The rapid changes in the situation over the next few days exceeded everyone's expectations.

The people of the royal capital had never imagined they would witness such a scene: the Quinn family, who had served the Moa royal family for hundreds of years, openly stood against Anpein Moa.

This was not a secretly plotted conspiracy, nor a power struggle among aristocratic families that ordinary people could not even touch. Everything was laid bare—the Lord Prime Minister of Glow City stood directly before everyone, publicly proclaiming his ideals and goals, which, in simple terms, were to overthrow the incompetent and tyrannical rule and restore a bright future to Dawn.

In his speech, the Earl cited the signs of the city's decline and the new king's foolish tyranny over the past year, and used precise data to depict the inevitable decline of Dawn. Since no nobleman had ever told the people about the operating principles and inside stories of the territory, and the speaker was the Lord Prime Minister who had been by the King's side for more than ten years, it was no surprise that this action caused a sensation. From the Chamber of Commerce auction house to the Black Street tavern, almost everyone was talking about it.

"I wondered why hundreds of people starved to death in the slums last winter. It turns out it was due to the reduction of arable land outside the city."

"Actually, more people died outside. It's not a problem for His Majesty to take land to expand the palace, but what about the dwindling food reserves that the Earl mentioned?"

"No wonder food prices have indeed been much higher recently."

"I heard that farmers from the towns outside the suburbs were forcibly conscripted to fight. Now, the army has been defeated miserably, and few of those conscripted have been able to return."

"Doesn't that mean food prices will rise further?"

"Alas, I hope we won't be starved during the Evil Moon this year."

"What, do you want to support Earl Quinn? He promised that if he can achieve his goals, Glow City will no longer have to worry about food problems, and everyone will be able to fill their stomachs in the future."

"Hey, I didn't say that!"

The Lord Prime Minister's speech spread rapidly throughout Glow City through such discussions.

If a significant portion of people were skeptical about the propaganda content, what attracted them to continue to pay attention to the matter was the conflict itself.

The great aristocratic families were at odds with the Moa royal family. How many times could you see such a grand occasion in your life?

For the people, they usually could only hear rumors or boasts about nobles that had been modified and exaggerated countless times in taverns. The feeling in these days was simply too exciting.

This wasn't performing in a play, but a real rebellion!

His Majesty Anpein was not indifferent. The two sides had several frontal battles, but they all ended in the defeat of the royal family. The power possessed by Earl Quinn exceeded everyone's imagination. An incredibly powerful guard became his solid shield—not only did they defeat His Majesty's troops in a situation where the number of people was very different, but the number of their own people increased instead, from the initial dozen or so to the current forty or fifty.

What was even more exciting was that the Earl also announced his plan without concealment: he would move the front line five hundred steps towards the castle district every day until the Lord of Dawn gave up the throne and handed over the crown, or was driven off the throne by him.

In other words, the outcome of this confrontation would be decided in about five days at most.

...

"Bang!" "Thump!"

Anpein smashed everything on the table that could be smashed onto the carpet until the exquisite room became a mess. Even so, it couldn't relieve the anger in his heart.

"Damn it, damn it! When did I reduce the arable land outside the city? Wasn't that the problem my father asked him to investigate? And he actually dares to blame the reason for the abandonment of the suburban towns on me. That's all Roland Wimbledon's doing!" he roared almost, "It was his witches who killed those people, not me!"

"Your Majesty, please calm down..." the minister and the chief knight persuaded, "The most important thing now is to stop Hoford Quinn's progress, so as to dispel his arrogance—the foreign nobles are all watching you!"

I should have locked them all up in prison at the beginning, Anpein thought bitterly, "How many people do I have available now?"

"The knights, guards, and mercenaries in the palace add up to 1,500. If we mobilize the maids and servants, we can add another 2,000," the chief knight replied, "There are stone walls outside the castle district for defense. You don't need much training to kill the enemy. Although the walls are not as thick as the main city walls, it is still no problem for people to stand on them."

This was originally his trump card to deal with other lords—especially the palace guards, almost every one of them had the combat capability of a quasi-knight, and their equipment was particularly sophisticated. He began to train them before his father passed away. But now, he had to put them into the palace defense battle.

"Move all the boxes from the vault, and tell the servants that as long as they kill a monster, they will get a reward of one hundred gold dragons!" Anpein gritted his teeth and said, "If they can defeat the rebellion, I will grant them titles and fiefdoms! And those who already have them will get one level higher!"

"Yes!"

The God's Punishment Warriors of the Church are not invulnerable to swords and guns. He had confirmed this with the Purists. Even if those monsters were incredibly strong, they couldn't tear down the entire stone wall with their bare hands, right?

As for the fact that the more they fought, the more they became, it was just Hoford Quinn's smokescreen. He must have arranged thugs long ago, and then disguised it as the illusion that his power was constantly growing.

No nobleman would believe that such fierce warriors could be found everywhere in Glow City, and they only emerged today. And it doesn't matter even if the foolish people believe it, their thoughts have no impact on the situation at all.

"Did that old guy Hoford get the support of other nobles?" Anpein looked at the minister.

The latter's face suddenly became a little ugly, "Uh, this..."

"Speak!"

"There are rumors that 'Black Money' has begun to contact Earl Quinn, but the specific situation is temporarily unknown—"

"These ubiquitous parasites!" Anpein clenched his fists, "My father even regarded their underground lair as part of the market. In my opinion, we should have raided their homes long ago!"

However, he also knew that this sentence was just a vent. The organizers of "Black Money" were all wealthy merchants and magnates in Glow City, and their status was not inferior to that of the great nobles; moreover, a large part of the wealth accumulated in the Moa family's vault came from the pockets of these people.

"In addition, the Tocat family has openly joined the Quinn family," the minister swallowed, "But Your Majesty, please don't worry too much. I heard that the Rossi family has repeatedly rejected Hoford Quinn's invitation."

This is the three major families that my father was proud of... Anpein sneered in his heart. Now, two families have become rebels, and their actions are even faster than those of the small nobles who are watching. And the reason why the last family doesn't dare to act rashly is simply because Otto Rossi is still in his hands.

But this may become his weapon.

"Send someone to tell Earl Rossi that if he wants to prove his innocence, he should immediately bring the knights and retainers from his territory to support the palace," Anpein said coldly, "Otherwise... I will not be merciful to the heirs of the rebellious family."

"I'll take care of it!" the minister responded quickly.

Two hours later, the Lord of Dawn received the news that Earl Rossi was willing to pledge allegiance, which calmed his angry mood slightly—compared to the bad news flying all over the sky, he finally turned the situation to his side a little.

Anpein didn't care much about the Rossi family's little knights. The most important thing was that he knew that the younger generation of the three major families were like brothers. If they knew that opposing the king would ruin one of their lives, would they still keep pace with the heads of the families?

This is undoubtedly a difficult thorn to remove.

Soon, the deadline announced by Lord Prime Minister Hoford Quinn arrived.