
The Royal National Academy also held an equally pivotal and prestigious position in the Doria Kingdom, and among the various academies, the mage academy—Saint Antonius Academy—was undoubtedly the most influential one.
The beginning of this incident was the murder of a Saint Antonius Academy student within Roland Town territory in Lania City.
And the Vice Dean of the mage academy, Archmage Elvish, clearly attached great importance to this matter. Not only did he send his beloved disciple to personally investigate, but after uncovering the Lawrence Family's evil deeds, he remained unyielding, consistently insisting on severe punishment for the Lawrence Family.
But this wasn't the most headache-inducing part for him.
Although Elvish enjoyed considerable prestige within the kingdom, in terms of status, he was still inferior to Duke Sted.
Moreover, Duke Sted himself possessed formidable strength and wasn't afraid of this famous Transcendent Level mage.
So originally, this matter wouldn't have been so troublesome. He just needed to slightly accommodate the archmage's face, symbolically punishing the Lawrence Family after resolving the goblin siege incident without completely crushing them—something Duke Sted would presumably accept.
The problem was that this matter also involved another unmentionable existence...
Oxivis!
The Doria Kingdom was just an insignificant small kingdom on the continent, while Oxivis was a royal duke of one of the three great empires—the Violet Empire!
The weight of this name even surpassed that of the entire Doria Kingdom!
Even though the city lord of Silverstream City had abandoned the glory represented by this name and relinquished her former identity and status, she had once been an Oxivis, so no one dared to look down on her.
And this matter just happened to involve Silverstream City—even those fools from the Lawrence Family had specifically targeted Silverstream City!
After all, he currently didn't know what the Oxivis family's attitude was toward this young mistress who had left the family...
Regardless, let's convene the meeting first.
He sighed inwardly, then spoke: "You are all pillars of our kingdom. I've gathered everyone today to discuss matters concerning Lania City and the Lawrence Family..."
After the formal opening remarks came the intense discussion phase.
Elvish naturally attended in person, taking the initiative to launch the offensive: "The Lawrence Family's atrocities against Saint Antonius Academy students constitute their first crime! Allowing the goblin population to grow, even deliberately abducting young women from their territory to give to goblins to help them reproduce—this is their second crime! Collaborating with necromancers, those public enemies of humanity, and framing Silverstream City for the goblin disaster—this is their third crime! According to kingdom law, the Lawrence Family's viscount title should be immediately revoked, and all family-related personnel should face the most severe judgment!"
As Elvish's words fell, some supporters echoed his sentiments.
"Archmage Elvish is right! Such parasites of the kingdom—should we let them continue harming the kingdom's people?"
"If the Lawrence Family isn't eliminated, thousands more Lawrences will keep emerging. By then, the kingdom's situation will likely become dire..."
Even some neutral parties felt that deliberately allowing and even helping goblins grow was too anti-human and stepped forward to voice support.
For a moment, those supporting the trial of the Lawrence Family gained strong momentum.
The remaining wavering individuals all turned their gazes toward Duke Sted Morin beside them.
The duke appeared calm and composed, watching his nose and heart as if this matter had nothing to do with him.
Only when the voices in the royal court gradually weakened did he slowly turn his head and speak leisurely: "Had enough fun?"
Though he faced the ministers, his gaze was fixed on Elvish, carrying a hint of contempt.
Facing this obvious provocation, Elvish didn't retreat in the slightest, snorting coldly: "Then I wonder what different views Duke Sted has on this matter?"
"I disdain engaging in such debates with you all. Let's speak plainly..."
He scanned the surrounding nobles: "You should all know that Lawrence is my man. Anyone who moves against my people is slapping my face!"
"You!"
He pointed at a neutral party who had just spoken for Elvish: "Didn't you just say Lawrence should be tried? Want to slap this duke's face?"
He pointed at his own face: "Come on, you can try."
"No... no..."
The person immediately turned pale, repeatedly waving his hands: "Duke Sted, you've misunderstood, that's not what I meant..."
"Then what did you mean?"
Sted wasn't planning to let him off, continuing to press.
"You..."
The person didn't know how to respond, beginning to regret having spoken up for that bit of conscience earlier.
Why did he have to meddle in this kind of matter? He couldn't afford to offend either side!
Especially Duke Sted—his power and influence could be said to dominate half the kingdom!
"And you!"
Duke Sted pointed at another minister: "Do you also have objections against this duke?"
"Dare not, dare not..."
"You?"
"Seems like you were speaking too earlier!"
Duke Sted pointed at them one by one, and the venue fell completely silent.
Elvish's expression turned somewhat unpleasant. Even his supporters couldn't rupture relations with Duke Sted over this matter—the cost was simply too great.
