Gregory Roth was sitting in his office, reading a report on the upcoming fall harvest tax collection.
It had been a rather grueling administrative day for the Rockwell Kingdom's only duke, as most days around this time of year tended to be. However, the man, who appeared just barely middle-aged by all accounts, didn't find this to be tedious. In the first place, he had always found himself more suited to such tasks rather than fighting.
That was not to say that the current Duke Roth was a weakling, as the 193-year-old was still one of only 26 Spirit Adepts in the Rockwell Kingdom. Even if he had remained at the Low-Rank for more than 50 years since his last breakthrough, a Spirit Adept was still a Spirit Adept.
Still, it was a fact that Gregory had become duke much more because of his political acumen and bureaucratic skill than his military prowess.
In the Roth Dukedom, and the wider kingdom in general, the current duke Roth had earned a reputation for being a shrewd and fearful opponent in the noble circles.
One might be surprised by Gregory Roth's ascension to the position of duke given that his predecessor, his Second Uncle, was actually the extreme opposite, a military man who was more soldier than noble.
This only went to show how skillful Gregory was in winning over the support of both the Roth Family's military and bureaucratic wings in order to sit upon the proverbial throne.
While age had tempered Duke Roth's ambition somewhat, it had done nothing to dull his cunning or ruthlessness.
These traits were apparent even in the treatment of his own children, who he constantly gave trials to and punished harshly whenever they failed to live up to his expectations.
In fact, even now, Gregory's youngest son Madison, who he found to be an utter disappointment both in terms of cultivation and intellect, was currently out fulfilling a Roth Family tradition where they must lead an expedition outside the nation's borders.
This rite of passage was undertaken by all members of the Roth Family's main line when they reached the Sea Establishment Realm and was meant to test their leadership skills. While the family provided the necessary manpower and budget, Direct Descendants were fully responsible for the planning and execution of the expedition from start to finish.
When Duke Roth heard that his youngest son had chosen to head to a section of the Great Western Forest around the Barrier Mountain Range's Peaceful Peak, he gave up any remaining hope he had of Madison amounting to something in the future.
The Great Western Forest was indeed vast and filled with treasures which could bring wealth and opportunity to the Roth Family, but the area around Peaceful Peak was famous for being just that, peaceful. There was essentially no reason to explore it as there was nothing of any worth there to be found.
Just by choosing to 'explore' such a place, Duke Roth had already confirmed the cowardly nature of his youngest son, as well as his lack of ambition.
Fortunately for Gregory, his other children and some of his nieces and nephews were not so lackluster.
While most of his progeny were just ordinary, by Gregory's standards at least, the duke's eldest son, Virgil, had seemingly inherited all the blessings of the Roth Family line, possessing both high Innate Talent in cultivation as well as a keen intellect.
Whether it was in terms of strength or intelligence, Virgil Roth was among the very best in the entire Rockwell Kingdom in his generation.
There was also the duke's ninth daughter and youngest child, Olivia, who despite being somewhat lacking in cultivation talent and having inherited too much of his Second Wife's gentle temperament for his liking, had proven herself a genius when it came to the field of Alchemy.
In other words, Gregory could afford to write off his youngest son without fearing the collapse of the Roth Family, so instead of becoming upset with Madison, the cold duke simply decided to ignore him from now on.
As the sun was beginning to set over the horizon, Gregory Roth stamped his seal on the completed paperwork and stood up to stretch. Turning around, the duke was treated to the evening view of the Roth Territory's capital city.
Situated in the far north-east corner of the kingdom, Amherst was a flourishing metropolis with a permanent population approaching 250,000. The only city bigger and more prosperous than Amherst was the kingdom's capital itself, which was a point of pride for the Roth Family.
Glancing to the north-east, Duke Roth could see the mountain range which served as the nation's natural border with the Zilon Kingdom.
The Zilon was significantly smaller, younger, and weaker, but through clever diplomacy and a near fanatical dedication to defensive strength, it had managed to maintain friendly relations with its bigger neighbours, so there had never been any significant disputes between them.
