Death

[King Peter IV]

The King had died.

Over the past five years, the geopolitical state of the Porfield Kingdom changed a lot, and Drake was not one to overlook the possibility of a war breaking out. Thanks to the efforts of the three magi supporting the crown, the orc invasion was successfully repelled, but the threat still remained, with a [Sky Knight] level orc king still alive in the North.

Furthermore, the King, a Grand Knight had died.

Two factions were having an internal conflict: The Second Prince and the Crown Prince.

The Second Prince should have been able to easily inherit the crown, as he had the support of three out of the five Grand Knights affiliated with the Royal Family. However, the patriarch of the Moonfall Family killed two of them in the last clash with the Elderwood Family, and injured the third one.

The Crown Prince, who was lacking in network, revealed that he had become an elite knight and earned the support of many nobles. Although he was unlikely to become a grand knight soon, he showed promising martial talent and he was known for his honour. More importantly, he was backed by the Moonfall family and several minor knight households.

The Fireheart dukedom might have great ancestry, but there was no denying that it could not compare to the Moonfall family anymore.

The situation was put in a standstill for years, but the death of the king made it inevitable for a clash to appear.

A royal decree spread throughout the world.

The Magi affiliated with the Royal family were now without a king. And they were here to prevent a war from breaking out. After all, if a full-out war was created, then the kingdom would fall in great predicament. The neighbouring Greenhill Kingdom was becoming increasingly more hostile as days passed due to the rise of the Moonfall family gaining strength, and it would naturally look for an opportunity to invade the Porfield Kingdom.

The inheritance war would thus happen in the Porfield most treasured artefact: a pocket plane.

Over the span of one year, both factions would fight in a pocket plane and the winner would take it all. Inside, there were peak-rank magical beasts and tribes of intelligent beings such as demons, fishmen and many more. With great danger came great rewards. Inside, forests full of magical resources were unharvested by humans, as the pocket plane was only opened during inheritance wars.

The reason why it was so rare to open it was to allow the magic resources inside to grow. After all, magi were seekers of truth, and they knew that overexploitation was not good in the long term.

Both princes would be able to take with them 20 acolytes, and a hundred soldiers.

As the main backers of the first prince, the Moonfall family was allowed to send 15 acolytes and 50 knights.

If it were before, Drake would not have gone there, and instead purchase the materials upon the return. However, Drake knew that the patriarch would not participate in the pocket plane war. After all, if the Greenhill kingdom attacked, the Ivory Tower might fall. Worse still, there was no telling whether the magi would not suppress the Moonfall family while he was away. As frustrating as it was, he could not afford to go.

Without the patriarch, Drake did not know whether the First Prince would be successful in the inheritance war. After all, although the Fireheart dukedom was declining, they had 3 peak-rank acolytes and would most likely send at least two of them inside the pocket plane. With his artefacts, Drake knew that he could take care of one of them at the very least, and if he worked with Arthur, who had reached the Grand Knight realm, he knew he could suppress them.

Of course, he would need to convince the patriarch first, but in an inheritance war that might last for years, the presence of an alchemist was more than necessary. Otherwise, claiming resources but not being able to use them would become the first prince's most fatal weakness.