Chapter 111 Game of Thrones, Drawing of Hell
Chapter 111: The Game of Power, Hell's Drawing
Inside the Greyclaw Villa.
Hastur savored the fine wine collected by Greyclaw while listening to his advice on how to advance his noble rank in the current environment.
Among those he knew, Greyclaw was the most knowledgeable about such matters, so it was natural for Hastur to consider him the first choice when deciding to digest the magic potion through the process of advancing his noble rank.
After sending a visiting card and waiting a day, Greyclaw finally had some free time.
"The quickest way to advance your rank is to donate a sufficient amount of pounds; this is the current mainstream trend for rank advancement. However, I think you won't choose this method," Greyclaw said, giving Hastur a meaningful look.
Hastur cleared his throat and said, "Greyclaw, my financial situation has improved quite a bit compared to before."
"Oh, so you're choosing to advance your rank by donating pounds?"
"No, I choose another way."
Hastur directly rejected this path.
Greyclaw wasn't surprised and said with a smile, "Besides this method, there are three others."
"The first is to establish enough merit, like the issue you resolved at the poorhouse, which can accumulate some merit for you."
"Of course, the fastest way to accumulate merit is to go to the battlefield and earn honors. Many earls and dukes have been promoted for their significant military achievements."
"But this method is too dangerous. You're still young and lack battlefield experience. Plus, there are no large-scale wars recently, so it's better to stay in Beckland and wait for other opportunities."
After drinking a glass of wine and giving Hastur some time to think, Greyclaw continued, "The second way is to become a vassal of a great noble."
"This is currently the fastest and simplest way for you to advance. If you can persuade my father, then you will have the chance to become an earl, which is the limit of his power."
"Becoming a vassal of the Nigan family means you will lose some freedom, and in the future, your family will have to advance and retreat together with the Nigan family, maintaining aligned interests."
"From my personal perspective, I really hope you choose this path of advancement," Greyclaw said gently.
"Greyclaw, you understand me."
Hastur smiled and declined the suggestion. He wanted to strengthen the Campbell family, not let it become a vassal of the Nigan family.
Moreover, becoming a vassal of the Nigan family would only allow him to advance as high as an earl, which did not align with his future aspirations.
By then, unless he was willing to bear the stigma of betraying the Nigan family, there would be virtually no other opportunities for advancement.
Of course, there was one more extreme method.
That would be to push the Nigan family onto the throne, establish a new kingdom, and become a prince or grand duke in the new kingdom based on his contributions.
Then, to overthrow the Nigan family's royal rule and embark on his own path as the Dark Emperor.
Unless there was no other choice, he would rather directly overthrow the current royal family.
After all, once he reached Sequence 2, he would inevitably become their enemy.
"Hastur, I acknowledge your pride," Greyclaw said with a smile, suggesting the last path: for Hastur to gain the recognition of the influential nobles who held real power in the Rune Kingdom, including the royal family represented by the king.
After all, whether or not to advance in rank only required the nod from those above. As for how much merit was established or how much contribution was made, those were reasons that could be found later.
Many people fall into a misconception, which is to reverse the order of these things.
It's not that you first establish merit and then get promoted, but that the small group of people who hold the top power first recognize you, and then they look at your merits.
If your merits are sufficient, then you can be promoted openly and nobly, and no one can find fault.
If the merits are not enough, then just work a little to add a few more merits to your record. You don't even need to go to that extent; after all, it will only bring a few irrelevant criticisms.
Hastur agreed with Greyclaw's words, but when he heard someone else say it, he still felt a bit sad.
He didn't forget his simple persona and exclaimed in surprise, "Can the game of power be played like this?"
Greyclaw was silent for a while, then showed a smile and said, "Hastur, it's precisely because this is the game of power that it can be played like this."
…
Leaving Greyclaw Villa, Hastur sat in the carriage with a document in hand.
It was a gift from Greyclaw, containing the basic information of several influential nobles in the Rune Kingdom, even including their likes and dislikes.
It was a weighty gift, and Greyclaw specifically instructed him to destroy the document after reading it.
He ultimately chose this last path for advancement, which was also the most suitable for his needs.
But when it came time to implement it, he still hesitated.
Once the game of power starts, one must follow through without turning back.
