"How about the situation in Palgrost?" Jack asked. "Do we know how many troops they have? Palgrost is a rich country. I believe they should have sufficient troops to face Liguritudum's invasion, shouldn't they? Unlike the last time with Hydrurond, they don't have Aurebor's army supporting them."
Isabelle, Armstrong, and John looked at each other before Isabelle answered the question, "The day before the Liguritudum's invasion, a rift happened within Palgrost's leadership. Thelgrun's brother, Boron Stoneking, who was also Palgrost's vice president, led several other heads of state and contested Thelgrun's rule. The Republic of Palgrost was currently divided into two separate forces."
"What? This can't be a coincidence, can it?" Jack asked.
"I would be amazed if it is," John remarked.
"These rebel heads of states should see the ploy once they see Liguritudum's army cross the border, so they should stand down and face the enemy together, shouldn't they?"
"I'm afraid as of the latest intel today, they don't show any sign of standing down," Isabelle said.
"Currently, Palgrost's army is divided into two fronts," Armstrong informed. "Thelgrun's side is reported to have 2,600,000 troops while Boron's side had support from an army numbered 1,200,000 troops."
"Considering the circumstances, it is safe to assume that Boron had a deal with Liguritudum," John said. "The two must be working together to topple Thelgrun's rule. Probably Master offered Boron help to make him the sovereign replacing his brother."
"That Boron must be one dumb dwarf," Jennifer uttered. "Can't he see that Liguritudum is just using him?"
"Yeah. Once Thelgrun is out, he will be cast away. No way Master let him rule Palgrost unless he submits to Master's will," Jack said.
"I think it is not that simple," David said. "I think Master is utilizing Palgrost's kingdom faction quest to his advantage."
"Kingdom faction quest?" Jack asked.
David nodded. "Just like the rebellion in Liguritudum led by its prince and the succession war between the princes in Themisphere, Palgrost also has a kingdom faction quest that encompasses the power struggle in that country."
"Are you suggesting every country has such a quest?" Jeanny asked.
"From what we've gathered, I think it is safe to assume so," David answered.
If that were true, Jack thought about warning Four Winds. Kabaka was a grand chief that supported an alliance with Themisphere. It would be a problem if he was replaced. He might need to ask Wilted about these supposed kingdom-toppling quests.
"These kingdom faction quests aim to disrupt the existing government," David resumed. "The speed of its advancement seems to depend on the involvement of us players. In Liguritudum, it happened so early because Master had known about this quest's existence and used it to the fullest. In this country, well, it is through the involvement of His Majesty here and the Death Associates with its coalition."
Scarface nodded in acknowledgment.
"In other countries, these quests were less apparent maybe because the players hadn't triggered the quest yet," David said. "Aside from Palgrost and Sangrod."
"Sangrod? What happens in Sangrod?" Jack asked.
"The emperor has suddenly started executing some of his heirs," William of Wellington answered.
"What? Why?" Jack asked.
"We are still investigating that," William answered. "The kingdom faction of Sangrod is very difficult to join. Even now, only a few players have been invited to join Sangrod's kingdom faction. Saint Edge has a decent percentage among the ones who have joined but none of them triggered a kingdom faction quest that has anything to do with the power struggle in the empire."
"Someone must have triggered the quest without others knowing it," Steelhand remarked.
"Does the emperor give any reason for the executions?" Jack asked.
"The news was that proofs of treason have been found on those heirs," William replied. "What these proofs were, it was never announced."
"Is Horatio among the ones who were executed?" Jack asked.
"The third prince? No," William answered. "He is among the ones who have decent political power. It will take more than a few unspecified proofs to put him in the execution block. But with how things are progressing, we suspect he is also not safe."
"Is Your Majesty close to Prince Horatio?" Alfredo asked.
"Not really. He is simply the only prince I know of in Sangrod," Jack answered.
"Let's focus our attention on Palgrost," Jeanny said. "We can worry about Sangrod's situation later."
David nodded. "As I was saying, the kingdom faction quest that contested the current sovereign's power should be triggered by players. From what we have gathered, one guild in Palgrost is responsible for Palgrost's current situation."
"Which one?" Jack asked.
"A guild which named themselves the State of Galhana," David answered.
"That guild is also the number one guild in Palgrost's ranking list," Jeanny informed.
"Galhana? Isn't that the name of a small country in our real world?" Jack asked. "The one that we often heard from the news about armed conflict happening regularly there."
"That's correct," David nodded. "The leader of this guild was the tyrant leader of that country, General Sizhad Ruust. He is also the highest-ranking military officer in that army. He is an experienced soldier. In terms of battle power, he is probably on par with my boss, Mils from the Jackal Crews, and Ronald, the phantom gunslinger. He often claims that he is the descendant and the reincarnation of General Amon."
"Amon? Isn't that the mad dictator? The one who caused a world war in our real world five hundred years ago?" Jack asked.
"The same one," David confirmed. "Of course, it's just his claim. No one knows for sure. Serpent Boss and I have clashed with him several times when we were doing some missions in his country. I must say that although his intelligence and tactical planning do not reflect the mad dictator, his ruthlessness and fighting ability do."
"Well, if his tactical planning is on par with General Amon, then we have a whole boatload of troubles on our way," John said. "I learned a lot from reading Amon's strategy."
"You idolized the mad dictator?" Jack rolled his eyes.
"I idolized his tactics. He is a brilliant strategist. I don't truly care about his morality," John replied. He then turned to David and said, "You brought up this General Sizhad because you suspected he is the one in collusion with Master, didn't you?"
