Chapter 672 Plans
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Having understood the situation, Lex suppressed his curiosity and concern about the tower and began to absorb information about his surroundings. A quick scan showed thatโฆ everyone in the room was in the Golden core realm, though their cores seemed weak and frail in comparison to even normal cultivators, let alone Lex.
There were a few soldiers who looked extremely intimidating and had decent cultivations, but even those were in the minority. Most guards who stood around the room were in the Foundation realm, and even then Lex could tell they were far from outstanding. Any casual Foundation realm cultivator from Earth could suppress them one on one easily.
Although no one said so, Lex drew the conclusion that this country had a terrible cultivation heritage. It remained to be seen if this was the case in its neighboring countries as well, or just here. Suddenly a thought occurred to Lex: was he still in the Crystal realm? If he had to guess, he would say he wasn't as the ambient spirit energy was quite weak comparatively.
Then he began focusing on the conversations the people were having. The way in which they were conversing was extremely artificial, as they were discussing minute details about each ministry they oversaw. It was clear that, through their conversations, they were indirectly providing information to Lex about the various factors of the empire.
The most significant factor that Lex immediately realized was the military truly was lacking in this country. Due to excellent social services and economic support, scarcely was there anyone in the entire country who could not achieve a stable and successful life. In the scenario where everyone could easily achieve a comfortable life without much pressure, why would anyone be willing to endure the arduous life of a soldier? Only those who genuinely wanted to protect the country would take such a path.
Already he could tell this would be his greatest hurdle, as the martial incompetence of the country was more or less an established fact and known widely. After learning some of the details, Lex diverted his attention elsewhere. He was hoping they would have some geographic advantage, only to learn that most of the country consisted of plateaus or plains, as it was at the feet of a long mountain range inside one of the neighboring countries. While that provided a vast amount of fertile lands, there were few natural barriers except rivers, which was not really a problem for cultivators.
As time passed, and Lex learned more about this country, he realized that, without external intervention, this country was set to be a treasure chest, constantly raided and looted by external forces. He did not even need to spare a single brain cell to come up with countless examples of colonists who occupied rich fertile lands, all to loot and pillage them.
If anything, he could not understand why this country had not suffered such a disaster before, and was even allowed to grow to the level it had already reached. After all, it already had three neighbors who could invade their lands.
To sate his curiosity, he began listening to the guy discussing the general history of their land. Slowly and steadily, he got an overview of the entire situation and came to the conclusion that there should be no way for it to overcome this crisis under normal circumstances.
This country, which was called Ferigo, was a piece of juicy meat dangling in front of a group of hungry street dogs. The only possible redeeming factor was that the neighboring countries were not overwhelmingly powerful either, and had conflicts of their own to resolve. It was only comparative to Ferigo that they were more powerful.
Adorning a look of absolute calm, Lex closed his eyes and allowed his figure to project confidence to all the various ministers in the room. In his mind, he was devising various strategies on how to overcome the situation. A lot of how he behaved would depend on the representatives and their respective plans.
Previously, Lex used to form a few plans in which he would take advantage of people's psychological blind spots and manipulate them based on having them form assumptions. But now, due to how fast and the vast experience he had accumulated in handling people, he could form multilayered plans and various contingencies.
Suddenly opened his eyes and looked at an old man who was in charge of the personal guard for the King. The man looked like he had aged considerably, and though he stood firm in his post and exuded an aura of blood lust, it was easy to determine that he had taken the assassination of the previous King as a personal failure. According to Lex's analysis, the old man had not purposefully failed in his duty, but the enemy had just outmaneuvered him. He could still be trusted.
Using his spirit sense, Lex passed the old man a few orders. Surprise and hesitation painted his face when he heard his orders, attracting the attention of everyone in the room, but he did not voice any of his doubts. He simply bowed to Lex and quickly left the hall to carry out his orders.
Perhaps before he would have offered resistance and council, but he had lost a lot of confidence lately, and could not bring it in himself to disobey orders.
