System vs Rebirth

Chapter 1506: Grand Duke

"Marquis Noel Ardagan is entering!" The soldiers announced out loud.

The nobles on the side couldn’t help but straighten their backs, feeling pressured. This was the first time they had ever seen a spirit king.

Besides, they didn’t know whether it was true or not.

Once the gate was opened, Noel entered the throne room with a calm expression. He wore a black shirt and black pants along with a long black coat with the Ardagan family’s symbol on it.

The atmosphere around Noel was calm. He looked graceful, yet didn’t feel so different. Noel felt the same the last time they saw him.

Noel rarely came to the throne room because he was a frontier noble. Most of the time, he would remain in the north, watching over the border.

At that time, the king granted him the title, but for some reason, they couldn’t sense anything different from him.

The opinions became divided. On one side, people couldn’t help but think Noel hadn’t become a spirit king. On the other side, people felt something was amiss. If they couldn’t sense anything different, they might just be too blind to sense the change.

The only people who could sense that change were probably the selected few.

Yet when they looked at those selected few individuals, there was no change in their expression. It was as if they were as confused as they were.

That was why Noel’s appearance was strange.

Noel walked toward his position and fell to one knee. "Marquis Ardagan has responded to your summons, Your Majesty. I’m glad that you are doing well."

"..." Wendy could feel the pressure from talking to Noel. She had talked to Noel a couple of times, but this was the first time it had become an official talk.

Noel was someone who could undermine her authority, and no one would probably argue with him. Now that she sat in this position, she could feel the pressure her father felt.

Wendy nodded. "Thanks to your effort, the kingdom is able to recover. On behalf of the citizens and everyone here, I would like to thank you for repelling the enemy’s attack."

"Your words are wasted on me. I merely do my job as a noble."

Wendy paused for a moment before asking, "Marquis Ardagan. What do you think about the current situation? Three ancient demons were sighted at the same time, when even the previous ancient demon was last seen two hundred years ago."

Noel smiled. "I believe Your Majesty already has the answer."

"Are you talking about the demon king?"

"I need to correct you on one thing. It’s not ’demon king,’ it is ’demon kings.’"

If this statement came from anyone else, she would think they were insane. The Ardagan family had not only produced two spirit kings in history but also had a similar situation. Whenever a spirit king appeared, a demon king would always be there.

It was at this moment that she figured out the entire picture. A spirit king appeared whenever a demon king made its appearance, not the other way around.

And the spirit king would appear from the Ardagan family. There must be a secret within the Ardagan family that led to the appearance of a spirit king.

Now that she thought about it, when learning about the Ardagan family’s history, she found out that Noel wasn’t the only talented person in history. After the first spirit king, the family still produced two spirit transcendences.

Although it happened 800 and 500 years ago respectively, it didn’t change the fact that the Ardagan family was strong. However, it has been declining over the last 500 years.

There were some generations with talents, but their talents didn’t lie in combat but in other things, like Luke Ardagan.

Yet, for some reason, Noel was born. He didn’t show any talent in the beginning, and before they knew it, Noel Ardagan had become a spirit king.

The biggest problem was that Noel Ardagan is now only 25 years old.

In just a short 9 years, Noel turned from a deadbeat noble to a spirit king.

If Noel was that talented, he should have shown his talent in one way or another, but he didn’t. In other words, he wasn’t that talented, at least until he reached the Demon Banner Army. For whatever reason, the army was the start of his change.

There were still so many secrets that she didn’t know, but one thing was clear in her eyes. For whatever reason, the Ardagan family would appear to fight the demon king. There was a long feud between the Ardagan family and the demon kings.

No matter how she changed the narrative, the demon kings would attack, and they had no way of fending it off.

"Marquis Ardagan. May I ask you something?"

"Please."

"What do you think about our situation right now? If there is indeed a war against demon kings, do you think humanity has a chance to win?"

"Just like my ancestor one thousand years ago, I will do my best. However, if you ask me about the chance, I’m not entirely sure. If I have to say, it will be around 10% to 20%."

"!!!" The people widened their eyes in shock.

Wendy’s body was shaking. "Why do you think our chances are that low?"

"After the previous attacks, I’ve come to realize that we humans are always on the defensive. One noble tried to fight against the demon army but lacked the ability. The other noble was too scared to even clash with the ancient demon.

"If three ancient demons are just an opening, I wonder what the main dish is?"

Wendy couldn’t imagine it. 30 ancient demons? 40 ancient demons? No one knew.

And the way Noel was trying to build up his influence not only in this kingdom but also in other kingdoms made her realize it would be a simultaneous attack on all fronts.

The number of demons might become unprecedented, unlike the battle 1,000 years ago, where the demons came solely from the north.

Yet, even with such a scale, the kingdom’s size shrank to a tenth of its original size.

Wendy closed her eyes. She had truly become a queen at the worst time possible. However, she wasn’t going to run away.

"Marshall Conrad."

"Your Majesty!"

Wendy stood up and announced out loud, "You are to bring 100,000 of the royal army and head straight to the north. Search for everything related to demons, especially the former third prince as well as the supreme devil, and exterminate all threats to the kingdom!"

"Understood!"

Wendy then waved her hand. "Marquis Ardagan. I bestow upon you the rank of ’Grand Duke.’ Your land will be extended to the land of Tollywood. Your title is above even that of a prince or a princess.

"You may form an army of up to 100,000 people. You are allowed to bestow two marquises, five earls, ten counts, and twenty barons.

"You are rewarded 500,000 gold coins and 20 pieces of treasure. I hope that you use your new power for the sake of the people."

Even Noel was quite surprised by Wendy’s action. It looked like it was truly a good decision to put Wendy on the throne.

She understood her situation perfectly. Despite knowing Noel would possess the largest military power with this title, she truly bestowed it on him, fully aware she needed to prioritize the existence of this kingdom instead of focusing on a power struggle.

"I shall do my best for the people."