Law of Space and Time

Chapter 29:Entertaining Guests

Dusk in Finklan was a beautiful yet also rather somber time of day. The churches were made to look quite drab and old under the light of the dying sun, as if they were barely able to support their own weight. Surrounded by a cluster of churches was a large manor that was standing in a very domineering fashion, as if it were carrying the dilapidated churches around it on its shoulders.

At this moment, Prince Xar was entertaining a few guests in his spacious and luxurious guest hall.

Prince Xar was a man who was in his sixties, and he said in a boisterous voice, "You finally came back, you old fart. I was worried that you were going to just stand by and watch from a distance."

His coarse yet well-trimmed beard was moving up and down in an exaggerated manner as he spoke.

A resigned smile appeared on Sim's face. "I wouldn't dare to ignore a summons from you, Prince Xar."

"If I hadn't encountered someone so troublesome, I wouldn't have called you back to Finklan," Prince Xar said as a serious look appeared on his face. "You've been toiling away for most of your life, you really do deserve to go into peaceful retirement and enjoy life."

"I seem to be destined to toil for life. I don't think I'll be getting any rest until I'm laid to rest," Sim chuckled.

"You absolutely cannot go back into retirement at a time like this, Senior Sim. Without your power and wisdom, those bandits from the City of Freedom are going to turn the continent on its head! If they're allowed to grow unchecked, Prince Xar will lose control over the whole western side of the empire," a gorgeous middle-aged woman said with a faint smile.

The one who had spoken was none other than the ruler of the Delair Dukedom, Duchess Silon. She had framed her words in a very intelligent manner, talking about how the western side of the empire was going to slip out of Prince Xar's control, rather than speaking about the threat that the City of Freedom posed to her. Her objective was to get Prince Xar riled up so that he would lend her more assistance. Despite her complete lack of professional acting experience, her acting skills were far more refined than even the actresses in stage play troupes.

Even though there was some distance between them, Sim could still smell the strong scent of perfume coming from Duchess Silon. He was already an old man who could no longer work up any interest in beautiful women, but even he couldn't help but be enthralled by her beauty. If it weren't for the fact that she was already slightly past her prime, she would've definitely been able to sit near the top spot for the most beautiful woman in Finklan at this moment.

"Judging from what Sanfesa has told me, it seems like this is a very ambitious young man who wants to overthrow the nobility system," Prince Xar remarked.

Sim nodded in response as he replied, "Prior to coming here, I ran into him, and I can confirm that he's a troublesome character to deal with."

"Oh? You met Erwin earlier?" Prince Xar was very intrigued to hear this. "Tell me what happened."

"It was quite a coincidence. I went to the Pinnacle Casino to play some battle chess, and Turan and Erwin just so happened to be there as well," Sim replied with a smile.

"Did you two play a game?" It seemed like Prince Xar was very eager to know the outcome of the game.

"We did, and I almost lost," Sim replied.

Prince Xar was quite pleased to hear that Sim had emerged victorious in the end.

In contrast, Prince Xar's second son, Duba, was quite surprised by this news. "I didn't think there would be anyone around that could almost beat you in a game of battle chess, Senior Sim."

"He may be young, but he's extremely resourceful and resilient. Even though he was in a much worse position, he was still trying to set a trap for me," Sim said.

"I thought the reports we received on him were overly exaggerated, but it seems like even Senior Sim holds him in very high regard. In that case, there must be something remarkable about him," Duba mused after a moment of contemplation.

"That's why I had to summon you back to Finklan," Prince Xar said with a smile. We are not dealing with an easy opponent here. If the west is engulfed by war, you have to command our troops. I'm worried that no one else will be a match for him.

Sanfesa cast her gaze toward Prince Xar as she said, "With all due respect, Your Excellency, I don't think that's going to be enough. We have to expose the ambitions of the City of Freedom for all to see during the imperial conference. Their objective is to overthrow the entire nobility system, should we not all rise up in arms against them? Ideally, we'll convince His Majesty to rally the entire empire to eradicate this threat."

Prince Xar pursed his lips in response. "I wouldn't count on His Majesty if I were you. He may be quite young, but he's extremely determined and assertive. These past few years, he's been subtly distancing himself from the Holy World Church. Is it not obvious what he's trying to do? He clearly no longer has faith in the old hierarchy and wants to instate a new world order. Besides, even if His Majesty does release an order to hunt down the City of Freedom, how many troops will the rulers of the dukedoms actually be willing to dedicate to the cause? The Boll Dukedom is tiny. Even if its territory is split among everyone, that's still not even enough to cover their military expenses for the crusade. Also, I can't spare any troops to help you, either."

"Why is that?" A hint of unease flashed through Duchess Silon's eyes.

"These past few years, my rivalry against Henry in the imperial court has only become more and more intense. If I make a suggestion for everyone to help you in your cause during the imperial conference, he'll be sure to oppose me. Think about it, if I were to stand on your side, Henry would definitely throw his support behind the City of Freedom. If I mobilize all of the troops I can spare to support you, Henry will do the same for the City of Freedom, and that would result in the largest civil war in the history of the Fulway Empire. Do you think His Majesty would allow something like that to happen?" Prince Xar asked as he turned to Sanfesa.

Indeed, there was no way that the emperor would allow such a scenario. With that in mind, she hurriedly asked, "Then what should we do?"

