After returning from Duke Ward's dream, Lis did not rest, but instead stood up and walked to the window, gazing at the Ice Castle Palace, situated at the highest point of Ice Peak City.
Lis had thought that tonight would go smoothly and that he would successfully deceive Duke Ward, but now he was feeling a bit perplexed.
In his view, Duke Ward had been far too cautious and apprehensive.
It was hard to imagine that this was the same ruthless man who had boldly opened the Demon's Gate in the Royal Capital's Ice Peak City, causing countless civilians' deaths.
Lis felt that he had done everything he could: displaying his power, offering his support, and even purposely creating the impression that he wanted to replace the Ice and Snow Goddess Church, all to lure Duke Ward into cooperation.
But Duke Ward was still hesitating!
He was still hesitating!
It was less about hesitating to collaborate with the Death Secret Cult and more about lacking the determination to fight a battle to the death with His Majesty the King.
Oh, come on, big brother!
With your political wisdom, you must see that by continuing to hesitate , it's like cutting flesh with a blunt knife, and sooner or later you'll be bled dry by that His Majesty the King.
How can you still harbor such unrealistic fantasies at this point?
Lis felt helpless, but he wasn't worried about the lack of cooperation.
Seeing how things went today, it was only a matter of time before Duke Ward would be willing to work with him.
But with the way he was now, Lis was already doubting what the final battle would be like.
So, how exactly had the Demon's Gate incident in the Dillon Kingdom unfolded in the past life to become so tragic?
Lis had thought that after grasping the development of the past life's plot, all he needed to do was fan the flames, but now he seemed to face a fog concealing something.
This feeling was what truly irked Lis.
And to be honest, the Demon's Gate incident in his past life was indeed strange; everything had escalated so quickly that many players didn't really feel it until the final battle broke out.
Duke Ward died, and although Ice Peak City suffered a hit, the King still had the last laugh.
All of these things seemed rather odd, especially after Lis became a player in the game, his insights deepened.
But soon, Lis adjusted his mindset.
He was still not careful enough; all of his past experiences and adventures had gone too smoothly, protected by a significant figure, leading him to overconfidence in his abilities.
As it turned out, the past life's plot wasn't necessarily the whole truth; the secrets hidden within the Extraordinary World were too numerous, and he needed to be even more careful.
His current trip to Ice Peak City in the Dillon Kingdom was intended as a trial. It would be best if he could achieve his goal, but there was no need to force it if not.
Speaking of which, the most intense conflicts weren't far off at this point in time.
In Lis's eyes, Ice Peak City, shrouded in the night, was like a barrel of gunpowder continuously being piled on, just waiting for that final spark to ignite.
The next day, Lis went about his usual work at the Ice Castle Palace.
While processing various financial affairs and tasks, Lis also noted any valuable intelligence, which he passed on through Viscount Roy, the spy from the Feis Kingdom.
This message also confirmed the factual plans of the Dillon Kingdom's invasion and the extent of their mobilization.
Starting these past few days, the Dillon Kingdom had begun its pre-war mobilization without any pretense, with the transfer of materials and deployment of troops all underway in full swing.
As the Finance Officer, Lis also took part in some of these preparations, especially evident from the allocation of materials, which revealed the key focuses and main direction of the Dillon Kingdom's upcoming efforts.
Even so, King Lukar did not mobilize the elite troops stationed in Ice Peak City, and the atmosphere in the city grew increasingly tense.
Over these days, Lis spent his time busy with work, though he spent most of his time idly meditating, he still had to maintain the appearance of being "wholeheartedly dedicated to work."
In the evenings, he would enter the Dream World to continue laying the groundwork for "Dream Refraction."
During this process, Lis's manipulation of the Power of Dreams became more skilled.
The conflict between His Majesty the King and Duke Ward became ever more evident, with rumors circulating that they had argued more than once. Duke Ward firmly opposed King Lukar's plan to invade the Feis Kingdom.
In his opinion, just resisting the invasion of Magic Beasts from the northern icy plains was draining a large portion of Dillon Kingdom's strength. The Kingdom's favorable development was built upon the united efforts of the previous Dillon King and Duke Ward.
Despite this, launching an invasion against the Feis Kingdom, if the situation did not go as planned, could drag Dillon into the quagmire of war, squandering the hard-won situation they had achieved.
Duke Ward's views received support from some of the Dillon Kingdom's Nobles.
However, King Lukar scoffed at Duke Ward's perspective, considering it a sign of conservatism and cowardice.
In his view, for the first time in nearly a century, the Church of the Gods had not intervened in a conflict between Human Kingdoms, presenting a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, especially with the current power vacuum in the Northern Territory of the Feis Kingdom, posing little risk.
If they couldn't even seize such an opportunity, were they supposed to honestly remain trapped in the bitterly cold lands of the north, giving up on future prospects, and hoping for others to mercifully grant Dillon Kingdom a land soaked in sunlight?