Chapter 291 Regicide Plan

"Count, Xueyue Lake is one of the taboos of the Orc Empire. The army is not allowed to stay by the lake permanently!"

As soon as he ordered to set up camp and establish a logistics transfer station by the lake, a group of northern nobles in the army hurried over to persuade him.

Seeing the panic on everyone's faces, Hudson knew there must be a story behind this.

There are many "forbidden places" on the continent of Aslant, but terror is relative. Many threats are aimed at ordinary people, and few can threaten an army of tens of thousands of perverts.

Judging from the information collected by the kingdom officials, the three most dangerous areas of the Orc Empire are the northern plateau, the western Salar Hills, and the central Ural Mountains.

Xueyue Lake was not mentioned at all in the information. He really couldn't think of any danger here.

"Oh, what's the horror in this lake that makes you so afraid?"

Hudson asked doubtfully.

As an old enemy that has been entangled for many years, the Alpha Kingdom should be relatively familiar with the Orc Empire.

Xueyue Lake covers an area of ​​thousands of square kilometers. If there is a threat to the existence of the army, it should not be ignored.

"Your Excellency, we don't know exactly what kind of dangers there are in Xueyue Lake.

When I went deep into the Orc Empire to investigate intelligence, I accidentally heard an interesting story.

According to ancient legend, Xueyue Lake is the place where the gods fell. There is a curse in the lake. All kinds of accidents will happen to the tribes who have lived here for a long time, and then they will rapidly decline until they perish.

We don’t have any concrete evidence, but the tribes directly under the five royal families all tacitly abandoned Xueyue Lake, which is rich in water and grass and suitable for agricultural production.

The orc tribes living nearby are all small tribes that cannot survive in the outside world, and they came here to settle as a last resort.

Even so, their tribe was trying to stay as far away from the lake as possible, and the nearest tribe was at least thirty miles away.

Every year, these tribes will move to the lakeside only when there is a shortage of food. Once they have overcome the crisis, they will leave immediately!"

After hearing Baron Kettle's words, Hudson's expression suddenly became serious. Ancient myths and legends may not be true, but the choice of the orc natives cannot be ignored.

Under normal circumstances, a piece of fertile land that should have been fought for has turned out to be a dangerous place that everyone avoids. It is impossible to have no problems.

Deep in his heart, Hudson's dissatisfaction with the five Northland Dukes suddenly rose.

These northern nobles under their command have only done a few transactions in the Orc Empire, and they all know that there is a problem in Xueyue Lake. How could they, who are squatters, not know about it.

However, among the information provided to him, there was only one sentence about Xueyue Lake: The land is fertile and the water and grass are luxuriant. It was clearly a deliberate attempt to dig a hole for him.

Hudson didn't want to give up the convenience of water transportation. However, he had to consider the possible dangers in the lake.

Glancing at the noble children of the Northland nobles, Hudson asked with concern: "Is there any more specific information about Xueyue Lake, including folklore?"

"Your Excellency, there are many legends about Xueyue Lake, which can be mainly divided into three categories: water monsters, evil gods, and curses.

It is said that if you live here for a long time, you will be contaminated by the unknown things in the lake. Three years ago, when I was on a mission here, I encountered a small tribe that was wiped out.

Out of curiosity, we carefully inspected the body, but did not find any injuries. There were not even signs of hands. The only thing wrong was that there was some dust on the freshly dead body.

After realizing something was wrong, we left quickly. We also secretly inquired with the local orcs. It is said that this kind of thing happens every few years.

Most of the victims were members of tribes living nearby. Some died in the wild, while others died at home. The methods of death were similar, and no injuries could be found on the bodies.

Some people say that it is a water monster seeking life, others say that it is an evil god causing trouble, and more people believe that there is something ominous in the lake, and if you get into it, you will be cursed.

It is said that the Orc Royal Court also sent experts to check it out, but it is unknown what happened in the end. Anyway, no tribes from the five major royal families have come to settle here since then.

Within the Orc Empire, Xueyue Lake is also known as Devil’s Lake.”

Baron Reno replied with a hint of panic, as if he had awakened the terror deep in his heart and confused Hudson.

However, he still keenly caught a message - there was dust on the corpse.

Under normal circumstances, whether it's an evil god causing trouble, a water monster seeking life, or a curse killing someone, it's all taken away simply and neatly, and there won't be a pile of dust at all.

“Crater Lake!”

In an instant, these three words popped out of Hudson's mind.

In my memory before traveling, I had information about Crater Lake, which is similar to the situation in Xueyue Lake.

Whenever a volcano erupts, it releases a large amount of harmful gases and dust, which ordinary people simply cannot withstand.

For orcs who lack knowledge reserves, it is normal for them to make blind guesses when encountering unknown things.

"Send the order and move the camp thirty miles upstream along the Green Jade River. Send people to the lake to conduct reconnaissance to see if there is a volcanic crater."