Lex once again closed his eyes and resumed planning. The envoys from the neighboring countries would arrive soon, and everyone was waiting on pins and needles for their arrival. If Lex had arrived a little earlier, he would never have gathered everyone to wait for the arrival of a mere delegation. It put them in a weaker position. But it was already too late for that. He would salvage the situation as best as he could. In the meantime, he was already compiling a comprehensive strategy for military reform.
A few more hours passed, and the sun was nearing the horizon. The sky was filled with hues of orange and yellow, forming a beautiful tapestry hanging over the city which was engulfed in a mood of despair. The dichotomy of the situation was absolutely tragic. All the ministers, who had been waiting all day now, looked irritated and miserable and allowed a sense of helpless frustration to fill them. It was clear that while they all were noble people, focused on the benefit of their nation, they had little to no experience facing real hardship.
The door to the hall opened, and a messenger swiftly approached Lex and passed him a simple scroll. After taking a look, Lex nodded to dismiss the messenger, then turned his attention back to the ministers.
"All of you, take a seat. Make yourselves comfortable."
Confusion and hesitation filled their eyes, as they looked at one another, trying to determine if anyone knew what was going on.
"That was not a request, that was an order," Lex said in a cold, firm tone. "I do not have time to elaborate on my plans, nor can I afford for a poor performance from you to compromise the outcome. So, for now, all of you must simply obey my orders instantly and without question. The time for you to use your intellect will come later. For now, all I require is obedience."
This was far from Lex's usual style of doing things, as he was usually very considerate of his underlings. But the way he saw it, being firm was not the same as mistreating his subordinates. Moreover, he did not have a comprehensive understanding of their personalities and so he could not include them in his plans. As such, their only role would be to serve as an audience.
Upon hearing Lex's command, and feeling his subtle aura of oppression, everyone obeyed and took a seat. But just sitting did not change the fact that they looked extremely tense, and a glance was enough to determine their true thoughts.
That was where Lex's various experiences came into play. In the Crystal realm, back when he was in the academy, he was first introduced to the complicated ways in which nobles and higher leveled cultivators used spiritual energy and aura to build and hold prestige.
In the way that mundane humans wore regal suits and dresses, and styled their hair, applied makeup and used fragrances to establish a persona for themselves, so too did cultivators use their additional capabilities to embellish their image.
A person's aura itself could have a 'scent' which other cultivators could sense. The flow of energy in a room could affect its inhabitants the way a breeze could affect people on a hot summer day. Each and everything played a role in establishing oneself. Lex normally did not need to think of such things, as his Host Attire would automatically do all of these when he presented himself as the Innkeeper. In fact, the Host Attire probably even took care of various such subtleties that Lex was not even aware of.
But currently the Host Attire could not help him. It was fortunate then that he had long been studying these things so that he could seamlessly merge into higher cultivator society if he ever needed to.
Chapter 673 A Great Show
While Lex was planning out how to fulfill the requirements of the tower and get out of it, the Inn seemed to be running well on autopilot. All the staff was well trained and Mary knew what to do in most situations. Moreover, it had only been a short while since the connection between Lex and the system was blocked, so the chances of something going wrong were abysmally low.
Unfortunately, sometimes it did not matter how low the chances were. After the previous star rank upgrade, countless immortals had received just the push they needed to move up in rank. That had naturally led to a rain of lightning tribulations. There were naturally other tribulations but they were not as prominent as the lightning ones.
But it had been months now, so the frequency of tribulations had dropped drastically. The tribulations had not, however, completely disappeared. This was because the process of cultivation at higher levels took a much longer period. It would not be surprising if there continued to be tribulations for many years still just based on the previous star rank increase.
Even among the tribulations, there were various levels. For example, the tribulation that Ragnar had faced had been the most devastating so far, due to his incredibly high cultivation level.
Now, it just so happened that mere minutes after Lex's connection was cut, one such tribulation once again started to arrive. Lex had already reinforced all the tribulation rooms with formations and protections similar to the one Ragnar faced, hoping it would be enough to contain the destruction. Now, it would be put to the test.
