Ashen Dragon-Chapter 1209 - 355: North-South Standoff

"Marshal, there’s news from the Fourth Legion, their progress is very smooth, they’ve already captured Kafar City."

"Didn’t I send them to conduct reconnaissance?"

In the former Ducal Residence of Sharin, now the headquarters of the Imperial Expeditionary Force, the Great Goblin of the Dragon Vein, Dolores, stopped writing the document in his hand and looked up with some surprise.

The Herald let out a dry laugh and added, "The Dragon Worship Church no longer has any organized forces. When they arrived in Kafar City, the cultists there were gathered together for a ritual, and the Fourth Legion conveniently wiped them out."

"Truly soldiers cultivated from the bloodline of His Majesty...," Dolores sighed.

The Herald continued, "The Fourth Legion is maintaining order locally, and they are requesting the Command Headquarters to immediately dispatch garrison troops and provide them with... overtime pay, as they claim to have over-achieved their task."

Dolores’s expression immediately turned grim, "Nonsense, they are disobeying orders! Military expenses at the front line are so tight, with hundreds of thousands of troops stationed in Seleucis, consuming vast resources every moment, all of which are His Majesty’s wealth! And they still demand compensation?"

"What should I reply?"

"Tell them to get lost!"

Dolores waved his hand impatiently and continued to inspect the documents in front of him.

To this day, the Allied Forces have controlled the majority of the Seleucid region, while the Empire has control over the entire Allied Forces, but the situation of the land was far more complicated than they had imagined.

The native nobles of Seleucis—led by Duke Adrian, the "Second Fadlan Front Line," have been attempting to retake control of the Allied Forces and restore the former Kingdom of Seleucis.

However, the weaponry is ultimately in the hands of the Empire, so these Seleucid people dare not show their hand, only secretly uniting local citizens to rally their support.

Meanwhile, the Dragon Worship Church has ruled for a long time, and many local forces are in collusion with them for personal gains, hiding considerable forces devoted to Tiamat in the shadows, necessitating a comprehensive cleanup from top to bottom by the Empire.

Additionally, handling the allegiance of the Farlia Clan has also become a crucial issue.

It should be known that as the largest Blue Dragon Clan in the Talilo Desert, many Blue Dragons within the Farlia Clan have irreconcilable blood feuds with the Seleucid members of the Allied Forces.

After the conclusion of the "Battle of Rock Rift Valley," there were resounding calls for punishment of the Blue Dragons who participated in the battle, with some even staging demonstrations demanding the execution of all Blue Dragons involved in the war.

But after all, the Faria Clan is the first dragon race to submit to the Empire, of great symbolic significance, and their bloodline has high research value, something the Empire’s high command would never deal harshly with.

For days, Dolores had been arbitrating between both sides to resolve conflicts and ease hatred, using His Majesty Cassius’s words to "smooth things over," an exhausting task akin to torture for one who only relishes slaughter.

"Had His Majesty not instructed to maintain stability in Seleucis before crushing the Red Dragon Sect, I would have had these troublemakers executed by cannon fire long ago!" Dolores furiously crumpled a document into a ball and shredded it into fragments.

At this moment, an officer from the staff department hurriedly entered and said:

"Marshal, something’s happened over at the square again!"

"Speak, what is it?"

Dolores tossed the torn paper ball aside, his tone somewhat impatient.

Seeing the situation, the officer cautiously said, "It’s those old Seleucid nobles, they demand the Empire to execute the twenty-three Blue Dragons related to the Blue Dragon Church and to hand over the cities’ control to them..."

"Absolutely outrageous! Who gave them such nerve?"

Dolores smashed the wooden table with a slam and stood up abruptly, clenching his teeth, "If not for His Majesty’s orders, I’d have hung them on the gallows long ago! They don’t even have the self-awareness to act like puppets!"

"So, what do you intend to do..."

"Let’s go! I want to see where they get their audacity from!" Dolores strode rapidly, kicking open the door angrily and marching towards the Council Hall.

...

In the city of Shalin, inside the Council Hall.

The Seleucid noble officers, clad in armor and wielding Silver Swords, gathered in front of the city square, their voices resolute, impassioned, and indignant: "Seleucis belongs to the Seleucid people!"

"Return the government, slay the evil dragons!"

"Those Blue Dragons should pay for their atrocities! This matter cannot be glossed over, this is the blood and tears of the Seleucid people!"

The Seleucid citizens gathered here too, passionately raising their arms, shouting: "Revenge! Revenge! Make those evil dragons pay the price!"

As the Commander of the Seleucid people within the Allied Forces, Adrian stood quietly among the crowd, not fervently shouting like the others but stood by his sword, with a worried expression on his face.

Resisting the Empire, this was undoubtedly a perilous endeavor.

But as a witness to the Dragon Disaster, Adrian, too, genuinely believed that those savage Blue Dragons should be executed and that control over all cities in Talilo should be returned to the Seleucid people.

Suddenly, there was a shout from a distance.

"It’s Marshal Dolores!"

"It’s that Great Goblin, the highest commander of the Imperial people has arrived!"

Amidst a throng of Half-Dragons and Dragon Vein Goblin Guards, Dolores walked slowly from afar, his steps heavy and powerful, causing the ground to tremble slightly. His towering form, nearly five meters in height, with bulging muscles, still exerted an overwhelming sense of pressure on everyone present.

Instantly, the previously clamorous citizens fell silent, not daring to make a sound or even to look up and meet his gaze. Even the most vocal noble officers swallowed hard, their legs trembling.