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(Setting chapter, summary at the end)
Sometimes, the more you know, the less happy you become.
Anvis' gaze was deep. He rapidly skimmed through the new memories in his mind, while unconsciously tapping his forefinger on the armrest of the sofa.
Observing history from the perspective of a bystander is completely different from personally participating in it.
In his previous life, young Anvis was limited by his own perspective and couldn't clearly see what the family was truly facing.
But as Anvis from a god's eye view, he saw suffocating information from his tumultuous life.
It was a net!
A net woven by hidden hands backstage, that enveloped the entire Olivendi Family, even the whole Gloria Empire!
The powerful family was deeply mired in a swamp of conspiracy, spiraling into inevitable decline. Numerous factions were either annexed or completely uprooted.
The most terrifying thing is, the part involving the Olivendi Family was only a piece of this grand web!
Based on the game background material from his previous life, Anvis had already formed several vague conclusions regarding the true identity of the enemy behind the scenes.
First, there was an unusually occurring Ninth Rank leader within the Resistance Army.
One should know that in this age where legends no longer appear, a Ninth Rank who mastered the power of rules is the highest level of strategic deterrence.
For an unruly mob-like Resistance Army, having a Ninth Rank is not an asset but a burden.
After analyzing a vast amount of storylines, players who focused on the plot had reached a conclusion: the so-called 'Resistance Army Chief' was likely a codename rather than a specific Ninth Rank NPC.
The Resistance Army leader always appeared under the guise of a black robe and mask, and behind the mask could be any Ninth Rank individual.
This excellently explains how the rebel leader consistently defeated not one but multiple Ninth Rank Limit powerhouses with ordinary Ninth Rank strength.
Items that could conceal a Ninth Rank identity are rare, but forces above a certain level can still acquire them.
In other words, the Resistance Army is most likely just a front being put up, a puppet doing dirty work for some force, or even possibly, they are backed by more than one force.
Anvis closed his eyes, letting his body sink into the sofa.
When the family's high-rank combat power is diverted by the rebels, leaving other areas empty, a large number of family forces and industries are consumed by local powers.
The Glory Alliance's little maneuvers are undoubtedly behind this. It's likely they also have a hand in backing the Resistance Army.
Moreover, the Resistance Army's Mechanical Army is excessively extraordinary.
Such vast quantities of high-level mechanical constructs are difficult to supply, even for the Yiter Kingdom Federation, which possesses the most advanced mechanical technologies.
According to my knowledge, only one force can supply such resources: the Kingdom Federation's strategic cooperating force, the Continent Magic Council, which is the source of all mechanical technologies on the Yar Continent.
Finally, there was that figure, an entity that exceeded the Ninth Rank Limit and had mastered Holy Radiance power. The Holy Radiance Church indeed has high regards for the Olivendi Family...
The Glory Alliance, a force composed of numerous minor nobles and wealthy merchants of the Empire, representing the new elite class of the Gloria Empire.
The Continent Magic Council, the magic holy land of the Yar Continent, with a very loose structure, but its members encompass 80% of the mages across the continent, and they control the supreme miracle magic creation — the Floating City.
The Holy Radiance Church, the actual controller of the largest empire on the Yar Continent, the Saint Messia Empire, and the only power rumored to be backed by a True God.
Upon counting these, Anvis' heart was left almost with only one thought—
No hope! Just wait for death! Goodbye!
Anvis could understand the goal of the Glory Alliance.
The Four Great Families have been towering for millennia, occupying too many resources and lands, making the empire's class almost entirely stagnant.
The emerging mid to minor nobles want to rise to power, they must find every possible way to overthrow the old nobility, led by the Four Great Families, and divide the lands and resources they occupy.
It also makes sense why the Holy Radiance Church is stirring up trouble.
Among the Three Great Empires of the continent, the Saint Messia Empire was almost established by the Holy Radiance Church, and the Yiter Kingdom Federation similarly does not forbid the spread of the Holy Radiance Church's doctrines.
Only the Gloria Empire, which resented the Holy Radiance Church's act of dividing the ancient Magic Empire. When founding the nation, the Gloria Great Emperor expressly declared, banning all activities of the Holy Radiance Church within the empire.
Although with the change of empire's situation over thousands of years, the enforcement of this rule is no longer so strict.
Yet, permitting the Holy Radiance Church to establish small chapels in remote areas is the maximum the empire can tolerate.
As a result, the two countries are constantly at odds.