"We naturally have to bring up the City of Freedom during the imperial conference so we can assess His Majesty's reaction to the subject," Prince Xar replied. "After that, we apply some pressure on His Majesty. At the very least, we have to sway public opinion to our side. Even if the rulers of the other dukedoms will be reluctant to help us because they don't get much out of it, we have to make it clear to them that the City of Freedom is a threat to the entire foundation of our empire. We have to make them understand that people like Erwin are all enemies to them, ones that could threaten their positions of power. In short, we have to isolate Erwin and convince everyone to ostracize him."

"That is indeed the best course of action available to us," Sim chimed in with a nod. "Once we accomplish this, even if Prime Minister Henry's faction wishes to speak in favor of the City of Freedom, they'll have second thoughts about doing so. At the very least, the City of Freedom will have no official allies. Of course, Prime Minister Henry will still definitely reach out to Erwin in private. After all, he's not just going to stand by and watch as Prince Xar continues to maintain control over the entire western side of the empire."

Duba nodded in agreement to this.

"I don't know what you're so afraid of. Ultimately, the outcome will be decided on the battlefield anyway. With Sword God Buu and Sim on our side, how could we possibly lose?" Prince Xar asked as he turned to Sanfesa with a perplexed expression. "From what I've heard, you have 100,000 troops under your command, which far outnumbers the troops available to the City of Freedom."

"Your Excellency, have you forgotten about the Fantiwenross Dukedom? They're like a sword that's constantly hanging over my head, making it impossible for me to send all of my troops to the south," Sanfesa said with a troubled expression.

"Oh, I forgot about that meddling bastard, Tuhar," Prince Xar sighed as he slapped a palm to his own forehead.

"Aren't you supposed to be able to make any man in the world fall head over heels for you? Why haven't you managed to take down Duke Tuhar yet?" Prince Xar jibed. "Have you not tried to seduce him?"josei

"I've tried to approach him, but I've already lost count of how many messengers of mine he's killed," Sanfesa sighed.

Duba couldn't help but burst into laughter upon hearing this, in response to which Sanfesa gave him a displeased yet seductive look.

Just a single glance alone was enough to bring a deep blush to Duba's face, and he didn't dare to look at her any longer.

Prince Xar cleared his throat as a subtle reprimanding gesture, clearly disapproving of his son's loss of composure.

Even though Sanfesa was past her prime, just a single look from her was able to completely break Duba's facade, and that was sufficient testament to just how seductive and alluring she was.

"Duke Tuhar simply won't listen to reason at all. He has refused to establish any contact with me for all these years, but his troops are constantly stationed at the border, waiting to invade at any sign of weakness," Sanfesa said with a resigned expression.

Prince Xar was well aware of how many tricks Sanfesa had up her sleeve, so this Duke Tuhar had to indeed be quite a troublesome man to deal with, given how powerless she was against him.

"That Duke Tuhar seems to have his own plans. I don't think he's a part of Prime Minister Henry's faction, either," Duba said as he turned to his father.

"A strange man like him won't be willing to serve me or Henry. We'll just have to leave him and let him do as he pleases," Prince Xar said in a cold voice.

"I recall there's a landmark by the name of Fort June that lies in the northern part of the Delair Dukedom. So long as we have that fort under our control, Duke Tuhar's forces won't be able to get past and invade the Delair Dukedom in the south," Sim said as he cast his gaze toward Sanfesa. "How many troops have you stationed at Fort June?"

"I transferred the general who was originally stationed there to the southern front, but I haven't moved any of the 40,000 troops stationed there," Sanfesa replied.

Sim nodded in response, and he was quite impressed with Sanfesa. She was always able to make the right decision and was never fazed regardless of how high the stakes were. It was no wonder that Prince Xar had so much trust in her.

"As long as there's a seasoned general overseeing proceedings at Fort Breeze, there's no way that the Fantiwenross Dukedom's forces will be able to take down the fort, even if Duke Tuhar is the most brilliant general in history. The rest of the troops under your control should all be sent to the southern front. That Erwin fellow is not going to be easy to deal with," Sim advised.

After playing a game of battle chess with Erwin and observing him closely, Sim could tell that Erwin was a master strategist.

"With Senior Sim instructing my troops and Sword God Buu leading my forces, I feel much more reassured," Sanfesa said with a relieved expression. "I'm just a useless widow, it would be asking far too much of me to face the formidable Universal Church Freedom Army on my own."

"Don't place too much hope in me. It's been many years since I last set foot on a battlefield," Sim said with a smile. "You'd be much better off hoping for Buu to kill off all of the important figures in the opposing camp."

"Don't try to talk yourself down. Didn't you say you just beat Erwin in battle chess?" Prince Xar scoffed.

"If only managing armies were as easy as playing games of battle chess," Sim said with a wry smile.

"Speaking of Buu, where is he?" Prince Xar asked as he turned to Duba.

"Sword God Buu spent the entire night drinking again, and he's still yet to wake up," Duba replied as an awkward look appeared on his face.

"What's going on with him?" Prince Xar asked as his brows furrowed slightly.

"Ever since that day the city was hit by that storm, Sword God Buu has been confining himself to his room, drinking the days away..." Duba said as he took a careful glance at Prince Xar, and it was clear that he had more to say.

Prince Xar naturally knew what his son was thinking. It was clear that what he was about to say was rather sensitive, and he didn't want to divulge the information in front of Sanfesa.