Dragon Monarch System

Chapter 1136: Chapter 1136:- Dilemma

"Uncle Leo, it’s good to see you again."

"I am glad that you are alright."

"Uncle Leo, did you bring the thing that I asked you to make?"

"Oh yes! I have to say, it’s a very ambitious project. But it’s ready," Leo replied with a smile on his face.

"Dad became very excited the moment he read your letter. Within a few minutes, he left most of his work to the Elders and locked himself inside the forge to craft this set."

It was very rare for him to see his father this excited about a project. In recent years, his father had gradually lost much of the joy and happiness that he once found in forging. The passion that once burned so brightly within him had slowly begun to fade.

But Aditya’s suggestion seemed to have breathed new life into his heart. It had reignited the deep passion for forging that had been sleeping within him for years.

Leo handed a storage ring to Aditya.

"Thank you very much." Aditya knew that even with Leo’s skills and experience, it must have been very hard to make this whole set within the span of a few days.

As if sensing Aditya’s intention to ask how much did this entire set cost, Leo spoke first. "Aditya, we are allies."

"In this war, the Dwarf tribe won’t be of much use. So this is the least that I could do for you." The Dwarf did not have that many powerful cultivators. And given their small number, even if the entire Tribe joined the battlefield, it would barely make any difference.

Even the Elders and their Leader’s strength wasn’t that outstanding. Sure, the Elders and the Leader were powerful 6th-order cultivators, but most of their stats and skills were heavily focused on forging rather than fighting.

Hearing this, Aditya understood that he would have to find some other way to repay the Dwarf Tribe. Given how firm the Dwarf Emperor’s stance was on this matter, Aditya knew that continuing to insist on paying him for crafting this set would only end up embarrassing him. More importantly, such persistence might give the wrong impression and make it seem as though Aditya did not truly consider the Dwarf Tribe as his allies.

Aditya then turned his attention toward Leo’s son, Lahm. Looking at him carefully, Aditya quickly noticed the changes in his cultivation and said, "Lahm, it seems your cultivation has improved again." Despite being the same age as Aditya, Lahm had already managed to reach Mid 5th-order, which was an impressive achievement for someone of his age.

From this alone, Aditya could easily guess that Lahm must be considered a cultivation prodigy within the entire Dwarf Tribe. At the rate his cultivation was progressing, Aditya believed that within a few more decades, Lahm could become one of the strongest pillars supporting the Dwarf Tribe.

This would not be simply because he was the son of the Dwarf Tribe Leader. Rather, it would be because Lahm himself would grow into a powerful powerhouse capable of protecting the tribe from dangers and threats.

"Aditya, it was because of the Dragon Grass that you sent that I was able to break through." Lahm openly admitted the reason behind his recent breakthrough. If it had not been for the Dragon Grass, it would have taken Lahm at least a few more years to naturally break through to Mid 5th-order. However, not only had he successfully broken through, but he could also clearly feel that his cultivation was already very close to reaching Peak 5th-order. This meant that Lahm was now one step closer to reaching Beginner 6th-order.

The gifts that Aditya had given to the Dwarf Tribe were extremely generous, and more importantly, they had helped solve many of the ongoing problems that the tribe had been facing. Each gift was valuable in its own way, making Aditya’s generosity something that the Dwarf Tribe greatly appreciated.

"By the way, I suspect you used Miss Riya’s powers to cultivate the Dragon Grass?" Leo asked about this matter, as Aditya had sent the Dwarf Tribe two Dragon Grasses. One of them had already been consumed by Lahm, while the other had been carefully kept aside for one of the remaining youngsters of the tribe.

Leo was planning to hold a friendly competition among the younger generation of the Dwarf Tribe to determine who was the second most talented young cultivator in the tribe after Lahm. The youngster who proved themselves to be the most talented among the competitors would be rewarded with the remaining Dragon Grass. The most talented ones deserved to receive the most cultivation resources.

They did not have the luxury of providing generous cultivation resources to every youngster. No place in this world had such a luxury. The fight for cultivation resources has always been extremely tough.

Once someone had consumed the Dragon Grass, consuming it for a second time would provide very little benefit compared to the first consumption. Because of this, Leo felt that it would be far more worthwhile to allow another talented youngster from the Dwarf Tribe to consume the remaining Dragon Grass rather than giving it to Lahm for a second time.

Aditya nodded his head, knowing that there was no need for him to hide this matter from them. "Yes! Riya was able to find the seeds of the Dragon Grass and successfully regrow many Dragon Grasses. With her powers, she was also able to reduce their normal maturity period from one hundred years to just a month and a half."

