Chapter 420 | Reborn as a Saint in a Rotten World, I Refuse to Submit

Augus let out a slightly sickly cough as he sat quietly in his villa.

This villa had been granted to him by Luo Li. After all, as her direct subordinate, he needed to maintain a certain level of prestige.

Even Lola actually had her own villa in the noble district.

However, she lived in the Temple's guest rooms year-round. Over time, her villa had fallen into a state of semi-abandonment, though people still went there regularly to clean it.

Augus’s room was right next to Lola’s villa, making it the closest one to the Temple in the square.

"Cough, cough... As expected, they've started to move?"

He took a sip from his water glass to suppress his coughing.

This ailment was a chronic condition he had suffered from for years. Although Luo Li had treated him, he understood that he was born with weak lungs. Even a slight bit of overwork or exhaustion would easily lead to a cold.

Combined with the freezing depths of midwinter, it would be strange if he didn't get sick.

Fortunately, Her Highness had already cured his underlying illness. While he had a bit of a cold and a cough, at least it was no longer life-threatening.

Setting down the file in his hand, Augus took a deep breath to settle the damp heaviness in his chest.

The top page of the file featured a magic photograph.

It was a middle-aged man with a sharp expression and handsome brows. Even in this photograph of him sitting in a wooden chair, he exuded an extraordinary sense of pressure.

Shumir Alvin.

He was the lord of the Alvin family, one of the four major noble families.

Strictly speaking, they could no longer be called the four major families, as the Garnet family had been completely wiped out.

Among the three remaining great families, the Cromwell family represented overwhelming military might. Both the Heavenly Punishment Knight Kevin and the Guardian Knight Hilda hailed from that family.

Representing wealth was the Dressas family. Their lord, Marcus, controlled all the current riches of the family.

The Garnet family had possessed vast tracts of fertile land across various regions and was highly skilled in both agriculture and commerce.

Only the Alvin family had always maintained a very low profile.

Recently, aside from a genius youth from their family becoming a Guardian Knight, the family seemed to have smooth sailing without ever having major grievances with other families.

Since the day of the assassination attempt, how could a man as clever as Augus not investigate?

However, he had not spoken of this matter to anyone.

Everyone knew that the current Kingdom of the Moon was dominated by the nobility.

While there was no actual royal family, the Saintess’s control over the regions as their sovereign was far too weak.

This was true not just for other cities, but even within Brilliant City, there were many places beyond her reach.

Under Her Highness's rule, many areas were gradually being brought under control.

Even so, a place like the Temple was still like a sieve, unable to keep a single piece of news from leaking out.

Augus was well aware of this, which was why he had kept his findings to himself.

He knew these nobles would surely cause trouble.

He also knew that given Her Highness's personality, both sides would inevitably reach this point.

But he had offered no counsel on the matter, for it was unnecessary.

Her Highness possessed immense ambition. If there were enough time, he could have planned things slowly.

But Her Highness did not have that much time.

The demon army was pressing in, the Holy See watched the Kingdom of the Moon like a hawk from within, and natural disasters were frequent. The dragon calamity was currently a looming threat that had yet to break. Once it did, the national strength of the Kingdom of the Moon would inevitably plummet another level.

If this continued, they would be overwhelmed just trying to respond to the disasters. How could they then deal with so many nobles?

As for tactics like co-opting some, striking others, and releasing the rest...

Augus had considered such balancing acts.

But Her Highness’s thoughts were different. She wanted to eradicate all the nobility as quickly as possible.

Then, she intended to bring every region directly back under her own control.

He was a subject, a strategist!

He did not need to tell Her Highness which way to go, for Her Highness was the leader of the Kingdom of the Moon.

Only Her Highness had the right to decide which path to take.

His task was to make Her Highness’s journey more comfortable.

Her Highness would lead the Kingdom of the Moon to thrive and regain its glory.

And he would be the one to clear the obstacles for her, ensuring she could walk the path to brilliance.

Since Her Highness wanted to destroy the nobility, he would not try to dissuade her. Instead, he would follow her lead and push those nobles until they had no retreat.

Now, that goal had been achieved. It seemed there were still clever people among the nobility.

For example...

Augus’s gaze fell upon the file on the desk. The man on the top page was a clever one.