Who could do without alchemical products? Offending Duke Sted would make future days difficult.
But Elvish wouldn't back down, instead growing even more furious: "So this grand royal court is just a place for you to make unreasonable trouble? The millions of the kingdom's subjects can't compare to your so-called 'face'?"
"If I say yes, what can you do about it?"
Duke Sted looked directly at him, confronting him without yielding: "No matter how many of those lowly commoners there are, can they compare to this duke's contributions to the kingdom and the royal family?"
These two appeared to be arguing, but in reality, each was subtly hinting at him.
Elvish was criticizing his indulgence of Duke Sted, implicitly suggesting he lacked kingly dignity, while Duke Sted was emphasizing his importance to him, simultaneously threatening that if he truly sided with Elvish, those annual tributes to the royal private treasury might become uncertain.
"Alright, alright..."
The king could only wave his hand first: "Lord Elvish, regarding this matter, we need careful deliberation to reach a decision. That's precisely the purpose of today's royal court meeting. Please don't be impatient."
"Lord Sted, please calm down too. Believe that I will make a fair judgment on this matter."
The meaning behind these words was already clear—intending to give the Lawrence Family some punishment but not planning to revoke their nobility title.
After all, the Morin Family concerned tangible interests—not just the kingdom's interests, but also the royal family's and his personal interests.
Although Duke Sted's words earlier were somewhat excessive, in Kaeo's view, they weren't without reason.
How could ordinary commoners compare to these nobles?
Everyone present was an old fox and immediately understood the king's implied meaning.
Duke Sted immediately nodded: "My apologies, Your Majesty, I was too impulsive..."
Since he had achieved the desired outcome, it was time to rein it in. Although the Morin Family had great influence, they were still within the kingdom and dependent on it. If things truly reached a breaking point and they separated from the kingdom, while the Doria Kingdom would suffer significant damage, the Morin Family might also decline and gradually become mediocre.
That was undoubtedly an outcome neither side wanted to see.
While Duke Sted, having gained the advantage, started playing nice, Elvish remained unsatisfied.
He immediately said: "Your Majesty, this matter involves Royal National Academy students. They are all awaiting the outcome of this matter. If Your Majesty doesn't handle it properly, I'm afraid it will inevitably disappoint these most outstanding students of the kingdom!"
The king's expression changed slightly again.
The Royal National Academy students symbolized the kingdom's future and were undoubtedly very important.
Admittedly, many students in the National Academy came from major noble families—they might not care and would basically not leave the kingdom.
But nearly half the academy's students came from commoner or minor noble backgrounds, and these people precisely cared most about such matters.
He frowned tightly, momentarily indecisive.
Just as he prepared to say something, sudden commotion came from outside the palace.
"What's happening?"
He immediately frowned, looking at the guards who had abruptly entered.
"Your Majesty, it's terrible! A dragon-blooded griffin suddenly flew in from outside with two people riding it!"
Everyone present immediately changed expressions.
"Are you sure it's a dragon-blooded griffin?!"
The king frowned, asking again.
Ordinary griffins were already powerful Middle-tier Lord Level magical creatures, while dragon-blooded griffins mixed with dragon bloodline were undoubtedly High-tier Lord Level magical creatures, even barely touching Epic Level—equivalent to top-tier Transcendent Level human experts!
Anyone who could use a dragon-blooded griffin as a mount either had Heroic Realm strength or possessed terrifying background!
Why would such people suddenly break into the palace?
"What, not welcome?"
Before the guard could reply, a voice came from outside the door. A young woman with pink short hair slowly walked in.
Even though this was the Doria Kingdom's royal palace, she acted as if entering her own home, appearing completely at ease.
Behind her followed a white-haired maid, also with short hair, her expression serious, giving off a rather authoritative feeling.
But the clothes on her chest were stretched high, almost bursting out, creating a subtle contrast with her dignified expression.
Although they appeared to be two young girls, they had arrived riding a dragon-blooded griffin, so the king didn't dare underestimate them, speaking very politely.
"Let me introduce myself. I am from the Violet Empire's royal duke family, the Oxivis Family—the eldest daughter of the family head and also the next family head successor—Nolan Oxivis."
She raised her head, making no attempt to conceal the pride and superiority in her words.
Oxivis...
They all clearly understood the weight carried by this name.
The king's expression changed repeatedly, his eyes shifting as he pondered for quite a while before speaking: "Then, Miss Nolan, might I ask the purpose of your visit to the Doria Kingdom?"
"It's Nolan Oxivis!"
Nolan corrected.
Then, half-squinting her eyes, she smiled slightly: "I came this time on a task assigned by Mother. She told me...
"Between Lawrence and Morin, only one can remain."
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