Exiled from the Start and Dominating the Wasteland with an Intelligence System Chapter 121 : Chapter 121

Chapter 121. Regional Prejudice

Two more days passed, and night had fallen over Thorne City, its lights just beginning to glow.

As Sir Lucius's orders were conveyed, the Frontier Lords from various regions who had received the ergency summons began arriving one after another from every remote corner of the Western Frontier, gathering in the capital, Thorne City.

These lords, each with a different background and a special status of his or her own, were all assigned to stay in several higher-end inns within the inner city.

At his own request, Eli had also already moved out of La Roche Castle and into one of the designated inns.

He knew very well that at a ti like this, staying together with the other lords would make it easier to understand the situation and more convenient to act.

Sir Lucius's arrangent was also rather thought-provoking.

He had not scattered all the lords and mixed them together. Instead, he had roughly divided them among different inns according to the regions they ca from.

The lords from the Eastern Frontier were lodged together, those from the Southern Frontier were together, and those from the Royal Domain were together.

There was even one inn specifically set aside for the small number of pioneers from the Northern Frontier.

On the surface, such an arrangent seed ant to make it easier for countryn to look after one another.

In truth, it felt more like a silent encouragent, or even... indulgence.

An encouragent for them to band together according to their old regional circles.

Before the eting had even begun, several regional groups would naturally take shape.

And then, those groups would naturally select representatives with enough influence to lead them.

That would undoubtedly make the later negotiations easier, while also making it easier to see the attitudes and demands of every side.

Judging from the current lodging situation, the inns housing the Royal Domain and Eastern Frontier lords were already packed to the brim.

At the Golden Cup and Antlers Inn, where the Royal Domain nobles were staying, the atmosphere was by far the most lively and boisterous.

In the main hall, the fireplace blazed brightly, and the air was thick with the sll of ale and roasted at.

These young nobles, who had once lived in pampered comfort in the royal capital, had been tempered by several months of sandstorms and danger in the Western Wasteland.

The fine clothes they wore were perhaps no longer as spotless and splendid as when they had first arrived.

So even showed signs of wear and patches, yet every one of them had undergone a striking change in bearing.

They gathered in groups of two and three, talking loudly, and their conversations were nothing more than tales of the dangers they had faced during the pioneering campaign.

They also discussed which unlucky acquaintance had already been left forever in the wasteland, becoming a footnote to failed frontier expansion.

Their words carried both the relief of survivors and a sense of confusion and anticipation toward the future.

Eli stepped down the wooden staircase from the second floor.

He had changed into a neat set of casual clothes that were proper without being conspicuous, and a perfectly asured smile rested on his face.

"My friends, it has been a long ti."

His voice was not loud, yet it carried clearly into most of the hall.

In an instant, the noise in the hall died down considerably, and nearly every gaze turned toward him.

Among the younger generation of Royal Domain nobles, the na Eli Black had long been thunderously famous.

Only in the past, it had mostly been as a negative example.

But tis were different now.

The present Eli was not only the only successful baron among all the Royal Domain's Frontier Lords, but it was also rumored that he had just won considerable military rit in the southwestern part of the Western Frontier.

Following the strong and banding together was human instinct, especially here in the Western Frontier, so far from the royal capital.

On top of that, the Royal Domain nobility had intermarried for generations. Their ties were tangled and deep, and most of them could trace at least so distant familial connection to one another.

So the mont Eli appeared, the crowd naturally converged around him, each trying to strike up a conversation and draw closer to him.

"Eli! Hahaha, long ti no see!"

"Eli? Not bad at all! I could tell since we were kids that you had it in you! Not like what those people used to say!"

"Baron Eli! Co to think of it, my mother's cousin's husband's younger brother married a distant aunt of your House Black. If we follow the line properly, I'm practically your nephew!"

Eli kept the sa gentle smile on his face as he exchanged greetings with ease.

He accepted the wine goblets others passed him and clinked cups with both the familiar and the unfamiliar, while the atmosphere grew ever more spirited.

From ti to ti, he precisely recalled so embarrassing incident or amusing anecdote from a certain young noble's boyhood in the royal capital.

That would imdiately draw knowing laughter from the crowd and shorten the distance between them in an instant.

For a mont, it was as though they had returned to that seemingly intimate circle culture of the Royal Domain.

A young knight from House Bernard took advantage of a pause in the conversation to ask carefully,

"Baron Eli, Sir Lucius suddenly summoned all of us Frontier Lords here this ti. Just what major matter is he planning to announce?

"Do you... happen to know any inside information? Could you give us a little hint?"

That question voiced the doubts in many hearts, and the hall imdiately quieted considerably as everyone looked toward Eli.

Eli set down the goblet in his hand, put on an expression of helplessness, spread his hands, and answered with complete sincerity.

"To be honest, I know no more than the rest of you about the exact reason.

"Sir Lucius has not revealed any information to ."

Seeing the disappointnt and suspicion rise on everyone's faces, he abruptly changed tone. "However!"

"Please rest assured! No matter what Sir Lucius announces, or what demands he makes, I, Eli Pendragon, pledge it here and now—

"I will be the first to speak out and firmly defend the common interests of all Royal Domain lords!

"I will never allow anyone to damage our rights and interests! In the opening of the Western Frontier, we ought to stand united!"