Hudson ordered decisively.

The truth can be investigated slowly, but the source of danger must be kept away. If you are unlucky and encounter a volcanic eruption, the army will suffer heavy losses.

If the judgment is wrong, it will be even more terrifying. Unknown dangers are far more terrifying than known risks.

Looking at the crystal clear lake water and the schools of fish swimming back and forth, Hudson always felt that something was wrong.

According to normal circumstances, there should not be fish in the volcanic lake, and the nearby environment should not be so comfortable.

However, this is a different world, and the rules of world operation are also very different. The theoretical knowledge before traveling may not be correct here.

…

On the prairie, a human army suddenly separated from the main force and headed towards the deviated coastal area.

Looking at the map and groping forward with his team, Duke Pias's nerves were tense all the time.

As the vanguard of the army, he bears the highest military tasks and risks among the entire army.

Although according to the news from the flying dragon cavalry, the orcs did not deploy heavy troops in the coastal areas, and there were only some small and medium-sized tribes entrenched along the way, he was still uneasy.

There was no way, who could have told the news to come from the Holy See? If the kingdom's air force had not been severely damaged, he would have definitely not panicked if the news came from his own people.

"Duke, Bishop Simon of the Holy See came to visit."

Duke Pias was slightly startled by the guard's words. Then he came to his senses and hurriedly ordered: "Please come quickly!"

The relationship between the Kingdom of Alpha and the Holy See is not harmonious, but now is the period of joint operations. In theory, the two sides should settle their differences and work together to help each other.

If at another time, people from the Holy See came to visit with such great fanfare, Duke Pias would have considered avoiding suspicion.

…

"Your Excellency, how are you thinking?

The Rocknard family is not in a good situation right now. Caesar III has long wanted to get rid of you, but he just can't find the opportunity to do it.

If he didn't have thoughts about you, he wouldn't appoint Earl Hudson, who has a blood feud with you, to be the commander-in-chief of the army.

You have already learned how to deal with this person. Serving as a vanguard is just the beginning, and there will be more troublesome tasks waiting for you.

Earl Hudson is best at boiling frogs in warm water. If it takes too long, the Locknard family will suffer great losses!"

Bishop Simon tried hard to provoke.

It is inevitable that Caesar III has objections to the northern nobles, but it would be an exaggeration to say that he would get rid of them quickly. Even if he really wants to take action, it cannot be now.

Against the background of the severe loss of the Alpha Kingdom's military strength, no matter which faction in the country dares to provoke internal fighting at this moment.

If you lose the last bit of your family fortune and attract the prying eyes of foreign enemies, it will be the end of the world.

For example: The Holy See, which has long been eyeing the Kingdom of Alpha, has been looking for an opportunity to interfere in the internal affairs of the Kingdom.

"Your Excellency, Bishop, you are taking the matter too seriously. Your Majesty is wise and powerful, and will never do anything that would hurt your relatives and make your enemies happy at this time.

As for Earl Hudson, do you think I will be afraid of him? So what if he is the commander of the coalition forces? There are so many nobles in the army watching!

What's more, even if I agree to cooperate with you, it will have no effect. The Locknard family's strength alone is simply incapable of controlling the situation in the kingdom!"

Duke Pias replied slightly uneasily.

As a member of the great aristocracy, he was also a "staunch" royalist and had no good impression of the Holy See. However, the benefits promised by the Holy See were too great, which shook his will.

Once the Holy See's plan is completed, the Locknard family will be the most powerful family in the kingdom. In addition to being unable to directly ascend the throne, the power in his hands will not be much less than that of the king.

The only problem is that the success rate of the plan is not high enough. Even if the early plans are successfully completed, it will be difficult for the Locknard family to control the kingdom with its strength.

I don’t know if other families will object, but the newly rising Koslow family will definitely jump out to challenge them.

In terms of overall strength, the Locknard family is several times, or even more than ten times, that of the Koslow family.

However, the big family's game depends not only on the overall strength, but at extreme moments, what is more important is the military strength in hand.

In a short period of time, the military strength of the two families is still unknown.

What's more, in the past years, the Lochnard family has left more enemies than just the Koslow family.

They want to take control of the kingdom, and if their enemies are cornered, they may take desperate measures and join forces to deal a cruel blow to them.

After all, rules are only rules if everyone abides by them. You can't break it yourself and expect others to continue to abide by it.

"Your Majesty the Duke, there is no need to worry. If your family is not enough, then you can bring in a few more allies!

The five major families in the North have been together for so many years, I think you must have a way to pull them into trouble.

With the combined strength of your five major families, you can basically suppress the nobles in the south. If you are unable to do so, you can also recruit a few more allies.

As long as you are stable enough and do not offend the core interests of the nobles in southern Xinjiang in the early days of taking power, the civil war will not break out.

Your Excellency, think about it carefully, now is the best opportunity. Once those guys in the south regain their strength, the situation will be completely different.
To be continued...