Published: March 12, 2025
CHAPTER 135: Yvan
Outside the entire Ika Plain, there are windbreak forests planted, which also serve as a barrier. The trees in these windbreaks are mostly tall and straight, similar to birch trees, interspersed with thorny vines and thorny grass.
Thorny vines and thorny grass are quite common on the continent. Many villages plant them outside to defend against magical beast attacks. While they may not be very effective against higher-level magical beasts, they provide good protection against lower-level ones.
The entire Ika Plain is said to cover over a million acres of land. To surround such a vast area would require an immense number of trees, showcasing the grand ambitions of the Versailles Family.
Another unique feature of the Ika Plain, which is rare elsewhere, is that there are no commoners or small nobles living here. Apart from the troops of the Versailles Family, everyone who lives in the Ika Plain is a slave.
Yes, there are no commoners in the Ika Plain; everyone is a slave, all belonging to the Versailles Family. Given the vastness of the Ika Plain, at least hundreds of thousands of slaves are needed to cultivate all the land. Some of these slaves have already settled down here, and now over a million people reside in the Ika Plain—over a million slaves! What does that even mean?
In the Ark Continent, a medium-sized city has a resident population of only a few million. Smaller cities have around a million residents, and even smaller ones only have tens of thousands. This means the Versailles Family effectively has a medium-sized city worth of slaves.
A significant undertaking, indeed. Based on this scale, the Versailles Family can be considered one of the prominent families in the Aksu Empire. It's no wonder they would take advantage of others.
The old king of the Aksu Empire wanted to deal with those large families, with the Versailles Family being one of them. Meanwhile, the Budah Family served as a weapon for the old king, and it could be said that the engagement between the Budah Family and the Versailles Family would not have happened without the old king's oppressive influence.
Yvan Versailles, although he had some connections with Yaguang's father and considered him a friend, as the clan leader of a large family, he could not make too many decisions. Even as the clan leader, there are many things beyond his control.
To be fair, Yvan is quite a good person. When he was young, he went out for training and happened to meet Adam's father. The two hit it off and eventually became friends.
Later on, Yvan became the Duke of the Versailles Principality. He wanted to help the Budah Family, but once he took on that significant position, he realized that many things were beyond his authority.
Once in that position, he had to bear the responsibilities of the entire Versailles Principality and uphold the interests of the old nobility, which meant that when he became the Duke, he had already positioned himself in opposition to the Budah Family.
Moreover, besides the family head, the Versailles Family has a council of elders composed of older generations related to the family. These elders weave a complex web of interests that tightly binds Yvan, making it difficult for him to move freely.
Later, after the sudden death of the old king, the bloody ascension of the new king, and the Budah Family's misfortunes, Yvan wanted to help but found himself powerless. In the end, he could only use his strength to save Adam's life. It could be said that without Yvan's covert assistance, Galen and Merlin might not have been able to protect Adam.
However, when the council of elders found out about Yvan secretly helping the Budah Family, they united to pressure him, greatly diminishing his authority as the family head.
Yvan felt like a puppet now, but what could he do? After all, he is still a member of the Versailles Family. His blood runs with Versailles lineage; the mark of the Versailles Family is ingrained in his bones, and he cannot sever ties with them.