"Aditya, you deserve your fair share of credit as well. You created special Mana Gathering Arrays. With more Mana being continuously fed to the Dragon Grasses, their growth time was significantly reduced." Hearing this, Aditya merely smiled without saying anything further. He did not feel the need to add anything or take more credit for the successful cultivation of the Dragon Grasses.

Aditya then shifted his gaze toward His General and one of his most trusted men Nathan and gave him a subtle nod of acknowledgement. That simple nod was more than enough between the two of them, and there was no need to waste any extra words greeting each other.

Given Nathan’s naturally silent personality, this brief and wordless exchange was already enough for both of them.

"Aditya, what’s the current situation?" Leo asked, wanting to know if there had been any significant changes since the various factions began preparing for the upcoming conflict.

"Nothing! All parties are making rigorous preparations for this civil war." Aditya replied. At the moment, every faction involved was strengthening its forces, gathering resources, and making the necessary preparations for the civil war that everyone knew was unavoidable.

"Do you have a plan?" Leo asked. In response, Aditya shook his head. For now, Aditya and the Harrington Faction were waiting for the Emperor Faction to make the first move and launch an attack. Until that happened, they had no immediate plans to begin the war themselves.

"Your Majesty, why don’t we attack the nearest enemy, Duke Territory?" Prime Minister Spencer suddenly suggested. He was referring to the enemy Duke Territory located closest to the Harrington Faction’s territory. In his opinion, attacking this Dukedom would be the best way for them to take the initiative and officially begin the war.

"The war will start sooner or later. Instead of delaying it and giving the enemy more time to think or prepare something that could make things even more difficult for us, I suggest that we attack first. We can begin by defeating the closest Dukedom and taking control of its territory."

"After securing it, we can use that territory as a position to slowly expand our forces toward the other Dukedoms." Spencer explained his reasoning in a clear and simple manner.

Since the civil war was already unavoidable, he saw no benefit in continuing to wait. The longer they delayed, the more time their enemies would have to strengthen their defenses, create new strategies, or prepare unexpected measures against them.

By attacking the closest enemy Dukedom first, the Harrington Faction could seize the initiative, remove a nearby threat, and then gradually advance toward the other enemy Dukedoms.

Everyone present was surprised by Spencer’s suggestion. Although attacking first sounded like a reasonable strategy, none of them had expected the Prime Minister to openly suggest taking the initiative and starting the civil war themselves.

"Well, I had thought of this possibility." Aditya did not hide his thoughts from everyone. In fact, this was not the first time that such a strategy had been considered. Aditya, Wahid, Boris, and Harrington had previously discussed the possibility of attacking the nearest enemy Dukedom and starting the war by taking the initiative.

"But this could also become a double-edged sword that will hurt us." Aditya calmly pointed out the biggest problem with Spencer’s suggestion. While attacking first could give them a temporary advantage, the consequences of making the first move could also damage their own faction just as badly.

"Currently, we have more Dukedoms on our side, and those Dukedoms are spread all over the Empire." This was precisely what made the entire situation so complicated.

The territories controlled by the two factions were not separated into two clear regions. Instead, their territories were mixed together throughout the Empire. In one part of the Empire, a territory belonging to Aditya’s faction could be located directly beside a territory supporting the Emperor Faction. The very next territory could once again belong to Aditya’s side. This same situation existed in many different parts of the Empire.

Because of this, if Aditya’s side attacked the nearest enemy Dukedom, the Emperor Faction could immediately retaliate by attacking one of Aditya’s allied Dukedoms located near their territories.

Aditya’s faction might successfully capture an enemy Dukedom, but at the same time, the Emperor Faction could capture or destroy one of their allied Dukedoms somewhere else in the Empire.

More importantly, both factions had multiple 7th-order cultivators on their side. These powerful figures possessed enough strength to potentially decide the outcome of an entire battle by themselves.

If Aditya’s faction sent a 7th-order cultivator to attack an enemy Dukedom, then the Emperor Faction could simply send one of their own 7th-order cultivators to attack a Dukedom supporting Aditya.

Once both sides began using their 7th-order cultivators to attack each other’s Dukedoms, the situation would quickly turn into a destructive exchange of territories. Aditya’s faction might defeat one enemy Duke and capture his territory, while the Emperor Faction would do the same to one of Aditya’s allied Dukes somewhere else.

At the end of the day, neither faction would gain any real advantage, and the balance between both sides would remain almost the same.

Instead, the ones who would suffer the greatest losses would be the Dukes and Duchesses of the Empire. A large number of them would lose their armies, their power, and even the territories that they had ruled.

Therefore, although attacking first appeared advantageous on the surface, it could easily start a chain of attacks that would weaken both factions without giving either side a decisive advantage.

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