Chapter 74: They Are No Match For The King!
After hearing Rivalen's words, Noah first opened and glanced at the letter he had presented.
[Dear Rivalen, I heard that King Arthur has been quite active in your territory,
undoubtedly stealing all your thunder. I truly feel sorry for you.]
[But don't worry, Rivalen. The five of us will arrive soon—it might only take
another three days. Until then, I hope you can use the issue of the Picts prisoners to stall him.]
[Once we arrive, we all hope you'll explain in detail how King Arthur defeated the Picts.]
[Additionally, we've prepared a test for the King.]
[Of course, don't worry—we're not planning a rebellion. It's merely a simple test.]
[And we won't need to directly confront King Arthur's forces ourselves. We'll just lure a group of magical beasts to launch a surprise attack on the King's troops, to see his capabilities.]
[It's just a small trick using bait to attract magical beasts. Though uncommon in the south, we all know about it, right?]
[So be sure to wait for us, Rivalen.]
Upon reading the letter's contents, Noah raised an eyebrow.
He now understood what Rivalen meant by "they show disrespect to the King."
Moreover, he fully grasped why Rivalen had suddenly sought him out, using such a method to express his loyalty, fearing that Noah might not trust him—even going so far as to resolve to offer up the other five northern kings as proof of his allegiance.
It was likely the demands from the other five northern kings in this letter that had pushed him to this point.
From the fact that Rivalen hadn't given him the letter before he resolved the Picts issue, it was clear that Rivalen had been hesitant, perhaps waiting to see how the situation unfolded.
But he hadn't expected Noah to solve the Picts problem so effortlessly. So, though he felt it was already too late, he handed over the letter directly and even rushed to prove his loyalty, hoping Noah would distinguish him from the other five northern kings.
After all, he knew that if Noah decided to leave, he couldn't stop him.
And if the five northern kings arrived only after Noah had left, they would blame him.
But if he managed to keep Noah here and Noah found out about this scheme, he feared Noah would hold him accountable later and include his name in the reckoning.
In short, Rivalen was caught in the middle, which was why, after much internal struggle, he ultimately made this decision.
Noah looked at Rivalen, remained silent for a moment, and then spoke:
"Actually, if you had pretended to receive the letter tomorrow and then given it to me, that might have been a better way to distance yourself."
Hearing this, Rivalen was taken aback, then smiled and shook his head.
"That approach might indeed have made it seem like I'd just found out, and I could even have taken the opportunity to flatter you. But such a coincidence, while giving you no excuse to act, would have made you wary, wouldn't it? After all, you're not some foolish, incompetent king. If I had done that, I might have avoided punishment, but I would never have earned your trust, right?"
"No, in that case I'd find an opportunity to let you enjoy your retirement peacefully."
Under these circumstances, Noah didn't adopt his usual enigmatic demeanor or deliberately appear profound and mysterious, because there was no need for riddles now—straightforward truth was required.
"And considering your years of guarding the border, I'll choose your son as the next lord of Selkirk Territory. I've heard the little one has already been born—so if he proves somewhat capable, I'll make him your successor."
Hearing Noah's words, Rivalen seemed momentarily dazed, but soon lowered his head without asking further questions, simply saying:
"Thank you for Your Majesty's grace!"
"Don't be nervous, Rivalen. By giving me this letter now, you've already made your stance clear. Regarding the Five Northern Kings, there's no need for extreme measures—just follow along with their plan."
Noah had formed some ideas upon hearing these five intended to use magical beasts in their scheme.
If everything went smoothly, perhaps he could resolve both the northern nobles and what would become Britain's largest-ever magical beast tide, soon to erupt in northern Britain, in one fell swoop!
Rivalen didn't attempt to decipher Noah's meaning upon hearing this, instead behaving like the most loyal subordinate, immediately nodding in agreement to whatever Noah said.
Noah wasn't surprised by this reaction and continued outlining his arrangements.
"First wait for those five to arrive. That's when we'll begin the plan. You won't need to constantly report their movements to me—just cooperate with my scheme on their end."
"Since they want to see my capabilities, I'll give them an eyeful."
Noah paused here, his gaze settling on Rivalen as their eyes met.
"As for you—"
Noah deliberately halted, startling Rivalen into quickly bowing his head. Then Noah approached him, reaching out to pat his shoulder.
"Don't worry. Actually, you have nothing to worry about, right?"
"Continue being the King of Leonois in Selkirk Territory without fearing I'll neglect you. Because... Pictavia is now mine too. The position you held was a border region, one requiring heavy defense, but now this is no longer the frontier, is it?"
Hearing this, the constantly accommodating Rivalen suddenly froze, a glimmer of light flashing in his eyes.
Exactly!
Selkirk Territory became a border region precisely because it directly connected to Camelot and linked with Pictavia!
If Pictavia was no longer an enemy, Selkirk Territory would naturally become the crucial gateway connecting Pictavia and Britain!
Merchants would all pass through here.
Though there would be much work initially, the benefits of ruling such a territory went without saying!
Seeing Rivalen had understood, Noah prepared to leave.
But before Noah had gone far and while Rivalen was still watching his departure, Rivalen spoke up.
Noah paused once more, then slightly turned his head with a smile as he spoke to him.
"Rivalen, don't come looking for me today or tomorrow, and don't worry about anything. I'll be back before the Five Northern Kings arrive."
"Just like that."
With those words, Noah turned away completely and left.
Standing there watching Noah depart, Rivalen felt a chill run down his spine.
Because the meaning behind Noah's final words was simple.
It was simply that... he always had a clear idea of exactly where the Five Northern Kings were.
Or to put it another way—
He had known the location of the Five Northern Kings from the very beginning, as well as their intentions...
Such is King Arthur's control over Britain...
Rivalen felt a flicker of fear. He didn't even dare to imagine what might have happened to him if he hadn't made his stance clear today—followed immediately by relief!
Handing that letter to the King just now might have been the wisest decision he had ever made in his life!
After all, the other five... just like the six in the south and those southern nobles, they are no match for the King!
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