Chapter 535: Strategic Conception, Dividing the World into Three?

Chapter 535: Strategic Conception, Dividing the World into Three?

At noon, when Hastur had a rare moment of leisure, Lady Lisa came to inform him of the message from the Pope of the Eternal Blazing Sun Church.

"Perfect timing."

Hastur couldn't help but admire the Pope's foresight. His vision was truly long-term and precise.

"I will handle this matter."

Shortly after Lady Lisa left, a portal from the spiritual realm silently opened in Hastur's study.

The Phoenix Ancestor, Gregory, lightly landed on the desk in front of Hastur, holding a world map in its beak.

After spreading out the map, Gregory stood on the area representing the Southern Continent, signaling Hastur to take a look.

This was a military map, specifically, a projected invasion route of the Southern Continent attacking the Northern Continent.

To avoid the Southwell County where Hastur was located, the Southern Continent's invasion route did not start from Behrens Port but from a port facing the Dixie Bay to the west.

The Southern Continent's invasion plan had two main routes: one through Dixie Bay, advancing towards the Dixie County of the Ruen Kingdom, and the other towards the Fennepot Kingdom.

This was an ideal invasion route. The northern forces of the Ruen Kingdom were mostly on an expedition against the Fusac Empire, and although both the southern Dixie County and Southwell County had naval deployments, they were mainly concentrated in Southwell County where Hastur was.

Choosing Dixie County as the breakthrough point would be too deep, with the Fennepot Kingdom nearby, ready to cut off the supply lines at any time.

Therefore, after much deliberation, the nobles of the Ruen Kingdom concluded that Southwell County was more dangerous.

Hastur carefully examined the entire military map and found the Southern Continent's strategy to be quite ambitious.

Originally, he did not intend to directly intervene in this war, but after looking at it for a while, he couldn't help but pick up a red pen and cross out the invasion route towards Dixie County, opting only for the Fennepot Kingdom as the breakthrough point.

Although everyone understood the principle of *lip and teeth dependency*, implementing it was not easy.

If only the Fennepot Kingdom was attacked, the Ruen Kingdom would still hold meetings and debates before sending reinforcements, which could take months.

After finalizing the Southern Continent's invasion route, Hastur's gaze fell on the Intis Republic. He couldn't help but admire the Pope of the Eternal Blazing Sun Church for his intelligence and boldness.

Seeking cooperation at this time, although his goal was not war, his insight into the future positioning of the Intis Republic was very clear.

After pondering for a while, Hastur drew several more invasion routes on the Intis Republic, directing it to attack the northern Fennepot Kingdom from the central plateau, while heavily fortifying the borders with Segar and Luenburg.

If Segar and Luenburg reinforced the Fennepot Kingdom, the Intis Republic's army would immediately press forward.

If the Intis Republic cooperated with the Southern Continent in this way, the Fennepot Kingdom, Segar, and Luenburg would likely fall, leaving only the small states of Masi and the Ruen Kingdom to be dealt with.

After planning the strategic routes, Hastur stepped back a bit to view the overall situation.

According to his strategic conception, it was uncertain whether the Southern Continent and the Intis Republic could evenly divide the Northern Continent, but the Fennepot Kingdom, Segar, and Luenburg would likely be conquered.

Hastur pondered for a while longer, thinking that the most likely outcome was a tripartite division of the world.

The Intis Republic, the Southern Continent, and the Ruen Kingdom.

But this was only a preliminary strategic conception. Any error or turning point in the details of the war would require the entire strategy to be rethought and revised.

Moreover, the Intis Republic was very unstable, and the state of the Eternal Sun was definitely not good. It was possible that the Intis Republic could be pushed back by the small states of Segar and Luenburg.

The Pope of the Eternal Blazing Sun Church was wise to recognize this awkward position of the Intis Republic.

Without the protection of the Eternal Sun, it would be difficult for the Intis Republic to hold such a large territory and it could be divided at any time.

It urgently needed to find an ally.

The Eternal Sun was an absolute enemy of the Lord of Storms and the God of Knowledge and Wisdom.

The Lord of Storms, the Goddess of the Night, and the God of Steam and Machinery occupied the Ruen Kingdom, while Segar and Luenburg were the missionary areas of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom. The Earth Mother was on good terms with the Goddess of the Night.

