Chapter 43: Tigers, Lions, Bulls, and Rhinos

  Three days later, after work, Nitaan returned to his room to clean himself up. He carefully changed into a fine, dark blue, formal Raja Pattern suit. This suit has a delicate seam and neat embroidery. Even the collar and button all scream expensive.

  Just looking at the price tag made Nitaan nervous. Luckily he didn't have to buy it with his own money. Nitaan then styled his hair neatly, no longer loosely tied in a ponytail but instead securely fastened at the end.

  His favorite brown trousers were replaced with elegant and expensive-looking black trousers.

  With just these few changes, the young man who looked like a dust and dirt hunter transformed into a nobleman from a high-ranking family. The dark blue Raja Pattern suit complemented his blue eyes, and the trousers matched his beautiful black hair, making him look impeccable.

  Kiita's fur was neatly combed, matted fur trimmed by Nitaan, and a small, cute ornament was attached to the center of his chest. Even his usual leather shoes, which had holes in the claws, were replaced with sophisticated, pitch-black shoes.

  Nitaan and Kiita waited for Colonel Lalanta in front of the main office building in the evening. All the noon shift officers were already heading out. Many passersby couldn't help but glance at Nitaan and Kiita in their newfound attire.

  Nitaan already had a passable face and beautiful blue eyes. Combined with his usual expressionless demeanor, the well-dressed man now resembled a composed gentleman.

  His calm expression, coupled with the composed presence of Kiita beside him, created a quiet and aloof atmosphere, inevitably attracting the attention of many.

  Damn it, when will Colonel arrive? Beneath his calm facade, he couldn't help but grumble to himself. He really hated being the center of attention.

  "Nitaan!?, what the hell are you wearing?" A loud laugh rang out not far from the office door.

  Napha, Kasa, and Tawan, who were leaving the building, notice them. At first, they almost walked past him, not recognizing both of them. But Napha’s sharp eyes noticed Kiita and easily recognized who this gentleman was.

  Nitaan's face contorted. Before he could even reply, another round of laughter erupted. Seeing Nitaan in this unusual attire, Napha swiftly called other Unit 3 members to join in the fun.

  "Are you going on a blind date or something? Or are you waiting for someone? In our City Guard!? This will be big news." Napha chuckled, glancing left and right for the person Nitaan was waiting to meet.

  "Colonel Lalanta is dragging me along on an errand. She specifically told me to dress nicely," Nitaan said through gritted teeth.

  "Ho ho, I almost didn't recognize you dressed like that!" Tawan stroked his beard and complimented him.

  "You should dress up more often. There are many people staring at you like crazy." Kasa looked Nitaan up and down before chuckling softly.

  Napha laughed and nodded rapidly.

  "That's why I said I should introduce you to someone. You acted so cool during the unit entrance test. Of course someone gotta be interested," Napha teased.

  "You mean after beating you, right?" Tawan couldn't help but tease him back.

  "Don't worry! I'll win next time!" Napha still wore a cheerful smile.

  “Judging by the look of things, Colonel is probably going to drag you to a blind date. Good luck.” Kasa said, chuckling.

  Nitaan almost wanted to disappear into the ground. Luckily, a luxurious carriage pulled up beside them.

  “Alright, Unit 3, you can go back now. We have other business,” Colonel Lalanta called out from inside the carriage after opening the door.

  “Yes, sir/ma’am!” all three replied with smiles. As the carriage drove away, he could still hear Napha’s voice in the distance.

  “Don’t forget to introduce your fateful one to your friend!” followed by a burst of laughter.

  Maybe I should just join another unit and be done with it. No, maybe I should just become an adventurer, Nitaan sighed.

  “You’ve made good friends with your fellow unit members, I thought you were a loner type.” Colonel Lalanta commented.

  “Everyone’s a good person, although some of them are a bit annoying,” Nitaan replied with a smile.

  Colonel Lalanta smiled. At least she was relieved that Nitaan wouldn’t be alone or lonely in the City Guard unit.

  Her gaze swept over Nitaan from head to toe. Nitaan's good looks made her involuntarily whistle.

  "You should dress nicely more often, instead of always wearing those shabby clothes," Colonel Lalanta said, looking Nitaan up and down while laughing.

  "Kiita! You're so cute! And you're wearing a brooch!" Colonel Lalanta couldn't help but reach out and hug Kiita.

