Reincarnated as incubus: I didn't mean to seduce you!

"Well, they have had some contact with them more or less.

The Halflings want to reclaim the control of the Kingdom that they lost long ago from the Gnomes, and they have gathered quite a bit of strength under their belt.

The last time I was in their Royal Capital, I had already vaguely sensed that things would change, so I contacted their Royal Family in advance."

"No wonder, I was wondering why those Halflings didn't have any fighting desire."

Having confirmed his speculation, Lewis started recalling some scenes from the battles he witnessed, and after a moment of contemplation, he said:

"The residents over there seem to have their thoughts on these matters. Before exploring inside the Alchemy Furnace, I noticed that when it came to mentioning Goblins, the Orean commoners almost overwhelmingly had negative reviews about them."

Kael clicked his tongue: "That's not a problem of a single day!"

"Huh?"

"I mean, those Halflings' calculations are quite loud."

"What do you mean?"

"If it were you, would you willingly hand over your hard-earned kingdom and its discourse power to the Gnomes, letting them steal the fruits of your victory?"

"If I really built it up, of course I wouldn't be willing!"

"Exactly, even if Halflings naturally love adventure and to feel at home everywhere, there's no way they'd surrender the power they gained entirely to others without reservation."

Lewis was silent, after a long pause, he squeezed out a few words: "You mean, the Halflings did it on purpose?"

"At least from the perspective of their higher-ups, they indeed did it on purpose."

"For what, just to get the support of the Gnomes?"

Kael smiled and said: "Lewis, what do you think is the largest ethnic group in the Orean Independent Kingdom?"

"Of course, it's the Halflings."

"Then who controls the armed forces of Orean?"

"The Orean Royal Family."

"Have you dealt with the Undead in our territory?"

"Before heading out on missions, I've dealt with them."

"In the world of the Undead, there's a saying:

'To destroy them, first make them mad!'

Look, in the main ethnic group of the Orean Kingdom, how many people hold strong repulsion towards the Gnomes.

Then look at this report..."

Kael handed Lewis a document.

Seeing Hassaka enter the study with a tray, delivering tea to both Lewis and in front of his own seat, and then re-brewing a cup of tea solely for Kael, Kael smiled and said:

"Hassaka, you should take a look at this report as well, see if you can discern anything from it."

Hassaka took the report without hesitation and stood behind Kael, flipping through it: "Oh, is this the report sent this year from the Church of the God of Literature and Knowledge?

By judging the timing, indeed it should be sent around this period."

Kael nodded and said: "Turn to the part about the Orean Independent Kingdom regarding the collaboration and distribution of related media industry, look at their names, do you notice any problem?"

Hassaka slowly scanned through the names of the media industries above, hesitated for a moment and said: "These names… judging by the naming format, it seems that all these media Chambers of Commerce are established by the Orean Royal Family and the Great Nobles?"

"Yes, Dinel has successfully advanced to medium Divine Power and is currently one of the most sought-after figures on the continent.

So naturally, the cooperative merchants who conduct joint releases within the Orean Kingdom are all the mainstream Chambers of Commerce responsible for the media industry in Orean."

At this point, how could Lewis not understand Kael's meaning:

"The discourse power over public opinion in this country… has always been firmly held in the hands of the Orean Royal Family?"

"Basically, at least in this regard, the Halflings in Orean understand very well that they must firmly seize the high ground of public opinion.

The more rampant those Gnomes become in Orean, the more the messages released by the Orean Royal Family-led media publicize their ugliness, increasing the dissatisfaction of the Orean populace towards the Gnomes.

I guess...the guys in the Orean Royal Family have been waiting for this opportunity for a very long time."

"Opportunity?"*2

The two showed a curious expression on their faces.

"Waiting for an opportunity where the Gnomes commit an unforgivable mistake; now, we have handed them this fatal error with our own hands."

"How fatal?" Hassaka instinctively said.

"Lewis, the entrance to the core of the Elemental Furnace you entered is at the junction controlled by the Gnome Research Institute, Holy Hall's Supervision Council, and the Orean Research Institute."

"Orean Research Institute."

Kael showed a mocking smile: "Did you see any personnel from the Gnome Research Institute or the Holy Hall's Supervision Council on your way here?"

Lewis replied without thinking: "I did come across two humans from the Holy Hall's Supervision Council, but not a single Gnome."

"Then that's it, it seems the Gnomes might have been restrained by some means by the Royal Family; very few would be in the Alchemy Furnace you all went to complete."

Kael spread his hands and said: "Everything is in place, all that's left is the easterly wind; now that the wind has arrived, if we don't seize this opportunity first, there's no need for the Orean Royal Family to cooperate with us anymore."

"These strategic planners..." Hassaka shook his head and said: "Can't they be a little cleaner in their hearts, it's really too filthy."