Upon hearing this, the first person whose face changed was not the other nobles of South Ridge, but the spy from Fiery Flame Land.
——Damn, when did we have this plan?
What Fiery Flame Land South Sea Fleet, what Iron Wing Dragon Flock, what constructed knights for cross-mountain raids... show some common sense, please! The South Sea Fleet of Fiery Flame Land mainly guards against the Sea Demon Worm swarms near Whale Song Cliff, and the Iron Wing Dragon Flock is hired, the King of Iron has long moved away, they won’t oppose the King of Iron a second time!
Not to mention the cross-mountain constructed knights... damn, constructed knights are dozens of meters tall, how do these metal lumps climb mountains? If they really climb, what surprise attack effect would there be? They would have been targeted for strikes ages ago!
Just what kind of gibberish is this Prophet spouting? If Fiery Flame Land is this strong, they would have torn apart your Western front long ago and turned your South Ridge into an advance base, how could they still be in a standoff at the pass!
Meanwhile, the other nobles of South Ridge had a bad feeling upon hearing ’command authority’.
Command authority, simply put, is a mandatory military order during wartime——local noble governors have the right to allocate all resources within their province during wartime to deal with war.
Whether it’s cooperating to build fortresses or helping produce materials, summoned nobles must complete reasonable tasks and act according to wartime policies.
This is the highest authority of a region’s governor... and Marquis Barton has actually handed all this authority over to Ian Silverpeak?! Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩·𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢·𝔫𝔢𝔱
"So, brothers and sisters, people of the Empire! We unite!"
At this moment, Ian estimated that the atmosphere on-site had been stirred enough, those nobles and spies probably heard his analysis and prophecy, so he immediately changed his tone: "Since we already know Fiery Flame Land’s actions, can we still let them succeed?"
"Since the enemy will come from the sea, we need to strengthen coastal defense, ensuring the safety of Harrison Port and Nauman City!"
"Since we know the enemy will come from the sky, then every town must have a corresponding alarm network facility, so that if attacked, we can immediately know and calculate the enemy’s trajectory to intercept!"
"Since the enemy will cross mountains, then we need to develop the surrounding border areas, creating early warning zones!"
"And all these functions require us to establish a network and alliance based on mutual unity and trust—we need to completely become a single entity within the Empire, rather than scattered individuals across the frontier!"
Ian’s eyes shone with a silver-blue light as he scanned the faces in the front row of all present, especially those of the minor nobility of South Ridge, and he calmly said: "We are going to establish an alliance, an alliance network."
"In this network, every noble’s territory can exchange needed resources rapidly, preparing for the full mobilization of South Ridge. All nobles must report to me their rank, strength, inclination, and the number of Sublimators and Knights in their territory, to facilitate my foresight of the upcoming enemies and challenges for you."
"In addition, the guilds, the Stoneworkers Association, and Alchemy Workshops, must also join this network. I need to know your actual production data and workshop operations."
"The more detailed the data, the more accurate my predictions."
"This is to reasonably allocate resources, not to seize your right of disposal."
"You need not worry about mutual grievances, nor about my bias, because I am the Prophet, and everything I do is for the Empire to safely get through this difficulty and achieve final victory."
Facing these nobles, Ian calmly said, with a power surpassing theirs and thus exerting immense pressure: "If any noble has objections, feel free to speak."
Not even the commoners present dared to make a single sound.
"Then it is settled."
Ian calmly smiled: "Next, I will stay at the Lord’s Mansion for a while."
"The few nobles, guild heads, and workshop leaders who come first for registration, I can provide them with a one-time individual prophecy."
"And to the people of the Empire, please unite with one heart, although future hardships won’t change, we can make all preparations to welcome the arrival of the storm!"
Ian’s prophecy ended.
Before him, everyone, whether noble or commoner, had originally been immersed in fear and anxiety.
But once Ian revealed, ’The future holds a great war, don’t think about it, let’s start preparing for war!’, they were not anxious anymore, instead, they found resolve.
The thing feared most is not understanding, once everything is understood, the uneasy heart gradually transforms into a resolve to face the enemy head-on.
And Ian, taking advantage of this prophecy, vigorously spread the crisis, relying on Marquis Barton’s prestige and his own newly appointed title of Earl and Prophet, along with the increasingly prosperous reality of Xiawei Territory, forcibly established the ’unification’ plan to integrate the whole South Ridge noble circle.
Originally, within the noble circle, there was indeed some cooperation and alliance, for instance, the smuggling chain between Viscount Grant and Baron Leyan, which actually represents a broadly spanning interest chain throughout the South Ridge noble circle.
Ian thoroughly exposed this and basically stated directly that he intends to become the boss.
So, is there anyone who will oppose?