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  While Colonel was happily busy refilling Kiita, she noticed Nitaan's stress.

  "Don't stress so much. You'll get to meet a lot of people, maybe even a lovely lady," Colonel Lalanta comforted him.

  "Please, Colonel, I'm already exhausted from just being here," Nitaan sighed for the tenth time.

  "Just greet a few people, that's all. We'll be back soon. We're just guests, so we just need to present ourselves respectfully. No need to do anything too drastic."

  "By the way, do you know the main factions and Major powers in this kingdom?" Colonel Lalanta asked.

  “It won’t be fun if you don’t understand what other guests are talking about.”

  "Roughly," Nitaan replied.

  "This kingdom is ruled by the queen, so the most powerful faction is undoubtedly the Firegan royal family," Colonel Lalanta began to explain.

  Nitaan nodded.

  "But to be more specific, the most powerful faction or Major power is Queen Gomain Akni Firegan herself."

  Nitaan raised an eyebrow slightly. The royal family is already directly subordinate to the queen. There's no need for such a separate explanation.

  "When the queen founded the kingdom. Her forces defeated the Sovereign's forces. Despite all those wins, she almost lost to the Sovereign himself."

  "The queen, like the Sovereign, is the strongest in the kingdom. She alone is stronger than the entire kingdom combined. Therefore, the real and main force of the Firegan Kingdom is the queen herself," Colonel Lalanta answered without waiting for Nitaan's question.

  “It’s also like a subtle reminder to the royal family not to foolishly become another Sovereign,” Colonel Lalanta grinned.

  Nitaan nodded slightly. It makes sense that the queen put collars on her own royal family, since she did start a rebellion because of how wicked and dirty the royal family of that time was.

  “Next are the Four Great Families. They are the families that, along with the queen, founded the kingdom. Their power is second only to the royal family. You probably already know one of them, the Kodchasan family.”

  “The Kodchasan family was a leading force in the war back then, renowned for their close-combat prowess,” Colonel Lalanta explained briefly.

  “The other three families are the Virupaksha, Tamilmatsha, and Sianpayak families.”

  “The Great Families have forces spread throughout the continent, but their main base is here in the Firegan Kingdom. It’s the same pattern across the continent for any strong factions. Great Families from other countries also have forces in the Ratana City.” Colonel Lalanta shrugged.

  Nitaan suddenly thinks about Fang Ming, Fang Trading Group also has small forces here.

  “Next are the two Chaophraya families, families whose titles were directly bestowed by the queen. Those are the Uthumpohn and Songmekha families. You should be familiar with the Uthumpohn family. You've probably seen their greatness," Colonel Lalanta smiled faintly.

  Nitaan thought of that grand mansion, the vast amount of treasures within the house, and that giant Uthumpohn flower.

  "These families have influence throughout the kingdom and continent, but their branches in other countries are stronger than the four great families. Conversely, their overall power within this kingdom is incomparable."

  "Because they know that within this kingdom they will forever be inferior to the four Great Families," Nitaan murmured.

  "That's right. The power of the Great Families is unfathomable. Choosing to expand their power in other countries can generate more benefits," Colonel Lalanta nodded.

  "On the same level are the Great Families from other powerful countries, powerful trading groups like Qianbao Trading Group and Itsuka Trading Group. Besides that, there's the First Knowledge religion, private educational institutions 'Library' and others.”

  “One thing you have to remember is that forces only apply to here, not the whole Grand Continent. The whole force of Major power like Qianbao Trading Group, Itsuka Trading Group, the First Knowledge, and the Library are actually as strong as the entire Firegan Kingdom," Colonel Lalanta said.

  Nitaan's eyes widened. Major powers that were able to expand their influence to this degree in every country were certainly extraordinary. He just didn't think they'd be this strong.

  After all, they were all separate organizations. They operate as a business or religion, not a country that is easier to grow as a whole.

  "I once met a disciple of the Library's curator. He was terrifyingly strong," Colonel Lalanta grinned.

  Nitaan listened, completely bewildered. Apart from that Traveller, whose strength Nitaan didn't know, Colonel Lalanta was the strongest person he had ever met. Yet, that Colonel said that disciple was terrifyingly strong.

  "This Grand Continent is much wider than you think. So, let's focus on what's in front of us for now."