Yet, a trace of a contemptuous smile still flickered across his face.

"Heh. A clever man, perhaps, but still one step short."

If Augus were the one leading them, this betrayal certainly would not have happened now.

Instead, it would have occurred after the dragon calamity, when the entire Kingdom of the Moon had suffered massive impacts. While the national strength declined, Brilliant City would be forced to pay a heavy price to settle the post-disaster chaos.

That would have been the optimal time to strike.

As for justifications, one could easily manufacture plenty of them.

There was no need to agonize over such issues.

But these nobles were still too short-sighted.

They actually dared to use the Kingdom of the Sun migrants as a tool for their schemes.

They should have known that this was a matter all Eight Nations of the Holy Church were watching.

The demon invasion was the focus of the Eight Nations and every living being on the continent.

The tragic state of the Kingdom of the Sun had naturally fallen under the gaze of every nation.

Now, the transfer of seventy million people to the interior was not just the business of one nation, nor was it merely a human affair.

It was something every race on the entire continent cared about!

Because of this, the Pope did not dare to interfere here, and the other six nations naturally did not dare to act lightly either.

The Kingdom of Flame had its army at the border, and the Holy See did the same.

But who dared to make a move?

Whoever acted would become the enemy of every nation on the continent.

If a nation could stab an ally in the back and kick them while they were down, which other race would ever dare to trust them again?

Therefore, Augus never doubted the Kingdom of Flame or the Holy See.

No matter how greedy they were, considering the international impact, they would never strike.

They would even do their utmost to help the Kingdom of the Moon with the migrants.

Anyone daring to target the migrants at this time was either a madman or a fool.

And currently, this person among the nobility was neither a madman nor a fool. He had simply been pushed to a point where he could no longer retreat.

For the past few months, the nobility had hesitated to act because they were waiting for the dragon calamity to arrive.

They likely had the same idea as him, wanting to wait for the disaster before moving.

But they waited and waited, and it never came. Instead, the longer they delayed, the better the renovations of Brilliant City became.

If this continued, once New City, Dragon City, and Knight City were completed, the possibility of them directly acting against Her Highness would be minuscule.

Once New City was finished, Her Highness would have the people’s support. Once Dragon City and Knight City were finished, Her Highness would control a massive military force.

By then, no matter how much the nobles thrashed about, they would be like fish in a pan—their defeat was only a matter of time.

On the other hand, these nobles were forced to rebel partly due to the pressure from the Cavendish family.

That family could be described as exceptionally greedy. In just half a year, they had extended their reach across the entire Kingdom of the Moon.

They insisted on taking a cut of almost every slave transaction.

Initially, it wasn't much to the nobles. But now, with the new slave regulations combined with the greed of the Cavendish family, the price of ordinary premium slaves on the black market had actually risen to a hundred times the original price!!

A premium slave that once cost fifty silver coins now required fifty gold coins to purchase.

That was a purchasing power of five hundred thousand.

Furthermore, they were in high demand with no supply available.

It had to be said that the Cavendish family was extraordinarily greedy.

They fabricated various pretexts, using the new slave laws to extort other nobles.

'A slave was injured at your house? I seriously suspect you are abusing slaves. The law does not allow this. The slave is confiscated, and you are fined!'

'What? A slave died? You abused the slave! All your slaves are confiscated, plus an additional fine.'

In this manner, almost all the slaves in the entire Kingdom of the Moon were now controlled by the Cavendish family.

While those nobles hadn't received actual physical punishment, the amount of money they had to shell out was truly significant.

Moreover, the decrease in their slaves caused them to lose their prestige as the upper class.

Such pressure had already incited dissatisfaction among the vast majority of nobles.

Add to that the destruction of the Garnet family and Her Highness's current attitude toward the nobility.

This dissatisfaction could easily transform into rebellion.

Finally, they had acted.

And without a doubt, Augus, who had been watching them all along, had discovered it.

"Master, Mr. Vincent just sent someone with a message."

"Speak."

"In the major mining city, Medi City, the mana signals have suddenly become active. It seems they are communicating with other major cities."

Vincent, the former head of the Mage Association in Moonrise City, had recently been transferred to Brilliant City to serve as the head of the Mage Association there.