Trade flowed freely between the Rockwell and Zilon Kingdoms, with the former exporting huge amounts of grain and food to the latter. In return, the highly mountainous Zilon Kingdom sold high quality metals, ores, and certain types of stone to the less mineral-rich Rockwell Kingdom.
The biggest beneficiary of this trade relationship was undoubtedly the Roths, as almost all goods had to pass through Amherst, allowing the Duke Family to collect an enormous amount of import and export taxes every year.
In fact, the relationship between the Zilon Kingdom and the Roth Dukedom was so good that Gregory's First Wife, Sienna Kardesh, actually hailed from a branch of that nation's royal family.
Glancing to the north-west, Gregory saw the orange sunset glow on Lake Amherst, the grand body of water which Amherst City took its name from.
The sharp spires of the Silver Sword Academy, the Cultivation School established by Gregory's grandfather, the first Duke Roth, were also clearly visible by the lakeside.
Amherst was both orderly and prosperous today, just as Gregory Roth envisioned it to be; however, when the duke focused his attention on his own home, he noticed something amiss.
Through the large glass window, an extremely expensive item he had imported from the Black Tiger Kingdom, Gregory Roth saw a flurry of activity happening in and around the main buildings of his palace, causing him to raise his brow slightly.
It was approaching supper time, so servants moving about at an increased pace was nothing unusual, but what the duke was witnessing now was actually the guards and administrative staff running about in what appeared to be some kind of panic.
This unsightly display displeased the duke greatly, as he was of the mindset that order must always be maintained. Becoming flustered and reacting rashly was unbecoming of those who served the Roth Family.
Gregory began making mental notes of those who were causing chaos, intending to punish them later; however, that was only a secondary concern as he first had to figure out what happened to cause such a disturbance.
To that end, the duke loudly called out, "Jackson!"
Ordinarily, when he summoned his loyal confidant, the man would immediately appear, so when there was no sign of Jackson even after a good 10-count had passed, Gregory Roth frowned deeply as he realized that something more serious must have happened than he initially suspected.
Just as the duke was about to leave to investigate the situation personally, a high-rank steward burst into his office.
Duke Roth would normally have harshly berated this man for such a disrespectful act, but prioritizing the current situation, he set aside his ire for the moment and simply ordered in a commanding tone, "Speak!"
Seemingly realizing his mistake, the steward paled, but knowing things would only get worse for him if he froze up now, the man bowed deeply and hurriedly reported, "My Lord! Elder Hendrix's Life Lamp has just been extinguished!"
Duke Roth's face immediately went black upon hearing this, as this was far beyond even his worst speculations.
In order to become an Elder of the Roth Family, one needed to reach the Spirit Initiate Realm and make significant contributions to the family. It was also only possible to leave behind a Life Lamp once one became a Soul Initiate.
There were so few Elders, that Gregory knew each and every one of them by name.
The fact that the Garret Hendrix's Life Lamp had gone out could only mean one thing, he was dead!
The loss of a Spirit Initiate was a huge blow, even to the powerful Roth Dukedom.
Wasn't Garret assigned to supervise the trial of that useless son of mine? Gregory quickly recalled and couldn't help frowning.
Still, the stalwart duke didn't become anxious and simply ordered, "Organize an investigation team and get them ready to depart to Elder Hendrix's last known position as soon as possible. I want a complete report..."
Before Gregory could finish, another steward burst into his office, and this time he didn't even bother waiting for approval before shouting frantically, "Master! The border guard has just sent an emergency signal! A Silver Moon Eagle has just been spotted and is approaching rapidly!"
This time, even Gregory Roth couldn't contain himself as he uncharacteristically shouted, "What!? Now?! Why!?"
Even if he was asking this aloud, Duke Roth knew that the sudden death of his family's Elder and the appearance of a Silver Moon Eagle could not possibly be unrelated. The timing was just too tight to be a coincidence.
Unfortunately for the duke, there was no time to sit and contemplate the implications of this as there were much more pressing matters to attend to.
Taking a deep breath to calm his disturbed state, Gregory set all other thoughts aside and circulated his Internal Qi to amplify his voice, ensuring his order carried over the entire palace complex, "Prepare to receive the Lord Envoy!"