Chapter 103: Chapter 93: The Magic Power of the War Attribute Increases Again_1 Chapter 103: Chapter 93: The Magic Power of the War Attribute Increases Again_1 Ivita realized that Lord Prole’s goal was to sow discord.

His actions bore resemblance to the public opinion wars on Earth in her previous life, where some people would intentionally hire trolls to express extreme opinions online on behalf of their opponents. This would sway public opinion towards extremism, causing the undecided or those of weak will to begin to despise those supporting these views.

Lord Prole’s manipulation was similar.

He deliberately sided with the supporters of the city faction, ostensibly expressing his support for these people, while in reality, his extreme remarks were intended to sway the undecided to oppose the city faction.

Unfortunately, this approach was a bit too straightforward. If he could covertly influence city council members and bribe some of them to express similar views, the effect would be better.

However, Ivita realized that this method was also unreliable.

In doing so, they would leave too many loopholes. If the bribed city council members publicly admitted their bribes, it would throw Lord Prole into a predicament instead.

Besides, given the urgency and limited time, Lord Prole probably had no choice but to take matters into his own hands.

Lord Prole’s words sparked a heated debate, and some people indeed wanted Parviga to become an independent republic.

The President of the Wool Guild stood up and vehemently attacked this idea. “The city of Parviga is still a city of the Viscountcy.”

“We are still protected by the law of the Grand Viscount, as well as the blessing of the Thousand-Year Fire.”

“We cannot split a country recognized by the Pope and other nations. We cannot deny its laws, otherwise we would be committing grave and vile crimes.”

“Have you all considered the cost? We currently only have to handle bandits and potential enemies, and we need to hire more than 2,000 militia troops every year. This is the cost we have to pay to protect our wealth. However, this is only because we are under the protection of the Grand Viscount, that our expenditures are so minimal.”

“If we were independent, our enemies wouldn’t be just bandits, but the armies of other countries.”

“How much money would we have to spend to maintain our independence and protect our wealth and families?”

The President of the Wool Guild turned his gaze to the corner of the City Hall, where Lady Alice and Ivita were seated.

The President of the Wool Guild asked, “Madam, what do you think?”

All eyes were suddenly on President Alice. As she slowly rose, she hesitated a moment before saying, “You’re right, Parviga will always be a city of the Viscountcy.”

“We do not have the conditions to become independent.”

Lady Alice’s conciliatory remarks won much applause.

However, this only made her face paler.

After some thought, Ivita agreed. If her own baronial estate were to become independent, it would be ridiculous.

If she remained within this country, she could avoid a lot of trouble. No witch, wizard, magic creature, or evildoer would dare to declare war on her territory on a grand scale, and the citizens of her domain could focus more on the development of the territory.

If her baronial estate were to become independent, she feared she would be extorted by witches every day.

Even the Sons of the Forest only signed a contract with her because they did not dare to continue fighting.

This was because her domain was still under the order of the Grand Viscount. If her territory were independent, she would definitely lose if the Sons of the Forest besieged her for months.

However, due to Parviga’s predicament, Ivita became more curious about how those republics that had already become independent on the southern peninsula managed to do so.

Especially the Three Republics, why did they dare to become independent?

Without the support of nobles, monarchs, or the Church, how do they protect themselves?

The Hearthstone Grand Witch came over and whispered, “Your Highness, I see that Alice is at a disadvantage. She can’t argue with them. They must have some great person helping them.”

“Did you notice the woman in grey next to Lord Prole? I feel she must be some kind of magical creature. I sensed a very bloody magic power from her, but I can’t be sure who she is.”

“Your Highness, it’s time for us to escape!”

Ivita looked up at the heated chamber, the lord who gave her a sarcastic look, and his curious and hostile gaze.

Ivita also returned a smile to the lord who was scrutinizing her.

Lord Prole squinted his eyes at the young man’s open and handsome smile, a sharp look flashing in his eyes.

Was he challenging him?

Lord Prole looked back, his eyes filled with derision and anger. In such a solemn place, a place that could determine the fate of over 100,000 people in a city, what could a child do?

The lord turned his head back and thought to himself. After he won over the entire Parviga, he would personally enact a law.

No one below the age of forty-five is allowed into the town hall!

Perhaps those with noble blood can lower that age to thirty, Lord Prole thought, lost in his fantasies.

Ivita said to the Hearthstone Grand Witch, “You can leave first, go and have a look around.”

“Look for the location of the Water Dragon’s Tooth.”

“If anyone tries to stop you, tell them you were invited into the town hall by Lady Alice. You just want to admire the majesty of Parviga, the dignity of the city’s citizens!”

“However, if you say that Alice has lost, that might not necessarily be the case.”

“After all, the opponent has only played some small tricks.”

When the Hearthstone Witch departed and entered the interior of the town hall, Ivita noticed Lady Alice looking at the old witch. He rapidly spoke up before she could ask, “Lady Alice, I have a way to deal with Lord Prole.”

As long as Lady Alice doesn’t question the old witch’s wandering around, others, out of respect for her, won’t impede the Hearthstone Witch.

This is the principle of ‘borrowing the tiger’s might’.

Upon hearing Ivita’s words, Lady Alice immediately brushed aside the minor issue of the Hearthstone Grand Witch’s departure from her seat. She asked Ivita, “But what should I do? I don’t even know what the other party’s intentions are.”

“Has he truly become an extremist supporter of city freedom?”

“The opponent only wants to make those who support city freedom appear like extremists,” Ivita replied.

As clever as Lady Alice was, she was momentarily startled. But she quickly understood the situation.

“So what should I do?”

“It’s simple, he now supports Parviga’s independence as a Republic, so you should support the dissolution of the Parviga council, and the division of Parviga into the private territories of the nobles,” Ivita answered. “The two of you can just switch your stances.”

“What’s inevitably going to clash in this town hall are two different stances, not specific individuals.”

“This is attacking the issue, not the person.”

“If he does something extreme, then you can too.”

Noticing Lady Alice was still troubled, presumably unsure of what to say, Ivita proposed, “I can speak quietly to you, and you can simply repeat what I say.”

Lady Alice nodded immediately, “Alright!”

Meanwhile, in the hall, Lord Prole had gotten engrossed in his role-play and begun a direct argument with the president of the Wool Guild.

Lord Prole, in a righteous and eloquent manner, said, “Without becoming a Republic, how can our city protect its interests? We need to be independent now!”

Lady Alice again rose from her seat, brushing off the dust on her sleeve, and, once Lord Prole finished his speech, unexpectedly said, “Exactly the opposite. If we wish to protect the city’s interests, we should dissolve the city council and let everyone present divide up the land of Parviga according to their wealth.”

“Let’s reintroduce the land feudal system.”

“In this way, we could gain an army of about ten thousand, greatly increasing our military forces, and only then can we protect our property and people in the upcoming chaos of Ambros.”

The mayor and all the city councillors were stunned.

What’s going on?

The guild chief is actually advocating for feudal land ownership, and the leader of land-owning nobility is advocating for the city to become a republic on its own?

God of All Things, is this a dream?

Lord Prole turned his head to look at Lady Alice, his face getting ugly, and his eyes were filled with anger at being played.

The woman in the gray robe beside him whispered in a low voice, “Calm down.”

“Just argue with her if she wants to debate. Don’t forget, words can’t beat fists.”

Ivita, who was sitting next to Lady Alice, felt a surge of war magic power flow into his body from the void.

His face changed.

Why is my war attribute magic power increasing rapidly?

Wait, it seems like I’ve been misunderstanding something all along.