Chapter 123 Meeting (Second Update)
However, it would have been better if he didn't cheer up. Once he cheered up, Cobra realized more clearly how chaotic Alabasta was now.
Even in previous years when the country was hit by disasters, it was far less chaotic than now.
"Assholes, all of them are assholes!"
In the study, Cobra swept everything on the desk to the ground in a rage.
When he decided to cheer up, the first thing he did was to start facing the current problems of Alabasta and decided to solve them one by one.
The first thing he put on the agenda was the problem of sand bandits and rebels.
Both of them are actually chronic diseases. Looking at the history of the Kingdom of Alabasta, since the 'Nefertari Family' took root in [Saint Ting Island], sand bandits and rebels have always existed. The former killed and set fire, and the latter never gave up subverting the rule of the 'Nefertari Family'.
But in normal years, they can only lurk in the dark and wait for an opportunity, because compared with the official forces, they are too weak and dare not expose themselves.
However, this time King Edmund was assassinated and killed, which gave them an opportunity.
Especially the rumor about the "celestial dragons" that was circulating among the high-ranking officials of the kingdom made them bolder. Not only did they come to the fore, but the two also united.
After Cobra cheered up, the first thing he thought of was to wipe out the two!
But what made him angry was that he issued several orders in succession, and they were all rejected by the people below with various excuses. In short, no army was willing to deal with those sand bandits and rebels. As a king, he had no soldiers to use?
"Your Majesty, please allow me to take the guards and go to eliminate them!" Ikalem resolutely asked.
As the saying goes, the master humiliates the minister, and seeing Cobra being humiliated, he, as a retainer of the "Nefertari Family", could not turn a blind eye!
"No, the number of guards is good enough to protect the palace, but if you want to go to war, it is completely insufficient. The number of sand bandits and rebels is large, and you will die if you go." Cobra rejected Ikalem's request and said in a deep voice, "Moreover, from the intelligence I just read, I have reason to believe that these sand bandits and rebels are not united for no reason..."
"Your Majesty, what do you mean?"
"Although the sand bandits and rebels are both enemies of the kingdom, the enemy of the enemy does not mean that they can become friends. The sand bandits act without scruples, all for plunder, while the purpose of the rebels is to seize power. The rules of conduct of both sides are different. How can they come together?"
Cobra said solemnly, "What can make these two ignore their differences and come together is probably a terrible force that both of them cannot resist!"
"As far as I know, there should be no such force in the kingdom."
"The ministers can't do it?" Ikalem asked. "It's impossible to rely on their own power, unless they can mobilize the army, but the army can't easily participate in such things, because it means treason... Therefore, the mastermind behind this matter should be an external force." Cobra said in a sad tone, "If I'm not mistaken, it should be the group that assassinated my father." "Damn it!" Ikalem clenched his fists. As the captain of the palace guard, he failed to protect the king's safety. This was his biggest dereliction of duty. If Edmund had not explained that he would continue to protect Cobra after his death, he would have chased the murderer all over the sky, even if he died in battle! But he didn't expect that the group was too lazy to escape after the assassination. "Your Majesty, no matter what, please allow me to lead the guard to avenge His Majesty Edmund!" Ikalem asked for battle again! "No! I won't let you die." Cobra rejected it again. "But..."
Ikalem was still trying to convince Cobra, when a guard knocked on the door of the study.
"Come in," Cobra said.
"Your Majesty, there is a young man outside the palace who wants to see you. He claims to be your cousin, named Leifa. Do you want him in?" The guard knelt on one knee and reported.
"What? My cousin?!" Cobra was stunned at first, then remembered the identity of this cousin he had never seen before. His expression was a little complicated for a while, but he quickly ordered, "Please invite him in, please go to the living room, I'll be there soon."
"Yes!" The guard quickly retreated.
"Your Majesty, when did you have a cousin?" Ikalem didn't know about Leifa.
"I only knew about this cousin not long ago. According to my father, he is the blood of Uncle Farrell..." Cobra said.
"Lord Farrell still has blood alive?!" Ikalem was shocked.
As a trusted retainer of the Nefertari Family, he naturally knew that Edmund had a younger brother, but he had left [Saint Island] a long time ago.
"Come on, follow me to meet this cousin..." Cobra sighed.
His mother died shortly after giving birth to him. He was an only child, and with the death of his father Edmund, he had no relatives except his wife and his newborn daughter.
But this cousin, whom he had never met, was an exception.
...
Leifa sat in the living room, calmly drinking the tea brought by the servant, waiting for Cobra's arrival.
Suddenly, his ears moved slightly, and then he put down the teacup and looked towards the door.
But he saw a young man who looked somewhat similar to him in this life, accompanied by a tall guard, walking from the door.
"Cousin Kobra?" Refa greeted tentatively.
"You must be my cousin Refa. I only learned of your existence not long ago, cousin. It's been a long time..." The moment Cobra saw Refa, some of his previous distracting thoughts disappeared.
Originally, he was still thinking about what attitude he should adopt towards Lei Fa.
Because in a sense, his father Edmund's death was to save Lefa.
If it hadn't been for Refa, my father might not have died.
But even his father himself said that he owed all this to his late uncle Farrell. Furthermore, everyone is a family and it is natural for them to help each other.
It wasn't until Kobra saw Refa that he suddenly realized that his idea was too ridiculous. It would be too shameful to offend his cousin who was also a victim because of the shamelessness of the 'Dragon Man'. That makes sense.
As descendants of the 'Neferutari Family', we should be united.
"I came here specifically to express my apology to you, cousin. Uncle Edmund died because of me... If it weren't for me, Uncle Edmund would be fine." Refa sighed.
"What are you talking about?" Kobra shook his head and said, "If you want to blame it, blame the person who killed my father and those high-ranking bastards. The only one I can't blame is you. If you say this from now on Don’t say it anymore, they are all family members, why is there anything wrong?”