If the Resistance Army supports the public preaching of the Holy Radiance Church throughout the territory as a price, then the Church Court would have a motive to send strong individuals to intervene, causing chaos in the imperial situation.
But as for the goal of the Continent Magic Council, Anvis couldn't fathom.
Or rather, there remains some crucial information that young Anvis hadn't acquired in his previous life.
'Finally, the stance of the Imperial Family is also worth pondering.'
Analyzing up to here, Anvis sighed lightly, feeling somewhat mentally exhausted.
After thoroughly analyzing the situation, he came to a conclusion:
The current empire actually doesn't require the existence of the Four Great Families.
When the Gloria Empire was first founded, the ancestors of the Four Great Families loyally assisted Gloria the Great Emperor, pacifying all lands and resisting foreign enemies, with outstanding military contributions.
To win hearts, the Great Emperor bestowed the heads of the Four Great Families with hereditary Duke titles and made a solemn promise:
No matter how large the final territory of the empire, each of the Four Great Families would receive a province equivalent to one-eighth of the imperial territory as a hereditary fief!
The Four Great Families had complete jurisdiction over military, economic, judicial, and civil affairs in their provinces, only needing to pay a portion of taxes to the royal family annually.
One should know that the territory directly controlled by the royal family accounts for only about 2.2 of the entire empire's territory, showing the weight of this promise!
But through thousands of years of peaceful development, the local nobles led by the Four Great Families have hoarded troops for their own, increasingly showing signs of losing control.
Even the will of the royal family, when conveyed to these regions, usually cannot be fully implemented.
A hundred years ago, the marriage alliance between two of the Great Families subtly implied an intent to counterbalance the royal family, which further strained the relations between the royal family and the nobility groups.
When the family forces were besieged by the rebels, the royal family did not step in to help, Anvis could understand.
What puzzled him was that even when the Four Great Families had nearly collapsed and had to form an alliance to huddle for warmth, the royal family still didn't step in to clean up the mess.
It's important to know, even if the royal family and local nobles fight fiercely, it still counts as noble infighting.
No matter how intense the fighting, it remains an aristocratic power struggle among the empire's upper crust, with the stakes remaining within the noble pot.
But the Resistance Army is different, from beginning to end, they represent another class.
Perhaps initially, they could still be viewed as a knife in the hands of the new nobility. But towards the end, the forces behind them had become overwhelming.
Allowing them to completely wipe out the Four Great Families, in truth didn't align with the interests of the royal family, and Gloria IV could not possibly be ignorant of the principle of "the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold".
Unless, the royal family has already been tied down by matters of greater importance.
......
Anvis irritably tugged at his light golden short hair, his brows tightly knit together.
Perhaps the young Anvis in his previous life had also sensed something. However, in the end, he was just a Seventh Rank.
If the family is likened to a deep-sea giant beast tightly ensnared, then he could at most be considered a trivial Nodin fish.①
After venting for a bit, Anvis released his hair, which had turned into a bird's nest, forcing himself to switch his line of thinking and analyze the advantages he currently holds.
Continuing to ponder over the enemy forces, he feared that he might crumble under the pressure and rearrange the structure of matter once more.
"Compared to my previous life, my biggest advantage is that I've mastered the dual rebirth memories of both player and native! Before I cause too much interference with the situation, the course of history will still progress as it originally did."
The Supreme Rainbow, the Perfect Blood, the Lost Empire's Secret Treasure, the Mysterious Essence, Helros' Unlimited Magic Book...
These top-notch rare resources and dust-laden treasures yet to surface, these epic magical artifacts.
And those nascent yet prominent NPCs of various camps, the protagonists on the stage of the new era.
With the immense advantage of foresight and awareness, they could all turn into my support!
.
.
①: Nodin fish, Zero Rank herd water attribute Magic Beast, often move together in tens of thousands, mature fish generally have a body size not exceeding the length of a palm.
.
(Simply put, for their respective goals, top powers on the Yar Continent like the Holy Radiance Church, backed by the continent's strongest empire, and the Continent Magic Council, provide equipment and peak experts to the Resistance Army.
The Resistance Army targets all nobles on the continent, with the largest, old nobility being the first in line.
The new noble class, represented by minor nobles and large merchants of the empire, targets the old nobility.
The royal family's attitude is unclear.
The old noble class, represented by the Four Great Families, is in a very awkward position, as the new era does not need old nobility, which is the so-called grand trend for the Four Great Families.
As for the overarching trend of the era, Gu Gu hasn't written it yet, mechanical development is just a small external reflection.)
Gu——→Recommendation ticket
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