Chapter 355: The King of the Gnolls

It wasn't long before Beladion skillfully soothed the crying Remilia into sleep in his arms. As he was about to speak, Muria cast a silent barrier, enveloping the little princess.

Then, the king, who looked in good spirits due to the lifting of a curse, began to describe the situation of the Lockman Kingdom to Muria, explaining how he came to be in such a dire state.

...

The Lockman Kingdom was established when there were exactly ten legends, just meeting the minimum requirement to establish a kingdom. The Scarlet family, the royal legends, accounted for half of these, so the king at the time held absolute power.

At that time, when the king issued an order, it was followed without question. Even the neighboring foreign nations obediently paid tribute, not daring to dissent. Various dark races, even followers of evil gods, stayed far from the highly centralized power of the Lockman Kingdom.

However, as time passed, all forces evolved and changed. The number of legends in the Lockman Kingdom increased from ten at the founding to fourteen now, significantly boosting the kingdom's overall strength.

Regrettably, while other noble forces and even the neighboring foreign nations had transformed dramatically over time, the Scarlet family remained nearly unchanged, still maintaining only five legends as at the founding, and the quality of these legends had significantly deteriorated.

Originally, among the royal family's five legends was a high-order legend of the seventh tier, the founding king of the Lockman Kingdom, who alone possessed the strength to dominate the entire country.

Unfortunately, after the founding king grew tired of his reign and abdicated without leaving any contact information, he disappeared, and with him, the royal family lost its most crucial pillar.

The other four legends from the time of the founding left for various reasons or disappeared. Later, although the royal family nurtured a few loyalists into legends, maintaining the number at five, it was still a decline.

The dignity of royal power needs the support of military force, and with the royal family no longer holding absolute authority, the commands issued were met with increasingly open resistance from the nobles.

The same was true for the surrounding foreign nations. While they still officially submitted to the Lockman Kingdom and paid tribute annually, the value and quantity of these tributes diminished over time, becoming mere formalities filled with disdain.

For Beladion's generation, the dignity of the Scarlet family's royal power had fallen to an all-time low.

He hadn't done anything wrong; in fact, his comprehensive abilities as a king far surpassed those of his predecessors. After managing the kingdom for a while, he faced continuous assassination attempts.

But, time was not on his side. For some reason, during Beladion's reign, the Lockman Kingdom experienced a surge of geniuses across all social strata.

Among the nobility, it was not uncommon to hear that someone's offspring had detected high or superior elemental affinity talents, or had emerged as a formidable training genius, breaking through to the silver level by ten and gold by twenty.

Among the commoners, thanks to the policies implemented after Beladion's ascension, an astonishing number of talented individuals were discovered. With adequate resources, their achievements were no less than those of the nobles.

The abundance of geniuses, previously considered rare, became a regular occurrence, which was not necessarily good for the royal family as it introduced too many uncontrollable factors.

It was like administering a strong medicine to a dying patient; it seemed beneficial in the short term but ultimately hastened death.

Of course, with the emergence of numerous geniuses among both the nobles and the commoners, the royal family was not left behind. Beladion's children also exhibited extraordinary training talents, each a rare genius of the century, bringing immense joy to Beladion.

However, tragedy followed. The eldest princess, possessing top-tier alchemy talent, died in an accident during an experiment that resulted in an uncontrollable explosion, leaving no trace of her body and turning her laboratory into ruins.

Then, the second prince encountered a brief, ten-second-long spatial rift connected to the abyss during an outdoor training session. Before the eyes of many guards, a demonic hand from the rift crushed him to death.

...

As the beleaguered king felt utterly exhausted, he faced a shocking assassination attempt.

It seemed that the surrounding foreign nations, discontented with his rule, had banded together for this assassination. Notable beings from various races, including the Dwarven Elves and Dragonkin, participated in the attack.

Although Beladion survived the assassination, he was afflicted with severe, incurable curses. Despite his status as the sovereign, he was unable to break them until he met Muria, who wielded the Book of Mourning.

"Hiss!" After listening to Beladion's account of the Lockman Kingdom's dire situation, Muria grimaced and sucked in a breath of cold air. According to Bel

adion's description, the current state of the Lockman Kingdom was indeed a colossal mess.

No wonder he wanted to appoint his grandfather as the ruling duke; given such circumstances, the Lockman Kingdom indeed required a ruler with the strength and tact to suppress all and turn the situation around.

"What's with the Dragonkin?" Muria asked curiously upon hearing Beladion's explanation.

Beladion's face bore a bitter smile, "It's not just the Lockman Kingdom that has seen a surge of geniuses. Among those creatures and foreign races, there are also many unbelievable beings.

In the wild forests of the northern border, a Gnoll King with highly awakened dragon lineage has risen within less than fifty years, leading his tribe to prominence in the wilderness. He has now established a duchy for the Gnolls."

"Established a state?" Muria's face showed a puzzled expression. "Has he broken through to legend? To what extent has this Gnoll King's dragon lineage awakened? What type of dragon is he?"

"He has awakened the bloodline of the red dragon. According to the latest intelligence, this Gnoll King's form is now indistinguishable from a real red dragon."

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