"Lord Sharon, do you need me to inform the lord here of our identities and intentions?" the butler, Klan, inquired.
"No need." Sharon narrowed his eyes, gazing at the town ahead. He thought to himself: He wanted to see just who this person truly was.
Not only did he dare to impersonate Third Prince Draconis, but he also audaciously attempted to abolish the Slave system.
This was undoubtedly subverting the entire kingdom's rule, and it was no longer a matter for an ordinary lord; a decisive blow must be struck.
Sharon instinctively felt that this person could not be Third Prince Draconis. As far as he knew, His Highness Draconis was in the Royal City, a young prince raised in the deep palace since childhood, oblivious to worldly affairs.
Moreover, His Highness Draconis was a member of the royal family; how could he do something so self-destructive?
"Let's go, Klan!" Sharon prepared to enter the other party's territory first to observe.
"Yes, my lord."
The two rode their horses, slowly advancing. Before even entering the city, they saw vast fields outside the city walls.
The fields were a golden expanse, with endless stretches of ripening wheat, resembling a golden ocean. Even the air was filled with the joy of harvest.
"My lord, this is—!"
Klan's face showed a look of surprise and uncertainty.
As far as he knew, it was not harvest time yet; the crops grown by the farmers in their territory were still lush green.
How could it be like this here?
"There's something strange about this place—" Sharon frowned.
At this moment, they noticed several farmers working in the fields.
"Klan, go ask what's going on." Sharon said.
"Yes, my lord!"
Klan nodded. He walked up to a farmer who was resting by the roadside and, pretending to be a passerby, started a conversation.
"Uncle, it looks like another bountiful year!"
The farmer glanced at him and said with a smile, "You're outsiders, aren't you?"
"Oh? How did you know?" Klan was a little surprised.
"It's not just this year that's a bountiful year; every season's crops here are a great harvest!" the farmer said proudly. "Everyone in Nimbasa City knows; we've all gotten used to it!"
"Every season—all of them?" Klan was stunned.
"That's right!" The farmer nodded as if it were obvious.
A question mark couldn't help but appear above Klan's head.
"How do you do it? Also, when we passed through other territories earlier, their crops are still green, and it will be a long time until harvest." He couldn't help but ask.
"All of this is, of course, due to His Highness Draconis's leadership!" The farmer's eyes were filled with gratitude.
"His Highness Draconis?" Klan keenly noticed the two words "His Highness" at the end, and an unbelievable thought immediately popped into his mind.
One must know that within the kingdom, not everyone could use the title of "His Highness."
Only members of the royal family could use this title.
Could the His Highness Draconis here really be the Third Prince they had heard of?
But that shouldn't be! Shouldn't the Third Prince be in the Royal City now?
Moreover, from the information they had gathered, the Third Prince had rarely been involved in politics since childhood. He was deeply favored by the Old King, spending his days only on eating, drinking, and entertainment.
Such a person could never govern such a large territory well.
Could it be—the Third Prince was hiding his true abilities?
Realizing this possibility, Klan even forgot to gather more information and quickly returned to Sharon to report the situation.
"It can't be Draconis, absolutely impossible!" After some thought, Sharon ultimately denied this possibility.
If it were Draconis, His Highness Second Prince Lance would have known long ago and wouldn't have left this place unattended.
"Klan, did you see those magical beasts?" Sharon asked.
"Magical beasts?"
Klan followed his lord's gaze and indeed saw several magical beasts at the edge of the farmlands, as well as a few other farmers.
"Strange—" Sharon was not an incompetent lord. In his territory, the Commoners usually kept a respectful distance from these wild magical beasts.
But in this place, these Commoners were not afraid of the magical beasts.
Prematurely ripened crops, magical beasts friendly with Commoners—this place was getting stranger and stranger.
"Let's continue! Perhaps once we enter the city, we'll find the answer to this question." Sharon said.
"Yes, my lord!"
The two followed the country road and soon arrived at the town.
