Chapter 778: Vol V Chapter 138
Flying Fish Tom did not have any bad habits. Furthermore, his own capabilities were quite good. Naturally, Sui Xiong would not object to him becoming the lord.
Also, he had gained Wall and Sui Xiong’s approvals, so the matter of him becoming the successor as lord was practically settled.
However, from the ascertained time of appointment to the official handover, there was still a lot of work to be done. Firstly, Tom had to learn the ropes of governing the country from Olian. She also needed to gradually hand over the main tasks as lord of Geerteng Hill to him via a step-by-step approach. In particular, he needed to slowly get used to the difference in ranks between him and the main officials of this territory. He also had to allow the officials to gradually familiarize themselves with his way of being in charge of the work… these were steps that could not be rushed. Even if Olian had enough authority to have the final say, for the sake of their territory, she still had to allow Tom to gain power and authority with his own might.
According to Olian’s plan, she intended to use two to three years to complete this task. By that time, Tom would be in his mid-thirties, where he could be the lord for 10 to 15 years. To most territories, this period was more than enough.
Of course, Tom had children too. His children might be young, but they were bright. It was highly plausible that so long as they were taught well, after 20 years, they could make good successors.
Even if his children turned out to be good-for-nothings and were unable to inherit his territory, the Geerteng family still had many close relatives and lineal descendants. It would also be all right even if Olian Geerteng was reluctant to be the mastermind behind everything and got Steele Geerteng or Romon Geerteng to temporarily act as the lord for a while.
But come to think of it, their generation was really quite impressive. The two who were vying for the inheritance rights, as well as Olian, who eventually won the inheritance rights, all three of them ended up becoming Legendary Masters. If such a success rate were to happen in any other family, it would be enough to make people so envious that they would go red-eyed like rabbits.
The people of the Geerteng family at that period was a withering generation. Out of the two lineal successors of the Geerteng family, one had issues with character while the other was of questionable background. The ultimate heir was merely a collateral relative. Yet when compared to such a glorious accomplishment of having three Legendary Masters from the same generation, what was a mere thing like a withering generation?
So long as any lord on the continent could ensure that any generation of his descendants could produce three Legendary Masters, he would be more than willing to see a momentary “withering generation” in his family.
To be able to “wither” out three Legendary Masters was something so good that he could laugh himself awake from sleep!
Although there were very few demigod masters among the humans, almost all of them isolated themselves from the mass to live in seclusion. Those who truly lived among the humans who could guide and protect the continuation of the family most probably had to depend on Legendary Masters.
A Legendary Master often could protect the continuation of a family for thousands of years. If the same generation could produce two Legendary Masters, that family’s prosperity and development were definitely guaranteed. The Geerteng family had three Legendary Masters coming from the same generation. Not only would this allow the family to flourish and grow, but it would also serve as a deterrence to those who harbored ill intentions so that they would not dare to do any harm to the family. It would also serve as a warning to them to keep their claws to themselves.
Because Olian Geerteng had the God of Knowledge and Culture, Wall, backing her up, it was a given that no one would dare to provoke her.
Provoking an elector of a real god was akin to a death invitation. Ordinary people absolutely would not do anything like that.
Even in the future, when Tom Geerteng took over her as successor, Olian Geerteng would still be living here. The headquarters of the Church of the God of Knowledge would still be around. Whoever dared to make trouble would have to be mentally prepared as one lightning blow from His Majesty, the God of Knowledge could easily leave one 50% burnt.
With this kind of backing, Brother Tom’s position in the future was definitely secure. Except for Olian’s presence which might make him somewhat uncomfortable. This was because he would not be able to completely be in charge. But other than that, it was highly unlikely that there would be anyone else in this world who could be a more comfortable lord than Tom.
Sui Xiong stayed in Geerteng Hill for two to three days. After seeing Olian’s detailed discussion with Tom Geerteng to adjust Tom’s work and to change roles with Tom who would become his assistant officer, Sui Xiong left.
Once again, he flew to Grey Tower City.
Grey Tower City was where the base of the Void God System was in the Mifata Federation. With it as the core, there were four cities surrounding it to form a small alliance to join the Republic of Northwest.
Of course, their names could not possibly be “The Republic of Northwest”—after all, they were in the southern part of the continent. The official name of this small alliance was called the “North-South Alliance.”
South referred to both the Southern Plateau, and also the Southern Continent.
North referred to both the Republic of Northwest and also the northern end of the Southern Plateau where this small alliance of theirs was located.
In fact, the alliance master, Mage Hart, who was the city lord of Grey Tower City, had initially intended to name this alliance as “South Northwest Alliance”—naturally because this would correspond to the “Republic of Northwest.” But this alliance of four cities was not actually located in the northwest of the Southern Plateau. In fact, they were generally located slightly more in the southwest direction.
Of course, it was not alright to lie so brazenly. So in the end, this alliance was still called the “North-South Alliance.”
Honestly speaking, this name was a little presumptuous and gave the impression as if this alliance of four cities could be on an equal footing as the Republic of Northwest. But many people also feel that there seemed to be nothing wrong with this.
The Republic of Northwest consisted of a total of five cities. The proper sequence of the cities, starting from the north to the south, was as such. First, it was Void City, then Dragon Roar City, then Gold-Panning City, followed by Pyrotech City, and finally Rye City. Other than these cities, there were also some villages. But so far, no villages had been upgraded to towns. So on the overall, there were still only five cities in the northwest district.
And the North-South Alliance had four cities. Four versus five did not seem to be a big gap.
But those who truly knew their stuff would know that just one Void City alone was much more valuable than all four cities of the North-South Alliance put together! Their alliance of four cities was only more densely populated as compared to the other five cities. In terms of economic strength, they were most probably only comparable to Pyrotech City. Or at best, they could be comparable to Pyrotech City and Gold-Panning City put together. But they would not be anything beyond the combination of these two cities.
As for military strength, there was nothing to speak of this aspect at all. Pyrotech City had five to six Legendary Masters who were permanent residents. In each of the remaining cities, there was at least one Legendary Master in a dominant position. Void City even had the protection of a real god. In comparison, their little alliance in the Grey Tower City only had one Legendary Master, who strictly speaking, belonged to the category of a second-rate “pseudo Legendary Master.”
This Legendary Master was a predecessor of the Hart family. In terms of seniority, even Mage Hart had to greet him as “Great-Grandfather.” That master was the ancestor of the Hart family. By this year, he will have lived to an age close to 300 years old. In terms of level of professionalism, he was probably a 13th to 14th-grade mage, plus a 7th to 8th-grade scholar, and a 2nd to 3rd-grade aristocrat. Furthermore, he was also a 2nd to 3rd grade Sacred Warrior, as well as a 2nd to 3rd-grade priest.
His combat power, of course, could not be piled up into this messy combination of grades. But at least, it was possible for the progression of his life form. The old Mr. Hart might not be able to win against most of the Legendary Masters, but at least he could live for at least a thousand years and would be able to guard his family.
And within the alliance of all four cities, other than old Mr. Hart, there was no second Legendary Master.
When it came to speaking and doing things, such an organization would naturally be lacking in confidence.
