### Chapter 80: The Dawn of a New Era

A few days passed after that.

Under Mona’s deliberate promotion, the Queen’s special envoy, the little princess, has already arrived at Demon Town, and the news of her recovery efforts regarding the border disputes has spread throughout the northern part of the kingdom.

After several days of hard work, along with Liliya’s remote support, Mona has essentially gained control and stabilized the situation in Demon Town.

There are a lot of tasks to be done.

Easing the increasingly tense conflicts with the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons, reopening the road to the north for the United Kingdom, adjusting the economy, strengthening border security, soothing the disgruntled populace, and dealing with the former rulers, the Tuls Family—these are all top priorities at the moment.

Additionally, there’s the need to interrogate and deal with the recent captures, illegal poachers selling Alien Slaves, and to follow their leads to hold accountable the various buyers in the country, striving to rescue more innocent victims sold to distant lands.

Not to mention that the number of slaves rescued from Demon Town alone far exceeds what Vilyric had imagined; preliminary statistics show over thirty thousand. Keep in mind that the total number of poachers killed or captured in battle is fewer than four thousand.

This means that, on average, each poacher has stolen at least ten aliens.

And this is just in the city; the number of those already sold or hiding in remote villages outside Demon Town, as well as other cities where they were abducted, is simply unimaginable.

When Vilyric first heard this figure from Mona, who looked pale, even she was left speechless.

It turns out what she saw in the underground black market was merely the tip of the iceberg. Such a colossal figure—if Queen Liliya herself hadn’t stepped in personally, it wouldn’t have just been about rescuing. Even if such a capability existed, managing and handling the aftermath would be a huge problem.

Thus, it’s evident how rampant the slave trading industry is beneath the prosperous facade of the United Kingdom.

If Liliya were truly determined to investigate thoroughly, it might lead to a massive reshuffle throughout the nation. One wonders if the young queen, who has only been in power for less than a year, can bear such a weight.

Of course, it goes without saying that the Tuls Family, a powerful faction in this “One King, Two Powers,” will certainly have a rough time now.

That night, when Mona led her people into the city lord’s mansion, she met with no resistance. Tyler Tuls had dismissed his guards, removed his official robes, and sat quietly in his study, waiting for the princess’s arrival.

Then, in front of everyone, he candidly admitted all his crimes, even before Mona could present the evidence she gathered, allowing the Shadow People to shackle him.

Naturally, Tyler Tuls was charged with multiple counts such as harboring criminals, inciting war, and deceiving the sovereign, and was promptly sent to the sky prison by the princess, while also stripped of his position as acting city lord.

As for his marquis title, since it was granted by the previous King Anqiluo, Mona had no authority to revoke it, so they would have to wait for the official royal decree, but that didn’t really matter at this point.

The Tuls Family thus faced collective punishment; they not only had to pay an exorbitant fine within a stipulated time to fund various follow-up handling tasks but also faced other restrictions including a thorough investigation of the family members’ recent interactions and the cancellation of the private army that came with the original ducal title.

Most seriously, the contemporary family head and current Minister of State, Griffiths Tuls, was held accountable by the queen. Coupled with his old age and frail health, which made him unsuitable for heavy responsibilities, he ultimately submitted his resignation to the council, which the queen approved, stepping down from his ministerial position.

Thus, the nearly 90-year-old veteran official, Griffiths Tuls, completely ended his political career, and in the future, to avoid suspicion and minimize the negative impact from the chaos in Demon Town, he would likely have to quietly stay in the City of Courage, tending to flowers and grass to pass the remainder of his life.

In fact, if Lan could follow Tyler’s expectation and ruthlessly shift all the blame onto him, Griffiths might have been able to serve a few more years as Minister, and the Tuls Family could have absorbed fewer losses. Unfortunately, she is a rebellious child who has never listened to adult plans.

Although it sounds a bit cruel, such is the nature of bureaucracy and officialdom; one misstep could lead to an eternal regret, and the thin line between lofty positions and disgrace is always precarious.

If they could shed some blood and push matters through while retaining their inherited ducal title, that would be impressive enough for the Tuls Family and Griffiths.

Even Liliya doesn’t wish to push them too hard, as a major upheaval is likely looming over the kingdom.

Having temporarily resolved internal issues, what remains is foreign diplomacy with the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons.

Thanks to Vilyric’s subtle mediation as an intermediary, things progressed very smoothly.

Just as Walter stated, the fastest demon general, Aiste, personally returned to the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons at the first opportunity to inform the alliance of the situation here, causing a huge stir.

It’s said that a certain Holy Ancestor also seemingly lent a hand behind the scenes, and after several discussions, the magical beasts ultimately reached a consensus to accept peace talks with the United Kingdom.

The representative responsible for the negotiations, whom Vilyric also recognizes, is the legendary demon general, Iwen, a Puppeteer Clan girl, who had just returned the batch of magical beast girls home. While on her way to meet Walter and other demon generals in Demon Town, she happened to run into a hurried Aiste returning, and was caught up in the situation.

The Puppeteer Clan is known among magical beasts for their wisdom and rationality, especially this demon general Iwen, who is highly regarded among numerous races, including the three major pillars. She had been handling matters related to the little princess, making her the first choice.

Due to the eagerness of the magical beasts to welcome back the “little princess,” the negotiation date was advanced as much as possible, set for tomorrow.

Since magical beasts aren’t permitted to freely enter United Kingdom cities, the negotiation location was ultimately chosen in a small town thirty kilometers north of Demon Town, at the border intersection between the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons and the United Kingdom.

Though Little Mona has been busy day in and day out, dealing with countless matters, Vilyric found herself with some free time and finally had the chance to explore this famous northern city of the United Kingdom with her companions.

The bounty had naturally been lifted early on, and the Internal Guards Bureau is reportedly undergoing a major reform; the demon hunters and the poachers recruited into special forces were directly disbanded, and all the shady deeds they committed were thoroughly exposed. Those who should be captured are captured, and those who deserve to sit in jail will sit in jail—Mona won’t go easy on these arrogant folks.

The poacher gangs that had entrenched themselves both domestically and internationally can’t be entirely eliminated with just this measure, but with Demon Town being taken down, which is known as the headquarters for poachers in the United Kingdom, the new government led by Liliya should find it much easier to proceed with their future actions.

As for the other three forces within Demon Town’s underground, Mona apparently has no plans to act against them for the time being. From what she has conveyed, it’s impossible for a country to completely eradicate all its dark sides; some are unavoidable parts of its structure. Even if these organizations are wiped out, others will continue to emerge.

Thus, as long as their behaviors don’t cross the moral line like the poachers did, it’s best for the government to avoid completely tearing the façade apart.

Perhaps it’s for similar reasons that they were able to reach a certain level of cooperation when dealing with the underground black market back in the day.

   

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