The town was bustling with people. Although its size didn't seem very large, Sharon noticed that the town appeared to still be under construction, and its current appearance was not its full scope.
Underfoot were clean and tidy red brick streets. Compared to the undeveloped territories ruled by some barbaric lords, this place was simply another world.
An atmosphere of advancement and civilization permeated the air—
"My lord, look!" Klan pointed ahead in astonishment.
Sharon looked up and saw a squad of soldiers, clad in armor and with longswords at their waists, marching in neat formation from not far away. From their appearance, they seemed to be on patrol.
Of course, this scene initially seemed to have no issues.
But the problem was, why were there so many magical beasts following those soldiers?!
More importantly, those magical beasts seemed to have been tamed by the soldiers; they obediently followed alongside them.
Sharon was utterly dumbfounded.
Klan was equally shocked.
Had these soldiers tamed these magical beasts?
Or, like their King Lance, did those magical beasts choose to voluntarily join the army and fight for him to help him achieve his beliefs?
But before the two could think further, the patrolling squad of soldiers gradually moved away.
"My lord—what exactly is going on?" Klan murmured.
Sharon silently shook his head. If they hadn't never heard the name Draconis before, they might have thought this place was where His Highness Lance conducted experiments.
The two walked along the clean and tidy red brick streets, observing the surrounding scenery as they went.
Gradually, the further they walked in, the more prosperous it became.
Shops lined both sides of the street: inns, fruit stalls, blacksmiths, barbershops, clothing stores, and the newspaper shops they had seen earlier—
And similarly, the number of magical beasts here gradually increased.
Pidove perched on rooftops, Skitty in women's arms, Herdier following old men, and Snover led by children.
Some magical beasts even helped out alongside humans.
For example, Petilil helping to sell vegetables, Whimsicott acting as a signboard, Lopunny attracting customers—
Compared to a human town, this place was more like a magical beast town.
No! To be precise, it was a town where humans and magical beasts lived together—this thought surfaced in Sharon's mind.
The butler Klan beside him also showed a look of astonishment.
The master and servant were completely stunned by the surrounding sights, and it took a long time for them to recover.
Unconsciously, they arrived at a relatively secluded place.
"Where is this?"
Sharon subconsciously looked inside and then saw many young boys and girls with magical beasts in a courtyard within the gate.
The guard at the school entrance, seeing the two, couldn't help but ask curiously, "Who are you two?"
"Hello, we are from another territory. May I ask, what is this place?" Klan inquired.
"From out of town?" The guard suddenly understood, then explained with a smile, "This? This is our school. All children of eligible age in the territory can come here to study."
"School?" Klan was slightly taken aback.
Sharon, however, noticed the latter half of the sentence: all children—
He connected this to the lord's actions and, as if possessed, asked, "Can Commoners and Slave children also come?"
"Of course, His Highness Draconis advocates Education for All. All children can come here to learn knowledge." The guard's face was filled with gratitude; in the future, when his children grew up, they would also come here to attend school.
He's crazy! The lord of this place is crazy!
At this moment, Sharon felt that, given the scale of this territory's owner, the news of abolishing slavery published in the newspaper was probably true.
Sharon was greatly alarmed. Did the other party know what he was doing?
This kind of behavior was shaking the very foundation of the kingdom!
If those low-status Slaves came here to study, who would be willing to serve the nobles in the future?
Let alone him, if other nobles found out about this, they would surely unite to attack.
But before Sharon could say anything, he heard the guard in front of him continue, "However, we don't have any Slaves here anymore. This is a law personally enacted by His Highness Draconis. From now on, everyone is a free citizen!"
The guard grinned, his heart and face filled with gratitude whenever he mentioned His Highness Draconis.
"No more Slaves?" Sharon looked at the guard in front of him, thinking, what's the difference between you, a doorman, and those Slaves who serve nobles and work for them?
The guard seemed to have read his mind and immediately said, "His Highness Draconis will pay us wages! A lot of money each month! And if we don't want to work, we can resign anytime and find other jobs."
