CHAPTER 477: CHAPTER 07: HIGH COURT (3)_2

"I have many zombie soldiers too, but I never find zombies useful. They’re slow, their ranged attack power is almost zero. Unless the enemy has no choice but to engage in direct combat with us, or we have an absolute advantage to surround them, otherwise, the zombie army is probably not as good as the skeleton army."

"Hey!" Adelle suddenly laughed, "You need to see who your opponent is, and who their opponent is."

"Are these all just troops for suppressing rebellions?"

"Yes."

"What about the other armies?"

"None." Adelle shrugged and said, "The Blood Clan doesn’t need an army. They haven’t fought a war for thousands of years. Maintaining a large army is a waste of resources. Moreover, among the other races active on the Kolin Peninsula, there’s probably no one capable of defeating the Blood Clan itself. Except for your Lich Army."

Jones quietly gazed into the distance, took a deep breath, and asked, "Where are we heading next?"

"You don’t have any other places you want to go?"

"No, I’m following your arrangement. How much time do we have left before the hearing?"

"There’s still..." Adelle glanced at his pocket watch, "thirty-seven hours."

"Should we return first?" Jones asked.

The butler, standing by the carriage not far away, had already extended his hand to help them open the door.

...

"He went to inspect the military camp?" Harries was stunned.

"Yes." Count Roselle, the host of the previous ball attended by Jones and Adelle, responded respectfully, "Their carriage went to many places, but it didn’t stop anywhere else. It only stopped at the military camp. More than that, the Giant Snake City Lord Jones even got off the carriage and observed for quite a while."

"He inspected nothing but the military camp..." Harries’s mouth twitched slightly, and the hand holding the scissors paused in mid-air, "What does he intend to do?"

"That... I don’t know."

...

The dimly lit hall, the enormous round table, seven high-backed chairs. The dim red firelight illuminated the opulence around.

Located in High Court, within another castle of the Sambo family, the seven princes of the family had already gathered together. Including Adelle’s father, Prince Louis.

At this moment, the other princes were all looking at him.

Prince Louis helplessly said, "I was actually against it, but Adelle insisted on coming to High Court early."

"Can’t you even control your own son?" A prince with a long beard asked.

"No, of course not. But just because I can control my son doesn’t mean I can control the Giant Snake City Lord." Prince Louis helplessly shrugged, "Now many people are asking me about the purpose of the Giant Snake City Lord’s early arrival at High Court."

"Yes, including us." Another slender-faced prince slowly opened his snake-like eyes, "Over the past year, benefiting from our investment in Giant Snake City, we have become the only family among the three great families to maintain growth. But to be frank, I have concerns. So far, we have no idea why Lich King Gray Gruggle had his foster son build a city on the Kolin Peninsula. At this moment, they should be concentrating their efforts against Heaven. We really want to know how Jones will respond to this hearing. Is there anything you would like to tell us?"

"Sorry, my answer is the same as before. Adelle has already told me he will face it head-on, following the existing laws set by the Blood Clan Elders."

"What if the laws are extremely unfavorable to him?" A prince with thick brows asked, "Would he start a war?"

"He wants to resolve it as peacefully as possible."

"As peacefully as possible? Does that mean he doesn’t rule out using force?"

"I think... that’s what it means."

In an instant, the once quiet hall seemed to come alive. There was no longer just one voice.

There were princes sighing, some pressing their foreheads with their hands, and others turning their heads as if deep in thought. Everyone was moving. They seemed dissatisfied with the answer.

"I am now worried, are we tying Giant Snake City to our chariot, or are we being tied to Giant Snake City’s chariot."

"If he chooses to resist forcibly, we absolutely cannot support him. Even if it’s just a threat, intimidation, we must immediately draw a clear line with him."

"The people behind him make us cautious. After all, that’s the entire Lich Council."

"The key issue is we know nothing about him. We haven’t even met him, don’t know what kind of person he is. We have no idea why he is building Giant Snake City. In fact, if the Lich King needed to establish a city-state, there are better lands in human territories than Giant Snake City."

"Maybe we should draw a clear line with him now, or it will be too late."

"Hey, half a year ago when you were invited to invest, you didn’t say that." Prince Louis hurriedly said.

"Half a year ago, you only told us it was a good business deal, without even mentioning there were over a hundred liches in Giant Snake City."

"Not just liches, there’s an entire Undead Army in Giant Snake City. It’s entirely war-configured. Now, most of the people speaking against him don’t even know he has an army, thinking this is just an ordinary hearing."

"Why didn’t the Nikolaus family demand to invest, nor oppose him? Because they already knew Giant Snake City’s configuration. It’s indeed a snake, and it’s already prepared its venom."

"In contrast, the Ganggro family is very brave. We have already started regretting, but they still actively wanted to invest. Don’t they know the risk is beyond just a business issue?"

"Maybe they think there won’t be a fight?"

"It depends on how hard they push Giant Snake City. Don’t you hear it? They haven’t ruled out the use of force. As far as I know, this hearing is not something he can easily handle."

Prince Louis could only helplessly look at the other six princes who were discussing heatedly.

...

The whole High Court was speculating. For them, Jones was like a person standing in the fog, even his appearance was unclear.

Due to the different levels of information known about Giant Snake City, the decisions made varied greatly. Some tried to curry favor, some tried to suppress, some kept a respectful distance, and of course, there were fence-sitters.

And for each family, the biggest concern undoubtedly came from Gray behind Jones.

...

The carriage moved slowly and appeared in front of Adelle’s family castle.

The Blood Clan Lords at the door were all stunned, each widening their eyes.

Soon, inside the castle, Adelle’s subordinates flocked out, creating a long path among the Blood Clan Lords.

Under the gaze of the Blood Clan Lords, the carriage with its windows tightly shut slowly passed by.

"The City Lord of Giant Snake City is in the carriage!" Suddenly, a reacting Blood Clan Lord shouted.

Immediately, the many Blood Clan Lords present surged towards the carriage.

"City Lord! I have a very good plan, you might want to take a look! I guarantee you won’t regret it!"

"City Lord! I have a very good suggestion!"

"City Lord! I have extensive experience in managing mines! Maybe we can cooperate!"

But, of course, they were all blocked by Adelle’s subordinates.

Jones sat quietly in the carriage, listening to the shouts coming from outside.

The carriage finally entered the castle, and the gates closed with a bang.

...

At this moment, above the clouds, in the Blood Clan Castles bathed in sunlight, the most noble Blood Clan Elders, like deities, were speaking silently.

"So, it’s confirmed that Gray Gruggle is already dead, right?"

"From all the information we’ve gathered, he died in an ambush by the Black Dragon Clan. Even the messages from our abyssal allies in the Undead Alliance say the same. Now, sitting in the Lich King’s position, is actually his son Richie. He is so furious and determined to eliminate the Black Dragon Clan because his father died at their hands."

"So, what about that young Dracula from the Dracula family? What is his status within the Lich King’s ranks?"

"He and his brother, Richie Gruggle, the biological son of the Lich King, had a falling out over their differences. The White Bone Holy Light Court is already divided. The liches in Giant Snake City now, all support him."

"Good, we understand. Now we know how the hearing should be conducted."