*****
Lex's spirit energy swept through the hall as he used various spiritual techniques to influence the environment. Slowly, the overwhelmed ministers began to notice that, despite their own lamentable state, the atmosphere in the room began to change. Soon, it no longer felt like this was a hall where they were waiting for a death sentence. Instead, it felt like this was a grand hall, befitting a great and glorious King - one who was the ruler of a strong and prosperous nation.
Instead of handles and chandeliers, the room had large metal bowls which contained fire to light up the room. As if it had been injected with the perfect kindling, the flames grew into a larger blaze that nearly overflowed from the bowl, projecting its brilliant orange light across the hall.
A breeze seemed to blow in the hall, taking away the stale air and bringing in with a subtle scent of vanilla. It also seemed to blow away any and all dust and dirt that had accumulated in the hall, leaving it immaculate.
The ministers watched bewildered as the changes swept the hall, and were taken by complete surprise when the energy in the hall gathered around themselves as well! Their appearances seemed to change subtly!
Their wrinkles seemed to fade or disappear entirely, and their skin seemed to tighten. Though the skin did not suddenly become clear, it did look fresher. Their clothes did not change but somehow seemed to appear more grand than mere moments ago. Even their auras changed, and they went from being anxious and concerned to being completely relaxed and yet dignified.
The hall, previously a theater where a performance of nations was to take place, had become the court befitting someone who was to be called majesty.
The next change was amongst the soldiers. They stood at guard with their backs to the walls, facing the hall. Of the entire group, they were actually who needed Lex's help the least. Weak though their cultivation may have seemed in Lex's eyes, it was not for a lack of resolution or bravery. Their rough, tanned skin, their rippling, chiseled muscles, their firm, focused eyes all spoke of men who had faced the trials of battle.
Amongst their own ranks, where everyone had cultivation techniques of a similar quality, they were champions.
As such, they did not really need much bolstering. But Lex did it anyway. Their auras strengthened till they became suffocatingly overwhelming, and then he suppressed it to their bodies. If no one looked at them, they would not even know of their existence. But if one looked in their eyes, they would feel the full force of their augmented aura.
Some of these effects had been brought about by the various spiritual techniques Lex learnt and some, such as the breeze carrying vanilla scent, had been done by arrays. Even though Lex had learnt about such things, he had not gone into too much detail, so for now this is all he could really do. Although it might seem impressive to an outsider, he knew that those who considered themselves true nobles among cultivators took things to levels unimaginable to an outsider. But for Ferigo and its neighboring countries, which seemed somewhat lacking in regard to cultivation, this much should already be more than enough.
"When the envoys arrive, do not say anything, or interfere in any way," Lex commanded, his voice still just as firm as before. "Just pretend as if you are watching an interesting performance."
Lex swept his gaze over the ministers to judge if there was still any hesitation or reluctance in them, but found that his performance had thoroughly subdued them, and that though they were still confused, they chose to obey without delay.
Lex nodded gently. Though they had been made to wait nearly an entire day for the envoys, they had arrived precisely during the golden hour, making everything the sun touched even more pleasant to look at.
Lex looked down at himself and found that, instead of his suit, he was wearing a majestic robe of gold and white. Although he preferred his own attire, he supposed being dressed according to the situation was more important.
๐๐พ๐ท๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ.๐ธ๐๐ฎ
The doors leading to the hall suddenly produced a loud creak before being swung open by the guards station outside.
"Presenting the envoys from Solis, Havi and Nefario," he said loudly, announcing the identities of those who were arriving.
Three men, two who could be considered a little chubby while the third looked quite slim and fit, walked in followed by a number of retainers. The group had three distinct dressing styles so it was easy to distinguish which countries they belonged to.
Based on the knowledge he had acquired Lex could easily identify which group belonged to which country. Normally, based on his knack for hospitality, Lex would have stood up and warmly greeted these new guests. But, considering his current circumstances, he did not.
