Chapter 134

Chapter 134: Roses and Starlight

The negotiations fell into a deadlock right from the start. After several days of waiting and receiving intelligence reports, Lolan Hill finally understood what had happened at the headquarters of the Veregha Alliance.

A week ago, Uebere experienced an event similar to that in Hope Lane. The four allied companies received new weapons support from Rourna and assistance from mercenary mages, launching a sudden attack that defeated two staunch resistance factions and forced another three that had previously remained neutral to submit.

Afterwards, Uebere’s original nine major trading houses were reduced to seven. Having taken control of the alliance headquarters, they continued their military advances, with airships looming over other cities, leading to the submission of major trading houses in those cities as well.

Thus, most of the Veregha Alliance, which originally belonged to the Snow Flower Union, broke away to become part of the Frost Rose, under its leadership.

Unlike the loosely autonomous Snow Flower Union, the Frost Rose centralized most of its power within a central institution.

Currently, the organization’s headquarters was in Rourna. The mages of Rourna had recently undergone a coup, but due to the initiators being among the leading factions, there was little resistance. Smaller factions were merely dispersed and absorbed.

At present, the entire nation of Rourna and the eastern part of the Veregha Alliance had joined the Frost Rose. As a powerful government, the Frost Rose planned to divide Rourna into three regions and Veregha into two, no longer distinguishing by country. Internal resources would be exchanged, promoting mutual development, unifying laws, education, standards, and eliminating tariffs between regions. Each branch would report directly to headquarters, with the military unified under central management, and local areas retaining only security teams. Taxes collected by regions would be managed centrally.

It sounded like a new-age state, but it wasn’t quite there yet. Being a top-down change, it wasn’t thorough enough. The original powers retained much of their influence, which would inevitably become a hindrance in the future.

After reading the intelligence, Lolan Hill began comparing and contemplating. Her final conclusion was not optimistic about the Frost Rose. It seemed to want to both take charge and maintain its own interests, wanting to change certain things but unable to completely abandon its old ways.

Strict with others, lenient with oneself. That’s how it was. The slogans sounded excellent—integrating the scattered forces of the Snow Flower Seven Nations to fully resist Cui Cui—but upon closer inspection of the organization’s leadership and composition, Lolan Hill found it unappealing, even inferior to the original Snow Flower Union.

At least Roland had treated each other as equals, leading by example. West Wind had contributed the most during the Battle of Broken Bows, otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many people remembering this hero whose deeds were known throughout the land, inspiring countless youths.

But currently, with West Wind’s decline and internal problems plaguing various countries, the Frost Rose’s slogans indeed had considerable appeal, easily moving some anxious and uneasy individuals.

People are like this; they crave warmth and security. If there’s an elder who can guarantee their safety, even if he is strict, severe, or cold, as long as he protects them, it’s good.

The Frost Rose undoubtedly wanted to seize Hope Lane, as it was a critical node for advancing westward. If they could unify West Wind amidst its internal unrest, they could spread their influence across the entire western continent, just as the Snow Flower Union did in the past.

Lolan Hill sat at her desk, deep in thought. At this moment, the door to her study opened, and Chelsea entered.

“Miss, I’ve brought Sares.”

“Mm, let her in,” the young lady shook her slightly dazed head, not wanting to think about the day’s negotiations. She wanted to understand the situation in the Southern Archipelago.

“Good evening, Miss.”

Sares walked into the room, dressed in black uniform.

“How are you adapting to life in the south?” Lolan Hill examined the butler she hadn’t seen for a while.

“Not bad. The climate there is warm, and my cold leg doesn’t act up often.”

“That’s good. How are Ig and Mrs. Baria?”

“They’re both doing well. Recently, I found a tutor for Ig. When he grows older, I can send him to the Mage Academy to learn magic. Becoming a mage is a great choice,” Sares said with a rare smile.

“That’s good. Could you tell me about the situation in the Southern Archipelago?”

“Sure. The Southern Archipelago…”

Sares then began to recount the current state of the Southern Archipelago, where the nation was uniformly managed by the parliament. The members of parliament were led by the heads of the mage factions, with a few high nobles included. The speaker changed every five years, alternating between mages and nobles, but the main power still lay with the mages.

Fortunately, the nobles of the Strawberry Kingdom owned islands as their fiefs, with little desire for expansion. Thus, the two factions coexisted harmoniously. In recent years, thanks to the Eastern trade routes, they had prospered. With money, everyone became more amicable.

Due to the Cui Cui Empire on the eastern continent, the Snow Flower Seven Nations needed to avoid Cui Cui’s control to reach the East. The most convenient route was to first go to the Southern Archipelago and then follow the trade winds and ocean currents to reach the Eastern port. Across the sea, there were many specialties not found in the Western Continent, making the profits extremely lucrative.

Within the Strawberry Kingdom, due to centuries of stability, education was widely spread, and the overall strength was far superior to the gradually decaying West Wind.

After their discussion, Lolan Hill gained a deeper understanding of the Southern Archipelago.

Over the next three days, Uebere and Rourna sent representatives again, and the stalled issues were resumed.

The Frost Rose would never give up its westward path, but Carithes and the Strawberry Kingdom persisted in maintaining the independence of Hope Lane and surrounding areas.

In the end, both sides agreed to split the alliance into two parts: the original seven families in the East and the eight nearby families formed one large region of the Frost Rose, becoming one of the four major regions.

The western group centered around Hope Lane and the remaining four families united to form the New Veregha Alliance, headquartered in Hope Lane.

Both sides withdrew from the Snow Flower Union. The eastern part merged into the Frost Rose, while the west began to align with the Strawberry Kingdom and Clancia.

As a compromise, the Mist Pine River on the northwest side of the original alliance was specially designated for the Frost Rose. This river belonged solely to the Frost Rose, allowing unrestricted passage to the northern five countries, with the New Veregha Alliance not interfering.

However, there would be troops stationed along the riverbanks by the New Veregha Alliance to monitor and prevent large-scale surprise attacks.

Finally, the New Veregha Alliance and the Frost Rose signed a non-aggression treaty.

Both sides reached a temporary truce, but neither Lolan Hill nor the representative of the Frost Rose were naive. They knew this was only a temporary compromise.

The Frost Rose hoped to enter the West Wind Kingdom, expand its influence, and, after uniting with other internal organizations, suppress the New Veregha Alliance. Meanwhile, Lolan Hill was waiting for Clancia to unify the West Wind, facing Hope Lane north-south, supporting each other.

The rivalry between the Rose and the Starlight would open a new chapter in history.

Thank you for Liang’s tip, we’ll stop here today. I’ll update tomorrow during the day~

End of Chapter