Hearing this, Sharon fell silent.
The guard continued, "Not only that, we also have social security. As long as we pay a certain insurance, we can save a lot of money when we go to the hospital to see a doctor in the future. His Highness Draconis is the best king in the world!"
"And we don't have to worry about earning too much money and having nowhere to put it. His Highness Draconis has also opened a special bank for us. All the money we earn can be stored there and managed by professionals. We can withdraw it whenever we want, and there's even interest every year!"
Social security? Bank? Interest? Sharon was slightly stunned.
What were those things?
But more than these, what shocked Sharon even more was how much the Commoners living in this territory trusted their lord.
For a Commoners, what was most important?
Besides family, it was money.
If it were his territory, unless he forcibly requisitioned it, those Commoners would absolutely not hand over their money for him to keep.
At this moment, Sharon keenly realized something.
His relationship with the Commoners was probably different from Draconis's relationship with the Commoners.
The Commoners in his territory only felt fear and respect for their rulers.
But the Commoners in this place had genuine reverence and love for the lord named "Draconis."
Sharon felt a strange envy in his heart.
"My lord, let's go back first!" Klan whispered.
Sharon nodded, saying nothing more.
They stayed at an inn in the town, and then Klan went to state their identities, informing the owner here that they would officially visit tomorrow morning.
When Draconis heard the news, he was having Kyurem help his Pokémon with special training.
"Sharon, the lord of Opelucid Territory?" Draconis looked at Alfred, somewhat unsure.
"That's right." Alfred nodded. "Lord Sharon arrived in our territory today, and he will officially visit you tomorrow morning."
Opelucid Territory—could it be the Opelucid City of later generations?
Sharon? Could it be Shaga's ancestor?
Draconis wasn't too surprised by this, as he had anticipated this day would come sooner or later when the newspaper was first published.
"I understand." Draconis nodded slightly.
Since that's the case, he would meet with them!
With Kyurem present, Draconis wasn't afraid of his two good brothers discovering him now.
Whether it was Reshiram, Zekrom, or Kyurem, they were all equivalent to nuclear weapons in war; their existence was both a threat and a warning.
However, the conflicts of this war had clearly accumulated for a long time and could not be ended by merely a war between kings.
"I understand. I will arrange for them to meet you tomorrow morning." Alfred nodded, and then, as if remembering something, he added, "Oh, and Your Highness, the castle's throne room has been completed. You can receive them there tomorrow morning."
As a king, how could His Highness always use such a small office to receive other lords?
This would greatly diminish His Highness Draconis's status and cause other lords to look down on him.
Only a magnificent castle was worthy of their His Highness.
The next morning, Sharon and Klan, led by Alfred, went to meet His Highness Draconis.
They passed through the town, crossed a large bridge, and in front of them stood a tall and majestic castle.
A look of surprise flashed in their eyes; this castle was much more magnificent than theirs!
Gradually, the group arrived at the main gate.
The castle gates slowly opened, revealing a spacious and grand hall. A thick red carpet was laid on the floor, extending forward, and at its end stood a luxurious throne.
A young man sat on the throne, and behind him stood a terrifying figure exuding an ancient aura.
The figure was enormous; just by meeting its gaze, one could feel an irresistible majesty and coldness washing over them, as if it possessed the innate aura of a superior being.
Sharon and Klan involuntarily shivered, looking at Kyurem with terror in their eyes.
That was—
That magical beast was?!
The aura it exuded was no less than that of the divine dragon named Reshiram he had seen at His Highness Lance's side before!
"Your Highness—"
At this moment, an unbelievable thought suddenly occurred to the master and servant.
Could the person before them truly be the Third Prince Draconis of the kingdom they had heard of?!
Sharon couldn't help but murmur, "Draconis—Your Highness?"
As his words fell, the young man on the throne lowered his gaze, his sight falling upon him.
....
Power Stones PlZZZZ
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