In fact, not only did he continue to sit, though he of course maintained excellent posture, he also tracked the group's arrival with his eyes, an amused smile on his lips.
"Forgive us, your majesty, for arriving so late. We came as soon as we heard of the awful attack," said one of the chubby men, the representative for Solis.
Before the man could continue his, no doubt, prepared spiel, Lex interrupted him.
"There is no need for apologies. Your poor infrastructure and lack of roads is common knowledge. The fact that you still managed to arrive so quickly speaks greatly of how you must have rushed to arrive after the incident."
Lex's voice was quite calm and even had a hint of praise, as if he was complimenting a child on trying his best.
The envoy from Solis froze momentarily, as his eyes bulged. Despite also being in the golden core himself, it took almost an entire second for him to get over the shock of open insult he had just suffered, as well as the veiled condescension.
It was true that their countries did not have many roads linking their various cities, especially if they were far from one another. So then, how could they possibly have roads heading towards Ferigo? All they had was one major road that was used for trade. After all, cultivators could easily make do without such things, so there was no need to waste money investing in them. The fact that mortals suffered greatly as a result was of little to no consequence.
The comment about their quick arrival was the most shocking. Though the King claimed to be praising them for their quick arrival, it was a fact that they could not have arrived so quickly if they had indeed departed after the incident happened. He was clearly making fun of their poor attempts to veil their involvement, or knowledge of, the incident.
The reason why he was shocked the most was because this was not the reaction he was expecting from Ferigo. Not only had they suffered a devastating loss in terms of leadership, they were in a weaker position, especially when facing all three countries at the same time. They should have been the most cautious, yet instead their King immediately broached the most sensitive topic as soon as they arrived, completely unafraid of offending them.
As envoys, they were naturally smart and trained in diplomacy. They immediately realized something was amiss, and that they might have possibly fallen into some trap.
It was at that moment that the three envoys suddenly realized that in the hall they had an audience. All the ministers of Ferigo had gathered, and were sitting in the corners of the room, as if they had come to watch a great show.
Chapter 674 Bandits
?
Countless thoughts surfaced in their minds as the three envoys tried to explain what was happening around them. Though they were shocked, and they could not explain why the newly appointed King was acting so fiercely, it was a little early to jump to conclusions. As it was, they were the ones who held the upper hand in the situation, for all three countries had a united stance on the matter. Regardless of whatever they were plotting, the downfall of Ferigo was already determined. The only thing that remained to be decided was how costly it would be for the three countries.
"When we heard of the situation, we spared no expense to hurry to your aid," said the envoy from Nefario, the slim man of the three. "After all, with the limited military of Ferigo, no one was certain if you would be able to survive without aid if you suffered more of such attacks."
Lex's smile widened just as bit as his gaze fixed on the man speaking. Compared to his companions, the envoy from Nefario was clearly more competent and quick-witted. His explanation for Lex's previous remark pointed out Ferigo's weak military, as well as the fact that its current existence relied on the three countries' grace. The moment they decided to attack Ferigo, it would not survive. In fact, the whole point of this meeting was an attempt to get Ferigo to peacefully allow the military of the neighboring countries to enter, and peacefully hand over its cities. All of this would be done under the guise of protection and military aid.
This way the three countries would not have to invest in a campaign against Ferigo and win all the prizes, while the current King himself would be allowed some concessions for allowing such an easy handover. He could become a minor noble or something, and live out his days in luxury.
The way the envoy saw it, the King was not trying to trap or attack them, but was merely building up his own importance before the negotiations began.
To Lex, however, this was only an amusing attempt to maintain control. He had no intention of playing by the rules.
"Yes, indeed, the security in Ferigo is atrocious lately. There are bandits attacks and raids everywhere. I'm glad to see you arrived without incident."
Despite the envoys goading, Lex retained his casual tone, and did not hesitate to lace his concern with sarcasm. While the ministers were confused, for Ferigo never had any problems with bandits, the envoys too were confused. The King blatantly admitting to having to suffer at the hand of bandits was actually weakening their position.