His declaration rang out with force and imdiately won the favor and approval of all the Royal Domain lords present.

"Well said!"

"Baron Eli is one of us!"

"That's right! We people of the Royal Domain must stand together!"

A wave of cheering and agreent imdiately broke out in the hall.

The young noble who had just claid to be Eli's nephew shouted even louder than the others,

"Since Baron Eli cares so deeply for all of us, and since he has both ability and a sense of responsibility, then why don't we make Baron Eli the Alliance Lord of all the Royal Domain's Frontier Lords?

"Whatever happens from now on, we advance and retreat together, and all follow Baron Eli's lead!"

"Good! I agree!"

"I support Baron Eli!"

"Alliance Lord! Alliance Lord!"

The proposal instantly received enthusiastic support from the crowd.

At this mont, whether in strength, title, or attitude, Eli was without question the most commanding figure among the Royal Domain lords.

A look of surprise and alarm appeared on Eli's face, and he hurriedly waved his hands in refusal.

"This... this will not do. How could I possibly deserve such a role? All of you are n of talent. I think it would be better if—"

But the crowd was in too high a mood to let him refuse, and the cheers and voices urging him onward only grew louder and louder.

"Baron Eli, stop declining!"

"Who else but you is worthy?"

In the end, unable to withstand the crowd's enthusiasm, Eli let out a helpless sigh and said solemnly,

"Since all of you place such trust in ... very well!

"Then I, Eli Pendragon, shall accept this heavy responsibility!

"I will do everything in my power to live up to your trust and defend the interests of our Royal Domain pioneering group!"

"Good!!!"

The hall erupted once more in thunderous cheers and applause, and the atmosphere reached its peak.

The Royal Domain lords seed to have found their pillar, and every one of them wore an excited expression.

Yet pleasant atmospheres were always the easiest things to shatter.

Just as everyone raised their cups and prepared to celebrate the birth of their new Alliance Lord—

Bang!!!

The inn's heavy wooden doors were kicked open from outside with a savage blow.

That trendous crash struck like thunder, instantly drowning out every other sound.

All the laughter and noise in the hall ca to a dead halt.

The Royal Domain lords were stunned for a mont, then quickly turned furious eyes toward the doorway and the unexpected visitors gathered there.

Who was so bold as to kick in the Royal Domain's door?

At the entrance stood a group of young people dressed in a style wholly different from that of the Royal Domain nobles, their expressions haughty and arrogant.

The few at the front, in particular, wore undisguised looks of provocation.

"How dare you! Who are you people?!"

"Where did these barbarians co from? Do you have no manners at all?!"

"Look at their crests... country folk from the Eastern Frontier? Don't you know this is our Royal Domain's territory?!"

One of the Royal Domain nobles recognized the heraldry on soone's clothing at the front, and his voice was thick with contempt.

To be called "country folk" imdiately infuriated the Eastern Frontier lords, and they snapped back at once.

"Nonsense! Compared to the Eastern Frontier, you're the real backwater rabble!"

"The overwhelming majority of the Kingdom's great artists and scholars co from the Eastern Frontier!"

"Royal Domain lot? A bunch of bloodsucking parasites! How much of the grain you eat do you think gets shipped over by us?!"

The two sides imdiately descended into a shouting match steeped in regional prejudice, their language coarse and the sll of gunpowder thick in the air.

The commotion quickly drew plenty of other lords from different regions, as well as Thorne City residents outside the inn, and they all gathered to watch, pointing and whispering at the scene inside.

At the very center of it, Eli, who had only just been elevated to the position of Alliance Lord, could not help twitching at the corner of his mouth.

Good grief... their timing is really this precise?

I have only just finished the performance—well, only just taken the seat of Alliance Lord—and they are already here to kick it out from under ?

Despite his inward exasperation, Eli knew that as the man who had just been chosen as Alliance Lord, he had to step forward.

He parted the crowd and walked to the very front of the Royal Domain lords.

His gaze calmly settled on the hostile group of Eastern Frontier lords at the doorway.

His eyes swept across the crowd on the other side before finally landing on the person at the front.

It was a woman.

She had hair as vivid as fla, tied back in a sharp, efficient ponytail.

She was quite beautiful, yet there was a cold, heroic sharpness in her brows and eyes.

She wore a fitted hunting outfit in the style of the Eastern Frontier, and a slender curved blade hung at her waist.

At that mont, her arms were folded across her chest as she coldly surveyed the chaotic Royal Domain crowd before her.

When her gaze passed over Eli, it paused for the slightest mont.

Then she raised a hand to stop the companions behind her, who were still hurling curses.

Seeing this, Eli also signaled for the people behind him to quiet down.

The scene finally fell temporarily silent.

The red-haired woman stepped forward, ignoring everyone else. Her icy, lake-colored eyes locked directly onto Eli.

Her red lips parted, and her voice was cool and clear.

"Eli Pendragon?"

Eli's gaze swept across the hands-cradling-the-moon crest displayed upon the... rather striking rise of her chest. The Russell Family of the Eastern Frontier?

He gave a slight nod, his tone indifferent. "I am. Are you a Russell?"

The woman did not answer his question. She rely looked him up and down with those icy eyes, then said flatly,

"Care to talk?"