The Intis Republic's choices were either the Southern Continent or the dying Fusac Empire.

Yet the Pope chose the emerging Church of the Yellow King.

"Chirp chirp."

Hastur was deep in thought when Gregory reminded him with a couple of chirps.

"The Intis Republic is a potential ally," Hastur said subconsciously, then shook his head with a light laugh, "I shouldn't be meddling in these affairs."

Gregory leaned its small head closer, its eyes showing an expectant look.

"Yes, I can't just watch you lose to the Goddess of the Night." Hastur drew a few more lines on the military map, then rolled it up and handed it to Gregory to take away.

"Today is the founding day of the Pirate Kingdom. It's a pity that Bernadette can no longer rule the Intis Republic; otherwise, she would have been a good candidate."

Hastur stayed in his study, lost in thought for a long time, until around two in the afternoon when he took a carriage to the Earl of Hall's residence.

The Earl of Hall knew he would come, so he stayed home in the afternoon, waiting for him.

The Countess of Hall and Audrey were also at home, while Hibbert represented the Hall family in visiting other noble families.

"January 5th is a good day."

The Earl of Hall opened with this sentence. Hastur glanced at Audrey, who pretended not to know what was happening, and replied, "I'll leave everything to you, Uncle."

"Aren't you two in love? Why does it seem like I'm being autocratic?"

The Earl of Hall raised his voice in dissatisfaction, gave his daughter a helpless look, and then glared at Hastur.

"Is this engagement for me? The two of you don't seem anxious at all, acting very nonchalant."

"My parents passed away early, so I have no experience with such matters," Hastur said, playing the emotional card.

The Earl of Hall's expression softened a bit. He gave his wife a look, and the Countess of Hall understood, "Since the date is set, you two can discuss the other details, like the engagement venue, wedding attire, and invitations for your friends."

After listening for a while, Hastur tactfully handed over a list of betrothal gifts to the Earl of Hall.

Although the Earl of Hall had never mentioned betrothal gifts.

Audrey looked at Hastur in surprise, her eyes asking, "When did you prepare this?"

Hastur winked at her and whispered, "I've been ready to marry you for a long time."

Audrey rolled her eyes at Hastur, not believing his words. She was sure that Mr. Hastur had prepared this list of betrothal gifts in less than a month.

The Earl of Hall, silently reading the list, hesitated several times. He never expected Hastur, so young, to have amassed such a vast fortune.

What had Hastur been embezzling in Southwell County for the past two years?

This was the first thought that came to the Earl of Hall's mind.

He clearly remembered that two years ago, Hastur couldn't even keep his family estate and had to borrow money to live.

But now, the jewelry, pearls, and land deeds on this list alone were worth over fifty thousand gold pounds!

This was a considerable fortune!

No wonder the two previous Dukes of Southwell had died in Southwell County.

This was the second thought that came to the Earl of Hall's mind.

So young, yet with such sharp methods, truly remarkable.

The Earl of Hall's gaze towards Hastur grew increasingly complex.

Seeing the end of the list, the Earl of Hall couldn't help but twitch his mouth.

He had never intended to ask for betrothal gifts from Hastur. He wasn't short of money and wasn't selling his daughter.

He had originally planned to double whatever Hastur sent as a final blessing from a father.

But this list of betrothal gifts was worth between eighty thousand and one hundred thousand gold pounds.

He didn't know how Hastur had amassed so much wealth in less than two years. Now he was thinking that if he had to double this for Audrey, he would have to sell a large portion of his shares in several banks.

And this part of the assets was already arranged for his eldest son, Hibbert.

Even matching the value for Audrey would be a significant strain.

For the first time, he felt that a son-in-law who was too good at making money was not a good thing.

No, this should be considered hoarding wealth.

Seeing the Earl of Hall's unusual expression, the Countess of Hall suggested that Audrey take Hastur to the garden or upstairs to discuss their upcoming engagement day.

"What's wrong?"

The Countess of Hall asked curiously, seeing her husband's grim face.

"See for yourself."

The Earl of Hall handed the list of betrothal gifts to his wife with a stern expression.

After a while, the Countess of Hall exclaimed, "Did he rob the treasury?"

The Earl of Hall silently drank his tea. Robbing the treasury was unlikely, but he must have been embezzling, hoarding, and exploiting in Southwell County...