  "The main powers in the Firegan Kingdom are roughly like this. Of course, each power and royal family has its own internal hierarchy. You can study that yourself. You don't need to worry about the more minor levels yet," Colonel Lalanta waved his hand.

  "How come trading groups have that much power?" Nitaan raised an eyebrow. He kinda understood about religion like the First Knowledge, or educational institutions like the Library, but trading groups didn't seem like organizations that could be that strong.

  "Have you forgotten that our world is driven by money? If they hired ten Pathseekers at once, or four or five of even stronger ones, how many factions in this Grand Continent could handle that?" Colonel Lalanta spoke in a calm tone.

  Nitaan couldn't help but swallow hard.

  “Not to mention that the high-ranking members of large trading groups also need to be quite strong. Otherwise, how would they protect themselves?" Colonel Lalanta explained.

  Seeing Nitaan's grim expression, Colonel Lalanta laughed. Nitaan never set foot out of Silalai town. Of course Nitaan can’t imagine how vast and scary this world actually is.

  “No matter how strong they are outside, the queen wouldn't allow outsiders to have too much power here." Colonel Lalanta shrugged.

  "As you already know, Firegan Kingdom doesn't discriminate against any race or ethnicity. Anyone can live here, start a family, and do business. But not in a million years would outsiders have influence over the rulers," Colonel Lalanta chuckled.

  "So our kingdom is quite unified?" Nitaan murmured. Knowing about the various influences within the kingdom made it easier for him to assess its current state.

  "Only partly true. Actually, it's unified on a thin glass."

  Nitaan raised an eyebrow in a puzzled expression.

  "No one can ever be above the royal family in this kingdom. Therefore, the expansion of influence across cities, natural resources, and valuable geographical territories is fiercely contested among the various factions."

  "Everything is allocated by the royal family. Therefore, the competition below is to please the royal family, because those supported by the royal family reap unimaginable benefits." Colonel Lalanta took a sip of water.

  "And within the royal family, there are already factions divided. After all, there's more than one person who inherited the bloodline of Akni Firegan."

  The more he listened to the story, the more his eyebrows twitched. He realized how much factionalism such a situation would cause.

  “Therefore, the undercurrents are chaotic and hard to predict. Cooperation with foreign factions, underhanded sabotage, short-term dependence with an intent to betray at any moment, assassinations of the younger generation—it’s all there. As long as it doesn't anger the queen.”

  Nitaan was truly sweating. The seemingly peaceful image of this kingdom was actually incredibly fragile.

  “Especially with the upcoming election of a new Throne Holder, every faction is desperately trying to ensure their chosen successor takes the position. One right or wrong move could instantly ruin or brighten their future.”

  “It can be said that in the next era, power will be divided into two parts: the royal family and the factions supported by the royal family. The remaining factions will only receive the scraps.” Colonel Lalanta’s face went back to expressionless.

  Nitaan was truly sweating this time. He didn’t want to get involved in this headache-inducing internal politics, especially at the national level, which encompassed almost every faction.

  This chessboard was too big for him to participate. He wasn’t even worthy of being a pawn!

  “So… so this banquet, with princes, princesses, powerful figures, and all sorts of important people…” Nitaan broke out in a cold sweat. He suddenly felt that this blind date was just an excuse to drag him into this chessboard.

  Colonel Lalanta smirked as the carriage stopped. The carriage door was opened by a beautiful female servant who was waiting outside.

  Before them was a grand, luxurious palace. Numerous soldiers and servants lined up respectfully to greet him and Colonel.

  Nitaan, sensing the powerful presence of thousands of servants, secretly broke out in a cold sweat. All of them are Learners!

  “Yes, it’s another battlefield. A battlefield that will reveal which side you’re on,” Colonel Lalanta winked, pulling Nitaan down from the carriage.

  The eyes of the many soldiers and servants were fixed on him. He could still feel the powerful gazes from all directions secretly observing him.

  But the most terrifying thing was the dozens of spiritual energies that swirled around his body in an instant before vanishing in a matter of moments. He was certain that even just one of those energies would have crushed him a thousand times over. He was utterly powerless to resist.

  "There are tigers, lions, bulls, and rhinos everywhere. Welcome to the adult world, Nitaan," Colonel Lalanta chuckled softly, leading the way into the banquet.