Chapter 545 - Phase Two Kahn explained his reasoning to both Hector and Venessa in their respective meetings on why his plan was detrimental to their end goal. That no matter what happened… nobody in this empire would stand up for humans even if they were brutally slaughtered since they didn't make up even 5% of the empire's population. But if they started off with Oakenshield's route, they would be able to thoroughly smear the name of the second prince first and everyone will be against him. And after this cruel act of his was revealed… they would make the biggest impact as the one to voice for the helpless would appear as a savior of the weak and the public opinion as well as the support from other clans who wanted to look good and righteous on the surface would obviously take their side. Eventually, it would end up helping the said party to solidify their claim to the throne. This was just a blatant lie but Kahn made it sound like the most logical and intelligent approach towards the whole issue. This was just the 2nd phase of his schemes. After hearing the plans for the 4th phase… both of them instantly agreed after Kahn gave them a glimpse of the aftereffects. Rathnaar, who planned it all was laughing at both these two borrowed knives as he was effectively using these issues in the imperial family to their advantage one by one. And, there was the next move that was going to need both the first prince and the third princess to act like impatient brats. This was the beginning of… Phase Two. ---------------- 3 DAYS LATER Out of nowhere… news spread across the entire Vulcan empire like a wildfire. It was so sudden that even the imperial clan didn't see it coming and had no countermeasures ready because without holding back, both the first and third children of the emperor had used their connections, followers from local market to noble clans and spread a piece of hot news.𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎 It contained a rumor about the second prince intentionally insulting Throk Oakenshield, one of the most prestigious, renowned and accomplished in the empire. That because of his tantrums and unstable mental issues… he had developed an inferiority complex in the past few years. And he liked to intentionally oppress other people so he could feel good about himself. That could feel like he was above everyone else. And he had been doing it for years but always buried the matter because no one would dare stand up against an imperial prince. This had raised many questions among the population and even the imperial clans were alerted since spreading a rumor on this scale was something only someone with a lot of power and authority could do. On the following day, another rumor spread that the second prince Rogis hates both the Church and the Dwarven race. That's why he targeted Throk in the banquet because he was both a devotee of the Church of Hetrax and a dwarf. So that was the main reason why he intentionally insulted the old dwarf saint blacksmith in a banquet arranged by himself. But since Throk wasn't a nobility… no one came to help him. And the prince put him on a blacklist in the arms and weapons business. Because of which, the once thriving company of his lost suppliers, dealers and distributors with each passing day. And eventually, all of his friends including his pupils that he had been training and grooming for the past 3 decades left his side because they didn't want to get into any trouble by siding with the poor old dwarf. And to put the cherry on top… a footage of Throk sitting on the unkempt and dusty stairs of his company building's main door was released and spread everywhere. In the recording, the once brightly glimmering building now looked like a dilapidated ruin. Along with this scenery… A crestfallen look of master Oakenshield who had a defeated expression on his face as if he was going through a rough patch was also revealed. Now, one of the top blacksmiths of the Vulcan empire was scrutinized just for standing up against a moody brat who disrespected the church, the god he worshiped, his race and the profession of blacksmithing. This caused a lot of public outrage because among all the demi-human species in the Vulcan empire… dwarves were the biggest majority. On top of it… the blacksmithing profession was considered sacred for their race as it was the very reason why their ancestors managed to help in rebuilding the empire after the Firebornes defeated their previous oppressors. And since the Church of Hetrax, the main religious institution of the empire was also mentioned… many followers and devotees were enraged to their core. This news also reached the ears of the pope and he too ordered the Paladins, the church's mightiest force to look into the matter. The rumors depicted that the only crime Throk Oakenshield was guilty of was that he couldn't stand this humiliation and talked back because he was an honest person and his loyalty towards his religion, his race and profession was unquestionable. In reality, none of this was true but people believed in rumors and lies when enough people said them than the real truth. Soon, both the imperial clan and the church of hetrax launched their separate investigations and found this incident with the saint blacksmith to be true. And since half of the rumor was true… people across the whole empire automatically started to believe the other half as well. This was the main purpose of phase two of the plan. To first raise enough traction towards the matter of the second prince's reputation and publicly smear his name. Both Hector and Venessa rejoiced as the plan they pulled off was working twice more effectively than they had imagined… without knowing the fact that the other one was doing the same. Soon, the issue got out of hand and the second prince himself was forced to show up for questioning because of pressure from the church and the dwarven race. But just when Rogis thought that the issue was close to an end… Kahn, Venessa and Hector pulled the biggest card in their hand. And thus began… Phase Three.