Chapter 478: Volume 5, Chapter 72: Are They Dead?
Christers Base, at this moment, had plunged into extreme chaos.
A large number of soldiers hurriedly surged out of the barracks, gathering on the open ground, blankly looking around alongside their leading junior officers. On the tarmac, numerous activated Mechas emitted the sound of metal friction as their mechanical components extended. However, they too had received no orders. Fighter jets, rapidly launched from hidden ejection ports, hovered in the air. The pilots, listening to the chaotic communications and staring at the empty radar screens, were at a loss.
There was no massive invasion. Nothing at all. Was this just an exercise?
Everything seemed so bizarre.
Stephen’s body had already been carried into the small building.
Duke Victor stood quietly by the window of the small building, his back facing his nephew’s body, watching the chaotic scene outside the base, as if he had suddenly aged ten years.
He couldn’t believe that someone had assassinated Stephen at this very moment, in this very place! He also couldn’t believe that the situation could deteriorate so quickly. Everything felt like a dream. How he wished time could go back to when Stephen had just stepped out of the small building.
Who ordered the alarm to be sounded? Twenty-one senior commanders, apart from the seven direct descendants of the Howard family before him, where had the other fourteen gone?
Duke Victor felt a wave of dizziness. He had to press his hands firmly against the window sill to maintain his balance. He knew very well that when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. Which one of these scheming nobles isn’t an expert in conspiracy and power games? Seeing Stephen gunned down in broad daylight, they naturally made their choices at the fastest speed.
Jiacuo, at this moment, must have already seen a change, right? The front-line factions and their troops, have they already received their respective masters’ orders to start fighting passively, preserving their strength? At this time, who would still be willing to wholly expend their military power in Jiacuo?
The disagreements over the deployment of troops for Jiacuo’s defense among the major nobles have been brewing for a long time. With Stephen there, coupled with the Howard family’s influence, Zola’s manipulations, and careful balance, they were able to gradually deploy the troops controlled by these nobles.
Despite the nobles’ hearts bleeding in pain, they had no choice!
As the apparent sole heir of the Morton family, Stephen was the banner of the entire old power structure of Gazalin. He was the only link holding this ununified group together. What he represented was the entire ruling class!
The Gazalin Royal Family had ruled Gazalin for hundreds of years, continually striving to unite this class, mainly composed of the Vibo people and extreme nationalists, around themselves through various means. Whether it was education, economy, politics, or military, almost all policies were geared toward serving the interests of this class and solidifying the Royal Family’s position.
Every Gazalin ruler understood that without the foundation of governance, without the support of stakeholders, absolute power could not be maintained. Thus, the noble class of Gazalin controlled more than sixty percent of the nation’s wealth. The Gazalin Vibo Clan was above many other races, enjoying special privileges.
It was this class that upheld the traditional ruling power of Gazalin, allowing the Morton family to stand tall for centuries, quashing rebellion time and again. Even after experiencing coups, defeats, and the capture of emperors, the traditional forces of Gazalin could still gather into the largest armed groups, controlling the country’s economic and military lifelines.
Especially the younger forces within this class, they were utterly devoted, unwavering in their loyalty. They had no choice. The education they received and privileges they enjoyed had long tied them to the chariot of the Morton family. They could not allow this country to democratize or be led by other races.
But now, Stephen was dead. In plain sight, half of his skull had been blown off with a single shot. The Vibo people loyal to the Gazalin Royal Family, at this moment, lost the person they pledged allegiance to. Stephen’s death, in their minds, was tantamount to the collapse of the last pillar of the Empire.
Without Stephen, without the lingering influence of the Royal Family who had ruled this country for centuries, no matter how much the nobles struggled, the disintegration of this class was imminent. Although the Howard family had married into the Royal Family, they were not true royalty. And there were six such families in Gazalin!
At this time, if the nobles didn’t consider their own family interests, didn’t preserve their strength for the future, didn’t leave themselves some capital to ally with other powers, they wouldn’t be Gazalin nobles.
They might sacrifice for the Royal Family, but they would never sacrifice for the Howard family! The education they received from a young age and the undercurrents within the noble circle had already taught these nobles how to survive in this outwardly noble and civilized, yet internally blood-soaked world. Which noble family hasn’t grown by politely stepping over others’ corpses?
"Father." Stephen’s cousin, Victor Duke’s eldest son Ritter, walked in holding the latest battle report. "As you expected, the 132nd Infantry Division at the Jiacuo front has started to withdraw first, leaving the defensive pressure to the 49th Division. Other family troops have similar movements."
"Who exactly..." Duke Victor slowly turned his head, his voice calm and cold. "Killed Stephen? Betrayed us?"