But the thing was, Lex never intended to negotiate to begin with. Relying on the mercy of others would forever mire Ferigo in a weak position. The solution he had come up with to resolve this issue was not to intimidate them, or even get on their good side. It was instead to turn them against one another.
The reason he had mentioned bandits was because of a plan he had set into motion even before the envoys arrived. He ordered his general to have his strongest unit dress up as bandits, and on the way back ambush the envoys party as they return.
But how could the strategy Lex took so much time thinking up be so simple and straightforward? It would be obvious to anyone that the 'bandits' were not really so due to their strength and training. The real plan would be implemented when the envoys, who would just barely push the bandits back, would actually discover - by accident - that the bandits were actually soldiers from Havi!
But then again, just that would not be enough to throw suspicion their way, so Lex had already arranged for some of the retainers from Havi to be poisoned, and to make it look like normal travel fatigue. The envoy of Havi would naturally have to stay back until his retainers recovered, conveniently missing out on the ambush.
Now, with some evidence and a convenient coincidence keeping the Havi envoy from being attacked, the suspicion pointing towards him would be greater. But suspicion was not enough, he needed the others to be certain of their guess.
It was at this point, one might beg the question, why was Lex targeting Havi instead of Solis or Nefario? Weren't they all equally susceptible to taking the blame? Did he then choose the country randomly?
The answer was no, he had targeted Havi specifically because of the complex socio-political history of the region. Havi shared a border not only with Ferigo, but also with Nefario and another country. Up until recently, relations between Havi and Nefario were tense because there was a Blazing-iron mine close to their borders. They often had skirmishes and small disputes to contest the ownership of that mine, until it was eventually completely depleted.
With bad history already existing between them, all Lex needed to do was plant the idea that Havi was secretly conspiring with Ferigo against Nefario, at the expense of Solis.
Then, through a series of 'coincidences' and misunderstandings, he could sit and watch as the three countries tore each other up. All the while, they would not be concerned about Ferigo which was apparently continuously being weakened by 'bandits'. They could take care of it when they settled matters between themselves.
That would give Lex enough time to begin implementing a series of military reforms which would not only strengthen their army and martial culture in the country, but ensure that full control of the army stayed with the King and did not fall into the hands of some generals.
Of course, Lex was not going to be around to see all this. He would just make the plan and set the wheels in motion which would lead to the dominance of Ferigo in the region in close to a couple of decades.
"Even if you have bandits, seeing us flying the colors of our countries, they would never dare to attack our delegation!" the envoy from Solis said boldly and with arrogance.
"Indeed. They would be completely crazy to attack all three of you together," said Lex with a soft smile.
Chapter 675 Finishing up
"Your majesty, clearly the situation in Ferigo is extremely dire," said the envoy from Nefario, wearing a solemn look. "Let us not waste time and directly deal with the matter at hand. A hidden force has taken action against Ferigo and assassinated your predecessor, as well as many of your peers. While we currently suspect demonic cultivators from a rising demonic sect, we cannot deal with that matter until the situation here is stabilized. You yourself have claimed that Ferigo is even having problems with bandits. The situation is going from bad to worse.
๐ต๐๐๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ญ.๐๐ธ๐ถ
"The noble nation of Nefario is already dealing with the savage beasts that constantly invade us from the neighboring Mystic Forest. We cannot afford a neighbor becoming a den of criminals and demonic cultivators, as that will cause us to divert resources away from the forest. As such, the royal family had decided to act preemptively. So long as you give us permission, we can have three battalions cross the border and help stabilize the situation here. We can route out the criminal element and investigate the demonic cultivators, all while keeping the citizens of Ferigo safe."
"The nation of Havi is also ready to pledge two battalions."
"Solis can also send in four. Fear not, we will not allow evil to fester in these prosperous lands."
"How magnanimous," said Lex, as if he was really praising them. Yet the look on his face, and the tone of his voice said otherwise.