For now, it was only about bribery, but in the future, there were the sequences of the Corrupted Baron and the Fallen Earl waiting for him.
"In this regard, my resolve is far from matching Roselle's," Hastur sighed, closed his eyes in silence for a while, and when he opened them again, the hesitation was gone from his heart.
There's a saying that goes well: those who keep moving forward bravely may not die, those who always hide behind and steal life may not die, but those who hesitate halfway will surely die.
Since he chose to move forward, he could no longer hesitate.
Returning home, Hastur asked the chef to prepare a late-night snack and had the maid deliver it to the study.
In the study.
Hastur sat at the desk, memorized all the content of the nobility information given by Greyclaw, and then burned it to ashes with candle fire.
Taking out pen and paper, he wrote down three names on the blank paper.
The Prime Minister, Earl Hall, and Duchess Georgina Augustus.
According to Greyclaw, as long as he could build good relationships with these three nobles, not to mention advancing to a viscount, even becoming an earl would not be difficult.
The Prime Minister represented the Nigan family, Earl Hall was Audrey's father, a powerful and wealthy noble who had recently gained the king's trust.
The last, Georgina Augustus, was an important member of the royal family and the only female among these three nobles.
Hastur suspected that Greyclaw mentioned Georgina Augustus on purpose, wanting to see some amusement from it.
After some thought, Hastur placed Georgina Augustus last and the Prime Minister first.
The Prime Minister, Aguside Nigan, was the brother of Duke Nigan and Greyclaw's uncle.
With his relationship with Greyclaw, Greyclaw could help introduce him, making it the easiest noble to approach.
Because of Greyclaw's relationship, as long as he could find the Prime Minister's preferences, successfully bribing him should not be difficult.
Earl Hall was a bit tricky.
He did have a good relationship with Audrey, but this was not a plus; on the contrary, it might even trigger Earl Hall's hostility.
A handsome, unmarried baron deliberately pleasing Earl Hall and also being very close to Audrey…
Anyone would have endless speculations.
As for the last one, he would build relationships with the first two first.
After enjoying the late-night snack, Hastur took a bath, lay in bed, and entered the Hall of Stars in his dreams.
He prepared to probe his fate with the Prime Minister and Earl Hall.
To see if he could gain any corresponding insights.
His eyes closed, and the world before him was dark.
Only one future scene appeared: Prime Minister Aguside Nigan stood in a high position, with himself below, and between the two, there was a chest filled with treasures.
"Could this be a revelation that I need to send a large sum of wealth to the Prime Minister to build a good relationship with him?"
Hastur frowned; this was not a good revelation.
Although it was just a rough glance, the treasures in that chest were at least tens of thousands of pounds!
He didn't want to give such a large sum of money to the Prime Minister.
He would first try other methods, and if it really didn't work, then he would consider it.
After resting for a while, he closed his eyes again, ready to glimpse his fate with Earl Hall.
Similarly, there was only one future scene, also representing an ominous revelation.
Under the glow of the crimson moon, in a beautiful and exquisite garden where flowers bloomed in the wind, he and Audrey talked happily, almost walking shoulder to shoulder on the cobblestone path.
This was originally a beautiful picture, but behind the two of them stood Earl Hall with an iron-blue face.
What kind of hellish drawing was this!
Hastur opened his eyes in shock; if this scene were to play out, Earl Hall would be too kind not to chase him with a knife.
The hazy moonlight, a lone man and a single woman, a path of blooming flowers, walking side by side…
No matter how you looked at it, the relationship between the two was extraordinary!
If Earl Hall saw this scene, it would be a ghost if he got along well with him!
"This scene must never happen!"
Hastur was alert in his heart; before Earl Hall helped him advance in rank, such a thing must not
Hastur was alert in his heart; before Earl Hall helped him advance in rank, such a thing must not happen!
He was just a baron, and if targeted by a powerful noble like Earl Hall, advancing in rank would be extremely difficult.
Even with Greyclaw's support, it would be a struggle.
"No wonder I'm playing the role of a briber. Before even starting, I've already been hit twice."
Hastur sighed, not wanting to think about these troublesome matters for the time being, and turned his gaze to the star of the high-dimensional observer.
It still hid inside a cocoon of light, which seemed to have gained a thread of life compared to before.
As if something was brewing.
(End of Chapter)