This mage had saved Her Highness back in Moonrise City and thought very highly of Her Highness's methods.

As a Cabinet Minister, Augus naturally had to pay him a visit. After a few interactions, the two had become quite close.

"Which cities are involved?"

"Twin River City, Twin-Wing City, Stargaze City, Moonfall City, High Ridge City, and Ring Mountain City are all very active. Moonrise City is slightly less so. There are no signals from Final City in the northeast or Seaview City in the southeast. However, there are also quite a few signals here in Brilliant City."

Augus nodded. No further words were needed; this news meant the nobles had begun to coordinate with one another.

Final City in the northeast had already completely declined, as had Seaview City.

The remaining Moonrise City had also been purged once by Her Highness, so there would basically be no more trouble there.

As for Brilliant City itself, because it was one of the primary estates for most nobles, it remained quite active.

After all, being right under the sovereign's nose, these nobles had to be rooted here to obtain the latest news.

Augus nodded and adjusted the heavy coat over his shoulders. His mind subconsciously recalled a striking figure.

This coat had been a gift from Yuna.

He stood up and turned to look out the window.

"Pass down my orders. Command Knight Kevin to remain stationed in Medi City and not leave."

"Command Guardian Knight Yuna to immediately lead five thousand knights to surround Medi City and arrest all nobles. If Knight Kevin makes any suspicious move, it shall be judged as rebellion."

"Notify Bishop Lola that Kevin is conspiring with the nobles to revolt. Order Knight Hilda to guard the Temple. Order Knight Nar to go to the New City to stand guard. Order Knight Cain to guard the four city gates; no one is permitted to enter or leave."

"The following orders shall all be issued in the name of Lady Luo Li."

"Notify Lady Lina in Kosa City to guard Kosa. Order the Kosa dragon cavalry regiment to detach five hundred troops to reinforce Knight Yuna."

"Notify Miss Aigie, the giant dragon in Kosa City, to head to Medi City to support Yuna."

"Notify the Snow Country knight regiment. Guardian Knights Andre and Boris, lead the regiment across the border to surround High Ridge City first."

"Notify the Holy See knight regiment to enter the border and surround Moonfall City."

"Notify the Kingdom of Flame knight regiment. Guardian Knights Amir and Kiran, lead the regiment across the border to surround Ring Mountain City."

Having said so much in one breath, his throat felt dry, and he coughed a few times to catch his breath.

Fortunately, Her Highness had the foresight to contact him while she was in Stargaze City.

She had granted him discretionary power; otherwise, he would have had no way to quickly contact other nations and mobilize armies.

"Master, is it... a bit dangerous to allow the armies of other nations to enter our borders?"

"Dangerous?"

Augus let out a soft laugh.

"They wouldn't dare move against the Kingdom of the Moon at this juncture. Not only is the focus of every nation gathered here, but even the other Saintesses and their countries would never allow such a thing to happen."

Once certain schemes are laid out on the table, they become powerless.

For a conspiracy is, after all, a conspiracy; it cannot withstand the sunlight.

The best way to deal with a conspiracy is an open strategy.

When the great tide comes, who can stand against it?

"Cough. Go and issue the orders. Prepare the carriage. Tonight, we stay in the Temple guest rooms. I fear Brilliant City is about to descend into chaos."

"By your command."

He had contacted the Snow Country and the Kingdom of Flame more than once. After all, when their knights had entered the border previously, they had been stationed outside Brilliant City.

Over time, they had naturally established methods of communication.

Augus looked up at the distant night sky, a reassuring smile playing on his lips.

"Cough. Your Highness, I have paved the way. Now, it remains to be seen how you choose to walk it."

The order he had given was to 'surround but not kill.'

As for whether to actually kill, that would depend on Her Highness’s thoughts.

He had done everything he could.

Under the night sky.

Luo Li stood on the back of the white dragon, looking down at the magnificent scenery of the mountains and rivers below.

Previously, she had not only contacted the Holy See but had also reached out to the Snow Country and the Kingdom of Flame individually.

Finally, she had granted Augus discretionary power.

It wasn't that she couldn't give it to Lola, but Lola was a girl after all.

In certain matters, she might not be able to be so decisive.