"I'm afraid even if I were to accept your help, it would not be so simple for your armies to come in," he said, looking at the envoy from Nefario. "It seems a mortal trader who was using the river to cross into Havi transporting a shipment of Red Lily powder was attacked by bandits as well. As a result, the entire shipment was destroyed and the river was polluted with the powder. The entire river has become a quarantine zone and the cleanup process will take a while."
Although the river was heading from Ferigo to Havi, it crossed the border of Ferigo before heading there, so the excuse was quite believable. Moreover, Red Lily powder was an extremely unstable compound which was used in the production of various medicines, but on its own was quite poisonous.
On the surface, everything seemed fine. But besides making medicine, Red Lily powder could also be used to make an extremely strong irritant which was known to drive beasts crazy and attack with abandon. Nefario, as a nation, was quite sensitive to anything that could aggravate beasts, for they faced attacks from wild beasts throughout the year due to the border they shared with the Mystic Forest, a forest that was home to an endless number of wild beasts.
In truth there was no such contamination, at this point at least. Lex had ordered the powder spilled into the river, also through his newly established 'bandit unit'. Although agriculture in Ferigo would suffer because of this, so would Havi. Moreover, Nefario would begin to suspect Havi was creating those irritants to aggravate beast attacks against it. It was a win-win.
This time, Lex suppressed his smile, as he was supposed to have no idea of the insinuations of the powder, and was merely pointing something out. The envoy had to believe he uncovered this plot on his own.
With such a start, the meeting with the envoys went on for hours. Though they made no headway with Ferigo itself, countless conspiracies had been subtly uncovered during this time, slowly affecting the unity that the envoys came with.
They studied one another from the corners of their eyes, and took mental notes to report as soon as they returned. By now, they were not even thinking of the merit they could gain by bringing this information home. Instead, they were worried about the imminent war that seemed to have been brewing on their borders, all without their knowledge.
The envoy from Solis, which was the richest of all the countries here, slowly began to believe that in truth, Ferigo, Nefario and Havi all were secretly working against it, and in actuality planned to ambush the four battalions they were originally planning on sending.
The ministers, on the other hand, mostly had no idea what was happening. They only kept wondering if they had missed out on some important news, for they had no idea about half the things the King mentioned.
Like this, the first day of negotiations ended, and the envoys were escorted, separately, to their quarters. A full night would be plenty of time for them to reflect on what they had heard today, and begin drawing conclusions. In the meantime, Lex inspected the poison to be sent towards the Havi retainers. It seemed quite potent.
With a smile he nodded his head, and then returned to the hall to have a meeting with the ministers. During this night he had to pass on the plan for developing their country for the next few years so the direction of their development would focus on the right path.
As for the continuation of the meeting with the envoys in the morning, it would never happen. When they woke up, they would be delivered news that due to the declining situation, Ferigo had entered under martial law, and the King had already left to command his armies against the bandits.
That would be enough for them to understand that Ferigo did not intend on cooperating, leaving tem no option but to depart, and quickly.
The reason Lex was doing all this so quickly was because he was certain that as soon as he set things up enough, and put all his plans in motion, the tower would consider his task complete and pull him back. He did not have time to waste on such stupid things as babysitting a country.
Speaking of which, he wondered what happened to Fenrir. He had entered the tower with it, but had been separated afterwards. Was it also sent to save someone by the tower?
Chapter 676 Providence
A full moon illuminated the land with its gentle, silver light, yet the massive trees in the forest blocked the light from reaching the forest floor. Only a few scant, thin streaks of light reached the ground. Shadows flickered through the silver streaks, one after another, as a wolf pack ran through them.
An abnormal silence took hold of the forest wherever the wolf pack passed, as even the crickets singing in the night froze out of fear. A war for territory was being waged between the Bark Brown wolves and the Winged leopards, and the collateral damage had already claimed countless lives.
