Titles Are Granted, No One Is Born Knowing These Things

Eastlyn's recruitment drive had barely ended when another event shook the Three Kingdoms and Six Cities: Eastlyn actually appointed a man of the Phoenixfield surname as a general.

What is Eastlyn up to now?

The six city lords, having seen Tyre City, Chu City, and Night City fall to Eastlyn one after another, already understood that only by keeping their heads down could they hope for peace. So, no matter what major events happened in Eastlyn, the six city lords pretended to be deaf and dumb, acting as if they knew nothing.

But the three foreign emperors couldn't just ignore it. Prince Nolan's promotion of Victor Phoenixfield made them deeply uneasy. On the matter of the Lan Clan and Phoenixfield Clan, the Four Kingdoms have always presented a united front—extermination without mercy. By appointing Victor Phoenixfield, Prince Nolan was essentially betraying them.

This was a grave affair.

“Victor Phoenixfield? What is Eastlyn trying to do? First the recruitment drive, now promoting a Phoenixfield clansman known as the War God—does he mean to unify the Four Kingdoms?” The strongest reaction came from Southlyn, since Victor Phoenixfield was ordered to garrison Tyre City, right next to Southlyn.

“Damn it, over a thousand Phoenixfield people are still alive. Weren’t they all supposed to be wiped out back then? Where have they been hiding?” The Southlyn King gnashed his teeth, and was forced to send more troops to that little corner of Tyre City.

Each kingdom sent envoys and formal letters, demanding that Prince Nolan execute the Phoenixfield Clan in accordance with the old Four Kingdoms’ agreement.

Facing the protests from Southlyn and the other three kingdoms, Eastlyn’s reply was simple: Whomever Eastlyn appoints as military general is an internal affair; foreign states have no right to interfere. If the three kingdoms insist on meddling, Eastlyn does not rule out using force to defend its sovereignty.

This official response was actually half-joking, half-serious from Serena Phoenixfield to William Wang Jinling. At the same time, Serena suggested William create a temporary office, staffed with eloquent talkers, whose sole job would be to spar with foreign envoys and absorb their complaints, so they wouldn’t constantly send envoys to Prince Nolan and pile more work onto him.

“That’s a good suggestion. Recently, the number of foreign envoys has multiplied, and we can barely keep up.” Not only Prince Nolan, but William Wang Jinling’s workload had also increased several times over; it was now common for him to live at the yamen.

Everyone in Eastlyn was busy, but nobody complained. They saw with their own eyes how Eastlyn was growing stronger under their hands, and each time the envoys from Southlyn, Northlyn, and Lyndaria visited, they became more respectful.

By this time, it was already New Year. Before year’s end, Prince Nolan had sent people to Northlyn to negotiate war reparations and peace terms, and, incidentally, to bring Princess Serenity home. The official reason was that the Taishang Emperor missed his daughter as the festival approached.

Naturally, Northlyn was unwilling to let her go. Having Princess Serenity was the same as holding a hostage—Eastlyn, for the sake of face, would never abandon her. But as a defeated kingdom, Northlyn had no right to refuse. Prince Nolan only brought Serenity home, leaving her Prince Consort behind as a gesture to save Northlyn’s dignity.

Soon after Princess Serenity left, something happened in Northlyn…

The Northlyn Emperor passed away!

The Northlyn Emperor had long been bedridden; his death was only a matter of time. The whole kingdom was prepared, and the emperor had left an imperial decree naming his successor.

But the problem lay with the imperial decree.

There were three!

The First Prince, Third Prince, and Fourth Prince each held an imperial decree. Upon inspection, all were genuine, each bearing the Northlyn Imperial Jade Seal.

This was a real problem. Northlyn’s officials couldn’t determine which decree was genuine. The succession edict was a secret decree, issued with only one trusted minister present, and was never properly registered. They wanted to question that official, but…

On the very night the Taishang Emperor died, that official also died at home. The imperial physician declared it death by overwork.

Nobody believed such a coincidence, but no one had time to investigate minor matters now. Everyone’s attention was focused on the struggle for the throne. Each of the three princes had powerful backers, and none were willing to yield. This was not a conflict that could be resolved in a month or two.

Northlyn officially fell into a succession crisis, just like Eastlyn once did. Unfortunately, Northlyn lacked anyone as forceful as Prince Nolan, who could quell rebellion in a short time.

“Northlyn is too busy with its own troubles to care about the Former Dynasty’s treasure.” Serena Phoenixfield knew that Northlyn’s crisis was orchestrated by Prince Nolan, and Princess Serenity must have played an important part; otherwise, Nolan wouldn’t have sent people to bring her back.

“Northlyn is a formidable enemy; it’s best not to face them directly.” Northlyn’s people are fierce warriors, and their warhorses are far superior to Eastlyn’s. Prince Nolan has been trying to breed better warhorses, but it will take time before results are seen.

If it came to a direct confrontation, even Prince Nolan would not have much chance of winning. That’s why he engineered Northlyn’s internal strife.

Back then, the Assassin Alliance’s old monsters spared the Northlyn Emperor’s life for exactly this moment.

“When did you start plotting against Northlyn?” Serena Phoenixfield grew more alarmed the further she read; Prince Nolan had hidden his plans in Northlyn for years.

Stealing the Imperial Jade Seal all those years ago must have been for this very day. The Northlyn Emperor probably never imagined that Prince Nolan had been plotting against him for so long.

“Fifteen years ago. As soon as I could protect myself, I began laying plans. Unfortunately, the people I placed in Southlyn were ruined by William Jin Xing’s appearance, so I never got to use them.” Prince Nolan was a little regretful, but soon let it go.

In this world, nothing ever goes exactly as one wishes. Achieving his goals in Northlyn and Lyndaria was enough for Prince Nolan; as for Southlyn, if he had to, he could crush it by force.

“Fifteen years ago? How old were you then? That’s… incredible.” Serena Phoenixfield had meant to say “terrifying,” but after a glare from Prince Nolan, she obediently changed her wording.

That’s right, all three decrees held by Northlyn’s princes were fakes. The real succession edict left by the Northlyn Emperor named the Second Prince as heir; it had nothing to do with the First, Third, or Fourth Princes.

As for the person who switched the decrees, it was naturally the trusted minister who wrote the secret edict for the emperor.

“Nobody is born knowing how to scheme… It’s just that sometimes, there’s no other choice.” Prince Nolan took the Northlyn intelligence from Serena Phoenixfield’s hands and handed her another report. “Linden Ling has taken people to the ruins of Xiao Sword Manor.”

“Huh? What’s he doing there?” Serena Phoenixfield took the report, shifting her attention from Northlyn to Xiao Sword Manor.

“Jason Lan is dying, yet Linden Ling is still working with him. What is Linden Ling up to?” Linden Ling is no simple character; Serena Phoenixfield would never believe he was acting out of sentiment.

“It may not be cooperation.” The greatest treasure of Xiao Sword Manor was the Myriad Blades Grove. Linden Ling is probably—