Such a thing was quite common in the Mystic Forest, for the forest had an unusual effect on beasts. Often, a seemingly mundane and ordinary beast would randomly undergo a mutation or unlock a deeply hidden bloodline, thus becoming more powerful. With its new status, it would naturally have to expand its territory, and would begin a search for a suitable area.
Survival of the fittest was the rule that dictated the forest, and with the forest's perpetual augmentation of beasts randomly, the fittest were often tested.
One would think that with such never ending fights, the population of beasts in the forest would plummet, but for some reason, that was far from the truth. In fact, the population of beasts would often grow so high despite the constant fights that beasts would be forced out of it, and end up invading the neighboring lands occupied by humans.
None of that mattered to the wolves, though. Whatever secrets the forest held, whether it was why the population of the beasts never fell, or why some beasts randomly grew stronger, could not concern them even if they unlocked a higher intelligence. Such concerns would only bother those who did not have to struggle to survive every day. What did it matter if there was some conspiracy at large, if they could not survive to see tomorrow?
The fight with the invading Winged Leopards had put a lot of pressure on them, and their pack almost considered migrating somewhere else. But then, a new, younger and more powerful pack leader arrived. Under its leadership, not only did their own casualties dwindle, they even began to retake some of the territories they had lost.
At the front, Fenrir led the way, its abilities muting the sounds of the pack as it traversed the forest. Although the wolves in the pack it was leading were not dumb, Fenrir's own intelligence far surpassed them. Despite its inability to speak, Fenrir had a deep understanding of strategies and formations. Moreover, it was constantly being influenced by Lex, so it knew how to frustrate its enemies to death.
But, for once, it had surpassed Lex in a certain aspect. While Lex had sped through his mission designated by the tower, ensuring the best outcome in the least amount of time, Fenrir was taking its time. That was because it noticed something as soon as it became the pack leader. The worship and obedience of its pack had somehow activated Fenrir's bloodline on a deeper level, and it began to unlock the true powers of its bloodline.
It did not know if this was a result of the forest's unique quality or being the pack leader, but it knew that it had best utilize this chance to the best of its abilities. Comparatively, Lex was in too much of a rush to exit to consider any possible benefits he was receiving, let alone the fact that he was not really attracted by random benefits at the moment, either.
As a result, he had not noticed at all that while he was in a position of leadership at Ferigo, similar to how he led the Inn, his leadership styles in both situations were extremely different. At the Inn, he was more or less mellow, and took things slowly. He also could not use his workers the way he used the soldiers of that country. In comparison, in a single day he changed the destiny of the entire nation by being more strict with its policy and its people.
Although it could not be claimed that Lex was cold-blooded and emotionless when designing the future policies for Ferigo, he certainly did not shy away from putting them in harm's way to get the best results.
He was completely oblivious to the drastic difference in result a simple mindset change had brought about. He could not be blamed for it though, as it was the hardest to pick out flaws in one's own behavior without it being pointed out. After all, everyone always assumed they were behaving the most logically, given their circumstances.
After Lex concluded his final meeting and dismissed the final ministers, as he expected, he was teleported away. He did not know how the ministers of Ferigo would behave after his disappearance, or how they would handle the selection of a new King without interfering with his established policies, but that was not his concern. The tower would take care of it.
After being teleported out, a stream of information entered his brain. The first thing he learnt was that the tower was called the Tower of Providence, and it had a very specific purpose. While entropy was the nature, or rather one aspect of the nature of the universe, it was not the nature of life. The tower worked against the forces of chaos to give the worthy a chance of survival. Although the effects of its efforts were extremely subtle on a universal scale, they were surely there, and guided the direction of the universe with a gentle hand.
Such things were too far removed from Lex and were too abstract for him to comprehend or deal with. All he cared about was how to leave. But the tower was not done yet. More information entered his mind.
๐ก๐๐ซ๐ง๐๐๐ญ.๐๐ค๐ข
Having completed the objective of the tower, Lex had now become an agent of providence and had become connected to the tower. Their relationship had only just begun.